Chapter 21

Last Time:

Leaving quickly, Alex spots Petunia and Vernon in a heated argument with Dudley ignoring them playing a video game. To her surprise, Harry is standing there awkwardly.

Once making it over to them through the big crowds, Alex stops in front of the fighting grown ups.

Finally, Petunia looks away from Vernon and smiles at Alex.

"Oh honey, I missed you." Petunia pulls Alex into a much-needed hug.

"I missed you too mom." Alex whispers.

Now:

Sitting in the car on her twelfth birthday, Alex is chatting with Dudley and Harry as Vernon puts Petunia down in the front seat. They are heading toward the beach house four hours from the house.

Trying hard to not lose her anger, Alex clenches her hands in her lap, her knuckles going white.

Looking at the now silent Alex, Harry places his left hand on her right fist and gently break the fist. Holding her hand, Harry rubs her knuckles with his thumb. Feeling her slowly relax, Harry looks at her and whispers in her ear.

"Just breathe."

Nodding stiffly, Alex closes her eyes and takes deep breathes. Dudley growls under his breath and leans forward.

"Dad, shut the hell up! You're scaring Alex and tearing us apart! What happened to you?" Dudley snaps breaking the argument.

Petunia turns in her seat and looks at Alex who now has a tear falling down her cheek.

"Alex, sweetie, look at me." Petunia orders the young girl gently. Opening her eyes, Alex looks at Petunia sniffling.

"Nothing happened to me Dudley Patrick Dursley. Now shut the fuck up and let me drive!" Vernon roars.

Petunia ignores Vernon because if she defends Dudley, then Alex's breathing will escalate.

"Keep your eyes on me honey. Take a deep breath. Then exhale. Inhale. Exhale." Doing the breathing with Alex, she can hear Alex's breath shaking as she inhales. When it doesn't work, Petunia turns to Vernon, "Pull over Vernon. Harry or Dudley, one of you will sit in the front."

Grumbling out loud, Vernon pulls over onto the side of the highway on the gravel. Stepping out of the car, Petunia watches Alex bury her face into Harry's shoulder. Harry strokes her hair as Dudley climbs out. Walking over to Dudley's door, Dudley walks around to the other side.

Dudley buckles up in the front seat, glaring at Vernon, as Petunia climbs in the back, buckles up before handing Alex Dudley's bottle of water.

Back on the road, Petunia calms Alex down with Harry's help.

~H&A~

Throughout the summer, Vernon has gone back to his old ways. He has been verbally and physically abusing Alex, Harry, Dudley and Petunia. Each time Petunia tries to take the kids away from him, Vernon would just hunt them down like a lion hunting his prey.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asks that late August evening. Alex is sitting next to Petunia working on her Hogwarts homework while Petunia is watching the news. Dudley is upstairs playing on the computer, as Vernon is working overtime at work.

"Yes Harry?" Petunia asks looking at him.

"My friend Ron, from school, is wondering if I may go to this Quidditch World Cup with his family."

"What's Quidditch?"

"It's like football." Alex smiles, "But you fly. The World Cup comes only once every few years."

"School starts back up in a week." Petunia starts looking away from Alex to Harry, "What about you ask if you could spend the rest of the summer there." Harry smiles.

"Thank you." Running upstairs, Harry writes back to Ron before sending Hedwig on her way.

Downstairs, Alex writes her Potions essay, the final assignment of the summer.

"Mom?" Alex looks at Petunia, "Could you take me to get my school supplies?"

"Sure, Dudley could come too. We will go when Vernon is at work." Petunia kisses Alex's hair. Petunia has accepted the fact that Alex and Harry are magical. If only I accepted magic when Lily was still alive.

~A&H~

The same day Harry leaves to go to Ron's house for the rest of summer, Alex, Dudley and Petunia go to get Alex's school supplies. Petunia and Dudley met Ron, Arthur, Fred and George, as Alex smiles nervously at them.

Leaving Gringotts, Alex is thankful that the wizard government sent all the money that her family hid away, or saving up was sent to her. The government made her a volt while she was at school.

While Petunia and Dudley look around in shock, they follow Alex since she knows where she is going. Getting all of her books, robes and Potion supplies, Alex leads Petunia and Dudley to the ice cream parlour.

Eating their ice cream, Dudley watches chairs and tables float around while rags clean them.

"Wow. I didn't expect magic to be so… so…" Dudley whispers in shock.

"Amazing? Magical? Unreal?" Alex offers amused.

"All of the above."

"What do you think, mom?"

"I think…" Petunia starts as she looks around the parlour, "I think this is all like a dream. But it's all real."

~H&A~

Arriving at home, carrying Alex's school supplies into the house, Petunia and the two kids stand there in shock, seeing Vernon standing there with a gun in hand.

"Vernon, what are you doing?" Petunia asks in shock pulling the kids behind her.

"I'm going to kill all of you. Mostly the little bitch!" Vernon growls, "Get in here and close the door. If not, I will torture all of you."

Not knowing if Vernon is just bluffing or not, Petunia and the kids step in before closing the door.

While Petunia whispers to Dudley and Alex to run upstairs, Vernon fires the gun. Petunia collapses on the ground with the bullet in her throat.

"MOM!" Alex and Dudley shout together. Vernon fires the gun again, just missing Dudley.

"STOP IT!" Alex screams with tears streaming down her face.

Ignoring the screaming child, Vernon points the gun at Dudley before pulling the trigger. Dudley collapses next to Petunia with the bullet in his chest, just missing his heart.

The wind smashes the windows and rips the doors off the hinges. Vernon points the gun at Alex, and as he fires the gun again and again and again, the bullets fly passed her and into the wall behind her.

Shaking with her hands in fists, her hair blowing around her, Alex's eyes grow wide. Alex knows she is losing control. Before she could try to get it under control, there is an explosion.

Everything dies down like nothing has happened. Breathing heavily, Alex looks up to find Vernon hanging from the ceiling. The arm of the chandelier goes through his neck with glass sticking out of his eyes.

Quickly turning to Petunia and Dudley, Alex runs over sobbing. Kneeling down Alex places each hand over the bullet. Closing her eyes, Alex pictures herself pulling the bullets out with her magic. The wounds healing themselves and both Dudley and Petunia perfectly happy and healthy.

Hearing gasping and coughing, Alex opens her eyes to see the wounds closed and the two bullets on the ground at her knees.

Alex accidentally killed Vernon Dursley, but she saved Dudley and Petunia from death.

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