(Hello there, fellow Potterheads :) I'm sorry it's been far far FAR too long since I last updated on this, but at long last I have a continuation of Lucy and Harry Potter's adventures for you. I hope you enjoy! I own nothing but my OC.)

...

"Stop dawdling!" Lucy winced as the sharp boney hand of her aunt knocked against the back of her head, nearly causing her to drop the duster and letter she had been secretly reading while dusting the foyer.

"And hurry up with the dusting! Vernon should be arriving any moment now with Marge and it'll be no supper for you or your brother if there's a speck of dust left anywhere in the house!" Aunt Petunia snapped, shooting a dark glare at her neice before flouncing back to the kitchen presumably to check on the pudding or the roast.

Lucy only sighed, well used to her Aunt's threats as she quietly resumed dusting and ducked her head to continue reading the letter she'd received from one of her friends, immersing herself in the description George Weasley had written about their latest excursion through a pyramid in Egypt to keep from thinking about the imminent arrival of the awful Aunt Marge.

The last time she'd visited it ended with Lucy and Harry being locked in the cupboard with Lucy left to nurse a three inch dog bite left by Marge's nastiest pet, Ripper. So naturally, her upcoming visit was an occasion of extra stress and anxiety for the Potters.

Rereading George's last letter again? Harry asked cheekily with a grin as he appeared around the corner sweeping the floor.

Feeling her cheeks flush, Lucy quickly folded the letter away and hid it back in the pocket of her old skirt before responding with a light scowl.

It's better than thinking about what's going to happen when Aunt Marge gets here. Do you think she'll bring Ripper again? Lucy grimaced, almost subconsciously rubbing at the scar left from the bulldog's last attack.

Frowning, Harry moved a bit closer towards his sister. We'll be fine. If we're lucky, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia will send us to our room after we serve dinner and we'll be safe from Ripper upstairs. He tried to be comforting, but Lucy only gave him a half smile in return before dropping her attention back to her letter.

"Augh!" A short shriek drew the Twins' attention and Lucy gasped, nearly crumpling the letter when she spotted her cat Athene nosing around the kitchen sniffing at the smell of pork roast and completely oblivious to the look of absolute disgust Aunt Petunia was shooting in her direction.

"Lucy! How many times have I told you to keep that filthy animal out of here? There's probably cat hairs in the roast now!" Aunt Petunia continued to shriek making to kick at the cat until Lucy quite literally threw herself between them.

"Sorry Aunt! I'll go put her back up!" She gasped, hastily grabbing up Athene and carrying her out despite her protesting yowls.

Without pausing, she sprinted up the stairs until she reached Dudley's second bedroom which she and Harry were now sharing. Setting her beloved pet down on the bed, she and her brother now took turns using every other night, she dropped a kiss on her head before gently stroking back her fur.

"I'm sorry about that, Thenie. I'll try to save you some scraps tonight, but you have to stay up here until Aunt Marge leaves. Her nasty dog will rip you to pieces if she doesn't first." She cooed, slipping her a bit of a hard biscuit she'd saved from her half of what she and Harry had been given for breakfast earlier that day.

Athene sniffed at the strange tidbit for a moment before dolefully eating it up, mewing one more time in displeasure.

Lucy sighed. "I know Girl. Just be good okay?" She patted the cat one more time before hurrying from the room, making sure to securely close the door so that Athene couldn't slip out again.

She'd only made it halfway back down the stairs when large front door of the house opened, letting in a gust of wet icy wind and two large hulking figures.

Lucy froze with one foot hovering over the next step when she heard the sharp vicious barks of a bulldog gradually growing louder as Aunt Marge tugged at a thick leather leash in one of her hands.

After tossing her umbrella and large heavy coat at Harry, who had answered the door, Aunt Marge swept briskly from the foyer into the dining room where Aunt Petuna excitedly greeted her and the still barking Ripper.

As Uncle Vernon dropped his coat on top of Aunt Marge's, Harry turned to stagger towards the coat hanger finally noticing his sister was still on the stairs after he finally managed to get Aunt Marge's umbrella set in the umbrella stand.

Seeing her pale face, Harry sighed sympathetically at her before hurrying up to meet her. "Come on. Aunt Petunia is going to tell us to get the platters set on the table soon. Let's go while Aunt Marge and Ripper are busy with Dudley." He whispered.

