As Harry potter stepped off platform 9 3/4, he was shocked to see that
Uncle Vernon was not there, but his Aunt Marge was there instead. If this
were any other year, this would have bothered Harry, but this just wasn't
the time. Cedric. Dead. And it was all because of him. What did he do to
deserve this? Why couldn't Voldemort have killed Harry when he killed his
parents? Why had his mother sacrificed herself for him? Why was her love
so strong? Harry was startled as Ron hit Harry on his head. Ron was
staring at Harry like something bad just happened.
"There not here yet. Do you think they forgot about us?"
Ron's parents were never late, but Harry had other things on his mind. Like, how on earth was he going to spend the summer with her. Assuming that because Aunt Marge was picking Harry up, she was going to stay with them the whole summer. This could have been catastrophic. He was a depressed teenager, who just happened to be one of the most famous wizards in all of history. She didn't know what he was capable of doing. As far as she knew, he went to a school for troubled young boys, and was a troublemaker. This was going to be a horrible summer. Again Harry was snapped back into reality, this time, by Ginny.
"Harry, oh dear, I don't know how to say this, but, I think that if would be best if you didn't write to me during the summer, or talk to me in school. I know that it sounds strange, but please, do it."
She kissed Harry on the cheek and ran off crying. As she was running away, Harry couldn't help himself, but he was staring at her but as she was running. It looked very nice from his point of view. She turned the corner, and Harry snapped back to reality.
"Ron, what's wrong with Ginny? She's acting really weird. It's like, she's afraid to be seen with me or something."
"Ginny, not want to be seen with the famous Harry Potter? Not a chance. I just think that it's her time of the month. But Harry, that's not the point. The point is, the MY PARENTS STILL ARN"T HERE!"
As if they were listening to the conversation, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley appeared around the corner.
"Were sorry everyone, but we go caught up in the ministry. Another which got herself lost, and the neighbors got worried. When they went in her house to check out what happened, they found all her magical stuff. They found her wand, and her broomstick, and it was just a very bad thing to clear up. When the lady got back, we hit her with a memory charm by accident, and that was a tough cookie to fix. Enough about that, we better get going then. Harry, we will call you during the summer to come and get you."
"You better not call, owl me. The Dursleys will flip out on me if they get another phone call."
"Yeah Harry, I am sorry about that. I didn't know how to use the phone."
"Don't worry about it Ron. Ok, when I get your owl, I'll gladly come."
"Harry you have to admit, that it was pretty funny the way that your uncle reacted. I should do it just to get him annoyed. I hope that you didn't get into too much trouble when I called."
"Are you kidding me Ron, he was so mad at me! I had the best time laughing about that though. Do you remember the letter that you sent asking me to go to the Quidditch cup? It had like 50 stamps, that was funny. I think my aunt took some off and used them as her own. That cheap woman. Always tries to get her greedy little hands on some money."
"That sounds like her Harry. My parents are leaving know. I'll talk to you real soon. Bye!"
Now that he was away from Ron, it was time to face Aunt Marge. He started to approach her, and then she saw Hedwig. She had a nasty expression on her face, reminding Harry of Draco's mom back at the Quidditch cup.
" What an ugly little duckling. What is it, a parakeet? You will not bring that horrid creature into my house!"
Harry didn't know what to do. He couldn't bring Hedwig? What was he supposed to do with her. Send her on a task! The Weasley's wouldn't be home for a while, so she would have to wait for them, and who knows how far they are from here. Harry went up to the information stand, and asked the lady for a map. On the back of the map, he wrote a quick letter to Ron, circling where his house would be, so that Ron wouldn't forget. Harry was not going to take any chances. As Hedwig sailed off, Aunt Marge was still upset.
"You just let it go like that! We could have sold it for at least ten dollars! Dumb boy."
Feeling satisfied at yelling at Harry, she started walking towards the car. Harry followed, trying not to say anything that might get her mad.
"Aunt Marge, where is Uncle Vernon. I was so saddened that I didn't get to meet him here in person. I miss him."
"So, that school has taught you something for once, and since you asked, he had to work, and he didn't want you walking home all by yourself, something about you trying to use a fireplace if nobody was here. So, I was stuck doing this instead of relaxing in the new pool."
"We got a new pool!"
"Not for you. You would never be allowed to go in it! You would make the water all dirty!"
Harry was not surprised at the answer that he got. He thought that it might be worse. At least she wasn't yelling at him.
"O, sorry."
It seemed like it took days for Harry to reach the car, but he finally got there. The ride home wasn't that much better. Dudley was in the car playing his game boy. He didn't want to be disturbed. When Harry got in the car, he looked up.
