The Longest Year


by Antea-Aevum

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Chapter 2: Unhealthy Arrangements

Harry was sitting with his head in his hands on the doorstep when the aurors, Dumbledore and a healthy proportion of Hogwarts' staff turned up.

Gasps alerted him to new visitors and he lifted his aching head to see a huge crowd of aurors already at work taking stunned death eaters under custody. McGonaggall, Pomfrey, Flitwick and Sprout was staring at the entire stunned neighbourhood, looks of disbelief etched on their faces.

"Mother of Merlin," someone breathed.

Dudley was moaning softly somewhere in the house. Harry had stemmed the blood flow and bandaged Aunt Petunia's wound as best as he could and his aunt now rested in a fevered sleep. He had comforted Dudley as best as he could before he he went to find his uncle's body and dragged him into the house, almost losing consciousness in the process, too exhausted to use magic. He would've also ennervated the entire neighbourhood except the death eaters of course but he wasn't really in the mood to explain and calm hysterical neighbours.

He had also noticed policemen among the bodies, fingers of moonlight painting the limp bodies of muggles and wizards alike.

Dumbledore came to stand in front of him, a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Are you alright, Harry?" He asked softly.

Harry nodded mutely. "You didn't tell me how to reach you," he accused.

Dumbledore was silent for a long moment, not wanting to explain when there was obviously so much to do before they caused national alarm in both worlds. "I'm sorry, Harry." He patted Harry on the shoulder. "It'll be alright."

"Of course," Harry said sarcastically, jumping up in a sudden burst of anger. "My uncle just died and my aunt's missing a good proportion of her leg, that's all. Oh, and I got myself expelled so I could reach you, who somehow forgot to tell me how to get in contact, and I just managed to stun the entire neighbourhood and nearly died. But then, I have it all under control without any help so why don't you just come tomorrow instead? It's all alright."

His rant took the rest of his energy and swayed on his feet. "I'm sorry." He mumbled before collapsing, unconscious.

Dumbledore caught him and lowered him to the floor, brushing his hair away from his inflamed scar. "No. I am, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly.

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"Damn it, stop this right now you imbecile! Sit down, NOW, before I use magic on you!"

Harry woke to loud shrieks and sobs which he knew immediately as Dudley's. He fumbled around for his glasses before he recognized the familiar surroundings of the Hospital Wing. He reached for his glasses on the bedside table, where it always was. Someone had repaired the broken lens and he sat up, noting the painful aches and bruises all over him before pulling the curtains aside.

Everyone froze before pandemonium started again.

Dudley gave a piercing wail, starting to hurl pillows and Poppy and Snape at the same time.

"Mr. Dursley, really!" Poppy said, exasperated. She started to make her way to Harry. "Oh, Harry..."

"Dudley!" Harry barked.

Dudley turned to look at Harry, tears pooling in his large eyes falling silent.

"They are very nice people," Harry began ignoring the dangerous glitter of Snape's black eyes. "Please stop yelling at them...and do stop throwing..." A pillow smacked into him. "Argh!"

Dudley stood in the center of two beds opposite of Harry and Snape, breathing heavily. Then with a guttural howl, he rushed towards Harry who had started to stand in alarm and knocked into Harry, sending them both crashing to the floor, Dudley straddling his smaller cousin.

"You son of a bitch!" Dudley screamed, raising a fist and hitting Harry in the face with a viscous punch.

"What's that for!" Harry shouted, trying to restrain Dudley, straining to keep a hold on the fat wrists. He saw Snape taking aim with his wand and he yelled, "No! No magic!"

Snape, to his credit, lowered his wand albeit hesitatingly.

Dudley burst into fresh tears. "They are dead! And it's all because of you freaks!" He stabbed at Harry's chest with a pudgy finger.

Memories of yesterday flooded back in a rush, like a dam broken by Dudley's words. "What?" Harry whispered, shock coursing through his system, masking the pain he felt from Dudley's weight pressing into his bruised ribs and the new bruise forming on his cheek from the punch. "Who's dead?" His voice louder now. "Who?" He looked towards Madam Pomfrey for answers but she refused to meet his eyes. "Where's Aunt Petunia?"

