A/N This chapter should have gone out before now, but fanfiction dot net was down for me. As in I couldn't upload new chapters. I could still read other fanfics. I managed to get it to work by downloading the app. Hopefully this is good, I haven't used the app before. I know exactly what I want to happen in the next chapter of Harry Potter and the Bite, but I don't know how to make it long enough to be a chapter. I'm also having difficulty focusing on it and not other stories I'm thinking of. I'm going to put HPATB on hold for a bit and focus on this and maybe a different story I've thought of. I do not own the rights to Harry Potter. I wish I did.
Chapter 2 - The Sorting
1st September 1991 8:45 AM Kings Cross Station
Vernon Dursley was cursing the names of Dumbledore and Hagrid. He hadn't bothered looking at the tickets Hagrid had given him, assuming that everything would be in order. But, no. The wizards had to have their train on a platform that doesn't even exist! And clearly they don't care enough about normal people to have wizards posing as station guards.
"Dad, we're gonna be late for the train!"
"I know, but they didn't tell us how to get on the platform! I'll be sending Dumbledore a strongly worded letter through Arabella." A redheaded woman stopped next to them.
"Excuse me, did you say Dumbledore?"
Vernon's heart leapt. "Yes! Do you know how to get on to Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" The woman shushed him.
"Not so loud. Yes, I do. Is it your children's first year?"
"Yes. Dudley's letter was a surprise, but we knew our nephew would get one. His parents were both magical. How do we get onto the platform?"
"You walk into the ticket barrier between platforms nine and ten. Percy, you go first. Show these nice people how to get through."
"Yes, mother." The oldest child, who was apparently called Percy, walked quickly towards the barrier. Instead of crashing into it, he went through it as if it wasn't there.
"Dudley, Harry. We will say goodbye to you here." Both children looked at Vernon. "I'm not quite ready to deal with doing stuff like this and I don't think Petunia is either." Petunia quickly confirmed that she wasn't. "Be good. Do well in your classes. Harry, if Dudley goes into Slytherin, protect him from any bigots. Dudley, your mother and I love you very much." The red headed woman scowled at Vernon for the implication that he didn't love Harry.
Harry and Dudley went through the barrier and were amazed at the platform they arrived on. Dudley looked around. "Wow."
"Dudley! Harry!" They looked in the direction of the voice calling out their names and saw Susan hanging out of a window waving at them. They quickly made their way into the train and went to her compartment where they discovered two others to be there. "Harry, Dudley, this is Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley." A blonde girl with pigtails waved at them. The curly haired blond boy next to her stood up and pompously shook both of their hands.
"Hello, chaps. As Susan said, my name is Justin Finch-Fletchley. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He smiled at them. They looked confused.
"What are you, gay?" Susan and Hannah both immediately started shushing Dudley.
"Don't say that!" Susan admonished him. "Being gay is still illegal in the wizarding world!" Justin was shocked.
"It is?" Hannah nodded.
"Yeah, my uncle was gay. He was arrested for it back in '78. He died in Azkaban the year after You-Know-Who was defeated by Harry Potter." Dudley and Harry had only ever known the word gay as an insult. They both resolved to ask someone what it actually was later. The train started to leave the station.
"Hannah? You know that Harry Potter is starting Hogwarts this year?" Hannah nodded, confused. Justin and Susan were both smirking at Hannah's confusion. They both clearly knew Harry's last name. Susan continued. "And you know that Harry Potter's mother was a muggleborn? And that her sister, Petunia, married a muggle called Vernon?"
Hannah looked very confused. "I didn't know about her sister, but I knew she was muggleborn. What of it?"
"Well, after that Halloween, Harry Potter went to live with his aunt, uncle and their son, his cousin. And Harry and Dudley here just happen to be cousins." Harry and Dudley started smirking as well.
Hannah frowned and opened her mouth. Then her eyes opened wide and she glanced at Harry's forehead very obviously. "You're Harry Potter!"
"I know."
"You're THE Harry Potter!"
