Chapter 3
After staring around for a while, Harry decided to head back downstairs to join the rest of the household. As he walked passed the closed door, he felt this sudden fear again, then quickly walked away as if nothing has happened.
As Harry descended the staircase, everyone in the living room stood up, as if he was someone important.
"Come come Harry, come meet the rest of your family," motioned Aunt Theresa towards the middle of the room.
"Meet your Uncle Griffith, my husband," Aunt Theresa motioned towards the old man. The old man, or Uncle Griffith, walked towards Harry and shaked his hands. His expression was a combination of gratefulness, grief and happiness. Harry wasn't sure which was more obvious.
"…and here's your distant cousin Karlene Potter," the younger lady came over and gave Harry a hug, a smile on her face as she walked away.
"Jerry, another of your cousin Harry." Jerry walked over to Harry and shook his hands and said cheerfully, "Harry! Welcome home!"
"Harry, meet my sister Josephine." The lady who called out his father's name earlier had tears in her eyes and hugged him hard. So hard Harry wasn't sure if he was breathing any more.
"And finally, Alexander Potter, perhaps the closest relative you have here Harry." Alexander walked over and shook Harry's hand and smiled. Harry felt dazed and confused. Where did all these people come from? How do they know where he is? Why wasn't he informed about them at all in the last 13 years of his life?
"Now Harry, please have a seat. I know this has come as a shock for you so to clear things up a little bit, we decided to tell you who we are, why we are here and why you never heard about us until today." Aunt Theresa led Harry to a couch and sat him down. Harry felt a little weak and took a deep breath.
"Let me start," said Aunt Theresa. "You must have thought your only relatives left are the Dursleys, your mother's sister." She paused. "Well, that's true Harry, because to you, we do not really exist. We have decided to retire ourselves from the Muggle world after all that has happened over the years. Us wizards can't always mingle with Muggles too much because sometimes it brings us trouble. Trouble we do not want to deal with but have to because that is what it is like to be a wizard. You have to deal with things that ordinary Muggles don't." Harry was confused about this but all he wanted was for her to get to the point. As if she could read his mind, she continued, "I am actually related to your father's mother. I am the daughter of your grandmother's sister. Which makes me your aunt and Karlene your cousin and Jerry your cousin-in-law. Yes, Karlene is my daughter in case you are wondering. And Alex here," her arm motioned towards the younger man, "is, as I said before, the closest relative you have on your father's side. He is the son of your father's brother, Joshua Potter." Aunt Theresa's voice trailed off when she said Joshua's name.
"Unfortunately," she continued, "Joshua can't be with us today, or any of the other Potters from your father's family because…." Aunt Theresa stopped and Harry suddenly saw tears in her eyes.
"They've been murdered," finished Josephine.
"Murdered?" Harry said quietly. This is the first word he has spoken ever since he arrived at this house.
"Yes, murdered," Josephine continued, "murdered by the Dark Side of the wizard world, which I'm sure you've heard about. A very dangerous place indeed…" she trailed off here, as did Aunt Theresa. Harry was surprised and confused.
"Alex here is almost in the same situation as you are Harry," Aunt Theresa said after she got herself together. Harry looked shocked. "Except he was in a less dangerous situation than you are. In fact, he could've died if he was in your position." Questions start forming in Harry's mind and he doesn't know what to think any more. All these have come as too much of a shock for him. Nothing he'd ever expected. However, he can't wait for them to tell him the whole story. He must know. Perhaps this connects to why his parents were murdered by Voldemort.
"The tiny village where Alex's parents and the rest of the Potters in your father's family was destroyed by the Force of the Dark Side. It was unknown who was behind it. In fact, until today, no one really knows who. We thought it would be You-Know-Who, but You-Know-Who was far from being in England at the time. In fact, You-Know-Who only emerged once a year before…(she paused)…you got your scar (she finished as that sentence). So we do not know what happened and we wonder whether your….parents' death had to do with that. (She paused again) Fortunately though (she gave a sigh of relief as if she was reliving the event), Alex was with me during that incident and so he was safe from the evil hand of the Dark Force. It was unfortunate for this to happen. Very unfortunate…." Aunt Theresa sobbed after saying this.
