'Thoughts'
"Speech"
~Parseltongue~
Etymology of new spells I make up will be present at the end of the chapters they are first used in. If not, please review and let me know.
Chapter 2: Who's a Wizard?
As Harry and Vera made their way back into the Dursley home, Vernon saw all of the new items they brought with them. Vernon immediately saw red. He was never very intelligent or tactful, but the twins couldn't believe that even he would try to have another confrontation with them after what happened last time. "You little freaks! For the last two years, I tolerated all the junk you kept bringing into my house! How dare you! I will not tolerate anymore freakishness in my house!" Vernon boomed, charging at them.
Harry flicked his wrist and sent Vernon flying back into the wall. As Vernon fell back down, Harry made his way towards him. "It seems you have forgotten your place, muggle. We need to remind you once more what we are capable of, isn't that right, Vera?" Harry said, as his twin joined him.
"N-No! You can't do this outside that school! The Dumbledore guy said –" Vernon started to say fearfully.
"Well, he didn't say anything about before we start school, now, did he? If it causes any problems, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The odds are truly against you though. From whatever brief exposure we had to the magical world, we were able to find out that muggles are not very well liked there. We can make your fat arse explode in the middle of the middle of the street with all of our neighbors as witnesses, and we will be able to get away, claiming that it was accidental magic. Anyways, now, that…er…gentle reminder." Vera said, as she and Harry made crushing motions with their fists.
First, Vernon's eyeballs exploded, splattering blood and bits of eyeball all over the floor. After that, his limbs twisted and snapped into odd angles, and his hair, teeth, and nails were violently ripped out. His genitalia were crushed next, and bloody tears started to leak from his nearly empty eye sockets. However, as Vernon was experiencing this unimaginable pain, suddenly the world swayed around him and he felt that he was unharmed. Everything had just been an illusion.
"Cross us once more, freak, and that is what will happen to you." Harry said with a malevolent smirk, as he and Vera went back to their room. Vernon was now blubbering on the floor in fear. 'I warned you, dear.' Petunia grimaced.
Harry and Vera, rather than truly harming Vernon, used their newly developed illusory abilities to trick Vernon into believing they were injuring him. Ah, the wonderful, infinite applications of magic.
For the next year, Harry and Vera familiarized themselves with the spells described in the books they bought from Diagon Alley. They left the family Grimoires alone for later, by when they would gain a better understanding of how magic itself worked. As the books described the intended effects of the spells, they were able to mimic most of them with their intent-based magic. They wondered why incantations were even used, but luckily found the answer in an unexpected source: Parselmagic – A Compendium of the Serpentine Arts.
The author, Herpon, stressed on the importance of incanting the spells in parseltongue. According to him, the native languages of powerful magic wielders became so saturated with magic, that the words of the languages themselves helped imbue spells with intent and power. This was because of the fact that detailed spellwork required the usage of language to convey intent. After all, everyone thinks in a certain language. Due to the notoriety and high innate magical capabilities of parselmouths, parselmagic became a dark and deadly weapon. Parselmagic had no known uses outside of battles and healing, due to its mimicry of a snake's nature. While Herpon was not the best role model for character, and seemed to have some questionable morals and opinions, he was certainly very learned and a good teacher.
Besides basic spellwork, the twins highly prioritized learning occlumency and legilimency. Occlumency required the creation of a mindscape, with defenses and memory hiding locations that were decided by the user. The more practiced one was in the art, the more intricate and powerful they could make the defenses. All this made perfect sense to the twins.
Legilimency was a completely different approach. No matter how powerful the legilimens was, even a person using rudimentary occlumency would be able to know when their minds were being accessed. The first step to learning legilimency was learning the brute-force method. This involved the user forcing their way into the victim's mind like a battering ram. It also involved the use of the incantation "Legilimens". Once the legilimens learned how to do this nonverbally and wandlessly, they would go to the next step – which was to lightly prod against the defenses to find the weak areas, like a probe. The user would then force their way through the defenses using just the appropriate amount of force. Before learning this method, the user also had to learn to augment their legilimency probe to help it navigate mindscapes more quickly.
The last step to legilimency was to learn how to dematerialize one's probe, and control all the particles to rematerialize only when necessary. This way, the victim wouldn't find out that their mindscape is under attack until it was too late. Only a top-tier occlumens would be able to defend their minds against that. It was written in the book that the Dark Lord Voldemort was notorious for taking his legilimency skills all the way to this level.
Obviously, since it was more important to defend their own secrets than to find out others' both had started with occlumency. By their tenth birthday, they had quite functional defenses in their mindscapes.
Vera had the Solar System as her mindscape, due to her love for astrophysics. Her most guarded secrets were in the core of the sun, while her other important knowledge was present in the cores of the eight planets. However, she had to cool the temperatures of the cores down enough to build tungsten storage compartments to organize her memories. The attacker had to deal with the heat of the environments and the surrounding space debris, which Vera had conveniently increased the quantity of. She felt that this was the best way to protect her mind from people like Voldemort, who could use the highest known level of legilimency.
Harry had a more conventional set up. He had read a book earlier about the various schools that magical children studied in all over the world. One of these schools was Uagadou – Africa's only school recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards. He had read that this school, located in the Mountains of the Moon in Western Uganda, was literally carved into the mountain range and shrouded in mist, causing it to seemingly float in midair.
Harry had taken inspiration from this school, but had taken it a step further by using dark, murky smoke instead of mist. He had also added lightning charged clouds above the mountains and smoke to strike at any legilimency probes. Even if a third-level legilimens attacked, the smoke would get denser around the area under attack, and surrounding winds would forcefully blow the attacker away, making it necessary for the probe to materialize to continue the attack. If the legilimens was able to maneuver around all these traps, they would them have to search the entire mountain range to find the memories they wanted to learn of. They were all blocked using different parseltongue passwords, with there even being several false locations mixed in to lure the attacker.
Partway through their occlumency studies, the twins started learning legilimency as well, as there was no point in learning occlumency without being able to test it against a legilimens. It was much more difficult than occlumency, and the twins had only later discovered that it would have been easier to learn legilimency first and then occlumency. This was because a legilimens would have an easier time learning occlumency, but this didn't apply for the other way around. However, there was no point grieving over the issue, so the twins continued their studies, focusing on legilimency, while practicing occlumency just enough to keep their present defenses intact and easier to maintain.
