A.N: I had to change some striked-out words from the letter, as they appear normal on the site. Instead, I put them in curly braces{} to indicate them as erased. Sorry for the inconvenience.

14 Family

Harry was surprised the next day, when Hedwig brought him a letter in a stamped envelope. Looking it over, he found that it was sent to the Muggle cover address of Hogwarts, and probably forwarded to him. When he turned it around, he was even more surprised. The return address was, "Dudley Dursley, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging."

He opened the envelope quite reluctantly, finding a single page inside. There were signs of corrections and changes on the paper, showing that the writer had tried very hard to express himself. Harry read it.

"Dear Harry,

I know it wasn't fun growing up with me my family. At first, I thought it was normal to act the way my parents acted and treat you the way they expected me to. As we grew up, after seeing how other families were, I started doubting what my parents told me, yet I was {unable}{ unwilling} too lazy to give it much thought. It was only about two years ago, that dreadful evening when you {helped} saved me from those horribly cold creatures, that I couldn't even see although I felt their presence way too close for comfort, that I started to really think of how I was living and what I wanted from life.

You know I'm not {smart} a fast thinker. It took me more than a year to finally make my mind and realize how badly I treated you throughout our years together. It's too late for me to repair the past, but I've decided to start thinking on my own, regardless of what my parents say, and, hopefully, I'll turn up a better person than they are. I'm still not brave enough to confront them, though. I only plan to finish school with good enough grades to be accepted to a college and leave Privet Drive for good. I'm working as hard as I can to improve my grades and to learn all that I missed during earlier years.

All this babbling is just so you'll understand that I really wish you a happy birthday and a really {good} happy life. I don't quite know what you did that you can now live on your own, as none of my parents would tell me, except for stating how glad they were "to get rid of the freak." I don't think you are a freak. You are a very talented and caring person, from what I've heard. The way they had acted with you, they are the real freaks.

I don't know where you are or even if this letter will be delivered to you, but if you read this, please let me know where you stay or where we can meet. I now have my own mobile phone and you can call this number, not needing to talk with any of my parents first.

Stay safe, and please stay in touch,

Your cousin, Dudley."

A telephone number was written at the bottom, using larger than normal digits, as if to make sure it was readable.

"What do you think?" he asked his wives.

"He really seems to have grown up," Hermione noted.

"And it looks like he really regrets his past," Padma said.

"Should I call him?"

Padma shrugged. "Do what you feel like. Nobody can tell you how to feel."

Hermione was of a different opinion. "I know that you appreciate family. Under different circumstances, you could have grown like brothers, and he seems to be aware of that. I suggest that you call him, else you'll keep wondering what you missed for the rest of your life."

Harry smiled at her. "You know me better than I know myself."

He then walked to the normal telephone they had in the house and dialled the number. Dudley answered on the third ring. "Dudley Dursley speaking," he said in an official tone.

"Dudley, it's Harry." He could hear Dudley gasp and then say, "Hold on a moment. I need to move to get better reception."

It took a bit, and Harry could hear Dudley breathing heavily, probably mounting the stairs to his room. "Harry! You've got my letter! I didn't know how to contact you, but I thought sending it to your school would be safe enough, even if you'd only get it when going back to school."

"I've got it a short while ago and I was quite surprised."

"At least you read it. I wasn't sure you'd even want to read it. I'm so sorry for what happened between us in the past, but there's no way I can change that. I can only try to make the future much better. Are you alright now?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm spending the summer vacation in London, although we my decide to travel a bit."

"We? Who are you with?"

"Oh, I forgot you were not informed. Well, I happened to be magically wed to two smart and beautiful ladies who love me very much. You may have seen one of them at the train station, when your parents came to pick me up last year."

"May we meet? I'm afraid Mom would catch me talking to you and may react badly."

Harry thought for a moment. He could invite Dudley to the house, but that could cause too much jealousy. He had no clue how Dudley might react. "We can meet here, in London. When can you come?"

"I can come tomorrow morning, if you like. Where shall we meet?"

Harry knew the train from Little Whinging reached Paddington. "We can wait for you at Paddington station, near the ticket office, if you like. We can then decide where to spend the day."

"Fine. I'll take the nine o'clock train. It should arrive a few minutes before ten."

"We'll be there."

It was weird waiting for Dudley. Harry remembered all the times that Dudley and his friends bullied him and even beaten him. Had Dudley really changed? Yet he sounded sincere and seemed to care. Well, it was only a matter of minutes before they would meet and the questions would be answered. He watched the endless stream of people passing near him, wondering if they wouldn't miss each other, if only due to the mob.

"Harry!" He could barely recognize the young man that was walking towards him with open arms. Dudley had lost some weight, evidently. Gone were the triple chins and the large belly. Dudley wasn't slim, that was sure, but he was very fit, and he was dressed in a simple jeans and a T-shirt that made his muscles show.

The cousins scanned each other, and Harry noticed that Dudley seemed really glad to see him, giving him a brotherly hug when they met. "You look well, Dud. Done some exercise?"

