Author's Note: We just wanted to take the time to say thanks you to all that have reviewed so far! You have no idea what it means to both of us! We apologize of the long wait but we both got trapped with a pretty bad case of writer's block and lack of time. Just remember though, we take as long as we do to ensure that the finished product is the best that we can make it. You would not believe the number of drafts we go through on our journey to perfection! Please enjoy the new chapter and as always remember to review!! Your comments, no matter how small, are always appreciated!!!
Chapter 2: Fear and Understandings
"Why, it's little baby Potter! What are you doing away from home, little Potter? And without a guard, oh my. Trying to sneak away, are you?"
Harry whirled around.
"You!" he gasped.
"In person." Bellatrix Lestrange smiled nastily and pulled out her wand with a flourish. Aunt Petunia gave a little shriek and stepped back behind the car as Harry instinctively raised his own wand. Lestrange laughed.
"So brave, aren't you? If I didn't know better, I would have thought you meant to hex me in the middle of a Muggle-filled street. In front of an innocent Muggle. That's against Ministry regulations, you know," she continued mockingly.
Harry felt fury welling up in him, but he kept his wand pointed steadily at Lestrange. "The hell with Ministry regulations," he said quietly. "I'll kill you where you stand." Aunt Petunia shrieked again. Lestrange looked unperturbed.
"Ah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You want to get back at me for what I did to my dear cousin? I hear you were quite attached to him. What a pity none of your little magic tricks are really dangerous."
Harry would have liked nothing more than to prove her wrong, but with difficulty he restrained himself. It was true that the spell he would have most liked to use - Avada Kedavra, the killing curse - was beyond his power. It could only be used by someone who enjoyed killing, not someone who was merely very angry. Lestrange knew this; it was she who had told him so. Now she was standing still and watching, as if waiting for him to do something. As much as it frustrated him to retreat, Harry decided his best chance was to make it into the Leaky Cauldron. Lestrange would never dare follow him into a room full of other wizards.
"Did Voldemort send you here after me?" Harry stepped back as he spoke, hoping she would interpret his movement as fear.
"What makes you think he would send me? The Dark Lord wants to kill you himself, you know. Finding you here was nothing more than a lucky coincidence. Lucky for me, that is. Here I was worrying that I was missing all the action, and now I find that you've been away from home all along. My master will not be pleased when he learns that you've escaped him again. How fortunate that I'm here to rectify his mistake. Ava-"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry's spell caught Lestrange off guard; her wand flew out of her hand and clattered to the pavement. Both she and Harry dove after it, but she reached it first.
"Crucio!"
The spell hit Harry before he even saw it coming. He collapsed on the ground, moaning; it was all he could do not to scream. He had been put under this curse before, but that knowledge did nothing to lessen its intensity. He was only dimly aware of Lestrange standing over him, smirking. After a few interminable seconds, the pain stopped, and Harry got shakily to his feet.
"That," said Lestrange, "was for your pathetic little attempt at defending yourself. Do you want to try again? I'm not in a hurry." She raised her wand again and pointed it straight at Harry's heart.
There was a sudden screaming of car tires, and both Harry and Lestrange turned in astonishment to see a car zooming towards them. As they both instinctively backed up, the car swerved to bear down on Lestrange, who Disapparated just in time to avoid being hit.
The car screeched to a halt, and Aunt Petunia shouted "Get in, quick!" through the open window. Harry yanked open the car door, threw himself into the front seat, and Aunt Petunia sped off.
For several minutes Aunt Petunia drove quickly, occasionally taking a sharp turn down a side street or doubling back the way they had come. Harry took the time to catch his breath and convince himself that there was no way Bellatrix Lestrange could Apparate into the back seat. After a while, he managed to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the car.
"Aunt Petunia?" he ventured.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Thanks. Thank you for everything today. I don't know what I would have done without you, back there."
"Oh- don't worry about it. It was the least I could do, really. No more than she would have expected."
"She?" Harry wondered if Aunt Petunia could be talking about his mother. He hesitated to mention it, though; his aunt and uncle had never approved of discussion about his parents. But Aunt Petunia's next words surprised him, even more than had her offer to take him shopping.
"Lily. Your mother. I've never told you much about your mother, have I? Don't answer that, I'll explain." She paused and took a deep breath. "I don't quite know where to begin."
"Why are you telling me this now? I thought you wanted to pretend my parents never existed."
"I did. But so much has changed now, Harry. I met some of your kind at the train station when I came to pick you up at the beginning of the summer, and they told me about the prophecy. They gave me some idea of what you're up against, what this Lord Voldemort is capable of. I don't want to make the same mistake again, and wait until it's too late."
"Again? Too late for what? Aunt Petunia, what's going on?"
"Listen. You've never met your grandparents, my mother and father. They've been dead since before you were born. You knew that. But I never told you how they died."
Harry couldn't see where this was going yet, but he thought he could guess. "Voldemort killed them?"
"Yes. Him or his supporters. I don't know, I wasn't there; your parents were first to bring me the news. Maybe he knew they were related to Lily, or maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I never forgave Lily for getting our family mixed up in your world in the first place. That's why I tried so hard to ignore her after that. I was sure that if she hadn't been what she was, it never would have happened."
"Voldemort never needed a reason to kill," Harry said quietly. "He's proved that often enough."
"That's what your friends convinced me of. And they said you would be the one to conquer him, if anyone can. So I want you to know that you can count on me. No matter what happens next."
"Thanks, that means a lot to me." Harry replied. He was thinking bitterly that Voldemort's influence on his life had been even greater than he had previously imagined. All these years he could have been on good terms with his aunt; instead, she had chosen to mend their relationship only when she learned that Harry's life was in danger. No, he realized suddenly, all their lives were in danger. The Death Eaters killed senselessly, and Voldemort would stop at nothing to remove any threat to his dominion . . .
Harry sat bolt upright as he remembered something Bellatrix Lestrange had said to him. "Here I was worrying that I was missing all the action, and now I find that you've been away from home all along. My master will not be pleased when he learns that you've escaped him again".
"Aunt Petunia, we have to get home now!" His heart pounded as Aunt Petunia stepped harder on the gas pedal. It couldn't be true; Dumbledore had said it was impossible, nevertheless Harry suddenly knew exactly what Lestrange had meant. Judging by Aunt Petunia's suddenly reckless driving, she too was dreading the worst. When Privet Drive came into view, they both had their eyes fixed on the green figure illuminating the sky above Number Four.
"It's too late," Aunt Petunia whispered.