Both also took Turunculus' advice and started exercising, after buying several books and consulting a few local trainers for advice. They decided to restrict their exercise to calisthenics and cardiovascular exercise, and to start more strenuous and physically demanding exercises like weightlifting once they reached their mid-teens. Along with exercising, they spent three hours everyday practicing three types of martial arts: Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Taekwondo. They also wanted to try out Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts, but the instructors kindly refused, saying they were too young to practice such dangerous sports. However, this didn't stop the twins from practicing their fighting against each other. They didn't need protective gear, as all the years of abuse from the Dursleys made them more resistant to physical injuries and boosted their magic-augmented healing abilities.
However, once they started getting strong enough to cause some real damage against each other, they started to learn basic healing spells to knit wounds and accelerate the healing of internal tissues. Interestingly, their magic seemed to have a mind of its own and continued to make it difficult for the twins to injure each other too badly. They were nowhere close to masters at physical combat, but they certainly could hold themselves against most magicals in this aspect, especially the elitists, who looked down upon such "barbaric" behavior.
In their last year before Hogwarts, they focused mainly on studying the muggle subjects that they needed to learn about, as well as the political and legal system of magical Britain. The muggle subjects were a lot more difficult to understand, and it took a lot more work to grasp their concepts. This was because they were studying muggle subjects from the perspective of an observer. They were reading about what was discovered, theorized, proposed, or postulated by other people. While they were able to understand the concepts better by applying them to solve practice test booklets that they bought to see whether their understanding in the subjects was up to the mark, the twins did not have quite the same innate talent with muggle subjects as they did with magic.
However, only due to their amazing natural intelligence were they able to complete the eighth-grade curriculum in Britain before the summer during which they would turn eleven. While this was quite the amazing feat, neither twin felt that they were doing as well in their studies of muggle subjects compared to magical subjects. They were almost about to complete the fourth-year curriculum of Hogwarts for all subjects and electives that they bought the books for. Considering that they had only started the first-year material when they were nine and paused their studies of the Hogwarts curriculum seventeen months later, that too without the use of a wand or incantations, this was amazing progress, and the only reason why they took the decision to pause their magical studies to catch up in their study of muggle subjects.
They had also learned how to apparate, as they needed to know how to make a quick escape when in danger. The instantaneous travel was another obvious benefit. Combining the knowledge they gained from the fictional magic books from the muggle world with the knowledge from the book on apparition, the twins managed to learn how to apparate soundlessly. They learned that the distinct "crack" sound that was an indication of apparition was the result of air rapidly rushing to fill the vacuum created by the sudden disappearance of the person who apparated.
However, the downside of the twins' silent method was that it could only be used for short distances, as the path of travel had to be seen. If they attempted long-distance travel, they would simply crash into an unforeseen obstacle midway. It wasn't that long distance travel was impossible with this method, but it was not worth the risk of dying by getting splattered onto a wall. This was because the twins' apparition method was similar to a switching spell, where they were switching themselves with air from their travel destination. They could only alter the travel path in order to move around obstacles they saw before teleporting. They called their method "Flickering", as they would be in one place at one moment, and instantly appear in another in the blink of an eye. Harry wanted to call it "Switching", but Vera argued that people would guess the reference too easily and replicate the method themselves.
Because of a simple epiphany that Harry had, the twins also learned how to fly without the aid of a support, like a wand or a broom. "If we can levitate other objects telepathically, why not ourselves?" he asked himself. It was certainly not as easy as it sounded. In order to levitate objects, they had to saturate every particle in them with magic, and will them to simultaneously lift off of the ground. Otherwise, the object would break and only a part of it would lift off. Other wizards and witches, through the use of a wand and an incantation, were able to circumvent the need to truly understand the complexity of the simple levitation charm due to the aid provided by the two supplements.
The twins were lucky that they first decided to take a closer look at how they were able to levitate objects. Not doing so could have resulted in some…horrible complications. They needed to be perfectly aware of every part – every cell and dead cell – of their bodies in order to accomplish this feat. Learning occlumency was a huge help, as it helped them connect better with their minds, which in turn helped them to connect to each and every part of their body – bones, organs, hair, nails, muscles – everything. They gained the confidence to start levitating themselves.
At first, they were able to only float in the air, though this was still an amazing achievement for them. They were only able to learn of a way to move when they read about the functioning of the Banishing Charm from the fourth-year spell books. They knew that due to the law of conservation of momentum, the momentum of a closed system would always remain the same. However, this law had not considered one variable: magic – a type of energy. By Einstein's Theory of Relativity, energy was proportional to mass, which was in turn proportional to momentum. By augmenting the air behind her with her magic and banishing the air behind her while using the recoil force to propel herself, Vera was the first one to figure out how to move during unassisted flight.
Harry was quick to learn from his twin, and soon, both were able to fly with ease. However, they could not continue to fly for longer than a few hours and their speeds were limited by their lack of experience with controlling their movements. Both twins did crash into trees in the Dursley's yard a few times, and it was not a pleasant experience. They also decided to practice more before they attempted to fly at higher altitudes. Falling from a great height due to losing control was not on either of their bucket lists.
Of course, the twins documented everything that they discovered. They could not allow their hard work to be forgotten. Every new theory they proved, spell they created, and method they perfected was documented in several notebooks and files that they kept organized in the trunk library. They wanted to make Grimoires of their own, containing these secrets that they could pass onto their families later on. However, they had to figure out a way to bind their wills to their work, so that someone could not access it for nefarious purposes. But they still had a long, long time to live and research before needing to worry about such a thing.
Harry and Vera, after learning about the different magical schools, felt that Hogwarts was rather tame compared to many of them. Harry wished he could go to Uagadou, or possibly India's magical school – Mantralaya – which roughly translated to "abode of magic". Uagadou was known for students skilled in potion making, alchemy, and self-transfiguration. Almost all of its students were animagi, and would often prank muggles by pretending to be some rare undiscovered animal species. A famous example was the okapi. Like, seriously, how could those foolish muggles believe that a cross between a giraffe, a zebra, and a deer actually existed? Uagadou students had laughed at that one for years.
