A Serpent Among Lions

Chapter 1 Discoveries

After Dudley's trial and sentencing, Harry was summoned by a lawyer and given a box of items that Petunia had left to him in case of her untimely death. There wasn't much in it; only a photo album, a journal, and a letter.

Taking the letter out, Harry read it out loud to Ginny:

"Dear Harry,

If you are reading this letter it means that I have died, more than likely by the hands of my son. I know that you must have many questions and I will try to answer them through the pages of my diary. I have kept up with it over the years, having started it when I was very young. I urge you to begin reading the later entries first, they will hold the answers that you must be seeking.

The photo album are some pictures of Lily and I growing up and some pictures of you that she sent me when you were a baby. I thought you would like to have them.

I must go for now. Please take care of yourself and your lovely family. Watch out for Dudley, he is more than what he seems.

Love,

Aunt Petunia"

As much as Harry wanted to look through the photo album, he knew that he wanted to understand as much as he could about why his cousin did this horrible thing. He knew, of course, that his cousin was extremely jealous of him, but he felt that there were other things contained in the diary that might shed some light on everything.

Looking at Ginny, he tried to think of where he should begin, "I think the best place to begin would be around the time that Dudley would have gotten his Hogwarts letter. Let's look around the week before his birthday, that's when I got mine."

Flipping to the middle of the book, Harry found July 16th's entry:

June 16, 1991

Dear Diary,

Well, the day I feared has come. Today, I got a letter for Dudley from Hogwarts inviting him to attend. Thankfully Vernon was out shopping with Dudley for his birthday and neither of them are any the wiser.. He would be furious and I shudder to think of the repercussions.

Personally, I would have no trouble with Dudley going to Hogwarts, but I see how Vernon treats Harry. He's always saying how he's so thankful that Dudley isn't like him. All these years, everything that has happened, he has assumed that it was all Harry when some of it was Dudley.

Vernon must never know. I knew that this was a possibility because of Lily being a witch, but I never told Vernon that it could happen. After seeing how he treats Harry, I'm glad I didn't. Vernon's temper is legendary, and I have been on the receiving end of it many times.

I know that he will be rather brassed off when Harry gets his letter... it's just a matter of time now. I have to write back to Dumbledore and tell him that he doesn't accept. I know that he will understand.

Ginny took Harry's hand and squeezed it encouragingly, "It sounds as if your aunt wasn't all that bad, Harry. I think your uncle scared her and that is why she acted the way she did around you."

Harry nodded in agreement. Come to think of it, he didn't really remember a time when his aunt was really that cruel to him when his uncle wasn't around, "Let's see if we can find out some more."

Harry turned to the back of the diary to find her most recent entries and found a date that he knew was important.

July 15, 2011

Dear Diary,

I can't believe my stupidity! Why in the world did I keep that letter of Dudley's? I knew that when I got it that I should have thrown it away, but I guess I wanted it as a keepsake. I know that Dudley could have been a great wizard like Harry, and I guess that I just wanted to have it to look back and remember.

Dudley came over tonight and found it in my nightstand. I had asked him to get something from it, forgetting that it was in there and he confronted me with it. I told him that his father wouldn't have let him go there and that's why I didn't tell him. I also told him that I was going to tell him one day, but I never planned on it because I knew that this would be his reaction.

He stormed out of the house, I am really afraid what he might do. I have never seen him so angry before. Of course, Vernon was absolutely livid. He gave me the beating of my life for keeping it from him, I can barely sit down and my right eye is black and swollen, so I have to cut this short.

My son is always used to getting his own way...what will he do to us?

I should contact Harry and tell him what has happened. I fear Dudley may go after him...

Harry had a very sad look upon his face. He remembered Dudley talking about it at the trial, but seeing the words of his late aunt on paper made it that more real. He had often suspected that his uncle had abused his aunt, but he couldn't be certain. He read the remaining entries to find out if there was anymore that he needed to know, but his aunt didn't say much else.

"Aunt Petunia, why didn't you contact me? I would have helped you..." He said quietly, more to himself than to Ginny, "I still can't believe my cousin did this to his parents. You know, I just realized that my last living relative from my parents is in Azkaban," Harry said, sadly.

"You still have me and our children," Ginny said, taking his hand in hers and putting them together on her growing stomach, "And now that it's over and your name has been cleared, we can get on with our lives."

Harry turned and gave Ginny a tender kiss on the lips and a hug. He didn't cry often, but he felt tears pricking his eyes after reading his aunt's diary. She had hurt so much and there wasn't anything he could do to save her. At least the monster who had killed her and his uncle was behind bars.