"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
Writing/Reading
"YELLING"
Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, November 15, 1981
It had been about fifteen days since October 31st, 1981, and Petunia Dursley née Evans was at her wit's end, especially when it came to the matter of the newest occupant of her home. As it turned out, on Halloween night her freak of a sister, along with her no-good and equally freakish husband, had been murdered by some evil freak in her world, leaving their just as freakish son Harry, her nephew, as the only survivor. Since she was (as far as that Dumbledore knew) the only blood family that Lily had left, that meant that she, along with her husband and perfectly normal son, had to take the blasted Potter boy into their home. Vernon immediately wanted nothing to do with the boy after they had found him on the doorstep with the letter to explain everything, and wanted to chuck him into the nearest orphanage; but as much as Petunia hated her freak sister, Lily was still her sister, and if push came to shove, Petunia would grudgingly admit, that she still loved Lily.
So out of consideration for her little sister, Petunia convinced Vernon to keep the boy by enticing him that perhaps they could beat the magic out of him. Regardless, the Potter brat still often cried for his dead mother and father, yearning for them to whisk him away. If only that actually could happen, at least then Petunia and her family could return to their perfectly normal lives.
Another thing that made having her nephew in the house unbearable, was the fact that he would often ask where his parents were, or where his "Unca Padfoo", "Unca Mooey", or worse yet, "Au'ty Selly" were. Although she had no idea who or what "Padfoo" and "Mooey" were supposed to be, she had an excellent idea as to who the boy was referring to as, "Selly". It was obvious to Petunia that Lily had continued to keep in touch with her, and allowed her, to be a part of her freaky son's life. It was bad enough to Petunia that Lily had decided to name her son after their father, even going as far as to give the blasted boy their father's silly nickname, but the fact that she had allowed their father's bastard to be a part of her life?
Now as far as she figured, Dumbledore only knew of Petunia, and not the other one, and as shameful as it was, Petunia had briefly considered reaching out to Selina and offering to give her the boy so that she and Vernon didn't have to deal with the boy's freakishness. It did, of course, mean that she would have to swallow her pride, to ensure that her nephew Harry would at least have a decent childhood; especially since Petunia had heard of how Selina and her husband, Bruce Wayne the multimillionaire of all people, had a habit of taking in orphans. She also briefly remembered from a letter from Lily that Selina had welcomed a baby girl just the day after Harry was born (though it galled Petunia that Selina would have the nerve and audacity to name her wretched daughter after both her mother and sister; Helena Lilian Wayne). Shaking her head, Petunia came to her senses, as she refused to stoop so low as to allow her one true sister's son (despite his freakishness), to be raised by someone who has no business being involved with her family. Not to mention that getting in touch with Selina, would be acknowledging that she and Petunia were related, and that was something that Petunia REFUSED to do; Selina may share half of the same blood with Petunia via her father, but she was most certainly NOT her sister, thank you very much. Petunia only had one sister, and that was Lily, and that was it, no one else.
Fortunately, as far as Petunia knew, Selina had no idea where she lived and probably wouldn't come for the boy. Not to mention that Vernon had put an end to the brat's insistent questioning, by making it clear that one of the house rules, was to ask no questions, as well as making the cupboard under the stairs his room, and gave the boy chores to earn his keep; and if he didn't get them done in time, then Vernon would give him a beating. Admittedly, Petunia didn't like seeing her only family from Lily being beaten up, but Vernon had stated that it would teach the boy to not be so spoiled. Although she did somewhat doubt that her sister would spoil her son rotten, Petunia honestly didn't think that Lily wouldn't allow her son to feel entitled, and she wasn't going to allow Dudley to be outshone by some freak, no sir!
