Chapter Text
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December 25, 1981
Little Whinging, Surrey
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. There was not a single detail in their perfectly curated house that was disorganised or out of place. Not a smudge on any of the finely polished glasses or windows, a speck of dirt on the floors, or any crumbs in the couch. Mrs. Dursley always ensured she kept the house in tip-top shape.
At least, that was the case until Mrs. Dursley's younger sister Dahlia and their nephew Harry, both moved in. Now, the two newest occupants of number four, Privet Drive were not messy people. They did not leave anything disorganised or out of place. They did not smudge any of the finely polished glasses or windows. They did not bring in dirt on the floors or even drop any crumbs on the couch. The mess their presence seemed to cause only existed in the mind of Mr. Dursley.
Ever since his sister-in-law moved in, he became extremely agitated. He did not like Dahlia Evans, he did not even like the late Lily Evans-Potter, and he certainly did not like Lily's son, Harry Potter. Mr. Dursley thought it was extremely selfish of the Potters to go and get themselves blown up, leaving him and his family to take in their annoying son and his disastrous aunt- who was now officially his main caregiver. Mr. Dursley made sure to point this out to his wife every night before bed, to which she would respond with a consoling "yes dear" or "I understand dear" or even a "you're so right dear."
Mr. Dursley loved his wife very much.
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It has been fifty-five days since Harry Potter saved the Wizarding World. It has been fifty-five days since Petunia and Dahlia lost their beloved sister Lily and had to take in their orphaned nephew.
It has not been an easy fifty-five days.
Dahlia Evans was adjusting to taking care of a one-year-old boy, while also trying to process his God-Father's betrayal. It was all too much for a nineteen-year-old witch to handle. In her desperation, she turned to her eldest sister for help. Without a second's hesitation, Petunia took Dahlia and Harry in.
"It'll only be for a few days, you're so generous to allow them to stay in our guest room. Soon, they'll be gone and you and I will be back to living our perfect lives with our perfect little Duddykins," she said to Mr. Dursley that night in their bedroom, where he'd stormed to angrily after seeing Dahlia sitting in the living room holding Harry, surrounded by bags. So, Mr. Dursley decided he would allow Dahlia and Harry to stay for a few days.
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Four days later, Vernon Dursley woke up feeling magnificent. He could not stop smiling. He hummed while brushing his teeth, hummed while shaving his face, hummed while changing into his work clothes. 'Today was going to be an amazing day,' Vernon thought. For it had been a few days since Dahlia and Harry moved in, and surely it was time for them to leave.
Once he finished getting ready, he headed downstairs. He went into the kitchen where his wife was waiting with the breakfast she prepared for him every morning; two fried eggs, three slices of toast, four sausages, five strips of bacon, and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (with six teaspoons of sugar mixed in).
Mr. Dursley walked up to his wife and kissed her cheek.
"Vernon!" Mrs. Dursley blushed a bright shade of red at this romantic gesture from her husband. "What's gotten into you?"
"Can't a loving husband show his perfect wife how much he loves her?" He replied. It may not seem like much, but despite all his faults, Vernon Dursley does love his wife and Petunia Dursley is more than satisfied with their relationship.
"Vernon, why are you so happy? Have you received any good news?" Petunia gasps "did you manage to find those masonry drill bits?"
Vernon Dursley works at Grunnings, a muggle company that produces drills. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley have been known to stay up discussing drills, and on one occasion they had not gone to sleep until 9:43 pm.
"No. We haven't found those yet" He grumbled.
"Well then, what on earth is it?" Mrs. Dursley demanded.
"Well Petunia, it's been a few days," He winked at his wife, causing her to turn an even brighter shade of red.
"A few days since what?"
"Oh Petunia, you minx, don't you- oh look at the time I should be heading off for work or I'm going to be late!" Mr. Dursley grabbed his briefcase from his wife, who had quickly rushed to get it from off the counter after seeing what time it was. Now, Grunning's Main Office work times don't start until 8:00 am, and as it was only 5:13 am and it only takes sixteen minutes to get to the Office building from number 4, Privet Drive, there was no chance that Mr. Dursley would be late. Nonetheless, he liked to be in the Office by 5:30 am and he was, in his opinion, cutting it close.
