Chapter 2 - A Chat with Aunt Petunia

Harry stared hard at the parchment wishing he knows what's going on. Something was definitely not right! Even the Daily Prophet didn't send him newspapers anymore. He stopped writing to his so-called friends after sending several letters without any reply. He was inclined to think that all has been a dream if not for Luna's letter and all the books of enchantments sprawled on his bedroom...

Then suddenly, it came to him. Why not take a leaf from Hermione's book and try to learn a few advanced spells himself...... something like apparition...or maybe something else...Surely, the Ministry is still monitoring him and will dispatch wizards if they catch any sign of magic in Privet Drive. WIth that thought, Harry proceeded to his new productive escape from boredom.

If he could master apparition then maybe he could go to the Burrow, Grimmauld Place or Hogwarts and find things out for himself. He could just imagine Luna being scared but putting a tough front all the same. He must find a way to help her.

How to Apparate:

You must empty your mind except for the place you want to appear to. Picture it clearly on your mind and summon your power from within to let your body dissolve into atoms and travel at lightning speed to that particular place. Remember to imagine your whole self traveling so as not to leave anything behind.

For beginners, one must point their wands to their chest and utter "Apparato and wherever you want to go" clearly. This is a very advanced spell and one must be very careful in attempting this. As the wizard becomes more proficient with this spell, the requirements will be lesser. Soon, just mere thought of the spell will bring you to wherever you want to go.

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'Hey, this seems easy enough' thought Harry. 'Kind of like Occlumency'. He practiced for almost an hour until he got the hang of it. Soon he was apparating to any part of the Dursley's house with his wand. It never even crossed his mind that other wizards would not have been able to do that within an hour.

Dear Luna,

Don't worry too much. I think your father has a good reason for not coming back. Maybe he really was able to encounter some Crumple Horned Snorkacks and ....

Harry's line of thought was suddenly distracted by the sound of owls coming to Privet Drive. 'Finally!' he thought....but no, the owls did not go to his window as usual. He did some quick thinking. The only person in the house aside from him is Aunt Petunia. If the letters were not for him, then maybe it was for her. Without stopping to get his wand, he immediately apparated to the kitchen where he found Aunt Petunia nervously reading the parchments.

"Aunt Petunia, who are those letters from?" He decided to approach her nicely since he doesn't want to risk her getting all nervous and refuse to answer his questions again like she did last year when Dumbledore sent her a howler.

"Umm....ahh....I can't tell you...I swore to keep....oh, what am I saying? Vernon will be mad at me and Dudley..." said Petunia awkwardly, desperately trying to hide her nervousness as she hid the letter in the pocket of her dress.

"Please, can you please tell me? Uncle Vernon and Dudley are not here. They don't need to know that you have been talking to me about .... you - know?" Harry fumbled for the correct words to soothe her nerves. At her emotional state, she might go off without telling him anything if he didn't choose his words carefully.

Aunt Petunia took several deep breathes and busied herself with washing the dishes before she looked at her nephew again. But what she said took him completely by surprise.

"I was a witch, Harry."

"What?!? Excuse me?" He must have heard wrong. There's no way that her Aunt is a witch. She hates them.

As if reading his mind, she made two cups of coffee and motioned for him to sit down on the table with her. She looked at the window as if remembering some very unpleasant memories.

"I said I was a witch, Harry. Just like your mother. "Was" not "is". I don't hate her as much as I said I do. It is more like my sense of self-preservation taking over. I enjoyed being able to do magic once....until something happened..." At this point, Aunt Petunia gazed nervously at the door and seemed to hesitate before she continued. Harry looked at her expectantly but did not press her.

"Do you remember my reaction to Dementors when they attacked you and Dudley last year?"

Harry recalled the situation very well. He was not only anxious and irritated that time but also insanely curious as to why her aunt remembered that bit of information about the wizarding world after several years of ignoring their existence. He nodded patiently and encouraged her to go on.

