Harry felt his heart drop to his knees. He looked up forlornly into his Aunt's horsy face, knowing that every single one of the wrinkles marring her face were a result from years of frowning at him. He looked towards his Aunt as she pursed her lips.

"I said, come in, boy. And bring those frea- "she stopped herself in time, remembering that they all still held their wands,  " –your friends inside. I don't have all day," she finished irritably. Vernon stood next to her, scowling deeply.

Had he not been so depressed, Harry would have noted with malevolent satisfaction that Vernon had put on weight, and was looking more like beetroot than ever. His complexion was slowly turning more and more purple as he looked around at the group.

"Eight? Eight of you?" he muttered furiously. "The old crackpot only said a few…"

Ron coughed into his hand at the reference to his Headmaster, knowing full well that Dumbledore had orchestrated this. Ron was the only one present apart from Harry who had ever had the pleasure of meeting the Dursleys before, and he wasn't really after a repeat experience of last time. Now, he had to live with them for three weeks! And people said Voldemort was evil…

Petunia ushered everyone inside, before peering outside anxiously to check if any of the neighbours had seen the group of teenagers loitering on her doorstep. If anyone asked, she could just say that they were friends of Dudley's…she snorted to herself. As if her son would ever associate with freaks like that.

She slammed the door shut, fuming inwardly at being persuaded into taking the children for three weeks, especially considering it was Christmas. She didn't want to be saddled with caring for nine teenagers! She had presents to buy, meals to prepare for. Really, it was most inconvenient.

Draco stood in an unimpressed pose, thoroughly disgusted. Really, he thought. Dumbledore is EVIL. What have I done to the old coot lately? What have I done to deserve to be isolated from magic in a …house, if one could call it that…with Muggles?

Petunia tutted impatiently, pushing the group into the lounge and snapping the curtains shut quickly. She turned upon the witches and wizards, nostrils flaring.

THAT'S Mum's sister? Rose thought. Harry caught her eye and nodded, his eyes expressing exactly how he was feeling. He idly wondered how many ways it was possible to murder an elderly wizard without being arrested. He was slightly cheered by finding a few possibilities.

"Alright, you lot." Petunia began, not afraid at all. After she had heard about Sirius's death, she wasn't intimidated by magic anymore, and wasn't hesitant in how she treated Harry.

"First things first: you are all here out of my and Vernon's charity, that is all. You may not perform any magic in my house. You may not speak of any magic in my house. If you even THINK about magic in my house, there shall be punishment."

Oops, you mean like this? Rose thought, projecting her thoughts telepathically to the rest of the group from Hogwarts. They all tried their level best not to grin at her blatant defiance.

Petunia sensed something rebellious from the snickering group and frowned, although she couldn't tell what was happening. "I want it clear: there shall be NO MAGIC at all. To ensure this, I would like everyone's wands and books and anything else- " she shuddered, "-magical, right now. I will take care of it until you depart. As long as there is no magic, I can't see why we won't all have a fabulous time." She added sweetly.

She whirled upon Harry. "You, boy," she snapped, her sweet façade gone. "Where is that infernal bird of yours? I won't have it in my house, not this time."

Harry shrugged. "I sent her off this morning, Aunt Petunia," he answered dully. "She's at the Weasleys', with Ron's owl too."

At the mention of the Weasleys, Petunia snorted through her nose and raised an eyebrow at Ron, who recoiled. She cast an eye over the rest of the group and saw a girl with dark red hair. "Obviously, a weasel as well," she said, looking at Ginny.

Ginny gave a small smile. "My name is Virginia, Mrs Dursley," she said in a polite voice. "Thank you for letting us stay- "

She was cut off abruptly as Petunia held out a hand under her nose. "Wands," Petunia said flatly, "-Now." Ginny looked at a loss, and looked at Harry incredulously.

Harry met Ginny's gaze, and sighed heavily. He reached into his pocket and took out his wand, placing it in his Aunt's bony hand. "We only brought our wands," he said in a dreary tone. "We weren't allowed to take anything else magical."

Hesitantly, the Ginny followed Harry's lead, and then the others. When they gave Petunia their wand, they introduced themselves.

After Ginny gave her wand over, Lindsey came up. Oh, yeah. He knew Petunia Dursley well; she just didn't know it. After spending fourteen years living down the road from her, he had come to know her quite well and despite everything, he was sure he could manage. 