Dudley smiled. "Sure did, and changed my eating habits as well. I'm the school's boxing champion now. How are you? You seem happy. Are these two responsible?"

Harry didn't find that place suitable for any meaningful conversation. He just nodded. "Let's find someplace more suitable for talking."

"The weather is nice. We can just find some place in a park and talk there, if you like," Dudley suggested as they left the train station.

"That's possible, but I think we'll find it more comfortable to sit at a café and talk over a cup of tea or coffee," Harry said. "Hermione knows a nice place just around the corner."

Dudley looked a bit worried. "Can you afford it?"

Harry smiled reassuringly at him. "It's no problem, Dud. I'll tell you later."

The café was almost empty at this early hour. Harry chose a secluded table and held the chairs for his wives to sit before sitting between them, facing Dudley. "You may have seen Hermione before," he said to Dudley, as Hermione nodded, "but I doubt you've ever met Padma. We only became close last autumn." Padma nodded as well.

Once they got their orders, Hermione cast a "notice me not" charm very discreetly, so they could talk freely.

Harry now made the official introductions. "Hermione, Padma, this is my cousin Dudley Dursley. Dudley, these are Lady Hermione Potter, my wife, and Lady Padma Black, my other wife."

Dudley seemed confused. "Black?"

Harry nodded sadly. "My godfather was killed last summer, just before the end of school. He made me his heir, so I'm now Lord Potter-Black."

"You're a Lord?"

"It's not the same as in the mundane world. As I'm the last of my house, which is considered noble in our world, and so was my godfather, I now head both houses, so I'm considered a Lord."

"Is that why you have two wives?"

Harry smiled. "Partly. It did make it easier, I assume."

"So, where do you live?"

"I've inherited a bit. There's a small house near Kensington Gardens which belongs to me, and we're currently staying there for the summer, as it's easily accessible for Hermione's parents. They are muggles – non magical, like you."

"Isn't that quite an upscale neighborhood?"

Harry shrugged. "It's nice there, but we've not met any of the neighbors yet, so I don't really know."

Dudley seemed to relax now, after knowing that Harry had a place to live and enough money to live on. He tried to talk a bit with the girls as well and seemed impressed by how smart they were and how much they loved Harry. After they all got to know each other a bit better, they left the café and took a stroll together, stopping at some shop windows and acting just like any other teens on vacation.

They had lunch in one of the small restaurants in Soho. Hermione suggested an Italian one.

"I really like to try it, as my parents always insist on English food only, and I had no chance to try other stuff, except for pizza and hamburger," Dudley said, "but I insist on paying for my order."

"I assure you that we have enough to dine out every day, if we want to," Harry told him.

"It doesn't matter. After the way you were treated as a child, not being given enough food, I feel I should not make you pay for mine. Dad can shoulder it, you know."

Harry grimaced at hearing that. He didn't like to talk about his earlier years, not even with his wives. He still nodded, accepting Dudley's words.

Dudley really liked the food, especially as they shared the portions, letting each taste four different dishes. "It was delicious, and much more fun than eating at home with my parents," Dudley told them, once they finished their meal.

They were escorting Dudley back to the train station, when he turned to Harry. "I hoped Mom would not notice. I've been going to London at least once a week since summer vacation started, yet she noticed. 'You're meeting Harry?' she asked me before I left. I didn't answer, not wanting to make a scene before I go. She didn't mind. 'Tell him I'm sorry,' she said to me, 'and tell him I wish him good luck.' She then acted as usual, as if nothing special was said."

"That really was weird. How did she know, though?"

Dudley shrugged. "She probably overheard some of our phone conversation. She can be very quiet when she wants to. I still don't understand why she said that, though."

"Maybe she thought it over, like you did, and reached some conclusions? Who knows?"

Dudley smiled. "Do you mind if we meet next week as well?"

"It would be nice. Just write down our address."

Harry looked on as Dudley boarded the train. He could see the physical similarity his cousin had with Uncle Vernon, as expected, yet Dudley's heart was more like the Evans, or more specifically – like Lily's. He felt sure that Dudley would overcome his father's teachings and would become the almost brother he should have been all along.

They were very silent on the taxi ride back home. Harry was contemplating the events of the day. It felt good to have at least one family member who finally accepted him, possibly two. Dudley and Petunia were his blood relatives. He didn't mind Vernon, as that man was his relative only due to having married his aunt.

"I wonder what made your aunt act that way," Hermione said as they reached home.

"Maybe it was the realization that he was not coming back. She must have had mixed feelings for many years, hating magic while knowing Harry was her only living blood relative. No longer having his magic present may have triggered that change."

Harry nodded reluctantly. "We may never know. I'm glad Dudley changed his ways, though. He may become a good uncle for our children, when the time comes."

"We still have to finish school," Hermione noted, "but later – all options are open."

"We still have to exercise making babies, don't we?" Padma asked playfully.

"Indeed we do," Hermione agreed, as they both grabbed Harry's hands and dragged him to the bedroom.

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