Harry Potter and the Age of Deceit

Chapter 2 The Unnaturalness of Petunia

An incessant noisy tapping caused Harry to wake with a start. It took a few moments for him to work out where the noise was actually coming from but when he did, he ran to the window. Food and presents and, Harry conceded to himself, letters from his friends. But, with food and presents, Harry thought as he rubbed his hands together with glee and started to drool a little.

"Hi Pig," Harry muttered as he grabbed Pig and removed the rather small package. It didn't look big enough to eat, Harry thought suspiciously, as he put it aside to deal with the other owls present. They dropped several large packages on his bed before fluttering onto his desk to drink the water he had put there. The other packages looked more substantial. They could contain cakes, Harry thought, as his hunger finally got the better of him and he grabbed the nearest package. He ripped it open to find it contained several large piping hot mince pies and several dozen small pasties. Pumpkin he discovered as he stuffed a couple into his mouth before proceeding to gorge himself; the owls and other presents momentarily forgotten.

Three pies and several dozen pasties later Harry felt fuller and his attention was drawn to the attached letter. He opened and read it. The present was from the Weasleys as he had expected. Mrs Weasleys cooking was spectacular. He stuffed another pastie into his mouth and turned to the owls. "Sworry, bit hungry," he managed through his mouthful of food. The owls seemed to understand and remained silent as he looked at the remaining presents. He grabbed them and tore them open pausing only briefly reading the accompanying letters.

He received rock cakes from Hagrid as well as a large thick collar and leash that had him wondering just what awaited him in Care of Magical Creatures. From Hermione he received a spell book, Sneaky Spells and Cunning Curses by Sylvester Wiley, and perhaps more importantly a framed photo of Hedwig. The photo was muggle and therefore stationary but it was priceless. Harry didn't know or care how Hermione had acquired it and he clasped it to his chest letting his tears flow. After couple of moments, he placed it on his desk.

"My owl Hedwig...she d-died," he said quietly to the other owls. They hung they're heads low and even Pig stopped twittering for a moment although he kept flying around the bedroom. Harry sat down and resumed opening presents.

From the Grangers he received a very large supply of sugar free candy with a letter containing a tearful thank you for his attempts to prevent what had occurred and condolences for his loss of Hedwig. Sirius's present was a wrist holster for his wand and the pocketknife he had previously given him. Harry put it on and was pleased with the fit and feel of it. Also included were a very large chocolate birthday cake, two dozen large bottles of butterbeer and a huge basket of tropical fruit, some of which Harry had never before seen. It seemed Sirius had used one or more charms to fit so much in. The next was from Ron; a cake, a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and a Quidditch magazine; Quidditch Monthly issue 3672.

Harry paused, if that was Ron's gift then...he grabbed the small package Pig had delivered. It was from Ginny; a small box of handmade chocolates and a photo of Ginny performing several stunts on her (or one of her brothers) broomsticks. She looked like she was very good on a broom and Harry remembered there were some vacancies on the Quidditch team. He decided he'd have a word with both her and the team. It would be nice if Ginny was on the team although Harry couldn't say why...probably because she was Ron's sister. Yes, that was it Harry decided.

He read her letter again in its entirety with increased interest. The broomstick was hers, a Nimbus 2000 like Harry's first one, given to her by the twins who had claimed it had been given to them by Mr Bagman in lieu of money for the bet they had laid in the Quidditch world cup. They'd then given it to Ginny, as she didn't have a broom. The letter explained that both she and her parents had serious doubts about the twins explanation but also stated that after much thought she had decided to keep the broom anyway. Harry smiled, he knew better but hoped the twins weren't wasting all the money he'd given them for starting their joke shop. Harry's smile lessened after he read on. It appeared that the twins had gotten into trouble after Mrs Weasley had found out about their gambling and had then tried to contact Mr Bagman. Ginny didn't know what had happened afterward but the twins had gotten into a lot more trouble with both Mr and Mrs Weasley and Harry's name had come up more than once. Harry winced and felt quite ill. It sounded like Mr and Mrs Weasley had found out about Harry's gift of 1000 galleons and weren't happy. Well he supposed, as he tried to make himself feel better, he'd face that when he met them...later on. It didn't make much sense to worry about it now.

The next present consisted of three identical spherical packages which all felt oddly heavy. Crystal balls, Harry guessed by the size and weight. He opened them to find he was right and wrong. They weren't just ordinary crystal balls but a set of communications balls (or orbs as the attached letter referred to them). Very mysteriously, no indication was given as to whom they were from. It merely said that the set of orbs were a small gesture of condolence for their failure to prevent Hedwig's death. This struck Harry as very odd and he reread the letter carefully. It said that they could only be used two at a time and would not work with any other orbs. Harry was rendered utterly speechless. He knew that the orbs were hideously expensive and exceptionally rare. He remembered Hermione's shocked response to Harry receiving one from Dumbledore. That had just been a loan, they were so valuable, and would have to be returned eventually but these were his. She had recognised their value and told Harry to be very careful with his one. He had asked her to look into his acquiring a set of them and a reluctant Hermione had replied with a typically large amount of information on them. They were hideously expensive (so much so that he had changed his mind as to owning one) as they were imbued with very strong security charms. Only three people could make them and only one was considered to make them properly.

Harry nervously picked one of the orbs up. "Who made you?" he queried. Immediately a small symbol appeared in orb; the makers sign. Harry almost dropped the orb. It was the best kind. Ron was going to be sick when he learned Harry had a three piece set. Harry breathed in and out a few times. This was an amazing gift. He could give one to Sirius and one to Ron (and therefore Hermione) and have instant secure communication with all of the people that mattered to him in this world. He rewrapped two of the orbs and set them aside as his mind was abuzz with just who could have sent them to him. Dumbledore was an obvious choice but that did not make much sense. Eventually after much deliberation, Harry couldn't think of anyone who might have given him the orbs. He shrugged and went back to the presents.

