Disclaimer: Not mine, anything else you recognise probably isn't mine either but I never know for sure since I've read so many stories that I can't tell anymore whether or not it was my idea in the first place.
Author's Notes: See Chapter 22 ^_^
-~/\~-
~...~ = Parseltongue
/.../ = Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' = thoughts
~*~*~ ... ~*~*~ = Flashback or changing POV
************************************************** ******************************
Chapter 25 - Aunt Marge and Dementors or Musings and Explanations
Before they reached the bottom of the stairs they all could hear Marjorie Dursley's booming voice.
"Oh Vernon, it's so good to be here again. I can hardly wait to see my little nieces," she drawled and Carya felt sick but didn't show it.
She held Lily in her arms while Tom had just handed Freesia to her mother.
"Here Petunia, I'll open the door," he told her and quickly went into action.
Harry was already there too and waited for Vernon to tell him where the luggage was. Draco stood next to him. Both boys had already made up a scheme to introduce Draco.
/Hey sister, we'll introduce Draco as Sirius son. He'll be Draco Black while we're here, okay? Tell Tom about that too. That way she can't hold it against us. Draco has been raised in an environment of wealth so she wouldn't suspect anything if he can swallow his hatred of Muggles,/ Harry told his twin.
She nodded and answered him curtly, /Alright Harry, I'll tell Tom. He legally is Sirius son anyway, we only twist the last name thing a bit. Careful, here she comes!/
A soft hissing was heard for a few seconds before the sound was gone again. No one suspected anything odd.
~Tom, Draco will go by the name Black here and pose as Sirius son which he legally is anyway. We only have to remember his change of last name for the time being,~ she whispered in Parseltongue and he nodded barely visible.
The same moment the massive form of Marjorie Dursley burst into the hallway.
"Thank you Dudders, my dear favourite nephew," she said sweetly and Dudley grimaced when she crushed him into a hug.
It was only then that she spotted Harry and Carya, "So you two are back, aren't you? I thought you had finally run away when you weren't here last summer but I see I'm not spared your presence this time," she almost spat.
"Marge, there's no need to scold these two right now. Come one, lets get a little drink in the living room, won't we?" soothed Vernon with a pleading look at the twins.
They understood and just nodded. Carya rushed outside to help Harry with the suitcases. Draco and Tom still stood at the base of the stairs and waited for something to happen. Petunia was currently busy with the twins.
"And who are these two young men? Surely you two are Dudley's friends from Eton aren't you?" she said falsely sweet.
"I'm sorry Mademoiselle Dursley but I do not attend Eton. I'm currently attending a private boarding school in Scotland. My name is Draco Tomas Black," he introduced himself.
Tom mimicked his actions and extended his hand towards Marge. When she took it he gave a small bow and introduced himself like Draco had, "Miss Dursley, my name is Tomas Marvolo Riddle and I attend the same school as Draco here does."
"I see. May I ask, how come you are staying with my brother's family?" she asked suspiciously.
"They are friends of Harry and Carya. Both of them attend the same boarding school and are on top of their classes, Marge. I believe Draco's family moved to Britain about a year ago. Mister Black is the twins godfather and was unable to take them in earlier.
They are now living with young Draco's family. And from what I've seen and heard the Black's are quite wealthy," Petunia replied while coming down the hallway.
She was carrying the twins in her arms and had slight problems with the tea tray.
"Let me help you Petunia. I'll take Lily and Draco will surely take Freesia for the time being," Tom offered and Petunia was grateful for that.
Marge was eyeing the two young boys suspiciously as if daring them to do anything abnormal. She was soon occupied with her glass of wine though.
"Tom, Draco, would you two please be so kind and put the twins to bed? It's time for a little nap for them," Petunia asked the boys.
"Of course Petunia. Is there anything else?" said Draco casually but polite.
"Ah, yes, could you ask Carya if she'd go to the groceries? We need some fresh strawberries for later," the woman added and the boys nodded.
Five minutes later a neatly dressed Carya Potter stepped into the living room. She looked briefly at Marge and Vernon before addressing her aunt as polite as humanly possible.
"You asked to see me Aunt Petunia? Tom told me that you'd need something from the groceries. Shall I go and fetch it?" she asked and Petunia nodded.
"Yes, dear, the list and the money are on the refrigerator. You should ask one of the boys to accompany you. It's quite a long list," her aunt answered.
Carya nodded and did a small curtsy before leaving the room and looking for Tom. He happily went with her. It was funny to see how much the muggle world had changed during the last fifty years.
