บท 26: Chapter - 26 : Power Plays and Payback
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Harry sat in the living room, absently staring at the television. The Dursleys had stopped telling us off for joining them to watch the evening news. In fact, they'd stopped talking to us altogether unless absolutely necessary.
"This is depressing," Harry muttered to me. We were both sitting in a wide armchair. The Dursleys had taken up residence on the couch and were determinedly staring at the television screen, despite the fact that it was currently showing an ad for a fruit slicer. Dudley shot us fearful glances every now and then.
"I think it's great," I whispered back. The Dursleys had been too afraid of Harry and I to punish me for my outburst back at the hut. I could tell Uncle Vernon wanted too, though. Whenever he caught my eye these days he turned an ugly shade of purple.
I loved it.
"Watch this," I hissed, grinning mischievously. Harry took in my expression: narrowed eyes and a wicked smile. He blanched.
"Whatever it is, don't do it," he cautioned.
"I won't do anything, Harry," I said soothingly, but it had the opposite effect. Harry sat up straighter. My face must not have looked quite as innocent as I hoped. "Be right back."
I slipped out of my chair and from the living room. Moments later I was back, holding my wand in one hand and a book tucked under my arm. Harry shook his head frantically, but I ignored him, reclaiming my seat and opening the book to a random page.
"Hey Harry," I said at normal volume. Aunt Petunia twitched violently. "Did you know that sometimes residual magic can build up in your wand and discharge at odd times?"
Uncle Vernon's face was slowly going red, which I watched delightedly. Dudley squeaked and pressed up against Aunt Petunia, as if she was going to protect him. He glanced over his shoulder at me and gave a yelp as he saw that I actually had my wand in my hands, twirling it absently around my fingers.
"Something wrong, Dudley?" I asked innocently.
"We're going to bed!" Harry announced loudly, grabbing me and my book and dragging me up the stairs towards our bedroom. I had to smother laughter as I staggered after him. "Are you crazy?" he hissed as we went. "They're edgy now, let's not make it worse!"
"Why not?" I countered. "When did they ever treat us right? I think a little payback isn't totally unjustified. Besides, did you see Uncle Vernon's face?" I laughed. "He looked so mad, but he was too scared to try and toss me in the cupboard!"
"Lorena!" Harry said sharply as we stepped into our bedroom. He shut the door behind us and turned on me. "What's going to happen when they're not nervous anymore? It's not like we can actually use magic here."
"Then I'll back off," I said with a shrug.
"Uncle Vernon's probably keeping a running tally of things to punish us for!" Harry pointed out. He grabbed my upper arms. "Come on, Rena, you want to eat at some point next summer, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do, and I will!" I snapped, tugging free of him. "But in case you've forgotten, they've lorded it over us for all of our lives! And now that we actually have the chance to turn the tables, even for a little while, you're scared!"
"I'm not scared, I'm practical!" Harry disagreed. "It's not like we can actually do anything to them!"
"Maybe not, but I'll settle for them being afraid of me while I can make it last," I said, turning to face the window and staring out at the street. I was still twirling my wand around in my right hand. My free hand came up, rubbing my right upper arm. There was a long, pink scar running down the back.
I remembered when I got it. I was six. I had tripped over the hem of the too-big jeans I'd been wearing and caught myself on a table. I was fine, but I knocked off a vase that had belonged to Uncle Vernon's mother. Small and skinny even then, Uncle Vernon had lifted and thrown me bodily into the cupboard and shut the door. I'd collided with the corner of our bed frame and ripped open my arm. The Dursleys had refused to take me to get stitches.
I had usually taken the worst of the Dursleys anger, and I knew why. It was because Harry did his best to stay under their radar and keep out of trouble. I did too – to an extent. It seemed like I had a limit to how long I could stay submissive and then I couldn't take it anymore. I'd say or do something in retaliation and get in trouble. I remembered being locked in the cupboard when we were eight, and before Uncle Vernon had shut the door, I'd been smiling smugly to myself.
There was some bitter part of me that wanted to make the Dursley's squirm. They'd spent so many years making us cower, and now they were the ones cowering. I appreciated the switch in power. Suddenly I was someone to be feared because I knew what I was capable of. I could possibly turn them into toads or blow them up, and they were terrified of that possibility. It was heady, to suddenly be on top after so many years on the bottom.
I leaned to the side and two owls flew into the room. Hedwig, the snowy owl, took up a perch on top of her cage. My barn owl – named Artemisia after I found it in a textbook – landed on a shelf near me. I reached over, stroking the owl's wings softly.
"Is it wrong to want a little payback?" I asked, wincing as I turned back to face Harry.
Harry frowned. "I guess not, but… just be careful."
I sighed. "Fine, no more fun for poor Rena. I'll be a good little girl for now."
I stripped down to my camisole and crawled into bed. Harry followed me, dragging his Transfiguration textbook with him. I reached over and grabbed my book on Mediwizardry. It was an interesting read. I was finding out how to heal broken noses and stop bloody ones, how to cure headaches, and what to do if you were having trouble sleeping.
"What's that?" Harry asked, realizing that I wasn't reading one of our textbooks. I lifted the book to show him the title. He cocked his head curiously. "Why'd you get that?"
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