"And you're THE Hannah Abbott." They would've continued teasing Hannah had the door not been opened just then.
"I hear Harry Potter's on the train. Is he in here?" The compartment looked up at the slender boy with blond slicked back hair flanked by two large boys. The blonds grey eyes glanced at Harry's forehead briefly. "So, it's true. Harry Potter is coming to Hogwarts this year. Who are your friends?" He sneered slightly on the last word.
"Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley and my cousin, Dudley." Harry pointed to each of them in turn.
"Finch-Fletchley? I don't recall that being a wizarding family name?"
"Well, that would be because my parents are both muggles. It was such a shock when my letter arrived."
The blond sneered. "Harry, you'll find that some wizarding families are better than others. The Bones' and Abbott's are some of the bad ones. My family, the Malfoy's, are one of the good ones. I can help you know which are good." He held his hand out for Harry to shake. "Here's a hint: families that associate with Mudblood's like Finch-Fletchley and your cousin are bad to associate with." Susan and Hannah were in uproar.
"How dare you! You foul, loathsome ghoul groper! The arrest of the Carrow's must have scared your father. How much has he paid to avoid Azkaban now? It's got to be at least ten thousand Galleons by now, Malfoy!"
Malfoy glared at Susan. "That is insulting, Bones. It is a matter of public record that my father was put under the Imperius Curse in the war. Quite honestly, I think you are a disgrace to Purebloods everywhere! Associating with Mudbloods and relatives of faggots! You should be ashamed!" Dudley didn't take kindly to someone insulting the first magical person who had been friendly to him. He didn't know what Mudblood meant, but he gathered it was insulting towards him and Justin. Malfoy was about to start ranting again when Dudley's fist shut him up.
The two trolls were obviously not going to just stand there. They moved forwards to defend their leader. Dudley's fist hit the right one in the chin at the same time as the right one's fist hit him in the eye. "Yeah, get 'im Greg!" Cried out the other troll in a surprisingly soft voice. Harry couldn't let Dudley take both of them on by himself. Luckily, he'd learnt from Dudley's gang. He knew, from personal experience, that the privates were a painful place to be hit. He darted in quickly and punched the troll as hard as he could in the privates. The troll screeched in pain and lashed out with his knee, hitting Harry in the face. He hit his head on the table behind hit hard. Harry looked up blearily at the troll who was advancing on him. He could feel something warm and wet trickling down his head. The troll was protecting his attacked area, with his other hand clenched in a fist. A pinkish blur came out of nowhere and hit the troll in the face, causing him to hit his head against the wall. The troll now identified as 'Greg' grabbed Dudley by his t-shirt and threw him into the opposite wall before jumping on him and punching him repeatedly. The other troll quickly joined in.
"Oi!" Three of the red heads Harry had seen get on the station, as well as a black boy with dreadlocks who Harry remembered has a tarantula, pulled the trolls off of Dudley. Dudley punched and kicked both of the trolls until two other older boys came over and pulled Dudley away from them. The older one asked what was going on.
"Thank you, Truman, Hilliard. That is exactly what I want to know." The eldest red head looked directly at the trolls and Dudley sternly. Greg's robes were ripped and his nose was bleeding profusely. Dudley's face was a mass of bruises, his t-shirt was ripped, his lips were split in multiple places and his nose looked to be broken. The unnamed troll had a small cut on his forehead from hitting it against the wall, as well as a growing bruise on his cheek.
Malfoy got up and sneered. The effect was ruined by the blood dripping down his face from his nose. "Da Mudblood darded id. I was exblaining how da world worked do Podder when oud of nowhere, da Mudblood bunched me in da face."
"It wasn't out of nowhere!" Everyone looked at Susan. "Granted, it could have been considered an overreaction, but it was provoked. Malfoy was calling both Justin and Dudley Mudblood's as well as telling me I should be ashamed because I was associating with them."
