Chapter 4
The Previous Day...
"Lily...you... you're dead!" Petunia stammered, opening and closing her mouth like a fish that had just been forced on dry land. The look on her face was rather comical and if Lily wasn't so angry at her sister at this moment, she probably would have laughed.
"Really?" Lily said sarcastically while looking down at her arms and legs. "Well that puts a dampener on things doesn't it?"
"I buried you... your body. You are dead!" she repeated emphasizing the last word as if trying to convince herself that it was true, even with evidence to the contrary standing right in front of her.
"Was." Lily said deadpanned
"I'm sorry? Petunia asked confused.
"I was dead." she replied back as if she was speaking to an idiot. After a moment of reflection she realized that it might not be too far from the truth.
"I don't understand." Petunia said, trailing off in a whisper.
"Neither do I, but that's neither here nor there." Lily said shrugging her shoulders. Without waiting for an invitation she strutted through the front door leaving Petunia with a dumbfounded expression on her face. It took a few seconds for her to snap back to reality before she followed Lily into the living room where Vernon was busy watching television. Even when he noticed their guest he didn't turn to her direction until Petunia tried to speak again.
"Lily I'm-"
"Don't you dare say you're sorry for what you put me through. That ship sailed a long time ago. To think I used to look up to you! You were my sister for God's sake!" Lily said sharply, more loudly than she intended as her anger began to get the best of her.
"Now you listen here-" said Vernon rising from his chair, finally seeming to catch on that something was going on, more by the way this stranger spoke to Petunia than consciousness about what was happening.
"Vernon sit the fuck down before I force you down... you fat pathetic waste of space." She spat with venom. Her eyes held such hostility that even Vernon, cowed for a fraction of a second before the stupidity he was born with kicked in.
"Get out of my house now whoever you are. You're not welcome here!" he shouted his face starting to grow red.
"No."
"Leave at once!" he shouted.
"You have no idea who you're talking to. You couldn't make me leave if you tried, now like I said... sit your ass down!"
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do in my own house?" he spat, looking upon Lily with hate filled eyes.
"Were you not listening a few minutes ago? I'm Petunia's sister. Harry's mother. I'm surprised you don't recognize me... but then again you did ban me from your wedding." His face slightly paled at her last statement, finally sensing things were about to get rather unpleasant.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead? It's the only reason your freak of a son stays here." He blustered.
Whipping out her wand faster than lightening she instantly hit him in the chest with a disarming charm that seated him back on his couch and sit it straight into a wall with a crash. Petunia could do nothing but give a startled yelp while Vernon looked briefly disoriented after the impact.
Lily wasted no time however and strode right over to Vernon and touched her wand to his chin, eyes glowing with hate.
"Call him that one more time I fucking dare you!" She spat, challenging the large man to even blink.
"Lily, please!" Petunia begged Lily, panicked by her rage.
"Why shouldn't I?" she said facing her sister while keeping her wand poised at Vernon's face. His eyes were fearful, knowing that right now he was completely powerless.
"For the last ten years I've had to watch while this...creature abused and beat my son while you... you allowed it to happen! I could... maybe... have eventually forgiven you for your treatment of me over the years, that was just a childish grudge... but this? I will never forgive either of you."
"We took him in. What more do you want?" Petunia said, disdain clearly evident in her tone.
"What more do I want? How about a fucking home, some love, some kindness... some... anything. You've been transferring your jealousy of me onto my son and for what? Do you blame him for my death? Is that it? Because I probably would have died regardless of him" Not entirely true but she didn't know that.
"You disgust me right now it's actually sickening to look at you." She said evenly, using as much Occlumency as she could to control the anger that was now bleeding into her body. It was amazing how quickly her attitude could change from the nervousness she felt knocking on the door, to the sheer rage she felt welling up inside her now. It was threatening to consume her but she knew she had to control herself. There was no room for mistakes now.
"We fed him, clothed him, even let him go that blasted school of his. He's always been an ungrateful-"
"Fed him? Are you kidding me? There are kids in third world countries given more food than him. Clothed him? You call Dudley's cast offs cloths? I wouldn't even give them to charity and don't even get me started on Hogwarts. You fled to a bloody island to try evade his acceptance letters, not that it worked." She looked up at the ceiling briefly in reminiscence. "Ah that was a great day. How is Dudley these days? Has the stump where his tail was removed healed properly yet?"
Vernon just glared at her.
"No answer? You were very talkative a minute ago. Never mind. Where was I? Oh yes, now we move onto your argument. He's never once had anything to be grateful for. You never give him anything of his own...ever. You even forced him to give any pocket money he got from jobs to you for 'upkeep'. Upkeep… really? Because from what I remember, you get money directly from Harry's Headmaster to pay for his 'upkeep'!" Lily rounded on Petunia once more, not quite finished yet
"You treated him like a house elf, forcing him to work almost all day on chores that are way too dangerous for a boy of his age...well maybe not now, but who asks their child to cook for them from the age of 6? He could have injured himself! Hell he could have died, but no! You didn't care did you? Not one bit! You just wanted your bloody breakfast." She briefly flicked her wand to Vernon and he was bound to the chair, unable to move until Lily removed the charm, then casted a silencing charm so he couldn't interrupt. Knowing him he'd put his foot in his mouth at one point and while Lily hated the man with a passion, she didn't want him dead. Which might happen if he pushed her any farther in this moment. This also her an opportunity to move towards her sister and keep her full focus on her.
"What I don't understand is… why? What made you hate him so much you would treat him like he was dirt? You obviously don't hate children since your own son was doted on like the second coming of Jesus. Why Tuney? Why would you do that to him? To me!". She finished as tears started to form in her eyes. This was something she had never really understood. Why all the hate? Sure there was Petunia's jealousy of her but it had to run deeper than that for it to transfer to her son so readily. There was something in her eyes...something she couldn't quite pin down.
