4. The Trip to 4 Privet Drive
"You asked me out just because I am who I am!" Rainzzi reproached hotly, her face pale with anger.
"What could I have done otherwise? It's James' idea to dare me ask you out," Sirius said wearily.
Rainzzi stared at him distastefully for a moment, looking hurt and disappointed. She turned her back to Sirius and gestured to go away.
"Rainzzi," Sirius jogged alongside her.
"Have another task to complete?" Rainzzi asked with irritation.
"Listen to me…"
"I've had enough!" Rainzzi attempted to swing away his hand, but given that Sirius had been a Quidditch player since his second year, she didn't have much luck succeeding. "Leave me alone, Black!"
"Just shut up and listen!" Sirius threw his arms around her from behind and clapped his hand on her mouth, but she still didn't stop bubbling. Sirius had to bellow to make himself heard, "Yes, the dare motivated me to ask you out. But I have set my eyes on you long ago before that truth or dare. I was going to date you anyway…what difference does it make then?"
Rainzzi licked his palm, making Sirius scowl and remove his hand from her. "I won't fall for this bullshit anymore, I'm off!" she said snappishly then swiftly strode towards the Hogwarts castle.
"Hear me out! Stay where you are!" Sirius yelled at her back, "DELANUIT! Are you frightened? You're just afraid that I'll dump you later! That's why you're walking away! Hey! You diffident girl!"
Rainzzi stopped dead in her tracks to retreat and glared back at Sirius, "What did you say?"
"I said you're walking away just because you're scared that I'll later dump you!" Sirius said calmly and clearly, putting up a sickly arrogant face and crossing his arms in front of his chest. He knew clearly calling a Gryffindor coward was just as humiliating as telling a Slytherin he was not cunning enough.
Rainzzi shoved him backward with her index finger furiously, "I'm not scared and are you implying that you think I'm scared to be dumped because I don't deserve you?"
"Why, yes! I'm a Quidditch star for God's sake. And you're just a bookworm that never dates. You must have been feeling insecure when you went out with me because you think other girls may steal me away in any minute. And that's exactly what you're feeling now, that's why you don't continue going out with me! You'll never take risk! I wonder why you're sorted into Gryffindor; it must have been the biggest mistake the sorting hat has ever made. You're…" Sirius' speech was interjected by Rainzzi's sudden action.
She grabbed his red tie; pulled him closer then kissed Sirius fully on the lips, forbidding him to breathe normally. "So what about a Quidditch star?" she whispered with a blush when she finished, which is hard to tell whether it's for embarrassment or anger, and started to stride away again.
"Are we back on course?" Sirius shouted, but she just waved him goodbye casually.
He scowled at her back for a moment before he grabbed hold of her again, but this time violently. Turning her around, Sirius pinned her physically on the ground by the hands, making it impossible for her to move an inch.
"GET OFF ME, BLACK!"
"Later," Sirius said, with a nonnegotiable tone, leaning down, "Miss Delanuit, did no one teach you how to behave? Well, as rule number one, you don't just kiss Sirius Black then go away like that…"
"What do I have to do before going away?" Rainzzi raised an eyebrow despite the indignation she was feeling previously, the amusement in her voice audible.
"This." Sirius cupped her cheek in his hands and pressed his lips on her.
"Sirius."
Sirius stirred in his bed and further dug his head into the pillow, hoping the intruding voice would just go away.
"SIRIUS! WAKE UP!"
Sirius unwillingly lifted up one eyelid for a centimeter or so, but closed it immediately when he was dazzled by the blinding sunlight coming from the gap between the curtains.
"WAKE UP!" Remus lost his patience and practically yelled in his ear, shaking Sirius violently and pushed him down the bed when Sirius held onto the sheet firmly.
"Oops!" Sirius squeaked discontentedly. He sat up on the floor, kneading his head. "Can't you let me carry on with my dream?"
"No." Remus walked to the window and opened the curtains wide, despite the strong protest from Sirius. He stretched his arms and inhaled deeply. The weather couldn't be any better, the sky was as clear as the water in a lake and the complete absence of cloud was welcomed by the singing birds on the tree. A typical summer day it was.
"Have you been dreaming about Rainzzi again?" Remus asked abruptly. Sirius raised his brows.
"You were talking in your dreams," Remus told Sirius. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Remus spoke again, glancing out of the window, "You know, I think you should do something. Dreaming about her in your privacy won't do anything."
"It is not like I don't want to do something, is it?" said Sirius distractedly, massaging his muscles. "But you saw how she acted around me. She doesn't remember me, and she avoids looking at me even when we happen to be in the same room. I can tell she doesn't want to be associated with me. What can I possibly do then?"
"Padfoot, don't be so short-sighted," said Remus slowly, still leaning on the window frame, "This is not something to rush through. It may be hard for you, but you have got to be patient."
Sirius narrowed his eyes at his wolfy friend and chose to disregard the comment, "Anyway, what did you wake me up for?"
Remus ran his hand in his dirty hair with a slight frown, "We need to go to Harry's aunt today."
