A/N- Hello! this is my first time writing anything for myself ever, I've been trying to years but just hadn't been able to put words to paper that made any kind of sense so please review! let me know what you think, constructive criticism welcomed!
**Thank you, reviewer, for pointing out my silly last-name mistake! I was thinking about whether Vernon would be there at the station too when I started writingg lol.
An Unlikely Reunion.
It was 10.35am and Dudley Dursley was standing in front of platform 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station with a trolley, a trunk, and his 11 year old daughter Daisy. The last 2 months had gone by in a haze and the owl had been unexpected, though he couldn't say he was completely surprised, ever since the cake exploded on her 3rd birthday he could never fully suppress the niggle he had in the back of his mind that she was special.
"Where's the platform dad?!" Daisy asked, tugging on his hand and looking up at him with her big green eyes filled with excitement, "it's umm..." he looked around aimlessly, hoping for a clue. His mind wandered back to when he was here with his mum and dad, walking out of the station laughing, leaving behind a scraggly boy in broken glasses and baggy jeans looking lost and confused. A feeling of unease that always accompanied these memories filled him. Ever since Daisy came along, he could never imagine treating his daughter the same way he and his parents treated Harry, it took him a long time to understand that about himself, and he thought about a chance encounter he had had 2 years ago…
He was still working for his father's drilling company and had just finished meeting with a client (who had just bought the place to renovate and sell on as quickly as possible) in Grimmauld Place. They had been in operation for 10+ years flipping houses all over Great Brittan and due to recent success, and some cleaver health & safety legislation decided to upgrade all of their working crew's tools and equipment.
He was walking back to his car when he looked over at the playground in the park across the street and for a moment he stood there blinking. Two kids were careening around the play equipment while their father, with scruffy hair and round glasses, looked on and laughed at their antics.
Before he could think too much about what he was doing Dudley crossed the road and stood next to him saying "Hullo Harry", Harry jumped, his hand automatically going to his back pocket before he realized who it was standing next to him, "Dudley!".
"We're going to be late! I'm going to miss the train!" the panic in Daisy's voice cut through Dudley's' daydreams, he realised he was still just standing there holding her hand as she anxiously hopped from foot to foot, still with no idea of how to get her to the platform and on the to the Hogwarts Express. In all the conversations he had with Harry since finding out Daisy was a witch he couldn't believe he had forgotten to ask how to get on to Platform 9 ¾.
In the 10 minutes they had been standing there he had seen other families go by pushing trolleys loaded with trunks, complete with an owl cage perched on top or a cat cage (one young boy walked past holding a frog which in his honest opinion was just a bit weird and promised to make the kid no friends) but every time he spotted them he would blink and they were gone.
It was 10.45 and he could hear soft little sniffs coming from Daisy as she tried to hold back tears, she was so excited to be going to Hogwarts, after their trip to Diagon Alley to buy her school supplies she was utterly enchanted with the wizarding world and couldn't wait to start learning magic. She had had a hard time at school previously because all the other kids in her year thought she was strange. He had been called to the principal's office when she was 8 because a boy had tried to kiss her at lunch and his pants burst in to flames, he accused her of starting the fire but when no one could find a lighter or matches on her person or in her bag there was nothing anyone could do. Luckily the flames had gone out as quickly as they started and the boy miraculously didn't suffer any burns but he was left shaken and pantless in the middle of the playground. When the principal tried to suggest that Daisy was somehow the culprit even though they couldn't prove anything he started shouting "IT'S NOT DAISYS FAULT SOME LITTLE BUTT HEAD THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY TO START STEALING KISSES! IF THIS IS HOW THIS HOW YOU RUN YOUR SCHOOL THEN I WILL BE HAVING VERY SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HIRING PARTICES WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES".
"Maybe we should ask someone?!" Daisy suggested as she glanced anxiously at the clock, her eyes brimming with tears, she was almost shaking with anticipation. He was going to miss having her at home, she was his whole world ever since her mother left. He pushed those thoughts aside, besides, he still wasn't ready to go down that particular rabbit hole and he really had to focus on trying to work out what to do next.
"Hey ya Dudders!" came a sudden voice right over his shoulder. Dudley jumped out of his skin and almost squealed in fright, he was completely wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn't notice his cousin walking over to stand next to him. "You must be Daisy, Nice to meet you, I hear your starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry said kindly as Dudley took a quick moment to recover, "Yes!" Daisy breathed in relief, "Except we don't seem to be able to find the right platform?" she glanced up at her dad quickly to see if he knew who it was she was talking to. "Daisy, this is my cousin Harry, He's a ahhh… wizard" Dudley was still getting used to using the term though each time he said it, it didn't feel so strange.
