Chapter 14: Draco's ReasoningSummary:Hazel is naturally still alive, and thus is able to learn the truth behind all the bullshit of the year. Well, almost all of it.
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextThe endless haze of nightmares was finally broken by a golden glint, above her head. Her Seeker's instincts kicked in, and she tried to reach out for it, but all she accomplished was a limp sort of flop. "Easy, my dear," came a distant voice, "you are safe." She focused on the voice, struggled out of the darkness. Finally saw that the golden glint was Dumbledore's glasses. "Welcome back, Hazel."
She croaked, coughed, tried to clear her throat. "Water," she managed, and a flask was held to her lips immediately. It was bitterly cold, but exactly what she needed, and she swallowed it down as fast as he poured it. She coughed again and settled back, reaching for her glasses and slipping them on; Dumbledore's face came into focus, and she sighed in relief. "Quirrell? The Stone?"
"Quirrell is dead, Hazel," he replied gravely. "I was hoping you could tell me how?"
"Dunno..." She closed her eyes, saw only that burnt out skull. "I killed him... he couldn't touch me, and I killed him..."
"I am afraid so," the Headmaster replied, eyes full of concern. "It is no use sugar-coating it, Hazel, but what if you had not done so?"
That was easy. "He'd have the Stone... Voldemort back... everyone else dead..."
"Precisely. You acted out of justice, not cruelty. To defend, not to punish. The magic involved was beyond anyone's ability to control, least of all a dying creature and an inexperienced student."
Hazel thought about that for a second. "I did it for my friends," she muttered, closing her eyes again. "I couldn't bear the thought of my friends dying..."
"And that is precisely why that creature could not bear to be in contact with you," Dumbledore went on. "Love, Hazel." He nodded at her confused look. "The same love that creatures such as Quirrell or Voldemort will never understand. The same love that you carry within you, from the mother who died for you." He smiled for a second. "You look so much like her, you know."
"So I've been told." Until seeing herself side by side with her mother in the Mirror of Erised, though, she hadn't known how true those words were. "What about the Stone, sir?"
"Ah." He leaned back with a sigh. "It will be destroyed, Hazel. It will never haunt the world of men again."
"What?" She tried to sit up, unable to believe her ears. "But your friend, Nicolas Flamel. He'll die without the Stone!"
"Yes, he will. After seven hundred years I daresay he and Perenelle are ready to move on. They have enough Elixir of Life to set their affairs in order, of course, but yes, they will pass on."
She thought she had rather an unbecoming look on her face, because Dumbledore chuckled kindly. "It may seem amazing to you, Hazel, but to them, death is but the next great adventure. Seven hundred years is quite a long time, after all. Besides, endless gold and life would get rather dull after so long, wouldn't you say?"
"If you say so, sir." She willed herself to calm down again. "My friends?"
"All are safe and whole, even the Young Master Malfoy." He nodded to her bedside table, and for the first time she saw the stack of candies and flowers. "From your friends and admirers, of course. Everyone knew exactly what happened within hours, after all, as with all secrets. Young Draco was especially eager to speak to you the moment you woke up, in fact."
"What about the cloak, sir? You sent me it, after all." She sat up again. "You meant for all this to happen, didn't you?"
"Yes, well, it belonged to your father after all, though he mostly used it to sneak to the kitchens and steal food," he replied airily. "He happened to leave it with me, and asked that I pass it along when you were ready."
She suspected he wouldn't answer her second question, and decided to leave it alone for now. He explained how she had gotten the Stone from the Mirror, though she'd guessed at the general shape of it already, and a little more about her father and Snape. "Lily and James tried to mend things after school, I believe they tried inviting Severus to their wedding," he concluded, "but I don't believe the choices he made at the time would have allowed it."
Finally, they discussed how Voldemort would not stop, was not truly alive and could not truly be killed. He would return one day, there was little doubt on that. But that day was not this day, and this day, Hazel needed her rest. She laughed at that, and when Madam Pomfrey brought a soothing drink to help her sleep, she drank it willingly enough.
When she awoke again, she saw Draco hovering over her. "Malfoy," she said coolly, reaching for a chocolate frog. He looked anxious and tired, but she was in no mood for mercy all of a sudden. "Out and about without your goons, I see?"
"Yeah... look, did the D- I mean, did Vol- um, did..."
