When he awoke early the next morning, Dudley found three presents at the foot of his bed. He was quite surprised and he sat up to look at them.

They were from Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Dudley smiled and opened the gift from Hermione first; it was a book. Extraordinary Trials in History, was the title and Dudley smiled. It looked fascinating, all about notable trials through wizarding history and court proceedings. He put it to the side, grateful that Hermione had picked a book that didn't have anything referring to magic on the cover.

Ron's gift didn't have his writing on the tag; it was far neater. He suspected that Ron's mother wrote it. It was a large box of homemade fudge that was very tasty. He would be sharing it with his dorm mates when he got back.

Finally, he turned to Harry's present, opening it to reveal a kit to make a small, but working, wooden catapult.

"Cool," said Dudley softly, eyes lighting up. He smiled and set them to the side, standing, stretching, and making his bed before going downstairs. The Christmas tree was decorated nicely and the presents were all over the place. There were quite a bit and he whistled softly at the sight. His parents went above and beyond this year.

They came down, woken up by his opening gifts, both yawning and smiling as they watched him. His father began to open some presents too and his mother opened up her gift from Dudley.

"Oh pumpkin this is perfect! I'll put these on right now." And she did, then she went to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Dudley smiled and looked over, "Mum, do you need any help?"

"Oh no, Popkin, but thank you!"

The boy smiled and returned to his presents. It took some time to unwrap them all but he managed and it was time for breakfast.

Christmas was enjoyable; he had called Jake to wish him a Merry Christmas and thank him for his gift and did the same for his aunt. Then him and his dad attempted to build snow people on the lawn. This attempt did not go well. They ended up making an igloo of sorts before returning inside to dry off and have delicious hot chocolate and enjoy the Christmas movies or, in Dudley's case, play with some of his new games.

The Christmas dinner was delicious and Aunt Marge had stopped by on a surprise visit. They had roast turkey and potatoes and vegetables that were just delicious and the Christmas crackers had been fun to play with. Dudley and his aunt had mock-boxed during the afternoon. His aunt was really strong! She had gotten him a really cool kit that Dudley was sure would help his robotics team and some boxing gear that Dudley couldn't wait to bring to the gym, including some hand wraps.

Unfortunately the day ended, his aunt leaving as well, and the next day Dudley was outside bright and early to clear the snow away from the car as a surprise for his father. He was shoveling the driveway when he heard a neighbor swearing loudly. He looked up to see Mr. Number Five Privet Drive trying to do the same thing that Dudley was: clearing the driveway and car. But he kept checking his watch.

Neighborhood gossip said the man was a workaholic. But he was always polite and never bothered anyone.

Dudley mentally shrugged, "Do you want some help, sir?" he called, making the man look up in surprise before he nodded.

The boy walked over and began to help his neighbor clear off the driveway and car.

"Thank you," Mr. Number Five said, wiping his brow when they finished. "Here, take a five-"

"Oh, it's okay," said Dudley with a grin. "I'm doing the same thing at home so I know how it feels. But thanks."

His neighbor slowly smiled, "Well, I'm grateful. You're a good kid. Was it your dad we heard the other day shouting about his car?"

Dudley nodded, sighing, "I think some of the other kids here did it."

"There's a garage past Shortia Street that's really good. Guy who owns it is named Jeff, he's honest about everything and pretty cheap. Tell your dad to try them out-bit smaller but a better deal than that bigger place past Leea Lane."

"I will! Thank you sir!" Dudley grinned and returned to his house across the street; he could see his mother was awake now and watching them through the window. He finished clearing the driveway while Mr. Number Five left for work. Soon, a bit cold and tired, Dudley entered the house.

He was very grateful his mother had breakfast nice and hot and waiting for him, along with some tea that warmed him up.

"What did Mr. Turner want?" she asked over his father's snores.

"Oh, I was helping him clear out his driveway and he mentioned that he heard Dad shouting about the car, so he told me the garage past Shortia Street is a really good deal. Someone named Jeff owns it."

Petunia looked thoughtful, "I'll have your father look into it." She smiled and ruffled Dudley's hair, "And you're so sweet, going to help him."

