"Do you want to live with Sirius at least until the school year starts?" Dave asked his grandson. "It would give you a chance to get to know each other better and I know it would make your godfather very happy."
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "I would like to get to know the man that my parents chose to be my godfather better, but I also want to spend time with you, my grandmother and cousins."
"They'll be there when you come back to Tír na nÓg," Dave pointed out gently. "You know that even half sídh can live for at least a 500,000 years or even more. Your godfather, on the other hand, is human, and even if he considers himself a wizard, they're still basically the same. Magicals might live a little longer then regular mundanes, but that doesn't mean that he won't die much sooner then you will. He could even be killed by Voldemort or his followers if there happens to be a battle. You will make the man very happy if you spend some time with him as the two of you get to know each other. He's been denied so much due to corrupt ministry officials, that it would be cruel to deny him a chance to get to know his godson."
Harry said nothing still seeming undecided.
"What's the real problem, Harry?" Dave asked. "I would think you'd jump at the chance to get to know the man that your parents assigned to look after you if anything should happen to them."
"I don't know how he'll take it that I'm not completely human," Harry finally admitted with a sheepish look on his face. "I know that I shouldn't worry about such things, because my mother in particular would never have agreed to name him my godfather if she believed that he would reject me just because I'm half sídh. Still, for some reason I can't help but worry."
Dave finally understood what was bothering his grandson and put a gentle hand on his arm. "I know very well why you have these fears and I think you also know why you do."
"The Dursleys," Harry suggested finally still looking at his feet and Dave nodded.
"Exactly. If you had grown up with your godfather like you were supposed to I doubt such thoughts would even enter your head. While you're confident in many ways your fear of rejection is probably your greatest fear. The only way to get over your fear is to face it head on."
"Do I want to know what you finally did to my former family?" Harry asked Dave quizzically.
Harry knew that Dave had visited the Dursleys while he had been sleeping, because as a half sídh he required at least a few hours sleep a night, while a full sídh required much less. Sídhe had their own ideas about justice and what the Dursleys had done to an innocent child required some form of repayment, even though it had been just over five years since his grandfather had rescued him.
"I'm not sure if you're old enough for that information," Dave said looking undecided. "You're still a child no matter how mature you have become over the last few years."
"Please, granddad, I really want to know," Harry pleaded, then added after a few minutes of silence. "I suppose if you don't want to tell me I won't throw up temper tantrum about it. I just hate being considered to young for adults to tell me what I want to know, especially when it involves me in the first place. If Dumbledore pulls that kind of crap I'm going to remind him that not telling me information that concerns me will not make me trust him. He already knows he's on thin ice with both of us, and trying to keep information from me is not the way for him to get off it."
"That's very mature of you, grandson," Dave said smiling. "As for Dumbledore you know I agree with you about that. If he tries to dodge your questions make sure you don't let him get away with that, as I don't trust him either and like you I doubt very much that I ever will. He's to used to manipulating people to get what he wants so it's not like it's a habit he can just suddenly stop cold turkey. You're really going to have to watch him to make sure he doesn't manipulate you into doing something that you regret later. You could even be injured if you allow yourself to be caught and Dumbledore's manipulations."
"I know granddad," Harry said calmly. "Believe me, I'll be watching every move he makes and I certainly don't trust him to do the right thing without prodding. If he goes to far I'll be out of there so fast he won't know what happened to me and we'll find some other way to take out Voldemort, which is something I'd want to do, even without that blasted prophecy."
"Yes, you know I agree with you on that," Dave said his expression suddenly turning fierce and determined. "This Voldemort character did kill off two members of my family after all. Both were still incredibly young, especially your mother that could've lived double what a half sídh does or even more. She might even have married again, although it would've been more likely that she would've taken multiple lovers after your father passed away, as very few of us marry even once much less multiple times."
