Disclaimer: Nothing that you recognize belongs to me.

Warning: Slash will be mentioned in the story. Nothing explicit.

A/n: Sorry I know it's been forever since I updated this. I'll try and get new chapters out faster. Thanks for the reviews. This is the first story I've written that has gotten this many story alerts. Yay for me! Harry's mystery date will most likely be introduced in chapter 3 or 4.

On with the story.

The Past Revisited

Letting people in through the door the Dursleys looked like they had just received a strong blow to the head. Especially Dudley, although that wasn't anything new. All he could think about was how different the freak looked. He hadn't seen him since he left at seventeen. In those four years Harry had definitely done a lot of growing up.

He had dazzling emerald eyes, hair that looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, a lithe body that complimented his short form, and to top it all off expensive clothing that, while not screaming wealthy, were clearly the finest quality. Subconsciously tugging on his much cheaper suit, Dudley emptied his mind of thought (not too hard for him) and continued greeting his guests.

People were slowly streaming into the house. Most of them were heading into the living room causing no end of stress to the party's hosts. Once all the people were in the house the two scurried back into the living room. Halting in shock they saw what was, to them, a very strange sight. There was Harry Potter, former most hated, charming the most powerful people from Dudley's work.

Stupidly trying to compete with his cousin, Dudley went over to the laughing group. He said, 'What's everyone laughing about?' Still chuckling, one of his coworkers turned and said, 'Oh, nothing. Your cousin here was just telling us the funniest story about his school days. He was—'.

Rapidly interrupting Dudley growled, 'What has he been saying! You can't trust anything he says. He's a compulsive liar you know. Don't listen to him." Around the room a hush grew as Dudley once again made a fool of himself.

A minute later the room was so silent a dropped penny could be heard. Not one of the guests was sure of what had just happened. Was it a family dispute, or had they stumbled on to something deeper? They didn't no whether to leave the cousins to themselves or politely pretend that Dudley had never said anything.

Potter stood up out of his chair. Despite his short stature he seemed to tower over the people still crowded around him. Although these were some pretty powerful men there was something about Harry Potter that made even the most fearless of people be wary.

Moving gracefully through the crowd Harry put a calming hand on Dudley's shoulder. In response, Dudley, shuddering from the horrifying pictures of getting infected with freakishness, tried to move away.

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Subtly turning himself and Dudley to face the group, Harry pasted a genuine looking grin on his face while grimacing internally. Of course his cousin could never let Harry have any benefit of the doubt. He should have known that anything involving Dudley could never run smoothly. Now all that was left to do was salvage his cousin's reputation a little.

Mentally smirking, Harry thought that this was the least he could do knowing what a shock his surprise was going to give to Dudley.

He said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my cousin the kidder. I don't think that anyone really gets his jokes, but please let us humor him'.

Jamming Dudley in the back with his elbow Harry tried to send the message that Dudley was going to have to go along with his scheme to regain face.

He could tell that he was entirely unhappy about doing anything 'the freak' said to, but as stupid as Dudley was, if there was one thing he could do well it was lie and cheat his way out of things.

With a smile that looked more like a lopsided grimace, Dudley said, 'Yes sometimes I think I should just give up trying to tell jokes altogether.'

The Dursley's guests were uncertain whether this was the true reason for the comment. However, these people were more than used to sweeping things under the rug. Just as Dudley's remark proved that he didn't belong with this higher class set.

Harry thought about how much coaching he had to go through to really understand how the elite lived. It was much harder than just learning how to deal with the business elite.

There was no way that the Dursleys would ever be able to truly belong to the even the lower upper class.

Delighting in how oblivious the two of them would be, Harry moved back over to his previously avid listeners.

Although they were much more hesitant than before the people were drawn to Harry like moths to flames. He didn't even notice though. His lover would have been commenting on Harry's obliviousness on how attractive he was.

Harry smiled softly. He couldn't wait until his date made it to the party. Not only because he was looking forward to the Dursleys reaction, but because he was missing his beloved's presence liked crazy.

The smile set his followers at ease. They had been watching the situation play out, as had everyone else in the room. They again motioned for him to continue his story.

Nobody noticed Dudley storming into the kitchen unable to believe that all his superiors, who he had spent months trying to impress, liked his freakish cousin that easily.