I do not own any of the HP characters and am making no money from this fanfic.
Chapter 4 ~ Figuring Things Out
“You know, Harry, I find it really strange that Dudley never received a letter from Hogwarts. I mean, you lived in the same house with him. How couldn’t they know there were two wizards there?” Hermione said to Harry as they sat in the common room discussing how weird it was Dudley was a wizard.
Harry shrugged.
”I don’t know. Maybe his magic isn’t that strong,” he suggested.
”I don’t doubt that,” Ron chimed in. “It was probably buried under all that fat. He was nearly as wide as he was tall.”
Hermione scowled at Ron.
”Fat wouldn’t dampen his magic, Ron. That’s ridiculous,” she snapped at him.
”I don’t know, Hermione. You didn’t see how fat he was. There were layers of it. Flaps, rolls, everything. I don’t know how he managed to get it all off. It looked like someone had cast a huge Engorgio spell on him,” Ron replied, spreading his arms and inflating his cheeks for emphasis.
”It doesn’t make a difference. His being fat wouldn’t dampen his magic. There are plenty of obese wizards and witches,” she said firmly, looking thoughtful. “It’s like he was just—ignored for some reason.”
Harry’s brow furrowed as he remembered his Aunt Petunia receiving an owl that brought her a mysterious Howler. And the message that boomed through the house . . .
Remember my last, Petunia!
And how his aunt told Vernon that he would have to stay with them when the angry Muggle had wanted to throw him out into the street. He had asked her if she were in touch with wizards, and both she and Vernon ordered him to go to bed. He never found out who the owl was from. But it meant something.
Muggles didn’t usually receive owls unless they had a magical child. But then again, Harry stayed there, too. He had initially thought she received the owl because of him. But—what if it wasn’t because of him? What if it was because of Dudley?
Remember my last, Petunia!
It had sounded like a threat as well as an admonishment. But what wizard could threaten his aunt? And threaten her with what?
Then, he also remembered when Albus came to the Dursleys’ house and told them they had mistreated Dudley. Dudley. The most pampered git on the face of the earth. Harry had always wondered what the old wizard had meant by that. And wondered about how oddly Aunt Petunia had flushed when Dumbledore asked that he be allowed back at their home one more time before his seventeenth birthday. It was really noticeable and seemed—out of place, somehow. It was as if her reaction ran deeper than it should.
Suddenly, Harry knew.
He knew.
”Hermione,” Harry said slowly, his eyes dark. “I think you might be right. I think someone knew Dudley was a wizard, but ignored him. And I think I know why.”
Hermione and Ron looked at him with interest.
”Well, spit it out,” Ron urged.
”Have you ever wondered why Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept me? I mean, I was family, but they clearly didn’t want me there. I wondered why they didn’t just send me to an orphanage. It would have been easier. It’s not like they loved me or anything. What if, if Aunt Petunia knew Dudley was a wizard, and made an agreement with Dumbledore not to reveal it in exchange for raising me?”
”That’s quite a stretch, Harry,” Hermione said.
”But, it makes sense. She knew what Dementors were, and when Voldemort came back, she was really terrified. And then she got that threatening Howler when Uncle Vernon was about to throw me out. And Dumbledore said himself that they ‘mistreated’ Dudley. Dudley was pampered all his life. How else could they mistreat him other than hiding his magic from him? I’m not sure if Uncle Vernon knew. I don’t think he did or else he wouldn’t have talked about wizards so badly. Aunt Petunia called us ‘freaks’ but never really said much more than that. I really think she knew Dudley was a wizard and with the Headmaster’s help, hid it from everyone.
”Oh, that would be awful, Harry,” Hermione breathed.
”Yeah, raising a wizard like a Muggle. Isn’t that a crime or something?” Ron interjected, frowning slightly.
Hermione gave him an exasperated look but didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t make a difference. Ron was so thick.
”I need to talk to the Headmaster’s portrait,” Harry said, “and find out if this is true or not. If it’s true, I’m going to have to tell Dudley.”
Both Hermione and Ron blinked at him.
”Do you have to, Harry? I mean, it could ruin his relationship with his mother,” Hermione said. “Maybe you shouldn’t interfere. I mean, he knows he’s a wizard now.”
Harry sighed.
”You know, I was blamed for a lot of stuff that happened to Dudley, like when he fell into that snake pit, and the Dementors going after him. Dudley believed I did that stuff to him. What if his own magic removed the glass and made one of the Dementors go after him rather than both stay on me? I could be cleared.”
