When Harry was finally let out a week later and shoved back into his cupboard, his first priority was to talk to Kiearah and make sure she was alright. After that, he would try to get some food.

"Ki?" he asked the darkness. A green snake poked its head out from under his blanket, yellow eyes shining with relief. "Harry! Oh, Harry! I wassss sssso worried.... What did thosssse horrid mugglessss do to you now?" she asked, doing the snake version of making sure he wasn't hurt. Unfortunately for the Dursleys, his wounds hadn't healed in the time he was outside.

Ki was furious...

"Thosssse mugglessss! Thosssse wretched good-for-nothing mugglessss!" she hissed in anger. Harry tried to calm her, but it was no use. She merely insisted on going to get Harry some healing potions. Ki came back half an hour later, her stomach looking uneven.

"Ki? What's that in your stomach?" Harry asked. Ki replied with the snake version of a dignified sniff, "Wiggenweld potion, here." He watched with a wrinkled nose as she started to puke up a bottle filled with dark green liquid. "Did you have to do it that way?" he asked. Ki sniffed again, "Well, how elssse do you expect me to get it?" she sighed. "Jusssst drink it." When Harry did so, he instantly felt quite a lot better, well... much better than before, anyway...

"Thanks, Ki... Where did you get this?" he asked his scaly friend. "Nowhere important... although... Harry...?" The boy in question looked up, "Mm?" To Harry's surprise, Ki looked downright mischievous, "How much on a ssssscale of one to ten do much you hate the Durssssleysssss right now?"

Harry pondered this, "Ten..." he replied quietly. Ki would have grinned if she could, "Sssstay here!" she hissed, already making her way out of the cupboard. He started to fall in and out of consciousness, lingering pain and lack of sleep catching up with him.

Throughout the next hour, Harry drifted in and out of sleep, catching glimpses of Ki as she set about her work, whatever she was doing. When he finally awoke fully, it was to Ki gently licking his forehead. "Hello, I think that might have been the best sleep I've ever had," he told his serpentine companion with a satisfied sigh.

After he was entirely awake, he turned to the large bottles she had brought. There were ten in total. Harry noticed labels on each of them and started to read. On one bottle of yellow liquid, the label stated: Skele-Gro. One labelled: Draught of Living Death was clear with a lilac tinge. Another Harry recognised as the potion Ki had given him earlier, Wiggenweld potion. A blue potion was labelled as Cure for Boils, this one had a red stamp on it saying:

BOTCHED BREW

There were three bottles of a dark red potion called: Blood-Replenishing Potion. Two bottles of neon orange serum, Harry noted that that was 'Scorching Serum,' and last, there was a small bottle of 'Bilebrew.' Harry turned a questioning glance at Kiearah.

She nodded, "Ssssskele-Gro, usssed for regrowing bonesssss, if usssed incorrectly it could be extremely painful to ingesssst. Draught of Living Death, putssss the drinker into a death-like sssslumber, Wiggenweld potion issss the antidote. If you were to usssse the Draught of Living Death and then the antidote repeatedly, it would caussssesssss the victim to be increasssssingly fearful and sssssleep-deprived."

She had a small, sly smile on now, "Cure for Boilssss, when brewed incorrectly, it doesssss the oppossssite of itsssss intended purposssssse. Inssssstead of curing boilsssss, it createssss boilssss, painful onesss at that. Blood-Replenissssshing Potion, addictive if usssed regularly and can causssse horrid withdrawal sssssymptoms if cut off. Sssscorching Sssserum, createssss unbelievable pain; victimssss ssssay it felt like their bonesssss were alight. Last but certainly not leasssst, Bilebrew, makessss the drinker incredibly ssssick, awfully bitter in tassssste."

Harry looked at her, "You intend for this to be my... revenge, don't you?" He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her, from his first friend. She nodded, almost uncertain, "Yessss, I do..." Harry watched his friend, emotions swirling in his eyes.

Harry grinned.

~•~•~•~

With determination glinting in his eyes, Harry grabbed a paperclip and started to pick the lock on his cupboard. He wrapped Ki around his shoulders and stepped into the hallway, bringing his potions with him.

First, he crept into Dudley's bedroom. No one was home, but he still felt the need to be stealthy. This place had never been safe for Harry. He snatched some balloons from Dudley's desk. He started to fill up the balloons full of blue, boils cure potion; he was creating potion water balloons.