Dudley's eyes lit up with renewed fire. "DON'T say her name! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY HER NAME!" He wrapped hands over Harry's neck, applying pressure. "NO RIGHT!"

"Dudley!" Harry gasped, hitting Dudley with half-hearted blows vainly.

A sharp explosion with a deafening bang and Dudley was flying towards the other end of the room hitting the opposite wall with a painfully loud crack and sliding down unconscious. Snape brandished his wand rather balefully.

"Magic seems to be in order. Manhandling boars off you, Mr. Potter, does not happen to be my favorite past time."

"Oh, Merlin," said Poppy faintly. "Harry are you alright?" She reached out to Harry only to have him scrambling towards his cousin's fallen body.

"What did you do? Did you hurt him? He's not dead is he!"

"Although I'll take extreme satisfaction in that action, I dare say its consequences wouldn't look too pleasurable on my record." Snape drawled.

"Now, now, Professor Snape," Poppy said, clearly distraught as she tried to pull Harry away from Dudley. "You could have just stunned him and levitated him to his bed. No need for such dramatics, surely..."

"Oh God, blood!" moaned Harry as lifted his hand, smeared with blood. "Dudley!" He shook his cousin. "Where is he bleeding from?"

Poppy wrenched Harry up and got him back onto his bed. "You are bleeding, Harry!" She poked her wand against Harry's ribs. "You got quite a nasty cut which I just finished stitching up! Now it has split open!" She cried. "And stay still, Harry," she added, exasperated.

Harry groaned as he lifted his head slightly. He squinted as he saw Snape watching him, sitting on one of the beds with his head bandaged, twirling his wand between his slender fingers. Somehow, he wasn't in the hospital gown but in his famous black robes. Harry figured if anyone could cow Poppy, it would be Snape.

"Uh, what's wrong with Professor Snape?" He asked Poppy softly.

"A flowerpot hit me in the head," Snape said loudly.

Flowerpot?

Harry felt himself coloring. "Uhm, was it...me?"

"No, I smashed the pot into my own head," Snape snarled. He jabbed at his neck where there was a healthy bruise spreading. "And while we are at this, you kicked me as well." He sat forward, clearly getting into the swing of it, rolling up his sleeve. "And this bruise..."

"So you expect me to distinguish you from the rest?" Harry said, getting defensive. "Do you have "undercover death eater" tattooed on your mask? Give me a break!"

"I was trying to save you," Snape snapped. He looked at Dudley then said in a level tone while he levitated Dudley to the farthest bed away from his. "You did well, Potter."

Harry blinked, mouth open then yelled in pain as Poppy re-wrapped the bandages rather roughly. "Now, Mr. Potter, no more nonsense from you for the rest of the year, preferably!" Then she rested a hand on his forehead. "But yes, you did good."

Something else swam to the surface of his memories as the shock from the events in the past 10 minutes wore off. "Aunt Petunia?" He said softly.

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Poppy quietly. "She died of excess blood loss." She paused. "Your uncle died from a killing curse."

Harry turned away from Snape and Poppy, lying on his side, pulling the blankets over his head. He felt Poppy's hand on his back for a moment before she pulled the curtains around his cubicle to give him some privacy and left.

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Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out of the window when Dumbledore came to see him late afternoon. He looked weary and worn, like a man returning from a long, long battle. He sat down heavily in a chair beside Harry's bed, waiting for Harry to acknowledge him. Harry refused to move.

"I understand that you are feeling very upset with me." Dumbledore said gently. "And you have every right to be."

Harry gave no indication he was listening.

"Mundungus was staying at Mrs. Figg's house while she's away. I should have told you that."

"Yes you should've." Harry said, his eyes still glued on the faint shadow of the whomping willow far outside the castle.

"And I apologize for sending Mundungus. He was apparently the opposite of vigilance. He was out at Diagon Alley when the Death Eaters launched the attack."

