The apartment the Dursleys had been given was really quite nice. It was about as big as their house on Privet Drive, but it came with some nice touches. The refrigerator, filled with what Vernon called 'normal food', magically replenished itself and their plates became clean automatically when left on the sink. Petunia did not like that much, she felt that that was her job. Julie kept to her room for a couple of days. It had a comfortable four-poster bed and her own television in front of it, just like home. Hestia had explained that they had made sure that their Muggle things would work in The Lair, which Julie found very considerate, and that they were allowed to go wherever they pleased.

After four days, Julie became tired of doing nothing but watch television. The family was enjoying breakfast when she promptly said: 'I want to go out today and see what we're living in.'

Her parents seemed shocked. 'Why? We've got everything here, we don't need to leave these rooms' her mother said.

'I know, but I'm bored out of my mind. I want to know if there are people my age or, like, things to do.'

'People your age? You mean freaks your age! What if they hurt you?' Vernon asked, his eyes narrowing.

'I'm sure they won't. They're protecting us after all, and I'm not at all sure if we deserved that' Julie said.

Petunia sighed. 'All right Juliebee, if that's what you want to do. I don't want you to feel imprisoned even more.'

'Thanks, mum' Julie said with a smile. After breakfast she took a shower and then selected her clothes carefully. She put on her golden necklace, her two favourite rings, jeans and a grey blouse. More out of habit than anything else she put on the watch that Calum had given her for their one year anniversary; it had stopped working the second day after their arrival. She gulped down a sob and looked once more at her reflection in the mirror. Her brown eyes looked back at her, nervous but excited. Her shoulder length dark blonde hair fell perfectly today. A good sign, and she was generally considered to be very pretty; that would probably help with making contact. She sighed and went back into the living room. 'All right, I'll be back for dinner, if not sooner. How's that?' Julie asked her parents politely.

'Sure thing, Juliebee' her mother said.

'Make sure not to fall for any tricks' her father said. Julie smiled at them and stepped out the door.

The first thing she realised was that their apartment was at the end of a long corridor. During their arrival it had been too dark to get a proper look, and Hestia and Dedalus had seemed in a rush to get them to their rooms. There were a few more doors in this hallway, but theirs was the very last. That was easy to remember, Julie thought. She wondered if there were other people living behind those doors, and if so who they were and why they were here. Since there was only one way to go she began moving, looking around at every step she took.

'What are you looking at?' a voice suddenly snapped, causing Julie to jump. She looked around, but did not see anyone.

'I must be going mad' she mumbled to herself.

'Well, talking to yourself is definitely the first step' the voice said, but this time Julie had heard where it was coming from. She turned around and saw a line of five portraits. In the middle of them sat a fat man in a rocking chair, staring smugly at her. To her shock, the chair depicted on the painting was actually moving and the man spoke again. 'What? You've never seen a painting before?'

'Not one that featured moving and speaking characters, no' Julie said. She moved closer to examine the paintings.

'Hey, back off! I'm warning you!' the man said and he clumsily jumped out of his chair, but Julie just smiled. She was not at all scared of this painting; in fact, she was rather fascinated. 'I'm warning you once more, lady! I've got some tricks!' the man squeaked.

'I've got a trick too!' Julie said, and she promptly turned the painting, causing the man to fall out of view. A bang indicated that he crashed into something. Julie giggled and turned the painting back to its original shape. She then continued her way down the corridor, until she came to the end. The corridor had led to something reminiscent of an elevator shaft, but about twenty times wider and bigger. White stairs moved back and forth, constantly leading to different floors.

Julie watched this phenomenon for a few minutes. She noticed that she was on the fourth floor, which was also the highest. She realised that during their arrival the stairs must have been perfectly still, for she had not noticed anything odd about them. For a few minutes she stood there on the landing, holding on to the rail. She had a tremendous fear of heights and frankly did not dare to step onto the stairs that connected itself to her floor every few minutes.

Suddenly she heard a door open and she turned around. A boy about her age came walking out of the room closest to her, wiping sweat off his forehead and turning in her direction. He had brown hair, brown eyes and wore a black robe with a yellow crest. He spotted her and nodded. 'Hello' he said politely.

'Hello' Julie said in return.

'I just came out of the greenhouse, had to water some of the plants. The Fanged Geranium can be quite nasty.' Julie had no idea what he was talking about and decided to just smile politely. 'Are you waiting for someone?' he asked politely, seeing that she was standing by the stairs.