However, he knew the Dursleys would be back soon, so, balloons in hand, he positioned himself by the door, waiting. Just ten minutes later, the door clicked, announcing the arrival of his prey. Harry aimed and...

...fired! His first hit was Vernon, who fell to the ground howling in pain as great big boils made themselves known all over his body. The next to come through the door, not having noticed his father yet, was Dudley. The little whale fell screaming just like his pig of a father.

Petunia noticed the screams and ran through the door. Harry slammed the door behind her, trapping her. He turned to the woman in question, "Hello, aunty, how are you?" he asked pleasantly. She screamed at him, "You! Boy, what have you done!?" He smiled darkly, "Oh, please!" His voice took a dangerous tone, "It's nothing worse than you've done to me..."

Petunia stamped her foot, "Stop this at once, boy!" Harry rolled his eyes, "No." His aunt was outraged, "No!? No!?! You'll regret saying that!"

"No, I don’t think I will." Harry's voice was steady, but there was an edge to it that Petunia had never heard before. "You’ve had control over me my whole life. You, Vernon, and Dudley. But things are changing." He took a step closer, his eyes glinting with anger and steady determination. "You have no idea what I could be capable of."

He paused, a flicker of something darker passing over his face before he continued, his voice almost cheerful. "As a matter of fact, why don't we find out together?"

Petunia took a step back, her eyes flickering between her writhing family and her nephew, "B-but Harry... we-we're family! You-you can't do this...." Harry's bright resolve faltered, leaving a cold expression in its place, half-hidden anguish lining his features. His voice trembled with pain, with anger barely hidden. "Family? Really? You think you can call yourself family after all you've done?"

"Family is a term you've tarnished. Family doesn't starve their own. Family doesn't beat their own! Family doesn't treat their own like dirt!! YOU ARE NOT FAMILY TO ME; YOU ARE MERELY THE PEOPLE I LIVE WITH, MY RELATIVES! You are NOT my family, you never have been and never will be! You will PAY for what you've done." His voice broke as he finished his sentence, letting anger fill the cracks in his heart.

Petunia took another step back. For who she saw standing in front of her was not the abused, submissive nephew she had once known. What she saw was Lily's son. She saw a powerful young wizard with a dark glint in his eye. She saw Lily.

"Harry, please, have mercy." She begged Lily's son. He laughed mirthlessly, voice trembling slightly as he spoke, anger simmering at the surface, "Mercy? Did you ever show me any? You had the chance to protect me, to love me like a son. But you chose to let me suffer. You chose to turn a blind eye to the abuse. I have just one question for you, Petunia Dursley, why?"

Petunia shook as a memory of a similar interaction came to her, with a witch, a witch with long red hair and fiery eyes.

You had the chance to stand by me, to protect me against the prejudice I face in the wizarding world, like a sister should. Instead, you chose to belittle me, call me names. I have one question for you, Pet, why?

That was the last time she saw Lily. Now she could see her clear as day, speaking through her son. Those words had haunted Petunia long after her sister's death, why? Petunia had looked down sorrowfully, avoiding her sister's stare, avoiding her sister's vivid green eyes, the same eyes that stared at her now.

Harry looked at her cowering form. "If you can't even answer that, then I don't know why I asked." He looked back to Vernon and Dudley, who he'd forgotten about until that moment, kicking the great lump Petunia called a husband. Vernon looked up at him, malice shining through pain,

"Boy! You'll pay for this! You had better heal me and Dudley right now, boy! Or else!!"

A flicker of hidden anger flashed in Harry's eyes, so fast that if you weren't paying attention, you would have missed it. "No, I don't think I will pay for this, because what I see here is you, on the ground, writhing in pain, and me, standing above you. You are currently at my mercy, and I don't know how much I want to give you."

He took a step back, surveying the people who had hurt him so much. "Listen to me," he started softly, his words filling the air. "You will feel a mere fraction of what I've felt. Maybe then you will understand, though I doubt you ever will..." Petunia whimpered, "Please, Harry, I can change. We can change. Just stop this madness."

