Harry had given a long thought about what punishment could be suitable for the Dursleys. To find a suitable balance between not being too soft and not being too cruel was very important.
In his mind, Harry had pondered a lot of points.
Firstly, he did not want the punishment to be too soft or too cruel. After living a life of a century and a half, he did not have much anger left against the Dursley family.
With all the betrayals and manipulations, he had suffered in his previous life, what the Dursleys did to him was not something that would hurt him a lot. Even so, now that he was back, he could not allow the child abuser family to get away with a very soft punishment.
Secondly, he understood the situation they were in. Harry had to admit that the Dursley couple did not want to raise him. He had been forced upon his uncle and aunt by Dumbledore. They were given no choice. If given a choice, they would have never been willing to raise a 'freak' in their house along with their 'normal' son.
Their hatred and fear of magic were genuine. While initially, Petunia had herself wanted to become a witch after Lily had gotten her Hogwarts letter, she had started to loathe it later.
The same loathing was then instilled in Vernon. Even so, he could not really justify their behaviour towards a child.
A child who was not even told his name until he went to school.
A child who was told that his father was a drunkard and his parents died in a car accident.
A child who had been verbally abused and physically bullied by his cousin on the instigation of his parents.
Because of their abusive behaviour over the years, Harry had developed a sense of panic and anxiety. His mind always remained fearful and insecure. This feeling of loneliness and dread was one major reason why he had been so easy to manipulate and use as a puppet in his school years.
All that had turned Harry into a people pleaser and through his time at Hogwarts, Harry was willing to go a great length to please people. So that he does not loose his friendships. Even the things which hurt him, he was willing to let them go.
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Harry did not wait for the response of the Dursley family. He stretched out his right hand, with his open palm facing the ceiling. Instantly, a rotating pair of concentric circles emerged from his palm.
The pair of concentric circles were the same colour as he had used upon Bertha Jorkins – bright emerald green.
But this time, the area inside the inner circle was filled with complex patterns. These complex patterns were pulsating rhythmically, shining more brightly with each pulse. The complex patterns were runes engraved by Harry.
With a slight push from Harry's palm, the pair of concentric circles multiplied and turned into three.
Harry raised his palm further, and the three pairs of concentric circles flew towards the three members of the Dursley family.
The Dursleys looked at the incoming circles with wide eyes and deep fear. They had no time to react as the concentric circles entered their foreheads. Their eyes turned emerald for an instant, and then they slumped unconsciously onto the table.
"Enjoy your time," muttered Harry, but the Dursleys could not hear him.
Harry sighed a breath of relief and then vanished from the spot, accompanied by the twist of space.
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When the Dursleys would wake up, they would find their life turned upside down. They would feel as if they were in hell.
What Harry judged upon them was a unique punishment of its own kind.
After all the deliberations, Harry concluded that returning the same feelings and emotions that he had been subjected to in the past eighteen years would be the ideal punishment for them: feelings of pain, anxiety, insecurity, along with all the negative feelings.
The rune which he added into their minds was a special rune.
What it would do is that it would amplify all the negative feelings they had in their minds many times over and suppress any positive feelings.
For example, every person has a trace of fear while crossing the roads. And now, the Dursleys, while crossing the roads, would have so much fear that even crossing the road would be a humongous task for them.
The same would happen with Petunia when she would cook. She would fear the pans flipping or the kitchen catching fire.
Every little aspect of their life would turn fearful. Even sitting soundly on the sofa would be a nightmare for them. On the other hand, they would feel no joy from anything.
Since Harry was not so cruel, the rune would expire in seven days, but that would be enough to give them lifelong trauma.
Although the feelings would return to normal in seven days, the lingering effects would still be present. The fear instilled about anything would remain for some time and would go away slowly.
According to Harry, this was the most suitable punishment he could have inflicted upon them.
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When Harry reappeared, he was in an isolated alley leading to a wide street.
Across the street, beautiful and large mansions, rich in aesthetics with varying shades of colour, were lined next to each other.
Harry walked across the street and towards a certain house. The house had been painted white. An arched roof-way, along with a heavy iron gate painted light blue, marked the entrance of the mansion.
Harry crossed the roof-way and the large iron gate into the beautiful green lawn of the house.
The lawn had been decorated beautifully with flowers of almost every colour, arranged neatly and trimmed in proper shapes. Harry stopped briefly on the lawn and took a few moments to look at the flowers. A faint smile hung on his lips as he surveyed his surroundings. Counting both his lives, this was only the second time Harry had arrived at this place. The first visit was for a dreaded task… a task that had shattered his heart. But now, his second visit was going to be a pleasant one… something that would make his inner self smile.
Harry continued his walk further, crossed the lawn, and arrived at the large wooden door as he pressed the doorbell.
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