Author's note: I wrote this chapter by hand in an old school book. I like editing that way, but come this evening when I had to write it up on the computer I really wish I remembered that my eyes suck when I'm tired. Please be kind!

Back at the Dursleys'

Harry had noticed, as they strolled through Diagon Alley, that there seemed to be an awful lot of people looking at him wherever they went. He supposed it may have something to do with the fact that he seemed to be one of the very few people wearing - what Hagrid called - 'muggle clothing', as opposed to the cape-like robes which seemed to be sported by a majority of the alley's patrons. Regardless, by the end of the day, Harry was happy to collapse onto his bed back at the Dursleys', his trunk packed neatly at the end of his bed and daydreaming happily about what it would be like to finally get away from his Aunt and Uncle's home.
Harry had purchased far more than just the contents of his school list, however. He'd grabbed three 'Beginner's Potions Kit's, excited that his cooking skills may finally come in useful after all and determined to get in some sort of practice before he left. His brand new wardrobe was keeping absolutely hidden from his relatives at the bottom of his trunk under piles of books and parchment, along with a black leather wand holster that had been recommended by a tall, dark skinned wizard with kind eyes, and who seemed to be at least trying not to stare at him which was much appreciated. Harry had also found a few titles in Flourish and Blotts that he thought might help him integrate himself into the wizarding world, including: Potions Ingredients: The Basic Guide - a beginners guide to potions ingredients, preparations and storage - A Muggle-born's Guide to Pureblood Etiquette - the cover advertised 'everything wizard-raised magicals forget to tell you when you enter the wizarding world' - The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Two - because Harry wanted to be able to read ahead and also to learn the 'jelly-legs curse' he had noticed whilst flicking through - and Great Wizarding Events in the Twentieth Century - because the clerk had suggested it.
It was the Potions and Herbology texts that Harry found himself perusing for pleasure over the coming weeks, once he had finished skimming through all his books to gain some basic knowledge of what his classes would entail. He had not memorised the books by any means, but found that a lot of the information seemed easy for him to retain anyway - perhaps because it all seemed so much more interesting than anything he had read in his old school. He'd expected to enjoy the Dark Arts book the most, but despite the subject matter it proved to be a very dull read. Magical Theory on the other hand, which Harry had expected to find about at riveting as sawdust, proved to be most helpful in explaining how certain types of spells worked and which branches of magic worked well together in tandem. For example, Harry had read, to study potions one required a good understanding of herbology, so that the properties of each ingredient can be understood and analysed. Harry supposed that this would be quite handy should he ever need to substitute an ingredient - although his potions book had a lot of warnings about how you should not try substituting anything until you were absolutely sure of the reactions between every ingredient, as it could be very dangerous otherwise.
The Dursley's had, by large, ignored Harry completely since his return from Diagon Alley. Uncle Vernon had glared at him when he struggled through the front door with his trunk, which whilst not being particularly heavy due to a built in 'featherlight' charm that the proprietor had all but raved about was still a bit too large and bulky to carry with ease. Aunt Petunia had frostily told him to stay out of the way for the rest of the summer, a desire in which Harry was only too happy to oblige her. Anything that allowed him to spend time reading up on his new school subjects rather than tending to the dying begonias out front was fine by him.
There was only three days left until September first, when Harry would be making his way to Kings Cross Station to board the Hogwarts Express and begin, hopefully, his new life. Harry was sat on the bench in the sun at the end of the garden when Dudley's large shadow fell across him.
"Afternoon," mumbled Harry, instantly on guard. Dudley had never sought Harry out for conversation, usually only finding his cousin when he and his bullying cohort decided it was time for 'Harry Hunting', so Harry was naturally quite wary of being in his presence. It was a surprise, therefore, when Dudley sat himself down on the bench right next to him. Dudley didn't speak right away, instead staring intently at his shoes. After a few minutes however, he seemed to find his words.
"I'm really sorry," he blabbed.
Harry blinked and shook his head.
"What?" he spluttered.
"I'm really sorry," Dudley repeated, louder this time. "I- They- I mean- We. We shouldn't have treated you like- that. And I can't, I won't apologise for them, but I will apologise for me becau- well, because we were awful to you."
Harry simply stared wide-eyed at his cousin. He had not expected that. Dudley seemed to realise that Harry wasn't going to say anything yet, or rather that he couldn't say anything yet, because he kept on.
"I didn't know about the magic stuff, they never told me, but I thought you could control it and- honestly it made me scared, but that still doesn't excuse what we did to you. I shouldn't have gone along with how they treated you. I should have known there was something bigger going on. I'm just really sorry, Harry."
He was still not quite sure what to say. "Where is this coming from, Dudley?"
Dudley sighed. "I heard mum start going on about her 'freak sister' and how it was 'freaky and unnatural' and to be honest I realised that I don't want that to be me in the future- you know, scared of everything I don't understand. I realised how much of a git I was being and figured the best place to start would be with apologising. You were definitely at the top of the list of people who deserved an apology so here I am. I am sorry, Harry, I really am."
The strangest thing was that Harry did believe him. Still reeling a little from this unexpected discovery - his cousin has a heart? - he nodded.
"Thanks, Dud."
"Do you think- Might you believe me?" Dudley asked, suddenly looking very nervous again, "one day, I mean."
Harry smiled. "I believe you, Dud. I haven't quite forgiven you yet, but I believe you."
"I can work with that. Hey- could you tell me about it?"
"-about what?"
"Magic."
"Really? Magic?"
"Yeah. I told you, it is pretty cool. I want to know what you're going to be learning all year while I'm stuck in maths or whatever. And could you- I mean- Maybe you could call sometimes?"
This time Harry really was struck speechless. Dudley wanted him to call? Today was turning out to be almost as strange as a giant pounding down the front door of a rented shack to tell him he had been accepted to wizard school. Harry shook his head slightly - trying to shake some semblance of normalcy back into his life - and stood up from the bench extending his arm towards his cousin.
"Hello, I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you," he said, grinning widely. "Would you like to come upstairs and read some magic books with me?"
Dudley laughed and took Harry's outstretched hand, nodding his head.

It was a few hours later that Aunt Petunia poked her head around the door of her son's second bedroom. Usually the quietest room in the house, it was disturbing to hear something like laughter floating down the hallway, so she had set out to investigate the source of the trouble. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she took in the scene before her. The freak and Dudley were sat on opposite ends of the small bed. There were books spread out all around them and the snowy owl that the boy had brought home from his shopping trip was perched on one of his outstretched legs.
"Diddy!" she screeched. "Diddy- What on earth are you doing?"
Dudley looked up, confusion etched upon his face. "I'm reading," he said, pointing at the book propped open on his lap.
"But- What?" Aunt Petunia was feeling distinctly light-headed, how dare that freak corrupt her little boy!
"It's fantastic, mum! Did you know there was such thing as a Goblin Rebellion? More than one! I'm reading Harry's school books so I know what he will be doing in class when he goes and- Mum?" Dudley was looking at his mother with concern on his face, for she seemed to have been so shocked that she could not move. "I think I need to put her to bed," Dudley mused, a sly grin on his face, "we might have shocked her a little." Dudley noticed, as he led his mother out the room and shut the door, that he could still hear his cousin's chuckling from the other end of the hallway. He smiled, glad of his decision to start fresh with Harry, and started plotting how to make his parents behave when his cousin came back next summer.