The Start of Something New

Rating: K+ I think, slight bad language by Dudley.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to these characters, they being the sole property of JK Rowling and am making no money from said story.

After the Incident with the Dementors Dudley has made peace of a sort with Harry. This is hopefully the furtherance of their friendship / family relationship after they leave school and move on to adult life.

The Start of Something New

I must apologise to readers about the layout of the letter in Chapter 9, the various department names were supposed to be at opposite ends of the line; but unfortunately the [tab] function was not recognised by the document manager so SPEW, GPS, GLO and MRSA were all closely joined. I hope this did not spoil your enjoyment of the story.

Chapter 10: A Return to Hogwarts.

Mum and I were sitting in the lounge, drinking tea and waiting for the time when our invitational Portkeys would activate and we would be off to Harry's wedding. I still had no idea where the wedding was taking place; that was the most closely guarded secret in the wizard world. I was in a suit, not my personal favourite type of outfit, but a requirement for the occasion, and I suppose I'd better get used to it, I would probably be in something similar for the rest of my working life. Mum was in a brand new dress that she'd bought for the occasion, our dress robes were folded neatly, waiting for us to put them on when the right time arose. I hoped they didn't just vanish in front of our eyes and give us no warning, that would be a bit embarrassing for Harry, a wedding with no best man, just his invitation by his side.

Dad had left the house in disgust this morning; he was going to spend the day with Aunt Marge at the retirement home she'd moved to. I bet she was a terror to the staff, the one client they all dreaded dealing with. Her and Dad would probably spend the day badmouthing Harry and all other 'wastes of space' in their opinion; everyone except themselves in other words. As far as I was concerned they were welcome to each other.

I had just stood up to put the kettle on to make another cup of tea, when the two invitations started to give off a bright blue light. Mum grabbed her dress robes and held the card tightly in her hand, I took my card in my hand and placed my dress robes over my arm and waited.

It suddenly felt like I'd been hooked behind my belly button and was being pulled forwards violently. Seconds later I fell forwards towards a wooden floor, Mum who had been sitting landed on her bottom with a thump. "I'm sorry are you alright, you didn't injure yourself in any way did you?" said a slightly familiar voice.

I looked up to see Bill Weasley helping Mum to her feet. "I'm okay, just a little shaken, I don't know about Mum though!"

"I'm fine thank you! Where are we and why has this building got no roof?"

I looked around at my surroundings and recognised the room I was in; although the layout was slightly different to the last time I was here. Then there had been four tables set up in the hall with benches alongside them, and a table at the head of the hall. Now there were lots of chairs of the institutional type in rows facing where the teachers table had been last time. "Er, I don't know how to say this Mum. Welcome to Hogwarts, we're in the great hall; the ceiling is enchanted to show the sky outside."

"This is Hogwarts; really, I finally get to see it!"

Bill laughed, "Yes Mrs. Dursley, you finally get to see it, or some of it anyway. This is the great hall as Dudley said. Your Portkeys brought you directly here as you are family, other guests will be arriving at other locations within the school. Ginny would like you to help her with finishing getting ready." He looked about, and beckoned a house elf over. The elf was dressed in a smart shirt with the Hogwarts crest embroidered on the front and a pair of matching trousers. "Spritzer would you take Mrs. Dursley to Mum and Ginny please."

The house elf nodded, walked over to Mum and took her hand, they vanished with a crack. I turned to Bill, "I thought you couldn't apparate within Hogwarts, so what just happened?"

"You can't! However the house elves do it, it's not technically apparition. No charms or spells that wizards have come up with can stop a house elf from doing it's masters bidding, technically that's the Headmaster here, but Professor McGonagall has told them to obey the orders of the wedding stewards for the occasion."

"I suppose that makes sense, is Hogwarts used as a wedding location often?"

"No this is the first wedding here for over a thousand years; the last wedding was Helena Ravenclaw's, one of the founders."

"Damn, Harry must really be something in the wizard world then. The first person in a millennium to be allowed to get married here."

"Yes and no! He was the first person to ask! I understand he had to pay a hefty fee towards the Scholarship Fund though."

"What fund is that?"

"If a student has no family to pay for their books, robes etc or their family can't afford it, the scholarship fund is there to help. It's usually chronically underfunded; Harry's contribution has probably made it the healthiest it's been in years."

"Right! I see. Is there anything I need to be doing before the ceremony and how long do we have to wait."

"Harry may want to speak to you, the ceremony's not for a couple of hours yet, he's in the staff room, do you know where that is or would you like a guide?"