"I...we..." Petunia stuttered slowly.
"What no answer? No justification? Come surely there must be some reason why you have essentially abused my child for the last 15 years? Did you really hate me that much that you would make an innocent young boy suffer through 15 years from your own prejudice and jealousy?"
Petunia opened her mouth to reply but it was at that moment that creaking could be heard from the floor above. Seconds later the sound of footsteps slowly descended from the stairs. Lily's heart was hammering in her chest like it was trying to escape from her body. This was the moment that she'd been waiting for since she came through the Veil. This was the one moment that could change her life again. It was like he was being born all over again.
Letting her gaze wander to the stairs in anticipation she waited, too scared to make a sound. All different things were running through her head. Would he accept her? Will he even believe it's her? What can she do to prove that she is who she says she isshort of veritaserum? Did she get everything sorted?.
She was starting to panic now with every footstep she heard. She could hear him slowing and took a sharp intake of breath when his body first came into view. It took all of her self-control not start bawling but as it was, even with her enormous amount of self-control she couldn't stop tears from welling up in her eyes.
His eyes locked on hers the moment his head came into view, widening in recognition but hardening almost instantly. This was what she was afraid of. He obviously didn't believe it was her but who would? Who would accept that the family they had always been told were dead are standing only meters away in the flesh? Who would accept that someone who you've been told stories about all your life are standing your living room? It was ludicrous. It was crazy, no matter how true it was.
He shifted out of view again as he came to the bottom of the stairs, since the stairwell led straight into the hallway that wasn't immediately in view of the living room. In those few seconds Lily's mind went over everything she could. She had to convince him. She would be heartbroken to only fail at the first hurdle.
In the seconds it took for Harry to move himself into the doorway of the living room, she felt sick.
She took in his appearance. He was small for a boy of his age, but then again, he'd been underfed, undernourished all his life. His wild black hair reminded her of James. In fact he almost looked like an exact copy of James, except for her own eyes staring back at her. He was wearing Dudley's old clothes like always did, baggy and untidy looking.
She now understood why he never just went out and bought his own clothes, even without knowing about his other vaults. He did know about his trust vault which had more than enough money, but then she surmised that maybe he just didn't have the confidence. It could even be something as simple as the fact that maybe he hadn't thought about it and had just taken his lot in life. There was some comfort in routine she supposed.
His eyes retained that hard look. It was like staring into her own soul. She never quite understood it when Sirius or James said that she had a glare that could cut glass. Now she did. She almost shrank back from it. She had to tread carefully or this wouldn't go well.
"You're dead." he finally spoke, trying to sound emotionless. She would have bought it as well, if not for the slight shake in his voice.
"You're dead" he repeated, harder this time, more conviction in his tone.
"No honey I'm here-"
"I heard you die...the dementors… make me relive that moment. I witnessed your final screams...you can't be here...who are you?"
"I'm your Mom Harry"
"No! My mother died, murdered by a psychopath. Who are you? Imposter! Who would be sick enough to come here in the guise of my mother? I've witnessed the death eater's cruelty but this? This is taking it to another level. How dare you come in here pretending to be my mother?!"
By now he had his wand out, his face alight with anger. His entire body was shaking, you could actually feel his heart breaking. It was too much for Lily to bear. She knew she should have found a different way. This was torture to him.
"No Ha-" it was too late. She couldn't get her sentence out before Harry had fired a stunner straight at her. She managed to block it easily but he sent another one at her again straight after. Petunia just stood there with her mouth open not knowing what to do. Spells just continued to fly though the air, Lily refused to send any back at him. Even in self-defense she wouldn't attack Harry. Not even to save herself.
"Please Harry!" she cried in between shield blocks. She was getting desperate now. In Harry's rage his spells just kept coming quicker and quicker and she was struggling to keep up. He wasn't top of his defense class for nothing. Stunner after stunner came, it was relentless. It was only after a while she quickly realized something. Harry was using only stunning spells. Nothing lethal. She didn't know whether it was because he couldn't bear to harm someone that even looked like his mother, if it was an element of doubt, or if he had never been taught lethal spells. Either way it didn't matter. She could work with this.
"Please, stop!" she begged, trying to get his attention. "The Order...will be here soon! Do you...really want that? I can...prove who I am...just let me".
He stopped firing spells, and slowly started circling Lily, who by this point was panting for breath, fatigued by the short bout. It wasn't the amount of spells she cast, but the pure power behind Harry's stunning spells that she required to pour energy to stop it.
Harry also looked tired but still kept his eyes locked her hers in between deep breaths. However Harry's tiredness wasn't likely from the spells he had cast, he had dark circles and bags on his ees that come from several sleepless nights.
She could see the pained look in his eyes, like he was going to break any moment.
"How?" He asked desperately "How on earth can you prove something… that can't be true?" Tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes now.
"My Patronus...I...I can't fake that Harry."
"I don't even know what your Patronus is, how is that proof?"
"What? No one told you? Bloody Dumbledore...I swear one day-" She caught the expression on his faced and stopped.
"Never mind" she mumbled "Just think Harry, a Patronus represents the thing you care for most. And what do I care for most Harry?"
"Dad...?" he said shakily.
"Or you. Exactly...so what form would my Patronus take"
"A...a deer?"
"Expecto Patronum!" she cast, saying the words as if in simple conversation. She was thinking of the memory where she held Harry for the first time, right after he was born.
The silver doe that flew out of her wand was bright as the sun. Such was the strength of emotion the memory evoked. Harry could feel the emotions in the air, his previous conflict banished in the blink of an eye.
