Chapter I: Happy birthday Dudley

Ten years had gone by since the infant Harry Potter had been left on the doorstep of Number 4 Privet Drive. Things were going well for our boy. He lived happily with his aunt and uncle, whom had treated him as a second son rather than a distant relative. He and Dudley always got along well. The neighbors often mistakenly called him "Harry Dursley", thinking that Vernon had two sons. This day arrived just like any other, the sun rose lazily over the quiet streets, projecting a gold-orange hue through the windows along Privet Drive; its residents beginning to stir from their sleep. For many this was just another day, but to Harry and the Dursley family, today was something special.

Today happened to be Dudley Dursley's birthday. Dudley woke first, sat up and rubbed his eyes and quietly sang "happy birthday" to himself. Once he finally managed to get out of bed, Dudley made his way into the kitchen, washed his hands, and began to put breakfast on the stove. That was just how selfless he could be; he was making breakfast for the family on his birthday. Let it be known that both boys were very autonomous at their age and could do a lot for themselves.

Harry woke to the smell of eggs and bacon on the stove. By the time he situated himself and found his way into the kitchen, the table had already been set and the plates were being laid out for each member within the household.

"Morning, Dud", he said, "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks mate" Dudley replied. "Why don't we go and ready for breakfast, then", he continued.

"Sure, beats sleeping", said Harry.

If this were any other day, Harry would have normally stayed in bed, seeing as this is the summer holidays; however, there were times where he dreaded going to bed. Many a night Harry would be waking up in the wee hours of the morning, drenched in sweat. The nightmares bothered him; they had been for as long as he could remember. The most vivid one involved him watching a man and a woman die at the hands of an unknown stranger. The man was the first to die, as he was trying to ward off the attacker. The woman, whom Harry had learned to be his mother, had fallen shielding him from the attacker,

"No, please, not Harry, I'll do anything, just don't hurt him"

"Move, it will be done; I will spare your life if you let me take the boy, this boy shall die!"

"No, I beg you please... Not Harry... Not my little Harry."

Then he remembered the stranger had said something that sounded like "abracadabra", a flash of green light and then his mother had fell to the floor, dead. The assailant then turned to Harry, pointed some sort of long, pointy stick at him; just as he had done with his parents, uttered "abracadabra" and then the flash happened again. It was then that he would wake. He would often awaken to a sharp pain running along the scar on his forehead. This scar, shaped like a lightning bolt, is the only damage that the strange assailant had brought upon him. Whatever it was that killed his parents seemingly bounced off of Harry, leaving only that scar.

When he had asked about these nightmares, he was often told that that was one of his earlier memories. His uncle told him that someone came to his parents' home that night, killed them, and then tried to kill him too. However, he couldn't. The attack just bounced off. He had also been told that they would tell the whole story when the time came.

For now however, Harry only thought of the coming day and the celebration that would surely take place. He helped his cousin finish setting up for breakfast, and waited for the two remaining Dursleys to rise.

The pleasant scent of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, and English muffins eventually found its way to Mr. and Mrs. Dursley's room. Vernon awoke, gave a yawn, and nudged his wife a few times.

"Wake up, love", said a still groggy Vernon; "I think the boys have already started without us." Those two, he thought. Soon enough, the two adults found their way downstairs to the dining room.

Dudley spoke first, "morning Mum, Dad" he said, breakfast is ready.

"Thanks, sweetie and happy birthday", replied Petunia.

"Wow", said Vernon. "Only turned eleven an' he's already cooking full meals!" "I wish all children were like that."

"Morning, Harry dear", Petunia said. "We mustn't forget you either."

"Right", said Vernon, "although you might want to do something with that hair of yours lad, it looks god awful. Comb it please".

"Yes sir", answered Harry, "I'll tidy up after breakfast".

"Fair enough", said Vernon.

And so the morning started of pleasantly, the family of four sat, gave their thanks, and then ate the scrumptious breakfast. Afterward, Harry had offered to do the cleanup, since Dudley had done the cooking.

"So what did you have in mind for today Dud", said Vernon.

"Lord, Vernon, you forgot we had planned to see the new gorilla display at the zoo?" said Petunia, "Malcolm and Piers wanted to come along, remember?"

"Oh, right", replied Vernon. "I'd forgotten." "I did remember to get the cake, though."

"What kind of cake did you want this year?" Harry asked his cousin.

"Chocolate", replied Dudley, "just like we planned."

"Righteous", said Harry. He then turned to his uncle, "is it alright if we also stop by the reptile house?" "Perhaps after we've seen the gorillas?"

"Sure thing Harry", replied Vernon.

The rest of the morning had gone by smoothly; Harry had cleaned the dishes and prepared himself an outfit for the trip. He then made his way to the bathroom for a wash, then dressed and proceeded to get the post and do his share of the chores while Dudley took his turn washing and dressing. By 1pm, the four had showered and dressed. The doorbell rang to reveal Dudley's two best friends, Piers and Malcolm, whom gave their greetings to his parents and thanked them for inviting them to come on the trip. Before long, the group had found their way into Vernon's car and off to the zoo.

Author's note: so there is Ch. 1 my AU story. Forgive me if I seems as if I don't know much about the attack, I haven't gone into much detail yet. Anyway, strange stuff happens during the zoo visit. (for both Harry and Dudley) The two of them begin to uncover the truth. Next chap will be zoo visit and beyond. Please feel free to review.

ANOTHER NOTE: I Resubmitted a corrected Prelude and Ch. I so that dialouge is fixed and will remember to quote dialouge in future chaps. Thanks for the reviews and tips so far!