At that moment she was busy doing the dishes, as she had just gotten dinner prepared for when Vernon gets home, while her precious son was in his playroom playing with one of his toys or computer games, and her freak nephew sat in the cupboard, as punishment for breaking one of her plates. The little brat tried to claim that Dudley shoved into him as he was trying to set up the table for lunch, but Petunia refused to have any of it, so she locked him in the cupboard, waiting for Vernon to get home to punish the boy; which shouldn't be long now. However, when the doorbell rang, Petunia looked in the direction of the door oddly, before looking at a hanging clock, which read four-thirty in the afternoon, and Vernon always got home promptly at five o'clock, no earlier and no later. Vernon was the type of man who despised being late and didn't believe in the nonsense of being early, and he was most definitely not the type of person who would change his beliefs. As the doorbell changed to an insistent knocking, Petunia scowled, as she stopped what she was doing, and walked to the front door opening it, only to find herself shocked at what, or rather, who she saw.
Standing in the doorway, almost in a similar manner as the day she first introduced herself to the Evans family so many years ago, was none other than her father's bastard daughter, Selina Kyle-Wayne née Kyle-Evans, with a briefcase in her right hand. Behind Selina on the roadway, Petunia could see a limousine, with a man dressed in a gray chauffeur uniform, standing in attention by the rear doors, no doubt the Wayne family butler, who had also apparently been her late father's former commanding officer from his days as a soldier in the SAS, Alfred Pennyworth. Petunia looked back at Selina, still shocked that she was able to find her, and there was potentially no doubt in Petunia's mind that the only reason that Selina would have to be here, was her nephew.
"Hello Petunia, I'd say that it's a pleasure to see you again," Selina said, breaking Petunia out of her stupor. "But I think we both know I'd be lying."
Petunia glared at Selina, wishing that she didn't have to put up with this woman on her doorstep. Wanting to get rid of Selina without her taking the boy from where he rightly belonged, she decided to get to the point and find out why Selina was there.
"What are you doing here, Selina?" She snarled, the reason known in her head.
Selina smirked, as she simply stared back into Petunia's eyes. Petunia's scowl deepened as if Selina acted like she knew something that she didn't.
"I think we both know why I'm here, Petunia," Selina said, her catlike smirk still on her face which only served to irk Petunia. "But simply put, I'm here for Harry."
Petunia's eye twitched just slightly, as Selina spoke her late father's silly nickname, hating how easy it slid off her tongue, even if she was using it to refer to Petunia's nephew. Nevertheless, as she had suspected, Selina was indeed here for the boy, but there was no way that Petunia was going to allow this woman to take her flesh and blood, and prepared to shut the door in her face. Now it was Petunia's turn to smirk at Selina, as she now had the power to deny her of what she was seeking.
"The boy is here Selina," Petunia replied, her smirk seemingly not affecting Selina though, for some reason. "But if you think I'm going to hand him over to you, then think again. Now get off my property, and don't ever come back!"
Just as Petunia was about to shut the door, Selina stopped it with her hand, amazed by the strength that the woman had. Petunia tried to shove the door shut, and hopefully crush Selina's hand in the process, but instead, the door was pushed back, and Petunia had no choice but to stumble back, as Selina came into her house. Petunia glared at her but slightly faltered as Selina glared back at her, harder than Petunia was.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, Petunia," Selina said, her teeth snarling like cat fangs. "I am here to take Harry home with me, and I'm not leaving without him! You are to give me complete custody and guardianship of Harry, now!"
Petunia couldn't help but feel a spike of fear that snaked its way through her veins, as the expression of anger on Selina's face seemed almost like that of a tiger, protecting its young. Trying (and failing) to get a grip on herself, and shake the fear out of herself, Petunia tried to glare at Selina again, but couldn't manage it. She just couldn't lose to her illegitimate half-sister, she can't.
"Even if I wanted to give the boy to you, which I don't," She said, doing everything she possibly could to restore her composure. "I am under no obligation to simply give custody of my sister's son, over to you. Besides, you don't have anything to enforce your claim to the boy!"
Once again, the catlike smirk returned to Selina's face, again implying that she knew something, that Petunia didn't.
"That, Petunia, is where you're wrong," Selina replied, her voice holding an all-knowing tone in it.
