Chapter Four The Justification Inside Vernon's Head
Vernon could not believe his ears. Those people telling him his son would be trained as a freak! The nerve of them! Still, even if it was true, which it wasn't, then his son at least was a better wizard than Potter was. He didn't even need a wand. Ha! Vernon caught himself. Dudley was NOT a wizard! He couldn't be! But what if he was? What if Dudley really was a…? Vernon almost couldn't comprehend the consequences. What would the neighbors think if they found out? What would his work think? It was bad enough having Harry in the house, but at least they could try to stamp the magic out of him. How could he treat his son that way? This was all Harry's fault! Dudley must have caught it from him. Like a bad disease, Dudley had contracted magic. It wasn't Dudley's fault. It was never Dudley's fault. So what happens now? How is one trained in magic? What would happen if Vernon refused to allow it? That woman had said it was for Dudley's own good? Could Dudley be hurt by not being trained? Too many questions were flying through his head. He went to find this Dumbledore (silly name, really) to get some answers.
As he came back into the room, he saw Dumbledore crouching down below the fireplace. His electric fireplace was neatly placed on the mantle. A green fire was blazing, and a man's head was showing in it! Dumbledore seemed to be having an intense conversation with the head.
"…can't go missing!" the head was saying. "Five of them!" The green head was sweaty, and its green hair was mussed up.
"But they have, Cornelius. The sooner you acknowledge the loss of these fine people, and publicly, then the sooner we can all be united against evil." Dumbledore replied.
"There is no evidence that he is back!" the head was screaming. Vernon was extremely confused. Who had gone missing, he wondered.
"The only evidence is in the facts." Dumbledore said. "Five wizards have gone missing. All of them were good men and women. They did not go on holiday, and no one was told of any plans. They have been taken by Voldemort."
"You cannot prove that. And until you can, the ministry can take no action!" the head retorted. It gave Vernon a piercing look and, with a whoosh, disappeared. The green fire vanished with it. Dumbledore stood and looked at Vernon. Amazingly, Dumbledore had looked far more exasperated by this Cornelius person than by Vernon. Even when he had been brandishing his gun!
"The Minister of Magic," Dumbledore explained. "And far more trouble than he is worth, let me tell you." Somehow, it relieved Vernon to find that even wizards had troubles that even magic could not solve. It meant they were more like him than he would have liked to admit, but at least he could deal with that on a logical level.
"So, about Dudley," Vernon inquired, curtly. "What is this training you were going on about?"
"Dudley must go to Hogwarts." Dumbledore explained. "This must be done for his own good, and yours. If he is not taught to control his power, then he will draw far more attention to himself, and you, than can be explained." This frightened Vernon far more than Dudley being a wizard. Having people find out about it was worse!
"Very well, then," Vernon said, the vein in his neck pulsing. He was clearly not happy about this situation, but his reputation in the neighborhood must be retained! If his son was destined to be a… wizard, (he couldn't yet think of the word without flinching,) then at least his son would be a better one than that Potter brat!
Authors note: This was my first ever fanfic. I wrote this before book 5 came out, and it was my entry in a fan fiction contest on the forums I chatted on at the time. It tied for first place, and I'm very pleased with it. It is based on a single sentence that JK once said, about someone doing magic later in life. I know JK has said it isn't Dudley, but I had fun imagining Vernon's reaction if it was. I lost it for a long time, then found it floating in the back of my Yahoo mail account, where my Fiancé had emailed it to me a very long time ago. (She is now my wife of two years.) The very end was not included in what she emailed me, and I must have sent her a copy of it before I finished it. The bit where Vernon says "Very well, then," is my best memory of how it ended.