Chapter 2
The Aftermath
Petunia Dursley sniffed softly as she held onto her son and her nephew. She loved them both so much that it hurt. She placed them both in their playpen and sat down in the chair, watching as they played silently together. It astounded her that they both were so smart. When Harry had been 6 months old, he started to make his first words. She remembered Lily saying that it was because he was a powerful wizard. Draco had started talking at 6 months too, and Dudley had started talking at 7 months. It was probably because he was somehow magical. Petunia herself was magical, she had a wand, and she could do some spells, but she never went to Hogwarts. She wanted to, but she didn't, she felt as if she didn't belong, and it wasn't the place for her. Lily had tried so hard to convince her to come, but she declined, much to Lily's displeasure.
Lily. Her sister was gone. Dead, murdered. Along with James, oh how she cried when Albus told her. She clutched her nephew to her chest, while she cried her eyes out, a part of her wishing that it was some sick joke and that her sister wasn't taken away from her. But it was no joke it was the truth. The harsh reality reared its ugly head, and she tried so desperately to block out the pain. But it didn't work, and now 10 hours later she was sitting in the living room, tired, but not wanting to sleep. She felt sorry for Harry, he watched his mother die, that must be emotionally taking it's toll on the little boy.
The doorbell rang and Petunia jumped, startled at the noise. She walked over to the front door, and opened it. She was instantly in a tight hug from Narcissa.
"Are you ok?" The blonde asked as she looked at her friend.
"I'm getting by. I'll be ok, I hope." Petunia replied as Narcissa walked into the house, and placed Draco in the playpen with the other two boys.
"Hawwy!" Draco cried happily, hugging his friend. Harry hugged him back and Narcissa looked away, dabbing at the tears in her eyes.
"An awful thing has happened Tunia." Narcissa said as she sat down in a nearby chair.
"More bad news? I don't think I can handle anymore. What is it?"
"They think Sirius did it. I know he didn't. We were at the house, when I arrived and was questioned by Albus, Sirius and Remus appeared, both in hysterics. Sirius took one look at Lily and James's body and he went crazy, cursing Peter like there was no tomorrow. He told Albus that Peter was the secret Keeper, and then he rushed off, saying he was going to 'kill the rat!' Before any of us could stop him he was gone. An hour ago, they had him, in handcuffs, reading him his rights and saying that he was responsible for Lily and James's death. They said he wasn't going to have a trial, and they also accused him of killing Peter. Albus, Remus, and I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen. They whisked Sirius off to Azkaban Prison, and said he was to stay there for life. It was horrible!" Narcissa cried into her hands and then shot up and started to walk over to the window.
"But Sirius is innocent! They could have at least given him a trial!" Petunia raged.
"I blame Lucius for this!"
"Lucius? What did he have to d with anything?" Petunia asked curiously.
"He betrayed me. He knew all about the attack, and he made sure that me and Draco left the house. I can't believe he did this to me! I should just ring his blonde little neck!"
"What about Voldemort? Do they know where he is?"
"Harry rebounded the killing curse off of himself. Albus told me that much. Right now, everyone knows Harry's name. And from now on, he's known as The – Boy – Who – Lived." Narcissa said. She picked Harry up and kissed his cheek. She moved his hair out the way and showed Petunia the scar.
"I know about that. It was bleeding since he got here, but I got it to stop." Petunia replied.
"Tunia, this is where the killing curse hit him. He survived it and the backlash killed Voldemort."
"Oh my god!" Petunia said with a gasp. She let her hands linger over the scar and Harry instantly winced and moved his head back. She drew her hands away and looked up into her friend's eyes. "He could have been killed."
"Could have been. But he wasn't. And I thank his lucky stars for that. Have you thought of the funeral arrangements?" Narcissa asked, putting Harry back in the playpen.
"No! I just don't want them to be dead. I don't want them to be gone. I loved them both, and now…" Petunia started to cry and Narcissa held her tightly.
"It will be ok. I'll help you. No matter what I'll help you. And I'll be here for Harry as well you are not alone in this. I know Vernon won't help, but I'll make sure that we do everything in our power to make sure we keep the bind between these three. Lily would want that from us, and that's exactly what we'll do."
