Raising Harry

PetuniaxSeverus, Harry

Rated T

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Raising Harry

Chapter 28: Retrieving Basilisk Venom and Destroying Horcruxes

The next morning Petunia wrote a letter to Severus, detailing how she and Sirius had been able to retrieve two Horcruxes so far and that they planned to destroy them with Basilisk venom. She also wrote that she and Sirius needed to infiltrate Hogwarts undetected to get to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve a Basilisk fang from the skeleton of the giant serpent, as well as to get out with his help. She knew it was a bit much to ask of her lover, but she really hoped he could be of help to them. Once she was done with her letter she sent it off with Columbus, watching as the barn owl flew off to Hogwarts to deliver her letter.

She hoped Severus would be cooperative with them, seeing as it was very important that they try to finish off as many Horcruxes as possible. She still thought of her vision of Voldemort returning and torturing Harry, and she didn't want that to happen. She'd do anything to protect her child, even hunting these stupid Horcruxes. She also figured Dumbledore assigned this to her to keep her busy and away from Harry, but she knew the boy would be fine with Severus looking out for him. Hopefully Severus would get back to her at some point in the afternoon with his response to her letter, in the hopes that he wasn't too busy with his duties as a professor.

When noontime rolled around, Petunia had just finished reading a book when there was a tap on the window. Looking up she saw that her owl had returned and had a letter in his beak. Standing Petunia went to open her window and Columbus flew inside, landing to perch on the back of a chair, waiting for his owner to take the letter. Petunia smiled at her familiar and stroked his feathers before taking the letter, knowing it was from Severus. Taking a deep breath she opened it and began to read its contents.

Petunia,

I will be available to help you and Black come into Hogwarts unseen and will lead you both down to the Chamber of Secrets, if that is where you both so wish to go. However I have harvested some venom from the Basilisk and I can just give you a few phials. But if you really do require the fang, then I will help you regardless. I know you don't know how to Apparate yet, so Black will have to Side-Apparate you along tomorrow. I will be waiting by the gates during lunch, so I will see you both then.

Love,

Severus

P.S. I hope Black hasn't been too much of a nuisance to you, or I'll throttle him.

Petunia couldn't help but chuckle a bit as she finished reading the letter. Severus was willing to help! Of course she should have known he had some Basilisk venom on hand, being a Potions Master and all. But she didn't want to take all that he had from his stores; she figured Basilisk venom was hard to come by and didn't want to rob her lover of all that he had. If he was certain, she'd take a few phials, but a fang or two seemed reasonable to have for later, just in case.

Setting the letter down, the blonde woman set to writing a new letter, this time to Sirius to inform him of Severus' response and their meet time for the next day. Once she was done writing the letter, she gave her owl a treat before sending him off once again. She'd make sure to give him some much needed rest time with all the back and forth flying he was doing.


The next day at lunchtime, Severus was standing outside of the gates waiting for Black and Petunia to appear. He didn't mind that Petunia wanted to get in and out of Hogwarts without being seen to get help to destroy the Horcruxes she and Black found. No, it was Black that he minded. He didn't trust the idiot to keep himself scarce and not be noticed. But he'd have to trust—and have a lot of trust—that the Animagus could do exactly that.

Before long Sirius and Petunia Apparated into the wards and in front of Severus, Petunia stumbling a bit. When she got her bearings she looked up and smiled at her lover, walking over to him to give him a hug and kiss in greeting. Pulling away from him she said, "Thank you so much for allowing us to do this."

"It's fine," Severus replied. "Let's go while everyone is in the Great Hall."

Severus led the other two adults back towards Hogwarts, ignoring Sirius as he reminisced about his time as a student. However he shot him a deathly glare when he started to reminisce about the time he and James strung him upside down in the air and dropped his trousers for the school to see his underwear. Petunia knew about that incident as well, seeing as Lily had written home about it and that her friendship with Severus was over due to him calling her a Mudblood. Their parents had been upset by the news and was appalled Severus had called their daughter such a slur, but they figured Lily may have overreacted considering the situation. Though she hadn't liked Severus or Lily at the time, even Petunia thought that Severus had probably called her sister a Mudblood out of anger and humiliation for what her Housemates had done to him, considering all they had done to him over their years as Hogwarts students. She had thought if Lily had had time to cool off and think about it, she'd eventually forgive him for that and resume their friendship, if possible. However she never got the chance to ask her if she had done so when they reconnected again before Lily and James were killed.

The three of them entered Hogwarts and walked up the stairs to the Second Floor and headed for the Girl's Bathroom. Entering it Severus pointed to one of the sinks and said, "This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. However you can only open it by speaking Parseltongue, something I am not able to do and am surprised Harry knows how to do."

