Harry found his uncle exactly where Mr. Weasley said he would be. Sitting in his car by the curb of King's Cross station scowling at the world as if it was their fault that he had to take time out of his day to pick up his "freak" of a nephew. Harry frowned as he loaded his stuff into the boot and put Hedwig, cage and all, in the back seat. Uncle Vernon hadn't said a word. Usually he would already be griping about Harry taking too long and how his unnatural belongings might be seen. Harry climbed into the back seat with his owl and sat back to enjoy a few good memories on the drive to Privet drive. This was not to be. Uncle Vernon spoke up as soon as the door closed behind Harry.
"Your Aunt wants to speak with you as soon as we get home." Uncle Vernon said in an agitated growl. Harry could tell that the last thing his uncle wanted was to talk to him or, for that matter, acknowledge that he existed or, even more importantly, was in any way remotely related to him. "Yes sir" Harry answered glumly, "Can I ask what about?" "We'll discuss this at home!" Vernon said. "I just wanted to tell you before you disappeared into your room to do Lord only knows what kind of funny business."
This was rather confusing to Harry as his uncle knew full well that Harry wasn't allowed to do magic away from Hogwarts. Harry had just started to remind him of this when Vernon spoke again. "We received a letter in the post informing us of that Mr. Dumbydore's death." Harry winced, the sound of Dumbledore's name was still painful, but he knew it was no use to correct his uncle. Uncle Vernon would only yell at him for being an arrogant know it all. "The letter also informed us of the current situation in YOUR world, as if we care." Uncle Vernon continued, "so we doubt that your Ministry will really care about underage funny stuff."
Harry had to admit that he was probably right but saw no need to tell him so. "So I assume you have a load of new rules for me" he half asked and half stated as it was a forgone conclusion.
"Yes we do but your aunt says there's more she has to tell you. I don't understand any of this and I'll tell you this boy, I don't like it one bit. Your Aunt had never had a secret from me as long as I have known her. She's been acting very strange since we got that letter." Sighing he added "Oh well, at least after this summer, our part of this bargain is done and I can go back to having a normal life. No more hiding where you go to school, no more worrying about what the neighbors will think, and no more funny business in my home!" "You are leaving for good aren't you?" he suddenly asked.
Harry almost missed the question. He had gotten used to tuning his uncle out soon after leaving the station and as they were about halfway home by now he was happily thinking of Ginny when it was asked. "Hey Boy answer me!" Vernon shouted. Harry jumped and replied quickly, "Uh, yes sir, I'm leaving in a couple of days actually. I don't expect you'll ever see me again after that." "Good, it's about bloody time" Vernon muttered. "You're telling me" thought Harry but he decided being cheeky while his uncle was driving might not be good for his health.
Finally they arrive at Number Four Privet Drive and as usual Vernon pulled immediately into the garage and used his remote to close the door. Harry was used to this and waited until the door completely closed before getting out and removing any of his things. They had done this for the last five years to avoid embarrassing questions from any nosey neighbors that might see Harry's things. Harry set his trunk and Hedwig inside the door and followed his uncle into the kitchen to talk with his aunt. Petunia Dursley shocked Harry by dragging him into fierce hug, ignoring the disapproving glare of her husband. "Thank God you're alive and okay. I was worried after I heard about Dumbledore" she cried. Harry eyes almost popped out of his head. Aunt Petunia was worried about ME, he thought after Dumbledore's death, this is getting weird. Petunia seemed to read his thoughts because she gave an exasperated sigh and stated, "Harry, really, do you think that Lily never told me about Lord Voldemort and Dumbledore?" Harry was really shocked now. That was the first time in his life that his aunt had called his mother "Lily" and not "a freak". He stared at his uncle who was already purple, and the vein in his temple was about to burst.
"What are you talking about?" screamed Vernon. "Well dear, Lily was my sister. And sisters usually talk about what's going on in their lives from time to time" his aunt said as if she had just commented on the weather. Vernon went into his usual fish impersonation while he tried to understand what his wife was really saying. Had she always known this much about that other world or did she just read more out of that letter than he did. Either way it didn't matter to him, he just wanted to know, "What the hell has any of this got to do with us? The boy already told me that he's leaving in a couple of days and doesn't expect to see us again, so what do we care?"
