Warning: There is a bit of pseudo child abuse mentioned here as well as some violence!
Chapter 16: A dish best served cold.
Annabelle Granger came downstairs into the kitchen to grab a cup of tea and a spot of breakfast. When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to find John, Remus, and Sirius already there talking.
She walked over to where everyone sat around the center island and kissed her husband on the cheek before sitting down. "Good morning. What's the meeting about?"
The three men shared a look with each other and seemed to come to an understanding.
Sirius spoke for the group after gathering his thoughts for a couple of seconds. "We were talking about the Dursleys."
A scowl forming on Annabelle's face made Sirius realize that she was as upset about the situation as they were. With a small smile, he continued in a slightly amused tone, "You didn't think that we were just going to let them get away with what they did to Harry now, did you?"
"I was beginning to wonder." Annabelle answered wryly. "Why now?"
His voice hard, Sirius replied, "Because revenge is a dish best served cold and Dursley had gotten comfortable in his new environment."
"I'm in. What do you have planned for them?" Annabelle said with conviction.
All three men had a slightly shifty look about them and they were fidgeting in their seats.
"What? Did you three think that I wouldn't approve? The Dursleys are a bunch of child abusers. They may not have hit Harry that often but the emotional abuse and neglect was enough in my book." Annabelle stated heatedly.
Child abuse had always bothered her and if she was in a position to help, she would. The fact that Harry was going to be their responsibility from now on made her want to see justice done even more.
"Oh. Cheers then. I was worried that you might be angry at us for going after them without telling you." John said in relief.
Annabelle reached out and grasped hands with Sirius and Remus before speaking. "You're all forgiven, unless you don't tell me what you did and why Remus here looks like he was beaten up pretty badly." Her gaze took in the black eye and split lip that he was sporting.
Three identical grins broke out on the men's faces. This time John spoke up first. "Do you remember those legal papers that the Dursleys signed?" Seeing his wife's nod yes, he continued. "One of those forms was a power of attorney over them and their financial affairs. John finished with an evil grin.
"You didn't? Oh my. You sly dog!" Annabelle said with a look of glee. "Did you leave them anything?"
"We did. I had the accountants set up a trust fund for Harry and Dudley. They cannot touch them until they are twenty-five. The majority of the proceeds from the sale of their house and belongings went to Harry with Dudley getting the rest. They didn't have too much in the way of savings due to Dudley's school tuition. They don't have enough money to come back for a long while."
"Okay. Now is someone going to tell me why Remus looks like he was beaten up?"
"That's because I was." Remus replied, speaking for the first time. Seeing Annabelle's concerned look he continued before she could start asking a myriad of questions.
"Vernon actually attacked me when I showed up in Australia to tell him what was going on." The look of smug satisfaction didn't quite fit with the visible damage to his face.
"Well, I flew to Australia, Polyjuiced to look like Harry. Dobby got the hairs for the potion. Harry doesn't know what we did yet." Remus finished.
"Oh. Are you going to tell him?" she asked.
Sirius piped up from the other side of the table, "Eventually, we want him to settle in first."
"Please continue then." the eager tone of her voice was simple to pick up to the group.
"When I arrived, I grabbed a taxi from the airport to the Grunnings office in Melbourne. I asked the receptionist to page my uncle, Vernon Dursley. Let's just say that things went pear shaped fast from there." Remus said before he began to retell the events that happened in Australia.
Vernon Dursley was having a very good day, a good month even. Petunia had called that morning to say that she had finally found the perfect house with a beautiful view overlooking the city.
He had also closed a deal that morning for a large order of drills that made up his entire monthly quota in one fell swoop.
`Yes sir, life is definitely good. The weather here is fantastic, business is booming, and Petunia had found a house that was befitting of their stature in upper class society.' Vernon thought to himself.
He was just considering taking a nice, extra long lunch, to celebrate when the receptionist rang his desk. "Vernon Dursley speaking." He answered in his slightly nasal tone.
"Mr. Dursley, you have a visitor up front."
"Thank you Madeline. I'll be right out." Vernon replied importantly. He figured that it must be one of the dentists coming by to finally set up the contract for the large orders that John Granger had set up for him.
When Vernon entered the reception area, he found the receptionist talking to a young man whose back was to him.
