Disclaimer: Shoot first, ask questions later ~ Potter family Motto, I do not own Harry Potter ~ Foria's Motto
Chapter 13: Surprise! Look whose here!
"Expelliarmus!" Harry roared at the sight of the man who had caused his family so much pain. But Harry wasn't sure if it would cause any injury to Black since he had no wand. The disarming hex was the only offensive spell Harry knew.
"Harry, no!" Lexi cried as the spell connected with Sirius throwing him into the wall. Lexi ran forwards and tried to wrestle the wand out of his hand.
"Stop, Lexi," Harry yelled as he tried to fight off his extremely aggressive sister. "You don't understand. That man is Sirius Black. He is the reason our parents are dead. He is the reason we were stuck with them!" Harry spat out the last word, as Lexi finally ripped the wand away from Harry's hand, and moved in front of Black to protect him.
"Sit," Lexi said in a no nonsense tone of voice, while pointing the wand straight at Harry's chest.
"You don't know how to use that," Harry countered while taking a step towards Lexi and Black. Lexi's anger became visible as the wand in her hands began to spark. Harry reluctantly took a step back and sat on the lone bed in the room.
"You don't know anything about Sirius Black," Lexi countered. "And I know enough about magic to know that you can't do any without your wand. All I need to do is keep it from you."
Lexi never took her eyes off Harry as she backed towards where Sirius laid slumped against the wall. She shook his shoulder as she called his name but the man did little more than grunt in response.
"If you seriously hurt him, I'll make you regret it," Lexi hissed at her brother. "Come over here and help me move him to our bed."
Harry reluctantly rose from his seat and helped Lexi move the man on to the bed. Even though Black was an adult it was not a difficult task to lift the extremely thin man. As Harry looked at the traitorous man, he realized the man was barely more than skin and bones.
"How long has he been here?" Harry finally asked once Lexi was done making Black as comfortable as he could be.
"He showed up about two weeks after you left for term," Lexi replied not meeting his eyes.
"His been here for nearly three and a half months and you didn't see fit to tell me?" Harry asked truly enraged at his sister's behavior. They told each other everything. Why didn't she tell him?
"Why should I?" Lexi asked once again meeting his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't believe me in a letter about Black. Your mind was made up about him without giving him a chance to share his story just like everyone else," Lexi said with blazing eyes. If Harry didn't know better he would have sworn her hair was turning red. But that wasn't possible.
"What do you mean by 'just like everyone else'?" Harry asked genuinely confused.
"Oh, I guess you missed that part," Lexi said with narrowing eyes. "Sirius Black never received a trial. He was not our parents' Secret Keeper. Padfoot was used as a decoy to draw Voldemort to him, instead of the real one. What no one realized at the time was the real Secret Keeper was an agent of Voldemort. Sirius went to capture Peter, the traitor, but Peter escaped while faking his death."
Lexi sighed before she continued. "This resulted in Sirius being captured and sent to Azkaban for killing Peter, our parents' Secret Keeper and several muggles. Sirius Black is our godfather, he was the one we were supposed to live with if anything happened to Mum and Dad, but we couldn't since he was in Azkaban."
Harry just stared at Lexi with wide eyes. That was the most ridiculous story he had ever heard. There was no reason to believe his story but it looked like Black had brainwashed Lexi. Also, what caused Lexi to attack him like that? She would never raise a hand to him, but something Black did caused her to attack him and take away his wand. What dark magic had Black cast on her to act this way?
Looking around the room, Harry quickly realized that Black must have also used dark magic on the Dursleys. There was no way they would take away something from Dudley and give it to them. The only thing was Harry was too inexperienced with magic to be able to do anything about it. It wasn't like Defense Against the Dark Arts had taught them a way to counter dark magic or really anything so far this year.
Harry turned to Lexi and dwelled on the changes in his sister. He needed to get his wand back from her and make a break for it before he too was exposed to Black's dark magic. If he got two blocks away, he could summon the Knight Bus and have them take him to the Ministry of Magic. They were the ones looking for Black, so they would want to know where he was.
"Let's move downstairs so Sirius can rest," Lexi quietly said before they slipped out of the room. Harry could tell that she was distraught at Black's condition, which only strengthened Harry's resolve to get her help.
Once they were sitting in the couch in the den, Harry sat as close to Lexi as he could.
"So, Black is innocent?" Harry asked while eyeing his wand.
"Yes, Harry," Lexi said calmly. "Sirius is the most wonderful person in the world. He does so much for me even though he has to live in the Dursleys' shed to be near me."