How could anything of evil create something so beautiful? A dark witch or wizard would never be able to cast this charm. It just wouldn't be possible. The only alternative was that she was telling the truth...she was his...mom. The look of total serenity on Lily's face served to add to that conviction, her teary eyes misty with happiness.
"It's really me Harry...and I really do love you." she said lightly and for a second her patronus shone even brighter if that was possible
It took him a few seconds to find his voice again
"Mom...Mom?...I...how?" he could barely speak he was in awe. She was here? After just a moment he stopped the flow of questions in his mind. This moment wasn't the time for it. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. As curious as he was, all he cared about was the woman standing in front of him. His Mom...it sounded so impossible to even think.
It was then his legs moved almost without command, and he barreled into her so fast she nearly fell over, engulfing her with a hug to rival that of Molly Weasley.
She was warm to the touch, her soft arms circling him as he started crying into her shoulder. His normal hard demeanor crashed down within moments of realizing the one thing he had wanted all his life was literally wrapped around him.
Lily wasn't fairing much better. He said it..."Mom." Hearing those words come from his mouth made her feel like she was floating on air. The change of expression on his face when he realized she wasn't lying. From anger and desperate to...hope and... love.
The moment she held him in her arms she felt like the weight of the world had been lifted. She did not feel ashamed of the tears that were falling down her face, she just wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back as he cried into her body.
She absent mindedly stroked his hair as he sobbed into her shoulder, whispering reassurance into his ear. She didn't know exactly what she was saying but it had the desired effect. Gradually he managed to calm himself until he was merely hiccupping, though he didn't stop crying.
Her sister was still staring at her, a thoughtful expression on her face. Lily realized she probably didn't know what to make of the situation. The room had gone from a warzone to calm to another warzone to emotional in the space of minutes. Vernon was still stuck to his chair unable to talk or move, glaring daggers at the mother and son reunion taking place in the middle of the now ruined room.
When Harry was finally coherent enough to disengage long enough to look into her eyes, they were ringed red and bloodshot from his emotional outpouring. The normally stoic boy was wearing his emotions for all to see. It was quite a difference from the face he usually let the world see him but for some reason, in front of her, it didn't matter.
Harry raised his hand to lightly touch her face, feeling her soft skin underneath his palm, which she turned her head and kissed lightly. He didn't know what to think anymore.
When he finally found himself able to talk, it wasn't exactly what he expected to come out of his mouth. All the profound or heartfelt things he imagined saying to his parents if he had ever had the opportunity fled his mind. "You look younger than I expected."
She just laughed. It felt musical to him yet so foreign.
"This is the body I died in apparently... I still look 21. For that matter I guess I technically still am 21." She smiled ruefully as she considered that for the first time.
"How is this even possible?" He asked shakily.
"I'll tell you later but right now we need to leave, the Order will be here any minute." She said, determination creeping into her voice.
"Leave?" He parroted, still working to process what was happening.
"You didn't think I came here just to have a go at my sister did you? She's not worth it. And we long ago figured out who would come out on top in that sort of confrontation." Lily smiled a little bit, her voice a bit shaky as well.
Harry blinked a bit, "Is she saying what I think she's saying?" he couldn't help but wonder.
"Now-" Petunia began to interject only to be cut off immediately by Lily in a no-nonsense
"Shut up Tuney! The only reason I won't hex you to hell right now is that Harry might get blamed for it. And even that… is barely holding me back." Lily snarled as she spared her sister a glare.
Lily turned to away from Harry briefly and set her eyes on the whale on the armchair that was Vernon. He was still pinned down by magic, his face purple with rage, but he was unable to do anything but glare. She smiled wickedly and proceeded to sit on one of the arms.
"So sorry Vernon, I forgot you were there. Now that I am sure I have your… undivided attention, let me make this very clear. I am nowhere near finished with you. You see… that reputation you value so much? In a couple of days you are going to get a little visit from child services. There will be no warning, they will just arrive. Apparently there will be...oh I don't know, maybe a report of child abuse perhaps? I still have to sort out the details." Lily looked theatrically thoughtful as she considered it.
After a few moment's consideration, she shrugged and grinned. "Oh well I'll get round to that. They will immediately begin searching the house for Harry. They will be terribly unhappy when they can't find him. Even more unhappy when they look at that lovely cupboard. I wonder what they will make of that. I'm sure they will be quite upset when you tell them you have no clue where he is." She smiled malevolently.
"A pair of guardians that can't tell the authorities where their own nephew is!? I'm pretty sure that might raise some rather significant alarm bells. Don't bother trying to cover your tracks either. You'll find that after I've left you won't remember a thing I've said...or me for that matter. I wonder what kind of a stir that will cause!" Lily kept Vernon fixed with her angry stare for several long moments as he glared impotently.
She turned her smile to Harry, though it softened back to the motherly smile she wore before.
Truth be told, Harry was rather enjoying this. He was never one for violence. He hated it and would never go so far as to maliciously hurt his relatives but this kind of punishment was something his conscience could quite easily stomach. It hit them where it hurt most yet didn't cause them any real harm except to their reputations and maybe even a prison sentence.
But this would mean...
"Go get your things Harry. We're leaving." Lily told Harry
"Where to?" he asked with curiosity, unable to restrain the sound of his excitement.
"Your new home of course." She said in a matter of fact tone, as if it that answer explained itself
"I'm...going to… live with you?" he stammered out. He could barely believe he was escaping the Dursley's.
"What did you think was going to happen? Surely you don't want to stay?"Lily aske
"Of course not! I just...Sirius said that once..." he said trailing off. You could see the pain in his eyes, the grief still there from loosing him so soon after being reunited with him. It was heartbreaking.
