The soft click of a door woke Harry up, the sunlight streaming under his curtains brought him to full wakefulness. Panicking he thrashed around until he realised that he was in his new bed in Dudley's old toy room. Searching around for a minute, he found his glasses and padded out of his bedroom, taking care not to let the door make any noise as he opened and closed it. The faint sound of snuffling floated up the stairs, so he padded down to see what it was.

Curled up on the end of the sofa he saw his Aunt crying softly.

"Aunt Petunia, are you ok?"

Getting no response he walks round in front of her and repeats himself. Still getting no response he pushes Fox towards her. Feeling the plush on her hand she looks up to see Harry.

"Can I hug you?" he asks in a small voice.

Mutely she nods, and he climbs onto the sofa next to her and tries to hug her the way she hugged him the other day. He also tries to give her the feeling of warmth and comfort that he feels when he's cocooned in his blanket in the Cupboard. He's not sure when it happens, but he falls asleep hugging her and the next thing he knows she's shaking him awake gently. The clock on the wall shows that it's now six in the morning, and it takes him a couple of moments to remember where he is and why.

Petunia looks down with a sad smile on her face. She can't believe that she ever resented his presence when she looks at him there. Then he looks up at her and she gives him a sad smile. The pain from last night has died down a little so they both need to get moving before it gets too late.

"We need to move, thank you for the hug, it's really helped. Go get washed up and we'll do the prep for breakfast and then try to meditate, is that OK?"

Mutely he nods, so she gives him one last squeeze before reaching up and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Hey, we're both still alive and that's what counts right? Don't forget your fox". He turns back and gives her a sad smile before trudging back upstairs.

Once breakfast is done they both sit down on the floor opposite each other and try to meditate. Petunia sets an egg timer for an hour beside them so that they stop before Vernon is likely to wake up. They then get ready for the day and Petunia gets out one of his schoolbooks and starts going through it with him until they hear Vernon moving around upstairs. Putting the book away, they finish preparing breakfast as Vernon comes downstairs looking happy and relaxed. He walks over and gives her a peck on the lips.

"Hello poppet, this looks like a brilliant spread, you've outdone yourself today. And do you want to know what's even better? It's Sunday, what's so good about Sunday? There's no post."

Dudley joins them at the table and they start breakfast. Halfway through breakfast there's a clatter at the front door, and suddenly a deluge of letters come through the door. Vernon's face goes bright red, and a vein starts pulsing at his temple. He stands up to start moving the post, and Harry goes to stand up too. Vernon's fist lashes out and catches him round the cheek.

"Sit there and don't move, I'm going to burn these letters and then we're going to have a normal day, absolutely nothing Freakish is going to happen."

As soon as the front door was cleared Dudley fled for the park, and this set the template for the next week.

In the evening, Harry or Petunia would set him off early, or he'd go off later and it would hurt more. They'd find the other one downstairs in the morning and comfort each other before prepping breakfast, practicing meditation, and finding out where the letters were going to turn up next. After they showed up rolled up in the boiled eggs, Vernon started to get up earlier so that he could watch Harry cook. Dudley didn't get much of a chance to bully him, as he was confined to the home by order of Vernon, though Petunia managed to get the videos back and get the deposit before they needed it for food.

The last straw came the next Saturday, when letters came in through every window and even busted open the old Chimney.

"Right everyone pack a change of clothes we're leaving."

It was a very tired family with a very angry Vernon that arrived at a small single room lodge on the edge of a lake near Rhyd-Ddu in Wales. They'd needed to walk the last part from the road in the dark. Dumping three sleeping bags down on floor along with a bag of supplies that he'd forced Harry to carry he turned to the family.

"There's absolutely no bloody way that they'll be able to get post to us out here. Might as well get some sleep."

At which he hands a sleeping bag to Dudley and Petunia and shoves Harry into the corner.

Petunia woke up to the sound of someone thrashing around and squirming. Climbing out of her sleeping bag she carefully crawls across the floor until she reaches Harry, who seems to be in the throes of a nightmare.

Shaking him gently, she whispers softly "Harry. Harry, wake up, your having a nightmare." When that doesn't work she pulls him up into her arms and hugs him gently, trying to reassure him that he's safe, whispering that it's going to be ok. She's not sure how long she's been holding him when the room starts to light up. At first it looks like it might be dawn, but then she notices that the light is coming in from the ceiling. Looking up she sees the cabin around her, Vernon and Dudley, and all of their gear start to fade away as she finds herself looking at a sun blasted landscape. Strange lizards with 6 legs scamper over the rocks and insects the size of dogs fly around. That world fades away to a rain forest with parrot faced monkeys leaping from tree to tree. Then it's an icy tundra, and there's a large squat bear with long white fur and a spiral horn jutting out from its nose. Sniffing, it turns towards her and charges. She stifles a scream in Harry's hair as it fades out just before it reaches them. Then she sees wisps of something floating of both their bodies, and tiny birds with tentacles instead of beaks come down and start feeding on them. Each wisp that is eaten sends a shock through her, and brings a memory to the front that she didn't even know she had. Lily walking in while Vernon is beating her, and James showing Vernon just why domestic abuse is so rare in the magical world. Standing by Lily as her maid of honour. Making it to a shelter with Harry and Dudley. Through all of the memories and long white beard in the darkness. Then that world fades out and she's in a forest, and the wisps are now a visible aura, a small marsupial with tentacles instead of a mouth and a long prehensile tail climbs up her arm and looks at her with soulful eyes before burrowing into her hair and holding onto the back of her neck. A large raptor swoops down and grabs another marsupial.

Through it all, she keeps hugging Harry and whispering that it's ok, he's safe and she won't let anything happen to him. Another few worlds go by and then the aura starts to be drawn away to great white rivers in the sky. In this world Harry starts to glow, and as the next world fades in the glow takes on the form of a flower. Petunia is faintly aware of the creature gripping her neck as though it's the only anchor in the storm, and then she looks down at her hand and sees it start to evaporate, pulling up into the rivers that seem so much closer than they were. Finally, the flower that is glowing around Harry blooms into a beautiful Lily, and Harry starts to calm down. All at once his breathing evens out and he falls into a deep sleep, as soon as he does the worlds collapse back together and the darkness of the cabin obliterates the light. Crying tears of relief she lies down next to Harry and falls into an exhausted sleep.