"Vernon Dursley!" His aunt screamed. Both Harry and Vernon jumped. "Just because my sister didn't meet your expectations is no good reason to insult her memory by acting like her son's life doesn't matter!" she continued. By now Uncle Vernon actually looked afraid; Harry on the other hand was close to laughing. He had never seen his aunt like this and she was a bit scary. But her voice suddenly softened, "I understand that you don't understand this" she said gently, "and I will try to explain it to you when I can understand it all. Right now all that I know is that Harry is probably scared out of his wits and since Lord Voldemort took anything that resembles a parent from him. I have to try to fill in for my sister." "Lord Voldemort was... is an extremely powerful wizard that is in love with power. That's all he wants Vernon is more power and to be immortal. He believes that killing Harry will give him that."
Harry staggered to a chair and collapsed into it, how did she know all of this, he thought. Petunia turned from her shocked husband to her nephew and asked, "I am right aren't I Harry?" He nodded, "But I'm not as scared as I was" he added. "Dumbledore tried to teach me how to defeat him but died before we could do it." At this point Vernon spoke up again. "What does Dumbydore have to do with this?" he asked quietly not wanting to provoke his wife again. "Dumbledore" Petunia corrected him, "was the only wizard alive that." "Tom Riddle was afraid of" Harry finished for her. Both adults looked at him in surprise. "I thought that you should know his real name" Harry said simply. "Lord Voldemort is a false name that he created for himself to hide the fact that he was a half blood, orphan who felt unloved."
Petunia bristled at this, "That hypocritical BASTARD!!! He killed your parents and threatened my parents because Lily didn't buy into his pure-bloods are superior crap and he was a half-blood himself!" she raged. Harry cut her off "It is ironic isn't it. What he hates most is what he is." Petunia thought for a moment before agreeing that this was indeed ironic.
"Well, Harry, please understand that everything that has happened to you while you were here was an attempt to save your life. I hoped that I could force the magic out of you to keep you from returning to the magical world. I hoped that if I kept you in the muggle world Lord Voldemort wouldn't be able to find you, even if he still saw you as enough of a threat to even search for you." Harry had listened to his aunt patiently, hoping for something that sounded like wisdom, it just never came. He was fuming and about to start in on her for being stupid enough to think that Voldemort wouldn't search for him in both worlds when it dawned on him. His aunt and Uncle can't do magic! Petunia knew that Voldemort is very powerful and very evil. He began to understand that she wasn't just trying to hide him, but herself and her family as well. Harry stared at his aunt as if he had never seen her before. "Harry... what's wrong?" Aunt Petunia asked worriedly.
"I... just realized that I have always thought that I was the only one in this house that the war affected." Harry said in an ashamed voice. "I never thought about you, and you've known this would happen, haven't you, ... from the first night I was here."
"Yes Harry. Lily told me a lot about Voldemort the first time and Dumbledore told me the night after he left you here that Voldemort would return even more powerful than before. That's why I tried to keep you out of the magical world." Petunia said sadly "Lily would kill me if she knew how I treated you but it was the only way I knew to protect you." Seeing the disbelieving look on Harry's face she explained, "At one point your mum was pretty depressed before she started dating your dad and her powers started to fade." She started to quietly laugh at the memory. "I remember she panicked for about a month for fear of losing her powers completely, but I knew better, she was too strong. I never doubted that they would return."
"So you hoped that if you kept me depressed enough that mine would never materialize" Harry summarized. "It's okay, I understand and probably would have done the same thing."
Aunt Petunia breathed a sigh of relief that Harry understood her actions even if he didn't approve of it. "You don't have to leave Harry, I may not have shown it but I do love you and you are always welcome in my home" she told him tearfully.
Uncle Vernon just couldn't take it anymore, "He will not stay here!" he exploded. "He will not put US in danger, I absolutely forbid..."
"That's enough Vernon!!!" Aunt Petunia almost looked like a witch. Her eyes were blood red, there was a dark tinge to her skin, and the room seemed to swell with her anger. Vernon Dursley had obviously never seen his wife like this because he promptly closed his mouth and shrank back toward the sitting room trying to be as small as possible. Aunt Petunia even scared Harry... a little. "I don't care how much you hate my family, you will not abuse Harry any longer. If I can put up with that cow of a sister of yours trashing my house when she comes, YOU can bloody well tolerate Harry once in a while, AND YOU WILL BE CIVIL TO HIM!! Petunia was screaming at her husband while he continued to shrink away from her anger. "And while we're on the subject I might remind you that it was Harry that saved Dudley from the Dementors last summer. If Voldemort wins the war that is coming, no one will be safe, wizard or not. So if we must deal with an evil, power hungry, and murdering, WIZARD one would think that it might be a good idea to have a wizard on our side." Aunt Petunia finally stopped yelling at Uncle Vernon, her chest heaving with emotion. She glared at Vernon her eyes flashing daring him to argue.