"Really?" Harry asked, glad to be getting some information on Black's actions and hideouts.
"Yeah, and he took me to see Mum and Dad's graves," Lexi said with wide eyes. "On Halloween, we visited them so that I could talk to them. Maybe he will take us there again since you are home. You better apologize to Sirius as soon as he wakes up. Families don't hurt each other, Harry."
"He's not our family!" Harry replied indignantly.
"Then who is?" Lexi asked patiently.
"Well, you and I are a family," Harry replied, "And I guess Hermione could almost be considered family as well."
"How can Hermione be considered family when I don't even know her?" Lexi asked Harry with a small smile on her face.
"Well she is a good friend who looks out for me," Harry replied. "I mean she saved my life at my Quidditch match."
"What do you mean she saved your life?" Lexi asked her shock evident in her face.
"Umm, there was an incident with a hexed broom and Dementors, but I'm alright," Harry added quickly.
"How can you almost die while playing a game?" Lexi asked genuinely worried. Before Harry could reply Lexi continued, "I thought it was safe to play this game."
"It is," Harry quickly replied. "It was just a strange series of events. Nothing like that had ever happened at Hogwarts before and it will most likely never happen again."
"This conversation is not done, Harry," Lexi said with anger reflected in her eyes. "But back to our original subject," she continued, "Sirius is a good friend to me who looks out for me," Lexi countered with a large smile on her face. "So if you think Hermione can be considered family, then so can Sirius."
Harry wasn't really playing attention to Lexi's words anymore as he watched her grip around the wand begin to slacken. Seeing his chance, Harry grabbed the wand and dashed for the door.
~*~
Lexi was beyond pissed as she ran out of number four Privet Drive. It was official, next time she wanted to surprise Harry she would have to make sure he was wandless first. Lexi never imagined that Harry would attack Sirius. Now he was upstairs unconscious and she was at fault for Harry taking off into the night. She should have known better than to drop her guard around her brother, but she really thought he understood what she told him.
Sirius was the only person who was there for her once Harry left for Hogwarts. Harry made new friends at Hogwarts and she made a friend on Privet Drive. Why couldn't Harry just accept that? Why did he want to hurt her Sirius?
"Harry, please stop," Lexi called out as she ran closer to Harry. Somehow since Harry went to Hogwarts, she had become faster than her older brother. However, her cry fell on deaf ears as he began to increase his pace.
They were now a block from number four Privet Drive. Lexi had no idea where Harry was going or what he was planning on doing but she had to stop him from doing something stupid. Pushing her legs as hard as she could, Lexi continued to gain ground on his brother. Before she knew it Harry was only a few feet ahead of her.
Seeing no other option Lexi tackled her brother, knocking the two of them down into the crunchy, cold snow covered lawn near the curb of the road. Once they hit the ground the two began to wrestle for the wand in Harry's hand. Lexi was beyond caring about what the neighbors would think or what they would tell the Dursleys if they were seen.
Lexi had never fought with Harry over anything before, but she would be damned if he was going to act irrationally and hurt their godfather. Sirius was the one person who would possibly be able to make things better for the two of them.
"Expelliarmus," a male's voice yelled out causing Harry and Lexi to stop what they were doing.
With reflexes that had been honed due to their treatment at the Dursleys, the two siblings both jumped up into standing positions next to each other. Their previous argument was completely forgotten.
"Who are you?" Harry bravely asked considering they were now wandless. The wand Harry had been holding on to was currently sitting in the older man's hand.
Looking the man over carefully, Lexi realized he was the man from the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. This man was Remus Lupin, another friend of her parents. Why was he trying to hurt them, if he was supposed to be a friend?
"I'm a friend of your parents," Remus replied in a gentle manner.
"Really?" Harry asked in a distrusting voice. "It seems that a lot of those are popping up lately."
"He's telling the truth," Lexi finally interjected. "He is Remus Lupin and he went to school with Mum and Dad."
Both Harry and Remus turned to stare at Lexi due to her comment. Neither male could understand how she knew that, or who she was in Remus' case.
"Who are you?" the graying man asked.
"Alexa Lily Potter," Lexi said with her head held high. "I'm Harry's little sister."
Remus' face showed his utter surprise. Sirius had told her that the Wizarding world most likely did not know about her. Her parents and Sirius had covered their tracks from Voldemort very well. However hearing about the possibility compared to seeing the results was a bit disturbing. It wasn't fair that no one knew she was Harry's sister!
