Chapter 2 – FRIENDSHIP

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table and was glad to see they had the place to themselves. Dudley was looking around and turned to Harry saying 'Ummm I don't see anything to eat here Harry.' The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the empty plates around them were suddenly filled with crispy bacon, sausages, eggs (fried, poached and scrambled), kippers, and fried tomatoes, flasks of ice-cold milk and juice, stacks of buttered toast. Harry without a second thought began to fill his plate with the many choices in front of him and it took him a moment to realise that Dudley was dead still with a look on his face between shock and amazement.

'Its OK Dudley, this is how they serve breakfast here.' Harry reassured him and Dudley cautiously lifted a sausage onto his plate, cut a small piece and put it in his mouth and began to chew. 'This is fantastic.' He said still with sausage in his mouth. And soon his plate was pilled high with a Dudley sized breakfast of old. "Just don't tell mum I didn't follow the diet today Ok Harry.' he said as he began shovelling the food into his mouth.

'Yeah OK, I guess today doesn't count anyway.' Harry replied.

Dudley filled his glass with juice and took a big gulp. The expression on his face turned to disgust and Harry thought he was about to loose all that breakfast he had stuffed in but he finally swallowed it all. Still looking at the glass of juice in his hand he asked. 'Yuck! What is this?'

'Its pumpkin juice.' Harry replied.

'Pumpkin juice – its horrible. I thought it was orange juice.' Dudley said aghast.

'No, that's what we drink here. It's a bit strange at first but you get used to it after a while.' Harry told his cousin.

'I'll stick to the milk then – it is milk right?' Dudley said suspiciously looking at the flask of milk.

'Yes, it's just milk' Harry said smiling at his cousin. As strange as it seemed Harry realised that this was the best breakfast they had ever shared together in all their years living in the same house.

Their solitude had come to the end though. In though the door had walked Colin Creevey and on seeing Harry, Colin had stopped frozen in mid stride. Harry turned and Colin forced a grin on his face and called out "All right there, Harry?" in his usual greeting but not in its usual thrilled tone. Today Colin's voice betrayed his uncertainty. Harry smiled back and said 'Oh Hi Colin'. He had barely finished the words when Colin turned and ran out of the door he had entered moments ago. Colin must have set a new school record getting to the Gryffindor common room and the entire Gryffindor house must of broken it seconds later as they charged towards the Great Hall.

Ron and Hermione were determined to get to the hall first. There was a fierce glint in Ron's eyes that stopped his twin brothers from holding him back as they were use to doing. And besides, Ron had reinforcements in the form of a young witch. If Ron's look was fierce, Hermione's was positively chilling as she strove to keep up with Ron. The twins thought discretion the better part of valour that morning and stood quickly aside.

Nor had their rush to the hall gone unnoticed. The few students from other school houses wandering down to breakfast soon alerted the rest of school to the charge of the Gryffindors. Ron and Hermione tore into the Great Hall closely pursued by the increasing crowd.

'Harry' Ron cried as he reached his friend. 'Are you alright?'

'I'm Ok Ron' he replied but he saw Hermione's eyes were clearly beginning to tear. Harry was then trying to acknowledge all the others asking how he was. Harry found himself once again the centre of attention for the rapidly filling hall. As often as this happened, he still disliked it intensely.

Hermione stood upon the table and shouted out to the gathering crowd. 'He's fine. Don't crowd him. Just sit down will you. You know what Dumdbledore said.'

This seemed to give the crowd around Harry pause and most moved off to find their seats for breakfast. But Harry noticed that they tended to keep their eyes on him. This was all getting too much and his face must have betrayed his desire to withdraw back into the oblivion of that dreamless sleep again because his cousin suddenly reached across the table taking hold of his shoulder saying 'Come on Harry, none of that now. OK!' Harry looked up at his cousin and nodded.

Ron knew who Dudley was from their previous encounter at Harry's house earlier that year. 'Oh Hello Dudley, I'm Ron. Remember, we meet briefly when we came to pick up Harry for the Quidditch World Cup.'

Dudley certainly did remember the family of red headed wizards that had smashed their way out of the family's boarded up fireplace and then tricked him into eating a toffee that caused his tongue to grow several feet long. If Dudley hadn't been trapped at the table by the swelling crowd he would have run all the way back to the hospital wing. Ron seeing the hint of fear in Dudley's eyes and guessing the cause said, 'It was my brothers idea about that toffee. Sorry about that. They invented them and well, they just wanted to try it out on someone. You don't have to worry, they won't do it again. Mum made them destroy all the remaining toffees. But it was funny you know.'

Harry who had been silent through all this began to smile at the memory of that joke. And even Dudley seemed more at ease.

Hermione finally spoke 'Well as there isn't any gentlemen about to introduce us properly Dudley, I'm Hermione Granger.' Ron made a face at her as she said this but she ignored it, shook Dudley's hand and continued 'I hope you are enjoying your stay.'

Dudley replied 'Oh yes, its fantastic here isn't it. It's so different to my school. I never knew Harry had it so good here. We, well, we never really talked about it before.'

Hermione began introducing Dudley to the others present. Everyone was very interested in Harry Potters cousin. Well everyone except the Slytherins that is, who seem to recoil in horror at the word muggle. Dudley became the centre of attention being the only muggle that anyone could ever remember being at Hogarts before. And unlike his cousin, Dudley was thrilled about it all. He asked many questions about the school and replied to the many questions he was asked about being a muggle.

Harry was thankful for the distraction of everyone's attention from him. He turned to Ron and soon they were deep in quiet conversation about events since he had been asleep. It had indeed been three days since that night and Ron tried to follow his friends rambling tale of the battle with Voldemort, the Deatheaters and worst of all, of Cedric Diggory's fate. Ron grew very worried when his friend began to cry. 'He's dead because of me, Ron. Its all my fault.' Hermione who had been quietly listening cut in 'No it's not Harry. You hear me. It's NOT your fault.'

They ate in a slightly uncomfortable silence after that. Ron and Hermione didn't eat much as they were keeping a close eye on Harry. Dudley meanwhile was enjoying the limelight and was trying to explain computer games to a number of students. Angelina Johnson, a chaser on Gryffindore's Quidditch team, spoke to Harry startling him out of his brooding melancholy saying ' Oh Harry, how about we take Dudley this morning to our muggle studies class. I know Professor Urban would be thrilled to have him talk to the class.'

Harry tried to focus asking his cousin 'Dudley do you want to go?'

Dudley was looking up at Angelina with a rapt expression on his face. Harry suddenly realised that Dudley would gladly jump into the lake if Angelina asked him to. Dudley stuttered out 'Ye.. yea.. yes, I woo.. would love to.'

'Well, we will meet you back here at lunch, Harry' Angelina told Harry and taking Dudley's hand lead him spellbound from the Great Hall.

Hermione had been struggling to keep a straight face and when Angelina and Dudley were out of sight burst out giggling. Harry was annoyed at this and snapped, 'I don't think it's funny. What will his Mum and Dad say if they find out?'

Ron also was trying to keep a straight face and said 'What if they get married, what will your Aunt and Uncle do then.' And he and Hermione burst out laughing.

Harry at first was aghast at the mere prospect and then started to see the funny side of the Dursleys finding their precious son had married a witch that was so amusing his friends and began to smile and finally laugh.

It was funny but the intrusion of the problems of having the entire Dursley clan here at Hogwarts was driving his thoughts away from brooding over the events of that terrible night.

'Harry Potter' Professor McGonagall said walking up behind them, 'the headmaster wants to see you in his office, please.' She was looking at Harry with an unusually concerned expression.