Disclaimer: Jk Rowling owns all of the characters. Any character appearing who is not owned by Ms. Rowling will be removed from the storyline immediately.
Chapter 3: Can We Keep Him?
What Del had said shocked everyone. The Professors were surprised because Harry Potter always managed to hold his temper. Ron and Hermione jumped at Harry calling his best friend a weasel. Draco was hit the hardest. He walked in the room to be told that the boy-who-lived was his brother.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Pardon me, everyone, but this is not Harry Potter." He motioned to Del, who stood up, "Permit me to introduce myself, My name is Dudley Malfoy, fourth form, Slytherin House." Looking specifically at Ron, he added, "My friends call me Del, please feel free to call me Sir." Ron began to get angry, but one glance from Dumbledore kept him quiet. Then Dumbledore explained about the traveler stone and that Del was from another world. Despite asking for no one to interrupt, he was immediately interrupted by Draco. "Are you saying, sir, that there is another world where he is my brother?" "Yes," answered Snape, "and I, unfortunately, am your uncle." Draco groaned.
Dumbledore was then interrupted by Hermione, who asked how he could get back to his own world if he could not use the stone. He explained that, in all known cases, the subjects involved returned at some indistinct time, usually within a week but sometimes it would happen months later. In rare cases, the subject never returned to his own world. Experts on the subject agree that his counterpart had probably died and could not return. "As Del is here with us, we can only assume that Harry also touched the traveler stone and is now having a similar conversation with my counterpart."
As everyone came to terms with what happened, Hermione turned to Del and asked, "Harry, sorry, Del, where are your glasses?" Del glared across the top of the cup of tea he was drinking. "I don't wear glasses," he sneered, "what makes you think I did, Miss Braniac?"
Del turned to the weasel who yelled, "Don't talk to him that way. We're your friends." Del yelled back, "What makes you think I would want to be friends with a red-haired worm?" "I liked that," said Draco. " Shut up, Malfoy," shouted Hermione. "Mudblood," both Del and Draco yelled back. Then they looked at each other and laughed. Turning to Dumbledore, Draco said, "I like him, Professor. Can we keep him?"
As the teachers calmed the students down by using the tried and true methods of threat and intimidation, Dumbledore suggested that they discuss the differences between the two worlds, to better help Del fit in. "Yea, right," muttered Ron. They began to compare notes. Del explained that Severus Snape was his uncle. His Aunt Rose had followed the family to Hogwarts, when father broke ranks with Voldemort (Del refused to go into detail). She had been recently widowed, a marriage of convenience. Uncle Severus consoled her in her grief (smirk) and, after a whirlwind courtship, they were married shortly after the start of the school year. He knew 'Mad Eye' Moody by reputation. Instead father taught that course, and mother was an assistant to Professor Flitwick. He had never heard of Lockhart. "You're lucky," everyone told him, Draco and Ron getting annoyed that the agreed on something. Quirrell was the assistant groundskeeper under Hagrid, a charity job as he could not do anything, except cause trouble. He began to explain about the Philosophers Stone but Dumbledore assured him that they were familiar with the main details. He also knew of Remus Lupin. He was the first werewolf cured by the potion Uncle Severus had developed. "Uncle received the Order of Merlin for that," Del said with pride.
Meals were summoned, and they ate while the discussion continued. Del knew Sirius Black, the former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He captured the escaped Prisoner, Peter Pettigrew. " Unfortunately," added Del, "I helped him get away in a moment of compassion, but then, I had other things on my mind. Like saving the Weasel's life," he said pointedly. Del blanched when he was told about Sirius Black in this world, "Do you mean to tell me, the Minister of Magic is an escaped prisoner AND my legal guardian?"
Finally, Del asked the one question that had been bothering him. He asked, "Who is Harry Potter?" He was delighted to find out that his original parents, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, were still alive. (Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had adopted him when he was eight.) He was horrified to discover that they had a blond-haired boy who was their son. He was told that Harry's parent were killed by Voldemort, and that he lived with his aunt and uncle, who despised him because of his magic. "On top of that, I'm in Gryffindor as well. Father must hate me for that." "No," said Draco, "father hates you already" Del groaned.
"It's getting late, everyone," said Dumbledore, "I suggest we all turn in." He directed Professor Snape to take Draco back to Slytherin, and Professor McGonagall to return the other three to Gryffindor. When Del began to object, Dumbledore held up his hand. "Please, Mr. Malfoy, if you were to go back during the night, Harry would find himself in the wrong house. Also, Del," he added calmly, "I am not going to hide what happened today. You don't know enough to pretend to be Harry. I would be surprised if you lasted a minute. However, I do want you to learn as much about him as possible, and to share your insights with others. Let this be a learning experience for everyone."
As they walked along the halls, Ron spoke up in a cheerful voice, "Del, this is going to be fun. Here, we're the best of friends." "We are?" asked Del, letting the thought sink in. "Yes," added Hermione, "the two of you are inseparable." "You mean the three of us," Ron amended. They watched in amusement as Del frowned. Then Del surprised them by laughing. "Do you know," He explained, "at this moment, Draco probably has his arm around Harry and is telling him, 'Don't worry, I'm your brother and I will take care of you." The thought seemed so absurd that even Professor McGonagall had to laugh.
A/N Thanks for the reviews. They are always appreciated.