"How do you know him?" Harry asked in puzzlement.
"He was at the cemetery," Lexi began only to be cut off by Remus.
"You where there as well?" the older man asked. "I don't recall seeing you there."
"That's because I was hiding." Lexi snippily replied. Why did this man care whether or not he saw her?
"Why were you hiding?" Remus asked another annoying question. What was this, twenty questions?
"From you," Lexi replied bluntly. "You were threatening my godfather, there was no way I was going to let you hurt him." Lexi then stared at Remus straight in the eyes as if willing the older man to understand what she was willing to do to keep her family safe.
Remus hesitated before continuing the conversation, perhaps he had underestimated the danger he had been in that night in the cemetery. Even though he was a werewolf, he did not notice her. Lexi quietly pondered that fact while waiting for the man to speak. Everyone in the wizarding world knew that werewolves had advanced senses; at least that was what Sirius had told her. How did he miss her presence?
"We're not in a safe place to talk," Remus finally said again. "Would you mind if we moved somewhere else?"
"Where?" Harry asked and Lexi was sure he was just as reluctant to go anywhere with Remus as she was.
"How about your Aunt and Uncle's home?" Remus suggested.
"Why?" Lexi asked still unsure as the Remus' motives.
"Well, your aunt's home is the safest place for you," Remus began.
"Hold it," Harry interrupted. "What do you mean that Privet Drive is the safest place for us?"
Remus seemed to be weighing his words carefully before he replied. "When you were first placed with your aunt, Professor Dumbledore placed strong blood wards around the home. They protect you from anyone meaning you harm. By going to your aunt's home, you will be safe from anyone meaning you harm and it would prevent muggles from hearing us discuss magic."
Lexi accepted that reasoning. The only thing she question was why the headmaster of her brother's school was putting wards around their aunt's home. It was highly unlikely that Aunt Petunia asked the headmaster to do so.
"Let's go there then," Harry said while grabbing hold of Lexi's hand. "But only if you give me my wand back."
"Only if you promise to not fight over it anymore," Remus replied in a chiding tone of voice, as he handed to wand back to Harry.
Lexi could instantly tell that Harry shared her opinion of not being amused at Remus' attempt at humor. However, once Harry had the wand in his hand, the odd party of three made their way back to number four Privet Drive.
"Lexi," Harry whispered so that Remus would not hear him. "If he makes a threatening move, we'll run for it. Okay?"
Lexi squeezed Harry's hand in response. While Remus said there were wards around Privet Drive protecting them from dangerous people, the only question left was whether or not they should trust Remus. For all they knew he was lying to them.
It wasn't like those supposed wards had ever protected them from the Dursleys.
~*~
Walking into Privet Drive, Harry felt uncomfortable having Remus behind him as they entered the house through the door. While he did recognize the man from the Knight Bus, he was unsure as to whether or not he should trust him. Quite frankly Harry had no reason to trust him. It wasn't like he told Harry on the Knight Bus that he knew his parents or anything. If he was trying to hide himself from Harry earlier, why should Harry trust him?
Once he entered the hallway Harry saw that Lexi immediately began heading up the stairs. Realizing it didn't matter whether where they had this meeting, Harry followed Lexi upstairs. Remus was only a few steps behind him the whole way.
As Harry entered what was now his and Lexi's bedroom he found the scene hadn't changed all that much. Sirius Black was still lying on the ground and Lexi was kneeling at his side with tears freely flowing from her eyes.
"He is really hurt," Lexi cried out while Harry just stared at the scene dumbly. Harry just didn't know what to do.
"Sirius?" Remus' voice cracked out. "What happened? Who did this?" The man asked without giving anyone a chance to respond as he knelt down beside Sirius as well.
Remus did not wait for anyone to answer him before he cast several spells over Sirius. After a few minutes of Remus' spell casting Sirius started to groan.
"Wow," was Sirius' first word. "That was one hell of a disarming charm." The convict continued as he began to get up.
"Take it easy, Padfoot." Remus said before asking, "What disarming spell?"
"Moony?" Sirius asked truly surprised to see the other man there. "What happened?"
"That's what I want to know as well," Remus said before turning to look at both Harry and Lexi.
Lexi shot Harry a dirty look before she began the narrative of that evening's activities. Harry himself needed the time to contemplate everything that had occurred over the last hour. His head was going to explode over everything that happened. Who should he trust? What should he do?
"Then when I woke up," Sirius began once Lexi finished her account of the evening, "I tried to find where the two of you went. Somehow I must have knocked myself out again in the process."
