After the majority of the muggles cleared out of the Reptile House, there was a strong curtain of silence that seemed to fall upon the two families that stood before each other. While Harry and the rest of the children appeared relatively confused, it was safe to say the adults were on edge. Renata had planted herself between Harry, Ilaria, and Monte as if at any moment, the other two adults would launch into an attack. And James stood beside his wife, his fists clenched at his own sides as he debated whether or not to reach for his wand.
At first, Harry suspected that it was another family of wizards, however, as soon as the large purple-faced man yelled something about "their kind" being at fault, he quickly thought otherwise. But how did his father know these people?
"So this is the new lot you got yourself, Potter?" the Dursley man questioned, followed by a bitter laugh. "I had hoped to see the last of you after-"
The Dursley man didn't get to finish as James nearly launched himself at him to knock him in the face, but it was Renata, who stopped him. She whispered something to him, probably something along the lines of not acting in such ways in front of the children, all of which, were watching the scene intently.
James glanced over his shoulder, catching Harry, Ilaria, and Monte staring at him, wondering what he was going to do. Immediately, he let out a heavy sigh before turning back to the other man.
" Our kind had nothing to do with it," he said with a clenched jaw, " you tell your boy to keep his hands off of my children."
"Our Dudley was raised better, he wouldn't even dream of touching those things you call children-"
"But he did!" Harry suddenly found himself interjecting. "He knocked me out of the way to look at the snake and the other one pushed Ilaria. We wouldn't make it up!"
He quickly found all eyes settling on him for a moment, James and Renata with faint smiles on their faces as Harry took to defending himself and his little sister. But the Dursley family didn't see it as a noble act.
"He's lying!" The larger boy, named Dudley, yelled. "I didn't touch him!"
"You're the liar!" Harry countered, feeling his anger surged, leaving Renata with a worried look.
"Yeah, he's a liar," Ilaria jumped in, " the gorilla pushed Harry down! The rat pushed me!"
"How dare you insult-"
A large sausage of a finger was pointed at Ilaria's face and that was the last straw for James as he shoved the Dursley man away. And with that, another escalating turn took place as the Dursley man decided to swing back once he regained his balance. However, his movements, however angry he was, were slow, giving James plenty of time to dodge the hit.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Renata grabbed James by the shoulders, while the Dursley woman, struggled to hold onto the back of her husband's jacket. "James, calm down, it wouldn't be worth fighting right now. It'll only cause more trouble."
"Oh, Vernon!" The Dursley woman wailed dramatically. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
"Come on, we should just go," Renata whispered to James, " before there's any more trouble."
Renata wasn't one to back down from a fight, James knew that first and foremost, however, she knew from many stories pertaining to the Dursley family, that there was no sense in staying and arguing. It would only be a waste of time and energy, not to mention, they didn't want to draw attention to themselves, surrounded by muggles, it would only give the Ministry something to complain about. And they also had their children to think of, who shouldn't have had to witness anything negative on a day at the zoo.
It was difficult for James to agree with the idea of backing down, especially when it came to Vernon Dursley, who had always been a miserable bastard in his eyes from the time they first met, over a decade ago. But with his wife looking at him with pleading eyes and his three children behind him, waiting to see what he would do next, he gave a nod of his head.
"Alright, let's go," he said to her, "I'll grab the little ones, we'll make a dash to see the otters."
And like it was nothing, James lifted Ilaria and Monte into his arms, even though they were fully capable of walking and started making his way towards the exit. Renata quickly offered both hands to Harry to help him up to his feet, taking just a second to brush off his clothing. And before Harry could tell her that he was fine, he found both of her hands holding the sides of his face gently.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Harry glanced in the direction of the Dursley family for a second, noting that the four people were staring in their direction. Mostly it was anger that laced their features, but upon the woman's face, Harry was getting a different reading. Her pale blue eyes seemed to be fixated on Harry and Renata, her long neck stretched as if she was trying to listen to what they were saying. But as Harry made eye contact with her, she froze for a moment before turning her attention back to her husband and his almost injuries.
"I'm alright, Mum, I promise."
Renata nodded her head, seemingly thankful that he was fine before she guided him towards the exit to follow James' direction.
"Look at them run, a bunch of cowards. Couldn't even finish the fight they started," Harry heard Vernon call out and Renata must have heard it too as she stopped immediately and turned around.
She released Harry's hand momentarily and made her way back to the Dursleys to stand before them. Vernon was no longer talking and all confident smiles had faded rapidly at her approach.
