Vernon Dursley didn't get much sleep during the night after his nephew arrived. He tossed and turned as he went over all that had happened. By morning the overweight man had convinced himself that he had been setup and it was all the freak's fault. He'd been embarrassed in font of his neighbors and had been made a fool of in front of his family as well.
"Probably nothing to this danger that freak was talking about. Most Frenchmen cry wolf at the first sign of something wrong. Bloody useless the lot of them," He thought as he laid in his bed the next morning. "Just trying to take advantage of me. Well I'm not falling for it. As for that freak of a girl being old enough to do magic, I bet she isn't. She might have waved that silly stick around and muttered some words, but what did she really do? Nothing!" As he continued to lay there fuming over the previous night, the smell of sausage and eggs wafted through his open window. He could still feel his wife was in the bed beside him so he knew it wasn't her cooking. "At least the boy knows his place," He thought. "I'll go down and get my breakfast before he and those other freaks try to eat any of it," He climbed out of bed and after throwing on his overly fluffy dressing gown, he started down the steps. When he got to the kitchen he found no one there. Nor was a single dish or pan out of place.
Vernon yanked open the back door and started walking toward the tent. He planned drag the boy out of there and take back any of the food they had stolen from his kitchen. He'd walked within twenty feet of the tent when he remembered that he might have left the water running in the bathroom. He'd made it back to the kitchen only to remember he hadn't been to the bathroom that morning so he couldn't have left the water running. Again he started back across the back garden when he suddenly he grew concerned that he'd left the telly on. He made it back to the kitchen before he remembered that he hadn't been watching the telly that morning.
In the tent the bondmates had heard the backdoor open and Vernon start toward the tent. They watched him reverse course four different times.
"Wonder what he wants?" Harry asked.
"Does it matter?" Gabrielle asked as he put her chin on Harry's shoulder so she could see out.
"As enjoyable as this is, he's only going to get angry soon," Harry replied. He looked at Fleur who was already pulling her wand out. With a quick nod he walked out of the tent and intercepted his uncle before he made it to the Muggle repelling line again.
"BOY!" Vernon snarled through gritted teeth so not to bring the attention of his neighbors.
"Yes Uncle Vernon?"
"Where's my breakfast boy," Vernon snarled. "I can smell my food. Did you sneak in and steal it?"
"We already had the food," Harry said evenly. He knew Fleur had exited the tent and was coming up behind him.
"No you didn't," Vernon said. "I helped carry that blasted tent around here. You didn't bring anything else but your trunks and that ruddy owl."
"Didn't Aunt Petunia tell you about our tent?" Harry asked.
"She said something about a ruddy home, but I know better," Vernon said. "I know you can't do magic and it would take magic to do things like that."
Harry glared at his uncle. "We haven't taken anything of yours, and no we did not need magic to do it. Even if we did, Fleur is more than capable of doing magic."
"Rubbish," Vernon replied. "I bet it was all a bluff. She probably can't do magic either."
"Want me to show him?" Fleur asked.
"Not yet," Harry replied. "But be prepared," then to his uncle. "Believe what you want, but we haven't been in your house this morning," He turned to walk back in to the tent.
"I WILL NOT BE DISMISSED BY A FREAK LIKE YOU!" Vernon roared as he lost his temper. He reached out his hand and grabbed Harry's shoulder to spin him back around. "YOU..AAAHH," The last came when Fleur sent a light blasting hex into the groin of Vernon Dursley. His hand immediately left Harry's shoulder and grabbed the area that had flared in great pain. His face was frozen in mid bellow as he tumbled into a fetal position on the ground.
"You will not touch my bondmate EVER!" Fleur snapped to the man on the ground. Her voice then turned very quiet and threatening as she leaned down to look at Vernon who still hadn't even blinked his watering eyes. "Zat was a very small spell. If you ever touch 'im again I will personally castrate you and feed what comes off to un chien," At the questioning look from Harry. "A dog."
Harry looked down at his Uncle whose eyes were now staring at nothing. "As I said we didn't take anything of yours and as you can see Fleur can do magic and has a bit of a temper herself," He took Fleur by the hand and led her back into the tent where he showed her his appreciation for her defending him.
It took ten minutes for Vernon to start a verbal gasp that slowly turned into a moan and another ten for him to finally rise to his unsteady feet and disappear back into his house at a very gingerly pace. He never once looked back at the tent.
"I think I'll see if Dobby will take me to my parents' house," Hermione said after a while. "I can make sure they are getting along with Winky. I also need to get some summer clothes."
"Can I go with you?" Gabrielle asked. "I would like to see your 'ome."
"Of course," Hermione replied and looked at Fleur questioningly.
"Non, I will stay 'ere with 'Arry."
"You don't have to," Harry said. "I'll be fine."
"But I want to," Fleur responded. "I thought maybe we can go for a walk together."
"Not much to see around here," Harry replied. "But I'll definitely walk with you."
It was only a few minutes later Hermione and Gabrielle appeared in the Granger's living room.
"Hermione, is that you dear," Jean Granger's voice came from upstairs.
"Yes mum," Hermione replied.
Footsteps could be heard racing down the steps. "How can we get her to stop?" She asked frantically. "I'm not sure if she stopped cleaning last night at all. I tried to make up the guest room for her, but she wouldn't let me," Hermione's mother looked desperate. "She said when she got tired she'd sleep in the kitchen, but...but she was still cleaning this morning. I told her to take a break and I'd make her breakfast and she started wanting to know if I wasn't happy with her cooking last night. I didn't know what to do. I also offered her something better to wear and she broke down crying and then started working twice as hard."
Hermione immediately turned to Dobby. "Dobby, please let Winky know that she is not getting clothes and that she is doing a wonderful job. Tell her that my parents are just not used to House-elves."
"Yes Miss Hermione," Dobby replied nodding. "Dobby will do that," He quickly ran past Mrs. Granger up the stairs in search of Winky.
"Did I do something wrong dear?" Jean Granger asked.
"Not intentionally, but yes you did," Hermione replied. "Giving clothes to a house-elf is the method used to dismiss them. When you offered her clothes, you were suggesting she wasn't doing a good enough job."
"But..." Jean started.
Hermione could truly understand her mother's confusion. "You didn't do it intentionally, but Winky was dismissed for something that really wasn't her fault and she considers herself a disgraced elf because of it."
"What can I do?"
"Just let her clean," Hermione replied. "Let her take care of you and your house. Compliment her on jobs well done," Hermione shrugged. "It really is what makes them happy."
"But it doesn't seem right," Hermione's mother said.
....
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