Chapter Seven: Learning

The following days became a pattern. Breakfast was on the sideboard by eight, and those not up in time fended for themselves. Dobby and Winky had shown up, and Dobby had joyfully told Harry how desperately he wished to serve. Harry had given the two of them free reign under the supervision of Molly. Molly was thrilled, never having had a house elf before. Hermione pursed her lips with disapproval, but held her tongue.

They'd fully explored the house, helped Bill with his investigation of the protective spells around the house and grounds, and played endless games of Wizard's Chess in the library while Hermione inspected the book collection.

Harry's aunt appeared at mealtimes, was quiet and restrained, and disappeared between times. Harry was perfectly happy with this arrangement.

One evening, after dinner, Harry was standing in the den gazing at the portrait of his parents when his eye was caught by a movement in the doorway. It was his aunt.

"Were you there?" he asked suddenly, surprising himself, and turning his green gaze on her.

She looked startled, she'd been looking at the portrait herself and Harry got the impression that she hadn't been aware of his presence.

"Yes."

"Uncle Vernon?"

"No. He wouldn't come."

"Yet you went."

"She was my sister."

Harry said nothing, his eyes not leaving hers. She flushed.

"You have her eyes," she said, a bit of her old bitterness back in her voice.

"So I've been told."

"Just the eyes. Not the expression in them. Lily's eyes were always happy."

Harry looked back at the portrait, to his mother's bright green eyes.

"I haven't had much to be happy about."

It was Petunia's turn to be silent, but only for a moment.

"You resemble your father. You're much more a Potter than ever you were an Evans."

"Perhaps that is for the best."

"Perhaps," she agreed. "But don't fool yourself. Your mother was the strong one."

"Is that why you didn't like him?"

"I didn't like him because he encouraged Lily to live in a fantasy world."

"What?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Make me understand."

Her eyes sparked with some of the old anger, as they met his. "He had this idea that they could fight this... this Dark Lord... and win. She believed him. It cost her her life."

"Peter Pettigrew cost her her life when he betrayed their trust."

"You believe what you want."

Harry took a breath, but said nothing.

"I took you in, after... and every day I looked at Lily's eyes... our father's eyes... in James Potter's face. But I gave you a home. I did my duty."

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Yes, you did your duty, Aunt Petunia. I'd just like to ask, though... if the positions had been reversed, how do you think my mother would have treated Dudley?"

At Petunia's dawning look of horror, Harry nodded, and silently left her standing, looking at the portrait on the wall above the fire.

To Petunia, the looks in their eyes had gone from joyful to accusing the moment Harry left the room.


The following day was Sunday, and the entire Weasley clan was due to descend on them at any moment. Molly was in her element, preparing the meal and happily giving orders to an equally happy pair of house elves.

The grounds had been declared safe by Bill and Ron had shown up in Harry's room at the crack of dawn that morning with his broom.

"Come on, Harry! Ginny and Bill are waiting... let's go have a fly around the Quidditch Pitch..."

He didn't have to ask twice. Harry was up, dressed and out the door with his Firebolt under his arm before Ron had time to get downstairs and tell the others that he was on his way. They spent a glorious morning flying around the pitch, throwing about an old Quaffle that Ron had found in the broom shed. Harry sighed happily, imagining his dad and Sirius, perhaps with Moony as well, doing the same thing years before on this very spot.

They came in to lunch, starved and rosy-cheeked from the exercise. Ginny walked next to Harry, happily teasing him that he made a better Seeker than Chaser.

"I'll leave the chasing to you," Harry said, then blushed at Ron and Bill's laughter. "I..."

"I know what you meant, Harry," Ginny said, glaring at her brothers. "Ignore the idiots."

Petunia watched from the top of the stairs as they made their way through the main hall and to the corridor leading to the kitchens. Watching Harry and Ginny was difficult. Watching them from behind was almost eerie, they reminded her so much of Lily and James.

"Petunia," a voice came from the den doorway. Petunia turned to look, and gaped.

"Remus?"

"In the flesh. What are you doing here?" he asked. His tone was even, but Petunia could tell, even from that distance, that there was fire in his pale blue eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Remus was silent, waiting.

"Dumbledore came for me," she said. "He said... he said that I needed to stay here until Harry could leave for school."

"He never gives up."

"What?"

Remus just shook his head.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here for Harry."

"You..."

"He's James and Lily's son, Petunia. I've never been far away."

"I know," she admitted, swallowing uncomfortably.