"Lindsey Black," he said by way of introduction, handing over his wand morosely. Petunia looked up sharply.

"Any relation to Sirius?" she asked in a distasteful voice. When Lindsey only stared at her, she took it as a yes and went on.

"Ron Weasley."

"Hermione Granger.  Ah, I own a cat, Mrs Dursley…"

Petunia nodded stiffly. Out of all the children, the Granger girl seemed the most normal. "As long as it eats and sleeps outside, and doesn't make any mess. Is it a normal cat?"

Hermione smiled graciously. "As normal as they come, Mrs Dursley. Don't worry, Crookshanks won't make a mess, he'll just sleep."

Draco handed his wand over with disgust written all over his features. He stepped back without a word, not trusting himself to speak he was so angry. How DARE some Muggle tell a Malfoy to hand over his wand? It was intolerable. He wouldn't stand for it.

Aurora's eyes flickered towards her cousin calculatingly. She knew exactly what was going through his head. Diplomatically, she gave the woman her wand. "I'm Aurora Malfoy, and he – the blonde – is my cousin, Draco Malfoy. Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

Vernon's nostrils flared from where he was in the corner. "That is not your natural hair colour, girl. Blue. I want it gone before you go outside."

Aurora gaped, reaching up at touch her blue tips disbelievingly. "Really, it is my real co- " she was cut off, her heart sinking, as Petunia raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't born with blue tips, were you?"

Aurora opened her mouth, but Harry met her gaze with wide eyes and shook his head vehemently, mouthing 'No! Nothing magical!'

Aurora swallowed. "Oh, no. Sorry. I, um, dyed it at school for a dance…"

"Then you will bleach it blonde for while you stay here, at least. You will look like any other average girl while you stay." She looked thoughtful. "I'm sure I have some peroxide in the bathroom." She looked at Aurora's stunned expression, and looked away before she could protest.

Petunia turned towards the last person, and froze.

That face!

"Um…hi, Aunt Petunia," Rose said in a small voice.

Rose's emotions were running through her like heavy waves, threatening to push her down. She felt slightly ill at the notion of meeting her Aunt after all this time.

"I'm- "

"I know who you are, child," Petunia said crisply, meeting her eyes. "You look so much like Lily…except you have your father's eyes. That colour isn't right…"

Petunia looked into her niece's eyes. They were just as she remembered from the photo Lily had sent her – sea green, mostly tinged with blue. The shape was large and expressive, not at all the almond shape of her sister. She blinked, returning to reality. It wasn't the real Lily she was looking at; it was her daughter, a witch. "Wand. Now."

Rose shook her head, shrugging. "I don't have a wand – I can't do magic like the others. I don't even go to class," she said, somewhat sadly. She really missed out on a lot.

Petunia gazed into her eyes. No magic.

…No magic? Rose was normal! Petunia had felt terrible when she first saw Rose. She was a spit-image of Lily at that age, except for her eyes. So why did it feel so bad?

She felt anger seethe in her chest. She felt bad, damn it, because it was just like losing Lily all over again. Just seeing Rose was enough to make her remember what life was like…before the magic, before Lily was a witch. Back when she was just Lily, her sister.

Petunia blinked again. "I see. Well, that's nice to know. I'm glad one of you is normal."

With that, she swept over to the stairs, indicating the rooms upside with a sweep of her arm. "I am sorry to say that we have limited sleeping arrangements for while you all stay here," she said vindictively.

"There are only four bedrooms. One is for Vernon and myself, another is for Dudley and his possessions."

Harry gaped. "But the other rooms are TINY! Marge's is small enough, but there's no way you can fit more than two people in my room. There isn't enough room to swing a cat with one person in it!"

Vernon stepped forward, cuffing Harry's head roughly. "Quiet, boy," he growled. "Don't be so insolent: I won't tolerate you this holiday. The girls will be staying in Marge's room. Go take their bags up."

Harry opened his mouth to protest putting so many people in one room, but Vernon grabbed a suitcase from Hermione and threw it at Harry, who only just caught it in time.

The clever brunette girl tried to diffuse the situation. "Really, Mr Dursley, it's okay," she said, trying to take back her second suitcase, which was being wrestled from her. "We can manage on our own- "

"NOW!" Vernon bellowed, and pushing Harry forward and swiping out with his arm. Harry's face flushed red with embarrassment as he ducked; his head lowered so as not to meet anyone's gaze. Everyone's eyes were on him as he took the girls' suitcases quickly, and started up the stairs.

