A/N: Hello all! I swear I haven't abandoned this story! I have moved to a house that doesnt even have the lines in the ground for wifi as well as never being able to go to the library. Also I work now, so hopefully I can get myself a laptop and update more. As always, I only own the plot, any OCs, my poems, and some of the ideas for Draco's artwork. Hope everyone had wonderful holidays! Oh! There's also a short story that's kinda a taste of the study thing with Blaise and Padma.

**Harry's POV**

"And why are we going again? He's a bloody git and they abused you for years!"

I sigh because I've already explained this as many times as I could tolerate in the last two days.

"They're also still my family. At least by blood. And they seem... Different. Dudley approached Mione after recognizing her from a picture from our first year. That he's held onto. You don't have to go. I do."

He thought for a moment before I saw him nod.

"Then so do I mate. If you want to see them, I'll be right at your side. And... If we can deal with Malfoy, we can deal with this bloke. Malfoy's a git, but he saved Mione from his dad. If he can change, so can they."

He still looked rather doubtful before we apparated right into Mione's apartment. I called for pizza while Ron went to poke around the Muggle objects like always.

"Don't break anything this time Ron, Mione'll have your head on a platter."

He sticks his tongue out at me.

After a bit, the pizza arrived just before a buzzing came through.

"Who is it?" I knew who it was because of wards, but I still had to ask.

"Erm. Dudley. And Mum?"

I let them in and I could see them looking for obvious signs of magic in the colorful and vibrant flat.

"Pizza just got here. We can all sit at the island in the kitchen. I got a few different kinds because I didn't know what you both preferred now as well as Ron hasn't had pizza."

Dudley gaped at that while Ron just shrugged.

We all sat and I didn't know how to get the ball rolling.

"Why don't you tell us what happened to you all last year, when you were in hiding with Daedalus and Hestia?"

**Dudley's POV**

I hope I wasn't sweating with how nervous I was.

"Actually, let me go back a little further. After you saved me from the... The ummmm..."

"Dementors sweetie, they guard the wizard prison and bring forward your biggest fears and regrets while sucking away any happiness."

I smile lightly at Mum.

"The dementors. After that, all I could think about was how terrible I was, how bad we all were. But it was pushed to the back of my mind until I saw you again and then I didn't know how to process it. My entire... Ideals... Were thrown upside down. And I didn't know the extent of how dangerous it was when you sent us into hiding. After everything we did, you still saved us. I focused on turning over a new leaf. Lost the excess weight, studied harder and kept hoping you'd walk through our door saying all was safe so I could hug you and apologize. Mum and I listened to Potterwatch all the time with them. Dad always complained that he didn't want anything to do with freaks so why should they threaten his family over some ruddy ungrateful brat..."

Ron looked livid before speaking.

"Oi! He saved you lucky rotters! The Death Eaters came to Privet Drive looking for you and destroyed everything there! You would've been dead if it weren't for Harry!"

"My son and I understand this. My husb- ex husband did not. He thought it was Harry's fault we were in danger in the first place. I had a lot of time to think. Harry, the reason I was always so bitter towards you was that magic took my best friend in the world from me, and took her to place I couldn't be. Then, magic killed her before we could reconcile or make any amends. Yes we'd gone to each other's weddings but we were both uncomfortable. And then you look just like your father. Except for the eyes, and you have your mother's smile, her kindness, her compassion, her powerful magic. I couldn't raise Dudley to have him lose his best friend too so I tried being as cold as possible. For that as well as so much more I apologize. Every time I listened to Potterwatch I was hoping not to hear any names I knew. Yours, Ms. Granger's, any Weasley, even Severus Snape because I knew what he once meant to Lily. And then one day, Daedalus and Hestia told us we could go home. Everything had been fixed by then so I didn't know of the destruction to my home. Vernon and I were fighting more and more. He was also abusive to me all those years..."

Harry looked as red as Ron's hair in that moment.

"He hit you! Wait til I get my hands on him!"

I smiled faintly.

"That's exactly what I said the first time I saw him hit her. He thought he didn't have to hide her bruises any more since I was an adult and I understood if the weaker sex needed to be disciplined. I punched him as hard as I could as well as I believe there may have been some magical help. I've never met a ghost but after I punched him, Dad was out cold, and there was a transparent woman there with the fiercest look in her vivid green eyes, and the smallest smirk that I've seen you give. It didn't register who she was until I looked at Mum. She was in shock to say the least."

