Chapter 4
The Beginning of the End
"Supper!" Harry heard Aunt Petunia call. He put his book (Flying with the Cannons) on the nightstand, slipped his socks back on and went down the stairs and to the kitchen. The smell of meatloaf drifted to his nostrils. He didn't mind Aunt Petunia's meatloaf; it was usually pretty good. It was a pity that he was really in the mood for shrimp.
He looked at the woman in faded pink apron. Streaks of gray tainted her mane of blonde hair. Lines were etched shallowly into her face. Her lips were pursed as they always were, and her eyes slightly narrowed. Her face was rudely contorted like she was trying not to cry. She noticed his gaze and cocked her head at him.
"What are you gaping at, boy? Get your dinner and sit down." She told him. And he did just that.
The meal was quiet, draped in a suffocating, awkward silence. Whenever it was broken by a utensil scraping a plate or a cough, the whole room felt a ton heavier than it had before. The sun was setting in the brazen sky, and the birds were just beginning to quiet. Harry felt at peace somehow, even in the midst of all this tension. That was just more power to him.
After dinner, he watched as Aunt Petunia tossed her apron on the counter and quickly strode out the door, slamming it behind her. Dudley and Uncle Vernon looked caught between terror, loathing, and puzzlement. Harry, on the other hand, rose from the table and went after her.
She was sitting on the dock, throwing bits of dirt and weeds into the lake. She looked so innocent, so childish in the way she was sitting. Gingerly, Harry went and sat down next to her.
"Aunt Petunia…?" he said cautiously.
"What?" she snapped, not even looking at him.
"What's the matter?"
It was now that she looked at him. Even after the many times she had insulted his parents and in general, his existence, he still loved this woman because she had stood up for him at least once, and she didn't seem to hate him as much as the rest of her family did. It broke his heart to see tears in her eyes, but he did not touch her. He merely let her speak, and that was the best he could have done for her.
"Harry. They don't appreciate me. They don't even want me." She started to cry softly, achingly. Harry held her as best he could, though it was horribly awkward. His face turned a dull red.
"Yes they do, sometimes they just don't show. Sometimes everyone takes someone for granted. Just let them know how you feel." He told her, patting her back uncomfortably. He didn't think he had ever been hugged by anyone of his own family before.
"And where did you learn that?" she sniffed.
"Oh…around…" he murmured.
She broke away from him and dried her tears with a hanky she kept in her pocket. She forced herself to stop rather abruptly. "Well…thank you Harry. That…helped."
Even though he knew she was lying, he nodded and smiled. She got up off the dock and went back to the condo. He knew he had helped her if only by holding her while she cried.
He rubbed his lower back absentmindedly, and when he looked at his hand it was covered in dark blood. His mouth dropped open in shock, then he remembered when Dudley had thrown him into the potted plant earlier and he calmed.
He went back to the condo, only now feeling the pain in his back. It's so funny how you don't feel something until you notice it's there, he thought. He walked through the door to find Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia having a serious conversation. He supposed Dudley was somewhere upstairs. Not wanting to interrupt, he crouched behind the kitchen counter.
There was a pause, and then they began to speak.
"I know you're seeing that man from Dudley's school. Professor Crumplebottom, is it? So don't give me that guff about taking people for granted, Petunia. I know what you've been doing, I've heard things at work. Do you know how embarrassing that is, to have other people inform you of the things your wife does with other men when you're not around her?" Hissed Uncle Vernon so angrily that his voice shook.
"Oh please!" Aunt Petunia cried, flinging her wine glass to the floor. It shattered into a thousand sharp pieces. "Like you didn't see it coming? You've been away all these years, Vernon, somewhere where I can't reach you! We have no sex life, we never go out, I can barely even get anything out of you anymore that's not related to your damn company! What on earth did you expect?"
"Why didn't you just speak to me! All this –"
"You never talk back, Vernon!" She cried hysterically. "Our marriage is in shambles because you can't take five minutes out of your goddamned day to have a conversation with your wife!"
"YOU'RE FUCKING DUDLEY'S ENGLISH PROFESSOR!" Uncle Vernon roared. All was quiet after that as they stood in the kitchen, breathing as though they had both been running. Aunt Petunia was the first to speak.
"After this vacation is over," she said quietly, on the verge of tears once again, "I want a divorce."
Harry's mouth dropped open and he just sat there, wondering what life would be like after this vacation. He didn't really think it would ever be the same again.
It was almost midnight. Draco lie awake in bed. He could hear Pansy tapping on his door, not wanting to wake his parents. He really hated Pansy, he had discovered, so much that he could disregard the sex. She was so…repulsive. She didn't love him, but she would do anything for her. In the previous year this would have made Draco giddy with pleasure, but now it just put him off. It was very confusing. He found he just wasn't attracted to the girls he knew lately. Draco guessed it was probably because his hormones were slowing down.
Not wanting any more questions, Draco heaved himself up out of bed and went to the door. She was waiting outside and she grinned when she saw him. Draco was not surprised when he saw she was wearing nothing but a sheer pink robe. This didn't even excite him like it should have.