"My head hurts." Everyone looked down at Harry for the first time since the fight. The red head with a badge asked him what had happened. "Malfoy was telling me that I'd do better to associate with him rather than my cousin and three people who had been nice to me. I was about to tell him that I'd prefer not to hang out with someone who insulted my family, when Dudley got fed up with the insults and punched Malfoy in the face. The guy being held by your brothers punched Dudley in the eye, which made Dudley have to start fighting him and the guy held by you. I wanted to help my cousin out, so I punched the guy held by you in the privates. He then kneed me in the face and I hit the back of my head on the table and now it really hurts." He rubbed his hand against the back of his head. When it came away it was red. Everyone was shocked at the sight of blood. The oldest boy, who was wearing a badge saying Headboy, turned to Justin and asked him what happened next.
"The chap being held by those two," he pointed towards the oldest red head and the boy with dreadlocks, "walked towards Harry threateningly. Then Dudley struck him across the face. That boy, Greg I think his name is, seized Dudley by his t-shirt and pulled him backwards, throwing him into the wall. I believe that is when his t-shirt ripped. Both of those two boys started pummelling Dudley mercilessly. That was when those four came over and pulled them off. You and your companion arrived shortly after."
The Headboy looked over all of them. "Full names all of you. Even those who didn't fight."
"Susan Eleanor Bones."
"Hannah Alice Abbott."
"Justin Edward Finch-Fletchley."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient Houses of Malfoy and Black."
"Gregory Joshua Goyle, Heir to the Noble House of Goyle."
"Vincent Richard Crabbe, Heir to the Ancient House of Crabbe."
"Dudley Donald Dursley."
"Harry James Potter." The older boys stared at Harry. All of their gazed drifted to his forehead. To the scar.
The oldest red head, who Harry vaguely remembered being called something like Perry, spoke. "Harry James Potter? As in, Harry James Potter, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived? That Harry James Potter?"
Harry blinked. "Er, I guess so? I didn't know about that Heir stuff. But if you say so..." Perry and his brothers looked impressed. So did the other older boys.
The Headboy made a decision. "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Dursley. Detention for a week. Potter. One detention. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle. Find an empty compartment on the opposite side of the carriage." The Headboy cast some spells on the back of Harry's head. His head stopped hurting and the blood disappeared from his hair. The Headboy cast the same spells on Dudley, Malfoy and Goyle. Perry repaired Goyle's robes and Dudley's t-shirt with a wave of his wand and escorted a sneering Malfoy and his thugs from the compartment.
The rest of the trip passed without incident. A boy called Neville asked if they'd seen his toad. They told him they hadn't, but would keep an eye out for it. Susan and Hannah introduced the boys to a game called exploding snap. Dudley proved to be quite good at it. Later, whilst everyone except Dudley was nursing burnt fingers, a curly haired brunette entered and asked them if they'd seen a toad. Again, they told her they hadn't. She then noticed Harry's scar and launched into a speech about every book that included Harry's name. It was clear that Harry was a bit uncomfortable with his name being practically worshipped. She left shortly afterwords telling them that they were nearly there and should get changed. Susan and Hannah went outside whilst the boys got changed. Once the boys were changed, they went outside to let the girls get changed. The girls opened the door to let them know they were done and the started a new game of exploding snap.
Dudley looked at the two girls. "What does Mudblood mean?" The girls stared at Dudley. Hannah swore and threw her cards away as they exploded.
Susan's face took on a disgusted look. "Mudblood is one of the worst words known to magical kind. It is an insult to muggleborns. It basically suggests that your blood is filthy because your parents are muggles. Only the worst sort of magical people use it. Harry, you know that guy who tried to kill you? He was a Death Eater. He implicated multiple other Death Eaters. They were all arrested. Except for Macnair, a close personal friend of Malfoy's father. And Malfoy Senior made a generous 'donation' to the Ministry at the same time as the arrest warrant for Macnair was being written. The Minister then annulled the warrant. Definitely no bribery. I don't know what you're talking about. Malfoy Senior, according to my Auntie, is definitely a Death Eater." Dudley asked what a Death Eater was. "People who followed You-Know-Who. They think muggleborns are terrible and worthless and that Purebloods are practically gods. Far too many of them got off scot-free after the War. Paid a lot of bribes." A magically amplified voice rang through the train announcing that they had arrived at Hogsmeade Station.
