"Aunt Petunia?"

Petunia Evans Dursley started at her nephew's voice and felt a flush of anger. She knew the anger was irrational but it was like a reflex. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't stop. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

He'd been away at that special school in Scotland for the school year and during that time she'd found herself wondering at the reflexive anger at him. Aside from being born magical, nothing he had ever done had warranted being locked in a cupboard over night or her husband raising his hands against the boy. It's just that he wasn't normal. And normal had to be striven for at all costs.

"Yes, Harry?" she said without turning to look at him.

"I've finished cleaning up the basement," Harry said. "And I was wondering, I'm supposed to work on potions over the summer and there's a room down there that might be good for that…"

Another spurt of anger. Another deep breath. This anger was not normal."Did you go in there?"

"No ma'am. It's locked."

Petunia looked around the kitchen. Her husband, Vernon, was at work. Her son, Dudley, was off with his 'friends' terrorizing who ever. Her mind skittered away from acknowledging that Dudley's bullying was not normal. And she knew that was not normal.

"We both know a simple muggle lock wouldn't stop you," she said.

"I'm not supposed to … you know… outside of school," Harry said.

She finally turned to look at him. "How are you supposed to do your other summer school work?"

"I guess I don't."

She sniffed, suddenly angry. Not at him but for him. "Follow me."

She lead him into the basement, noting it had been swept of dirt and cobwebs and organized. She went to the locked door of the room he'd mentioned, pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked both locks.

Petunia swung the door open and flipped the light switch. She heard Harry gasp. This room was her pride and joy. A potions lab. The room was bigger on the inside thanks to her father's rune work. White tile floor and walls, stainless steel tables with glass cutting boards. A gas cooktop with a vent hood. Pewter cauldrons and stainless steel pots. A small refrigerator. Steel shelves with glass jars filled with herbs. A cabinet with glass doors held her books on runes and potions. She didn't mention there was a locked bookcase in the adjacent locked store room. That room held the dangerous ingredients that the Ministry of Magic would frown on being in a muggle neighborhood if they knew. And they would have kneazles if they knew she'd inherited her parents' collection of books on poisons and black art runes.

"An expansion spell?" Harry whispered. She held her finger to her lips.

She touched a silver rune beside the door before answering. "I've set the alarm. It will tell us if anyone enters the house." She waved her hand to indicate the room. "My father had this built for me when he bought this house. Vernon thinks I dabble in making herbal teas." She didn't try to hide her disdain for her husband's opinion. She'd made a decent living making potions and herbal remedies before Dudley was born. And he always 'forgot' that she'd had the house before they were married and she'd never put his name on the title.

"But you hate magic."

"The Evanses have always had magic. But not wand magic. Your mother was the first in generations to be invited to Hogwarts. She was the first one in generations to be allowed a wand. Our parents were so proud of her. Finally an Evans at Hogwarts."

"Why weren't you invited?"

"I can't use a wand," she explained. She tried hard to keep bitterness out of her voice. "My parents couldn't, their parents couldn't. Most squibs are not devoid of magic. We just can't use wands. But wand users think we're worse than goblins. Maybe even worse than muggles because they think we could be like them if we just tried harder.

"My father was a rune master. He worked for Gringotts. He had this room built for me. My mother brewed potions. Despite what you may have been told at that school you don't need a wand to brew potions or carve runes. You don't need magic for arithmancy or astronomy or history or law."

She looked around her lab. "This room should be warded against magic leakage. You can practice charms and transfiguration so long as you don't damage the equipment. You can also store your school things down here. Don't try making any potions without me being here."

"Yes, ma'am."

She checked her watch. "Vernon will be home shortly. We need to get dinner started."

Harry Potter was surprised and more than a little puzzled at his aunt's sudden change of attitude. He was used to her piling chores on him, yelling at him, occasionally smacking him when she thought he wasn't moving fast enough or arguing with her. It had been a surprise to discover that when he came back to the house on Privet Drive for summer break he'd been moved from the cramped cupboard under the stairs to the bedroom Dudley had been using as a playroom.

The room was still filled with broken furniture and broken toys. Dudley was hard on his toys but refused to throw them out. So they just filled up space.

But to discover his 'muggle' aunt brewed potions and had a lab nicer than the one at school… that was a shock.

