Everything is Relative
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC.
When Harry returned home on time for dinner, a letter from Albus Dumbledore with another memory was waiting for him.
"I wonder why he sends me these memories," he sighed, after quickly watching a scene, which had to have taken place at a time, when Voldemort was a student at Hogwarts.
"There are two ways to find out," Sirius quipped, "either ask him or simply ignore him."
Harry let out a scoff. "Oh well, I believe that I'm going to simply ignore him for the time being."
"I wonder how many memories he'll send you," Susan spoke up, questioningly.
"He surely wants to teach Harry something," Hermione reasoned, "but the question is what."
"He doesn't realise that Harry is already beyond his level of wisdom due to working together with the Unspeakables," Luna said, airily, smiling at Harry.
"He probably doesn't even know that the Horcrux behind your scar is gone," Dudley stated, matter-of-factly.
"Oh well, we'll see if he sends more memories," Harry replied, grinning, as he put the small phial into a drawer in the parlour, where he had already placed the first two phials from Dumbledore.
HP
After his Unspeakable training with Devil on Sunday, which was as tiring as the one on the previous day, Felina and Whisker told him about their plan concerning the demise of Voldemort.
"You could talk your relatives into inviting him for dinner in the old Dursley house," Felina suggested, only to add as an afterthought, "if you cancel the Fidelius charm."
"And then?" Harry asked, incredulously.
"Nothing," Felina replied, smirking. "We will be there, invisibly, to keep all of you safe. You'll meet with him every Sunday for dinner, and only at the third time, you'll strike."
"I'm going to kill him on the third time?" Harry enquired, giving the Unspeakables a frightened look. "And if I fail and he kills Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon or Dudley, before I get around to get to him?"
"We will both be there," Whisker was the first to reply in a firm voice, "and you won't kill him anyway. We'll teach you the spell you're going to cast. It's fool proof, and he won't even know that it was you who did something to him."
'What?' Harry thought, incredulously. 'I thought the prophecy said that I had to kill him.'
HP
During the following week, on Felina's request, Harry arranged a meeting between Petunia, Dudley, Vernon, Regina, Felina and Whisker. He invited them all for Wednesday evening at nine o'clock into the founders' quarters.
Harry observed Petunia with mixed feelings, wondering how she would react to the two Unspeakables, when they revealed themselves. 'I hope she and Dudley and Uncle Vernon will be able to forgive them like I did,' he thought. 'By now, they've become invaluable allies in my fight against Voldemort.'
When everyone was seated and Dobby had served refreshments, Felina and Whisker pulled their hoods down.
"Petunia, Vernon, Dudley," Regina spoke up first. "I'd like to introduce my sister Rebecca and her fiancé Artemis."
The Dursleys merely nodded in understanding, apparently sensing that there was more to the story.
"Mrs. Dursley," Rebecca said in a soft voice, "I wish to apologize full heartedly for what I did to you."
"Was it you who bound my magic? Petunia enquired, glaring at the older witch.
"Yes, that was us," Rebecca admitted, "for the simple reason that you're Voldemort's daughter and we were afraid that you might turn as evil as him. I am really sorry."
"That's gross," Dudley blurted out, staring at Rebecca. "If you're Regina's sister, you must be a Lestrange, and the Lestranges are one of the evilest families in the magical world, as far as I've heard."
"Yes, that's true," Rebecca admitted. "I'm sorry. I was young and… stupid."
They talked until late that night, before the Dursleys decided to do what Harry had already promised the Unspeakables – to forgive, even if they would not be able to easily forget about the matter.
Petunia, Vernon and Dudley readily accepted the Unspeakables' plan for the demise of Voldemort and agreed to invite the older wizard, to whom they were obviously related, for dinner at the Dursley house every Sunday evening.
"You must be careful," Rebecca warned them. "Even if he requested to see you and wishes to make family connections, he only changed his opinion due to a charmed device that Artemis used to manipulate him. We don't know if this charm will be permanent or if it might fail eventually. Therefore, you still must be careful."
"From what I saw in the memories that Dumbledore sent me of a young Tom Riddle, which was his real name, before he took on the name Voldemort, his greatest wish was to have a family, so perhaps, it's not only because of your meddling," Harry spoke up, thoughtfully.
"That might be," Rebecca admitted, "but still, we want you to be careful."
"One of the first things," Artemis took over, "that Harry will learn at the Unspeakables' office is telepathy, and if Harry notices that something might be off with Voldemort, he can call us over in a blink. Moreover, during the first three meetings we intend to be invisibly present in any case."
"During the third meeting, we've planned for Harry to cast a spell at him that makes him a muggle," Rebecca continued.
"Petunia let out a gasp. "You're going to bind his magic this time?" she asked in apparent disbelief.
"No, that would be harmless in comparison to what we're going to do," Artemis replied, glancing at Harry. "He will become just a normal muggle, and it's irreversible."
"Even muggles can get magic from a wizard or witch," Vernon spoke up, glancing at Harry.
Rebecca and Artemis exchanged a glance.
"I suppose that procedure is not commonly known in the magical world," Harry spoke up, smirking.