Before Petunia could have a chance to question her half-sister on what she meant, Selina turned in the direction of her butler, and motioned her hand for him, to which Alfred Pennyworth nodded, and followed her into the house, walking into the living room. Petunia, huffed at the fact that these two had the audacity, to just enter her house and go into her sitting room without so much as asking for her permission, closed the front door, and walked into her sitting room. In doing so, she found Selina casually sitting on one of the sofas, her right leg draped over her left, and Mr. Pennyworth stood behind the sofa, the briefcase Selina held, now resting in his hands.
"Just what do you think gives you the right to enter my house without permission," Petunia angrily asked, staring into the emerald green eyes that were so similar to the ones of her dead sister, and nephew. "And what do you mean I'm wrong, about you having no claim to take the boy?"
Rather than answer Petunia's question, Selina turned to look at Alfred.
"Alfred, could you be so kind, as to open the briefcase, and hand Petunia the papers?" Selina asked the older man, a kind smile on her face.
"Yes, Miss Selina." Alfred replied, nodding his head respectfully.
Alfred placed the briefcase on one of his arms, expertly balancing it, opened it up, and shuffled some papers that were in the briefcase, before pulling out a couple of sheets of paper that were stapled together. The butler then shut the briefcase and placed it down on the ground, before walking up to Petunia, and handing her the papers. Petunia looked at the two unwanted guests, hesitant to read whatever was given to her. Finally unable to stall, Petunia read over what was written on the paper she was given, and the more she read, the more her eyes widen in shock.
"What you are reading, Petunia, is a legalized court order," Selina explained, a victorious grin on her face, like a cat catching a mouse, clear on her face. "Demanding that you hand over all guardianship and custody of Harrison James Potter, over to me. Naturally, of course, it is signed by both an American and British judge, as well as American and British child services, to validate the transfer."
Petunia couldn't believe that she was being trumped by her bastard sister, and was trying to figure out how in the world Selina could get the court order together. Looking up at the American, she knew she had to know.
"How? How did you get this court order all in order?" She asked, her voice trembling.
Selina looked at Alfred, who opened the briefcase again and presented another sheet of paper. Petunia was able to figure out that this paper was a Will, and if she was right, it was a Will for her dead sister and brother-in-law. As she read the Will, Petunia could tell that the Will was modified to exclude any mention of her sister's world.
"A legitimate copy, of the Final Will and Testament of James and... L-Lily Potter," Selina confirmed, her voice breaking emotionally for a moment, as she spoke Lily and James' names. "And within it, is a list of potential guardians for Harry, in the case of Lily and James' deaths. At the top of the list, is my name, but there is a note that states that under no circumstances, is Harry to be placed in your custody, at all!
"So, you now have a choice to make, Petunia," Selina continued her composure regained. "Sign the court order, and give Harry to me, and I give you my word that you will never hear from me, or my family in America, ever again. However, if you refuse, then I swear that I will put my husband's vast army of lawyers to good use, take you to court, and bury you in so many legalese and innuendos, that you and Vernon will be up to your necks in legal fees, and personal humiliation in the eyes of your neighbors."
Petunia looked at the Will, and then back at her bastard sister, fearful of the threat that she had made. In the back of her mind, Petunia knew that Lily would've wanted her to sign the court order, but the threat of being taken to court if she didn't, was frightening. Not to mention the potential scandal that would destroy the reputation she and Vernon worked hard to build if Selina proved true to her word on the army of lawyers. There was, however, one small issue.
"I would be... willing to sign the court order," She started, swallowing nervously. "But I can't."
In the next minute, Petunia would be shocked when Selina shot up to her feet, grabbed the front of Petunia's blouse, and pulled the British woman into her face. Petunia felt a pang of fear course through her veins, as she looked into Selina's eyes, which possessed a feral look in them as if the American woman was an angry lioness. It also forced Petunia to look into her bastard sister's eyes; eyes that were the same as Lily's, and her nephew's. Eyes that she had been trying to avoid looking into the entire time Selina was in her home, as they did nothing but painfully remind her of her dead full-blooded sister.