There were cards from Mrs Figg, Dumbledore, Fleur Delacour (Harry would have to tell Ron) and Remus Lupin who had attached a galleon to his card. There was only one present left, a large drab cardboard box with no letter. Harry guessed that it could be within the box and so opened it.

It instantly exploded and covered Harry and the room in a deluge of stars as what seemed to be several Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start No-Heat Fireworks were let off. Pandemonium ensued as the owls panicked and flew into the air flying about the rather confined space of Harry's room. Several eventually left through the still open window. It was several minutes before calm was restored. Fred and George, Harry thought, disgusted with himself. He should have guessed. Rather reluctantly, he looked at what contents remained. Several smaller parcels were covered with a letter from the twins. It said the present was a sampler for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Harry grimaced. He wasn't about to even touch anything more in the package and he carefully replaced the lid and then gently placed the package in a corner of his room. Away from him but where he could keep an eye on it. Harry looked up at the owls and figured those that remained had all been instructed to wait for a letter from him. He decided he couldn't expect all of them to remain for long and so he set about writing back to his friends.

Several hours later, he had only Ron's and Ginny's to go. Harry didn't really know what to write to Ginny as her present had been decidedly more intimate than the others. For that reason, Harry decided to tackle Ron's letter first. Harry grabbed the magazine Ron had given him. It was a strange present, Harry thought, but he supposed there was an article within it Ron thought he would like. The cover gave little away but Harry soon realised what Ron was on about. Over half the issue was dedicated to a single article with the title 'The Future of Quidditch'. Harry quickly saw that he had received much more than a passing mention. Ten whole pages were dedicated to him with many photos including one of him dodging the Hungarian Horntail and acquiring the golden egg. He was amazed that an international magazine rated him so very highly and went so far as to make comparisons with Krum and several other well-known international players. Harry couldn't resist reading the entire section several times over as well as large portions of the rest of the article.

He was only persuaded to stop by the impatient hooting of a large horned owl. One that had, much to Harry's surprise, turned out to be the new Weasley family owl Fidget. Errol had apparently been considered too old to manage large parcels anymore and was now limited to light weight short distance mail delivery. Harry quickly finished a letter to Ron extolling the immense pleasure he'd received from Ron gift and sent Fidget on his way. That left Ginny's letter and, Harry noted with a smile, a finally exhausted Pig who was twittering very quietly while lying on his bed. Harry decided to keep the letter short.

Dear Ginny,

Thank you for your gifts. The chocolate was delicious. You are a very talented cook (or chocolate maker). The photo shows that you have a lot of skill on a broomstick and I remember that there are several spots on the squad. I definitely think you should consider playing for Gryffindor. I would like you on the team.

Yours Truly,

Harry

Harry called out to Pig who instantly fluttered excitedly about the room and forced Harry to catch him out of the air. Soon enough though Pig was sent on his way and Harry was left alone once more. Well alone except for Snapper, Harry noted, as he saw it rip up some of the wrapping paper on the floor to create an even bigger mess than there had been. Harry grimaced, but decided he'd clean his room later. He moved his presents from his bed to his desk and lay down to read Quidditch Monthly. He wondered if he could get a subscription for himself and decided to ask Sirius about that. He imagined Ron didn't have a subscription so he wouldn't be able to borrow issues from him, and the possibility of missing any more issues was too appalling for Harry to contemplate. He remained there for the rest of the day eventually falling asleep with his head jammed between the pages of the magazine. It had been a very satisfying birthday.

************

"Harry wake up now."

These words roused Harry several days later. Harry paused half-asleep. The speaker had sounded like Petunia but that made no sense as she wasn't talking to him and almost never referred to him by his name. Harry had almost convinced himself that he'd been dreaming when Petunia called him again.

"Coming," Harry muttered softly as he got out of bed.

"Harry. Now, please," Petunia called out.

Harry jumped in fright and made a grab for his wand. That had terrified him. His aunt would never ever be so polite to him. It was inconceivable. A million very bad possibilities crossed Harry's mind. He settled on a performing a brief investigation and dressed quickly prior to heading downstairs wand first.

"Harry can you please come arhhh-" Petunia halted and gasped as Harry entered the kitchen with his wand out. "What are you doing with that thing," she added in a scathing whisper that gave Harry immense relief. However, he still wasn't sure of what was going on. He could see that Vernon and Dudley had seen the wand and were now quickly backing away.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"You've got that thing out," Petunia accused in a whisper.

"What's wrong down here? You're never that polite to me normally," Harry continued. It took the Dursleys several moments to grasp what Harry has said. Vernon gave a nervous twitter that may have otherwise been a full belly laugh while Dudley merely whimpered.

"Nothing is wrong. Now put that evil thing away," said Petunia and she continued to whisper, "I will not have more neighbours leaving because of your presence. The last lot left because they thought you were criminally insane. Now I can't possibly tell the new neighbours the truth about you."

"What truth," asked Harry and then instantly regretted it as Vernon pounded his fists together menacingly and Petunia looked equally offended.

"That you attend St. Brutus' Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. If they heard that then they might leave and then what would the other neighbours think?" She twitched and quickly gazed out the window obviously checking for eavesdroppers. She looked back at Harry with a crazed expression upon her face. "So you," she said, pointing a bony finger at Harry, "will pretend to be normal instead of what ever you are." She sneered and continued, "You will simply have to pretend that you are going to Smeltings." She wrinkled her nose up as if wondering if someone as obviously unpleasant as Harry could possibly be considered Smeltings material.

