With that pronouncement, Harry's birthday celebration metaphorphisized itself into a council of war.
"We're not going!" Dudley had pronounced decisively as soon as he heard Middy's news. "We've all read the books, right? After Ungle James and Aunt Lily died, the headmaster of that school was in charge of what to do with Harry; and he left him at my parents' house, of all places! Why anyone would let their kids go to a school under his care, I don't know! But I do know that we won't be there come this September."
"What are you talking about, Dud?" Harry asked dully. "Of course we will. Or at least, you will. I-" He paused, to swallow down the bitterness that had risen up in him. "I wish I could go, but you and I both know this letter is a fluke! I don't have an ounce of magical talent!"
Dudley opened his mouth and cut his cousin off. "You don't know that for sure, Harry. You could just be a late bloomer-"
Harry laughed mirthlessly. "Late bloomer?" He repeated. "Let's face it! I'm a squib. I'm just lucky I can make my potions work! I would give anything to be able to go to Hogwarts with you Dud, and learn magic. But I can't, and you can. Don't turn this down! You'll get a great education. And you're smart. Some day you'll grow up and get a great job, and be a great success."
Dudley stared at Harry. It had not even occoured to him to think that Harry would want him to go to Hogwarts. Truth be told, he had reached the conclusion a while ago that Harry was a squib, but had carefully avoided saying anything, so as not to hurt Harry's feelings. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to go to Hogwarts (even if his concerns over Headmaster Dumbledore's motives were genuine). He had only said what he did because he didn't think that Harry would be able to bear staying in prison while he left him for Hogwarts.
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
"Okay, Harry," he said. "I'll go to Hogwarts- but I'm not going without you."
"Haven't you been list-"
"Of course I have," Dudley said. "And I didn't mean as... well, not as Harry Potter."
"What is Dudley Dursley talking about?" Middy asked, looking worried.
"You just made an animagus potion, didn't you?" Dudley asked Harry. "Take it, and see what your animagus form is. You'll be able to come as a pet."
"What if I'm something weird like a horse or a- a zebra, or something?" Harry pointed out pessimistically.
"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Dudley, trying to hide his own worry.
Harry appeared to mull this over for a moment. Then he smiled. "I think that could work. And Middy could come, too!"
"Oh, no, Harry Potter," Middy exclaimed. "I can't leave! I hate leaving this place! It's safety to me!" The little house elf started to shake. "I can't leave- but I'll miss you both..."
-~-
That night, at almost midnight, Harry was lying on his pile of blankets on the floor of the kitchen, with Middy on one side and Dudley on the other. He was staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling, thinking hard. He, Dudley, and Middy had continued talking about the Hogwarts letters after Middy recovered enough to stop crying. And together, they had reached one unfortunate conclusion.
The wizarding world would be expecting Harry Potter to arrive at Hogwarts this year. And Albus Dumbledore would be keeping an especially sharp eye out for him, since he was still technically in charge of the well fare of 'The Boy Who Lived'. Harry didn't know how Dumbledore had explained his disappearance from Privet Drive, but as he didn't know where his precious charge was, he would surely be expecting to see him at Hogwarts come September. And if he didn't see him there, he would probably take extra measures to go searching for him, which would put not only Harry, but Middy and Dudley as well, in danger for getting in his way.
But the Boy Who Lived couldn't do magic. He couldn't go to magic. He couldn't evade any search techniques Dumbledore might or might not employ in order to find him. And once he was in Dumbledore's reach, he would probably be forced into hiding to cover up for the Headmaster's terrible mistake of losing him. And once it was discovered that Harry was a squib, things could only go worse for him. He would probably end up in the care of a family that would be just as bad if not even worse than the Dursleys.
But now, a solution occurred to him.
What if Dudley went to Hogwarts as Harry Potter? A potion could take care of his blond hair and blue eyes, and give him the electric green eyes that everyone knew the Boy Who Lived had inherited from his mother, as well as the distinctive Potter hair that had come from James. As for the rest of the face, that could stay the same, since no one had seen The Boy Who Lived since he was practically an infant, and infant's faces change a lot as they grow older. As for the scar...
Harry chewed on this for a moment. Muggle make up would work as far as appearances went, and as long as no one got suspicious enough of Dudley to examine the 'scar' closely, no one would ever have to know that it wasn't really a curse scar.
And why should they be suspicious? Plus, if Harry Potter brought a pet to Hogwarts, he would be given a lot more leeway than Dudley Dursley would have been given. Probably not a zebra, still, but still... and really, what were the chances that he would have a zebra for an animagus form?
With this comforting thought, Harry rolled over and fell asleep.
-~-
A/N: Don't own anything!
Hmm... I really don't know why Harry's so fixated on having a zebra for an animagus form, but whatever! Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter is so short. See, I'm trying to stay a chapter ahead of what I'm actually posting, so this was actually written the day you got that bonus chapter on Monday, and I didn't have a lot of time after school. Plus it's freezing outside, and it takes forever for my fingers to get warm enough to type with. Maybe I need to invest in a pair of typing gloves...