Chapter Four: Visits
The next change in the uneasy arrangements in the Dursley household came with a visit from Marge. She had agreed to postpone her usual Christmas visit upon the news that her brother and sister-in-law needed to deal with a...problem that had occurred. However, Marge insisted that she visited the Dursleys for Vernon's birthday in March, and there was no way that Vernon could arrange to meet her outside the house, because, as Marge put it during a telephone conversation, "I haven't seen my Dudders in months!" She was also rather eager to introduce Vernon to one of her new dogs, an encounter that Vernon was not looking forward to...he wasn't that fond of dogs anyway.
Marge's arrival brought a flurry of activity to the Dursley house. Petunia refused to let Marge know that anything was out of place, that there was somebody abnormal in the house. Her nephew's unusualness would not be revealed to anyone, Petunia hoped, ever. The freakishness that had killed Lily, Petunia decided, would not destroy her perfect family, her normal family.
By the time Marge arrived, the house looked as if it were brand new, and Petunia had an excellent meal planned for lunch. At a quarter to ten in the morning, Vernon left the house to collect Marge from the station, and returned, with Marge and her dog, at seventeen minutes past ten. The weather was dismal and the roads chock-a-block with traffic. Petunia was nervous, Vernon returned grumpier than when he left and Marge was thrilled to see Dudley. Then she saw the little boy sat as far away from Dudley as the Dursley's living room allowed. She stopped. She stared. "Vernon, who's the runt? I hadn't thought that you'd give in to...charity cases."
"Marge, this Petunia's nephew, Harry. His parents died in an unfortunate accident. We're his only relatives and we've had no one to contact to get rid of him."
"What do you mean 'no one to contact'? It sounds like he landed on the doorstep in the middle of the night."
Vernon laughed nervously, "Funny you should say that, Marge, because a few weeks before Christmas, he just appeared...we had no idea what to do."
"You should have sent him to the orphanage! You should have called the police! What kind of weirdo leaves a baby on a doorstep in the middle of the night with no warning for the poor souls inside? You should have taken him to the orphanage as soon as you realised! Honestly, Vernon, what were you thinking? I thought you had more sense!" Marge was outraged that her brother would take in a baby left on his doorstep. It was outrageous.
Petunia heard all of this and said nothing. She had never agreed with taking the boy to an orphanage and normal families didn't call the police because of a baby. The boy was her nephew and she owed it to Lily to look after him, but Marge hadn't seemed to register that it wasn't Vernon's decision, because the boy wasn't related to Vernon, but to Petunia. Yes, Dumbledore's letter had been to both of them, but the way he'd written had meaning to Petunia. It made her think of the letters she had written to him all those years ago because she'd wanted to go to that school, to be like Lily, to be admired by her parents. It had taken her a long time to realise that Lily had been a freak, that Lily, her sister could never be a part of her life as Marge was a part of Vernon's life. They'd just drifted apart and now Lily was dead. All that was left was her nephew. Marge had no right to say that he should have gone to an orphanage.
"Marge, would you like a cup of tea or coffee?" Petunia asked the traditional, polite questions that were required of a hostess. "Tea, please, Petunia. Do you have any of the fruitcake that you had for my visit the other Christmas?" At Petunia's nod that yes, there was fruit cake, Marge requested a large slice and took a seat by the window. Vernon followed suit after asking for coffee and a slice of cake. Petunia went through to make the tea and coffee, and get the fruit cake.
When she returned, Marge was commending Dudley, "He'll grow up into a fine man, Vernon. Just make sure you raise him right." Vernon agreed, and commented on Dudley's powerful lungs and his knowledge of language. "He knows the right words that he'll need for the next few years."
"WANT!" Dudley yelled, seeing the boy playing with some toys. After a brief tussle, Dudley emerged triumphant with the toy, threw it aside and returned to the toy he'd been playing with before. The other boy moved further away from his companion and bobbed his head in time to music that wasn't there. Marge laughed at the commotion, "Runt knows his place, doesn't he?" There were nods of agreement as the refreshments were handed round, with a grunt of thanks from Vernon and Marge saying that Petunia really spoiled them.
"So, Marge, how have the dogs been?" Petunia asked, making conversation.
"They're doing fine. I suspect there'll be some good dogs in the next few years. Colonel Fubster's looking after them at the moment, but I really must leave this afternoon. I can't bear to leave them, you know that Vernon." Vernon mumbled his comprehension, annoyed at being nothing more than a chauffeur on his birthday.
"That's good, then. What's the dog you brought with you called?" Petunia asked, looking at the pitbull that seemed to be eyeing the cake up as if it were something it wanted. "Ripper. He's still young, but I do rather like him. Reminds me of someone I met once. Can't remember who, so don't ask. Ripper's a good dog, aren't you boy?" Marge then poured some of her tea into the saucer and gave it to Ripper. Petunia began to despair at the state her carpet would be in tomorrow.
The rest of the morning passed in a similar fashion, with small talk making up most of the conversation. At various points, Marge pointed out the impropriety of taking in the boy, "What if he's not your nephew?" was asked about five times before lunch.
Lunch passed in a blur for Petunia, who had fed Dudley and her nephew before the adults ate their lunch, but the toddlers remained, so that there were no...accidents. Marge talked loudly throughout the meal and complimented the "wonderful nosh" a number of times. She ate a great deal, almost as much as Vernon, while Petunia found that she was lacking an appetite, possibly because Marge asked for a second plate and gave Ripper some of what she was eating. Petunia found it quite off-putting.
After lunch, Marge seemed to have decided to ignore the dark haired boy and pressed a present into Vernon's hands with the words "No time like the present. I want to see you open it Vernon." The present turned out to be a vase, much like one that Petunia herself had given to Lily the Christmas before she died, which she promised to put flowers in at the earliest opportunity. While Marge was at the toilet, Vernon wondered why he had been given a vase because "I don't even like flowers. Stupid things, they need changing and I have better things to do with my time." Petunia had her own suspicions about the origins of the vase.
There was more talk, what school they were thinking about for Dudley, when he would start, how Petunia thought he would do, and other boring questions. More tea, coffee and cake was served, more tea was given to Ripper and more was spilt on the carpet. At a five o'clock, Dudley switched the television on, resulting in a round of applause from everyone. The TV programme was some cartoon, which played quietly in the background until Marge realised the time. She needed to go to the station to get back to her dogs. Vernon suggested that she stay the night, but she insisted that she needed to leave. "Fubster's waiting for me to get back and I can't leave the dogs for long, Vernon, you know that." Vernon and Marge piled into the car, with Ripper in the back seat, and left for the station.
When Vernon returned, both he and Petunia sat in front of the television, watching the news, hoping that there was nothing stressful happening that would affect them. After an hour, and after Dudley and the boy were in bed, Vernon turned to Petunia and said, "Marge was right. We could have left the boy in an orphanage or called the police. Claimed there was a mistake. It could still be some prank."
"Vernon, was the state of the living room not enough for you? I told you about my sister. It's not my fault she died and left us with her son. And I know he's hers because of the eyes. You met Lily twice. She was my sister. I think I know what she looked like." Petunia was sharp, annoyed that Vernon was having second thoughts. "And, Vernon, we can't change our minds. He'll know if the boy leaves, I promise you. And then he'll turn up on the doorstep in daylight and the neighbours will never stop talking. We're the boys guardians now, we can't change that."