"Dementors attacked our house during the reign of Voldemort and has taken the whole family except for Lily who was at the wizard hospital that time. They brought us to Azkaban along with some other wizards. I didn't understand it the time. I was so young and hadn't even went to Hogwarts yet. I thought only the death-eaters attack and kill people but that was my first time to encounter dementors. But it turned out that the dementors kept us there to for food. They extracted all our happy thoughts and drained all the magic within us.

Soon, the prisoners were dying one by one until only a few remained. We were rescued eventually but it was too late. The survivors were reduced to being muggles and were forced to live a muggle life from then onwards. Of course, our memories were modified except for our parents because they still had Lily to consider. Mine was lifted when Lily and James were murdered by Voldemort and I had to take care of you. That's why I was so bitter. You reminded me of the life I once loved but was forced to leave. I also misdirected my anger to Lily. Why did she survive when all of us did not?" Aunt Petunia gritted her teeth to control the tears that are currently flowing on her cheeks.

Harry was dumbfounded for a moment. He didn't know what to say. How come nobody told him about what happened to his aunt. But it was a long time ago, perhaps nobody really remembers that his aunt was once a witch. Surely, Dumbledore would know but...how come he did not tell him? Several thoughts are flowing through his mind right now but couldn't quite articulate his thoughts. He just sat there and looked at her aunt in wonder.

Sirius said before that dementors really had that draining effect on wizards and only strong ones can hold on to their powers and sanity for a long period of time. His aunt was still young that time. She was not that strong yet...but Sirius said that it is possible for the magical powers to return after some time.

"Hasn't your magical powers returned yet?" He cautiously asked his aunt.

"No, it hasn't. When Dumbledore lifted my memory charm, he said it will return after some tme. I was hopeful for a while but after several years of trying nothing has happened and I grew more bitter than ever." she answered while still gazing hopelessly at the window as if waiting for something or someone.

"But surely, Dumbledore would...."

"Dumbledore stated quite clearly to me that there is nothing that he can do. Only I can make it reappear but I can't." she answered bitterly. She got up suddenly and motioned for him to come closer as if afraid that someone will hear what she has got to say.

"But he also hinted that if the boy-who-lived destroys the dementor's leader then every witch and wizard who suffered in their hands will regain their powers and be able to help him defeat Voldemort. I assume it was you, Harry. Please don't tell Vernon and Dudley but I really want my powers my back if only to be able to do something in this coming war. I hate being halpless. The dementors' attack last year reminded me how powerless I am to stop them if they ever decide to capture all of us. Please help me." she looked into Harry's deep green eyes and did something that Harry never expected her to do before. She hugged him... like a mother embracing her favorite child.

"Do you have a wand?"

"What?"

"I asked if you have a wand. I figured if I have to try to regain your powers then maybe I should start with teaching you basic spells so that you know how to use them when the time comes..."

"Do I need one? Well, as far as I can remember, I used to do magic before without a wand. You yourself never used a wand before in some of the magics you performed. Remember when you managed to grow your hair back and the time when you made the glass in the zoo disappear. I knew it was you. I just chose not to say anything." Aunt Petunia plainly looked bewildered at the mention of needing a wand for basic spells.

Harry looked confused for a while too...'Come to think of that. Dumbledore doesn't always need a wand to perform some spells too...' He looked at her aunt with a new found respect. She made him remember something that he just took for granted before. 'Wandless magic....yeah, it's possible'. He smiled at her aunt.

"Well, since we cannot go to Diagon Alley yet to buy you a wand, let's try practicing wandless magic first. Wait for a while, I'll just get my spell books." Harry quickly apparated to his bedroom. He was already there when he realized that he just apparated without using his wand and without too much effort on his part.

He noticed his unfinished letter and tried to finish it as quickly as he can before apparating back to the kitchen.

Dear Luna,

Don't worry too much. I think your father has a good reason for not coming back. Maybe he really was able to encounter some Crumple Horned Snorkacks and is probably too excited for words. Lots of things seem to be happening but I can't figure out what yet.

Please do try to be careful there and owl me as soon as you find any unusual thing happening.

Your friend,

Harry