Book 2
Chapter 12
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Home again… Kinda
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Xander was happy to be leaving school; for the moment, he would be returning home to the Dursley's to evaluate what he knew and how to prepare for the battles ahead. He had gone out of his way to avoid all of the traps and the eventual meeting with Voldemort. The whispers he had heard was that Dumbledore had come back from the meeting with the Council only to find Quirrell desperately trying to get the Stone from the Mirror; they had had a battle in which Quirrell had lost, and eventually succumbed to Voldemort's drain on his soul.
The man had, without knowing it - although he probably knew towards the end - signed his own death warrant.
Now all Xander had to do, he thought grimly as he boarded the train, was survive the Dursleys and their regime. He, Hermione, Ron and Neville chose a cabin towards the end of the train, their usual spot. Conversations consisted of schoolwork, what they were going to do during the summer and the next year, and once again, Xander found himself bouncing around questions and keeping up the flow of the conversation. During the talk they also spoke about the Quidditch match and what happened to the 'poor' seeker. He had grinned at that.
Only so much conversation could flow around before he drifted off to sleep, his heightened senses and his new pack keeping him alert should any trouble approach. He doubted it; Malfoy had learned several painful lessons over the course of the year.
The train finally started slowing down. They gathered their stuff; Xander got his trunk and other gear, including his owl, and stacked it all on a trolley. When they made their way as a group out of Kings Cross station, he found himself more than a little surprised to see a very pissed-off-looking Uncle Vernon standing there with his arms folded. Hermione gave him a worried look seeing his Uncle; he shrugged it off and made her promise to write. She did, hugged him and left with her parents.
Xander pushed the trolley up to the fuming man, and thanked him for picking him up. Vernon grunted something inaudible as they made their way to the car and Xander chose not to ask him to repeat it. The journey home was in complete silence, neither saying a word to the other; Xander didn't want to push his luck with the man.
It wasn't until about a quarter of the way through the summer that he decided to take a chance and threaten the Dursleys with their lives. This coincided with the meeting that Vernon had booked, the one where the Masons were coming over.
"I've been thinking," Xander told the family - if they could be called that – as they sat at the kitchen table. "I've been thinking about a lot of things, and one of them is you." He looked slowly from person to person, meeting each of their eyes in turn. Aunt Petunia looked disgusted, Dudley looked confused, and Uncle Vernon looked furious that he was even speaking.
"What are you talking about, boy?" Vernon said with a snarl.
"I've changed," Xander said calmly. Vernon snorted and folded his massive arms. "I've grown up. In fact, I consider myself more of a man than you."
"Is that so?" The red vein in Vernon's forehead stood out. "You think you can take me, boy?" he demanded. Dudley sat there with a sneer on his piggy face, his beady little eyes watching Xander's every move.
"There's a law forbidding me from using magic until I'm of age," Xander said.
"Well, at least those freaks got something right," Vernon muttered. Xander ignored him.
"But that wouldn't save you if I were to turn my wand on you and used the same spell that killed my parents." They weren't his parents technically, but the Dursleys didn't know that. Petunia gasped and he shot her a cold look. "You'd be dead before the Ministry of Magic could get here to slap me on the wrist."
"Is that a threat?" Vernon demanded.
"No, it's a promise." Xander didn't raise his voice, but it had a matter-of-fact coldness that showed how little he cared if they lived or died. The sound of it sent a shiver up the Dursleys' spines. "I'd like to make a deal with you."
"Oh?" Vernon sneered again, finding his confidence once more.
"Yes. One that's beneficial to both parties." Vernon remained silent, which Xander took as his cue to continue. "You don't like me using the word 'magic' in this house, and you want as little as possible to do with it. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Petunia agreed in a firm but quiet voice.
"Right. I can make your life very difficult. That meeting with the Masons tomorrow, for example."
"Yes?"
"If you let me keep my magical stuff in my room, I promise I will do my utmost to behave and act normally."
