Chapter 65

Lily led the way past the reception desk and down a long corridor. There were doors on each side of the hallway and paintings of famous healers in between.

"This is the research department" Lily informed them. "They are testing new potions and spells to cure spell damage and bites here" she pointed at a door to their left.

"Spell damage?" Dudley whispered. "And bites?"

"Here, they search for new ways to protect you from magical diseases. You could compare it to vaccinations"

Dudley shuddered noticeably. He hated shots.

"They are not going to sting me or do other funny stuff with me that hurt?"

"Don't worry, Dudley; the test they are going to run will be painless." Lily assured him.

They reached the last door on the right and Lily knocked.

"Come in"

They entered a little reception room where a young witch was sitting behind a desk.

"Welcome to the Da Vinci Research Center. How can I help you" she asked friendly and beckoned them to step closer.

Lily pushed Dudley forward, who felt quite uneasy having all the attention on him all of a sudden.

"This is Dudley Dursley. He is Harry Potter's cousin and it has come to our notice, that he's showing signs of magical abilities lately. We request a full testing, if you could make it convenient"

"Our pleasure! You may sit in the waiting area and I will call up somebody for you instantly"

The receptionwitch pointed at a door to their left and they entered a friendly room with comfortable chairs and a fountain in the corner.

Just when they had settled down, the receptionwitch peeked through the slightly open door and chirped "Professor Lockhart will be with you momentarily"

Hermione and Harry exchanged confused looks by the mentioning of Lockhart.

"Dudley might be a pain in the .. but is it necessary to scare him off with that nutter" Harry whispered.

"Harry, be serious! I doubt that she was talking about Gilderoy Lockhart. He most definitely is not in the state to determine anything at the moment. Last thing I heard about him, was that he was in a closed ward and that there is still no improvement" Hermione stated.

"The world is definitely more secure without him and his memory charms on the lose"

Dudley just stared at Harry and his friend. He didn't understand at all what they were talking about. All he wanted was to get this disaster over with and continue with his normal life, before his cousin had infected him with the horrible decease he was carrying.

A few moments later, the door opened again and an elder wizard entered the door. He had to be in his sixties and smiled warmly at the little group.

The jocular twinkle in his eyes reminded Harry of Dumbledore and then the man walked up to them and introduced himself.

"I'm Professor John Lockhart and I'm going to perform the tests today."

He was wearing a white coat with a nametag and picture on it. His grey hair were neatly cut and Dudley thought that this man looked just like an actor of one of those hospital series his mom was watching on TV all the time.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Lockhart" Lily said friendly and shook his hand. "This here is Dudley Dursley and he is eager to find out if he truly possesses any real magic"

Dudley gave his aunt an annoyed look.

Eager? All I want is to get out of that madhouse, he thought.

The professor approached the stout boy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So Master Dudley is it? I can promise you that none of the tests is going to hurt you. We're just going to determine, if you are able to do magic"

"Hope not" Dudley muttered under his breath and followed the man out of the waiting area.

Harry, Lily and Hermione followed them but were stopped by Professor Lockhart in the hallway.

"Master Dudley, you can proceed to this room and wait for me"

He pointed at a door across the corridor. "We should be finished in about two hours and then you can pick him up. It is of highest importance that I'm alone with him during the tests. Your magic might falsify the results"

Lily nodded; she remembered that the healer who had tested Petunia had told them the same.

Dudley gave his aunt a pleading look. He didn't want to be left alone with this crazy man in a place he didn't know.

"Everything will be ok. We will be here waiting for you when you're finished"

"Yeah Dudders, don't be such a wimp" Harry stated before Hermione punched him on the arm..

Dudley glared daggers at his cousin and opened the door to the other room reluctantly.

Lily waved good bye to her nephew and proceeded down the hallway along with the two Gryffindors.

"Do you think you two will be alright on your own for a little while?" she asked them when they reached the entrance hall. "I would like to visit the Longbottoms before we leave again."

Lily was desperate to see if the reaction of Alice this morning had just been a coincidence.

"Of course, we'll be fine. We can go and sit in the cafeteria until it's time to get Dudders"

"Then we meet back here in front of the reception desk in 90 minutes and don't get into trouble" Lily said sternly. "I trust you'll be able to keep him in check, Hermione"

Harry let out an annoyed groan at his mother's last comment and Lily laughed heartily.

"I'm sorry Harry, but I don't have much practice as a mother of a teenage boy" she said and ruffled her son's hair before she left for the closed ward.

"Was that just my imagination or did this Professor here have a remarkable resemblance with our old DADA teacher?"

"No Hermione, I thought the same. He looks like our Lockhart would have looked like 30 years older and not in full feathers." Harry agreed.

"They have to be related. I really wonder what he's going to do with Dudley." Hermione wondered while they climbed up the steps to the cafeteria.

---------------

Dudley was sitting on a comfortable wooden chair on the opposite side of a dark oak desk.

Professor Lockhart had just entered and rummaged in one of the drawers before he addressed Dudley.

"So my boy, there's no need to be afraid of anything" he said friendly and put a clipboard on the desk in front of him.