Harry blinked and considered pinching himself. Petunia had flipped. Had he not come to expect a certain amount of strangeness from the Dursleys he might have been concerned. However, given the past treatment inflicted upon him by them he wasn't moved at all. Petunia appeared to pick up on his complacency and moved forward until she was very close to Harry.

"I will not have any of the neighbours thinking that unnaturalness is occurring anywhere near this house, especially the new neighbours. I'm just thankful that blasted owl isn't around anymore. They might have seen the mangy thing and thought us strange." She said strange as if that was the worst thing someone could possibly be but Harry wasn't listening to her anymore. While her insanity didn't perturb him he wasn't about to endure his heroic owl being maligned. Harry decided that if she criticised Hedwig again he'd turn her into an owl. It couldn't be that hard he supposed and he didn't care if he screwed it up.

"Now there you are Harry, can you please be a dear and clean up the front garden. The lawn could also do with a mowing," she said in an unnervingly loud cheerful voice that caused Harry to take an involuntary step backwards as it sent shivers down his spine.

"Oh...okay," stuttered Harry more than a little perturbed. It was only as he backed out of the kitchen that he realised what was going on. Petunias perfect little world of complete and utter normalcy had been put in mortal danger. This was her response. It reminded Harry of Vernon's insanity in trying to avoid Harry's letter in his first year. He realised then that the Dursleys were all basically insane. "I'll go and get into some old clothes then and make a start on the garden," he called out in what he hoped was a winning tone before he bolted for the safety of his bedroom.

He immediately went to his crystal orb communicator but Dumbledore appeared to be away from his. He then tried Ron's repeatedly. After a while, it was answered by a very groggy Ron who groaned about Harry abusing the orbs by using them before lunchtime. Harry didn't care much about Ron's lost sleep and told an increasingly amused Ron about his deranged aunt. Eventually Ron composed himself enough to assure Harry that he would look into whether something magical was going on with Petunia. He would ask his father about it. He then told Harry to enjoy a new and improved Petunia in the meantime. Harry hoped Ron had received his scathing look before Ron had thrown something over his orb and ended the conversation. He'd probably gone straight back to sleep Harry thought darkly but he couldn't do much about that at that moment. He didn't want a cheerful Petunia to come up to get him.

***

Later that night Ron replied with news that there was no magical reason for his aunt's behaviour that could be detected from their end. The general consensus of all those Ron had informed was that Petunia was just acting strangely in response to a lot of stress. That left Harry with a very frightening aunt and no way to make things better.

************

Several days later Harry wondered how he'd made it so far. He'd been forced to clean up the entire garden and, worse still, had endured meals with the Dursleys and family time (He shuddered). He couldn't believe Vernon was tolerating the new reality while Dudley also seemed to be taking the situation entirely to well. Both were civil to Harry at all times and his life had turned into a never-ending very perverse nightmare.

It was, as fate would have it, a very nice day. One Harry might have otherwise have enjoyed, but Petunia had seen to that by waking him very early and asking him to mow the lawns.

Harry pushed the mower about the small lawn at the rear, taking nervous pleasure from the brief respite from the unnaturalness of Petunia, as he had come to call it. He wasn't taking it very well he thought to himself. It was more than could be reasonably expected of him to withstand and he lived in apprehension of the day when he would snap and do something to her that would get him into a lot of trouble. The Dursleys were turning him insane by acting insane. The irony of the situation was cold comfort as he continued to push the mower around and look forward more than ever to the day he could escape back to the sanctuary of Hogwarts.

"Excuse me," a girls voice called out.

Harry jumped causing the girl to laugh.

"Could you tell me how much longer you are going to be using that thing?"

Harry turned to see a very attractive girl of about his own age looking over the fence. This was his new neighbour?

"Ah-" Harry struggled as he found, much to his chagrin, that his voice had deserted him and so he just stood there stupidly. The smile on the girls face grew.

"So how long is that?"

Harry blushed and looked around at the small garden. There was not much left to do. "Not to long," he uttered much to his dismay. He surely wasn't this bad with strangers normally. He shook his head trying to muster some semblance of dignity and control. "I've only got a small bit left to do," he said with a small sense of relief. It still sounded brainless to him but it was better than his previous attempt.

"That's nice. I was enjoying a pleasant quiet day until you started that thing up," the girl said and then abruptly ducked down out of sight.

Great that went well Harry thought. All he could hope was that the girl hadn't gone away thinking he and therefore the Dursleys were a bit odd. He'd never hear the end of it if Petunia...Harry looked up at the house and winced. Petunia was coming towards him with an expression of hatred on her face.

"So Harry dear did I just see you talking to our lovely new neighbours? I just hope you remembered to forward an invitation to tea and biscuits. That would be a delightful way to get to now each other."

Harry felt sick. Petunia had made an art form out of talking serenely and pleasantly while simultaneously giving Harry an expression of absolute loathing and disgust.

"No ah Aunt Petunia. I'm sorry I forgot," Harry muttered weakly, getting a hateful look from Petunia. Harry took that as a sign to remain quiet. He hurriedly finished the lawn and bolted for the safety of his room.

Before he had made four steps the girls voice called out, "Have you finished now?"

Harry turned around to see the girl was back peering over the wall.

"Ah yes umm bye," Harry said quickly as he saw Petunia move from where she had been pretending to tend to some rose plants.

"Hello there," Petunia said cheerily causing Harry to suppress a gag reflex. "We haven't met yet. I'm Petunia and this is my nephew Harry." Harry reeled at Petunia actually stating their relationship. He shuddered as he continued to look on in horror. "I'm sorry that we haven't had an opportunity to meet before but I think I'll take this opportunity to offer an invitation to tea over here. Perhaps you could forward that to your mother."

"My mother doesn't live here," the girl stated, her face clouding over.

