Disclaimer: The Harry potter series belongs to J. K. Rowling. The only profit I gain from this story is the enjoyment and experience of writing it.

Now betaed thanks to Whispers in the Dawn.

Chapter 2: A Bright New World

Dudley groaned as he slowly came back to himself. The sunlight seemed too bright even to his closed eyes. He turned over and buried his face into his jacket that felt too large to be his. His head pounded as if he had just woken up from being knocked out. Searched his memory for anyone who he chose to pick a fight with to feel this bad, he came up empty handed. So he tried to remember what he had been doing last. He remembered his visit with Piers and the beach. Then the necklace came to mind and the funny thing that it did.

Dudley sat up and opened his eyes. His black leather jacket slide off his shoulder and slumped into the sand. He stared out over the sea that stretched out before him, crystal clear and calm. The sea birds cries could be heard echoing of the rocks. Dudley stood up or at least he tried to. The cloths that he currently had on were a too large for him, and he ended up stepping up onto the hem of the pair of jeans he wore. Which made him promptly fall on his face. After he was able to upright himself again, he took a good look at himself and found that he was short and stubby like a kid. His T-shirt and jeans had shrunk as well but not nearly enough to fit him. Which was a very odd sensation for him because he could never find enough cloths that were big enough fit him let alone be too big. Even after he had grown up, all his fat as a kid simple became muscle so his size hadn't really changed, just his shape. Though Harry still occasionally would refer to him as pig in a wig just to annoy him. He felt like he should be more shocked about what just happened then he currently was. Like he should be having a major panic attack, but everyone had always said that he was slow in the up take. "Maybe it will kick in later." He thought blankly.

He turned and picked up his jacket which could easily be for a blanket in his current state and he wandered back up the beach towards his house. He had decided that the best course of action was to call Harry, since freaky was his thing.

When he got to the top of the cliff. The house that greeted him wasn't his. It looked new with its freshly painted white walls and newly shingled roof. He frowned in confusion. Maybe he got transported somewhere as well as de-aged. After bypassing the house he came across a dirt road. He ambled down it in the same direction that he would have gone if he had been going to the village. With any luck he would run into a place with a little more population.

- (Some time later)-

He ended up in a village with the same name as the village outside of his home. This was not comforting, because it wasn't like his village. Everything was different from the cars that the people drove down the street to what they wore. Dudley didn't like it one bit. This place looked like what his mum and dad's childhood pictures looked like except it was real. After this thought he focused on finding a phone. His cousin should be able to tell him what was going on.

After some time he was able to locate a payphone though with some difficulty as well as some odd looks thrown his way. He dialed his cousin's phone after digging through his pocket to find some change. There was the sound of someone picking up the phone and the words that he heard next sounded like a death sentence to him.

"I am sorry, but the number you've dialed does not exist. Please double check the number and try again."

Dudley could feel what little color that he still had in his face drain. What now? With no way to answer this question, he started to wander down the streets of the village again. He stopped at a newspaper stall and quietly asked for today's paper. The man who was running it was kind enough to give him one for free. He continued down the street for a little ways until he came across an alleyway. He unfolded the newspaper and looked at the date. It read August 25, 1971. Dudley slowly folded the newspaper again and stared up at the sky for a few minutes. Then he unfolded the newspaper again and looked at the date, it hadn't changed.

"Could I have really time-traveled? But if I hadn't why didn't my cousin's phone number work, and why is everything like my parent's photos? But how would I have time-traveled in the first place it's impossible!" He felt dizzy and the world around him started to spin uncontrollably. His already overloaded mind had decided to give up its stubborn pursuit to try to understand what was going on. "Maybe," He thought "when I wake up this will all be just a terrible nightmare, and I will find myself back on the beach or in my warm bed. Either would be nice." Then oblivion took him for the second time that day.

- (An unknown amount of time later)-

When Dudley woke up the first thing he noticed was that his headache was back. The second was that he was in a hospital. Even though he had yet to open his eyes he recognized the smell. He heard footsteps then the sound of a door opening.

"He is in here, please do your best not to disturb the other patients." Said a female voice softly.

"We will try to do our best, Miss." Said a male voice.

"Yeah, the thing in the hallway was just a misunderstanding." Said another male voice.

The female humphed, obviously not believing him and then there was the sound of the door quietly being closed. There was the sound of footsteps coming close to his bed. Then there was the sound of curtains being close. Someone muttering something under his breath and the sound of chairs being moved across the floor as well as a light thump at the foot of his bed.

"When do you think he will wake up?" Asked the second voice.

"The healer said he should wake any time now. Weren't you listening?" There was a nervous sounding laugh.

"Tusk, tusk, Fabian what are we going to do with you."

"O, shut it. It's not like you can stay wake in one of those dull overview meetings. How was that different?"

Dudley opened his eyes and groggily sat up. He blinked in confusion as he saw the double of the young man that sat beside his bed.

"Hey, He's awake." Said one of them with a grin.

"How are you feeling?" Asked the other with concern.

Dudley blinked then slowly realized that they must be twins. He slowly inspected his surroundings. He sat in a hospital bed that was next to a window that let the sunlight in. His bed was in curtained off cubical. On the bedside table laid the hourglass necklace as well as a glass of water. He then turned his attention back to his visitors. They were wizards that he could easily tell because one was twirling his wand in his right hand. They both wore robes and had flaming red hair. He decided to ignore the question that was asked him and asked a question of his own. "Who are you?"

"I am Fabian Prewett." Said the one with the wand. "And that" With a nod to the other man. "is my brother Gideon Prewett. We are aurors and we came to interview you about the attack."

"Fabian!" Growled Gideon at his brother's bluntness.

Dudley blinked and wrinkled his brows in confusion. "What attack?"

Both of them stared at him in shock. "You mean you don't remember?" Asked Gideon cautiously.

Not sure what to say in reply, Dudley just shook his head. "Alright, what do you last remember?"

Dudley frowned "I could say that I have amnesia. But do wizards have some way to fix that. After all they did change Auntie Marge's memory. Why wouldn't they be able to fix lost memory at the drop of a hat as well? And saying what really happened was out of the question. Because he doubted that supposed time-travel at least twenty years into the past, didn't sound loony even to wizards." He fidgeted nervously with the white sheets before replying. "I remember going to the beach and back.

"So you don't remember what happened when you got back to the house?" Asked Fabian. Dudley again just shook his head.

Both Gideon and Fabian had frowns and worried expressions on their faces. "I am sorry to have to tell you this but your extended family has been murdered by a group of Dark Wizards called Death Eaters. You were found several blocks from the house unconsciousness. Your belongings survived due to the delay from bringing them over from America, though. The house and your extended family's body were destroyed in the fiendfyre that the attackers used to burn it down." said Gideon with a sympathetic look. "You will be staying in an orphanage in Cokeworth until further notice. I am really sorry, Damon."

Dudley nodded and turned his blank gaze down onto the edge of white sheet that was bunched in his hands. Even though he looked somewhat calm on the outside though very pale, the inside of his head was in chaos. "Who in the world was Damon and what extended family!"

-(Author notes)-

I hoped everyone who read this enjoyed it and will be willing to review. Sorry to disappoint anyone that wanted Dudley to be at Hogwarts all ready. But he probably won't get there until after another chapter at least. What did you guys think of Gideon and Fabian?