'No, er, actually, well, the thing is, you see… I don't feel comfortable with moving staircases, we don't have those where I come from' Julie said awkwardly.

'Ah, so you're a Muggle?' the boy asked kindly. Julie had heard that word before, but had forgotten what it meant.

'A Muggle?'

'All right, you're definitely a Muggle,' the boy said with a smile, 'Muggles are people who can't do magic. My parents are also Muggles. I'm Justin, by the way. Justin Finch-Fletchley.' He stretched out his hand and Julie shook it.

'I'm Julie, Julie Dursley. I'm Harry Potter's cousin.' She had decided to be open about that, even if it meant that some people would dislike her immediately. She felt being honest and accepting her mistakes from the past was the best way to move forward.

'Wow, that's really cool,' Justin said, 'and I understand why you're here now. Are you new here?'

'I am, my parents and I arrived a few days ago. They're scared of magic and refuse to leave their rooms, but I wanted to see what I'm living in.'

'Well, if you want I can show you around' Justin offered kindly.

Julie smiled at him. 'Yupsolutely, that sounds fun!'

They descended the stairs and arrived on the third floor landing. There was a corridor very similar to her own corridor, but whereas the walls on the fourth floor had been white were these brown. Justin explained that most of the rooms on the two highest floors provided housing to people, but that the corridor on the fourth floor had the greenhouse he was partially responsible for and that the third floor had a very large bathroom with a pool. She liked that a lot. The second floor had a gym and some classrooms, where Justin explained sometimes guest teachers revised the students' work. 'We basically just work through our books, and we wear the Hogwarts uniform to make it feel real, you know.' Julie knew 'Hogwarts' was Harry's school and nodded. The first floor had only two rooms; a big study room and a gigantic library. Finally they arrived on the ground floor, where there was a lounge room and a kitchen, that also served as a dining room. Hestia was in the kitchen, seemingly overseeing the work of a house-elf. Julie had seen a house-elf once before, when Dumbledore summoned one into the Privet Drive's living room.

'Hello!' Hestia said brightly to the two of them as they entered the kitchen, and the house-elf bowed.

'Hello, ma'am' Julie said politely.

Hestia smiled at her. 'Please call me Hestia. How are you? Have you settled a bit already?'

'Sure, the biggest shock is over I guess, and Justin here was so nice to show me around.' Julie smiled at her new friend.

'Ah, that's wonderful to hear. Thank you, Justin, you're doing a fine job around here. How are your parents coping, Julie?'

'Er, they're still too scared to leave their rooms. Magic isn't exactly their thing.' She paused for a second and then the words came out before she realised it. 'I'd like to apologise for my father's behaviour during the transport. Sometimes I feel anger is the only emotion he's got. And I want you to know that I at least am very grateful for the protection and the rooms we were given. And if there's anything I can do to help out, I'll gladly do so.'

Hestia smiled at her. 'That's very nice of you. We're actually about to have lunch, why don't you join us?'

'Sure' Julie said without any hesitation. The house-elf was setting the table. 'Would you like a hand?' Julie asked the elf politely, but the creature looked shocked and even somewhat offended.

'No, no, no! This is Lumi's work!'

'Er, I'm sorry.'

'House-elves take much pride in serving their masters, don't worry about it' Justin explained.

'Right' Julie said. She still found it a bit odd to see the tiny elf do the work all by herself, but at least she had offered help. She sat down next to Justin and gradually more people entered the kitchen. Everyone greeted Hestia, adults and children alike, before they sat down. Some of them also greeted Justin, and nodded politely at Julie, who nodded back. 'There are more people in this house than I thought' she said to Justin, with the sounds of lively chatter filling the kitchen.

'This isn't even everyone. Some people prefer to prepare their own food and whatnot. They know they're always welcome, though.' It was a nice lunch. There was a delicious drink called pumpkin juice ('Just wait till you taste Butterbeer!') and Julie and Justin talked about literally everything. After some time people slowly started leaving, and a blond boy about a year younger than Julie came up to them.

'We're heading down to the lounge! Are you coming?'

'Sure' Justin said, and he looked at Julie. 'Will you come as well?' Again Julie did not hesitate to say yes.

The lounge turned out to be a nice room with tables and chairs. It was filled with teenagers in black robes, whom Julie assumed to be Hogwarts students. 'Hello, Justin!' the blond boy called and he waved, 'who's your friend?'