Harry suppressed a smirk at Petunia's wonderful tact.

"Well then your you and father of course," Petunia recovered. If she was shocked at the girl's revelation, she hid it very well.

"I'm sure my father would be delighted to come over, if you'd just tell me when I'll ask."

"Well," Petunia looked at her watch, "it's almost lunch time so why not make it lunch."

"Wait a sec while I go and tell my father." She disappeared for a minute before returning. "My father says yes so we'll be seeing you in oh say ten minutes...if that's enough time."

"Of course it is," Petunia said confidently waving goodbye to the girl as she ducked back down again. Nothing good could come from this Harry thought as he wished mobility would return to his legs. He needed to flee before he was roped into Petunias madness once more. "Harry there you are," his aunt said in nauseatingly sweet dulcet tone as Harry felt sick to the pit of his stomach, "come inside and we'll get started on preparing an absolutely delicious lunch for our new friends."

Shuddering, Harry preceded his aunt to the kitchen. Once there Petunia turned on him.

"Don't you even consider doing anything funny during this lunch or mention anything...anything," she whispered in a deadly serious tone. "No unnaturalness or you will regret it. And you are to make Dudley look good. Now go and get changed into something presentable while I go and get Vernon and Dudley."

Harry went to his room wondering how anyone could make Dudley look good when it hit him why she had asked that. It was too funny to contemplate, Petunia the matchmaker. Harry felt instant sympathy for the girl. He paused, he didn't even know her name. Still he supposed no one deserved to not be subjected to the Dursleys.

************

Harry changed into his best muggle clothes that really weren't all that good he supposed. Still they were presentable, and Harry didn't care if he looked bad. He could always say he was trying to make Dudley look good. He then sat on his bed wondering if he didn't come out would Petunia make an excuse for him and he wouldn't have to go downstairs. His hopes were soon dashed by Petunia knocking on the door. Groaning Harry got up and opened the door to come out. Petunia still stood there.

"Just making sure you decided to come and seeing if you're presenta-" Petunia stopped mid-word as she looked over Harry's shoulder into his room. "Are they...where did you...I don't want to know but where did you?" Petunia muttered, as she was transfixed on something in the room. Harry looked back inside. He couldn't see anything out if the ordinary though he did note he'd left the orbs uncovered and some of Sirius's fruit lay on the desk from when Harry had been eating and talking to his friends. Petunia brushed past Harry into the room.

"Hey what are you doing," Harry protested. Petunia in his bedroom was just wrong. "This is my room get out."

Petunia ignored him, went to the desk, and picked up the fruit. "Where did you get these from?" she asked in a pointed tone.

"They're from Sirius and leave them alone or I'll tell him you took them." This got Petunias attention and she looked at Harry apparently deciding something. Eventually she spoke.

"I think it's about time you paid for yourself boy," she said, forgetting for a moment to speak in a loving tone.

"They're joke fruit...like the toffees," Harry implored, thinking to himself that that was a brilliant story she was bound to buy. Petunia almost dropped the fruit in shock and regarded them suspiciously until she looked down on the ground. She looked up accusingly and, grabbing all of the fruit she could, walked out of the room. "That's theft" Harry called after her, feeling outraged at Petunias actions. How did she know he was lying? Harry looked down at the floor and felt disgusted with himself. He hadn't cleaned up the peels of the other fruits he eaten. He was definitely going to tell Sirius about this but later he thought. First, he had to reclaim his fruit. With that plan in mind, Harry went downstairs.

***

Harry found everyone in the living room. He saw a stranger who immediately introduced himself as Damon Stranger and his daughter Angela. They were the new next-door neighbours. Harry took a seat and fixed his gaze on his stolen fruit. They had been put in a bowl on the coffee table in front of them.

"Mmmm star apples," Angela stated, "I didn't know you could get these here... they must be hideously expensive...makes me think of home.'

"Where's that then?" Vernon asked gruffly receiving a reproving glance from Petunia.

"South America, Just moved here for business reasons," Mr Stranger said as he too grabbed one of Harry's fruits and proceeded to eat it. "You'll have to tell me where you got these from Petunia. I really miss the food from home."

Harry looked up at Petunia. Explain that one thief, he thought.

"Oh well they were just a change for a special treat. I picked them up at the local supermarket. I'd never seen them before and decided to be adventurous." Petunia said without any hint she that was a liar and a thief. Harry grabbed back one of his fruits. He couldn't see how he could get them all back but he supposed he could manage one or two. He slowly peeled it averting his gaze from everyone else. He had no desire to chat with the new neighbours no matter how pretty they were.

"So what do you do for a living?" Stranger asked Vernon and Petunia.

"I'm manager of a drill bit company," Vernon said pompously as if this was an impressive job. Petunia said something about housekeeping and looking after her Dudley who Harry noted had become transfixed on Angela. Angela, Harry noted with smug satisfaction, didn't seem have even noticed Dudley's existence.

"And you?" asked Petunia.

"All sorts really. However, if you had to put a name on it...Antiquities I suppose. I do some archaeology and similar stuff. I also dabble in a few arts. The market for both however is decidedly selective and has recently become unsettled. These things come in cycles, but I am confident the market will pick up soon. That is why I decided to move here. I felt a need to be on hand and try to raise some more interest in what I have to offer." Mr Stranger gave what looked, for a split second, like a condescending smirk of superiority before a calm smile dominated his features.

"That sounds really interesting," said Vernon sounding like he was out of his depth and knew it.