”Harry, that happened ages ago,” Hermione argued. “I don’t see any reason why you should tell Dudley, even if his mother did know and hid the truth from him. She probably thought she was protecting him.”
“Well, I think you should tell him, Harry, if it’s true. He has a right to know his mum hid his heritage from him,” Ron said, frowning. “I know I’d be madder than a wet phoenix if my mum made me into a Muggle.”
Hermione scowled at Ron, then looked at Harry, willing him to see her point. Enough lives had been ruined over the years. Telling Dudley about this wouldn’t serve anything good.
”Harry, if you do this—not only might you ruin Dudley’s relationship with his mum, but you might cause trouble in his parents’ marriage. From what I know about your uncle, he’s not a very understanding man. They could divorce,” Hermione said to him. “Think about that. Do you really want to do that to them?”
No, Harry didn’t. But he felt Dudley should know the truth. He’d want to know something like that.
”I need to talk to Dumbledore. It could be I’m completely wrong and for some reason Dudley’s powers didn’t show up until now. But I want to find out. If I’m right, I’ll decide what to do then,” Harry said.
Hermione fell silent. It would be an awful situation if what Harry surmised was true. She wouldn’t blame Dudley for being furious, but she wasn’t sure that Harry should be the one to tell him. It would be different if he figured it out for himself.
At that very moment, Dudley was in his room in Hufflepuff house, staring at himself in the mirror and thinking about this strange, new development. He wanted to be by himself for a bit before he met the other students. He needed to try and sort this out.
He was a wizard.
A wizard.
How could that possibly be? His parents weren’t magical. They were normal. Still, his mum’s sister had been a witch, and his grandparents had been normal people too. So, maybe non-magical people could have magical children. Maybe his mum carried the gene or something. Like a latent disease, and his dad too. Vernon would go berserk at the very thought that HE were tainted. No doubt, he’d blame his mum, because her sister was a witch. Yes, his father would blame her for ‘infecting’ him with magic.
Now he was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Harry’s world, a part of it. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Dudley had always been secretly envious of Harry having magic, although he wouldn’t dare tell his parents that. It was cool to be able to do things normal people couldn’t. That might have been part of the reason Dudley picked on him so much, because he was jealous, and knew Harry couldn’t use his powers on him. Or wouldn’t.
“Does you needs anything, sir?” a squeaky voice said out of the blue.
Startled, Dudley spun around and looked around the room, seeing nothing.
“Down here, sir,” the voice said.
Dudley looked down and saw a little creature looking up at him. It had huge bat-like ears, big, protuberant brown eyes, and an abysmally long nose. It had on some kind of towel or something, and seemed to cringe slightly as it looked up at him.
”Arrrrgh! A monster!” Dudley yelled, leaping from in front of the dresser straight into his bed that rested against the wall, where he huddled in the corner, horrified.
The elf looked around the room.
”Is no monster here, young master. Just me, Arrowtail. I is a house-elf,” the elf informed him.
”Get out of my room!” Dudley blustered at it. “I don’t bloody care what you are!”
The house-elf winked out immediately.
Dudley slowly uncurled, looking around the room to make sure the little whatever-it-was, was gone. He let out a long breath, then climbed out of the bed. He had nearly pissed himself.
”Damn, this place is bloody weird,” he muttered, checking under the bed for more house elves. He checked the wardrobe too, and his tiny bathroom.
But, his troubles weren’t over yet. When he walked out of the bathroom, he froze, petrified. There, standing in the middle of his room was a fat, pearly man, with a fringe haircut and wearing a ghostly frock, tied with a rope. Dudley could see straight through him.
”Welcome to Hufflepuff house. I’m the Fat Friar, the residential ghost,” the Fat Friar said, introducing himself to the new student.
”ARRRRRGH!” Dudley screamed again, flying into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. He stood there, panting and holding the door with his hands as if that would help keep the ghost out if it wanted to come in.
This time, he did piss himself.
* * *
”How was your first night at Hogwarts, Dudley?” Hermione asked Harry’s cousin as they all walked to breakfast. Harry, Ron and Hermione had waited by the still life painting for Dudley to emerge from Hufflepuff house, which was near the kitchens and at dungeon level. Dudley was wearing a grey sweat suit with his Hufflepuff tie around his thick neck. He hadn’t gotten his robes yet. He had bags under his eyes and yawned a couple of times.
”It was awful,” Dudley said, frowning. “I couldn’t sleep at all, watching out for ghosts and little monsters.”
Ron and Harry tried not to laugh, but burst out in hysterics anyway, falling against the walls and using them for support. Both Hermione and Dudley scowled at their hilarity.