"Well of course I was. I was seeing my sister who never made it past twenty one!"

"You saw my mum?"

"Lily was there. She'd said she had always watched over me, and you, and even Dudders. She hadn't been able to revel her ghostly form because there wasn't a way before but she said she had some residual energy from a bit with some stone in a forest. So she wanted to see me and settle things as well as scold me for how I treated you. Which I deserved. We couldn't hug but she made me swear on all our good memories to at least apologize to you and leave Vernon. She soon faded away saying she had to go then and she loved us."

Mum looked near tears.

**Narcissa's POV**

With my Halloween ball coming in a week and a half, I took Kitty to Diagon Ally to get our dresses.

"Aunt Narci, let's go to Muggle London, get something different." She smiled a smile she knew I have a hard time resisting. "I feel like something more daring than what's proper and no one in the wizarding world would expect it. Plus with all the press and heroes there, surely you can finally show you accept Muggles unlike what... Well.. What you projected as well as Uncle Lucius..."

I smiled at her.

"Yes let's. I like that idea. Any color choice you have in mind?"

I knew her answer before she spoke it.

"Purple, duh. It's my favorite color! Oh and Dray has asked me since I don't know anyone here really besides Blaise and Theo, but I haven't seen them since we were all twelve."

**Hermione's POV**

I absent mindedly cursed myself for not having food a date sooner to Narcissa's ball. I tried thinking of who to go with as I was ranting to Ginny.

"Harry is with you, obviously. Neville with Luna, Blaise with Padma, I couldn't possibly ask Draco as he's probably had a date lined up for ages and I wasn't ready to admit that I liked him... I wasn't going to ask Viktor because he still feels for me and I don't want to hurt him... Even Ron has a date. He asked Susan Bones so she could go too."

"Remember when you got so mad at Ron for thinking of you as a last minute option for the Yule ball? Funny that's what he is now. How do you not have a date Mione? People are fawning over you and would faint at the chance to go with you!"

I rolled my eyes at her as she grinned at me and piled more food on my plate.

"Gin, I can serve my own food."

She gave me a stern look that made me think of her mother until I kept eating.

"You can eat is what you can do. A year living on scraps and berries Mione. You will eat or I will hex you. Maybe you can call Harry's cousin, I heard the thing went well, he's rather handsome, and I'm positive he has a mobile device or you can owl him and ask."

"You want me to bring Dudley Dursley, a Muggle, to Narcissa Malfoy's ball, filled to the brim with Pureblood snobs and bigots?"

"A muggle who already knows the magical world and wants to know more at a party of supposedly reformed bigots. Besides, Narcissa has kept in contact with Harry after he owled her to discuss the Black vaults and legalities. He's grown rather fond of her and so have I. She even got that dreadful portrait of Sirius's mum off the wall!"

"Well I'm off to the library. Perhaps the owlery. I'll ask Harry his thoughts. If he okays it, then it might be worth looking into. Happy?"

"Ecstatic. You're doing this to me on purpose, leaving me with the lovely Lavender, aren't you?"

I smile a bit before leaving. Lavender bumps rudely into me as she's walking past.

"Watch it boyfriend stealer, I don't want you getting me dirty."

"Can't say I want fleas either. But I am not dirty nor am I a boyfriend stealer. Ronald was perfectly single when we started dating, just as he is single now. As to the dirty bit, I'm far cleaner than you could ever hope to be. Now leave me alone Lavender."

**Draco's POV**

I watched her leave the Brown girl with her jaw open and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Padma is all in a tizzy about going to the ball with me. She's scared I won't be an attentive date as Weaselbee was. Who is accompanying you? Did you ask out Granger?"

I threw my spoonful of peas at him.

"My date is Kitty, my cousin. She doesn't know anyone here and I'm not just letting any old bastard try getting her betrothed to her or steal her fortune. Aunt Lisette wants her to marry for love, so loads of blokes are going to try to woo her."

"I'll just take that as a no then. I take it she doesn't know about the first page in the sketchbook? How did you get that marvelous picture anyways?"

I open my sketchbook to show a picture of her wrapped in a towel with one leg extended out and her seeming to rub her leg.

"She was in our shared bathroom and forgot to lock the doors, thinking I was out with you or something and I honestly had no clue she was in there. I walked in, saw her, memorized it, walked out before her noticing. If she ever finds my sketchbook, I don't think she'd see it in a good light. The whole thing seems rather stalker-esque."

A/N: Chapter ten:) Review if you want to, they please me. Have a nice day.