Another day, another update. As requested, here is chapter 4!

Shock. Disbelief. Panic. All of these emotions flashed through Harry's eyes as he tried to comprehend the fact that his muggle cousin was currently standing amongst his "followers" in the middle of the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

His first instinct was to run. Hermione and Ron, both irritated by the onslaught of Harry's admirers, watched in confusion as their friend slipped under the table and crawled his way to the Great Hall's exit.

After finally escaping the madness, Harry scurried up the stairs in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Maybe if he pretended he hadn't seen Dudley, he would just disappear.

But no such luck. "HARRY!" Dudley called out, stopping the young wizard in his tracks. Harry willed himself to turn around and face his cousin, who was currently pounding up the brick staircase to catch up to him. "What was all that?" he asked, out of breath, gesturing back to the Great Hall.

A mixture of embarrassment, anger, and nervousness filled Harry as he scrambled for an explanation. "N-nothing. That was nothing." He briskly turned around and continued up the stairs, hoping to lose his bully of a cousin at one of the moving staircases if at all possible.

But Dudley didn't buy his answer. "How do all of those people know who you are?" he asked, following closely behind Harry.

"It's not important, Dudley."

"Are you famous?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But that blonde Slytherin boy said—"

That made Harry stop again, turning on Dudley with more confidence than he ever would have back at Privet Drive. "Malfoy?! Oh, of course. You and Malfoy, I should have known. I bet you had a good laugh swapping stories of how you've both made my life miserable. Do yourself a favor and go away before I hex you. I happen to know a few good ones now." With that Harry hurried up the stairs, but Dudley wouldn't leave.

Harry was furious. He had to do something to get rid of Dudley, but he knew he probably wouldn't get away with hexing him even if he tried. It was then that Harry looked up and saw that he was on the third floor.

Judging from Dudley's reaction to Harry's threat, he was still terrified of magic, which gave Harry an idea. Knowing full well that his oversized cousin would follow him, Harry crept into the forbidden third floor corridor.

Sure enough, Dudley was close behind, looking slightly afraid of the darkened passageway which he was now walking through. "Harry, where are you going?" he asked in a small voice, trying to keep up with his lankier cousin's fast pace. But Harry did not respond.

At last they reached a door, which seemed to be locked.

"Now what?" Dudley asked.

But before he could get the whole question out, Harry muttered "Alohamora," and pointed his wand at the keyhole. Dudley's eyes widened in shock as the door sprung open just a crack.

Harry stood with his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. Yes, he thought, this should do the trick. And with that, he pulled the door open as quietly as possible so as not to wake the beast lying within.

Sure enough, Fluffy the three-headed dog was snoozing away in the dark chamber, just as it had been when Ron and Hermione had been with him earlier in the year.

It took a moment for Harry to register the fact that Dudley was not running away in terror. He hadn't even said a word since Harry had unveiled the monstrous canine. When Harry turned to look at his muggle cousin, he saw that awe, not fear, filled his eyes.

"Wow!" Dudley said excitedly, trying still to be as quiet as possible. His eyes were glued to the magnificent creature before him. "Is that a dog with three heads?"

After a brief moment of confusion, Harry felt a smile come across his face and he chuckled. Maybe Dudley wasn't the magic-hating, Harry-hunting muggle that he thought he was. Suddenly, he didn't want to scare Dudley away from Hogwarts. Instead, he wanted to show him everything. This was his chance to finally have a person in his family that didn't make him feel like a worthless freak. Someone that he could share stories of magic with.

And there was something else. A certain gleam in Dudley's eye that Harry recognized. It reminded him of himself, and the first time he had ever seen the wizarding world. There was only one word that came to mind when he thought of that memory: Magical. And he wanted that experience for Dudley too.

O-O /*

After their little rendezvous with the three-headed dog, Dudley and Harry rushed out of the third floor corridor as quickly as possible to avoid getting caught in a forbidden area. With a newfound fondness between the two cousins, they made their way to the Gryffindor common room, both excited about what else the day had in store for them.