"Yes, Voldemort told me what you told him," she interrupted harshly, taking a savage glee in the way he flinched at the name. "How you were ordered by your father to become my friend? To put aside how you really felt about Ron and Hermione, spy on us?" She ripped the wrapping and shoved the candy into her mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. "I'm sure you had quite a lot to pass on, hm?"
"Hazel, please, it's not like that anymore!" he replied desperately, looking aghast. "Yes, okay, yes, I admit itstarted that way, okay? Father thought it would be a good idea if I, like, attached myself to you, alright? His words! His words, not mine!"
"Hmm." Everything she knew told her he was being genuine, but she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily.
"Come on, Hazel! After everything we've all been through? Those things you said about the Muggle wars, that troll, that crazy shit in the Forest..."
"What happened there anyway? One second you were behind us, then you weren't!"
"Yeah, well, Quirrell got your cloak somehow and grabbed me, put me under the Imperius Curse." At her startled look, he hung his head. "It's one of the Unforgivable Curses, Hazel, cast it on someone and they're under your complete control. They'll fight for you, kill for you, do anything you want. Anything you want." Now he looked scared and angry, remembering that loss of control. "He grabbed me and flew us over you lot, all the way through the castle to that room on the third floor. Threw some kind of exploding spell at Fluffy, I'd never seen anything like it..."
She was quite ready to forgive him by now, but wanted to hear the rest. "At that miserable chess board, the Dark Lord was interrogating me, asking why I was palling around with you of all people. I had no choice, I told him everything... I would have told him it had all changed, that I meant it now, but by then I had to give myself up to win the game. I still remember that great queen bearing down on me, raising her sword..."
"I'm sorry, Draco," she said softly, reaching out for his hand. "I can't even imagine... the Imperius Curse..."
They squeezed hands for a long moment, then let go. "It wasn't how I thought it would be, you know," he said in a low voice. "Meeting the Dark Lord, I mean. I thought... after everything my family did... Father's loyalty..."
"Voldemort is a despot and a tyrant, Draco," she said, and she nodded when he didn't flinch so badly. "He's loyal to no one but himself. You see that now, don't you? You were useful to him then, but he'll come back eventually, and all his people will be forced to dance on his strings or be thrown aside. Do the right thing now, and you'll stand a chance when the time comes."
Draco absorbed this in silence for some time. "You really think he'll come back?"
"Dumbledore does," she replied simply. "He told me how Voldemort isn't really alive anymore, so he can't truly be killed. But he'll find better servants eventually. Which isn't a high bar, Quirrell was a bit pants after all."
They both laughed at that, and Draco relaxed for the first time. "You said Quirrell flew, but I don't remember seeing any extra brooms down there..."
"No. He didn't need one." The boy looked troubled again. "I bet he learned it from the Dark Lord, there were stories of how he could fly without help... I guess they were true."
Ron and Hermione came in later, and gave Draco another hard time when Hazel made him tell it all over again. "I knew you were a prat!" Ron declared, punching Draco in the shoulder before shaking his hand. "But you're our prat now, and don't you forget it!"
Hazel and Hermione just rolled their eyes. Boys!
She got out a day later, with strict instructions from Madam Pomfrey to come back if she started having nightmares or any kind of emotional upheaval. "I don't know what Professor Snape was thinking, letting you down there with that creature by yourself!" she fussed, checking her over one more time. "Just remember, Potter, you're not to blame yourself one bit!"
"Yes ma'am." She couldn't help the guilt and second-guessing, though, and knew well that her dreams wouldn't absolve her for a while. That night she had a scare when she realized her scar was bigger; it ran down her forehead now, nearly to her eyebrow. Did it do that when she ran into Voldemort? She'd have to ask Snape or Dumbledore about it.
With Quirrell gone, Defense became a sort of formal study period, overseen by Dumbledore when he wasn't busy with other affairs. Quirrell's notes turned out to be surprisingly efficient and well-written, and they speculated that if it weren't for the whole Voldemort thing he might have been a decent teacher. Those older students who remembered him from his Muggle Studies days agreed with this assessment, to their surprise. With spring on the way, Astronomy classes became hands on once again, instead of studying from star charts and planetary maps, and the empty morning period became a blessing in disguise once more. Their other classes were likewise ramping up in preparation for end of year exams, and Hazel had her hands full dealing with everything.
It was too good to last, she realized the day she saw a dragon egg twitching at Hagrid's roaring hearth. Much too good to last, indeed.
Notes:Just a couple chapters, then I'm gonna take a break while working on Year 3 and finding someone to beta read Year 2. You've all been a wonderful audience for young Hazel, truly!
