Chapter 2: Owl post and revelations.
Gritting his teeth Harry got up from his little bed and picked up a fresh piece of parchment and a quill. Writing to Rita Skeeter was not something that Harry wanted to do but it needed to be done.
Ms. Skeeter,
I was hoping that you would be able to help me with a project this summer. It will be very dangerous for you but also very lucrative. If you are interested, I would like to meet you inside Gringotts on August 1, at 12pm. If not, I am sure that there are dozens of other reporters that would be more than willing to help me.
Harry Potter
Grabbing a second piece of parchment Harry started to pen a letter to the first Goblin that took him to his vault at Gringotts.
Griphook,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking me to my vault and for explaining Wizarding money to me in my first year. I was hoping that you would be able to arrange for a private meeting room for me on August 1, at 12pm. I am willing to pay for your time and the room.
If possible, I would also like to meet with you afterwards to go over the holdings in my vault. I have not been down to visit since the death of my godfather, Sirius Black, so I know that there are some things that I must take care of.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
`I'll just send these off with Hedwig as soon as she wakes up' thought Harry as he looked over at his faithful owl. Currently she was sleeping with her head tucked under her wing after a night of hunting in Surrey.
Harry glanced over at his clock and noticed that it was just after seven in the morning and that the Dursleys would be getting up soon. Stripping off his shirt and grabbing a change of clothes, Harry stepped out of his room to head to the shower before his whale of a cousin, Dudley, could use up all of the hot water.
Just as Harry stepped out of his bedroom door, he heard a gasp from the end of the hallway. Spinning quickly and turning to the side, Harry looked up to see his Aunt Petunia staring at him wide-eyed and pale. She took a step forward with a look on her face that shocked Harry. It was a look full of guilt.
"Harry, what happened to you? Where did you get all of those scars?"
It took Harry a moment to remember that he wasn't wearing a shirt so he quickly pulled his towel over his shoulders and leveled a glare at his aunt before replying, "Why would you care? You and Uncle Vernon haven't been the most loving people the past 16 years." Without waiting for a reply, Harry walked into the bathroom and closed the door leaving a shocked and confused Petunia in the hallway.
Harry leaned against the shower wall and let the water stream down his back as he tried to gather his thoughts about his encounter with Aunt Petunia. `Why did she feel guilty? Did she actually care about him?' Harry felt that he really needed to talk to someone about what happened but Hermione wouldn't be picking him up to take him to the Burrow until a few days before his birthday next week.
After drying himself off and putting on some clean clothes, Harry stepped out into the hall so he could head downstairs to start cooking breakfast. When he opened the door to the kitchen, he got the second shock of the day.
His Aunt was busy cooking breakfast and had already set the table. Not knowing what to do, Harry simply stood there with his mouth slightly hanging open.
"Harry, have a seat at the table, breakfast should be ready in a few minutes. Help yourself to some coffee or juice and some toast if you would like." said Petunia without looking up from the stove.
Harry was confused. It was like waking up in a completely different universe but he was still the same. Tentatively Harry asked, "Aunt Petunia, is something wrong?"
She glanced up at him from the stove and gave him a small smile.
"Nothing is wrong, Harry. There are a few things that I would like to talk to you about after Vernon and Dudley leave for the day. Would that be alright with you?"
"Oh. Okay, Aunt Petunia." said Harry quickly as his cousin came pounding down the stairs. He finished his breakfast before Uncle Vernon even made it to the table and retreated to the safety of his room.
~AQ~
When Harry entered his room, he found Hedwig perched on his desk looking at the stack of outgoing post. Chuckling softly, Harry asked, "Looking for a job girl? I have a few letters that need to be delivered. Would you please wait a moment while I write one more note?" Hedwig hooted softly and flew over to her perch for a quick drink of water.
Dear Hermione,
Would it be possible for you to come to my aunt and uncles house tomorrow? There are a few things that I need to take care of that I could use your help with.
Sincerely,
Harry
Gathering up the letters for Hedwig, Harry walked over to her perch and began fastening them to her leg. "Please go to Hermione first, then Gringotts, and finally Rita Skeeter."
With an affectionate nip of his finger, Hedwig lifted off from her perch and flew out the open window. "Be safe girl." Harry said softly as he watched her outline fade into the distance.
After hearing Dudley and Uncle Vernon leave the house for work, Harry decided that he couldn't put off talking to his aunt any longer so he headed downstairs. Stepping into the living room, Harry noticed that his aunt had set up a tea tray with service for two and that she was sitting on the couch waiting for him. With a small sigh of resignation, Harry sat down on the love seat opposite his aunt and waited for her to begin talking.
"Harry, there are some things that I need to know about what will happen once you turn seventeen." Petunia said as she clutched her cup of tea in her hands.
He was a bit shocked but then realized that his aunt was scared about what could happen to her family when he left for good. "What do you know about the protection that Dumbledore placed on the house when you took me in almost sixteen years ago?" asked Harry tentatively.
After a short pause, Petunia told him about the blood protection and his being in the house during the summer to recharge the wards, and about how they kept the family safe.
`That was interesting,' thought Harry. `She knows more about the magical world than she let on, including that little slip during the summer before my fifth year.' With a hard look at his aunt, Harry whispered, "You seem to know much more about my world than I realized. How many other secrets have you been keeping?"
Petunia shivered at his tone and the look that he gave her as he was speaking. Harry's face was a frozen, emotionless mask, but it was his eyes that truly scared her. He looked completely capable of cold-blooded murder, and there seemed to be a slight breeze in the room even though all of the windows remained closed.
`What had he been through to become this hardened,' thought Petunia? "H-H-Harry, I have some things that Dumbledore gave me that belonged to your parents. He had them put into magical storage at Gringotts after I told him that I didn't want them kept in our house."
As she finished this statement, she produced a small golden key with the Gringotts seal emblazoned on the top and placed it on the coffee table that was between them.
"How long?" croaked Harry in a strangled voice. He was not sure he wanted to hear the answer, but he needed to know.
Petunia opened her mouth as if to reply but then shut it abruptly. She tried to tell him again but faltered and covered her mouth with one of her bony hands. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights and was too afraid to move or say anything.
"TELL THE TRUTH!" shouted Harry, with authority, while looking directly into his aunt's eyes. The tea set started to rattle and shake as his magic began to rise up inside of him in anger.
Petunia felt her mind invaded by a foreign presence and her memories started spilling forth, playing out right in front of her eyes. Her head began to pound, and her eyes started to glaze over from the mental attack as Harry delved deeper looking for answers.
The feeling of being inside of his aunt's mind shocked Harry momentarily before he realized that he had used Legilimency without saying an incantation or using his wand. With renewed purpose, he began sifting through her memories looking for the conversation between Dumbledore and his aunt.
When he finally pulled out of the memory and left Petunia's mind, Harry's heart filled with hatred and pure rage towards his remaining family. "You have had this the entire time that I have lived here and never once saw fit to tell me about it?" he hissed menacingly.
Petunia could only nod in agreement, she was too afraid to say anything because she thought that Harry might kill her on the spot.
Harry grabbed the key and stood up to leave the room. As he started to go up the steps, he stopped and turned to his Aunt and said, "You and the rest of the Dursleys should leave the house before my birthday. Tell no one where you are going, just leave. If you are here on my seventeenth birthday, you will be murdered by Voldemort or his followers because the wards are going to fall. I'm leaving tomorrow for good. Make sure that all of you stay out of my way until I am gone."
Angrily, Harry trudged up to the smallest bedroom and began packing up his belongings.
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