It was also a shock that she was doing the cooking. Tonight Harry's job was to simply set the table and toss the salad. Not that Vernon or Dudley ever touched tossed salad.

For the first time he could remember, Harry had a place at the table. Vernon had tried to order him back to the kitchen but Petunia ordered Harry to stay and eat with them.

"What would the neighbors say if they saw Harry eating in the kitchen?" she asked saccharinely. "It wouldn't be normal. And Vernon, you won't be able to tell them Harry's on break from that reform school you made up since they wouldn't have holiday or summer breaks. We don't want them to think you're a liar, would we?"

Vernon glowered at both Harry and Petunia throughout the meal.

Dessert was chocolate cake with ice cream. Petunia had plated the cake in the kitchen and had Harry scoop out the ice cream and bring the dessert to the table. Dudley tried to grab two plates for himself but Petunia stopped him with a glare. "Taking two servings when someone else at the table has none is not normal."

She turned to Vernon. "I need to go to my bank tomorrow and I'll take the boys with me. It'll be a good outing for them."

"What's wrong at the bank?" Vernon demanded.

"I got a note about my business account," she said.

Harry knew she was lying. They'd had no mail delivered that day.

"Nothing serious," she continued. "Some new tax regulations and papers to sign."

"I don't know why you still have that separate account. I'm the man of the house, I make the money, I should have control of the money."

"We've talked about this before," she stated. "Business money mustn't be mixed with personal money. And you're not on the business license."

"But Mum, I was going to go the movies tomorrow with Piers," Dudley whined.

"I need you with me tomorrow," Petunia stated. "We can get lunch afterwards. Maybe McDonalds."

Vernon muttered about wasting money on Yank food. Petunia ignored him as she indicated Harry should clear the table.

As usual, Harry was sent to his room rather than allowing him to watch TV with the rest of them. But on the way up, Petunia handed him some large garbage bags. "It's not normal to have a room full of broken toys."

The next morning Harry was up early, as was his habit. He normally made breakfast for the others and was lucky to get a piece of toast.

But Petunia has already up and in the kitchen. Coffee was ready in the carafe. The breakfast table was set. Dudley's sugary cereal was set up for when he decided to lumber out of bed. It was summer break and Dudley rarely if ever got out of bed before noon during summer break.

"Do you want oatmeal or eggs this morning?" Petunia asked.

"I'll have what you're having, if that's okay," Harry responded.

"Oatmeal. Maybe some nuts and fruit," she responded. "There's dried fruit and nuts in the cupboard next to the pasta."

Harry hurried and found the package she was referring to.

She added more water and oatmeal to the pot she was stirring.

"Aunt Petunia, are you okay?"

She shuddered. Then, after a long moment: "I haven't been okay for years. I haven't been okay since your father and his buddies crashed my wedding reception and ruined it. I haven't been okay since the day that bastard Dumbledore left you in a basket on my front porch in the dead of night in the dead of winter with a letter telling me my sister and her husband had been murdered and I was forced to take you in."

Harry's heart dropped. She was back to hating him.

"You didn't make this situation," Petunia continued. She kept her voice low. "But Dumbledore had to have known that Vernon despised your father and his bully friends and the feeling was mutual. And before she went into hiding, my sister was no better.

"One toddler underfoot is difficult, especially when you're married to an ambitious middle manager who wants a perfect house and a seen but not heard child for when he brings clients home. Two was impossible, especially when one of them was sickly and had night terrors. The cupboard became your room because that's where you dragged your toys and blankets and made a nest. That's where you could sleep."

Harry could hear his uncle tromping down the stairs. She wiped tears from her face and handed Harry a plate with eggs, sausage, and toast for Vernon before dishing out oatmeal for herself and Harry.

"Dudders! Breakfast!" Vernon yelled up the stairs.

Dudley stomped down the stairs and to the table. "I don't want to go into town to a stupid bank. I want to go to the movies with Piers."

"We don't always get what we want, Dudders," Petunia said sadly. "Eat your breakfast and get dressed. The cab will be here in an hour."

Vernon and Dudley both grumbled through breakfast. Again Harry cleared the table. After Vernon left for work and Dudley had gone back to his room to get dressed, Petunia turned to Harry. "Bring your wand and your school robe. We're going to Gringotts and we don't want to stand out. Your scar will be noticeable enough."