Harry nodded at this for his granddad was only repeating information that he had already known. The sídhe were very different from mortals, but considering how long they lived this was perfectly understandable. Who wanted to stick with someone unfaithful for example for all of their lives depending on when they wed? They could be stuck with someone for centuries. Who wanted an enemy in their own house that tried various ways to kill their spouse just so they could take over their lands and be the power behind the throne for any children who were underage. There were multiple possibilities for betrayal, which is why the sídhe didn't marry unless they were sure of their own feelings and of their partners loyalties and feelings. Even just being trapped in a miserable relationship with constant friction and arguments would have been hard to take for thousands of years.
"If your godfather rejects you then he's not the man that both your parents believed he was. I somehow don't see that happening though," Dave said.
"Alright, you've made your point," Harry said finally looking up. "Yes, I really want to spend some time with Sirius and hopefully, he won't reject me when I tell him the truth, I know what a lot of pure bloods think of what they call half breeds. Really, I would prefer not to tell him at all, at least not until we get to know each other much better, but I've got to explain how I suddenly have a grandfather, because Sirius knows that I supposedly have no living relatives other than my aunt and cousin. As far as I know he's not aware that I am not completely human. I'm sure my parents might've gotten around to telling him eventually, but they didn't live to do that as far as I know."
"You might find that the Blacks have some sídhe blood far back in their lineage," Dave said. "A lot of English, Irish and Scottish families do if they go back far enough. I'm not sure if the Blacks are one of those families or not but it is certainly more than possible."
"I find it hard to believe that the purebloods would dilute their precious blood with another races," Harry said skeptically.
"This would've been a very long time ago, Harry," Dave told his grandson gently. "Long enough ago, it was certainly before the purebloods became so inbred. It's only in the last few generations that the purebloods have begun to believe that they are better than anybody else. Of course, this doesn't include families like the Malfoys, but then every society has their bad eggs."
"I'll have to take your word on it since I wasn't around back then," Harry said finally.
"I know how hard it is to comprehend," Dave said in that same gentle tone. "If I hadn't been around such a long time I doubt I would believe it either. It is hard to believe that things can majorly change in 1000 years or even just a 100. You just wait until you have 100 years under your belt and you will have seen major changes in communities around the world in that amount of time, even here in Britain. Whether those communities are magical or mundane is another question."
Harry said nothing knowing his grandfather was right, but right now, it didn't matter, as they had other concerns.
"I think you're making a very mature decision to spend some time with the man that your parents assigned to look after you. From what I know of him I think that you and he will get along splendidly and he'll be able to show you some things that I cannot. If you don't get along no matter the reason then you know I'll always be there."
"I think you should spend some time with Sirius as well," Harry said.
"I will, but I want to give you a week at least to start to get to know your godfather," Dave said. "He can even take you to Diagon Alley to get your wand if he wants to. While you're spending time with him that will give me time to do other things. You know how to contact me if you need me and I'll be there as soon as I can if you have any problems."
Harry relaxed now that he knew his grandfather wasn't abandoning him, but simply wanted him to spend some time with what little family he had left. He really should've known better as Dave had told him on multiple occasions that he would never abandon one of his family. Harry knew that being left on his own for a few days was simply part of growing up, but that didn't mean he didn't fear abandonment just like he feared rejection. Thanks to the Dursleys these were understandable fears and ones he doubted he would ever purge from his psyche completely.
"I'll always be there when you really need me," Dave assured his grandson having seen him relax. Dave was well aware that Harry had a few deep-seated fears all because of his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys, something he would happily strangle Dumbledore for and the only reason the old man still lived was because they needed him.
The Dursleys had made his grandson believe he was worthless, a freak of nature. Because of that he had done something that he was quite proud of, something the Dursleys hadn't been expecting considering that he had taken Harry from their home five years ago. They would never again be respected in their community and were now pariahs, but that hadn't been enough and Dave's opinion so he had gone farther.
"Also, Sirius can tell you all about your father and what he was like, something I can't do I'm afraid, because as much as I liked him, there was a lot I didn't know about him as there was simply no time. I'm sure, if times had been better, I would've learned much more about your father then I had time too."
"Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't have time to really get to know my father very well," Harry said. "I'm sure if times had been more peaceful you all would have spent a lot more time together."
"I know we would have," Dave said his tone a tad wistful. "They believed that it was better that they only kept up minimum contact until Voldemort was no longer an issue. I could see my daughter was determined to have her way so there was no point of arguing with her, as I likely wouldn't have changed her mind, but she should have known that I could protect myself."
"Do you think Dumbledore had anything to do with her decision?" Harry asked curiously.
"You know, I don't know," Dave said thoughtfully. "I know that your father trusted him a lot more then I believed he should, then was healthy. A little suspicious of someone's motives is a healthy thing in my opinion, but James was likely raised on stories of how great Albus Dumbledore was and likely wouldn't have heard a bad word about him not even from Sosanna. James might have developed a more suspicious nature if he'd had a chance to grow old, as he died along with my daughter at just 22. It's possible Lily just followed along with what James wanted in order to prevent discord in the family at a time when such tension wasn't really needed. They were under quite a bit of stress as it was due to the threat of Voldemort."
The two of them were silent as they sat together in companionable silence.
"You have shown much maturity throughout this thing but especially today," Dave said finally reaching a decision. "Because of this, I'm going to reveal to you exactly what I did to Petunia and her walrus of a husband."
"You don't have to if you really don't want to," Harry offered, even though he really wanted to know. "I won't deny I'm curious, but still you don't have to."
"You saying something like that just proves to me that you're mature enough to handle exactly what I did to you're supposed relatives," Dave said, finally sure that his grandson was ready for him to reveal exactly what he had done to the Dursleys.
Harry listened carefully, as Dave revealed exactly what he had done to each of the Dursleys.
"So let me get this straight," Harry said once he was sure his grandfather was done. "You set up two separate pocket dimensions where Vernon and Petunia will get the same treatment they gave me, except it will be from a child's perspective instead of an adult one. They'll both know fear, hunger, and feel everything that they did to me multiple times. However, if they ever truly change and repent they will automatically be released from their prisons, even if that's hundreds of years from now. Basically, they're going to be punished forever unless they truly change. Technically, you made them immortal so long as they have trapped in those pocket dimensions.
"You don't age in places like that, because basically you're suspended in time. You're stuck in a single instant and you can't move forward until you truly repent. Vernon will know what it's like to be small and helpless as he feels every time he beat you with his belt, every time he beat you with his fists, just to prove who was in charge, every time he denied you food, every time he made you work without proper nourishment or proper protection, like if you went out in the garden without proper accessories, like a long sleeve shirt if was cold out. He'll also feel every emotion you felt doing the five years you spent there. Every time he belittled you and did everything he could to break your spirit will be felt by him.
"You don't have to eat in such places, but still he will feel how painful it is to be hungry all the time. As for your aunt since she's the one that set the tone for the family she will not only feel every emotion you felt due to her hatred she will constantly be made to clean. The floor will be constantly dirty and so will the counters in the kitchen and the walls all over the house, in fact, everything that could possibly need cleaning will need constant care so she won't have a moment to relax.
"She will be whacked on the side of the head with the cast-iron frying pan every time she falters in her new duties just like she did to you. She will feel compelled to work herself to the bone with no time for relaxation or sleep and will know what it feels like to be a slave. She will be stuffed into a small cupboard and the door will be locked from the outside, when she is too tired to continue, as nobody can keep going forever.
"You might not need to eat in such places or use the loo, but I made it so that she will know how you felt being stuffed in a small cupboard, which was locked from outside, your feelings of hunger, fear of just wanting to be loved. This will be a continuous cycle until they repent and if that never happens to bad. I feel absolutely no sympathy for them at all, for what they did to you was inhuman Harry.
"If I hadn't found you when I might very well have found you after you had died due to the abuse you suffered, the malnutrition, the overwork in very poor conditions or simply because you decided that suicide was the only way out of your miserable existence."
"You sure can be vindictive can't you, granddad?" Harry said finally after contemplating what he had been told.