Chapter 15: NorbertSummary:Dragons and answers and blood, oh my!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextIt started out weirdly enough, with Hazel and her friends spying Hagrid, of all people, browsing in the library. Instantly curious, Hazel and Hermione went to see what he was up to. "Er, nothin'," he said awkwardly, in that manner he had which meant he was hiding something. "What yeh doin' then, ain't yeh got classes?"
"No, it's a study period," Hazel replied innocently. "It's just weird to see you in the library, Hagrid, that's all. You're not really the bookish type..."
"Arr, well, sometimes yeh gotta read up on stuff, s' all," he countered. "See yeh soon!" and he beat a hasty retreat. The second he was gone the two girls went to see what section he'd been in, and their faces fell at once.
"Dragons," Hazel murmured, looking at all the books. "Look, Hermione, there's books missing from this series about dragon breeding."
"Oh God, he hasn't really-?" She cut herself off, looking horrified. "He has , I'll bet you a galleon he has got a dragon!"
That afternoon, it turned out she was half right; Hagrid had a dragon egg . He almost didn't let them in for tea, in fact, until Draco did one of his pompous bits and got them inside. It was sweltering hot with the windows and curtains closed, a fire roaring away despite the sunny day outside. It took no time at all to zero in on the huge black egg nestled in the very heart of the fire, and less time than that to figure out that Hagrid had bought the egg off some random traveler in Hogsmeade.
"Bet it was Quirrell," Draco muttered darkly as they left the hut later on. "Remember what he said, about playing cards and getting drunk and bragging about how good with monsters he is?"
"How much does a man that big have to drink to get drunk?" Ron wondered out loud.
"Probably enough to kill all four of us," Hazel said absently, perversely glad to have so much on her plate. It helped her forget about Quirrell.
A week later Hedwig brought a note from Hagrid: IT'S HATCHING. Hermione flat out refused to skive off Herbology, so when the bell rang for morning break they all put their things away and sprinted off for Hagrid's hut as fast as they could. "Abou' time, thought yeh weren't comin'!" he blurted out as he let them into his hut. The egg was even bigger, sitting on the table atop a solid metal saucepan as big as a baby's bathtub. It was rocking back and forth, with clicks and cracks coming from it. Ron and Hermione drew up chairs; Hazel and Draco stood back and peered from behind Hagrid, who hovered over it like a hen with her clutch.
Abruptly there was a scraping noise, the egg split open and a baby dragon flopped out. Hazel thought it looked like a wet umbrella, with large black wings that dwarfed its skinny body, and bulging orange eyes that glared at them from above a long snot and wide nostrils. Sparks shot out of them when it sneezed.
"Ain't he beautiful?" Hagrid gushed, beaming down like it really was the most beautiful thing. He reached out to pet it, and yanked back when it snapped its fangs at him. He only laughed though, and kept trying to reach down for it. "He'll know his mommy soon enough!"
"Hagrid, what are you planning to feed the thing?" Draco demanded, looking equal parts horrified and fascinated.
"Brandy 'n chicken blood," he replied promptly, as Hazel got over her reluctance rather quickly and approached it alongside Hagrid. "By th' bucketful, every 'alf hour!" Hazel recalled seeing a massive stack of barrels in the paddock next to the hut, and shook her head. "Supposedly he'll start shootin' flame in a couple o' months, too!"
"He's not that bad looking," Hazel murmured, admiring it from a few feet away as it sneezed more sparks. "Bet you'll grow into a big handsome boy, eh, fella? What are you naming him, Hagrid?"
"Dunno yet, can't decide between Norbert or Alaric."
"He looks like a Norbert to me," Hazel replied, and Hagrid beamed down at her with tears in his eyes.
Somehow they found time to visit Hagrid and Norbert, though at times it felt more like they were making sure the dragon hadn't burned his hut down yet. Norbert was growing at an alarming rate, and they all agreed they couldn't wait for the dragon to mature to fire-spitting stage before it could put everybody at risk, not just Hagrid. The trick was convincing Hagrid this was the best plan, and that took threatening to go to the Headmaster and promising to write to Ron's brother Charlie before he'd agree to it.
"We should go to Dumbledore anyway, he'll make sure it goes smoothly. No way that thing'll fit under the Cloak with even one of us by the time they're ready to move it," Hermione was saying anxiously, twisting her fingers together.