"Well shite, how are we to get inside to get a Basilisk fang?" Sirius asked.

"Severus has venom he is willing to give us to use," Petunia said.

"But I wanted the adventure of getting the Basilisk fang!" Sirius all but whined like a child, causing Severus and Petunia to roll their eyes. Before more could be said, a familiar voice said, "Uncle Sev?"

Turning to the entrance of the bathroom, three pairs of eyes landed on Draco Malfoy peering inside of the bathroom, a confused expression on his face. Stepping inside he said, "Hello, Mrs. Dursley, Sirius Black. What are you two doing here?"

Sirius looked at Draco for a moment before saying, "Blondie, you're my cousin's kid and Harry's friend. Have you heard him speak Parseltongue?"

Draco frowned before nodding slowly. When Sirius asked him if he could possibly repeat anything Harry had spoken, Draco furrowed his brows further before shrugging and saying, "I can try, but I make no promises it'll work or sound remotely like snake language."

"Any attempt will do, Draco," Severus told him before gesturing for him to speak to the sink. Realizing that they were trying to open the Chamber of Secrets, Draco nodded before opening his mouth and spoke something his best friend had said from memory in Parseltongue. He didn't think the hissing sounded quite right, but the sink shifted and soon moved to show the first entrance into the chamber.

Petunia thanked Draco before peering down into the deep, dark entrance. She remembered Severus telling her Harry's adventure into the Chamber of Secrets when he was twelve and was momentarily worried about entering, but gathered courage and headed inside, quickly followed by Sirius. Once they were out of sight, Severus looked at Draco and said, "No one is to know about this. Don't even ask about it."

"Yes sir," Draco replied before leaving the bathroom, ignoring Moaning Myrtle as she winked and giggled at him from where she had been watching from the top of the stalls.


Petunia's blue eyes stared wide-eyed at the huge, absolutely huge skeleton of what was the Basilisk that her nephew had slain. She couldn't believe Harry had fought this thing and nearly died! She was beginning to wonder if Hogwarts was especially safe for Harry to continue as a student. She watched as Sirius followed the skeleton completely fascinated by the serpent skeleton before finally ending up at the head where plenty of still intact teeth were.

Squatting down next to it Petunia said, "I think we only need maybe…two? Yeah, two."

Sirius nodded and replied, "Yeah, I imagine there is enough venom in a fang to kill fifty Horcruxes. And it will be good to have an extra in case we lose one."

With that said, Sirius reached over and grasped one of the skeleton's fangs, pulling on it until it was dislodged. Once he put that one down, he grabbed another one and did the same. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a shrunken bag and enlarged it, placing the fangs inside of it and closing it tight. He nodded and stood up, helping Petunia up as well and the two of them left the Chamber of Secrets.

Before long they made it back up the chamber and back into the girl's bathroom where Severus was still waiting. Black eyes watched them come out and he asked, "Did you acquire the fangs?"

"Yes, and that skeleton is awesome. It should be in a Muggle museum," Sirius said as he helped Petunia out.

Petunia brushed the dirt and such from her pants and said, "I'd rather not see that thing in any Muggle museum. They'll think it is some sort of prehistoric serpent and then scientists will try to use the DNA in the bones and try and trace it and such. It's already supposed to be an urban legend or something like that and I can't imagine what the public will do upon finding out that it is real."

"Petunia is right, that skeleton will stay right where it is," Severus said as his lover walked to him and wrapped her arms around him. He cast a quick Tempus Spell to check the time and said, "We have about five minutes before lunch is over and I imagine some students have already left the Great Hall to head for their next classes. To avoid being seen and talked about, cast Disillusionment Charms on yourselves and follow me to the entrance." He then looked at Petunia. "Do you need me to cast it on you?"

"No, I can do it. I actually remember how and am excited to try it on myself." Petunia looked very proud of herself as she told Severus that. Taking her wand she twirled it around herself as she encanted the charm and soon her entire being disappeared for the most part and she seemed to take on the colors of her surroundings. Of course if she moved Severus and Sirius could still somewhat see her, but she wouldn't be obvious from the passing students. Sirius did the same to himself and the two of them followed the Potions Master out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the entrance of Hogwarts and out onto the grounds towards the gates.

Reaching the gates Severus cancelled the Disillusionment Charms on Petunia and Sirius before reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out four full phials. Handing them to Petunia he said, "These are phials of Basilisk venom. Use them wisely when you do use them. And if you don't use them all, I'd like them back, please."

The blonde woman took the little glass containers and smiled up at her lover before nodding and saying, "I will. I'll write you later since I might not get to see you any time soon. And tell Harry I said 'hello'."

