Voices keep me small
And tongue-tied to the wall
Breast-fed by the moon,
I've grown up much too soon

dSz

Harry let out a loud sigh and picked at the small pile of mashed potatoes sitting on the plate in front of him. His aunt made a disapproving clicking noise in the back of her throat but Harry's attention remained focused on the flowered table cloth. Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon shared a look while Dudley remained completely silent. Dudley Dursley may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even he could tell that something was wrong with his cousin, something worse than being picked on or bullied, something much worse.

"Eat your dinner Harry, don't just pick at it," Aunt Petunia urged snappishly. Harry nodded in reply and shoveled a small portion of warm potatoes into his mouth.

It had been a week since the end of Harry's sixth year. A week spent in the company of his only remaining family, a family that has never cared for him. But something was different this summer. When his aunt and uncle had met him at the train station they wore solemn expressions on their faces. They had spoken quietly with Arthur and Molly Weasley before leaving the station for home. Harry wasn't sure what had been said, but he knew the subject had been himself…and most likely Dumbledore.

Dumbledore. Even thinking the name seemed to hurt, causing Harry to flinch slightly. The family sitting around the table noticed his odd reaction but no one spoke. Dudley opened his mouth to ask Harry what was wrong but his mother shook her head and mouthed the word "no". Something was definitely different, Dudley knew this for certain, but he didn't know why.

He knew that his parents brought Harry home a week ago and began treating him differently then they did the year before. The first thing Dudley noted was that his mom and dad no longer called his cousin "Potter", instead they called him Harry. His mother also began bugging his cousin to eat more, complaining that he seemed unhealthy and scrawny. By themselves none of these things seemed too strange in Dudley's eyes. He was older now and much more mature. A boy his age needs to start thinking about his future, not the many ways he can torture his cousin, or at least that's what his girlfriend Samantha had said. Samantha lectured Dudley on many different topics, her favorite being Dudley's need to be more sensitive.

Harry let out another loud sigh and Uncle Vernon eyed him warily. He still couldn't bring himself to trust the boy completely, he is a wizard after all, but even Vernon's normally frigid heart could sense the boy's pain and despair.

"May I be excused please?" Harry asked politely as he sat up straight in his chair.

"But you've hardly…"

"Now, now Petunia dear, if the boy's not hungry then he's not hungry," interrupted Vernon much to Harry's surprise. "Run along Harry."

"Thank you," Harry replied quietly before lifting his napkin from his lap and placing it on the table.

Hushed whispers could be heard from the kitchen as he slowly trudged up the stairs to his room. As he closed the door behind him he could hear someone making their way up the stairs. It sounded like someone heavy, possibly Dudley. Harry thought about locking the door but decided against it, somewhat curious regarding Dudley's intentions.

There was a soft knocking on the door before it opened a crack. "Harry, can I talk to you?"

"About what?" Harry questioned as he opened the door and motioned toward the bed. The old mattress groaned softly as Dudley sat down upon it.

Not as much as it should have though, Harry noticed thoughtfully. He studied his cousin for a moment while Dudley looked around the room, a curious expression on his face. Dudley had lost weight. Harry wasn't sure when this happened but wasn't surprised that he hadn't noticed until now. There were more important things on his mind at the moment.

"You've lost weight," Harry blurted out without thinking.

Dudley nodded proudly. "I was wondering if you'd notice. Samantha's had me on a diet all year long. At first I thought I'd go mad from it but after a few weeks I started to notice a difference so I just kept going with it. I doubt I'll ever be as thin as you but I wouldn't mind losing another fifty or so."

"Who would want to be as thin as me," Harry commented as he turned to look at his reflection in the mirror, "I'm horribly scrawny."

"No you're not," Dudley stated adamantly, "We're just shaped different is all. I suppose it has to do with our parents…I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

Harry gave Dudley a confused look. "I don't mind if you mention my parents. And who's Samantha?"

