Chapter 9 - Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

The train ride back to London had been quite subdued thanks to Dumbledore's thinly veiled threats.

I was looking forward to seeing Dudley and show him some proper magic, albeit out of the view of Vernon.

Dudley and I had exchanged a number of letters, and thankfully I'd had the foresight to teach him how to get his attached to Hedwig. Hedwig was happy for the work of course and always ate her weight in bacon upon returning to Hogwarts.

Despite the gloomy air on the train as we got closer to London the realisation dawned that people would be able to celebrate Christmas with family, and by the halfway point games were being played and the usual noises that accompanied young teens and pre-teens could be heard up and down the train.

The compartment was full, I was in with Terry and Kevin, Hermione, Neville, Seamus and Dean.

It was fine at first but eventually Seamus and Dean went to find a less crowded compartment. I hadn't interacted with the boys much but they were friendly enough.

About an hour outside of London the train began to slow, by the time it stopped I was looking as muggle as could be.

I said my goodbyes and merry Christmas' and headed into Kings Cross, it was easy to spot Vernon the Whale and Dudley.

"Harry!" The blond boy yelled as he subjected me to a massive bear hug.

"Alright Dudley?" I grinned. "How's things?"

Before I could get a response.

"COME ON BOY! STOP DAWDLING!"

He shoved my trunk on the trolley between me and Dudley.

"Your aunt is in the car to stop those meter maids from slapping a ticket on the car. HURRY UP!"

"Dad, we'll be fine, here Harry I'll push."

We bundled into the car, and Aunt Petunia's pointed face stared coolly at me.

"You'd best behave yourself while you are with us." Her head snapped to face the front, not to look back the whole trip to Privet Drive; Dudley rolled his eyes as getting in himself.

It turns out despite the icy nature that had started to thaw around the cake incident around the time we were eight, Petunia had elected to be somewhere between that and her previous disinterest.

Well my Christmas presents needed to be spectacular for all three Dursleys.

I may be delaying enjoying a Christmas at Hogwarts til next year but this will pay dividends with my Aunt and Uncle. I was looking forward to it, then the other shoe dropped.

Marge was coming to stay Christmas Eve til Boxing Day.

Ah Fuck.

Friday 20th of December 1991

The Dursley's were tucking in to the 'Welcome home breakfast' for Dudley. I had cooked them, and so was I, Dudley having had a shouting match with his parents to let me have the same.

They had relented incredibly quickly when shown how willing he was to go to defend me.

As I polished off my last hash brown, I cleared my throat.

"I need to go to London to do my last bits of Christmas shopping, and I was wondering if Dudley could come with me."

Vernon looked up slowly from his third portion of the fry up.

"And where do you intend to shop?"

"Well I have a few Muggle items to get and a few less so items." I pause.

"Should be done by three. And it'll be safe. I'll even get Marge something."

"I won't have you traipsing my boy throughâfreaksville unaccompanied. HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE NEAR THAT...that...stuff." He finished lamely.

"Dad. I want to go. I want to see magic, I want to see that part of Harry's life. And it's like Courtney says, 'Not understanding leads to fear.' I'm going with, or without your permission."

I was gobsmacked. He had outright spoken against Vernon.

Then I was jolted back to sense.

"Wait...who's Courtney?' I asked and Dudley blushed.

"Oooooohhhh my cousins got a crush, my cousins got a cruuuuush." I teased in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up Harrrry." He said with a smile. I even saw a ghost of a smile on Petunia's face.

"Tell me about your school. What magic did you learn, what are your lessons likeâ" it was like a Hermione 2.0 with the rapid fire questions.

I was about to launch into describing Hogwarts but paused again to look at Vernon and Petunia. They shared a glance and then looked at Dudley. They must have been talking about this in the run up to our return from our respective boarding schools, as no words were said between them.

"You can talk about the freakishness in front of us, but only when Dudley asks." Vernon begrudgingly allowed.

"Well, I was put in Ravenclaw, for the students that like to study, I'm top in all my classes except Potions which is taught by Professor Snape who hates me because he hated my Dad, it turned out the evil wizard who killed my parents was a ghost thing possessing a teacher, who I thought was injured, tried to help but accidentally killed him because he was possessed by the evil wizard who because of my mum's protection can't touch me, he had let a ten foot mountain troll in to the school which I killed on purpose as it had a massive club, and I think I did pretty well on my mid year tests, history of magic is taught by a ghost but that's nowhere as cool as you'd think it to be...oh and I learnt to fly a broom and it's just the best."

