Posted 4-March-2022, Updated 5-March-2022

Disclaimer: I don't own HP, that genius belongs to JKR

Read, review and enjoy!

Chapter Two

The Meeting

44 Primrose Avenue, Greater Whinging, Surrey, England

30th June 2015

Ten minutes. Ten minutes left until he came face-to-face with his estranged cousin for the first time in over a dozen years. Laura was nervously doing up a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits, while Jas was sitting on the sofa, wringing her delicate hands.

His daughter, who took after his wife in the same way that Mattie took after Dudley (thankfully without the weight he'd lugged around as a child and, unlike Dudley at that age, Mattie was a good child who wouldn't hurt a fly and preferred reading historical biographies to sports, much to Vernon and Petunia's disgust. They, naturally, blamed Laura, who was herself a historian and had often had Horrible Histories playing on the telly during the kids' childhood) had curly, mousy brown hair, sun-kissed skin from playing outside (another cause for Vernon and Petunia's disgust as they didn't think it 'appropriate' for young ladies to 'play in dirt') and eyes the colour of the sky (in his opinion. Vernon had once commented that they looked 'watery' and they'd had many arguments had been over their comments about how 'unfortunate' Jas' looks were). Also like her mother, she was sweet, a bit shy, and at some point she had developed a fascination for astronomy and the legends attached to them. She wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up.

Dudley supposed that would change, now that she was a witch, and he felt a pang in his chest at the thought. That wasn't the only change, though. Dudley had been forced to tell his wife and child about his and his parents' history with Azalea, and they had been horrified. Laura had already known he was a bully in his youth, but she hadn't known about Azalea and the abuse the Dursleys had heaped on her. Both she and Jas were looking at him differently now, and it killed him.

Dudley was so distracted by his musings that he failed to watch the clock and jolted in surprise alongside his family (Mattie had been sent to his friend's house for the night to keep him out of the way) when the doorbell rang.

Laura exhaled shakily, smoothing out her yellow sundress and patting at her braid to flatten any stray hairs. Jas grew rigid with fear and Dudley swallowed heavily. He had assured his family that Azalea would never blame them for his and his parents' actions, but there was no guarantee she wouldn't justifiably blame him for what he did to her. He would understand if she did, but he still felt sick with nerves at the thought.

"I'll be back in a moment," he murmured to his girls, before reluctantly heading for the door. As he grasped the handle, he took another deep breath, then tugged open the door.

Azalea stood on the front step. She was dressed in a plum-coloured cloak over a white blouse and a rose-pink skirt with slightly darker pink flowers decorating the skirt. Given some of the clothes he had seen other wix (that was the word Hestia and Dedalus used, wasn't it?) wear, this was perfectly normal, and Dudley was relieved to see it.

She gave a wary smile that Dudley returned uneasily and stuck her hand out to be shaken. Dudley did so.

"Hello, Azalea," he greeted her, wincing at the discomfort in his voice. Her smile was tight as she answered.

"Hello Dudley. You're looking well," she replied. "And I go by Lea now. One of my friends gave me the nickname back in First Year and it stuck."

"Lovely name, Lea," Dudley offered. Her smile became more genuine at that.

"Thank you. Shall I come in then? Avoid the neighbours seeing me?"

"They can bugger off if they do," Dudley shrugged even as he stepped aside for her to enter. "I'll just tell them the truth, that my cousin came for a visit. None of their business, anyway."

Lea arched an eyebrow, but said nothing as she walked inside, glancing around, her eyes lingering on the photos decorating the walls. "You've a lovely house," she offered. Dudley smiled weakly.

"Got it for a pittance. Needed a lot of renovation, you see. Did it myself, but Laura did the painting and decorating."

"You did the renovations?" Lea looked startled and given his parents' (and his former) attitudes, Dudley didn't blame her.

"Yes, it's my job actually," he informed her, leading the way to the living room. "I'm a handyman. Do everything from repair work to plumbing."

"Really?" her green eyes widened a fraction. "I have to say, I'm surprised you didn't go to work at Grunnings. Uncle Vernon always said you would."

Dudley shrugged as they ducked into the living room where his wife and daughter awaited them. "That was his dream, not mine."

"Fair enough," Lea acknowledged as she again let her eyes dart around the room and its' occupants, giving a gentle smile to Jas and Laura (who, despite his warning, had gasped quietly when she saw the large scar covering half of Lea's forehead and grazing her eye). "Hello. You must be Jasmine and Laura. I'm Lea. It's a pleasure to meet you both." She stretched out her hand to shake. Laura did so, but Jas was staring at the dark-skinned woman in sheer terror, causing Lea's smile to dip a fraction for a moment before she regained herself.

"It's nice to meet you, Lea," Laura spoke up, gripping Lea's hand in white knuckles. "I-ahem, I have tea and biscuits. And scones as well if that's what you'd prefer."

