Chapter 20

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns these characters and any plot that seems familiar. If you think you've read something like this before, it was borrowed, and possibly twisted, from The Sorcerer's Stone.

Chapter 20

They were fighting again. Petunia and Vernon fought almost constantly about Harry Potter. He insisted that the boy sleep in the alcove under the stairs; she demanded that Vernon be reasonable and give Harry the spare bedroom, now occupied with all of Dudley's possessions. It was a hopeless cause. They had had this conversation weekly for Harry's entire life, but Vernon refused to give in to Petunia's demands. Harry would remain under the stairs. Petunia stomped down those very same stairs in a huff, going to the kitchen to make breakfast.

She winked at Harry as he emerged from his cubby. He gave her a quick smile and went to get the mail. Vernon plodded down the stairs, almost breaking through them, he was so huge. He harrumphed as he sat down and opened his paper to read while awaiting his plentiful breakfast.

Harry came back with the mail, a peculiar look on his face. He handed all but one letter to Uncle Vernon. He stared at the letter, which was addressed to him.

Dudley, who had been sitting at the table the whole time, started shrieking, "He's got mail!"

Vernon ripped the letter out of Harry's hand and stared at it. "Hogwarts!" he exclaimed.

Harry looked curiously at the letter, and Petunia's head snapped around. She stared at Vernon. She watched in dismay as he ripped the letter to shreds. He then proceeded to look through the rest of the mail as Harry complained that his mail had been destroyed. Suddenly a huge gasp rang from Vernon's throat.

"What is the meaning of this?" he shouted.

Petunia raced over to see what the hubbub was about. There in Vernon's hand was yet another letter from Hogwarts. This one was addressed to Dudley. Petunia pursed her lips and then pretended to be surprised by the sudden development. She had secretly been watching Dudley. He had shown a small amount of magical power, and she thought he might be a late bloomer as she had been. She was unsure, though, if he would be chosen to attend Hogwarts. Here was the proof that he had been.

"Why, what do you suppose it means, Vernon?" she said innocently.

Vernon glowered at her. "It means they think he's one of them!" he yelled.

He took the second letter and shredded it in his hands as he had done the first.

"Perhaps you should have opened it, Vernon. We should know what it says."

"I'll tell you what it says! It says that our son is a monstrosity. I'll have none of it! Do you understand me? Neither of these boys will be responding to those letters!"

Dudley and Harry watched the argument curiously. Harry looked over at Dudley and shrugged his shoulders. Dudley did the same. The two boys got along well enough, except when Dudley tried to bully Harry. He was much bigger than Harry and used his size to get what he wanted. The boy was spoiled. Vernon gave him whatever he asked for, but Petunia tried to be equally fair to the two boys.

They both turned their attention back to the fight. They knew better than to interrupt. They would only be told what was going on if Vernon deemed it necessary.

Harry sighed. The way his aunt and uncle's fight was going, he might never know what that letter was all about.

"Perhaps it would be good for them to go. If they have the ability, they should be trained so they can use it correctly," Petunia argued.

Vernon's face got beet red. "Since when have you become a sympathizer, Petunia? I thought we agreed on this matter. We decided together that it was best left alone."

Petunia hesitated for a minute. "I'm not a sympathizer. I just want what's best for the boys."

"What's best for the boys is that they stay where they are, learning normal things, not freakish abominations that will turn them into lunatics!"

Petunia had enough. She went back to her breakfast fixings, asking Harry to make the eggs while she got the toast and bacon going.

Vernon smirked to himself and thought, That's that, then. Little did he know the trouble that was coming.

oooOOOooo

After multiple attempts to deliver Harry and Dudley's letters, the owls had sent an onslaught of letters barreling through the Dursley household. Petunia had screamed to Vernon to acknowledge the letters, but his fat, stubborn self had tut-tutted her, and they had fled the home.

They now were hiding out in a hut out at sea. Harry was unsure why his Uncle Vernon referred to this place as a hut. It was made of stone and looked like an old abandoned lighthouse. It was dark inside, the only light coming from a small lantern set in the middle of the room. The room itself was circular with a great wooden door at its entry. A small staircase started at the doorway and wrapped itself around the interior of the building, rising through a hole in the ceiling as it made its way up to the top of the 'hut.' The family had strewn sleeping bags on the floor and were all settled down to sleeping. Harry found he could not sleep, however, and was listening to the waves hitting the shore of the small island where the hut was located.

