Suppression

New Family?

Harry stepped off of the Knight Bus and strode up the walkway to his home. He caught sight of the curtains moving before the door flew open, revealing the large form of his cousin. He couldn't help but grin at the boy as Dudley beckoned him to move quicker.

"Harry, thank God you're home," Dudley clapped Harry's back, "I missed your cooking mate."

Dudley's confession reduced Harry to a chortle as he thought of the bland, tasteless food that his Aunt Petunia usually cooked. She had been trying for the past year to put Dudley and Vernon on a diet to no success. On more than one occasion Harry caught Vernon sneaking candy bars and ice cream around the house. He shook his head but never let his grin fade as Dudley ushered him into the house to meet his aunt and uncle who were apparently waiting for him.

"Bo— erm... Harry, how was your trip?" Vernon asked as casually as he could.

Harry was gobsmacked at his uncle's greeting and was even more shocked when the man and his wife appeared to smile kindly at him. He had a half thought of drawing his wand and checking to see if they were imperiused before he turned to Dudley who shot him a reassuring glance. "It's alright, mate," he heard Dudley tell him.

"It was," Harry continued to watch his relatives with widened eyes, "fun."

"Well that's good to hear, err...Harry." He could tell Vernon was struggling to call him anything other than 'boy' but he applauded the man's effort.

"Dudley tells us you took care of everything while we were gone," Petunia now spoke. "We would just like to say thank you."

The Knight Bus must have went so fast and ended up traveling to another world. That was the only explanation for this. In all his years of living with them, Harry couldn't remember a time when they actually showed him gratitude. It was so rare that it almost felt weird. "Err—you're welcome?" he tried, not knowing how to approach the situation and feeling as if some sick joke was being played.

"We were also wondering if you could cook dinner for us?" Dudley added. "Not that you have to do, I just really missed your food," he added sheepishly.

At Dudley's hopeful glance, Harry turned to Vernon to find the same hopeful glance on the man's face. He supposed he could whip something up for them. No man should be subjected to aunt Petunia's cooking, he mentally remarked. "Sure, Dud," Harry swept his hands through his hair and looked to Petunia, "If your mother is okay with it."

"Of course, d—dear." Petunia looked strained as she said the words.

"Alright that's it," Harry exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. "Something is definitely wrong with you two."

"I'm not following, Harry," Vernon replied.

"Why are you being nice to me? What happened to you two? Did someone threaten you?" Harry retorted with a barrage of questions while shaking his head wildly. This felt like bizarro-world. He refused to believe his relatives could make a complete one-eighty from who they were for the past fourteen years.

There was a pregnant pause in the room as Vernon and Petunia looked at each before turning to Harry. He could sense they were communicating mentally and recognized when they both nodded their heads slightly, as if deciding to tell him the truth.

"We know about your nightmares, Harry." He made to respond to them only for them to raise their hands, effectively silencing him. "It's quite a terrible thing for you to be going through that. But even though you were dealing with that, you still took care of our Dudders. You fed him, cleaned the house, and made sure everything was normal when we got back. Truthfully, Harry, we never would have been able to leave if you weren't home. Knowing you were home made it safer for Dudley. You did all of those things that were demanded of you and didn't complain, didn't shirk them, and didn't walk away."