A/N: Hi everyone! I know it's been a long wait, but it's finally time to begin Arc 2 of Dudley's Daughter! I'm really excited to share the next adventure with you and hope you will enjoy it. I decided to post this chapter at the end of Arc 1 to notify everyone it's up and going, but the rest of Arc 2 will be posted in a separate fic, so be sure to follow the new one for upcoming chapters! Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading!


There was nothing in this world as wonderful as flying.

Amelia Dursley soared through the summer air on her borrowed broom, her light hair billowing behind her. To her left, her cousin, James Potter, angled his own broom to avoid hitting a tree and shot downward until his feet were on the ground again.

"I think I'm done," he called up to her, "it's almost time for lunch!"

"Give me one minute," she called back. Rather than head straight for the ground, Amelia chose a quick detour. She aimed upward instead, climbing as high and as steep as she could into the August blue sky. There were some days during their flying lessons when she really thought she'd reach it.

When the Comet 380 broom began to shudder beneath her, she sighed in minor resignation and began her descent. It wouldn't do to fall off her broom from this high up, and it seemed the old Comet couldn't withstand much beyond that altitude anyway.

While she and James were both wizards, neither of them were good enough with magic yet to stay a fall from a great height, and there wasn't a guarantee that Uncle Ron would get to either of them in time to perform the proper momentum-slowing enchantments. Ginny, James' mother and their flight tutor for the summer, probably could have saved them should the occasion arise, but at the moment she was helping Albus pack for Hogwarts, and only came out to check on them intermittently. At this point in their training, she trusted them on their own.

Throughout the summer, James and Amelia had been learning Quidditch under Ginny's instruction. Both of them were set on trying out for the Gryffindor house team, and with a professional Quidditch player teaching them the proper skills, they would have quite the advantage upon their return to school. Amelia was extremely excited to continue her education at Hogwarts; she'd be starting her second year alongside James in just two days.

They'd had a very eventful first year. Amelia had discovered she was a Harbinger, a Seer who made prophecies connected to Death. But this was one of the least earth-shattering conclusions the past twelve months had yielded. Among the others was the knowledge that Harry Potter, James' father, was the Master of Death, associated with the real Deathly Hallows everyone talked about. Not to mention, Harry himself had helped James, Amelia, and their friends rescue Bridget, an American exchange student, from a family curse that would have resulted in her death. Now that the Blood Bond magic between Bridget and her ancestor, one of the first Dark Witches, was lifted, Bridget was no longer possessed, and she was back home in Salem, healing from the traumatic ordeal.

All summer, she sent both Amelia and James regular letters via owl post (the owls had arrived exhausted, covered in sea spray, and vaguely cross-eyed). One eventually arrived last week, telling them Bridget wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. Understandably, her adoptive family wanted to keep her closer to home, where she was now old enough to attend the Salem Witches' Institute. This also meant her place in Ravenclaw would be vacated, which was something James and Amelia found disappointing. However, their sadness was likely eclipsed by Bean's, a fellow Ravenclaw and their friend, who'd likely be sad to be alone in his house. Bean incidentally was also half-vampire, a secret that had come to light after a series of incidents involving his lost amulet, the Bloodstone. The amulet allowed him to blend in as human, rather than crave blood, and without it, Bean had suffered. When it was recovered, he eventually used it to save Bridget's life, but at a cost. With the Bloodstone's power now expended, Bean was succumbing once again to his nature, and this coming year would need to do so without the support of someone in his house.

Thankfully, the remaining friends still had each other. James and Amelia wrote letters to Bean all summer. He'd mused about going out for the Quidditch team as well, so Amelia had passed along both Ginny's tips and her own advice. For example, today's lesson would include learning the height limits of brooms.

When Amelia's feet touched the ground again, she propped up her broom along the side of the house beside James'. He'd already gone back inside the Potter house, and when Amelia followed suit, she found a plate of ham sandwiches and fresh lemonade already on the table.

