A/N: We have a kid for the week no updates til Saturday. x.x Sorry

Chapter 4

Sunshine beat down on the trio as they approached the house at number four Privet Drive. Asphalt radiated heat up through the soles of their shoes as they made their way up the road. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted the deep chocolate brown door of his childhood home swing open and violently slam against the stone wall.

Petunia Dursley burst through the doorframe in a flurry of rage. Reddened cheeks and a craned neck showed her displeasure at the situation she'd just left. Much to Harry's dismay, she saw the group across the street and ignored her car in favor of approaching the young man she once begrudgingly called 'nephew'. "I hope you're happy." The woman spat towards Harry. "Your disgusting magic has infected my Duddykins' brain and now he's trying to convince me to apologize to you! You little… cretin, you freak! You deserved everything that we ever threw your way, you taunted us and terrorized us with your abilities- you brought it all on yourself!" A crack sounded as her thin hand came seemingly from nowhere and struck Harry's face. The long nails scratched across his cheek and left red welts in their wake. Furiously the woman clenched her hands into fists at her side, stomped her foot, and left for her car.

"I feel the urge to crucio a muggle." Draco murmured as he gripped his wand tight.

Steadily, Harry's slightly tanned hand reached out to still Draco's wand and the Boy-Who-Lived shook his head. "She's not worth it- that was nothing." He told the young blonde. Apprehension beaded in the form of sweat on Harry's brow as the group approached the now-closed door of number four Privet Drive. Lightly the young man rapped upon the door.

"Don't come back until you'll apologize, I said!" Dudley's gruff voice shouted out.

With a small smirk on his face, Harry shook his head. "Dudley, it's me!"

Footsteps thundered as Dudley clamored down the stairs and the door swung open again. "Harry! Holy crap, that was fast. I sent that letter yesterday." Blonde brows furrowed as Dudley looked towards the others that had come alongside Harry. "Oh er, I didn't realize you'd be bringing company… Uhm, come in I guess?" As the group made their way inside, Dudley peeked his head back out to ensure his mother's car was gone. Hastily he locked the door behind them with a click. "Um, about that notebook- look I'm really sorry, I know it was an invasion of privacy, but I kind of… sort of… read it." Dudley admitted as he led them to the kitchen and pulled the notebook from its place inside of a small basket on a decorative shelving unit. "I wanted to try to connect to you, to learn about what I'd missed out on all those years terrorizing you."

Calloused thumbs slid across the cold plastic of the outer cover as Harry groaned. "My journal… how much did you read?" Panic flashed over his face and he brought the notebook to his chest.

"All of it." Dudley answered as his gaze dropped to the black and white tiled floor. In a flash the young man peered back up to Harry. "But I didn't tell mum anything- and I think it's okay that you're bi."

Draco's eyes widened as he peered towards the young savior. "You're bi?"

A tinge of red crossed Harry's face as he buried it into his hands. "Thanks Dudley."

Quietly Severus raised an eyebrow towards Draco. "The boy's sexuality… is not up for discussion… unless he brings it up." His tone of voice told them to drop it and move on.

Relief sounded in Harry's sigh and the young man leaned back in his chair as he glanced towards Dudley. "Alright, tell me about what was in the attic."

The tone shifted as Dudley's face went bleak. "Oh that…" Wood squeaked as Dudley pushed his chair back and stood. The young man disappeared into the hallway and came back soon after with an old and worn folded parchment in his hands. He placed it onto the table. "At first I thought it was a map, but when I opened it, I saw a bunch of old people, and Mum and Aunt Lily. Then when I touched mum's face on it, you and I appeared. It's a family tree for mum's side of the family, but here's the weird thing. I know from you that a muggle is a non-magical person, but I'm not sure what a squib is, and it says that Mummy, Grammy, and Grandpa are all squibs. It also said that Aunt Lily, you, and James Potter are witches and wizards. Says Daddy was a muggle too. But for me, it said I'm a half wizard, half squib?" A deep frown encompassed Dudley's face as he looked towards the group for answers. "I've never done anything magic though… so I think it's wrong."

"That's impossible." Severus stated as he snatched the parchment and flipped it open. "No human can be… half wizard and half squib… they're one or- ahh." Sure enough the parchment had a picture of Dudley and beneath it read his name and 'Squib/Wizard'. "You're borderline… You are for all intents and purposes… a squib in nature… however if something traumatic were to happen… it would bring out your magic."

Bright blue eyes looked up to the man as Dudley took in all that he'd been told. In a matter moments his mind was brimming with possibility. "So this means I can do magic if it's forced out of me? Wait, why do you talk like that?" His eyes trailed to meet Severus'.