Sirius banged his fists on his forehand for several times, "Ah yes. What's her name again? Patricia?"
"Petunia," Remus corrected him. "I think you should do something with your hair, you know, muggles love cleanliness."
"Then you shouldn't go with me," Sirius scowled at him and stumbled to the bathroom. He sprawled the cool tap water into his face and wiped it with a towel. "Abbrevio" Sirius pointed his wand at his hair, which automatically abbreviated until it was of normal length.
He looked into the mirror at his sullen reflection from a few angles, frowning. Prison had really done him something, the marks of the hellhole were still there. The scar on his soul hadn't really healed and he felt a deep humiliating sense of irretrievable loss. It was like a part of him was lost forever and he was thus incomplete. After staring coldly at his reflection again, Sirius walked out of the bathroom.
"Ready?" Remus asked, smoothing the front of his shabby clothes.
Sirius nodded, "Where does Harry's aunt live?"
"4, Privet Drive, Surrey."
"We're Apparating there, aren't we?"
"Yes, and remember what I advised you last night?" Remus said seriously.
"Stay calm and never lose my temper in front of Harry's aunt."
"So off we go."
They dematerialized at the same time, thinking about 4, Privet Drive with concentration, and soon appeared at the Privet Drive. Everything was so peaceful and ordinary that they looked almost unreal. There were two neat lines of two-storey houses on either side of the road, decorated with a few tall oak trees and low fences.
They looked at the brass number of the door nearest to them. "No. 8," it read.
Sirius signaled Remus with a perk of his head, he could still blurrily remember he had last had a glimpse of Harry in the muggle world just in the adjacent street. But things had been very different then. He smiled inwardly as he remembered how happy Harry had sounded in his last letter about the their plan. Sirius walked along the fences. 7. 6. 5. 4.
4, Privet Drive.
Remus followed Sirius and walked into the fences of 4, Privet Drive. They walked past the tidy front gardens and towards the wooden door. With still ten feet to go, they could already hear a nosy woman gossiping about something or other loudly. Peering from the window, they saw a thin and tall woman standing in the hallway, pressing her ear to the telephone.
Sirius nodded at Remus who then knocked on the door softly. The woman opened the door expectantly, as if expecting someone from the neigbhourhood would bring her news of the latest rumours of the movie stars. Her face fell when she saw the visitors. "It's just some sales agent," she said to the receiver disappointedly.
"Good morning, Petunia. We're coming here to discuss with you Harry's accommodation in the summer," Sirius said, absorbing the horse-like face and the contemptuous expression with indifference.
Petunia blocked the receiver's end carefully and hissed at the two strangers, "I don't welcome visitors of Harry's lot." She gestured to slam the door, but Remus hold strongly onto the rim.
"We've met before, Mrs. Dursley. I'm Remus Lupin. And he's Sirius Black," Remus pointed at Sirius.
Petunia's eye grew wide, she retreated into the house and put down the telephone. She stared at Sirius with alert and her nostrils flared with smoke when she reappeared in the doorway. "So you're the mass murderer!" she squeezed out in a shaky voice.
"He's Harry's godfather," Remus said before Sirius could say anything hindering.
"Give it up! I'm not going to let you in, you freak people!" Petunia hissed at them, barely parting her lips to speak. "Now, get out of my doorway before you attract attention." She looked around at the street outside, frightened.
Sirius revealed his wand a little bit from the inside pocket of his jacket. "You should understand that if you don't let us in, we the freak people would still manage to get in. Better allow us to get in before your neighbours discover an ex-criminal is visiting you, isn't it?" he said artfully, trying the mask the threat.
"We'll make it brief. And it'll be finished sooner if you let us in now," Remus said warmly, but he, too, had revealed out his wand. "We just want to discuss about Harry, we won't do any harm."
Petunia chewed her lips and measured their wands with fretfulness. She involuntarily opened the door wider to let her visitors in. Sirius and Remus chanted cheerfully, "Thanks."
Petunia closed the door quietly, "Whatever you want to say, be concise and brief. My husband is coming back from work in half an hour, and he won't fancy seeing the M people."
Sirius and Remus nodded, they walked through the kitchen and into the living room. There, on every shelves and tables, were the photographs of a large, blond boy riding his first bicycles, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. They finally understood why Fred and George told them they were to expect a piggy faced bear. Around the whole room, there was no trace whatsoever of another boy that was supposed to be living there. Everything was awfully clean and in complete order, except the PlayStation that laid crashed in a far corner.
Sirius and Remus sat down on the sofa uninvitedly, "We'll make it concise and brief," said Remus.
"First of all, we're Lily and James Potter's best friends," Sirius introduced unnecessarily.
"I can remember you. You've once visited my parents' house," Petunia said bitterly.
"As we've told you, we're here to discuss about Harry. I bet you know that Voldemort has risen again, and…"
"Spare me the happenings of your world!" snapped Petunia angrily, she was closing every window and curtain in the living room.