"You know about Gringotts?"

"Of course. Do you have your vault key?"

He was surprised at the question. She knew he had a vault at Gringotts?

"No. Hagrid had it when he took me to the bank last year when we got the money for my school supplies. But he didn't give it to me."

"Hagrid is that creature that gave Dudley a pig tail last year?"

"Yeah. He's the grounds keeper at Hogwarts."

"They didn't send a teacher to take you to the bank or go shopping?"

Harry shook his head. Petunia was actually sounding like she cared. She'd been crying. It was weird. It was scary.

He went to his new room and grabbed his school robe and his wand.

When he came down again, Petunia was wearing a light blue wizards robe with silver and gold embroidery.

The cab driver seemed determinedly unobservant when the three of them climbed into the cab. Petunia took the passenger seat by the driver while Dudley and Harry sat in back. She gave the cabby an address on Charing Cross Road.

"Dudley, you will keep your comments and hands to yourself or I swear I'll send you to Marge's for the summer," she warned. "And I'll tell her your job will be to clean up after her mutts."

Dudley sat back in his seat and glowered. But he did stay quiet and left Harry alone.

Harry had to guide them to wall behind the Leaky Cauldron. "I used to be able to see it." Petunia muttered.

Harry didn't comment as he put on his school robe and tapped out the entrance pattern on the brick with his wand. Dudley's mouth dropped as he saw the bricks move aside to make an opening.

"Dudley's still going to stand out," Harry muttered. Petunia nodded.

"No helping it. If I'm lucky, Dudley will never have to come here again."

The bank was a short distance away, a majestic white building that towered over the smaller shops around it.

Petunia grabbed the boys' hands as she strode down the street toward the bank. Harry noticed the odd looks they were getting from the wizards in the street. Luckily there weren't many of them. Petunia's expression was grim and she was keeping her eyes straight ahead.

She led them up the steps, past the brass doors and the silver inner doors to a goblin teller.

"Don't say a word, Dudley," she hissed at her son. "I'll explain later."

To the goblin teller she said, "My name is Petunia Marie Evans and I need to speak with my account manager. This is my nephew Harry James Potter and he needs to speak with his account manager."

The teller summoned another black suited goblin who led them further into the building to a conference room. "Wait here," he ordered before closing the door and locking it behind him.

Petunia gestured Dudley to sit in one of the chairs against the wall while she and Harry took seats at the table. "Dudley," she said as she sat, "You will speak only if directly spoken to. You will not move from that chair unless expressly instructed. You are my son and I love you, but I can't protect you here. If you do anything to upset any of these people, they can and might kill you."

"Aunt Petunia, why did you bring him here?" Harry asked, keeping his voice low.

"Because I don't trust anyone in the British wizarding world to tell me the truth."

The door opened and two goblins stepped in. One of them greeted Petunia. "Madame Evans, may your enemies fall and your gold increase. What can I do for you today? Your account is growing nicely and your new investments are growing even better than expected, so I see no concerns there."

"Thank you, Grimaxe. It has come to my attention that I may have had compulsions and other spells placed on me, and possibly members of my family."

"Oh?"

"My son, Dudley, and my nephew, Harry Potter," as she spoke she indicated each one, "have both been away at boarding school. While they were gone, I found my thought processes becoming clearer and more settled."

"As though mind magics were breaking down?" Grimaxe asked.

"Exactly. I am asking for a health evaluation for myself and my son."

"Why not go to St. Mungos?"

"They don't serve my kind there and Harry would attract too much attention."

"I'll arrange for a healer to see you and your son after this meeting," Grimaxe said.

"I have another request as well. The Statute of Secrecy forbids underage magic in muggle areas. This means wizarding students living in muggle areas cannot practice their wand work."

"You would like anti-magic detection wards placed on your property?" Grimaxe asked.

"Yes. And assuming I can afford it, I would like my property warded strongly enough to protect my family against attack or intrusion. Unfortunately, although I was given custody of my nephew, no stipend was forthcoming to defray the expense of raising a second child."

Harry caught the worried looks between the two goblins.

"Is there a problem?" Petunia asked.