"I promised James."

"As I promised Lily."

"Yes. How very differently we've undertaken the fulfillment of those promises."

"I've done my best, Remus."

"No, you haven't. But that's over now. The past, Petunia."

"You cannot judge me."

"Oh, but I can."

"You have no right," she choked.

"I think you'll find that I do. A lot of people care a great deal about Harry... and that gives us the right."

"I did my best," she repeated.

"No, you did Vernon's best, Petty. You were capable of much more... your heart held much more."

"My heart never did anything but get me into more trouble than it was worth, Remus," she spat out, her face reddening with remembered anger.

Remus' eyes held pain for a moment, then he nodded. "You've certainly made that clear."

And with that, the werewolf turned and headed for the kitchens, leaving Petunia Dursley standing alone.

She followed, a moment later, and entered the kitchen in time to see Harry's reunion with his father's friend. She was shocked by the moisture in her own eyes as she watched them embrace. It was almost like seeing James and Remus together again.

Until Harry turned glowing green eyes and saw her. Then, the shutters were drawn.

"Aunt Petunia."

She nodded her greeting, then went to help Molly move dishes to the dining room. Molly was surprised at first, but quickly gave her instructions as she was with everyone else.

As Weasley children continued to arrive, Petunia marveled at the interactions. She remembered the twins, but she had them in her mind's eye as difficult troublemakers. Seeing them with their siblings and parents... with Harry and Hermione, brought to mind uncomfortable memories of two other young pranksters from twenty years before.

When the rather straight-laced Percy ate a biscuit from a seemingly innocent tray and promptly turned into a chicken, Petunia gave a violent start of surprise, then took a deep, steadying breath.

"It's okay, he'll change back in a minute," said Harry, who had appeared at her elbow.

"He..."

"It's just the twins. They do this all the time. It wears off."

He was proven right the next moment when Percy changed back and his furious clucking turned into sibling put-downs as he lit into Fred and George about being childish.

Fred and George, however, laughed it off, clapping him on the back and smiling until all three were laughing together.

"Percy's a bit... stiff," Harry explained. "Takes him a minute to loosen up after they've done something like that."

"Bit stiff?" Ron commented from nearby. "He's got a bloody iron rod stuck up his..."

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly came through and handed him a bowl of potatoes, glaring in a very un-motherly fashion at him. Percy had only recently returned to them, and Molly wasn't about to risk further estrangement. "Language!"

"Sorry, Mum," Ron smiled and delivered the bowl to the table.

Petunia looked on, somewhat shocked at the interplay.

"It can be overwhelming," Harry said softly. "At first. The first time I saw them together... well, I didn't know quite what to make of it."

"Yes... I can see."

Harry looked sadly at her. "This is what it should have been like, Aunt Petunia."

Her grey eyes met his, and she sighed.

"Our family is different."

"Our family? We don't have a family, Aunt Petunia," he said quietly, then moved away, only to be pulled to the side by Bill and another of the Weasley siblings.

She watched as the newcomer described something to Harry, his hands gesticulating, a grin on his face.

"Dragons."

"Excuse me?" she turned to see Ron standing, staring hard at her.

"Dragons. Charlie is, once again, relating what it looked like from the sidelines when Harry took on the Horntail."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Ron looked at her, a sad understanding in his eyes. "You really don't know, do you? In our fourth year... the TriWizard Tournament?"

"The what?"

"Harry went up against a Horntail. Got past it and captured it's egg. He won the tournament."

"By... outsmarting a dragon?"

"Amongst other things," Ron confirmed cryptically, studying her carefully for a moment. Petunia felt like she'd been laid open, judged lacking, and closed back up again, dismissed for the foreseeable future. "I never could believe it when he said you wouldn't care... but you really couldn't care less, could you?"

And with that, Ron turned and walked away. For some reason, it made Petunia feel ashamed.

She turned back in time to see Charlie with a brotherly arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry's face was animated as he said something.

Then, he laughed.

Petunia was struck by the sudden realization that she had never, ever, seen Harry laugh. She was even more struck by the fact that, not only did he have his mother's eyes, but his laughter was a haunting reminder of her dead sister, as well.


Ginny walked with her wand held out in front of her. The dim glow from the tip was enough to light her way without disturbing anyone else.

She didn't know why she had woken so suddenly, or why she felt compelled to go downstairs, but she knew that she had to. As she made her way down the main staircase, she could see the dim light from under the door to the den. It flickered.