They were gone for about an hour and when they came back Harry, Draco and Dudley were helping Petunia to set up the lunch table. Carya knew they were late but the shopping had taken longer than expected.
"I'm sorry Aunt Petunia. The strawberries at the groceries were not quite up to standard and we had to look for the next store but these are fresh and I believe of a fine quality too," she said apologetically and set everything where it belonged.
Marge was grumbling under her breath for not reprimanding the girl for being lazy but neither Petunia nor Carya or the rest listened to her. She was impressed by Draco's and Tom's manners though. Both boys met her expectations of what young men their age should be.
At lunch it happened then. Marge asked Tom about his parents. The boy thought quickly and found the perfect excuse.
"My parents don't live anymore. My mother, god bless her soul, died giving birth to me. The strain was too much on her. I lived with my father until I was eleven but when I was at a friends home some burglars broke into our Manor and murdered my whole remaining family, Miss Dursley.
I'm not allowed to stay at Riddle Manor as long as I'm underage though. Therefore I either remain at school or with friends who let me stay for summer. Like Mister Black and his family have done for me this year," he explained looking at the floor with a pained expression.
Marge was convinced by that story and Carya was astonished at her friend. For someone who hated his biological father with such a passion Tom was a very good actor. Once lunch was over the adults settled down in the living room while the kids cleaned up the kitchen.
Dudley, Tom and Draco were asked to stay with the adults though and they agreed although the boys would rather have helped Harry and Carya. Later that afternoon Petunia served tea and the chocolate cake Carya had baked during the night.
"This is a very fine piece of bakery Petunia. Where in heaven's name did you find a store that sells something like this?" Marge asked her sister-in-law.
"Nowhere Marge. It is home-made," she answered.
"Ah, so you made this? Very well ..." Marge started but was interrupted by Dudley.
"Mum didn't make it, Aunt Marge. Carya did. She's really good at baking cakes," the boy blurted out.
"That useless little girl? ... Well, it seems she's not as useless as I thought. If she keeps this up she might even find a man who's willing to marry her," Marge drawled.
Tom was beyond angry now but managed to sty calm.
"Actually Miss Dursley, she already has. Carya is my girlfriend and if she doesn't object I fully intend on marrying her once we are old enough. I couldn't ask for a better companion since she matches my personality and character perfectly," the boy remarked seriously and Carya who stood behind the closed door was gaping at the wall.
Marge was speechless. This fine young man wanted to marry the Potter girl? Well, she couldn't be that bad then, could she?
"Ah, well that is fine, very good indeed. I wish both of you good luck with your relationship then," the stunned woman managed to get out.
Tom stood up and excused himself before walking out of the room. Carya still stood there too stunned to move. Tom grinned sheepishly at her.
"Sorry Carya, I didn't want to upset you with this. I really feel that way but ... I always thought I shouldn't tell you just now. It's too early for us. For Slytherin's sake, we're only fifteen, aren't we?" Tom apologised to her and was answered with a deep kiss.
The days were now rather enjoyable and Marge didn't criticise the twins anymore. She accepted their presence and surprisingly even stopped teasing them about their parents. One day Marge asked which subjects Carya was best at and she told her.
"I'm very good at Chemistry, Biology, Home Economics and Physical Education. I did okay in Latin, Maths and History though," the girl answered and Marge was satisfied with that answer.
"Well, that certainly explain why you can bake such cakes," the massive woman replied and went back to her tea.
The children often played with the Dursley twins and took them to the park. Somehow Vernon had not so much against those walks when four wizard children were with Dudley and the little girls. They never seemed to notice the figures who watched them from the shadows all day and night.
On July 5th the kids once again took the twin girls for a walk in the park. They met plenty of their former friends from Primary school there. Suddenly the birds stopped singing and everything felt cold.
Carya and Harry knew these feelings all too well. They urged their friends to get going and rushed home. The cold feeling following them all the time. When Carya turned around she could see about a dozen Dementors following them.
Dudley saw what she was doing and followed her gaze. He gasped at what he saw but didn't stop running. Several people along their way collapsed to the floor. The babies had started crying at first but were now silent.
Carya clutched Lily close to her chest and Tom carried Freesia. Harry and Draco dragged the prams along. They reached Privet Drive No. 4 totally out of breath and stormed inside. The dark creatures stopped about twenty meters in front of the house.
A blue shimmering dome was suddenly visible around the property as one of those figures tried to move closer. Alarmed by something near them the Dementors fled down the street and everything returned to normal.
Petunia rushed into the kitchen white faced and scared. She immediately looked at the babies and calmed down a bit when she saw that they were okay.