"I am Griphook, the Potter account manager," the other goblin said. "According to the Potter accounts, you should be receiving a monthly stipend on 100 galleons a month for the care of Heir Potter."

"I was not made aware of that, nor have I seen such an amount transferred into my control," Petunia stated. She looked to Grimaxe.

The goblin shook his head. "I would have been apprised if another account had been opened here in your name. You would be receiving statements."

"So where's the money going?" Harry asked.

"I will investigate," Griphook promised. "There are other monthly withdrawals that need to be reviewed as well. Do you have your vault key?"

"No, Hagrid from Hogwarts had it the last time I was here. That was just before school started," Harry answered.

Griphook stood shock still, staring at Harry. Then a blank parchment appeared in the goblin's hand. He pulled a small silver knife from his pocket. "We need seven drops of blood for an inheritance test," Griphook said, putting the parchment on the table and handing Harry the knife.

Harry pricked his finger and dripped seven drops of blood on the parchment. Squeezing the cut to get the blood hurt more than the cut itself. The wound flashed silver and healed over as blood red writing appeared on the parchment.

Griphook grumbled under his breath. "Sirius Black is listed by magic as Heir Potter's oath bound godfather and magical guardian. Why is he not Heir Potter's physical guardian?"

"Black is in Azkaban for aiding Voldemort in the murder my sister and her husband, killing 13 muggles, and a wizard named Peter Pettigrew," Petunia explained.

"If Black had been acting against the welfare of Heir Potter, his oath would have killed him," Griphook stated. "Even being under an Imperious would not have saved him."

"So, you're thinking if this Black person is innocent of acting against my welfare that night, maybe he's not guilty of the other charges?" Harry asked. It was all very confusing.

"We would have to see the trial documents," Griphook said. "It is possible he is innocent on one charge but guilty on the other."

"But not likely," Petunia said. "Black was a self-centered self-important pure blood noble house prat, but mass murder? Even he would recognize it wasn't good joke he could walk away from or wave money at."

Griphook nodded then pointed out another line on the parchment to Harry. "This lists Harry James Potter as the Black Heir by blood adoption."

"And what does that mean?" Harry asked.

"It means that you have the right as Sirius Black's adopted son, to ask the goblins to look into his incarceration and free him, if possible," Petunia responded. "For a fee, of course."

"But I can ask you to look into exonerating him?" Harry asked Griphook.

"Yes."

"Then do it, please."

Griphook nodded and made a note in the leather bound book that appeared in his hand.

"Concerning your missing vault keys, I suggest we cancel your current keys and have new ones made," Griphook said.

"Does that include any Black House vaults he should have access to as heir?" Petunia asked.

"I will have the Black account manager look into that. In the meantime, I am going to order a full audit of the Potter accounts and I will suggest a full audit of the Black accounts as well. I suggest pausing the monthly withdrawals until they can be more thoroughly reviewed. I also see no evidence that the wills for James and Lily Potter were ever executed."

"Shouldn't that have been automatic?" Petunia asked. "I can understand if I was not invited to the reading, but not executed at all?"

"My notes indicated their wills were sealed by direct order of the Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore."

"How is that legal?"

"I do not believe it is," Griphook stated. He paused for a long moment. "The inheritance test includes a health evaluation. I see additional concerns. There is an indication that Amortensia was used on Madame Potter, possibly to facilitate conception."

Petunia's face turned white. "You're saying that love potions were used on my sister? Since she had a child, wouldn't that be line theft?"

"If the House of Evans was an Ancient or Noble wizarding family, it would be," Griphook stated.

She gave a bitter laugh. "But a house of talented squibs cannot possibly be either Ancient or Noble or worth attempting line theft against."

Griphook shrugged. "Heir Potter has a large number of compulsions placed on him, two core binds and several curses. The older binding was probably placed by his parents to control accidental magic. It's mostly broken down otherwise he wouldn't have gotten an invitation letter from Hogwarts. There's an antipathy curse on him that would cause those around him for any length of time to end up hating him unless compulsed otherwise."

"When were those placed?"

"When he was a bit more than a year old."

"So when he was left on my porch in the dead of winter with just a note. You said two core binds. What about the second one?"

"That was placed by the same person at the same time as the antipathy curse. Heir Potter's magical core is 50% blocked. His Family abilities, both Potter and Evans, are 90% blocked."