Harry didn't reply.

"I'm very sorry, Harry. I know you are feeling very upset about the death of..."

"Yeah," Harry said in clipped tones.

Dumbledore took the hint and didn't complete his sentence. "Well, Harry...I wanted to ask you whether you'll like to follow me to get your belongings and perhaps some of your cousin's because he will be staying here for some time while we arrange everything."

"What about Aunt Marge?" Harry asked, feeling that Dudley won't be very appreciative for the arrangement.

"She's out of the country and we have to await her return. Furthermore, the aftermath needs taking care of."

"Alright," Harry stood up. Dumbledore stood as well.

"I'll meet you at the Entrance." When Harry nodded, Dumbledore left.

Poppy came out from her office bringing Harry's set of clothes, magically cleaned and repaired. "Here, Harry."

Harry took it and she left quickly, the tension in the air palpable. Harry noticed Snape was no longer in the Hospital Wing. Dudley was still where he was before, unconscious. Suspecting Poppy had gave him a healthy dose of Dreamless Sleep, he pulled the curtains and changed.

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They apparated to Privet Drive. Aurors were everywhere, disguised as Muggles but the bulge that was clearly their wands were visible in the waistband of their pants.

Dumbledore walked beside Harry, nodding occasionally to the Aurors. Everything seemed normal, as if last night didn't happen. His neighbours talked and chatted over fences just like any other given day.

"Professor?" Harry said softly.

Dumbledore looked at him.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"It's alright, Harry."

Dumbledore reached into his robes and extended a slim shaft of wood to his student. "You can use this before the Aurors release your wand."

Harry took it with a silent thanks. "Am I expelled?" He asked quietly, fingering the shining, polished wood. It gleamed in the early evening sun.

"Technically, yes. But we are looking into it. It was clearly self-defence and the only option to call for help. You will pull through."

"Fudge doesn't like me," Harry offered.

"He doesn't have the only say in this matter," Dumbledore replied. "Don't worry, Harry."

They stopped in front of 4, Privet Drive.

"Go, I'll wait here," Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded and entered the house. The furniture and the pictures on the wall were all where they should be. In fact, everything was in place. He tried very hard not to look at the far corner where he had tried to stop Aunt Petunia's bleeding. He climbed the stairs and turned the doorknob to Dudley's room.

The door admitted him with a silent click. He opened the cupboard, having to move a few broken playstations and remote controlled cars out of the way first, and dragged out the suitcase at the bottom of the cupboard that Aunt Petunia used to pack Dudley's clothes when they went for vacation. He opened the leather case and reached into the cupboard, taking as many shirts and pants he could hold before dumping them into the suitcase, not bothering to unhook the hangers.

He continued until the large suitcase was filled. He noticed Dudley's stack of comic books and decided to take them. Dudley will need something to occupy his time. He threw out a few gaily colored shirts that was thrice his size and dumped the books into the suitcase. He swept in a few pencils and stationary although he couldn't imagine the idea of Dudley doing Math in his spare time.

He closed the trunk and had to stand on it before he could lock it close. He lugged the trunk down the stairs. Dumbledore was in the living room looking at the framed pictures with a frown on his face.

Harry let go of the heavy suitcase, his ribs on fire from the effort and placed a hand on his side. Dumbledore turned around, a question in his blue eyes but seeing Harry in pain, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Harry said, forcing himself to remove his hand from his injured ribs.

"I can perform a numbing charm," Dumbledore offered.

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine."

The suitcase at his feet burst, clothes and books flying everywhere. Dumbledore gave a low chuckle. "I'll take care of it," he waved to Harry. "You get your cousin's things."

"That's my cousin's things," Harry said.

Dumbledore repacked the suitcase and looked at Harry. "Alright, get yours then."

Harry nodded then turned towards the cupboard and opened it. He got on his knees and crawled into the cramped space, his ribs protesting so loudly he could practically hear them screaming. He ignored the sharp pain and collected a few of his personal belongings, pulled his pillow out of its pillowcase and stuffed them into it. He crawled out backwards, nearly banging his head and straightened, slamming the door closed. When he turned around, Dumbledore was staring at him.