Daisy's eyes widened in excitement, all trace of the tears threatening to spill over just moments before completely gone and replaced with her earlier excitement, "I'm a witch too!" Daisy crowed, bouncing on her heels and straightening her back looking proud. The action reminded Harry of Aunt Petunia when she used to talk about Dudley's "Achievements" at school and he smiled.
After the war Harry had come to understand horcrux's more then he cared to think about, and his feelings towards his aunt, uncle, and cousin changed as a result. Not completely, mind you, you couldn't suffer that much neglect and abuse and then all of a sudden be okay with it. But he had seen firsthand what living with a horcrux could do to a person after living in a tent for months with Ron and Hermione, when they were on the run and trying to work out how to destroy the locket. Harry had been talking to the well-off muggle obsessed wizarding neighbour down the street who owned a bunch a muggle companies, when they asked Harry if they knew of a good place to purchase a large amount of muggle building equipment (Harry had no idea why he thought he would know but he was so used to Arthurs sometimes strange questions about the ways of muggles that he didn't mind too much), Harry mentioned his uncles company Grunnings without a thought that it would bring his cousin to the neighbourhood.
Harry checked his watch, it was 10.52, "would you like me to show you how to get on the platform?" he asked Daisy, conscious of the instant sigh of relief that came from Dudley's direction. He started pushing the trolley towards the wall between platform 9 and 10 as he quietly explained to Daisy (but loudly enough for Dudley to here) how to get through the barrier "Now if you feel a bit nervous about walking into a brick wall its best to take it at a bit of a run, hold on to the trolley with me and I'll show you".
Daisy was holding on to the trolleys handle bar next to Harry as Dudley watched them pick up speed, he couldn't help a little gasp escape as they disappeared through the brick wall and was quick to follow behind after them, not wanting to let his little girl out of his sight for very long.
The first thing Dudley noticed as he burst through on to platform 9 ¾ was the noise. The second was Daisy talking to a beautiful red hared lady standing next to Harry who he could only assume was Harrys' wife (Jenny? Julie?). When Dudley walked up beside Daisy and placed a protective hand on her shoulder Harry turned around "Dudley, this is my wife Ginny, Ginny this is Dudley". Ginny pursed her lips for a brief moment before flashing a warm smile "Nice to finally meet you Big D" she said before reaching out a hand. Dudley felt himself tense for a moment unsure of how he felt about this lady using a nick name from his wasn't-very-nice-to-harry youth, until he saw the twinkle in her eye and realised she was teasing him. He laughed and shook her hand in reply "Nice to finally meet you too Mrs Potter", Harry chuckled quietly, Dudley quickly realised that he must have been holding his breath slightly as well, unsure of how Dudley would react.
Daisy looked up at her dad questioningly, Dudley shook his head slightly to say her questions were for another time before announcing "How about we get you on to this train? before it leaves without you! Let's go find you a carriage!" "oh you will be in the same year as our James, come, you can sit in his carriage, this way!" Ginny said brightly before taking the trolley from Harry and pushing it through the crowd further down the platform.
It was 11.00 and Dudley was waving goodbye to Daisy she was waving madly out the window next to her newly introduced cousin who was waving just as madly to his parents, the train started moving away. He felt a bite on his heart as he thought to himself that these were the last few moments that he would see her until the Christmas Holidays, he was happy for her.
The train shrunk into the background until it was gone, he and Harry were some of the last parents left. He felt a hand patting him on the back and turned to look, Harry was standing there next to him looking down the tracks after his son. "Are you doing anything tonight? Come over to ours for dinner and we will wait to find out what houses they are sorted into, James promised to send us an owl as soon as the banquet is over and I'm sure he will let us know about Daisy if she doesn't send an owl herself, it'll be fun!", houses? Dudley thought, "Alright" he agreed as they turned to leave back through the barrier and into Muggle London, "But right now I could use a stiff drink", Harry grinned in agreement, pleased with the budding relationship he was building with one of his last remaining blood relatives.
"OOOooo I know this great pub just around the corner from ours!" exclaimed Ginny, pushing on ahead with renewed vigour before passing back through the barrier, Harry following closely on her heels.
Dudley stopped a moment and looked around the platform taking in the world he was brought up to reject and shun, as he stepped towards the barrier he knew without a doubt, he was happy to now be a part of it, before disappearing behind Harry.
FIN