A/N: Hi everyone! I know that J.K. Rowling said that Dudley would not have a magical child, so this isn't canon, but it was just too tempting to write...

Anyway, I only own Karen and Claudia, and I guess the plot, but I don't own anything else in the Harry Potter universe.

There weren't many things Lily like about being left alone with her parents when her brothers were at Hogwarts.

Certainly not the fact that she was all alone at night; her parents were all the way down the hall, while Al's empty room was right next to hers and James's was directly across. When she had a bad dream, she couldn't tell one of them and have them assure her that no, there wasn't an escaped Azkaban prisoner breaking into the house, that was just the wind.

And certainly not the fact that she was the only one left at the Muggle elementary school, where she was ostracized for making her crayons change color as she drew. She could change a blue crayon to a green crayon back to blue just by holding it, and the other kids made fun of her for it. When James and Al were still there with her, at least she'd had someone to eat lunch with and hang out with at recess. Hugo was one school district over, so she didn't even have him to hang out with.

But there was one upshot of being an only child ten months out of the year: she didn't have to share her dad with her brothers on the Ministry's "Bring Your Child to Work" day.

At ten years old (almost eleven, she would start at Hogwarts herself next year), she sometimes got annoyed with her dad. But she never skipped these days. Her dad was her hero: she was honored to see where he worked.

Midway through the day, a large tawny owl floated through the door, holding a letter on his foot. Harry opened it, read it, and looked at Lily. "Lil, how would you feel about meeting some relatives?"

Lily frowned. "Um, haven't I met them all?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope. Not my cousin or his family. We send them Christmas cards…?"

"O…kay? Why do we need to see them?" Lily wound a lock of curly red hair around her index finger. She remembered taking the pictures every Christmas, but she'd never thought about the man receiving them.

Harry handed her the envelope, which had a slip of paper and a smaller torn-open envelope in it. Lily scanned the paper.

Mr. Potter—

Some Muggle apparently really wants to contact you. He or she must have caught a wild owl somewhere and tried to get him get a letter to you. (I wouldn't want to see the scratches on that guy. If you do go to see him, bring dittany.) Anyway, we saw the owl when we were on call and we decided to forward the letter on to you, because that owl is NOT going to be able to locate the Ministry. We didn't open the envelope, but we did perform basic security spells on it, and it's okay. Hoping you and your family are well.

--Jeffrey Cadwallader, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

Next Lily opened the envelope.

Dear Harry,

I really hope that this letter gets to you. I know that we haven't seen each other in a while, but Claudia and I have a bit of a problem and need a wizard's advice. If you could come by any day this week after five, I would appreciate it so much. Just send me a letter back please—by regular mail or this owl, whichever is easier. Thanks a ton.

Sincerely, Dudley

"What are you going to do?" Lily asked.

"Your mum's meeting with the Weasley women tonight. I figure you and I could go after I finish up here?" Harry said. Ginny met with her mother and all of her sisters-in-law once a month, and husbands and children were "not allowed. Ever. Under any circumstances" according to Grandpa Weasley, who was chucked out of the Burrow for these nights. Quite often, Ginny came home from these meetings a little tipsy.

Harry leaned over and scrawled a quick note. Lily peeked over his shoulder.

Dear Dudley—Sorry, I just got your letter now. If I could come over today around six, that would work out really well. I hope it's okay to bring my daughter. Can't wait to see you. –Harry

He tied the note to the owl's leg and sent him on his way.

* * * * *

At six o'clock, Harry pulled out a small jar from his desk drawer and handed it to Lily. She took a pinch of Floo powder from it. "Do I have to go first?" she asked. She'd never met these people in her life.

"I'm afraid so, I have to lock the office from the inside." he said. "Go on—they won't eat you. I already got his house connected to the Floo Network for the night, and I have his address written down somewhere…" he checked through a few files and pulled out a yellowing wedding invitation dated about ten years back, announcing the marriage of Dudley Dursley and Claudia Lawman. "Number six, Hawthorne Lane," he said. Lily swallowed, threw the powder into the fireplace, and jumped in.

She hit the ground hard and blinked a few times. She peered out of the fireplace, wondering what a Muggle house looked like, and was immediately grabbed by a shrieking woman.

"AHHH!!! DUDLEY, A GIRL! THERE'S A GIRL, SHE FELL DOWN THE CHIMNEY! AHHH!!!"