"Harry." she said cupping his face in her hands. "I know you miss him. I would be disappointed if you didn't, but this isn't the same. Unlike him, I have somewhere to go, somewhere to hide. We will be completely safe. I'm sure Dumbledore will have his hounds beating bushes everywhere. But no one is going to go out on a limb searching places specifically for me because, let's face it, I'm dead." she said with a smile.
Harry paused wanted to say something, say how scared he was. There was so much he wanted to know. He wanted to ask how it was possible she was even standing there in front of him but he found he couldn't, such was the determined expression on his mother's face. Her eyes bore into his like windows to the soul, vibrant emerald green locked on vibrant emerald green. He had so many questions but no time to ask them. He promised to himself that he would later.
"Go, get your things. Given spells being cast here, and all the monitoring charms Dumbledore had around the place.I'm actually surprised the Order hasn't already arrived."
He didn't need to be told twice. After a moment's hesitation he was gone and running up the stairs and into his room to pack. It was probably the fastest he had done anything in his life, pulling up the loose floorboard to get to all his hidden items he had to hide from the Dursley's and stuffing them in his trunk. It didn't take him very long at all, and try as he might, he couldn't erase the large grin on his face.
Meanwhile, downstairs it was deathly silent. Lily let her eyes wander around the room, and glancing out the different windows, checking and double checking that the Order hadn't arrived. Petunia stood like a statue, saying nothing at all. Vernon kept his glare, except now it was halfhearted, mixed with fear and apprehension from the threat that Lily had given. He was screwed and he knew it.
"Why Petunia? At least tell me why." she said softly, repeating the question she had asked earlier, after a silence that seemed to last forever. It had only been a few minutes since she arrived but it felt like hours. Even the soft way Lily spoke the words, the sound cut through the air like a knife.
Petunia swallowed, a mixture of guilt and sadness on her face. It was not a look she had worn often. In fact she hadn't worn it once since she had been married to that monster she called a husband.
"You left me...the moment you got your letter." She said, bitterness consuming her voice "You and that Severus kid from Spinner's End. We were sisters! We were as close as you get and you left me... for them"
"I didn't leave you Tuney. The moment I was revealed as a witch you belittled me and called me a freak...you hated me!" Lily spat, not willing to let Petunia excuse her actions so easily.
"I didn't hate you. I envied you. I'll admit that maybe it didn't come across that way. I wanted to be you. Why did you have to be so special? We both had the same mother yet you were...one of them and I wasn't. I hated that you left us." Petunia shot back.
"Say the word Petunia it won't kill you." Lily's voice was soft.
Petunia didn't reply, and just looked down in shame. Lily knew she could never forgive her sister for what happened, but knowing why did make things easier for her to bear.
Petunia's voice was softer, but no less bitter as she finally continued. "We grew further and further apart. Each time you came home we were more distant with each other. I'll admit that some that was because of me but still what did you expect? You came home with stories of things we could never see or experience. Half the times we didn't know what you were talking about. Yet whenever you were home, Mom and dad fawned over you and I was ignored. They were so proud of you and your accomplishments! They spared no praise for you! Would you not have been angry? Envious of something you could never be because of some freak quirk of luck or genetics? I hated them. I hated my own parents for ignoring me and it was all your fault!"
"How was it my fault?" Lily demanded, meetingher sister's disgusted scowl with a piercing glare of her own.
"You and your freakishness! You had everything! You were their beautiful daughter! You were their intelligent daughter. Always first in her class, always with rave reviews from professors. All of them FREAK professors, from that FREAK school! Where did that leave me?! I didn't even have the love of my own parents because you were their perfect daughter. You took them away from me. You and your blasted husband. Then that freakishness let you get yourself...blown up!" she stumbled on the last words, since she wasn't sure what had happened, the letter had just informed her that she was killed. Was she killed? Petunia paused and asked herself.
"And I was left with this… boy who looks like him. I have to wake up every day and look at the face that took you away from me, for good and look into the eyes that used to belong to you! How the hell do you expect me to feel? You and your freakishness took everything from me!" Petunia spat with venon.
Lily could see the pain of years of feeling second best in he sister's eyes, but despite knowing what Petunia felt, Lily still couldn't bring herself to feel any pity. Sure, she had been the favorite Lily wouldn't deny that, though she hardly felt that she was to blame. Looking back now, it was painfully obvious to Lily that she got most of her Mom and Dad's attention. It was unfair to a point she knew and Petunia had every right to feel wronged.
However what Petunia didn't seem to process was that she got to see her parents for three months a year. Petunia got to be the sole beneficiary of her parent's attention for 9 months of the year. While Lily only got to talk to them through occasional letters.
The real sticking point though was how Petunia dealt with her jealousy and that was where Lily sympathy ended. She had done the inexcusable. There was no justification. People felt jealousy every day and didn't turn out the way she had.
"I don't agree, but I understand...I think. But you have no right to hate my son for the perceived sins of another! He never did anything to deserve your ire." Lily pointed at Harry as she glared into Petunia's eyes.
"You talk about James taking me away from you? You're the one that refused to attend our wedding when James insisted we invite you!" Lily paused a moment letting that sink into Petunia's brain.
"Yes Petunia, he sent the invitation ] not me. After you washed your hands of me, I really wasn't sure I had any reason to have you at my wedding. But James insisted that nothing was more important than family, so he sent the invitation. Not that you used it or anything. As for my death, I didn't died because I was a witch, I died because there was a war. Muggles and magicals alike were being killed." Lily was trembling slightly in anger as she glared at Petunia
The argument was cut short when Harry literally came running down the stairs with his trunk and Hedwig's cage, a huge smile on his face as if Christmas had come early. He was practically tripping over his own feet to leave.
