Author's note: I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to finally get this chapter done – I have had the half-finished draft of it sitting on my desk for ages, although I've had exams so I haven't had much time to do anything much. Thankfully, the school year has finished so I should be able to get loads done over the summer holidays. I'll be going away for a week or so just after Christmas and I won't have access to a computer, so although I will get (hopefully) lots written then I won't be able to type it up and post it. If I don't update before Christmas, I would like to say that I hope that you all have a very merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: Um… I don't even know why I should put this up considering this is a FanFiction site, but everyone else does it, so… I don't own Harry Potter. Sure, I would love to own him, especially Cedric, but I don't.
The Prayer of a Dragon
Chapter 4: Worst Nightmare
Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron flew silently across the darkening sky, their features camouflaged with a cleverly cast Disillusionment charm. Ginny closed her eyes for a small moment, reveling in the crisp, cold air and the wind brushing her face, sending her hair streaming out behind her.
"Gin?" Harry's whisper pierced through the silent night air, seemingly coming from nowhere.
"Hmm?" she whispered back.
"I don't know how the Dursleys are going to react, with me turning up." He gave a nervous laugh. "Can you imagine… four wizards turning up on their doorstep – it would be their worst nightmare come true!"
One minute later the group alighted on the Dursley's carefully manicured lawn, and after making sure that no-one could see them, Hermione got rid of the charm. Together the four of them walked up the front path. Ginny noticed that a sad expression crossed Harry's face as they passed the agapanthuses and he gripped her hand a little tighter, but she chose to say nothing of it.
Ron had a very Fred and George-ish grin on his face. "I remember the last time we here here – that grossly obese cousin of"
"Ron!" Hermione said sharply with a pointed look towards the Dursley's front door.
Ginny caught Harry smiling out of the corner of her eye, and she gave him a quizzical look. "What is it?" she asked, squeezing his hand."
Harry shrugged and gave a light laugh. "Nothing," he said, returning the squeeze. "I just can't wait to see their faces, that's all." He stepped forward and rang the doorbell. "Here we go."
On the other side of the door they heard the rattling of keys and chains. Cautiously, the door was drawn open only as far as the restraining chain would let it, revealing a large moustached face. Uncle Vernon's eyes widened, then the door slammed shut in their faces. Ginny could hear him hissing at his wife. "Petunina – it's him and his… friends…" Some low words were exchanged, but try as she might, Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying. Slowly, the door opened again and the four of them heard Uncle Vernon's voice again, this time directed at them. "What do you want?"
This time it was Hermione who stepped forward. "Mr Dursley," she said, smiling. "I can't tell you what an honour it is to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you from Harry, of course, like what a successful businessman you are. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. My parents are both dentists, so I know just how hard it is to attain success at the moment, especially with the economy the way it is at the moment."
Behind here, Ron was rolling his eyes so extensively that Ginny half-suspected that they might forever disappear into the back of his head.
The door closed again and the rattling of the chain sliding out of place was heard. It opened again, revealing Uncle Vernon looking at them, with Aunt Petunia looking over his shoulder.
"They're not dentists of… your kind, are they?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh no," Hermione said brightly. "They're not magical at all – they are really very normal."
Uncle Vernon shushed her quickly, his piggy eyes frantically searching the street as if he could see the neighbours leaning over their fences in an effort to overhear. "Just come in," he said hastily, opening the door further.
Ginny grinned at Harry as they stepped over the doorstep, making sure that they wiped their feet first. Aunt Petunia, however, had a very sour look on her face, as if something with a particularly bad smell had just been smeared all over her spotless floors. When all gour of them had stepped inside, Uncle Vernon, after what looked like a moment of painful indecision, finally ushered them into the living room. Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron all took a seat on one of the couches, whilst the Dursleys sat on the couch opposite from them. With a wry smile, Ginny noticed that Harry's infamous cousin, Dudley, had sidled into the room very uneasily, with his hands clamped tight over his backside. He took a long look at Hermione once he had been seated, although she was inspecting her fingernails and appeared not to notice.
