Harry Potter and the Powers of Old
Chapter 2: A decent proposal
Harry awoke quite happy and fairly early the next morning despite the nightmares that kept him awake for most of the night. The time on his (Dudley's old) alarm clock was 9:16 which meant that his uncle had already left for work. 'Good' Harry thought. He didn't think he was up to facing him yet, not with all that happened the night before.
Harry made his way to the bathroom to have a quick shower before heading downstairs, no doubt his aunt would be waiting for him to make breakfast. After showering he headed back to his room to get dressed. Choosing a pair of cut off jeans that were too big around the waist and one of Dudley's old t-shirts that was too short and a little too baggy he gave himself a once over in the mirror. 'Pitiful' he thought, 'I gotta get myself some muggle clothes'.
Making his way downstairs and into the kitchen Harry was surprised to find his aunt standing over the frying pan doing what up until today Harry had done every morning since he was nine. Hearing Harry come in she turned and greeted him with as big a smile that she could muster. "I thought I'd do breakfast" she said seeing the shocked look on Harry's face "I checked on you this morning and you looked too peaceful to disturb"
Harry noticed his mouth hanging open and snapped it shut. Taking a seat at the table opposite Dudley he waited for his aunt petunia to finish his breakfast. 'I wonder if she's under the Imperius' Harry thought absentmindedly 'if she is then I think voldemort's finally cracked'
"Here you go Harry" aunt petunia said in the voice she usually reserved for Dudley as she laid a plate in front of him. Harry raised an eyebrow at the amount of food he had in front of him, looking across at Dudley he noticed that he was thinking along the same lines as himself. "Er aunt Petunia... I think you got mine and Dudley's plates mixed up" Harry said not taking his eyes off of his food. "Of course I didn't" she replied offhandedly "Dudder's is on a diet" "Um...okay then" Harry replied choosing not to push the issue too far before she became fully aware of what he thought was an obvious mistake.
Harry suppressed a grin seeing that Dudley had already finished his breakfast and was now eyeing his own. Picking up his fork Harry begun to tuck into his own breakfast of bacon, sausages and eggs.
"NO! Its okay Harry, I'll do the dishes" his aunt said taking Harry's empty plate out of his hand and bringing it over to the sink. "Eh...I'm going out alright mum" Dudley said excusing himself from the table" "Of course dear, don't stay out too late" his aunt replied a little louder so that Dudley who was already at the front door could hear her. Drying her hands on the towel she turned to Harry with a more serious expression on her face. "We need to talk Harry, would you wait in the living room for me" his aunt said not staring at the floor. "Um ok" Harry replied wondering exactly what was going on 'maybe she's going to explain why she's been being so nice to me this morning' he thought to himself.
His aunt appeared at the door 5 minutes later, pausing only for a moment to look Harry up and down, she shook her head and made her way over to him. For the first time in a long while she looked at a loss for words.
After about 30 seconds of aunt petunia playing with her watch Harry decided to speak up, "what did you want to speak to me about" he asked her. "Um... I wanted to apologize for the way we've treated you" she answered quietly, still playing with the strap of her watch.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked believing his ears had deceived him "you want to apologize... to me" "Yes" aunt Petunia said finally plucking up the courage to make eye contact with her nephew, "and if you want I could explain a few things that may help you to understand why we treated you how we did".
Upon hearing this Harry sat back in his chair with his arms folded and waited expectantly. "Well, before I start promise me you won't tell your uncle" aunt petunia said with a look on her face that Harry couldn't decipher. "Um...okay then" Harry replied not really understanding the need for secrecy. His aunt nodded her thanks and finding a spot on the carpet to focus on, she begun to talk.
It was about ten minutes later that Harry got a chance to speak. "You're a...a...squib?" Harry said not entirely believing it. "Yes Harry. I'm sorry for everything for how I treated you over the years but I was jealous, I know there's no excuse for it but please forgive me I'd like to make it up to you."