Sirius ignored her and continued, "I'm sure that you are fully aware that an ancient magic was performed to protect Harry from Voldemort, so that he will be safe as long as he lives with his blood relative."
"I know that. That's why I let him live under my roof and I have looked after him for fifteen years. I can do no more for him! For the son of such a freak sister, I have done more than I ought to!" Petunia said harshly, sitting as far away as possible from them.
"He's Lily's son," Remus reminded.
"That's why I hate him. I hate Lily," said Petunia instantly.
"You don't hate Lily…" Sirius stated shortly.
"Oh no. I hate her, I hate her for what she was!" Petunia glared at him.
When Sirius wanted to whip it out, he had a smile that would make you believe in friendship. "Don't you think you hate Lily more for the fact that she ended up killed instead of merely being what she was?"
Petunia paused for a moment, she looked sideway at the painting on the wall. "What more can I do for Harry?"
Sirius and Remus exchanged a smile. "We want you to move to London and live with Harry and us there."
"What?" Petunia widened her eyes and stared at Remus as if he's a nut, but she soon recovered from the shock, comprehending that she should have expected it, as all the M people were nuts.
"We want you, your husband and your son move to London and live with Harry there," Remus repeated patiently.
"You're mad!" Petunia shook her head. "We're going to move to London anyway, but we won't live with an ex-criminal there."
"You're moving to London?"
"Yes," Petunia pursed her lips ungracefully, "My son Dudley has recently been placed in the Correctional Centre there. He has been accused of bullying in school and he needs to report to an indoctrinator of the centre everyday. So I and my husband have decided to move to London for convenience."
Sirius didn't feel sorry at all for the news, and he wasn't going to fake it. "Then you can come to live in my house there. I've two houses in London which are intra-linked by an underground tunnel. I'll let you live in one of them and Harry will live with me in the other. I promise if you agree to move in, I will guarantee you both freedom and privacy."
Petunia made a funny sound, despising, "No, we can afford a decent premise by ourselves. And we don't like to live near your kind."
"The houses are in a muggle town," Remus said, "I mean ordinary people's town. The town looks just like this."
"I still won't. Any linkage with you people is just outrageous!" Petunia glanced around the room and whispered, as if she was afraid some eavesdropper was hiding in her house and listening to their conversation.
"But think about it," Sirius said calmly, "It's not arranged only for Harry. It's for your family's safety, too. Didn't you learn something from the incident in last summer?"
"Dudley had been attacked!" Petunia's face darkened as the memory of his son coming back vomiting one night last summer rose up in her mind.
"Then you should have realized how dangerous that is, to live in a wizard-free area. And now that Voldemort has risen again with his eyes on Harry. Harry and your family are more in danger than ever," Remus explained.
"If Harry wasn't quick enough, your son could have been worse than dead."
"That's what I want to question you lot! That old man kept saying Harry would be safe as long as he lives with us and that Voldy thing couldn't approach Harry. And what the hell happened last summer?" Petunia roared at them.
"Harry's safe as long as he lives with you. By saying live, it in fact means stay. Harry isn't staying with you in every second. And if Voldemort chanced to come here and pick up on Harry when you or your son and Harry are not staying together, he could have hurt any of you as he desires…" Sirius said.
"But Dudley is Harry's blood relative, they were being together that night," Petunia shook her index finger ragingly. Sirius thought she looked like a mare being kicked at the ass.
"The thing that confronted them last summer wasn't Voldemort, it's the Dementors. They're not human beings, and thus not restricted by the charm," Remus interpreted with a little false shiver to indicate the destructiveness of the dementors.
"And that's exactly what makes it dangerous for you and your family to continue living in a muggle-inherited area. But if you move to London and live on the other side of us, you'll be protected, because we'll always be on guard."
Petunia didn't say anything. Sirius knew she was considering the offer in a dilemma.
"The house is a comfortable big one I can assure you."
"And we will try our best to protect you and your family from any potential harm."
A twist in the keyhole announced the return of Vernon Dursley, Petunia stood up hastily and hissed, "Go!"
"Please, think about our offer," Remus said quickly, pulling Sirius up from the sofa.
"We'll contact you later."
Petunia just nodded nervously and mouthed again, "Go! Just Go!"
Sirius and Remus did not need further prompting; they Disapparated into the road in front of the 4 Privet Drive. They looked at the door when the large man with little neck walked into the house and greeted his wife. Petunia closed the door as quickly as she could.
"Do you think she's convinced?" Remus asked quietly besides Sirius, scoffing at where Mr. Dursley had been standing.
"Bet so. I'm a good orator," Sirius said.
"Yea, you've got this emotional voice that touches every heart," Remus teased with a little smile.
"Not one particular woman though," Sirius shrugged obliviously, as Rainzzi's cold expression arose in his mind.
"Do you think we should go back to you and Rainzzi's houses and dust it over a bit," Remus said carefully, sensing the steely note behind Sirius' words.
"Just want I need the most, more reminisce of her. Let's go."
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! o'v'o xxx