Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 67: The Pompous Git
During the last few weeks of summer, Vernon Dursley frequently came by the house to visit Petunia and take her out. Petunia, who was still smarting over Jonathan, soaked up the attention that Vernon gave her, especially since it was clear he did not show any interest in Lily.
Lily was amazed that Petunia was interested in Vernon. He was a very large boy, and while Lily tried not to let appearance influence her, Vernon's personality made it very difficult for her to like him. He was very pompous, bragging about his job at a drill factory and how he was certain he would be up for a promotion soon.
Whenever Lily was around he would glare at her suspiciously, as if she were going to stab him with a fork at any moment. Lily chortled, wondering how he would take the news of her being a witch if he ever found out. Petunia was in right state whenever Lily was in the same room as Vernon, as if afraid that Lily would accidentally let slip her magic like she had done at the shopping center.
Lily's parents didn't know what to think of Vernon. On the one hand, he was a pompous man and rude toward Lily, but on the other hand Petunia was finally overcoming her moodiness and enjoying her time with Vernon. They decided one day to invite him over for supper, hoping to see what Petunia saw in him.
When the doorbell rang, Petunia rushed toward the door, pausing to take one last glance in the hallway mirror. She saw Lily coming down the stairs and turned to her, saying, "You'd better watch yourself this evening. I don't want Vernon to know about your abnormality."
Lily stepped back, feeling stung by Petunia's words. She knew that Petunia never liked Lily's magical side, but it seemed that Petunia was becoming more and more cold toward her lately. Lily wondered where her best friend had gone. Hearing the doorbell ring again, Lily swallowed back the lump in her throat and replied, "Don't worry, 'Tunia. Vernon's a Muggle, not related to either of us. He's not allowed to know about my…abnormality, as you call it."
Satisfied by Lily's reply, Petunia turned her attention back to the door and opened it, revealing Vernon, who took up the entire doorway. He smiled down at her and offered her a bouquet of daisies, which caused her to squeal in delight. "Vernon! That's so sweet of you to bring me flowers!" She stepped forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing a shudder of revulsion to pass through Lily.
Vernon looked up and saw Lily standing by the stairway. He threw her another one of his suspicious glares but before he could utter any rude comments, Harold and Anne Evans stepped forward to greet him. He puffed out his chest and shook Harold's hand firmly before greeting Anne. He cautiously stepped toward Lily and, sensing the watchful eyes of her parents, grudgingly greeted her. Lily bit her lip to keep from embarrassing Petunia with a biting retort, and said a quick hello back to Vernon.
During dinner, Vernon once again dominated the conversation with tales of his accomplishments at the drill factory. He claimed to be the youngest employee there to ever be considered for the executive track. To prove his point, he rambled on for a good hour about the different kinds of drill bits they manufactured. Lily was ready to fall asleep in her soup when her mum said, "Lily, honey, you had better go upstairs and finish packing." Turning to Vernon, she said, "Lily has to leave for school tomorrow morning."
Petunia paled as Vernon asked, "What sort of school does she attend? From what I understand, Petunia does not attend the same school as her."
Anne Evans glanced at Lily who shrugged, then at Petunia's trembling chin before saying, "Lily attends a school that can cater to her…special needs."
Vernon harrumphed and sent a sneer down his nose at Lily before nodding and saying, "I see."
The way he said those two words sounded like he believed Lily attended a school for wayward and violent girls. Lily glared at him, twirling her fork in her hands as she was tempted to prove his theory true. His eyes widened a bit but Anne hastily cut in before anyone could cause a scene.
"Lily is an excellent student, like Petunia," said Anne, glancing at her daughters. "We expect this school will prepare her for a challenging career after she graduates."
Vernon harrumphed again and, seeing the stern look coming from Lily's dad, he tensely said to Lily, "I'm sure you will make a decent…secretary when you grow up."
Lily dropped her fork on her plate and retorted, "What makes you think I want to be a secretary?!"
"What else could you be?" asked Vernon. "A nurse, or perhaps a teacher? I suppose those are also acceptable jobs for unmarried women."
Lily's jaw dropped as she saw red flooding her vision. How dare that pompous arse insinuate that women are only fit to work certain jobs and only if unmarried? Lily looked at Petunia, waiting for her to blow up at Vernon. Petunia was, after all, career oriented and hoping to go to school to become a doctor. Certainly now she would be able to see Vernon Dursley for the pompous git he truly was!
