Secrets She Kept » Harry Potter

Part 32

"Yes, I might be unwell and require help often. But that doesn't mean the five of you are allowed to skive off from your responsibilities, which includes living your own lives to the fullest." Were the words noted to Harry, Dudley, George, Millie and Beckham one afternoon while the sunset after they had an enjoyable Christmas together. Harry had invited his girlfriend Ginny with him to celebrate the holidays, granting her a break from her own chaotic family. The witch noticed the woman that Harry had talked proudly about before she had been invited over wore a scarf above her head. That hid the short locks that remained. Due to her medical treatment and the vastness of cancer that sat within her body was hit with large doses of radiation to target the problem. That left her hair falling out. "I want each of you to be proud of everything you have achieved and remember the pleasant memories rather than the circumstance that surrounds our family currently."

Petunia was a proud woman and wouldn't show her children that she was scared. She was constantly attending doctor's appointments and suffering from the treatment she had to endure. Her doctors had assured her the prospects looked good, she would survive this, they just wanted to treat it head-on with full force. It just wore the Muggle woman down.

George had decided that he would enjoy some work experience before attending university. He had signed on with the same company that Dudley had recently been promoted as a site manager, to keep an eye on the boy. Dudley was worried about his mother as well but he was slowly starting his own life independently. He had recently met a nice girl from the next city over, she was currently celebrating Christmas with her own family and she was yet to meet Petunia. George was to start in the construction sector in the new year, hoping to save enough money so he won't require a student loan. Outside of work he had signed up to be a part of the community rugby team, to keep fit and distract himself from seeing how frail his mother had been. Harry had noticed how anxious the boy was and was quietly suggesting to Dudley to have George sent over to England for a period of time. George was still living at home and had taken on a lot of responsibilities to keep his younger sister out of trouble.

Beckham had returned from boarding school for the summer break. He kept in constant contact with his mother in the free afternoons he had from his classes. The school catered to a large population of both Muggle-Born and Half-Blood students, so that meant it had both forms of communication in the owl delivery service and also Muggle technology such as phones to keep in contact with their parents. This allowed the boy to hear of the adventures of his twin sister, whom he was constantly pulling away from. They were no longer close like they had been as children, getting up to mischief. Millie, although she would rather forget her experience at Hogwarts, still reflected the common traits that are found in many Slytherin students. She was cunning yet intelligent enough to talk her way out of punishment.

There were constant arguments between Millie and her mother, many that the teenage girl won due to her mother being unwell. Millie enjoyed skipping school to hang around a group of friends that kept getting the girl in trouble with the local police. Shocking her mother, even more, was the night that Millie had come home drunk and she had dyed her hair pitch black, and cut it short. The sight reminded her right away of her biological father. At fifteen the girl already had a minor criminal record, all because of the friends she had made at school.

The morning that Harry arrived at the Australian home he witnessed the terrible attitude change in the girl. She was miserable that she was once again grounded. "I don't know how much more I can handle," Petunia admits quietly to Harry when Millie had locked herself away in her bedroom. "I considered sending her to the Australian academy, but we all know how that argument when down."

"The offer to have her in England is still open, there's a school a 30-minute bus ride that is quite strict." Harry offered. "Will be quite the opposite environment that George will have when he eventually visits." Harry had dealt with the Dark Lord and a disrespectful girl to the rules was something he felt like he could handle with ease.

"It might even give her an opportunity to see that being a witch isn't all bad." Ginny piped into the conversation. "It will give you the break you need to rest."

So it was agreed that Millie would be taken back to England with her cousin Harry. She thought it would be a pleasant holiday for her, and she smirked at the idea of having the freedom to do what she pleases in the city of London. There were plenty of attractions she would enjoy visiting, all while pretending that she was attending whatever silly school she would be enrolled in.

Following the end of the Christmas holiday period, Millie was told to pack a suitcase with appropriate clothing for the semester she would be staying in England as a trial period. She had been threatened to be sent to Hogwarts if she caused major trouble for her cousin and his long-term girlfriend Ginny. The teenage girl promised to be on her best behaviour once that threat had been made.

Once in the home that belonged to Harry, she noticed it was still being renovated. She was granted a simple room that had a single bed, dresser and wardrobe at the south end of the room still decorated with cracking wallpaper and exposed plaster. She didn't make a single complaint as she was tired from her flight. What the girl didn't expect was the first day of term in her new school to start right away, she was unaware that her mother had worked with Harry to set up her acceptance the first week of December when he arrived. It made it clear to her that perhaps she had been a little harsh on her mother.

Any technology device was taken from the girl the morning that she set to leave. Ginny took it upon herself to take her for her first day as she was dressed in the correct uniform. "How did you know my size?" Millie wondered as she pulled her short dark hair back by a headband.

"My mother is good with measurements," Ginny answered before the girl was dropped at the gate. In truth, she had sent her mother along to pick up a second-hand set of uniforms for her to adjust to her size from the measurements her mother had provided. Petunia expected that her daughter would choose a skirt too tight and crop it herself.

So while her mother completed more radiation treatments, Millie endured a rather strict school. She was expected to follow any rule otherwise she was thrown in detention with harsh consequences. Yet she did everything that was expected of her after completing just two after-school detentions. The teenager thought it was the only way she was going to survive, waking early to catch the bus, complete her studies and help out with anything she was asked to do by Harry. Although the turnaround was quick, Harry wasn't buying it himself. She had gone into survival mode and was expected to break any moment. He was preparing for backlash at any point.

Yet it was admitted to Ginny, after an evening meal when she was helping to clean up from the meal that Millie was scared to lose her mother. She didn't know how to handle her emotions as she refused month after month to attend therapy. She thought it was unfair that she had suffered something tragic already and was sent to therapy to deal with her problems constantly. That was the answer, send her straight to a therapist to explain her feelings rather than allow her the opportunity to embrace her emotions. Millie felt like she had high expectations to live up to due to the greatness performed by Harry and how pleased her mother had been with Beckham and George in their schooling. The girl had always felt left out compared to her older brothers, there was no girl to relate to.

"That's exactly how Petunia felt when it came to spending time with her sister," Harry explained to the girl. "She wasn't magical like her, just a plain girl who thought she needed to please her parents in other ways."

Millie saw the pained look on Harry's face. He wasn't sure what else to say. "Yet it wasn't enough and my mum was overshadowed." Harry nodded quickly to her suggestion. "Then why would she have a relationship with a wizard and have children with them if she didn't like magical people?"

That was a question that Harry couldn't answer. "It was a complicated story that you should have with your mother-"

Before Harry could finish his explanation. Millie cut him off. "But what if it's too late, what if she dies?" She knew her mother kept a lot of secrets that surrounded her father. Perhaps he was abusive like Dudley's father had been.