"I did nothing more than what they deserved," Dave said firmly. "If they truly change and realize what they did to an innocent child, not to mention their own son was wrong then they will be released from the pocket dimensions I placed them in. Dudley was turning into an obese bully that was well on his way to a heart attack due to his size and he's your age. Petunia refused to see that her son was heading down the road of ending up in prison later in life unless he corrected his path. Either that or a heart attack, perhaps, both."
"So what happened to Dudley?" Harry asked next.
"I took him back to the Otherworld with me. I told you I would never punish a child, because really, he just doesn't know any better, as he's only following his parents lead. They refused to curb his behavior and it's now up to me and your grandmother to do so. I truly believe that no child is irredeemable."
"What about ones like Tom Riddle?" Harry asked.
Dave knew that his grandson was really asking what about Voldemort, so he answered. "Yes, from what we learned about him he was certainly a bully and also very conniving and sneaky, but I still believe if only he had been properly disciplined and loved he probably would've turned out okay. He was just born under a set of bad circumstances and I do believe if he had been raised in a proper family and not an orphanage where discipline was very lax then it's very possible he would have turned into a productive member of the magical community.
"Even at Hogwarts, he really wasn't disciplined properly, mostly because he was never caught, but even when a normal detention was not going to change his already established views. Yes, Tom Riddle was certainly intelligent, and yes, even at the orphanage his powers as a wizard were emerging, but still I don't believe that any child is automatically born bad or evil. I just think that he never got the help he truly needed to turn into a good person.
"I believe that his bullying tendencies could have been curbed at least when he was a child. It might have been nearly impossible to change his already established belief that the strong should crush the weak when he was still around your age, but I do believe it could have been done. Of course, now, I realize that's impossible, as Tom Riddle's not a child anymore and his beliefs are now much to entrenched to change them, but as a child, this was not the case. It might have been a challenge, because some children are much more stubborn than others, but I believe I would have prevailed in the end."
"Well, it's too bad you couldn't test your view on that, granddad, as this whole situation would likely never have happened if you had kidnapped Tom Riddle and taught him that bullying was wrong," Harry sighed.
"If he hadn't learned his lessons he never would've been allowed to return to this world," Dave said firmly. "Unfortunately, nobody corrected his behavior enough to make him see that craving power, especially for the wrong reasons, was not the correct way to go about something. I think he would've gone far despite being a half blood if only he had turned out to be a good person. He might even have become Minister of Magic if that's what he had wanted. From all we learned about him together he would have had plenty of options for after he graduated since he was extremely intelligent if only he hadn't already started to turn into Voldemort by then."
"I suppose there is no point discussing it anymore as Voldemort isn't going to suddenly turn into a good guy no matter how much we both wish that could happen," Harry said. "I have to say that your punishments for Vernon and Petunia were rather appropriate, though I can't see either of them changing their ways, as they're quite set in their rather bigoted views."
"If that's the case then they'll be stuck in those pocket dimensions forever," Dave said smirking a little. "There is absolutely no way out of those dimensions, except if they truly repent and change."
"So what about the people of the neighborhood?" Harry asked. "I mean a whole family can't suddenly disappear without bringing the authorities. I would think that they would suspect foul play, even if they're never able to prove it."
"Don't you worry about that," Dave assured his grandson with a devious smirk. "I made the whole neighborhood as well as Dursleys place of work believe that they had been arrested for child cruelty, child abuse, child endangerment and a multitude of other charges. Their reputation has been thoroughly shattered in their community. As for Dudley, it is believed that he's being sent into foster care because his Aunt Marge is hardly a suitable guardian."
"Won't people wonder if nothing appears in the paper though or on the news?" Harry asked.
"No, I made sure of that," Dave said. "People will just assume that they were convicted and got many years in prison, but they won't be curious why they didn't read about it or see it on the local news channel. Most trials are hardly publicized after all, except the major ones that run for a long time and as cruel as the Dursleys were really they are nothing unusual. Unfortunately, small minded and bigoted people aren't exactly uncommon."
