On Your Mark
By Arlo
Chapter 9- Mixed Emotions
Harry had returned 'home' from Mark's house after discussing several more things with Jake and Gloria. Mark needed to go to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies and Harry desperately wanted to go with him. Professor McGonagall agreed to discuss the possibility with Dumbledore, as Harry would be leaving Little Whinging shortly. They also needed to do some 'Muggle' clothes shopping, and Harry needed to get new glasses, perhaps even contact lenses. Jake and Gloria would take the boys to the nearby mall the next day and Gloria made an appointment for Harry to have an eye exam at the same time.
Dinner at the Dursleys was a quiet and tense affair. Neither Dudley nor his father were eating much, a very unusual occurrence. Uncle Vernon looked pale and sweaty, even though it had been a cool day. Harry wondered if Dudley's big plans for the evening had been found out. "So, Dud, what movie are you guys going to rent tonight?" he asked his cousin furtively. He knew very well that Dudley and his mates were planning a big party at Malcolm's house with girls, booze and whatever else they could get their hands on. Of course, the Dursleys thought that dear Diddykins was sleeping over Dennis' and watching videos. They were well aware that Malcolm's parents had gone to the Lake District for the weekend and had even been making disparaging remarks about "the kind of people who would leave their child home alone". Harry had thought it quite pious of them, as they themselves had left him, not only alone, but locked in his room, the previous year.
"We haven't decided yet, we figured we'd spend some time at the store looking for a few good ones," Dudley replied, throwing his cousin a threatening glare.
Harry thought it best to keep the conversation light, since Dudley's guard was up. But he really enjoyed pushing his cousin to his limits, "I've heard "Home Alone" is always good for a laugh! Or maybe, "True Lies", that ones out," he grinned mischievously.
Dudley ignored the barbs and got up to get ready, almost bumping Harry off the chair as he passed. After he had helped his aunt clean up, Harry started towards his room, intending to finish one of the books Remus had sent him. Dudley was blocking the entire stairway trying to sneak down a large duffle bag filled with snacks as well as some fancy clothes and his sleeping bag. "Need help, Big D?"
"Just open the door," Dudley sneered. "And keep your mouth shut, freak!"
"Freak? After all the help I gave you! I should have known you couldn't change!"
Dudley looked abashed, "I always call you that!"
"Well, I don't like it, okay?! Be a shame if your parents accidentally find out about this little wing ding, huh?" Harry was really looking forward to holding this party over Dudley's head. It would make his last week at the Dursleys immensely satisfying.
"You tell them and I'll beat you to a pulp!" the boxing champ growled, cracking his knuckles.
"Will you now?" Harry smirked. "My friends are coming to pick me up on Friday, you know, my birthday, and I don't think they would be too pleased about that!" The young wizard paused to take in his cousin's frightened expression, "well, have fun tonight!" he said over his shoulder as he turned to go back in the house.
"What, you're leaving?"
"Yeah, I never stay the whole summer, you know that!"
"But…But you never leave before your birthday!"
"Plan on throwing me a party, Dud? That's really sweet! Or did you and your gang have other plans for me next weekend?"
"Don't press your luck cousin! I just thought you could finish my report for me, that's all" Dudley replied in a disappointed tone.
"Yeah, right! Maybe I could arrange for you to meet another giant, huh, would that help? Or how about a werewolf?"
Dudley backed off, his hand going to his fat rear. "Er, maybe we could talk or something before you go I, er, think we should," he said tentatively.
"Right, we can talk, no problem, Dud." Harry replied, eying Dudley skeptically. He tried to discern the feelings he was getting off the boy; Concern? Worry? Affection? 'There must be a short circuit somewhere,' he shrugged to himself and headed to his room to do some more reading on the subject of empathy.
Jake picked Harry up at around 11:00 the next morning to go shopping. Harry had had a restless night, his nightmares had returned, despite meditating before he went to sleep. He was pretty sure they were just the usual dreams about Sirius and Cedric, as his scar felt fine. Still, he had a funny feeling that something wasn't quite right. The ride to the mall took his mind off everything, however. Upbeat music played from the radio, and the conversation was friendly and stimulating. Mark's excitement over his new-found talents was contagious and Harry gladly answered his questions about Hogwarts and magic, at least the ones he knew the answers to. He couldn't believe the number of things that he didn't know about his world, and wished once again that he had had a mentor to guide him through it all.
The mall itself was quite exciting. It was a huge indoor marketplace with three floors of stores and restaurants and even a cinema! Harry had never seen anything like it, a fact that Gloria realized with shock. Harry couldn't help but stop to look into all of the stores, amazed by the variety. The eyeglass store was off to on side, and Gloria had to keep prodding him forward so that they wouldn't be late.