Mantralaya was infamous for its controversial stance on the darkest of magics – blood, soul, sacrificial, and ritualistic arts. The faculty and founders believed that such magics were "holy", and refused to stop teaching what they taught. This resulted in the ICW (International Confederation of Wizards) refusing to recognize them as an official magical school. It was only the pacifistic nature of the school's teachings and its firm action against those who chose to use the powerful magic taught there for nefarious purposes that prevented the ICW from taking further action against Mantralaya.
Vera, while interested in Mantralaya, was also intrigued by the Russian school of magic – Koldovstvoretz (Creator of Magic). Besides their strange version of the magical sport quidditch, which involved flying on uprooted trees rather than broomsticks, the school had a very militaristic approach to teaching magic. Duelling, and even outright magical fighting, were encouraged to help students hone their abilities in magical combat. While they did not encourage the study of the dark arts, they did permit it, provided that the student in question applied for and received licensure from he ICW to use such magic when the situation called for it.
Durmstrang had been on both twins' minds at the start, due to the structured learning of the dark arts there, but its appeal had lessened drastically after the twins found out about the headmaster's identity. An ex-Death Eater headmaster was not an ideal person to entrust one's education to. However, with all that aside, it was sad that the twins couldn't go to any of the schools they wanted to go to, as those schools did not accept students from Britain, unless the students proved themselves to be impressive enough to catch the schools' interest. Harry and Vera both decided to not risk exposing themselves to the world yet, as they would be on the shit-lists of many Death Eaters. They also did not know how their abilities compared to those of peers their own age, so they didn't know if it was worth contacting these other schools yet. Besides, they could always arrange a visit to the other schools at a later date.
As the twins continued to study and hone their skills, the day had finally arrived. "Harry, would you mind getting the mail?" Petunia said with a forced smile. Dudley and Vernon were outside the house, with Dudley accompanying his father, who was taking his new company car out for a spin. Harry nodded as he went to the front door. He was mildly surprised that he and Vera had received their Hogwarts acceptance letters, but remembered that they would receive it sooner or later this month. The major shocker, however, was the letter after that:
Dudley Dursley,
Largest Room on the Second Floor,
#4 Privet Drive,
Little Whinging,
Surrey
'Shite. The Dursley's won't like this…' Harry thought, almost feeling bad for Dudley. He made his way back into the living room to see Petunia reaching out expectantly. "Petunia…I wanted to let you know that Vera and I have received our Hogwarts acceptance letters…" Harry started, causing Petunia's expression to sour slightly before she sighed in resignation.
"Well, we knew you would be getting it one of these days. Anyways, let me see the rest of the mail." She held her hand out again.
"Er…try not to freak out too much, okay?" Harry said, handing her the stack of mail, with Dudley's acceptance letter on top. Petunia nearly jumped out of her skin when she read it.
"W-What devilry is this?", she quivered hysterically.
"Dudley is a wizard, Petunia. I felt it was only right for his parents to know." Harry said. Petunia looked at the letter for a moment, before bursting into sobs. Harry waited for her to finish, continuing to look at her unsympathetically.
"Harry, I think it is time for you, Vera, and I to have a discussion." Petunia sniffled as she wiped her tears away. Once Harry called Vera, Petunia continued to talk.
"I want to tell you two about myself – what caused me to become so bitter towards both of you and your parents." Petunia said. She chuckled morosely seeing the look on their faces.
"Yes, despite what you two might think, I have eyes and a brain. I can see what you think of me. Now, I will start my story. Please hold your questions for the end." Petunia said. Harry and Vera thought of refusing, but they couldn't deny their curiosity.
"Let's take it from the beginning. My jealousy of Lily had started when she was a toddler, and I had just started primary school. We were only two years apart, so she was four at the time, while I was six. At first, our parents treated us both equally. I loved to care for my dear sister, and she loved me. In fact, her very first word was "Tuney", which later stuck as her nickname for me. I never loved her more than I did then. However, as when she was four, it was the first time when it happened – accidental magic. As a family, we loved gardening, which was why Lily and I were named after flowers. On that particular day, she called out to the rest of us, showing a small flower on her palm, that she made bloom and collapse back into a bud repeatedly.
And my parents loved it, oh were they so impressed. They believed that one of God's own angels was sent to the Earth in the form of their daughter, Lily. It was quite believable. It was obvious, even from the time she was young, that she would grow up to be amazingly beautiful. Even I believed that this was true at the time. I knew, since even then, that I would never grow up to be as beautiful as Lily. However, I accepted it. After all, Lily was God's angel. It only got worse after that. My parents loved their little Lily-pad so much. She was the apple of their eyes. They would compare her to me and constantly praise and spoil her. 'Oh, Lily-pad is so much smarter than you were at her age', 'Lily-pad is so cute and pretty! One day I will have to beat the boys away with a stick!', and other such remarks were common place.
I, on the other hand, became the neglected daughter, who would curse herself for being so inferior compared to her sister. I grew jealous – jealous that God's angel had to be part of our family. Why couldn't God bless some other family, so that I could be loved by my own? This was what I thought at that time. Fast forward to when Lily was nine. That was when everything changed. You see, even though I was jealous of Lily, I still continued to love her and spend time with her. I don't know how, but she remained so kind-hearted and loving even with our parents spoiling her as they did.
Suddenly, one day, one greasy-haired little git stepped into her life. Selvus Snake or something. Who the hell has Snake as their name? Anyway, back to the story. When Lily was showing me some of her accidental magic, the little stalker stepped out from his hiding place and told her the truth. She was no angel, but a witch. And apparently, there was a whole secret community filled with these kinds of people. I then realized how unfair and cruel the world was. Somehow, by sheer, dumb luck, magical children can be born to people like me and Vernon – muggles. They had this weird, freakish power that could solve all their problems for them.
Need to clean the house? Magic! Need something to eat? Magic! Need to go somewhere? Boom! Magic! Instant travel! It was ridiculous. This was when my jealousy started to turn to hatred. A slow, creeping cold that froze my heart. Lily, wanting to learn more about this magical world, spent more time with that boy, leaving me alone. Lily was all I had at the time. At school, people would bully me because of my appearance. At home, my parents seemed to care only for Lily. My sister still tried to make time for me, but I slowly started to push her away.
However, because of the new object of her attention, that Snake boy, she did not notice this until much later. She thought she was only imagining it, what with her starting Hogwarts and all. It was only after her fifth year that she noticed the rift between us. I knew she truly cared for me, but it was too late at that point. She did not stop trying, though, and even invited me and Vernon for her wedding in an effort for reconciliation.