Harry, Dudley, Justin, Hannah and Susan looked around for where they were supposed to go. "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere! 'Ello 'Arry, Dudley!" Harry and Dudley smiled and waved to the friendly giant. "E'ryone 'ere? Who's toad is this?" The boy they'd seen earlier yelled out the name Trevor and ran forward. Hagrid chuckled. "Awrigh', four to a boat."
Susan looked at the rest of them. "There's five of us. Two of us should get a different boat so that none of us are without someone we know. Hannah and I have been friends for a long time, so we want to share. Harry and Dudley, you're cousins, so I assume you want to share. Justin, who's boat do you want to share?"
Before Justin could answer, Dudley joined the conversation. "Um, I think Harry and I should get different boats. My parents were scared of magic and didn't always treat Harry that well. I used to be a bit of a bully. I think Harry would rather not have to deal with that."
No one knew how to deal with Dudley's honesty. "Uh... Harry with me, Dudley with Susan? Justin, who do you want to go with?"
"I think I shall go with Susan and Dudley. It took a lot of honesty to admit that, Dudley. I respect that. And it is obvious to see that you regret that part of your life." They went into separate boats.
"Hannah hates me now, doesn't she?"
Susan looked at Dudley. "No, she's probably just checking to see if you and Harry are on good terms now."
"Excuse me my good sirs and madam, but may I share your boat to the castle?" The three nodded. The boy introduced himself as Ernest Macmillan.
Hannah was looking at Harry. She was concerned. "Harry are you ok? Are you and Dudley... on good terms now? Or is he still an arsehole?"
Harry smiled at Hannah. "He's making an effort to be nice to me. I'm not sure whether that's because his parents are doing the same, because they told him to or because I set a snake on him."
"You set a snake on him?"
"Yeah, on his birthday this year we, his parents, him, his friend and I, we went to the zoo. My usual babysitter had broken her leg, so they had to let me come along. We were in the reptile house and I was talking to a snake. Piers, Dudley's friend, shouted to Dudley that the snake, which had previously just laid there, was moving. Dudley pushed me out of the way and pressed his face up against the glass. Then the glass wasn't there. Dudley was terrified. The snake escaped."
Hannah looked thoughtful. "When you say you spoke to the snake, did it understand you? And did you understand it?"
"Well, yeah. As it was leaving it said thanks to me and said it was going to Brazil. Why?"
"Tell no one else about that. If anyone else finds out, they will think you are evil. They will think you are You-Know-Who's secret love child or something." Before Harry could respond to this strange request, they were joined by two others.
"Hi, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley. Oi, didn't my family help yours get onto the Platform? What's your name again? Harvey, was it?" Harry corrected him. "Oh, right. Yeah. Harry." He turned to Hannah. "And what's your name?"
"Hannah Abbott." She turned to the other boy. "Sorry, I recall you telling me your name, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was?"
"Neville Longbottom." They four chatted as the boats left. Everyone in every boat stopped talking when the castle came into view. Talk soon turned to how they would be Sorted.
"A troll. We have to fight a troll. My older brothers told me. They're third years, twins. Both play Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Do you guys like Quidditch? What teams do you support?"
"Go back a bit, troll? We have to fight a troll? Jesus Christ!" Harry ran his hand through his hair to help him relax. Unfortunately, Ron noticed the scar.
"Bloody Hell! You're Harry Potter! Do you remember what You-Know-Who looked like? What's it like being famous? What Quidditch team do you support? I support the Chudley Cannons, best team ever!"
Hannah snickered. "The Cannons? Best team ever? Haven't they come last in every Quidditch League for the last forty years?"
"No! They came twelfth four years ago."
"That's second to last. Still not exactly the best team ever."
