Reaper's Heir (Book 3)

Chapter 1

Chapter I

"Lumos Maxima..." The blanket tent across the room from me bloomed with light, briefly projecting Harry's shadow against the fabric then went dark. "Lumos Maxima..." The blankets lit up once again when, down the hall, a toilet flushed. Instantly, the shadow stiffened, the blankets dimmed and the tent flattened.

I sat up, just as the bedroom door opened, revealing... Uncle Vernon. I'd expected Aunt Petunia with how anxious she had been to spend time with us and explain herself this summer. Vernon peered into the room, eyes roaming suspiciously. "Performing some late-night hijinks, are we?"

"Of course not, Uncle Vernon." He flinched at 'uncle.' "I'm just trying to get some sleep."

He eyed me warily before closing the door. It took a few seconds for the blankets to be thrown off and for Harry to sit up, staring at me. "Do you have to keep antagonizing them?"

"They lied to us for twelve years. Nearly thirteen actually," I replied shortly. It was an argument we'd had many times this summer, once I'd told him what Professor Dumbledore had revealed to me at the end of the previous school year and once I'd confronted Petunia when we'd gotten back. "They're so terrified of magic that they lied to you about how your parents died and didn't even bother to come up with a story for me. Vernon, I could understand, but Petunia? How could she lie to us? How could she lie to Dudley?"

Harry rolled his eyes, his glasses sitting crooked on his nose. "You don't care that she lied to Dudley."

"No, I don't," I conceded. "But we deserved the truth. Or at the very least, an explanation."

"Why are you so angry?" Harry asked, now picking at something on his blanket and refusing to meet my gaze.

"Why aren't you?" I snapped.

Harry finally looked back up at me, and regarded me dismally. "Because this doesn't change anything. We're still family. If anything, this just reinforces that." He shook his head and got back under his blankets, the tent rising back up. "Lumos Maxima..." The light flickered, then flared brightly as Harry tried again. "Lumos... MAXIMA!" Outside, dogs barked and the light in the hallway snapped on. Harry and I both scrambled to look like we were asleep as Vernon burst through the door and flicked the light on. He stood in the doorway, watching us both for a minute before turning the light back off and slowly closing the door.

This time, Harry stayed down and it wasn't long before he was asleep. I sighed and rolled over to face the wall, but it was a long time before I fell asleep. It seemed like only a moment passed before I was awoken by loud knocking on the door, before it burst open, revealing Petunia. "Up! Both of you! Get up now!" Harry was already sitting up, vigorously rubbing his eyes before putting his glasses on. I sat up, covering a yawn with my hand.

"Both of you get dressed. We'll be going out to the shops soon."

"Oh good, I could use some more needles and thread," I said, not breaking eye contact with Petunia. "We both have clothes I need to mend."

She looked away uncomfortably. "Actually, all three of you could use some new clothes. And with Marge coming tonight," She paused, eyes flicking between Harry and me. "Well, you know how she is." The door closed with a snap and Harry and I began getting ready, hiding on the other side of the open wardrobe doors as necessary. We had tried hanging the invisibility cloak up to use as a curtain, but it didn't make us invisible unless we were actively under it and with Harry starting to hit a growth spurt earlier in the summer, it just wasn't as long as it used to be.

We made our way down the stairs a while later to the usual sight of Petunia fussing over Dudley and Vernon looking vaguely like he would rather be anywhere else doing anything else. The five of us piled into the car and drove into town, splitting up once we got to the shops. Vernon took Harry and Dudley, though he looked like he'd rather drop them both off somewhere and leave. "Shall we start at Evermore, Maeve? Perhaps we'll find a new dress for you."