'Hello, I'm Julie Dursley, I'm Harry Potter's cousin' Julie said. The effect of her words was immediate; the room fell silent.

'Oh my goodness, are you really?! I'm Colin Creevey, I'm like Harry's best friend! How cool to meet you!' He enthusiastically shook Julie's hand, and so did a boy who was blond like Colin, but maybe two or three years younger. Both of the boys were remarkably short. 'This is Dennis, my brother. We like Harry a lot, don't we, Dennis?' He looked at Julie, who smiled at them. The other students all looked at them. 'How's Harry at home? Is he any different than he's at school?'

'Er, I don't know, I mean, I don't know how he's at school' Julie said carefully.

'Ah, I see. Well, this is Norah' – Colin pointed at a girl with black hair – 'and this is Khaya.' He pointed at a girl with long brown hair. They waved politely at Julie, who waved back. 'They're both Ravenclaw students. They should be in their sixth year, but you know, with that Muggle-Born Registration Commission…'

'I'm sorry, but what's that exactly?' Julie asked. It sounded serious, considering how Colin's cheerful tone had disappeared immediately.

'Well, now You-Know-Who's taken over the Ministry, all Muggle-born wizards and witches must register with the Ministry, so that they can be imprisoned for 'stealing' their magical powers from 'real' wizards and witches' Justin explained, and people started murmuring.

'Is that why you're all here?' Julie asked the group. They nodded. 'That's terrible' Julie said and she felt sorry for them.

'So, as I already explained, we're trying to keep up with our studies here, just in case someday we can return to Hogwarts.'

'Of course we will, Justin, Harry's going to win the war for us!' Colin said excitedly. The others cheered.

'Harry's our only hope!' Khaya said.

Julie looked at the group. They all seemed to find Harry some kind of hero. She hoped that they would not find out just how horrible she had always treated him.

They spent several hours playing games. They taught Julie how to play wizard's chess and Exploding Snap and she enjoyed it immensely. She was having such a good time that she forgot she had promised her parents to be home for dinner, and only thought of it when the group was about to leave for their dinner. 'Sorry, I got to go' Julie said and she got up.

'All right, well, will we see you tomorrow?' Colin asked her.

'Sure' she said with a smile.

'Yay!' he cheered, and Julie giggled. She liked Colin a lot, even though he had asked her a lot of questions about Harry during the games.

She quickly made her way back to the fourth floor and to her own rooms. 'Sorry I'm late. I was having such a great time' Julie said as soon as she entered. Her parents did not look too happy, even though judging by their plates they had not started dinner that long ago.

'That's all right, Juliebee' her mother said. Her father looked a bit angry, but he did not say anything. Julie assumed he found it hard living here and did not take it personally.

While the family enjoyed their dinner, Julie told them all about the house and her newly made friends.
'Just wait till you see the swimming pool!' Her parents half-heartedly promised to go with her some day. That night, Julie went to bed with a smile on her face. Maybe this 'vacation' was not going to be so bad after all.

The days quickly turned into weeks. Julie immensely enjoyed the set rhythm in The Lair, with breakfast at nine, lunch at one and dinner at six. By adhering to it, Julie did not end up with weird sleeping schedules that contributed to her anxiety. Hestia had taken Julie up on her offer to help out and so she brought the injured witches and wizards that also hid in the house their potions and did little tasks for them.

When the Hogwarts students, whom to her delight really were not much different from her, were studying, Julie went to the library. The pictures in the books actually moved, just like the paintings, and they were full of interesting stuff. She read about Quidditch, magical history, transfiguration, how to make potions and a lot more. Sometimes she spent hours on end in the library, fascinated by everything she discovered. Occasionally she felt a little sad about not having magical powers, and she regretted never asking Harry questions about his world.

When the Hogwarts students were not studying, Julie played games with them. She also asked them about Hogwarts and they answered all of her questions. She would love to one day see the school for herself, and Justin promised her to show her the castle someday. Sometimes Justin and Colin told her about the things Harry did at Hogwarts, and they were surprised that she did not have a clue.

'You and Harry were not very close, were you?' Justin asked her carefully one day.

'Well, we just didn't have much in common, with him being a wizard and me being a Muggle and all' Julie said evasively. Well, that was not a lie, but it also was not the whole truth. The situation reminded her of her childhood, when she had playdates with other children. At home with her parents and Harry, her safe zone so to speak, her behaviour was always rather terrible with bullying Harry and her temper tantrums when she did not get her way, but when she was at friends' houses she always behaved very well. She was calm and polite, and everyone liked her.

