Black Letters

By Neurotica

Chapter Ten: Revenge and a Happy Ending

The day after Harry's birthday, and a large party at Sirius' new house, Remus, Sirius, and Harry walked silently up the front path of Number Four, Privet Drive.

Harry quietly opened the front door and peaked in. He could hear Dudley in the living room laughing loudly at something on the television. Aunt Petunia was somewhere in the kitchen, presumably cleaning.

"Go up and gather your things, Harry, we'll deal with your aunt," Remus said.

Harry nodded and went up the stairs. The two friends exchanged a look and walked to the kitchen.

"Petunia!" Sirius cried in mock-happiness. "Smashing to see you, old girl! I must say, you have a lovely home!"

Petunia, who had been scrubbing the oven, jumped and hit her head. She backed out of the oven and stared petrified at the two grinning wizards before her. "You!" she said pointing at Sirius.

"Me!" Sirius confirmed cheerfully. "You know, I've missed you, Petunia. I must admit, I had quite a bit of a fancy for you." Sirius mentally shivered at the lie, and could feel Remus' incredulous gaze upon him.

"What are you doing here?" Petunia asked fearfully. "Leave my family alone!"

"Oh, we have no intention of harming your poor excuse of a family, Petunia. We just wanted to have a nice little chat with you about Harry," Sirius said, his fake smile fading almost immediately.

"He – he's not here," Petunia stuttered.

"Oh, but he is. He's gathering his belongings, and he won't be returning here next year," Remus said calmly.

"But that's not the only thing we wanted to discuss," Sirius said, dropping the cheery façade. "What's this I hear about you and old Vernie boy locking my godson in a cupboard for ten years?"


It had only taken Harry five minutes to pack his things; he really didn't own anything besides what was in his Hogwarts trunk at his new home. But he decided it best to stay up stairs for a while longer. Sirius and Remus (as the professor had asked Harry to call him) wanted to have a chat with his aunt. Though he was reluctant to leave Sirius Black alone with Petunia, Remus has promised he would keep Sirius from doing anything permanent.

When he returned down the stairs with a small knapsack, the house was eerily silent. The television was no longer blaring, and there was no trace of Dudley or Petunia anywhere. Cautiously, Harry walked to the kitchen and found Sirius and Remus calmly drinking tea from the Dursley's finest china.

"Ready to go, Harry?" Remus asked, setting his cup on the table.

"Um, yes. Where's my Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, noting the too-innocent look on Sirius' face.

"No need to worry about that, kiddo. Let's go home," Sirius said, leading the three of them out of Number Four.

As they walked through the living room, Harry noticed something odd about the photos on the walls and the fire's mantle place. Instead of the normal pictures of Dudley, they had been switched with photos of the Marauders, Lily, and Harry. There was not one picture with a Dursley.

"That was Moony's idea," Sirius whispered to Harry as the boy watched his parents smiling down at him. Harry turned around to find Remus grinning at his fine work.

The three wizards left the house, and took the Knight Bus to their new home.


Vernon Dursley walked tiredly through the front door of his normal looking home that night, hoping Petunia had prepared a large dinner. Dudley must be out, he thought as he noticed the silence in the house.

"Petunia! I'm home," he called through the house. His wife didn't answer.

Grumbling that she was probably out back reading one of her magazines, Vernon walked to the kitchen, not noticing the rude gestures the photos on his wall were making.

As he passed the cupboard under the stairs, he heard strange noises coming from behind the door. Raising a fat eyebrow, Vernon pulled open the door and yelled in surprise. Petunia and Dudley were bound and gagged in the small cupboard, looking fearfully at the Dursley patriarch.


"I cannot believe you did that," Harry said, staring at his Godfather that night.

"Believe it," Sirius said, laughing.

"Wow," Harry said, feeling laughter bubble through him.

"Your cousin was a little harder to get in there, but Remus threw a few Chocolate Frogs in the cupboard and he went right in," Sirius said.

"Wow," Harry repeated, joining Sirius in the laughter.

The two of them laughed together for a few minutes before Harry sobered himself and looked thoughtfully at his Godfather.

"What?" Sirius asked. "Do I have food in my teeth?" He began to pick at said teeth.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just… well, thanks. For everything," he said shyly.

Sirius smiled softly. "Anytime, Harry. Anytime."

End