Thank you to everyone who reviewed. As you can see, I couldn't resist and had to post the next part up tonight. Oh well, the third, and last one's the longest: these first two are really just preludes to the action.

J-Kid - I really like Ethan's character, he's a personal favourite of mine. Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't going to be a mentoring fic. Well, honestly, it's only got 3 parts and that isn't really long enough. Glad you like this so far though.

ldypebsaby - Thanks and as you can see, I have!

Wytil - I think I would honestly pay money to see Lucius's reaction if someone were to call him Lucy. Doesn't mean Ethan isn't that person though. And I am also a huge fan of Buffy/HP crossovers.Thanks for reviewing!

Moonjava - Thanks for being my first reviewer for this story! Hope you like this chapter just as much.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe. I also do not own the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe.

Vengence - Part 2

When Petunia began spending less time at home, it became instantly noticeable. It wasn't like she was never at home, she just wasn't constantly home anymore. She also seemed to be happier than Harry ever remembered seeing her.

Dudley especially found this very confusing when he finally arrived home for the summer. He even went so far as to ask Harry about it. Harry was delighted to have something to tease his cousin with and was determined not to tell Dudley anything for at least a day or two. However, one solid punch from Dudley both knocked him over and convinced him otherwise. So, Dudley found out about their new neighbour.

The Order still had no important information about Ethan. Everything they could find out said that he was an ordinary muggle. Yes, they found evidence that he was interested in the occult and supernatural, but there were plenty of muggles like that. Most were of the opinion that his history was too detailed for him to be a pureblood. Although Moody was convinced it was an impostor using polyjuice.

Dudley thought for a bit about what Harry told him and then decided to take the direct approach. He went and knocked on Ethan's door. When dinnertime rolled around and he still wasn't home, Harry was beginning to hope (though if anyone asked he was worried) that Ethan had given him over to Voldemort as a chew toy for Nagini. Unfortunately, Dudley made it to dinner with seconds to spare.

"So. . . I met the new neighbour today," Dudley announced to the entire dinner table.

"What! When?" uncle Vernon asked.

"He already said today dear, pay attention," Petunia admonished her husband gently. Harry thought she seemed a bit nervous as well though.

"What did you think of him?" Harry asked, honestly too curious to care if he got glared at.

"Oh, I think he's absolutely brilliant! A bit odd, but brilliant!"

Vernon and Petunia both frowned at that.

"Son, from now on, you will avoid Ethan Rayne like the plague," Vernon put on his "strict father" act.

"Unless of course you really do get along with him," Petunia quickly interrupted, "because of course he knows better than to do anything to anyone from my family."

Dudley and Harry both watched in fascination as Dudley's parents engaged in a glaring contest. Petunia won and Vernon looked away, fuming. Then she looked back to her son.

"Dudley darling, I just want you to be careful around Ethan. It's not that he's a bad person, it's just that he can get a bit out-of-control at times."

Dudley nodded.

Petunia's change made life at 4 Private Dr. interesting and reasonably bearable for Harry. It wasn't until a letter from Ron arrived that he realized he wasn't supposed to be at Private Dr. anymore.

Hiya Harry!

Hope the muggles aren't treating you too badly. Sorry it's taken me so long to write, but dad said I couldn't. Something about problems with Order security. No one wanted to sit down and explain it to me, so I'm not really sure what's going on. Anyway, dad says to hang tight and be careful about going outside and stuff. They'll be there to pick you up at the end of the week.

Can't wait to show you my new broom that I got from Fred and George.

Ron.

Only after reading the letter did Harry realize that the Order were almost two weeks late in picking him up. What amazed him, was that he hadn't even noticed. And it was all because of Petunia. She was much more laid back now and was actually being nice to him. When she baked cookies she always made sure to offer him some and he knew it was her who always went down the hall after Vernon had gone to bed and unlocked the door to Harry's room.

Dudley too seemed to be treating Harry like less of a parasite and more of a human being. They actually had conversations that consisted of more than insults. His cousin had somewhere acquired an interest in magic and asked Harry questions about the Wizarding World.

As much as Harry loved the positive attention, he was completely baffled by it.

At least Vernon was still the same. He still treated Harry with contempt and hatred, although he didn't really have time to be truly mean to him on account of having to tip toe around Petunia.

Contrary to popular belief, Vernon Dursley was not completely stupid. He could see the changes in his wife, the least of which he liked was how she was now confrontational and no longer simply agreed with everything he said. It was as if she had suddenly grown a mind of her own and Vernon didn't know how to handle it. He also had noticed how much time his wife was spending away from home. The first thing he did every day when he came home from work and stepped out of his car, was shoot a glare at Ethan's house.

