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.

Betaed by Whispers in the Dawn

-Chapter 10: Webs and Cats -

They had their first flying class on Wednesday afternoon, he had troubles calling the broom to his hand. The riding part had been easy since it was the same sort of balance you used to ride a bike and he quickly got the hang of it.

Longbottom grinned over at him. "How long have you been flying?" he asked as he drew alongside him.

"It's my fir-" He quickly cut himself off. He had realized it would probably better to pretend that he had ridden before. "My dad taught me to ride but its been a bit since then." It wasn't lie as long as you were referring to a bike and not a broom. He felt a little guilty at misdirecting Longbottom but he guessed he would have to get used to saying stuff like that while he was here.

"O, what a tangled web we weave." His brows furrowed at the line that flickered through his thoughts. He recognized the line of a poem he heard probably in a writing class. It eerily fit what was happening to him right now."Hopefully I won't be around long enough to get caught in my own web..."

"Are you going to join the Hufflepuff quidditch team next year?" Asked Longbottom, "You should, you're a good flier even if your out of practice."

Dudley frowned at the thought of joining the quidditch team. He could remember Harry's wife talking about her and Harry's time on the Gryffindor quidditch team and he didn't want that comparison, even if they would be different house teams. Besides he wouldn't be around a whole year. "No, I don't think I will but… thanks." He replied awkwardly.

Longbottom looked displeased at the answer but quickly perked back up. "Well, I suppose I still have this whole year to change your mind." He said with a grin and Dudley simply grunted noncommittally in return.

-(Few weeks later)-

Dudley sighed as he flipped his Transfiguration book shut. Over all, his magical schooling was going well. He could do the book work if he concentrated but he struggled casting spells. Not that he was too surprised about that since he was originally a muggle. With all of his subjects, he focused on getting a normal grade in them so that he didn't stick out in any of his classes. The library had turned somewhat into a sanctuary. Here he could avoid almost everyone due to it being so big. It had several floors and the shelves created an un-mappable maze. There were also dozens of nooks and crannies where students could study in peace.

When he was exploring the length of a library he had run across the restricted section that was roped off from the rest of the library . He had been tempted to see what types of books where in there, but he decided against it when he caught the librarian watching out of the corner of his eye.

"Halloween was coming up up in a few days… Harry's parents had been murdered on Halloween…." He thought glumly as he balanced his chair on its two back legs. It was going to be a feast which Dudley didn't particularly want to go to. He could remember events like that at Smelting and they weren't exactly pleasant.

"Drake?"

He looked lazily over his shoulder to see Longbottom standing in one of the gaps between bookshelves. "Longbottom." Dudley greeted with a nod.

"W-What are you doing here?" Asked Longbottom glancing around nervously.

Dudley arched his eyebrows and gave him a curious look. "Studying… why do you ask?"

"Ah.. N-No reason! I was just surprised that's all." Said Longbottom hurriedly before flashing a grin and quickly changed the subject. "What are you studying?" He asked as he trotted over to scan the cover of the books that were scattered across the table. "Charms and Transfiguration, huh.." He murmured thoughtfully.

"Yeah." Dudley said shrugging off Longbottom's odd behavior. "After all they're not actually my best classes." He grumbled as he lightly tossed the Transfiguration book he had been looking at onto the table.

"You know…" Longbottom started, "I don't think your problem is understanding them, after all even I don't understand all the theories behind them.."

Dudley tilted his head to the side as he listened to Longbottom. "Then what do you think my problem is?"

"Confidence."

"Confidence? You've got to be joking. I have plenty of confidence!" Dudley huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Longbottom looked over at him with a funny look on his face. "Not in your magic." He replied calmly.

Dudley froze for a fraction of a second at the words, before he snorted and let his chair land back on four legs with a heavy thud. "I'll keep that in mind. Lets go, dinner is going to start soon." He said flatly as he collected his books back into his bag and left the library with Longbottom following him out.

