Hey there: I'm back. I'm going to try for a longer chapter this time, things should definitely pick up now the set up's out the way: I've had loads of Ideas (I've outlined a few chapters and there should be at least another 7 if this story works out how I'm hoping- Please review so I can get an idea on directions or ideas you would like to see - also have a lot more ideas for other stories). There's an OC in this chapter but she won't play a major role, I want this story to focus on Harry the twins and the families so OC's will be kept to a minimum unless needed for the plot.
going though my previous chapter's I noticed a few mistakes so sorry about them- I will try and go back and change them and again, feel free to point them out (I currently don't have anyone to proof read and as I'm dyslexic can be a pretty poor speller)
As Usual I don't own anything (but my OC's)
On with the story:
Petunia Dursley was just getting home from picking up some shopping when she saw the 'to let' sign outside number 7 had been taken down. This of course peeked her curiosity and she was exited at the concept of some fresh gossip. It would take her mind of her darling son who, ever since last summer, had been acting strange. She even caught him trying to take food up to the Potter boy before she stopped him. Let the brat take care of himself she thought, it's his fault Dudley was attacked by those disgusting creatures in the first place. Fortunately Dudley had been at a boxing tournament with his friends for the last few days so he was away from her nephew. He would be returning that day and to celebrate she had bought him a brand new weight system as a welcome home gift.
Noticing there was no car in the driveway she wondered if the new neighbours had moved in yet, they couldn't be worse than the last family she thought vindictively, how they dared make such accusations of her Ickle Dudleykins!
Locking the car she crossed the street she headed to number 7 which was next to the house directly opposite to Number 4. Peeking through the window as she passed she was surprised that from what she could make out through the netted curtains across the window it almost looked like it had been lived in for months, not hours; there where pictures on the wall, furniture neatly in place (though no TV that she could see which to her was bizarre), and no sign of suitcases or boxes. Excited about this potential item of gossip she got to the front door, and hearing people speaking behind it she knocked.
Just as they were about to step out the door Fred and George heard a knock. They looked at each other wondering if it was the Order wondering what they were up to and hoped they wouldn't be forced to leave before having a chance to demonstrate that this was a brilliant plan.
They opened the door only to see a tall, horse faced woman with a long neck, Harry's aunt! She had a huge fake smile plastered across her face for the few seconds it took for her to see and recognise them, at which point she shrieked like a banshee.
Fighting to keep a straight face Fred decided he better start talking before someone called the authorities.
"Mrs Dursley!" he exclaimed in an overly happy manor, "how lovely to see you again". Picking up on where Fred left off George went on in the same happy tone:
"We were just coming to see you and introduce ourselves to the others on the street, after all we're neighbours now, feel free to borrow some sugar or frogspawn any time you need some!"
Petunia was just standing there, her mouth flapping like a fish, looking like she had just been told the apocalypse had come, so the twin's continues in their usual fashion of alternating between sentences.
"Isn't this exiting Gred? Now we can each other every day!"
"Too right Forge! We'll have dinner parties"
"Go camping together"
"Swap recipes for cakes and potions"
"We could even show her that new spell were working on!"
"STOP! STOP, I WONT HAVE ANY OF THIS! YOU CAN'T BE HERE" the woman suddenly shrieked before turning and running into her house to call her husband.
"Did we say something wrong?" joked George, a huge grin on his face.
"Maybe we broke a muggle custom- we should have offered her cake or something" Fred replied grinning back though they were both slightly shocked by her extreme reaction and hoped she wasn't going to punish Harry for any of this.
At that moment another neighbour showed up to see what all the commotion was about.
She approached the two boys before clearing her throat to get their attention
"Hello dears, what was all that about?" she said with a bit too much sugar in her voice, while the twins noticed her eyes were scanning both them and the house.
Fred recovered first and decided to introduce themselves (giving George a subtle signal that this time it would be best to speak normally until they established who she was).
"Hello madam, my name is Fred and this is my brother George" he stated politely "we just moved in"
"I see, my name is Mrs Jones, though feel free to call me Lucy" she smiled and edged closer to the door trying to see further in and tried to weasel out some more information "what was all that screaming about?"
"The lady from number 4, she seemed upset about something though I can't imagine what" George stated, this woman was starting to make him uncomfortable so he thought he'd have some fun and try and get her to go away, "Mabey she doesn't like redheads"
Mrs Jones jumped at the chance to gossip, most of the neighbourhood hated the Dursley's so she was looking forward to filling the handsome young men in
"Oh shes a stange one, don't mind her" she stated quickly "she's the type who'd think you're crazy if you don't get the same brand of beans as her, she's probably curious as to how you seem to have unpacked so quickly" she probed
"Is that so?" George stated, ignoring the implied question, both of them seeing the irony that the Dursley's were so determined to seem normal it appeared they had only succeeded in coming over as strange, they wondered if the Dursley's realised this.