"How could you be jealous of me?" Harry asked quietly "do you know how messed up my life is? I've been almost killed every year since I was 11, I've got the most powerful dark wizard of all time after me, people die if they get too close to me and to top it off I've jus lost the closest thing I had to a father I've ever known." Harry stopped talking as memories of Sirius and Cedric came flooding back.
"I'm sorry Harry...I had no idea. Its just I got teased so much by my so called friends when I was younger, I wanted nothing more to be a witch like my sister...and you reminded me of that the day I took you in. but I could never be a fraction of what my sister was... I guess I ended up hating the wizarding world, and your uncle kind of helped me with that as well. Please Harry id like to start over could you ever forgive me?"
"I guess" Harry said after a brief silence "but why now, why after so many years" he added watching his aunt's reactions carefully. "Well I guess it's the way you blew up on your uncle yesterday" she said. Harry shuddered, he hadn't yet received any repercussions for his actions, but they were sure to come. Harry looked up at his aunt who was watching him carefully, "what about yesterday triggered this off" Harry asked.
"Well I guess it was the look in your eyes, and that spell 'stu...stu...stupefy'. It reminded me of the day your mum left for that school- ". "Hogwarts" Harry interjected, silently musing on how much he wished he was back there. "Yes, that's the one" aunt Petunia answered her nephew's rhetorical question. "Her friends were teasing me about being a...a squib, Lily got so angry and stunned them all...she was only eleven" aunt Petunia said reminiscing.
"You just looked so much like her yesterday...and your eyes, it's like I was looking at your mother again." Aunt petunia paused to blink back some tears. "Look" she continued "I'm sorry for all you've been through, I know I can't change any of that. But I know that you have to come back here for a few weeks a year, we can try to make those weeks enjoyable cant we?"
Harry was deep in thought, for so long his relatives made him feel worthless, they had told him often enough that they wish he'd never come to them. Yet here was his aunt, the last living link to his mother practically begging him for forgiveness.
It was the tears that Harry could see building up behind aunt Petunia's eyes that finally made him give in. "All right" Harry said slowly watching his aunt's expression change rapidly to one of joy, "we can start over, but there are one or two things that need to change." Harry added quickly, he took a deep breath before continuing.
"I want to be able to freely practice magic in the house, now that I am legal. I want some new clothes, ones that fit me properly not Dudley's hand- me-downs. And I want to be able to leave the house in the mornings; I have a new training regime that I will be following to eh...help me deal with eh... some things going on."
Harry took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts from his mind. Its true, the new training regime was to prepare him for his prophesized battle with Voldemort. His nightmare during the night had been the final straw. He would no longer feel sorry for himself for the loss of Sirius and his parents; he would work hard to ensure that no one he loved would ever be the victim in one of Voldemort's. To begin with however he would have to get in shape, hence the morning training.
Harry looked up to find his aunt staring at him with a worried look on her face. Feeling a bit un-nerved Harry decided to get the discussion back on track. "So eh...have you thought about those changes?" Harry asked avoiding eye contact. "Oh yes" his aunt started, her expression now one of thoughtful thinking, "well about practicing m...magic, you can as long as your uncle is out. I was going to suggest the clothes as well, so yeah we can buy you some new ones."
"What about my morning training?" Harry asked getting excited. "Well..." his aunt petunia said biting her lip. "I guess I would allow it, as long as you could help Dudley get in shape too".
Harry looked at her as if she was crazy; "Dudley...in shape" he stammered "are you sure" he finished lamely. "Look Harry" his aunt said looking at him, "I have spoken to Dudley, and he is all for making a new start with you. All I ask is that you two have patience with each other"
"Well...okay, but only until I leave" Harry gave in earning himself a wide smile from aunt Petunia. With that Harry got up and left for his room. 'This holiday is going to be very interesting' he thought to himself, 'very interesting indeed'.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- A/N: okay everybody, sorry about the wait I had a million and one things doing, and still do so your gonna have to wait until next week for more regular updates.
Just so ppl don't get confused in upcoming chapters, it is Monday, Harry's party, if everything goes to my plan should be on the Tuesday of the following week.
Thanks for reading... As always R&R, its always god to hear your views.
