Chapter two

How it started and how it begins

Dudley Dursley was five years old when his cousin started showing signs of having freaky powers. It was subtle at first, barely even noticeable but Dudley had just happened to be in the right place at the right time, every time.

And he was awestruck.

What previously had been just the annoying kid his mum kept locked under the stairs most of the time, became something so much cooler than anything he'd ever seen.

He started talking to his cousin, trying to get him to open up so that he can get him to display more of his powers.

Of course his parents noticed this quickly. They had been fierce at first, in their efforts to disinterest Dudley of his freak cousin, but all of their efforts failed. In fact, the more they tried to dissuade him from interacting with Harry, the more he did so just to spite them. It came to a head one day when Dudley actually screamed at them, threatening to call someone if they didn't lay off, forcing them to grudgingly at least, treat Harry with at least basic care.

And they could only watch on helplessly as Harry opened up more and more to Dudley and gained more and more confidence in the fact that his abilities were not evil or freakish.

A year went by in this manner. With Dudley's goading, Harry quickly began to explore his powers, learning to change the length of his hair, make the windows disappear. He even learned to move things with just a thought and to pick up on the surface thoughts of others.

Dudley took an interest in reading, eager to help Harry come up with ideas for things he could try and learn. He developed a penchant for abstract thinking and ideas with the goal pushing Harry further and further.

When he was seven, Dudley started trying to find a means to imitate his cousin's powers. As he got older, the novelty of having a cousin with superpowers began to wear off, a slight jealousy began to take root in his soul, but rather than treat Harry differently because of it, he instead started concentrating on what he could do to copy his cousin's abilities, or at least some of them, turning to more mundane ways to do so. He delved into books, broached any and all subjects he thought could help, checking out books from the library no child should have ever been interested in at all. The adults humored him, amused that the pudgy little first grader had such a high interest in things like science, math, engineering…chemistry.

It wasn't until he started to display knowledge and talent in said subjects that people started paying more attention to him. And before long, the Dursley's residence became the center of a lot of attention. Dudley became a local celebrity. "Genius" they called him. Wonder boy, child prodigy. Professors and celebrities and other child stars flocked to pivot drive, eager to see the child genius and some of the things he'd created. Money flowed in, making the dursleys affluent and comfortable.

And it was this sudden surge of good fortune and wealth that softened their attitude towards Harry. Because if it weren't for him, then their little duddy-kins would never have blossomed as he had. He never would have pushed himself to become the prodigy he was.

But despite all of this positive attention, all the deals offered and the people wanting to see him, Dudley's only concern was his cousin, and how he wanted to play with Harry on an even ground. Nothing else mattered to him, and soon his disinterest frustrated those who sought to use him for one thing or another. The crowds dispersed, the deals stopped coming and the cameras drifted away. The Dursleys were left alone.

When he was eight, Dudley started succeeding in his goal to imitate his cousin's powers. Even to this day he remembers the first time he'd ever done so. He'd been so incredibly proud, so happy, ecstatic even, and filled with the absolute euphoria of a long term goal completed at last. He ran to his cousin, gathered his parents and excitedly demonstrated his accomplishment. Basking in the adults astonished gazes as Dudley imitated Harry's ability to levitate things by using cleverly crafted devices that utilized Magnets and electricity. He was so proud, so excited, ecstatic as he displayed is crudely made but very clever little machine, turning to Harry to get his opinion.

His elation died a quick death upon seeing the look in Harry's eyes.

Confusion colored his cousin's face as he eyed Dudley's device, an innocent child's inquiry leaving his lips before Dudley could full comprehend his cousin's utter lack of awe and excitement.

"But…it's not really all that cool though. You're just copying me."

Harry hadn't meant anything at all by it. There was no superior tone or any distain. It was simple logic from a young child. He truly wanted to understand just how some dinky little machines and a somewhat shaky imitation was anything like the true thing.