Swallowing tensely, Lucy barely nodded and followed Harry the rest of the way downstairs, feeling as if she were being carried to the kitchen on someone else's legs.

Harry quickly closed the kitchen door as soon as they were both inside and Lucy let out a breath she didn't realize till then she had been holding just as the mouth-watering smells of roasted pork, potatoes, stew and treacle pudding filled her nostrils.

Both Twins' stomachs growled at the smell and then ached as if their bodies knew that they would only get a poor sampling of the meal their Aunt prepared for her sister-in-law's arrival as was per usual.

Harry looked around at the food as well then opened his mouth about to suggest bringing the roast to the table first when the kitchen door swung open and Aunt Petunia's narrow face poked itself in.

"What are you two dawdling about for? Hurry up and bring the roast and potatoes to the table, Harry! And you Lucy! Stir the stew! Make sure it doesn't burn or you'll get no supper!" She threatened before slamming the door shut again.

Hardly flinching since they were used to being screamed at and threatened with no meals by now, the Twins exchanged one last quick glance with each other before hurrying to do as they were ordered.

As Lucy carefully worked on stirring the stew, she carefully pulled out George's letter again to try to finish reading it while she made sure nothing got stuck to the bottom of the pot.

...You should have seen his face! I reckon you would have laughed. We'll have to get more hiccoughing sweets from Zonko's before school starts so we can properly welcome the new first years. By the way, you ought to check out Zonko's yourself when the third years go to Hogsmeade. It's really a scream although Fred and I have already been thinking...

"Oh my gosh Harry!" Lucy nearly shrieked, stuffing the letter back into her pocket. Harry jumped at at the sharp tone of her voice and Lucy quickly stuffed George's letter back into her sweater.

"Hogsmeade! We haven't asked Uncle Vernon to sign our Hogsmeade permission slips yet!" She lowered her voice once her brother had re-entered the kitchen to get the potatoes.

Harry's eyes widened to plates, but he quickly scooped up the large bowl of potatoes before turning back towards the dining room. Uncle Vernon poked his large meaty head in the doorway before he could make it.

"What's taking so long? Hurry it up Boy! If you know what's good for you!" He huffed, glowering at his nephew then at his niece who immediately went back to stirring the stew.

Harry hurried towards his Uncle. "Uncle Vernon!..Lucy and I have something for you to sign." He called after him hopefully, knowing Lucy was listening even though she was concentrating on not letting the stew overcook.

Uncle Vernon raised one thick eyebrow at him as Harry stepped carefully from the kitchen to the dining area with the bowl of potatoes in his hands.

"Mmm, what is it?" He asked seeming very disinterested. Harry chose his response carefully. "It's just...something for school. Nothing much." He shrugged hoping he sounded casual and unassuming.

Uncle Vernon let out a grunt. "Well, later perhaps. If you both behave." He cast a narrow-eyed glance in Lucy's direction and Harry turned to get back into the kitchen just as Aunt Marge trudged into the dining hall with Ripper's leash still clutched in her hand.

Harry clenched his jaw. "I will if she does." He muttered under his breath. Lucy frowned.

"Oh...you two are still here, are you?" She grumbled, glaring at the twins as Lucy stepped carefully towards the table balancing two bowls of stew in her arms.

Ripper gave a short bark, startling Lucy who flinched and spilled a bit of the stew on her sleeve.

Harry gritted his teeth when the bulldog let out a growl. "Yes."

"Don't say yes in that ungrateful manner!" Aunt Marge snapped, plopping down in a chair Aunt Petunia just barely managed to pull out for her.

"It was d*** good of my brother to take you lot in. They would have gone straight to an orphanage if they'd been dumped on my doorstep!" She addressed the last sentence to Uncle Vernon who nodded in agreement with her.

Lucy ducked quickly back into the kitchen and re-emerged a few moments later with two more bowls of stew which she did not spill this time even when Ripper took another snap at her.

Aunt Petunia quickly started shooing Lucy and Harry from the dining room as soon as all the food had been set on the table.

"Off with you both now! Take Marge's bags up to the guest room then get straight back here! No dawdling!" She ordered and the twins scurried off, only too glad to get away from their glowering visiting Aunt and her nasty dog.