"Got everything?" Lily asked him. He simply nodded vigorously response.
"You sure? We aren't coming back again" Lily confirmed.
"Don't worry Mom everything's here. All I really have is my school supplies and some clothes anyway." Harry replied.
It annoyed Lily that he had so little to take with him. Once again it struck her, that Harry literally had nothing except his friends. The only thing of monetary value he owned was his broom and it wasn't like he could use it here.. Not only would Vernon and Petunia have a fit, it also broke the statute of secrecy if he was seen...and Lily was certain he would be seen.
Glaring at Petunia, Lily absently waved her wand at the trunk and cage, placing a feather light charm on both. She took a deep breath. All this shouting at Petunia had made her tired. Not physically but emotionally. It just really wasn't worth the effort. Lily doubted that Petunia would ever change and Vernon would definitely never change. Lily firmly believed that Vernon was a vile and pathetic parasite and she was glad that she had decided to cut him off at his knees while she was here. Someone needed to take him down a peg or two and her sister was hardly going to do it.
"Right I think we are ready to leave now. I don't see the point in hanging about. Oh I nearly forgot! Obliviate!" Lily said, pointing her wand at Vernon. His eyes glazed over for a second before he slumped back in his chair, only semi-conscious. With that out the way she turned back to her sister with a cheerful smile, though one that had an edge to it.
"Let me be clear, I don't hate you Tuney, I just hate what you've done. Despite everything, you are still my sister. As much as it pains me to admit it sometimes you are still family so I'm going to give you a chance. You can remain married to that if you want, but if you want out I will do everything I can to help. I doubt your marriage has any love left in it. Don't worry about Dudley, if your marriage broke up I'm pretty sure you would get custody and if he challenges it I will step in and help. I'm offering you a way out Tuney. If you don't want to leave, then don't. I won't force you." She said to her sister, keeping eye contact all the while.
Lily could feel a flicker of doubt in her sister's eyes as she mentioned leaving Vernon. Lily wondered if Petunia wanted out, but was worried about the repercussions. Lily wouldn't mention that if it was her and Vernon tried anything Lily would do everything short of killing him to keep him in line. This was Petunia's life and it was up to Petunia to work up her own courage.
"I'm going to now place you under a charm similar to the one I cast on Vernon-" she held her hand up to stop her sister from interrupting before carrying on. "-I said similar not the same. He's going to forget everything that happened today completely. You on the other hand will remember again in a few hours. This will essentially mean that when our people come, my existence remains a secret still."
This seemed to placate her and she visibly relaxed. Harry stayed quiet through this entire exchange. He was baffled as to why his mother was giving Petunia another chance after all she had done. Then again Petunia was still her sister so it wasn't too surprising. He had heard that his mother was inherently a nice person many times, from anyone that knew her, an angel with red hair. If this was typical for her, then it's possible that what he had heard wasn't too far off.
"Goodbye Petunia. I really do hope you make the right choice. Obliviate tri-hora." The moment Lily spoke the spell, Petunias eyes glazed over and she walked away from Lily into the kitchen. Lily watched her a go a minute and decided that her part had been done now, the rest was up to Petunia. Lily doubted she would ever interact with her again.
If Petunia really wanted to change it was all in her hands. Lily guessed only time could tell now. It was still doubtful that Lily would ever forgive her sister for her transgressions but this was for her benefit only. It would be interesting to see if the human being she once was still existed.
Taking a deep breath and a one last look at the house before them, Lily waved her wand in a wide sweep, fixing all the damage the initial spell fire had caused.All the shrapnel and peeled paint, lept back into the walls and the cracks sealed themselves to look like nothing had even taken place.
"Er... sorry about that" Harry said, looking down slightly embarrassed.
"No need to be sorry! I probably would have done the same. I'm impressed actually, that was some quick spell work." Lily said making him smile.
It felt nice to get a compliment from his mother. Of all the people that were in his life, none of their praise felt as good as it did when it came from the woman in front of him. After all, he had dreamed of that since he was a child."Thanks, I guess." Harry replied, looking down in embarrassment.
"You're not good at taking compliments are you?" she asked sadly, knowing how much an effect living here had had on him.
"Well...er..." He cast about for a response nervously.
"Don't worry we'll soon fix that. Just try not to do this to our new house, ok?" she smirked and Harry nodded with a small albeit chuckle.
It was the first time he'd laughed since she'd set foot in the house. He glanced over at Vernon with a look of concern, though why he was concerned was a mystery to even him.
"He'll be fine. When he wakes up he'll be his usual insufferable self. At least until child services come anyway." Lily said, answering Harry's unasked question.
"You meant that?" Harry asked, a smile stealing across his face.
"Of course I meant it. He's not getting away with anything. He can rot for all I care!" she growled out shooting the nearly unconscious man a glare..
"Let's go now. The Order will be here any minute and I don't really want to be around when that happens. Dumbledore in all his infinite wisdom seems to think it's a good idea to stick you here with people who hate you..." She looked around the house including the practical shrine to Dudley's mere existence.
"He may have been right about you needing protection. He may have also been right that blood ward's tied into a sacrifice might be the strongest protection possible. But I don't entirely agree with him. It's not like the blood wards protected you from what was inside the house was it? Come on let's go." taking a last look around the house she led Harry to the front door.
She knew that the Order were most likely watching right now,so she got her cloak out from her bag and put it on so her face was covered. She briefly wished she thought to do that when she initially came to the front door but then realized it would have just drawn attention. Chances are that as it was, she was simply seen as just another muggle neighbor visiting the Dursley's. Lily was sure she wouldn't have been recognized but the fact she went past the wards would prove she meant no harm on anyone inside.