"I'm afraid we never had the chance to be properly introduced to one another," she began in an eerily calm voice, " I am Renata Potter, the mother to those three children and the wife to the man you just insulted. Should any of you ever lay a finger on any of them again or even cast a nasty look in their direction, you will be dealing with me. And I'll let you in on a little secret, you can hide behind puffed chests, snarls, and frowns, but I can feel your fear and I will use it against you."
"I-Is th-that a threat!?" Vernon stammered, attempting to keep his chin up to look Renata in the eye. Only, Renata smiled in returned causing his purple face to drain of all colour as she answered.
"Yes."
Once again, she extended her hand for Harry to take, which he took gladly with a proud smile. He had seen his mother enter her protective mode a few times before, usually out in public when people would push around to catch a glimpse of his scar, and he had heard stories of just how fierce both of his parents could be when their loved ones were involved. But never had Harry witness his mother speak in such a way that she managed to send chills down his spine and he wasn't even the one being threatened at the time.
He could only laugh internally at himself, thinking that he had been such a fool either when he questioned whether Renata favoured his siblings over him. It was clear that she did not, she had proved it many times before and he wouldn't ask her to do so again. He had been so wrapped up in the idea of Renata not being his biological mother, but it wasn't like anyone else knew that outside of his parents.
Ilaria and Monte certainly didn't know and maybe the other adults that were close to him did, but they always referred to Renata as Harry's mother. So he could continue on simply believing that it was so.
"He's not yours!"
Renata and Harry had only managed to make it a few lengths away when the woman had yelled after them. They turned around, Harry could feel Renata's grip tighten around his hand as she tensed up.
"What did you sa-"
"He's not yours, he's not your real son!"
There was a smirk that developed on the woman's face, having her appear even more like an ostrich than before. Harry suddenly felt cold, wondering how the woman before them knew such a thing.
Who the hell were these people?
Renata opened her mouth as if she were going to argue but at the last second, it seemed she decided against it before she led Harry out of the Reptile House.
The muggle workers had finally arrived after so much commotion and scrambled inside in hopes of getting the boa constrictor back to its tank. However, after such a delay in response time, it seemed the large snake had disappeared.
Harry hoped it was on its way to Brazil.
James read the look on Renata's face as they met up around the otters and silently questioned her through a look, but she merely brushed him off with a small shake of her head. There was no point in discussing such things, the trip to the zoo had already taken a bad turn, she just wanted things to end on a good note. And while Monte and Ilaria had recovered as if nothing had gone wrong, James knew there was something as Renata and Harry remained quiet for the rest of the trip unless spoken to by one of the little ones.
By the end of the day, the Potter family arrived home at the cottage, both Monte and Ilaria were asleep, carefully carried off to bed by Renata and James while Harry waited downstairs. For the remainder of the trip, Harry wanted to ask who the Dursleys were and why they seemed to know so much when he had never met them before.
Finally, James appeared coming down the steps, but Renata did not join him as she remained upstairs.
"Come on, Harry, how about we go for that walk now?"
"Is Mum alright?"
"Oh yeah, she's fine, I think she was just a bit tired from today, she's lying down having a rest."
Casting a look up the stairs, Harry wasn't so sure if he was getting the full truth, but there was no sense in pushing the matter. Instead, he followed his father to the door and the two Potters headed outside to take a stroll down by the water.
"So despite the little spat of drama, did you have fun today?" James asked him.
"Yes," Harry answered, " but who were those people, Dad? How did they know us? Why didn't they like us?"
With a heavy sigh, James came to a halt at the water's edge. "Well, Harry, there isn't an easy way to say it, but the Dursleys are related to you through your mother's side. That woman, Petunia is her name, she is your mother's sister. Now, your mother was a muggle-born, the only one in her family, so the rest of them are muggles. Not that there is anything wrong with that, you know, but that's how they know about us having magic, unlike other muggles. And they do not like magic, not one bit."
It was true, there really wasn't an easier way for James to explain who the Dursleys were, but to know that he was related to such nasty people left Harry with a dominant frown on his face.
"That's how they knew that Mum wasn't my real mother then. That's what Petunia said."
Suddenly, Harry caught James' head turn with such speed it would have snapped anyone else's neck.
"She said that to you?! To you and your mother?"
Harry nodded. "She said 'he's not yours, he's not your real son.'"
"Listen to me, Harry," James placed his hand on his son's shoulder, " Renata is your mother, she is your real mother. She did not give birth to you, but she raised you as her own, she fought for you as her own. That makes her a real mother too. She's just not your biological mother, that's all. But she loves you all the same. I know sometimes she has to give more attention to Ilaria and Monte, but it's only because they're younger. She did the same for you when you were their age, well, if we're being honest, she did a lot more for you because she knew exactly what you needed."
