Disclaimer: You know the drill – it's not mine. Except for OCs, it's JKR's.

Chapter 4 – Back Home

Nia Lupin jumped slightly as something tapped on her window behind her. Turning to look, she immediately recognized Hedwig, Harry's snowy white owl, and as soon as she opened the window, Hedwig flew in and landed on her shoulder, gently nibbling on Nia's ear while Nia took the letters the owl was carrying. She was desperate to see what the boys had written but she had promised her husband that she would wait for him to arrive home from work, and for the girls to return from school.

After checking the time, she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. Once she had settled herself in her favorite chair, she let her mind drift off into the past, still finding it difficult to believe how differently her life had turned out from the one she had been planning since she had been a young girl.


November 2nd 1981

A knock at the door startled Petunia Dursley, and she hastened to answer it, not wanting the sound to disturb her sleeping husband. On the doorstep stood a man with a long white beard who was clothed in the strangest garb. Immediately realizing what he was, without further ado Petunia ushered him into her front room. She did not want her neighbors gossiping about strange individuals visiting the Dursley household.

Sparing no time for real pleasantries, the strange looking man immediately launched into the reason why he had come to see her. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and, yes, as you've already guessed, I'm a wizard. Perhaps you'd better sit down before I continue as I'm afraid I have grave news."

Without meaning to, Petunia immediately sank into the nearest chair, her legs trembling. Grave news could only mean one thing: something had happened to her sister, Lily.

Her misgivings were immediately confirmed by Albus. "I think I'd better start by saying that your sister was recently badly injured, but she's expected to make a full recovery."

Petunia could not stop the tears that came to her eyes upon hearing the news. Relief was quickly followed by anger after Albus' next words.

"She was attacked by a wizard feared by our kind. Voldemort is, or should I say was, a dark lord who, until recently, terrorized the wizarding world on a regular basis. Unfortunately your sister was hurt defending her home, and her husband, James, was killed."

Now Petunia's tears began in earnest. Even though she had not been fond of James Potter, she knew her sister would be heartbroken at her husband's death. And although her sister had gone into hiding some time ago, Lily refusing to tell Petunia why, Petunia had been delighted to receive a letter from Lily telling her how excited she and James were about the birth of their two boys.

As she thought about her nephews, Petunia was reminded that Albus had not mentioned them. "What about the babies? Are they okay?"

Time seemed to stretch on forever while she waited for Albus' response.

"Both boys survived the attack. However, Jamie sustained some serious injuries, some from Voldemort, and some, I believe, from falling masonry. Harry, however, appears to be doing fine. Jamie is currently being taken care of at St. Mungo's Hospital, where he's being kept with his mother. It's actually Harry who I'm concerned about."

"Why? What's wrong with Harry?" Petunia asked, her fear evident.

Albus allayed her fears. "Nothing's wrong with him, but in case of an accident or death, James and Lily had stated that their friends Alice and Frank Longbottom should take care of Harry. Unfortunately Frank died a few weeks ago, and Alice is in St. Mungo's herself, giving birth."

Despite her dislike of the wizarding world, Petunia felt her heart go out to Alice Longbottom. To have lost her husband when she was about to give birth must have been devastating. A thought occurred to Petunia. "What about Harry's godfather?"

"Sadly Remus Lupin has health issues which preempt him from taking custody of Harry. That is why I've come to you."

Petunia quickly cottoned on to the reason behind Albus' early morning visit. "You mean you want me to take Harry?"

"You're his aunt. Who better?" Albus responded, as if there had been no question about the issue.

Petunia shifted nervously in her seat. If she disliked the wizarding world, then her husband, Vernon, was even worse. It had been he who had made Petunia chose between her sister and her marriage. Having lived all her life with her parents, and then with Vernon after they married, she had panicked that she would have been unable to take care of herself if she was on her own. And she had therefore regretfully picked her marriage. It was a choice she had grown to rue as time had gone by.

This time, however, she decided that she had to make a stand. She had a son of her own now, and she knew what it was like to be a mother, and therefore, in spite of the objections she knew that Vernon would raise, she decided that she would help to take care of Harry until Lily was able to resume her motherly duties. "Fine. I'll take Harry but I can't take Jamie as well. I do have a son of my own you know."

Her response did not seem to bother Albus in the slightest. In fact, his smile grew until he was positively beaming. "That's wonderful. I'll arrange for Harry to be dropped off later today, together with some of his things."

Then, without further conversation, Albus popped out of existence with a small snapping sound.

Petunia barely noticed as her mind raced around the fact that she now had to tell her husband that they were going to be looking after a small child who belonged to her sister. A cry interrupted her musings… Dudley had woken up. Quickly, she hurried off to check on him.