Before she went outside she gave a reassuring nod to Harry, who seemed to look nervous, fidgeting slightly as he followed her into the hallway.
It was like a dream to him. He almost felt guilty; only a few hours ago he had been sulking over the loss of Sirius and now he was happier than he ever recalled; being escorted out of his personal hell by his mum. It was ethereal...transcendental Even though he knew his mother shouldn'tbe there and this shouldn't be real, he knew it was, just like he knew his name was Harry.
"You ready?" she asked him with a smile
"No...but let's go" he said shakily to which she laughed.
"Come on." she said gesturing to the door "Actually wait!" She quickly waved her wand at his belongings, shrinking them down to a very small size. She walked over to Harry, and seeing what she was going to do, he handed the shrunken trunk and cage over and let Lily place it in her bag. There was no use lugging around a huge trunk and a bird cage even with a feather-lite charm. It was just awkward.
"Ok, we're good to go,come on." she said.
Lily now grasped the handle firmly and pulled, opening the door outside. She squinted as the light from the sun shone over her eyes, its warm heat washing over her face, the gentle breeze caressing it as she took a deep breath in. While her hood protected her face from being seen, the sun still touched her skin and so did the evening breeze.
Suddenly, the world didn't seem such a bad place anymore. It was like a giant weight had been lifted off of her mind today. She could now stop worrying about whether she was going to be a good mother or not and instead just do it. No more anticipation, no more nerves. She was still terrified but now the situation was real and she actually had her son back, her fear was no longer at the forefront of her mind, instead it sat at the background, where it couldn't interfere. She was very much free now.
When her eyes adjusted to the glare of the sun outside, she pulled the hood forward a little, so the sun was now shielded from her eyes..
Taking two steps out the door, she was brought up short abruptly. Standing right in front of her were 6 wizards including Dumbledore pointing wands at the house, casting numerous spells. She couldn't follow what they were saying but she surmised they were trying to get past the wards.
Ah so the Order did arrive earlier...though that's odd, they should be able to just walk through so long as they mean no harm and as infuriating as Dumbledore is sometimes, he's not exactly a dark wizard. she mused.
Her presence was noticed upon her exit of the house but other than a furtive glance, none of the wizards really acknowledged her other than Dumbledore. The others all continued trying to break through the wards, while Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at the stranger.
Great. 10 Galleons says he's going to "reason" with me...You know if I were s Death Eater I seriously doubt "reasoning" would work she thought. She guessed that while the other wizards were probably curious about her, they were busy trying to bring the wards down.
"Greetings" he said in his usual jovial tone. "I must say I'm impressed someone could possible pass the boundaries of this house without breaking the wards. If not for the grave nature of you doing so, I would offer my congratulations on your success."
"I feel I should take that as s complement." she said in as passive tone as possible.
"You should. It takes remarkable skill to do what you have done. Alas I cannot allow you to go any further. I'm intrigued as to how you have used the wards against us, especially given the nature of them...miss?"
"Like I would tell you my name!" she laughed, amused by his boldness "Blood wards are centered on a person and their perceptions. So what you really should be considering is why the blood wards are not allowing you entrance? Why would they be protecting Harry from you? Blood wards are mysterious things." Lily deliberately led him to a conclusion. With her back, the wards were tied into both of them, so it was protecting both of them. However Dumbledore didn't know that. "
Albus was taken aback for a second. She knows about the blood wards? That's supposed to be a closely guarded secret. He knew had to play this carefully. How much else does she know? Why would Harry consider him a threat?
"That they are, though I'm curious as to how you are aware of them, much less able to bypass them so easily." Albus had his wand in his hand and was watching the stranger with open suspicion.
"I have my ways." Lily said mysteriously. She inwardly smiled, enjoying using his own game plan against him. It was one of the most infuriating things about him, the way gave half-truths and non-answers to any question he didn't want to answer. Seeing him on the receiving end was amusing to say the least.
"Of that I'm sure. Where are the Dursley's? I'm surprised they haven't come out already, given their animosity for our kind." Dumbledore said curiously. Indeed he was wondering why he hadn't seen any sign of them since he had arrived. Usually they opened the door to shout at any wizard that so much as came near the house, a reason why many members of the Order that watched over Harry remained hidden from view. Not seeing the Dursley's he feared the worst, though he knew Harry must be alive, seeing as the wards were still active. Dumbledore also wondered why Harry didn't come out to see the commotion that was happening, and wondering now not only how this person had gotten past wards he could no longer get through, but what this person had done to Harry.
"Don't you worry about them, they are currently asleep in the house." She said reassuringly, sensing what the aged man was thinking.
"And Harry-"
"Is right here… sir." said Harry's voice firmly from the doorway. He stepped out behind the figure and gave his headmaster a hard look, unforgiving and cold.
He held the headmaster directly responsible for what happened at the Department Of Mysteries. For a second the Headmaster flinched at the cold look in Harry's eyes. He had taught Tom Riddle after all, and knew that look well. He had to step in before the worst happened.
"Harry my boy it's good to see you, though I wish we could have met again under different circumstances." Dumbledore said. If he could get Harry to cross the ward lines, then they could get Harry away from this mysterious figure.
"Oh… you're talking to me again? I wasn't sure if you were going to go back to pretending I don't exist. Funny how life works, isn't it?" Harry said with a hard edge.
Lily walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder as comfort and support. She leaned down and murmured quietly in his ear. "Relax" she whispered. "Now is not the time to use your anger.. I know he has hurt you, but there is a time and place. Come on, let's go home. I'll even tell you about the last time your father tried to cook." she said with a cheeky laugh and Harry laughed as well..."Oh and be careful not to give away my identity. Dumbledore knowing is the last thing we need. Play his game. Not knowing will drive him insane."