Uncle Vernon cleared his throat. "I suppose you'd better tell me why you're here" he growled, his piggy eyes flitting to each one of them.
Harry took the opportunity to introduce the others. "This is one of my best friends, Ron Weasley," he said, indicating to Ron, who raised his hand briefly. "You've already met him, though. And this is Hermione, another one of my best friends. She's the brightest witch of our age and has Mu… I mean, non-magical parents." Hermione smiled at the Dursleys, who didn't return the gesture, and Harry moved across to Ginny who leant closer into him. "This is Ginny Weasley, my girlfriend," he said, smiling down at her.
Uncle Vernon scratched his ear. "I'm sure that's all very well," he said. "But what are all of you doing here? I thought that we had finally seen the last of you! I mean…" he added hastily as Ron uncrossed his legs and suddenly sat up straighter, "We didn't think that you would be coming back." Uncle Vernon paused before asking one more question. "So, are you going to tell me why you're here?"
All eyes turned to Harry, who sat silently on the couch, staring down at his clasped hands. After a moment of silence he looked up and stared directly into Uncle Vernon's eyes, who coughed uncomfortably. Harry swept his gaze to Aunt Petunia, who fidgeted on the couch and quickly looked away. Harry sighed and turned to Hermione. "Can you cast a spell to make sure that no-one hears anything?" She nodded and drew out her wand. The Dursleys flinched but stayed where they were. Uncle Vernon opened his mouth and looked for a moment as if he would dearly love to say something, but thought better of it and closed it. Hermione muttered something and a growing, silvery bubble flew out of her want and expanded, enveloping all the occupants of the room, It then faded until only the people inside it could see it.
With a reassuring nod from Ginny, Harry proceeded to tell the Dursleys everything. He started from when he was a small first year and went right up to their presence in the Dursley's living room.
When Harry finished, a long silence descended upon the room. The only sound that could be heard was the steady patter of rain outside, but even that sounded strangely muted due to the spell that Hermione had cast. The three Dursleys looked like they were struggling to take in all of this information. After a while, Uncle Vernon spoke with difficulty. "So… this Bumbleydore is dead, then? The no-good headmaster of your rotten school – the one who was here last year. Well, it's good riddance to bad rubbish, I'll say, and don't point that thing at me!"
Harry was standing, his wand drawn and pointing directly at Uncle Vernon, his face livid with rage. "Don't force me," he said through clenced teeth. Aunt Petunia gave a muffled shriek.
Ginny leapt to her feet. "Harry, don't" she said. "They're not worth the effort."
Uncle Vernon's eyes flicked momentarily to Ginny, then back to Harry again. "She's right, Harry," he said frantically. "We're your only family, you wouldn't hurt us, would you? What have we done to you?"
Scowling, Harry lowered his wand. "I can't believe you," he said. "But Ginny's right. You're not worth the effort." He stood up and pocketed his wand. "Come one," he said. "Let's go."
Aunt Petunia stood up hastily. "Wait!" She turned to her surprised husband. "He and his friends can stay until July the 31st – his birthday, can't they?" she said nervously. "After all he's been through, surely we owe him what little protection we can give him."
Uncle Vernon glared at her, his moustache bristling. "I guess they can stay," he said grudgingly. Ginny looked at him, surprised, then she glanced at Harry who seemed to be mirroring her expression.
"Thanks…" Harry said cautiously. Aunt Petunia refused to meet his eyes.
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Draco didn't know how long he had been lying on the ground, but eventually he heard footsteps coming towards him. A cold voice sounded in his ear. "I have something I want you to do."
Painfully, Draco got to his knees and bowed low. "I will do anything you require me to do, my Lord."
Unseen to Draco, Voldemort's lipless mouth stretched into a thin, cruel smile.
Author's note: I hope you liked this chapter! One more thing though – I know that loads of people have read this story, but I still get hardly any reviews. I really, really, really, want to know what other people think of the story, even if they hate it. I hate to do this, but if I don't get reviews then I will stop posting this story because I don't see any point continuing with it. Sorry, to do that, but I don't want to waste my time writing when no-one cares.