Jennifer Potter and the marauders (book 5) 19 Years Later

The Least Favourite Aunt

Before Jenny spoke to Charity, she wanted to speak to someone who had been in a similar situation to the girl; her nephew Harry.
After sending him an owl, she went round to his house one evening that week, after that days challenge, to talk to him.
"Ginny's just putting Lily to bed" said Harry as he walked Jenny through his house, towards the living room.
"I'm surprised she's not already in bed, it is rather late" replied Jenny.
"Lily is very energetic, and it's a struggle getting her into bed each night" admitted Harry, as the pair sat down opposite each other in a pair of armchairs.
"I bet. Sky was the same"
"Have you heard from her recently?"
"Yes, her and Teddy are doing fine"
"That's good to know".

"I must say, I was surprised to get your owl, since I know how busy you are at the moment" continued Harry.
"I'm never too busy to see my favourite nephew" grinned Jenny.
"I'm glad to know that I'm still your favourite, even though you have a lot of nieces and nephews now"
"None of them will ever be like you... We have a stronger connection than a normal aunt and nephew"
"I guess that's true. We were all each other had once... I know you probably aren't allowed to say, but how did today's challenge go?"
"Impossible to say, as it was a written exam. But Ebony Castelle did look happy after the challenge had ended, so we might be in with a shot of getting another point".

"That's good, although not for you, because I know how much you hate sitting through the theory exams" admitted Harry.
"They're the worst, and every single one this week is a theory exam; History, Ancient Runes, Arthimancy, that kind of thing. Nothing that is interesting to watch" sighed Jenny.
"I'm sorry that you have sit through them all"
"It's my responsibility as organiser of the tournament to witness all the events. I just wish I'd known at the beginning, what I was getting myself in for. I shouldn't complain though, because Minerva gave this task to me, no one else"
"Still, I wish it was more enjoyable for you".

"I'm glad you care so much about my well-being... But what you said earlier, about us only having each other, wasn't exactly true. You have another aunt and uncle, and a cousin; the Dursley's" reminded Jenny.
"Yes, but we never exactly got on. Besides, I haven't spoken to any of them since I left Privet Drive" admitted Harry.
"I know. Would you ever want to talk to them again?"
"I've thought about it several times, but never actually done it"
"I'm surprised your cousin didn't try to get in contact with you when he found out that his daughter was a witch"
"He probably wouldn't know how to find me"
"Well maybe you should try and get in contact with him, it can't have been easy for him to find out that he'd had a child with magic. It's also beccomming slightly awkward at school for his daughter Martha, when she bumps into your kids and the other Weasleys, since they're all related, but they'd never met before they came to Hogwarts. So I think it would be good for them, if you made things up with Dudley".

"I have to admit, that although me and Dudley may have parted on O.K ish terms, there's still a lot of unsaid stuff between us, and it would be good for me to get that off my chest" revealed Harry.
"That's what I thought" replied Jenny.
"What I want to know is why you've had this sudden change of heart?" Harry questioned.
"What do you mean?"
"There was a time when you were happy to hand all of them over to the Death Eaters"
"That was a long time ago, and I was not in a great place at the time. I was angry and sad, so I took my pain out on everyone else"
"I understand your anger back then, but why are you trying to defend them now and get me back in touch with Dudley. It can't just be about Martha"
"I'm not defending them. I just want to understand, and know more about them".

"I want to know what life was really like, living with them" continued Jenny.
"I mean, it wasn't great" admitted Harry.
"I know that, but I want more specifics. I need to know how they treated you. What were some of the worst things they ever did?"
"This was a long time ago Jenny, and I've put it behind me. I don't hold it against them anymore"
"You might not, but I want to know the truth. I need you to tell me everything"
"Alright, well they kept me in a cupboard under the stairs for the first 10 years, which was pretty awful"
"Yes, that's one of the reasons I hated them so much when I met them"
"It was especially cruel because we had two empty bedrooms in the house that I could've been living in".

"They really were the worst. Tell me more" encouraged Jenny.
"Err, O.K. I only had hand-me-downs for most of my life. I was given tiny portions of food, and starved when I did things wrong. Oh, and Aunt Petunia used to cut my hair all the time because she hated how untidy it was" admitted Harry.
"Your hair is just like your dads. My father Fleamont earned his fortune by making hair gel, so James did all he could to distance himself from that, by messing up his hair all the time... Anything else?" Jenny questioned.
"That's all I can really think of, I'm afriaid"
"What about beatings? Did they hit you a lot?"
"I mean Dudley used to treat me as his own personal punchbag, before I learnt to be quick enough to avoid getting hit by him. Uncle Vernon would hit me from time to time. But most of this happened before I knew I was wizard. Once I knew I had magic they all kind of kept their distance from me, afraid that I would use my magic on them"
"I see".

"Jen, please tell me what this about. Why do you want to know how my aunt and uncle treated me all those years ago?" Asked Harry.
"It doesn't matter" replied Jenny.
"Just tell me. You can't ask me all these questions, without giving me the real reason why you're asking them"
"Alright, fine. I'm worried that one of my students might be in a similar situation to you"
"Really, who?"
"I can't say"
"Well similar in what way?"
"She lives with her aunt because her parents are dead, and her aunt beats her when she behaves badly"
"You should tell someone, because I don't think there's ever an excuse to hit a child.
My uncle did used to hit me every now and again, but he never exactly gave me regular beatings".

"I wanted to talk to you to get your advise on the situation, which is why I came today. I haven't spoken to the girl yet, but she's a friend of Dominique's, and I managed to coerse the truth out of her about what her friend was going through. The girls Boggart was her aunt, which is what made me start to look into the situation" explained Jenny.
"I think you need to get involved Jen. Despite everything I'd been through with them, my aunt and uncle never would've been my Boggart, I was never afraid of them like that. This girl must be very troubled, if her aunt is her greatest fear" replied Harry.
"That's what I thought. And don't worry, I am going to try and sort this out"
"Good. Keep me informed though won't you"
"I promise. No one's greatest fear should be one of their family members, not on my watch".