"Shut up!"
"Can we go back to the troll fight, please?!?" Harry was annoyed that no one seemed to take the troll fight seriously.
Hannah turned to him. "Relax, even I know the reputation of the Weasley twins and I haven't even started Hogwarts yet. They told Ron a fib to make him panic. All we've got to do is put the Sorting Hat on our head, it'll read our minds and tell us where we should go based on our personalities." Talk stayed on Quidditch for the rest of the boat ride with Hannah saying she supported the Holyhead Harpies and Neville expressing interest in the Falmouth Falcons.
Once they got to the castle, the were taken to a room with a stern woman in it. "Dursley, Potter, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle. Stay behind after the feast. I will escort you all to Madam Pomfrey to get a quick check up. I will discuss your punishment with you there." She then introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and told them she was the Deputy Headmistress before launching into a speech about their Houses being their family. She then left. They waited a few minutes, being terrified by a group of ghosts floating into the room, before she returned and escorted them all into the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat sang a song before the Sorting began.
"Abbott, Hannah."
Hannah stepped forward. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Bones, Susan."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Boot, Terrence."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brocklehurst, Amanda."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Bulstrode, Millicent."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Corner, Michael."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Cornfoot, Stephen."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Crabbe, Vincent."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Davis, Tracy."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Dursley, Dudley." Dudley walked up to the stool and sat down. The Hat was placed on his head.
"Ah. This is tricky. You would do well in Slytherin, if it wasn't for the very strong muggleborn prejudice. So, where to put you? You're not overly brave, you're not intelligent. No offence. You've seen two of your friends be put into Hufflepuff. Yes... you could stand to learn the values of hard work and fairness. Even your loyalty could do with being strengthened. You would be best placed in HUFFLEPUFF!" The last word was shouted to the entire hall. Dudley took off the Hat and went to sit down next to his two new friends.
"Entwhistle, Kevin."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin."
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Dudley clapped loudly for his third friend joining his new House.
"Finnigan, Seamus."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Goldstein, Anthony."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Goyle, Gregory."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Granger, Hermione."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Greengrass, Daphne."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Hopkins, Wayne."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Jones, Megan."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Li, Sue."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Longbottom, Neville."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Macmillan, Ernest."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"MacDougal, Morag."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Malfoy, Draco." This was greeted with several boos as he swaggered up to the Sorting Hat. The Hat put him in Slytherin almost before it touched his head.
"Malone, Roger."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Moon, Lily."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Nott, Theodore."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Parkinson, Pansy."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Patil, Padma."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Patil, Parvati."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Perks, Sally-Anne."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Potter, Harry."
"Ha! Another one who would do well in Slytherin who I can't place there! However, you were brave enough to go somewhere you knew you would be hated, for someone you don't even like. Therefore it can't be anywhere but GRYFFINDOR!"
The Weasley twins then got on the table and danced, singing "WE GOT POTTER, WE GOT POTTER!"
When the Hall finally quietened down, after easily five minutes, Professor McGonagall continued, giving the Weasley twins dirty looks. "Rivers, Oliver."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Roper, Sophie."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Runcorn, Terrance."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Smith, Sally."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Smith, Zacharias."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Thomas, Dean."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Turpin, Lisa."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Weasley, Ronald."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Zabini, Blaise."
"SLYTHERIN!"
Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome to Hogwarts. And to those of us returning, welcome back. I'm sure those of you third year and above will remember Professor Quirrell." He gestured to a teacher to his right. The man stood up and bowed his turban-clothed head. "Professor Quirrell has returned from his sabbatical and, instead of retaking his Muggle Studies job, will become the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. And now, let us feast!"
Dudley's eyes lit up at the vast variety of food on offer. He managed to stuff his plate with everything available. It was quickly shovelled down his throat. He ignored the disgusted looks he was getting. He grabbed seconds and was about to get thirds when the food disappeared. His eyes lit up again when it was replaced with every sweet food known to man. Again, he grabbed one of everything. He grabbed multiple slices of chocolate gateau. Then, the feast came to an end.