Later that day

A knock at the door signaled Harry's arrival. Just before he was due, Petunia had sat down with Vernon and explained that she would be taking care of Harry until Lily recovered. She had made certain to tell him when she had had Dudley sitting on her lap. Even though Vernon sometimes took his anger out on her, she was well aware that he would never hurt Dudley.

Petunia opened the door to reveal Albus Dumbledore holding a small bundle in his arms.

"As you can see I've brought young Harry with me."

Petunia reached out to take Harry just as he awoke. His big sleep laden green eyes stared at her, and his bottom lip trembled as he uttered the word 'Mama' with a questioning tone.

"Shh, sweetheart, your mama is poorly right now, and I'm going to take care of you until she's well. I'm your Auntie Petunia." Petunia watched as the toddler struggled to assimilate the information she had told him.

"Auntie Pnia," was Harry's jumbled response. "Hungwy, pwease".

Albus interrupted the pair. "Well, I must be getting off. I'll be in touch." With that final comment, Albus enlarged Harry's toys and clothes, which he had been carrying in his pocket, and with a small pop, he disappeared.

Leaving Harry's things where they were, Petunia went into the kitchen with Harry to sort out some food. After dealing with Harry's needs, Petunia headed upstairs to put him down for a nap. She was not really surprised to see a second crib already set up for Harry in the room, but she decided to stick with her original idea, and she popped Harry in with Dudley, both boys immediately snuggling up together.


Two months later

"I'm fed up with you running around after that brat. He isn't even yours." Vernon was growing rather red in the face as he screamed at Petunia, who was changing Harry's nappy.

Petunia defended her decision to take Harry in. "I couldn't say no, Vernon. He's just a baby."

Vernon was unmoved by Harry's plight. "Well, I'm sick of him. I want him gone. Today!"

Petunia felt her heart sink but she gritted her teeth and strengthened her resolve. "No, Vernon, he's staying."

It took Vernon a second or so to realize that Petunia had actually defied him. With a roar, he backhanded her across the face. "I said I want him gone, so do it," Vernon ground out, spraying spittle all over Petunia's face.

Even though she was frightened of what Vernon might do, Petunia stood her ground. "No. I promised I would look after him until Lily was well."

At this point, Vernon lost it totally. He reached out to grab his wife, only to be pushed back into the wall by an invisible barrier. Harry was by now crying bitterly and managed to sputter out, "No hurt, Auntie Pnia."

Suddenly a shabbily dressed man materialized in the middle of the Dursley sitting room, holding a wand in his hand. He immediately realized what had happened as he took in the scene before him.

A grunting noise alerted the newcomer that Vernon Dursley was about to get up again, and so he quickly turned around, pointed his wand at the man, and uttered an incantation which froze Vernon in place.

"Mrs. Dursley," the man then said, turning to Petunia, "I'm Remus Lupin, Harry's godfather. Professor Dumbledore asked me to portkey here when he detected a magical disturbance."

Petunia still had not moved, except to cup her face where Vernon had slapped her. On seeing her actions, Remus gently removed her hand and looked at the rapidly purpling area of her face. "This won't hurt; I'm just going to heal your face, although you'll still need salve for any bruising."

Petunia felt an almost instantaneous relief. "Thank you."

She was rather relieved that Dudley was still sleeping. She had never known anyone sleep so heavily as Dudley, but this time she was grateful for it, particularly as Harry was still crying and needed her.

"What happened?" Remus gently enquired.

Petunia glanced nervously at her frozen husband as she scooped Harry up, soothing him. "He wanted me to get rid of Harry, and I refused. I couldn't do it. He's only a baby. And even if I did want to get rid of him, where would I send him anyway? I don't know how to get hold of anyone from your world. Lily always sent me letters by regular post. She knew Vernon wouldn't like it otherwise."

Albus Dumbledore appeared at that moment, and, just like Remus had done, he had his wand in his hand, and he immediately began to take charge of the situation. Seeing Vernon's furious looking frozen face, he whispered "Consopio". Vernon instantaneously fell asleep and started snoring.

"I suggest we move to the kitchen," Remus said, walking in the direction of what he hoped was the kitchen, explaining the situation to Albus as he did so. "When I arrived, I discovered that Dursley had hit his wife because she refused to get rid of Harry."

Albus looked grave. "Petunia, what do you plan to do?"

Petunia was silent for a moment. "I'm going to ask Vernon to leave. I'm not going to give Harry up, and besides, Vernon is growing more and more violent. I'm afraid of what he'll do if he stays."

Albus looked thoughtful. "I may have a solution to your problem. I was going to visit you tomorrow anyway. Lily has decided that she cannot take care of both Harry and Jamie, and so she has asked me to arrange for alternative care for Harry."