Vernon had been smug in the fact that the owls could never get to them at such a hiding place. It was now late at night, and Harry listened to the even breathing of his family. He wondered how they could all sleep so soundly on the hard floor of the 'hut.' Harry stared at the ceiling, checking his watch occasionally. When the watch struck midnight, Harry quietly sat up and whispered, "Happy Birthday, Harry," to himself.

Suddenly a small package appeared in his lap. He looked over to his aunt, who had thrown it over to him and was now propped up on an elbow. She had a finger up to her mouth and was making a 'shh' sound. He smiled at her and unwrapped the box. Inside was a new watch. He grinned at her again and mouthed the words 'thank you' to her. She smiled at him.

Their quiet moment was shattered with a loud crash at the hut's door. Vernon, startled awake, reached for his gun, just as the biggest man any of them had ever seen came crashing through the door. Vernon held his gun up and pointed it at the giant's head.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Vernon demanded.

"Sorry abou' tha'," came a voice. "My name is Hagrid. I'm here to collec' Dudley and Harry to go to Hogwarts."

"Over my dead body!" Vernon cried as he lifted the gun, aiming it and getting ready to fire.

"That's it!" came an exasperated cry.

It was Petunia. She pulled her wand out, and with a flick, the gun sailed into her hands.

"I have had enough of your claptrap, Vernon Dursley. You must see that you can't avoid this nor keep it from happening. I will not see you shed innocent blood just because you are too stubborn to let these boys know the truth about themselves!"

Vernon sputtered at her. "What... what... did you just do?"

She waved her wand at him. "I magically took your gun away. I have been hiding these powers from you for all of our married life, afraid of how you would react, but I can do it no longer. I am a witch. I denied it for years, but finally came to accept my magic. Severus Snape helped me to learn how to use my powers when Harry and Dudley were just babies."

Hagrid chimed in at the mention of Snape's name. "Oh, Professor Snape, he's a great man, he is!"

Petunia gave him a small smile. Vernon did not. He glared at Petunia instead.

"You mean to tell me that you have these horrid powers too? I thought you were normal, like me, but you're just as monstrous as Harry! And as much of an abomination as my own son! All of you! I'm surrounded by freaks! Get me out of here!"

"Vernon, calm down! You'll give yourself a coronary," Petunia said blandly.

"I'll give myself a coronary?" he snarled as his double chins shook with his annoyance. Vernon got closer to Petunia and looked at her menacingly. "No, you will drive me to my death, the lot of you, with your magic and unnatural behaviors. I'll have nothing to do with it. This relationship is over."

Petunia looked at him sadly. "I wish you would reconsider, Vernon. Despite everything, I love you."

"I could never love a misfit like you. You're an abomination, a monstrosity. I never want to see you again!"

Petunia regarded Vernon sadly. "I'm sorry you feel that way," she murmured.

Everything she had feared had come to pass. Her husband no longer saw her as human. Well, she had denied her heritage long enough. She had hated her sister and ruined their relationship because of it. She would not let Vernon ruin her son's or her nephew's opportunity to learn and grow in their magical abilities. She ignored Vernon as he seethed and turned to Hagrid.

"What do they need to do to get ready for the school year?" she asked him.

"Why, it's all in the letter." He pulled two more copies out of his vest and handed them to her. "I'll gladly take them to get their supplies if ye'd like, Madam."

Petunia glanced once again at Vernon. He looked like his head was about to explode.

"Oh, I almost fergot," Hagrid said suddenly.

He pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" he exclaimed.

Harry lifted the lid to find a small cake with 'Happee Burthday, Harry' scrawled on it.

"How did you know...?" Harry asked in amazement.

"We wizards know all about you, Harry," Hagrid answered.

Harry glanced at his aunt. She had secretly told him about being a wizard since he was a small boy. He understood what had happened to his parents, but had been told to go along with the lie that his Uncle had created. Part of him had not known whether to believe Aunt Petunia's odd story, but now he could see that all she had said was true.

"What's this Hogwarts?" he asked.

Dudley nodded his head furiously.

"Why, it's the greatest school for wizards that ever was!" Hagrid said happily.

"A school for wizards?" Dudley asked.

"Tha's right! And you two are wizards. You'll be able to go there and learn all abou' bein' magical. It's a wonderful place. You'll love it there."

Harry grinned at Hagrid and then at Dudley. "When do we leave?" he asked.

"Well, right now if you'd like?"

Petunia glanced at Vernon. He had moved into a corner of the small room, his back to the group. She heaved a sigh.

