Chapter Fourteen: Summer Holidays Part One
The end of second year had gone fairly well for the Slytherin Quartet. The mandrake draught had been made and all the petrified victims had woken up. There had been a joyful reunion between the Quartet members, one which Hermione had joined in on with Snape's permission. Raiden had thought it was amusing when Daphne hugged him, but was more than a little shocked when he found himself sandwiched between both Daphne and Hermione.
Slytherin had won both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, and due to the basilisk incident, the normal end of year exams were cancelled, causing everyone except for Hermione it seemed to cheer loudly. Hermione had grumbled that she had done enough study to pass and it was ridiculous that they were cancelled.
The train ride had passed peacefully enough, and when they got to the station, Raiden had said goodbye to his friends before heading off in the direction of his relatives. He suppressed a snarl as Vernon grabbed his arm tightly; he hated being manhandled like that and sent a small wandless shock down his arm, causing Vernon to release him abruptly. One look at the expression on Raiden's face caused the muggle to step back quickly, and the ride back to Little Whinging was mostly silent. Raiden was fuming at having to survive another summer with his relatives, surviving essentially alone as Voldemort would be out of the country doing his research on a way of coming back. Sighing, Raiden contemplated the last time he'd seen his master, in the Chamber of Secrets fiasco and absently rubbed his scar. One thing was certain, once his master got his body back Raiden would be doing everything possible to avoid a Cruciatus from him as if the pain was anything like what he experienced through his scar then he didn't want anymore experiences of it.
When they got home Raiden was told to go to his room and stay there, although the Dursleys didn't lock him in like they had the previous summer. A hoot at the window told the young wizard that his owl, Salazar had arrived safely which relieved him. Salazar was likely to be his only company this summer unless Draco managed to spring him from his prison which he was starting to call Durs-kaban, a mix of Dursley and the name of the wizard prison Azkaban.
Sighing Raiden swiftly unpacked his books and organized them so he could start his homework the next day. While he was a Slytherin, he had enough Ravenclaw in him to enjoy studying, and Voldemort was very insistent that he keep his grades up and also expand his knowledge level whenever possible. Once that was done he flopped onto his bed, taking the opportunity to rest before dinner.
Dinner was tense and Raiden was glad to escape to his room after eating his fill. He noticed with disgust that Dudley had gotten even larger, and Raiden hadn't thought that was possible. With a smirk, he contemplated calling a weight loss show and getting the Dursley's entered. Looking at himself he chuckled, he didn't need to lose any weight, if anything he needed to do some muscle toning. Quidditch was great but he needed a bit more work. Smirking once more he idly thought of doing the yard work for his relatives and how that might help with his muscle development.
That night was spent in a peaceful sleep, only to be woken the next morning by his aunt's shrill screeching voice demanding that he come and make breakfast. Sighing he got up, had a shower and dressed before going downstairs. He made the Dursley's breakfast before looking at what was left. Shrugging, he threw a couple of hash browns into the pan, along with some sausages. Once those were done he swiftly made some pancakes and carried his plate and a glass of milk to the table.
"Boy, after breakfast you will do the weeding and then paint the fence. Marge is coming over in 2 days and the garden will be looking its best understand!" Vernon snarled. Raiden looked up and shrugged. He'd been meaning to do some work this summer and didn't mind the tasks. What he did mind was the tone of voice.
"I have no problem with that Vernon. However, if you want me to do anything else round the house you will ask, politely. I don't respond well to demands" Raiden growled in an equally menacing tone to the one that Vernon had used with him.
Vernon went purple but Raiden released a little of his aura, directing it to his eyes so they glowed an Avada Kedavra green. This was unnerving to people he found, and Raiden had no scruples about using something that worked. Vernon backed down and waved his nephew off to begin the chores.
A few hours later Raiden straightened up from his cramped position by the last flowerbed in the front garden. He looked back along the rows of flowers, pleased that the beds had no weeds in them. He was distracted when he heard a cruel laugh.
Looking up he spotted the overgrown elephant that passed for his cousin standing by the wheelbarrow full of weeds. With a smirk Dudley tipped the whole wheelbarrow over on the lawn and then picked up several weeds and dirt clods before throwing them on Vernon's gleaming company car. He then grinned stupidly before yelling "DAD, THE FREAK JUST THREW DIRT ALL OVER YOUR CAR!"
Vernon came charging out and went almost apoplectic with rage. He stormed over to Raiden and grabbed him by his shirt before shaking him and yelling about cleaning the car and no dinner and other stuff which Raiden tuned out. Snarling with fury, the Dark Apprentice hissed out a parseltongue spell which gave Vernon a larger version of the shock that he'd got at King's Cross station. Vernon stumbled backwards and Raiden leapt backwards as well landing in a fighting stance, prepared to move any which way. His survival instincts were screaming at him, telling him to stay well away from his uncle.