...

You okay? Harry silently inquired after Lucy jumped for the tenth time since the Dursleys had sat down to dinner due to another Ripper's barks.

Biting her lip, Lucy nodded though she could feel her insides shaking and did her best not choke on the bit of salad she had been chewing.

She scratched absently at the old dogbite scar that was still on her arm as she listened to Aunt Marge praise and croon at the dog while Vernon spoke candidly about the latest deals he'd made at his job while Petunia sat in raptures and Dudley proceeded to dump half the bowl of potatoes onto his plate.

Sighing, Harry looked over towards the table and stared hungrily at all the food laid out before his eyes fell on Ripper and he felt them narrow in dislike for the dog.

"What are you staring at?" Aunt Marge suddenly snapped and Harry flinched, instinctively looking away. "Nothing..."

"Mmm. Where is it you send the brats, Vernon?" Marge turned her round head towards her brother who stopped midsentence to answer her.

"Oh, Harry attends St. Brutus's and Lucy attends Greenwood Academy. Both are fine institutions for hopeless cases such as they are." He said in an almost proud tone.

Marge nodded at this and turned back to face the Twins. "Do they use a cane at St. Brutus's or Greenwood's?" She asked imperiously.

The Twins looked at each other uncertainly almost starting to grin until they saw the warning look on Uncle Vernon's face.

"Oh...oh yeah. I've been beaten loads of times." Harry finally answered first and Lucy nodded. "Me too. Lots."

Both turned away making sure their faces were not visible to the Dursleys as they each stifled a snicker.

"Ah excellent! I won't have this namby pampy wishy washy nonsense about not beating people who deserve it." Aunt Marge grumbled taking a long sip from her wine glass before continuing.

"But you shouldn't blame yourself for how those two turned out, Vernon. It's all to do with blood. Bad blood. What was it their Father did anyway?" She directed the question at Aunt Petunia this time.

The Twins perked their ears at this question, dividing the one piece of roast Aunt Petunia had let them have as they waited for their Aunt to answer.

"Nothing. He...he didn't work at all. He was unemployed." Petunia spoke softly as if she were embarrassed to admit so and Harry felt himself stiffen at the lie while Lucy's head snapped back towards the dining hall.

Aunt Marge hummed disdainfully. "Mmm. And a drunk too no doubt." She took in a large spoonful of potatoes with a roll of her eyes.

"That's not true!" The words flew from Lucy's mouth before she could stop them and she tried her hardest not to shrink back when the Dursleys, minus Dudley who was more interested in the roast suddenly fixated their gazes on her.

"What was that, Girl?" Aunt Marge spoke severely. Lucy swallowed audibly.

"She said, that's not true." Harry chimed in a little louder, glaring at their larger aunt. "Our Father was a not a drunk!" He spat.

Aunt Marge started to scowl back in response when the glass she had been holding in her hand suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces, inevitably spilling wine down the front of her skirt and causing Aunt Petunia to shriek.

Flinching at the unexpected explosion, Lucy turned to exchange glances with Harry, but he remained fixated on Marge who despite the way Vernon was glaring accusing daggers at the twins from his seat the table was insistently brushing off the incident, insisting that she had a very firm grip that was to blame for the breakage.

Sighing, Lucy looked back down at the remains of their plate and started to swipe up a bit of the sauce with her finger to lick when Uncle Vernon addressed them over the commotion his wife and sister were making.

"I think it's high time you two went up to bed, at once." He said in a tone that warned of dire consequences to come should anything further happen.

Nodding, the Twins started to oblige with Harry turning to put their plate and forks into the sink when Marge told him off with a loud snap of her thick fingers.

"Nonsense Vernon! Let the brats finish cleaning up first. You! Boy! Clean up the glass and you Girl! Fetch a washcloth to blot out my dress! Quick now!" She ordered shrilly.

Exchanging another glance, Harry shuffled quickly off to find the dustpan and broom while Lucy grabbed a kitchen towel and ran it under the faucet before making her way over to Aunt Marge, eyeing Ripper nervously before kneeling on the floor, satisfied that the brutish dog was sufficiently occupied with the large meaty bone he was chewing on.

