The next day, Rose and Harry got up just in time to see Vernon leave for work. He told them goodbye, in a tone that showed he didn't really mean it, and left. They weren't expecting any extensive goodbyes from him so they shrugged it off. He had barely talked to Rose since she arrived and she wasn't expecting more now. Ever since she had arrived with Harry, he had acted like she didn't exist and wasn't there at all. At least he wasn't openly hostile, like Jenny, her kidnapper, had been all the time she spent home.
They entered the kitchen to get some breakfast after watching their uncle leave through the door and were surprised to see that Dudley was already up and apparently waiting for them.
"Are you feeling better Dudley?" Rose asked him kindly and he surprised them by smiling sincerely at her.
"I do, thank you. I… I know what that thing would have done to me, I heard that man telling mom when you brought me home. I know you saved my soul. Thank you." Dudley told them both.
"Don't mention it." Rose smiled.
"You're welcome." Harry added, surprised by his cousin's behavior but welcoming it.
Petunia placed the breakfast on the table and left the room. Rose could tell that her aunt had a hard time looking at her, and she understood it. If she really looked like her mother, then seeing her must be painful for her sister, who had to be missing her, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. Rose guessed that Petunia had loved her sister and that the hate she had shown had been to protect herself from more heartache, which she started feeling when Lily had gone to school, away from her and had entered a whole new world, without her.
"I haven't been very nice to you Harry, I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make up for it." Dudley told his cousin, surprising him.
Having almost lost his soul had obviously done a number on him.
"Well, feeling sorry should be enough." Harry told him awkwardly, not knowing what to reply.
"Do you... I was wondering if I could spend the day with you until you left. You know, get to know you or something." Dudley asked shyly.
"Of course, no problem." Rose smiled.
"Are you sure your parents will agree with that?" Harry asked.
"Well, mom advised me not to tell dad but you know them, as long as I'm happy..." Dudley smirked.
"Probably a good idea." Harry smiled, liking this new side of his cousin.
The three of them would have liked to go out but it was raining so they went into the small bedroom Harry would leave soon for good and they talked. For the first time, Dudley asked Harry and Rose about the magic world, how it was, how school was and he had to admit that he was jealous of all the cool adventures that Harry lived at school.
It didn't take Dudley long to understand just how important Harry was in the wizarding world. He quickly understood that the wizarding community counted on Harry to defeat Voldemort and that his cousin risked his life and had done very dangerous things every year while he was at school.
"But you'll be okay, right? I mean, you have to kill him and fight and all but… You can do it? You have some sort of secret weapon like in video games and movies?" Dudley asked him, worry obvious in his tone.
"Well, I'm not alone and we think we know what to do…" Harry declared, unsure, while his sister looked down and held his hand.
"Do you think… Maybe your owl can bring me news from time to time? So I know you're doing okay?" Dudley asked his cousin.
"Sure, if you want to." Harry nodded, surprised and wondering if someone wasn't using Polyjuice potion to take his cousin's place.
The change was so big!
"I'll even send my Phoenix Serenity if you want. She'll be able to appear directly in your room and none of your neighbors will see her." Rose suggested.
"Dudley. If anything happens, if anything weird happens, if you see men in black hoods or cloaks around that shouldn't be… We'll try to warn you if danger is coming your way but if we can't or if you have suspicions of something bad about to happen, try to go to Misses Figgs. She doesn't have magic but she's from a wizard family. Kind of the opposite of what our mother was. She'll be able to tell you if there is a real danger or not and to contact the right people." Harry told his cousin who nodded.
"Maybe we can give him one of our two-way mirrors. Sirius will happily get us another one and this way he'll be able to contact us directly." Rose suggested and her brother nodded.
"You're right. Here Dudley." Harry handed his mirror to his cousin, explaining how it worked and connecting it to him the way they had seen Sirius connect theirs to them.
"Here, I'll write down the names you can call if Harry and I don't answer." Rose offered, quickly taking a piece of paper out and writing a few order members names on it.
After a few more minutes, Dudley asked them a question that seemed to have been on his mind for a while:
"When I have children, will they have magic powers?" he asked them.
"I don't know… I'm not sure how it happens. At school there's the Crivey brothers, they're both Muggle Born, their parents are muggles but they're both wizards. I guess it could happen." Harry shrugged.
"Since he's from Lily's family, he shares her blood and it could happen. There are more chances of him having a muggle born child with magic than if he had been from another family, completely muggle. I've read a book about it during my first year." Rose replied.
"Of course you have. I swear you and Hermione are going to be best friends. You'll turn your dorm into a library. Or they'll create a fifth house just for the two of you, they'll make you sleep in the library and your emblem will be a book worm." Harry chuckled.
"I hope I'll be sorted into Gryffindor." Rose replied, imagining her brother's face if she was to be sorted into Slytherin.
"If it happens, will you help me? Help me understand and not be afraid? Help me not treat my child like my parents treated you?" Dudley asked Harry.
"I… of course Dudley. You know how to contact me now. And even if the mirror breaks, I told you were the Leaky Cauldron was. The bartender will help you contact me if you need it." Harry smiled.
"Good. Thanks." Dudley nodded.
After that, Harry and Rose showed their cousin about Wizard candy. The ones whose taste surprised you, the ones who forced you to make animal noises and promised to send him a sample of more for his birthday and for Christmas. Maybe even some butterbeer and, why not, firewhisky.
The rest of the day passed quickly and soon, it was mid-afternoon and they were waiting in the living room for Remus and Sirius to arrive. Petunia did her best to keep busy and appear like it wasn't affecting her at all but Harry could see that seeing Rose had brought back memories in his aunt. While Petunia was around, Rose suggested they always kept chocolate and told Dudley to eat some every time he feels close to how he felt last night. She suggested that they could start a ritual as a family to eat a small piece of chocolate every night after dinner, just so Vernon doesn't get suspicious. Petunia seemed to like this idea, especially since her husband had always been extremely fond of chocolate.
When Sirius' new car parked in front of the house, they all stood.
"Harry! Sirius is the one driving! He passed his license!" Rose exclaimed happily.
"He told us he was thinking about it but he didn't tell us that he was going to do it so fast!" Harry replied.
"Remus said that he had learned before everything happened. I guess he didn't forget. Or maybe he hexed the examiner to pass." She replied while Petunia went to open the door for them before they rang the doorbell.
Petunia was relieved that Harry and Rose's guardians were able to dress like muggles and that they arrived with a car, a normal, though expensive looking, one.
Rose and Harry said goodbye to Dudley, to Petunia and then they grabbed their bags and joined their godfathers, ready for a new start.
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Lorelei Candice Black