He nodded, apparently too busy watching the waves to see her face glow with faint hope. "Yeah, you and a couple of people living around here have this incredibly light blue thread system. Most of it seems compressed into a tight ball though, not flowing or warping like mine does. Not really sure what the color means."
Petunia took a deep breath. "So... what do you mean by... I mean." She took another breath and tried again, focusing on the feeling of sand as she sat down. "Harry, you said something about what I did here? This place is just from when I was a girl and we visited the beach."
He nodded pointing at the waves. "Yeah, it looks like your memories are the wave peaks. It is kind of a nifty way of storing your past really, each memory can roll over you this way."
She turned to the ocean and really examined the waves. As she got closed to one, the wave seemed to pause, and the rush of ocean water turned into quiet voices as a little girl... HER, as PETUNIA played house with her dolls. She stepped back, watching the wave break on the shore and go back to the sea.
Harry laid back on the sand. "Anyway, I guess I can't get away with helping you since you saw me. Just don't tell Uncle what I did, ok? I just wanted to make sure you two were alright, I didn't want to make a big deal out of this." Petunia picked up a hand of sand. Each grain felt like an emotion, many of them mild like the heat of the sun or the feeling of cat fur. "Harry... are we in my mind?"
He looked at her oddly. "Of course. You were here before I accidentally soaked myself trying to heal you. Haven't you been here before?"
She looked into the blue sky. "A couple of times. I just assumed it was a really nice dream."
Harry nodded. "It is one, sort of. Time passes faster here, or at least it does in my mind. I even built things there to hold back the bad stuff and protect my most precious moments. It helps me keep calm. Although I should warn you that you should avoid making any memories into living things." He rubbed his elbow. "I made a creature, and he has a bit of a short temper. Thank goodness I didn't make a zoo or anything." Petunia couldn't really handle that conversation right now, so she ignored it and focused on the world. "How... how do you change it?"
Harry reached over and grabbed her hand. With his other hand, he reached INSIDE HER PALM. Before she could properly freak out, she saw him pull a light blue thread out. "Use this. You don't seem to have nearly as many as I do, so it will probably take you longer... but that blue thread is similar to what I do."
He waved a hand and THOUSANDS of huge, green cords of light arced into the sand. As her eyes cleared there were two beach chairs and a table with cold juice drinks on it. He settled into one. "Obviously it is easier to use your threads here, since you can actually see them. In the real world I can see them by putting a thread into my eyes, but your power seems lighter, thinner. It would probably hurt you to do that. Practice here instead." Petunia couldn't look away from her own light blue thread. When he had pulled it out, she had felt a sudden and sharp pain... but now it felt so warm. her whole arm felt like a hug was wrapped around it. She absently fell into the chair besides Harry.
He watched as her thread began moving around, like a child trying to draw her first tree or finger paint. He guessed her lack of magic had to do with the sphere inside her. Unlike his, hers had some sort of hard shell made of light holding it all in. It had actually stung his fingers a bit pulling that tiny thread out of her, but the happiness he could feel from her at holding at tiny piece of magic was worth it to him. He stood, getting ready to leave. "Aunt Petunia, I will see you later. If you ever want to get here on purpose, just use that thread and connect it to your brain. It is how I do it." She looked up at the boy from her chair, and he pretended to not see the tears. "But... it is all a dream, right?"
He grinned. "Dream world, not a dream. Practice here, learn to get here on purpose, and become great at it. When you can control that thread without thinking, maybe I can get a second one to come out."
Her smile warmed him as he left. He wished he could do the same for Vernon, but his threads felt so cold, like stone. He was worried that any adjustment would break them, not turn into threads.
He may not have helped heal her body, but maybe she could now work on her mind.
Harry retreated to his world, then back to reality. Moving away from the sleeping, crying form of his Aunt, he headed to Dudley's room.
Frankly he was a little stunned at how clean it was. Sure there was some pirate toys scattered on the floor, but that was the point, he could see the FLOOR. The huge heaps from only a day or two ago had vanished, although he probably shouldn't be this shocked having recycled most of it.
The room without piles of crud felt completely different, like a new room entirely.
He reached the bed, and quickly repeated the actions he had done on Vernon. After a second of thought, he also strengthened the boy's heart, his legs, and increased his metabolism a bit. Training someone to eat less was really hard, especially without emotional support. The faster metabolism would make everything a bit easier for the boy... no, for Harry's soon-to-be brother.
Dudley barely moved, but already his skin didn't seem as pale as blood pumped more easily through his body. Harry retreated downstairs. He hadn't intended on stopping a heart-attack or helping someone reach their threads, but then again when had any of his plans gone as scheduled? At least he felt like something had gone well.
He got into his covers and touched the wall, the glowing light dimming as he prepared to go back to work in his mind. As he fell asleep, he couldn't help a small grin. Jim had been right, helping his family had made him feel great inside... just thinking about calling them family made his heart happy. His mom wouldn't have hated that.
He drifted asleep as his magic moved him back to his purple library. Pulling a science book out for review, Harry sighed and sat back in his chair. Break over, back to the 'joys' of education.
Harry woke up suddenly. All he could feel was pressure, and... He realized he was being hugged. Petunia had both arms him, hugging him tightly, mumbling words of 'thank you' repeatedly. Harry awkwardly hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in arms. "Are you ok Aunty?"
She sniffed and seemed to somehow hug him tighter. "Harry, you... I don't even know how, but you gave me something Lily was never able to, no matter how she tried. HOW did you give me magic?"
Harry was a little confused. "I didn't, Aunt Petunia. I am pretty sure you always had blue threads in you. It was just... really tightly wound up. Like a really tight ball. I pulled a thread out of it, thats all."
Petunia gave him another squeeze, then backed up and blew her nose in some tissues. "I don't know anyone else who has even seen threads, Harry, much less could help someone else like that. Thank you dear." He awkwardly shrugged. "So, what are we doing today?"
She seemed to compose herself, and take a deep breath. "Well, after I clean the place up a bit and we have breakfast, we are going to go to a couple of thrift stores and a flea market or two. Vernon also gave me some cash before he went to work so we could pick up some wood for your furniture." She wiped her eyes clear as she tried to come up with a good game plan for the day. "Probably will have to have the wood delivered, although the clothing will be easier to carry once you recycle it down a bit."
After a small argument about who would get to cook, Harry managed to win a rock paper scissors contest. He had always liked cooking, he just enjoyed eating more... and now he would get to do both.
Harry moved to the kitchen, absently waving a hand as pans, raw ingredients, and tools began floating towards him from various places around the room.
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