"Actually," Aunt Marge continued to speak as Lucy carefully tried to blot out on the wine stain on her skirt. "It's nothing to do with the Father. It's all to do with the Mother. You see it all the time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the b**** then there's something wrong with the pups."

Suddenly Lucy saw red and she saw Harry's face flush with sudden rage as he started to enter the dining room to sweep up.

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk about our Mother that way!" Lucy shouted, forgetting to be scared of Aunt Marge and her terrible dog as she threw the dishcloth to the floor with a satisfying crack.

"Excuse me?" Aunt Marge raised an eyebrow sounding dangerously calm despite the fact that the lights were flickering all over the house and the windows were rattling as if a storm were brewing outside.

"You heard her!" Harry stepped in to defend his sister if necessary and squared his shoulders as Aunt Marge turned to point an accusing finger in his direction.

"Right...Let me tell you brats-." She started to reprimand until something very peculiar started to happen.

First, Aunt Marge's index finger started to swell as if there were an unnatural growth in it, then the rest of her body followed suit until soon she was floating away from the house like a large parade balloon, screeching and flailing her limbs as Ripper, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia chased her out across the backyard, crying for her to come back while Dudley stayed behind and hoarded more food.

Lucy was frozen for a while, staring after the grown up Dursleys and most of all at Aunt Marge's quickly disappearing silhouette until Harry grabbed her arm and gave her a little pull.

"Come on! We got to get out of here!" He tugged her out of the dining room, across the lounge to the stars where they ran up as fast their little legs could carry them to their shared bedroom.

...

It didn't take long to pack as the Potters never bothered unpacking their trunks. The only things they really needed to get were a couple spare clothes, their toothbrushes and of course Hedwig's cage and Athene's basket.

Lucy's heart was pounding as she quickly secured the cat basket to her trunk and she glanced at Harry to see if he was ready to go as she snatched the stack of letters they'd gotten from their friends which she'd hidden under their socks.

"Do...do you think we'll get in a lot of trouble? For what happened to Aunt-?"

"I don't know!" Harry cut her off, his own anxious desire to get out of the Dursley house as soon as possible making him irritable as he quickly snatched the picture of their parents from the dresser and shoved it into his trunk.

"All I know is, we've really done it now and if we don't get out, we may never get to go back to Hogwarts!"

He looked up at Lucy who paled then nodded before following her twin out their bedroom door to the staircase.

The Twins had made it three feet away from the front door when the Dursleys came pounding up from the back, Uncle Vernon screaming and swinging his large arms in a frantic yet threatening manner.

"You brats bring her back! You bring her back right now!" He bellowed. Lucy cowered from the sight of his dangerously purple angry face while Harry glared at him in the same manner he had Aunt Marge earlier.

"No! She deserved what she got!" He argued. Lucy gasped when Uncle Vernon lunged at them, one of his large hands about to grasp around Harry's neck while the other going for Lucy. Harry quickly brandished his wand, forcing Vernon to back away.

"Don't...touch us." He hissed. Uncle Vernon's fear quickly turned back into anger. "You're not allowed to use magic outside of school." He said almost tauntingly.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Try me." He started to extend his wand arm. Lucy reached to stop him.

As much as their Uncle would deserve a good hex, it wasn't worth getting thrown out of the one place they called home. The place where they had friends and loved ones waiting for them.

They were likely in enough trouble as it was for losing control of their magic a few minutes in front of their non-magical relatives and causing one of their aunts to float away.

"Harry, let's go." She tried to urge her brother missing the sharp look Aunt Petunia gave her at her plea.

"Go? Where would you two go? Who would take such troublesome and ill-behaved brats like yourselves in?" She demanded.

"They're trying to go back to that school." Uncle Vernon sneered, glowering at the Twins though Harry did not lower his wand.

"But they'll never let them back now. They'll be on the streets like the good for nothing ragamuffins they are!" He crowed.

Harry remained firm. "I don't care. Anywhere's better than here! We'll be better off without all of you!" He said defiantly turning to storm out of the house. Lucy quickly followed, hearing Athene mew as they tumbled rather ungracefully down the drive nearly upsetting their trunks.

They didn't stop running until they'd left Privet Drive, their awful relatives and the horrific incident at the dinner table far far away.

...