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Love of An Aunt
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
Chapter 3
8:30, 15th June 1994
Elena was going to have a long day.
With the reparations that the elves were intent on completing as soon as possible, it was impossible for her to sleep past 6am. Groaning, she had gotten out of bed and padded to the bathroom, wearing white fluffy slippers she had bought on a shopping trip to the Muggle world.
Half an hour later, her heels clicked on the marble floor as she walked into the dining room heading for her seat at the head of the table. She ate a simple breakfast while reviewing her schedule. Then, she was off.
She apparated to a small townhouse in London she had bought, taking a small bag of clothes with her. Storing them in the room she had claimed as her own she went to the car she kept in the garage – a 1993 Bentley Brooklands.
Her first destination for the day was Rochester Enterprises, a firm of agents that the Potters owned. After she took control of the Potter estate, she had pored over the reports of the companies in the magical world that the Potters owned or held an interest in (provided by Gringotts), while trying to plan an approach towards the Muggle companies.
Eventually she had decided to get audits done for every company before she visited them all, one at a time. Rochester was the last company to visit for a while, since Harry would soon be home, and then they would have to tackle other problems – like getting Sirius pardoned.
With the radio on, her mind drifted to later in the evening – getting Harry away from the walrus, horse and whale. She glanced at the black briefcase sitting innocently in the backseat. It had everything needed to "persuade" the Dursleys. She smirked mischievously.
She reached the offices of Rochester Enterprises by 8:30, and after showing her identification, was led to a conference room where she was sat at the first seat on the right. She made herself comfortable, knowing her backside would be more or less parked there for the next four hours.
The director of the firm Mr. Rochester, joined her in the conference room a few minutes before the meetings were due to start explaining how it would be done. "These meetings, as I'm sure you must have anticipated, will be long. There are four departments, and each departments will take almost an hour to deal with. First we have the I.T. department, followed by the administration department, followed by the PR department. Lastly, we will meet with the ten agents this firm has each of whom represent five clients. Unless, you want to meet with the secretaries as well?"
Elena smiled politely. She had taken note of the man's wandering eye, subtle as he was, and had no intentions to lead him on. She had neither the time, nor the inclination. "I'm sure you can deal with them, Mr. Rochester, But I do want a copy of their files as well," she replied.
Mr. Rochester smiled at her. "Absolutely. Whatever you need." With a murmured "thank you," Elena took the files of the I.T. department members that one of the secretaries handed to her.
Both the I.T. and administrative departments were easily dealt with. Almost all the employees there were good and honest people. Three men and one woman had a drinking problem, and were given six months to clean up, or they would be fired. Two men and three woman with a smoking problem were given the same ultimatum, and were encouraged to attend counseling, with the first four sessions being sponsored by the office. One man from administration with a drug habit was asked to stay behind. As the rest cleared out, Elena went through his file, refreshing her memory on his case.
When Mr. Rochester was the only other person in the office, Elena stood up and approached the man. His name was Rickard Axel, and he had joined the company two years ago, straight out of his senior year at the University of Manchester, where he was third in his class. He was described as having a zeal for life, often taking short trips on weekends to hike, fist, etc. These trips had stopped two months back, when he had gotten into a car accident, and since then he was suspected to have been taking drugs. His performance had also been noted to have been steadily decreasing. There was a brief mention of a fiancée, though not in detail.
Looking at Axel now, Elena could not see any of that zeal for life that the file described. The man in front of her had his eyes down and his head bent, almost as though he had given up on life. Elena took a seat next to him. "Rickard, would you look at me, please?" He had his eyes closed and there was an expression of deep, heart wrenching pain on his face. Elena's mind suddenly connected the dots.
"You lost your fiancée, didn't you?" He looked at her, his face full of shock and pain. Mr. Rochester, she noted from the corner of her eye, also seemed surprised she had come to that conclusion. She paid his no mind, focusing on Axel.
"How did you know?" He croaked, his voice heavy with pent up emotion.