Harry laughed darkly, "Change? Maybe a younger, more naive version of myself would allow you to try. Now, however, I know you can't change. You have no excuse to ask for change, for forgiveness." He shook his head, "No, things are going to be different around here from now on."

"I have a few rules to enforce here... Think you can follow them?" Vernon took this chance to speak up, having regained his might, "No, boy! You will stop this madness at once! I don't know what you think you're playing at, but-!" Vernon was cut off when Harry sharply kicked him in the side. Coincidentally, this side happened to be the same side that was absolutely infested with boils.

"You'll regret that, boy! You-" Harry cut him off again with a disappointed tut, "Now, now, Vernon, that won't do! Remember, I have the high ground here, not you. And if you want to get rid of those boils, you're gonna need the cure, aren't you?" Mutely, Vernon nodded.

"Good. Now, on your knees. You too, Dudley." Both of his relatives complied, wanting to be free of their ailment. However, instead of the Wiggenweld potion, Harry poured about twenty drops of Blood-Replenishing Potion into their mouths.

He smirked slightly, "Very good. Now, open up again for the cure." They gaped at him, giving him just enough time to slip some Wiggenweld into both of their mouths. They coughed and spluttered for a moment before Vernon seemed to remember what he was going to ask. "What did you just give us before?" Harry merely shook his head, "Now, now, Vernon, where would the fun be in telling you? I think you'd better just find out, no?"

Before either Vernon or Dudley could reply, he flicked some more boils potion on them. They yelped in pain, falling back onto their fat behinds. "Now, I think we'd better establish some new rules." Vernon looked outraged at his nephew trying to control him.

Unfortunately for him, the tiny flick of boils cure that said nephew had just used was rather painful, and he didn't voice his anger in fear of getting another splash. Harry looked at his 'family,' seemingly thinking about something. He turned to Petunia, the decision made. His voice wavered only slightly as he spoke.

"For my dear aunt, your rules are as follows: you will now sleep in Dudley's room. You will cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you will... you will abuse me no longer." He turned to Ki for reassurance, uncertain in his actions. "You follow those rules, and we won't have a problem. You don't follow them, and there will be consequences. Understand?" She gave a small, nervous nod, not wanting to find out what those consequences were.

He now turned to look at his cousin, the boy who had been taught to hate him, the boy who had done so without question or complaint. "Dudley," the boy in question wavered in fear and pain from the potion. "You will sleep in your second bedroom from now on, a-and... you will study for school. I won't be doing your homework anymore. And finally, you'll leave me, and the other kids, alone while we're at school. If you don't follow these rules, you will receive consequences, just like your mother."

Dudley looked outraged at being ordered around, "Mum! Dad! Get him to stop!!!" he whined. Harry locked eyes with the small whale he called a cousin, "Enough! Dudley." He commanded, his voice clear. The boy in question wavered at the sharp tone Harry used, "I will NOT have you whining and whinging anymore. You will do as I say or suffer the consequences. End. Of. Story. Understand?" Dudley nodded, sufficiently cowed.

Harry now turned to the other whale, "And you, Vernon, you have abused me for so long, taught me to be the cowed, submissive boy you once knew... No longer will you hurt me. No, things are changing here. You don't get to boss me around anymore," he paused, letting his words sink in, stunning emerald glinted with black as he watched them, driven to his mercy. "You will now sleep in my old cupboard. You and Petunia will split my chores between you both, and you will not lay another hand on me ever again. Am. I. Understood?"

Vernon trembled as he nodded his head, but Harry wasn't satisfied. "No, I want it verbally," he commanded, his voice firm and unwavering. Vernon hesitated, his face contorted with anger and humiliation. "Fine," he spat out, his voice laced with venom. "I understand."

Harry's gaze remained steady, his resolve unyielding. "Good," he replied, a hint of satisfaction creeping into his tone. "Now remember, any deviation from these rules will result in consequences. Clear?" Vernon clenched his fists, his pride wounded, but he knew better than to challenge Harry's newfound authority. "Clear," he grumbled, his voice barely audible.

He addressed all of the Dursley family now, "I think you'd better get your bedrooms ready. Off you go." He dismissed them, happy with his newfound freedom.

~•~•~•~

That night, Harry lay in his new bed, staring into space. "Did I do the right thing?" he asked Kiearah, his ever-faithful companion. "You did what needed to be done..."