"I feel different though. Before, when you didn't tell me about Lily, I didn't feel it. But now I do."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but your mother and I felt like you had the right to know. We also didn't want you to find out from anyone else. It was best if you heard it from us. Imagine if you didn't know about it today and the Dursleys had mentioned it...if you had found out that way-"
"I would have been angry."
"Exactly, we wanted to avoid that. I understand if things feel a little awkward right now-"
"But I don't want to feel like this!" Harry shook his head in frustration. " I just...I just wish Mum was my biological mother and that's it! I wish I didn't know about Lily, I don't want to know about her! It ruined everything, I was happy! I don't want to know anything about her, especially if she was anything like the Dursleys!"
James was caught completely off guard by Harry's sudden mood swing. He had gone from curious, to feeling a little sad to full out anger. Or maybe it was all anger or all sadness masked by the others. He thought initially when they had told Harry about Lily that he had taken it too well and James had written it off as Harry just being very easy going as a child. But he could see that his son had not reacted well to the news, suddenly feeling like he wasn't a true part of his own family.
And to make matters worse, his introduction to Lily's side of the family had been nothing good. James wanted to tell Harry that Lily had been nothing like the Dursley family. That she had been sweet and kind, especially to those she cared about. She had been a wonderful mother for the little over a year she had gotten with Harry and only wanted what was best for her son.
But Harry didn't give him a chance to say all of that as he ran back to the cottage, slamming the door behind him and making his way to his room to be left alone.
Renata had heard the commotion from the bedroom and made her way out into the hall, just to see Harry's door slam close. She bit down on her lower lip, debating whether to go see if he was fine, but she felt like she had been asking it so many times recently that eventually, he was going to grow tired of her asking. But she simply couldn't bring herself to ignore him either when he was upset.
Approaching the door, Renata gave a soft knock only to hear something hit the floor inside the room. Without asking for permission, she walked inside to see the photo album that James had put together of Lily for Harry when he was younger. It was face down, Lily's face smiling up at the ceiling, completely unaware of the anger that surrounded her photo.
"Harry?"
Harry was seated on his bed, his back facing her as he refused to look in Renata's direction. Slowly, she walked inside and picked up the photo album carefully, rearranging the photographs and the wedding ring that sat in the front pouch.
"Just take that away, I don't want to look at it anymore," Harry told her, " I don't want to see her."
Renata ignored his demands and made her way to sit next to Harry on the bed, placing the album in her lap.
"Harry, you shouldn't be taking your anger out on such things. Your father worked hard to put this together to show you memories of your mother-"
"She's not my mother," Harry replied quietly, " you are."
"She is your mother, Harry, and so am I-"
"I can't have two-"
"Says who?"
It grew quiet for a moment before Harry quickly wiped his sleeve beneath his glasses and turned to face her. Renata's eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying too. So was that it? She hadn't been resting as James had said, she had been crying after the day's events.
"You know, Harry, we don't get a say in who are biological parents are," she began, " and that can be unfortunate for some of us, but in your case, you are very blessed. Your father is an amazing man and is still heavily involved in your life. And your mother, she was a wonderful soul, and if she could be, I know she would definitely be involved in your life as much as possible."
"But what about you-"
"I think if things were to have worked out differently, I still would have somehow ended up playing a role in your life, you would have made it so. That's what I believe. Lily didn't have a say in her absence, Harry, and from what I heard she was very dedicated to you. That makes her a mother, even if she is not physically here with us anymore."
"But Dad says she's related to the Dursleys and we saw them-"
"Being related to bad people doesn't make us bad people. I think you need to learn more about Lily to appreciate her. I never had the chance to meet her but I appreciate her very much. Without her, I wouldn't have you. It's how I think, very similar to my parents. They weren't good people, but without them, I wouldn't have Adelmo, at least, I wouldn't have the same Adelmo. And without Lily, I wouldn't have the same you."
"You would have a better one," Harry said, " one like Monte and Ilaria."
"There is no better Harry Potter in any world or universe than the one sitting next to me right now. And I think once you learn more about Lily, you'll see how some of her lives in you and makes you who we all love and adore."
"It won't hurt your feelings if I ask about her? To Dad?"
Renata tilted her head. "Is that what you think? Did you think I would be upset about you asking about her?"
Well, when she said it like that, it sounded stupid.
"No, Harry, of course not. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all, I promise."
And yet, even with his mother's blessing, even with the reassurance that things would get better, Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to learn about Lily just yet.