"I've got a few questions," Remus hesitantly started. "First, Harry, how did you learn the disarming hex? I know that it isn't a first year spell."
"My friend, Hermione, likes to study and learn a lot of different things." Harry replied while not meeting their eyes. "That spell was one of those things."
"Have you ever cast it before?" Remus asked.
"No," Harry replied. "That was my first time. Why?"
"Your spell was really over-powered," Remus explained. "I have no idea what would cause a spell to be over-powered, yet it happened. That is something I should look into."
Harry just nodded since he wasn't sure how to respond. It wasn't like Harry was asking the man to look into anything regarding his life. In all reality it made Harry a bit uncomfortable that Remus wanted to look into something regarding him.
"Now my next question is what did you do with the letter?" Remus asked.
"What letter?" Lexi voiced up.
"The letter from the ministry since Harry performed underage magic." Remus replied while trying to divide his attention between Lexi and Harry.
Harry looked at Lexi who seemed just as confused as he was, even though Harry knew it was against the law for underage wizards to practice magic outside of Hogwarts. Harry didn't care that he broke the rules. His sister's safety was the most important thing to him.
"No letter came," Harry eventually replied only to get confused expressions from both Sirius and Remus. Harry was a bit surprised with Sirius' silence but it seemed as though the convict was just taking everything in at this point.
"How very odd," Remus muttered, before continuing, "Now why did you leave the house, Harry?"
"I was trying to get to the Knight Bus to go to the Ministry of Magic for help because of Sirius," Harry said a bit hesitantly. Harry had reason to be hesitant since Lexi sent him a furious look in response to his words.
"That was a good plan, Harry," Sirius finally spoke up. "The only thing is I'm not your enemy."
"That's what I keep hearing," Harry replied looking at Sirius for the first time since he woke up. "The only thing is I just don't know if I can believe you."
"I saw him make a magical vow," Remus interjected. "His vow was that he would never harm you. He's one of the only people you can trust."
Harry just stared at Remus. Was that man for real? Why would he trust his word?
"That's nice," Harry eventually replied. "The only thing is, how am I supposed to know that I can trust you. I've never met you before today. I know nothing about you, why should I blindly trust you?"
Sirius and Remus, who where now standing next to each other in the living room, stared at Harry with wide open mouths. They didn't seem to anticipate Harry saying that. Lexi was also looking at Harry strangely but to him it looked more like pride than surprise.
"I, Remus Lupin, swear on my magic to never cause harm to a member of the Potter family." Remus instantly said as the room swelled with a golden aurora.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, swear on my magic to never cause harm to either Harry or Lexi Potter," Sirius mimicked Remus' oath as another aurora also filled the room after he gave it.
Unsure as to how to respond to the words of the men in front of him, Harry turned to Lexi for guidance. Harry already knew she implicitly trusted Sirius Black, but Harry knew nothing about magic oaths. Perhaps they were just trying to trick him. Maybe they just wanted to hurt him and Lexi.
However, there was a little voice in the back of his head telling him that couldn't be. If either of those men wanted to hurt you, they could have done so already. It was hard for Harry to deny that the voice had a point, even if he didn't readily accept it.
Looking at Lexi and her hopeful expression Harry decided to go out on a limb. Well, at least until he had the opportunity to go to Diagon Alley and get some books about blood wards and magical oaths.
While he had researched words and magical protections just before returning home from Hogwarts, he was by no means an expert. He was still a bit shaky on whether or not he should trust the information about the wards Remus Lupin had proved. It sounded on the level, but he couldn't risk being wrong. It wasn't just his safety that he had to be concerned about. What he wouldn't give to have been able to take a few of those books on blood wards home with him over break.
"Alright," Harry replied after what seemed to most as an eternity. "We need to talk some more about all of this."
As soon as those words left his mouth the sounds of a car pulling into the driveway could be heard in the small bedroom. Everyone seemed to either jump or be frozen in fear. The Dursleys had returned home.
"Can you apparate?" Lexi asked Remus.
"Of course," the older man replied.
"Good, because you are going to have to do that from here," was Lexi's brisk response. Harry was a bit surprised at how quickly and effectively his sister had taken control of the situation.
"Padfoot," Lexi began while turning towards the sickly man, "Do you think you can climb out the window again?"
Before Sirius could answer, Remus cut into the conversation. "I can side-long him with me," the man kindly responded for his friend.
"You better do it quickly," Harry jumped in after hearing footsteps on the stairs. "They will be here any second."