Vernon, strangely enough, nodded thoughtfully, something Xander was surprised to see. He hadn't known the man could pull off 'thoughtful'. "If I'm allowed to let my owl out, she'll be quiet and will probably be out hunting while the Masons are here, reducing the risk of them finding out who and what I am. See? Beneficial for both of us." Xander smiled and spoke as though he were instructing small children.
"Why would I do this?" Vernon retorted, still maintaining a slightly awkward tone in his voice.
"Other than my promise to behave for your meeting? The better I keep up with my studies and learning, the better chance you have of getting rid of me."
Vernon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Right," Vernon said after a moments thought. "But one step out of line, and I'll wring your bloody neck. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal. I'll get my stuff now, shall I?" Dudley and Petunia both wore shocked expressions at seeing Vernon give in to his demands. They were silent as they watched Harry walk to the cupboard to fetch his school things, unused to seeing such confidence in his skinny frame. What none of them knew was that the Shadow had leaned on Vernon's mind, making him see reason where before there would have been none.
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Xander hefted the giant trunk up the stairs and into his bedroom, then went down and collected the rest of his gear. Vernon stood at the foot of the stairs with his arms folded like a portly sentinel, watching with contempt as the magical items were transferred to Harry's bedroom. It would've been a simple task to sneak into the Dursley's minds and force them to help, only to erase the memory afterwards, but Xander had been so disgusted when he entered Vernon's mind, that he dared not go in again. The man's petty hatred and rabid conformity were just too vile to witness further.
The house was bigger than before, as Xander had used Gringotts to discreetly help out the Dursleys out of a tight spot; not only had his money from the small fortune he had helped buy a larger house, it had got all of them larger rooms. There were several specifications he'd asked for: each room was to have an en-suite bathroom, meaning he could be mostly self-sufficient. And when Dobby came along and he was able to free the little house elf, he wouldn't ever need to leave the room again.
Dammit, even with the extra muscles gained from the exercise at school, he still realised how heavy the actual trunk was, containing all of the stuff he'd managed to get: books, weapons and other things. When he finally got the trunk into his room, he opened it up and looked inside; while it was considerably larger on the inside than the out, it still looked neat and tidy. From what he could tell without having to climb down inside it, everything looked like it was still put away in the correct places. He chuckled and thought of the TARDIS from Doctor Who… Wiggy! He spent most of the day looking through the stuff that had been delivered via the different companies, the books he'd gotten from school to study, and the designs he'd made whilst there.
Petunia called him down to dinner, which Xander ate with gusto; he was famished. He cleaned up all of the dinner mess as soon as possible and went back up to his room. He went to sleep at about ten, after letting Hedwig out for some air and a hunt. It was a mild night, so he left the window open for the snowy owl. Breakfast was an uninteresting ordeal: he ate, politely agreed with all the rubbish Vernon spouted, and received a list of jobs from Petunia. The list of chores mirrored the things he remembered Harry doing in the books, and they were easy enough.
Dudley came over while he was washing the car and sneered at him, playing the bully with derogatory comments toward the 'freak.' Harry might have put up with it, but Xander took his revenge with the water hose. The fat boy squealed and ran to his mother. Petunia came out, but Xander was ready with his best 'innocent little boy' face. He explained that he'd been washing the car when Dudley had accidentally gotten in the way. His wetting couldn't be helped. Petunia sniffed and told him to get on with washing the car. Dudley didn't bother him after that; it apparently wasn't any fun if Xander got to fight back.
The day seemed to drag on forever. It was like being in a hell dimension. God, was he going to kill Andrew! When evening finally came, Petunia gave him something to eat, which he took to his room. Xander carried his plate and glass up the stairs, balancing them in one hand as he opened his door with the other. For all his care, he nearly dropped the dishes when he saw a small, tea-towel-clad figure standing on his bed.
Xander stared. He walked in slowly and closed the door quietly behind him, setting the plate and glass on his desk. He closed his eyes briefly and slipped into the minds of those below. It was easy enough to cloud them, blocking whatever happened in his room. Once he was sure the Dursley's were deaf and blind to everything that might come from the smallest bedroom, he sighed and opened his eyes.