"So your back from that freak school. Don't worry, I can talk about your school because Aunt Marge doesn't know what you are yet. But trust me, you better do everything that I want this summer, or I accidentally might tell her something."
Like Harry cared! She was family, if she was told, Harry wouldn't have cared! It wasn't against the law for a family member to know.
"You can tell her all you want. I don't care. The ministry can do a memory charm, and she would never remember. As a matter of fact, I know a couple of good little charms that I could do. Hey, you want me to show you a charm that would make you burp out slugs."
If looks could kill, Harry would be dead by know.
"You can't. Then you couldn't get back to that school of yours. I know, because dad told me that I shouldn't be afraid of you!"
Harry had a big smirk on his face that was starting to scare Dudley. Harry was almost the most famous wizard in the whole world, and he was being threatened by a muggle. True that he was not the best wizard, but he had plenty of experience with magic, so he knew how to do some spells that could cause some damage. There are so many things that Harry could do that weren't illegal. Speaking Parseltounge for instance. You didn't need a wand, and yet it would be enough to scare the living daylights out of someone. Harry was feeling lonely, so he thought that he would brag o Dudley. Come to think of it, Harry's never really bragged about himself to anyone. This would be his one and only shot. Uncle Vernon did not trust Harry, so he would never leave Dudley in the same room alone with Harry.
"There is not one wizard who does not know my name. They are not going to expel me because I made you belch slugs. And besides, if I don't use my wand, they'll never know that it was me."
By the look on Dudley's face, Harry knew that he was surprised to hear that he could do magic without a wand.
"You still wouldn't."
"Make me."
"Prove it them."
Harry was hoping that he would say that. Harry packed his want in his pocket, and turned to Dudley.
"What do you want me to do."
"Make a fire appear out of thin air."
This was going to be so simple that Harry started laughing. He tried to make it look like that was an easy thing to do. Harry didn't want to do any magic that required a wand. Harry was still under aged, and Harry didn't want to get kicked out of Hogwarts. The easiest thing to do was to speak parseltounge. It was safe, and nobody would know that it wasn't real magic.
"Is that the best you can do! I learned how to do that my first year as school! No, I'm going to do something a bit trickier. Lets say, make 15 different snakes come to me."
"Fine, this out to give me a good laugh. You probably can't even do magic. And besides, there is not proof that you are famous."
Harry was about to crack up. He wasn't going to be bothered by Dudley's little teases. Harry checked to make sure that Aunt Marge wasn't looking. She was more upset over the large amount of traffic that she was stuck in, so this was the perfect time. Harry closed his eyes, and started picturing pictures of snakes in his head. Then when he had a clear image of a boa constrictor, he started hissing like a snake, asking them to come over to his car for some mouse. Except, to Harry it wasn't hissing, it was normal talk. The funny thing way, Dudly understood it perfectly.
"Stop talking English Harry. I want to see some snakes."
"Ah…. Dudley, that was parseltounge, that wasn't English. How do you know parseltounge?"
"Well Harry, there are some things that you don't know about me. For instance, did you know that I was adopted? Not legally though. When Petunia gave birth to a baby, it wasn't me. I was switched at the hospital, because her baby died, and they couldn't find my real mother. Of course my mother and father don't know this, but I found out anyway. Well, it turns out that my real mother and father, are some people who are insane. Weird last name too. The Longbottoms."
"The what! Are you kidding me, I know the Longbottoms! You got to be kidding me. That means that you have a brother…"
"I already know all of this Harry. My brother's name is Neville. I know, but there is more. I haven't been going to Smeltings, I've been going to Beaxbuetons. Yeah Harry, I know French. I also know what happened with you and Cedric Diggory. Shame, he was a nice kid. I knew him for a long while. Know that you know about me, I don't have to keep any secrets from you, and you don't have to keep any secrets from me."
"Okay, this is impossible. You look exactly like your dad, uncle Vernon."
"It's amazing Harry, you would think that any two people look the same. I'm telling you, that if I wasn't fat, then I would look nothing like him."
"Why are you telling me all this? Why know?"
"Harry, don't you see, you and me are really alike. I need your help in finding my parents."
"Uh, Dudley, I guess this is not a food time to tell you, but do you know what an Auror is?"
"Yeah."
"Well, your parent's were Aurors. When they were on the job, they got hit by one of the unforgivable curses, Cruciatus to be exact. To make a long story short, their brains got all messed up, and know they are in a mental asylum. Neville hasn't seen his parents in a long while, years to be exact. Listen, he's be raised by his grandmother, so maybe you should go and visit her."