"Girlfriend," Dudley responded sheepishly as he nervously tugged at a frayed corner of the blanket covering the small mattress.

A few seconds of silence passed before there was a soft tapping at the window. A large brown owl waited outside, a small white envelope tied around its foot. Dudley's eyes widened with interest as Harry pulled out his wand. He kept the wand trained on the owl and opened the window. The brown bird gave him an anxious look before landing on the small desk that was sitting against the wall near the bed. Harry ran a hand through his messy black hair but his wand remained fixed on the large owl.

"Is that a letter?" Dudley asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I should take it or not. It could be a portkey or some other kind of trap."

The owl held out its foot expectantly and let out an annoyed hoot. When neither Harry nor Dudley moved to take the letter it became even more agitated. After another minute it became even angrier and began gnawing at the string holding the envelope in place. In seconds it had the envelope loose and had flown out the window.

"Is there a name on it?" Dudley questioned as he leaned forward to get a better look.

Harry walked to the desk and peered down at the small white envelope. There was a return address. "It's from Hogwarts," Harry stated, "or at least that's what it says."

"That's your school isn't it?" Dudley asked as he turned his attention from the envelope to Harry. "What's it like there?"

The question caught Harry by surprise. Not once had the Dursleys shown any interest in his time spent away from Privet Drive, other than making sure that none of the "freaks" came around to cause trouble. He wondered why Dudley was suddenly curious about Hogwarts. Could it be some kind of trick? Would Dudley somehow use the information against him? But how could he, what would he have to gain?

"Hogwarts is my home," Harry stated as he sat down next to his cousin, "It's the most magical place in the world. There's talking portraits, ghosts, centaurs, a giant squid..."

"Ghosts!" Dudley questioned loudly.

"Not scary ones," Harry replied quickly, "There's four houses; Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. I'm in Gryffindor house."

"What's the difference between them and how do you know which one you should be in?"

This was going to take awhile, Harry thought to himself. "Ravenclaw is for really intelligent people who like to study..."

"I wouldn't be in that house then," Dudley chuckled.

"Probably not," Harry commented, his lips curling up in a small smile. Dudley noticed it wasn't a large smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. It was a start.

"What about the others?"

"Well, Hufflepuff is for hard-working, trustworthy children. Gryffindor is for the brave and courageous and Slytherin is for…" Harry's voice trailed off as he tried to think of a way to describe Slytherin house.

"It's for sneaky people," Dudley supplied, "Like snakes, right?"

"Pretty much," Harry ground out, images of Snape, Malfoy and Riddle flitting through his mind.

"I bet you're in Gryffindor," Dudley commented offhandedly.

"Why would you think that?"

"Cause you're into saving people and stuff, right?" Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering why Dudley would think something like that. "I mean, you did save me from that Dementor thing."

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry responded sadly. "I haven't been doing to well with the whole saving people thing though."

"Is that why you've been depressed ever since you came back from school?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what you're…"

"O come off it Harry," Dudley interrupted quickly, "We may not be close but even I can tell that something's really bothering you and you should talk to someone. Samantha says it's not good to bottle everything up inside."

The young wizard's breath suddenly caught in his throat. Since Dumbledore's death so many people had told him he should talk to someone about it. Hermione and Ron wrote to him everyday, begging him to speak his feelings. Even Remus stopped by one evening asking to talk. But somehow all of those requests didn't seem as powerful as Dudley's simple advice. How dare his cousin, who had never cared at all for him, suddenly decide that he should spill his guts. Harry decided he would. After all, Dudley had asked for it.

"You want to hear all about it," Harry spat angrily, "You and your parents have never cared one bit about my life at Hogwarts and now you're telling me I should talk to someone. Well let me tell you exactly what's been going on in my life."

Harry began to explain and soon Dudley was completely wrapped up in Harry's tales of mountain trolls and gigantic chess sets. The description of the basilisk frightened him and when Harry explained how he'd defeated the gigantic snake and the ghostly memory of Tom Riddle, Dudley was completely amazed. He wanted to stand up and cheer when Harry spoke of the escape of the wrongly convicted Sirius Black and he wanted to cry when Harry told the story of Black's death.

