Heart and Soull

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They went to the front door, at which Harry raised his hand and knocked, an action which surprised Jean-Sebastian He would have thought, having lived there for many years, Harry would just walk in the front door, but it appeared that either something had happened which had revoked his rights to such an action, or he had never really felt welcome in the first place.

At length, the door swung open, revealing a young boy about Harry's age. Though Jean-Sebastian knew he must be Harry's cousin, there was virtually no family resemblance, as the boy was stocky to Harry's rather slender frame—the two also had very different features.

"Hi, Dud," Harry greeted the young man somewhat diffidently.

The young man's eyes narrowed and he glanced over his shoulder in a furtive manner. "Harry, what are you doing here?"

"We've come to pick up my things and talk to your Mum and Dad," Harry said, his voice quavering slightly in nervousness.

"Dad doesn't want you here anymore. He said you're not welcome."

Jean-Sebastian decided it was time to intervene. "Mr. Dursley, I assure you we will not be staying long. I simply need to speak with your parents, after which Harry and I will leave. Will you please call them?"

Dudley appeared to consider this momentarily before opening the door fully and motioning for them to follow him. "You can sit in the living room—I'll call Mum and Dad," he said over his shoulder.

Following Harry, Jean-Sebastian entered the house. A short walk through the entranceway brought them to a comfortable living area filled with Muggle gadgets. As a Pureblood, Jean-Sebastian had grown up in the wizarding world, but he had more knowledge about the Muggle world than most of his contemporaries. After all, they shared the world with Muggles and were vastly outnumbered by them—it seemed only prudent to know about them and their customs. The one thing which did catch his attention was the lack of anything which would suggest that more than one boy had ever lived in this house—there were pictures of the young Dursley aplenty, but not a single image of Harry could be found in the entire room. Such an oversight did nothing to calm Jean-Sebastian's fears over the manner in which the young man had been treated over the years.

They took a seat on a couch, and it was only moments before an enormous man with a walrus mustache and a thin woman with blond hair entered into the room. Their faces clearly showed their anger, but they kept their temper in check with some effort.

"Boy! I told you when you left that you were no longer welcome in this house, and now you're bringing your freak friends with you?"

Jean-Sebastian's face went stony, and he regarded the fat man as though he were a slug. "Mr. Dursley, I presume?"

The fat man grudgingly nodded his head and glared at them. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get out!"

"Mr. Dursley, I am Jean-Sebastian Delacour, and believe me, nothing will please me more than to take Harry away from here and never return," Jean-Sebastian responded, his voice the icy chill of a winter wind. "But Harry's circumstances have changed, and I think you have a right to know. Shall we sit and discuss this like adults?"

"We don't care what happens to the freak," Mrs. Dursley spoke up with some distaste. "Our Dudders was almost killed by those creatures. Having him here is dangerous."

A scornful laugh escaped Jean-Sebastian's lips and he stood and turned the full force of his glare on the bad-mannered couple. "Do you really think you could stop Dumbledore if he decided Harry needed to stay here again?"

The woman's face became white at his suggestion, while the fat man's face purpled in anger. "We don't care! Get out!"

"Sit down!" Jean-Sebastian thundered, whipping out his wand and pointing it at them. They paled and muttered but sat as asked, although their faces still showed the petulant anger of truly small-minded people.

"Now, we will sit down and converse like rational adults," Jean-Sebastian enunciated clearly. "There will be no further outbursts about 'freaks' or any of the other names you have called Harry over the years."

His voice was stern and uncompromising, and although Jean-Sebastian had the impression Harry's relatives had rarely been spoken to in such a manner, they grudgingly nodded their heads in assent while stealing apprehensive glances at his wand, which was still held in his hand.

"Thank you. I understand there was an incident this summer before Harry left your care."

At their nods, Jean-Sebastian continued. "He has been exonerated for his actions during that incident, but due to certain circumstances, his guardianship has changed, and he will no longer be required to live with you."

He witnessed as the man and woman exchanged a glance with each other, triumphant grins passing across their face.

"Good!" the woman finally exulted. "We never wanted the little fre… our nephew to live with us anyway—that Headmaster of his forced him on us and we had no choice."

"We want nothing further to do with your strange world!" the man continued, his voice forceful and unpleasant. "You people aren't natural, and his parents weren't any better. We'll be happy to be rid of him!"

Jean-Sebastian leaned back and studied the three of them for a moment, feeling more resignation and annoyance at their attitude than any true anger—he had seen this behavior many times, although since he was a magical, he had usually seen magicals disparaging Muggles rather than the reverse. Still, it did not take a genius to see the blatant bigotry and hatred these people harbored for something they could not possibly understand. It was good that Jean-Sebastian had intervened when he had, as this life could not have been comfortable for Harry.

Glancing sidelong at his new ward, Jean-Sebastian considered the situation and wondered if the situation had been what he had seen here, or if the Dursleys had been more… physical in their treatment of the young boy. His eyes narrowed as he saw Harry's slumped posture and the way he would not meet his relatives' eyes. It was difficult to tell, but Jean-Sebastian determined he would get to the bottom of it and swore that these ignorant people would pay if they had abused the young man.

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