”You could have told me there were ghosts and monsters here, Harry,” Dudley groused as Harry lifted his glasses and wiped at his wet eyes. Ron was standing with his knees tightly clenched together, swearing he was going to piss himself if Dudley said another word.
“There are ghosts here, Dudley, but they aren’t really the scary kind. They are a part of Hogwarts and help protect the castle,” Hermione explained. “They’re just like everyone else—except they’re dead. And there aren’t any monsters at Hogwarts . . .”
Hermione paused as she frowned at Ron.
”Unless you count Ron,” she said witheringly.
”Hey!” Ron exclaimed indignantly.
Hermione ignored him.
”I think you saw a house-elf. Was it little with big eyes and ears?” she asked Dudley.
”Yeah, that’s exactly what I saw,” he told her, shuddering a little as they all started walking again.
”Yes. That was a house-elf. They’re servants here at Hogwarts. It probably came to see if you needed anything. They’ll bring you what you want, as long as it’s nothing illegal. Food, drinks—anything. They’re harmless.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks, Hermione,” he said, then frowned at a smiling Harry. “At least someone around here will keep a bloke on the up and up.”
”Speaking about the up and up, I need to schedule some time with you, Dudley, to start working on your academics. There’s a lot you need to learn if you want to get out of those first year classes. I’m just the one who can help you,” Hermione said, looking a bit teacher-like.
“She’ll have facts and figures dripping out of your ears, Duds, believe me,” Ron said in warning.
Dudley didn’t want to be in a class full of first years any longer than necessary.
”All right,” he said as they walked up the stairs and into the entrance hall. “We’ll do it as soon as—”
Suddenly, Dudley stopped speaking, staring at someone passing in front of them.
”What—who—is that?” he asked in nearly a whisper as Potions master Severus Snape billowed by, black eyes narrowed, and large hooked nose in what seemed to be a perpetual wrinkle. His lank black hair barely moved as he walked, and students all cleared out of the way as he approached, giving him a wide berth as he pulled open the doors of the Great Hall and entered.
“That,” Ron said, “is the greasy git of the dungeons, better known as Professor Severus Snape. He’s the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You’ll meet him soon enough, thanks to Hermione. He’s going to love you.”
Hermione frowned at Ron’s description of the professor.
Dudley stared at the door. Professor Snape was the creepiest person he’d seen in a long time. Then what Ron said about his meeting him thanks to Hermione sunk in.
”What do you mean ‘thanks to Hermione?’” he asked Ron.
”Oh, I saved him when he was bitten by a snake,” Hermione said nonchalantly.
”And so, several more generations of Hogwarts students will suffer for it,” Ron added, dodging a punch aimed at his shoulder by Hermione.
Harry just smirked. No matter how much of a hero Snape was, Ron would always hate him. It was just one of those things.
”What kind of snake?” Dudley asked, interested as they approached the Great Hall.
”Voldemort’s snake, Nagini. Voldemort sicced it on him,” Harry said. “She was huge, but she’s dead now.”
”That evil wizard that was after you?” Dudley asked, feeling a little cold inside.
”Yeah, that’s him. But he’s dead too,” Harry replied, pulling open the door.
”Yeah, Harry killed him,” Ron piped in as Dudley’s eyes rounded.
”You—you killed someone, Harry?” he asked his cousin.
”I had to, Dudley,” Harry replied as they entered the Great Hall. All eyes were on Dudley, and chuckles arose at the way he was dressed. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
Dudley started to follow them to the Gryffindor table, when Hermione stopped him.
”You have to sit at the Hufflepuff table, Dudley. We eat with our housemates,” she told him, pointing to the Hufflepuff table.
”Oh, all right. But, I need to get to ‘Charms’ after breakfast,” he said, somewhat disappointed he couldn’t sit with Harry and his friends.
”We’ll walk you there,” Harry promised. “I’ll talk to you later, Dudley.”
”Bye, Duddikins,” Ron quipped, heading for the table.
”I’ll see you later, Dudley. But, I have to tell you, it’s nice having another Muggle-born at Hogwarts,” Hermione said to him with a smile.
Dudley didn’t know what a ‘Muggle-born’ was, but nodded, then turned and headed for his house table. His fellow students made room for him good-naturedly and began to introduce themselves.
* * *
A/N: Felt like writing another chapter. Lol. Dudley’s big, but he’s not very courageous is he? But you can’t blame him. He’s not used to house elves and ghosts. Harry and Ron are just terrible. :::shakes head::: Lol at his reaction to Severus. Thanks for reading.