3) – Lunch With the Family
The next morning Donald was woken by a scream from downstairs. Heading down he found his mother hiding under the table from an old snowy owl who seemed to be trying to give her something. Giving up on the shrieking woman the owl flew over to Donald and stuck out its leg. To the large boys surprise there was a roll of thick yellowing paper attached. Removing the paper he found it was a note.
Dear Dudley,
It's been a while. A was quite shocked when I received your note. I can understand how this must feel to you. Why don't you come to my place for lunch today and we can discuss Donald's schooling and go buy his equipment in the afternoon. Bring your whole family and they can meet mine. I will be coming to pick you up at 11:00.
Your cousin,
Harry Potter.
Just as Mrs. Dursley was beginning to calm down her husband entered the kitchens.
"What's wrong Paula?" he asked, but she didn't answer.
"Dad, your cousin sent a letter to you," Donald handed the note to his father who glared at the owl which Donald was stroking.
"Bloody freaks," Dudley mumbled under his breath, "normal mail just isn't good enough for them."
"What is it love," Mrs. Dursley had finally got her voice back.
"My cousin want's us to come over for lunch, he says he'll be here at eleven."
"But its ten thirty now," gasped Paula as she headed upstairs to get changed.
"You both better get ready," Dudley told Donald and Madeline, who had come down stairs after her father, "We're going to my cousin's for lunch and then we're going shopping."
Half an hour later the Dursley's were waiting in the sitting room. Dudley looked particularly nervous but Donald and Madeline were excited. They had never met this 'Harry' before, but if he was magic the children were sure he'd be fun.
As the clock approached eleven Dudley began to pace. "Better not come by our fireplace," he muttered not caring about the confused look on the faces of the rest of his family. The clock just struck eleven when a car pulled up in the driveway. Peering out the window Donald spotted a thin man with messy black hair, green eyes, just like Madeline's, and round framed glasses. The man was wearing a strange looking baggy, red dress and Donald wondered if this was normal for wizards.
At a knock on the door Dudley let the man in. "Potter," Dudley nodded at the man who took his hand and shook it.
"Dudley," the man greeted in reply, "this place hasn't changed much since I was here last."
Finally the man greeted the children. "Hello, you must be Donald and Madeline. I'm Harry, you could call me Uncle Harry I suppose after all I did grow up with your father."
Madeline suddenly asked what her mother and brother were thinking. "How come your wearing a dress?"
Paula glared at her daughter, "Don't be rude she scolded," but Harry just laughed.
"Its fine," he grinned, "Actually this isn't a dress, it's what wizards wear and there called robes. I know it probably looks strange, I thought so to at first but you get used to it. I would have worn normal clothes but I had to stop in at the ministry on the way here."
The four Dursley's hopped into Harry fancy looking car. "So where do you live?" Paula asked.
"A small town called Godrics Hollow," Harry answered as he reversed out of the driveway.
"Isn't that in Wales," Dudley questioned, "It'll take us ages to get there"
The trip to Dudley's fathers surprise only took fifteen minuted. Donald noticed that the car travelled much faster than any he'd ever been in and that everything else, traffic, houses and signposts seemed to jump out of the way. "How come no-one notices," Paula asked Harry as all the cars at an intersection moved to the side to let Harry past.
"I never figured that one out myself," Uncle Harry admitted to Mrs. Dursley, "I suspect it must be some sort of charm."
Finally the car pulled up out front of a homely looking two story house. The group was invited inside by a small woman with long red hair. "Hi, I'm Ginny, Harry's wife." She introduced herself and had just led them into the dining room when there was a large bang. "I'll kill them." She muttered as she excused herself and headed upstairs.
As Donald sat down in the dining room he thought he saw a portrait of an old silver, haired man move. He glanced at the picture which then grinned at him and said, "You must be Donald. Mr. Potter told me about the letter he received from his cousin. I do hope you enjoy the meal, I hear Mrs. Potter is a great cook." He then, ignoring the crash, caused by Mrs. Dursley falling off her chair in shock, unwrapped what was unmistakingly a lemon drop and placed it in his mouth.
"You're the man who picked Harry up that year," Dudley told the picture, "The one who attacked my family with glasses of mead."
"I'm not that man," the man in the portrait laughed, "I'm just a portrait of him." This thoroughly confused Dudley who was about to say something when Harry entered the room followed by a girl and three boys.
"I see you've met Albus," Harry said to the Dursley's. "These are my children. My eldest, Lily, is thirteen and about to enter her third year at Hogwarts," he motioned towards the girl who had long black hair and green eyes, "This is Matthew, he is the same age as Donald and will be starting school this year," Matthew had messy hair like his father but it was red like his mothers. He, like all his siblings had inherited the green eyes as well, "and these two are my youngest, Jeremy and Chris, they are the same age as Madeline," the twins grinned at the Dursley's. They had short black hair and were both short and stocky. Donald noticed they looked like they were the ones who had caused the explosion he'd heard earlier on.
Finally Aunt Ginny entered the kitchen with a strange looking creature, both of them carrying large quantities of food which they sat down on the table. The wrinkly, grey creature turned to leave but Harry called out to him "Dobby, sit down and eat, you are a member of this family and you always eat with us."
"But master has guests, it is not right," Dobby answered,
"Nonsense Dobby," Ginny answered, "and I believe we've told you not to call us master many times."
Dobby reluctantly sat in the empty seat next to Donald. The man in the portrait whom Uncle Harry had referred to as 'Albus' was right about Mrs. Potter's cooking. The food was some of the best he had ever tasted. When everyone was full, even Donald's father which was saying something, Paula got up to help with the dishes.
"Don't worry about it," Ginny answered. She pointed her wand at the plated and muttered "scourgify". Paula gasped in disbelievement.
"Just a simple cleaning charm," Ginny told Paula who was looking at the sparkling clean plates with wonder on her face.
Donald was, in the meantime, talking to Matthew who was explaining a wizarding game called Quidditch. "Each team has three hoops. Three players called chasers have to get a big red ball through the opponent's hoops to score points."
Mrs. Dursley and Mrs. Potter were discussing magical cleaning methods and exchanging recipes while Madeline was whispering excitedly with the twins. Donald was weary of this because Madeline was sneaky and enjoyed pulling pranks and tricks on people and the twins looked like they did too. Mr. Dursley was having a lively conversation with 'Albus' and Mr. Potter and Lily were discussing the subjects she was taking next year, "I am doing Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Muggle studies."
Finally Mr. Potter gained everyone's attention by making a large cracking noise with his wand. "We better be getting to Diagon Alley to get your school things then before the Dursleys have to go home. Everyone got your list's?"
Donald, Matthew and Lily nodded. "We'll go by floo. Ginny you go first, show the Dursleys what to do."
Ginny nodded. With a flick of her wand there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. She took some black powder from her husband and threw it in the fire causing the flames to turn green. Ginny stepped into the flames and stated loudly "The Leaky Cauldron." Before she disappeared and the fire returned to its original colour.
Uncle Harry handed Donald some of the powder. "Now throw that in the fire," he said, "say The Leaky Cauldron nice and clearly. Make sure you keep your eyes closed and your elbows in." Following the mans instructions Donald threw in the green powder and stepped into the fire, which felt pleasantly warm.
"The Leaky Cauldron," he called out feeling father foolish. Suddenly his body was spinning. It wasn't a pleasant sensation and Donald kept his eyes shut tight waiting for the sensation to stop.