"I don't like going behind Hagrid's back, but you're right," Hazel replied. "I'll speak to him tonight, after homework. Don't forget to write that letter, Ron." Unfortunately homework took a long time, and it was nearly curfew by the time she and Draco finished.
"Take the cloak, no sense getting spotted over something like this," he suggested. It was a good idea, and she fetched it before stepping out into the halls and heading for the Headmaster's office. The gargoyles came into view, and she threw the cloak off.
"Lemon drops!" she said confidently, but the rocky guards didn't budge. "Acid pops! Chocolate frogs! Atomic warheads?"
"Ain't got all night, Sunny Jim," one of them quipped, and she kicked it out of spite. All that accomplished was stubbing her toe and amusing the gargoyles. "Come on, keep going!"
"What is going on here?" came a sharp voice, and Snape swept around the corner. "Potter, it is past curfew, now get back to-"
"Sir, please, it's very important I speak to the Headmaster!" Hazel interrupted, trying not to cower back. "He said I was always welcome!"
"And it cannot wait until morning, can it?" he replied archly.
"No sir, I have to speak to him right now."
He was silent for a few moments, then turned to the gargoyles. "Hersheys kisses," he said, rolling his eyes. The stone guardians sprang aside, and the wall slid up to reveal the magic staircase. "After you, Miss Potter. You're lucky I too, have business with the Headmaster."
"Er, right." Doing this in front of Snape had not been part of the plan, but there was nothing else for it. They spun up to the next door, which opened as soon as he knocked.
"Ah, Severus, right on time." Dumbledore was already in a long purple nightgown, and had a glass of something golden before him. "And young Hazel as well, how unexpected." He waved at the seats, but Hazel declined and chose to stand; seeing the serious expression on her face, Dumbledore sat back and gave his full attention.
"It's about Hagrid, sir," she began, trying not to hurry. "He's got a baby dragon, a Norwegian Ridgeback named Norbert. We think he got the egg from Quirrell after a game of cards, sir."
"That would explain his knowledge of our traps, though that particular bypass proved unneeded," the Headmaster mused, holding a finger to forestall any word from Snape.
"Yes sir. Er, how's Fluffy doing, anyway?" It hadn't been his fault he was picked to guard against a Dark Lord, after all.
"Recovering nicely in a remote corner of the Forbidden Forest, my dear, under the care of the centaur colony there," he replied kindly. "Arrangements have been made to move him to Greece once he is healthy enough for the trip, where we hope he will find whatever happiness a cerberus can find."
"I'm glad to hear that, sir," she said sincerely. "Ron's writing to his brother Charlie about getting Norbert out of here, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind lending your influence?"
"Of course, of course, I do appreciate your trust, Hazel." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "Inform Mr Weasley that he is to notify me the very second he gets a reply from his brother, will you? I shall coordinate to ensure no other student finds out." He turned his kindly smile to Snape. "I hope I can rely on your own discretion, Professor Snape. And just for tonight, we can forgive a little wandering about, hm?"
"Understood, sir." He glanced down at Hazel. "Wait outside for me, Miss Potter, I shall escort you back to the dungeons once I've spoken to the Headmaster."
"Yes sir, thank you sir." Having no wish to antagonize either of them, she did as she was told; a few minutes later he stepped out as well, and they slid downstairs once more. "I didn't think I needed the cloak, sir, since it really was urgent... Erm, what did you need with Professor Dumbledore, anyway?"
"No matter, Potter, try to be more subtle next time," was all he said. "And it was just leftovers from the Quirrell business, it seemed it was he who had attacked Higgs and Brandon before the first match. He must have wanted to try for your life, but he was stopped and the match was over before anything could happen."
"I see. Thanks for telling me, sir." Not another word was spoken until they reached the Slytherin dungeons, and she slipped inside gratefully.
"How'd it go?" Draco asked as he stood up from the fire.
"Well enough, Dumbledore agreed to help. He's already made arrangements for Fluffy, this isn't any different for him, I'm sure. Good night, Draco." She nodded and went for her dorm, where she showered and fell into bed. After such a busy day, her nightmares were distant and harmless.
Charlie's reply took a week to get back, and he indicated he was perfectly happy to accept a new dragon; some of his mates were passing through Britain, he could contact them and get it all set up. He asked them to have Norbert at the Quidditch pitch, next Saturday at midnight. "Saturday!" Ron had moaned after showing them the letter at lunch that day. "That thing could burn down half the school by then!"
"Keep it down, Ron, you prat!" Draco hissed, glancing around anxiously. "He was probably in Romania or somewhere, yeah? It's not exactly down the road!"