Snape's glance turned to a glare and Harry stepped in to answer. "He was attacked by Voldemort's snake, and after I killed Voldemort I went back and dragged him to hospital. Nagini bit into his throat, it's still healing, and he's supposed to keep talking to build the muscles back up."

Between the open mouth, the bugged eyes, and suddenly slumped shoulders of Dudley, it was clear to see the young man was shocked. "You mean you- you actually… you murdered someone?"

"No, no, no!" Draco said as he shook his head and waved his hands. "Potter didn't murder anybody. He saved us. He saved the muggles too, even though they don't know it. Potter probably saved the whole world now that I think about."

Quick glimpses from Harry to Draco left Dudley somewhat dizzy. "W-What happened?!" A thunk sounded off as Dudley's hands fell against the table. "I'd think killing somebody counts as murder."

Joints popped as Harry stretched to regain his comfort. "Alright, quick rundown. The night my parents died, they were killed by a man named Voldemort. He tried to kill me and he failed, which is where I got the scar." The young man's nimble fingers reached out to brush his bangs to the side. "When he failed, the spell he tried to kill me with rebounded and hit him, which killed him. Well the thing was, nobody had ever survived that spell before, in thousands of years of written history, in the history of ever, but I did. That made me the Boy-Who-Lived, fabled baby defeater of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Fast forward, I turn 11, get my letter, go to Hogwarts, Voldemort comes back. Several times. He had horcruxes which allowed him to return from the dead over and over. A little piece of his soul stayed behind with those horcruxes and when one of his loyal followers would piece him back together with that horcrux, he returned from the dead. We fought, me and Ron and Hermione destroyed his horcruxes, there was a giant bloody battle where he tried to take over the school, and then I killed him. Now I killed him because of what he was trying to do."

Draco raised a finger and leaned his head inward. "The Dark Lord wanted to destroy all muggles, or non-magical folk. He wanted everyone without magic to die, as well as every muggle-born witch or wizard, every squib, and basically everyone who wasn't 'pureblooded' witch or wizard. He was going to literally systematically kill everyone except for a select few that he deemed worthy. Harry saved everyone from that when he killed Voldemort. Harry is literallya living savior of all non-magical humankind, and all magical kind born to non-magical families."

A scoff came from Harry as his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah and the thanks I get for it is being completely unable to shop or even walk down the bloody sidewalk in wizarding London without people screaming at me to marry them, have their babies, and trying to convince me that they're my long lost third cousin twice removed on my uncle Potter's side."

Solemn nods came from Draco and Severus, and the young blonde hmm'd with a shrug of his shoulders. "Literally every active witch and wizard alive in the entire world knows his name. He's so famous he had a book made about him during what was supposed to be his seventh year at Hogwarts when he was out hunting horcruxes. That book goes into Hogwarts curriculum this coming year. Plus everybody and their brother is willing their estates, fortunes, and collections to him for saving everybody."

Blue eyes sparkled as a small smile formed on Dudley's face. "Wicked." A whisper came from the young man. "So it's not technically cold blooded murder, but hero murder."

A black eyebrow twitched as Harry glared towards his cousin. "Please stop calling it murder. Voldemort murdered people, he took defenseless people down because it amused him, he tortured innocent souls, he killed children, he had his followers do some horrible, gruesome things to his muggle prisoners before he ripped them from limb to limb. What I did was not murder- I put a tyrant down."

The rustle of fabric as Dudley shrugged then lean back in his chair broke the silence. "Well I'm sorry to say, but killing someone is murder, even if you're doing it for the right reasons to stop other murders. Intentional taking of life is still intentional taking of life no matter the circumstances. So yah, you murdered someone."

Harry's gaze seemed to pierce through Dudley's core. Hisses and groans emerged from Severus and Draco as they clutched their arms. The younger yelped and slammed his arm against the table as his head lowered. "Stop it, Harry!"

Sharp gasps came from both Harry and Dudley as the young savior realized what he'd done. As his gaze and anger broke, the ex-Death Eaters' bodies relaxed some. "Sorry…" He muttered.

"Wh-What did you do?" Dudley asked as he leaned away.

With a sigh, Harry propped his dry elbows onto the table and brushed his fingers through his hair. "Er, it was an accident." The young man said before he righted himself and cleared his throat. "Okay so when I killed Voldemort I accidentally somehow managed to absorb all his magic. What was supposed to happen was that he would die and the Dark Marks on his followers, or spies as Severus and Draco were, would disappear, and my parseltongue would disappear- at least that's what Dumbledore had me believe. Instead what happened was now when I get mad, or have any strong emotion really, it makes everyone who had a mark feel it, and I still have parseltongue so I still talk to snakes."

Interest was soon captured once more as Dudley shifted back to a more comfortable position. "So that explains the zoo trip on my 11th birthday." The young man whispered. "Wait, what kind of mark?"