"What was that?" she asked shaking.
"Just a second Aunt Petunia. Do we have chocolate in the house?" Carya asked and her aunt nodded, "Good, Harry, Dudley, get it and give some to everyone. I'll make a little chocolate drink for the babies with our last chocolate supply from Hogsmeade. How are Aunt Marge and Uncle Vernon?"
"Fainted, both of them. They are in the living room. What was this Carya. It was so cold suddenly," Petunia asked again.
"I'll explain everything but please have some chocolate first, okay? Tom help me with Lily and Freesia. They need it more than we do. We already have a natural resistance, they don't, they're too young," the girl instructed everyone.
Ten minutes later Marge and Vernon were still unconscious but their skin was not cold and sweaty anymore and their breathing was slow and regular. The boys had brought them upstairs for rest.
"Aunt Petunia, do you remember mum talking about a creature called Dementor?" Harry asked and the woman nodded.
"Good, these Dementors are very dark creatures. They essentially feed on positive emotions as happiness for example. The more innocent these emotions are the more they want it because they are untainted. We were followed by around a dozen of these figures.
The problem is that muggles can't see them but they feel the effects just as much as wizards or even Squibs do. That you and Dudley could see them proves the fact that both of you have magical blood relatives and that you are Squibs," Carya started the explanation and when she had to catch her breath after being quite shaken herself Harry continued,
"Sometimes these Dementors try to catch a human being and rob them of their soul. You can live without it but you have no life anymore - no memories, no feelings, nothing. Whoever sent them here had clearly intended for them to attack someone.
There were too many in one place for it to be just a coincidence. The blue light around the house are the wards that have been placed here for protection. They normally wouldn't be needed once we were gone but when Lily and Freesia were born they became necessary again."
"Aunt Petunia, how much do you know about wizard history?" Carya asked carefully.
"Not much. I know though that there was a dark age and that your parents fought in some kind of war. There was that evil wizard who killed them as I told you when you turned eleven. I believe his name was Voldemort.
And the night he killed your parents he somehow disappeared without anyone knowing why or how but you two survived. We took you two in then and raised you as best as we could until now. There's something wrong, am I right?" the woman summarised her knowledge.
"Exactly Aunt Petunia. He just disappeared but, in fact, did not die. And now he's back and chasing Harry and I," Carya admitted looking at the floor.
"He's back? How?" Petunia questioned.
"He kidnapped me and used my blood to make himself a new body to contain his soul. I barely escaped but I managed it with a little help," Harry told her and she looked scared suddenly.
The twins found themselves in a big hug all of a sudden and Petunia looked at them worriedly.
"You are alright, are you not? You've always been strong. What about my baby girls?" the frightened woman asked.
"I guess that's why the wards are still in place. If he finds out we're related what will eventually happen, he'll try to get to you. Aunt Petunia, I know this is much to take in but you are not from any ordinary wizard bloodline.
Your ancestors come from one of the most powerful bloodline in our world. I'll give you a book about the Hogwarts founders. You'll understand better when you read that. Especially the part about Rowena Ravenclaw who is your ancestor through Grandpa Evans," Harry replied seriously.
"So its all about bloodlines again now? Does the world never learn? Did nobody learn from World War Two?" Petunia asked defeated.
"Not everyone. The man who fathered me didn't learn either. I for one am glad to know Harry and Carya since they opened my eyes about all this," Draco said sadly and Petunia looked at him questioningly, "My 'father' would be Lucius Malfoy but that man abused me my whole life.
Sirius Black adopted me but don't tell that to your sister-in-law. I was brought up to believe that everyone who wasn't born from pureblood wizards was inferior but that's just wrong. Look at Hermione Granger for example.
Her ancestors are the purest muggles you can find in the world and she's one of the most powerful witches our age at Hogwarts. Blood is not unimportant most of the time but it's clearly not the top of everything."
"If you excuse me, I'm going to send an owl to Remus and Sirius in new Marauder code. That way not even Wormtail would be able to understand it all. Tell me if anything happens. Tom, are you coming with me or do you want to stay with the twins?" Carya asked.
"Tom can go with you Carya, Draco and I will care for the babies. Aunt Petunia needs some rest as does Dudley. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge should still be asleep. We have to make sure they get some chocolate when they wake up though," Harry offered and everyone was fine with it.
Carya and Tom wrote the letter that reached Black Manor in the early evening.
~*~*~ July 5th , Black Manor ~*~*~
Remus and Sirius sat by a cup of tea and talked about the children and the twins' upcoming birthday when a familiar black raven flew through the open window. A letter was attached to it's leg. Sirius recognised the flowing script as Carya's and read it immediately.