3 years later
"HARRY!!!" Draco yelled as he broke free of his mother and ran towards his friend. Harry smiled brightly and when Draco finally threw his arms around him, he hugged him back.
"Draco! I missed you! I haven't seen you in weeks!" Harry said with a smile.
"I missed you too. Where's Dudley?" Draco asked looking around.
"He's inside with my Uncle. Come on, let's go, but don't say anything, Uncle Vernon can be a little angry at times." Harry said. Draco nodded in understanding and they went inside to find Dudley talking to his father.
"And remember, they are freaks, you are not!" Uncle Vernon said.
"Yes Dad."
"Good. Now I have to speak to your mother, be good." And with that Uncle Vernon left.
Dudley looked over and saw Harry and Draco. He broke into a smile and hugged Draco. "How have you been? Haven't seen you around here in weeks."
"I've been around. What was your father saying to you?" Draco asked curiously.
Dudley looked down at the floor and sighed. "He keeps telling me that you two are freaks, and that I'm not. He only pretend to listen to him, don't worry guys, I don't believe a thing he says."
"Good. Come on lets go out and play with the ball." Harry replied, going to get the ball, Dudley and Draco following right behind him.
"So how is Lucius and home life?" Petunia asked, walking into the kitchen with Narcissa.
"It's been going fine. Lucius is being so much better now that Voldemort is gone. It's like I got my husband back." Narcissa said with a slight smile. She sat down and watched as her friend poured her some lemonade.
"That's good to hear. Dudley and Harry are learning quite well. They make complete sentences and know what they are talking about. It's like we mothered geniuses." Petunia said with a smile.
"Yeah, Draco is the same. He loves making his Father proud. Everything is going perfect. How are you and Vernon?" The blonde asked as she sipped on her lemonade. She noticed the slight wince at the mention of Vernon and she raised an eyebrow. "Is he still beating on you?" She demanded.
"No! I mean…" Petunia looked around fearfully and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "He just gets mad sometimes. He's under a lot of stress, it's nothing to worry about Cissa."
"Nothing to worry about my ass! Why are you defending him? He has no right to raise his hand at you!" Narcissa admonished. She looked closely at her friend and sighed. "Does he beat Harry and Dudley too?" Narcissa asked.
"No! He doesn't. But he probably would, if I didn't take the hits. Don't you see Narcissa, I have to stay with him, and I can't leave. I'm trapped, he'd hurt them, and I'm scared. Better me then them."
Narcissa grabbed Petunia's arm. "No! Better nobody. I'll kill him!" She said. She stood up and walked out of the kitchen.
"Cissa no!"
"Vernon!" Narcissa yelled. A few minutes later Vernon walked into the room, holing a beer can.
"What the fuck do you want?" Her slurred.
"I want you to stop beating up on Petunia. If I hear that you raised one hand on her, I'll kill you myself!"
"I don't take orders from women." He said as he turned his back to Narcissa.
"My husband will have to order you then? Because he will!" She said with anger.
Vernon turned back to stare at her. He had met her husband, and he was a scary man. "Fine, whatever. Can I enjoy my beer now?" He asked as he went back into the living room. Narcissa sneered and looked at her watch.
"Shit! I have to go, Lucius will be coming back home any minute and I need to be home before him."
"Ok. Thanks for coming though. The kids are probably out back." Petunia said, following Narcissa to the backyard. Harry, Dudley and Draco were kicking a ball around and laughing as they told joke in between passes.
"Draco honey! It's time to go!" Narcissa said.
"But Mum!" Draco said in a pout.
"We have to go!" Narcissa said. Draco nodded his head and began to say goodbye to his friends. When they were done, he ran over to his mom and they started to leave.
"I'll see you in another week." Narcissa said to Petunia before she left.
"Cissa!!" Lucius yelled a few days later. Narcissa walked down the Italian marble staircase and walked over to her husband.
"What is it Lucius?" She asked.
"I don't like you and my son, frolicking with Muggles. I refuse to have him playing around with Harry –fucking –Potter."
"Lucius! You used to be friend with James, and Lily, why are you acting like this?" Narcissa asked.
