[Book 2]
❝ 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭.❞
Serena's fourth year at Hogwarts begins, but with no less drama than the previous year. Although Sirius Black was acquitted of all charges, not...
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• Serena Black •
„Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal."
The tension was high at number four Privet Drive. The imminent arrival of several wizards made the Dursleys irritable and nervous, and Vernon Dursley in particular almost had a stroke when he learned that someone would be coming to pick up Harry at five the next afternoon. At least, that's how Harry had described it in his letter, so Serena was very excited to finally meet the messed up part of his family.
At five o'clock sharp, Remus finally pressed the doorbell of the neat terraced house. Serena let her eyes wander over the small front garden, where small beds of pink flowers had been planted. It actually looked quite friendly. If she didn't know any better, she would probably have assumed that a nice family would live in the small house.
There was silence for a while, with only a bird singing its song, before the door was opened by a man as broad as he was tall. Harry had not exaggerated when he said that his uncle looked like a walrus. There were large sweat stains on his black suit. Although he had obviously dressed up just for them, Serena couldn't help feeling that he was just trying to impress them and thought he was better than they were, the way he looked down on them.
Harry didn't hide his surprise when he saw his former teacher at the door instead of one of the Weasleys or even his godfather.
"You must be Harry's uncle!" Remus eyed him for a moment. Serena credited him for being able to hide the revulsion in his gaze so well, but presumably that had been the very reason why he, of all people, had been sent to fetch Harry. Finally, he held out his hand to Mr Dursley.
Hesitantly, and with a very firm handshake, as if he were about to smash his counterpart's hand, he shook his hand and let him into the house with a rather reluctant expression. Only now did the family seem to notice that he had not come alone, for just before Serena entered, Mr Dursley was about to close the door. Serena grinned at him. "Hello, I'm a friend of Harry's. Serena Black."
She emphasised the surname deliberately, because Harry had told her that his relatives had only let him go because he had threatened them with his mass-murdering godfather. Serena assumed that the news from last summer had not passed them by either, and the Muggle news never reported her father's innocence.
Mr Dursley made a move not to let her in, but it was too late, she was already at the stairs and together with Remus greeted Harry. "Are your things all packed?"
"My trunk's upstairs," he replied, running up a creaking staircase to fetch it. Stealthily, Serena began to look around the entrance hall. It was rather narrow and almost too cramped for the number of people gathered outside. It smelled of cleaning products and flowers. Almost as innocent as the exterior of the house had suggested. But appearances were deceiving. Serena knew for a fact that Harry had lived behind the small, white-painted door under the stairs until he was eleven.