All three Dursleys are looking at me like I've grown another head...hey, I wonder if that's possible magically somehow?

"Sorry, could you go over that again. But a little slower." I was surprised to hear Petunia ask.

I started at the beginning but in much more detail.

By the end of the more detailed recap of my first term Petunia was slightly paler than usual.

"Bloody hell Harry, I wish I could go with you. Sounds awesome." Dudley said, cutting through the silence.

"NO. No. It's dangerous darling, if you did have magic we wouldn't want you to go." Said Petunia.

The mood took a serious turn.

"You'd have to Aunt Petunia...they'd bind his magic and wipe your memories...he would always feel...out of place in the world and never know why." I said quietly.

"Is that true?" She whispered.

"I wish it wasn't." I replied.

"She's right though it is dangerous, but the madman who killed my parents is out there, and what my mum did to save me also keeps you and your parents safe, until I turn seventeen anyway." I stop to breathe.

"I've seen what he's become and he said himself he intends to return and I have to go, to become ready and strong enough to face him."

Vernon was oddly quiet this whole time while giving me a piercing, almost thoughtful look.

"Why do you have to face him?" Confusion and curiosity all over his face.

"Because he won't stop until I do, he wants me dead and no one knows why." I reply with the accepted truth.

"But your mum managed to keep you and us safe?"

"Apparently. She used some old magic. It's called a blood ward, it's not full blood magic but the protection is linked to shared blood. We are safe on the land considered 4 Privet Drive." I finished.

"Well...that nut job who shoved you on our porch step didn't leave half this explanation." He said gruffly.

"And the murderer is still gunning for you?"

I nod.

"And you plan to take the fight to him?"

I nod again.

"Well...good on you." He hefted another helping of food on my plate.

"There will be ground rules when talking about...about...mmm...mmm...Magic, but that shows grit."

With that he looked at me with the same piercing look, then some emotion I'd never seen him have while looking at me, I thought it could've been some kind of respect, albeit once again, begrudgingly.

This was shaping up to be a weird morning.

It was decided that Aunt Petunia would accompany us, I had thought 'in for a penny' and thought exposing her to magic may alleviate the fear of it as Dudley's crush had said.

I walked us to the end of Privet Drive and across to Wisteria Walk.

"How do you expect us to travel?" Asked Petunia.

I grinned at them both as I looked around;

"Magic." Aaaand wand up.

CRAAA-CRAAA-CK BANG! Went the knight bus.

The wooosh of air hit us and surprised my Aunt and Cousin forcing them to step back.

"Welcome to the knight bus..."

Dudley loved the Knight bus, he let out a laugh as we were thrown about the place with every sharp turn or were squeezed between other vehicles.

However the daggers Petunia was staring at me killed my enjoyment of Dudley's reaction.

With a slam on the brakes and another loud bang we were in front of the Leaky Cauldron, I told them to hold hands as I guided them through the wards and into the pub. Once they've gotten in the door I'm able to let go.

"C'mon, this way." I gesture to distract from the chairs rearranging themselves and food appearing in front of people.

"Why have you brought us to the bins?" Dudley asked.

"Well, occasionally the odd non magical person accidentally ends up in the pub, so this is the real entrance toâ"

Tap tap tap, I pause for dramatic effect.

Tap tap tap.

"Diagon Alley!"

As the bricks finally move out of the way to reveal the winding street and storefronts, both my relatives' eyes pop open wide. Which makes me think Petunia never came here with Lily. Sad really, how jealousy pushed them apart.

"Unfortunately we'll have to stop at the bank first so I've enough gold for purchases here and enough normal money for back in the rest of London. It's this way."

Getting to the bank took three times as long as needed, as both Dursleys wanted to gawk at every shop window, the two longest stops were Dudley looking at the Nimbus 2000 and Petunia at the gardening book being advertised, oddly enough, in both the apothecary window and next door in the small shop named Pippin's plants and herbs.

They continued to look amazed as we approached the bank's doors.

"Word of warning, do not speak unless spoken to, I've been trying to maintain good relations with the Goblins, and also try not to stare, it's rude to all beings really."

