Chapter 13. New Rules.
A short time later someone knocked, and Petunia went to open the door. A short, middle-aged woman stood in the doorway.
"Can I help you with anything?" Petunia asked.
"I'm Madam Pomfrey, from Hogwarts School. I'm here to bring some potions for Harry, and if you have time now I'd like to talk to you."
"Of course, come in. I'm Petunia Dursley."
Dudley had peeked up the staircase to see who it was, and though he had retreated at once, Madam Pomfrey had a chance to see him. Snape, too, had approached discreetly when he heard the door, but when he saw who it was he returned to the kitchen, knowing that Poppy wanted to speak to Petunia alone.
"I want to make sure that from now on Harry gets a proper diet." said Madam Pomfrey after accepting the offer to sit down.
"Of course, Madam Pomfrey. Everything is going to be different now."
"Well, from what I've learned through Harry and Severus, and what I could see going in, your son has the opposite problem."
"I know, I never managed to limit the amount he eats, and he's always snacking between meals."
"If I may give you some advice, I think from now on you should give the same diet to both of them. In fact the whole family should eat the same."
"Don't you think you should give Dudley a different diet from Harry?"
"I think it's better if they both start eating right and you don't buy treats to snack on between meals. By following a balanced diet Harry will gain weight and your son should gradually lose what he has left over."
"It will be difficult, but not as difficult as putting him on a diet."
"If he can also exercise outside the home, the results would be better."
"That will be even more difficult, but I'm willing to try."
"I'll help her in any way I can. I'm convinced that between the two of us we'll find a solution to your problems. If it's all right with you, we could start with dinner today. I'd like to see how the children behave and perhaps I can make some suggestions."
Petunia looked at her somewhere between surprised and relieved, though then made a worried face. "Dudley is very angry with me today, I don't think it's his best day."
"I don't think it's likely he'll behave any worse than some of the children I've known at school. Don't worry about that."
"Then I'd love to have him stay for dinner, though I'll have to ask Severus if there's enough food."
"Severus is making dinner?" Poppy said somewhat surprised.
"Yes, Harry is helping him."
"I'm sure there's plenty for me, don't worry. We'll do a little cheating if we have to."
Harry peered into the living room.
"Dinner's almost done." he announced. Then he saw Madam Pomfrey and greeted her.
"I'll go tell Dudley." said Petunia.
"I can go up." Harry offered.
"No, I think I'd better go this time. Thanks, Harry."
Harry looked at her in surprise, it was the first time his aunt had ever thanked him for anything out loud. "You're welcome." he replied cheerfully.
Petunia went upstairs, resisting the urge to shuffle. She knocked on her son's door with her knuckles.
"Dinner's ready. Wash your hands and come downstairs."
"I don't want to." said Dudley grumpily.
"Dudley, we have guests for dinner, and besides, you can't go to bed on an empty stomach. Please come down."
"No, you don't send me. I'll go with Dad as soon as I can."
Madam Pomfrey had come up the stairs and said to Petunia in a low voice. "Perhaps we'd better give him a moment."
Both women came downstairs and found Harry setting the table in the kitchen, while Snape put the finishing touches on the stew.
"Smells good." said Petunia.
"Thank you, it's ready now. We'd better sit down." replied Snape.
"Aren't we expecting Dudley?" Harry asked. "He's got to be hungry. At this hour he's always in the kitchen looking for something to eat before dinner."
"Dudley doesn't want to come downstairs." Petunia replied despondently.
Harry turned to Snape. "Mr. Snape. is there any of yesterday's cake left at your house? We could bring it down and offer Dudley a piece. I'm sure he won't say no to a piece of cake."
"Cake?" said Petunia, realizing something. "Yesterday was your birthday, and I didn't remember."
"That's okay, moving here is the best present." Harry said sincerely.
Madam Pomfrey looked at Harry curiously. "I understand your cousin has never treated you well, do you want to offer him cake?"
"Well, I want to help Aunt Petunia. She's being very good to me now. Besides I don't want Dudley to be in a bad mood, because then he gets mad at me and hits me."
Petunia closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Harry, from now on Dudley will never hit you again. If he tries you must tell me, because he already knows he's forbidden to, and there will be consequences."
Harry looked at her quizzically. "Great, Aunt Petunia, thank you."
"Don't thank me Harry, I should have stopped him long before."
"All right. But about the cake, can we bring it? I'd like to have a piece too if it's possible."
"Of course it's possible for you to have a piece, after all it's your cake. And if you want to help convince Dudley it sounds like a good idea to me." Poppy said.
"So. Shall I go up and tell him?" Harry asked to his aunt. She nodded.
Harry walked noisily up the stairs and knocked loudly on Dudley's door.
"Dudley! Come down and have dinner with us. It was my birthday yesterday and there's cake left. We can have it for dessert."
"Leave me alone, you moron." said Dudley. "Besides, who would give you a cake."
"If you don't want to come down for me that's fine, I'll be able to eat a bigger piece." Harry said completely ignoring the insult.
For a few seconds nothing was heard, but then Dudley asked. "What's the cake made of?"
"It's chocolate, with three layers of filling. The one in the middle is caramel mousse."
Dudley opened the door a crack and looked at Harry. "If you're lying to me you're going to regret it."
"I'm not lying to you. Come downstairs and you can see for yourself."
Dudley left the room and headed for the staircase.
Petunia tried to take Poppy's advice and make light of the fact that he didn't want to come down at first. Dudley sat down and Petunia served him the stew.
"I don't like vegetables!" the boy complained.
Petunia managed to keep calm enough to tell him without raising her voice, and replied as Poppy had advised her. "It's the dinner Mr. Snape has prepared. There's nothing else until breakfast, so if you leave it, you'll have to wait to eat something even if you're hungry."
Dudley looked like he was going to say something, but Snape's implacable gaze changed his mind. He finally ate, leaving himself most of the vegetables.
"Can I have some more?" he asked.
Petunia looked at Poppy, and she said. "You can eat some more if you finish those vegetables first." Dudely made an angry face, but began to eat what he hadn't finished. Poppy turned to Petunia. "It's normal for him to eat more quantity than Harry, now I think it's preferable that he doesn't stay hungry. The body will gradually get used to less food."
"Okay, honey, have some more." said Petunia relieved as soon as Dudley finished the green beans. She realized that again he was setting aside what he liked the least, and looked at Poppy who signaled her not to say anything.
When they had all finished Harry asked. "Can we now eat the cake?"
"Sure, Harry, bring some dessert plates."
As they were changing plates Snape went over to his house to bring the cake that had been left over from Harry's birthday. Petunia cut a piece for each of them. Dudley looked at his ration with some trepidation. When he finally tasted it, it tasted delicious. "It's the best cake I've ever eaten." he said.
"Dudley, don't talk with your mouth full." Petunia scolded, though she had to hold back a smile. "You should thank Harry for sharing it with you, don't you think?"
Dudley finished his cake and turned to his cousin. "Thank you, Harry." he said somewhat reluctantly.
Petunia smiled at the two boys, she hoped this was just the beginning.