"Well, you appear to have all the angles covered," Harry said. "It seems rather cruel what you did, but I can also understand why you did it."
"Trust me, they more than deserve what I did to them and they're only lucky I didn't do much more," Dave told his grandson. "If you had seen into their minds it would have given you nightmares for many years. Petunia in particular is a sick twisted individual and not only selfish and self centered she is capable of getting revenge by poisoning someone so that they're very sick at least."
"She actually did that?" Harry asked his expression absolutely flabbergasted.
"Yes, I saw her mind remember? In college another girl stole someone she considered her guy and in revenge she put rat poison in her drink. The girl nearly died because of it, but even though she survived she was sick for a long time and never the same afterwards. That kind of thing takes a long time to purge completely out of your system. If she was capable of doing something like that over something so minor what do you imagine she was capable of when it came to a child? I'm actually surprised she didn't try to kill you as well, but maybe she thought that would make people suspicious and she might end up in prison, as it was possible that she would have been caught. At college during the poisoning incident there really weren't any suspects, as almost anyone could have done it. Campuses have thousands of students after all and even if it was narrowed down to someone in her class there was absolutely no proof."
"What about Vernon?" Harry asked, suddenly changing his mind about Petunia's punishment. If Petunia could poison a girl just because she supposedly stole a boy that Petunia was interested in then she was definitely capable of much more. Harry knew he tended to view his abuse up until he was nearly 6 as being deserved or at least not that bad, even though his granddad violently disagreed. Dave had even taken great pains to point out that a lot of abused children believed they deserved to be abused, simply because that's what they had been taught to believe, a lot of times from a very young age.
"Your uncle is a bully, self-centered, small-minded and arrogant and so afraid of magic he never saw you as a human being who could feel pain. To him you were a weirdo and a freak and he was determined to beat the magic out of you, not realizing that the more unhappy a child is the more bouts of accidental magic they're going to have. If he had say, treated you with indifference then you likely wouldn't have had many bouts of accidental magic or any at all.
"You might have known that he didn't care about you, but at least you wouldn't have been beaten to a pulp on a regular basis. All I did was make sure he received exactly the same treatment that he gave you, an innocent, defenseless child. Anybody who could do what was done to a defenceless toddler and then a young child deserves everything I did to them and more. You have scars that will never go away as I doubt even magic can get rid of some of the larger ones, though some sort of potion might be able to deal with the smaller ones.
"The things I mentioned don't even include the damage that both of them were doing to their own son by not correcting his behavior when he bullied the smaller, weaker kids or the fact, that he was a prime victim for a heart attack or stroke due to being so obese. I have no doubt that Dudley would have ended up with at least one prison sentence for assault and even if he only got a few years it likely would've hardened his attitude and made his behavior even worse.
"A lot of times going to prison, especially for someone as relatively sheltered as Dudley was from the consequences of this actions, only would've made him angry on the inside and made his attitude even more terrible. Despite his bullying behavior and his parents, especially his father, never saw anything wrong with what he was doing so didn't bother to discipline him.
"He's not a bad child that can't learn better. It might've taken something major to correct his behavior if that it happened like him being stabbed in prison, which happens all the time. Really, Dudley's not as tough as he wants people to believe and if he ended up behind bars, it's likely he would have died there either by his own hand or by one of the inmates when he ticked off the wrong person.
"You know Dudley is not exactly known for keeping his opinions to himself and eventually he would have said the wrong thing to the wrong person or tried to beat up someone that was tougher than he was and paid for it, very possibly with his life," Dave said.
"For what they did to their son alone they more than deserved serious punishment, but when you include the abuse you suffered well, I went easy on them really," Dave continued to explain.
"How is what you did going easy on them?" Harry asked staring at his grandfather, mostly for his rather blase attitude.
"I could have tortured them for very long time for what they did to you alone," Dave explained staring at his grandson with a serious expression.