"Why, I want to see my parents, not my grandmother. What about Neville, I could I meet him?"
"I guess, wait, does Beaxbeutons have Hogsmead weekends?"
"Yeah, but they are not the same weekends. Our weekends are one week before. That's not fair though, because Durmstang gets to go with you guys. I know why they have it the same weekend though."
"Why?"
"Lets put it this way. All three schools were going the same weekend since the schools were built, but when we started school, we started going on different days. Well, there was only reason that I could come up with. They didn't want you knowing that I was a wizard."
"I don't get it, why would they do that?"
"Because, you moron, they didn't want you squealing to Vernon on me!"
"Okay, first of all, I wouldn't have squealed. Secondly, what are the odd of him believing me?"
"Yeah, he went out of his way to hate you."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Why didn't you go to Durmstang? Then you didn't have to learn French."
"They didn't accept me. Trust me, I really wanted to go to Durmstang."
"Why didn't they let you go?"
"I don't know, they rejected my letter."
"Oh, you could have done well there, you would have liked it."
"Why?"
"Because, you don't like to learn, and have heard that Durmstang not only has as much food as you can eat, but they don't do any work. They focus on dark arts. Everything else is really bad. They barely teach you anything."
"How would you know all about this, you went to Hogwarts?"
Harry didn't know. When he thought about Durmstang, everything felt right. He felt like he was at home when he talked about it. He knew everything that there is to know about Durmstang, and it made him happy. There was no way that Harry could have researched anything about Durmstang, because all the books on the other two schools were out of the Library since the beginning of the year when the tournament started. Come to think about it, he never even heard of the school before the tournament.
"Dudley, I really don't know. When I think about it, the words just pop into my head from nowhere."
"Whatever."
"Dudley turned away from Harry, and started playing his gameboy."
"Dudley, why did you want me to do a magic trick for you?"
"We hear all about you in school. In fact, we even spend a whole month learning about you. I wanted to see you do some magic, so I knew that you were for real. And by the way, you still haven't showed me anything. Speaking parseltounge is not magic, it's a skill."
"Wait, you still haven't told me how you know parseltounge."
"I have the same problem as you, I don't know. It just comes naturally to me."
"Did you know that parseltounge is a dark art?"
"Yeah, well you speak it."
"You said that you learn about me, well one of the very first things that you should have learned about me is that when Voldemort tried to kill me, I got some of his powers."
"Yeah I know that, but the actual powers that you get were never told to us. They go on about your life here with us though."
"That must have been great for you."
"Actually, everyone there called me Dudley Longbottom, so nobody really knows."
"Okay, as much as I wasn't to believe all of this, how do I know that you're not Fred or George using polyjuice potion or something?"
"Because, I'm not! Why do you have to question everything that I say? Can't you believe that I am telling the truth for once?"
"Okay Dudley, this isn't right. I shouldn't be hearing this, this isn't meant to be. You have to tell Vernon."
"I can't Harry, he won't understand! I can't keep these things bundled up inside of me all this time, I needed to tell someone who understood. I need help getting in touch with my parents."
"Okay, since I just got back from school, my ideas aren't that great. I am kind of depressed right know, so I don't know what to say."
"Oh yeah, I forgot, the whole Cedric thing. Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."
"Thanks, but I need some time to think."
"Ok, I have an idea, but I need to know if there is any chance of it working."
"Shoot."
"Okay, how about you sneaking out of the castle to meet us on a Hogsmead weekend?"
"That could work. I know some tunnels out of the school, and I have an invisibility cloak, and I have a map that shows where everyone is who is in that school."
"You have an invisibility cloak?"
"Yeah, it was my father's. Dumbledore gave it to me because my father left it with him when he died. Okay Dudley, I know that you need to talk, but I really am not in the mood right know. I just want to be alone right know. We can talk later tonight. We can use the Walkie Talkies that you have."
"Yeah, sure Harry. I'll just sit over here and play my gameboy."
This gave Harry some time to think about what happened that year at Hogwarts. Cedric was dead, and Voldemort was back. How could things get any worse! The only way that it would be worse is if he couldn't go back, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't going to be a problem. When the traffic cleared up, and they finally reached the house. He was shocked to see that his uncle had gained another 50 pounds and that his wife's neck was even longer.
"Wow Uncle Vernon, you look great!" lied Harry.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Go to your room until supper is ready."
Harry didn't really mind. After all, he was being treated like this regularly. This would give me for Harry to write a letter to Hermione. No sooner than he reached upstairs, that Hedwig was sitting on his bed, looking mad. She didn't like being alone. And she was there a good time. She was holding a letter in her hand, and the handwriting shows that the letter was from Ron.