It was a dare that Uncle Vernon wasn't stupid enough to take. "I ... I guess, if you say so Dear" he said lamely."Uh, Aunt Petunia?" Harry started timidly. "Does that mean you'd like me to come back here this summer?"
"Of course Harry" she answered warmly, "I know I shouldn't expect you to, but I would love to spend some time talking with you about your parents. I only hope whatever I know about them will bring you happiness and help you stay alive."
"I'd like that," Harry said smiling. "Can I bring a couple of friends over?" noticing Uncle Vernon's angry look Harry quickly added, "If I make sure that they know how to act like normal muggles?"
Aunt Petunia never hesitated or even glanced at Uncle Vernon, "Sure Harry, in fact, I'd like to meet some of your friends and maybe one or two of your teachers" she said hopefully.
"Really, which teacher? And why?" Harry asked slightly confused.
"Well that Professor Lupin looks very familiar but I don't know from where" his Aunt said.
"Well, did you spend much time around my dad after he married mom?" Harry asked.
"Of course, I used to slip away to their house about twice a month just to see them. Well that and to give unsolicited advice to my baby sister about raising a baby boy," she said with a smile.
Uncle Vernon looked astonished and Harry got the distinct impression the he had no idea about any of this.
"Well then you know Professor Lupin from most of those times I'd guess, he was one of my dad's best friends. Dad probably called him Mooney more than Remus though." Harry was guessing about that but he was pretty confident in his statement because Sirius preferred to call Lupin "Mooney" rather than Remus.
"Of course!" exclaimed Aunt Petunia, "He had three of them, weirdest nicknames I've ever heard. Mooney, Padfoot, and Wormtail. I never understood what they meant but James and Lily always called them by those nicknames," she said. Suddenly her eyes lit up as more memories surfaced. "Those three always called your dad "Prongs" didn't they"
"Probably" Harry laughed, "That was his nickname, the four of them made up the "Maurauders" they were all very good friends." Harry's face darkened, "well at least three were." Harry's voice hardened as he continued, "Wormtail, or Peter Pettigrew betrayed my parents to Riddle. Then he framed my godfather Sirius Black for it. The dirty rat actually got an award for capturing him" Harry spat. Aunt Petunia was horrified. "Sirius Black ... was your godfather." Vernon asked horrified. "He was on the news… Our news, said he was extremely dangerous killed thirteen people at once. What were they thinking making HIM your godfather?"
"The muggles had no idea how dangerous he was." Harry said seriously, "He broke out of Askaban three years ago to find Wormtail and kill him. He had been in there fifteen years for murdering Pettigrew and twelve muggles. Actually, Pettigrew did all the killing. Blew up the street with his wand behind his back, cut off his finger and transformed himself into a rat. When the police showed up there was only Sirius." Uncle Vernon looked at a loss for words.
"That's terrible Harry." Aunt Petunia said horrified. The fact that a man transformed into a rat was unsettling, but what really bothered her is that she had actually thought Pettigrew was a nice man. "You must be ready to kill for a crack at him, aren't you?" She asked.
"I had one. I kind of pity him now. He knows what he did, he knows that I know he did it, and I had the chance to kill him, and he knows I spared him. He'll have to live with that for the rest of his life." "Lupin taught me to think that way after he escaped us" Harry said to his Aunt's astonished look.
It was starting to get really late and Harry was having trouble stopping the yawns, but he needed to tell his Aunt about his trip before he went to bed. "Professor Lupin will be picking me up day after tomorrow at 10:00a.m." he told her. "I wanted to visit Mum and Dad's house and graves but I don't know where they are so I asked him to take me as he does know. I was going to go to Ron Weasley's after that for the summer but if you'd like I'll bring Ron and maybe Hermione back here instead, they're my best friends, my own Maurauder's, I guess."
"Of course Harry" Aunt Petunia said smiling. Uncle Vernon managed not to scream but did "harump" rather loudly and stormed upstairs. "I'll talk to your Uncle and Dudley while you're gone." Aunt Petunia told him. "My, it's gotten late Harry, and you've had a long day you must be exhausted." She exclaimed. She had been so worried about getting things straight between Uncle Vernon and Harry that she had completely forgotten that Dumbledore's funeral had been today. With that, the train ride and now this long chat she felt that she had abused Harry more today than ever because she had been insensitive to his emotional pain and need to rest.
