Reunion with Darkness Chapter 25: Returned to Little Whinging, a harry potter fanfic

I could not wait to finish the reunion with darkness. Again I apologize to everyone for the long wait with the previous chapters. I was so busy finishing the novel that I hardly had time for anything else. To thank you for your patience I am going to try and finish this installment as quickly as possible. I just have one brief note before I continue. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Lindenmc. Who's touching review I was unable to reply to do to a block in private messaging. To this reviewer I would just like to say thank you and I can only hope I find readers like you for my novel.

And now without further ado the Dursleys finally get what's coming to them & Dudley's not so little gang too.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Returned to Little Whinging

by Empathicallychosen

"The maxim "Nothing but perfection" may be spelled "Paralysis." - Winston Churchill

It took three taxis to transport the large caravan of witches and wizards to their destination. As the taxi pulled up alongside the disgustingly familiar gate that would open up and reveal the place that suffocated his abilities for so long Harry was beginning to have second thoughts. Actually Harry had been having second thoughts ever since he'd consented to his family's ridiculous Christmas wish. It was only after they pulled up at the gate that Hermione and Ron started to agree with him. Unfortunately for the threesome it was far too late to back out now. Perhaps foreseeing this problem Harry's parents had put Harry, Ron and Hermione in the last taxi along with Lily so that every time one of them began to say that this was a bad idea Lily's face ended up staring back at them. None of them would dare do anything to disappoint the woman they had once declared their queen.

The taxi door opened to reveal Harry's father staring back at them looking as though he were the happiest man on the face of the earth. Reluctantly Harry slid out of the taxi trying to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. Showing the first sign that any of them understood how difficult this was for the children James wrapped a comforting arm around Harry's shoulder and walked with him over to the guard's post. Harry sighed, it was five minutes until the night-watchman would come on duty. It wasn't going to be easy talking his way inside.

None of the guards were very fond of Harry, Ron and Hermione but the man sitting on the other side of the glass at this very moment especially dislike them. Jason David Woodruff was declared by many as the most snobbish resident of Little Whinging. In fact he was even more snobbish then both Harry's aunt and uncle. Naturally to many of the residents of Little Whinging this qualified him as the perfect candidate for the position of head watchmen. No sooner had Harry opened his mouth to speak when the man spotted Remus and ran screaming from his post. The gates open wide and they all entered, some more reluctantly than others.

"You're lagging behind Weasley," said Snape suddenly. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"Of course not. The last people on this earth I'm afraid of are the Dursleys. Still when someone keeps you tied up for a week and makes it a habit of jabbing a hot poker into your skin a sane person doesn't usually come around for tea a few months later," Ron replied indignantly.

At these words Hermione stopped and her facial expression was haunted. It was the first time that Harry actually saw any of the adults truly wonder if this was a bad idea after all. A few seconds later however she set off again looking more determined than ever. Everyone apart from Snape smiled. Just in case however Victoria let go of Remus's hand and sped up to keep in step with Hermione. Little Whinging at Christmastime always resembled that of the perfect winter town depicted in snow globes. Hermione had on more than one occasion witnessed the town beautification committee coming to her house complaining that several of the Granger's light bulbs on the Christmas lights had gone out and warning the young family that if the problem was not rectified there would be a fine on their door by the end of the week. This was partially why Ron took particular enjoyment in causing an avalanche on several rooftops knocking down quite a few gaudy decorations of Santa on his slay.

Number four was visible immediately. There were very few occasions in Harry's memory in which Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon dared to make their house stand out at all and unfortunately today was one of those occasions. Maroon, gold and orange Balloons were placed along each fencepost. Even more unsightly was a large banner with the Smeltings motto written in maroon ink plastered on the front door. Harry groaned as he looked over at his friends and they all agreed. The group definitely chose the wrong day for this confrontation.

"What in Godric's name is going on here," Olivia mused aloud.

" I guarantee whatever it is you are about to witness one of the most ridiculous, mind-numbing things you have ever seen in your life," muttered Ron despairingly.

