I'm impatient and happy, so you all get another chapter. I also had this one finished and ready to go. The next chapters won't come as fast, though (I'm not done with 5, so haven't started others.)

Thank you so much for the follows, reviews, and favorites!

Once again, I don't own Harry Potter, that all belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

Enjoy

Tired

Vernon came home to his wife sitting on the floor in the living room, watching over his son and the other boy napping next to her. His lip curled in disgust. That little freak had no business in his family. Just because it was his wife's sister's spawn, did not mean it was their problem.

His wife looked up from her spot and gave him a contented smile. He grinned shortly, peering at the boy with the freakish scar on his head. He observed his sleeping son and detected the small smile on his face. Either the boy was performing his tricks on his family, or—though he was loathe to admit—he actually made them happy.

"Is it time for that talk now?" He was sure her shouts from earlier wasn't all she had to say.

Petunia nodded. She stood and walked to the kitchen so she could keep an eye on the kids. Vernon set his things down on the table and followed her.

"I am his guardian," Petunia stated simply.

"So, by default, I am too," Vernon sighed. His wife nodded.

"We'll find the money. For one, Dudley doesn't need nearly as many toys as we give him. We can narrow down shopping for those to the holidays and his birthday. We could also limit our trips out for dinner and the cinema."

Vernon fought a sneer. "Can't we just ask those fr—those people to give us the money we need for him?"

Petunia scowled. "Vernon, we are not poor; we do not need their charity," she snapped.

Vernon grudgingly nodded. He was not—nor ever will be—a charity case.

"I'm not asking you to love him or be his daddy. I just want you to be nice to him, and not do anything to him you wouldn't do to or for Dudley. It's bad enough he's an orphan, he doesn't need you scaring or neglecting him all the time. And don't you dare let Dudley be mean to him. I swear, Vernon, if I ever see you just stand there and watch Dudley hurt him, without doing anything to help Harry, I'll..." she was too angry to finish her statement and shook her head. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

"But—" Vernon started. He cut himself off when Petunia glared at him. She raised her brows as if to tell him to continue. "Why can't some other family take him?"

"You know damn well why," Petunia admonished. "You already know I know you read the letter. Or could you not comprehend it?" she mocked snidely.

"I understood it," Vernon grumbled.

"Then why even ask, Vernon?"

He didn't answer her rhetorical question. The two stood there in silence.

"This isn't something we can ignore any more," Petunia started, "My sister is dead, and we are Harry's only protection now."

"What happens when that dark magic person comes after him? How can we protect him then?"

Petunia shrugged. "I really don't know. But we can still protect him from reality."

"What—?"

"Harry has no parents and is magical. He is different. I will do everything in my power to not let that fact pull him down. I refuse to make this mistake twice."

Vernon decided it was pointless to argue. He still had a few questions. "What do we do when he starts doing...tricks?"

Petunia smirked. "He's not a puppy, Vernon. Lily didn't start doing anything until she was a few years old; and those were random, odd occurrences. She began controlling them around seven. By then, she could hide it. She started school at eleven."

"There's a school for them?"

Petunia nodded. "A whole world for them."

"Will he just be a normal kid before then?"

Petunia nearly objected at the 'normal' part, but changed her mind. "Yes."

"Oh." It wasn't as bad as Vernon thought. He could ignore it until the boy turned eleven. Maybe he could still hide it even as he went to school. Anything for the sake of normality.

"Anything else?" Petunia asked patiently.

"Not for now."

"Okay," Petunia nodded. "Oh! Come see what I bought. I might need your help setting up some of it." She quickly checked on the still-sleeping boys then led Vernon upstairs. The two reviewed the purchases and discussed preparing Dudley's second room for Harry. Vernon managed not to scowl throughout it all.

The two went back downstairs in time for dinner. Petunia's mood was considerably lighter now that Vernon stopped acting like an ass. Her happiness did not go unnoticed and Vernon grinned to himself, glad, at least, that his wife was happy.

Petunia made a beeline for the boys and noticed Harry staring at her. She smiled at him. "Well, hello there."

Harry giggled. Petunia smiled back. She realised their moods did a complete about-face in just a day. She smiled wider. At one point yesterday, Petunia would have thought her life could not possibly get better. Soon after, she thought it could not possibly get worse. Now...now she was content, almost happy.

By the look on Harry's tiny face, he was too.

Petunia really wished the circumstances that brought them together could change, but she thanked any deity that listened for bringing this wonderful little boy into her family.

Hopefully, one day, Vernon and Dudley could feel the same.

"How could anyone not love you, sweetie?" Petunia whispered to Harry, poking him in the stomach, making him laugh cutely. She tickled him some more, bringing out the sweetest sound, and waking Dudley. Petunia smiled at him, moving closer. "Can't forget you, can I Dudders?" She attacked before he could make a sound. Soon, the living room was brought back to life, filled with childish joy, bringing a smile to even Vernon's face.