"Used to be friends with James and Lily. Used to being the key words in that sentence. I refuse to have you go over there anymore Narcissa!"
"You can't tell me what to do Lucius!"
"Really? I can't? Fine! Go over there, and then when I kill the Dursley's and the potter boy, you'll be held responsible."
"NO! Lucius please…don't kill them." Narcissa begged.
"Only if you agree to never go over there again."
"I agree. Just don't hurt them."
Lucius nodded his head and Narcissa turned on her heel and left the room. She went up to her son's room and watched as Draco played with a few of his toys. There was a wizards' train set, that moved around on the track and make noises like a real train. It had animated voiced spelled on it and when the train blew smoke, it would candy would appear and drop down.
"Draco, you ok?" She asked her son.
"Yeah I'm fine. When do I get to go and see Harry and Dudley?" Draco asked. Narcissa bit the corner of her lips and walked into the room. This was going to be hard.
"Vernon stop!!!" Petunia yelled as she watched her husband take Harry by the arm and shove him into the cupboard under the stairs.
"You stay in there you little freak! Your just as useless and your mother and father! Look at where they are, DEAD!!" Vernon taunted the small 4 year old.
"VERNON!!!" Petunia screamed, tears running down her face. Vernon turned to her and slapped her across the face. She fell to the floor, and sobbed uncontrollably while he pulled her head back by her hair.
"How dare you order me around? That boy is nothing but a waste of space! He'll stay in there until I feel like letting him out! And if you or that insolent son of mine, dare to let him out, I'll break a bone in your fucking body!" Vernon raged as he kicked her in the side. She groaned as she fell to the floor yet again. Vernon banged on the door to the cupboard where Harry lay, in the dark, swatting at the spiders that were in there.
"Freak! Don't you even think about getting out of here, I'll kill you if you leave from your new room without permission!" And with that Vernon walked away from the cupboard. He looked over at his wife that was crying silently on the floor.
"And you, get up and clean yourself up. Be in the bedroom in 10 minutes, or else!" He said to her. He stormed up the stairs and opened the door to his son's room.
Dudley wiped the tears from his eyes and looked fearfully up at his father. "Dad?" He asked in a small voice.
"I don't want you helping that freak from leaving his new room. From now on, he will wear all of your old clothes, and if you ever feed him anything that I don't tell you to, you will get a thorough beating, do you understand?"
"Yes Dad." Dudley replied.
"Good." And with that he closed the door behind him as he went to his room, awaiting his wife.
After Draco had cried himself to sleep, Narcissa went up to her room and wrote a letter to Petunia, explaining everything that happened between her and Lucius, and why she couldn't see her, unless they met in secret. She sent the letter off and for the first time since the death of Lily and James, she allowed herself to cry. She hated everything that was going on, and she didn't like it one bit. She just wished things weren't so complicated.
"PETUNIA!!!" Vernon yelled. She came from the kitchen, where she was making lunch and looked over to her husband.
"Yes Vernon?" She asked.
"You friend wrote you a letter. And you know what it says?" He asked, with a self-pleased smirk on his face.
"No, what does it say?" Petunia asked in a fearful voice.
"It says, that her husband has forbidden her to come see you. She can't ever visit you because he threatened to kill us, and she doesn't want that to happen. Do you know what this means?"
Petunia was devastated by the news, but she wasn't going to show Vernon that. "No what?" She asked.
"It means I don't have to worry about your fucking wizard friends, that's what. And now, there is nowhere for you to go. You really are trapped." He said with a grin.
Petunia scowled at him, and turned on her heel. "Whatever, I have lunch to cook. Are you letting Harry out to eat?" She asked hoping he would.
"Of course not! Get your ass in there and make my food." Petunia nodded her head, and went back into the kitchen.
"Mommy!" Draco yelled coming downstairs to find his mother.
"What is it Draco?" Narcissa asked.
"Something bad is happening. I know something bad is going to happen." Draco said as he sat on his mother's lap.
"What do you mean sweet pea?"
"Harry." Was all Draco managed to say before he started to cry. Narcissa held her son tight to her and wondered what was wrong.