Dudley had been delighted by the moving staircases and had even waited for one to move so he could see what it was like. The paintings, which adorned the castle's walls from ceiling to floor, were absolutely fascinating to Dudley, after the initial shock wore off from being addressed by a man in one of the paintings. Finally, the boys made it through the portrait hole and slumped down into some comfy chairs in front of the fireplace in the common room.

They sat in silence for a moment, catching their breath and gazing at the flames lapping in the fireplace. Neither boy knew what to say to the other. This…getting along…was uncharted territory for both of them.

It was Harry who finally broke the silence. "Er, Dudley?" he started. After getting his cousin's attention, Harry continued. "What are you doing here, really?"

Dudley didn't quite know the answer to that question himself, so he shrugged. "I got the letter—the one from the McGoggle lady—and I guess… I wanted to see for myself, you know? Ever since that giant man came to take you away, I couldn't help but think about how there was a whole other world right there that I've never seen. And magic… It's unbelievable."

Harry was surprised by Dudley's answer. He talked about magic as if it were something good and exciting—the opposite of Vernon and Petunia's view of it.

Dudley seemed to know exactly what was going through Harry's mind. "I guess I never really bought into what mum and dad always said about magic. Or what they said about you, for that matter. I just… didn't know any other way to treat you. But that doesn't excuse it, I was awful to you Harry, and I see that now. Especially with that jerk Malloy guy messing with you all the time. You don't need it from me too. We're supposed to be your family."

The Gryffindor common room fell silent once again, the two boys staring at the flames and pondering all that had been said. It was unexpected to say the least. Harry never thought that he would get a full-blown apology from a Dursley. But it did feel good. Almost as if he had gained a companion that would make the summers at least a little less terrible than usual. Not quite a friend, and not yet a brother, but at least a companion. A friendly face in an otherwise hostile environment.

"Mum and dad don't know I'm here," Dudley said softly, eyes not breaking away from the flickering fireplace. "They can't know. The way they treat you, and the way they feel about magic, it can't be changed. It's too late. And if I…" Dudley's face fell. Harry knew what he was about to say. If he tried to change their minds, it would just get him into trouble. "I know they're not perfect. Far from it, in fact. But they're still my mum and dad."

Just then, Ron and Hermione burst through the portrait hole, bickering with each other as usual.

"There you are, Harry! We were starting to worry!" Hermione said, oblivious to Harry's guest.

"Yeah, mate, we thought your fans had carried you off or something. Wouldn't put it past them. They just can't get enough of—"

Silence filled the room as Ron and Hermione realized that there was another person with Harry. "Oh, who's this?" Hermione said, cutting through the tension in the room. Ron, too, had a looked absolutely confused.

Harry stood up and stepped closer to his friends. "This is my cousin, Dudley."

Realization crossed Ron's face, and Hermione had to hold him back as he jumped at Dudley. "DON'T THINK TO TRY ANYTHING HERE, DURSLEY! WE'RE HARRY'S MATES AND WE WON'T LET YOU TOUCH A HAIR ON HIS HEAD! HERMIONE'S THE BRIGHTEST WITCH IN OUR YEAR AND SHE COULD—"

Harry cut off his best friend, assuring him that everything was okay. Ron seethed as he tried to calm himself down. He would rather be stuck taking potions with Snape for the rest of his life than let any harm come to Harry from his useless muggle family.

Dudley, eyes wide in shock and fear, had backed away from Ron as far as possible. Now, thankful that the outburst was over, he sat down in shame. Shaking his head, he said quietly, "I'm glad Harry has friends like you. Lord knows he needs it. We've never been much support."

"Oh." Ron's breathing finally slowed, and he, too, sat down, realizing that something in Dudley had obviously changed from the last he had heard of him. "Are you sure you're Dudley Dursley?" he said with a chuckle, elbowing his friend's chubby cousin in the side.

Dudley let a small smile cross his face. Hermione nodded in approval, sitting herself next to Ron on the sofa and fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Well, Dudley," Harry said, rising abruptly from his chair, "What do you want to see first?"

Oh boy, a lot happened in that chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I will be answering reviews with PM's again, so please let me know what you think.

I'll upload chapter 5 tomorrow.

Till next time,

~Gryffinclaw99