Dear Harry,
I am sorry to hear that Aunt Marge is staying with you. I know that this is not the best news for you, and I have a bit of bad news as well. First of all, Hermione is here, because her parents well, are gone. Nobody knows where they are, and they didn't leave anything behind. We think that they are probably just on vacation, and that they will be back soon, but for know, she is staying here. The thing is, Bill got us tickets to see him in Egypt for the summer. You know how short we are on cash, and we can't leave Hermione here all alone. So, what I want to ask you is maybe she can live with you for the summer. She has $200 and she can do her own laundry and conjure up some food when necessary. Please ask. I really don't want to leave her here all alone. You've probably figured out that you can't stay with us either. With Hermione around, I'm sure that you'll still have a good time. Sorry for the short notice.
Love Always,
Ron
Wow! Her parents were gone! She must be so sad. But the thought of Hermione sleeping in the same house as Harry was quite appealing to him. Harry always knew that Hermione was pretty, but know that she might be staying with him, he was starting to picture her a whole different way. She was short, but had nice hair (when she tended to it) and was skinny. She was a perfect and smart girl for her. She was also a witch! He stopped thinking about that, and went downstairs to ask his uncle. When he saw that nobody was home, he checked the backyard. Where his old picnic table was, was a marvelous underground pool. Like he thought, the whole family was swimming in it. Harry ran to Uncle Vernon almost knocking him down.
"Uncle Vernon! I need to ask you something very important! I have this friend. Her name is Hermione. And well, something happened with her family, who by the way are dentists, and I was wondering if she could stay here during the summer?"
"Are you out of your mind! Why would I let another one of your kind stay here for the summer! It's preposterous!"
"She'll pay $200 and she can cook and clean. O please uncle!"
Before his uncle could answer, Aunt petunia jumped into the conversation.
"Two hundred dollars you say, for the whole summer! We'll take her. Vernon really, we could use the money!"
Harry almost ran into the pool as he was heading back into the house to write his response.
"Watch it!" screamed Dudley, but Harry didn't care. He was going to spend the whole summer with Hermione!
*************
Back in Harry's room, another letter arrived for him. This letter was from somebody who's handwriting he didn't recognize. When he opened the letter, he was shocked to see that it was from Durmstang.
Dear Mr. Potter,
It has come to my attention that you are an excellent leader and that you posses a great amount of talent with your wand. Even though you have been going to Hogwarts for 4 years, we feel that it is best that you finish your training here, at Durmstang. You would have a greater learning experience about the Dark Arts, and you would be greatly prepared for your life after school. We are awaiting your decision by owl no later than August the 31st.
Sincerely,
L. Malfoy
Headmaster of Durmstang
Malfoy! Harry was repulsed! Malfoy! He would never go to the same school as Malfoy! Especially if his father was the headmaster! What was wrong with him? Harry took the letter and stuffed it under the loose floorboard, and got ready to start writing his letter to Hermione.
Dear Hermione,
I just heard what happened to your parents and I am really sorry. Of course you can come and stay here with me! It would be fun. I don't have much time to write this, but I'll see you soon. Write me an owl telling me when you'll be coming.
Love, Harry
Done. Harry was so tired that he flopped onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. A knocking on the door awaked him. He opened his eyes, put on his glasses, and opened the door. It was Hermione.
"Harry! I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any sooner, but Ron was leaving today, and I had to go. I got your letter, and I already paid your uncle, and since your Aunt Marge was staying over, I have to share a room with you. Is that okay?"
Harry was about to say that she could also share the same bed, but something stopped him. This wasn't like him. This was Hermione that he was thinking about here. She wasn't his girlfriend! Hermione was staring at him.
"Sure you can stay in my room. It's not big, but what can I say. It's better than a cupboard. You can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
"Harry, I don't want you to fell un at home. Please, I brought a sleeping bag. Don't worry about it."
"You're the guest, and that's the last word. Hermione, your sleeping on the bed!"
"OK Harry. I need to change, where's the bathroom?"
Harry showed her where the bathroom was, and headed back to his room. He picked up one of Hermione's trunks, and almost dropped it. It weighed a ton! What was she carrying in there, books? Knowing Hermione, probably. When Hermione returned, she was a wearing some very tight shorts and a halter top. Harry couldn't help himself from staring. She was so beautiful!
"What, you've never seen a girl wear shorts before Harry?"
"Of course I have, I was …a … looking at the door…"
"Harry, you sound so old. Your voice, it's so deep! I thought that you had a cold, but know I can clearly hear it, it's changed. Your becoming a man Harry, and a very handsome man as well."