Dumbledore stood up. "Now that we are all fed, I have some notices to say. Once again, I have been asked by Mr Filch to remind you of the many banned items. The full list can be found on his door. I believe it contains 325 items now. The Forbidden Forest is exactly that. Forbidden. I would ask you all to refrain from entering the forest." His eyes twinkled at a pair of redheaded twins. "I would also like to impress upon you all that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to all who do not wish to die a most painful death."
Dudley laughed at what he assumed was a joke. He then noted the serious expression of those around him. He turned to an older boy sitting next to him. He remembered him being the Headboy who was on the train. "He's not serious, is he?"
"Must be. He usually gives us a good reason to not do something."
Dumbledore spoke again. "Now then, let us sing the Hogwarts song." He waved his wand and words sprang into being above his head. "Any tune you like, please." Dudley, like everyone else in the school, sang along. After the redheaded twins had finished their slow funeral march, Dumbledore wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah, music. Such a great form of magic. Goodnight."
Professor McGonagall stood up. "May I remind Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley that you have to stay behind." Dudley groaned. He'd hoped she'd forget. After the hall was empty of all but those five, Professor McGonagall escorted all of them to the hospital wing. "Poppy, make sure all of them are alright." The matron cast a few spells on them and asked Harry to stay the night. She said the Slytherins could go. She wanted to have a word with Dudley. Professor Snape and Professor Sprout had followed them into the hospital wing. Professor Snape escorted his charges to the Slytherin common rooms.
Madam Pomfrey looked sternly at Dudley. "Mr Dursley. There is no nice way to say this. You are obese. Morbidly so. I'm afraid you will need to go on a diet. I will also arrange for a Weight-Loss Potion to be delivered to your nightstand every night for two weeks. I expect you to drink it. You shall have no more than one course of food a day. You may have dessert, but only one. The House-Elves tell me that you had no less than seventeen desserts tonight. All on one plate. That is not healthy. If you cannot control yourself, I will be forced to confine you to the Hospital Wing. Are we clear, Mr Dursley?" Dudley nodded. "You may go." Professor Sprout escorted Dudley from the room. Madam Pomfrey turned to Harry. "As for you Mr Potter. You need to eat more food. I am prescribing you with Nutrition Potions for the same length of time as Mr Dursley. You also have a concussion. Drink this and go to sleep."
Professor McGonagall turned to Harry. "The password to the Gryffindor Common Room is Caput Draconis. Goodnight. Try to stay out of trouble, Mr Potter." Harry downed the potion Madam Pomfrey had given him.
Dudley was following Professor Sprout. She was leading him down a corridor in the basement. They turned left at a large picture of a bowl of fruit. "Mr Dursley, I am going to tell you one of the worst kept secrets of Hufflepuff. If you tickle the pear on that painting, you can access the kitchens. Given your diet, I am going to tell the House Elves not to give you any unhealthy food." She stopped in front of a wall of barrels. "This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, commonly nicknamed the Badgers Den. Wand out. I need to see that you can do this. You tap this barrel in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff, like so. Hel-ga Huff-le-puff." She tapped her wand on the barrel as she said each syllable. The barrel opened revealing a passageway. Professor Sprout quickly closed it. "Now you do it. If you tap the wrong barrel or tap the wrong rhythm, you will be doused in vinegar. I suggest you get it right."
Dudley pointed his wand at the barrel she had tapped. "He-l-ga Huff-le-puff." Dudley suddenly smelt terrible and was soaking in vinegar. "Argh, that's disgusting!" With a wave of her wand, Professor Sprout removed the vinegar. "Thanks. Hel-ga Huff-le-puff." Dudley was drenched in vinegar once more.
"You got the right rhythm this time," observed Professor Sprout. "However, you tapped the wrong barrel."
Dudley was quite annoyed at this point. "Well, how the Hell are you supposed to know which one is the right one? It's bullshit!"