After a while, Julie knew about the Philosopher's Stone and the horrors of the Chamber of Secrets. This afternoon they told her all about the Triwizard Tournament. Julie was very impressed when she heard about how Harry outsmarted a dragon during the first task, and how he went all the way to the bottom of the Black Lake. 'Cedric and Harry were tied after the first two tasks, so they entered the maze first. The first champion to reach the Cup would be declared the winner. No one knew what had happened exactly, but after a few hours Harry suddenly appeared with the Cup and Cedric's body. Later it turned out that Cedric had been murdered by You-Know-Who and Harry narrowly escaped' Justin said softly. 'Cedric was in my House. We were all devastated and in total disbelief.'

Julie looked at him and said nothing. She thought about the night of the Dementor attack in Little Whinging, when Harry had pushed her against a wall and threatened to curse her because she had taunted him with the fact that he had said 'don't kill Cedric!' in his sleep. She felt truly disgusted with herself now.

'Are you all right, Julie?'

'Er, yes, I'm fine, just give me a moment' Julie said feebly. She went to the bathroom and splashed some water in her face, feeling awful. Maybe it was time to come clean to Justin at least…

It went off her mind, however, that evening. She had enjoyed another lovely dinner with her friends, and had barely set foot in her apartment when she heard her mother call her name. 'Julie, dear, we need to talk.'

'Er, okay' Julie said surprised. She walked into the living room where her father and mother sat at the table. Vernon motioned for her to sit and so she did, not at all sure what was going on.

'Your mother and I have been talking,' Vernon said, 'and we don't really like you mingling so much with that kind of people.'

'Why not? They're really nice' Julie said surprised.

'We think you just have that idea because you have nobody else in this bloody place,' Vernon said, 'they aren't true friends, Julie.'

'What makes you say that? Not like you ever came out of these rooms and saw it for yourself' Julie retorted. Her surprise had turned into anger.

'Your father's just worried about you, dear' Petunia said softly, but Julie smiled sarcastically.

'Worried? While I'm socialising and learning a lot of new stuff and he's isolating himself? Good one, mum.'

'Show a little respect Julie, we've given you so much' Vernon said.

'Well, all you're giving me now is a headache. What are you saying anyway, that I can't hang out with my friends because you're still scared of magic' (her parents winced), 'despite these wizards always going the extra mile to make it easier for us?' Julie said.

'They'd better, it's not like we're here for our own pleasure, are we?' Vernon said angrily.

Julie rolled her eyes. 'Why are you so terrified of magic anyway? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was me who magically got trapped in a snake enclosure at the zoo, it was me who was given feathers for which I needed surgery and it was me whose nose became longer than the trunk of an elephant. Why can I move past that while you can't?'

Her parents said nothing for a few seconds, until Petunia feebly said: 'Julie, dear… you don't understand.'

'Then explain it to me.'

'Petunia, you don't have to' Vernon intervened.

Julie looked at him. 'If you want to forbid me from seeing my friends because they can do magic' (they winced again), 'then I feel that I deserve to know the reason why. And with that I mean a good reason, not some irrational rubbish.'

Petunia sighed. 'All right, Julie. My sister, your aunt, and I were the best of friends as sisters. We did everything together and we held no secrets. Then one day, she received a letter from that school. My parents were so incredibly proud, while I just wanted one thing and that was to go too. I even wrote the headmaster, but he wrote back saying that I couldn't come. I felt rejected, jealous and overshadowed; emotions I've never been able to fully shake off. I was so upset with Lily that I didn't want her as bridesmaid, something that hurt her deeply. We've never been able to reconcile, because then she was killed. I'll never forgive the magic world for taking away my sister.' She took out a handkerchief and dried the tears that had welled up in her eyes. Julie touched her arm but did not say anything. 'Then suddenly we were left with her son on our doorstep. Every time I looked him in the eyes, I thought of the sister I lost.'

'Is that why Harry was treated so badly?' Julie asked carefully.

Her mother nodded. 'That's also why we always wanted to give you everything, Julie. I wanted you to be the special child, to compensate for my own miserable childhood, where all attention went out to my sister.'

Julie said nothing for a bit. It was a lot to take in, and she had never had the faintest idea of the feelings that had been tormenting her mother for so long. 'Mum… I'm so sorry' she said eventually, and she meant it. Her mother had started sobbing. Julie hesitated for a bit, but felt this might be the only chance she would ever get to discuss this subject, and therefore went ahead. 'I understand you, I really do. But I don't think Harry should've been punished for events that happened before he was even born.'