Chapter 2: A decent proposal
Harry awoke quite happy and fairly early the next morning despite the nightmares that kept him awake for most of the night. The time on his (Dudley's old) alarm clock was 9:16 which meant that his uncle had already left for work. 'Good' Harry thought. He didn't think he was up to facing him yet, not with all that happened the night before.
Harry made his way to the bathroom to have a quick shower before heading downstairs, no doubt his aunt would be waiting for him to make breakfast. After showering he headed back to his room to get dressed. Choosing a pair of cut off jeans that were too big around the waist and one of Dudley's old t-shirts that was too short and a little too baggy he gave himself a once over in the mirror. 'Pitiful' he thought, 'I gotta get myself some muggle clothes'.
Making his way downstairs and into the kitchen Harry was surprised to find his aunt standing over the frying pan doing what up until today Harry had done every morning since he was nine. Hearing Harry come in she turned and greeted him with as big a smile that she could muster. "I thought I'd do breakfast" she said seeing the shocked look on Harry's face "I checked on you this morning and you looked too peaceful to disturb"
Harry noticed his mouth hanging open and snapped it shut. Taking a seat at the table opposite Dudley he waited for his aunt petunia to finish his breakfast. 'I wonder if she's under the Imperius' Harry thought absentmindedly 'if she is then I think voldemort's finally cracked'
"Here you go Harry" aunt petunia said in the voice she usually reserved for Dudley as she laid a plate in front of him. Harry raised an eyebrow at the amount of food he had in front of him, looking across at Dudley he noticed that he was thinking along the same lines as himself. "Er aunt Petunia... I think you got mine and Dudley's plates mixed up" Harry said not taking his eyes off of his food. "Of course I didn't" she replied offhandedly "Dudder's is on a diet" "Um...okay then" Harry replied choosing not to push the issue too far before she became fully aware of what he thought was an obvious mistake.
Harry suppressed a grin seeing that Dudley had already finished his breakfast and was now eyeing his own. Picking up his fork Harry begun to tuck into his own breakfast of bacon, sausages and eggs.
"NO! Its okay Harry, I'll do the dishes" his aunt said taking Harry's empty plate out of his hand and bringing it over to the sink. "Eh...I'm going out alright mum" Dudley said excusing himself from the table" "Of course dear, don't stay out too late" his aunt replied a little louder so that Dudley who was already at the front door could hear her. Drying her hands on the towel she turned to Harry with a more serious expression on her face. "We need to talk Harry, would you wait in the living room for me" his aunt said not staring at the floor. "Um ok" Harry replied wondering exactly what was going on 'maybe she's going to explain why she's been being so nice to me this morning' he thought to himself.
His aunt appeared at the door 5 minutes later, pausing only for a moment to look Harry up and down, she shook her head and made her way over to him. For the first time in a long while she looked at a loss for words.
After about 30 seconds of aunt petunia playing with her watch Harry decided to speak up, "what did you want to speak to me about" he asked her. "Um... I wanted to apologize for the way we've treated you" she answered quietly, still playing with the strap of her watch.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked believing his ears had deceived him "you want to apologize... to me" "Yes" aunt Petunia said finally plucking up the courage to make eye contact with her nephew, "and if you want I could explain a few things that may help you to understand why we treated you how we did".
Upon hearing this Harry sat back in his chair with his arms folded and waited expectantly. "Well, before I start promise me you won't tell your uncle" aunt petunia said with a look on her face that Harry couldn't decipher. "Um...okay then" Harry replied not really understanding the need for secrecy. His aunt nodded her thanks and finding a spot on the carpet to focus on, she begun to talk.
It was about ten minutes later that Harry got a chance to speak. "You're a...a...squib?" Harry said not entirely believing it. "Yes Harry. I'm sorry for everything for how I treated you over the years but I was jealous, I know there's no excuse for it but please forgive me I'd like to make it up to you."