She could tell Harry was going to need her by the expression on his face. There was so many emotions running through him. He did as he instructed though, and calmed down as much as he could. It helped greatly that his Mom had discretely took his hand in hers and was gently rubbing it.
"There is no need to feel alarm Harry." Dumbledore said, his eyes back to being locked on the Lily's cloak shrouded figure.
"Alarm? What do you mean Headmaster?" Harry asked, feigning confusion. Lily had to restrain a laugh at how eerily similar he looked to his father claming innocence after a prank in that moment.
"We won't let her take you anywhere Harry. I promise." Dumbledore responded, his wand fixed on Lily's figure, though unable to get through the blood ward protection at the moment.
"I'm not exactly being coerced into leaving sir. I'm choosing to leave this…. place." Harry replied in an offhand manner. He looked like he was going to go on but his Mom's hand tightened on his again and she leaned down to murmur in his ear.
"Harry be careful how you phrase things. Remember the moment you renounce this place as your home verbally, the wards will fail." Lily whispered. She couldn't wait to get to their house, because the instant Harry called it his home the protection would establish there.
"Right...sorry." he said sheepishly. He could only imagine the disaster that would befall if the wards failed now. If Dumbledore got ahold of him in the moment, he would likely be strapped to a chair and god knows would happen to his Mom.
"No problem, are you ready to go?" Lily replied with a smile. She was happy he could immediately see the consequence of an action.
"Harry I must implore you to see reason! There are wards here that prote-"Dumbledore said frantically but was quickly cut off by an irritable Harry.
"I am well aware of my Mother's blood wards sir. You mention it almost every time you send me back to the Dursley's. I won't be needing them anymore so don't worry." Harry replied.
"But Harry-" he said raising his voice slightly.
"He's more than made his mind up Albus, leave him alone. I wish I could stand here all day and satisfy your undoubted curiosity but we really have to go." Lily snapped. There was no way she was going to let Albus get a chance to manipulate Harry again. Even with her son this angry, Albus had a way of somehow getting what he wanted out of an argument and she wasn't going to give him the chance to get the upper hand.
"Harry you would leave with this stranger just to get away from the Dursley's?" Dumbledore said exasperatedly. Surely it can't be this bad he thought.
It wasn't the first time he had questioned his decision to leave him at the Dursley's but it was certainly the first time he had this questioned it this strongly. Here was a woman he had never seen before, though he couldn't be sure because of her hood. The voice was somewhat familiar but he couldn't place it. And Harry was willing to just leave with her.
Harry snorted, "I would leave with any traveling circus to get a way for the hell of it. At least with her… well… I'm relatively certain she'll call me by my name instead of 'freak' and I'll manage to get three square meals a day. Oh, and she probably won't lock me into a room like your average prisoner… though I guess that's negotiable." he said with a small smirk.
Lily could barely hide a smirk from forming as well. Score one for Harry. He was learning to play the riddle game back at Dumbledore. Respond to questions without ever really responding to questions, just like she just did.
Dumbledore scowled a bit, his confusion showing on his face.
Harry's comfort level with the cloaked woman threw Dumbledore off. This only confirmed his suspicion, he must have seen this person before but who could it be? She seemed to have some kind of connection to Harry but who? He thought he knew everyone that was involved in Harry's life but it appears he was wrong. If the blood wards were allowing her access to Harry, and protecting her from Dumbledore it meant that Harry viewed the woman as more important to him than Dumbledore, and that frightened him.
Shaking his head as if to re-gather his thought, after all it would do him no good to dwell on things during a dire situation such as this, a few seconds later he spoke again. "I'm sorry but I can't let you leave." Dumbledore said, squaring his shoulders.
To the surprise of everyone, even Harry, the cloaked figure nodded amiably in agreement. "Of course you can't Dumbledore." Before the shock could wear off, Lily continued. "I do have one question for you though." Lily asked, her voice still pleasant.
Dumbledore frowned and asked cautiously. "What question is that?"
"What makes you think you can stop us?" Lily asked said confidently, her voice now outright amused, and even causing Harry to grin a bit.
"There are anti-apparition wards and anti-portkey wards set up all around Little Winging. You cannot leave." Dumbledore said, even managing to look apologetic as he did so.
"Well, there is your answer. If the house blood wards are strong enough to keep out the supposed most powerful wizard in Britain and 5 of his lackeys, do you really think the anti-apparition and portkey wards are going to make the slightest bit of difference to us? While we are behind the wards, we are untouchable." She said with triumphant amusement in her voice.
Harry couldn't help but laugh as Dumbledore's face turned white. He looked as if he was a deer caught in the headlights. There was nothing he could do.
"Goodbye Albu!s" sighed Lily before raising her free hand in a sort of salute. Harry, other than giving a short nod, did nothing to acknowledge a goodbye and just held onto his mother's outstretched hand. It was time to leave and begin his new life.
"Harry wai-" Dumbledore shouted in a last ditch attempt to stop him but it was too late. In a flash, Harry and his companion apparated away from Privet Drive, leaving Dumbledore standing there staring into space, as the wards of Privet Drive fell a few seconds later.
What just happened? He thought.
Helena didn't have a very restful night's sleep that night, her mind swimming in new knowledge. It was enough to give her a headache, the constant thrumming of new information and random images flowing through her mind like a wild river, it was nauseating. Every time she tried to lay down and clear her mind, a new thought would pop into her brain, a new experience. It came to a head at around four in the morning when she had been nearing the edge of sleep, and the memory of a conversation her ghost-self had with a few Ravenclaw first year when they got lost flitted through her mind.