"Are you ready?" Pansy asked.
"Yes, let me get us towels." He said, and went to retrieve them out of the bathroom. When he came back, she grabbed his hand. He tried to smile, but it came out as more of a sneering smirk.
They went down the stairs as quietly as they could. Draco could hear his parents whispering through the walls but he couldn't make out what they were saying. As they got out the door, a cool burst of wind hit them and blew Draco's hair about. He pushed it back out of his eyes and walked with Pansy down to the lake.
She took off her robe first. She did it very slowly, as if she wanted his eyes to linger on her small and bony body. He stared at her so she thought he was checking her out, but really he was spacing out and praying for it all to be over quickly.
He slipped off his shoes and everything and dove into the water. He forget how good it felt, skinny-dipping, since it was forbidden at Malfoy Manor. He made one lap around the pool then treaded water and waited for Pansy to come to him. As he had predicted, it took her no time at all, and soon she had her tongue down his throat and her hands on his back.
Make it quick, Pansy, he thought in a bored kind of way. I'm tired.
Draco barely kissed her back, and soon enough, she noticed.
"Draco, why are you being so weird? You didn't used to be like this. It's like you don't fancy me or something." She said bluntly.
"No…I'm just tired." He said. He knew that guys always said that when they didn't like a girl, and wondered why girls still believed it at all.
Pansy beamed. "Oh. Well then I'll wake you up." With that she became to kiss him again.
What a lame thing to say…mused Draco.
Harry fingered the newly applied bandage on his back. Already it was soaked with blood, and it would need changing soon enough. He sighed as he sat on the edge of his fancy green bed. He was quite restless, and thinking rather unhappily of the upcoming divorce of his aunt and uncle. Though he hated his Uncle, he rather liked Aunt Petunia now and didn't really enjoy seeing her so distraught. But he could do nothing to stop it, he was powerless. He tried to let it go, but it would not. His mind just kept coming back to it.
I'll go for a swim, he decided. My bandage will need changing anyways.
He changed into his swimming trunks and went quietly down the stairs and outside. The waters looked busy, but he excused it and went to dive in anyways. The moon was a lovely new pearl in the sky, and he gazed up at it, happy to be bathed in its light.
Harry kicked off his shoes and the mud come up between his toes. He smiled, then walked to the edge of the dock.
Noises. He froze. Who else was out here with him? He could barely make out two people getting out on the other side. Curiously, he jumped in and swam under the dock. Harry put his face between the reeds to peer at the approaching couple.
They were blurry because he'd left his glasses behind, but he saw a flash of blonde and a naked, pale body and was suddenly glad he was half-blind. His impaired eyes widened and he gasped in breath and went under.
Draco and Pansy looked over curiously. Harry was careful not to let one bubble of air escape. They stared at the spot for a moment, puzzled, then went on laughing and whispering to each other.
Since Harry didn't know quite how fast they were walking, he could only guess when they would arrive at the door to Draco's condo. This would be dangerous because if he came up too early, he could alert them of his presence and that would really be suicide. He could just think of the accusations…but if he stayed down too long, he would drown himself. So, on a guess, he waited another ten seconds and then bounded to the top.
He gasped for air loudly, and quickly looked over. They were inside. Harry was flooded with relief. He was just about to get out when he spotted people Apparating right in front of the Malfoy's door. Ever curious, he hid behind the reeds once more and watched the people.
He nearly had a heart attack as he realized those two people were Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape. And they were wearing masks like the ones he had seen the day of the World Cup. Harry's breathing turned ragged, but he kept as quiet as he possibly could. Luckily, he would just be able to hear their conversation from where he was floating.
Snape knocked twice, then paused, then knocked three more times. Lucius' face appeared almost immediately. He looked quite serious.
"Is the little bastard here?" Bellatrix asked quickly, not even bothering to greet Malfoy. "Is he?"
"Yes, with his wretched Muggle family. They think they've won a trip." Lucius jeered, smirking. A white-hot anger began to bubble deep inside Harry, and was soon joined with an irrepressible fear. "When is He coming?"
"We prefer to keep that unknown." Snape interjected with a sneer.
"Then how shall I know when to prepare?" Lucius hissed.
"Just what do you need to prepare, Lucius? All that is required of you is your presence and your absolute confidence." Snape replied coldly.
"Is Sissy here?" Bellatrix asked, indicating Narcissa. She poked her head through the door, but Lucius shot her a glare that sent her right back out again.
"Yes, but she is sleeping. And there are Draco and Pansy to think about."
"Since when do you care about children?" Bellatrix snapped.
"Shut up, and leave. This is dangerous." Lucius stated.
"We have plans anyways." Snape drawled. Bellatrix grinned wickedly. "Goodbye."
"Bye, Luscious." Bellatrix teased, blowing him a kiss. Lucius merely sneered. He muttered something to himself and then shut the door.
Harry could barely get out of the lake, he was shaking so violently. When he finally did get out, he was violently sick. That made him even weaker. He crawled over under a tree and laid his head on the earth.
They were coming to kill him.