Despite my warning I could practically hear their necks snap as they looked around both at the bank and its tellers.

I went to the first available teller.

"Well met friend Goblin, firstly can I ask your name as earnt and given?" I gave as this the preferred and polite way to address an unknown Goblin in their culture.

A brief moment of shock on his face before he replied.

"Yes...you may call me Sharpclaw, I already know of you Mr. Potter, what can I help you with today?"

"I'll need to go to my vault first, there should be a note on my account from my interim account manager Griphook, I will also need to speak to him, but I can do so after visiting my vault."

"Very well, if you follow Bolgruk to the cart, the muggles will need to remain in the cart when you arrive at the vault. Griphook will be ready when you return." He waved to his colleague.

"Thank you Sharpclaw, and may you find wealth within and beyond your vaults."

"And may your pockets grow heavy with gold."

When we got to the vault cart I asked the Dursleys.

"Forgot to mention this, but do you like rollercoasters?"

The wide grin I gave them had Petunia cooling her face for the dagger stares I was due to receive.

As expected Petunia started screaming as we flew through the underground cave systems in the little cart, after twenty seconds the cart was accelerating so quickly that the sound of her screeching was being whipped away from us before we could hear it.

Dudley was loving it and laughed the whole way down.

Bolgruk grunted at them to stay in the cart as he led me down the corridor to vault 687.

I had been worried about the reaction when they realised my wealth, but that wasn't going to be an issue thankfully.

The vault door swung inwards to reveal the gold.

I took what I needed and quickly had a look around, this vault held nothing but metal.

I nodded to Bolgruk and headed back to the cart.

After the Goblin joined us I saw him press an extra button he hadn't earlier, my guess to not be subject to Petunia's screeching.

The ride up seemed to be a little bit smoother, at least according to Dudley.

The meeting with Griphook was to be private and the Dursleys were ushered towards a waiting room near the bank's entrance.

I waited for Griphook in an ornate office, but with an understated desk.

"Good morning Griphook, how grows your vault?"

"In Galleons my friend." He replied

"Now, to business?"

"Of course, where shall we start?"

"The troll, the parts rendered to keep, have been added to the main potter vault for when you come of age along with all gold." He slid a piece of parchment showing the earnt gold from the sale of the troll corpse. It was a nice number, more than most wizards would earn in a year, which got my mind reeling at the possible figure the Basilisk will net me when I get to that.

Griphook then passed over another piece of parchment showing a long list of numbers.

"These are the current holdings of the potter estate and the profit on each of the last two quarters. As you can see slight growth in most of them all, but we needn't get to the details until you are of age and full in acceptance of your Lordship. Are there any particular areas of business you intend to pursue, currently we cannot invest without you being of age. We can however monitor these businesses to advise you better upon reaching your majority."

He paused to breathe.

"What I can let you know is besides stock and share holdings, the Potters own several properties.

The percentage of shares for both the Leaky Cauldron and The Daily Prophet also are ownership of the same percentage of the building that the business resides in.

They Potters also own a number of residences, in order of value starting with most valuable;

Potter Manor, a muggle townhouse, a flat in London Centre, a flat in Paris and a cottage in the south of France in the Occitanie region.

The Potters did own the cottage in Godric's Hollow but that has beenâappropriated by the Ministry as a national Landmark." He growled at the last part.

"Despite their quite large vaults, over the 20th Century the Potters threw a lot of wealth behind the eventual winning sides against both Grindelwald and Voldemort, leaving you as the Muggles says, Asset rich, cash poor.

Granted your vaults still leave you significantly richer than the common Wizard, but in comparison to the wealth you may have boasted..." He trailed off.

"It'll take a lot of work to build it back."

With this food for thought I bid him good day and led the Dursleys out of Gringotts and into the sun.

Now with cash in hand, I led the Dursley's to each shop, and allowed them to ogle and stare to their heart's content, as I did so I secreted away their presents as I bought them.

"So no one sees anything, even if they flew right over?" Asked Petunia with a confused look on her face.

"Nope, the wards, I guess you could say shield hides us and makes non-magical's think they need to be elsewhere."

"I did feel the sudden urge to rush back home and tend to the rose bushes as we entered that pub." She mused.