This is ridiculous Helena thought. It was getting to the point where she couldn't think properly without something interrupting her. In the battle earlier it was fine, since her mind really had not had time to think, it just reacted. Now that her task was done, the adrenaline that came with yesterday's escapades had worn off, and she was left with more knowledge than she knew how to process.
It was at this moment that she realized that she needed to start practicing Occlumency again. While it was something that came naturally to her as a student, she had never had to use it on this scale before. This wasn't a simple case of organizing the mind and putting up defenses. That was child's play. This was a case of organizing a completely new mind with more information than even Dumbledore could hope to hold. She was like a walking book.
She literally knew everything that had happened in Hogwarts in the past millennia.
Or at least everything that had been taught or talked about at Hogwarts, which in some cases surprisingly wasn't all that impressive. Sure it was a premier school, but in trying to deter the use of the dark arts they had banned almost all information that pertained to it. While this could have been viewed as a good thing in a way, it also left a rather large gap in knowledge that needed to be filled. She knew most of the Dark Arts from her own era but not what it had evolved into. It was one of the first things she intended on looking in to. With the banning of the Dark Arts, there were unfortunately very little teachings for the means for defense against them.
There was quite a bit of irony in the fact that by destroying what they considered "dark" they also eliminated the means to protect from it as well. If it wasn't for the fact that it was costing lives then she was sure she would have found the predicament rather amusing.
Getting out of her hastily built shack, she wandered into the middle of her clearing and crouched down into a relaxed position with her legs crossed.
When she had left the castle the previous night, the first thing she did was travel as far into the Forbidden Forest as she dared and set up a semi-permanent residence. Using magic, she had quickly cut down a small group of trees to create a clearing and shaped the wood so that it could be made into walls. It took barely half an hour for a simple, but spacious lodging to be created from the surrounding trees and another fifteen to conjure a bed and some furnishings. She didn't need much; after all she was from the Middle Ages, and she had survived on far less then.
In the center of the clearing was a small fire where a cooking spit glowed from the heat of the flames below. Behind that was a group of training dummies, ones that she had charmed to look like death eaters. She hadn't tested them out yet, except to make sure that self-fixing charms she used on them were working. She promised herself she would do that when she had had a good night sleep.
Taking a deep breath she stilled her mind, immediately retreating into herself like she had done so many times before. Normally this process would barely take a second but with all that was running through her head, it took much longer achieve that state. She felt herself slowly coming in on herself before she finally made it into her mindscape.
This was what all Occlumens aspired for, to have complete control over the inside of their mind. Occlumency was one of the first things her mother had taught her as a child and perhaps the one thing she would take out of her childhood that helped her most of all.
Since she was the daughter of one of the most powerful witches in history, but also a powerful social figure, she was taught the skill so she could not be used against her mother in any way and so that she could protect herself against any outside influences trying to manipulate her. It also served to improve her memory recall, as her mind was much more organized and memories were easy to grasp. The Ravenclaw family's skill in the art was one of the reasons why they were so brilliant. It was said that once you taught a Ravenclaw something once, the instructions never had to be repeated again, they just knew.
Opening her eyes up within her mind, she gasped at the difference she saw. Her mind took on the guise of a large library, books representing different memories, each bookshelf a different category, each isle a different year. It was remarkably easy to find an individual memory if you knew exactly what you wanted. Even the books on the shelf were ordered in terms of importance. It was impossible to get lost here, at least for her. No doubt if any wizard made it inside, they would find it rather difficult to find what they desired, even if they knew what they were after. It was usually methodized chaos.
What she saw now was just chaos. Somewhere in the distance was the long isles of book shelves she recognized but in her more immediate eye line was piles and piles of books. It was literally a mountain. Leaning down to pick one up she briefly looked at the title on the front
Ravenclaw Common Room 3rd May 1823
Artemis Lovegood talking with Graham Potter
She opened the book and let the memory play out in her mind. That was how it worked. The books were just a representation, at the end of the day it was still a memory. It was nothing of importance, just a conversation about upcoming exams. They didn't even know she was there. No-one ever seemed to if she was honest with herself. The only person in the castle to really talk to her over the last few years was that Luna girl. She was kind, unlike so many before her, even if a little strange. She could see a slight likeness to Artemis, mainly in the eyes and the way his gaze seemed to see right through you, the man in the memory. A distant relative she surmised.
She was a ghost both literally and figuratively, as much in the background as a piece of furniture. Few people ever saw her and the ones that did paid her no mind. She was invisible to the residence of Hogwarts, dismissed like she wasn't important. Maybe she wasn't then. Now she was an information goldmine.
Using intense concentration she used her mind to start cataloguing the books, the memories they held, flashing before her almost too quick to process. Once she had reviewed a memory, it automatically sailed off into the distance in the library to be put into its proper place. It was something she had trained herself to do over the years. It saved a lot of time but where you were looking through a thousand years of memories it was a lifesaver that without, she would never be sane again. It was only now she realized how dangerous what she did could have been. Had she not been someone who knew Occlumency, she would have driven herself insane. She still wasn't sure how sane she would be when she was finished.
She didn't know how long she had spent there sorting through all those years of memories. It could have been days she spent in her own mind and she wouldn't have noticed. She only stopped when she could feel herself growing tired. She at least felt a little more organized, even if she knew that completely Occluding her mind would take weeks. At least now she might be able to get some sleep.
Closing her eyes inside her mindscape she drew herself back out to her body. Looking around she could see a soft glow of light emanating from the skies, signaling the start of the day. She must have been in there hours. Getting up from the ground she could feel her eyes drooping, how tired she was from organizing her mind. The flow of images had stopped for now, but she knew that it was only a temporary respite.
Taking one more look around her, she opened the door to her abode and laid herself down for bed. She was so tired that her head hadn't even touched the pillow before she fell asleep.