DISCLAIMER: All of the Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

Gain and Lost

Chapter one - Family

Harry couldn't feel more miserable. It's been a week since he was back to Privet Drive for the summer holidays, and it felt like a year. The Dursleys kept treating him as usual, only this time they were careful not to upset him so much, so he wouldn't write a letter to his weird friends about it. He was in his room most of the time. Siting near the window and staring at the sky. He remembered his Godfather. Sirius has been the only relative that he had alive and now he was dead too. His aunt didn't count as a relative. She was more like a guardian for him who didn't even bother to care about him.

Harry didn't spend the time he wanted with Sirius. Every time he tried to be alone with him something happened. Someone interrupted their conversation even before it has even begun. Only an hour, or even a few minutes. That was all Harry wanted. If he could see Sirius again, if only he could turn back time to talk to him. But that seemed impossible.

Uncle Vernon was sitting in front of the television watching the news, while Dudley kept whining about a comedy show that he wanted to watch on another channel.

"Just a few more minutes Dudders." Said Uncle Vernon. But Dudley kept making noises.

"Vernon, why don't you just change the channel?" asked Aunt Petunia as she came to the living room. "Or come and watch the news in the kitchen."

"That television is small. I can't concentrate. Dudders can watch his show there. Can't you son?"

"No. I want this one." Dudley said pointing his fat finer at the television.

"Oh alright. Anything for my little boy." Uncle Vernon said and patted his son on the shoulder as he got up. Dudley quickly changed the channel and helped himself with a huge piece of cake that his mother gave him. Uncle Vernon went to the kitchen and turned on the TV.

"What's that boy doing in his room all the time Petunia?" he said as he settled himself in front of the TV, "he didn't come down for breakfast. Do you think he's up to something?"

"I don't know dear. I have much more important things to do rather go and check on him." Aunt Petunia replied.

"What if he's writing something to those… you know… weirdos? He could tell them lies about us. He could tell them that we are beating him or not feeding him right. You know they would believe him, not us."

"You're right. I'll go and check on him." Aunt Petunia said and went to Harry's room.

She opened the door without knocking. Harry was sitting near the window staring at the sky. "What are you up to?" she asked.

Harry turned to her with a blank expression on his face. "Excuse me?"

"I said, what are you up to? Waiting for that stupid owl to bring you some news?"

"If you haven't noticed, Hedwig is in her cage. And don't call her stupid." Harry said and turned his face to look outside. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone now.

"But she's not the only owl in the country is she?" Aunt Petunia said as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. Although Harry was her nephew, but she never showed any signs of being his aunt.

Harry didn't reply. Instead he walked to his desk and took out a parchment and a quill.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to write a letter if you haven't noticed."

"What are going to write?" Aunt Petunia's face turned purple. If Harry was going to write to those crazy people whom he called friends, that will mean the end for her family.

"Nothing. Everything." Harry replied and on the chair in front of the desk.

"What do you mean with nothing and everything? What's wrong with you boy?"

Harry's eyes were wide opened in amazement. This was the first time in his life that his aunt actually asked what was wrong with him.

"Like you care!" he replied, anger starting to rise in him.

Aunt Petunia was about to yell at him for how he was talking to her, but she remembered the howler she received last year and the threats she and her husband received at the train station.

"Of course I care!" she replied. "How couldn't I care? I'm your…" she paused for a moment. It was the first time she thought about it without Uncle Vernon's pressures. He was her nephew. Although his mother deceived her family by marrying a wizard, but after all, she was her sister.

"I'm your aunt." She said in a calm and a shaky voice. "I do care about you Harry." She sat on his bed behind him and he turned his chair so he would face her.

"How come you never told me? You never showed that you even care." He said.

"I did my best to show you that I care about you. You still live in this house, don't you? If it wasn't for me, you would've been out there in the middle of the street, probably dead by now."

"Or was it because Dumbledore warned you?" Harry asked.