"No thanks; I think I know the way, just opposite the great hall, the door with the gargoyles guarding it right?"

"That's it. I'd forgotten you'd been here before. How much of the school did you see that time?"

"Er, the great hall, the entrance from the lake, the Gryffindor common room and the stairways to it. Not that I could remember the way to the common room though. I'll make my own way to the staff room thanks." I went out the great hall and across the entrance to the staff room.

The gargoyle on the left looked at me, "are you lost, the great hall's behind you? You should be taking your seat for the ceremony."

"I'm Dudley, Harry's best man."

"Yes, I believe he's expecting you, go straight in!" The door opened up behind the gargoyle and it returned to rigid stone again." I quickly slipped in through the open door.

"Hi Dudley, glad you made it. You didn't forget your robes did you? I don't know if I could summon them from your house in Surrey. I suppose I could send Kreacher for them."

There was a knock on the door and a house elf, dressed the same way as the one earlier came in with my robes. "These is Master Dudley's robes. He was leaving them in the hall."

I said thank you to the house elf and it left Harry and I alone in the room. "What's with the house elves here, they all seem to be wearing the same thing?"

"It's quite simple really. After you managed to change the conditions of their employment when you spoke to Justin's Biskit, Professor McGonagall spoke to the house elves in the kitchen here. They had been wearing cloth napkins and washing them; on checking it was found there was enough napkins in the castle to use every day for a year before needing to wash them, a certain number were given to the house elves to make themselves clothes, they decided that they were proud to be working here, so they made themselves a uniform, which they all wear. It does look impressive when you see them all together, there's over a hundred house elves in the castle, the largest number in any wizarding building in Britain."

"any progress on house elves being allowed wands or getting paid yet, or about days off, holidays; things like that?"

"Not yet, Hermione is working on it, but these things take time. Some old families are still griping at the small changes that have been made already. The wizard population as a rule is slow to accept change. A lot of them still expect Muggles to attack them with pitchforks and flails if they were exposed as wizards! The idea of treating house elves as anything except servants will take time."

"I suppose so. Getting the house elves to accept change is difficult too. From what I remember from talking to Biskit, they were happy working under the previous conditions. Do you know how they feel about the changes made so far?"

"I've only spoken to Kreacher and a few of the elves here. Kreacher says that he enjoys being able to wear clothes, they're a lot more comfortable than the tea-towels he used to wear. The house elves I've spoken to here at Hogwarts say something similar and seem happy as well. Then again the only sad house elf I ever met was Dobby. He was treated very badly and longed for freedom, the only elf I've heard of who wanted it. The elves here were horrified when he came to work here. They felt he had disgraced himself and house elves in general by getting his freedom and as for being paid, well." I looked at my watch, and Harry noticing this suddenly realised that time was passing. "Crikey Dudley, here we are talking away and I need to give you these." He reached into a pocket in his robes and removed a box containing two rings. "You'll need these!"

"I suppose I will! Is the ceremony any different from a Muggle ceremony though, is there anything special I need to do?"

"How should I know? I've only ever been to one wedding and that was Bill and Fleur's, but what I can remember from the few times I saw one on the telly at yours, not that much. There is a slight bit of magic when we're finally married, but nothing really flashy, just some sparks. But are you prepared for your part, giving us the rings at the right time and your speech?"

"You would remind me of my speech wouldn't you? That's the one thing I'm not looking forward to. I've never given a speech before and certainly not in front of a load of witches and wizards. I hope they'll understand if I use muggle references."

"Some of the older generation might be a bit confused if you're too obscure, but you should have no troubles. Trust in yourself! I know I do!"

"Thanks. That means a lot to me; how are you feeling about this? I mean you're about to get married!"

"Nervous as hell! But on the other hand I can't wait!"

"I can understand that. I feel the same way about my duties today. Best man for a cousin, that I don't know as well as I should considering that we lived together from the time we were one year old. I just wish Mum and Dad had treated both us the same, instead of treating us the way they did."

"Me too. But I would have been a different person when I went to Hogwarts I might not be here now. I'm pretty sure their treatment of me influenced my attitude and the way I tackled the problems I had to deal with."

"I didn't know that, and I don't think I'll mention it thanks. It might give wizards an excuse to abuse their children. I don't want to cause myself more work in the future!"

"More work in the future, so did Hermione actually give you the job then?"

"Not yet! My interview is on Monday. Do you think I'll get the job?"

"I don't know, but I do know there's only one candidate for it. So if you don't, the magical world won't get its first social worker."

