A/n For QLFC
Posision: keeper
Team: tornados
Prompt: Connect your story using the same main character. thanks to the amazing Nyfler for beta reading this :-)
Demelza hated hiding. She wanted to be out there on the front lines helping keep her world safe. However, her parents felt that she was too young, so here she was in a little cabin in the woods, hiding. There was one upside to this whole ordeal, Dudley and Dennis.
Dennis and Demelza had bumped into each other the first day that Demelza and her family went into hiding. Demelza had known Dennis from Hogwarts, although they were not all that close since they were not in the same year. But Demelza liked seeing a familiar face, and as time went on they became quite close. She had learned that Dennis had an older brother Colin who had requested that his family be put in a safe house while he went to Hogwarts. Dennis was quite upset with his brother since he did not want to be in hiding. He wanted to follow his older brother into battle, but his parents had said that he did not have as much training as Colin and was safer with them. Demelza could tell that it made him a little less upset to have company. Although Dennis was slightly younger than Demelza, he was very easy to talk to.
Demelza had met Dudley much later. Demelza had found him one night sitting by a lake near her cabin. They had talked for a while that night. He told her that he was Harry Potter's muggle cousin and that his family had a deep hatred for anything having to do with magic. He used to be like them until an incident two years ago when his cousin had saved his life. It had gotten him to change his attitude about the Wizarding World. Seeing how lonely Dudley was, Demelza decided that she would try to become his friend. She figured he couldn't be that bad if he could admit to his mistakes so easily.
The next day she introduced him to Dennis. The three realized that they had a lot in common. They liked a lot of the same muggle candies and movies. They also were all terrified of what might happen to them but still wished that there was something they could do besides hide. Even Dudley, a muggle who used to have a strong disdain for the Wizarding World, wished that he could do something.
So, yes, even though Demelza hated hiding, she was happy to have friends like Dennis and Dudley to keep her company.
Although the three were content spending time with each other, there was a restless energy within the group. Demelza had brought a radio with her, so every night they all tuned into the Wizarding Wireless to hear Lee Jordan and Kingsley Shacklebolt report on what was going on in the Wizarding World. They would also listen to some muggle stations just to see if there was anything happening in the Muggle world that the Wizarding Wireless stations did not report.
A lot of their time was also spent teaching Dudley about the Wizarding World. Dudley was eager to learn all that he could, and Demelza enjoyed teaching him. They taught him about basic spells and potions, but Dudley's favorite thing to learn was the history of the Wizarding World. Particularly, when it came up to why his cousin was so important.
"I can't believe my cousin has gone through all of that, and all I ever did was treat him like he was nothing more than dirt. When this war is over, I definitely owe Harry an apology," Dudley said with the look of deep sadness.
Demelza put an arm around him. "It's OK Dudley, we all make mistakes. It's what we do after that that matters."
"She's right," said Dennis. "Both of us can tell how horrible you feel for how you treated him."
Dudley said nothing, just smiled sadly as Demelza and Dennis continued teaching him about other important people in the Wizarding World.
Their mundane routine was broken on May 1, 1998. The sun was just setting over the horizon, and the three were all standing outside listening to the wireless. Suddenly, Demelza jumped up as if she had been burned.
"Demelza!" Dudley exclaimed with concern. "What happened? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, my coin just burned," replied Demelza. She pulled the fake Galleon from her pocket to inspect it.
"Your DA coin?" asked Dennis.
Demelza nodded.
"That coin that Harry's friend Hermione created, right?" Dudley asked.
"Yes, that's the one," said Demelza, feeling a hint of pride seeing that he remembered that lesson.
"Well, what does it say?" asked Dennis in a small worried voice.
"Battle at Hogwarts," Demelza read, "Come quick."
"Hogwarts! Colin! My brother could be in trouble right now, we have to go," Dennis exclaimed.
As Dennis and Demelza started walking to get their Broomsticks, Demelza looked back. There was Dudley, one of her best friends, just standing there alone and left out of the Wizarding World just like he always was.
"Dudley...We can't just leave Dudley. Something could happen to him while we're gone." said Demelza walking towards him.
"Demelza, you have to go. A muggle like me cannot fight in a Wizarding War. But you can."
Demelza hugged him with tears in her eyes. "Before I go, I want to give you something," Demelza said, taking a coin out of her pocket and handing it to Dudley. "I put the same charm on it that the DA coins have. I made it just in case something like this happened."
Dudley smiled and hugged Demelza tightly.
"If something happens to me, I want you to know that even though I've known you for a short amount of time, you've quickly become one of my best friends, Dudley Dursley. I want you to remember that every time you start feeling eaten up by your past mistakes."
"You have also become one of my best friends, Demelza, and nothing is going to happen to you. You are an amazing fighter, and one of the bravest girls I know. Every magical being should be scared of fighting you. Now go, kick some death eater butt," Dudley said.
Demelza laughed tearfully, and with a last look at one of her closest friends, she and Dennis went off and joined the Battle of Hogwarts.