"We heard you were a hero and still is Harry!" cried out Karlene cheerfully, trying to break through the sadness. "We also heard you've been through a lot of trouble ever since you arrived at Hogwarts but was able to defeat them. We're so proud of you, Harry. You don't know how happy we are to have you in the family!" Karlene was beaming at Harry. At this moment, Harry sort of calmed down a little after all the shock. Memories of Hogwarts came back to him again and he had this sudden longing that he wished he was back at the school with all his friends and not sitting here digesting very strange stories about his family, stories he never thought of coming across with and histories that he would never dream of happening.
"By the way, are you hungry Harry? You didn't eat much during our dinner at the local coffee shop!" Asked Aunt Theresa all of a sudden. "Do you want anything to eat? We've got plenty of food here to feed you so if you want anything just say it."
"I'll be fine Aunt Theresa," Harry replied. "I'm not hungry."
"I think our Harry needs some rest. He's had a bit of a shock for today now," said Uncle Griffith all of a sudden. "Harry needs to go to bed. He needs to some rest after all those trips through London!" Uncle Griffith chuckled, which made Harry felt a little better.
"Come Harry, I need to go to bed too, let me take you upstairs," Uncle Griffith stood up and waited for Harry at the bottom of the staircase. Harry followed him up the stairs and into his own room. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he forgot about the closed door and forgot about the powerful feeling of fear.
He's belongings has been brought up and placed neatly in his room, it felt as if he was back in Hogwarts' dormitory. As he changed into his pajamas, Harry's only thought was what his aunts had told him. He slumped down on his bed and laid down, thinking all the words they said. The thoughts raced around in his head but Harry became too tired to think about them any more and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
After staring around for a while, Harry decided to head back downstairs to join the rest of the household. As he walked passed the closed door, he felt this sudden fear again, then quickly walked away as if nothing has happened.
As Harry descended the staircase, everyone in the living room stood up, as if he was someone important.
"Come come Harry, come meet the rest of your family," motioned Aunt Theresa towards the middle of the room.
"Meet your Uncle Griffith, my husband," Aunt Theresa motioned towards the old man. The old man, or Uncle Griffith, walked towards Harry and shaked his hands. His expression was a combination of gratefulness, grief and happiness. Harry wasn't sure which was more obvious.
"…and here's your distant cousin Karlene Potter," the younger lady came over and gave Harry a hug, a smile on her face as she walked away.
"Jerry, another of your cousin Harry." Jerry walked over to Harry and shook his hands and said cheerfully, "Harry! Welcome home!"
"Harry, meet my sister Josephine." The lady who called out his father's name earlier had tears in her eyes and hugged him hard. So hard Harry wasn't sure if he was breathing any more.
"And finally, Alexander Potter, perhaps the closest relative you have here Harry." Alexander walked over and shook Harry's hand and smiled. Harry felt dazed and confused. Where did all these people come from? How do they know where he is? Why wasn't he informed about them at all in the last 13 years of his life?
"Now Harry, please have a seat. I know this has come as a shock for you so to clear things up a little bit, we decided to tell you who we are, why we are here and why you never heard about us until today." Aunt Theresa led Harry to a couch and sat him down. Harry felt a little weak and took a deep breath.
