The next morning started normally enough for the life that Harry had had before he went off to Hogwarts last year. Aunt Petunia banged on the bedroom door at 5:00 ordering him to make breakfast for the family. Then she returned to her room to have a leisurely start to her day.
Harry rolled out of his bed and quietly left the now unlocked door thanks to his Aunt Petunia. He made his way downstairs and started on a traditional meal that he had always been forced to make before, a full English breakfast. When the others got to the table Dudley got out a container and started placing a portion of the meal in the Tupperware.
"Duddikins? What are you up to?" Queried Aunt Pentunia.
Dudley looked at his mum and presented her with a story that he had spent some time trying to develop. "You know how I have been losing weight lately?
Petunia nodded her eyebrows raising in surprise
"Well, I have been going on more walks around town and sometimes I get hungry. So, I figure I can bring a good meal with me as I exercise rather than ordering whatever junk food is around." Dudley looked at his mum feigning innocence.
His father smiled broadly, "That's a good lad. You have a good meal and save a few quid too." Vernon clapped Dudley on the shoulder. "I am proud of you boy, you are going to make a fine businessman like your father someday."
Dudley held in an internal grimace and went back to focusing on his food. He ate a good portion of the meal on his plate, then piled eggs, bacon sausages, etc… into the medium-sized Tupperware that he had brought with him to the table.
Petunia decided to jump in to help her son. She brought out one of her juice containers and filled it with her signature lemonade and handed it off to Dudley. "There you go, Dear. I would not want you to get thirsty during your workout." Dudley merely nodded his head in thanks.
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Harry had finished cooking breakfast and then stood to the side of the kitchen. Vernon typically wanted Harry to always stay within sight during breakfast so that Vernon could be sure that Harry wasn't stealing any food from the Dursleys while they were otherwise busy eating their meal. Once when Petunia was about to bin a perfectly good bit of roast, Harry asked if he could have it instead. This had been years ago when he was younger. Petunia would have just ignored Harry; However, instead Uncle Vernon had overheard. He had accused Harry of trying to steal food from Dudley's mouth, whipped him with a belt ten times, luckily over his clothes, and then threw him into his cupboard to go without food for the next two days. Harry never made the mistake of asking for food that was just about to be binned again.
Harry shook his head minutely to get rid of the memories of the past in this house. I glanced at the table and watched with mild interest that his cousin was still being his new and odd self. He still hadn't been able to figure out what had possessed Dudley, but Dudley did promise to talk to him at some point. Harry could only hope that that would hold true. Typically no promises to him in this household ever were true and Harry was not sure if the amazing aspects of the world he went to were somewhat leaking into his muggle home too, but in a positive non-magical way. He could only hope.
"Boy stop slouching, you will get your list of chores soon and we will see if you have earned your meal today when I get home." Harry stood straighter and mentally sighed. In typical fashion, harry was forced to stand to the side after making the large breakfast. THen wait until it was over so that he could clean the entire kitchen. That was always his first chore of the day. He had gotten adept at cooking and cleaning at the same time so that he would save time later and possibly get a cheese toastie from his Aunt before he was set his official list of backbreaking chores for the day.
Uncle Vernon pushed himself away from the dining-room table. "Well, I am off to work." Vernon moved off to grab his suitcase, coat, and hat for work. Before he reached the door, he turned back to Harry.
"Boy," he handed Harry a list of chores to do. "Make sure you get these done by end of the day today or no dinner." Without waiting for or wanting a response from Harry, he walked out the door to his car and drove off.
Meanwhile, Aunt Petunia tittered over Dudley. "Duddikins? You said you were going to go off today to exercise? Are you sure it won't be too hard on you? You are being careful not to get injured right?"
"Yes, Mum. I just go and walk in the park. You know the one with the big canal. It's a very nice place to take a walk and I have been getting stronger and more fit gradually. So, you know I am not getting hurt."
'I wonder if I could convince my parents to let me take Harry along to be my errand boy so that I can get him away from these chores and get to talk with him. Maybe I could even introduce him to Laomedeia. She would definitely help me explain things to him.'
Dudley thought for a moment, 'I cannot do that, yet. It will look too suspicious that I suddenly want Harry around.'
Dudley thought over his interactions with his cousin. 'It's a good thing my parents think I can do no wrong or are stupid… or both. I would make a horrid spy.' Dudley chuckled to himself. 'Poor Harry likely thinks I have gone round the bend. Sometimes, I think I have too.'
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Dudley went upstairs to get dressed as if he was going out and took his time waiting for her to leave for her chu Church's sewing circle. Not that most anyone in that particular group knew how to sew. It's was just an excuse to get together, drink tea, and gossip to their hearts' content.
Petunia shut the front door and Dudley heard Harry spraying some water in the kitchen. Probably, just about finished and ready to start on the next chore on the list. He made his way down to where Harry was at and handed him the Tupperware and the juice.
Dudley smirked at his smaller cousin. "You got something for breakfast right?" The larger boy smiled when Harry just nodded. "Hide this in your room so that you always have something to eat. We can switch it out with my second identical one so you can always have a backup meal on hand."
"Dudley, what's going on? Did the pigtail hurt you, really bad? Are you okay?"