"And who placed those blocks?"

"The magical signature indicates Albus Dumbledore. The more recent compulsions have his signature as well."

"Can you remove all that?" Petunia demanded. "All the compulsions, curses, binds, and blocks?"

"A healer is on his way."

Petunia was beyond furious. Dumbledore had placed binds, blocks, and curses on an innocent baby and left him in the hands of people he was certain had no means to counter them. People who wouldn't suspect they were being manipulated into mistreating that same innocent.

She felt sick. In a muggle court she and Vernon would have no excuse for the abuse Harry had endured. Luckily for her, she was a squib and wasn't exactly powerless. She wondered if Dumbledore had cast compulsions on her and Vernon as well that night. She wouldn't put it past him. Were Dudley's gluttony issues a reflection of her and Vernon countering with him the neglect Harry had endured? Or had Dumbledore put compulsions on her son as well?

The healer, Silverknife, did the health evaluation on her and Dudley. The results were surprising but in retrospect shouldn't have been. Dudley had a magical core, a magical core that was 95% blocked by Dumbledore. All of his Evans Family gifts were also blocked. He had a true self curse on him, meaning he was unable to overcome his impulses be it hunger, avarice, or anger.

She had the same true self curse on her. At least she'd been an adult when cursed so had a modicum of impulse control, otherwise she would would probably have killed one of the children as babies. What she had interpreted as simple exhaustion when faced with two toddlers had been her magical core being 50% bound by Dumbledore. It was no longer a surprise she'd been unable to magically fortify her potions when she tried to return to potion brewing when the boys started primary school.

She turned back to the healer. "Will Dudley have magic when his core is unblocked?" she asked.

"The Evans line has always been different," Silverknife said. "It is possible he could turn out to be a wand user. Or he could turn out to be magically inert despite having a core. Or anything in between."

"Let's do it," she ordered. "Heir Potter as well. Heir Potter's magical guardian is unavailable and I am Heir Potter's physical guardian so I am allowed to authorize it."

"I should warn all three of you," Silverknife said solemnly, "Cleansing is taxing, both physically and emotionally. Removing mind curses can be unsettling and you may need the services of mind healers to recover."

"Mum?" Dudley said. Surprisingly it wasn't the whine she'd been expecting. He'd been quiet all through the discussions even though he had to have been confused and worried. He'd been told repeatedly that the magical world was a fiction only now he knew he'd been lied to. Magic was real. Frighteningly real. And frighteningly dangerous.

"Healer Silverknife was just explaining that once they've removed the poisons they found, we're going to be very tired and maybe upset because we will feel so different. But soon we'll all feel much better than we have for a very long time."

The decision was made to do the spell and potion cleansing on both boys first. The healers wanted Petunia to be conscious in the event a decision needed to be made.

She wasn't allowed in the ritual room with Dudley but strong sleeping draughts had been administered to both boys and Dudley wouldn't wake until the cleansing was finished and he was moved to a resting ward. His situation was simpler in any case. Almost routine, if any removal of curses, spells and bindings from a child was routine.

Harry on the other hand…

"Madame Evans..." One of the other healers called from the door to the ritual chamber Harry had been taken to. "An alien soul fragment has been found in the scar on Heir Potter's head. It's currently encysted and so as far as we know it was not currently affecting him, but we believe the cyst is breaking down. We do not know what will happen to him once it does. This is the darkest soul magic. This is abomination."

"Can you remove the fragment?"

"We believe so," the healer said.

"Then go ahead."

Petunia waited in the waiting area for the healers to be finished with the boys. As expected, Dudley was sent to the resting ward first. His case had been the simplest. Petunia studied his chubby sleeping face and realized this was the first time in years he didn't have a frown. He looked relaxed, like a child his age should look.

Dudley woke up while the goblin healers were still working on Harry.

"How do you feel?" Petunia asked her son.

"I don't know," he said. "It's weird but I don't feel angry like I usually do. I can think about Harry and I don't want to punch him for breathing my air. At least not much. Was the poison doing that to me?"

Petunia nodded.

A healer came over to them. "We set the bindings on your son to break down in about a month. Releasing the core bindings all at once can be traumatic, especially for someone who has never had access to their magical core."

