Chapter Thirteen - The Relatives
A week later, Uncle Ron had two backpacks ready with some basic clothes for each of us. He also brought food from the Leaky Cauldron, and stored it in a special basket.
The Burrow was quiet and oddly bathed in bright sunlight. It was the perfect day to leave for a trip, it seemed. We would return much later, or maybe in a few days, so my books and toys would remain in my room.
Mrs Weasley wasn't happy about our upcoming adventure, but Uncle Ron and I both told her we would return to let her know about any progress.
As we were leaving that morning, at nine o' clock, she stomped down the stairs. "Ronald! Ronald, you're not dragging that child out of this house without my permission!" she exclaimed. We both stared at her in surprise and disbelief. "You can go alone if you want, but Johnny stays with me!"
"We aren't discussing this anymore. Luna is coming with us, anyway. If you don't trust me, fine. But you know she will take good care of him," Uncle Ron said, trying to reason with her so we could leave peacefully.
"If I don't trust you, what makes you think I'll trust her?" she snapped.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you do this?" Uncle Ron yelled, red in the face with anger. "Do you enjoy making my life miserable?"
Mrs Weasley glared at her son. "I'm concerned about Johnny's well-being! I know you'll ruin this ridiculous expedition." As Uncle Ron was starting to protest, she shut her eyes tightly. "Don't you understand that you can't do these things? What makes you think you'll find Harry when no one else has been able to do that? Why do you get Johnny's hopes up? You'll just end up disappointing him! Just like you've disappointed me!"
My uncle stopped abruptly, anger quickly turning into bewilderment. Before he could respond, another voice startled us all. "If anyone can find Harry, it's Ronald," a soft voice said. Luna was standing by the door, looking at us with a small smile. "I believe he can do it."
"Me too," I said confidently, looking at Mrs Weasley. "Uncle Ron can do this."
The older woman sighed and shook her head, before going back upstairs. After a few moments of silence, Uncle Ron cleared his throat. "Thanks, both of you," he said.
"It's the truth, Ronald," Luna said, as she picked up a small backpack from the floor, next to her. "Now, let's go."
We headed outside, where a small old fashioned car was waiting for us. It was severely beaten up, but still seemed to work. "Took me and Hagrid a couple of days to find it, and then we had to clean it up," Uncle Ron muttered. "Since we don't have enough money to buy a new car, I went to the Forbidden Forest to find my Dad's old Ford Anglia. Your father and I lost it at the start of our second year," he explained sheepishly. "Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Flitwick helped me to make sure it doesn't do anything funny."
The three of us got in the car. I was in the back, with our belongings, while Uncle Ron sat at the driver's seat and Luna by his side. Something fluffy jumped through the window, and Uncle Ron shouted in surprise. The thing moved quickly and jumped beside me. It was Crookshanks. He looked at me as if feeling betrayed that I almost left him behind. "I suppose he can come too," my uncle muttered.
"Where are we going first?" Luna asked when we started moving.
"Well, since we've got everything... Let's start gathering information, shall we?" Uncle Ron said. "I reckon we can talk to those horrible people and see if they know something." I wondered who he was talking about, but didn't ask. "I hope they don't make a scene..."
I still didn't feel completely safe in a car, but I hoped since it was a magical vehicle it would be safer than a normal car. A couple of hours later, we were stopping in front of a house. The neighbor seemed completely Muggle, but much duller than where I used to live.
"Where are we?" I asked curiously.
"This is Little Whinging, your father grew up here," Uncle Ron said awkwardly.
We got out of the car (though I told Crookshanks to wait for us there) and walked up to the front door of a house that looked just like the rest. My uncle knocked at the door with a little too much force. A large man answered seconds later. He had blond hair and blue eyes. The man squinted at Uncle Ron, as if he was trying to remember something. "Do I know you?"
"Yes, I'm Ronald Weasley, a friend of Harry Potter," Uncle said quickly. That was all he could say before the man had slammed the door shut. "Oh, this is going to be a long day..." he muttered, as he started knocking at the door again. "I need to talk to you about something! Unless you want all the other people to hear me!"
The man quickly opened the door and stepped aside. "Quick! Come in, before anyone sees you!" he snapped. We entered the house, which seemed unnaturally clean. The man closed the door again, and walked into a medium-sized living room. "What do you want?"
"Dudley, right?" Uncle Ron asked. The man nodded, as he motioned for us to sit. "Listen, I need to ask you about Harry..."
Dudley winced at the mention of my father's name. "I haven't seen him in the last nine years," he said coldly.
"Your parents surely have spoken to him, right?" Uncle Ron asked persistently.
"I certainly saw him a year later," said a woman, coming down the stairs. She seemed to be in her fifties or late forties. "He told me he had defeated the monster who murdered Lily and her husband." Uncle Ron and Luna seemed shocked to see her there.
"Did he say anything else, Mrs Dursley?" Luna asked.
Mrs Dursley nodded, and was going to say something, when she saw me. She gasped. "Who is that boy?" she asked shakily.
"He's John... Harry's son," Uncle Ron said.
"He didn't tell me he was abandoning a child," the woman said bitterly.
"He didn't know he had one," my uncle retorted. "We're trying to find Harry, so if you could help us..."
Mrs Dursley nodded, as she walked into the room and sat next to Dudley. "After he told me that, I asked where he'd go. He seemed surprised I even asked," she chuckled bitterly at the memory. "He said something about visiting his parents' graves, but didn't say much more. He left after that, and never came back." The woman actually looked sad, and even wiped a single tear from her eye. "He seemed very tired," she added as an afterthought.
Uncle Ron nodded quickly, and stood up. "Well... thanks for your time, Mrs Dursley." Luna nodded, also standing up.
"You look much like your father," Mrs Dursley said, looking straight at me. "You even have Lily's eyes." I squirmed under her gaze, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Well, then," she said, also standing up. "I hope you find him."
Luna and Uncle Ron seemed taken aback, again, but decided it was enough of staying around. We soon were getting into the car again. "Well, that was unexpected," he said as we drove off.
"Why? Who are those people?" I asked.
Uncle Ron sighed. "Petunia Dursley was Lily Potter's sister," he said. My eyes widened as I understood that woman and I were related. "Did Hermione tell you what happened to your father's parents?"
I nodded. "Only last year, she told me a dark wizard killed them when he was a baby."
"Well, he was sent to that house after that. He grew up there, as I told you before. But they weren't exactly nice to him. You see, from what your father told me, Petunia was jealous of Lily, because of the attention their parents gave to your grandmother. And she's always been quite rude towards my family after Fred and George did something to Dudley, your father's cousin."
That explained why Uncle Ron wasn't expecting such a polite conversation. Actually, it made me wonder just what had happened to those two.
"Where are we going now?" I asked, after a long pause.
Uncle Ron glanced at Luna, and then answered. "To Godric's Hollow."
Notes: Wow. In Ron's words: That was unexpected. Sorry about the short chapter, and the
apparent dullness (intensified by the Dursleys). I'm a bit nervous because of my upcoming exams and my lack of
studying...
Something important I should say about their next destination... According to the Lexicon, Godric's Hollow
might be in Wales. Now, seeing as I have no idea about the UK and distances (aside from looking at that map
they have in the site), I'll just have to come up with timings by myself. All I can say is that they'll be
traveling as Muggles, so expect delays and such things.