Chapter 39: The Durlseys 2
"Come join us for some tea." Petunia refused to appear anything but perfect. Even though she convinced herself she wanted nothing to do with the "freaks", she would still be a good host to her unexpected guest. Even more so after his earlier display.
Vernon was puzzled over his wife's nervousness. Granted, the boy did look peculiar, but even Dumbledore, someone who was supposedly the most powerful wizard alive, or so he'd heard, did not faze her much. She never failed to give him a piece of her mind in the very few times he came over.
Kaiser took an empty seat next to Harry, who was sending him a questioning look, but now was not the time to answer his questions. He needed to deal with these unpleasant people first.
Petunia poured him some tea from the teapot. Kaiser decided some intimidation was in order. He did not reach out for the sugar the "normal" way they'd expect. Instead, he wandlessly levitated the container's lid, before moving a piece of sugar to his cup, before charming the spoon to stir slowly. All of this was done without movement from his part, which left them flabbergasted, including Harry. Everyone assumed magic required fancy movements, which was completely false. They were perhaps more surprised he performed "magic" outside of Hogwarts, which was supposedly forbidden.
"I thought they weren't supposed to do freaky stuff outside of their freaky school." Dudley rudely told his father, and Harry tensed at this. Harry knew of Kaiser, and he knew his temper very well. He had sent people to the hospital wing several times for disrespecting him, especially Slytherins who loved using the word: "Mudblood". And now, he was unsure how he would react to his cousin.
"Freaky?" Kaiser frowned. "You mean "Magic", and "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Kaiser nodded in understanding. "Underage wizards aren't allowed to perform magic outside Hogwarts. But as I was emancipated, I use as much magic as I wish."
A look of confusion flashed through Dudley's face, and Kaiser, understanding his plea, explained: "It means I am no longer considered underage."
"People usually send notices before coming over, young man." Vernon said in displeased tone. "You never told us he was coming over." He turned to Harry who was getting nervous.
"I don't have access to a telephone line. And… MUGGLES don't usually respond very well to owls." Kaiser said, taking immense pleasure in using a word he never used before, especially to these people who were unworthy of Magic.
Vernon obviously did not like the word very much, if the vein that was about to pop from his forehead was any indication. Petunia looked as if she just swallowed a fly.
"Why are you here?" Vernon finally asked, running out of patience.
Kaiser observed his reaction so far, and thought what would be the best approach to this situation. It was clear to him that they would refuse allowing Harry to come with him. He quickly decided on a course of action, having been prepared for various scenarios.
"I am here to take him to the Weasleys, to meet his godfather." Kaiser told them with a fake smile.
"Godfather?" Petunia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. Sirius Black. You don't know him?" It was Kaiser's turn to raise his eyebrows.
"Wasn't he the one who betrayed my sister and killed twelve people with an explosion?" Petunia asked nervously, while Vernon had no idea what they were talking about.
"I don't know for killing twelve people…" Kaiser began, Harry's eyes widening at what he was hearing. "But he did not betray your sister. The real culprit was found earlier this year, and Sirius was released from Azkaban after serving a twelve years sentence."
Petunia looked pensive at the new information, and wondered if it would be wise to keep Harry from going, but her husband chose this moment to interrupt.
"He can't go with you. He hasn't finished his chores." Vernon said with an evil grin, taking great joy in removing the hope that graced Harry's face.
"Well… this puts me in a difficult situation…" Kaiser said uncertainly, earning himself a glare from Vernon for daring to contradict him. "You see, his godfather insisted. He wanted to come here himself, but because of his unstable personality… I volunteered to come."
This was all Petunia needed to hear to spring into action. She definitely didn't need one of her sister's friend coming over to find out what they've been doing to Harry, especially after Kaiser's initial display when he came in. She now had strong suspicion that he "magically" knew they've been keeping him in a cupboard, and having a psychopath out for revenge did not fall into her category of normalcy.
"How long will he stay?" Petunia asked, earning a puzzled look from her husband. She signaled him to let her handle it.
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"He'll be back before sunset."
"Alright. He can go with you." she never asked Harry's opinion, as it was unnecessary. She knew he'd jump at the opportunity. She turned to him and said: "Go, get ready." And Harry wasted no time, as he came back in less than three minutes. Kaiser said goodbye to the Dursleys, promising to look after Harry, as if they would care.
They walked side by side in silence, and once they were at a reasonable distance from the house, Kaiser broke the silence: "Sorry for coming over unannounced."
"It's alright." Harry answered quietly, ashamed of what Kaiser had just witnessed. He knew he was perceptive, and would figure it out in no time. "Is it true we're meeting Sirius?"
"Of course not." Kaiser scoffed. "We are playing Quidditch though."
"With whom?" Harry asked curiously. He didn't know Kaiser played Quidditch, and he truly didn't. This would be the first time he'd try the sport.
"Ron, Fred, George, Lee, Cedric and Michael."
They continued walking in silence, until Harry asked again: "Why did you tell them about Sirius?"