"Hagrid, would it be okay if I came along too? I don't know that I have a home to go back to."

Vernon piped in. "You can have the house. I want nothing to do with anything in it except my personal belongings. I will not subject myself to such monstrosities any more."

"You can come with us anyway, Mrs. Dursley," Hagrid said benevolently. "It'll give Mr. Dursley the chance to get out of yer life while yer with us."

Petunia stiffened and gave Hagrid a short nod. She turned back to Vernon.

"Are you sure there's no working this out?"

He turned and glared at her. "You're dead to me, woman. As far as I'm concerned the last fifteen years never happened."

She looked at Vernon sadly, then hung her head and headed for the door. It was the last time she would ever see him. An enormous hand reached out and patted her on the back, causing her to stumble forward.

"Oops, sorry bout tha'. I don' know my own strength sometimes," Hagrid said sheepishly.

Petunia could not help but smile, even though she was miserable inside. They left Vernon to himself, to make his own way off the small island in the sea. As Hagrid rode to shore, Dudley and Harry both could not keep quiet about how brave Petunia had been to stand up to Vernon.

"You were great, Mum, especially when you pulled that gun out of his hand!" Dudley gushed.

"How did you do it, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked curiously.

She pulled her wand out and showed it to them. She had never done magic in front of them, although she had secretly told them about being able to.

"This is a wand. I believe we will probably get one for each of you tomorrow. It helps a witch or wizard to direct their magic and use it to their best abilities."

"Well said, Mrs. Dursley," Hagrid piped in.

She gave him a wan smile.

Hagrid gave her an understanding look. "Mrs. Dursley, if yeh don' mind me sayin', I think in the long run, you'll be much happier without yer husband. He seemed to be... well... sort of a jerk."

Petunia couldn't help laughing out loud at Hagrid's dancing around the truth.

"That he is, Hagrid. It doesn't negate the fact that I love him."

Hagrid nodded. "I'm sorry fer that, Mrs. Dursley. It's too bad he can't see past the end of his nose to understand that."

She shrugged. "I knew this day would come eventually. I had just hoped that it wouldn't."

"Well, Harry, Dudley, and I will cheer you up. We'll have a grand time tomorrow in Diagon Alley. Have you ever been?"

"Severus took me there to buy my wand, but that was years ago."

"It hasn't changed much. There are some new shops and the like, but it's still swarming with people."

She smiled at that. Perhaps a throng of people was what she needed to get her mind off of her ruined marriage.

oooOOOooo

They thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Diagon Alley. Hagrid had taken them everywhere they needed to go and saw that they purchased everything required. He presented the two boys with owls as belated birthday presents. Harry's was a beautiful white snowy owl, and Dudley's was a dark brown one. Too soon the day ended, and they found themselves once again at Privet Drive.

"Would you like to come in, Mr. Hagrid?" Petunia asked.

"No, no, thank you though. I have been gone long enough. I need ter get back ter my duties a' Hogwarts." He turned to the two boys. "I'll see you both at the end of next month."

They bid him goodbye and headed for the door. When Petunia entered, she was not surprised to see that everything that belonged to Vernon had disappeared. She went up to their bedroom and found his part of the closet and all of his drawers empty. She looked around bitterly. Fifteen years wasted. She knew she would never see him again. She sank down on the bed and began to cry, covering her face with her hands.

Harry and Dudley came in after a little while. Each of them put an arm around her.

"It's alright, Mum," Dudley said. "He was always mean to you anyway."

"Yeah," Harry piped in, "he didn't know the meaning of the word nice."

Petunia smiled despite herself. "Well, one good thing has come of Vernon's departure," she said calmly.

"What's that?" the two boys said in unison.

"Harry gets his own bedroom finally."

Harry's grin was enough to make Petunia forget her own troubles.

"Come on," she said, "we have some moving to do. And now we can use magic. It'll take no time at all."

The three of them got up and went to move Harry's stuff upstairs. Soon everything was as it should be, and he had a real room. It even had a window that looked out onto the street.

"I know you won't be here long to enjoy it, Harry, but it's yours nonetheless."

"Thanks, Aunt Petunia," he said and gave her a hug.

A/N: Next up: Harry's first year at Hogwarts.

I hope you all enjoyed that little turn of events. At least Harry gets his own room now! Severus will be back in the next chapter, as you might imagine, and we'll see Hermione again. A great big hug to all of you wonderful readers, and thank you for all of the lovely reviews.