Author's Notes: As always, I've only borrowed from the original writers and producers. They still retain full copyright privileges over their works.
Got another "guest" review. Really stupid - no real review, just trolling. Dust Binned! If you are going to post a review, log in with your account and post it, and expect a dialog.
_oooooo_
Great Hall, Friday, November 3rd, approximately 11:00AM
Dudley wandered in with Harry and the girls, staring at the overhead view. They approached the Gryffindor table and sat down at the end. A house elf popped in and announced that a light luncheon was going to be served in a few minutes and then popped out.
Dudley looked mildly shocked to say the least, and relaxed as he saw that no one really looked at odds about what had just happened. Harry looked across the table and smiled. "House elf. They do a lot of the serving around here. Think of them as maids or butlers. I've found that if you treat them nicely and pay attention to them and not simply issue orders, you'll be surprised at how good they are at helping you. Hermione taught us all that when she tried to liberate house elves and didn't know as much about them as we do know."
Hermione smacked Harry on his/her shoulder and winked at Dudley. "He's right. I was going at it in the right way but with not the littlest clue at how hose elves at how they interact with magical households. If I had succeeded, I probably would have killed off the very species that I was trying to save from what I thought was slavery. Now, S.P.E.W. Is dedicated to educating people how to respect the work that elves do and their contribution to magical society as a whole, rather than treating them in a one-sided manner."
Dudley looked at Harry and mouthed the word "SPEW" to which Harry quietly shook his head in response and mouthed the words "spell it" and looked over at Hermione. Dudley got the hint and coughed into his hand, "and how many elves have you rescued or educated their owners? Masters? Households? What evers?"
Hermione looked at him brightly and then looked down. "Only two, Dobby and Winkie, " she said quietly then looked up with determination in her eyes. "But I think that we're making some traction on the education of their masters. I know that amongst our friends and classmates, I've seen that they are behaving better towards them, even if is only using 'please' and 'thank you'."
Dudley thought abut what he was going to say in return, then obviously made his decision. "Well, the old Chinese saying goes 'a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.'"
Hermione's smile got even larger. There was a clatter from the table as trenchers, bowls of soup, and platters of meat slices and vegetables appeared between them all. Dudley looked around and spotted a house elf putting the last platter in front of everyone. Smiling at the creature, he put on his best smile and said "thank you very much." The elf looked up startled and then smiled and nodded back, just as everyone else quickly chimed in with their thank-yous. There was a ripple of pops as elves appeared, said "you're welcome!" and then popped out again, off to whatever other duties required them.
Dudley pulled a bowl of soup in front of him, and quickly said his prayers, and then tried the soup, to find it was a beef broth, almost thick enough to be more gravy than soup. He was also surprised to find that he was forcing himself to eat the soup slowly, remembering what Miss Pomfrey had said about not having eaten for a while. A quick glance showed that everyone else was quickly eating their soup and then were reaching for bread slices and making sandwiches.
Forcing himself to stop after the first bowl, Dudley coughed into his hand. "Uh, Harry? Do you know if there's a telephone around here? My Mum's probably thinking that I've died and my body is lying somewhere..."
Minazuki put her spoon down and then took a firm grip on her bowl, preventing a house elf from discretely removing the bowl before she'd finished it. "Telephone? Here at Hogwarts? Ah, Dudley-kun, that normally would not have been possible with all the magic that is going on here. However, the Minato All-Girls Quidditch Team did get equipped with satellite telephones that work. Let me see if I can find who's got one of them today."
She stood up, released the bowl, which promptly was scooped up by a passing house elf, sighed and signaled Dudley to follow her. He stood and his bowl also promptly disappeared as he stepped over the bench and followed her. They went over to one of the smaller tables, where a petite Japanese girl had a cloth spread out with the parts of a very large rifle spread out in front of her.
"Dudley-kun, this is Fate Testarossa. Fate, this is Dudley Dursley who is a cousin of Harry-san. We were wondering if Dudley-kun could borrow your satellite phone. Use my account number until we can get him set up with his own account."
Fate looked at Dudley closely and then looked him up and down carefully. "You aren't magical, are you, Dudley-kun?"
Dudley bowed, feeling like an idiot as he wracked his brain for what he could remember of seeing anime and reading mangas. "No, Miss Testarossa. Harry's from the magical side of my mother's family. "
Fate smiled back. "At least good manners stuck with your side as well. Here, let me get you the phone." As she reached into her school bag, she knocked the bolt action off of the table. Dudley and Fate both grabbed for it and smacked their foreheads together. Feeling even more like a total idiot, Dudley dropped to his knees and carefully picked up the bolt action , stood up and then carefully placed it in her hands. Looking carefully, at the parts spread over the cloth, he suddenly recognized it, and blurted out the words without thinking. "It's a MacMillan LRSW - C15 Big Mac, isn't it? I mean, I've heard of them and we got to see one in Army Cadet Force last term."