To Lily's surprise, Petunia looked both panicked and angry, and it was directed toward Lily. She was angry that Lily was ruining Vernon's chance to impress her parents. She was panicked that Lily's anger would cause her magic to surface and scare Vernon away. He was, after all, one of the first men to call her pretty and focus his attentions upon her instead of Lily.
Lily seethed, angry that Petunia hadn't come to her defense. Not only that, but Petunia allowed Vernon to utter sexist phrases like that and get away with it. Lily ground her teeth, ready to hurl some biting insults back at him, but before she could open her mouth she heard a tapping sound coming from upstairs.
There was a deafening silence at the table as the tapping persisted. There were several nervous glances around the table from the Evans' as Vernon tilted his head toward the stairway and asked, "What is that infernal tapping sound?"
Petunia sent Lily an icy glare which Lily returned. Glad for the excuse to leave the table before breaking the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery by casting a bat-bogey hex at Vernon, Lily asked her parents, "May I be excused? I just remembered there's some mail upstairs that arrived that I need to read."
"Of course, dear," said Anne, relieved at finding a way of avoiding an altercation between Lily and Vernon.
Lily rushed away from the table, stomping up the stairs and slamming the door behind her. She didn't care if it upset Petunia. In Lily's mind, if she drove Vernon away then it would be better for Petunia in the long run. She didn't want him forcing Petunia to give up her dreams.
Opening the window, Lancelot flew in and landed on top of his cage with an indignant flutter of his wings, upset at being ignored for so long. Lily went to grab her mail only to receive an angry nip on her finger from her pet.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, trying to shake the pain out of her finger. "Don't get mad at me!" she told Lancelot. "I've had a horrible evening." Lily grabbed an owl treat and tossed it to Lancelot, who grudgingly accepted it and held out his leg for Lily to retrieve her letter. She snatched it away and smiled, seeing Remus' neat handwriting on the envelope.
Dear Lily,
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Austria. I've never been there, but I hear the mountains are quite a sight to behold. I hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer and are finding time to relax.
My summer is going well. Not much to boast about. I spent most of it at home, though I did get to visit James' place a few times. Sirius was there and Peter managed to escape his family so we were all able to find ways of wreaking havoc and driving poor James' mum crazy.
I'm sorry you weren't able to meet us in Diagon Alley last week. I suppose you had already picked up your school supplies, though you missed another classic James and Sirius moment. They bought some Animation Potion from the Apothecary and sprinkled it on the dragonshide handbag of a woman eating a sundae at Florean Fortescue's. Shortly thereafter the handbag started running around the table. When the lady tried to grab it, it started spitting fire at her. It's a good thing her ice cream was charmed not to melt. It's too bad her wig was not!
I suppose I'll see you on the train tomorrow. I'll be in the Prefect's Compartment. Can you believe it? I suppose it's more believable than trusting Sirius as a responsible role model.
See you soon!
Remus
Lily smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Remus was the other fifth year Gryffindor prefect. She knew they would be able to work well together. Even though she had been excited to receive her prefect's badge, a small part of her was worried about the choice of the male prefect. Frank was nice but he was struggling with a few of his classes. Peter was struggling with most of his classes. Sirius did well though she had no idea how since he spent most of his time on his broomstick or finding ways to create mischief. And James…well, she knew there was no way she could work closely with him. She suspected he still had a crush on her, especially after the way his hand had gently brushed her hair after he had helped her fight off Malfoy before school let out. No, there was no way she could work with James…
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Sirius triple checked his trunk. This was his favorite part about visiting his family - getting ready to leave them. He couldn't believe the summer was almost over. The previous summer had dragged on like it would never end, being locked in the same room without a proper meal. This summer, while he had endured the same insults and cold glares not to mention a few bruises, had been one million times better.
Thanks to Andromeda, he had been able to sneak over to James' place almost every weekend. Marianne always doted on him, insisting on feeding him a large meal before sending him back to his cousin's. Sirius looked forward to Sunday brunch with the Potter's. The best part about everything was that his family still had no clue he wasn't forced into solitary confinement at Andromeda's, being tutored in the ways of the Black family values.
