"Uncle Vernon's sister, Aunt Marge, came over tonight. She was supposed to come a few weeks later but apparently word got back to her that I was leaving for good and it seems like the Dursleys wanted one last Pick On Harry Day. She's awful. Worse than the other three combined and I still have some scars on my legs from where she used to let her dogs bite me." Shiva's expression darkened quite a bit as she perked up, the coffee in her hands mostly forgotten. "I knew it would be bad so before dinner I grabbed some of my rune stones just in case I ended up needing them. She started going on about how I was incurably insane and evil and other such stuff but I'm used to that so I mostly ignored it. Then she started talked about Mum and Dad and you and how it was good they had died and how she hoped that you and I would also die as soon as we got in the car to leave. I…got a bit angry at that point."
"Go on." Shiva's face was carefully neutral though Harry noticed the way her hands were clenched around the coffee mug.
"I started yelling back at them all for the first time in years. Vernon screamed back while Dudley and Petunia just sat there. I yelled again. Marge…err…she um…she said it would've been better if I'd died as a baby but that wasn't what set me off…"
"And what did set you off?"
"She um…she started to say that the only reason you were taking me in was because I was having sex with you…I kinda lost my temper at that point. The windows blew out, the table flew across the kitchen, and Aunt Marge was knocked into the wall. At that point I got my wild magic under control but I wasn't thinking clearly so I grabbed my Boomstone – the one that makes a lot of noise like a boombox – set it off, partly to make them pay and partly to scare off Ripper. Uncle Vernon started coming for me after it shut off so I switched for the Concussor and threatened him. He backed off, I unlocked the cupboard with my trunk with the Lockpick and left. It was all over in under two minutes but it was still a lot of magic…" Harry was wringing his hands by that point. He hadn't even noticed Shiva had gotten up until he was pulled into another hug.
"You don't have to defend my honor, Harry, but thank you for doing so. Everything for the guardianship is done, signed and ready. I'm just picking up the official document first thing, but it was all already legal by the time I went to bed last night," she whispered to him. "You are never going back to them, Harry. Nobody deserves to be raised by people like that. I can't get them locked up, but we will spend some time thinking about how to make them pay." Harry nodded and Shiva pulled back. "Okay now let's get you to bed. We can go talk to Madame Bones and Hopkirk in the morning after I get the paperwork okay?"
"Can I say hi to Tonks while we're there?" Harry asked perking up a bit.
Shiva laughed. "Sure, kid. Figured you'd be sweet on Hermione not going for the older women!"
"That's not – I mean – she's just nice and funny is all!" Harry sputtered.
"Uh huh."
"And I want to make sure she's okay!"
"Yup."
"Besides neither she nor Hermione are interested in me," Harry finished, crossing his arms.
Shiva slapped a hand to her face and shook her head. "Kid, it is far too early in the morning for me to try and knock some sense into you. Both about women and your general romantic suitability.
"Your bedroom is the first door on the right, mine is the last of the left and the loo is at the end of the hall. Towels are in the closet in case I'm gone already by the time you wake up and there's cereal in the cabinets," Shiva scratched her head. "I think that's about it. Push the brick on the top left of the fireplace to open the Floo for anything beyond calls though I'd prefer to be here if you're going to let someone in. I've put wards on the window so Hedwig and any post owls can get in or out on their own. Also…wait to read the Prophet in the morning till I get a chance to talk to you about it tonight okay?"
"That bad?" Harry asked looking worried.
Shiva grimaced. "Well, it's not like Two Face showed up again but yeah it's kinda bad. It's also rather complicated so I'd prefer to talk about while fully awake. Is that cool?"
"Not Voldemort?" Shiva shook her head. Harry sighed, but nodded in agreement. "As long as you don't just ignore it later, I can live with waiting."
"Sweet." Shiva moved to give him a quick hug and ruffled his hair before heading down the hall. "Night, kid. Sleep well. Try not to stress too much. Night, Hedwig."
"Goodnight, Shiva." Harry looked around the apartment with a smile. For the first time in his life he actually felt like he was home.
Harry had just finished his shower and thrown some clothes on when Shiva walked back in the front door. A manila envelope was held in one hand while her other was balancing a large apple pie. "Brought food!" she called out.
Harry jumped up to grab the pie his mouth already watering. "You are amazing."
"Why thank you," Shiva mock preened. "Tarts are harder to find and I can't bake to save my life. So you get pie instead. I got the paperwork and spoke to Amelia Bones. We have an appointment for 10 which gives us some time to get you clothes that fit. Do you want to go in Muggle or wizard stuff?"
"Err, the only wizard robes I have are Hogwarts…"
"I just said I was taking you shopping, kid," Shiva chuckled. "We only have time to hit up one store first though so: Muggle or wizard?"
"Would it be okay if we went in Muggle stuff?"
"Sure. I need a new set of jeans anyway," Shiva shrugged.
"I thought you were a pureblood?"
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