Fate nodded and blushed, then dove into her book bag and dug for the promised cellphone. Pulling out the rather large cellphone, she handed it to him and showed him how to start it up and enter the code number for Minazuki. Dudley bowed to her and said, "Thank you, Testarossa. Do you mind if I bring this back in a few minutes?"
She blushed and then giggled. "No, Dursley-kun. Let me clean this up and you can bring it back when you're done. If I'm not here, you can give it to Minazuki-senpai. Is that OK?"
Dudley bowed again and then smiled. "Thank you, again. Let me make my call and finish my lunch." Taking another short bow, he turned and headed over to sit down berside Harry and started making the call, using the instructions he'd been given. Just as the Dursley home phone started ringing, Minazuki sat down in her original spot and found another bowl of fresh soup sitting in front of her.
Everyone stopped eating as Dudley started talking to his mother, covering that he was safe and healthy, that he was at Hogwarts with Harry, and then had to repeat himself by saying "Harry, Harry Potter, your sister's Lily's son." It was obvious to everyone that there was disbelief on the other end of the conversation. Gradually, Dudley convinced his mother that he was safe and sound, was being fed properly and that he was in the Scottish boarding school that her nephew was staying at. The conversation then went over Dudley's adventures and travels with Ryoga Hibiki, trying to pass along the concept of a young man capable of being on opposite sides of the Earth between one step and the next (and possibly even different universes if their luck was exceptionally bad) and finished with his arrival at Godric's Hollow to find his cousin now a girl and sitting with the ghosts of Harry's parents and surrounded by another five young ladies.
Dudley suddenly went very, very still and then looked at Harry. "Uh, Harry. Mum wants to talk to you." He then extended the phone over to Harry, who took it very gingerly and started talking to Dudley's mother. His tones were hushed, barely over a whisper, especially when he started talking about his really, truly being girl at that very moment. His conversation rapidly became a series of monosylabic "Yes" and "No" and grunts in various tones. Tears appeared at the corners of his eyes and dripped down his face. Finally, he whispered "Good day, Aunt Petunia" and pushed the 'hang up' button and handed the phone back to Dudley.
"Duds, what happened? After, you know?" Harry asked quietly.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Harry. I don't know what happened, just that suddenly you were gone and we didn't remember anything about you ever being there. Dad didn't seem to be affected, just complained more about the car being dirty and the yard needed doing, and who was going to cook dinner. Mom got really quiet and kept opening the door under the stairs and saying things like "Where are you?" and then going up to her room. I started finding her digging though the piles of old stuff in the attic and then she found the old family albums that I never even knew about. I'd then find her looking through the albums and looking at the pictures as if she didn't know the people who were there and tears just pouring down her face. It just tore me up. It was probably that that started me remembering you, which wound up getting me to change my ways from the Dudley that you remember and probably hate."
"I mean, I started remembering what you'd done to protect me , I mean us, in that underpass from whatever that ghost was, which started me remembering what happened before and after. I remember a group of men in red robes who showed up one day, said that Harry would no longer be staying with us, and then started waving these wands around and suddenly, it was like you had never been around. Well, that wasn't really true because we, or rather Mum and me, found that something was missing and it was driving both of us slightly crazy, or rather crazier than we were. I suddenly realized that I had a cousin what we all had abused and treated like some sort of slave that we hated. But what I now felt was not anger but shame. Shame that I'd always treated you like that and yet you'd broken all of the rules that we'd tried pushing unto you to prevent you from using what we called freakishness and that it saved you, me and probably Mum and Dad."
Luna looked over and quietly said, "ah, that's why there are very few wracklespurts around you. They usually bite you and people say that it their consciences bothering them. I can see all the bite marks, but those are fading. The ones around you seem more to guard you than punish you."
Dudley looked at Luna with wide-open eyes and then looked at Harry. Before Harry could reply, Luna put her hand on Dudley's arm and said, "that's OK, even for the wizarding community, I'm different. Some call it second sight, which means that I can see things that others can't, and a lot of what I see and describe make people think that I'm strange or even crazy. Harry and his friends became my friends and defended me from those who were tormenting me. I'd be please to count you among my friends as well."
Dudley smiled and replied, "well, considering that we just met, I think that we'd have to get to know each other better before we can say that we are friends, but I'd be pleased that you trust me that far, considering how I used to treat Harry. Any friend of Harry is a friend of mine. There I said it and I mean it."
A subtle flash of light came from Dudley and Luna. Luna smiled and Dudley looked at Harry again. "Seems that you've sworn an Oath of Friendship with Luna, Duds. Not sure how that worked, you being non-magical and all."
Minerva stuck her finger in the air. "Not necessarily so, Harry. Being non-magical is not an absolute, but everything is a broad spectrum of shades, and strengths of magical cores. Below a certain point, there isn't a magical core of sufficient size to support our magic. It's possible that Dudley and maybe your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have small magical cores, and the abundance of magic in and around Hogwarts is enough that Dudley could make such an oath. Dudley, do you want to get tested?"
Dudley shook his head. "No, I think that I'd like to stay as I am. Harry's a wizard through-and-through. I'm just a reformed bully. However..."