As expected it was coded in the new Marauder style they had invented. Not even the traitor could translate this easily. Sirius read the letter in it's translation aloud for Remus though.
'Dear Sirius and Remus,
we have something important to tell you. Today around three in the afternoon Dudley, Harry, Draco, Tom and I were going for a walk in the park with the twins - Lily and Freesia. Everything went well but suddenly all animals fell silent and a whole lot of people started shivering.
Some even fell unconscious. You might already guess what I'm trying to say. There were Dementors nearby. Harry and I had felt this before, as had Draco. We took the twins and the prams and hurried back to Privet Drive. I took a short look over my shoulder. You won't believe what we saw.
There were about a dozen Dementors right behind us and they were still following. We made it into the house just in time. The wards prevented the creatures from getting in though. Aunt Marge and Uncle Vernon had fainted. Aunt Petunia, Dudley, the twins and the four of us were pretty shaken.
We thankfully had some chocolate in the house. But muggle chocolate isn't as good as the wizarding one. I took the rest of our supplies from Hogsmeade and made some chocolate milk for the babies because it seemed that they were affected the most.
Something or rather someone chased the Dementors away though. That would explain why I feel being watched and followed all the time. Someone seems to be either following us or we are being shadowed. I'd bet on the latter though and I don't know if I like that.
Please reply soon if you have any answers. We'll stay here until July 14th and then return home until our birthday. From then some other arrangements have been made which we'll tell you when we are back. Take care and don't get into trouble,
Carya and Tom
(the shaken but recovering rest of the family says 'Hi' too!)'
"I can't believe it! They were attacked by Dementors! And on Privet Drive nonetheless. That place was supposed to be completely safe!" Sirius growled and started pacing around the room.
"I know Padfoot but we can't do anything just now. We should talk to Dumbledore though. I think Carya knows we'd do that. That's why she sent the letter to us. She's worried about her Aunt's family.
She's really clever, our little Carya. To remember the chocolate in such a situation when she's just run for her life?" Remus said thoughtfully while Sirius contacted Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts.
~*~*~ End July 5th , Black Manor ~*~*~
The next few days the children and Petunia stayed alarmed but nothing happened. Vernon and Marge had blamed their collapsing on the hot weather which was perfectly possible so no questions needed to be answered.
The kids never left the house without their wands anymore and only left when it was absolutely necessary. Carya still couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being followed everywhere and watched closely even when at home.
'Something weird is going on here and I'll be damned if I don't find out who is behind this all!' she thought when she once again had turned around to find the street behind her empty.
At first Tom had thought that she was just a bit paranoid since the third task but he too felt it occasionally. Their telepathy training was slowly bearing fruits though. He could feel Carya's emotions if she let him.
Of course neither of the three wizard-boys had her empathic powers. She was much more sensitive to these things and thanks to this gift they had indeed escaped the Dementors. She had felt them before they were near enough to launch an attack.
On July 11th they got Ginny's reply to their letter. The Weasley girl told them that Molly would be delighted to help Petunia with her magical twins. It was no surprise if you thought about it. Molly had only one girl and she was one of the kindest persons in the world.
If you asked her for help you'd get it. Mrs. Weasley had promised to learn how to use a phone and she would visit Petunia if necessary. The twins were happy that their Aunt would get help if she needed it. Sirius and Remus reply had been short.
They had told them to be careful and not to rush into things. They also said that no one knew anything unusual about Dementor movements. Carya left some emergency floo-powder with Aunt Petunia just in case and explained her how to use it to save herself, Dudley and the twins before they left for Black Manor.
Aunt Marge had been almost tolerable since her collapse and was saying goodbye to them too. The twins and their friends were brought to the station by Vernon and they boarded their train the last minute.
Carya again had the feeling that someone was watching but even with closer inspection she couldn't see anyone who looked as if they were following the four teenagers. She looked around a few times but whoever watched them hid very well.
After reaching 'King's Cross' Harry, Carya, Tom and Draco walked over to 'Meliande's Café ' to floo back to Black Manor. When they were back home, safe and sure that the destination was indeed their home they relaxed slightly.
By now they all thought that some strange things were happening around them. Sirius and Remus were not there but a note was lying on the table that they would be back around late morning of July 15th. The kids put their stuff away and made themselves comfortable in the Black's library.
Carya and Tom read some of the books they'd brought from Hogwarts while Harry immersed himself into a copy of 'Famous Quidditch Games throughout the last Century'. Draco was occupying himself with one of the twins Defence books.