"No, I'm glad we had this talk tonight, I'll sleep a lot easier tonight. But if it's okay with you I think I will go to bed now" Harry said.
"Of course Harry, just leave your stuff here. I'll let your owl out and put your trunk and broom in the cupboard under the stairs. I swear I won't lock them up but I will make it look like I did until your Uncle calms down some, okay?" Aunt Petunia hoped that Harry would trust her but she knew he was remembering the last five summers and ten years before that when that particular cupboard was used to hide Harry or his stuff as a punishment.
"Okay Aunt Petunia" Harry said after a long minute deciding after everything he learned tonight his aunt deserved a fresh start. "Goodnight then." Harry said yawning.
"Goodnight Harry," Aunt Petunia said softly.
Harry walked tiredly up the stairs toward his room only to receive another shock. Dudley was standing at the top of the stairs looking down at his cousin as if the whole world suddenly made sense.
"Can I talk to you a minute Harry?" Dudley asked quietly. Harry considered him for a moment. He seriously thought about telling Dudley to go stuff himself but thought that if is Aunt had changed maybe his cousin had too.
"Yeah, sure Dudley" Harry said he followed Dudley into his room.
"I heard a lot of that conversation down there Harry." Dudley paused seeming to work up his nerve. "How much danger are we in?" he finally asked. Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"I don't know Dud" he said leaning against the door. "I mean, Dumbledore meant a lot of things to my world, but he was just a man. So in some ways we are in no more danger than last summer."
Dudley shivered remembering the dementors' attack. "That's not very comforting Harry, last summer we were attacked by things I can't even see" he said staring at Harry for support.
"Sorry Dudley, but you asked a fair question and I believe, like Dumbledore used to say, 'that the truth is generally preferable to lies'" Harry said in a careworn voice.
Dudley seemed to accept this but wanted to say more.
"What's on you're mind Dud?" Harry asked seeing the battle of whether or not to speak in Dudley's eyes.
"I never knew you'd lived your whole life being hunted by this evil wizard Harry," Dudley said in a tortured voice. "I've been a right pain in the arse when I should have been trying to help you." He paused and looked Harry in the eye. "I want you to know that if I can help you in any way now I will." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing, nor did he believe it when Dudley stood and embraced him. "I reckon you're the only hope we have so take good care of yourself" Dudley said releasing him. Harry just nodded and left the room more bewildered than ever in his life.
For the first time in his life Harry went into his room happy and almost feeling at home at Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry dressed for bed thinking through the day's events as he usually did these days, mentally replaying everything in case he missed something the first time. It did strike him that his Uncle, while apparently accepting his Aunt's demands, seemed ready to burst with something. In the middle of his musing Harry heard the very familiar sound of a fist striking human flesh. He took the stairs three at a time with Dudley on his heels. What they found shocked them both. Aunt Petunia was lying against the front door crying and bleeding from the corner of the mouth while Uncle Vernon towered over her fists clenched. It didn't take a genius to figure this one out, so Harry launched himself off of the stairs toward his uncle. Wrapping his arms around Vernon's neck Harry used his momentum to drag his uncle off of his feet and away from his aunt.
"Harry!!!" Aunt Petunia screamed as she staggered toward the pair on the floor.
Dudley stopped her. "Mom, I may not know much about Harry's world but I've seen him in a fight and I think Dad's about to get the lesson of his life." Dudley then proceeded to pick his mother up like a baby.
Vernon Dursley threw Harry off of him like a rag doll. Harry calmly flipped in midair and landed lightly on his feet a few feet away. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life boy!!" Vernon raged. "You're a weak little runt without your little stick. What makes you think you can take me in a fight?" he asked in a shout.
"I've fought bigger and worse than you Uncle Vernon from the time I was two. Your son gave me all the practice I need, and tonight I'll make you wish I had used the wand.
Dudley gently set his mother on the stairs to protect her from the fight that was coming. "Mom, don't worry about Harry. Dad has been hitting you for a long time I may not have been strong or brave enough to stop it but Harry is. I think you've earned the right to watch him mop the floor with Dad for once." Petunia stared at her son incredulously. The scene in front of her was not comforting, Harry stood like a child of seven against her husband who could have played lineman for an American football team and her son was saying that Harry would knock Vernon out. That was a scary prospect. Not that she was altogether worried about her husband; he would heal and come to his senses like he always did. No, she was worried that Harry would get hurt defending her. The fight was short and brutal, Vernon charged a grinning Harry who was standing in front of the fireplace. Seconds before his fist connected with Harry's jaw Harry dropped to the floor and kicked Vernon's feet out from under him. Vernon flew headlong into the brick mantle rendering him nearly unconscious.