"What?" Harry asked defensively.

"That is your room?" Dumbledore asked, a hint of anger in his calm voice.

"Yeah," Harry said dismissively then turned awkwardly to his Headmaster. "Uh, you know the charm you mentioned..."

Dumbledore smiled then motioned for Harry to come closer. He lay a hand on Harry's ribs then muttered a string of soft Latin. The pain instantly let up.

"Thank you," Harry said, stepping back.

"You're welcome." Dumbledore looked serious again. "You lived in the cupboard since I brought you here?"

"Yeah." The pictures caught Harry's eyes and he walked towards them. His eyes touched all of them before he reached out a hand to take one down. It was a picture of the Dursleys in Perth framed in lovely gilded silver. They looked so happy, three of them, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon with a hand each on Dudley's shoulder with the beautiful skyline of Australia behind them. He slipped the photo into his pocket. He turned to Dumbledore. "My school stuff is in the garage."

Dumbledore's eyes were hard and bored into Harry. "Alright, then." He followed Harry out and let the boy lead the way.

He made Harry show him where his trunk was then levitated and shrunk the trunk, slipping it into his pocket. Harry got a chair and started to stand on it to retrieve Hedwig's cage hanging from a hook in the ceiling before Dumbledore ordered him to climb back down saying Poppy would have his beard for letting Harry clamber all over the place. He accioed the cage and shrunk it as well.

"When we get everything settled," Dumbledore motioned Harry to get out of the dark garage. "We need to talk."

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When Harry and Dumbledore got back to the Hospital Wing, Snape was there. He was sitting in a hard-backed chair with his legs elegantly crossed, staring menacingly at Dudley who was cowering in the opposite bed. If Harry got out a pencil and a ruler and drew a line from Snape's boots to Dudley's enormous feet, he would have got a perfect straight line.

"Well, well, Professor Snape," Dumbledore chuckled as he took out Harry's and Dudley's shrunken belongings and returning them to their original state. "You're certainly very at ready."

Harry had no idea what Dumbledore was talking about but Snape scowled. "It happens that I am the only competent person within the 6500 kilometer radius with enough authority to handle Mr. Dursley."

Harry opened his mouth to say that neither earth's Equatorial nor Polar radius was more than a 6400 kilometers but saw that Snape might be making a point and shut his mouth. But he agreed wholeheartedly that Snape certainly had the authority to silence Dudley.

"And I'm not very at ready, Albus," sneered Snape. "I am very displeased at this arrangement," he continued spitting the word out as if it were Bobotuber pus, "and will always be."

"Now, come on, Severus," Dumbledore admonished.

"What arrangement, Professor?" Harry blurted out.

Snape turned his dark, black eyes to Harry at the same time Dumbledore cheerfully answered, "Severus here will take care of both you and your cousin's needs until Mr. Dursley here can be sent to his Aunt Margeret as he is the 'only competent person within the 6500 kilometer radius with enough authority to handle Mr. Dursley'."

Harry choked.

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"Kitchen, dining hall, bathroom, my bedroom," Snape paused to glare at a shivering Dudley and a slightly unhappy Harry. "Enter and die. I mean it." He reached a door at the far end of the long hallway. He pushed the door open. Inside was two double beds, two cupboards, two bedside tables, and two everything. "I expect no squabbles under my roof for everything and anything."

He glanced distastefully at Harry and Dudley's trunks. "Unpack. 20 minutes. Then downstairs for dinner. Do. Not. Be. Late." He gave no backward glance before he swept away from the room.

"Damnit, Potter," Dudley said, reverting back to his usual obnoxious self. "You are purposely doing this to me! Holing me up with freaks like you, I..."

"Language!" Snape roared, halfway down the staircase.

Dudley shut his mouth but hissed. "You watch out, Potter!"