His eyesight was pretty poor, but he already knew that. What did surprise him was the fact that his prescription was correct for his eyes. He hadn't had new glasses since he had started Hogwarts and wondered whether the many reparo spells on the frames had adjusted the lenses, as well. Fortunately, this made getting contact lenses easier, and Jake helped him pick out the ones best suited for his purposes. He quickly mastered the intricacies of wearing them and loved the way they looked and felt. The assistant was flabbergasted, however when the young man asked her if he could also get lenses to change the color of his eyes. In the end he was able to get ones that turned his eyes brown and also purchased new glasses with a brushed gold wire frame in a more rectangular shape. He left the shop wearing the contacts so he could get used to them, amazed at how much clearer everything was. He was so distracted by his new vision that he almost missed the fact that they were being followed by a young woman with bleached spiked hair and a wild purple paisley dress, until she knocked over a display of sunglasses at the shop's entrance.
"Hi, Tonks!"
"Wotcher, Harry! How did you know it was me?"
"Constant Vigilance! And the fact that you pretty much failed stealth again! Why don't you just come with us, then?" Harry asked after introducing the auror the Evanses.
"Its nice to meet you. I hope you don't mind, but I'm supposed to stay out of sight."
"Too late for that, Tonks"
"Yeah, but if I stay with you, I'll get too distracted to do my job! Just forget you saw me! Please? If you need me, though, I'll be around. By the way, Harry, I really like the new look!" Tonks winked as she disappeared suddenly.
"Wh ..where'd she go?" Mark asked looking about.
"Around," Harry replied, laughing, "that's what she said wasn't it?"
"Weird!" Mark shook his head.
"Definitely," his father agreed.
It was still pretty early so the mall was fairly empty. They went to every shop that sold men's and boys clothes and two different department stores. By the time they stopped at the pub to eat, they were laden with packages and fighting the crowds. It had been great fun trying on all the different styles and being able to pick out whatever he wanted, and Harry was thrilled with his new look. Gloria had started out by taking him to the shops that sold what she called "Goth" clothes, which she said were all the rage with some kids, but he felt the style was too much like what the Slytherin students wore. In the end he wound up with a quite eclectic mix of styles, the primary focus being comfort. Faded jeans in blue and black, some with a lot of pockets, some with chains; t-shirts in several motifs, including one with a dragon and another with a cartoonish looking griffin; collared shirts in different colors; sport pants and sweatshirts; jumpers; black trainers for his school robes and socks of all sorts. His favorite purchase was a long black leather hooded coat, which not only looked and fit great, but was at a discounted price as well! All in all it had been a fun and exhausting trek, and by the time Harry picked up his new glasses, everyone was more than ready to go home.
Harry's contentment lasted only until they pulled into their neighborhood. An ominous feeling suddenly fell over him, and as they turned into Privet Drive, he discovered why. A police car and an ambulance were parked by Number 4, complete with flashing red lights. Harry practically jumped from the car as it pulled up in front of the Dursleys, and breathed a faint sigh of relief as he scanned the sky. There was no sign of the green serpent and skull symbol of the Death Eaters, so hopefully things weren't too bad.
An invisible hand caught him by surprise, however as he headed towards the house. "Relax, luv," Hestia Jones' voice said. "I'm afraid your uncle has had a bit of a heart attack, though. Best let the Muggles handle things."
"I should be there, though! Let me go!"
"Okay, luv, but remember to control your emotions."
Harry tore away from his guard and into the house. Aunt Petunia was crying hysterically on the couch, talking with a police officer between sobs. The kitchen door was being held open and paramedics were bringing out a stretcher carrying Uncle Vernon, who looked a bluish gray color, and had an oxygen mask over his face.
Harry backed into the dining room to get out of the way and smashed right into Dudley, who was peering around the doorway.
"What happened?"
"He just collapsed," Dudley said, his voice shaking. "It's all my fault!"
"What?"
"I lied to them about last night. And then I didn't get home when I said, and mum was really worried! Dad just blew his top when I came home and then, and then he…he…" Dudley couldn't finish, but Harry had a pretty good idea. Years of rich food and drink and uncontrolled anger had caught up with Vernon Dursley. According to the ads for the heart association, he was a coronary waiting to happen, and it picked today, of all days. 'So much for a perfect summer,' Harry moaned to himself, as he followed Aunt Petunia and Dudley outside.
It was quickly decided that Jake would take Petunia to the hospital and Gloria volunteered to stay with Harry and Dudley for a while. The large boy was inconsolable, even though the paramedics said there was a good chance that his father would pull through. Harry sat down next to his sobbing cousin at the kitchen table.
"It's my fault," Dudley repeated shaking his head back and forth in his hands, hiding the tears that were obviously falling.
"Listen, Dud, it's not your fault. He didn't look good last night."
"Yeah, I should have seen that. I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have been late!"
"He just would have found something to yell at me for! He was always like that! You can't blame yourself!"
"What do you know?"
Harry took a deep breath. "I know that you can't control other peoples' reactions. You can't blame yourself for their decisions. I know that you aren't responsible for the consequences of their actions. I know that the guilt I feel over my Godfather's death is eating me alive! And I know that that's not good!"