"Does that mean I'm going to be a freak like Harry?"

"Harry isn't a freak," Petunia stated, noting the expressionless look that came over the healer's face. Part of her mind insisted Harry Potter wasn't 'normal' and not normal equaled 'freak'. But she also knew it was the affect of the spells on her and on Harry. Dumbledore had wanted Harry to be neglected if not abused.

"Harry is a wizard from a long line of wizards," she continued. "Not a freak. It was the poison that made us afraid of him. That made us want to hurt him. Now we have to work to rise above the lies the poison made us believe."

"What about Dad? Has he been poisoned too? Can they help him?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

"Is it true Harry's family had a lot of money? That Harry's going to be rich?"

"Rich is relative and Harry can't inherit until he's of age," Petunia said. "And we're not Potters so we're not entitled to anything from them."

"That sucks," Dudley claimed.

Petunia noted that he hadn't protested that it wasn't 'fair'. As far as the law was concerned, all they were entitled to was the stipend that Petunia had never seen.

Petunia checked her watch. They weren't going to make it back to Privet Drive by the time Vernon was home for work. Vernon would be furious if they weren't home as expected. She suddenly realized she was afraid of her husband and part of her said it was right and normal. No one should be afraid in their own home. She wasn't even sure how long she'd been afraid. Had it started before or after Harry's arrival?

She spotted one of the healers. "Could someone notify my husband that I'm held up in town? He works for Grunnings, in the main office. Vernon Dursley."

"We could have someone bring him here," the healer offered.

"No, he's a muggle and he's afraid of magic and magic users."

"I'll see what I can do," the healer promised. He went to the healer station by the door. He had just started writing a note when the door opened.

A ginger-haired man with a scarred face stepped in. His leather vest had a Gringotts badge clipped to it and he was nervously twisting the brim of his fedora. "Mrs. Dursley?"

"Yes."

"I'm Curse Breaker William Weasley. I'm one of the people assigned to set up the wards on your property."

"Yes?"

"There was an incident at your house…"

Petunia's heart sank as she waited for him to continue.

"First off, the ward team knows how to work in muggle areas. There's never been a single incident where neighbors or muggle authorities have had to have their memories adjusted. Never."

"But?"

"We were packing up, getting ready to leave, and a man drove up. Big walrus of a man. He saw the van, saw me and started yelling. Demanded to know if we'd been inside the house. Of course we had, the front door was still open. Then he started screaming about freaks and making threats. He tried to punch one of the ward masters. I pulled him off but I guess he saw my wand holster and… I've never seen anybody turn that color without a hex."

"Go on."

"He collapsed on the street. I notified emergency services and they sent an ambulance and took him to the hospital."

"And of course all the neighbors on the street saw my husband come home early and have a nervous breakdown over workmen being in the house. What do the neighbors think the workmen were doing?"

"The van says 'Gringotts Security Installation Services'. The license is real. The phone number is real. Goes to a real person in a real office in muggle London who can set up appointments. Funny that the goblins are more up on muggle tech than wizards but I guess they have to be. They work in both worlds. Oh, and as part of the service, there's a redirect on your mail and any deliveries. Everything will be checked before it gets to you. If you're expecting anything questionable like magical potion ingredients, let us know so we can pass them through."

"You mentioned phones. Can I call the hospital where my husband is?"

Bill pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to her along with a card the ambulance driver had given him. "Like I said, goblins are up to date on muggle tech."

The hospital reception desk forwarded her call to Vernon's floor. After she identified herself to the nurse a doctor was called to talk to her. "Mrs. Dursley, your husband has had a stroke. As near as we can tell it was a minor one but he's refusing treatment. He's also combative and claims we're freaks out to 'hex' him. He's been threatening to kill someone he calls 'freak boy' and is demanding to be released…"

"Don't," Petunia said. She closed her eyes. It was one of her nightmares come true, Vernon's fear and hatred of magic coming out for the world to see. His fear and hatred of Harry…

"I was going to ask if he had a drug problem or was on any medications that might have triggered this," the doctor said.

"My husband won't take the medications his own doctor has prescribed," Petunia told him. That was true. Vernon hated the fact that Grunnings required yearly physicals for its senior staff. And he flatly refused to fill the blood pressure and cholesterol prescriptions the company physician wrote for him.

