Harry's and Dudley's second year at Hogwarts was, all in all, not that great. However, from a purely academic standpoint, both had made a lot of progress this year and were proud of themselves.
Summer had started two weeks ago and Harry was with his aunt and cousin in Number 4 Privet Drive, preparing to leave for the doctor's office. Harry had been registered with the same doctor his aunt and cousin went to, and on his recommendation they made an appointment at the hospital. Half an hour after arriving at the hospital building though, Harry was filled with trepidation.
He had been to a few neurologists and they had confirmed that he had a benign growth behind the Scar on his forehead, and they were going to remove it, or as much of it as possible, today.
Harry was brought into the operating room and given a local anaesthetic, as this type of neurosurgery required the patient to be awake and alert.
Once the surgery was complete he was given a sedative to allow him to sleep and begin healing. The doctor who left with the removed growth looked familiar, but the face mask combined with the sedative made it impossible for his brain to connect the dots.
Harry was resting, it was all he had done for the two weeks following the surgery. His magic was helping speed up the recovery, but even then it wouldn't happen overnight.
Dudley was sitting with his cousin talking the afternoon away, when suddenly an owl began to tap at the window, making the pair jump.
When the window was opened and the owl, relieved of its letter, had left, Harry opened it and read the contents, his face splitting into a grin. Molly Weasley had reaffirmed her offer for Harry to come over for a week or two when he was feeling better, she also expressed her concerns about cutting pieces of the brain away, but that was only for a paragraph.
Harry immediately began to write a letter of his own, confirming that he and Dudley would be visiting in a week or two at most, if Harry felt up to it.
The trial of Gilderoy Lockhart was a confusing affair, the main source of confusion stemming from the accused's complete lack of memory of the last year. Many of the jury believed it was a deliberate attempt to avoid punishment, while others believed there was another hand at play here. After many weeks of evidence collection and testimony from three key witnesses, those witnesses being Harry, Ron and Draco, they had come to the conclusion that Gilderoy Lockhart was guilty; however, as he wasn't aware of his actions, he should be removed from Azkaban Prison and held in the Mental Health ward at St Mungo's starting that day.
And so the trial was over and a picture was snapped of the trio of witnesses for the Daily Prophet's evening edition, which would be getting sent out in under an hour. In preparation for any of the possible outcomes, the Prophet had prepared many different articles, all altered with the specific outcomes, in an attempt to get it out faster.
So it was that while on the way out to remove Lockhart from Azkaban, Auror Sturgis Podmore grabbed a paper to read later in the day.
The Aurors had finally removed Lockhart from his cell and were about to leave the cursed prison of Azkaban when a prisoner called out to them.
"Can I have that paper please? I haven't asked anyone for anything in twelve years and haven't seen the paper in as long. I just want to feel a bit more human for a while," came the pitiful request from a prisoner so covered in filth and grime that his features were indistinguishable.
Deciding that no harm could come from a single newspaper, Sturgiss handed it through the bars of the cell for which the prisoner thanked him profusely.
"You're a good man," the prisoner called after the Auror before sitting down to stare at the picture on the front.
"Harry?" His voice broke and his tears fell freely. After lamenting his failure and mourning the life he had never led, he looked at the people in the picture with Harry. There was a blonde lad, Draco Malfoy, if the caption was to be believed, and a ginger boy. What he saw next made his blood run hot, the caption confirming what he suspected.
"... and Ronald Weasley, also 12, here with his pet rat Scabbers to help him remain calm during his testimony."
At the same time, back at the Ministry, Harry and Ron had left Draco and were heading to meet Aunt Petunia and Dudley, before heading to Diagon Alley with Ron's parents to go to the Burrow.
"I'm glad they let me bring Scabbers, I don't think I'd have had the confidence to go up there without him," Ron started as they exited the fireplace. "I'm going to go upstairs and give him a treat or two before I put him in bed." Ron ran off and left Dudley and Harry downstairs, feeling rather awkward, until Fred and George snuck up on them and shrieked in unison.
"Intruders in the Burrow, thieves and murderers here to take everything and leave nothing standing. Please take pity on us." This immediately made them jump before they realised what was going on and they joined in, laughing.
"Merlin's beard, guys, you're gonna give me a heart attack," Harry complained before Dudley followed up with
"Yeah or petrify me again," Dudley joked darkly, but it didn't quite land.
After Ron had returned and a few hours had passed, which they had spent playing with each other, wizard's chess and the like, dinner was served and it was simply amazing. Both Dudley and Harry ate two full servings, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the family.
"So Harry, Dudley, you've both lived in the Muggle world for most of your life and so I have a question. What exactly is the function of a rubber duck?" Arthur asked out of nowhere, to smiles and laughter from both boys.
"They're designed to 'protect' small children from their fear of bath time," Dudley answered after his laughter subsided, "I can bring one with me next time I come over, if you want," he offered, to which Mr Weasley nodded enthusiastically.
The next two weeks were spent playing Quidditch on the brooms Harry had purchased for the Weasley family and Dudley: a whole bunch of Nimbus had tried to refuse them at first until Harry said he wouldn't take them back under any circumstances. They had burned the old family broomsticks and were playing Quidditch on their new prized possessions, when Percy came out to join them. Harry hadn't really talked much to him and he knew that he was taking the loss of his baby sister harder than the rest, save for maybe Bill. He asked if he could join them as right now he needed his brothers to give him strength. The three youngest Weasleys and Dudley all felt a bit awkward as they only had five Nimbuses, they had just raised this point to Percy, who seemed more upset than ever now, when Harry landed next to them, dropped the Nimbus 2000 he was riding by Percy and began walking away. Percy felt awful, he had made Harry walk away from the game he was playing. The Weasley boys stood awkwardly for a minute, while Dudley and Ron remained in the sky. Just as he opened his mouth to express this concern to Fred and George, who both looked equally as upset by Harry's abrupt departure, when the sound of a window opening caused those present to look up at Ron's bedroom. Then out of Ron's window at the top of the house came Harry who had jumped out and began falling. Fast.