"Miss Selina..." Alfred started but was suddenly cut off by Selina.
"No Alfred, I've been as patient as I can be long enough," Selina growled, her lioness eyes still boring into the frightened blue eyes of her prejudiced half-sister. "Now you listen to me, and listen good, you long-necked horse-faced bitch! Either you sign the court order and hand Harry over to me now, or god help me, I will see to it that your life is as miserable, as I can potentially make it. The only reason I've been cordial as I could be with you until now was because of Lily.
"I knew that Lily would've wanted me to at least give you some respect, because despite everything you said and did to her," Selina continued, her teeth gnashing as she growled her words to Petunia. "She still loved you, and I loved Lily, so I tried to reign in my loathing of you, out of respect for Lily's memory. But now, I'm at the end of my rope, and I will not tolerate any more of your crap! Sign the court order, NOW!"
Petunia trembled at the tone in Selina's voice, as she was forced to bear the fierceness of Selina's fury. If Petunia compared Selina's attitude to that of a lioness, it most definitely was now. Selina's teeth gnashed in Petunia's face, like how a tigress would threaten its prey, before it pounced on them and tore them apart, causing Petunia to feel fear of her half-sister. She wasn't sure what Selina would do, but she knew that she had to do something quickly before Selina did something to her.
"What I mean to say, Selina," Petunia started, waving her hands in front of her in hopes of placating her. "Is that when it comes to important legal documents like a court order, Vernon is usually the one to take care of it!"
Petunia sighed a short relaxing breath, as Selina's face settled down into a calm demeanor, as she sat back on the sofa, while also seeming to think about what she told her. Selina thought about what Petunia said, and admittedly she wasn't sure that she wanted to deal with Vernon. Vernon Dursley was not a pleasant person, and when Selina first met the extremely obese man, she was not impressed with Vernon, and instantly hated the man; her hatred for Vernon had grown exponentially after the man tried to force himself onto Lily, on her wedding day of all days. What truly set Selina off, was that when Lily tried to explain what happened, Petunia didn't believe her, and dared to accuse Lily of trying to seduce Vernon, despite getting married to James.
"So, Vernon is the one who signs legal documents?" Selina asked, wanting to make sure she wouldn't have to deal with the man until Petunia sadly nodded her head.
"Vernon made it very clear that he would be the one to deal with contracts and any other legal documents when he and I got married," She replied. "He'll be home in a few minutes, and he'll be more than happy to sign the court order if it means that Harry won't be here anymore."
Selina's eye twitches only minutely, as she sneered at the way that Petunia's voice sounded eager at the prospect of Harry no longer being in her and Vernon's custody. Had the roles been switched around, Selina would never have been so quick to jump at the chance to be rid of someone who shares her blood, no matter what; of course, that actually would've required Petunia to care, for her to fight for custody over Harry, which Selina knew she'd never do. With that in mind...
"Where is Harry?" She asked, keeping an eye on Petunia's reaction, which showed a tenseness in her muscles, and fear in her eyes. "Since you stated that Vernon would be quick to sign the custody papers, I'd like to have Harry in my arms now, so that Alfred and I can leave as soon as possible."
Petunia tensed for a brief moment, not for fear of Selina's reaction if she refused, but of how Vernon would potentially do if he saw the boy when he got home. Vernon had made it clear once that he didn't like seeing their nephew first thing when he got home from work, as he had beaten Harry on a couple of occasions. Petunia thought of explaining this to Selina, but then decided twice about it, and got up to get Harry. She knew that Selina and Pennyworth were watching her every move, but she refused to flinch at all, as she unlocked the door to the cupboard underneath the stairs, before she opened it, and brought Harry out of the small room. Turning around with her nephew in her hands, she minutely flinched as she saw the intensified glare from Selina and the butler behind her, as she carried Harry into the sitting room.