The young blonde slipped his sleeve up to reveal his own mark. "It's like a tattoo but it's magic and usually it just burned, but lately with Potter's range of emotions it's burned, tickled, and just now made the muscle scrunch up." He explained.

Blue eyes widened as Dudley began to bounce in his seat. "Guys, guys! I saw someone with that before!" A pudgy finger pointed towards Draco's mark. "There was some guy, really tall, blonde, long hair, had a cane, and he was dressed really well, like wow. But his shirt sleeves were rolled up and he was digging around the neighbor's shrubs and I remember looking at his arm and thinking 'cool tattoo'."

"Father…" Draco managed before he gulped and dropped his arm to the table. Blonde locks flung to the side as Draco looked intensely towards Dudley. "Did he say anything?"

With a shrug, Dudley shook his head. "Only muttered about finding and squashing bugs. I thought he was loony."

In a flash the three wizards were out of their chairs. Harry grabbed onto Dudley as Draco repeated a new mantra. "We need to leave, we need to leave."

Harry stuck his arm out for Severus and Draco to grab hold of, but before he could apparate out, a loud crack sounded as someone apparated in.

Dudley jumped back and he returned Harry's tight grip as he came face to face with the crooked wand of a very angry woman with long, curly black hair. Her black robes were covered in dirt and bits of grass. "I told you he was here." Yellowed teeth showed through her cruel smile. Delirious laughter erupted from her throat but cut off a few seconds later. "Let's kill them, Lucius."

The blonde man's black wand stayed locked on Harry and he ignored his sister-in-law's request. "Draco, I see you've taken to helping the enemy again."

"The only enemy here is you." Draco spat as his weight shifted onto his right leg and he placed himself between his father and Snape.

Green eyes glinted as a smile formed on Harry's face as he realized that they wouldn't have known of his new abilities. Soon his smile faded as he cleared his throat. "Alright, listen." The young man said as he slowly bent over and placed his wand onto the ground. He kicked it off behind him to show the Death Eaters that he was now rendered unarmed. "You want me, right?" His palms each faced one of them but tension rose as both of their wands pointed to him. "Here, take me." He offered his hands to them.

Lucius moved his wand back to face Dudley as Bellatrix focused hers on Harry's head. "Mmm," Elegant pale fingers slipped up to stroke his chin as Lucius considered the options. "Or, we could kill them, make you watch, and kill you after we've ripped all the skin from your body and forced you to eat it."

As his mind sped to see his options, Harry heaved a sigh. "Alright, no more games, fuck off." Red bolts of light erupted from Harry's palms as he shoved his hands at the assailants. The lightning-like magic engulfed the two and screams of pure agony erupted from their throats. With his left hand still stuck in delivering the painful blow to both of them, Harry moved his right hand and silently summoned their wands.

Ungraciously the Death Eaters fell to the ground with a loud thunk and Harry released them from the blood-boiling, bone-crushing, anguish that was the Cruciatus curse. "I'm going to let you live." Harry told them as he levitated their wands a few inches above his hand. Splinters flew as his hand clenched into a fist and the wands fell victim to the Reductor curse. "But know this- I siphoned your precious leader's magic, and now I have double the core and double the power which makes wordless wandless magic a breeze."

"And apparently half the morals." Draco's eyebrows rose as he whispered to Severus. His voice stayed low enough to keep unheard from the savior in question.

"So if you ever come at me, my family, or my friends again-" Harry continued as he strolled towards the back to grab his wand. "-know that next time, I won't be so generous. Oh and, enjoy Azkaban." His arm extended as the young man pointed his wand towards the two. "Petrificus Totalus."

As Harry turned around to ensure the rest of his group had stayed safe during his exchange, Dudley backed up by a step. His lip drew into his mouth and he chewed on it. "What's Azkaban?" Thoughts of magical torture entered his mind.

Limp hands fell to Harry's side as the young man realized that he'd scared his cousin. Quickly he glanced away. "Er, it's wizard jail." He explained as he looked back down towards the stiff Death Eaters. "Come on." Harry nudged his head towards the two. "Draco, you get Bella, I'll get Lucius, Snape, you get Dudley. We're going to the Ministry and turning them in."

A loud groan echoed through a small room at the Ministry of Magic as Draco slammed his wrist into the arm of his metal chair. His cufflink clanked against the arm of the chair and left a scratch. "I already told you, they apparated into the kitchen, they took us all by surprise!" Draco yelled.

"You tipped them off then, Mr. Malfoy." A tall woman said as she walked around the table calmly. "He was your father, and you can't honestly expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with this."