"Trust me, you don't want to know what I'm capable of in that way. The sídhe don't take it well when they find children being abused, so take it very seriously and considering you're my grandson if I really wanted to I could've tortured them for decades and even centuries before I finally let them pass on. So long as they stayed in the otherworld they would never age or at least age at a much slower rate.
"You don't want to know the things I could have done to them, but since I promised you I would let them live, this was an appropriate punishment. Really, all I did, was make sure that they are now feeling every bit of pain that you felt every time you were beaten for no reason, or every time they beat you when you got better grades then Dudley, simply because you were more intelligent and wanted to do well in your studies. They'll feel every time they didn't feed you, every time they denied you affection, every time they locked you in that cupboard and didn't feed you for days for some fictitious wrong. To me what I did is justice, not revenge."
What Dave didn't tell his grandson was that both Petunia and Vernon would feel everything that his grandson had received tenfold, as he thought Harry had enough to absorb.
"If you had stayed with the Dursley until it was time for you to attend Hogwarts it's likely that they would've beaten your thirst for learning right out of you and that's only if you weren't dead. By the time you actually went to Hogwarts you probably wouldn't have done well in your classes because that family would've taught you that it was wrong to do well in your lessons. They would've taken an innocent child's thirst for knowledge and crushed it until it was nothing.
"They didn't want you to do better than their own son who isn't exactly the most intelligent example of the human race. Dudley's not dumb. He could be a decent student if he applied himself, which is something I'm going to try to nurture if possible. Like Dumbledore, the Dursleys didn't even fulfill the most basic of duties of being surrogate parents.
"A guardian's duty to their charge is to make sure they have a roof over their head, clothes on their back and food in their bellies. To make sure that their charge is being treated well, not being beaten for the slightest mistake and sometimes for no reason at all. When Dumbledore placed you with the Dursleys it was their responsibility to treat you with respect at least, even if they couldn't bring themselves to love you.
"It was their responsibility to make sure you were fed properly, that you got new clothes, even if those were secondhand. Yes, I understand that they were rather strapped for money, at least in those first few years and that thing never agreed to take you in on their own. That taking you in was forced on then. I blame Dumbledore for not setting up a stipend for your care, which would have been the responsible thing to do.
"How Dumbledore could not have done something so basic and just expected a young family with a baby son of their own to take on another child is beyond my understanding. That it never even occurred to him that he would put the Dursleys in severe financial difficulties makes absolutely no sense," Dave ranted.
"Alright, things were rather hectic back then, from what we could find out, but still, for someone as supposedly intelligent as Albus Dumbledore it should have occurred to him that the family might not have the money to take in another child. They might have treated you better if Dumbledore had only done his job," Dave continued to rant.
"It's more likely that the Dursleys would've used the money for their own son," Harry told his grandfather quietly. "I can see it going either way."
"That's possible to," Dave admitted. "I would hope they would do the right thing, but you're right, it's a very likely possibility. Still, my original point was, that Dumbledore didn't do what he was supposed to do. He gave the Dursleys 100 different reasons for hating you, not that they needed much reason, but it's more than possible that things would have been better for you if only he had done his job."
"Why don't we just drop the subject for now. You know I agree with you about Dumbledore," said Harry. "Dumbledore will eventually get what's coming to him and if he dies before the end of the war I won't be sorry to see him go. I will neither miss nor mourn him. In fact, I will just be grateful that he's gone so he can no longer interfere in my life or anybody else's for that matter. I know magicals can live up to at least 300 and he's over halfway there.
"I certainly hope he doesn't live another century or even two."
Before Dave could answer Harry's stomach growled and caused the older man to laugh. "Well, it looks like it's time to get some dinner."
"You'll get no argument from me, as thanks to you I have finally learned to eat well," Harry said. "I don't like to miss meals now unless I absolutely have to."
Dave said nothing, but it was clear that he was thinking about how it wouldn't have been necessary if not for Dumbledore and the Dursleys.
Grandfather and grandson exited the house Dave had bought so he could live in this world until after Voldemort was dead and headed out to get themselves some dinner their previous discussion shelved for the moment.
~~~Dave and Harry~~~