When Harry Potter's letter arrived, addressed to the 3rd Bedroom #4 Privet Drive, at the start of July, Petunia Dursley was pleased as punch. Her freaky nephew had been doing freakly things since he'd been unceremoniously dumped on her porch in the middle of a cold winter's night and she was glad that there would be someone to take him for the school term and give her a break, she could handle holidays but she was ready to send the boy off to school tomorrow if it meant she could get a break.
Mind you, Petunia loved her nephew, almost as much as she loved her son, but the boy's innate helpfulness oftentimes led to freaky accidents like the time he spelled her garden to grow rare flowers after he overheard her complaining to Vernon about Mrs. Number 6 always winning the neighbourhood gardening competition. She had had to put up with news crews on her lawn for weeks as they camped out to wait for a flower to bloom, she had nearly gone so crazy she'd vented to her sister-in-law, Marge, who was as usual an entirely unhelpful person.
In any event, Petunia wanted him at magic school yesterday so he could learn control. She also wanted him and Dudley away from each other for a bit as the two had decided they were heroes like in the comic books Marge had gotten the boys and would often fight neighbourhood bullies together but she also added that to the tally for why she needed to send Dudley to boarding school which he was leaving for on August 31st.
So, donned with Harry's school list and the knowledge of the location for Diagon Alley, Petunia set out along with her son and nephew for London, armed only with a credit card and enough cash for the parking lot because surely the bankers had figured out a way to make them work since every bank she knew loved nothing more than money.
The trip from Surrey to London had been quiet enough though she could hear the boys plotting against Piers Polkis again, she didn't like his mother so she pretended to be unaware of the scheming. They'd parked, had time for an early lunch at a very nice cafe and now fed and sufficiently caffeinated, Petunia Dursley strod into Diagon Alley one hand each in a vice grip on the overeager boys who had also been fed and was now ready to explore.
"Bank first, we need some money and mind your manners boys." She said dragging them down the alley beside her and into Gringotts. Once inside she slowed, looking for an information desk before heading to an open teller, surely one of them could help.
"Good day, welcome to Gringotts. Key please." Said the teller, a goblin who's gender Petunia was unwilling to guess. They had a remarkable beard but so did all the other tellers and she recalled from childhood only some were male.
"Um, my nephew's parents died so I'm not sure if he has an account but he got a letter for that school"
Here she was interrupted. "Which school?"
"There are multiple schools? Well um, Hogwarts." She declared.
"Not the best one. If you care about your child's education you'll pick one on the continent. Go to Inheritance Testing over there." The teller pointed to a white door off to the side.
"Thank you. Um, what school would you suggest?" She asked as she stepped away.
"Beauxbatons. Now go, you're holding up the line. Next!"
With that she headed off to the door where she and Dudley were ushered to a seat while Harry was taken off down the hall without a word being said. She vaguely remembered her sister's unpleasant friend, Slade or Snap, saying to never argue with the goblins as they knew best. Fortunately, the waiting room had books available for her and Dudley to read, including one that gave some decent information about the world's best schools, both magical and non-magical. Apparently Beauxbatons was French, which they all spoke fairly well due to learning at school and the numerous weekend trips they made there, it also ranked much higher than Hogwarts which was in the Scottish Highlands. Her nephew hated the cold and would probably kick up a fuss if banished to Hogwarts for the winter term, he could also start at Beauxbatons in a week if he wanted to and parents/guardians were allowed to visit and take their kids home for weekends if they wanted, same as the neighbouring school she now planned for Dudley's attendance which offered a better education than Smeltings for a similar cost, as far as Petunia was concerned this school was a better pick than Hogwarts which was cold, drafty, didn't promote familial involvement and frankly had less classes. Beauxbatons would teach Harry enough control that with his and Dudley's new schools being near enough that the boys could visit each other regularly, he could visit his cousin without fear of accidentally magicking things to move. Though she had gotten used to it by now, her broom and mop still cleaned the floors on their own and it had been years since he'd magicked them.
A few minutes, no more than ten, later Harry and a goblin came out the room, both frowning.
"Mrs. Auntie, come with me. Ganglag, feed and watch the children."
The goblin beaconed Petunia to follow and headed back for the room.
As soon as she was seated, they began. " Your nephew had a soul shard in him Mrs. Auntie, foul dark magic. It had begun wrapping around his magic which likely led to uncontrolled incidents in his childhood but it's been removed and he will recover. His eyesight should also improve but give it a few days. Anyway, as I'm sure you're aware, his name is Harry Potter and his parents left him everything. The Potter banker would give his favourite axe to talk to you as there's a lot of investments he wants to use the money on, fortunately Lord Fleamont Potter, your nephew's grandfather, had left a list of appropriate ventures to invest in as well as rules for handling the family's name and properties so his inheritances haven't fallen into ruin in the period between his death fourteen years ago and now, actually no one has really even touched the accounts save for a regular withdrawal Mr. James Potter set up for his friend, a Remus Lupin, and the full payment for Harry Potter's Hogwarts education shortly after his birth. Please note I'm only telling you these things Mrs. Auntie because your nephew as the heir has approved you to make these decisions and you need to understand that money is best spent making money."