"Would you like to have something to snack on while you answer my question?" Dudley nodded eagerly; although he didn't really trust the man, he was so hungry by now that he would dine with the devil if necessary.

The professor picked up his wand and flicked it, while Dudley dashed under the table and squeaked.

Lockhart chuckled and looked under the desk where the boy was cowering.

"You must have had some bad experiences with magic, poor lad"

Dudley just stared at the friendly man with tears of anxiety in his eyes.

"Sit back down and we can start with the tests"

When Dudley sat down on the chair again, he spotted a tray with miniature sandwiches and fruits along with a big cup of juice.

Professor Lockhart waited a little while until the boy had calmed down a bit and the tray was empty.

"I trust you feel a bit more comfortable now; so for the record, would you please tell me your full name and age"

Dudley cleared his throat and answered "Dudley Amadeus Dursley, 15"

Lockhard scribbled the reply on his clipboard and continued.

"Now please tell me what signs of magic you have shown and since when"

Dudley shifted his big behind uncomfortable on the chair before he told everything that had happened in the past 4 years.

"And there are no other explanations for these incidents?"

He shook his head forcefully and looked greedily at the empty plate in front of him.

"Have there been other witches or wizards around you when these outbursts of magic happened?"

"Sometimes my cousin Harry was in the house, but most of the time, I was alone"

Professor Lockhart stood up and walked over to a sliding door, which led to a storage room.

Dudley started to shiver when he watched the professor rolling in something that looked like an electrical chair on wheels over to him.

"Would you please take a seat and relax. This device can determine any magical oscillations you might possess"

Dudley remained firmly seated while he stared anxiously at the chair.

"Oh boy, this is nothing to be afraid of. See, I show you"

The healer sat down on the chair and put a metal band around his head.

Instantly the whole chair started to buzz and to rattle.

Dudley pushed his chair backwards inch by inch; he felt trapped in between that strange thing and the desk.

His wish to vanish into thin air was so desperate, that he let out a yelp of frustration.

"Oh, this is interesting" the professor said amazed and pointed at Dudley's chair.

The boy let out a scream as he recognized that he was floating several inches over his seat. Then his backside collided with his seat again and Dudley squeaked in pain.

"I think that we can skip this test. You certainly possess a good amount of magic, so all what is left for us to find out is if it is enough to send you to school"

"I already go to school. To Smeltings if this rings a bell" Dudley said indignantly while he clung to the chair with both hands.

Lockhart looked at him pitifully and his voice sounded as if he was talking to a 4 year old when he retorted.

"I'm talking about a REAL school; a school for magic. Like Hogwarts"

"I'm not going to this madhouse of a school. It's for freaks only. All I want is that you give me a pill to take that magic stuff away. I would even take a shot if necessary" Dudley shouted in dire frustration. Why did nobody listen to him?

"I'm sorry, lad. This is not possible. You are a wizard and there is no doubt about that. All I'm wondering about is why your abilities have not been recognized before."

Dudley started sobbing in his hands now. He was as good as dead. For a split second, the thought about leaving Privet Drive entered his mind.

But where could he go?

He couldn't go to Aunt Marge. His mother's parents had died before he was born and he had no other relatives, except of ...

NO! He wouldn't live with the Potters. If he was a wizard, then for heavens sake, his father would have to live with it.

"Now, would you like to tell me why you're so afraid of magic?"

Dudley bit his nails while he was thinking about how to start it.

Then he told the friendly healer, how this gigantic man had broken into the hut and threatened his family and hexed him a piggy tail. How Harry had blown up his Aunt Marge and about the toffees which had caused his tongue to swell up to the size of a Persian rug.

Professor Lockhart shook his head and laughed.

"I really don't blame you for not trusting me, poor lad. But soon you will see how much fun magic can be. I want to finish the tests now so that we know if we have to contact the school board"

Dudley nodded and waited for the healer to continue.

"Please take this test wand and do as I tell you"

He picked up the little wooden stick and looked at it curiously.

"Now flick it in this direction"

The healer pointed at something, which looked like an oversized dartboard at the opposite wall.

Dudley did as he was told and ... BANG!

Instantly, he dropped the wand as if it had bitten him and dashed under the table once more.

The room was full of smoke and as soon as he could see clearly again, he peeked at the wall and gasped.

He had burnt a big hole in the ring with 63%.

"Outstanding" the wizard cheered. "60% is the minimum percentage that is required to enter the school. I think that should be all"

Dudley was totally flabbergasted. He still hoped with all his might that he would wake up in his own bed to find out that it was nothing but a nightmare.

He rubbed a spot on his arm where he had repeatedly pinched himself since all this nonsense had started, but no matter how hard he pinched nothing happened.

"You can wait in here if you like, until your company arrives. I will have a little talk with Mrs Weasley on your behalf"

Dudley nodded mutely as Lockhart left the room. Who the heck was Mrs Weasley?

Lily, Harry and Hermione were already waiting when Professor Lockhard exited the examination room.

"Please come in and I inform you about the test results"

They entered his office and sat down in a group of squashy armchairs.