I only ever married Vernon because of his disdain for anything out of the ordinary. His family were the staunchest of Christians – the kind that would not only support witch burnings, but also attend them and roast marshmallows on the flames. While he did not inherit their religious fanatism, he did inherit their hatred for demonic, freakish things, like magic.
Anyways, back to her invite. This action of hers managed to spite me even further. I understood that this was an unintentional consequence of her action, but it still happened. I saw their moving photo in the invitation card. The beautiful, angelic Lily married a tall, handsome, powerful, kind, wealthy, and influential man, while I, the giraffe-necked, screechy, spiteful bitch was stuck with an obese, lazy, entitled, chauvinistic slob.
Now we fast forward to when Dudley and you both were born. This was six months after your birth. Lily came here with you two to introduce you to our family, along with your father. She also wanted to meet and spend time with Dudley. Do you know what I did?" Petunia asked starting to weep. Without waiting to hear their answer, she wailed.
"I called her a bitch and told her to fuck off!" Petunia cried. "Lily burst into tears and disapparating from our doorstep, taking the two of you along. James had remained and he ripped me to shreds with only his words. He said that I was a bitter bitch who didn't deserve to have Lily as a part of her family. He called me a pathetic whore who would spread her legs for anyone who shared her spite. He said that I was the freak and that the only emotion I was capable of was hatred, calling me out for repeatedly rebuffing the only person ever capable of loving vermin like me. Lastly, he told me how he was adamantly against coming here, but only agreed because Lily begged and pleaded him, saying she wanted one last chance to reconcile with her beloved sister. He then disapparated as well, and that was the last time I saw them." Petunia finished solemnly.
"And you know what, Harry, Vera? He was right. He was absolutely fucking right. All these years, I have been questioning myself. 'Is it right to take my hatred out on children?', 'How would Lily have treated Dudley if the roles were reversed?', 'What will Vernon do to me and Dudley if I started treating you kindlier?'. You know what I realized?" she asked.
Seeing their expectant look, she continued. "I realized that I am a pathetic, hypocritical, abusive coward. My dear 'husband' and I have fed my son into morbid obesity, while starving you both as much as possible. We spoiled Dudley rotten while treating you both like slaves, even giving you work when there was none left, just to keep you as miserable as possible. We allowed Dudley to believe he was the best at everything, going so far as to punish you both whenever you excelled. Do you know what I am going to do now?" Petunia asked resolutely. It was a rhetorical question.
"I will start treating you as I should have. I will show some backbone and file for a divorce. I will allow Dudley to go to Hogwarts with you, but please, I need you to protect my Dudders. I know you don't get along with him very well, but I'm sure if we raised him right, he would have been a good boy. I can't give up hope on my son. I hope he learns better values at Hogwarts. I know I have done nothing to deserve the right to ask you for favors, but I am begging you. I know how some families treat magicals from muggle families. Lily even cried because of that once." Petunia implored.
Harry and Vera walked over to Petunia. "Petunia, get up." Vera commanded, causing the woman to shakily stand.
"You have done quite a few things that we do appreciate. You didn't need to tell us about Diagon Alley, but you did. You didn't need to tell us about your history with our family, but you did. You have kept your word and stayed out of our way, just as we stayed out of yours. I don't think either of us forgive you yet, Petunia, but we are willing to give you a chance. Prove that you mean what you said. If Dudley learns from his mistakes, perhaps we can start becoming a real family. This will obviously be gradual, but if you continue to repent for your mistakes, this can possibly happen." Harry said, causing Petunia to shoot him a weak grin.
"Now that we got that over with, why don't you take a look at Dudley's letter?" Vera suggested.
"We will open ours along with you." Harry continued.
Petunia did so, marveling at the fact that Dudley was a wizard. She now understood, if only a little, why Lily was so precious to her parents.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Dursley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Petunia ran her eyes over the letter multiple times, hardly believing it to be true. "Unbelievable…" she muttered incredulously, before moving on to the requirement list.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Draughts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
"Is it just me, or do many of these authors seem to have names similar to their field of study? Like a book about plants and fungi written by someone named 'Spore'? A book about magical creatures is written by someone named 'Newt', with a last name that sounds similar to 'salamander'?" Petunia asked disbelievingly.
"We thought about that too, and realized that they might be aliases, as the authors may not want their true names revealed for some or the other reason," Vera said.
"Or they possibly became popular under their aliases." Harry continued.
"You know, I didn't think it was actually real." Petunia said.
"What? Magic?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Even after your sister?" Vera continued.
"Not magic. Twin talk. The way they tend to complete each other's sentences. Hearing about it and witnessing it are two completely different things." Petunia said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, we do have that tendency." Harry said.
"Does it weird you out?" Vera asked.
"No more than magic does, I guess." Petunia sighed. "But I do find it pretty funny."
The three shared a tentative chuckle at that. However, Petunia suddenly paled. "What do we tell Vernon?" she asked.
"If he makes things difficult for you or Dudley, we will handle him." Harry said.
"I assure you; we are more than capable." Vera continued.
"If you are worried about money, we have more than enough at Gringotts." Harry said.
"We can even kill Vernon if you like." Vera said.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Petunia said, waving her hands in an attempt to placate them.
The three waited until Dudley and Vernon returned to share the news. "We're back, Petunia dear!" Vernon yelled from the front door, as he and Dudley entered. Vernon's face purpled in anger as he saw the twins and Petunia sitting on the couch together. Dudley became nervous and moved closer to his father.
"Vernon, Dudley, we have something to discuss." Petunia said. Vernon sat on the couch with an angry huff, as Dudley followed suite, albeit more gingerly and nervously.
"This came in the mail today.", Petunia said, handing Vernon Dudley's acceptance letter. Vernon's trembling hand took the letter, with his face turning a darker shade of violet every second he utilized to read it.
"What devilry is this?! My son is not one of those freaks who keep getting themselves blown up! I am not paying for some crackpot old fool to teach my son magic tricks!" Vernon blustered angrily. He made to rip the letter to shreds, but Harry silently cast a Body-Bind Hex on him. Harry pulled the letter from Vernon's limp fingers.
"While you sit still, the rest of us will discuss this like civil human beings." Vera said.
"Which you apparently are not." Harry added.