Dudley and Harry sat there for hours as Harry explained everything about his life in the wizarding world. From Quidditch to Gringott's, from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, Harry explained it all. Once in awhile Dudley would interrupt to ask a question, but for the most part he remained silent, listening intently to every explanation and description that came out of Harry's mouth. When Harry began describing his sixth year at Hogwarts his tone began to change.

"Snape killed Dumbledore," Harry whispered sadly. His voice became so small that Dudley had to lean closer in order to hear the words.

"Dumbledore was important to you, wasn't he?" Dudley asked.

"He was like a father to me," Harry choked out, the words catching in his throat.

"I'm sorry," Dudley replied solemnly and he really did mean it. He wrapped a large arm around Harry's small shoulders in a brotherly sort of gesture.

The small, black-haired boy turned toward his large cousin and cried into his shoulder. Dudley noticed once again just how tiny Harry was compared to himself. Kind of like a little brother, he thought as he softly patted Harry's back. Right then and there Dudley decided that he would act as Harry's big brother. That's what Harry really needed at the moment. He may have tons of friends, Dudley thought to himself, but he needs family.

Petunia Dursley silently closed the door to Harry's room. Her lips formed into a sad smile at the thought of her little boy growing up. It seemed both boys were growing up, although one more quickly than the other. She let out a small sigh as she entered her own bedroom.

The sound of Vernon snoring filled the room but she ignored it as she moved to the desk sitting in the corner. In the top left drawer was a small, worn photo of a young girl with red hair and bright green eyes. Petunia marveled at the way the girl's hair moved as the wind swept through it. It was a magical photo, the only one she had. She always kept it hidden since she knew that Vernon would destroy it if he found it.

"Your boy's growing up," she whispered as she ran a finger down the side of the photograph, "and you would be so proud of him." Petunia watched the girl for a few seconds longer before hiding the photo away once more. Then she climbed into bed and gave her sleeping husband a peck on the cheek before going to sleep. She slept with a smile, happy in the knowledge that her family was safe and sound.

Down the hall Dudley lay awake in his bed. His eyes were wide and he stared at the ceiling with a worried expression on his face. The things Harry had told him had truly frightened him. How could he hope to help protect Harry against people using magic?

In the smallest bedroom at Number Four, Privet Drive, Harry Potter was sleeping. His slumber was not pleasant, instead it was plagued by nightmares and dreams of mistakes that could not be taken back. Eventually he fell into a much deeper sleep, one that was dreamless and peaceful.

As the night continued on toward the morning, a small white envelope lay on Harry Potter's desk. It glowed softly with an ethereal light. The light became stronger as the hours passed, guaranteeing that it would not stay forgotten for long.

Many miles away from Surrey, in the small wizarding village of Hogsmeade, the owner of the Hog's Head was closing up for the night. He shooed the last of the customers out the door and magically sealed the curtains. As he made his way upstairs to his small apartment above the bar, his appearance began to change. By the time he was sitting comfortably on his favorite overstuffed orange sofa he no longer looked anything like the man who had been serving drinks downstairs only fifteen minutes before.

A long, white beard hung down to his waist. His fingers were longer and his eyes were now a bright blue instead of brown. With a sigh he pulled a pair of half-moon spectacles out of the front pocket of his purple robe and carefully slipped them over his nose. A large yawn escaped him as he glanced at the clock above the fireplace.

It was late but he knew that he could not let himself sleep. Not yet at least. There was much to do in preparation for the houseguest that would be arriving the next day. He fingered his wand nervously as he thought about his last living relative. She could turn out to be a great help to the wizarding world or she might decide not to have anything to do with magic just to spite the family who had ignored her for so long.

The old man's brow furrowed slightly as he rose from the sofa to make himself a cup of tea. It was times like these that he wished his brother was still with him.