I know I can never apologize enough for the way I've treated you-" Dudley began, but Harry interrupted him.
"I know now that your actions were not your own, but that does not negate them. I need time before I can consider an apology from you with a rational mind. If and when I am ready to attempt civility with you, I will let you know."
Dudley and Harry each returned to their respective dorms. The next day was much the same, except Dudley was in every class, accidentally drawing attention to himself by being out of the loop.
In Potions, Dudley showed himself not to know the difference between slicing and dicing.
In History, he shrieked and fainted at the sight of Professor Binns, the first ghost he had ever met.
In Defense, he couldn't manage any charms, and so was hit by a stinging hex from his duel opponent.
In Transfiguration, he held his wand the wrong way and was corrected quite obviously, and the Gryffindor students all laughed as though most of them hadn't made the same mistake the day before.
In Herbology, he accidentally placed a plant in the ground roots-up, although he could hardly be blamed for that mistake, for who wouldn't assume that the end with a face should be above ground?
Only in Flying class did he prove to be a natural; he, Draco, and Harry being the only ones yet able to lift higher than a few inches even if they were allowed; which they weren't, and all three were scolded for it.
Harry, thankfully, was able to avoid Dudley during the free period, but then, in Charms, the only seat available for him was directly behind Harry, and when he finally managed the charm correctly, it hit Harry, lifting him out of his chair. Harry, who had levitated the feather successfully the day before and had been practising on his textbook, lost his concentration, breaking the spell and dropping the book on the desk with a loud bang.
That was how both Dudley and Harry got their first detention at Hogwarts, for disrupting the class.
"Return to my classroom immediately after Dinner to serve your detention," Professor Flitwick said.
So, after dinner, Harry and Dudley stood in the hallway, waiting for Professor Flitwick to let them into the classroom to serve their detention. Harry didn't think he was ready to forgive Dudley yet, so he stood as far from him as he could.
~P.O.V. Change~
When Professor Flitwick came to allow the boys into the classroom, he noticed the one-sided tension between them, making note of it but not commenting on it as he unlocked the door, noticing how Harry waited for Dudley to take a seat before sitting as far from him as possible, and how Dudley looked crushed.
He levitated a quill and parchment to the desk in front of each of them, then gave them their assignment, "You will write lines for an hour, the line is, 'I will not cause disruptions in class,' and you will write it one hundred times. If you do not finish today, you will come back every evening after dinner until you do. The quills and parchment will not allow you to cheat; not that I expect either of you to know spells for cheating in any case."
Harry was good at writing with a pen and considered himself a fast writer, but he was still getting used to writing with a quill, and even if he had been allowed to use a pen he could not have written 100 lines in an hour. He resigned himself to write as many lines as he could. At the end of the hour, he had twenty-five neat, legible lines and he was much more comfortable writing with a quill.
Dudley, on the other hand, had illegible handwriting and was a slow writer even with a pen. He managed to write ten sloppy, illegible lines by the end of the hour, taking frequent breaks to shake out his hands.
Filius told Harry to wait a moment and told Dudley that his lines were illegible and to come back tomorrow. Once Dudley had left the room, he turned to Harry.
"I know the disruption earlier was not your fault. You did a lot of lines today, so I won't ask you to serve detention again tomorrow. However, I would like to know why you seem to dislike Mr Dursley so much."
"Ah, you may not have known that Dudley Dursley is my cousin, Professor. I grew up living with his parents, who were abusive towards me, and he was a bully, at home and school. It turns out he was under some strong compulsions that made him act that way toward me. I don't believe that what happened today in class was intentional, but I'm not yet ready to forgive him for the way he treated me for the last ten years, even though I know he wasn't in his right mind."
"You have every right to feel the way you do. He hurt you, and you don't have to forgive him for that before you're ready."
Harry hurried down to the dungeons, arriving at the Slytherin common room just before the curfew. Sitting on his bed was a garment box and a small piece of parchment.
"Harry Potter,
"This was found among Headmaster Dumbledore's possessions and surmised to have been stolen from your father. As it rightfully belongs to you, after close inspection to confirm it had not been tampered with or altered, we are returning it to you."
The note had not been signed, and Harry could only assume it was from the Ministry of Magic. Curious, he lifted the lid off the box to reveal a shimmering mass of silver fabric folded neatly into quarters. When he lifted it, letting it spread out, it was revealed to be an adult's long, hooded cloak, though the fewer the layers of overlapping fabric, the harder it became to see. He slipped it on, surprised to find it fit perfectly; he guessed it magically adjusted itself for the owner's needs. He turned to the full-length mirror to see how he looked in the cloak, then quickly realized that he couldn't see himself in the mirror. He pushed off the hood, and his head appeared in the mirror. It took only a second for an astonished grin to spread across his face.
"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed. He pulled up his hood and silently left the room.
~P.O.V. Change~
When Draco entered the bedroom for the night, he noticed that Harry's bed curtains were drawn and assumed that he had retired for the night and climbed into bed, drawing his own curtains. However, a moment later, he heard a noise and peeked out, only to see Harry appear out of nowhere and stuff something in his satchel, giggling as he climbed into bed.
The next morning, Draco and Harry walked to breakfast together again. Draco waited for Harry to mention anything about where he had been last night; after all, they were friends, weren't they? However, Harry didn't say anything. All through classes, Draco wondered whether Harry really considered him a friend.
After Dinner, Harry and Draco walked back to their room together. As they entered, Harry glanced around quickly, and upon seeing that they were alone, he whispered, "I have something awesome to show you."
They both climbed into Harry's bed and closed the curtains. Draco quickly cast Lumos as Harry reached into his satchel and retrieved a silvery piece of flowing fabric.
"Now watch," Harry instructed. He threw the cloak around his shoulders, pulled up the hood, and disappeared.
Hey, Strangers!
This one took a long time because I was moving across the country to where the internet is shit, then my birthday was this month so I was celebrating and I took a day away from my phone without really intending to and after that my internet was so shit the chapter wouldn't publish. I'm hoping to be much quicker about updates in the immediate future.
All the love,
Emmi