"Do you think that it's wise to let him live as a muggle?" Dudley spoke up, seemingly sceptical. "After all that he has done, wouldn't it be better for the magical world if he was really gone?"
Petunia let out a deep sigh. "Dudley, as many bad things as he might have done, he's still your grandfather. I will never forgive him for killing my sister and my parents though," she added, grimly.
"He didn't," Rebecca admitted. "He believes that he did, but he didn't succeed."
'She told me that before,' Harry thought. 'Something about time travel, but I haven't seen any evidence so far.'
"Rebecca saved the Potters' lives and also your parents'," Artemis spoke up, glancing at his fiancée. "She was there, when Voldemort attacked them and sent them on a time travel from right under his nose."
"Where are they then?" Petunia enquired in understandable disbelief.
"They're in some kind of time travel limbo," Rebecca explained, sighing. "We're planning to make them arrive right after Voldemort's defeat. Oh well, defeat means that he gives up his Voldemort persona and accepts that he is a muggle."
Vernon scoffed. "Will he ever?" he asked, incredulously.
"We shall see," Rebecca replied, glancing at her wrist watch.
In the end, it was decided that Harry should send a letter to Voldemort and invite him for dinner on Sunday. If that went well, they would invite him for the next Sunday again.
"If you don't wish to meet him again, tell me and I'll think of something else. I have enough ideas," Rebecca informed Petunia, before she took her leave and simply popped away.
HP
On Saturday evening, Sirius and Harry stepped through the connecting doors to the Dursley house for the first time in many months and cancelled the Fidelius charm, which was not necessary for Voldemort to find the house, as Harry had written the address into the dinner invitation, but for Felina and Whisker.
At the same time, Petunia discussed the menu with the house-elves.
"Mum, why don't you just ask Harry to cook?" Dudley spoke up from the other side of the parlour, where he was giving Regina, Vernon and Hannah an Animagus lesson. "Sorry to say this, but his cooking is still the best."
"Winky's cooking is not bad," Winky protested, glaring at him."
"No Winky, it is not," Petunia replied in a soothing voice. "Your cooking is excellent, and since I want Harry to fully concentrate on the meeting with my father, I'd like you and Dobby to do all the cooking tomorrow."
Winky profusely thanked Petunia, bowing deeply, before she popped away in apparent excitement.
'Probably to tell Dobby the good news that they're allowed to cook for Voldemort tomorrow. As if Winky and Dredy didn't do all the cooking here anyway,' Dudley thought, rolling his eyes in annoyance at the elves' antics. 'All three of them are really nuts,' he thought, before he returned his attention to the task at hand, realising in excitement that Hannah had managed to transform her hand into a paw.
"If it's a family meeting," Hannah then spoke up, pensively, "shouldn't Harry's three girlfriends and I accompany you?"
"Of course dear, you're very welcome to accompany us, but do you really wish to dine together with Voldemort?" Petunia asked in disbelief.
"He will be as happy as Harry to have a large family," Luna spoke up, casting her a dreamy smile, "and the Unspeakables will keep us safe."
HP
On Sunday evening, the four young ladies accompanied Petunia, Harry, Dudley and Vernon through the connecting doors to the Dursley house, where they waited in excitement for Voldemort to arrive. Felina and Whisker made themselves visible only for an instant – just to reassure Harry and his family that they were present and ready to fight Voldemort if the necessity arose.
"Please remember that everything he says and believes is mainly due to a charm. We believe that the ideas will eventually replace his former beliefs, but we are not sure to which extent, and the charm could fail at any time. Please be careful," Felina repeated her earlier warning, and everyone nodded in understanding.
'Thank Merlin the girls listened carefully, when I talked to them last night,' Harry thought. When he returned home and heard about their plan to accompany them, he had gathered the four girls and Dudley and informed them about the Unspeakables' meddling with Merlin's Drum as detailed as he was allowed to do.
Punctually at seven o'clock, Voldemort stepped out of the fireplace, and Harry walked over to greet him and introduce him to the family, as he had agreed with Petunia beforehand.
"This is Tom," he informed everyone, who then introduced themselves to the older wizard.
"How come that you suddenly wished to meet us?" Petunia enquired, when they were seated around the kitchen table and began to eat.
Tom sighed. "I've abandoned by Death Eaters and my former beliefs and decided that family is the most important in this world," he admitted. "I will also give up my title as Lord Voldemort if I only manage to get a proper family name."
"Is Riddle not a proper name?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"It reminds me of my muggle father who abandoned my mother and me upon hearing that she was a witch," Tom admitted, before he continued, "Petunia, would you perhaps be willing to accept me into the Slytherin family?"
"Slytherin?" Petunia asked, wide-eyed, glancing at Harry.
"Your mother was the heir of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family," Tom informed her, causing Petunia to shake her head.
"No Tom, that's not true," she replied, smirking. "My father, Paul Evans, was the heir of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family, and as he is not my birth father, we are only the heirs to the Gaunt family through you. Harry is the heir of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family."
Seeing Tom cast his daughter a look of pure disbelief, Harry added, "That's true, and since I haven't accepted the lordship over the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family and won't do so before my wedding, I can't add you to the family. At least not now," he added as an afterthought.
