Chapter 49

The first two weeks of the summer passed at such a snail's pace that Eliza felt like she had been away from Hogwarts for a year, or more. Kingsley certainly made himself at home and Uncle Vernon was spending more and more time at work simply to avoid being in the house. He often ate out and didn't return until after nine.

Aunt Petunia hated having a fully qualified wizard living in her house but she preferred to ignore his presence and clean the house to within an inch of its life every single day to leaving the house unattended (by her at least). Dudley spent most of the time at his friends' houses and Eliza knew how difficult Aunt Petunia was finding everything.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia." She said one evening as they were washing up together. Uncle Vernon was still not home and Dudley was at the boxing club.

"It's only a few more days, do you know where we'll be going?"

"No, I don't think they'd tell me if I asked. It's a security risk." Aunt Petunia nodded and rubbed a grease stain on a glass tumbler so hard it was as if it had personally offended her.

"Just a few more days. Where will you go?" She asked, holding up the now clean glass and passing it to her niece to dry and picking up a soapy glass oven dish.

"Can't tell you exactly but we're going to try and kill Voldemort." Eliza said, bluntly, she didn't really feel the need to sugar-coat things for her aunt. Apparently this was a mistake.

Aunt Petunia dropped the glass oven dish that she had been scrubbing and it smashed on the floor. Kingsley ran into the room pulling his wand out.

"You're going after him!" She said, ignoring Kingsley's entrance. He edged back out of the room realising that he was intruding on a private moment. Eliza waited for a moment before continuing.

"Yes, me and Harry. We can end it, well Harry can end it but I'm not letting him go on his own. He needs my help."

"Eliza, you'll be killed!" She said, looking down at her niece, terrified.

"Maybe but if we don't do something we'll be killed anyway."

"Why can't you just run away?" Eliza gave a hollow laugh.

"I tried that, ran off at Hogwarts for three weeks." The broken dish lay on the floor between them but neither woman was paying it any attention or making any effort to clean it up.

"Yes, Professor Mc-something sent me a letter. Why did you come back? You could still run off now couldn't you, stay safe?"

"I can't. I hurt a lot of people by running off, it was cowardly, and I won't do it again."

"Eliza, you'll be killed if you stay."

"Maybe, sometimes I think it's inevitable but I can't run off, I have to stay and fight."

"Why?"

"Because I know how to be brave." Aunt Petunia burst into tears and Eliza looked at her startled, and unsure what to do.

"Umm…I'm sure I'll be fine Aunt Petunia." Suddenly her Aunt pulled her into a hug and Eliza froze; it was like a skinny version of a Mrs Weasley hug. Petunia stopped and held Eliza at arm's length.

"You're your mother's daughter Eliza, she knew how to be brave, and she ended up dead!" The scene was disturbed by the sound of the front door opening; Uncle Vernon walked into the kitchen and stopped dead. He looked from the broken dish on the floor to his wife's tear stained face and finally to his niece. He seemed to charge like a bull.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER, YOU USELESS GIRL?" He grabbed onto Eliza and shook her violently, banging her head on the kitchen cupboard.

"VERNON, NO!" Petunia cried but Kingsley had appeared in the room and he pulled Vernon off Eliza so quickly that she fell to the floor, landing on a piece of the broken dish which pierced her arm. Vernon was thrown to the floor banging his head on the kitchen table and did not stir.

"What's going…shit, Eliza are you okay?" Harry asked after running down the stairs. He leapt over his Uncle and knelt down next to Eliza.

Eliza sat there feeling dazed, so much had happened in the last five minutes and she didn't know how to respond. Aunt Petunia had hugged her, Uncle Vernon had attacked her, Kingsley had saved her, she looked up at Harry, and he seemed to sway.

"Eliza, are you okay?" Kingsley asked, kneeling down next to her. Eliza tried to nod but instead she leaned back into the cupboard.

"He banged her head on the cupboard, quite hard." Aunt Petunia said and Eliza saw Harry look at his aunt as if she had just gone mad.