Dudley understood this, and therefor spent the rest of the day trying to explain to Harry the possibilities of his achievement. If Dudley could copy that first ability then there was no reason he couldn't copy more. And therefore there would no longer be a barrier keeping them from playing together to the fullest extent.

Harry didn't understand.

Harry dismissed Dudley's idea saying that "That'd be cool as heck cousin! But it's impossible. Nothing can be as cool as…my magic!"

Those words would have shattered another child. They would have destroyed the ambition of any other boy who had been trying for the better part of three years, pushing their mind past limits no child should even have a reason to approach so early, to establish a common ground with their beloved cousin, but Dudley was different.

And while Harry's statement did hurt, and something was fundamentally changed that day, he wasn't broken.

His view of his cousin shifted.

And what had once been a boy that inspired awe within him. A boy that inspired him to become the inventor he was changed into something else. And he let Harry know with the following sentence.

"Your magic isn't that great," he began with a watery glare. "And I'll prove it by learning to do anything you can do but better!"

He ran off, leaving Harry to stare in confusion and hurt.

Four months later, Dudley returned to Harry with another little machine. "Look!" he exclaimed with a bit of his old excitement while pushing a button. There was a flash of light and Dudley's hair changed color, going from a dirty blonde to a bright blue in an instant. "Cool huh? It bends the light and color spectrum around and through my hair making it look like it actually changes to any color I want!"

The big smile on his face lit up the room.

But Harry, still a bit hurt at Dudley's statement about his abilities being nothing special, forcibly cast aside his wonder and with nary a twitch, changed his hair color to the same shade of bright blue.

"Mine's better," he said with s superior smirk on his lips.

Dudley lost all excitement in an instant and without another word, turned and left.

When he was nine, he got into his first fight with Harry.

It was the fight that changed everything.

Petunia and Vernon were caught in the middle, forced to endure a barrage of floating objects as Harry and Dudley utilized their separate but similar abilities on each other, turning every item that wasn't nailed down into a projectile. Chaos ensued at the two boys shouted at each other, calling their respective abilities trash and inferior, utterly oblivious to the two adults trying desperately to calm them down and dodge the debris at the same time and realizing that they'd have to get into better shape if this was going to be a continuous thing.

And Harry and Dudley were forced to acknowledge one another as they both came to the rather startling conclusion that they were on pretty even ground.

When it was over, the two boys reconciled for the most part, both acknowledging the others talents but both refusing to admit that one was better than the other.

They made a rivalry pact that day, vowing to prove to the other once and for all who was actually better.

And over the next two years, they stuck to that promise. An obsession overcame the two boys. An unquenchable desire to show one another up clouded their very souls. Soon it wasn't even just about whether science or magic was better. Everything became a contest. Everything became a way to prove their superiority. School, chores, eating habits, hell they even ran to school every day, trying to beat the other in a foot race just to prove who was faster. Harry's magic responded to his desire to grow, changing and molding itself to suit Harry's desires, granting him absurd amounts of control over what would normally be dubbed accidental magic, while also unknowingly teaching himself several common and uncommon magical abilities, and Dudley devised ways to mimic or counter each and every one of them. The Dursley home became of nexus of magical aura and a hub of makeshift technology surrounded by snakes and housing birds of prey. Traps littered the entire home and yard. And parts of the very structure had been transformed. Harry claimed the upstairs, flooding it with all manner of…freaky magic things of his own creation and Dudley took the basement, transforming it into a lab right out of any science fiction novel, and everything else in between became a battlefield. Harry's magic charged the air and Dudley's technologies transformed the house. Vernon and Petunia were caught in the middle and were forced to adapt and change in their suddenly volatile environment or risk being swept away in the change.

