(NOTE 3/8/06: Chapters have been restored to their original order! Assuming nothing ELSE goes wrong, here ya go!)
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Okay, here we go, yet another fic by me, Chiwizard!
Well, this is a big deal for me, anyway. This is my first serious Harry Potter fic, you know. Or at least you would know, if you went and looked at my other fics. And just to warn you all ahead of time, yes the thing with the names is on purpose, and not because I did a sloppy job and didn't bother to fix it. I like reviews, and I figure I'll get more of them if you people have trouble understanding what's going on. MUWAHAHAHAHA!
Ahem.
Now for the fic. Enjoy!
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (HBP would have been SO different if I did, honestly)
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The day blossomed splendidly that morning, everything bright and cheery for many people in Britain. For some, the sunrise went unnoticed, whether they were sleeping off the previous day's celebrations or if they were instead too caught up in ongoing parties to take notice of the outdoors.
For Mrs. Petunia Evans-Dursley, the day seemed suspiciously ordinary. Vernon had come home completely frazzled the previous afternoon, and no amount of fussing over her delightful Duddikins was allowing Petunia to forget that her perfectly normal husband had been the one to bring up the topic of Them.
Of course, Lily had sent word that she was expecting a baby, along with a list of possible names - 'To put on your list of people banned from your house, sister dearest, as we mustn't let that get out of date.' The nerve of her! As if Petunia had even cared that she was about to be related to either Harold James Potter if it was a boy or Harriet/Harlequin something-or-other-slash-James Potter if it was a girl! No matter what the gender, it was obviously going to be another freak like its parents and if Petunia had been anywhere nearby when it had come into the world she would have made certain it had been drowned at birth.
As Petunia opened the door to put out the empty milk bottles, she made a tiny personal vow that no such sinful little brat would contaminate her precious Dudley or any other child if she could help it.
But as it turned out - Petunia took a moment to glance down, spotted the swaddled baby on the front step, and let loose with a piercing screech that could be heard a block away - to 'help it' was something Petunia very clearly was not going to accomplish.
Hours later, she and Vernon were still collaborating on what to do. Dudley was amusing himself by flailing at his new cousin with hard little fists while the freak sniveled uselessly.
"We can't keep that little rat!" Vernon declared for the seventh time, flipping around the letters that had come with the baby.
One had been marked for the baby to read when it was old enough, but neither of them cared about that.
"Babies go to orphanages all the time…we'll choose one where they'll be able to keep that sort of nonsense under control," Vernon added.
"Their kind doesn't understand common sense, Vernon," Petunia was regrettably forced to mention, "Even if we did, they'd be back here in hours, demanding we keep that foul little thing with us…as if it was even human! No, Vernon, we'd best raise the sniveling brat ourselves."
"Petunia!" Vernon gasped, "What about Dudley? I won't stand for my son -"
"Nor will I!" Petunia interrupted, "I know exactly what you mean. But if we keep the baby, we can raise it to be a normal, proper, hardworking member of society! We'll have beaten them, Vernon!"
Vernon considered this, before breaking into a smile and sighing, "Petunia, darling, this is why I fell in love with you in the first place."
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And so that was how things went. For the first five years, Petunia spent her time between giving her precious Dudley everything he ever needed and more, and spent the rest of her time doing all she could to destroy any unnatural fiber in her sister's child's body. As was to be expected, the brat was insubordinate and lazy, sometimes necessitating Vernon's heavier hand, but eventually Petunia felt almost satisfied.
Signs of unnaturalness were few and far between, and the neighborhood praised the Dursley family for taking in Mrs. Dursley's worthless sister's daughter and doing all she could to turn the little thief and murderess into a good little girl.
…