"AU'TY SELLY!" Harry shouted in joy, breaking free from Petunia's grip, and ran into Selina's open arms.
"Here he is Selina, the basket and blanket that he came with when Vernon and I found him is up in the attic if you want them." Petunia said, fighting back whatever tears were trying to fight their way out of her eyes; no matter what, she was NOT going to cry over this freak of a brat.
Selina quickly took Harry into her arms, looking down at him with a small, gentle smile gracing her face for the first time since she had entered the house, taking in every detail she could find on her nephew. For the most part, she could tell, aside from the lightning bolt-shaped scar that marred his forehead just above his right eyebrow, and the emerald green eyes that he had inherited from Lily, which she shared, Harry was otherwise alright and unharmed, aside from a fading bruise on the right side of his face. Her smile only dropped for a moment when she saw that, as she looked at Petunia with a sneer that made her horse-faced half-sister shiver with fear. She looked back at Harry, her smile returning as she continued to hold the small child that had come to mean so much to her.
"Harry, Aunty Selina needs to finish up a few things with Aunty Petunia," Selina said to the small boy, gently caressing his cheek while also speaking softly and clearly for him to understand. "But you can go with Uncle Alfred to the car outside, and we can leave together. Uncle Bruce is waiting for us back home in Gotham, and he is looking forward to having you with us, okay?"
Harry frowned only slightly, as he didn't want to be separated from Selina anymore, but nodded his head in acknowledgment, as Selina gently kissed his head. He then gently slid down from her lap, took Alfred's hand, and followed the smiling butler as he was gently being guided to the limo outside. It was at this time, that Vernon had returned home, and to say that he was not pleased to see Harry walking out the front door of the house with Alfred (even though he did not know the butler's name), was an understatement. Seeing his uncle's angry face, which was starting to turn a purple shade that Harry knew all too well, Alfred however was not intimidated, and simply held onto Harry.
"Boy, what do you think you are doing out here?!" Vernon demanded of his nephew, stepping in front of Harry and Alfred, impeding their approach to the limo. "Get back in the house now, or so help me, you will be in big trouble for this!"
Harry shivered at his uncle's words, but Alfred remained unaffected, keeping his cool in the face of Vernon's despicable actions towards the young child. Regardless, Alfred kept a firm, but gentle hand, on Harry's shoulder while starting down at Vernon who was trying to intimidate the aged British butler. To Vernon's poorly concealed astonishment, Alfred was not intimidated whatsoever by the large man; after spending a considerable number of years serving in the SAS, being the butler of the Wayne family, and helping Bruce and Selina Wayne in their respective personas as Batman and Catwoman, Alfred Pennyworth was not an easy man to intimidate.
"Come along Young Master Harry, the car is waiting for us." Alfred said gently, keeping his hands protectively on Harry.
As Alfred gently guided Harry past Vernon, and towards the limousine, Vernon quickly recovered from his shock at the lack of intimidation on Alfred's face. Instead, his face began to turn even more purple and turned to stop the butler from taking Harry. It wasn't so much that he cared for the boy, far from it, it was the fact that the boy would prove useful as free personal labor when he got older, as well as the fact that Vernon wanted to make sure that the boy's life was as miserable as possible.
"Now hold it right there, old man," Vernon growled, grabbing Alfred's arm in a fit of rage. "You're not going anywhere with the boy! He's not going anywhere, he is staying right here."
Unfortunately for Vernon, that would prove to be a mistake as Alfred quickly let go of Harry, grabbed Vernon's arm, and quickly and easily flipped Vernon over onto his back. Harry watched in absolute awe and was gobsmacked at how easily the man in the gray uniform was able to flip his large uncle over as though he wasn't as huge as he was. Selina and Petunia came running out of the house when they heard Vernon shouting and watched in shock as they saw Vernon lying on his back at Alfred's feet; at least Petunia was, while Selina looked on with a smug grin on her face.