"I haven't got all day, whelp," Vernon grizzled, and Harry finished climbing the stairs resentfully and disappeared around a corner, dragging the impossible number of bags. Rose heard his furious, mutinous thoughts, and blanched. Wow. She never knew Harry had such a, ah…vocabulary. His imagination was pretty advanced, as well.

Petunia sniffed delicately. "Boys, you are to stay in his room." It took everyone a while to realize she was talking about Harry.

Draco just stood in the lounge room, aghast. Saint Potter, hero of all, being treated like a House-elf by Muggles? If he were still on speaking terms with his father, he would have laughed at the expression on Lucius's face when he told him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry lugged all the bags into Marge's room and dropped them with a thud. He scowled as the girls all tried to fit in. The visitor's bedroom was decorated in pale pinks and creams, and therefore totally unsuited to Aunt Marge. There was a single double bed in the middle of the room, and the only other furniture was an armchair, an already full bookcase and a lamp. A window was along one side of the room, overlooking the neighbour's yard. All in all, it was a cute, pleasant room, had there been only one small girl living there. However, four teenagers were supposed to be staying in there for three weeks, and the room was roughly the size of a jail cell. It was obvious to everyone that it was going to be tough.

"It's, um…cosy." Hermione enthused, trying to say something positive, but failing miserably.

"It's a box, trying to fit in four people," Harry supplied moodily. "And my old room is half this size." He dropped three brightly coloured sleeping bags on the floor. "Maybe if you want to take turns for who uses the proper bed, keep swapping…" He was clearly upset that all his friends had to experience this along with him. It was humiliating, and inconvenient.

Aurora put a gentle hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be fine, Harry," she said soothingly. "Do you want help moving everyone's things into your room?"

Harry smiled at her, his first smile in a while. Aurora often had that effect on him. Her kind smile and loving eyes seemed to brighten every moment.

"Thanks, Rory," he said. "Sorry about having to dye your hair."

Aurora rolled her eyes, smiling at him. "It's okay, I'll- "

"Boy! Come here," Vernon commanded from outside the door. Harry gazed at Aurora wearily before squeezing her hand and walking away.

"Yes, Uncle?" Aurora and Rose followed him out, and Hermione and Ginny came too.

"Are the lads settled yet?" Vernon asked gruffly.

Harry shook his head as Draco, Ron and Lindsey appeared at the top of the stairs.

Vernon puffed up impatiently. "What are you waiting for, boy?"

Harry took his cue and led the other three into his old bedroom. He opened the door and walked in. Aurora gasped when she saw it, reaching out to take his hand. Harry swept his spare arm around, watching as Vernon headed off somewhere downstairs. "Welcome to my room, everyone."

Ronald Weasley had always grown up in a somewhat cramped house. His family wasn't the richest of Wizarding Lineage, and that was reflected at the Burrow. He had always thought his own room was a bit lacking, but now when he saw where Harry lived, he told himself mentally to shut up and stop complaining.

That night back in second year when he, Fred and George had rescued Harry, he hadn't really noticed Harry's living conditions.

The room was tiny. That much was obvious. It had polished wooden floorboards, and plain cream walls. There was a sizeable window where Harry had escaped in second year, and Harry was infuriated to note that the remnants of the bars were still there. The door still had all its extra 'accessories', such as the cat door. The bed was plain, threadbare and a dull grey. The shelves on the walls were empty, and the cupboard was too. It was like the proverbial ghost town.

Rose waited until she was sure Vernon and Petunia were downstairs before turning to her depressed twin. "Harry," she breathed. "You never told me it was like this…do you even live here?"

Harry shrugged moodily. "Yeah, I do. Spend most of my time at school, though. Can't imagine why," he finished sarcastically.

"But why isn't there anything of yours here?" Rose persisted. She tried to put some humour in the situation, make Harry laugh. "No posters, no quills, no books or dirty clothes…what's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a messy teenaged guy! I know for a fact that at school your dormitory is as unkempt as your hair."

Draco sniffed daintily. "Not all teenaged wizards are messy, Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment but feeling a quick thrill when the blonde called her by her first name. "Really, Harry. There's nothing to claim the room as yours."