"Let me start," said Aunt Theresa. "You must have thought your only relatives left are the Dursleys, your mother's sister." She paused. "Well, that's true Harry, because to you, we do not really exist. We have decided to retire ourselves from the Muggle world after all that has happened over the years. Us wizards can't always mingle with Muggles too much because sometimes it brings us trouble. Trouble we do not want to deal with but have to because that is what it is like to be a wizard. You have to deal with things that ordinary Muggles don't." Harry was confused about this but all he wanted was for her to get to the point. As if she could read his mind, she continued, "I am actually related to your father's mother. I am the daughter of your grandmother's sister. Which makes me your aunt and Karlene your cousin and Jerry your cousin-in-law. Yes, Karlene is my daughter in case you are wondering. And Alex here," her arm motioned towards the younger man, "is, as I said before, the closest relative you have on your father's side. He is the son of your father's brother, Joshua Potter." Aunt Theresa's voice trailed off when she said Joshua's name.
"Unfortunately," she continued, "Joshua can't be with us today, or any of the other Potters from your father's family because…." Aunt Theresa stopped and Harry suddenly saw tears in her eyes.
"They've been murdered," finished Josephine.
"Murdered?" Harry said quietly. This is the first word he has spoken ever since he arrived at this house.
"Yes, murdered," Josephine continued, "murdered by the Dark Side of the wizard world, which I'm sure you've heard about. A very dangerous place indeed…" she trailed off here, as did Aunt Theresa. Harry was surprised and confused.
"Alex here is almost in the same situation as you are Harry," Aunt Theresa said after she got herself together. Harry looked shocked. "Except he was in a less dangerous situation than you are. In fact, he could've died if he was in your position." Questions start forming in Harry's mind and he doesn't know what to think any more. All these have come as too much of a shock for him. Nothing he'd ever expected. However, he can't wait for them to tell him the whole story. He must know. Perhaps this connects to why his parents were murdered by Voldemort.
"The tiny village where Alex's parents and the rest of the Potters in your father's family was destroyed by the Force of the Dark Side. It was unknown who was behind it. In fact, until today, no one really knows who. We thought it would be You-Know-Who, but You-Know-Who was far from being in England at the time. In fact, You-Know-Who only emerged once a year before…(she paused)…you got your scar (she finished as that sentence). So we do not know what happened and we wonder whether your….parents' death had to do with that. (She paused again) Fortunately though (she gave a sigh of relief as if she was reliving the event), Alex was with me during that incident and so he was safe from the evil hand of the Dark Force. It was unfortunate for this to happen. Very unfortunate…." Aunt Theresa sobbed after saying this.
"We heard you were a hero and still is Harry!" cried out Karlene cheerfully, trying to break through the sadness. "We also heard you've been through a lot of trouble ever since you arrived at Hogwarts but was able to defeat them. We're so proud of you, Harry. You don't know how happy we are to have you in the family!" Karlene was beaming at Harry. At this moment, Harry sort of calmed down a little after all the shock. Memories of Hogwarts came back to him again and he had this sudden longing that he wished he was back at the school with all his friends and not sitting here digesting very strange stories about his family, stories he never thought of coming across with and histories that he would never dream of happening.
"By the way, are you hungry Harry? You didn't eat much during our dinner at the local coffee shop!" Asked Aunt Theresa all of a sudden. "Do you want anything to eat? We've got plenty of food here to feed you so if you want anything just say it."
"I'll be fine Aunt Theresa," Harry replied. "I'm not hungry."
"I think our Harry needs some rest. He's had a bit of a shock for today now," said Uncle Griffith all of a sudden. "Harry needs to go to bed. He needs to some rest after all those trips through London!" Uncle Griffith chuckled, which made Harry felt a little better.
"Come Harry, I need to go to bed too, let me take you upstairs," Uncle Griffith stood up and waited for Harry at the bottom of the staircase. Harry followed him up the stairs and into his own room. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he forgot about the closed door and forgot about the powerful feeling of fear.
He's belongings has been brought up and placed neatly in his room, it felt as if he was back in Hogwarts' dormitory. As he changed into his pajamas, Harry's only thought was what his aunts had told him. He slumped down on his bed and laid down, thinking all the words they said. The thoughts raced around in his head but Harry became too tired to think about them any more and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.