-(Halloween day)-

Dudley groggily opened his eyes to be greeted with morning sunlight flooding the room. He slowly rolled out of his bed and changed into his robes. It had only been two months but he was already somewhat homesick for his own time. He yanked a clean robe over his head and strapped the holster to his upper arm. The realization that he was going to have to go through school let alone a wizarding school was disheartening. He ruffled his white hair as he tried to get his sleep deprived brain to start working. He plucked his bag with his school books off the floor next to his bed before he stepped out into the tunnel.

As he enter the common room he could hear one of the plants faintly letting out sounds similar to a violin as the vines fell softly off the shelf that it was set on. Glancing over he saw Bones feeling the soil in it's pot with her hand. She in turn glanced over her shoulder when she heard the door open. "O, hello. You're up early." She greeted with a smile.

"Are we not suppose be up yet?" He asked as he walked over to the entrance.

"No it's fine, just most prefer to sleep in. Unless they are on quidditch teams, even then it's debatable." She laughed. She then flicked her wand and muttered something. A sliver of water shot from the tip of her wand into the the plant's pot.

"I can't believe you talked me into this.." Whined Piers as they headed towards Smelting's gym.

"I am not going to be getting up this early by myself." Dudley grunted back.

"Yeah, but why did it have to be ME!" Piers continued with a groan, "It's not like I do boxing or any other sport!"

"Cause none of the others wanted to come."

Piers let out another miserable groan which was interrupted by a big yawn. "How come you picked up boxing any way? Its not like you need it to teach any of the kids we run into a lesson."

Dudley suddenly felt a chill run up his spine as his mind reeled back to that horrible summer night. He could feel the helpless rage of being unable to defend himself against a larger opponent. An opponent that only won due to his size. With no skill he might not be able to win all his fights but his gang would be able to back him up.

"You alright, Big D?"

"What?" He asked jerking back to reality.

"I asked if you were alright, maybe you should go get some more kip if you're zoning out." Said Bones with a concerned look on her face.

"Nah, I just need to walk around for a bit. See ya at breakfast." He said as he opened the portal and pulled himself up into it.

-(At Breakfast)-

Breakfast turned out to be more interesting than normal when a large barn owl landed unceremoniously on his plate and shoved a leg with a letter attached to it into his face. After he detached it from its leg it snatched his toast and took off again. Dudley sent it a glare as it left before turning his attention to the letter.

It was addressed to Damon Drake from Gideon Prewett. He used a butter knife to cut the letter open. Pulling out the folded slip of paper a sense of foreboding washed over him."What if one of Damon's relatives were still alive? Wouldn't they know instantly that he wasn't Damon? What if Gideon wrote to tell him that they caught the Death Eaters, how was he suppose to act? Would they be able to say for sure that Damon Drake was dead and he was an imposter? Would the Aurors believe them?"Dozen of question bombarded him as he struggled not to show his panic. His grip on the letter unconsciously tightened, crumpling the edge that he held.

"Who is that from?" Asked Adrian as he leaned over trying to get a better look.

Dudley frowned before biting out, "None of your business!" Instantly he regretted snapping at him.

But Adrian just shrugged and slumped back onto his seat. "Can't help it, I'm curious about everything."

"Well that doesn't mean you can snoop." Said Longbottom in an unimpressed tone of voice.

Adrian stuck his tongue out at him before saying in an obnoxiously high voice, "Did your mum tell you that?"

Dudley sighed but let them bicker since it allowed him to read the letter in relative peace. He flipped it open and started to read it. When he finished a wave of disappointment and relief rolled over him. The letter didn't give him much to work on, just that the investigation was still under way and not to worry about it. And a reminder to let them know if any of his memoirs came back. He huffed and crossed his arms, so what now? He tilted his head and his gaze wandered over to Adrian who was still bickering with Longbottom. "I really shouldn't look into it… after all its none of my business…"

"Adrian do you happen to have that article you were talking about at the start of school?" He asked just loud enough to get his attention.

"You mean the one about your family? Yeah I have that one, I keep all the articles that I find interesting. I can give it to you after classes."

Dudley nodded his thanks and stood up from the table since he was done with breakfast. "Curiosity killed the cat. But cats have nine lives so it shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

-(Author Notes)-

Honestly I don't have much to say about this chapter… but not because it was boring to write or anything, I just think it was pretty self-explanatory.

As always I hope you enjoyed and will be willing to review.