"We'll get together tomorrow to talk about all of this," Remus said with a nod as he grabbed Sirius's hand.
There was a loud crack and both men were gone.
"Knock it off, you freak!" The enraged voice of Vernon Dursley came through the door.
Holding his breath, Harry waited for Uncle Vernon to enter the room. However, he never did. Instead Harry could hear his heavy footsteps continue along the hall and into the master bedroom.
"That was close," Lexi whispered as she collapsed on the only bed in the room.
"Yeah," Harry quietly agreed. The room was silent for several minutes before Harry decided to break the silence. "I'm sorry," Harry whispered. He wasn't exactly sure what he was sorry about, but he knew he had done something wrong where his sister was concerned.
"Me too," Lexi replied with a steady trail of tears falling down her face. "I should have told you about Sirius sooner, but I was afraid you'd over react and they would take Sirius away from us."
Harry held open his arms and Lexi instantly threw herself into them. They had never fought like that before, and as far as Harry was concerned he never wanted to fight with her again.
~*~
Lexi woke up early the next morning like always. For once in her life she realized that Harry didn't wake up like her at the crack of dawn. Lexi secretly envied her older brother, it was obvious that he had no reason to wake early at Hogwarts and was able to get a bit of a lie-in at school.
As soon as she thought those words, a large smile cracked out across her face. It was only a year and half before she too would be freed of Privet Drive and would be learning magic at Hogwarts. Snuggling closer to her brother in the small bed that they shared, Lexi truly regretted that she would eventually have to get up and start the day.
In the safety of the bed, she was able to dream. Her dreams were always such wonderful dreams about how wonderful their life could be. When she was a little girl she always dreamed of what life would be like if her mother and father had never died.
Her mother would have red hair just like she did when she was little, and the same green eyes that she would see every day in the mirror, while her father would have the messy black hair Harry was so well known for. Since she wasn't sure what color his eyes were, she would try to picture them as a variety of different colors. That way at some point she would have gotten the color right. Her personal favorite were hazel eyes with a touch of blue, gray and green in them.
But now that Lexi had Sirius in her life, her dreams took a completely different turn. Instead of dreaming of growing up with her parents, people she had only seen in a black and white picture a few months ago, Lexi began to dream of something she knew was possible. She dreamed that she and Harry lived with Sirius.
At first her dreams centered on what it would be like, if the wizarding world suddenly knew that he was innocent. How Sirius, holding a wand, would burst into the Dursleys' home and hex them into next week. Then she and Harry would grab the meager possessions they owned and they would leave with Sirius. In most of the dreams, they would fly off on a fly motorcycle.
Lexi knew this dream was very unlikely to ever happen. First someone would have to believe that Sirius was innocent, and then they would have to convince others of the same thing.
So Lexi sat and waited, living with the Dursleys. Now that she had Sirius who cared for her like Harry did, things weren't so bad. He always wanted to help her with her school work, and see her marks when an assignment was turned back. Lexi didn't want to admit it, but that was one of the things she missed about her brother's presence the most, the interest Harry paid to the effort she made in school. Sirius wanted to help her and give her everything that was in his power to give her. Just like Harry.
Lexi sighed as she rolled over and looked at her brother. Sirius was so much like her brother that it was almost scary. The two of them were made from the same mold. They loved their family and would do everything they could to protect it. Lexi only hoped that her brother would one day see how similar they really were and would open his heart to let Sirius in.
They were independent. It was always them versus the world, Harry and Lexi, the only two people that mattered. But now the little world they created had grown. Harry had his friend Hermione that he did everything with and she had Sirius. Could their family grow to include them both?
~*~
Harry awoke to the mouth-watering aroma of bacon sizzling in the kitchen below his room. After taking a moment to regain his bearings, Harry remembered where he was. He was in the smallest bedroom of Privet Drive, because that was where he and Lexi now lived. Harry smiled at the thought of them having their own bedroom. For as long as he could remember that was what he wanted the most in the world, a bedroom for him and Lexi to share.
Getting up slowly, Harry quietly began preparing for the day. He had luckily avoided the Dursleys' presence the evening before, but it was inevitable for him to run into them at breakfast. The thought of breakfast reminded Harry of the scent that had awoken him, causing Harry to frown. The Dursleys had Lexi cooking for them now; Lexi had never mentioned that in any of her letters. That used to be his job and he secretly wondered what other chores that belonged to him were now her responsibility.