"And please, sit down," Dudley added, realizing she had yet to be offered a seat. Laura flushed in embarrassment at that.

"Yes, of course, please sit," she exclaimed, flapping her hands at the cosy beige armchair.

"Tea and a biscuit would be lovely, thank you," Lea replied with a smile as she sat on the armchair. "Milk and three sugars please." She looked at Jas and added, "Wixen, the gender-neutral word indicating witches and wizards, require more sugar, protein, carbs and so on than a non-magical person. We will never gain weight, unless we have very little magic, as our magic uses up extra fat and energy to help power itself. I know it's unintentional, but I can see from how thin you are that you're not getting enough, so you need to start eating more sweets and so on to ensure your magic won't be having to waste itself on sustaining you. I can give your parents a list of foods that will get you up to a healthier weight."

The tray rattled loudly as Laura nearly dropped it, causing a cup to fall on the floor and break sloshing some tea onto the biscuits as it went.

"Oh no!" Laura moaned. "I'm so sorry, give me a minute, I'll clean it up."

"Please, let me help." Before Laura could wave her off. Lea rose to her feet and pulled out her wand, a long brown with a red tint to it stick with vines hugging the handle and a small red orb at the base. She pointed it at the tray and flicked her wand, and the cup repaired itself, lifting back onto the tray. The tea reappeared inside the cup, the biscuits going dry again. Laura paled in shock and put it down hastily, nearly falling backwards into the sofa. Jas' mouth hung open. Dudley was better able to hide his instinctive fear, given he had spent a year with Hestia and Dedalus, going around swishing their wands to get things done. His heart still beat rapidly in his chest, though.

"You, you," Laura stammered, wide eyed and pointing at the tray. "H-how?"

"Magic," Lea said gently. "Magic that, as I understand it, your daughter has as well." Laura placed a protective arm around her daughter, drawing Jas closer.

"I realize this is a shock," Lea said sympathetically. "It was a shock to me as well. I had a million and two questions, and I expect you do as well. Ask away, I give my word as a witch that I will do all I can to help you. What would you like to know?"

"Is there a way to get rid of it?" Jas asked before either of her parents could speak. Her eyes swam with tears and her lower lip trembled. "Grandmother always says witches are evil, I don't want to be evil!" She started to cry and Laura gathered her up in her arms, rocking her from side to side and stroking her hair soothingly. Lea sighed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a tired expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but no," she said, gently but firmly. "And trying would be very dangerous. You could become an Obscurial."

"What's an Obscurial?" Dudley asked warily. He didn't recall ever hearing that word before.

Lea pursed her lips, the topic clearly making her uneasy. "An Obscurial is a child who has tried, usually due to abuse, to suppress their magic," she said slowly, looking grim and uncomfortable. "But that is impossible. Even binding one's magic only works for short amounts of time, varying depending on how powerful the person is according to the Medea Scale. The child in question develops a parasitical force attached to their magical core, which in turn causes the magic to burst out of the child and kill everyone surrounding them, again the range depends on the strength of the child. The last recorded Obscurial was a young boy in New York in the 1930s, whose foster mother was a strict Christian and attempted to beat the magic out of him. It's a bit of a taboo topic in the Magical World, due to the gravity of it."

Dudley felt sick, Laura looked horrified and Jas started to cry again, though whether from the horror of the story or due to the news that no, she couldn't get rid of her magic, Dudley didn't know.

"You see?" Jas wailed. "Magic is evil! It hurts people!"

Lea slid off her chair and kneeled before the distraught child, taking her tiny hands in her own, rather calloused ones. Dudley saw some faded scars, words he realized, carved into the back of her right hand.

"I won't deny that magic can be dangerous," she told Jas calmly. "But not because of the nature of magic itself, but rather due to the person wielding it. Non-magical people are just as likely to be dangerous. Your parents told you never to wander off with strangers, didn't they? And they weren't thinking of wixen at the time, they were just thinking of non-magic people who might take you away. Just the same as there are good and bad non-magical people, there are good and bad magical people. The man who killed my mum and dad was a bad wizard, but I'm a Healer, and I think I'm a good person."

"But Grandmother said-"

"Your grandmother is jealous," Lea cut her off, voice still gentle and soothing. "Back when my mum, her younger sister, got her own letter for Hogwarts, your grandmother wanted to go too. But the Headmaster refused because she didn't have enough magic for it. She started calling magic freakish after that, and it just got worse until she despised it."

"What?" Dudley exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"Uh-huh," Lea nodded, sitting back down now that Jas's tears had lessened and she looked calmer. "My godfather told me."

"Wow," Dudley exhaled, settling back into his chair. "I can't believe all of this is because of jealousy. Actually, you know what, I can. She's always wanted what she can't have and put down anyone else who does have it. Damn her."

