Just a note: A Hogwarts Tale is down. If you were a fan, then I apologize, but I did have my reasons (see previous chapter).
Disclaimer: No tengo la idea de Harry Potter. Es el libro fantastico de la Sra. Rowling!
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Miraculously, Lily managed to finish all her chores within the hour. After thoroughly making sure no one was watching, she had used a bit of magic to weed the garden. It was one of her least favorite tasks, and she avoided it whenever possibly. Though this was probably the reason her small house in London had a yard that resembled the Amazon, Lily hadn't really minded.
Now, at nearly one o'clock, she was sitting at the Dursleys' kitchen table, waiting for Vernon to arrive. His mug of coffee was sitting on the counter as requested. Though Lily had rolled her eyes widely as she poured the drink into the mug, she realized that she hadn't really expected any better treatment. Petunia was screwed up in the head, to put it bluntly. Lily had learned this long ago. And from the few times she had met Vernon, she knew he was just as bad, if not worse. Of course they would treat their help like mud. It was in their nature to be condescending to anyone they believed wasn't as good as them. But if they knew who she was… Lily amused herself for a moment, thinking of the Dursleys' reaction if they found out that Petunia's long-dead "miscreant" sister was working as their maid. But of course, they couldn't know.
o-o
Harry wasn't able to go back to sleep after Tabitha had woken him, so he got himself up and dragged the fold-up chair back into the garage. By then, then the sky had darkened significantly. It seemed like shadowy gray creatures loomed hauntingly overhead, not rain clouds. Harry made an educated guess when he assumed that rain would shortly be coming.
Harry entered the house as the first raindrop hit his nose. Good timing, Harry thought. He moved out of the way and let the screen door slam shut behind him. He also closed the heavier wooden door behind it so that the rain would not come in. Harry started walking into the hall, but halted when he saw Tabitha cross the room, looking frustrated and ticked off.
He walked towards her, intending to ask her what was wrong. Instead, he stopped. The reason for Tabitha's distress was apparent. She had the telephone clutched to her ear and someone was shouting noisily on the other end. Tabitha seemed to have spotted Harry at the entranceway, and he gave her a questioning look. In response, she showed him her index finger, signaling to wait for a minute. Tabitha turned and listened to the person at the other end of the phone call, grunted a few times, replied "will do", and clicked the off button.
"Who was that?" Harry asked her.
"Your uncle." She said stiffly, moving to shut the windows and keep the rain out. "He's caught in traffic, and won't be able to take Dudley to his boxing match. Since Petunia obviously can't drive, Vernon asked me to do it."
"You're kidding?" Harry raised his eyebrows. Tabitha shook her head in response. "Well, then, I'll go with you."
Tabitha considered this. "You're not allowed to leave the house. Won't Dudley tell his parents?"
Harry smiled evilly. "I have a feeling he won't want to mention a thing."
o-o
Ten minutes later, Lily, Harry, and Dudley were piled into the Dursleys' second car and were getting ready to leave the driveway. Lily was in the driver's seat with Harry next to her. Dudley sat in the back with his boxing gear next to him. He had wanted to take shotgun, but Lily, sensing a fight between the two boys, asked Dudley patiently if he really wanted his lunatic cousin coming close to his equipment. Dudley shot Harry a resolute glare from the back seat, and receive a withering look in return. Lily winked at Harry, and he smiled at her. After their game of faces was over, Lily spoke.
"Do you have everything, Dudley?" She questioned him. Settling for a groan from the large boy in the back, Lily looked down at the car controls. She put the keys in the ignition and started it up carefully.
"Er, you do know how to drive, right, Tabitha?" Harry looked at her nervously.
"Of course." In truth, Lily did know how to drive a car. She had learned about them in Muggle Studies class at Hogwarts, and had taken driving lessons while she was living by herself in London, realizing it was the best way for her to get around while she was disguised as a muggle. It had simply been a while since she had driven, that was all.
Lily realized that the knowledge of cars she had gained inside and out of Hogwarts was coming back to her. It's like riding a broomstick, she thought. Lily winced as the car went straight over a pothole. Well, not exactly.
Before she knew it, they had made it to the gym. Lily was surprised how accurate Dudley's directions were. She hadn't expected him to remember the place he went to train at every week.
"You can park right here." Dudley said, bored, as Lily drove the car into the entrance of the gym.
"Wait, what do you mean, park?" Lily looked back at her nephew.
"I mean, park the car here." Dudley sneered and instructed her as if she were stupid. "You have to come in with me. I need an adult with me to get admittance."