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That night Mr. Dursley came back home to find that Dahlia and Harry had not gone like he assumed they would.
"Well, Vernon, when I said a few days, I never specified four days. It'll only be a bit longer" Petunia said to her husband once again in their bedroom, that night. So, Mr. Dursley decided he would allow Dahlia and Harry to stay for just a little bit longer.
⚜️
Seven days after Dahlia and Harry moved in, Vernon Dursley woke up feeling excited. Though he wasn't smiling, he hummed while brushing teeth and shaving his face.
He went downstairs for breakfast and the smile that was slowly starting to form on his face immediately disappeared when he saw Dahlia, wearing mismatched pyjamas, struggling to feed a crying Harry.
"Good Morning Vernon," Mrs. Dursley smiled hesitantly at her husband.
Dahlia looked towards her brother-in-law and mumbled a very tired "Good Morning Vinny."
"How many times must I ask you not to call me Vinny? Vinny is short for Vincent, not Vernon."
Dahlia did not hear a single word that he said, as at that exact moment, Harry had reached into the bowl she was holding and thrown a big glob of pureed vegetables at her.
With a huff of annoyance, Mr. Dursley grabbed his wallet and keys and announced that he would be having breakfast at the bakery across the road from Grunnings.
"Will you be coming back home afterwards?"
"No. I will head into the office to get some work done."
"It's Saturday."
"I've got work to do." He muttered walking out, hoping that by the end of the day Dahlia and Harry would be gone.
"Bye Vinny!" Dahlia called after him.
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"Must you make things harder for me? I am letting you stay in my house, I am taking care of you."
Dahlia sighed, wiping the rest of the food off her face with Harry's bib, and looked towards her agitated sister. "Nia, I am not trying to make things harder for you. Vernon hates me. He always has. Don't blame me because your husband is acting childish and immature."
"Do not call my husband childish and immature, when he has taken you in out of the goodness of his heart!" Petunia exclaimed, as she put Dudley down in his feeding chair, preparing to give him a second breakfast.
"I'm sorry Petunia, you're right. I'll put in a bit more effort."
Petunia sighed, and took the spoon and bowl away from Dahlia, "go upstairs and take a shower. I'll watch after Harry. When you're done we can take the boys down to that coffee shop by the Post Office."
"The one with the chocolate donuts?"
"Yes, and those revolting rainbow sprinkles you love."
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That evening Vernon Dursley came back to an empty house. He allowed himself a moment of hope, until he heard the front door open.
"Evening Vinny!" Vernon froze, "Petunia's just out getting the rest of the things from the taxi. She took us shopping today to get a proper crib for Harry."
"Shopping- Took you where? Getting Harry a what?"
Mrs. Dursley walked in pushing Duddley's stroller and holding a bag, which she handed to Dahlia, "here's the last of Harry's things. The crib will be delivered next week, but I reckon you can manage until then- oh Vernon, you're home. How was work?"
"I didn't really manage to get much done. What's going on here? Why have you bought clothes and a crib? They were supposed to leave today. Petunia, where are you going?"
Mrs. Dursley had picked her son out of the stroller and started heading towards the stairs, "It's almost Duddley's bedtime I'm going to go get him ready."
Mr. Dursley looked back and forth between Dahlia and his wife, quickly getting off the couch to rush behind the latter.
Vernon Dursley hovered hesitantly behind his wife as he watched her changing their son's diaper. He opened his mouth to argue, then decided against it.
"Petunia, surely it does not take that long for you to change Dudley?" She ignored his question.
Mr. Dursley was confused. This was an entirely new territory for him and he did not know how to navigate it. There has not been a single instant in their four years of marriage where the two of them had disagreed.
Once his wife finally finished changing Dudley and had placed him in his crib, they both walked back towards their bedroom, where Mr. Dursley began his rant.
"You told me they were only going to be here for a few days, Petunia, which is three to seven days, maximum! When I agreed to let your sister and that orphaned boy stay in our home, I was not agreeing to more than that. She's a bad influence on you. Making you lie to your husband. Did she force you to do this?"