And with that, she left the room, leaving Harry speechless. Was he really changing? Harry felt his face. His chin felt a little prickly, like it had hair on it. She was right! Harry was turning into a man, a handsome man according to Hermione. Harry changed, and quickly went downstairs with a big smile across his face.
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"There not here yet. Do you think they forgot about us?"
Ron's parents were never late, but Harry had other things on his mind. Like, how on earth was he going to spend the summer with her. Assuming that because Aunt Marge was picking Harry up, she was going to stay with them the whole summer. This could have been catastrophic. He was a depressed teenager, who just happened to be one of the most famous wizards in all of history. She didn't know what he was capable of doing. As far as she knew, he went to a school for troubled young boys, and was a troublemaker. This was going to be a horrible summer. Again Harry was snapped back into reality, this time, by Ginny.
"Harry, oh dear, I don't know how to say this, but, I think that if would be best if you didn't write to me during the summer, or talk to me in school. I know that it sounds strange, but please, do it."
She kissed Harry on the cheek and ran off crying. As she was running away, Harry couldn't help himself, but he was staring at her but as she was running. It looked very nice from his point of view. She turned the corner, and Harry snapped back to reality.
"Ron, what's wrong with Ginny? She's acting really weird. It's like, she's afraid to be seen with me or something."
"Ginny, not want to be seen with the famous Harry Potter? Not a chance. I just think that it's her time of the month. But Harry, that's not the point. The point is, the MY PARENTS STILL ARN"T HERE!"
As if they were listening to the conversation, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley appeared around the corner.
"Were sorry everyone, but we go caught up in the ministry. Another which got herself lost, and the neighbors got worried. When they went in her house to check out what happened, they found all her magical stuff. They found her wand, and her broomstick, and it was just a very bad thing to clear up. When the lady got back, we hit her with a memory charm by accident, and that was a tough cookie to fix. Enough about that, we better get going then. Harry, we will call you during the summer to come and get you."
"You better not call, owl me. The Dursleys will flip out on me if they get another phone call."
"Yeah Harry, I am sorry about that. I didn't know how to use the phone."
"Don't worry about it Ron. Ok, when I get your owl, I'll gladly come."
"Harry you have to admit, that it was pretty funny the way that your uncle reacted. I should do it just to get him annoyed. I hope that you didn't get into too much trouble when I called."
"Are you kidding me Ron, he was so mad at me! I had the best time laughing about that though. Do you remember the letter that you sent asking me to go to the Quidditch cup? It had like 50 stamps, that was funny. I think my aunt took some off and used them as her own. That cheap woman. Always tries to get her greedy little hands on some money."
"That sounds like her Harry. My parents are leaving know. I'll talk to you real soon. Bye!"
Now that he was away from Ron, it was time to face Aunt Marge. He started to approach her, and then she saw Hedwig. She had a nasty expression on her face, reminding Harry of Draco's mom back at the Quidditch cup.
" What an ugly little duckling. What is it, a parakeet? You will not bring that horrid creature into my house!"
Harry didn't know what to do. He couldn't bring Hedwig? What was he supposed to do with her. Send her on a task! The Weasley's wouldn't be home for a while, so she would have to wait for them, and who knows how far they are from here. Harry went up to the information stand, and asked the lady for a map. On the back of the map, he wrote a quick letter to Ron, circling where his house would be, so that Ron wouldn't forget. Harry was not going to take any chances. As Hedwig sailed off, Aunt Marge was still upset.
"You just let it go like that! We could have sold it for at least ten dollars! Dumb boy."
Feeling satisfied at yelling at Harry, she started walking towards the car. Harry followed, trying not to say anything that might get her mad.
"Aunt Marge, where is Uncle Vernon. I was so saddened that I didn't get to meet him here in person. I miss him."
"So, that school has taught you something for once, and since you asked, he had to work, and he didn't want you walking home all by yourself, something about you trying to use a fireplace if nobody was here. So, I was stuck doing this instead of relaxing in the new pool."
"We got a new pool!"
"Not for you. You would never be allowed to go in it! You would make the water all dirty!"
Harry was not surprised at the answer that he got. He thought that it might be worse. At least she wasn't yelling at him.
"O, sorry."
It seemed like it took days for Harry to reach the car, but he finally got there. The ride home wasn't that much better. Dudley was in the car playing his game boy. He didn't want to be disturbed. When Harry got in the car, he looked up.
"So your back from that freak school. Don't worry, I can talk about your school because Aunt Marge doesn't know what you are yet. But trust me, you better do everything that I want this summer, or I accidentally might tell her something."