Harry wondered how many days he would have to spend with Dudley before Aunt Marge returned until he felt a bolt of guilt streak through him. It was his entire fault that this was happening. He bit his lip and turned to his school trunk and opened it. Dudley opened his suitcase and emptied the contents onto a bed. He stared at the clothes. "You are trying to show me up!" He accused angrily.

"What?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Packing these...these...awful clothes!" Dudley exclaimed. He stomped over to Harry's side. He pushed Harry's hand away roughly and reached into the trunk, pulling out Harry's Transfiguration text. He scowled then looked at Harry. With a wicked grin, he opened the book and tore the pages out, letting the loose leaves flutter to Harry's feet.

"Stop that!" Harry yelled. He reached for the book but Dudley threw it aside, reaching for another book. He pulled out the Potions text. Harry blanched. "Dudley, you don't want to do that..."

"Watch me," said Dudley defiantly. He ripped the pages slowly, watching Harry's pained expression. "Dad was right, you are a good-for-nothing piece of shit. Magic. All these years of going to this freaky school and you couldn't even save mum and dad." Dudley's eyes teared again.

Harry looked down, shutting his trunk softly. "I'm very sorry, Dudley."

Dudley sat down on the bed, wiping his eyes. "Damn you, Potter."

Then he sat upright. "I hate these clothes. Get new ones for me!"

"But Dudley, these are your favourites," Harry protested. "Favourites in the cupboard, dislikes in boxes remember?" Dudley had made Aunt Petunia box up all the 'hideous' shirts.

"I don't care! I'm not wearing those!" Dudley cried.

Then he picked up a comic book. "Huh...at least you had some brains to get me some of these...with what I'm going through because of you, I ought to have what I want."

Harry gathered up the torn pages of his books. Dudley was still holding the jacket of Harry's Potions text. He flipped the cover over. "Potions," he spat. "Who on earth teaches Potions?"

"Professor Snape," Harry said.

"Professor who?"

"You have exactly 3 minutes and 34 seconds!" Snape's voice thundered through the dungeons.

"Him," Harry grimaced.

Dudley's mouth fell open. "He's...not the forgiving type I reckon?"

"No," Harry agreed.

Dudley grinned and tossed the cover to Harry. "What will he do to you for not having your book with you?" He got up and left the room.

Harry sighed and stuffed everything into his trunk. "Since I'm Harry Potter, detention until I graduate, probably."

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Harry arrived with barely a second to spare before Snape's grandfather clock starting to chime at eight sharp. The table was laden with simple but delicious dishes. Apparently, Snape had decided Dudley had more fat to spare and had taken upon himself to serve the food to everyone's plates before banishing the dishes. Harry noticed Dudley's portion was half of his and a quarter less than Snape's.

"The 20 minutes deadline includes you in your chair," Snape drawled.

Harry quickly jumped into the remaining chair, beside Dudley. Snape sat opposite from both of them.

"Eat," Snape snapped.

Dudley jammed his spoon into the chicken and potatoes and ate with gusto. Harry ate at a more sedate pace while Snape read the paper, taking bites at regular intervals. Dudley finished his share under 10 minutes and looked at Snape. "Uh...is that all?"

"Yes, that is all," Snape said without looking away from the paper. "If you grow any fatter, Mr. Dursley, we'll have to install wider doors for you to get through."

"I'm not fat!" said Dudley angrily.

"Yes, of course," said Snape sarcastically. "If you are done, excuse yourself and get up to your room."

Dudley looked despairingly at Harry. Harry looked at Snape who was buried behind his paper and pushed his plate silently towards Dudley. Dudley broke into a greedy smile before reaching forward with spoon. He finished Harry's food in record time then got up and quickly ran back to the room, not wanting to spend an extra second with Snape if he could help it.

Harry, too, excused himself without delay and left the surly Potions Master to his own.

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Harry walked down the staircase in a fit of anger, carrying the pile of torn textbooks in his arms. Dudley was being a royal pain in the ass and Harry was afraid that he would hex his cousin if he stayed in the same room for another minute. He knew Dudley was still hurting from his parents?sudden death and if Dudley felt better letting out his anger on Harry, Harry could deal with it. It was, after all, his fault that Dudley was suddenly an orphan. And he knew exactly how that sucked. But Harry also had his limits and today was tiring at the very least.