"Don't forget, Ron, take that to the Headmaster right away," Hazel reminded him, nodding to the head table where Dumbledore and the rest were eating. Ron nodded back and got up to take him the letter.
Saturday took forever to arrive, punctuated by their frequent visits to make sure Hagrid was alright and wasn't getting cold feet. "You oaf, not even Dumbledore could protect you if that thing hurt a student!" Draco said at one such visit, keeping a healthy distance as Norbert threatened Fang with dripping fangs. "And you've been slacking on your actual duties, too, haven't you?!"
"Arr, he wouldn' hurt a fly," Hagrid moaned, trying to pet the thing and getting snapped at for his trouble.
Saturday night finally came, and Snape walked into the common room of the dungeons. "Potter, Malfoy, good." He approached them as they were bent over their homework. "I loathe to encourage rule-breaking, but this dragon business must conclude, and I feel Hagrid may back out at the last minute if you weren't there. Bring the cloak; I will await you inside the front doors." Hazel fetched the cloak and they all went out to the front hall, and Hazel and Draco hurried across the lawns to Hagrid's hut.
They found Ron and Hermione already there, arguing with Hagrid all over again. "Hagrid, come on! Charlie's friends are probably already here, you said you'd send him away!"
"I- I can't!" the big man countered, blinking back tears and cradling a large wooden crate to his chest. "He's still too young, he ain't foun' a mummy yet an'-!"
"And he's not finding one around Hogwarts," Hazel insisted firmly. "Hagrid, you can barely control Norbert now, how do you expect to do as he gets older and bigger? There's things he needs to learn from his own kind that we're just not equipped to pass on!" She reached up and patted Hagrid's elbow, the highest point on him she could reach. "Look, he won't like it here at all, don't you see? He'd be alone, and you'd have to keep him hidden at all times, and eventually he'd get too big to hide and then you'd be in serious trouble with the Ministry!"
At last he heaved a blubbery sigh and let go of the crate, which thrashed and rattled on the table. "Ar, I know yeh're righ', all o' ye, it's jus'..."
"We get it, Hagrid, really," Hermione said gently, pulling him toward the stove. "Here, I'll make you some tea while the others get Norbert ready, okay?"
"He's... he's ready t' go, really, got lotsa rats 'n brandy 'n is fav'rite teddy fer company..." Hagrid was distracted, and Hermione made shooing motions behind her back at the others; taking the hint, Ron and Draco each took a corner of the box and Hazel threw the cloak over the whole lot. Then they slipped out the back, and across the lawns toward the Quidditch pitch. Very quickly they realized no one was about, so Hazel took the cloak back and they moved on, quicker this time. They reached the pitch with minutes to spare, and Charlie's friends flew out of the darkness on brooms; they had a harness for carrying Norbert between them, and Hazel and her friends helped get it all set up.
"Say hello to Hagrid and Dumbledore for us," one of them winked as they flew off. They heaved a big sigh of relief, went back to get Hermione, and all went back to the castle where Snape led them back to their dormitories. It had been a long day, and Hazel only showered briefly before bed, noting as she drifted away that the lumps on her chest were growing.
Notes:I don't really like this chapter, it felt rushed and out of order. Oh well, we're almost done anyway.
Chapter 16: The End of the YearSummary:Hazel has survived her first year of Hogwarts School, though only the gods know how. -blows kazoo-
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextWhen the time came for exams, Hazel was certain she had done well. All of the studying through the year had paid off, and the various misadventures had provided quite a lot of practical experience as well. She almost laughed as she sat in the sweltering examination hall, Anti-Cheating quill in hand, able to concentrate on her Defense paper without the stabbing pain of her scar hurting; the only exam she was worried about failing was History of Magic, where she'd dozed off and nearly dreamed of Quirrell's death again, and afterward was certain she'd scrambled a few names and dates. Draco and Ron played wizard's chess while she went over the exams with Hermione, and the members of their study group gathered around one by one; they were all quite sure they wouldn't have done so well if they hadn't been in the group, and mostly wanted to know if Hazel and Hermione meant to keep it up next year.
Flattered but alarmed, what else could they say but yes?
It was soothing to sit beneath a tree, watching older students relaxing here and there, or fretting over their more difficult tests still. Hazel yawned in the sunlight and stared up at the leaves, the contentment of the moment marred by the thought that she would soon have to return to Privet Drive.
