Chapter 2

As so often happened during the night, Mr and Mrs Dursley's sleep was disturbed by Dudley's crying from the nursery next to their bedroom. Bleary-eyed, Mrs Dursley got out of bed to soothe her son. True enough, Dudley was wailing in his cot, thrashing his limbs about. As Mrs Dursley leant over the cot to pick him up, she happened to notice something through the small curtainless nursery window. The streetlights in Privet Drive were going out, all by themselves. Watching carefully, she focused on one light that was still shining, and gave a little gasp in surprise as she saw the light fly out of the lamppost in a little ball, towards a strangely dressed old man standing in the street. He did not appear to have noticed her.

Mrs Dursley knew full well that the man would only be welcome at one house in Privet Drive – hers. She also knew his name, Albus Dumbledore. Moreover, despite her tiredness, she knew that for him to suddenly appear, in the middle of the night, something must be extremely wrong. She hurried back into the bedroom to wake Mr Dursley. "Vernon! Vernon, wake up!"

Mr Dursley grunted for a moment, and when he spoke, he was groggy. "Whuh? Pet? Whazzit?"

"Dumbledore's out in the street! Something must have happened to James and Lily!" At that moment, the roar of a motorbike engine seemed to come out of nowhere, and the sudden loud noise woke Mr Dursley up completely, as he rolled over out of the bed and onto the floor, and Dudley resumed crying. "I'll deal with Dudley," he said as he picked himself up. "You go and find out what's happened."

Mrs Dursley switched on the bedside lamp so she could see to put a pair of shoes on, then hurried downstairs. She unlocked the front door and opened it just in time to catch Albus Dumbledore bending over to place an envelope on top of a bundle of blankets in a basket on the doorstep, a woman she recognised from James and Lily's wedding as being named Minerva McGonagall, a much larger man she thought was called "Hagrid" standing behind him. Seeing he was caught, Dumbledore froze in place. "Come in, Professor Dumbledore," Mrs Dursley said. "I'd much prefer to hear you explain why you are bringing my nephew here, rather than in a letter." Professor Dumbledore straightened up and removed his hat. "Mrs Dursley… Petunia… I am sorry, but…" Mrs Dursley's hand flew to her mouth. "Lily and James? They're…"

"Dead.", Professor Dumbledore said solemnly. Tears began to flow down Mrs Dursley's face. "How? They were hiding!" "And were betrayed. It seems their trust in Sirius Black was misplaced, for…" Mrs Dursley angrily shook her head. "That, Professor, is hogwash of the highest order. Sirius Black could no more betray James and Lily than you could." Professor Dumbledore frowned. "I realise your grief may be preventing you from believing it, Petunia, but…" "But NOTHING! When I said he couldn't, I MEANT it. He wasn't the Secret Keeper – because he was their obvious choice! Too obvious! Besides, having only one person hold a secret is a silly idea in principle, especially in wartime. Lily told me that if that person dies without telling anyone else the secret, it's lost forever! What if you'd beaten this "Voldemort"? No-one would be able to tell James and Lily they didn't need to hide any more! So James and Lily had TWO Secret Keepers."

"And by your knowledge of this, I presume you are one of them?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes boring into Mrs Dursley's from behind his half-moon glasses. Mrs Dursley nodded. "There's more ways than hiding to keep something secret than just using a Fidelius Charm, Professor – obscurity, for example. While the number of witches and wizards who know Lily had a Muggle sister is low, the number alive who know both my name and address is even lower – and they're all standing here. Before tonight, James and Lily were the only magicals to visit this house, and did so by Apparating directly inside."

"And the other?" "Someone no-one would suspect, because you'd all think he wouldn't be able to keep it – Peter Pettigrew." Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Minerva, Hagrid, please stay," he said hurriedly. "I must find Sirius, before he does something he may not live to regret." With a pop, Professor Dumbledore disappeared.

Mrs Dursley looked down at the basket, where Harry was stirring in his sleep. "Won't you come in?" she said politely. "I'll make some tea."