James sat at the table with Uncle Ron, Lily, and Albus. Ginny was bustling between rooms, holding freshly laundered sets of robes that were undoubtedly for Albus' suitcase.

"-and one of the brains grabbed me, like this," Uncle Ron was saying, demonstrating with a gesture. "And-"

"Oh, Ron, don't tell them that, you'll scare them," admonished Ginny. "No one wants to hear about murder brains."

"Actually," said James, "we do."

"Make them stop, please," Lily protested, wrinkling her nose.

"Ron, you're going to make them never want to set foot in the Ministry. It may have been questionable back when you were a fifth year, but it isn't like that anymore," Ginny sighed, sitting down at the table beside him and making herself a plate of sandwiches.

Amelia, who had been fascinated by the mysterious brain story, had forgotten entirely about the food. Suddenly ravenous, she stacked a plate high and began to eat.

Ron smirked. "You forget I'm an Auror; I know things. The Department of Mysteries definitely still has those brains."

"I don't forget, you remind me at every opportunity," Ginny replied. "But maybe hold off on the brains until they're old enough? I don't want you to give Albus or Lily any nightmares."

"What about me?" demanded James. "What if I get nightmares?"

"Even after what you saw in that forest, you haven't had a single one," Ginny pointed out. "I'm not sure whether to be impressed or concerned at your resilience. It must be genetic or something. In short, I'm not worried about you. Eat your sandwich."

"Where do the brains come from?" asked Amelia.

Ginny shot her brother a look as if to say, all yours. Ron sighed. "Dunno," he said. "They're just there. The Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries never talk about it. I think it's confidential. But I've definitely seen them. They're still there. A cool adventure for you and James to have when you're older. Given your track record from last year, you're bound to end up doing something just as morbid and dangerous someday. The brains might even look tame in comparison."

"Wicked," breathed James. His mother gave an exasperated huff.

"Stop making me jealous," Albus mumbled over his glass of lemonade. He took a sip and looked up to stare right at Amelia with his bright eyes. "Is Hogwarts really like that? As dangerous as James said? Am I going to have adventures too?"

"Stick with us and something's bound to happen," Amelia smiled. "Although, hopefully it won't involve any more dark magic. I've seen enough of that."

"Nobody told me the whole story," protested Albus. "I want to know what actually happened to Bridget. Is dark magic really the reason why she's not coming back?"

James regarded Albus with a stare of brotherly outrage. "I didn't tell you that. Did you read my letters?"

"Yeah. Nobody in this family tells me anything. Honestly. How else am I supposed to figure out what's going on?"

"That's a Slytherin move, Al," snapped James, but the expression on his face turned to regret as soon as he said it.

Albus gave him a punctured, betrayed look, shoved away from the table, and stalked upstairs. Silently, Lily cleared both their plates and went to join him. The table suddenly felt a lot smaller when it was just James and Amelia in front of the adults.

"James," Ginny began in a disapproving tone.

He ducked his head. "Sorry."

"You know he's sensitive about that. Especially right now."

"I didn't mean anything by it," James argued. "Being Slytherin isn't a bad thing."

"But it used to be, and your father isn't the best at explaining why it's not full of dark wizards anymore. Albus is worried."

Amelia frowned. "Was it really like that when you were at Hogwarts? The books about those years at the school didn't really say."

Ginny's expression softened. "Somewhat, yes. Lots of Death Eaters' kids. Including Draco Malfoy. Although I think he's distanced himself from his past by now, according to Harry."

Amelia and James exchanged an ominous look that Ron did not fail to notice.

"What is it?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "Have you heard something different?"

"No," they lied.

Ron remained unconvinced, but there was a triumph in his tone as he said, "I see. This isn't about him; it's about Scorpius."

There was a tense silence.

Amelia fidgeted with her shirt collar. "How-" she stammered.

"-I'm an Auror," Ron reminded them again, while Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm also not an idiot," he continued, "and I know when my interrogation tactics are working. You two are hiding something."