"Look on the bright side, at least we know it isn't the annual Christmas party," replied Hermione.

Ron laughed sardonically.

"Thank Merlin for that too! If it was, we would need one of Vernon's drills to put me out of my misery," he retorted.

Harry could feel the adults getting more and more curious the longer the three friends spoke. Harry sighed. They would find out for themselves soon enough. Gathering up as much of his Gryffindor courage as he possibly could Harry knocked on the door and stood back. While his parents told him over and over again there was nothing to worry about as they waited for a member of the Dursley family to come to the door James showing his very first sign of apprehension carefully directed Harry to stand in between Snape and Sirius. At last the door opened to reveal none other then Aunt Marge. The woman was just as grotesque as Harry remembered her and like in so many of Harry's memories Aunt Marge was already three sheets to the wind. It took her bloodshot and dilated eyes a long time to register who was at the door and when she did her eyes seemed to focus solely on Harry, Ron and Hermione. Instantly her red and purple face wrinkled in disgust. The woman was so inebriated that she'd clearly forgotten the last time any of them had seen her.

"BACK AGAIN ARE YOU RUNT? -HIC - I SUPPOSE YOU'RE GOOD FOR NOTHING UNCLE DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU EITHER EH -HIC -," Aunt Marge's voice was so loud that people on the street stopped and stared. Standing beside Lily and Victoria Remus chuckled but still Marge Dursley didn't recognize any of them. "AS LONG AS YOU'RE HERE I SUPPOSE WE COULD LET YOU STAY FOR A WHILE - Hic- RIPPER MADE A MESS IN THE KITCHEN - HIC- AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO CLEAN IT UP!"

Everyone apart from Hermione and Ron was taken aback in surprise. Harry on the other hand found himself stepping into a role which he hated. It was the role he played his entire life. Nodding mutely Harry stepped inside with Ron and Hermione at his heels. Harry knew that his parents were close behind and that they were watching but he didn't care. The track record for his safety in this place wasn't what he would call outstanding and this role though unpleasant was familiar.

In all his life Severus Snape never imagined seeing the almighty Golden Ones in such a position. Somehow he always pictured the great heroes of the Wizarding world sitting in the lap of luxury being handed everything on a silver platter. After all the three children had more gold than Gringotts could hold in one facility. There was so much of it the British goblins had branched out sending gold to Wizarding banks in America and Switzerland. A great portion of that was given to them by the heads of magical communities all around the world but more often than not it was given to them by some batty old witch or wizard who lost all or most of their family to Lord Voldemort and wanted to bequeath their millions to the children who caused the downfall

.It never occurred to Severus Snape that the Golden Ones might not have grown up with everything they ever wanted in life. Especially in regards to James's son but the more he was learning about Harry, Ron and Hermione the more surprised he became. Granger's parents were actually well-rounded people who lived well below their means, Weasley grew up with a crazy cat lady and Potter had spent his life being treated worst than a pile of dung someone stepped in. None of them had any clue as to how much money they were worth and the truly strange thing about it was that when he accidentally let it slip none of them seemed to care. In fact Harry seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the idea and now looking at his previous living conditions Severus Snape was beginning to understand exactly why. He doubted very much if anyone in this house ever gave a flying fig about what the boy thought.

The inside of Petunia's home was much the same as Severus expected it to be. Yes as strange as it may have been Severus spent a lot of time curious as to what her house might have looked like. Severus often wondered if he had been able to create a potion to make Lily's sister less of an elitist snob whether or not he and Lily would've ended up together. Truth be told that was one of the reasons Severus worked so hard in potions. Then he would wander whether or not that was part of the reason he could never make it work with Lucinda, the girl who had been the real love of his life not just a puppy crush like Lily was. Because these days although Severus could honestly say he cared about Lily is a friend he realized now that compared to his love for Lucinda his crush on Lily had been nothing more than a twenty-four-hour bug.

After losing both girls he cared about Severus spent a lot of time wondering about where he went wrong and Petunia was one of those things. The sheer number of pictures of the overweight beach ball she called her son and the obsessively compulsive clean living room was evidence of that.