Professor Sprout took ten points from Hufflepuff. "Swearing is not allowed at Hogwarts, Mr Dursley. The correct barrel is two from the bottom, middle of the second row." Dudley found the correct barrel and repeated the rhythm. The door swung open. "Well done, Mr Dursley. Five points to Hufflepuff, for quick learning." She waved her wand and the vinegar disappeared.
Dudley swelled with pride. "Thank you, Professor." Professor Sprout gestured for Dudley to go first. He had to crawl for a bit but the passageway quickly became large enough to fit a horse and carriage through. Dudley pushed open another door and grinned as he saw Susan, Hannah, Justin and another boy waiting for him. Ernest, he'd said his name was. The Prefects were also standing nearby. Everyone else had gone to bed.
The oldest two Prefects stepped forwards. "Hello, my name is Gabriel Truman and this is Tiffany Shaw. She is the other seventh year Prefect. I am the Headboy, so if you have any problems whatsoever, please bring them to me. You can also talk to Corey Morgan and Cynthia Allen, the sixth year Prefect aand Bryan Pearson and Andrea Cunningham, the fifth year Prefects." He gestured to each Prefect in turn. "The rules for Hufflepuff House are pretty simple. Work hard. Have your fellow students backs. Try not to swear. Zero tolerance for bullying. Other than that, just try not to lose Hufflepuff House too many House points. Any questions?"
Dudley took a deep breath. Time to make amends. "I don't have any questions, but I would like to say something. The Sorting Hat told me he was putting me in Hufflepuff not because I had all the attributes of a Hufflepuff, but because I need to learn the attributes of Hufflepuff. I have also not always been nice to my cousin. In fact, I've been downright horrible to my cousin. I think most people my age in Little Whinging would consider me a bully. I would not blame them. Please help me become a better person."
Truman looked thoughtful for a moment. "One of the House attributes is honesty. You clearly have that in abundance. It can't have been easy for you to admit that. I respect that. I will, of course, help you to be a nicer person. We will not let a Hufflepuff be a bully; it's against our nature."
Ernest stepped forwards. "I went into the boys dormitory earlier and this potion was on your bedside table." He held out a light blue potion.
"Thanks. It's a Weight-Loss Potion. Madam Pomfrey said I have to take them for two weeks. And I have to cut down on how much food I have." Truman quickly said he'd help him with that. Dudley drank his potion and they all went to bed.
2nd September 1991 7:34 AM Great Hall, Hogwarts
Dudley looked down at his plate. One fried egg, two pieces of bacon, two sausages and a slice of toast with some butter on it. This was less than he'd ever eaten for breakfast. He wondered if he'd be able to sneak another piece of bacon. He ate a bit of sausage. "Hey guys, mind if I sit with you?" Dudley jumped he hadn't even noticed Harry walking towards them.
Hannah looked up at him. "No problem."
Harry grinned. "Thanks. You don't mind if I call Neville and Ron over when they get up?" The Hufflepuff's quickly shook their heads. "Cheers." He sat down and started to fill his plate up.
A pompous voice from behind him spoke. "Mr Potter." Harry turned around.
"Hey, Percy."
The Prefect reached forwards and gave Harry a piece of parchment. "Here is your timetable."
"Thank you." Harry glanced at his timetable. "I have Charms first with the Ravenclaw's. Followed by a free, then Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. Then lunch. Then Herbology with the Slytherin's." Harry grabbed some crumpets.
A few minutes later, Ron and Neville sat down at the Hufflepuff table. Both were holding their own timetables. Ron grabbed himself a hearty breakfast. Dudley looked longingly at Ron's breakfast. It seemed he wasn't the only one who liked food.
"Mr Potter, Mr Dursley. I would like to talk to you. May I impose on the two of you to follow me outside the Great Hall?" Harry and Dudley looked at each other and then followed Dumbledore out of the Hall. Dumbledore turned back to them. "I have managed to put off telling Vernon and Petunia about the incident on the train. I can put it off no later than the start of your third lesson. I would advise you to write a letter explaining what happened from your points of view." He handed them both muggle notebooks and pens. "I think they would be more comfortable with paper, than with parchment."