"I brought you something," Mr Stranger reached down beside his chair and produced a large wooden mask. "It's a very old relic of a long dead tribe from the depths of the Amazon Jungle. It's supposedly imbued with magical powers and will give the wearer magnificent strength and virility although all it's ever done for me is make me look rather silly." Harry was the only one present who laughed. Petunia had gone quite still at the mention of magical powers and Vernon was apparently sulking over being shown up. Dudley was still speechless, looking at Angela who looked very bored. The mask however fascinated Harry. It was impossible, he thought, that the mask was actually magical, as ministry officials wouldn't allow a muggle to possess such things. Still it was far more interesting that anything the Dursleys currently had.

"Can I try it on," Harry asked

"Sure."

Both ignored Petunia's pained expression and Harry put the mask on. It was large and didn't seem to fit him very well. He had poor vision through the eyeholes but he could see Angela looking at him with what looked like mirth in her eyes. Harry took the mask off.

"Why don't you try it on," he asked Angela.

"Not a chance."

"Traditionally it should be hung up above the fire pit, so I suppose it would be okay up on the mantle piece over there," Mr Stranger said as he pointed above the fireplace.

"Right Harry, please take the delightful gift and place it as suggested by our guest," Petunia said calmly. It appeared she had composed herself once more. Harry grabbed the mask and placed it in the centre of the mantelpiece covering a photo of Dudley. It was already proving to be good gift Harry thought to himself. He sat down once again and soon became bored as Vernon and Mr Stranger started talking about local schools and other such things. It eventually became too much for Harry to take and he excused himself. No one objected to his leaving so he rushed (grabbing another fruit in the process) back up to his room. He was halfway up the stairs when he realised Angela was behind him.

"Those lot will be boring each other silly for hours... do you have anything fun to do?"

"What?" Harry asked with only a slight edge of panic present in his voice.

"Can I come up to your room? Hang out while the adults chat."

"Er okay...just a sec I'll go and umm..." Harry bolted up the stairs to his room. What did he do now? Could he just refuse her? Harry felt trapped. He opened the door and went into the mess that was his bedroom. There were several rather unusual items out and Snapper was loose under his bed. How was he going to clean it in time?

"Do you have indoor storms over here?"

Harry jumped. He turned to see Angela was biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing. He felt a blush forming.

"Ah it's a little bit messy."

"I spy wrapping paper. Had a birthday recently."

Harry swore furiously in his mind. The wrapping paper was magical and had moving images on it.

"Ah hmm let me just clean up a bit first." He said praying for a miracle or at least some interruption. Of all people, Dudley came to the rescue.

"Do you want to play on my computer...it really good...and I've got lots of other toys and stuff."

"What?" Angela asked as if slightly confused.

"Come I'll show you." With that, Dudley grabbed Angela and dragged her off.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and quickly set about cleaning his room. He put everything even remotely magical under his bed or into the space under the loose floorboard. Snapper wasn't at all pleased at having the belt placed on him once more and Harry suffered a rather painful paper cut before he managed to stuff the book into a drawer.

Ready to have Angela enter his room, Harry went to get her only to find his door was locked. Harry backed off a bit before trying the door again. It was definitely locked. Petunia, he decided, had locked him up as he had served his purpose and was now in the way of Dudley and Angela becoming friends. Harry felt sick and angry. How dare she...how could she...she wasn't getting away with it, Harry decided and he went for his knife. The door was no barrier for him and he quietly snuck out of his bedroom, locking the door after him. He crept along the passage to Dudley's room and peeked in. Dudley was there but Angela was nowhere to be seen. Harry looked about, he could still hear the Dursleys and Mr Stranger talking downstairs, but not Angela's voice...where was she? He decided he wouldn't irritate (or frighten) Dudley by asking him anything and proceeded down the stairs being careful to not be seen by the Dursleys. It was not very hard as they now seemed to be entranced by Mr Stranger regaling them with what, from the little Harry could hear, was a story about a Shaman and a small tribe. Harry ducked into the other rooms and looked about. He couldn't see her anywhere and with a snort of disgust went back to his room.

************

Harry was busy in his room reading Quidditch Monthly while still smarting from missing talking to Angela the previous day when someone knocked noisily on his door.

"Wake up." Petunia didn't sound as annoyingly pleasant as she recently had. Harry groaned into his blanket beneath him. He didn't want or need anymore of his aunts insanity. "Come on lazy bones," Petunia said with her voice becoming more saccharine as she increased her volume. Harry shuddered and roused himself into a sitting position.

"Coming Aunt Petunia," Harry said, trying to sound cheerful. You silly insane bitch he continued in his mind. He walked over to the door and opened it.

"We are going out...you are coming with us." Her voice sounded as if there was no possibility of compromise.

"What? Now? Do I have to?" Harry tried to get out of it anyway.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself...what would the neighbours think," Petunias voice had dropped into her typical scathing whisper tone.

"You are going whether you like it or not and you are not to touch or say anything during the entire trip. We are going to get Dudley's new clothes and stationary for his year at Smelting. Now go and get changed into your best clothes and NO unnaturalness," she continued in her whisper. "We'll be leaving in a few moments Harry...better hurry up," Petunia added in her loud cheerful tone.

Harry backed off into his bedroom rubbing his ears. He closed the door and proceeded to change. She really was insane if she thought that the neighbours cared about what she had to say this early in the morning. The last item Harry put on only after much deliberation with himself. Eventually he decided that going out of the house was dangerous, especially given what had happened to the Grangers. The holster felt reassuringly comfortable on his wrist and his long sleeve hid it very well. The Dursleys would never know.

************

The shopping centre was huge, Harry thought, and perhaps he would actually be allowed inside it. He had never been allowed to visit one before as the Dursleys usually left him behind when they made their outings. They parked far from the entrance and got out. Harry looked about expectantly. Petunia was surely not going to let him go with out one final threat.

"Don't do anything," she muttered as she Vernon and Dudley walked towards the entrance. Harry followed slightly behind.