"Dudley, read this." Petunia said, taking the letter back from Harry and giving it to Dudley. Dudley did as he was told and read the letter, his look of fear increasing with every word he read.
"Son, did you know you were a wizard?" Petunia asked gently, as Dudley shakily nodded.
"I was able to make things happen that I couldn't explain. Once, while I was Harry-hunting alone," he shot Harry a guilty look. "I got stuck in a pipe that Harry was hiding in after trying to follow him inside. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to make it back out. I thought I would be left there and that no one would find me. Suddenly, I was able to slip out with ease and the pipe remained undamaged.
Another time, I was playing a videogame with Piers, who was beating me at it. I got pissed off and suddenly, the controller broke. Many of my toys broke because of my accidental magic. I didn't tell anyone, seeing how you and dad treat Harry and Vera." Dudley said.
Vernon was absolutely shocked at hearing all this from Dudley. His own son…was a bloody freak? That wasn't possible. No son of his could be like that. No…the freak twins must have done something to his little tyke. As soon as he got out of the spell's influence, Vernon was going to kill the twins, and Dudley as well. It was a pity that his own son was infected with Harry and Vera's freakishness, but he had to act decisively to get rid of this unnatural mumbo-jumbo. And he would kill Petunia later as well – leaving witnesses was unwise.
"I'm so sorry you felt that way, Dudders…I should have been a better mother." Petunia said tearfully, hugging her son, who cried into her shoulder. Harry and Vera waited for them to get back to normal, before speaking up.
"So, what should be our next course of action?" Vera asked.
"Do we take Dudley to Diagon Alley ourselves?" Harry continued.
"Or do we owl Hogwarts to request for a professor to introduce Dudley to the magical world?" Vera finished.
"I think it would be best to let them think you three are new to the magical world and have never heard of it before. That way, you would have an ace up your sleeve – the magical skills you have developed through your studies and practice." Petunia said.
"Agreed. Vera, pass me a pen. I will write a message to this 'Minerva McGonagall' person." Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry, Vera. Now, as you write the letter, I will speak to my son in private." Petunia said, giving Dudley a meaningful look.
About ten minutes later, Harry and Vera took a look at their finished letter, proofreading it to make sure they weren't impolite or grammatically incorrect anywhere.
Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,
First of all, my twin, my cousin, and I would like to extend our gratitude for the honor of being admitted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately, we are not aware of the magical world, and only became sure of the validity of this letter after my Aunt Petunia explained about the true nature of my parents. While I am interested in pursuing an education at Hogwarts, I am quite confused as to how I should find and later navigate the locations at which I could purchase the necessary supplies that are listed on the second page of the Hogwarts acceptance letter.
Due to these reasons, I humbly request for a member of the faculty to be sent to assist and guide me, my twin, and my cousin. We are also quite curious as to how the magical world works, and would love to be explained enough about it to at least have a rudimentary idea of how it is structured. After all, it would not be a good idea to antagonize others by unknowingly insulting or questioning their traditions.
I am quite excited at the prospect of living and learning in a world that I had previously thought existed only in fantasy books, and I hope to learn as much about magic as possible. I await your prompt response.
Yours sincerely,
Harry Potter
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" Vera asked, causing Harry to give a small chuckle.
"I think it's better that way. Remember, we are pretending to be kids who have learned of the existence of magic for the first time in their lives. The refined vocabulary I used will make it more likely for them to take us more seriously." Harry said.
"You're right. Anyway, put that in an envelope. I think I saw an owl around this neighborhood somewhere." Vera said.
After they tied the letter to the owl, sent it off, and returned to the house, Petunia and Dudley walked out of a room. While Harry and Vera were busy, Petunia had told Dudley of her history with Lily, and the entire story behind her hatred of magic. Dudley had been completely shocked. He even started crying, only now realizing what he and his family had been doing to Harry and Vera. He silently praised the twins for their tenacity, being able to stay sane after five years of abuse.
Now that they had finished their discussion, Dudley stepped forward to Harry and Vera. "Harry, Vera, I know this may not mean much, coming from someone who has abused and allowed his family to abuse you for five straight years, but I would like to apologize. I won't lie and say I didn't know it was wrong, as I was aware that I myself had the powers that my parents despised you for. I felt like a hypocrite, but never ceased my actions until you fought back against us. I fully accept that I made several mistakes and ruined any sort of relationship I had with you both, and I apologize for everything. My only excuse was that I am a coward. Only out of fear of being treated like you and Vera, I hid my magic as much as possible, while drawing attention to you both. And for all of that, once again, I am really sorry."
"Dudley…" Harry said.
"Look at us." Vera said.
"We are happy with the fact that you apologized," Harry said.
"But we will tell you the same thing we told your mother." Vera said.
"That is, we will only accept your apology provided that you work for it." Harry said.
"Show us that you are sorry, proving it to us with your actions." Vera said.
"If you work for it, we can possibly accept your apology in the future." Harry said.
"However, you must act out of your own desire to change for the better, not only to get us to forgive you." Vera said.
"Trust us, we'll know if you pretend." Harry warned.
Dudley nodded, as he shook his head. "It's really weird when you guys do that twin talk thing. Mom was right. However, I did understand you. Trust me, I won't disappoint you." Dudley said resolutely. Harry nodded and gave Dudley a pat on the shoulder before starting to leave to his and Vera's room.
"Harry, Vera, um, you forgot something." Petunia said, gesturing to the still Body-Bound Vernon.
"Right." Vera said, as she released him with a slight gesture of her hand.
"I hope you can keep a civil tongue now, Vernon." Harry warned.
"To hell with 'civil tongue', boy! How dare you taint my only son with your unnaturalness?! I will kill all of you!" Vernon yelled, holding up his fists.
As Harry moved his hand to use magic against Vernon, but Vernon spoke. "Hmph! Using that mumbo-jumbo on me! How dare you! Stop that freakishness and fight me face-to-face! Man up, you little shite!" Vernon yelled.
Harry looked at the man coldly. "Very well, if that's what you want." Harry said, stepping forward.
"I'll even let you have the first shot. Hit me with everything you got." Harry taunted, gesturing to his cheek.
Vernon let out an enraged war-cry and swung his fist at Harry's face. Harry didn't even flinch, as Vernon clutched his fist, howling in pain. After spitting a small amount of blood, Harry spoke up.