Mrs. Dursley's voice started to crack and tears were welling up in her eyes. "It's just been so hard, Vernon. I know I never had the best relationship with my sisters, but they're still my sisters. I feel so guilty about Lily dying before we could mend our relationship, then I get mad because I start to wonder if I even wanted to fix our relationship, and then I start to feel guilty all over again for even thinking that."
Vernon Dursley had never seen his wife lose her composure.
"And now my youngest sister is responsible for a one-year-old boy all by herself. I warned her about that foul man. I love Dahlia, despite her many faults. She may be irresponsible, immature, rude, lazy--" Petunia Dursley spent quite a lot of time listing her sister's many faults, "-but I still love her. I can't just leave her to fend for herself."
"Petunia, are we expected to just spend all of my money on them? What about you? What about Dudders? I work hard everyday so that I can provide my wife and son the very best."
Mrs. Dursley gave her husband a stern look.
"Alright," he gave in. "Maybe they can stay a few more days, but no more than a fortnight!"
⚜️
To his dismay, Dahlia and Harry ended up staying much longer than a fortnight. Three weeks after they first moved in, Mr. Dursley had long given up the hope that they would leave. He forced himself to accept that for the time being, Dahlia Evans and Harry Potter would be living under his roof.
When December came around, Dahlia Evans and Vernon Dursley started to have a more civil relationship. Mr. Dursley even managed to get Dahlia a part-time job at his Golf Club. Dahlia, keeping true to her word, also put in more effort to get along with her brother-in-law. She never reacted when he made snide remarks about her appearance or intelligence, but she always drew the line at any negative comments aimed at Harry.
"Dahlia."
"Yes, Vernon?"
"Would, please, pass me the gravy?" He stressed the word please as if he was trying to prove a point.
Mockingly, Dahlia replied "It would be my absolute, pleas-"
"Just pass me the gravy woman!"
"Here you go dear," Mrs. Dursley passed her husband the gravy while glaring at her sister. They were all sitting at the Dining Room table for Christmas Dinner. Mrs. Dursley and Dahlia spent the entire day preparing the food, and the previous week decorating the house.
It had not been a fun or cheerful experience.
"Please excuse my ungrateful sister's attitude. She does not have the common decency to be respectful at the table."
"Oh, Petunia please forgive me if I'm not in the mood to play pretend today," Dahlia reached across to grab Harry's water bottle, which he refused to drink. She looked towards her sister, asking "what's wrong with him, why isn't he drinking? He's barely drank any water in the past three days."
Petunia immediately dropped the sneer from her face and moved to get up to help her sister. Mr. Dursley cleared his throat, "leave her be Petunia. She was named as the main guardian, it is her responsibility not yours. You just focus on Dudley and I." He looked towards Dahlia, "if you have any complaints about your responsibility you should've voiced them to his mother before she went and got herself killed. It is not my fault that she dumped her son on you. Besides, it's been almost two months since his parents died. You ought to have gotten used to the change in circumstances, I'm getting tired of hearing you crying every single night."
"Vernon! That was slightly uncalled for-"
"Oh no Petunia let him say how he really feels."
"All I'm saying is, you are an adult, so you ought to act like it."
"Well, I've got good news for you Vinny! You won't have to put up with Harry and I any longer."
"And how on earth are you planning on supporting yourself with that brat?" Vernon sneered.
It all happened so suddenly. Dahlia was sitting next to Harry one second, then shoving her wand at Vernon's throat the next, whose bravado immediately vanished. "How many times have I told you not to insult Harry?" She asked, threateningly.
There's no telling what Dahlia Evans would have done to Vernon Dursley at that moment, for before it could escalate any further, her nephew started crying. She immediately put her wand away, turned back to Harry and took him upstairs with her so that they could pack their bags. She ignored her brother-in-law as he screamed after her, "I want you out of my house, you freak!"
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Petunia walked into her sister's room fifteen minutes later to see all of Dahlia's belongings flying around the room and magically packing themselves into suitcases. The young witch was sitting on the bed, tears streaming down her face, trying to force a struggling Harry into warmer clothes. Petunia ducked under a shoe that was zooming towards one of the bags, and moved to help Dahlia dress their nephew.
Once they finally managed to dress Harry, and the bags were packed, they both headed down. At the front door the two sisters looked at each other, neither of them saying anything before Dahlia stepped out into the cold night, carrying Harry.