The centre was a revelation for Harry being much larger than anything he had expected and it was full of muggles. Harry looked about nervously and quickly decided to keep very close to the Dursleys. Should they become parted he doubted they would be eager to have a reunion and might just leave him behind. Harry looked about at the stores they were passing. They all seemed to be rather interesting, as were the people. In fact, several teenagers Harry guessed were about his age were milling about outside an amusement arcade. They looked up at Harry and one pointed towards him. He decided that they couldn't be pointing at him as they didn't know him and he surely didn't look that strange. Harry checked his clothing. It was basic muggle fare. Harry hung his head a bit lower as he trudged along behind his aunt who was now heading towards a tailor.

"Harry?" Harry looked up with a start at the sound of his name; first at his aunt and then behind him where the voice had come from. Several girls stood in a ring behind him.

"Huh?"

"Harry," the middle one spoke in a familiar voice.

"Do I know you?"

She laughed lightly getting giggles from those about her.

"It's me Angela...your next-door neighbour."

"Angela," Harry exclaimed taken back. She looked different somehow. "You ah look er different from before."

"Do you want to hang out?" she asked tentatively getting more giggles from those with her. Harry took a step backwards.

"Er...what do you mean...and I'm ah supposed to keep close to the Dur...my aunt"

"Who?" She remarked with a smirk as she looked over Harry's shoulder. Harry turned with a feeling of hopelessness. The Dursleys were nowhere to be seen.

"Where? What?"

"Don't worry," giggled Angela, "my dad accosted them and took them away for some coffee or something. Come with us...play a few games at the arcade and stuff."

The other girls about her giggled some more and Harry found himself being dragged along after them as they moved off towards the arcade. Much to his surprise, he found that he enjoyed the games and the company of the girls. It felt nice to be around normal people for a change and it turned out that Harry was rather good at the muggle arcade games. Only Angela seemed to be able to beat him and the fun gaming quickly deteriorated into an all out contest. In the end Angela had many more victories than Harry, something the other girls were quick to point out. Finally, Mr Stranger arrived with no Dursleys in tow.

"Come with me Angela and you too Harry, if you like. Your family is still busy acquiring clothing suitable for your cousin," he said with a decidedly amused gleam in his eyes.

Harry tried hard to suppress a smile as he followed them off to a large camera store. They went right to the rear and Harry saw what they were there for. The rear section of the store was dedicated to telescopes, some quite large and sophisticated.

"I said I was going to get you a new one Angela so here we are. Now pick one," Mr Stranger said matter-of-factly before moving off. Angela instantly latched onto a very large and terribly expensive reflecting telescope. Harry felt some sense of jealousy enter him as he watched Mr Stranger return with a store person and arrange the purchase of the telescope with as many of the optional extras as the store could provide. The telescope, although muggle, looked very much nicer than his own one and Angela beamed a very large smile while Harry did his best to remain quiet. He supposed that the telescope was more powerful than his own and idly wondered if one could be charmed so that it could be a complete replacement for his one. Harry shook himself and followed Angela out of the store. She was still positively beaming.

"Father has been saying he was going to get me a new one for a long time," she gushed to Harry.

He tried to smile and said, "It looked nice."

"It's far more powerful than my last one and I just love using them to, er, look at the stars," she finished rather lamely, as if it wasn't the first thing she was going to say. She lowered he head slightly and seemed to reprove herself for a moment before she regained her beaming smile. The two of them went back to the amusement arcade and the other girls who had been joined by some boys. Harry instantly developed a rapport with them all and some of them recognised him from primary school. They all had quite a lot of fun until the Dursleys turned up.

"Why there you are Harry," Petunia said in a pleasant voice that didn't fool Harry. She was not happy at all, probably because he was having fun.

"Come on boy," Vernon said harshly drawing a quick glance from Petunia. Dudley stood agape at Harry. This puzzled Harry for a moment before he realised he was surrounded attractive girls including Angela whom Dudley had previously been entranced with. Harry shook himself as he realised he hadn't really noticed. He was sure he was supposed to have but didn't know why he hadn't. He shrugged off the intruding image of Hermione.

He made his apologies to his new friends and moved off after the Dursleys; his mind full of the inevitable rant his aunt would give him when they got home.

As it was, she didn't wait until then, opening up on him as soon as they got into the car.

"How dare you leave us in the store. We told you to stay with us and you run off and make Dudley look bad in front of our kind. What were you doing with those people?"

Harry took a moment to digest the injustice contained within his aunt's accusation.

"I didn't do anything. I was asked by Angela to go with her and I did nothing wrong"

"And why didn't you ask poor Dudley to go with you?"

"But-" Harry began in protest, as Dudley had been otherwise preoccupied at the time.

"Don't you argue with your aunt, boy. We had that school master of yours promise us that you'd behave and now I have a mind to inform him that you obviously can't be expected to do so," Vernon said, finally finding a topic he felt comfortable enough with to become involved in.

Harry remained quiet for the remainder of the trip home and went straight to his room even as Vernon was ordering him to go there.

All in all it had been a pleasant outing and one that Harry decided he was not going to forget in a hurry. He ignored the little voice at the back of his head that said it was one he would not be repeating anytime soon. After all, Petunia couldn't just leave him home alone while they went out. What would the neighbours think?

****

It was several days later when his afternoon of relaxation was interrupted as he was ordered to the front door by an irate Vernon. Mr Stranger had apparently requested his help for the rest of the afternoon. Vernon and Petunia seemed torn between outrage at Harry being asked for by anyone and the prospect of a Harry free afternoon. In the end, Harry was allowed to go for as long as required. The unspoken suggestion being that Harry stay as long as possible.

Scowling slightly, Harry proceeded to the Strangers home. He knocked on the door and after a time was met by a rather distracted Mr Stranger.