One day, when Vernon came home only to find that his wife hadn't bothered to cook a proper dinner, but ordered Chinese takeout instead, he finally confronted her. Harry was amazed he hadn't done it sooner.

Their screaming reverberated through the house. After about twenty minutes, Dudley and Harry shared a look, then silently crept away from the table and dashed up the stairs, both hiding in their respective rooms. Eventually the door to the master bedroom slammed shut.

The next morning Harry went down to make breakfast and found his uncle snoring on the couch. He and Tonks had a good laugh about that later on when he met her in the garden.

"Good for her," the young auror had said, "if he's going to accuse her of cheating on him he'd better have proof, or at least get his facts straight first."

"But I'm not really sure that he's wrong," Harry said carefully. Tonks snorted.

"Harry," she said, "when your aunt leaves for the afternoon, it's not Ethan she visits. Well, not usually anyway."

"Where does she go then?"

"We're not really sure. . . some big, old building in the outskirts of London. There are usually a lot of young girls in and around it, so we think it might be some sort of girl's school. However, it's completely non-magical and the people inside are definitely muggles. Though there is a really interesting muggle magic shop a block away. I managed to get Severus some really rare potions ingredients in there."

Harry decided he didn't want to know why Tonks was buying his potion's professor rare potions ingredients. They talked some more and then Harry went back inside the house. He was about to announce himself when he heard someone crying. Slowly, he inched towards the living room.

His aunt was sitting on the couch, talking to someone on the phone. There were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I can't believe it, after all those years he still thinks I'm capable of being unfaithful to him," she sobbed. "I mean, I know I'm a lot of things, but I've always been loyal to my friends and family. I gave up everything for that man, Ripper. . . to hear him accuse me of betrayal . . . with Ethan of all people. . . it, it hurt. . . I just. . ." She broke down sobbing.

Harry knew he shouldn't eavesdrop on such a private moment, but he simply couldn't bring himself to leave. It had never occurred to him what kind of effect his uncle's words would have on his aunt. It suddenly dawned on him that Petunia Dursley loved her husband very deeply. He had never really thought about it; the Dursleys were not a very openly emotional couple, so he hadn't seen any evidence of it. Until now.

Whoever Ripper was (and Harry couldn't think of a more death eateresque name, unless it was Killer or Slasher), he was apparently talking to Petunia, because she eventually calmed down.

"Thanks Ripper," she finally whispered. Then she chuckled quietly.

"I've spent my entire life calling you Ripper. Calling you Rupert after all those years feels wrong. And I am not calling you Giles like all your little protogés do. So it's either Ripper or G-man, take your pick."

There was a pause and Petunia giggled. That reminded Harry of what he was doing. He quietly slipped away and went to write down everything he had just heard. Maybe now Tonks could find out who Ripper was.

Finally, the end of the week came. At 9 am Saturday morning Harry sat on top of his trunk in the middle of the Dursley's living room. He knew that he didn't have to bring his stuff down, but he had been up since around seven and had had too much energy to simply sit around and wait.

Petunia was the first of the Dursleys to come down. She raised an eyebrow at the trunk and owl cage, but otherwise said nothing. Vernon scowled. Dudley wasn't home: he had spent the night at a friend's house.

At exactly five minutes after ten a "thump" sound came from the Dursley's fireplace. Harry jumped up.

"Mr. Weasley!" he exclaimed happily and ran towards the new arrival.

"Oh hello Harry," his best friend's father said, enveloping him into a bear-hug. "It's nice to see you again. Where are Tonks and Moody?"

"Tonks and Moody. . .?" There was a knock at the door.

"Oh, that must be them now," Mr. Weasley said, relaxing slightly, "do be a good boy and let them in please."

Harry went to open the door. As he grasped the doorknob, his aunt walked out of the kitchen.

"Harry. . .?" she said a bit uneasily.

"Yes aunt Petunia?" he asked as he opened the door. He froze when he saw her eyes go wide in horror.

"Mr. Potter, we meet again," drawled a familiar, aristocratic voice from the doorway.

Harry's turned around and found himself staring straight at the tip of Lucius Malfoy's wand.

Hope everyone out there loves cliffhangers, 'cause I might just leave you with this one for a while. Or not, depending on how many reviews I get. That probably means the last part will be up sometime this weekend.

Please review!