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Chapter 7: The September Surprise

Dudley sat on the floor of his room, his back against his bed reading the last chapter of 'Quidditch Through the Ages', his mouth forming each word he read across the page. After nearly a month and a half of having the book in his possession, he was finally, FINALLY, finishing it, and with that accomplishment came a sense of pride. Dudley couldn't remember the last time he read an entire book; he never even bothered with the ones required for school. He usually hated reading.

Dudley had spent most of the month of August by himself; the Death Eaters overtake of the wizarding government had put the magical residents of Marigold Cabin on edge, and he was still livid with his mother and currently was choosing to ignore her. The tension was so strong that he couldn't hang around any of them without becoming anxious. Most of the time he spent in his room lifting weights or listening to the radio, and if he was really daring he would poke around Eve's little potions lab just to annoy her. She was especially out of sorts lately, and had been more rude and snappish with everyone.

The only time he wasn't alone was during supper; everyone attended it religiously, as though they all seemed to mutually agree on having daily human contact to keep themselves sane. There would even be occasional conversations at the table, even ones that his father didn't dish out insults. Dudley felt more relaxed during these times, even if they were short lived.

Dudley flipped to the last page of the book, reading about the latest and fastest broom on the market; the Firebolt. His stomach did an unsettling flip. After being hurled into a tree by an ancient broom, he had no desire to think of one that could go a hundred times faster. Closing the book he slowly stood up and stretched. He retrieved his watch from the bedside table to check the time. It was already four in the afternoon and he hadn't left his room since lunch. His eyes quickly glanced at the the smaller set of numbers below the time. He had gone all day without realizing it was the beginning of September. August had felt like everyday had been melted into a single long day, one he never thought would end.

He walked to the small library, not seeing or hearing anyone else on his way. Even the library itself was empty, unless he counted the flying books that lazily soared from shelf to shelf. He ducked underneath one as it nearly flew into his face, he found an empty space on a shelf and nestled it between a huge tattered one and a smaller blue one that emitted a strange humming sound. He quickly jerked his hand back, still fearful one might turn around and bite him.

It wasn't until he poked his head in the kitchen that he saw somebody. Hestia was cooking, and looked happy for the first time in weeks. Dudley raised an eyebrow; the last time Hestia made a large meal it was ruined by the terrible news of the overthrown Magical Ministry. Hestia must have sensed him standing in the doorway, because she looked over her shoulder, and gave him a small smile. Dudley took a step forward.

"What's the occasion?" He asked, pointing at all the food being prepared. His eyes hungrily followed the motion of the enchanted kitchen knife chopping up potatoes.

"You'll see," Hestia said in dismissal, politely trying to shoo him out of the room.

"You, err, need any help?" He asked hopefully, wondering if he could weasel an answer or two from her.

This time, Hestia raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"No, I'm all set," she responded with a slight air of suspicion, as though she knew what game he was playing. "I'll call when it's ready."

Annoyed, Dudley traveled further down the hall towards the front door. He waved a bit reluctantly to the painting of the fishermen, who were eagerly waiting for him to respond to their excited calls and friendly waves, and walked out to the front garden.

The front garden was much smaller than the one in back, but it had more of the red-orange marigolds than the other. He watched as they swayed back and forth despite the fact there was no wind at the moment. No longer surprised by some of the less crazy magic in the place, he merely glanced at them as though every flower possessed that odd quirk.

Dudley's stomach suddenly gave out a loud growl, maybe he should have grabbed something from the kitchen before leaving. Hestia didn't mention when dinner would be ready. He hoped it was sooner rather than later.

Wanting to take his mind off of food and kill time, he grabbed a rock from the ground and chucked it straight ahead. He watched as it whizzed past an old stump before hitting the invisible barrier with a funny sizzling noise. It fell straight to the ground going no further.

Dudley had discovered the humor of the barrier about a week ago, (or had it been two?) when he had thrown a gnome in that general direction. It had hit the wall so hard that it had been knocked unconscious. Dudley had panicked for a moment, wondering if he had accidentally killed it, but after he gave it a few good prods with a nearby stick, it leaped up and ran away comically, stumbling and tripping on roots and branches. He had to wonder if the thing told its ugly friends about the incident because he hadn't seen a single one wondering around since then.

He chucked a few more stones at the invisible wall, wondering if it was possible to be able to throw a rock hard enough that it would pass through. He had been trying for days, but it had yet to work. There was a large pile-up of rocks and pebbles at the edge of barrier because Dudley was too afraid to go near it, if it made the rocks sizzle, then what would it do to his skull?

After a while he became bored and his throwing arm started to hurt, he sat down in the grass, debating whether he wanted to go and grab his radio from inside...just to have some noise. He really hated not having television.

He had just gotten up when he heard a popping sound, it was very faint and it echoed, like it was miles off. Dudley turned towards the source and gave out a yelp of surprise.

There, not even seven meters away, stood three people on the other side of the barrier. They looked slightly muddled in color, as did everything on the the other side of the magical dome, but he didn't stick around to look closer at them. He booked it back to the cabin to warn the others. Were they going to be attacked?

He swung open the front door, nearly knocking Dedalus over, who was just on the other side of it.

"There are people out there!" He cried out "They just appeared out of nowhere!"

Dedalus stood tiptoes to see over Dudley's broad shoulder, looking at the three strangers beyond the wall. He let out a gleeful chuckle.

"My dear boy, there is no need to be alarmed; these gentlemen are welcome guests and old friends. But, I am glad to see you are willing to act if an emergency were to arise," He gave Dudley a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, let's welcome them together!"

He followed Dedalus to the yard, watching as he took out his wand and whispered a few words. A small portion of the wall fell away like shattered glass. The three people stepped through the hole before it was sealed up again.

One was an older gentleman with dark skin and a large gold earring. He wore light blue robes, which Dudley felt could rival Dedalus's lime green one in ridiculousness.

The other two were much younger, only a couple years older than himself. One was shorter and wore his dark hair in dreadlocks, while the other was tall, red haired, and freckled. He felt like he recognized him. The red haired boy turned to look at him, Dudley had to hold back a gasp when he saw the gaping hole where his ear should have been. The boy gave him a sly grin before focusing on Dedalus.

The four wizards quickly exchanged some strange questions: What is Kingsley's favorite color? How many lumps of sugar does George take in his tea? weird things like that. Dudley found it hard to concentrate on them when he was spending his time trying to avert his gaze from the guy's missing ear. He did briefly wonder, however, why every wizard he met asked each other odd questions as a form of greeting. Maybe he would ask one of them later.

"This here is Dudley," Dudley snapped out of his trance and gave the trio a weak smile, "Harry's cousin."

The older man, Kingsley, gave Dudley an acknowledging nod. The guy in dreadlocks, Lee Jorden, shook his hand. The ear-less guy gave a knowing smile.

"I remember you, you had a sample of our Ton-Tongue Toffee," George said as a form or re-introduction. Dudley felt the color drain from his face. He remembered that candy almost killed him a few years back. Dudley balled up his fists; he suddenly had the urge to make another hole in the ginger's head. But George just continued to grin, oblivious to, or amused by his anger.

Dudley was pretty sure this was the surprise Hestia was talking about and he wasn't sure that he was going to enjoy it.

Why have George, Lee, and Kingsley arrived? Find out next week for answers...and chaos!