"Eliza, drink this it will clear your head. I'd rather not do magic if I can really help it, don't want to give the Ministry an excuse to intervene." Eliza drank the Potion and her head cleared instantly.

"She feels better." Harry said confidently and Eliza nodded.

"How do you know?" Aunt Petunia asked still looking worriedly at Eliza.

"It's complicated but she's feeling better, what about her arm, Kingsley?" He asked and Kingsley looked down at where the corner of the oven dish was embedded in Eliza's wrist.

"Can you move your fingers?" He asked. She complied, wincing only slightly.

"I can numb it with this…" He pulled out a tub of blue powder and sprinkled some on Eliza's wrist, Petunia looked away she was never good with the sight of blood, or magic. "…and then I can pull it out. I've got a blood replenishing potion and the bone isn't broken. If it's still a problem when we get you out of here we can get Poppy to have a look. Is it numb?" Eliza nodded.

Kingsley started to pull out the clear glass and a spurt of blood shot out and hit Aunt Petunia on the face, Harry passed her a dishcloth from the side and she wiped it off with a shaking hand as Kingsley teased out the rest of the dish. He then grabbed a bandage from his pocket and wrapped Eliza's wrist tightly and raised it above her head.

"Do you think all the glass is out, Eliza?" She nodded, feeling faint.

"Drink this and then go and lie down for a while." Eliza drank the Potion and Harry and Kingsley helped her to her feet, Uncle Vernon was still lying, apparently unconscious by the kitchen table. Petunia picked up the glass pieces and put them on the side. Eliza staggered past them started to walk, and then turned to go into her cupboard but Petunia darted forwards and grabbed her.

"No, Eliza, upstairs remember?"

"I'll help her, Aunt Petunia" Harry said, coming and guiding Eliza carefully up the stairs.

Petunia watched them go biting her lip and then turned back into the kitchen. She looked at Kingsley and then down at her husband.

"Why are you here?" She asked, closing the kitchen door behind her.

"Protection." He said, looking back at her, unblinking.

"Whose? Ours," she indicated to a picture of herself, Vernon and Dudley by the window, "or theirs?" She asked, pointing up at the ceiling.

"While they are here, you are safe from Voldemort." Kingsley said, leaning back onto the counter.

"What have they said?" Petunia asked, casting a nervous glance at her husband.

"Very little, that's the problem…" He was interrupted by Vernon moaning on the floor. Aunt Petunia took a deep breath before bending down and taking on the role of a worried wife, and angry aunt. Kingsley looked at her and nodded before walking out onto the street and sitting down on a bench on the other side of the road.

"Well?" The invisible voice of Mad-Eye Moody came from next to him. Kingsley did not turn but remained forwards, looking at number four.

"Petunia and Eliza were talking in the kitchen, the Uncle came home and attacked Eliza. I threw him off her. She banged her head and cut her arm but she'll be fine. Petunia knows why we're there. I don't think she'll cause any problems in the safe house, tell them to keep him under close watch though."

"Will do, sure she's okay?" Moody asked.

"Yeah, gave her a Potion and she's sleeping it off. Nearly slipped up and walked into the cupboard under the stairs when I told her to go and lie down though."

"So it seems even she can slip up occasionally." Moody said gruffly, the whole Order were walking on eggshells around the girl, terrified she would disappear again if pushed. Moody couldn't help but admire the girl, he suspected she would last well under torture.

"Well she had just lost a lot of blood and banged her head, Petunia looked petrified though. I'll keep an eye on her tonight."

"Make sure you do." Kingsley nodded and walked backed into the house. Just a few more days, he thought wistfully.


A/N So here we are at the start of DH, hang on to you hats it's going to be a bumpy ride! I've decided not the split the story, thanks for helping me decide. Short chapter I know but the next one is long to make up for it!

Next chapter; The Dursley's finally leave Privet Drive, Harry gets a headache (this is relevant and not just an odd thing to say), and Fred gets on the wrong side of Eliza.

Thanks to mozie for beta-ing