"Aunt Petunia, I don't want you to get hurt." Harry whispered as his Aunt gave him a plate of food and a big cup of juice.
"Don't worry, I will not starve you. Eat up, I'll come back later to get the dishes from you." She whispered. She closed the door again and locked it back up. She went slowly up the stairs, and a few seconds later descended back down. She walked into the kitchen and smiled at her husband and son who sat down eating.
"What took you so long?" Vernon asked.
"A lady never rushes out from the bathroom Vernon." Petunia said with a small smile and a light chuckle. She started to eat slowly and prayed that he wouldn't find out that she gave Harry food.
"You finished Dudley?" Vernon asked. Dudley nodded his head and Vernon stood up. "I'll do the dishes tonight." Vernon said. He put the dirty dishes in the sink and opened the cabinets. He looked and scanned through them all and then turned to his wife.
"What's wrong honey?" She asked, slightly nervous.
"Why is it that there are a plate, a cup and a spoon missing?"
"Honestly Vernon, I don't know what you're talking about." Petunia said with a nervous laugh as she stood up slowly.
Vernon walked over to her and growled as he slammed her back into the wall. "You're feeding the freak aren't you?!"
'Vernon, leave me alone!" She said. Before she could blink, she was slapped across the face.
"I'll teach you and that Freak to disobey me!" He said. He walked over to the cupboard, and undid the locks. Harry had hid the things that his Aunt had brought to him and when his Uncle walked in he looked up fearfully.
"You little bastard! Where are the things my wife gave to you?" Vernon demanded.
"She didn't give me anything." Harry said. Vernon pulled the boy out of the cupboard and threw him to the floor. Harry let out a sharp cry as he hit the wood floor. He was dragged up and hit across the face, his head making contact with the banister he was standing in front of.
"OH MY GOD!!" Petunia shrieked.
Harry swayed and then hit the floor. Dudley watched silently in the corner and cried for his cousin and his mother. Vernon grabbed the Harry and threw him back into the cupboard.
"If you feed that boy again I will break a goddamn bone in your body. This is your last warning Petunia. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if it will teach you some discipline." Vernon said. He slammed his wife into the wall and kneed her in the stomach. He pushed her down to the floor and growled slightly.
"I'm going out, don't wait up!" He said, grabbing his jacket and leaving the house. Dudley rushed to his mother when he heard the car drive away and held her close. Petunia crawled over to the cupboard door, and opened it. She pulled Harry to her and cried at the gash at the back of his head.
"Dudley, go up into your second bedroom. There's a loose floorboard under the bed, and in there are vials of healing potions. Bring me 3 bottles." Petunia said. Dudley raced up the stairs and Petunia held her nephew close to her.
"I'm so sorry Lily and James. I really am sorry. Please forgive me, I'm trying to protect him, I really am." She sobbed. A few minutes later Dudley came back down stairs and Petunia drunk some of the potion and then turned Harry on his back. She made him drink the potion and then she turned him on his stomach and put the other potion in his head. In a few minutes the gash healed and Harry's eyes were fluttering open.
"Harry! Are you ok?" Dudley asked.
"I think so." Harry replied. He looked up at his Aunt and touched the vanishing bruise on her face. "I'm sorry he hurt you."
"I'm sorry he hurt you too. Just, we're going to have to make sure you have food in there. I can't let you starve. Dudley go get some fruits and yogurts out the fridge. We'll put them in the cupboard, and Harry will have something to eat. But we will get you some food. Don't worry, we will." Petunia said as she let out a small cry and hugged her nephew close to her, wishing that their life wasn't this complicated.
"I felt it. Harry was hurt, I'm sure of it mom." Draco said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"It's ok baby, I believe you. But there is nothing we can do. I'm sorry. We're trapped."
A/N: Ok I finally updated this. I hope you guys like it, and I promise that the new chapter will be up soon. Just keep checking on the story. I hope I didn't lose any reviewers, and check out my other Harry/Draco stories. And for the record some of the characters will be OC and it's slightly AU. But I think you can get that from the way everything was in the first chapter. Hoped you liked it and see you in the next chapter, peace!