Like Harry cared! She was family, if she was told, Harry wouldn't have cared! It wasn't against the law for a family member to know.
"You can tell her all you want. I don't care. The ministry can do a memory charm, and she would never remember. As a matter of fact, I know a couple of good little charms that I could do. Hey, you want me to show you a charm that would make you burp out slugs."
If looks could kill, Harry would be dead by know.
"You can't. Then you couldn't get back to that school of yours. I know, because dad told me that I shouldn't be afraid of you!"
Harry had a big smirk on his face that was starting to scare Dudley. Harry was almost the most famous wizard in the whole world, and he was being threatened by a muggle. True that he was not the best wizard, but he had plenty of experience with magic, so he knew how to do some spells that could cause some damage. There are so many things that Harry could do that weren't illegal. Speaking Parseltounge for instance. You didn't need a wand, and yet it would be enough to scare the living daylights out of someone. Harry was feeling lonely, so he thought that he would brag o Dudley. Come to think of it, Harry's never really bragged about himself to anyone. This would be his one and only shot. Uncle Vernon did not trust Harry, so he would never leave Dudley in the same room alone with Harry.
"There is not one wizard who does not know my name. They are not going to expel me because I made you belch slugs. And besides, if I don't use my wand, they'll never know that it was me."
By the look on Dudley's face, Harry knew that he was surprised to hear that he could do magic without a wand.
"You still wouldn't."
"Make me."
"Prove it them."
Harry was hoping that he would say that. Harry packed his want in his pocket, and turned to Dudley.
"What do you want me to do."
"Make a fire appear out of thin air."
This was going to be so simple that Harry started laughing. He tried to make it look like that was an easy thing to do. Harry didn't want to do any magic that required a wand. Harry was still under aged, and Harry didn't want to get kicked out of Hogwarts. The easiest thing to do was to speak parseltounge. It was safe, and nobody would know that it wasn't real magic.
"Is that the best you can do! I learned how to do that my first year as school! No, I'm going to do something a bit trickier. Lets say, make 15 different snakes come to me."
"Fine, this out to give me a good laugh. You probably can't even do magic. And besides, there is not proof that you are famous."
Harry was about to crack up. He wasn't going to be bothered by Dudley's little teases. Harry checked to make sure that Aunt Marge wasn't looking. She was more upset over the large amount of traffic that she was stuck in, so this was the perfect time. Harry closed his eyes, and started picturing pictures of snakes in his head. Then when he had a clear image of a boa constrictor, he started hissing like a snake, asking them to come over to his car for some mouse. Except, to Harry it wasn't hissing, it was normal talk. The funny thing way, Dudly understood it perfectly.
"Stop talking English Harry. I want to see some snakes."
"Ah…. Dudley, that was parseltounge, that wasn't English. How do you know parseltounge?"
"Well Harry, there are some things that you don't know about me. For instance, did you know that I was adopted? Not legally though. When Petunia gave birth to a baby, it wasn't me. I was switched at the hospital, because her baby died, and they couldn't find my real mother. Of course my mother and father don't know this, but I found out anyway. Well, it turns out that my real mother and father, are some people who are insane. Weird last name too. The Longbottoms."
"The what! Are you kidding me, I know the Longbottoms! You got to be kidding me. That means that you have a brother…"
"I already know all of this Harry. My brother's name is Neville. I know, but there is more. I haven't been going to Smeltings, I've been going to Beaxbuetons. Yeah Harry, I know French. I also know what happened with you and Cedric Diggory. Shame, he was a nice kid. I knew him for a long while. Know that you know about me, I don't have to keep any secrets from you, and you don't have to keep any secrets from me."
"Okay, this is impossible. You look exactly like your dad, uncle Vernon."
"It's amazing Harry, you would think that any two people look the same. I'm telling you, that if I wasn't fat, then I would look nothing like him."
"Why are you telling me all this? Why know?"
"Harry, don't you see, you and me are really alike. I need your help in finding my parents."
"Uh, Dudley, I guess this is not a food time to tell you, but do you know what an Auror is?"
"Yeah."
"Well, your parent's were Aurors. When they were on the job, they got hit by one of the unforgivable curses, Cruciatus to be exact. To make a long story short, their brains got all messed up, and know they are in a mental asylum. Neville hasn't seen his parents in a long while, years to be exact. Listen, he's be raised by his grandmother, so maybe you should go and visit her."
"Why, I want to see my parents, not my grandmother. What about Neville, I could I meet him?"
"I guess, wait, does Beaxbeutons have Hogsmead weekends?"
"Yeah, but they are not the same weekends. Our weekends are one week before. That's not fair though, because Durmstang gets to go with you guys. I know why they have it the same weekend though."