By the time he was 11 years old, Dudley was an established scientist, known in pivot drive as the strongly built genius kid with an absurd amount of talent for the sciences. He was popular but only had a couple of actual friends. He was respected and liked and his bit of fame would have the news over every once in a while to talk to him. But anyone who paid more than the minimal amount of attention to him would note that there was a drive in his eyes, a desire so strong and assured that many would leave feeling rather uncomfortable. Something had his attention and no amount of offers for him to join their teams, sell his ideas or elevate his status could take it away from that. He didn't care. Nothing mattered to him except proving his strength over his super powered cousin, to show everyone, himself especially that Harry wasn't that special.

So when Minerva Mcgonagall showed up and partially proved Dudley right, he was ecstatic. The following fight with Harry was charged with excitement and daring. The two boys clashed all through the house for over ten minutes before they calmed down.

And so he sat there with his parents, listening to the old woman as she explained to Harry the existence of the magical world and all of the wonders it contained, she answered his own questions about the history of the magical world and how or why it was that they even have such abilities. His scientific mind ached to study them but he suppressed it. Harry provided quite a bit of data on his own.

He had to frown though when she brought up Harry's view on non magicals.

She called Harry a pureblood supremacist. What the heck was that? Harry himself looked offended when the witch explained.

"I am not a racist," he growled. "I love my family. They're great and I wouldn't change it for anything." He shrugged. "Just because magic is better than their science does not mean I think less of them.

"That's exactly what that means!" exclaimed Mcgonagall. "You're saying you're superior to them because they don't have magic. That's a racist statement."

"Is it though?" he countered. "You yourself just told me that technology fails around magic-"

"Mine doesn't," Dudley thought it prudent to say with a smirk,

"That right there says something."

"It says something alright," growled the witch. But she sighed and dropped the subject.

Dudley chuckled. "It's a moot point anyway," he said. "Harry is delusional Miss Mcgonagall. You don't need to take anything he says at face value."

Harry turned to his cousin, a witty insulting remark upon his lips when the large hands of Vernon landed on a shoulder each. "Enough you two," he said sternly. "Let her finish talking. We've wasted enough time already."

The two boys settled without an ounce of protest.

Later found Dudley down in the basement deep in thought. The magical world, to think something that elaborate actually existed and the lengths they went to ensure they stayed hidden. He couldn't help the smirk. Something to rub in Harry's face was the fact that his…kind WERE in hiding as he'd guessed. They had been for hundreds of years. He had to laugh at what the so called purebloods thought. Spouting off about their superiority but unwilling and too afraid to come out and prove it.

They weren't like Harry. He could already tell just by watching Mcgonagall.

They were weaker.

Harry was going to be so disappointed by them.

However they had so much to teach his cousin and Dudley was keenly aware of this fact. Who knows what abilities he was going to come back with?

Dudley had noticed already that Harry was starting to get harder and harder to keep up with. His…magic was always growing, always changing. It was more versatile than what Dudley could do. And with training and proper guidance it was going to be one hundred times harder to keep up. He frowned, refusing to accept that scenario.

He'd have to step up his game too.

He thought of what he could do, his mind already whirling with ideas.

"Well perhaps it's time I stop simply trying to copy Harry's magic," he muttered. And that was a bit harder to say than he'd thought it'd be. His whole reason for delving into science and technology was because he wanted to be like Harry. But that had been a dream of a younger child years ago. He no longer cared about being like Harry. He was never going to be like Harry and he'd accepted that, but to admit that?

Harder than he'd thought it would be.

He chuckled, that gleam shining in his eyes again. But that was okay! Because, why would he want to be like someone inferior anyway? He had something to prove and by jove he was going to! He settled into a determined resolve as he sat down at his computer.

"First thing's first," he muttered as he began to search the internet.

"I'm gonna need some teachers too."

AN: And so it begins! Lol next chapter is Harry's perspective as he explores the magical world with Mcgonagall! Sorry for the long pause in updates in any of my fics. I hit quite a slump there and had no mojo to write at all. But it's comin back! Hope you enjoyed this chap. It was a bit shorter than I intended but it works. Tell me what ya thought.