"Vernon, I did not throw that dirt on the car. Try asking Dudley what happened."
"I don't need to know what happened. Dudley would never do that to my car," Vernon snapped back. Raiden snarled again and then directed the hose to the car. A small spell, wandless of course, turned the hose on and the car was clean within minutes.
Smirking Raiden turned to Vernon who was looking frantically round to see if the neighbours had seen anything. None had of course, as they were all indoors escaping from the heat which was something Raiden had considered before using magic in the first place. He enjoyed using it but stayed within the bounds of the Statute of Secrecy imposed by the Ministry as he had no wish to run afoul of the government.
Later in the evening, Raiden walked inside, having finished the flowerbeds and painted half of the fence. Washing his hands and taking a quick shower to wash away the grime and sweat he walked downstairs expecting to be able to help with dinner. What he found made him growl in annoyance.
The Dursleys had cooked dinner for themselves and left absolutely nothing for him. Worse, all the rest of the food in the kitchen was what was waiting for disposal as the shopping day was the next one. Smiling through gritted teeth he walked out of the house and down to the shopping area of Little Whinging. There he grabbed some fish and chips using money that he'd swiped from Vernon's wallet, along with a Diet Coke for drink.
Once he'd finished he wandered back to Privet Drive, practicing his stealth techniques and listening to the various night time sounds of the animals. This was his way of de-stressing and letting off his residual anger at the Dursleys. He would finish the fence tomorrow and then start his homework before calling up all his patience and determination in order to survive Aunt Marge's visit. He hated the woman with a passion, and was wishing that he knew how to do the Cruciatus curse; it would be lovely to hear her scream whenever she insulted him.
Raiden woke up on the first day of Aunt Marge's visit with a growl. He had managed to mind trick Vernon to sign his Hogsmeade form, using just a touch of magic. He snorted, he'd always known his uncle was weak minded but really, it was embarrassing how easy it had been to use his magic to influence Vernon to sign his form, and then to make him forget about it. Shaking his head, Raiden got up and dressed, before eating a hasty breakfast and going for his usual walk/meditation. He wanted to be well away from the house when Marge arrived. Before he left though, he locked up all his magic possessions, sealing the trunk with a Parseltongue spell. He could have shrunk it and taken it with him but he saw no reason to empty his room just because the guest was someone he didn't like. Smiling, he locked the door with the same Parseltongue spell, ensuring that it wouldn't open to any of the muggles.
When he got back, the first thing he encountered was Ripper, Marge's dog. The little beast came running up to him, growling and snarling. Raiden arched an eyebrow and hissed back at it. He locked eyes with the dog, keeping up a low, hypnotic hissing noise, sounding remarkably like a snake. Ripper stared at the strange human that he used to bully and then ran at top speed back to his owner. His long dormant wild instincts recognized a snake in the human, a snake that was poised to strike. Raiden smirked and walked further into the lounge, coming face to face with Marge Dursley.
"You're still here are you boy" the woman demanded sourly.
Raiden shrugged. "Yup" he said pleasantly, while thinking up ways of torturing her slowly.
Marge frowned. "You're not strict enough with him Vernon, a good beating would cure him of that attitude of his" she complained.
Raiden was then treated to the entertaining site of Vernon struggling to explain to his sister why he couldn't do exactly that to his nephew. The young Slytherin went into the kitchen and found dinner almost ready so he quietly set the table for the 5 of them before taking the dishes through to the table and sitting down.
"Why are you sitting with us?" Marge demanded as soon as he reached for some lasagna.
Raiden looked at her and then replied as if talking to a slow child, "Because I live here and it's dinner time. I do eat you know."
Marge flushed with fury and reached across the table, her hand slapping him across the face with surprising strength. Time seemed to stop as the Dursleys looked between Raiden and Marge with bated breath.
Raiden growled low in his throat. "That one was free you overweight cow," he snarled. "The next time you touch me like that I will hit back, and I don't care if you're a member of the supposedly fairer sex. No one touches me like that."
Marge rocked back in her chair, her brain dimly registering that the boy opposite her was in some way dangerous, and she'd just pissed him off. Raiden resumed his seat, and started eating again, using wandless magic to heal the red mark on his cheek and using meditation to control and release his anger. None of the Dursleys noticed this.
That dinner finished without further incident and Raiden retreated upstairs to send letters to his friends. Salazar was happy to have letters to deliver and took off from the window, spreading his wings and hooting happily. Watching till his friend was a speck in the sky, Raiden then turned to his homework, wanting to start early.