"That's a lot to take in." Petunia sighed, then got right into it. "I know you said he'll recover but is my nephew ok? What can I do for him? Is he in pain?"
"He's absolutely fine and is in no pain. He will need to eat more in the next few weeks and his eyesight should be retested in a week or so. He may also sleep more, but Goblin healers are among the best in the world so he will have no lasting effects, save any special skills he may have picked up. We've also given him his full medical and all the shots he needs for Hogwarts plus some additional non-magical vaccines. We can do the same for you and your son as well, the Potter family medical plan covers a family of five. We can do full non-magical medicals under our private health care line Mrs. Auntie." The goblin slid over a brouchure for a top of the line brand whose name shed seen in those luxury magazines. Imagine her and Dudley getting that kind of medical care, she should have brought Vernon but he had work.
"Thank you and yes Dudley and I would like to get checked out but Harry will be going to Beauxbatons, or at least that's where I'd like him to go if we can arrange that. My name is Petunia by the way, Petunia Dursley."
"You can call me Arfglan and we would be delighted to arrange for Harry Potter to attend Beauxbatons. Wait here I'm going to arrange for you to meet the Potter banker and get everything sorted for your nephew's education then we'll get the medicals sorted." The now named Arfglan smiled, a scary sight for a non-goblin to view and set out to do a complete upheaval of the British Wizarding world.
Several hours, hundreds of pages of carefully reviewed documents and two medical sessions that left her in tears later, Petunia Dursley drove home, stopping only briefly for Indian takeout which was healthy and vegetable filled thank you very much Goblin doctor. Harry's family money was being invested into new ventures, she and both boys were on thei way to healthier lives having been all given new diets plus the dark magic had been removed from Harry, Vernon had an appointment for the weekend, Harry and Dudley both had new French schools they would be starting at in two weeks (she'd made this decision unilaterally for the boys but their education and future mattered more than a school legacy) and there was a Goblin team assigned that would be hunting out horcruxes or whatever they were plus they would come check over their house and get everything sorted for the boys' schools and deliver it to an apartment Harry's father's family had in France that was near to the boys' schools that they could use. She had a lot to tell Vernon, including that Dudley would no longer attend Smeltings, but first she needed a nap.
A week and a half later, saw the whole family head out on a ferry to France. They had been offered a permanent portkey for purchase that would go from their house in Surrey to Harry's French apartment and had used it several times to stock the apartment with the boys' school things and other items they needed and for one trip to get French butter which Petunia desperately needed to win a baking competition against her sworn enemy Mrs. Number 6, but for the first trip to school she wanted to make it a family vacation. So they set out, with Vernon keeping the boys from falling overboard and drowning, Petunia was free to imagine how quiet her days would be without two preteen menaces running around whaling on each other.
Across in Scotland, Minerva McGonagall sat in Albus Dumbledore's office trying to reason with her boss.
"Albus, Mr. Potter's letter was opened but we haven't received an acceptance letter. Additionally, Mrs. Figg said that the Dursleys left the country with the boy. They might be running."
"Hardly Minerva. They are likely going on vacation, if I recall correctly both boys should be going off to boarding school this year. Besides, they have regularly gone out of the country together and you must admit the boy seems happy there." Albus reasoned, unbothered by Minerva's worries.
Minerva looked ashamed, she had had her doubts about the Dursleys but had been proven wrong multiple times.
"Ok fine Albus, you win." She sighed before moving on. "The Malfoy heir won't be attending Hogwarts. They sent an owl declining and the..."
Petunia Dursley leaned back on the couch in her nephew's apartment and let out a sigh before accepting the glass of wine her husband handed to her. Both boys were now safely in their French boarding schools and she and Vernon had agreed they that they would remain in France until Harry's birthday at the end of the month, after that they were going on a three month Eurasian cruise that Vernon had won in a raffle at work. It had also included paid time off and with both Mrs. Number Three and the Goblins at Gringotts throwing an eye on the place, now was the perfect time to take a break. Both boys had loved the idea of their parents being out of their way for three months and were also quite comfortable with spending Christmas on the continent as Harry's family apparently had a chalet in Switzerland that they would be able to use, as such there would be no reason for Harry Potter to set foot back on British soil until the next year. In fact, the family had become so used to spending weekends and breaks at one of Harry's family's properties that the next time Harry set foot in Britain was to attend the Quidditch World Cup with his best friend Draco Malfoy. He was there just long enough to be photographed hugging Draco in the top box after Ireland's win before Narcissa Malfoy portkeyed both boys back to school thus allowing them to miss the drama of Harry Potter being back in Britain as well as rowdy behaviour of drunk fascists after the event.