Perfect Illusion: Scars Saga 2

Number 5 Privet Drive

Chapter 25

Number 5 Privet Drive

The next week was hell, pure and simple. I lived every minute in fear, certain that it was the minute that Jonathan would barge through my door demanding to know what Harry was on about. Fortunately, Harry didn't seem to have inherited his father's vengeful nature. Jonathan remained unaware.

I took the liberties of owling Remus myself. We sent owls back and forth discussing Jonathan. We both agreed that we should tell him together, and we planned to do it the first Saturday after school let out. I had to do it quickly before I lost my nerve.

18 June 1994

I pulled aside the curtain to peer out the window by the door. Remus stood on my front stoop, with his head bowed, his hands in his pockets, and his feet shuffling. I opened the door and allowed him to enter. He followed me silently into the lounge where I fixed him a cup of tea.

"Where is Jonathan?" he asked.

"He stayed the night at the Burrow. I made him promise to be home by four though."

Remus looked about the room at the various photographs and trinkets that had been collected over the years.

"These are all Muggle photographs." It was more of a statement than a question.

"This is a Muggle neighborhood; we have to keep up appearances. ... Not that we have many visitors," I added at Remus' look. "Still, I make Jonathan keep his magical things in his room, just in case. The last thing I need is a Ministry Official knocking on my door."

"They probably wouldn't knock; they'd just use the floo."

"Yes, because that's much more discreet if I should be entertaining."

Remus grinned and turned back to the photographs. He picked up one that had Jonathan and Harry in it; they both had large smiles on their faces.

"When was this taken?"

"Jonathan was nine, Harry eight. The Dursleys had gone to the beach for the weekend. They dropped Harry off at Mrs. Figg's, but she fell ill on Friday night so she asked me to take him in. He looked so miserable when he arrived; he really wanted to go to the beach, but you know I'm not much for large bodies of water."

"Cat's usually aren't," he said.

"Not usually, no. Anyways, Harry was miserable, and Jonathan had just started studying the planets in school. So I took them both to the planetarium at Bristol and we had a very enjoyable time."

"And this one here," I continued as I picked up a photo from the shelf above. It had all three of us in it smiling.

"This one was taken just a few years ago, before Harry got his Hogwarts letter. Petunia and Vernon were taking Dudley and a friend to the zoo for Dudley's birthday. They were going to leave Harry with Mrs. Figg again, but she had fallen the night before and broken her leg. None of Petunia's other...acquaintances...were available, so she brought him over to me.

"Once again I could see how upset Harry was at being left out, so I took him and Jonathan to the zoo. I didn't know at the time that's where they went. We spent the better part of the day hiding from them.

"I remember this one moment we were all approaching the same corner. I could hear Petunia's grating voice. So I grabbed the boy's, threw them against the wall, and cast a quick disillusionment charm to conceal us. The four of them walked right by without seeing us."