Light filtered into the room as the door to the hallway swung open. Harry stood there as his splayed fingers clenched onto the slick metal door. "What the hell is taking so long? We came to drop off the bad guys, we dropped off the bad guys, and you called 'routine questioning' about the events. You've had an hour, this has gone well beyond 'routine'."

A stout man in the corner walked up to Harry and blocked his view of the auror who had questioned Draco. "Mr. Potter, you need to leave. We're doing our job and you're interfering." He warned.

Black eyebrows raised upward and Harry's hand gently moved to his own chest as he took a step back. "Oh, I'm interfering. Well, why don't I just go ask Kingsley what he thinks about a prime witness of his good friend's attempted murder being interrogated like a common criminal?" His upper lip curled as he watched the aurors' faces drop. "Oh yeh, forget that little bit of info did ya? Kingsley and I have known each other for 3 years. We've worked side by side defeating those bloody Death Eaters that you lot just couldn't seem to handle. It was his idea in the first place that brought Draco Malfoy in to be a spy against VOLDEMORT!"

Briskly Draco stood and slammed his palms against the table. "Yeah! Go get Shacklebolt! Tell him these assholes think I told my father where we were!"

"That-" Harry said as he pointed a finger towards the irate young blonde. "-is beyond ridiculous. Draco didn't even know where we were going, and when we were there, he never drew his wand to cast a patronus, he never used the fireplace- which I might add was a muggle fireplace incapable of a floo call, and he never sent a letter. Want proof?" The young man pulled his wand and put it to his own temple with an incantation. His head arched to the side and away from the wand. A groan escaped his mouth as a silvery liquid-like strand was pulled from his skin. Swiftly it fell into his hand and Harry offered his memory of the attack to the aurors. "Stick this in your pensive and watch it."

After they reviewed the evidence presented and Harry snuck off to get Shacklebolt involved, the aurors were forced to drop the interrogation. When Harry and Draco met back up with Severus and Dudley outside, the young savior pulled his cousin to the side. "Fair warning, people are gonna recognize me and start babbling at me, but I'm getting you to Flourish and Blotts."

As had been predicted stragglers came up to thank Harry, to congratulate him, and to shake his hand or touch him in some way. One woman threw herself to his feet and begged him to marry her daughter. Harry slipped his foot away from her and snatched onto Dudley before they jogged towards the bookstore.

Out of nowhere a man popped up and blocked Harry's trek. "Oh Mr. Potter, it's so good to see you!" He said as he took hold of Harry's hand and shook it furiously. "Listen, my son is having a Bar Mitzvah this weekend and I was wondering if you would come talk to him for me."

"No." Harry said apologetically as he tried to pull away and get to the store.

The man's grip on his hand was tight and he pulled Harry back. "Oh, well then could you at least come by tomorrow? My wife's just given birth and we'd love to have you christen our baby girl!" The man tried.

A low growl escaped Harry's throat and he yanked his hand away. "Listen, Sir-"

"Please just come home with me!" The man begged as he fell to his knees and grasped tightly onto Harry's shirttails. "You don't understand what it'd mean to me! I'll pay you, I'll give you my eldest daughter's hand in marriage!"

With a swift kick, Harry knocked the man off of him then grabbed onto Dudley and ran for Flourish and Blotts. Severus and Draco came up behind him soon after and once they'd all entered, Draco locked the door behind them.

Furious footsteps sounded off as the cashier walked from behind the counter to cut off the perceived troublemakers. As Harry's face came into view, the woman's own fury settled and her face softened. "Oh, Mr. Potter. Another rough trip I presume?" She asked as she pulled down the shades on the glass window set into the door so people couldn't peek in.

The relief was audible in Harry's sigh as he nodded. "Yes, Irma. We need a book you may or may not have- one that tells us how to pull the magic out of a- what'd you call it?" He asked with a glance back to Snape.

"Borderline Squib." Severus supplied with a nod to the cashier. "Afternoon, Irma."

With a nod, Harry looked back to the woman. "We need to pull the magic from a borderline squib without traumatizing him into it."

Pearly white teeth glistened as the woman headed for the back. "I know just what you need Mr. Potter- we don't carry it on the public shelves but we keep it around in case someone asks for it, like several of our more precious and controversial volumes." She called back as her slender fingers brushed the dust from the spine of a book on a lonely shelf in the back room. She emerged shortly after with an old tome that she blew the filth from and handed it to him. "That'll be 9 galleons and 4 sickles."

Jingles of coins came as Harry tugged his coin-pouch up to the counter. He dug out 10 galleons and told her to keep the change. The leather binding of the book was cool to the touch and Harry smiled as he took it. "Thanks Irma." He said with a nod before the young man looked to Severus. "Let's apparate back to the manor, I don't feel like putting up with crowds anymore."