"Cheers to that," Lea said dryly, raising her teacup in a toast before putting it back on its place and looking at them expectantly. "So, what other questions do you have?"

"What happens if I just don't go to Hogwarts?" Jas asked. Lea grimaced.

"Not going to Hogwarts would a hit to you should you choose to work in the Magical World in the future," Lea informed them. "Legally, and this is Crown Law since the 1300s, young wixen who've had their first magic core stabilization, that is, at age eleven, must learn to control their magic, and while Hogwarts is the most prestigious option, it's not the only one.

Wixen make up 40% of the population of Great Britain. I have no doubt that you've walked past many and never batted an eyelash, except maybe if their clothes are particularly eye-catching," she gave a quick wink as she went on. "There are other schools, but they don't have as broad a range as Hogwarts, and definitely not the prestige. There's also the option of home tuition, but again it would look even worse on your resumé, and often home-schooled Muggleborns struggle with the psychological impact of having no contact with other wixen to assure the student in question that they're normal."

"Of course she's normal," Dudley said sharply. Lea remained calm.

"I know that, but a magical child having no contact with others like her make it hard to feel that way."

Jas bit her lip as her parents looked at each other, having a silent conversation.

"What's the curriculum like?" Laura asked after a moment, looking back to their patient guest. "I mean, the booklist didn't seem to have nor-ah, sorry, regular textbooks on it."

"Ah," Lea took a sip of her tea, pulled out her wand and tapped it, resulting in a thin stream of steam rising from the cup again, and all as she explained. "That's the general booklist. Did you notice the bit saying something like 'If you wish for your child to learn Muggle subjects, tick here'? by ticking that box, Jas will be added to the Muggle Studies list, and learn Muggle subjects like maths, English and so on. It replaces extracurriculars such as Xylomancy or Ancient Studies."

"And how much does a year at Hogwarts cost?" Laura asked uneasily, exchanging a concerned look with Dudley. His job didn't pay much, so she was the main breadwinner in the family. But they weren't exactly rolling in riches, and by the sounds of it, this prestigious school would cost a lot.

Lea gave an assuring smile. "First of all, we have a different currency," she began. "1 Galleon is about £5 last I recall. I'll get the exact exchange rates for you. A year at Hogwarts is 500 G and the total cost of all school things is usually about 200 G. However, there is a fund for Muggleborns, given the high exchange rate, and the amount covers up to 75% of everything, depending on the annual income of the family."

The two parents exchanged looks again. While it would still be a bit of a pain, they had saved up a lot for their children's education, so it wouldn't be as bad of a hit as they'd feared.

Lea glanced at her watch, a delicate lily-shaped thing with small pearls embedded in the 'petals' and frowned. "Look, I'm very sorry but I've got to go. My shift starts at seven tomorrow morning, and I've got to put the kids down. How about you all come over and have dinner with us this weekend? My eldest is going to start his Seventh Year in September, and my twins are starting their First Year, so, if you decide to go you'll be in the same class as them. My goddaughter Alice and niece Lucy are both in their Second Year, so if you wanted to talk to her and Teddy about what the school is like, I can invite them over."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Laura said after a glance at her still downcast daughter. "Where do you live?"

"Oh, we live in West Country," Lea replied brightly, startling everyone save Dudley, who recalled the various 'Apparations' and 'Portkeys' that Hestia and Dedalus had used to move them from safehouse to safehouse.

"Will you be Apparating us, then?" he asked. "Or using a Portkey?" He glanced at his family and quickly explained that they were ways to transport magically.

"Portkey is best for a group this size," Lea answered. "And yes. I'll be here at 5.55 pm to leave at 6.00. Is that alright?"

"Sounds good," Dudley agreed, rising to his feet at the same time as his cousin.

She said her goodbyes and he walked her to the door, pausing as he pulled it open. "Lea, I want to apologize," he blurted out. She stopped in her tracks, turning to survey him with her shrewd green eyes.

"For what?"

"For everything," he answered. "For bullying you when we were kids, for never protesting what they were doing to you. All of it."

She gave a soft smile. "It's not your fault, Dudley," she murmured, resting a delicate dark hand on his arm. "I won't deny my anger towards your parents, but it's different. You were a kid yourself, acting the way your parents raised you to. They did as much damage to you as to me, but in a different way. I'm glad you've overcome it, same as I did. But thank you for the apology. I accept."

He gave a weak smile and leaned in, giving her an awkward hug that she returned equally as awkwardly for a minute before pulling away and giving a smile.

"I've got to go, but it was good to see you," she told him. "I look forward to Saturday."

"Me too," Dudley nodded. "See you then."

She gave a wave, glanced around quickly, then spun on her heel and disappeared with a loud 'crack'.