At this point, both Remus and Petunia interrupted Albus with comments of disbelief, which Albus denied. "I'm sorry, but it's true. Unfortunately Harry will have to go to a wizarding children's home until he's able to be taken in by a wizarding family."

"No, you can't do that. I've taken care of him for the last two months and I'll continue to do so." Petunia's eyes were bright with tears and not a little fight.

"Petunia, it's the law in our world. Unless you're the natural parent of a witch or wizard or married to one, you cannot have permanent custody of a wizarding child."

Petunia felt her heart break at Professor Dumbledore's words. She had grown to love Harry as much as her own son, and there was no way she was going to give him up to a home, law or no law.

Albus interrupted her thoughts. "Petunia, given what's happened here today, I'm going to have to take Harry with me when I leave."

Up until now, Remus had remained quiet throughout most of the proceedings. He adored his godson and was willing to do whatever it took to ensure Harry's happiness and safety. However, until today, Albus had refused to tell Remus where he had placed Harry, just that he was safe. Remus would have taken Harry in himself but as a registered werewolf, he was unable to do so by law.

Lost in his thoughts, Remus suddenly became aware that Albus had said something to him, and he glanced over at Petunia, before asking Albus a question. "Albus, do you mind if I speak to Mrs. Dursley alone?"

Albus looked at Remus, as if he was trying to assess what he was going to say. It was at times like this when Remus was glad that he was proficient in Occlumency, a form of mind protection. "Of course not, my boy." Albus then stepped out of the room, taking Harry with him.

Once he had done so, Remus warded the kitchen to prevent Albus from overhearing their conversation, and he turned towards an apprehensive Petunia. "Mrs. Dursley… Petunia, please hear me out before you say anything. Can you do that?"

Hearing the plea in Remus' voice, Petunia nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't know if your sister has told you anything about me, but I have a problem that means I can't take Harry. Please don't be alarmed when I tell you this, but…" Remus halted and took a deep breath. He always found it difficult when he had to share his deepest, darkest secret with anyone. "…I'm a werewolf."

Petunia looked at him in surprise rather than disgust. She had had no idea that werewolves were real, let alone what it meant to be one. "Tell me, please, what this means and why it concerns me."

Remus let out the breath he had been holding. "I was bitten by a werewolf when I was just a child. During the night of the full moon I transform into a terrible monster. It doesn't matter if I know you, I would attack and either kill you, or infect you with the same disease as I carry. That is why I cannot have custody of Harry."

Instead of feeling terror, Petunia just felt sorry for this gentle looking man. She could not imagine what it must have been like to undergo such a thing, especially as a child.

Seeing that Petunia was not about to flee in terror, nor was she looking at him in disgust, Remus decided to continue before he lost his nerve. "As I said, I cannot gain custody of Harry, and, as a Muggle, you cannot retain custody of Harry now that Lily has revoked her parental rights. Tell me, do you want to stay married to Vernon?"

Petunia stared at Remus, trying to figure out where he was going with his line of questioning. Failing, she mutely shook her head.

"Please feel free to refuse my request if you want. Petunia, I want you to marry me."

Petunia felt as though the world had stopped turning, and she had to force herself to concentrate on what Remus was saying.

"If you were to marry me, you'd be able to retain custody of Harry since I would have a partner who could maintain Harry's safety during the full moon, and you'd be married to a wizard."

"Won't the law stop us from doing it?" Petunia asked, given what Remus had just told her about himself.

"No, there's no law to stop a werewolf from marrying or from having their own children, but if Bagnold, our current Minister, gets her way, it may well happen." Remus disliked the current Minister, who had made her views on what were considered 'Dark Creatures' more than clear.

Petunia looked at the man in front of her, a man who was offering her a way of keeping her now much beloved Harry, and she wondered if she could marry a stranger. A thought then occurred to her. "What about the fact that I'm married to Vernon? What will happen? It may take some time for me to get a divorce."

Remus grinned, the smile transforming his features. "Professor Dumbledore can pull strings I can't, and I'm quite certain he can arrange for the dissolution of your marriage far quicker than you can imagine."

Petunia looked out into the sitting room at the overweight, overbearing man who lay snoring on the floor, at Professor Dumbledore who was currently playing with Harry, and then she looked back at the man who wanted to become her husband, before she quietly said, "Yes".


Two weeks later

Petunia looked down at her left hand at the new wedding ring that adorned her finger. Professor Dumbledore had looked more than satisfied when she and Remus had announced that they were going to get married and had asked for his help.