Lily muttered, "Your father seemed to have forgotten that tiny detail…" Dudley didn't her her, but Harry did, and snickered.
Dudley tried to get Harry to carry his bag for him, but his cousin threw it back in his face. Angrily, Dudley tossed the heavy sack at Lily, who was forced to lug it into the gym, all the way to the back door of the changing room where Dudley finally took it, leaving Lily and Harry sitting alone on the wooden bench until he came out in his uniform. Lily had to stifle a laugh when she saw Dudley's bright purple uniform, and his enormous form barely squeezed into it. Harry didn't bother holding back his laughter, and let loose hearty cackles at the sight. Dudley glared at him and started putting on his lavender gloves. He climbed the stairs that led to the large boxing ring in the middle of the back room. Already, groups of people were gathering towards the ring and taking seats on the benches that ran across the room. These people mostly looked like parents and friends of the participants. Lily gestured to Harry for him to follow her, and they climbed through the rows, looking for a place to sit. They found an empty space a few benches away from the ring, and sat down in them.
Now, a skinny middle-aged man with an unfortunate hairdo climbed up the stairs to the boxing ring and faced the audience. Lily could see that he was holding a microphone in one hand, and a clipboard in the other. The man nodded to someone below him, and a loud bell rang throughout the room. Most of the people in the audience quieted quickly. The man cleared his throat, and began to speak into the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you all to the Brunningfield Gym! The boxing match of today, July seventeenth, will be quite an exciting one! Now, I give you, the contenders!
"In this corner is Brunningfield's reining champion, Smeltings student Dudley Dursley!" A fair amount of applause sounded through the room. Lily and Harry smacked their hands together a couple of times, but that was the extent of their support for Dudley.
"And in my other corner, we have a newbie to the magnificent sport that is boxing- ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ben Jennings!" More people applauded. "Let the match begin!" The announcer signaled to the bellman again and hurried out of the ring. Another bell rang, and the boxers began to fight.
o-o
Harry knew he would never admit it to anyone, but he thought Dudley was actually pretty good. He blocked most of the punches Ben Jennings threw his way, and hit many himself. For a while, it looked as though Dudley would win. He had cornered Jennings and was shooting heavy punches his way. But Dudley's problem wasn't that he was weak or had bad aim; Dudley's fist made contact with Jennings' mouth several times, and once Harry saw a drop of blood roll down the poor boy's mouth. No, Dudley's issue was that he was simple too overweight to be that speedy, and Jennings, who was a skinny thing compared to his opponent, dodged every which way to avoid Dudley's massive fist. He was quick and light, but had a good amount of force on him, as he soon showed. Before long, Ben Jennings had Dudley lying on the ground.
"Hit him, hit him!" Harry cheered despite himself.
"You're rooting for Dudley?" Tabitha's eyebrows shot up.
Harry shook his head, his eyes still on the match. "No, Ben Jennings."
Harry's wish came true not long after. In a rush of adrenaline, Jennings hit Dudley so hard that he had to struggle to raise himself up. He was too late, though; the bell had already rang, signaling the end of the match. The announcer took back his microphone, and shouted into it, "And the winner is Ben Jennings!" He held up Jennings' hand and waved it in their air for the audience to see. They were clapping and cheering loudly, clearly glad that the underdog was taking home the prize.
Dudley slinked away, off of the ring, and Harry and Tabitha took that as their signal to leave. "Well, that was fifteen minutes of my life wasted." Harry sighed.
Tabitha laughed. "Come on, we should meet Dudley by the door." The squeezed through the rows and left the boxing room just as the announcer started to introduce the next match. "Next up, Willy Morgan against Jeffery Bendel…"
Out in the main room of the gym, they sat waiting for Dudley to change. Suddenly, the locker room doors burst open, and out marched an extremely agitated Dudley. He greatly resembled his father when he was angry, meaning he could have been mistaken for a very unpleasant looking pumpkin. Dudley glared at Harry and Tabitha and started towards the gym exit, dragging his bag behind him.
"Great job, Dudders!" Harry called sarcastically to him. Dudley made a very rude hand gesture in response to his cousin, and left his two escorts hurrying in his wake.
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This chapter was a little different. I thought a nice change of scenery would refreshthe storya bit.
Trivia Question: Who thinks they know how I got the name of Dudley's opponent, Ben Jennings? It is from someone pretty well-known, so you might know who he/she is! (Their name is not exactly Ben Jennings) A marshmallow goes to anyone who can tell me why the person is famous!
I want extra reviews to make up for last chapter! I know it's not your fault, guys; it's the fault of the Website-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
Be Cool!
LaRohaZeta