"Is that all you got? Very well. My turn." Harry said. He ducked another punch, as he kneed the older man's groin. Vernon screamed as his bits were crushed, causing Dudley to wince. However, Harry continued his onslaught. He punched Vernon straight in the jaw, before landing a sweeping kick to his shins, causing him to lose balance. Vernon fell flat on his face, as Harry lifted his foot and slammed his heel into Vernon's lower spine. As Vernon screamed, Harry grabbed Vernon's hair and lifted his head off the floor, before slamming his face back into it.
As Vernon lied on the ground, groaning in pain, Harry glared at him hatefully before making a gesture at him. Suddenly, Vernon let out an agonized shriek, as he lit up in green flames. Petunia and Dudley screamed at Harry, telling him to stop, but he did not listen. The smokeless green flames burned Vernon's entire body, not even leaving ashes or blood behind. As the flames stopped, Harry collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, breathing deeply to center himself.
"W-Why?" Dudley asked, causing Harry to look at him incredulously.
"Did you not remember him saying he would kill you? Vera snapped back.
"I don't think he meant it…" Dudley trailed off, suddenly vomiting as he remembered what happened to his father.
"Do you…really believe that? After…everything that…he did to me…and Vera?" Harry said, between deep breaths, causing Dudley to wince.
"What was that spell anyway? I have never seen or heard of anything quite like it." Petunia asked out of morbid curiosity.
"Greek Fire. It can never be extinguished, unless someone manages to create a vacuum around it." Vera answered for Harry.
"This is the level of spell work you both have been learning? My God! I thought you would be learning basic things, like how to turn a beetle into a button, or how to cast a basic flame charm, but this? This is the progress you had made? How?" Petunia asked incredulously.
"We got the idea from the Book of Black Magic and Pacts. All that was left was the matter of executing it." Vera said.
"Do you have any idea of the magnitude of what you two have been doing?" Petunia asked in amazement.
"Don't all young witches and wizards try to do this?" Harry asked, finally regaining some energy.
"They don't, Harry. Most magical children who grow up there take this power for granted. Muggle-born and muggle-raised magical children tend to be too amazed or disbelieving of their power to try looking further into it. No…what you both have been doing can revolutionize your world!" Petunia said grandiosely.
"That is incredible to hear," Harry said.
"You have just given us some amazing new motivation, Petunia." Vera finished. Finally, Dudley spoke up.
"I didn't like father, but you…you killed him! How could you just act like everything is normal after that?!" Dudley wailed, as tears trickled down his cheeks.
"I had to grow up fast in this household, Dudley. Don't forget that. Personally, I don't see it as murder. You see, Dudley, for killing to be called 'murder', one would have to kill a human being. Vernon was just a filthy, rabid beast who had to be put down. To Vera and I, a being's humanity isn't dependent on their species, but instead on their quality and strength of character. Vernon lost any humanity he had left when he tried to rape my sister. That too when we were eight. We were eight years old, Dudley, and your father decided to steal her innocence. For that alone, killing Vernon was completely justified. I only did not understand the seriousness of his actions at the time due to my age, and only realized how vile the man was recently. If I had known what was about to happen at that time, I would have killed him on the spot." Harry revealed, to Dudley's horror.
As Harry spoke, Vera, who rarely refused her instincts to complete her twin's sentences, did so this time, as she wanted Harry to really drive in how shockingly horrible Dudley's father was.
AT HOGWARTS, LATER THAT NIGHT
Minerva McGonagall was staring at the letter, elated that Harry didn't let his muggle relatives get to him. She couldn't have the son of her favorite students suffer like that. She remembered the last time that she, the unofficial mother of Lily Potter, visited the family in Godric's Hollow. Her old heart filled with love and happiness when Harry and Vera started calling her "Granny".
Now, she wanted to hold on to this letter and keep it with her at all times. Despite the formal tone of the contents of it, this letter was the only thing she had from her unofficial grandson. However, she did have to let the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, read the letter along with the rest of the faculty, in order to decide who would go to take the boy and the others mentioned in the letter to Diagon Alley.
"Hmm…curious. Rather curious…" Dumbledore muttered after he read the letter, nodding to himself.
"Excuse me, Headmaster, but what is curious about this letter?" Pomona Sprout asked, skimming the letter as well.
"He is a rather polite boy, and he seems to be getting along with his muggle relatives and cousin. Very nice. I am relieved that young Petunia was able to get over her jealousy of her sister and treat the boy well." Dumbledore said idly.
"Hmph! Polite? As if a child of James Potter can ever be polite." Severus Snape said, snatching the letter from Sprout, who gave him a withering glare.
Snape frowned in confusion as he read the letter. How could this boy be so polite – so tactful? This was true Slytherin material.
"I think you are forgetting that a mother is also involved in the process of 'making' a child, Severus. Are you forgetting who his mother is? My most brilliant student ever?" Filius Flitwick asked with a warning tone.
"I simply thought that James Potter's arrogance would win out over her kindness." Snape grumbled surlily.
"Forget his parentage for a moment, Severus, my boy. Have you ever heard of the argument 'Nature versus Nurture'?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly, as Snape shook his head.
"It is a rather fascinating argument between muggles who study people's minds and behaviors – psychologists, if I am not mistaken. There is a general consensus that people's characters and personalities are influenced by both genetics and the environment that they are raised in. The argument is over how much they are influenced by each of these factors. I myself am of the opinion that both have a more or less equal influence on people.
From the letter that Harry has written Minerva, I think it is safe to say he had to grow up quickly, and learn the importance of being sly. He seems to know how to get what he wants, a very Slytherin trait. His politeness and eloquence are not out of respect for us, Severus. He has purposefully chosen his words and tone carefully, in order to get us to respect him. He seems to want someone who can give him the most information possible to pick him up and take him to the Alley. He has also hidden in his letter that he can sniff out – for the lack of a better word – hippogriff shite.
If we send someone like, say Hagrid, to pick him up, as I had planned for him, he will definitely not take well to it. Hagrid, while undoubtedly a kind man, simply doesn't have enough knowledge on magic and the wizarding world to guide Harry. His prejudice against Slytherin, after what happened with Tom Riddle, will also not be taken well." Dumbledore finished.