Dudley smiled at Harry in amusement. "Harry calm down I am fine. I have had most of the school year and o think and talk to a counselor. Not that Mum and Dad are going to know about that. Right?" He looked meaningfully at Harry. Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"So, your counselor is why you are so different?" As Harry said this he looked at his 12-year-old cousin with suspicion. "Pull the other one." Harry did not really want to doubt his cousin, but to him, it felt that his cousin had become a whole other person overnight. It was just too surreal to comprehend really.
Dudley heaved a sigh rubbing his neck and sat down heavily in the kitchen chair. "You know I have thought about talking to you for most of the last month and it always sounds better in your head, than when you say it out loud you know." He glanced wryly at the smaller boy.
"Harry, take a seat. I swear I am not pulling your leg. Some of the things that happened last year got to me and not I don't mean the pigtail. Though I am glad that's gone." He glanced over at Harry to see if the boy was listening. Harry's eyes were wide with surprise, but he was fully paying attention to Dudley. "So, in September after you left, I started speaking to the school counselor, psychologist, or whatever they call them and because you were gone and were not in any danger I could talk to them without worry that it would go anywhere and get back to mum and dad. After a lot of talking, I realized that basically, my parents are horrible parents. They abused you and I cannot exactly go to them for the help I need either."
"What do you mean?" Harry frowned.
"Harry, I need glasses, I cannot see properly and I cannot read and can hardly write. I did some tests with the counselor and they think I might have dyslexia so all the words just move about on the page and I cannot read anything properly, which makes writing a nightmare." He smirked, it's why I scared the smaller kids into helping me out, then he grimaced. "At first anyways, I pay them to help me now, cannot have my scary reputation sullied now can I." He winked at Harry.
"Okay…So, because you are not perfect either you decided to be nice."
"No!" Dudley smacked a hand down on the table. "Because my parents are abusive and I was being just as bad towards you I didn't want to grow up to be them or worse. Harry, you are family, and starving you, treating you like a slave, and then attacking you for fun is just not right. No one deserves what you when through!"
At the table being smacked Harry shrunk down into his chair in fear, but then on hearing Dudley's words he was shocked speechless.
Dudley continued on looking out the window and away from Harry not seeing his reaction, "I talked a lot with the counselor and we discussed what tends to happen to people like you, and people like me. We tend to become what we faced growing up and I just. I don't want to become like that anymore. And then…"
Harry waited quietly for his cousin to continue.
"Harry, apparently you are not the only Freak in this family." He looked over at his cousin trying to get him to understand the joke he was making at his own expense.
"You have magic, too?" Harry looked at his cousin in shock.
"Apparently, according to Laomedeia at least."
"Who is that?"
"Laomedeia, is the tree dryad from the ash tree that I have been visiting near the canal in the park that I was discussing with Mum. Obviously, she doesn't know about it or she would try to exorcise the demons from me and blame you. According to Laomedeia, she says to a magical it would look as if I had almost no wizarding magic, the magic I have is more elemental."
"Do you have any colleagues that are amazing with plants, or flying or water, but seem to suck at traditional wand magic." Harry nodded his head thinking of Neville Longbottom.
"According to the elementals that have been tutoring me these last couple of months, the more the magical world has pulled away from the ancient magics of elementals and runes. The more there have been squibs abandoned in the muggle world. Not because they are actually squibs, but that the magical world has forgotten how to teach these individuals who don't have easy access to the full range of modern 'light' wizard magic. For whatever, the reason the elementals can reach out to me is that I can see them with ease. So, they want to train me up to help them. Beats me why they want my help, but that's what I have been told."
Harry looked down at the container he had been holding. "That's…"
"Insane?..." Dudley ruffled his own hair and looked back out the window. "Yeah, I know. Anyways, we better get started on that list so that you can get it done before Dad gets back."
"We?!" Harry asked stunned.
"Well we have to be careful that I can stop quickly least they think you are being lazy and give you more work, but yeah. I decided I was going to help you as much as I can before you go back to school. I would ask to go with you, but I am not sure if I would be able to learn the modern magic that they do at the school."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. Then glanced at the time. Only an hour had passed since they started talking and most of it was yard work and house cleaning. They had a safe four, maybe five before Petunia returned, and then an hour after that Vernon would come home. This summer suddenly had some possibilities. He went upstairs and hid the food there under the floorboards for tonight, in case Vernon and Petunia still found something to deny him food for, they usually did.
He went back down to Dudley and they discussed if Dudley could help with the outside chores and in the end. Harry did all the chores in the front yard, while Dudley did the ones, while hidden in the backyard. Then they would clean up and deal with the household chores. This would allow them to have a bit more time to chat, about the things that Harry did while away at school.
When Petunia came home she scolded Harry as if Harry had tracked mud through the house despite it being quite apparent that there was not a speck of dirt in the whole house. Harry just stood there quietly, in the end, Vernon decided that Harry had an attitude problem and sent him to bed without supper. Harry went into the stash of food from Dudley and ate it, then quietly put everything away and went to sleep.
Today, Harry went to bed in that house, for the first time a bit hopeful that things even in this horrid home, might be looking a bit more positive.