"Come in Harry. Angela is in her bedroom upstairs second door on the right," was all he said before disappearing into a nearby room. Harry stood there for a few moments uncertain just what to do before deciding to take Mr Stranger up on his offer to go to his daughters' room. Following his instructions, he came to a door. Knocking lightly, he heard Angela's voice call out from inside.

"Come in."

Harry opened the door to a room rather larger than his own. It was spartan with few decorations. Angela was on the bed with a very large package.

"Hi er welcome to my bedroom," she said hesitantly.

Harry didn't quite understand why she was saying that, but nodded nevertheless. "Hi er why am I here?" he asked.

"I thought you might like to help me put this telescope together with me," she said gesturing to the package on her bed.

"Oh I thought, well never mind. Sure I'll help you," Harry said realising that the request from Mr Stranger had been a ploy to get him over to their house without upsetting the Dursleys too much. He suppressed the small amount of displeasure he felt at being confronted with the telescope that still seemed to be much nicer than his own and started to help Angela put it together.

****

Soon enough and without any drama, the telescope was completely assembled and standing proudly on the floor in front of them. Both of them looked at it with anticipation and Harry had to suppress his envy once more.

"Pity we can't use it right now but how about we meet later tonight and test it?" Angela offered.

Harry reeled at the offer. He certainly wouldn't be allowed to do so by the Dursleys. "Ah I don't know if I'll-"

"Aw come on," Angela remarked and Harry felt his restraint vanish.

"Okay, um, I'll sneak out ah later tonight when it's dark," Harry agreed without a further thought, "Where can we can ah--where?" he asked.

"Oh in our--my backyard of cause. Just come round when it's dark," she replied.

"Right I'll try and be there," Harry said as he regretted his acceptance of her offer, but he was uncertain of how he was supposed to get out of it. It all didn't seem like such a good idea to him anymore and he envisaged Petunia's displeasure if, when she caught him.

"So what you want to do know then?"

"I don't know? I thought I was coming over to help your father." Harry explained. Angela smirked a little.

"I thought of that. It really did seem that they don't hmm like you." Harry smiled weakly as he wondered if he should tell Angela of his true thoughts of the Dursleys. He decided reluctantly that it was safer if he didn't. He wasn't at all sure what Petunia might do if she found out. At Harry's continued silence Angela grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his room and down to meet her father. "I know what we can do," she said as she walked. "Dad can we p--play with my crossbow," she asked her father who looked up sharply with concern on his face that he quickly hid.

"As you like but be careful. Its not a toy as you seem to think it is and don't let anyone see you with it. They might think the wrong thing." He returned to the dusty book he had been reading when they had interrupted him. Angela grabbed Harry and pulled him back up the stairs to another room. She was about to enter it when her father came bounding up the stairs and just managed to stop her. "Don't ah open it. I ah will open it and get your ah crossbow out," he said breathlessly with concern on his face as he seemed to also trying to convey something wordlessly to Angela.

"But I can--oh right er I ah remember the new security measures. Sorry I er forgot," Angela said as if she was making it up as she was going. "We got new security measures after seeing the authorities about what was required. And I'm apparently too young to have access." Harry tried to hide his suspicions about the truthfulness of Angela's statement. He had gotten the distinct impression that she was lying but didn't know why she would lie to him. Mr Stranger was muttering to himself as it looked like he was thinking how to fix the dilemma he was in. Eventually he hit his head and walked off.

"I'll go and get the password. Wait for me here," he said quickly as he dashed off down the stairs. Harry looked at Angela who smiled unconvincingly and waited for her father to return. It took quite a while for him to return and he walked up to the door and opened it up without seeming to enter any code or say anything. Harry looked questioningly to Angela but she didn't seem to see anything was wrong. Harry followed them into the room and fell speechless.

The room contained a small arsenal of weapons. There were several dozen guns including some rather lethal looking machine guns on one wall. On another wall were a plethora of bladed weapons ranging from a mighty double-headed battle-axe to some very small daggers. Many of the weapons Harry hadn't seen the like of before.

"Er is this um," Harry faltered.

"Oh it's all perfectly legal, I just love weapons, I've been collecting them for ages," Mr Stranger said reminding Harry for a moment of someone else he knew, although he could quite say who that person was.

"Which one do you want to use?" Angela asked causing Harry to turn and see her grab a small crossbow off a wall covered in them and an assortment of bows. Harry went forward to look at the bows. Most of them looked like modern muggle weapons with some possessing rather complicated sights. All of them were black or covered with a camouflage pattern. Eventually he chose a very small crossbow that resembled the one Angela had selected. "Come on," she muttered and she dragged Harry out of the room all the way outside to her backyard.

It looked just like the Dursleys backyard, although it was rather messier with a freshly cut lawn and all the cuttings still spread over it. A small target had been set up upon the back fence.

"These are just little crossbows, like pistols really. The bolts are usually poisoned on these little ones but they're still lethal with out the poison. Don't shoot yourself, and don't miss the target and, er, if you do miss the target don't miss the fence. I don't want to have to explain anything to the neighbours over that fence," she said with a look of concern on her face.

Harry looked at the crossbow in his hand with some scepticism. It looked no bigger than a large pistol with a bow on the front of it. He then watched as Angela demonstrated the correct use of the weapon and realised her concerns were genuine as he imagined they could inflict a very nasty wound.

Soon both of them were happily engaged in a friendly competition, with Harry being thoroughly beaten by Angela. Harry and Angela kept at it for at least an hour before being called in by Mr Stranger for dinner. He'd apparently asked the Dursleys if Harry could stay for dinner. Harry remained tight lipped as he went inside. He knew the Dursleys would have been delighted at Mr Strangers request but didn't want to convey that to him or Angela. As it was, Mr Stranger turned out to be a fairly good cook although he prepared a meal that consisted primarily of several large meat dishes that both he and Angela only seemed to pick at. Harry however took the opportunity the meal provided and gorged himself. It was all too soon that he found the evening was finished and he had to leave. He said his farewells and reluctantly walked back to the Dursleys.