Severus nodded and pressed a kiss to Petunia's lips. The two of them hugged, their PDA a little surprising to Sirius seeing Snape of all people being affectionate, but he rolled his eyes before urging Petunia to hurry so they could leave. They did have two Horcruxes to destroy, after all. Clearing his throat he said, "Alright, we're done here. Let's go now, Petunia."

Black eyes glared at the other wizard before Severus looked back down at Petunia and giving her a soft smile. Giving her one more kiss he lightly pushed her towards the gates so she could leave with Sirius. She waved at him as they walked through the gates and out of the wards before allowing Sirius to take hold of her arm and Disapparate away with her. Once they were gone Severus sighed before squaring his shoulders and turning to stride back to the castle, his robes billowing behind him.


Sirius took the golden box from the secret compartment in one of the shelves of his family library and walked back to the center of the room where Petunia was waiting. Reaching in his pocket he pulled out the shrunken bag that held the two Basilisk fangs and enlarged it before passing it off to the blonde woman. Looking at her he asked, "Are you ready for this?"

Petunia opened the bag and pulled out a fang, mindful of it to make sure she didn't stick and accidently poison herself. Holding it in her hand she took a deep breath before answering, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Nodding Sirius opened the box and pulled out the ring and locket, bending down to place them on the carpeted floor. Squatting down as well, Petunia looked at Sirius who gave her a reassuring nod, and looked back down at the two Horcruxes. Tightening her grip on the fang, she raised it in the air and brought it down, striking the locket and quickly stabbing the ring as well. Black smoke began to billow and rise up out of the two objects, startling the two magical people and causing them to quickly stand and step back and away from the dying Horcruxes. The smoke then began swirl and take shape until it took the forms of two people. Petunia only recognized one of them, but Sirius knew them both. The smoke from the Horcruxes had taken on the forms Severus Snape and Orion Black.

Grey eyes widened when the Orion figure looked at him and scowled before saying, "Sirius, I have never been so disappointed and disgusted with anyone like I am with you. You were supposed to be my heir and carry on the Black family, but you couldn't even do that. Always gallivanting around with that no good friend of yours James Potter, never taking your family name seriously. And then you caused the death of your own mother upon breaking her heart knowing you got yourself thrown into Azkaban. You are a disgrace to the Black family and the House of Black. You will never amount to anything in this life, Sirius."

Sirius blanched and blinked before glaring back at the figure, disgusted that this thing used his father's image to hurt him. He may not have gotten on with his father when the man had been alive, but he knew his father would never have said that to him, no matter how disappointed in him that he was. Realizing that it had played on some deep hidden insecurities of his, he looked over towards Petunia to let her know this, only to see her standing with tears running down her face. He hadn't the slightest clue what this fake Snape had said to her, but he wasn't going to let it continue if it was affecting her like this.

Hurrying over towards the witch he bent down and grabbed the fang that she had dropped and used it to finished stabbing the Horcruxes. A terrible, ear piercing scream filled the library and the entirety of Grimmauld Place before the smoke finally died down and the Horcruxes died, leaving behind destroyed pieces of jewelry. Straightening back up looked at Petunia, taking in how she silently stood where she was, her tears still streaming down her face from her eyes and a very pained expression on her face.

"Petunia," Sirius said softly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

Petunia sniffled and wiped her face of her tears before mumbling, "I want to go home."

"Petunia, what did that thing say to you?"

"Just take me home, Sirius!"

"Look, I don't know what that fake Snape said to you, but whatever it was it wasn't true. Snape, as much as I don't care for him, cares about you. He not only cares, but he loves you. I can tell he loves you, and I still find it hard to pinpoint his emotions, even when they're obvious. I've never seen him as happy as I did today at Hogwarts, even when he was in love with Lily. You make him happy Petunia and he loves you. You have to believe that."

The blonde woman nodded as more tears filled her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks, taking Sirius' words to heart. He hadn't heard what that awful thing had said to her, but she was glad that he was able to reassure her. He was right; those words spoken weren't true and Severus loved her, just like she loved him. Giving Sirius a watery smile she softly told him, "Thank you."

The younger man nodded and gently led Petunia through his family home and out of Grimmauld Place to take her home. Once they were in front of her house, he told her he would see her later and left to leave. However he was surprised when she gave him a hug before going inside her home. Sirius Disapparated back to Grimmauld Place and went back inside to the library to dispose of the destroyed Horcruxes, all the while wondering if destroying the other ones once they found them was going to be that awful. He hoped Petunia would be alright.


Author's Note: Hi guys! I apologize if this chapter seems a little late. School has started back up again and I'm finally getting back into the swing of college life. I hope you all liked this chapter and found it alright. The next chapter will focus mainly on Harry and the Yule Ball. Again, I hope you all like this chapter and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next one. XOXO, SehunsBae37.