Severus pulled his head out of the memories just in time to see the fat woman with a mustache trying to shove Harry into what he assumed was the kitchen. James and Black both jumped up to defend the boy but neither man was as quick as he was pulling out his wand he pointed it directly between the woman's deep brown eyes. The woman Harry called Aunt Marge blinked several times as a number of memories came rushing back to her.

"I suggest you get your hands off that child Madam, if you know what's best for you. Do you see that man behind you? (Severus took his wand of the woman long enough to use it to gesture at James,) that man is this boy's father and when it comes to his son he is liable to act in ways that make me look like the collected one."

At the sight of the wand in Severus's hand the woman fainted with a loud crash. For one moment he caught himself thinking that this was an odd reaction then he reminded himself about the way the guard at the gate scurried away from Remus. Clearly the Potters made some kind of a lasting impression the last time they visited this magic forsaken town. Severus always hated being the butt of the marauder jokes. Just the same imagining what Remus had done to terrorize these people Severus couldn't say he was completely disgusted. The crash shook the floor of the foundation and several seconds later a number of extremely large boys and a skinny boy with a face like a rat came running out of the kitchen followed by an enormous man with no neck and an enormous mustache and a slender woman with lackluster blond hair and the neck of a giraffe.

Though Severus never had an occasion to meet the man he recognized the woman immediately. It was Petunia. Even years of not seeing her couldn't remove her face from his memories. Severus immediately recognized the largest of the boys from the many photographs around the house, not to mention one extremely hideous family painting. Clearly this was Petunia's son - Dudley did Granger call him? The boy was dressed in an absolutely ridiculous outfit; a maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers and a boater hat. Despite the fact that he rarely did such a thing Severus had to fight the urge not to bust up laughing. Weasley on the other hand couldn't stop himself even if he tried.

"I don't know why but when your uncle described the uniform at Smeltings I thought he was joking," Weasley announced as soon as he could control himself enough to get the words out.

"Why would you think that," Granger responded. "When have you known Vernon Dursley to tell a joke?"

"Oh come on Hermy, are you actually saying you honestly believe there was a school anywhere in the world cruel enough to subject it students to that kind of ridiculed," Weasley fired back pointing to the skinny boy who was wearing the same uniform.

"I suppose at your school they make the students dress in Halloween costumes," remarked one of the larger boys pointing to Weasley who was still covered in bandages from when Pettigrew attacked.

"What happened Weasley, another kid at St. Brutus's beat you up," asked the rat-faced boy.

Weasley appeared puzzled for a moment then he spotted a brochure lying on one of Petunia's end tables and picked it up. The brochure was for a Muggle school which was more light a juvenile detention center that specialized in hopeless cases. Judging by the way Petunia's walrus husband fidgeted under Severus's suspicious gaze he obviously placed the brochure there as a means of explaining Harry, Ron and Hermione's absence to anyone who asked about it.

"Oh no, no, no, I know you're not calling my Pronglets hopeless juvenile delinquents when your son just one an award for bashing someone's head in," said James pointing to a gold plaque on the wall that was obviously the reason for their celebration.

Instantly both Petunia and her husband became completely outraged. Petunia's husband actually went so far as to praise his son for the achievement clapping the overweight boy on the shoulder and calling boxing a noble art and claiming that James was just jealous because their "Dudders" was the regional heavyweight champion and Harry was "a toothpick with legs." Then Petunia added an even more outrageous statement by saying that if it were up to her Harry would've spent nine months safely locked away at St. Brutus's instead of loose on an unsuspecting public. Severus groaned. Was Petunia suffering from some kind of memory loss? Or did she honestly not remember exactly how fierce Lily could be when she wanted?

"I think you boys had better run home now my sister and I have a lot of catching up to do," Lily told Dudley's friends.