He knocked and the door was opened.

"Get in," Petunia said in a scathing tone. Harry took a step backwards in shock before shaking his head slowly to himself. Something had obviously angered his aunt and he guessed it was him returning too soon for her liking. He walked inside and started for his room. Vernon stopped him before he had reached the stairs.

"What have you got in your room boy?"

"Pardon?"

"Something's moving about in there making noise. You are not to have anything like that in there. Remember no unnaturalness while you're in this house or that Dumbydoor headmaster of yours will hear of it," Vernon said while keeping a rather respectful distance from him. Harry took pause for a second as fear gripped him before he realised it must have been Snapper.

"Er yes I'll go and fix it," he muttered and rushed to his room. He walked in and looked about the room for Snapper.

"Harry," a loud voice exclaimed.

Harry jumped and turned, trying to produce his wand and finding he wasn't wearing it. He panicked further before he realised he knew the voice. It was Professor Dumbledore's and was coming from his desk draw. He walked over and pulled his orb out. Professor Dumbledore's head looked at him from within the orb.

"Where have you been?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Er with the next door neighbours," Harry replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Most certainly not, no I felt it best to communicate like this for security reasons. We now believe sending owls is not as safe as it once was. For that reason I am informing you now of your trip tomorrow to obtain your supplies for your year."

Harry reeled a little at this information. "Tomorrow?" he asked.

"I appreciate it is short notice, but security dictated we proceed in this manner. Hopefully even if there is a leak there will not be enough time for Voldemort to mount a proper effort against you."

Harry took a moment to digest this before responding, "Do you think Voldemort would do that?"

"If he learns of your trip tomorrow he will almost certainly mount an attack," Dumbledore said slowly in a very serious tone. "He would not hesitate to kill you or any of your friends. I believe the destruction of the Grangers home and the killing of Hedwig demonstrated that."

Harry shuddered as he recalled that dark day when he had lost Hedwig.

"So what is going to happen tomorrow?" He asked as he tried to put the image of Hedwig's smouldering corpse out of his mind.

"You will be met at seven o'clock sharp by ministry officials, you know one of them, and some other students, I believe you know them too. You will then be transported to Diagon Alley and shop under armed guard. Please note Harry that a great risk is being taken in attempting this. You must follow any and all instructions given to you. If you are recognised then dark wizards may be there in seconds and a battle will almost certainly ensue. Keep your wits and wand about you at all times."

"Er okay," Harry said as he pondered the immense effort that was being made to just allow him to shop.

"Well then Harry, seven o'clock sharp remember, and now I'm afraid I must leave you. I am so very busy lately." He smiled and his head disappeared before Harry could say goodbye properly. Nevertheless Harry smiled as he thought about the news. His mood rapidly turned to elation as he thought of his trip. He was finally going to be around Wizarding folk again and he was going to be able to get a new owl. This thought had him torn between elation and sorrow. It was good to be getting a new owl but still, he shouldn't have to. Hedwig should still be alive. He looked up at the photo of her on the wall above his desk. He stayed there for several moments before remembering, with a shock, his meeting with Angela. He briefly toyed with saying he couldn't go but he couldn't see how he could do this without hurting her and in some perverted way he did want to see just how much nicer her telescope was than his. He looked up at the clock and saw that it would be several hours until it would be dark enough to use the telescope well. He decided to pass the time reading his favourite magazine.

****

Soon it was dark enough, but Harry waited a bit longer until he was certain the Dursleys had retired to bed and were most likely asleep. Harry crept down the stairs being careful not to make even the slightest sound. He didn't need the Dursleys angry with him as they might make his leaving the next day more difficult than it might otherwise be and that would of course be very embarrassing for him especially if the other students witnessed it. He wondered who they might be as he walked out the front door and moved quietly to the Strangers. He knocked once and a sleepy looking Angela greeted him.

"Hi I wondered if you were coming or not."

"Well I had to ah wait until it was dark," Harry said quickly nearly saying that he had snuck out.

"So you snuck out," she said dryly. Harry looked at her in shock as he considered for a moment if she could read minds. "Er."

"Your lights are all off and have been for quite sometime. Only makes sense that you snuck out. Don't the mean Auntie and Uncle let their poor defenceless Harry out after dark?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and reddened, as he said, "No."

Angela laughed a little and muttered, "Come on." She led him out the back of her place to where she had set up her telescope. Soon both where engrossed in the stars as Angela showed that she knew all of the constellations and that the telescope was rather more powerful than Harry's. All it lacked was the enchantments that made his so easy to use. However, the computer aided targeting system did somewhat compensate for that when Harry used it. Angela didn't seem to require it.

The two of them spent several hours stargazing before Harry realized that the sky getting brighter in the east meant it was nearly dawn and he then realized he had to be ready to leave at seven.

"Crap! What time is it?" he exclaimed as he brushed some of the grass of him.

"Threeish, no wait, ten to five. Oh its nearly morning. Where did all the time go?"

"I've got to go. Now. I've got a er important er appointment at seven. Er bye," Harry said and dashed away only to be called back.

"Who's going to help me pack it up then?" Angela asked in a positively angelic voice that Harry couldn't refuse. He went back to her and the two of them packed the telescope up. It was easily past five when they had finished and Harry rushed back to number four. He used his knife on the front door and ran to his room making as little noise as possible. After he got there, his lack of sleep caught up with him and he collapsed on his bed without changing and fell asleep sporting a dreamy smile. The ministry officials could wake him in the morning

************