All the Heads of Houses present with him were greatly impressed by Dumbledore's astuteness. "How were you able to pick up all this from a simple letter, Headmaster?" Minerva McGonagall asked in amazement.
"Experience and politicking, my dear Minerva." Dumbledore said in a tired voice. "After all, I am quite an old man."
This caused the room to fall into an awkward silence, until Snape broke it. "I would very much like to meet this boy, Headmaster. May I be the one to take him and the others with him to Diagon Alley?" he asked.
"Severus, my boy, are you sure? This boy seems to be quite inquisitive, so handling his questions might demand much of any modicum of patience you have within you. Besides, your hatred for the boy's father might cause you to antagonize him even before he reaches the school." Dumbledore said.
"Albus, did you forget which House I was sorted into? I can exhibit tremendous amounts of patience. I simply don't do that when dealing with the dunderheads you force me to teach. Besides that, don't you remember the…circumstances behind your hiring of me?" Severus said, adding the last part uncertainly. He glared at McGonagall when she snorted.
"Strange, Severus, you were dissing the boy's dead father and insulting Harry himself mere moments earlier. I don't seem to recall you bringing these circumstances up at that time. Perhaps even when Harry will have arrived at Hogwarts, you planned on unleashing your bitterness onto him?" Dumbledore suggested with narrowed eyes. McGonagall had a smug expression on her visage as Snape looked down shamefully, causing Dumbledore to sigh.
"Very well, Severus. I will allow you to do as you requested. However, if I ever see any sign of you antagonizing the boy without prior provocation, we will be having words, Severus, you have been warned." Dumbledore said threateningly, ignoring McGonagall's protests. This was not the whimsical old headmaster speaking, but the man who defeated Gellert Grindelwald and led the Order of the Phoenix in the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort. Snape shakily nodded before taking his leave to write a letter to Harry.
"Headmaster, but I want to meet Harry and Vera! I care deeply for them! Allow me to go instead of Severus, please!" McGonagall pleaded.
"Minerva, as much as I would like you to go instead, this is a good opportunity for Severus to get over his hatred for all things Potter, and for him to earn Harry's trust. You can always meet him when he comes to Hogwarts, and I suspect that he will end up in your House, so that will make things even easier. I know he demonstrated some Slytherin traits, but I can easily arrange for him to meet the Weasleys at King's Cross. Their anti-Slytherin sentiments should be more than sufficient to have Harry shy away from that House. Not that I have anything against Slytherin, but I don't think it is a good idea to have Harry surrounding himself with the offspring of Death Eaters and their sympathizers." Dumbledore said, adding the last part after seeing the other Heads of Houses' questioning gazes.
"Besides, Minerva, I have another assignment for you. A muggle-born girl named Hermione Granger is in need of similar assistance as young Harry. From what I have learned about her, she is quite brilliant and curious – although she is a bit of a stickler for rules and authority. I would like you to help her out instead of Harry and Vera." Dumbledore said, as McGonagall reluctantly nodded.
Snape absently tapped his quill on his desk, as he re-read the letter. He remembered his childhood – all the years he spent with Lily, being her friend. He had always considered her to be a snake in a lion's robes. She had always demonstrated the qualities of a Slytherin.
Ambition – she would always strive to do well in her classes, and almost singlehandedly changed the perception of many witches and wizards that muggle-borns were inferior to them.
Cunning – she always preferred to plan her actions out, and helped Snape several times to get back at the Marauders by way of subterfuge.
Determination – whenever she set her mind to something, she never gave it up. When she wanted to devise a way to counter the killing curse, no one believed in her. She was told it was impossible. However, that did not stop her. Snape saw the rune array that was activated when he arrived at the villa at Godric's Hollow. He knew that Lily had succeeded in her mission, dabbling in sacrificial magic to make it happen. She was willing to go to any means to achieve her goals, provided that those means did not involve harming innocent people. It was Snape who erased the evidence of her work, as Dumbledore had a somewhat skewed view on darker magics.
Resourcefulness – when Dumbledore went to Godric's Hollow to suggest ways to protect the Potters, it was Lily who proposed the Fidelius charm, and it was she who later cast it. Even in school, she had the knack for finding the simplest way to do something, and was often praised for her cheek by the professors. He remembered when, in NEWT potions class, he had worked his ass off to come up with an antidote to a poison that was presented to them. Instead of preparing a potion, she used the class to finish her coursework for the other classes, and presented Professor Slughorn with a bezoar at the end of the class.
Pride – Lily was extremely proud of and confident in herself and her abilities. She wore the label of a muggle-born proudly and fearlessly, unafraid to be judged based on her heritage by her peers. Her confidence caused her to gain several admirers during her school years – even among the prejudiced Slytherins, which included himself.
In the past, Snape wondered why Lily was wrongly sorted, and was only able to come up with her being a muggle-born as the reason. That can't be it, he thought angrily at the time. Snape hated that someone of her potential was sorted into the house of the reckless glory-hogs that were the Gryffindors. He imagined how much more she could have become surrounded by Slytherin peers – ones who were just as ambitious and driven as she was. However, he did have to grudgingly concede that the Slytherin House had become a shell of its former self. The house representing the pragmatic qualities of its founder Salazar had instead become a breeding ground for Death Eaters and blood purists with no redeemable qualities.
He exited his musings about Lily, as his mind wandered to her son. Harry had taken actions that were much more Lily than James with the way he wrote his letter. If there was a remaining vestige of Lily in this world, Snape decided that he would nurture it – guide it to greatness. He would immortalize the legacies of the love of his life, as well as the ideals she possessed. With this resolve, he too a look at his letter.
Mr. Potter,
I will be arriving soon to assist you, as well as your twin and cousin, with purchasing the supplies you require in order to attend Hogwarts. I will meet you three at the Little Whinging Play Park, Magnolia Road at exactly 2:30 p.m. this Saturday (July 27th). Do not be late.
Regards,
Severus Snape
Head of Slytherin House
Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Snape did not want to be too warm in his letter, in case he was wrong about the boy, but he instead wanted to adopt a neutral behavior when conversing with Harry. He would see if Harry was truly as similar to Lily as he seemed. He could always warm up to the boy later on, if he was worthy of carrying on Lily's legacy. Snape also had no idea as to what to make of the twin. If Harry was as similar to his twin as the Weasley twins were to each other, Snape would have a much easier time judging her, using Harry as a reference. However, he had heard that the twins were as different in appearance as they come.
