As promised, here is Chapter 2. Time for Dudley to go on a little adventure…

Saturday morning came, and Dudley was up before sunrise, a very unusual thing indeed. But today was special. Today, somehow, Dudley was going to go to Hogwarts to visit his cousin. He still hadn't figured out how he was going to get there, nor did he fully understand why he wanted to, but he felt this burning need to go there, so without any further thought, he pushed open the front door of No. 4 Privet Drive and left his house.

He only carried with him a few things that he supposed he might need: money, which he had taken from his dad's wallet earlier that morning; paper and a pen, which he thought might come in handy if he could figure out how to write a letter to that Professor…McGoogle; and some food for the journey. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone, so he had left a note to his family saying he was out with some friends. Occasionally, Dudley would stay overnight at a friend's house, so hopefully it wouldn't raise any alarms for the Dursleys this time.

Dudley's plan, if you could call it that, was to first go to the zoo, in hopes of finding an owl. It was stupid, he knew that, but he had seen owls do some crazy things since finding out that Harry was a wizard, so it was his only plan.

Once at the zoo, Dudley made a beeline to the owl enclosure, which he knew should be opening soon for a feeding demonstration. If all went according to plan, the owls will be moved out of their cage, making it possible for Dudley to call one over and tell it to take his note to Hogwarts.

Dudley's insides twisted and turned as he waited for the demonstration to start. Was this going to work? He had no idea how wizard mail operated, would this owl even know where to go?

At last, a zookeeper announced that the feeding demonstration was starting. Dudley shook himself out of his doubtful thoughts and got out his letter. From where he was standing behind a nearby wall, Dudley whistled and motioned for one of the owls to come to him, holding out his arm for it to land on. Dudley had watched enough Animal Planet to know how to do that.

To his surprise and great relief, the owl that was not being fed at the moment took off, causing the crowd to screech and duck to the ground. Dudley knew he didn't have long before the zookeeper went looking for the owl, so he very quickly tied his letter to the owl's leg using some of Petunia's ribbon and told it where to take the letter.

The owl seemed to understand, and as soon as it took off, Dudley sprinted toward the exit of the zoo. All he could do now was wait.

O-O /*

'Dear Mr. Dursley,

We have received your letter requesting directions to Hogwarts. My apologies for not being clearer in the invitation.

To get to Hogwarts, we suggest you board the Hogwarts Express at platform 9¾ which leaves promptly at 7 a.m. Muggles, such as yourself, will be able to pass through the barrier by simply walking through the wall between platforms 9 and 10. As long as you have the expectation that you will go through rather than run into the wall, the barrier will allow you entrance.

Hogwarts awaits your arrival.

~Professor McGonagall'

Dudley felt a weight lift off his shoulders. It worked!

A glance at his watch told him that it was already 6:30, and Kings Cross Station was a 30 minute walk away. Determined, Dudley took off running in the direction of the train station. He wasn't in good shape by any means, but the adrenaline coursing through his body brought him to his destination in record time. By the time he got to platforms 9 and 10, it was already 6:55. He had 5 minutes to figure out how to get through the barrier.

Looking around him and seeing all of the passerby made Dudley feel even crazier than ever.

Taking a deep breath, Dudley set off at a jog toward the wall. He braced for the impact, but it never came. Instead, he fell through and skidded to a halt in front of a marvelous, red train, which was puffing smoke impressively into the air.

Dudley couldn't move. He was in awe. He glanced around, wide-eyed, taking in all the sights. Magical and muggle families alike were boarding the train, laughter in the air, and a feeling of…magic, which Dudley had never felt before. It was a beautiful sight, and Dudley couldn't believe he had actually gone through a magical barrier and was now standing in front of a magical train, getting ready to leave to visit a magical school.

The train's whistle blowing woke Dudley from his trance. Realizing the train was about to pull away from the platform, Dudley rushed to get aboard. He made it just in time. He finally found a place to sit in an empty compartment at the back of the train. Once he sat down he realized just how tired he was from all the morning's activities, and instantly fell asleep.

O-O /*

A few hours later Dudley awoke to the sound of his compartment's door being opened. A little old lady smiled back at him as she pushed a cart full of food past his door.

"Anything off the trolley, dear?" she asked kindly. "Free treats for Hogwarts Family Day."

Dudley had never actually talked to a fully grown wizard before. He gulped before finally rasping out, "Just some candy, please."

"Sure dear," the old witch said kindly, handing Dudley several boxes of candy like he had never seen before.

Dudley turned to ask what they were, but before he could the lady had disappeared. He had to admit, the prospect of eating unknown wizard candy made him a bit uncomfortable, but Dudley hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Very cautiously, Dudley grabbed what was called a "chocolate frog" and opened it. As soon as the top of the box was opened, something jumped out at him, causing him to scream. Dudley looked around to see what had come out of the box and was shocked to see that it was the chocolate frog, which had come to a stop on the seat across from him. Dudley picked it up carefully, hoping it wouldn't jump again, and took a small bite of it. It was delicious!

Then his eyes wandered back to the funny looking box the chocolate had come in. He saw something else moving around inside it, and pulled out what looked like a trading card. When the wizard on the front of the card waved at him, Dudley's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.

Chapter 3 will be up Tuesday, most likely, so keep an eye out for that. Leave a review and let me know what you think! I'd especially like to know if my writing is okay, since I'm feeling a little out of practice.

Till next time,

Gryffinclaw99