Once he was ready for the day, Harry gathered all of his Gryffindor courage and headed down the stairs. He was back from Hogwarts and it was time for more things to change around Privet Drive. If the Dursleys truly feared magic, like Lexi implied from her story on how she obtained their room, then he should be able to get the upper hand and change things at Privet Drive for the better.
~*~
Petunia was sitting in her customary seat at the kitten table, sipping tea while watching the youngest freak finish the fry-up. As she observed the little freak's movements she was secretly pondering the actions of the male freak. Petunia knew all too well that Dudley would be returning home for the holidays later that day and she wondered if the boy freak was planning on coming home as well.
That freak of a school he attended had sent them a letter just about two weeks previous. Upon sight of the letter Petunia had merely torn it up and later that evening she threw it into the fire place. However, now she greatly regretted not taking a peak at the information held within. Perhaps it was a notice letting her know when the boy would return from school.
But as soon as Petunia came up with that idea she shook it out of her head. That had been the third letter she received from that school since the boy began attending. The first had arrived just after Halloween and the second mid-way through the month of November. So it was entirely possible it was in regards to something else.
Perhaps the freak was flunking out of school? A twisted smile crossed Petunia's face at the mere thought of the boy being kicked out of his magic school. If he was she would have him at her mercy once again. It was her job to try to control and decrease their freakishness. She told him, not in so many words, when he went to that freak school that she was done with him. The mere idea that he would return to her home was just too much for her to take. If he came back she would make his life hell.
Not more than ten seconds after Petunia began fanaticizing about all the ways she could punish the boy the door to the kitchen swung open. There he was, the freak was in her kitchen!
"What are you doing here?" Petunia hissed out, barely able to contain her anger. How long had he been there?
"I've returned for the holidays," the freak replied with a trace of smugness in his voice. Petunia began to fume at the freak's lack of respect.
"When did you arrive?" Petunia asked in a nicer tone. She was determined to rein in her emotions and gain control of the situation.
"Last night," the freak replied evenly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the female freak stare at the boy. It seemed he was catching her just as off guard as Petunia was.
After pausing a moment to think of the implications that the freak had been in her house for several hours without her knowledge, Petunia began to see red. There was no way that little freak could be that cunning. But didn't she hear the girl place the idea for Vernon to agree to take her out to dinner with the Matthews, on the eve of Dudley's return home from school?
Petunia had been dead set on staying home the night before to make sure everything was perfect for her little boy. Well as perfect as things could be considering the fact Dudley had to lose his second bedroom to the freaks. Yet Vernon insisted they joined the neighbors. Why hadn't she seen the girl's involvement sooner?
Did that little freak know that the boy was to return the previous evening and got her and Vernon out of the way? As soon as those words sunk in, Petunia began to feel a bit silly. There was no way that little brat was smart enough to pull something like that off.
"Well since you are here," Petunia could not prevent the sickening look from crossing her face at the thought of him in Privet Drive, "I'll form the list of chores for you to perform to prepare the house for Dudley's arrival."
"I don't think so," the boy said with some definite gall.
"Excuse me?" Petunia hissed, perhaps she hadn't heard him correctly.
"I said, I don't think so," the freak repeated. "Lexi and I will be responsible from this day forth to do the exact amount of chores you would assign to Dudley."
Petunia couldn't help herself but she began to stare at the boy with her mouth dropped wide open. Just who did he think he was?
"My friends from school," the boy continued, "were not really impressed with the way Lexi and I have been treated by you. Unless you want some of them sticking their noses into your normal lives here on Privet Drive, then you should treat all of the children living here the same."
Petunia knew she was gapping like a fish bit she couldn't stop it. Where was the easily cowed freak that used to live in her home? Who was this boy before her?
"Understand, Aunt Petunia?" the boy asked after he pulled out the wand. She understood the implied threat. If she didn't agree to his new terms, then he would also be one of the freaks for them to fear.
"Perfectly," Petunia replied through clenched teeth as she rose from the table and headed upstairs.
What a mess this was! Vernon was not going to be pleased.
~*~
A/N: A huge thank you again to everyone who has reviewed. Please keep it coming. I seriously live off feedback to improve this fic. Zephy and Swanpride, thank you both of you for your awesome beta work on my story. I couldn't do it without either of you.
I've started a yahoo group to discuss my fics and Harry Potter in general since there have been some great discussions started by my reviews that I think a few people might be interested in joining in. Feel free to join: http://groups .yahoo .com /group/forias_corner/ Just remove the spaces in the url or go to my profile and click on the website info.
Foria
Next chapter: Criminal Acts