"Hello, Dobby."
The house elf squeaked, and slid off the bed with a thump, bowing so low his nose touched the ground.
Xander sighed. "Right, let's get something straight. I know who and what you are and why you are here. I know how you're going to stop me, and I know it's you who took my mail."
"Harry Potter is truly a great wizard," the house elf said in an awed voice. "Long has Dobby dreamed of meeting Harry Potter, but never did Dobby imagine that Harry Potter knew Dobby's name and secrets."
"Harry Potter," Xander said, mimicking Dobby's third person talk, "has secrets of his own, powerful secrets that will bring his enemies down." Dobby cocked his head in confusion. "Look, you can't stop me from going to Hogwarts. It's simply not going to happen"
"But Hogwarts is not safe," Dobby protested.
"Was it ever?" Xander asked. Dobby didn't answer. "Listen, Dobby, In my first year Voldemort came to Hogwarts, and a troll was let loose in the school In the second year I'll have to fight him again, and in the fourth he'll come back to life, and I'll fight him again. I know what's coming. If I don't go to school, my friends will be in danger and I will not be able to protect them."
"How does Harry Potter know this?"
Xander tapped his head. "Harry's got a few secrets up his sleeve. Now, house elves have powerful magic, right?"
"If Harry Potter knows the future, he knows that house elves have great power and that house elves are bound to their families."
"Okay, true. But think about this: you were coming here, and you were going to use your magic to stop me from going to school, right?"
Dobby nodded. "Harry Potter is correct."
"We've already concluded that that's not going to work, and either way it won't help things." The house elf nodded warily. "I've been thinking about our meeting, and I think I've come up with the beginnings of a plan. You ready?"
"Yes, Dobby is ready, sir."
"Right, can you use your magic to do several things for me? Firstly, I'd like you to create a field that will stop the Ministry of Magic from detecting me using magic in this house and garden. That way, I'll be able to practice more and will be ready when the time comes." The elf paused for a second, thinking it over. He slowly nodded. "Good! The second thing I'd like you to create is some sort of field that will stop people from looking into the windows of this house." Xander shrugged. "Nothing too suspicious, I just don't want any wizards watching me looking in and seeing a Lumos spell."
"Dobby understands what Harry Potter wants."
"Thirdly, I'd like my mail. I'm going to tell Ron and Hermione that I got it and that a crazy elf was trying to stop it, so please don't be offended. There's also one last thing. If you see anything in the Malfoy's house that you think would be beneficial to my fight, send it to me."
"Dobby will try his best, sir."
"Oh, one last thing." Xander gestured toward the dinner Aunt Petunia had given him. "I'm not loving the cuisine here. Can you get me something to eat, and show me a way that I can get rid of the remains?" Dobby nodded and bowed his head.
"Harry Potter is indeed a great and wise wizard. Dobby promises that he will not stop Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts."
"Dobby," Xander interrupted. "To show my gratitude, I'm going to free you from the Malfoys and you can work for me." Dobby burst into tears and threw himself at Xander, hugging him tightly, great drops of tears leaking out of his big eyes. When he recovered from his emotions, Xander chuckled and patted him on the head.
"Dobby would like to work for Harry Potter. Harry Potter treats Dobby like an equal and is nice to Dobby. Other wizards are not as nice as Harry Potter," Dobby announced. The elf set about casting the spells Xander had asked for. It was fascinating to watch; the house elf's magic was completely different from Willow's magic or from the wizarding magic Xander had seen at school, it just seemed more powerful. He didn't understand why the house elves were tied to the wizards, but then thousands of years of slavery would do that.
Once he was finished, Dobby disappeared with a 'pop,' then reappeared with a mountain of food and drinks for Xander to try. When Xander managed to pull his attention away from the food long enough to listen, he told Xander how to get rid of the trash. Xander thanked the crying elf profusely and dug in eagerly.