She began to ask her next question when we both quickly looked around.

Dudley had stopped directly in front of Ollivanders.

"I want to try for a wand." He said clearly and somewhat forcefully.

"Mateâ.nothing would come of it, I'm not saying this to be mean butâI wouldn't want you to feel anyway about it." I told him softly.

He face fell, then a look of determination settled in his features, he stepped forward and pushed the door open to the sound of the small bell above us.

"Ahhhh Mr. Potter, how nice of you to grace me with your presence. I hope your wand hasn't been broken in these last three short months." He said quickly going from gracious host, to hostile and potentially deadly enemy at the idea of a broken wand.

"And who do we have here?"

"My cousin and Auntie...they're muggles." I said, watching his piercing gaze.

"No, they aren't." He said nonchalantly.

"WHAT!" I yelled.

"Phssst Harry." He scolded my outburst.

"They're Squibs my boy." His face broke out in a smile.

He turned to them both.

"Would you mind if I cast a few diagnostic charms on yourselves?" He asked.

They both nodded their acceptance.

After about ten minutes of him tailing his wand and bathing them both in a number of lights he stood up straight sharply and clicked his heels.

"Right, so it looks as though neither had enough magical energies to become Witch and Wizard respectively, but in either the next generation or two, there should be at least one magic user in their family tree." He finished.

"What does that mean?" Petunia asked.

"It means my dear" Ollivander continued.

"That if you had had one or two more children, the likely good is that there was high potential for a magical child, and if your son has any children then there is a much greater chance of a magical child."

He stopped to take a breath.

"I would also like to note that the meagre magic you do possess, is present in your daily lives. Simply put, you may have innate talents others do not."

He paused a beat to let that sink in.

"For example I believe that your son is, or has the potential to become stronger and able to carry more than most or at least with less effort than the common muggle. You may have a-"

"My senses." Petunia interrupted.

"I've always been able to hear slightly further and more clearly than others, and I have a much stronger sense of taste, I think at least." She fell silent.

"Well there we go. Mystery solved, happy to help." Said Ollivander.

Later we sat in silence as we ate our ice cream at fortescue's.

Once we were done I mentioned them back to the leaky Cauldron.

After leading them through the wards back into non magical London the weight that had descended on us seemed to lift.

"Right then, let's get on with the rest of the shopping shall we." Said Dudley with his usual gusto while giving us both a side hug/squeeze.

Petunia snapped out of her daze.

"Oh, oh right of course dudders, sorry I mean Dudley. Let's get to it."

She didn't even mind that we had eaten ice cream before lunch. After two and a half more hours shopping, some pizza, we were ready to head home.

Petunia had mellowed over the last two hours and even joked.

"Must we really take that purple monstrosity home again?" With a ghost of a smile.

I looked around and flicked my wand up.

And once again,

CRACCCCK-CRACK-BANG! Went the knight bus.

23rd of December 1991

I had wrapped the last of the presents and would be sending Hedwig with gifts to my Hogwarts friends in the morning, well before Marge arrived, I had two presents for each Dursley, one magical and one non magical, marge just had a non magical one.

There was just one thing left to do. Put in place rules for Marge's visit.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia. Can I have a word."

Vernon muted the TV.

"About?" He asked.

"Marge." I steeled myself, I didn't want to burn the surprising bridges built over the last four days since the London trip.

"You always used to say my parents died in a car crash, as this is a lie I was hoping we could tell her something closer to the truth. NOT about magic of course!" I punctuated my wording before Vernon could lose it at the idea of telling her magic was real.

"What I wanted to say to her is that they were working for Queen and country and had their identities leaked to a terrorist they had stopped several times from committing numerous crimes and attacks." I breathed in deep, I was on a roll.

"It's pretty close to the truth and I think she'll buy it if you're selling it, Uncle Vernon." With the man's ego being inflated all it would take would be for Petunia to agree, in for a penny.

"And Aunt Petunia, wouldn't it be nice for someone non magical to know mum died a hero?"

Vernon, Dudley and I looked at her.

A tear formed in each eye.

"Yes, it would."

Half hour later I was back in my room and smiling.

It may have only been Christmas Eve-Eve but still, as I watched small snowflakes begin to fall, desperately trying to stick to some surface, I thought to myself, Merry Christmas to all and to all...a good night.