The last Quidditch match of the year, between Slytherin and Gryffindor again, was a close shave in favor of Gryffindor, but they didn't win by enough of a margin to overcome Slytherin's lead, and so the Cup would go to Professor Snape's office yet again. Hazel laughed and cheered as her teammates paraded back to the castle with the Cup held over their heads, and looked forward to the day it would be her parading with that thing. They had lots of tea at Hagrid's hut, and Hagrid was much easier to get along with when he wasn't trying and failing to keep secrets from them. He was sad about Norbert of course, and unhappy that they'd gone to Dumbledore when they'd promised not to, but he wasn't the kind to hold a grudge for long.
Exam results finally arrived, and to no one's surprise Hazel and Hermione were tied for the highest marks, so she supposed missing a few names and dates didn't matter. Neville surprised even himself with a passing grade in Potions, though it was clear his best subject was going to be Herbology. "Not like that was a mystery, eh, Hazel?" he remarked with a laugh. "Gran'll be pleased, at least..."
"Tell her you'll do better with a wand of your own, too, that one doesn't like you," she replied with a grin.
The End of Year feast was appropriately extravagant, with Slytherin winning the House Cup by a mile of course, although Hazel couldn't properly enjoy it; the looming return of the Dursleys to her life was enough to ruin anyone's enjoyment of anything. So instead she just ate as much as she could, nearly making herself sick and drawing curious looks from the other Slytherins. "Take it easy, Potter, you'll get to eat again," Millicent remarked with half a laugh, though Hazel didn't reply since her mouth was too full. Dumbledore gave a speech of some sort, though apart from warning them all not to use magic outside school she tuned most of it out.
She really was sick that night, and slept badly, and all too soon it was time to get packed. Books, clothes, random detritus, it all went into her trunk, along with Hedwig in her cage. Back across the lake they went, and she considered jumping in just to delay their return to the Muggle world. Hagrid surprised her before leaving with a heavy, leather-bound book, which turned out to be full of Wizard pictures of her parents from their school days. "Hagrid!" she gasped, looking up at him. "How- where did-?"
"Bin writin' ter yer parents' ol' school mates," he said with a wink and a gentle pat on her back which nearly knocked her over. "Figgered yeh'd want summin' o' theirs, eh?" She couldn't speak, instead she threw her arms as far around him as she could reach, then dashed aboard the Hogwarts Express. Pouring over the pictures was a welcome distraction from the pal of dread she'd been under, and she bought lots of snacks off the trolley to put away for later. "I can't handle not having enough to eat over the summer," she told her friends in response to their looks.
"Oi, are your relatives really that bad?" Ron shook his head in wonder. "Blimey, we gotta get you outta there quick."
"Snape and Dumbledore both insisted I go back there, at least at first," Hazel explained morosely. "Draco, you be careful, alright? Your father probably won't like that you helped defeat Voldemort again."
"Well... he took me hostage, didn't he?" the pale boy replied after he was done wincing at the hated name. "Had me under the Imperius Curse and everything, didn't care who I was at all. That's got to shake him up, don't you think?"
"You'd be surprised, mate, a lot of those Death Eater types are beyond mental," Ron countered darkly. "No offense..."
The train was pulling into King's Cross much too soon, and Hazel dragged her stuff out, half hoping the Dursleys had stayed home. But no, once the gate guard let her through they were the first people she saw, standing apart from the other parents and relatives. Heaving a sigh, she hauled her trunk over to them, where Vernon helped her stow it just to get them out of there faster.
"Thanks for coming to get me, Uncle Vernon," she said in a small voice as they drove away. He just grunted something about 'what would the neighbors think', and otherwise ignored her. That was a bust, so she turned to Dudley, who'd been oddly nice to her before. "How was school this year, Duds?"
"Uh, it was... fine, I guess," he mumbled, not quite meeting her eyes.
"Those rotten teachers are far too strict, if you ask me!" Petunia snapped. "Two notes a week, and for what? You're a growing boy, Dudders, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
"Too right! Boys will be boys, I say!" Vernon exclaimed, thumping the steering wheel. From all this, Hazel gathered that Smeltings was not especially kind to Dudley just yet, and his parents were still blind to the piggish little bully they were raising. She sighed and leaned against the window; it would be a long summer...
Notes:Well, this is it for year one. Gonna take a break to go over year 2 before starting to post it, still need to percolate over year 3. See y'all next time!
Series this work belongs to:Part 1 of Hazel's Story Next Work →