Aunt Petunia lowered her head. She couldn't look into Harry's eyes. She has mistreated him all these years along with her husband and son. "I know what you mean Harry. But that's not the only reason. Me and Lily were so close to each other." She raise her head to look at Harry again. "We shared our secrets together all the time. When she told me that she was meeting James after classes at school, I thought that it's just a teenage crush. That she will soon forget about him after she graduates. But she didn't. And to make the matters worse, she married him and asked me to be her maid of honor at the wedding."

Harry raise his eyebrows. "You were her maid of honor?"

"Yes. Although I didn't want to, but she insisted. And I loved her so much to reject her. But right after the wedding ceremony I left and didn't see her or talk to her anymore. The last time I heard about her was the night she was killed." Tears started to form in her eyes.

"But why? Why didn't you want her to marry my dad?" Harry asked.

"Because he wasn't normal. He was a wizard. That's why. My mother was always afraid of them and she didn't like them at all." Aunt Petunia wiped her tears with her palm. "When Lily started Hogwarts mom was frustrated. She didn't allow us to even talk about magic in the house. She didn't even let Lily go to school. Every year someone came to our house to take Lily to the train station. And after her third year, James came with his friends to take her."

"You knew them too?" Harry asked his eyes brightening.

"Of course I knew them. She used to call them with some odd names. One of them was Moony, the other Wormtail." Harry's stomach turned at the mention of the name. "And Padfoot. They used to come at the end of July to take your mother to do some shopping for school."

"How come you never told me about that?"

"I never had the desire for you to know that world. I was afraid that you would end up just like your parents. Lily's death was a shock for me. I couldn't stand losing you too."

"What about Sirius? What do you know about him?" Harry asked.

"Oh Sirius." Aunt Petunia smiled. "Well, he was a charming boy. He looked the bravest between them. Always looking for trouble. He was the best man at your parents' wedding."

"I know that." Harry said and lowered his head, "and he was my Godfather."

"Your Godfather? Really? But wait… you said was?"

"He was killed a couple of weeks ago." Harry said, not wanting to remember the horrible night at the Department of Mysteries.

"Oh my God." Aunt Petunia put her hand on her mouth. "He was the criminal you told us about a couple of years ago, wasn't he? But how come? He couldn't hurt a fly! And now dead?"

Harry was amazed to see his aunt act like this. Why did she care about Sirius anyway? It's not like she liked him or something. Or did she?

"Aunt Petunia, you're acting like a hysterical little girl." Harry said.

"Shut up boy! Watch your mouth." She said, "he was a friend of your father, and I knew him way before your parents were married."

"Oh yes. You acted like the sweet little sister until their wedding day." Harry said in a sarcastic tone.

"It wasn't my fault. My mother forced me to cut my relations with Lily. And I grew up hating her for that." She took Harry's hand in hers. "Harry, I want you to know that I really loved your mother. And I do miss her now. I also liked your father; he wasn't bad at all. He was so nice to me. Every time we met he used to take my teacup and start to do some silly predictions. Once he took my teacup and said that there's a balloon shaped man in it." Aunt Petunia smiled and noticed Harry's amazed face expression. "Well, it was true. I married Vernon after all." She took a deep breath and continued, "All this time I couldn't tell you this because I didn't want Vernon to leave me. He is my husband and the father of my son. I don't want to lose any one of them. I had to keep you away from the wizard world. I hope you understand."

Harry didn't know if he should believe her or not. But he felt that she really meant everything she just said. He nodded and smiled to her.

Aunt Petunia got up and hugged him. "If you need anything at all, let me know. And keep our conversation a secret okay? I don't want Vernon or Dudley to know."

"Okay." Harry said.

"I better go back downstairs now. Your uncle will start to think that you jinxed me."

Harry laughed for the first time in this week. He had one of his family back. He wasn't alone after all. Maybe he has lost Sirius, but he got his aunt back. And she was willing to stand by his side from now on. This was going to be a long summer. For Harry had so many ideas about how to annoy Dudley and come out of it as innocent as a baby.