Petunia quickly ran to hide behind her husband who was already reaching over to the mantel where a long sawed-off shotgun was resting. With a bark of laughter Black casually flicked his wand and turned the weapon into a neon green umbrella with lightning yellow stripes. His actions were so quick that apart from Dursley and the adult wizards no one else seemed to realize what happened. Realizing he was holding an umbrella Dursley dropped the thing into the fireplace and it went up in flames. Perhaps it was unfortunate that no one else saw these things because rather then leave the boys stood still obviously not liking the idea of being told what to do by a former convicted felon. With the exception of one boy the one with the rat-like features who instead of leaving walked right up to Granger and started flexing his scrawny muscles. Granger looked torn between amusement and total repulsion. Whatever she thought he was doing it was very clear he could not be doing what she thought the boy was playing at. That was however until the boy opened his mouth and spoke.

"So Granger did you miss me," he asked attempting what he thought was a seductive tone.

"Padfoot, is he trying to make a move on me," she questioned Black uncertainly. "Please tell me that the boy who broke my nose three times in primary school is not actually hitting on me!"

"I'm afraid he is Ladybug, very poorly I might add," said Black somberly.

"Gross, gross, gross, make it stop! He's making me uncomfortable," Granger whined.

If Snape were honest with himself, he couldn't even blame the girl for complaining. If he were in her shoes, he might complain as well. But before Black could do anything Potter stepped forward and gave the girl a short bow and winked reassuringly. Perhaps his over-the-top antics were his way of trying to keep the girl's mind on something else but nothing was working. It was all Granger could do to keep repeating "this isn't happening, make it stop," in every language she could think of. It really was no wonder why the girl acted like such a know it all at times. Her parents had obviously never spared her a learning opportunity in her life.

"As you wish Princess Ladybug, please allow me the pleasure of doing this favor for you," James said dramatically before turning his attention to the young boy. "Listen to me you scrawny little twit. You are way out of your league so I suggest you listen to my wife and take a hike because on the count of three your backside is going to be looking at the wrong end of my antlers."

"What do you mean antlers," the boy replied.

"One, two, three, "James said ignoring the boys question.

Once again none of the boys moved and with a tiny pop James was gone and majestic stag stood in his place. The stag snorted pawing at the ground and the next second all three of Dudley's friends took off running. When Dudley watched as the stag turn back into his uncle Dudley hit the ground just like his aunt shaking the foundation of the floor. Petunia was livid calling James all kinds of names as she attempted to lift the unconscious boy over to the sofa. A feat which Severus was certain would be quite impossible without a forklift of some kind. James ignored his sister-in-law Lily however was turning just as red as her hair while she spoke to her relatives

"Now that were alone I think it's time we discuss what we're all doing hear," she said moving into the fire light.

Harry Potter was very anxious as he waited with bated breath to see if his mother and father would remember their promises. As of yet they hadn't broken any although his father might have come close if he had made good on his threat of goring Piers Polkiss in the behind. But to be honest Harry didn't think his father had any intention of goring any of the boys. Aunt Petunia maybe but if anyone was to be injured that day it was probably going to be Uncle Vernon. All the same Harry couldn't ignore the stupidity of his aunt calling her brother-in-law names after the magical display she had just witnessed. Much to Harry's surprise however it wasn't James who spoke up it was Harry's mother and she looked angrier than her son had ever seen her before.

"Now that were alone I think it's time we discuss what we're all doing here," Lily Potter said moving into the fire light.

"Don't worry Vernon we won't be staying long we just dropped by to let you know that we've decided on your punishment," she told Harry's aunt and uncle. "I must say you've been a very busy man Vernon, my father-in-law did some digging and as it turns out kidnapping and beating up helpless children isn't the only criminal activity you've been taking part in. Oh no Petunia, don't worry I could never let you go to prison. My husband and I have something much worse in mind."

"But you're not going to hurt them? You said you wouldn't," Harry reminded his mother quickly.

"Yes dear we promised," Lily said reassuringly. "However there are plenty of things good people can do to bad people to get a message across without sinking to their level. In the case of your aunt and uncle that would be Vernon losing his leisurely job running Grunnings and only being able to find work as a milkman."