Ginny put her head in her hands. "Ron, no interrogating the kids."

"No, it's fine," Amelia said. James regarded her with bewildered caution. She proceeded anyway. They might as well know. "We think Scoripus is up to something bad."

"Something villainous." James supplied.

"How can you know that if you haven't sent him a single letter all summer?" asked Ginny.

His indignant expression returned. "Not you too! Is nothing in my letters private? Merlin's beard!"

Amelia finally had the presence of mind to feel uncomfortable. She hadn't thought up a reasonable answer to Ginny's question without admitting they'd lied.

James stepped in, gesturing with a thumb toward Amelia. "She had a vision. Back in June. She saw some stuff."

Ron and Ginny leaned forward. "Stuff?" they inquired unanimously.

"Well, Amelia doesn't remember doing it, but I was there when it happened. She told me she saw Scorpius going Dark."

"What?" said Ron.

James clarified. "Like into Dark Magic. She saw him fighting against us, and then she said he was standing over a body. He looked evil."

There was a long moment where Amelia was almost sure she saw a flash of fear cross Ginny's face, but then it was replaced with her signature stoic stare. Ron did nothing to hide his shock.

"Why in the name of Merlin's saggy socks," he began, "didn't you tell us this in June?"

"Were you ever going to tell us?" added Ginny, her lips thin and pinched.

Amelia had to clarify. "We were afraid to. I'm still getting used to being a Seer, and I can't trust my visions yet. I don't know if they're always reliable. But this scared us."

Ginny sat back, dumbfounded. "All the more reason to tell us, Amelia. Or at least tell your father and have him discuss it with us. This is serious. Being a Seer, or rather, a Harbinger of Death, is a heavy burden and I urge you not to manage it alone. You have a lot of people who are capable of helping you; I'm frankly shocked you didn't ask us for help, or at least talk about this with us."

Ron chuckled. "You're shocked that two second-year Gryffindors didn't seek help from adults? Do you remember what I was like then? Or Harry? Or you?"

At this, everyone at least smiled, but there was a subtle darkness in Ginny's eyes that hadn't been there before.

"I think my father will be here soon," Amelia said to change the subject to something lighter. "It's almost two, so I should get ready to leave. Thanks for having me over."

"I'll help you gather your stuff," offered James, and the two of them took their dishes to the sink. Neither Ginny nor Ron moved from the table, their heads bent in quiet discussion. James ushered her outside to get her satchel, which was draped on a lawn chair. Two curious garden gnomes were swinging at it with stubby arms, neither of them tall enough to reach it. She nudged them away gently with the toe of her sneaker.

"Are you going to invite Scorpius to come to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" she asked.

"No, I thought we agreed-"

"-Yeah, no, I know. I just…hope he isn't mad we haven't talked to him. We're going to see him a lot at Hogwarts, it's not like he stops being in Gryffindor. He doesn't stop being our friend, even if he's going to be against us in the future."

James looked thoughtful. "I really hope that doesn't happen."

"Me too." She looped her fingers through the leather strap of her satchel. Who knew what he'd been up to this summer? He could have already delved deep into the dark arts with his father at his side, for all they knew. She wondered if that was a lonely path to follow. But if her predictions were correct, he would still choose it.

Something nagged at her though. If he wasn't at that point yet, what happened to him in the meantime to make him do so?

Perhaps they'd been wrong not to write to him all summer. She'd always felt guilty for it yet pushed it down, but here it was, resurfacing again. But she didn't know of another option; after what happened to Bridget, Amelia personally wanted to stay as far away from dark magic as possible. She was all for adventures, but this was different. This was serious. They had to keep Scoripius at a distance.

A car door slammed in the distance; her father was here. She hugged James goodbye, thanked Ginny and Ron again, and minutes later was fastening her seatbelt inside her father's car.

He smiled at her, blissfully unaware of the future that was brewing in the distance. Not for the first time, Amelia wondered if that would always be the case.