Dudley lifted his head and stared at his cousin. "Your Godfather? The mass murderer? He's dead?"
"He was innocent! And yeah, he's dead," Harry told him sadly.
"I'm…I'm sorry." Dudley looked at Harry with a pained expression, "I really am."
"So am I. What happened with your dad?"
"He had a major heart attack. He was yelling at me for worrying mum, and then all of a sudden, he grabbed his chest and slid to the floor." Dudley stopped to catch his breath, still shaking. Harry unconsciously put his hand on his cousin's shoulder, trying to console him. "Mum just screamed. I had to call the ambulance. Then this lady came to the door, said she heard mum, and could help. But she was one of your kind and mum got even more hysterical. I think she did do something though cause he started breathing again. She left when the police came. Mrs. Jones or something she said her name was."
"Hestia?"
Dudley shrugged but Harry heard the back door open. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, luv. I'm right here."
"What did you do to my uncle?"
"Oh just a handy little cardiac resuscitation spell. Your dear aunt made it sound like I was the one killing him! I must say, though, he probably would be dead if I hadn't been here!"
"Thanks Hestia, I'm sure they do appreciate it"
"I do, Mrs. Jones. Thank you," Dudley said quietly.
"Listen, luv, I had to alert Dumbledore about what happened. He's sending Remus to stay with you while you aunt is out of the house, just in case, you know. He'll be by in a bit."
"I'll stay with the boys," Gloria said, walking into the kitchen. "It's no problem. Really."
"Ah, Mrs. Evans, I presume. It's nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Hestia Jones. I'm a friend of Harry's."
"You certainly have a lot of friends, Harry!" Gloria told him, looking at Hestia curiously. "I'll stay here until Jake calls in with any news. Is that okay, Dudley?"
"Yes, thank you," Dudley said softly
Mark had been hovering behind his mother, and assuming Hestia was a witch, curiously asked, "Did you go to Hogwarts?" His question managed to lighten the mood a bit.
The dark haired witch looked him over, and smiled, "you must be Mark! Oh, my, you really do look like Lily up close! Yes, I did go to Hogwarts. I was in Ravenclaw House, about twenty years ago. Congratulations! I'm sure you will love it!"
Dudley almost fell off his chair, turning so fast to stare at Mark. "You…..you're a wiz…wizard???"
Mark nodded, "Yep, just like Harry!" he said proudly.
Harry was sure he would have to recall the ambulance for Dudley, as the big boy turned paler than Nearly Headless Nick and his head fell to the table. Instead, Dudley started to laugh hysterically, "Oh, wait till mum finds out! Dad would have had a heart attack over that anyway! Bloody hell! You'd better not tell them!"
Gloria and Hestia exchanged worried glances, and Mrs. Evans went over to Dudley, who had suddenly switched back to sobs. Gloria put her arm around the tormented boy (as far as she could) and tried to comfort him.
Aunt Petunia came home around 10 pm, tired and distraught. Uncle Vernon was "holding his own" and would make it through the night. The doctors had told her that he needed major heart bypass surgery as soon as he was stable. Remus had arrived about an hour before and stayed hidden in Harry's room until morning, thinking it best not to cause Petunia any additional stress. Dumbledore was a little concerned over the effect Petunia's continued absence might have on Harry's protection. Since the magic was unusual, there were still some unknowns that the Order did not want to test. The suggestion was made that Harry be brought to headquarters early, but both he and the Headmaster thought it best Harry stay. Instead the guards were increased and Remus was assigned to stay with the Dursleys. Aunt Petunia took this turn of events better than expected, mainly due to a bit of magical intervention on Remus' part. Dudley even found the werewolf to be fascinating company. Remus not only knew the computer program the Muggle teenager was using for his report, but apparently knew Dudley's professor. Harry was more than surprised when Remus told them that he had been an Assistant Professor at Cambridge and taught a class called "Mythical Beasts: Fact or Fiction" while working on his doctorate in Animal Biology.
Dudley's teacher at Smeltings had taken the course and now assigned similar work to his students. Both Harry and Dudley were quite impressed, and the young wizards respect for Remus was increasing exponentially. Harry knew, somehow that Remus would be a very important person to him and actually started to feel guilty for shutting the man out in favor of Sirius, as soon as his Godfather had reentered his life. He was glad that he had gotten to know him though, before he died and knew that Remus didn't feel slighted in the least.
A/N-- Thank you for all the reviews! This chapter took a little longer due to other projects I've been working on, but I will try to get the next chapter soon.
Thank You to JK Rowling for such great characters and letting us all use them! Also TY to JKR for using my idea for a separate Hogwarts letter for the Muggle students J!!!! I am honored and thrilled and promise I won't sue! ( like she actually reads my story!!)
PLEASE give me your input as to Vernon's fate; should he live? Or die? I am still undecided.