Lily yanked her arm away from the woman and stood up. "Hello. My name is Lily Potter," she said politely. The woman stopped screaming. She was about five feet tall, with dark hair and blue eyes.

A large man ran into the room and stopped when he saw Lily. Half-healed scars covered his face, undoubtedly from wrestling with an undomesticated owl. He wasn't fat, but he was tall and stocky. "Relax, Claudia," he said. He held out a beefy hand. "Lily, right?"

"Yes, sir," she answered as she shook it, grateful to hear whirling in the fireplace: Harry would be here in a second. Within seconds he stepped out. Claudia let out a strangled yelp.

"Dudley!" Harry said, walking over to shake his hand. "And Claudia, I haven't seen you since the wedding. You look well."

She smiled nervously. "Thank you."

"Obviously you got the letter, then," Dudley said. "Are all owls that mean? I got a birdwatcher friend to grab me one from the woods, but the damn thing was so ornery…"

Harry pulled a bottle of dittany from his pocket. "I figured you'd be needing this. We generally use owls that are domesticated. Wild ones generally don't know where the magical buildings are, and they're mean."

Dudley accepted the dittany an poured a bit of the viscous honey-gold jelly onto his finger and began to apply it to his scratched, scarred face. The owl's marks faded the instant the dittany touched it.

Claudia took a shaky breath. "Well, hello. We have a bit of a…problem, you could call it."

Harry nodded. "You said you needed a wizard."

"Well, yes. Our daughter, Karen, she's seven, she's—she's—"

Dudley jumped in. "She's a witch, we think."

Harry looked at the doorway. "Are you Karen? " Lily followed his eyes and saw a short girl with blond hair in pigtails clutching a soft cloth doll, whose dress was rapidly changing colors.

She nodded. Dudley looked at Harry anxiously. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about—funny things keep happening when she holds them, or even just looks at them. Does that mean that she is—"

"Magical? Yes," Harry said nonchalantly. "You've got a witch on your hands."

Claudia gasped and sank into the sofa. She put her head onto her knees and began to sob. Dudley dropped beside her and started to rub her back. Karen clutched her doll, who now sported a tie-dye pinafore dress.

"What's the problem? For God's sake, having a witch as a daughter isn't the end of the world," Lily said disgustedly. Harry gave her "the look." She shut up and looked at her feet.

"What's wrong with a magical daughter?" he asked.

Claudia wiped her eyes and looked at Karen. "Karen, go to your room." When Karen and her doll (now decked out in a red dress) were gone, she turned back to Harry. "We have no idea how to raise a child like her. We're not magic. How can we take care of her?"

"It's really very similar to raising a Muggle child," Harry said, sitting in an armchair. Lily sat cross-legged at his feet.

Dudley shook his head. "How can it be? Normal—well, Muggle, I guess I should say—we aren't like you. We don't understand sending mail by owl. We get scared when little girls fall out of the fireplace."

Lily bristled. She was not a little girl.

Harry sighed. "What are you planning on doing?"

Dudley and Claudia shook their heads. "What do you advise?" Claudia asked.

"Basically, you have two options," Harry said. "If you're adamant about not raising a magical child, we can take her in. But, and I think this would be much better for her, you could raise your lovely daughter to be a kind, sweet little girl, and support her on her journey to be a witch."

Dudley stood up violently. "No," he said, "no, no, no, no, NO. We are raising Karen. There is no question about that."

Harry smiled. "Well, there's your answer. Let her explore her new talents. Go with her to Diagon Alley. Learn about her culture."

"But don't magical children go to school when they are eleven and stay there?" Claudia said. "How can we send our little girl to a school where she'll know no one? We can't do that."

Lily took a deep breath. "By the time that Karen is a first year, I will be a fourth year. I could look out for her."

Harry nodded. "She would be fine."

Dudley and Claudia exchanged glances. "Well, I guess we have a witch for a daughter, huh?" Claudia said.

Dudley, Claudia, Harry, Karen, and Lily went out for Chinese food together. Karen peppered Lily with questions about the wizarding world, and Lily answered the best she could. At the end of the night, when Harry took her home by Side-Along Apparition, she couldn't stop feeling excited about being Karen's new mentor.

Maybe being an only child ten months out of the year wasn't so bad. Especially if someone depended on you.

Reviews would be appreciated! :)