AN: I enjoyed writing the first, so I might as well make a sequel, right? Besides, quite a few people favorited just the first chapter(shame on you all for not reviewing and giving feedback). I hope you all like this just as much as the first chapter.
Disclaimer: Still don't own.
Petunia sighed, hands fidgeting as she paced. She pulled back the curtains to check the street once more before letting them slide back into place. She resumed her pacing in the living room. Dudley sat on the sofa, biding the time with his mother. His foot was tapping, and she wondered why he hadn't turned the telly on.
Vernon was nowhere to be found and the car was gone, insinuating that he'd made good on his threat to leave if she allowed this interaction to occur. She'd frowned, but hadn't really been surprised - Vernon had never changed his opinion towards Harry and his world. She shook her head, accepting that it was just as well. There would be far too much tension if he had stayed. Dudley had gained a much more accepting attitude after Harry had saved him from those... things. She shuddered, just thinking about it. She could have lost her boy that day, but Harry had saved him. Despite how the family had always treated him, he'd saved Dudley... This was something she could never repay in all her years.
There was a muffled crack, and a knock that sounded as though it came from the kitchen. Her eyebrows pulled into a frown and she traded a glance with her nineteen year old son. He stood, leading the way to the room. They stopped in the entryway, staring. There, outside the glass of the greenhouse, was Harry. A girl stood next to him, her vibrant red hair swirling about her head. Petunia's mind provided an over-image of Lily and James for a brief second, before she walked the few steps to the door to let them in.
Harry entered the home first, nodding to Petunia. The girl followed, eyeing Dudley warily. She shut the door and turned back to them. They were all standing in a rough circle; the girl was sticking close to Harry, and she wondered if their relationship was what she had assumed. Harry was the first to speak.
"Hullo Aunt Petunia, Dudley." He nodded to them each in turn; they returned the motion. "Thank you for this. I know it's rather unexpected, but I'd like to be sure I have it all." He explained, and Petunia nodded, brushing back a blonde curl that had fallen to her face. She'd understood perfectly when he'd owled her asking if he could stop by to pick up the rest of his things. He must've procured a place to live. She smiled at him and his guest. He took on a surprised look.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. This is Ginny Weasley. Ginny, this is Aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley." He introduced them. Ginny gave a small smile and shook hands with them. Petunia clapped her hands together lightly.
"Well. Shall we get to it, then?" She suggested before leading the group into the hall and up the stairs to Harry's old room. Nobody had ventured in aside from taking out the lamp for Dudley to take to his flat, so it had taken on a slight musty scent. She flicked on the light, leading the young adults into the rather small room. Harry looked around, and she was unsurprised to see that he didn't seem to be reminiscing. She steeled herself, determined to help and be as much like a proper guardian as she could. She cleared her throat.
"I'll go get some boxes from the basement. I think some of your old things are boxed up down there, anyway." She announced, exiting the room. Those three could handle sorting and tossing what Harry deemed rubbish. She trailed through the house to the door in the kitchen, entering the basement. She pulled the string on the light, hearing it click before it flicked on, casting a bright light over everything. She headed to the pile of empty boxes, grabbing a few and setting them outside the door. She stepped back down the creaky stairs to search for the boxes that were on a shelf somewhere. It'd been a few years, so she had to look through some boxes, but she eventually found two boxes of his things. She pulled one out and set it on the ground. The second was lighter and on a higher shelf, but she managed to get it out without a problem. As she turned to take it up the stairs, a book fell from the shelf, dropping on her foot. It was fairly heavy, and she hissed as she set the box down.
She frowned as she picked up the book, recognizing it immediately. She sighed. Of course this would turn up on this particular day. She let the photo album flop open in her hands; it opened to a page relatively near the front. A picture of Lily and her, eight and nine, caught her attention. She was pulling on Lily's ponytail as mother took the picture, playfully teasing her little sister. A small smile came to her face at the memory. She flipped a couple pages, and - what she later deemed to be the work of fate - landed on a heartbreaking page.
On the left was a professional picture her father had taken of Lily and James on their wedding day. The twilight sun glinted in the background, setting Lily's hair alight. James was beaming at her; they were young and fabulously in love. She tore her eyes from the scene to look at the picture she knew rested opposite - young Harry, in the arms of his father. Lily was peeking around the corner of their parents' kitchen into the room, yelling some type of instruction that Petunia could no longer remember to her husband. Harry was tugging on James' shirt and the man was smirking down at him.
Petunia's heart broke as she smiled down at the picture. A small drop of water landed on the page, and she realized that she was crying. She dabbed her eyes, closing the book. She looked at the shelf and noticed two more of the albums sitting innocently. She flipped through them quickly. Placing the one of her own family back on the shelf, she put the two of the Lily and the Potters in the box and carried it up into the kitchen. After bringing up the other box, she turned out the light and shut the door behind herself. She brought the boxes up to set outside of Harry's old room and entered.
The boys were sorting through some of the papers in Harry's old closet. Ginny sat on the bed, sorting through the boy's old clothes. There was a small pile on the bed, but most of the hand-me-downs had made their way to a messy pile on the floor in front of her. Petunia cleared her throat, gaining the group's attention.