Harry had green eyes, like his mother, and jet-black hair, like his father. Vera had shockingly red hair, like her mother, and light brown eyes, like her father. No one could ascertain the rest of their features, as they hadn't been seen in the magical world since they were left in the care of the Dursleys. Snape only hoped that she was not as much James as Harry was Lily – personality wise.
Snape couldn't care less about the Dursley child if he tried. Of course, he would have to interact with that boy as well, but that was a small price to pay for sating his curiosity about the twins. With this in mind, he quickly made his way to the Owlery to owl Harry the message.
AT THE DURSLEY RESIDENCE, THURSDAY AFTERNOON
Harry heard a knock on the window, and looked to see an owl with a letter attached to its leg. He quickly opened the window and took the letter, before allowing the owl to fly away. He opened it and read it, smiling. This was just the kind of person he wanted to escort him. This Snape fellow seemed to be the type who wouldn't babysit Harry and would give him concise, to-the-point answers to any questions he had. Of course, the same would apply to Vera and Dudley as well. He quickly showed the letter to his twin, before the both of them went to show it to Dudley as well.
Dudley had become much more withdrawn over this time, which was understandable. Although Vernon was a vile man, he was still Dudley's father, and the boy needed time to get over his death. Dudley was also traumatized after finding out the true nature of his father. He was scared – what if he ended up like that as well? His stomach churned in discomfort and disgust at the idea of forcing himself onto a girl. He certainly did not want to follow the footsteps of his father.
Petunia, since the previous day, had written to the Smelting's Headmaster, explaining that Dudley wouldn't be attending the private school. She also had a chat on the telephone with the man to clear any misunderstandings between them. The kind headmaster was very understanding of her situation, when she explained that a very exclusive school in Scotland had offered her son admission as well. He assured her that there were no hard feelings or grudges between them and wished her well. After the call ended, Petunia was relieved, as that could have gone a lot worse.
When Harry and Vera entered Dudley's room, they sighed as they saw him sitting on his bed, sadly staring at the wall. "That's enough, Dudley. Spill. Is this still about me killing your father?" Harry asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Dudley turned to them, his head drooping slightly. "No…yes? I don't know. I still am not comfortable with you outright killing him, but I think I can accept your decision over time." Dudley sighed.
"So, what's really bothering you?" Vera asked.
"I just am sad that a man I had looked up to for so long was such a disgusting pig. Vera, Harry, I don't want to end up like him. But I am his son! I have some of his personality! I may not be the smartest person around, but I know that babies get genes from both parents. What if I do such horrible things later in my life?" Dudley cried.
"The very fact that you're asking us this shows that you will become a good man, Dudley." Vera said.
"The fact that you are being so reflective also proves that you are a righteous person, and will end up inspiring those younger than you to look up to you, Dudley." Harry continued.
"You have a strong moral code, and as if you remove the bad influences around you, you can turn your life around, Dudley." Vera said.
"Stop your bullying and put your energies into more useful things. Vera and I have already decided to devote ourselves to learning as much about magic as possible. Try to find your calling – what you want to work towards and what you enjoy. This should not be at the expense of others, but to improve yourself. Do you have anything like that, Dudley?" Harry said, adding the question as he looked into Dudley's mind, picking his memories to find out the answer for himself. However, he would only give Dudley hints and prompt him to find this out for himself.
"I will stop bullying, but I don't know what I enjoy. I mostly watch TV and eat." Dudley said, feeling ashamed.
"No need to be embarrassed, Dudley, no one here is judging you." Vera said.
"Exactly, Dudley. Now, what do you like to watch on TV? And what about eating do you like so much?", Harry prompted.
"I like cooking shows and fitness shows…but dad told me that only girls and slaves can cook, so he forbade me from helping mom out in the kitchen. I also wanted to start exercising, as I am tired of being fat and getting teased for it, but dad said it was a waste of time and encouraged my lazier habits." Dudley said.
"Perhaps you should rekindle those interests, then. Vernon is out of the picture, and Petunia will most probably support you and your decisions. If you like, you can start practicing martial arts with us once you get in shape." Vera said.
"I would like that very much!" Dudley said excitedly, as his eyes regained the glint of happiness present within them.
"We also have a gym inside our magic trunk, and you can start working out there. Unfortunately, we don't have much advice to give you to help you lose weight, other than to eat more balanced meals, since we had the opposite issue. You will have to plan your training yourself." Harry said.
Dudley jumped from his bed and engulfed the twins in a hug. "Thank you." he muttered tearfully. "I wish I knew how nice both of you were before."
"Better late than never, Dudley. Another thing we advise you to do is to stop associating with Piers and the rest of your old gang. Also, now that we are being cordial with each other doesn't mean you earned our trust yet, but your recent actions and behavior has persuaded us to give you a chance. Act wisely." Vera instructed causing the boy to nod.
"The last thing we strongly suggest is to trust no one completely. Not us, not Petunia – no one. There are always people who will try to use you or use others to get to you. I am not saying you should turn into a paranoid maniac, but just be cautious. Never dismiss someone's involvement in suspicious activities just because you are close with them. The only person that I trust completely and would go to any lengths to protect is Vera. She feels the same way about me. This is because we have been together since childhood, loving and protecting each other from the very beginning. There are no secrets between us, and we are pretty much two halves that complete each other." Harry said.
Dudley nodded unsurely, deciding to follow Harry's advice, as his cousins had gone through a lot more hardships and seen a lot more than he did. He did not like the idea of not completely trusting his mother, and couldn't shake his trust in her, but he still took this advice to heart.
SATURDAY, 27TH JULY, 1991
The day had finally arrived for the greasy-haired potions professor to take the twins and their cousin to Diagon Alley. He made his way outside the Hogwarts boundaries, outside the apparition wards, and apparated to Magnolia Crescent. He checked the time and saw that it was 2:10 p.m. Many people did not know this, but Severus Snape was an animagus. People called the man a dungeon bat, but they had no idea that they were right. Snape disillusioned himself before transforming into a large vampire bat, that was closer to a gargoyle in size than a bat. He flew to the rooftop of the house that was nearest to the Little Whinging Play Park and sat there, observing the place. As much as he tried to deny it, he was excited at the prospect of meeting the twins – very excited indeed.
End of Chapter 2