Elena didn't answer. "You must have loved her very much." His eyes filled with tears he tried to blink back. Elena looked at Mr. Rochester and nodded towards the door. He frowned, but compiled, closing the door on his way out. Elena looked back at Axel and said, "She died in that car accident, didn't she?" He just nodded. She sighed. "I understand what you're going through, but-"
"You have no idea what I'm going through," he exploded. "I've been through so much in the last few months-"
Elena sat up straight. "You've been through so much? Mr. Axel," she emphasized. He looked at her. "My brother and I lost our parents not even a month after he got married, thanks to the actions of a madman. Three years later, I lost my brother and his wife, thanks to the same madman who murdered my parents. Their son, my godson, barely survived the attack. And the next day, I got into an accident that left me with amnesia for close to twelve and a half years. I finally get my memory back only to find out that my nephew had been mistreated by his guardians. My other godson's parents are permanently incapacitated, and my cousin is in a high security prison for a crime he didn't commit. All this has happened to me, but you don't see me taking drugs getting high just to live!"
The man sitting next to her just stared, at a loss for words.
Elena had Mr. Rochester called in, and once he sat down, wrote on a notepad. "I want you to check in to a rehab facility. You can work from there, and you will, of course, be paid. Six months later, or at the most a year I want you back in this office, living once again. Remember this, Mr. Axel," her voice softened considerably. "The Lord only tests those who have the strength to deal with it."
Axel looked at her with hope.
1:00pm, 15th June 1994
Using a glamour on herself to look like an everyday witch, Elena entered the Leaky Cauldron for lunch with Augusta Longbottom, who had become like a mentor to her. Meeting her in a private sitting room, the two woman embraced.
When Tom entered with lunch, they were sitting on the armchairs near the window, making small talk. After he closed the door, the two stood up, Augusta making her way to the table while Elena warded to room securely, using family magic exclusive to Potters.
"So," Augusta started, "how will you tell the boys? That is," she pressed when she saw Elena grimace, "after all, the most important topic at this moment."
Elena smiled grimly, looking up from her stew. "I don't really want to tell them. I am aware that they need to know, and I will tell them," she reassured when she saw Augusta open her mouth to protest, "but their view of the world will change entirely. They have known enough cruelty already – Harry with what happened to James and Lily, and then the way he was treated at the Dursleys, and Neville with what happened to Frank and Alice." She bit the inside of her cheek. "This will haunt them both – because of an old man with delusions, and a man gone mad with power; they lost almost everyone who would have made sure they were safe and happy. And they were manipulated as well. Finding all this out gave me the creeps – how do you think they will feel?"
Augusta said nothing; they were, after all, her concerns as well.
7:30 pm, 15th June 1994
Elena, from behind the wheel of the Bentley, watched as Harry trailed behind the walrus, his shoulders hunched and his stride uneven.
She drove her car a little behind Dursley, giving his no reason to think they were being followed. Due to the nature of the wards Dumbledore had put up on the house, the only way to know where it was was to trail behind Harry. Upon reaching Privet Drive (what sort of a place was this? She would be willing to bet a house that the people living in such a 'perfect' neighbourhood would be some of the most dysfunctional people she would ever have the misfortune to meet) she waited until they entered the house, then Disillusioned herself. Leaving the car at a distance, she walked to No.4, and using a few drops of her blood, gained entry into the house without alerting the Ministry or Dumbledore.
She then walked back to the car, used a Switching Spell to change into the suit she had laying on the backseat. She then drove the car into the neighbourhood, parking it in front of No. 4. Grabbing the briefcase from the backseat, she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. "Don't screw this up, Elena." Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car.
Walking down the pathway, she admired the roses that she knew were due to Harry's hard work. She stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell.
Vernon Dursley opened the door and stared. Elena smiled. "Hello! My name is Elena Potter. May I come in?" Not waiting for an answer, she entered the door. Petunia stood by the entrance to the dining room, staring stupidly. Dudley was nowhere to be seen, but the sounds of the television could be heard from the kitchen, so that is where she assumed he was. Harry stood at the top of the stairs. She winked at him, and he grinned back. She turned back to the two standing near her, gesturing to the living room. "Shall we?"