"Were there any anti-psychotics prescribed?"

"If there had been, he wouldn't have kept his job," Petunia answered.

"With his current mental state, we're keeping him here for psychiatric evaluation. Can we reach you at this number?"

"I'm on a borrowed phone. I'm in the city but should be home tomorrow," Petunia said. She gave the doctor her home number then rang off.

"Mum?"

"Your father attacked the people I'd asked to set up better security at the house. He's in the hospital because he collapsed and they're keeping him there because he threatened to kill Harry."

"Blimey Mum," Dudley said, eyes wide. "Dad could do it, too." Dudley paused, his expression worried. "Do you think Dad has really gone off his nut?"

"I don't know." She turned back to the curse breaker. "Do the new wards include alarms and warnings against violence or evil actions inside the house?"

"Yes. An alarm will sound here and the wards will react to anyone trying to harm Harry Potter or other members of your immediate family. The perpetrators will be sent to a cell in the DMLE for investigation. The wards will trigger even if that harm is threatened from a family member."

"I have a letter from Dumbledore saying Harry Potter had to stay with me in my house due to wards set up around my blood connection to Harry. I can state categorically that if those wards existed, they did not preclude harm coming to him inside the wards."

"We found no current protection wards on your house," Bill stated. "But if someone had tied protection wards to Harry's core, they would only work if he was physically in the house and if his core could safely support them."

"Mum, what does that all mean?"

Bill answered. "In a nutshell, we installed an alarm system that covers the house and the yard. The system will react automatically if someone has acted on the intent to hurt someone in your family."

"That means physically or verbally," Petunia added. "No threats, no name calling, no physical violence. Not from you, not from me or your father, and not from your friends. Not even from Harry. If anyone does, they'll find themselves in a jail cell wondering how they got there."

"The guys won't like it," Dudley complained.

"If your friends won't like being told there will be consequences for their actions, maybe you need new friends," Bill commented dryly.

Normally Petunia would have lashed out at someone else advising her son in such a harsh way. Today she welcomed it.

"Duddykins, the poisons tell me to ignore the fact that you and your friends go around hurting people and stealing from them. They tell me to ignore the fact that everyone in the neighborhood is afraid of your father's temper and his threats. But I can't do that anymore. I had hoped that things would get better when you were in a disciplined environment like Smeltings, that you'd learn better. I was wrong. Maybe your father didn't tell you but Smeltings threatened to expel you for bullying. Your father managed to talk them into allowing you another year. But now your father is in the hospital and has been threatening to kill an eleven year old child who is living in the same house."

"If he's in the hospital, we might be able to send a healer over under a glamour and run a health evaluation on him. We can say you just found out your husband was seeing someone about stress issues," Bill suggested.

"And how much will that cost?" Petunia wondered aloud. It just occurred to her that Gringotts healers were not on Vernon's company insurance plan and she doubted they were part of NHS.

"I'm just a curse breaker but from what I understand you're the physical guardian of the heir of a Noble House and very wealthy Ancient House. I doubt it will be an issue to free up some funds for wards and health care."

"We're bringing Heir Potter in," the healer said. They gave Bill a dark look. He grabbed his hat and left.

Harry was still asleep when they transferred him to the ward bed. Petunia was a little surprised to realize the distaste she had expected wasn't there. She knew it was too much to ask that she felt love for her nephew. But maybe tolerance was good enough.

"How did it go?" she asked Healer Silverknife as he walked in.

"Better than we were expecting, considering all spells and potion effects we found. The core and abilities bindings should break down in about two weeks," Silverknife said.

"And the soul fragment?"

Silverknife reached over and brushed black hair away from Harry's forehead. The scar was gone. Completely.

"The bounty Gringotts is willing to pay for soul fragments will more than pay for your family's cleansings and any after care you might need, such as mind healing," Silverknife said. "It was truly dark magic and an evil soul. Even muggles could have felt the evil. Combined with the antipathy curse, it's a wonder the child wasn't murdered or worse."

"What now?"

"As soon as he wakes up, we'll do your cleansing."

"I'm awake," Harry said.

"And how do you feel?" Silverknife asked.