He peered cautiously in the dark, didn't see any sign of Snape and crept silently towards the table beside the warm fireplace. He pulled up a chair and dumped the pile of paper and jackets on the table. He rummaged around for his Spells text and brushed a couple of pieces of pages off the book. He opened the book. "Repair charm..." He muttered under his breath. "What chapter was it?"

"Sneaking around after dark?" Snape's threatening voice sliced lazily through the air.

Harry yelped, knocking half the pages onto the floor. "No, sir! I wasn't...sneaking," he dropped to the floor on his knees and began gathering the fallen papers nervously.

The lights came on and a pair of shiny black boots came into Harry's line of vision. Harry looked up and quickly got to his feet. "I was just uh..."

Snape plucked a page from Harry's hand. His left eyebrow shot up. "This, Mr. Potter, is page 102 from the Potions text." He looked at Harry. "Why then, is it on its own?"

Harry looked flustered. "I...uh...tore it." He added hastily. "Accidentally."

Snape stuffed the page back into Harry's arms. "No offense, Potter, but you don't even look strong enough to carry your dinner plate much less tear a 500 page Potions text." He looked casually at the table. "And apparently your Transfiguration text as well."

"Dudley can," Harry muttered. Suddenly indignant, he turned on to his Potions Professor. "And I'm strong enough to carry my own dinner plate!"

Snape looked him up and down with a critical eye. "You are so skinny you could shimmy into cracks in this castle's walls."

"Body weight and strength is not relevant," Harry mumbled.

Snape ignored him and reached a long fingered hand towards Harry's Charms text. He flipped to page 89. "Then this, I believe, is relevant."

Harry looked at the bolded chapter title. Repairment Charms. "Uh, yeah, thanks Professor."

Professor Snape crossed his hands over his chest. Harry looked at him, suddenly nervous again. Had he said something wrong?

"I...thank you, Professor Snape," he tried.

Snape scowled. "No, you imbecile. I'm waiting for your explanation that you so cleverly sidestepped."

"What explanation?" Harry asked, confused.

"What sent you into such anger until you tore your Transfiguration and Potions text?"

"I...uh..." Harry grew even more flustered. "I..."

"Judging that you haven't replied me with your usual cocky demeanor of how you would like me to keep my nose out of your affairs, I would surmise it to be Dursley's doing."

"I am not cocky!" Harry spluttered. "But this would be a good time for you to keep..." Catching himself, he fell silent. "Sorry, sir."

Snape studied him closely then straightened. "Good night, Mr. Potter."

"Good night, Professor," Harry replied meekly.

Snape turned to leave then said without turning. "If you find yourself hungry, and I daresay you are after feeding that pig you call your cousin, you may order some food through the floo. The powder is in the bronze urn."

Noticing Harry's open mouth, he sneered, "What I can see has no boundaries."

He billowed his way up the stairs.

"My cousin is not a pig!" Harry's voice carried up to the second floor as Snape opened the door to his room, not sounding quite believable. Then footsteps echoed softly through the dungeons as Harry ran halfway up the stairs. "And Professor? I want to...thank you very much. For what you are doing."

"Idiot Gryffindor," muttered Snape. He slammed the door.

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Comments welcome :) Please review! Don't flame or I'll get all defensive and you'll get all worked up and I'll get aggressive then we'll just have to fight. And I think we both have better things to do.

Thanks for all the kind reviews! Next chapter when my total reviews reach 75 or a week, whichever comes first :P

Tiny replies:
: If you want to look from that angle, yes, it makes no sense getting expelled from self-defense but the ministry does not know that he's being attacked (I'm a little dumb but not that dumb). However, I haven't started on why, how and when he is going to be expelled. Let me finish the story :)

DestinyEntwinements: No! I love Dumbledore, lol!

Opal: No, I did not write A Year Like None Other. That is written by Aspen in the Sunlight. But I love that story too :)