A Force of Magic [HP Jamione fanfic]

Chapter 19: Revenge is a dish best served furious

18th May 1999
9pm
Potter Manor - Barnstone, Nottinghamshire

James found Hermione the only one in the otherwise empty kitchen when he stepped through the floo from visiting the Leaky for drinks and dinner with Remus before said man had to return to Hogwarts for curfew and his rounds. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a large mug of what smelled like hot chocolate cradled between her hands. The steam rising from the cup suggested she'd just made it.

She looked up with a smile as he stepped through, "Hi, James. Nice time with Remus?" She gestured at the stove where there was a pan sitting on one of the rings, "There's some extra hot chocolate in there if you want. It should still be hot, I just made it."

James grinned, "That'd be great." He joined her at the table, sitting down opposite her with his full mug once he'd poured himself some hot chocolate too. "How've you been, Hermione? Feel like I've not seen you for a while."

She smiled happily at him, her face lighting up with it, "I'm good thanks, James. Are you?" She took a sip of her hot chocolate, sighing as the warmth spread through her.

"Yeah." He leant forwards, resting his elbows on the table, "I wanted to ask you something. It's probably a bit depressing, but I don't feel like I should bring it up with Harry yet."

Hermione frowned, but nodded, "You can ask me anything."

"Is Harry around?"

"No." She shook her head, "He's gone out with Dean and Seamus."

"How were the Dursleys?" Her eyes widened, and she stared at him in shock. He gestured vaguely, "You know - how did they treat him? When I met them at their wedding, they were utterly awful people. They called Lily a freak, even her sister, and they said people with magic were evil."

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, and avoided eye contact with James for a brief moment. "I don't know everything that happened with them, especially from before Harry came to Hogwarts. But I know some." She took a quick gulp of her hot chocolate, her wince suggesting it was still too hot. "They kept him in a cupboard under the stairs until Hagrid brought him his Hogwarts letter."

James' hands tightened around his cup, and he snapped, " What?! "

"Let me get it all out," She held up a hand, and took a brief moment to think, "Before second year he wasn't responding to any of our letters so Ron and the Weasley twins took their family's flying car to collect him, and they had bars over his windows. I sent him a large cake for his 14th birthday because I knew they weren't feeding him enough. Every year they insisted he kept Hedwig locked in her cage, and locked away his trunk and everything under the stairs." She swallowed tightly, and James watched the anger building in her. James felt his fury reaching boiling point, but he didn't say anything to interrupt. "He never wanted to go back there, but even when Sirius was around, Dumbledore wouldn't allow Harry to just go straight to stay with him. He always sent Harry back to the Dursleys." She scowled, "I think Dudley, his cousin, got better before Harry left for good, but his aunt and uncle were still terrible."

"Is that-" James swallowed, choking back the shouting and cursing he really wanted to do. "Is that everything?"

Hermione shook her head mutely, and avoided eye contact with him. Tears were standing stark in her eyes, "They used to send him old socks or 50p for his Christmas presents. It was clear when we gave him presents in first year that he'd never had proper presents before." She was crying now, tears shimmering in her eyes, and falling down her cheeks, "He was so skinny you know. And at first we thought it was just because he was a small boy, but after being at Hogwarts for a while he'd put on the weight he should have had, and then over summer it would all go again. He never had his own clothes either. He wore Dudley's hand-me-downs for years. They were about ten sizes too big for him because Dudley was so large."