Hope of the Phoenix (13/?)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Remus/Petunia
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling still owns Harry Potter, and I am still just playing in her universe!
A/N: Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter! It didn't come out quite as I had expected; I meant for Harry to be angrier, but I can't write angry!Harry very well, and it just sort of came out this way. Still, I think it works.
I have amended chapter 12 though. I was rereading OotP the other day, and Rowling specifically says in chapter 2 that Petunia's eyes are not like Harry's and Lily's, the opposite of what I wrote. Oops. I have altered it slightly to take that fact into account.
I have also slightly altered chapter 2, to make it clearer that Harry does not live in Glasgow. I put in the bus jumping from Glasgow to Dover to show the huge distances it can cover at once. Re-reading it again, I realized I didn't put in that the bus had jumped from Little Whinging to Glasgow. I have fixed that! Thank you for pointing this out!
I am getting close to Remus/Petunia! I felt that I had to get the issues with Harry out of the way first, as I think that would probably be important to Remus; it also shows Petunia's growth as a person!
Anyway, on with Chapter 13!
Chapter 13: "Mrs. Dursley, I presume?"
Petunia put the finishing touches on to Harry's Christmas present, and looked back at it, with a mixture of pride and shame. It was a wonderful present, she and Molly had spent most of the previous day preparing it; but it reminded her of the dirty socks, the toothpick, the napkin, and the fifty-pence piece. Still, she was pretty sure Harry would love it, and that was what was really important. She lifted it carefully and put it among the large pile of gifts that she had bought for everyone. She had never had that many people to give gifts to, which was why she had bought Dudley so many. She felt a flush of joy at the thought that all those gifts in the corner were going to a different person.
Now that she was all prepared for Christmas, (it was only a few days away), she had to prepare for today's meeting with the American Secretary of State, about the M.D.A. This meeting was very important. As much as she and Vernon had enjoyed ranting about the Americans ("... think they own the world...") and as much as she and Lily had enjoyed giving them false directions ("no really, ma'am, the motorway is left, not right..."), she knew how important their support would be if there were to be worldwide awareness of the problem. She couldn't mess up this meeting; it was far too important a problem...if only she would be able to convince the Americans of it.
By the time she and Remus had arrived at the hotel where the meeting would be held, Petunia felt as if a dozen elephants with trampolines had settled in her stomach. She had never felt this nervous in her life; not on her wedding day, or when she had been told she was pregnant with Dudley... certainly not on the first day of school. She was so nervous that she didn't really notice that Remus was still ignoring her; after all, except for the fight, he'd been ignoring her for months.
As Petunia set up the meeting, and posed for photo-ops with Ms. Albright, and the American delegation, Remus scoured the crowd for signs that the Death Eaters might have infiltrated the meeting hall. He couldn't see anyone that really looked like a Death Eater; but then, without their robes, they were rather hard to identify. "Really, Remus," he chided himself, "did you expect them to wear signs saying 'Death Eater here'?" He returned to watching Petunia set up the meeting.
It was getting so that it was almost painful to be around her. Apart from the fact that she was older, and still wore Vernon's wedding ring, she was indistinguishable from the laughing girl he had met at Lily's birthday... the laughing girl that had broken his heart. The first heartbreak of many. The wedding ring on her finger served as a constant reminder... "She left you; for that bigoted boob of a man. She left you because you're a werewolf."
Petunia groaned inwardly as a small, weasel-like man asked another inane question in his flat American accent. Percy had told her that the Americans would likely play hard-ball... "They're an important nation...they're not going to agree right away, they'll argue until they can assure the best deal for their people. Just smile, and be willing to negotiate!" ...but she admitted to herself that she had maintained a hope, though probably a naïve one, that they would see the urgency of the situation, and agree immediately...
It had seemed so easy when the meeting began. The Secretary of State was a very nice woman, and had assured Petunia that they were concerned about this new terrorist group, threat to democracy, etc. And the Americans certainly did seem certain that terrorists were a bad thing, but as the afternoon wore on, Percy was proved right: they didn't seem willing to put their money where their beliefs were... the economy was poor... they had only recently won the election... really, was she sure this wasn't just a European problem?
The session was mercifully ended mid-afternoon for a coffee and tea break. Most of the delegates had headed for the tearoom, leaving only Petunia and Ms. Albright, talking, while Remus watched in the corner. The room, which had been so noisy, was quiet. Petunia was still trying to convince Ms. Albright that she shouldn't wait for the United States to be attacked when she felt suddenly cold, as if she had been drenched in ice water. She could see that Ms. Albright had gone pale, and had sunk limply back into her chair. Petunia could hear James in the other room, telling Lily about the Dementors... "You just go cold, Lils, and then the lights go out... and you remember all the terrible things that have ever happened to you..." But the Dementors, she thought desperately, they can't be here! She noticed that Remus had drawn his wand, and had approached her, and that the lights had gone out, right before memories began.