'What do you want us to say?' Vernon suddenly interrupted.

Julie looked him straight in the eyes. 'Say that we failed him. You and me. All of us. For the longest time I've blamed Harry for those bad magical experiences I had, but it wasn't his fault. It was my own.'

Her parents said nothing for a few seconds. 'Part of the reason why we wanted to slap the magic out of him, was because we knew it was a dangerous world. I had proof of that' Petunia said eventually. Julie nodded faintly. 'Can I ask you a question, dear?' her mother said.

'Yes, of course.'

'When you're out there, with those wizards and witches, don't you feel at least a little jealous?'

'No, because it's what it is. I'm just glad that I can even have a taste of it, since most Muggles have no idea. Sometimes in life you just got to accept the way things are and focus on the positives and on what you have rather than what you don't have.'

Her mother smiled at her, while there were still tears rolling down her cheeks. 'I don't know why I deserved such a wise daughter. Please don't think too badly of me…'

'Of course not, you're my mother' Julie said softly and then her mother and she simultaneously got up and hugged each other tightly. Her childhood suddenly made sense to her now.

Julie needed some air after that talk and went out again. The corridor was dark, but she knew her way by now. Thousands of thoughts ran through her head, and suddenly she felt extremely emotional. She went to the second floor and stormed into a classroom, where before she knew it she kicked a desk and pushed over a chair. Then she heard a cough and she promptly looked around. 'Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here, I'll go' Julie said, feeling embarrassed.

'No, it's okay, please stay, I was just doing some late night studying,' Justin said, 'what's wrong?'

Julie slid down the wall and sat on the ground. 'Just family stuff. My parents aren't doing well, they miss their old lives. It creates tension.' That again was not a lie, but not the whole truth. Justin got up and went to sit beside her.

'I understand it's hard to be away from home, leaving your normal life behind, with so much uncertainty about the future' he said.

Julie nodded, suddenly thinking about Calum. 'This watch was given to me by my boyfriend, with whom I broke up because I had to go into hiding. I don't even know why I'm still wearing it, the damn thing's not even running anymore. Anyway, that's the past.' She took off the watch and promptly threw it in the tiny trash bin in the corner. 'You know, the real reason why I never knew anything about Harry was because my parents and I always treated him horribly. But I'm really sorry about it' Julie said.

'How horribly?' Justin asked carefully.

Julie looked at him. 'He slept in a cupboard under the stairs for the first eleven years, that kind of horrible.'

'Oh,' Justin said, 'I guess you've changed then, because we all like you.'

'That, I have' Julie said.

They sat there silently and awkwardly for a while and then Justin got up. 'We'd better get going. Thank you for being so honest, and don't worry, I like how you're now and I don't blame you.'

'Thanks, Justin' Julie said with a faint smile. He grabbed his stuff and then walked out the room.

'Are you coming?'

'In a bit.'

'All right.' He waved her goodbye and Julie went to sit on one of the chairs. Suddenly it dawned on her that her relationship with her parents might just have changed significantly and it made her nervous. Maybe she had gone too far with some of the things she had said, especially about Harry. She stared in the dark for a while, with a tear rolling down her cheek, and then buried her face in her arm.

Something was poking her. She groaned. 'Don't do that…'

'Ma'am! It's morning!' A voice squeaked. Julie yawned and stretched and then spotted Lumi, the house-elf. She realised that she had fallen asleep in the classroom. 'What are you doing here, ma'am? Have you been crying? Lumi sees your eyes are red' the elf said.

Julie groaned again. 'Don't be silly, Lumi, 17-year-olds don't cry. What time is it, anyway?'

'Almost time for breakfast. You should come with me!'

Julie shook her head. 'I'll meet you there, okay? I have something to do first. Thanks for waking me up.' She got up and went back to her apartment, leaving the surprised elf behind.

'Julie! Where have you been?' her mother said when she stepped through the door.

'I accidentally fell asleep somewhere. I'm sorry, mum. And I hope we can still be close, even with, you know, all that' Julie said.

'Of course Julie, it's like you said, we're in this together. Isn't that right, Vernon?'

Her father nodded. 'I'm still not thrilled about all this, but if you want to make friends with those people, that's okay.'

Julie smiled. 'Thanks, dad. It's gonna be okay, we'll get through this. Whatever it takes.'