Its title was 'Defend yourself against the Dark Arts - Intermediate Guide' by Quentin Tremble. This was how Winky and Mikie found the four when it was time for dinner. The two house elves had been instructed to make sure that the kids ate properly and they insisted that the friends did just that.
Later that evening they sat together by the fireplace thinking about their two other friends. Harry and Draco wondered what Ginny and Hermione were currently doing. It was only around nine thirty so Draco decided to fire-call Ginny.
Harry was calling Hermione by muggle means - which was by phone. Tom and Carya excused themselves and gave the other two some privacy.
"Tom, are you scared sometimes?" asked Carya as they sat on the windowsill in Carya's room with the girl leaning against Tom's chest and sitting between his legs.
"Occasionally but not very often, why do you ask?" he wanted to know.
"When those Dementors followed us, I was scared. I was afraid that I'd loose you, Harry, Draco or the twins. I was scared about Dudley too but not as much. I hate that. It makes me feel weak," she admitted without looking at her boyfriend.
"Carya, that's not really weak. It's just human. To be scared for you friends and family when they are in danger is only a human reaction. If you can accept that then you can still feel scared for them but you won't be paralysed by your fear," he told her softly.
It was strange for him to say something like that but he had changed. This was how he truly felt now. He wasn't the same person he had been before. Sure, he was still Tom Riddle but he wasn't the Tom everyone thought they knew fifty years ago.
"Who told you something like that?" she asked peering up into his moonlit face and he smiled down at her.
"You did, when you told me to let go of my guilt and to face my fears and worries. Now I'm giving you this advice back. Accept that you're afraid for your family and you'll be stronger," he said and pulled her close.
"How come you are worried about this now, love?" the boy added in afterthought.
"I don't know. I ... since I feel being followed I have those weird feelings. It's not like with Quirrell or Moody. It's further away but something big is going to happen and I certainly won't like it. I only hope that you, Harry, Draco, Moony, Padfoot and our friends are safe then," she sighed heavily and leaned into his embrace.
That was how the two fell asleep. It wasn't uncomfortable so because the windowsill was broad and comfy. Carya's favourite spot inside her rooms. When Harry and Draco looked for them they found the couple asleep. Harry quietly took a blanket and draped it over and around them.
The two boys smiled. It had taken a long time for these two after the second task to get this close again and both were happy that it had worked. Seeing either Tom or Carya in distress broke their hearts.
Neither knew when they had become so attached to the Riddle boy they despised at the beginning but he had become a brother to them. And family would be protected regardless of the situation. Harry and Draco retired to bed too and no one noticed Sirius and Remus return in the middle of the night.
~*~*~ End Part Four ~*~*~
Spell Explanations:
'Silentio Eternus' = 'Eternal Silence'
'Ostium Obfirmo' = 'Lock Door'
'Appareo Heredis Mea Familia' = 'Appear Inheritance of My Family'
'Arbor Familiaris' = 'Family Tree'
'Dissimulo Facies' = 'Change Appearance'
'Impedio Detego Facies Verus' = 'Prevent Discovery of True Appearance'
'Non Animadverto Persona' = 'Don't Take Notice of Person'
'Dolor Acris' = 'Severe Pain'
(Grammar of the Spells might be seriously wrong but I don't care as long as the general meaning is correct *grin* I was never that good at grammar in Latin classes, barely passed my very last exam in the course ^_^ but I did pass and that's all what counts)
Other Explanations:
Veridicuserum = Truth telling Potion; less influencing than Veritaserum; veridicus = truth-telling
Veritaserum = Truth Potion (Forces one to tell the truth to any question, can be fought to a degree if questions aren't precise enough)
Grading-System: ('German' - 'English' - 'HP-Universe')
'1' = 'A' = 'O' (Outstanding)
'2' = 'B' = 'E' (Exceeds Expectations)
'3' = 'C' = 'A' (Acceptable)
'4' = 'D' = 'P' (Poor)
'5' = '-' = 'D' (Dreadful)*
'6' = 'F' = 'T' (Troll)*
*Dreadful and Troll mark failed coursesDark Green Romanian Longhorn - Armand Solet - No. 1
Hebridean Black - Vladimir Kravec - No. 2
Blue-Grey Swedish Short-Snout - Cedric Diggory - No. 3
Soft Jade Welsh Green - Fleur Delacour - No. 4
Scarlet Chinese Fireball - Viktor Krum - No. 5
Black Hungarian Horntail - Harry Potter - No. 6
Finished September 30th, 2013