"Alfred, if you're done teaching Mr. Dursley a lesson, will you please finish escorting Harry into the car?" Selina asked the normally kind butler.
Alfred simply bowed his head in respect to Selina, before turning on his feet, and continued to gently guide Harry to the waiting limo. Meanwhile, Vernon struggled to get back up to his feet, as his massive bulk made it a struggle for him. Petunia quickly ran to her husband to help him up, while Selina simply strode to him at a sedate pace. When Vernon was finally on his feet, Selina simply shoved the custody papers into his chest, doing it roughly to ensure that he would soon develop a bruise.
"If you'll be so kind, Vernon, sign those papers, and I'll soon be out of your hair," Selina simply said to the large man, her disdain for him evident in her voice. "And I'll gladly take Harry with me."
Vernon looked the papers over with a fine eye, as he carefully walked back into his house, hoping to avoid any further humiliation in front of his neighbors. In doing so, he easily saw that the custody papers would allow him and Petunia to be free of the burden of taking care of the boy, and they would be rid of him and his freakishness. Quickly grabbing a pen, Vernon eagerly signed the papers and handed them to Selina.
"Here you are, the papers are signed and the boy is your burden," He said to his only remaining sister-in-law, who took the papers from him in disgust. "Now take him and go!"
Selina glared at the walrus-like man in front of her, before turning to Petunia.
"The papers require both yours and Petunia's signatures, Vernon," Selina answered, her eyes still glaring into the Dursley patriarch's eyes, taking glee in his unease. "Then, and only then, will I gladly leave with my precious nephew."
Vernon stared at Selina with a hateful glare but kept his mouth shut. He knew that things between him and Selina were not in any good spirits, which he knew would sour any potential future deals between Grunnings Drilling and Wayne Enterprises, especially since she was the wife of the CEO of Wayne Enterprises: Bruce Wayne himself. Vernon supposed it must've had something to do when he tried to convince Lily to at least give him a little taste of what she was going to give that no-good freakish husband of hers on her wedding day, but so what?
'Honestly, the little freak should've considered herself lucky that someone like me was willing to bother giving her any attention.' Vernon thought to himself.
Petunia looked at the custody papers one last time, before finally taking a shaky breath, and signing the papers where her signature was required. After Petunia signed the paper, Selina smiled victoriously, before placing the final signature that was required: hers. Bruce, to her happiness, had gladly signed it before she left Gotham for England to get Harry, but she chose to hold off on signing the paper herself until Petunia agreed to sign it herself. Either way, all that mattered was that Harry was now safely in her custody, and she could take him home to Gotham with her, where he would grow up in happiness with her, Bruce, Alfred, and a house full of adopted cousins who would fill in as sibling figures for him to look up to; namely Dick Grayson-Wayne (who would no doubt set an excellent example), Jason Todd-Wayne (she could only hope that Jason wouldn't set too bad of an example), Cassandra Cain-Wayne, Timothy Drake-Wayne, and then there was her and Bruce's own Helena Lilian Wayne, who she was certain Harry would be extremely close to, as siblings could be.
"Thank you Petunia, you have my word, that this will be that you will ever see me, or Harry for that matter," Selina said to Petunia, as she turned to leave the house for the last time. "If, by any chance, there is anything that you have that Lily would've wanted Harry to have, send it to Wayne Tower in London, that's where I'll be staying for the next few days while the courts file away the court order and finalize my custody of Harry. Farewell."
After giving one last farewell to Petunia, Selina walked out the door and entered the limo, Alfred holding the door open for her and closing it behind her. She smiled as she took in the sleeping Harry in the car seat that she had bought earlier that day, and gently caressed his face without waking him up. She looked up at the driver's seat, which Alfred now occupied, and watched as Number Four, Privet Drive began to disappear behind them. Deep in her mind, Selina made a solemn vow to her beloved sister Lily, that she would do what it took, to make sure Harry would have a happy, and safe, childhood. At least, as safe as it can be, living in Gotham City, New Jersey, USA.