AN: Not JK Rowling, don't own Harry Potter etc etc

This took me a bit longer to write, it feels like it was a bit of a mess, but I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3

"I-I'm sorry, did you say Petunia Evans?" Remus couldn't believe his ears. Lily had told him a bit about her sister, but he'd never seen her picture. Now that he saw the woman, he could see the similarities. They had the same smile when they teased, and their noses were nearly identical. What really … him was the green in her eyes. The colour was eerily like Lily's… 'And Harry's' his mind added.

"You wouldn't happen to be the sister of Lily Evans?" He barely finished the sentence before she dropped his hand, spinning around and grabbing the iron poker that hung next to the fireplace. Remus was stunned by her speed, wondering what he'd done wrong to merit such a reaction, when she spoke.

"How do you know that name?!" Her tone was demanding and she held the rod in front of her like a sword. "Did that old bastard send you?! I told him, Harry is staying with me! He can't have him!" despair broke through her voice, and it cut Remus like a knife. Gone was the calm woman who'd teased him only a few seconds before and in her place stood a fierce mother, ready to defend her young at any cost.

Remus held his hands up in defeat, making sure he stood still, not wanting to anger her further. He kept his voice calm and even as he spoke. "Nobody sent me, I swear on my life, I did not know who was staying here. I truly came only for the box."

He saw her falter, and he decided to continue in the same tone. "I knew Lily from school, she was in my house and she was a very dear friend to me. She spoke of you a few times." He added the last part with a small smile, hoping for the best, hands still held high.

Petunias shoulders sankt, and she lowered the poker as she felt a bit calmer. "Did you really know Lily?" she sounded so fragile and Remus hated it. He felt a fierce need to protect her and Moony was snarling at him for causing her despair.

"Yes. She was in my year and we were both the top of our classes." Slowly lowering his hands, Remus met her gaze. "We were close friends and James Potter was like a brother to me, she might have mentioned us in her letters. Does the name 'The Marauders' ring a bell?" The sentence was ended with a mischievous smile, he had no doubt that Lily would have complained about them to her sister and if Petunia's baffled expression was anything to go by, he was right.

"You mean you were one of those lousy pranksters?!" Petunia was shocked and dropped the iron rod she'd held so defensively. Lily had complained about the group of pranksters almost as often as she complained about Potter's obsession. She knew that Potter had been the ringleader, but she'd never mentioned any of the others by name, only their many antics. Admittedly, she had liked reading about what the group got up to, Lily had always been the more serious and studious sister and knowing she was so frazzled by a few teen boys had been entertaining.

"Well, one of us might have been a bit of a dog, but I wouldn't call us lousy. I at least, have always had good hygiene!" ignoring the pain he felt at the thought of Sirius, he added a small wink, similar to her earlier one in an attempt to lighten the mood.

There was a moment of silence, before they both broke down, laughing at his terrible pun, and the tension in the room finally broke. Petunia shook her head, and sat down in one of the chairs next to the small coffee table, gesturing for him to sit down in another. Remus took hint and sat down, placing the tin box on the table next to him. He took a moment to gather himself before he broke the silence.

"I have to be honest with you. I was going to search for Harry after I'd retrieved the box. It has some pictures and keepsakes I'd like him to have. I'd also like to be a part of his life if you'd permit it, however, I have to ask.. What did you mean earlier? Who wants to take him away?" Moony was thrilled that she'd been willing to fight so fiercely to protect his cub, and Remus found himself agreeing with the sentiment. He'd found himself doing that a lot for the past 20 minutes, it was an odd feeling.

Petunia sighed and looked down at her bunny slippers, she'd tried to repress the memories, and digging them up again wasn't pleasant. She was exhausted after her previous outburst, but Remus had seemed to be honest, so she would be the same towards him.

"Dumbledore…" she began, trying to decide on how much to tell him. "He left Harry on my doorstep in the middle of the night in bloody November, with nothing but a letter to inform me that my sister and her husband was dead. He didn't even ring the bloody doorbell. Harry might have frozen to death if I hadn't been up to feed Dudley." Her knuckles were white as she clutched her fists in anger, her nails digging painfully into her skin.

"Vernon, my husband at the time, despised everything that didn't fit into his narrow world view. He demanded that I deliver Harry to an orphanage, he hated Lily and James and called Harry a freak. He agreed to let him stay only after I threatened to leave with Dudley. I hoped he'd warm up to Harry eventually, instead he grew verbally abusive and in the end it just got to be too much, so I left" Remus was at a loss for words, but she wasn't done yet.

"The old goat showed up after I left my ex-husband, demanding that I return to him, talking about how the boy needed a family, how it wasn't proper," she spit the word as if it was acid "for a woman to raise two children alone. When I refused, he threatened me that we would end up dead without the protections he had placed on the house . He even straight out told me that unless I returned to that wretched man, he would take Harry away from me and put him in a 'decent' home. So we ran."

She felt her anger growing at the thought of the man. He may have tried to seem all wise and grandfatherly, but she didn't buy the act. "He didn't care when I told him that my ex-husband had been abusive towards me and Harry. It seemed like he'd expected it, in fact, he seemed surprised that I was willing to protect Harry like I did. Whatever the old man is planning, I doubt he has Harrys best interest in mind."

Petunia winced in pain as she finished her story, her nails had pierced the skin of her palms. Remus smelled the blood instantly, and the wolf reared up, protectiveness flooding through him like a flood wave having already been triggered by her story. She got up and walked over to the kitchen sink, and hissed as the cold water hit her but she kept her hands under the cold stream, washing away the blood and soothing her pain.

Remus couldn't believe what she was saying as he let the information sink in. He'd always been grateful towards the headmaster for being allowed to attend Hogwarts, but if the things she said were true… He could feel that she wasn't lying, his werewolf senses being useful for once. He'd have to do some investigation later. But right now his priorities lay elsewhere. He got up from the chair and followed her into the small kitchen

He held a hand out to her, palm facing up "Petunia, may I have your hands for a moment?" the hesitation was clear, still feeling emotional, but she turned to him anyway and put her hand in his. Remus took his wand out, waving it over her palms and whispering the healing charm that he preferred.

The wounds closed and Petunia looked at her hands, then at him, eyes filled with awe. "H-how did you-" she began, then stopped and shook her head with a laugh. "Magic, right." Smiling at her, he slipped his wand back in its hidden holster. It was a relief that she smiled again, he realized that both him and the beast hated seeing her upset.

The protectiveness he'd felt earlier reared its head again, and Remus stepped closer to her and reached up brush a lock of hair away from her face. Her cheeks were pink, and it looked like she was going to say something but was struggling to find the words. Yet she wasn't pushing him away either, she met his warm gaze and gasped lightly as she saw the gold in his eyes.

Remus bent down about to catch her slightly parted lips in a kiss when the front door slammed open. They jumped apart at the sound, blushing fiercely now that the intimate moment was broken. He had been so focused on her that he hadn't heard the two children approach the house, and now they were standing in the door.

Petunia was the first to gather her wits and went over to her children, smiling brightly as she bent down to them, cheeks still a slight pink. "Dudley, Harry, we have a guest! Say hello." The smaller of the boys pulled off his hat, and Remus was greeted by a mop of wild black hair, two big green eyes and a wide smile that was missing two teeth.

Oh lord this chapter took forever to write xD

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for all the attention ^3^