"How could you be jealous of me?" Harry asked quietly "do you know how messed up my life is? I've been almost killed every year since I was 11, I've got the most powerful dark wizard of all time after me, people die if they get too close to me and to top it off I've jus lost the closest thing I had to a father I've ever known." Harry stopped talking as memories of Sirius and Cedric came flooding back.
"I'm sorry Harry...I had no idea. Its just I got teased so much by my so called friends when I was younger, I wanted nothing more to be a witch like my sister...and you reminded me of that the day I took you in. but I could never be a fraction of what my sister was... I guess I ended up hating the wizarding world, and your uncle kind of helped me with that as well. Please Harry id like to start over could you ever forgive me?"
"I guess" Harry said after a brief silence "but why now, why after so many years" he added watching his aunt's reactions carefully. "Well I guess it's the way you blew up on your uncle yesterday" she said. Harry shuddered, he hadn't yet received any repercussions for his actions, but they were sure to come. Harry looked up at his aunt who was watching him carefully, "what about yesterday triggered this off" Harry asked.
"Well I guess it was the look in your eyes, and that spell 'stu...stu...stupefy'. It reminded me of the day your mum left for that school- ". "Hogwarts" Harry interjected, silently musing on how much he wished he was back there. "Yes, that's the one" aunt Petunia answered her nephew's rhetorical question. "Her friends were teasing me about being a...a squib, Lily got so angry and stunned them all...she was only eleven" aunt Petunia said reminiscing.
"You just looked so much like her yesterday...and your eyes, it's like I was looking at your mother again." Aunt petunia paused to blink back some tears. "Look" she continued "I'm sorry for all you've been through, I know I can't change any of that. But I know that you have to come back here for a few weeks a year, we can try to make those weeks enjoyable cant we?"
Harry was deep in thought, for so long his relatives made him feel worthless, they had told him often enough that they wish he'd never come to them. Yet here was his aunt, the last living link to his mother practically begging him for forgiveness.
It was the tears that Harry could see building up behind aunt Petunia's eyes that finally made him give in. "All right" Harry said slowly watching his aunt's expression change rapidly to one of joy, "we can start over, but there are one or two things that need to change." Harry added quickly, he took a deep breath before continuing.
"I want to be able to freely practice magic in the house, now that I am legal. I want some new clothes, ones that fit me properly not Dudley's hand- me-downs. And I want to be able to leave the house in the mornings; I have a new training regime that I will be following to eh...help me deal with eh... some things going on."
Harry took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts from his mind. Its true, the new training regime was to prepare him for his prophesized battle with Voldemort. His nightmare during the night had been the final straw. He would no longer feel sorry for himself for the loss of Sirius and his parents; he would work hard to ensure that no one he loved would ever be the victim in one of Voldemort's. To begin with however he would have to get in shape, hence the morning training.
Harry looked up to find his aunt staring at him with a worried look on her face. Feeling a bit un-nerved Harry decided to get the discussion back on track. "So eh...have you thought about those changes?" Harry asked avoiding eye contact. "Oh yes" his aunt started, her expression now one of thoughtful thinking, "well about practicing m...magic, you can as long as your uncle is out. I was going to suggest the clothes as well, so yeah we can buy you some new ones."
"What about my morning training?" Harry asked getting excited. "Well..." his aunt petunia said biting her lip. "I guess I would allow it, as long as you could help Dudley get in shape too".
Harry looked at her as if she was crazy; "Dudley...in shape" he stammered "are you sure" he finished lamely. "Look Harry" his aunt said looking at him, "I have spoken to Dudley, and he is all for making a new start with you. All I ask is that you two have patience with each other"
"Well...okay, but only until I leave" Harry gave in earning himself a wide smile from aunt Petunia. With that Harry got up and left for his room. 'This holiday is going to be very interesting' he thought to himself, 'very interesting indeed'.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- A/N: okay everybody, sorry about the wait I had a million and one things doing, and still do so your gonna have to wait until next week for more regular updates.
Just so ppl don't get confused in upcoming chapters, it is Monday, Harry's party, if everything goes to my plan should be on the Tuesday of the following week.
Thanks for reading... As always R&R, its always god to hear your views.