The Boy Who Lived

Houses and Homes

At least it meant he wouldn't be going back to the Dursleys now. The previous two annual visits had left him unmolested. He'd used the threat that his Godfather, Sirius, would be checking in on him (and by default, Petunia) and it had left Vernon exceedingly frightened.

He still hadn't told anyone what had happened four years ago, he kept the memory buried deep, but it bubbled angrily to the surface occasionally. No wonder people thought he was unstable. But with his anger came a new found determination that he would never again allow anyone to put him in a position that made him feel as hopelessly vulnerable and afraid as Vernon had done that night. He knew that was why Umbridge could never break him. And why he hated Snape's and Malfoy's bullying. And it was why he was never going to take any shit from Vernon ever again.

Two years of constant gleeful reminders to Vernon of 'remember, the dangerous escaped dangerous convict who was on the news' had worked. However, the lack of any sign of interference from the mysterious murderous Godfather meant that Vernon was becoming bolder and with Harry mourning the loss of Sirius, he didn't feel he could play that card to play anymore. Having said that, Vernon didn't seem quite so willing to take on a sixteen-year-old boy, even if Harry was a scrawny adolescent who was a third of Vernon's body mass. Mainly because Harry's temper hadn't overly improved over the summer and sometimes the ferocious glare of his viridian-green eyes was enough to halt Vernon in his tracks.

Harry may have been slight in frame but his Quidditch made him lean and muscular and strong. And over the summer, when he wasn't flying up at the school on his retrieved Firebolt, he'd set up a punchbag in the garden at Minnie's to help with some of his anger issues. Especially as it reminded him of punching Malfoy in the gut just before he got banned from Quidditch. He took to boxing without gloves (when Minnie wasn't around); it helped him release the pain of the past year and the grief of first Cedric and then Sirius dying. It also helped release some of the concerns he felt ever since learning the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries about him and Voldemort. It made him feel in control, especially when he saw the scars from Umbridge's words stretched white across the back of his hand when he clenched his fist.

When Minnie had finally seen the scars, she had an absolute fit. Harry had never seen her so angry. She had stormed up to the castle with all sorts of threats to Umbridge's life and to Fudge's life and a determination that Umbridge should receive the Dementor's Kiss for her use of Dark Magic to punish children. It was one of the reasons he didn't like to detail what had happened on his twelfth birthday, he thought that Minerva might Apparate to Surrey and cast an Unforgiveable on his uncle. He appreciated the sentiment but would prefer it if his mum didn't end up in Azkaban.

Dumbledore had rescued Umbridge from the centaurs in a lovely twist of irony and Harry was glad that she'd been suspended from the Ministry, pending an investigation, statements about the Black Quill were gathered along with witnesses to her using Veritaserum on students and threatening to use the Cruciatus on Harry. More amusing was that Peeves had stolen Minnie's walking stick she was using after being in St Mungo's and had chased Umbridge from the school in front of everyone. Peeves was the hero of the day and students kept requesting he received a Special Services to the School Award.

Harry took his hatred for Umbridge out on that punchbag with a vengeance.

Once at Little Whinging, Vernon had lifted his fist twice in those twenty-four hours against Harry but each time stopped short when Harry squared up to him. When Vernon's fingers strayed to his belt, the cups started to rattle in their saucers, not enough to send alerts to the Ministry about underage magic, but enough to scare Vernon when Harry would smirk and say sarcastically, 'oops, accidental magic! I'm sure the Ministry will forgive me, again...'