She could see her parents bodies, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling... feel Dudley's heavy head in her lap...Vernon clutching the figurine in his hand...Remus shaking, as he became a werewolf... the words in Dumbledore's letter, "your sister and her husband were killed by Voldemort"... Remus' furious shout "He was a better person than you'll ever be"...She felt as if every happy feeling had been sucked out of her, and she understood why Dudley had reacted the way he had, the previous summer.
Dimly, from the furthest corner of her mind, amid the cries and the screams in her head, she heard Remus yelling something in what sounded like Latin; and she saw something silver out of the corner of her eye... and then the voices were gone, the lights had returned...she found she could breath again. Remus was helping Ms. Albright to her feet. She could tell that the American was about to ask some very difficult questions...
Suddenly there was a loud crack, she turned, half-expecting to see Fred or George; but it was a man, robed in black, wearing a terrible mask. She felt a sudden pain, as he threw her against the wall. She heard Remus cry out, as he advanced on the Death Eater, wand out. The Death Eater screamed something else in Latin, and Remus suddenly went rigid, and fell to the floor. The Death Eater was advancing on Ms. Albright...he had to be stopped...
Petunia felt a sudden burst of rage course through her. This was the man who had killed her parents, her sister, her brother-in-law, her husband, her son; her friend -who might have killed her old boyfriend. Unable to think of anything but her rage, she grabbed the nearest chair, and lobbed it towards the Death Eater's head. He fell to the ground, but as he fell, he pointed his wand at her, screaming. Petunia saw a flash of purple light, and felt a flash of pain... she saw streams of red... and, before the darkness came... thought she saw the Portugese cleaning lady run into the room...
Tonks hurried quickly into the room. She had felt the magic detectors, and had come running. But she stopped when she got there, horrified. Remus had been hit with the body bind curse, the Death Eater was unconscious on the floor, Petunia was lying in her own blood... and the American Secretary of State was looking terrified, and shaking. Tonks quickly took out her own wand, and muttered the counter-curse. Then she quickly tied up the Death Eater, and turned to Ms. Albright.
"That was one of them. They are incredibly powerful and dangerous. Do you see now why we need your help?" The American woman nodded, and Tonks, noticing that Remus had run over to Petunia, lead her from the room. As she past Remus, who was holding Petunia in his arms, regardless of the blood that was soaking his shirt, she muttered that he should take her to St. Mungo's, that she would deal with the Americans...And as she closed the door behind Ms. Albright, she heard the unmistakable crack as Remus disappeared.
TBC
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Remus/Petunia
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling still owns Harry Potter, and I am still just playing in her universe!
A/N: Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter! It didn't come out quite as I had expected; I meant for Harry to be angrier, but I can't write angry!Harry very well, and it just sort of came out this way. Still, I think it works.
I have amended chapter 12 though. I was rereading OotP the other day, and Rowling specifically says in chapter 2 that Petunia's eyes are not like Harry's and Lily's, the opposite of what I wrote. Oops. I have altered it slightly to take that fact into account.
I have also slightly altered chapter 2, to make it clearer that Harry does not live in Glasgow. I put in the bus jumping from Glasgow to Dover to show the huge distances it can cover at once. Re-reading it again, I realized I didn't put in that the bus had jumped from Little Whinging to Glasgow. I have fixed that! Thank you for pointing this out!
I am getting close to Remus/Petunia! I felt that I had to get the issues with Harry out of the way first, as I think that would probably be important to Remus; it also shows Petunia's growth as a person!
Anyway, on with Chapter 13!
Chapter 13: "Mrs. Dursley, I presume?"
Petunia put the finishing touches on to Harry's Christmas present, and looked back at it, with a mixture of pride and shame. It was a wonderful present, she and Molly had spent most of the previous day preparing it; but it reminded her of the dirty socks, the toothpick, the napkin, and the fifty-pence piece. Still, she was pretty sure Harry would love it, and that was what was really important. She lifted it carefully and put it among the large pile of gifts that she had bought for everyone. She had never had that many people to give gifts to, which was why she had bought Dudley so many. She felt a flush of joy at the thought that all those gifts in the corner were going to a different person.
Now that she was all prepared for Christmas, (it was only a few days away), she had to prepare for today's meeting with the American Secretary of State, about the M.D.A. This meeting was very important. As much as she and Vernon had enjoyed ranting about the Americans ("... think they own the world...") and as much as she and Lily had enjoyed giving them false directions ("no really, ma'am, the motorway is left, not right..."), she knew how important their support would be if there were to be worldwide awareness of the problem. She couldn't mess up this meeting; it was far too important a problem...if only she would be able to convince the Americans of it.
By the time she and Remus had arrived at the hotel where the meeting would be held, Petunia felt as if a dozen elephants with trampolines had settled in her stomach. She had never felt this nervous in her life; not on her wedding day, or when she had been told she was pregnant with Dudley... certainly not on the first day of school. She was so nervous that she didn't really notice that Remus was still ignoring her; after all, except for the fight, he'd been ignoring her for months.