A candle was burning in there.

Quietly, she extinguished her wand light and padded on bare feet to the door. It was open only a crack. Silently, she pushed it open.

She was mistaken. It wasn't a candle, but the dim light from a fire in the hearth. Harry sat on the couch, staring at the portrait. Silently, she moved around the sofa to sit beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me, neither," she said. "Would you like a cup of tea or something?"

"No," he said, then turned to look at her. "But thank you."

Ginny smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"You never forget your manners."

"Oh yes I do. Frequently."

"Like when?"

"Like when I'm throwing expensive and irreplaceable artifacts around Dumbledore's office. When I think of Cornelius Fudge, or Delores Umbridge..."

"Oooh..." Ginny's eyes darkened with fury. "That woman!"

"When I'm so busy feeling sorry for myself," he continued, leaning back against the upholstery and putting an arm around her. "That I forget to thank my friends for sticking by me."

"Hmmm... yes," she nodded teasingly as she pulled her bare feet up under her. "Yes... we've all noticed that one."

"Have you?"

"Of course!" she grinned, snuggling in under his arm and against his side for warmth. "Terribly blind, you are!"

She looked up at him, only to realize that he was turned to look down at her, and has face was only inches away from her own. Ginny swallowed nervously.

"Blind? Yes... yes, I've definitely been blind."

"Harry?" she whispered, her eyes lowering to his lips, then rising again to his eyes.

"Ginny... can I...?"

"Please," she nodded.

And he kissed her, his soft lips covering hers and his right hand coming up to cup her cheek. He was so gentle, she felt tears come to her eyes... eyes that opened as he pulled away.

"Gin...?"

"Don't you dare apologise," she whispered hoarsely. "You'll break my heart if you apologise."

"I wasn't..." he looked down at her, into her frightened, wary eyes, and pulled her close. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Gin. Please don't cry."

"You only hurt me when you pull away, Harry."

"Gin?"

"Don't you see? Or can't you?"

"I..."

"Harry," she placed her hands on his cheeks, and forced him to look at her, to look into her eyes. "Look at me. What do you see?"

"I see... you. I see Ginny."

"In my eyes, Harry. What do you see when you look into my eyes?"

"I..." Harry looked. "I see... I don't know. I don't know what it is, Ginny."

"Harry," she said sadly, her tears returning. "It's love, Harry."

He looked into her eyes for so long, Ginny thought he hadn't heard her. Just when she had given up, was about to rise and leave, he pulled her close again, his lips desperately searching hers.

Ginny sighed and opened to him.

They were both unaware of the figure in the doorway behind them who stood and watched for a moment before turning and silently closing the door behind her as she left them alone.


Holy cow, folks! 29 reviews in ten hours... I think that that is some kind of record for me! I appreciate everyone's comments... I'm really enjoying writing this one, and that's due, in no small part, to the fantastic reviews I'm getting – thank you!

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Weselan: Hmm, I wonder...?

Lourdes: Well, I might as well use my imagination for fanfic writing, it'd probably get me in trouble otherwise...

Kazzidal: Thank you! It's lovely to be called someone's number one...

GiGiFanfic: Patience, Jeanne... do I ever leave you hanging... well, permanently? No... I wouldn't do that!

LarnaMandrea: I love getting your reviews... I really, really do!

CannonFodder: Ah, you know, there is a time and place for tooth-aching sweetness. This story, however, is about seeing things in a different light.

JT: I like new readers! I like old readers, too... as a matter of fact, anyone who takes the time to read my drivel and respond in a positive way, I like a lot! Thanks!

SabineStrohemMoss: Oh, Petunia and Remus definitely knew each other...

Shotgunn: As usual, you're in my head, making wild guesses that just might lead you to the correct answer...

ThundersShadow: There are definitely some... realizations coming.

Siriusfanatic: Your keyboarding skills are coming along nicely, then. Keep it up, it's a valuable skill.

Nimbirosa: Aw, motherhood is wonderful. You don't even notice the diaper thing... and childbirth, well, the best thing I can say about it is it's an experience that you cannot fully appreciate until you've done it. Valentine's Challenge, huh? Well, we'll see.

Cara: Wow, thanks! You have no idea of how much good reviews like that do me.

And to all the others, you are wonderful: Bobboky, SaerrySnape, Nightwing509, DavidMPotter, MadEyeJr, IndiaInk, Rdprice29, MrsAliciaWeasley, SilverWarrior, Agloechen, Bahjcb

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