He face scrunched up then relaxed. "My head doesn't hurt. I can't remember a time when it didn't hurt. And... it's like a cloud has been lifted from my brain. It's hard to describe. And I can feel my magic better."

"Excellent." Silverknife turned back to Petunia. "And now it's your turn."

Despite having been asleep during the 'procedure', Harry was exhausted. He didn't remember feeling exhausted while dreaming, so maybe what he was experiencing wasn't a dream. But it was very weird.

Dudley sat up in his bed but to Harry's relief he didn't move closer.

"They told me the blocks on my core would be gone in a month," Dudley said, keeping his voice low. "Dad will go spare if I end up with magic. Assuming they let him out of the hospital."

"Why's he in the hospital?"

"He got home early and caught the security people at the house. He attacked one of them and started calling them names. He collapsed and got sent to the hospital. I guess at the hospital he went off his nut. Was making threats. Or maybe he went off his nut before."

"Oh." Harry could guess what sort of threats Vernon had been making.

"I'd say Mom got weird while we were at school, but maybe she got 'normal' instead. Maybe the poison started to wear off while we were gone. I got home a couple days earlier than you did. Mum and Dad had a big fight about you getting the other bedroom. Dad threatened to put you in the basement with just a blanket. Kept going on about freakishness. I never heard her yell back at Dad until then. I mean never. I thought he was going to hurt her, then he backed down."

"I always thought she hated magic," Harry said. "But apparently your mom's family has magic. Just not wand magic. She hates the wand wavers who bully people and don't give them the respect they deserve. And I guess my dad and his buddies were like that. Everybody at my school said my dad was such a great guy, but not if he ruined Aunt Petunia's wedding day by doing whatever it was they did."

The healer keeping an eye on them glowered. "You are supposed to be resting."

"Um, is there anything to eat?" Dudley whined. "We missed lunch and my mom promised us McDonalds."

"I'm hungry, too," Harry chimed in.

The healer snorted but within a few minutes the door opened and a goblin walked in pushing a cart with meal trays. Sliced bread with butter, pickled red onions, a couple different cheeses, sliced meat, and some fruit. The drink was water.

Harry could tell that Dudley was having a hard time deciding to be offended that there was no cake or candy, or pleased that at least he was getting fed.

Dudley decided to make himself a sandwich, mumbling a 'thank you' to the goblin who had brought the food. He sensed Harry's surprised look at him. "I know what polite looks like," Dudley stated. "Mom's tried to teach me and Dad manners. But Dad's always said politeness was wasted on little people."

Harry decided to risk being brave in front of his cousin. "But how would he know who's a 'little' person and who's a 'big' person. They don't carry signs."

Dudley's expression became thoughtful. It was weird seeing Dudley actually thinking.

"I need new friends. The guys all think they're 'big' because they get away with stuff. But what happens if the next person they decide to pick on isn't helpless?"

"Big D, we live in a world where anybody could have magic. You can't assume anybody is helpless."

"You were pretty helpless."

"How many times did you guys catch me when you were chasing me?"

"Only if we surprised you."

"So, only a couple of times early on."

"Well, yeah."

"I'm thinking that Aunt Petunia is worried about more than Piers and the other guys. What if the people who killed my parents… I'm not supposed to use magic outside of school, at least nothing strong enough to be detected. How do I defend myself if I can't use magic? We can't stay in the house all summer."

"There are protective amulets that can at least shield you and get you away from magical attacks," the healer said.

"But what against non-magical attacks?" Harry asked.

"Amulets can help against certain types of non-magical attack but you should also learn non-magical self defense. Goblin younglings learn early on that a kick to the groin will give most attackers pause but breaking their knees keeps them from running after you. The younglings are also taught how to handle a knife and how to incapacitate with a battle wand," the healer stated, showing her teeth. "But then, goblins have always been more understanding of violence than humans. Or perhaps we are simply less trusting."

"Not sure Mom would approve of either of us carrying knifes when out of the house," Dudley said.

"Maybe self defense classes?" Harry suggested. "You know if you drop Piers and his buddies, they'll come after you."

"They wouldn't dare."

"Three against one? And you know they'd bring weapons."

"Maybe we need to learn how to break their knees"

"I'm pretty sure their parents would object. Not to mention the police and your mom."

"I am so screwed."