A Deeper Connection: A New Beginning

A Deeper Connection - Part II

According to the Goblins, this was a rather common occurrence. They had been observing the Dursleys for quite a while now and ever since the start of the holidays, Dudley had been picked up by one of his friends on Wednesday to spend the night out of the house. Luckily, today was no exception.

Inside of the house, the bony frame of Petunia Dursley reappeared behind the kitchen window, her eyes darting between the pots and pans on the stove and the empty street, clearly waiting for the familiar sound of the engine of her husband's car.

It would not be long now until they would move.

Next to him, the Dark Lord felt that the air was slowly charging up with magic, if the familiar sweet and pungent smell of ozone was anything to go by.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked, concern lacing his voice as he looked at his Equal, "are you sure that you can do this?"

Fractions of a second later, vivid, Avada-green eyes were burning into his Glamoured onyx ones, "Yes, I can, and I will go through with this. There is no way back. Not now. Still, the waiting is killing me."

The last comment made the Dark Lord chuckle. Patience had never been one of his strong suits. At least not until meeting Harry.

Placing a reassuring hand on the shoulder of his Equal, Tom whispered so that only Harry could hear him, "The wait will be over soon."

Once again, the observations of the Goblins were quite correct. Then again, the Dursleys were creatures of habit who valued nothing more than living their by any means ordinary lives by the same old schedule. Therefore, it was rather unsurprising when at precisely 5:05 p.m., Vernon Dursley's treasured silver Vauxhall Vectra estate, the car he had bought after his latest promotion a few years ago, turned into Privet Drive. It was rather amusing watching the voluminous Muggle squeezing himself out of the protesting car. Still, it was even more entertaining to observe the increasing expression of horror on Lucius' face as he, too, was watching the scene ahead of him. It had been a good idea to bring the blond Malfoy Lord along.

When Vernon had finally managed to get out of his beloved Vauxhall Vectra, the front door of house number four had already opened, revealing a beaming Petunia Dursley, who was eagerly awaiting the return of her husband. Needless to say, most of it was just a show, of course conducted in public for all neighbours to see. Even when Harry had still lived there, the Dursleys had never failed to perform this daily spectacle. As always, Vernon placed his signature kiss, involving his massive moustache, on the bony cheek of his wife and started to tell her about the latest negotiations of Grunnings with a Canadian hardware store chain as they were entering the house.

Once they were inside, Harry signalled them to move. On the way to the front door, the Dark Lord modified the Disillusionment Charms so that the two Dursleys would also be able to see them.

A few seconds later, the five wizards had arrived at the front door. Given the noise they could hear through the wooden front door, the two Dursleys were still in the hallway and had not entered the dining room yet. Next to the Dark Lord, Harry stepped forward to ring the bell. Inside Number Four, Privet Drive, all sounds ceased before the quiet cursing of Vernon Dursley could be heard as he ordered his wife to see who dared to disturb their well-deserved peace.

The expression on Petunia Dursley's increasingly pale face when she first lay eyes on her beloved nephew was just priceless.

"Petunia, who is there?" Vernon Dursley called after his wife, the slight vibrations on the ground indicating that he, too, was making his way to the front door. Just like his wife, the fat Muggle froze as his eyes landed on his nephew and the four wizards by his side.