"Why?"
"Lets put it this way. All three schools were going the same weekend since the schools were built, but when we started school, we started going on different days. Well, there was only reason that I could come up with. They didn't want you knowing that I was a wizard."
"I don't get it, why would they do that?"
"Because, you moron, they didn't want you squealing to Vernon on me!"
"Okay, first of all, I wouldn't have squealed. Secondly, what are the odd of him believing me?"
"Yeah, he went out of his way to hate you."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Why didn't you go to Durmstang? Then you didn't have to learn French."
"They didn't accept me. Trust me, I really wanted to go to Durmstang."
"Why didn't they let you go?"
"I don't know, they rejected my letter."
"Oh, you could have done well there, you would have liked it."
"Why?"
"Because, you don't like to learn, and have heard that Durmstang not only has as much food as you can eat, but they don't do any work. They focus on dark arts. Everything else is really bad. They barely teach you anything."
"How would you know all about this, you went to Hogwarts?"
Harry didn't know. When he thought about Durmstang, everything felt right. He felt like he was at home when he talked about it. He knew everything that there is to know about Durmstang, and it made him happy. There was no way that Harry could have researched anything about Durmstang, because all the books on the other two schools were out of the Library since the beginning of the year when the tournament started. Come to think about it, he never even heard of the school before the tournament.
"Dudley, I really don't know. When I think about it, the words just pop into my head from nowhere."
"Whatever."
"Dudley turned away from Harry, and started playing his gameboy."
"Dudley, why did you want me to do a magic trick for you?"
"We hear all about you in school. In fact, we even spend a whole month learning about you. I wanted to see you do some magic, so I knew that you were for real. And by the way, you still haven't showed me anything. Speaking parseltounge is not magic, it's a skill."
"Wait, you still haven't told me how you know parseltounge."
"I have the same problem as you, I don't know. It just comes naturally to me."
"Did you know that parseltounge is a dark art?"
"Yeah, well you speak it."
"You said that you learn about me, well one of the very first things that you should have learned about me is that when Voldemort tried to kill me, I got some of his powers."
"Yeah I know that, but the actual powers that you get were never told to us. They go on about your life here with us though."
"That must have been great for you."
"Actually, everyone there called me Dudley Longbottom, so nobody really knows."
"Okay, as much as I wasn't to believe all of this, how do I know that you're not Fred or George using polyjuice potion or something?"
"Because, I'm not! Why do you have to question everything that I say? Can't you believe that I am telling the truth for once?"
"Okay Dudley, this isn't right. I shouldn't be hearing this, this isn't meant to be. You have to tell Vernon."
"I can't Harry, he won't understand! I can't keep these things bundled up inside of me all this time, I needed to tell someone who understood. I need help getting in touch with my parents."
"Okay, since I just got back from school, my ideas aren't that great. I am kind of depressed right know, so I don't know what to say."
"Oh yeah, I forgot, the whole Cedric thing. Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."
"Thanks, but I need some time to think."
"Ok, I have an idea, but I need to know if there is any chance of it working."
"Shoot."
"Okay, how about you sneaking out of the castle to meet us on a Hogsmead weekend?"
"That could work. I know some tunnels out of the school, and I have an invisibility cloak, and I have a map that shows where everyone is who is in that school."
"You have an invisibility cloak?"
"Yeah, it was my father's. Dumbledore gave it to me because my father left it with him when he died. Okay Dudley, I know that you need to talk, but I really am not in the mood right know. I just want to be alone right know. We can talk later tonight. We can use the Walkie Talkies that you have."
"Yeah, sure Harry. I'll just sit over here and play my gameboy."
This gave Harry some time to think about what happened that year at Hogwarts. Cedric was dead, and Voldemort was back. How could things get any worse! The only way that it would be worse is if he couldn't go back, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't going to be a problem. When the traffic cleared up, and they finally reached the house. He was shocked to see that his uncle had gained another 50 pounds and that his wife's neck was even longer.
"Wow Uncle Vernon, you look great!" lied Harry.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Go to your room until supper is ready."
Harry didn't really mind. After all, he was being treated like this regularly. This would give me for Harry to write a letter to Hermione. No sooner than he reached upstairs, that Hedwig was sitting on his bed, looking mad. She didn't like being alone. And she was there a good time. She was holding a letter in her hand, and the handwriting shows that the letter was from Ron.
