A/N: Hi guys! It's been a whirlwind, but today's my birthday and I decided to celebrate with a little more about Poppy! I hope you enjoy this pop-up from an old character and, as always, please please please review!

The week before her sister returned from Hogwarts, Poppy Elizabeth Dursley turned eleven years old. Most children would spend their birthday celebrating with friends, visiting the zoo, eating sweeties, or ripping open presents.

Poppy Dursley did none of these things.

Poppy Dursley stared out the window, eagerly awaiting a visitor who, by sunset, had not arrived.

"Darling, come and have some dinner," Anita said, touching her daughter lightly on the shoulder. "I've made Yorkshire puddings, your favorite."

"I don't want to miss the owl," Poppy said, never taking her eyes from the window.

Anita sighed quietly, knowing already what her youngest hadn't realized. There would be no owl. There would be no Hogwarts. Not for Poppy.

Then, there was the sound of a car backfiring and Anita shrieked.

A man, perhaps a few years younger than herself, appeared on the lawn and made his way to the door. Poppy squealed in delight while Anita looked at Dudley, who had run into the room, with eyes agog.

Had they somehow missed the signs in Poppy? No, it couldn't be. With Daisy, they tried to rationalize the strange with the mundane. With Poppy, Dudley and Anita had searched for any sign of magic.

They were certain that she was not magical, and had planned to sit down with her after her birthday dinner to explain. While discussing this matter on her birthday would not be pleasant, their attempts to broach the topic previously had been shut down with a simple, "We can't possibly know until I'm eleven" speech.

And yet, there was a man knocking upon the front door, who had just apparated into their front yard.

"Hello," Poppy said politely, beaming at the man.

"Hullo," the man said, offering a hand for her to shake. "I'm Dennis Creevey. You must be Poppy!"

Poppy confirmed his guess and looked to her parents for approval before opening the door to Mr. Creevey.

Dennis was a lanky man with mousy brown hair and a wide smile. He introduced himself to the Dursleys and they invited him in. He took a seat on the loveseat and looked at Poppy.

"It is your eleventh birthday today, correct Miss Dursley?"

"Yes it is," Poppy said, practically vibrating.

"I'm going to start this off with the difficult so that we can spend the rest of our time together discussing the good, is that alright?"

Poppy stilled.

"I suppose." She said, suddenly looking concerned.

"I imagine you spent today waiting on an owl, correct?"

"Yes," said Poppy.

"I am sorry to say it, Poppy, but there will be no owl. Now, don't be sad. I know you will, but do try. It is incredibly rare for a muggle family to produce two magical children. In fact, my brother and I were the first muggle-born siblings to both be magical in over a century. We were the exception, not the rule."

"But, I tried!" Poppy said, lower lip wobbly dangerously. "I tried so hard."

"Have you ever tried to have red hair?" Dennis asked.

"No," Poppy said, surprised.

"How about having brown eyes? Or green?"

"No, that's silly." Poppy said, now looking frustrated.

"This is no different. You know what DNA is, correct?"

"Of course," she scoffed. "I'm eleven."

"Then you know that some things are hardwired. Magic is that way as well. Now, do you think that people with blue eyes can see better?"

"No."

"How about people with green eyes?"

"No," Poppy giggled.

"You can do many, many things, Poppy," Dennis said, looking her straight in the eyes. "The magical world is frequently behind in technology because our magic makes it do wonky things. My brother and I worked together in school to find older technology that wouldn't be affected by the magic, and I've since started working with the Muggle Affairs Department at the Ministry of Magic to help get modern amenities into the magical world."

Poppy nodded, doing her best to understand it all.

"What I'm trying to say, Poppy, is that having muggles and muggleborns who know about magic is very useful. You and I, we get to see both worlds from the inside. That makes us important. That makes us valuable. You do not have that magical gene, but that doesn't mean you cannot be a part of that world."

Anita and Dudley watched as Poppy processed it all. Her eyes had welled up at the beginning of the conversation, but now she was thinking through the alternative to being magic; the possibilities that came from being a muggle in the know about magic. It was something she hadn't considered, and it was clear she was intrigued with the idea of being involved with magic, even if she wasn't magic herself.

"Can I use magical things?" Poppy asked, finally.

"It depends on the item. A wand would just be a stick for you, but potions? Charmed items? Absolutely."

"I like building things," Poppy said slowly, "And my teacher says I'm quite good at coding on the computer. Do wizards have computers?"

"Not yet," Dennis said.

"I could make a magic computer," Poppy said firmly.

"I don't see why not," Dennis said, smiling at her now.

"Yeah. I'll make a magic computer."

"I can't wait," said Dennis.

~D~D~D~D~D~

Dudley and Anita were shocked at the change in their daughter after Dennis Creevey's visit. She went from daydreaming of Hogwarts and playing with sticks to focusing on her studies, especially anything to do with computers.

"I need to see how the computer reacts around magic," Poppy informed her parents over pork chops one night. "Do you think Aunt Ginny would be okay with me bringing the tablet to the Burrow?"

"Are you willing to share it?" Anita asked, remembering the times when Poppy's friends had taken over the iPad, ignoring her, and Poppy had whinged endlessly.

"Oh yes," Poppy said, quickly. "I don't want to use it, I want to watch them use it! I need to see what their magic does to it."

"Right," Dudley said, looking puzzled. "Naturally."

"My teacher said that electromagnetic pulses can stop electronics from working, but they can be protected with a simple metallic bag to block it. I think magic is like the pulse."

"Err, yeah," Dudley agreed. "Just like an electro-pulse."

"I thought I could code magic into the computer, but if I can block the magic from getting in, maybe the iPad will work!"

Anita and Dudley both nodded, sneaking smiles at one another. They had anticipated her eleventh birthday with concern for the news they knew was coming, but her bounce back was a heartening sight.

"Could we visit Uncle Harry's on Saturday?" Poppy asked, excitedly.

"Perhaps after we pick up your sister," Anita said.

"THE PLATFORM!" Poppy shrieked. "Can we go early? I bet there's LOADS of magic there and it would definitely make my iPad go funny. I need a pulse bag to see if it helps…"

And she was off to look up EMP protection bags on her tablet.

"Well," Anita said, "If she manages this, just imagine: we'll have a magical Bill Gates in the family. I hope she won't mind supporting us in our old age."

Dudley chuckled as he sat back in his armchair and smiled.

Everything was going to be okay with his girls.