[A/N: Hi Thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter - i wont be posting for another two weeks or so as i have my mock exams for GCSE...wish me luck!]
Disclaimer - not mine - JKR's work
Chapter 1 – Realisation
Mr and Mrs Dursley led an entirely normal life in their perfect home with their completely normal son, Dudley. Unfortunately, they also had a useless, abnormal nephew who was at his good-for-nothing school like his good-for-nothing parents.
May the 26th dawned bright and early as Petunia Dursley started preparing breakfast for her substantial husband and son. She sighed as she peered out of the window at her neighbours. Really! How could they trim their grass so perfectly? She had tried time and time again to perfect her back garden but it just wasn’t up to scratch. She would have to try and borrow some tips and ideas.
She continued frying bacon as she reflected back on her life. Was she really satisfied with her life? All she seemed to do in recent years was to try and fulfil the expectations of her husband. The only times when she seemed to be truly happy was when Harry came home and she had to give him work to do. He reminded her so forcefully of Lily. Those green eyes he had inherited had haunted her for years. Ever since Lily had received her letter and Petunia had started to be hateful to her.
She had always loved Lily. But the fact remained that Lily was better than her. Lily inherited her mother’s deep red curls; while Petunia got her father’s coarse brown grizzle. Lily got her father’s emerald eyes; while Petunia shared her mother’s beady hazel eyes. Lily was beautiful; she was not. Lily caught a handsome young man who treated her like both a goddess and his equal; Petunia married a short tempered, burly man who took her for granted. Lily’s son was a healthy, intelligent and loving boy but her own son was fat, selfish, dim-witted and violent. She remembered one time when her heart ached so much for Harry that she nearly stood up for him.
-Flashback-
Three-year-old Harry Potter was squatting on the floor of the conservatory making a mess, unintentionally, with his cousin’s play dough. Dudley had left to go and play with his new toys before bedtime and since no-one was playing with the play dough, why couldn’t he? The door slammed as Vernon made his appearance. Harry looked up with glee – his uncle was home! He stumbled to his feet and ran headlong into his uncle’s legs with his arms lifted, asking to be held like Dudley.
“Move away, Boy! You’re in the way,” Uncle Vernon brushed Harry aside, failing and probably not caring to see Harry’s look of utter disappointment and he fell on his nappied bum. Unknown to any of the men in her family, Petunia was quietly watching the scene unfold with tears glistening in her eyes, biting her lip as if to stop herself from running to the little boy.
What tore her heart was when Vernon yelled at Harry about the small mess he had created with the play dough. Bursting into tears, Harry came toddling out into the hallway to go into his only sanctuary, the abysmal cupboard they gave him for his bedroom.
Looking around quickly, she scooped up the scrawny, little boy and consoled him while he hiccupped and cried his eyes out on her shoulder. When his crying subsided, she pecked him lightly on his messy head and tucked him into bed.
“Goodnight, Harry, sweet dreams,” she whispered as he tried in vain to keep his eyes from closing.
“Aunty P’tuna?”
“Yes, Harry?
“I love you,” he yawed before he drifted into dreams of flying motorbikes and green light.
Petunia sat on the edge of his bed for a few moments. This boy had more love in him than her own son. This was amazing as Harry, she was ashamed to say, neglected and had hardly any loving contact but Dudley was showered upon with kisses and hugs from both his parents and other relatives.
“I love you, too, Harry.”
-End Flashback-
Petunia looked up startled as several things happened in quick succession. The smell of burning bacon reached her nostrils and she had to quickly turn off the heat and start again. Vernon and Dudley came thumping down the stairs as their radar picked up the smell of breakfast. A large snowy owl flew gracefully through the open window used for spying and dropped off a small roll of parchment in the toaster. Dudley squealed in terror and ran back upstairs. Vernon grunted and picked up the roll cautiously as if expecting it to blow up in his face. Petunia jumped and dropped the teapot.
Vernon’s face turned slowly from pink, to red to a violent purple as he read the letter from his abnormal nephew.
To Dursleys,
As you read this, I will be packing my bags and boarding the Hogwarts Express. I will be arriving at King’s Cross tomorrow at around midday. You will be there for the last time. I will stay at Privet Drive until my 17th Birthday and then I’ll be out of your life for ever.
Harry
Petunia drew in an involuntary gasp. He wasn’t coming back any more. It was too late. She came to the painful realisation that Harry Potter, her green-eyed nephew, her only living connection to her baby sister hated her, and he was probably never going to forgive her.
~*~
Harry James Potter walked numbly up to his dorm room after Dumbledore’s funeral. Voldemort had taken away yet another life of someone close to him. Albus Dumbledore had rescued Harry from the Dursleys and introduced him to a world of magic. True, he had other people, but Professor Dumbledore always held a special place in his heart.
He slumped dejectedly on his four-poster and stared listlessly at the ceiling. The memorial was truly...well...memorable. Although the words that were spoken did not have much meaning, he felt as though Albus Dumbledore was watching over the proceedings. That had made him feel slightly better.
He thought back to how he held Ginny during the ceremony. How his heart sank as he broke up with her; the creature in his chest screaming in protest. How shocked he was when she seemed to understand his logic. He knew she would wait for him, but for how long? Would she ever forgive him? What if she never let go of the grudge?
He tried to put himself in Ginny’s shoes, to feel what she felt, to know what she wanted. He closed his eyes and opened his mind to everything that was Ginny. Stunned, he sat back as a barrage of thoughts and emotions filled his head, like never-ending lengths of ribbons flowing gracefully into his consciousness.
He had broken up with her. The unthinkable had happened. These past few weeks had been a dream come true and now it was gone. Arrgh! He deserved a specially amended Bat Bogey Hex! How could he do something like that? Of course, she understood, he had to go and destroy Voldemort. If her parents, friends and mentors were killed, she too would want to go and kill the man who did that. Ohhh. How frustrating! Didn’t he realise that she wanted to protect him too? She would go with him if it was the last thing she did. Merlin, he was taking Ron and Hermione with him, why not her? Didn’t he care about Ron and Hermione enough to want to protect them too? Yup. She would go. She would put her plan into action during Bill’s wedding. Phlegm wasn’t turning out to be that bad. Maybe she would get help from Fleur, Mum, Hermione and Gabrielle. Hmmm, that would work. She would look so stunning that Harry’s mouth wouldn’t stay closed if it was nailed, spellotaped and glued with the twins’ WhizGlu.
Harry’s eyes flew open. Merlin’s Beard! She was a devious witch. But he realised that he had to do something. Fast. He needed to talk to someone. He couldn’t talk to Remus, it was full moon. Ron was helping Neville and Luna search for all of Luna’s belongings and Hermione was in the girls’ dorm with Ginny. Humph. He would have to wait till they were on the Hogwart’s Express and hope that Ginny stayed with her friends.
Hogwart’s Express! Bloody Hell! The Dursleys didn’t know he was coming back early! He dashed off a quick note to the Dursleys and started throwing his robes into his trunk. He flew around the room, his eyes sparkling with joy, already planning what he would say to Ginny on the Hogwart’s Express.
[A/N: Please Review!!!]