"That's 'cause I don't want to be here, and the Dursleys don't want me to be either," he said quietly. He waited a moment before running his hand through his hair. "And it's really not that messy."

Rose looked at him sadly. "So…do you own anything in the house? I saw you're not in any pictures downstairs…it's like you don't exist here."

Harry sat down on the corner of his bed. "The Dursleys don't like to advertise the fact that I live here during the summer for awhile. Everyone who knew me before I knew I was a wizard all think I spend my days at St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys."

Rose, Hermione, Lindsey and Draco all looked at him before starting to laugh uncontrollably. "Criminal?" Hermione choked out. "YOU?"

Lindsey was almost crying. "I heard about it from mum, but I didn't think it was true!" he crowed.

Aurora looked concerned for Harry. "Incurably Criminal?" she asked skeptically. "Although that might explain the bars on the window and all the locks on the outside of the door."

Ginny looked horrified, checking out the padlocks for herself. "That's terrible!" she muttered.

Harry shrugged. "Hence the staying at Hogwarts," he said flatly.

They started putting sleeping bags on the floor, finding that there was only room for another two bags in the small space. Harry was looking puzzled, when thundering stomps and laboured breathing indicated Uncle Vernon climbing the stairs again. After making it halfway, he called out.

"Boy! Come here, we need to discuss sleeping arrangements."

"Coming," Harry said, looking a bit ill. He gazed at the floor worriedly, before looking towards Ron. "I don't think there's enough room," he said in a low tone. "They might put me in with Dudley. I'm not sure."

Ron winced. "C'mon, mate. If there isn't enough room in here, imagine trying to fit in a room with HIM!" he and Lindsey laughed loudly, being the only people who had the pleasure of seeing Dudley Dursley before. He wasn't home yet, and everyone else was going to have to wait until dinner to see him.

Harry grinned wryly, and squeezed Aurora's hand before releasing it and walking down the corridor towards the stairs. Disappeared down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen.

Vernon was looking overjoyed, while Petunia was just looking unimpressed. "Really, Vernon, don't we have a choice?" she was asking quietly, so as not to let anyone else hear what she was saying. "He's too big now! It's ludicrous. And his friends will tell Dumbledore…"

"Tell him what?" Harry interrupted. Rose had followed him downstairs and was leaning against the kitchen sink.

Harry instantly regretted asking his Uncle, because Vernon puffed out like a big fish. "Don't ask questions, boy!" he bellowed, before deflating a little with a malicious grin. "But if you really wan to know…" 

Harry's eyes narrowed. Something told him this was not going to be pleasant. "What is it, Uncle Vernon?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well, you may have noticed that, unfortunately, there really isn't enough room for four teenaged boys to stay in your bedroom."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm sure we can make it fit, Uncle," he tried, but Vernon shook his heavy head.

"Out of the question. Petunia and I have talked about this for a while, and we have decided that of course, the guests take priority. We can fit three boys in your bedroom, even if it is a bit of a squeeze."

Harry swallowed. "And, er, where do I sleep?"

Vernon smiled nastily, while Petunia glowered at him. "We really don't have a choice, boy. You're to stay in your old room."

Harry's face went blank. "My old bedroom?" he asked, contemplating. "Where else have I slept?"

Petunia sighed, picking up a feather duster and handing it to the puzzled teen. Vernon guffawed. "Don't you remember?"

Harry shook his head no, bewildered.

"For the next three weeks, you're back in your cupboard under the stairs. You may want to clean it first."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A/N

Well, here we are. Dursleys. In the next chapter, we must ask ourselves a question: WHY didn't Petunia tell Harry he had a twin?? The question will be answered.

I DID have plans for a sweaty, shirtless Harry doing hours of manual labour in the yard, but then I remembered that this is set in England tear where it is Winter at Christmas! (I am Australian, so before now this was perfectly acceptable.)

Don't worry, there will be some fights and some Harry/Rory action as well as some Draco/Rose action.

OOOh Dudley is coming back next chapter. And isn't it a shame about Aurora's hair???

Please review, let me know how its going. There will be a lot of Harry abuse in the future. He needs your help! Please review, so I can write it quickly and finish the pain!

As always, many thanks to Perry and Aleana, who review no matter what.  Thanks also to Badger for his/her two word review: this was the only feedback I got apart from the people I pay to read.

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