He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small framed watercolour showing Hogwarts from across the lake at Hogsmead, and placed it on the tabletop. "Maybe you can explain how this wound up in my Dad's stuff up in the attic, and why I get a peculiar feeling whenever I look at it. I asked Dad if I could have it when I found it and he sniffed and wondered out loud why I'd be interested in old paintings and such, but said that if I wanted it, it was mine. Something went 'bang' inside me and I really thought my heart was exploding, but then this wave of warmth and happiness came over me, and I feel a bit of it every time I handle it. Maybe you can tell me what it is."
Minerva reached over and carefully picked up the picture then looked at it carefully, obviously using her powers to figure out what it was. "Ah, it's definitely a charmed item and there is a tie between it and you. All I can tell is that this is definitely NOT a Dark Object, so there shouldn't be a reason for real concern. However, I think we should involve Professor Flitwick since he's our Charms Master and can give you a better answer than I can."
Standing up, she looked over to the Head Table and waved the painting. "Professor Flitwick! Can you come here for a moment?"
The shortest Hogwarts professor climbed down from his seat at the Head Table and headed over to the table where everyone else was seating, and introductions were made, and the watercolour handed over with an explanation of its background and Dudley's memory. Flitwick turned in over and over in his hands, examining all sides and the watercolour itself, then pulled out his wand and made a couple of gentle passes over it. Placing it down on the table, he pushed it towards Dudley and asked him to holdi ngit by the upper right and lower left corners back-upwards and proclaim 'patesco!' while willing it to be laid open.
Everyone, and especially Dudley, was surprised when the frame backing opened and the sheet of paper expanded out of the frame, becoming a large folio sheet without folds, but bearing several images of Hogwarts and Lake Black from days gone by, along with copperplate script and signature blocks. One block appeared fresh and without signatures, almost blinking in seeming anxiety to have signatures added to it.
Flitwick picked up the document by its edges and carefully examined it. Placing it back on the table, he tapped it with his forefinger. "Very old, and very well-managed and absolutely authentic. This is a deed, tied to the bloodline and 'suitability to govern and manage', something that has fallen out of fashion in the current day, but which is still effective."
"Now, the big secret is that this is a deed for Hogwarts and environs, including the lake and town of Hogsmead. It does make it clear that there is a relationship to the School of Wazarding and Magic and its Board of Directors, namely a position on the Board and an absolute veto over any action that directly impacts the building and/or environs. Non-payment of what is called here 'annual dues and stipend' will result in forfeiture of the tenancy and all funds owed are immediately due. Now, we are at a very dangerous point. If someone can manage to get their hands on the deed before it is signed and witnessed and also registered at Gringotts, anyone with the deed can pass themselves off as the deed holder and has access to any and all accumulated funds in the Hogwarts vault."
Dudley looked over at Flitwick and he stood over the edge of the table and leand on his arms as he regarded the document. "Excuse me, Professor, but what are you suggesting?"
Flitwick stood up and turned to Dudley and bowed. "The obvious, young man! The obvious items that I jsut mentioned. Signed, witnessed and hustle your collective arses over to Gringotts and register this before someone else in this room realizes what we have, and gets it away from us!"
With a smirk, he produced a quill pen and extended it to Dudley and pointed to the glowing section of parchment. "Here! Sign your full name."
Before he could think, Dudley took the pen and started to sign his name, being surprised that the quill didn't blotch and dribble as he'd feared. Flitwick murmered, "It's the document giving your signature the best possible impression since you two have already bonded. It's definitley your signature, less blots, squiggles and smears. You will have to practice to have as good a signature anywhere else, but that's an exercise for a different time. Good!. Thank you, young Dursley. Who's next? Actually, it should be the ranking person here, which is Minerva as co-headmistress of the School, or Young Potter as the ranking Lord, and then the remaining Ladies. Minazuki, it will also take your jitsuin rather than your usual hanko for the inkan. Yes, I am familiar with the meaning of your signature chop as we Gaigan call it."
After Dudley, placed the quill down beside the parchment, each person stepped up and quickly signed their names and ranks, again with the document producing the "ink" in reponse to their quill movements. Harry slipped of a small rign after he'd signed his name and pressed it to the paper, resulting in a wax-like seal appearing but with no real thickness. Harry's eyebrow quired and he grinned at Flitwick who grinned back. Harry's remaining wives lined up in the order of their marriage from Myrtle and Hermione down to Minazuki and Ginny. When Ginny finished her signature, Flitwick picked up the quill and put the quill away in his inside jacket pocket and looked at Dudley.
"Place your forefinger on this corner of the document, think about the document returnign to its closed form and say 'exultent in domino sancti', which is what it says here." and pointed at a phrase in a corner of the document. Dudley placed his finger on the phrase and intoned it and then said the English translation "Let the saints rejoice in the Lord."
The document flared and then folded itself back int the frame, resuming its appearance of a view of Hogwarts as seen from Hogsmead train station.