"I understand," Tom replied, seemingly pensive, before Hermione efficiently managed to change the topic, as she enquired if Tom was an Animagus.
"I am a snake Animagus," Tom admitted, before the family members informed him about their Animagi forms. "I had a snake familiar, Nagini," Tom added, "but I lost her a few weeks ago. We went to roam a muggle area together, but she never returned home. I can only assume that something happened to her and she's dead."
'He really seems sad about it,' Harry thought in surprise. 'I didn't think that he could feel this kind of emotions about another being.'
During the rest of the meal, they talked about this and that, before Petunia invited her birth father to come again the following Sunday.
"I gladly accept the invitation," Tom replied, giving her a rare smile. "Thank you very much for dinner and the introduction to your family."
HP
During the following week, Harry discussed their dinner with Tom with the family and his colleagues, and everyone agreed that if Tom's complete change of attitude was only caused by a charm, then it was extremely well done.
To Harry's relief, Felina and Whisker promised to be present again for the next meeting, as Harry felt too uncertain to expose his family to the evil wizard without their comforting presence.
"Sorry that you had to watch us eat," he added as an afterthought, causing Felina to grin.
"Your house-elf Dobby saw to it that we had a full course meal just like you," she informed him.
"Oh, that's good," Harry said in relief, thinking, 'That was well done then. I need to commend him on that.'
HP
As soon as he returned home, Harry called Dobby and commended him for unobtrusively serving dinner for his colleagues in the Dursley kitchen.
Dobby's face lit with apparent pride at Harry's words, before he sobered and said in a small voice, "Master Harry, Dobby would like to ask for a favour."
"Of course, Dobby, what is it?" Harry enquired in surprise, knowing that Dobby barely ever asked for anything.
Dobby wrung his hands, apparently uncertain how to ask, before he blurted out, "Winky and Dobby would like to have a baby together. Would that be all right for Master Harry?"
"A baby elf?" Harry asked in surprise, smiling broadly. "I'd love that, Dobby. Please don't forget to inform Aunt Petunia as well, considering that Winky is bonded to her."
"I will tell Winky now. Thank you so much, Master Harry," Dobby all but shouted, bowing deeply, before he popped away, probably to find Winky.
"What was that about?" Hermione enquired, causing Harry to chuckle.
"Dobby and Winky want to have a baby," he informed the family. "Aunt Petunia, Winky will surely ask you shortly."
"She already asked me earlier today," Petunia replied, smiling. "I told her that we were looking forward to it."
HP
Just like the Sunday before, Rebecca and Artemis made themselves comfortable in a corner of the Dursleys' kitchen, which was under an invisible charm and a silencing spell to observe the second meeting of Harry and his family with Voldemort.
Knowing that Whisker's charms on Voldemort seemed to be working extremely well, they did not expect to have to do anything to him; nevertheless, they were not going to take any chances and observed the conversation between Tom and the family in more or less boredom.
Feline however became alert, when the older wizard had the gall to ask Petunia if it was all right for her and Dudley if he accepted the Lordship over the Gaunt family and made Dudley his heir then.
'Dudley already is the heir. At least that's what Harry told us,' Rebecca thought and decided to interfere.
'Petunia, this is Rebecca, please tell him to go to see Buckbean at Gringotts and see if the ring will accept him, which it will definitely not,' she informed Petunia through telepathy, inwardly sighing in relief, when the younger witch complied.
"If that's what you wish, I believe that you'll have to go to see Buckbean, our account manager at Gringotts, and speak with him about the matter," Petunia replied to Voldemort. "I will accompany you if you wish."
Hearing that Petunia and her father agreed to meet in front of Gringotts on Tuesday morning, Rebecca did not hesitate. "Artemis, let's just do it," she whispered to her fiancé, inwardly sighing in relief, when he nodded in agreement – like he had always done on her suggestions. Together, they cast the spell, which they had originally planned to have Harry cast at Voldemort.
'Harry, don't worry,' Rebecca then thought to her youngest colleague, 'we've already cast that specific spell at Voldemort. His magic is most likely gone now.'
HP
In spite of knowing that Rebecca and Artemis were very efficient with their spells, considering that they had managed to fool Petunia for about three decades, Harry felt uneasy at the idea of having Petunia accompany Voldemort to Gringotts, and his uneasiness only intensified by his girlfriends' concerns. However, when he made a short excurse to the Unspeakables' office on Monday evening, Felina and Whisker had already spoken with Ninja, and the goblin Unspeakable confirmed that, even if Voldemort had not become a muggle by their spell, which they could not confirm in one or the other direction yet, magic had already accepted him as dead, so that the Gaunt ring would not accept him anyway. "There is a minor chance that the ring will still accept him if his magic is not gone, but I don't think so," he reassured Harry.
"Nevertheless, if Ninja calls us for help, Whisker, Aros and I will be there in a blink," Felina reassured Harry.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the very few but kind reviews for the previous chapter. My muse really needs and appreicates the feedback.
Next chapter: "The time chamber".