Harry contemplated his mother's statement for a long time and after thinking about it he decided that she was right. As a matter of fact judging by Petunia's reaction to what her sister had said it was very apparent that Lily had struck a chord with aunt Petunia. Harry wondered if this would be enough to make his aunt filed for divorce. Then again Harry's mother and father probably wouldn't allow the Dursleys to escape justice so easily. Aunt Petunia shrieked loudly and fainted. Luckily Sirius was able to bring her around, although he took his sweet time doing so stating that it really was much more pleasant being around Petunia when she wasn't conscious. In fact Harry had a feeling that if it weren't for his desire to see the reaction to the rest of their visit Sirius might very well have just let her lie there unconscious.

Uncle Vernon on the other hand wasn't acting anything like Harry would've imagined. Harry would have expected his uncle to let out a roar of rage and start making threats. Instead Vernon Dursley's expression was completely calm and altogether quite happy. Noticing the pleasant smile on the man's face Professor Snape stepped forward pulled out his wand and pointed it in the direction of the fireplace.

All at once a dozen or so live bats flew down the chimney and into the Dursley living room swarming around Uncle Vernon's head. Professor Snape was staring at Uncle Vernon with such a look of repulsion that even Harry who was quite accustomed in the past to receiving those looks daily was surprised. This was a look that would have made Neville Longbottom wet himself with fright. Properly terrorized Uncle Vernon ran to hide behind his favorite leather recliner.

"You - you freaks don't have the nerve. W -why else would it have taken you a year to come back here," Vernon stammered.

"Let's get one thing straight shall we," said Remus advancing on Vernon with his wand drawn. "The only reason I didn't come back here sooner was because I wanted Lily and James here when I did. Believe me, you pompous, ugly walrus, I would've taken no greater pleasure than to deal with you away from Harry."

"Come on Petunia why don't you and I go get dinner started. I'm sure you're going to want to make it special considering this will be one of the last ones you'll be having with your son for quite a while," said Harry's mother practically levitating her poor sister into the kitchen.

While Professor Snape stupefied Harry's uncle who finally seem to understand just how serious the situation was Harry stared dumbfounded at the kitchen door as it swung shut. He couldn't believe what he just heard. His mother and father were going to remove Dudley from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's lives. Before coming to Little Whinging his parents had promised that they would not do anything to terrible to Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Did they not understand just how much Dudley meant to Mr. and Mrs. Dursley or were they just breaking their promise to their son right in front of his face? Aunt Petunia's sorrow was staggering. So much so that it brought Harry to his knees. Concerned Sirius and James hurried forward to help them regain his footing.

"Why are you taking Dudley away from her," Harry questioned staring into his father's hazel eyes. "Dudley is her entire life, losing him would kill Aunt Petunia."

"We have to Harry, leaving your cousin in this environment would be horribly irresponsible. There are lots of kinds of abuse and if Dudley stays here it will cripple him for life," said James patiently. "Don't worry he's going to go live with your mum's Aunt Elizabeth. She is a very good woman and she'll give him all of the appropriate attention he needs."

One awkward dinner later during which Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were force-fed a truth serum and asked to reveal everything they ever did to Harry, Ron or Hermione everyone waited anxiously for Aunt Elizabeth and the wizards at last left Little Whinging as nothing more than a bad memory. Snape disapparated first and James pulled out an old newspaper Portkey and instantaneously they arrived at a beautiful house on top of a scenic hill overlooking a rather charming village. Unlike Little Whinging however the village below was filled with little flaws here and there. At least enough to keep Harry from gagging on his own vomit. Something that he had done nearly every day of his life when he was living on Privet Drive.

"Now that were alone I think it's time we discuss what we're all doing here," Lily Potter said moving into the fire light.

"But you're not going to hurt them? You said you wouldn't," Harry reminded his mother quickly.

"You - you freaks don't have the nerve. W -why else would it have taken you a year to come back here," Vernon stammered.

"Why are you taking Dudley away from her," Harry questioned staring into his father's hazel eyes. "Dudley is her entire life, losing him would kill Aunt Petunia."

Authors note just one more to go