Dear Harry,
I am sorry to hear that Aunt Marge is staying with you. I know that this is not the best news for you, and I have a bit of bad news as well. First of all, Hermione is here, because her parents well, are gone. Nobody knows where they are, and they didn't leave anything behind. We think that they are probably just on vacation, and that they will be back soon, but for know, she is staying here. The thing is, Bill got us tickets to see him in Egypt for the summer. You know how short we are on cash, and we can't leave Hermione here all alone. So, what I want to ask you is maybe she can live with you for the summer. She has $200 and she can do her own laundry and conjure up some food when necessary. Please ask. I really don't want to leave her here all alone. You've probably figured out that you can't stay with us either. With Hermione around, I'm sure that you'll still have a good time. Sorry for the short notice.
Love Always,
Ron
Wow! Her parents were gone! She must be so sad. But the thought of Hermione sleeping in the same house as Harry was quite appealing to him. Harry always knew that Hermione was pretty, but know that she might be staying with him, he was starting to picture her a whole different way. She was short, but had nice hair (when she tended to it) and was skinny. She was a perfect and smart girl for her. She was also a witch! He stopped thinking about that, and went downstairs to ask his uncle. When he saw that nobody was home, he checked the backyard. Where his old picnic table was, was a marvelous underground pool. Like he thought, the whole family was swimming in it. Harry ran to Uncle Vernon almost knocking him down.
"Uncle Vernon! I need to ask you something very important! I have this friend. Her name is Hermione. And well, something happened with her family, who by the way are dentists, and I was wondering if she could stay here during the summer?"
"Are you out of your mind! Why would I let another one of your kind stay here for the summer! It's preposterous!"
"She'll pay $200 and she can cook and clean. O please uncle!"
Before his uncle could answer, Aunt petunia jumped into the conversation.
"Two hundred dollars you say, for the whole summer! We'll take her. Vernon really, we could use the money!"
Harry almost ran into the pool as he was heading back into the house to write his response.
"Watch it!" screamed Dudley, but Harry didn't care. He was going to spend the whole summer with Hermione!
*************
Back in Harry's room, another letter arrived for him. This letter was from somebody who's handwriting he didn't recognize. When he opened the letter, he was shocked to see that it was from Durmstang.
Dear Mr. Potter,
It has come to my attention that you are an excellent leader and that you posses a great amount of talent with your wand. Even though you have been going to Hogwarts for 4 years, we feel that it is best that you finish your training here, at Durmstang. You would have a greater learning experience about the Dark Arts, and you would be greatly prepared for your life after school. We are awaiting your decision by owl no later than August the 31st.
Sincerely,
L. Malfoy
Headmaster of Durmstang
Malfoy! Harry was repulsed! Malfoy! He would never go to the same school as Malfoy! Especially if his father was the headmaster! What was wrong with him? Harry took the letter and stuffed it under the loose floorboard, and got ready to start writing his letter to Hermione.
Dear Hermione,
I just heard what happened to your parents and I am really sorry. Of course you can come and stay here with me! It would be fun. I don't have much time to write this, but I'll see you soon. Write me an owl telling me when you'll be coming.
Love, Harry
Done. Harry was so tired that he flopped onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. A knocking on the door awaked him. He opened his eyes, put on his glasses, and opened the door. It was Hermione.
"Harry! I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any sooner, but Ron was leaving today, and I had to go. I got your letter, and I already paid your uncle, and since your Aunt Marge was staying over, I have to share a room with you. Is that okay?"
Harry was about to say that she could also share the same bed, but something stopped him. This wasn't like him. This was Hermione that he was thinking about here. She wasn't his girlfriend! Hermione was staring at him.
"Sure you can stay in my room. It's not big, but what can I say. It's better than a cupboard. You can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
"Harry, I don't want you to fell un at home. Please, I brought a sleeping bag. Don't worry about it."
"You're the guest, and that's the last word. Hermione, your sleeping on the bed!"
"OK Harry. I need to change, where's the bathroom?"
Harry showed her where the bathroom was, and headed back to his room. He picked up one of Hermione's trunks, and almost dropped it. It weighed a ton! What was she carrying in there, books? Knowing Hermione, probably. When Hermione returned, she was a wearing some very tight shorts and a halter top. Harry couldn't help himself from staring. She was so beautiful!
"What, you've never seen a girl wear shorts before Harry?"
"Of course I have, I was …a … looking at the door…"
"Harry, you sound so old. Your voice, it's so deep! I thought that you had a cold, but know I can clearly hear it, it's changed. Your becoming a man Harry, and a very handsome man as well."
And with that, she left the room, leaving Harry speechless. Was he really changing? Harry felt his face. His chin felt a little prickly, like it had hair on it. She was right! Harry was turning into a man, a handsome man according to Hermione. Harry changed, and quickly went downstairs with a big smile across his face.
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