Sirius was becoming rather attached to his cousin, Andromeda. They had grown quite close over the summer, and Sirius even found some time to visit with Ted Tonks. Sirius noticed the way Andromeda's eyes shone in the presence of her boyfriend and her carefree manner around him. He felt bound and determined to help Andromeda escape the family and follow her heart.
Toward the end of summer Ted finally convinced Andromeda to marry him. The newly engaged couple and Sirius spent quite a bit of time mapping out ideas for Andromeda's escape and the safest place to settle down.
They finally opted for a Muggle neighborhood since the Black family would not be familiar with them. Besides, according to Sirius, the family would rather eat Bowtruckle dung than set foot in a Muggle neighborhood. Just to be safe they would place some wards and unplottable charms on their new home. Andromeda decided that just to be safe she would quit her job at the Ministry (via letter) and lay low for a while until she decided if she would find work elsewhere. Since Ted worked for Muggles and since the family did not know about him, they figured it would be safe for him to keep his job.
The previous weekend, Sirius had helped Andromeda pack her things, for she was set to elope with Tonks on September first after Sirius was safe on the train back to Hogwarts. While Sirius had been in Diagon Alley with his friends, he had bought a necklace for his cousin as a wedding present. It was an antique made out of gold with an opal set in the center. The clerk had told Sirius that it would grow warm whenever danger was near. Andromeda loved the necklace and promised she would wear it for her wedding. When she hugged Sirius goodbye, she slipped a small package into pocket of his cloak.
Sirius hadn't found the package until he was packing. Curious, he opened it to reveal a penknife. Opening the card crammed into the box, it said:
Sirius,
Thank you for all your support and friendship. It means the world, and I will always remember how you helped me find the courage to be happy. I give you this gift - it's not just a penknife. It can unlock any lock and undo any knot. I am aware of your treatment last summer, and hope this will come in handy someday! Remember that there is family out there who does care about you. Perhaps we can start our own Black family values, ones to really be proud of!
Love,
Andromeda
Sirius smiled and pocketed the knife, feeling more comfortable having it at hand rather than locked in his trunk. He knew Andromeda couldn't give the gift of his freedom but she had given him the next best thing. He looked at the door to his room, which had been locked by his father again in punishment for covering Regulus' clothes in stinksap. Once again, Sirius was going to skip a few meals. As much as he was angered by it, Sirius wouldn't let his father get to him. The next day he would be on the Hogwarts Express and he wouldn't have to return home for almost 10 months.
Late that night Beeste, the one house elf that showed Sirius kindness, snuck Sirius a small plate of food that wouldn't be missed from the kitchen. Sirius gave Beeste a grateful smile and scarfed down his snack. He closed his trunk and fell asleep, eagerly anticipating the next day.
Early the next morning, he was forcefully awoken by the menacing hands of Octavius Black. Startled out of his slumber, Sirius looked up at the wrathful eyes of his father.
"Where did you get that?!" raged Octavius.
Sirius looked in the direction his father indicated and saw the plate, empty except for a few stubborn crumbs. Feeling a lead weight fall in his stomach Sirius tried to force a nonchalant look about his face. "Whatever are you talking about, Father?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" his father snarled. "I locked you in here without food, yet there's a plate in here with fresh crumbs. Somebody snuck you food, and I demand to know who it was!"
Sirius thought of the kind house elf and what could happen to him should Octavius find out about the midnight snack he had snuck into the room. Using the face that he practiced to get him out of detention, he said, "That plate has been there for days. I had eaten a snack up here before my punishment began. You must not have seen it before."
Octavius stepped menacingly toward Sirius, trying to intimidate a guilty response out of him. Seeing none, he leaned toward his eldest son and with a cold voice said, "I don't believe you. When I find out who disobeyed me, they will have more to worry about than being locked away without a few meals."
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A/N: And so concludes another summer. Fifth year will be here soon, and we all know one particular event which is certain to happen at the end of the year, after a certain exam…
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Hermione G. Potter, The All Mighty Shipper, nanopy, delpheena, Anu, Potterhead (x3), Alicia78, Golden Phoenix, hpfreak, German Wings, Remus'sweetie, Mani12191, PottersPrincess, mrs. pendragon, granger1191, AshleyM, and Jo Bob (x2).
Next chapter: Marianne with James and Sirius at the train station - you do the math…