Dudley turned to Harry. "I've got a free second as well. We can work together on them. Don't worry, I'll paint you in a good light." Harry thanked Dudley. Dumbledore went back to his office.
"Dudley, you'll have an easier time getting Hannah alone than me. Can you ask her why I shouldn't tell anyone I can speak to snakes?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll tell you in our free. Meet me in the library."
2nd September 1991 10:06 AM Library, Hogwarts
'What should I write about?' So far Harry had "Dear Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon," he needed more than that. But how do you go about saying "your son started a fight, during which he got thrashed and I got my head cut open," to two people who thought their son couldn't do anything wrong?
He'd been so deep in thought that he didn't notice the Badgers until Hannah sat down next to him. "Shh. Being a Parselmouth is considered evil." Noting his confused expression she added, "Parseltongue is snake language and Parselmouths are people who can speak it. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. You-Know-Who claimed to be. Loads of Dark Wizards have been. Herpo the Foul was one. He created the first ever Basilisk! Most people will assume that you're evil if you can speak Parseltongue. Don't tell anyone else unless you trust them implicitly!"
With that out of the way, everyone worked on helping Harry and Dudley to write their letters. Hannah had spoken softly enough that only Harry had heard her. Harry thought that was a good thing. He liked the Hufflepuff's and trusted them. He just didn't trust them implicitly.
2nd September 1991 12:32 PM 4 Privet Drive
"Hello, Petunia. May I come in?" Petunia quickly let Dumbledore in.
"No one saw you, right?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "No, I cast spells to make people ignore my presence. Is Vernon home?"
"No he's gone to work, what's this about?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Perhaps it would be best if I let your son and nephew tell you?" He handed Petunia two notes.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Well, first off, I didn't get put in Slytherin. I'm a Hufflepuff. I've been put on a diet because I was a little bit fat.
The reason I am writing this letter, though, is to tell you part of the train ride yesterday. Harry and I met up with Susan, that witch we met in Diagon Alley. She introduced us to Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Not long after that, though, a boy called Malfoy came into our compartment. He asked if Harry Potter was in the compartment and then noticed Harry's scar. He said that Harry could do better than have friends like Justin, Hannah, Susan and me. He called me and Justin "Mudblood's." I've been told that that means we're inferior because our parents are muggles. He kept insulting me and my new friends so I punched him in the face. He had some other boys with him called Crabbe and Goyle. Goyle punched me in the eye, so I punched him back. Harry distracted Crabbe by punching him in the privates. Crabbe knocked Harry's head against the table and split it open. Crabbe and Goyle ended up ganging up on me. Prefects got there quickly and pulled them off me. They healed all of our injuries and gave all of us detention. Harry had to spend the night in the hospital wing, though. He's alright now, though.
I have to go to a lesson now, so I'll give this to Professor Dumbledore.
Love from, Dudley.
Dear Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon,
I assume you read Dudley's letter first. I was Sorted into Gryffindor. The Hat told me that, since I was prepared to ask the Hat to put me in Slytherin for Dudley, I couldn't go anywhere but Gryffindor.
Dudley told you about Malfoy. I'd been about to tell him to go away, when Dudley punched him in the face. If our positions were reversed, I think I'd have done the same thing. Malfoy wasn't just insulting Dudley. He'd been insulting you. When I saw that Malfoy's goons were going to attack Dudley, I knew I couldn't just leave him. It was two on one and, despite our past disagreements, Dudley's family. You can't leave family to deal with things on their own. You help them. Dudley and Goyle were already punching each other, so I moved to Crabbe to distract him and he kicked me into a table. Crabbe was about to start beating me up, when Dudley did the same for me as I had done for him. I was too stunned to help Dudley against the two goons and everyone else was too shocked to help. Luckily, the Prefects arrived when they did.
From, Harry.