He was stepping forward to introduce himself when he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks, a voice that he thought he would never have to hear again.
Vernon couldn't help himself and thirteen years of frustration erupted. He reached out and spun his nephew around by the shoulder. Angrily, he demanded, "Boy! What are you doing here?"
"Hello uncle, nice to see you too. I came to drop off some paperwork for you and to see what our new house looks like. We are on a bit of a break at school right now and the headmaster said that I could come and visit, so here I am." Harry finished in a pleasant tone. "How are Aunt Petunia and Dudley doing? I haven't seen them since boarding school started."
Vernon was turning a nasty shade of puce, as he stood transfixed, staring at his freakish nephew. He got the shock of his life when the boy stepped up and hugged him, hard, before he could push the freak away.
In a whisper so quiet that only Vernon could hear him, Harry said, "I want you to know that the house, and your possessions, were sold and I got the profit from it. In addition, there will not be any large contracts from Mr. Granger's friends. They signed up with your competition last week." He pulled away from the hug slowly to give the appearance of really missing his loving uncle.
With an inarticulate scream of rage, Vernon backhanded his nephew in the face as hard as he could. The force of the blow was so great that it knocked Harry into the glass coffee table, shattering it and sending shards of glass everywhere.
Harry curled up into a ball and cried out, "Please uncle, I'm sorry. I promise that I won't do it again!" His cries went silent when a foot landed square in his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
The receptionist screamed, which brought a number of people running into the room. Among the people that responded to the scream was the Managing Director for the Australian Branch of Grunnings.
Mr. Anderson took one look at what was going on and told his receptionist to call building security and the bobbies. It took three people to pull Vernon off his beaten nephew before security arrived and took over. The boy on the floor couldn't have been more than fifteen and he looked to be a right mess. "Call an ambulance!" he barked to Madeline.
"Son, can you hear me?" Mr. Anderson said kindly to the boy curled up into a ball on the floor.
The boy flinched at the closeness of the voice before slowly uncurling himself. Mr. Anderson gasped a bit when he saw the look of fear in the child's eyes. "Don't worry we won't hurt you. Can you sit up? We need to get you out of the glass."
They helped Harry up and seated him on the couch as gently as they could.
By the time the paramedics arrived, the bobbies already had Vernon in a lorry on his way to the station. An additional charge of resisting arrest had been added to the assaulting a minor violation.
Harry received medical treatment on site for the worst of his injuries. Afterwards, he was transported to the hospital to have his wounds tended and evidence taken for the police report. The detective that interviewed him was very thorough and Remus was thankful for the very detailed letter from Harry and Hermione that spelled out everything that had happened to him since he was little. It allowed him to play his role as Harry to perfection.
By the time that the interview was over, the detective was assuring him that he would never have to see his relatives again and that they were going to do their best to ensure that his uncle had to spend some time in an Australian jail.
They kept him in the hospital overnight and Dobby had been a godsend. He had kept delivering Polyjuice Potion every hour to maintain the charade.
It was a full week later before the local law enforcement had gathered enough evidence to proceed with the trial. They video taped Harry's deposition because he had to get back to school in England and he didn't feel comfortable facing his uncle again.
Mr. Anderson had taken things a step further and fired Vernon Dursley and gave Petunia one week to vacate the corporate apartments. Without enough funds to purchase a house, Petunia had to start looking for a job and Dudley had to transfer to the local public school, where he would learn quickly that he was no longer the biggest fish in the pond.
Remus finished the tale of his adventure as Harry and Annabelle enveloped him in a hug.
With tears in her eyes, Annabelle said, "That was a brave, but very stupid, thing that you did Remus. I don't think anyone can thank you enough for what you have done for Harry."
John and Sirius both wore grim expressions as Remus filled in all of the little details of his ordeal. John had clapped Remus on the shoulder, to overcome with emotions to speak, in thanks.
Sirius understood a bit better than the Grangers did about why Remus was willing to go to the lengths that he did to ensure that Harry would never have to see the Dursleys again. He had felt like he had failed Harry as his godfather that fateful night and he was sure that Remus had similar feelings of remorse for not checking up on Harry when he was just a child.
The two best friends shared a look of understanding. They both knew that they would do anything to ensure Harry's safety and happiness and that this was just one small thing to make up for thirteen long years of suffering.
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