"Harry. Could I speak to you?" He looked confused, but stood nonetheless, following her into the hall. She shut the door lightly before leaning over to pick up the albums.
"I want you to have these." She explained before she lost her nerve. He gave her another confused look, but took the books nonetheless. She nodded, encouraging him to open one. He looked down at them before cautiously cracking the one on top open. There was a small gasp of air as his eyes landed on whatever picture he'd opened to. He stared at it, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away. She smiled at the predicted reaction.
"Most of them are of your mother and our family, but there are some of her and your father, and even a couple of you. Our father was a professional photographer." She told him. He looked up at her briefly before his eyes returned to the booklet. He slowly flipped the page, eyes every bit as entraced with the next page. She noticed the picture of her and Lily eating ice cream cones in the summer, sighing at it.
"The negatives are in a pouch on the insides of the back covers. If you don't mind too much..." he looked up as she paused. "I'd appreciate it if you could get some duplicates for me." She was caught off guard by the sudden hug she was enveloped in. He didn't show any signs of letting go soon, and although she was certainly not used to hugs from him, she raised her arms to pat the boy on the back. A minute later he stepped back, a smile wider than any she'd seen before on his face. He grabbed one of the dropped albums, flipping to the back. He tenderly pulled out the negatives, repeating the action with the other book. He lifted them at last, placing the books into her arm. She could feel the confusion on her face.
"Thank you Aunt Petunia. So much. But please, you keep them. I'll just get my own copies made." He said, gesturing with the negatives. He smiled, giving her another quick hug before returning to the room. She set the books on a hallway table before entering the room as well. Dudley and Ginny appeared to be done with their tasks. Ginny had stuffed the rubbish clothes into a trash bag and tied it. The bag rested against a leg of the desk. Harry smiled at her, and Petunia outright stared at the extreme resemblance between him and his father - they even smiled the same. As he took Ginny's hand, she sighed. He was no longer a boy, no longer the boy she raised. He was a man now, a man in love. She smiled at Ginny.
"It was wonderful to meet you Ginny. Did you two get everything you needed? I hope Dudley was helpful." She fretted; it felt good to be able to do so without Vernon breathing down her back. She loved him, oh yes, but sometimes the man was downright unbearable. Harry smiled at her, a sight she wished she'd seen more frequently.
"Thank you, Aunt Petunia. Yes, I think we've got everything. And Dudley was a great help, right mate?" He amiably referred to her son, who was standing awkwardly by the wardrobe as though unsure what to do with himself. He nodded, shuffling his feet and sticking his hands in his pockets. Ginny shuffled past while Petunia frowned at Dudley. What was wrong with him? He'd been looking forward to his cousin returning - even through all the nervous twitching, she'd seen it - so why was he acting this way now? He noticed her look and whipped his hands out, letting them hang at his sides. He was still restless. Harry'd noticed too, now.
"Wassamatter, Duds?" He questioned, grabbing the stack of papers and the folded clothes. He set them carefully into the box that Ginny brought in. The girl walked back out, and Petunia saw her heave up the heavier of the two boxes without breaking a sweat. Dudley shuffling forward brought her attention back to the boys. Her son's arm was outstretched towards Harry, hand open.
"I just wanted to say... 'M sorry." He nodded, as though it had taken a mighty effort to get the words out. She'd never heard Dudley apologize to anyone before, and stared just as wide-eyed as Harry did. The boy seemed to shake off the shock, grabbing Dudley's hand slowly. He smiled as they shook hands, before pulling him into a brief hug resembling theirs from the hallway.
"'S no problem, Big D." The use of his childhood nickname seemed to relax Dudley some. She felt herself tearing up as Ginny watched from the hallway, a small, knowing smile on her face. The boys stepped back from each other and Harry picked up the box, setting the negatives gently inside and walking into the hall. She ushered Dudley out and flicked out the lights, shutting the door behind herself. Harry stacked the box on top of the other in the hallway, and they headed to the backyard, where a nice breeze was sweeping through the autumn leaves. Harry looked around at the neighbors' windows.
"See anyone watching, Ginny?" He questioned. The girl shook her head and the couple turned towards her and her son.
"It was nice seeing you again, Aunt Petunia. But we really must be getting back to Grimauld Place. Hermione and Ron are getting married next month, and everyone's been tripping over themselves lately trying to make everything perfect for them. I wanted to do this before I forgot, though." He glanced around once more, nodded to Ginny, and the girl turned. There was a crack and she was gone.
"It was lovely to see you again. I'll try to keep you updated if anything comes up." He said. Before she could say anything, he continued. "Don't worry, I'll send by muggle mail. And I'll get those negatives back to you as soon as I've made my copies. For now, have a good afternoon." He smiled, and with a turn and accompanying crack, he was gone. The wind swirled a few leaves down from the trees. She smiled at her son and herded him into the house, where she proceeded to pull out all of the photo albums she could find. They spent the time waiting for Vernon to return flipping through the pictures, questioning, describing, and reminiscing.
AN: So, I hope you liked this little sequel. I was inspired when I read through the original story and she mentioned not letting him see pictures of Lily. By the way, I had him take the negatives because he could have them developed into wizarding pictures, so that they move. YAY! Read and review, please!