Petunias just nodded and lead the way, still seemingly in shock. Vernon, on the other hand, was starting to bluster, but a sharp look from Elena was enough to stop him in his tracks. Elena sat down in an armchair without invitation and looked at Petunia. "Do ask Harry to join us here."
Petunia glared at her, her jaw clenched shut, but stood straight and marched out of the room. Her shrill voice was piercing to the ears. "Boy! Get down here now!" She returned back to the living room and was met with a fierce glare. She flinched, but marched resolutely on towards the couch and sat down, crossing her arms. Vernon followed her lead, sitting beside her.
Soft footsteps could be heard climbing down the stairs. Harry appeared in the doorway. Elena stood up. "Join me in the entrance for a moment, Harry."
Harry backed out of the room, looking confused. Elena put a hand on his shoulder and whispered softly, "Harry, you need to know that you are coming with me tonight." Harry's eyes widened and there was visible hope growing the emeralds that were his eyes. "I am taking you away from here, Harry. You are coming home."
The thirteen year old's face split into such a wide grin that Elena feared his face would split into two. She smiled back happily.
Then she sighed and nodded towards the living room. "Shall we?"Harry nodded, and together, the two Potters entered the battlefield. Elena sat in the armchair, motioning Harry into the other one.
For a few minutes, the Dursleys and Elena stared at each other, before the latter broke the silence. "When I was recently going through the records of my estate, particularly the bank accounts, I noticed a lot of inconsistencies – amounts which didn't add up, unauthorized withdrawals, etc. So I had the bank launch an investigation. This," she removed a file from the briefcase she had set on the ground, passing it to Petunia, who took it with a trembling hand, "is what they found."
Going by the looks on Vernon's and Petunia's faces, they knew exactly what she was talking about. Harry, on the other hand, clearly didn't. So Elena explained it to him, glaring at the idiots sitting in front of her, "Harry, your aunt and uncle were receiving 2000 pounds a year to take care of you. For your expenses only, Harry." Realization struck Harry, whose heart sank.
But there was also a red hot anger burning through him. How dare they! How many times had they complained about the additional expenses because of him? And all this time, they were getting paid?
"So where did all this money go Mr. Dursley?" Elena asked calmly, keeping the raging inferno inside her under control.
"We – we needed the money," Vernon spoke up, obviously building himself up. "it was spent on much better things than on the ungrateful freak!" Petunia's eyes widened, and she tried to stop her husband from saying more, but Vernon was on a roll. "We are good, deserving people, and we didn't want the freak anyway, but that old man wouldn't take him back, and wouldn't let us give him to an orphanage where he belonged-"
"Enough," Elena's voice was so quiet it was deadly. She stood up. There was a powerful, almost visible aura around her, and suddenly, Vernon Dursley was afraid of this woman. Very afraid.
"Good, deserving people? You mistreated my nephew, your nephew so badly just because you were jealous. Yes, Harry," she looked at the incredulous boy, "Petunia Dursley was jealous, because her little sister got magic, and she didn't. Eventually that jealousy turned to hatred, and that hatred transferred from her little sister to her one-year-old son, who had just lost his parents and had no idea what was going on, except that his mum and dad were nowhere to be seen." Petunia had tears pouring down her cheeks, but Elena felt no sympathy. She took out another file from her briefcase, removed some papers, and with a pen, thrust them towards Petunia. "Sign here."
With a shaking hand, the Dursley woman did as instructed. Elena took them back. She turned to Harry. "I believe it is time for us to leave, Harry. Will you bring your trunk down?" Harry nodded and left the room.
Within ten minutes, the two remaining Potters had left No.4, Privet Drive, the wards shattering as Harry crossed the threshold. After storing his luggage and Hedwig's cage in the trunk, he climbed into the passenger seat with a smile on his face.