Petunia finally relented in the name of dinner. "So," she asked the boys, "what do you want for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Dudley answered excitedly.

"Pizza, huh?" Petunia replied. Dudley nodded. She turned to Harry. "What do you think about pizza?"

"Pizza!"

Petunia laughed. "Well, it's unanimous. Vernon, is pizza okay?"

"Sure." He found the pamphlet for their favorite pizza place and ordered. "Should be twenty minutes," he said after ending the call.

Petunia nodded, then went back to playing with the boys. Vernon opted to sit in the room and watch in amusement. He guessed the boy wasn't that bad. In fact, the boy could even be called cute—not that Vernon would ever admit this aloud.

The doorbell rang at the time expected and Vernon stood to answer the door. He paid and set the pizza on the table, finding plates and napkins. He moved back to the living room.

Petunia picked up Dudley. She smiled at Harry, then faced Vernon. "Will you get him?" she asked nonchalantly.

Vernon's eye twitched, but he walked over to the boy. Harry looked up with a bit of worry in his eyes. Vernon grimaced. He tried to make his face somewhat pleasant, forging a smile.

Harry started laughing. The jiggly man made a really funny face.

Vernon rolled his eyes. "Glad you found that funny," he said sarcastically. He bent down and scooped the giggling child in his arms. Harry squealed in delight. Vernon raised a brow at him. He gently poked the boy's little stomach. "So you think I'm funny, eh?" he said in a mock-stern voice, earning more laughter from the child.

Petunia nearly cried in joy. She schooled her features into a slightly amused mask—an easy feat considering the sight of her large husband playing with her tiny child.

Vernon set Harry down in the new high chair next to Dudley's. Petunia and Vernon set the food out and the four happily ate their pizza.

After dinner, Harry and Dudley got to watch in amusement as the two adults tried to figure out Harry's new crib. They cleaned out the second room, organizing the piles of stuff crowding the area. Vernon helped Petunia set up and put away everything she bought for Harry. Everything except for that damned crib.

Vernon let out another curse as he pinched his finger for the fifth time in five minutes. Petunia smacked him again for such language in front of the children. Another two giggles came from behind them, where Dudley and Harry sat watching.

Finally, they finished the crib. "Bath time," Petunia announced. She and Vernon each picked up a boy and brought him to the bathroom. This time Harry had toys—though they didn't move. It was okay, though, because his cousin knew how to play with them and make noises for everything.

Half an hour and many bubbles later, Dudley and Harry fell asleep in their own beds. Vernon and Petunia followed their lead, and soon, the house fell into a comfortable silence.

Those silences never last long.

Petunia woke up, choking on a scream. She struggled to separate her nightmare from her reality, a difficult task when her sister stayed alive in neither. Her hands shook as she dabbed the cold sweat from her brow. She took a deep breath, but let it out with a sob.

Vernon groaned in his sleep and rolled over. Petunia left the bed, not wanting to wake him. Knowing sleep was not an option, she went downstairs to start the laundry. She folded the towels left in the dryer and put the wet clothes in their place. Picking up more dirty clothes, she started a new wash.

Once again, paper fluttered across her peripheral vision and she picked up the small piece of apologetic parchment. Her stomach sunk. Not an hour ago, she heard herself screaming those very words, desperate for them to reach her sister's ears. They never did. They never will.

Petunia crumpled into a ball on the floor, sobbing wretchedly to herself. She screamed into her fist, biting it, drawing blood. A drop fell onto the parchment, like punctuation for the confession. She sniffled. And the dam broke again. No one could hear her cries over the dryers tumbling groans.

Petunia finally stopped crying when the dryer stopped drying. Not a minute later, a familiar tapping sound flew in from the other room. Petunia stood and found a different owl waiting for her outside. She quietly opened the door again and the owl flew in. It landed on the kitchen table and held its leg out. Petunia hesitantly untied the letter from it and read it as the owl waited.

It was from Dumbledore. About money. Petunia would be given a sort of child support every month until Harry came of age. The money would be put into an account under her name. Petunia debated showing this to Vernon, still unsure how he would react. She decided to postpone the stress of this for later.

She held the two pieces of parchment in her hands, looking at both and seeing neither. She twiddled with the edges of one numbly. The gentle, affectionate nibble on her finger broke Petunia out of her trance. She peered at the owl in surprise, forgetting he was there. A thought struck her as she gazed at the dark feathers and she left to go find a pen. "Wait here, please."

She came back and wrote on the back of the smaller letter, folding it and picking up the string that tied the other. She held both up awkwardly in front of the owl. "I don't really know how this works, but, do you think you could take this to the person who sent it?"

The owl hooted and held out its leg. Petunia smiled in relief and tied the letter to the owl as carefully as she could. "Thank you."

Another hoot. The owl nibbled on her finger once more then flew up. Petunia rushed to open the door for him, then watched him become part of the night sky once more.

I like the next chapter, so far (again, not done with it.) Severus and Petunia confront each other. It's exciting.