Harry stood over his uncle and said, "Next time you hit my aunt I will use a wand and you'll think that this was a joke." Just before his right fist connected with Vernon's jaw knocking him unconscious. Harry walked back to his aunt and examined her jaw. "I think the bastard broke your jaw," He said in an outraged voice.
"No Harry," she said, "I've learned how to roll with the punches over the years."
"He'll never hit you again Aunt Petunia, and if he does I swear I'll transfigure him into a ferret!" Harry swore to her. "What set him off?" he asked.
His aunt just laughed painfully. "He found out that I was going to let you keep your stuff unlocked."
That made perfect sense to Harry, he calmly walked to the cupboard and removed his trunk and broom while Dudley picked his mother up and carried her gently to the kitchen. Harry rummaged around in the trunk for a moment before he entered the kitchen holding a small tub of cream and a couple of chocolates. "Here" he said handing everything to his Aunt. "The chocolates contain a mild healing potion that will fix your jaw as well as a dose of pain potion. The cream is a bruise remover."
Aunt Petunia nodded before popping the chocolates into her mouth and dabbing the cream onto her jaw. Seconds later she stared at Harry like he had just worked a miracle. "Where did you get those?" she asked amazed.
Harry smiled at her "Fred and George Weasley made them, said they got tired of me going to the hospital wing after every quidditch match."
"I see, well thank them for me and give them my compliments." She said smiling. The smile didn't last long; she seemed to get a faraway look in her eyes as she mumbled. "Lily would have loved these."
"Mom, what's quidditch?" Dudley asked trying to distract her from the painful memories.
The trick worked, Aunt Petunia shook her head as if to clear it and responded thoughtfully, "Well, I guess you could say it's like aerial football Dudley. It's a wizard's game and is very popular in their world." She turned to Harry, "I'd guess you play seeker like your father?" she asked. Harry just nodded, he was thinking about what to do about his uncle. "Yes I thought so, he was very good. Is that his broom you have?"
Harry shook his head, "Sirius bought it for me third year." He said quietly.
"Pity, I'd love to have seen you fly James's broom." She said remembering. "He let me hold it once while he was feeding you, twitchy thing it was too. I always wondered how he made it move so smoothly." Harry shook his head as her words sunk in. Aunt Petunia laughed at him. "I saw your father play against Padfoot and Mooney many times Harry." Harry just stared at her. "Harry there are a lot of things that I'd love to tell you about them, but Vernon forbid it until now." "I should have stood up to him sooner Harry, there's so much that you need to know. I don't even know where to start" she said sorrowfully.
"Well, why don't we leave that for another day" Harry said looking at his watch. "I want you to sleep in my bed tonight Aunt Petunia, I'll bunk with Dudley."
His Aunt looked at him questioningly while Dudley nodded. "Why?" She asked.
Dudley answered her, "Because we don't trust Dad not to hit you again, and Dad doesn't look into Harry's room if he can avoid it."
"Oh" she said thoughtfully. "What should we do about Vernon?" she asked Harry.
"I'll put him on the couch, and tend to his head before I go to bed" Harry replied. Aunt Petunia nodded as she and Dudley left the kitchen. Harry did like he said; he dragged his uncle onto the couch, spread some of Fred and George's patented healing cream on Vernon's forehead and covered him with a blanket. Just before he went upstairs he left a note on the coffee table that told Uncle Vernon what had happened and that he should not make any threatening gestures toward Aunt Petunia or Dudley ever again if he valued his life.
Harry climbed the stairs dragging his trunk and carrying his broom, after making sure his aunt was decent he put them in his room.
He was about to leave when he heard his aunt say a soft "thank you."
Harry turned back to his trunk and pulled out a small silver screen. He gave it to his aunt saying, "This is a personal protection screen, touch it to your lips after I leave and it will expand and make you invisible. It will also protect you from most minor curses just in case." She looked up at him curiously (she was already in bed). "It needs DNA to know who to protect" Harry explained.
She nodded saying, "That explains that but I just wanted to know if this was another Weasley product?" Harry smiled and nodded. "Why did they give you all of this?" she asked.
"I gave them a thousand galleons to start a joke shop, so they give me one of everything they make and won't let me pay for anything from the store" Harry replied. Aunt Petunia looked shocked. "Go to sleep Aunt Petunia," Harry laughed, "I'll explain it all later." She smiled and nodded as Harry left the room.