"Oh thanks for that! It does wonders for my confidence, if I can't get the job no one will. I've got nobody to work against to get the job, I've gotta be useless if I can't get it under those conditions."

"Of course you're not useless! You used to be, but not anymore. I can see that."

"Thanks! That means a lot to me."

"There was a knock at the door and Ron entered. "Come on you two, you need to be in the great hall in five minutes." He came over to me and pulled at my robes in the back straightening them up and went to inspect Harry. "You'll do alright, come on, and take your place in the great hall. If you see Ginny before the actual ceremony she'll kill you." He quickly left the room and we followed across the entrance and into the great hall and made our way to the altar at the back.

Harry and I stood with our back to main doors as the sound of the wedding march struck up around us; I quickly glanced around, but could not make any sense of where it was coming from. More magic.

I looked quickly at the guests seated behind us and Mum was there, wiping at her eyes with a handkerchief, she saw me looking at her and smiled. I'll never understand the attitude of women to weddings, why do they all cry.

We were joined at the altar by Ginny and her father. Harry looked at Ginny and his eyes widened. I glanced at her myself, but could not see the significance of his expression. Her train was being held by an extremely pretty teenaged girl about 16 and an impish looking lad with ginger hair that I thought must be Teddy. Indeed his hair was turning black as I watched.

There was a cough from in front of us and we turned to see the tall imposing figure of Professor McGonagall standing at the altar.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here in the Great Hall at Hogwarts for the first wedding to be held here in over a millennium. He was the first person cheeky enough to ask, not what I remember of him from school." There was a giggle from the audience. "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" Mr. Weasley placed Ginny's hand in Harry's and went to take his place next to Mrs. Weasley.

"Do you Ginevra Molly Weasley take this man, Harry James Potter to be your to be your husband?"

"I do!"

"And do you, Harry James Potter, take this woman, Ginevra Molly Weasley, to be your wife?"

"I do!"

Professor McGonagall turned to me and I took the rings from my robes and held my hand out with the both of them on. Harry and Ginny each took a ring and with the traditional 'with this ring, I thee wed' placed the rings on each other's fingers and turned back to face Professor McGonagall. She raised her wand over their heads, "by the power vested in me I now pronounce you bonded for life." Gold sparks flew from her wand and scattered around the happy couple. The audience quietly clapped as Harry and Ginny shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stand." Everyone rose to their feet and the chairs moved quietly to the edges of the hall, clustered around several small tables that had suddenly appeared. The altar at the front of the great hall had changed as well. A large table with enough seats for ten. Mum and I took our places next to Harry, next to Ginny were her parents, Ron, George, Percy and Audrey, his wife, Bill and Fleur. Suddenly I was part of a much bigger family. I had brother and sisters in law.

I rose nervously to my feet and looked around the great hall at numerous faces I didn't know. "When Harry asked me to be his best man, I thought that he had fallen off his broom once too often. I wasn't his best friend, that honour went to another. I wasn't the person he'd confided with, laughed with. I'd been the one from whom he needed protection. But Harry being who he was, was there when I needed him. I owe him my life and that is something I can never repay him for. I have been told that my family were described as the worst sort of Muggles imaginable by someone not too far from me today." I looked around at Professor McGonagall to see she was blushing.

"Since that time I've come to appreciate magic. I've even played quidditch, badly I might add." There was a laugh from the guests. When I had finished my speech there had been a few titters, and I received some polite applause.

There was a speech by Mr. Weasley as the father of the bride, son in law to be proud of sort of thing. The meal was provided courtesy of the house elves and excellent of course; then the party started for real. A band I'd never heard of called the Weird Sisters, I have to admit, they were quite good.

Harry and Ginny had the first dance of course, and then Harry danced with Mum and I had a dance with Ginny. I even danced with the pretty blonde bridesmaid, Fleur's younger sister, she was quite a chatty girl, and seemed impressed by the fact I was Harry's cousin, apparently she was convinced Harry had saved her life. His saving people thing again. It was nice to have a pretty girl interested in me, even if it was because I was Harry's cousin.

At the end of the evening after Harry and Ginny had left on their honeymoon, to wherever it was they were going, Mum and I went back home using our invitations as portkeys again. Dad was home and had apparently gone to bed, at least he didn't see us arrive. What would come next in my relationship with my cousin, and how would my interview go on Monday?

Please Review and let me know how I'm doing. What do you think of the story so far. All comments gratefully received and appreciated, even if I don't reply I read them and value all opinions.