As Petunia set up the meeting, and posed for photo-ops with Ms. Albright, and the American delegation, Remus scoured the crowd for signs that the Death Eaters might have infiltrated the meeting hall. He couldn't see anyone that really looked like a Death Eater; but then, without their robes, they were rather hard to identify. "Really, Remus," he chided himself, "did you expect them to wear signs saying 'Death Eater here'?" He returned to watching Petunia set up the meeting.
It was getting so that it was almost painful to be around her. Apart from the fact that she was older, and still wore Vernon's wedding ring, she was indistinguishable from the laughing girl he had met at Lily's birthday... the laughing girl that had broken his heart. The first heartbreak of many. The wedding ring on her finger served as a constant reminder... "She left you; for that bigoted boob of a man. She left you because you're a werewolf."
Petunia groaned inwardly as a small, weasel-like man asked another inane question in his flat American accent. Percy had told her that the Americans would likely play hard-ball... "They're an important nation...they're not going to agree right away, they'll argue until they can assure the best deal for their people. Just smile, and be willing to negotiate!" ...but she admitted to herself that she had maintained a hope, though probably a naïve one, that they would see the urgency of the situation, and agree immediately...
It had seemed so easy when the meeting began. The Secretary of State was a very nice woman, and had assured Petunia that they were concerned about this new terrorist group, threat to democracy, etc. And the Americans certainly did seem certain that terrorists were a bad thing, but as the afternoon wore on, Percy was proved right: they didn't seem willing to put their money where their beliefs were... the economy was poor... they had only recently won the election... really, was she sure this wasn't just a European problem?
The session was mercifully ended mid-afternoon for a coffee and tea break. Most of the delegates had headed for the tearoom, leaving only Petunia and Ms. Albright, talking, while Remus watched in the corner. The room, which had been so noisy, was quiet. Petunia was still trying to convince Ms. Albright that she shouldn't wait for the United States to be attacked when she felt suddenly cold, as if she had been drenched in ice water. She could see that Ms. Albright had gone pale, and had sunk limply back into her chair. Petunia could hear James in the other room, telling Lily about the Dementors... "You just go cold, Lils, and then the lights go out... and you remember all the terrible things that have ever happened to you..." But the Dementors, she thought desperately, they can't be here! She noticed that Remus had drawn his wand, and had approached her, and that the lights had gone out, right before memories began.
She could see her parents bodies, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling... feel Dudley's heavy head in her lap...Vernon clutching the figurine in his hand...Remus shaking, as he became a werewolf... the words in Dumbledore's letter, "your sister and her husband were killed by Voldemort"... Remus' furious shout "He was a better person than you'll ever be"...She felt as if every happy feeling had been sucked out of her, and she understood why Dudley had reacted the way he had, the previous summer.
Dimly, from the furthest corner of her mind, amid the cries and the screams in her head, she heard Remus yelling something in what sounded like Latin; and she saw something silver out of the corner of her eye... and then the voices were gone, the lights had returned...she found she could breath again. Remus was helping Ms. Albright to her feet. She could tell that the American was about to ask some very difficult questions...
Suddenly there was a loud crack, she turned, half-expecting to see Fred or George; but it was a man, robed in black, wearing a terrible mask. She felt a sudden pain, as he threw her against the wall. She heard Remus cry out, as he advanced on the Death Eater, wand out. The Death Eater screamed something else in Latin, and Remus suddenly went rigid, and fell to the floor. The Death Eater was advancing on Ms. Albright...he had to be stopped...
Petunia felt a sudden burst of rage course through her. This was the man who had killed her parents, her sister, her brother-in-law, her husband, her son; her friend -who might have killed her old boyfriend. Unable to think of anything but her rage, she grabbed the nearest chair, and lobbed it towards the Death Eater's head. He fell to the ground, but as he fell, he pointed his wand at her, screaming. Petunia saw a flash of purple light, and felt a flash of pain... she saw streams of red... and, before the darkness came... thought she saw the Portugese cleaning lady run into the room...
Tonks hurried quickly into the room. She had felt the magic detectors, and had come running. But she stopped when she got there, horrified. Remus had been hit with the body bind curse, the Death Eater was unconscious on the floor, Petunia was lying in her own blood... and the American Secretary of State was looking terrified, and shaking. Tonks quickly took out her own wand, and muttered the counter-curse. Then she quickly tied up the Death Eater, and turned to Ms. Albright.
"That was one of them. They are incredibly powerful and dangerous. Do you see now why we need your help?" The American woman nodded, and Tonks, noticing that Remus had run over to Petunia, lead her from the room. As she past Remus, who was holding Petunia in his arms, regardless of the blood that was soaking his shirt, she muttered that he should take her to St. Mungo's, that she would deal with the Americans...And as she closed the door behind Ms. Albright, she heard the unmistakable crack as Remus disappeared.
TBC