Within a week, Petunia had been a divorced woman and Vernon had moved out of the house, which Petunia had kept as her parents had provided most of the money to pay for it when Petunia and Vernon had gotten married. When her parents had died, the inheritance they had left had paid off what remained owing on the house.

Petunia and Remus' wedding had been arranged for a week after the divorce, and, in order to be able to adopt Harry, it was to be a wizarding wedding. Apart from Albus, Harry, Dudley, and two witnesses from the Ministry, no-one else was to attend the wedding. Remus had explained that unfortunately none of his school friends were able to be there: his one friend was dead, the other was in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, and the third one was no longer speaking to him.

Albus officiated over the wedding, although the actual wedding ceremony had not seemed any different to Petunia from a Muggle wedding, except for the fact that a magical ribbon had appeared at the end of the vows and had momentarily bound her and Remus' hands together before vanishing. The wedding night, however, had different connotations to a Muggle one. Under wizarding law, the couple had to consummate the marriage within twenty-four hours of the ceremony to make it legally binding. To give the couple some space, Albus had arranged for Harry and Dudley to be taken care of by a wizarding family.

Now the night was upon her, Petunia half wished her children were there so that she would have someone else to concentrate on other than just Remus, as she was horribly nervous about what lay ahead. She visibly jumped when Remus stepped into the sitting room, carrying a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"I thought you might like a drink," Remus said, as he passed a glass of the champagne to Petunia.

She quickly downed it and held the glass out for another. Remus smiled inwardly and refilled it.

"I'm sorry, but I feel really nervous. I know you didn't marry me for love, and that you did it for Harry, and I'm sorry that you're in this position."

Remus stopped Petunia's babbling by reaching to take her glass away, placing it on the table and gently kissing her. He could feel her shaking, and he decided to try and make her feel more comfortable. "Look, Petunia, I can see you're nervous, so why don't we just sit down and talk for a while? We haven't really had much chance to get to know each other, so let's relax and simply just converse."

Remus' gentle smile, together with his kiss, had totally disarmed Petunia, who sat down wearing a smile of her own, and she picked her glass back up, this time just sipping out of it as she relaxed slightly.

By the time Remus picked up a third bottle of champagne and the glasses in one hand, and grabbed Petunia's hand with the other to lead her upstairs, Petunia was more than a little tipsy. On her arrival in the bedroom, which had been redecorated and refurnished after Vernon had left, Petunia excused herself to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

Looking in the mirror hanging on the bathroom wall, Petunia saw a thin, slightly red-faced blonde looking back at her. She had allowed herself to get too thin she decided. After freshening up, she quickly changed into a negligee and robe and headed back into the bedroom, her heart pounding so hard that she was surprised that the neighbors could not hear it.

Remus had taken the time to use the guest bathroom and was already sitting in bed waiting for her. Petunia felt her mouth dry up, and she could not help but stare at Remus' partially sheet covered body. His chest, which was bare, was covered with a light smattering of hair and what looked like a few old scars. She had expected him to be wearing nightclothes, like Vernon used to.

Her nervousness reignited, pushing aside the feeling of alcoholic euphoria, and she turned to flee, only to find Remus had reached across the bed and grabbed her hand.

"Petunia, I won't hurt you. Please, take off your robe and sit in bed with me. We can just talk some more if you want. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

Petunia found herself near to tears as she removed her robe. "You must think me really silly, panicking like a schoolgirl."

Remus shook his head, smiled, and gently pulled her under the covers with him, drawing her up close to his side so that she lay upright, nestled in the crook of his arm. With his free hand, he reached across and picked up a glass of champagne, which he passed to her. No longer feeling threatened, Petunia gratefully took the glass and relaxed.

By the time the bottle was empty, Remus had maneuvered the situation so that Petunia was now lying down next to him. As Petunia finished the last mouthful of her champagne, Remus took her empty glass away and placed it on the side table, before turning back to Petunia and initiating a gentle kiss. He could feel her trembling slightly, but not as badly as she had been earlier that evening.

Feeling her resistance give way, Remus slid his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss. He then pulled Petunia even closer to him, and he felt her start as she realized that her negligee had disappeared, her alcohol befuddled mind having missed Remus' quietly spoken spell when he had been dealing with the champagne glass' removal. Realizing that she was about to panic, Remus broke off the kiss and murmured soft words of reassurance to her.

"Nia, it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you, just relax."

His tone, rather than his words broke through Petunia's panic fogged mind and she once again relaxed against him. These were the last words spoken between either of them again that night. Remus was as good as his word and was extremely gentle with her, waiting until she ready before he slid into her, taking his time until he finally completed their union. As he did so, they were surrounded by a gentle white light, which did not dissipate until the couple had fallen asleep.