Kaiser stopped at this, and looked at Harry straight in the eyes. "Because they wouldn't have let you come otherwise. They are rather… unpleasant. No offense."
"None taken, believe me." Harry actually forced a chuckle at the idea. "Thank you." He muttered shyly after a while.
"Hey, what are friends for." Kaiser elbowed him, earning a grateful smile.
"Where are we going, by the way?" Harry asked after some time, musing why they were walking around with no clear destination.
"We'll go cloth shopping before joining the others." Kaiser noticed how Harry tensed at his words. Nothing he wore matched him, and he was fully aware of it. They belonged to his whale of a cousin, after all. Old and tattered, even though he took great care of them, it was quite obvious to the observant eye.
"I… don't much money with me." Harry said ashamed of himself. Kaiser was a bit surprised why he would think that, but he could make an educated guess. Harry had only been to his trust fund, and would therefore think he needed to spend them sparingly. Even though his seven years at Hogwarts were paid for, the amount of money required to buy each year's books, potion ingredients, and other school necessities was not certainly not small.
What he didn't know, was that once he reached his majority, he'd have access to the real Potter fortune, and it was a known fact that the Potter were wealthy. Certainly not as wealthy as the Malfoys, but wealthy nevertheless. Kaiser was not going to point that out for now. The time wasn't right.
"Don't worry about it." Kaiser told him. "We're friends, and friends help each other. Besides, Remus would have my skin if I don't rectify this situation."
Harry was about to protest when he heard the mention of 'Remus'. "Remus? As in Remus Lupin?"
"Yep." Kaiser said, not paying attention to Harry's shock, who was expecting more details than a "yes".
"Wait, What?!" Harry could no longer control himself and blurted out.
"Wot?" Kaiser asked innocently. "Oh… did I forget to mention Remus and I are colleagues now?"
"Yes, you definitely forgot to mention that particular detail." Harry said with an accusatory tone.
"Well, now you know. I can't tell you much more, I'm afraid. Though I hope you keep this to yourself." Harry nodded.
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Their shopping didn't take much time, as they didn't buy much to begin with. Just some simple clothes for everyday use, with a few spares. Kaiser shrank them, before putting them in his expanded pouch.
After they found a deserted alley, Kaiser beckoned him to take his arm. "We're going to Apparate to the Burrow." he explained.
Harry did not know what "Apparate" meant, but he understood it was some kind of magical way to travel.
A loud * CRACK * was heard, before he felt himself being squeezed through a tiny tube. He felt the world spinning, colors made way to his eyes that made no sense, and his insides were twisting, bones felt about to break. Fortunately for him, none of it was real.
Apparition was instantaneous. There is no delay between getting from point A to B. Everything one experience during apparition was merely a product of his own mind. It was still a big question in the magical world why they experienced going through a tiny tube each time they apparated. With more practice, wizards got used to this phenomenon however.
Harry lost his balance upon arriving, hitting the ground with a thud. "I hate magical travel." he groaned. Kaiser watched him regain his balance with amusement. He too had struggled with Apparition's after effects when he was still learning.
"What do we have here?" Harry heard Fred's voice (or George's?) behind him, and turned to look at the twins eyeing him mischievously.
"It's little Harrikins!"
"The youngest seeker in the world!"
"He's in my team!"
"What are you saying, my less handsome twin. He's obviously going to play with the big boys."
Kaiser shook his head at their antics. He went to meet up with the others.
The physic defying building, also known as the Burrow, a horrendous piece of failed engineering, albeit with its own magical touch, stood in an isolated piece of land, surrounded by greenery. An empty field of grass, where stood six pillars, was their meeting place today, representing the Quidditch pitch.
Cedric and Michael were already there, with their brooms in hand, having a heated conversation about Quidditch teams and their expectations for the upcoming world cup. Kaiser was honestly not interested in the game that much, but it seemed like fun playing, especially since it involved flying. Not that he needed a broom to fly anyway, but he couldn't openly do that.
"Hello kids!" He said cheerfully, earning a glare from both Michael and Cedric.
"Kids?" Cedric raised an eyebrow. "You're emancipated, we get it. But you're still younger than me."
"And I'm definitely more mature than you, considering the way you speak." Michael scoffed.
"Keep telling that to yourselves." Kaiser shot back with a grin.
Ron, Harry, the twins and Lee joined after a few moments, and they decided who was on which team. They weren't going to play according to the original rules, as they didn't have enough people on the teams. Instead, they would only play with one Keeper and three chasers on each team, using only the Quaffle to score goals. This was a good thing for Kaiser since this would be his first time playing the game, it somehow reduced the game's difficulty for him.
The chasers needed to pass the Quaffle around, and reach the teams' opposing keeper, getting the ball through one of the three goal hoops, while the Keeper needed to prevent it.
Kaiser was obviously not good at the game, and was tempted several times to make use of his newfound wandless telekinesis abilities, but prevented himself, as it would take the fun out of the game. Overall, they enjoyed the game, and went at it for hours.