"Oh yes, and it's not just the mother, I'D suggest you keep an eye out for the whole family!" she continued, looking more exited with every word though like she was trying hard to hide it, at this moment Fred decided to play along with her games to see what they could learn.
"In what way?" he asked putting on a curious expression
"Well, aside from the mother you have her husband, a big brute of a man if you ask me, runs some company and seems to think that makes him important. However you should hear him in the evenings! Bellowing at the top of his lungs and causing all sorts of ruckus! He certainly has a nasty streak, one he passed on to his son! Keep an eye out for him by the way- they say he's the one who drove the previous family in this house away, running around causing trouble with his gang, little vandals the lot of them, makes me almost glad I only have girls! And that's not going into the nephew!"
At this the twin's ears perked up!
"Stange boy he is" she continues, barely registering the twins change in manor, "showed up on the doorstep when he was just a baby, they say he's related through the woman's sister, killed in a car crash while driving drunk, or so they claim, but I find it odd, I mean, if that the case who left him there? The police certainly wouldn't have dumped a baby outside like that and I'm yet to see so much as a social worker, they certainly trat him strangely too, no wonder he acts out!"
Fred and George felt a strange mixture of emotions with this information, something between humour at how the Dursley felt they were viewed compared to reality, anger at the story they seemed to have told the neighbours about Harry's parents (a car crash! Drunk! They deserved something better than that!) As well as what they heard of Harry's arrival, and a mixture of fear and curiosity for what they would hear next.
"Why? How do they treat him? How does he act?" they asked quickly, catching the womens attention.
She continues more cautiously, sensing there was more to this somehow, "well, put it like this, Whenever I saw him growing up he was doing some kind of chore, they boy would spend hours in all hours doing the garden work until his hands bled- no wonder it looks good though of course it's that woman who claims the credit, same with cakes she brought to the last bake sale, I just happened to see him baking them yet she claimed all the credit! Of course that's just the tip of it" she paused
"What else?" Fred demanded
Looking startled by his tone but at the same time glad to be the centre of such strong attention she continued, confidently but at the same time quiet, almost in a whisper so as not to be heard
"Well" she started and the twins wondered why she kept saying that "put it like this- thing have changed ever since he finished primary school, not entirely mind you but in lots of little ways, when he was younger he was almost never seen, even if you were in the house, of course the family claimed he was a trouble maker and a lier so they kept him indoors, in fact they all seem to jump at the chance to point out his flaws, than theres the fact that his clothes are always so baggy and scruffy, like he's homeless, and he's a tenth of the size of the son, wait until you see him, a real whale of a boy, and you wonder, why the difference- I always wondered if he has some kind of eating disorder, you know. Than theres the constant disappearing, it used to be an occasional thing-he'd vanish for a week or so as a child before being brought back, now he's only around a few moths per year, and when he is he's often wandering around the streets, though I haven't seen much of him this year though I'm sure he's back, apparently he goes to school in a secure centre for criminal boys though I called it up, purely for research- I write books on parenting you see, and here's the thing- they have no record of him being there, so where does he go? Isn't that odd?"
This worried Fred and George even more- was Harry OK? Why was he staying in the house he hated? Was he locked up again? And what was all this about his past and vanishing as a kid? Did Dumbledore know?
With a look they agreed then and there they would start to set thing straight and they would start here.
Seeing their faces the older woman started up again
"What's wrong? Is it something I said?"
"We were just surprised that what people are saying about Harry" George stated coldly
"How did you know his name? I never said it and noone else seems to use it: he's usually known as Potter or boy"
This angered the twins even further- as soon
"We knew him at school, an no- it wasn't a criminal school, it a private place up in Scotland, you have to pass a test to get in, there very exclusive, don't even have a website because they pick their students, his parent went there so that's how they knew about him"
"What's more" George continued from Fred "it might interest you to know that Harry's not strange, he's very nice, and brave! He saved our little sister from a snake!"
"And just so you know" Fred stated, deciding to get George off the topic of Ginny and Hogwarts (at least until they could straighten out the story with Harry) "he's the one who helped us unpack so quickly, he's so helpful and hard-working, and kind"
Feeling embarrassed and sensing the twins anger Mrs Jones decided now would be a good time to leave, she'd come back another day, besides, she got all the gossip she needed… for now.
OK- I'm not sure how much I'm going to use this Mrs Jones character in future chapters, she will show up again but she probably won't have a big role unless people like her (for now think of her as a muggle equivalent of Reeta skeeter)
I know there was a lot of speech in this chapter and I'll try to use less when I can.
Hoping to update soon (Dudley will play a role in the next chapter), until next tie happy reading (let me know how you think it going- I'd love to hear if people like this)