"I could determine that the magical concentration in Dudley is 63% and I would recommend that his parents contact Professor McGonagall immediately. I will inform the school board and the ministry and send them a report."

"Professor Lockhart, I have to ask you not to inform the ministry" Lily said anxiously.

"It is my duty to inform the minister about every newly discovered wizard"

At this moment, the polyjuice potion wore off and Professor Lockhart gasped.

"Would you please tell me who you are and what happened to Mrs Weasley!"

Lily quickly explained the situation and swore him to secrecy.

Professor Lockhart didn't know how to react.

"Mrs Potter, I trust that you tell me the truth and in this case I oblige. I will not inform the ministry for now, but I'm quite sure that they will find out about it eventually. Do you want to speak with Professor Dumbledore or do you want me to inform him."

Lily told him that she would like to inform him herself but that she first wanted to speak to Dudley's parents about it.

"This should be the best way to handle this. Is there anything else you might want to know?"

Hermione cleared her throat and asked "Professor Lockhart, are you related to Gilderoy Lockhart in some way?"

The wizard heaved a sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"I already wondered when you would ask me about it. You must have been in one of my son's classes at Hogwarts"

"Your son?" Harry gasped and leaned forward on his chair.

"Yes my son Gilderoy. He has been a great disappointment. His mother has raised him to be a show off and boaster. She always wanted a daughter and raised Gilderoy that way. Gilderoy—even the name is a catastrophe."

He shook his head in despair.

To clear the strained atmosphere, Lily rose from her chair and stated "I'm very grateful for your help, Professor Lockhart. May we take your fireplace to floo back?"

The healer had regained his composure quickly and offered her to fetch Dudley.

He returned to his office a few moments later together with the scared looking boy..

They said good bye to Professor Lockhart and stepped into the flames.

--------------------

Vernon was screaming on the top of his lungs.

"NO SON OF MINE IS A FREAK LIKE YOU! YOU TAKE THAT BACK NOW"

Petunia anxiously stared at her husband, whose face had the color of a plum. The veins on his neck were bulging and she was afraid that he would suffer a heart attack any minute.

The angry man was pacing back and force in the living room throwing his hands up in horror.

Dudley was trying to hide his masses behind his mother's bony figure, in vain.

"Vernon, you better calm down now or I'll force you" Lily said sternly. The ridiculous behavior of her brother-in-law was annoying her. This man just wouldn't listen to reason.

"You ... WITCH ... you... are you threatening me?" he ranted and placed his big body right in front of Lily, who was sitting in one of the armchairs.

"Calm yourself, Vernon. This is your last chance"

Now Vernon's nose was just an inch away from Lily's "Your useless son is the reason why my poor Dudley is in that condition"

"He is NOT in any condition" Petunia called from the dining room table where she was trying to soothe Dudley, who was still extremely confused.

Vernon switched his attention from Lily to Dudley.

"Tell me son, what these lunatics did to you."

"Oh first that man wanted me to sit on something that looked like an electric chair and then he made me blow a hole in the wall with one of those ... sticks" Dudley piped up.

"They didn't hurt you Dudley-doodley?" his mother purred while she continued to stroke his hair. Vernon glared at his sister in law and roared "ELECTRIC CHAIR!!!"

Lily let out an annoyed groan.

Why do I still put up with those ignoramuses, she mused, pointed her wand at Vernon and called "Petrificus totalis"

His arms snapped at his side and his body hit the floor face forward.

Harry turned a giggle into a cough just in time, before his aunt's death glare fell on him.

"FIX THIS!" Petunia screamed and pointed at her husband who was lying flat on the floor, unable to move. She rushed to his aid and turned him around. Just his eyes stared anxiously at the ceiling.

"Don't worry, you will get your 'precious' husband back as soon as you know everything that you need to know. So in case that you don't want to accompany him on the floor, you better be quiet and listen" Lily said positively aggravated.

"You took my son to these charlatans and now you want me to be quiet. You freak ... you strange, abnormal, creepy..."

Petunia didn't finish her sentence when she recognized that Lily was pointing her want at her.

"Don't tempt me dear sister" Lily growled and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Hermione and Harry watched the contention in awe. They had never seen Harry's mother in such a bad mood.

The day's events seemed to have stressed her more than she had shown before.

"It is a fact that Dudley possesses magic, if you like it or not! The concentration in him is 63%. If I remember correctly, it was just 22% in you Petunia"

Lily's sister looked truly upset while Vernon tried to look horrified. It was hard to show expressions in a full body-bind.

"I'm going to inform Dumbledore today and set up a meeting with him. We can't let Dudley run around having outbursts of magic every time something scares him. He would be too dangerous. Don't force me to inform the ministry about it. They have other methods to deal with you should you refuse to cooperate."

Petunia and Dudley glared at her in utter dismay. The prospect of these methods had shut them up immediately.

Without further ado, Lily took off the spell and proceeded towards the door.

"We're leaving" she said sternly and the two Gryffindors followed happily. They both didn't want to be around when Vernon had fully recovered.