The rest of the week passed as well as it could, with Raiden ignoring Marge, and Marge never again physically touching him the way she had the first night. Vernon and Petunia had relaxed slowly, until the last night threw everything out of control.
Marge had had a few too many brandies and started in on her favorite topic, degrading Raiden's parents. First she started on James Potter.
"A drunk I suppose, and lazy as well," she slurred, not noticing Raiden's slowly bubbling anger.
He snapped back, "He worked as a policeman you bitch", selecting the closest thing to an Auror as possible without mentioning the magical world.
Marge looked at him blearily before saying, "I feel sorry for you Petunia, having your sister be who she was. Don't blame yourself for how this boy turned out; it's not your fault."
Looking straight at Raiden she continued, "It's not even his father's fault, no; it's all to do with his mother." Seeing Vernon and Petunia's interest she continued, "You see it all the time with dogs, if there's something wrong with the bitch then there's something wrong with the pup."
Raiden, who was clearing the dishes stopped at that sentence. Turning back to the dining room he saw Petunia agreeing with Marge and not saying anything in defence of her sister. Marge turned to him and said, "Can't say anything in defence, can you boy. You know it's true, that's why."
Breathing hard, Raiden tried to control his anger and more importantly his magic. The words that Marge was saying seemed strangely distant as lights rattled and glasses exploded. Giving up the fight, Raiden let his magic go.
The result was entertaining. Marge swelled up like a balloon, and floated out of the door. Vernon tried to catch her but the obnoxious woman floated out of reach and then off down the street. Raiden didn't see this as he had stormed up to his room, and was trying to calm down.
The next thing that happened was the sound of several wizards apparating to the house. He walked downstairs to see several wizards from the ministry talking to his uncle. Just then one of the wizards spotted him.
"Harry Potter? I'm Aaron Gray. We detected a large, unfocused surge of magic here. Can you explain what happened?"
Raiden looked somewhat embarrassed. "Yes sir I can. Um, my Uncle's sister has been insulting my parents all week and tonight it just came to a head. I felt lightheaded; everything seemed to go dark for a second. I felt all this magic rushing out of me, glasses exploded and Marge, that's my Uncle's sister, blew up like a balloon. She floated out the door and down the road."
The wizard nodded. "Can you tell me what she said that set you off?" Raiden related the week's worth of insults and the specific comments that preceded that night's incident. When he was finished the wizard nodded. "Completely understandable, Harry. I would be annoyed too if someone insulted my parents like that. We'll just find her and do the necessary memory modification. Are you going to be alright, your relatives don't look too happy?"
Raiden growled. "They know not to touch me and I have friends I can write to if they get too bad," he said. Aaron looked dubious but nodded again, before conferring with his colleagues and leaving, but not without a stern warning to the Dursleys that James and Lily Potter were well respected in the magical community and insulting them further would not be wise.
Once the door closed behind the wizards, Raiden's danger sense warned him just in time for him to duck a blow from his uncle that would have left him unconscious had it connected. He retreated up the stairs, and into his room, but was a fraction of a second too late to lock the door.
Vernon and Dudley came into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Petunia had stayed downstairs, as Vernon had told her that he was going to "teach the freak a lesson." Raiden looked at the mad expression in Vernon's eyes and the malice in Dudley's and had time for one thought before the world went black.
'This is going to be bad.'
An indeterminable amount of time later, although in reality it had been only a few hours, Raiden awoke from unconsciousness. He dimly remembered trying to fight back, using magic and his fists and feet to try and fight the two bullies, but he'd been overcome when Dudley grabbed his arms to prevent him gesturing to various items round the room, and repeated blows to his head from Vernon muddled his thought processes enough to stop him from purely using his mind. Stretching cautiously the young wizard winced as he felt sharp pain in his arms, and his ribs. He took an experimental breath and found it was best to breathe in short shallow pants.
'Must have a broken rib or two somewhere' he thought. He rolled over, wincing as he finally sat up with the help of the end of the bed. A concerned hoot filtered through to his brain and he painfully looked up to see Salazar looking concernedly at him. The owl, which was regarded as a menace by everyone except Raiden, hopped onto the floor and fluttered over to Raiden's hand. Eyeing his master the owl then dropped the dead mouse he was carrying onto the teen's lap.
Raiden gave a weak chuckle. "Thanks boy," he whispered, rubbing the owl's head, "but humans don't eat mice. Could you get Draco or his father to come here please? I need help. Go to Malfoy Manor, you'll find them there."
The owl looked at his master for a long minute, before hooting agreeably, scooping up the dead mouse and swallowing it in one gulp. He then rubbed one wing in the blood that had pooled on the floor from several of Raiden's injuries, before dipping his beak and talons in it as well. Armed with evidence of his master's suffering, the black owl took wing, heading towards Malfoy Manor.