Till the Last Petal Falls / Marcus Flint

0.2 - The Rabbit is Out of the Hat

After their conversation with her mother, Dahlia's father became much happier than he used to be. It was as if the sulking, moody disappeared into the dusty shelves of the past. It had been three days since Dahlia received her letter, her father was pretty certain someone from the school would come to talk to them before the term started so they were waiting on a guest.

Vernon Dursley spends no time calling his father to discuss the change of course in their lives. His father was the only other one to know about their family since their history was a secret to everyone who didn't carry the gene. The males of the family were told the story once they got married so they wouldn't be surprised if one of their children were to be magical.

His father was delighted by the news and promised to bring them old books they kept in a locked chest today. Dahlia was so excited, much to her mother's dislike. Petunia tried to keep her mouth shut, looking the other way when something freakish was mentioned. She hadn't forgiven her husband, she didn't plan on doing so for a long time. It was a scandal for her.

"Grandpa is here!" Dudley ran to the door when he heard the bell, pushing Harry to the wall as he went past him. Dahlia came right behind them, pulling Harry up to his feet before wandering off the door herself. Their Grandfather put the chest down on the floor before giving them both hugs.

"Look how much you've grown, Dudley! You'll be taller than me and your father one day." He turned his attention to Dahlia, winking at the girl. "And you're an exceptionally special girl aren't you, my little Dahlia flower?"

"We missed you, Grandpa." The children said in unison as their parents came into view. Robert, their grandfather, smiled down at them saying he did as well. He gave nods to both Petunia and his son. He soon understood that Petunia was present at the door only out of respect, she held no kind smile whatsoever on her face. Robert sighed, he had figured as much. He patted Dudley on the head.

"Why don't you go put your train set together, Dudley? You promised to show me on the phone. I'll need to talk to your father and sister but I will come to your room to see it before I leave." Dudley nodded with a smile before running up the stairs to his room. "Let's go sit down then, take the chest won't you Vernon." Robert led Dahlia to the living room as Vernon went to take the chest.

Harry watched them as they talked and hugged their grandfather. He loved Dahlia and Vernon had become a much better person in the last few days but he wished to have a similar bond with someone. Sadly it was impossible. His thoughts were gone when he noticed the old man standing before him with a glint in his eye. He winked down at Harry for the first time in his life. Robert would usually ignore him when they saw each other, nonetheless, Harry offered him a smile.

"There you go, Harry." The man dropped a few pieces of sweets into his hands. "Take care, will you? Run along now, try not to eavesdrop on us." Harry nodded at him, looking down at the candy. He rarely had anything sweet to eat. He was too busy inspecting the colorful wrapping to notice the lot disappearing behind the door of the living room.

Vernon sat on his armchair as his father settled on the other one. Dahlia, curious as always, sat down on the ground on the other side of the chest that her father had put down moments ago. Vernon gave her a fond smile before taking a key out of his pocket and opening the chest.

Dahlia didn't know what she expected to see in there but she supposed the worn-out leather books and the wooden sticks would do. She went to touch one of them but Robert stopped her.

"Don't, Dahlia." He said warily as the girl pulled her hand back. "I see you're excited but those are called wands, they're pretty dangerous. We don't know what happens when you touch them. You might explode us all." Dahlia's eyes grew in size as she looked at the sticks. They seemed harmless but clearly they were not.