The boy blushed and mumbled awkwardly before running to get some more bacon and tea. Later that day, after his father thanked him for clearing out the car and went to check out the garage their neighbor had mentioned, Dudley went to start his school work that had been assigned before the break.

It was a lot of work and he was glad he was starting on it early. A lot of his assignments mentioned being creative and Dudley sometimes felt like beating his head against the desk. How creative could anyone be with these things? He was thinking of a poster board or something for his science class when he paused, thinking of the game he and Jake had been developing.

What about if he did some kind of computer presentation instead? With music and perhaps finding a way to put clips of videos on there… he did have that video camera…

Dudley began to write a rough draft of what he wanted to do for that project and soon he was being called for dinner. He played some video games while his parents watched the news and later that night, in the privacy of his room, began reading the book Hermione had gotten him for Christmas.

He had called Jake a few days later and the two friends had met up and hung out for a bit. Dudley had enjoyed it, especially having someone to play chess against and they managed to work on their game and he got help with his homework, finishing it all.

And so after that, he and Jake had gone to the yard to build some snow structures. To Dudley's great surprise, his mother had joined them.

"Did you build these when you were younger, Mrs. Dursley?" asked Jake curiously as they made a very large snow rabbit.

"I did," said Petunia. "My sister used to make them with me as well but when she became friends with someone I didn't like, she stopped doing such things with me."

Dudley was surprised; his mother never spoke about his aunt except to say she was no good and the world was better off without her and her 'freak of a husband.'

Given what that big man who had gotten Harry was capable of, Dudley wasn't sure if he disagreed. Then again, Harry wasn't like that. At least not to Dudley's knowledge.

The holiday finally ended and Dudley was back at Smeltings.

His dorm mates all found his miniature working catapult to be quite interesting. Dudley had written thank you notes to the three magical people for his gifts and things had quickly returned to normal.

Normal being "run around like a chicken without a head trying to keep up with activities and classwork." It was very busy as always, though he had a friend to help him and letters to distract him…

And a phoenix that had decided stealing his soap was apparently, according to Albus, "Nine times more fun than stealing my socks!"

Dudley didn't know why that would be but he somehow suspected that phoenixes grew very very bored if that was their idea of fun. His latest letter to his other penpal had read:

Al,
Control that ruddy bird of yours or I'll use every one of his feathers to make quills and sell them to get magical money! He took my soap and he decided to take my boxing hand wraps and somehow turned them into a scarf! He's a phoenix! He doesn't need help staying warm!
-D

Dudley had been pleased that Albus hadn't corrected the shortening of his name and so he had just continued to call the prefect "Al" in his letters and Fawkes was a bloody nuisance! Everyone kept thinking Dudley had found some odd radio station and threatening to sell Fawkes to the cafeteria people just made the bird….

Well, Dudley swore it made the bird laugh.

How, he didn't know. But the letters to the different world, one completely different from his own, seemed to somehow relieve the stress of Dudley's life.

Well, at least until his idiotic cousin's latest letter near the end of February.

It had already been a weird day. There had been some strange caw-like shrieks in the cafeteria during afternoon classes and lots of shouting and yelling. At dinner he had heard the rumors of this massive red and yellow bird with a huge beak that had supposedly gotten into the kitchen and cafeteria and made off with an entire fryer basket of chicken nuggets.

And now he had this letter to think of...

Dudley,
I overheard Snape and Quirrell talking. Snape's trying to get the Stone, it's a fact. I followed them after my Quidditch game (we won! Talk about showing Slytherin!) and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus' — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through.
Hermione and Ron think the Stone won't be there long since Quirrell is scared of his own shadow, so we're trying to be as encouraging as we can to him.
Don't worry-I don't think they saw me. I was on my broom and most people were celebrating about the game. Dumbledore even said I did well.
All we can do right now is hope he doesn't give into Snape and hope that Fluffy stays okay.
I don't know what we can do. You helped with Flamel and you helped with reporting Snape. So I'm hoping that you've got advice for me with this too because I'm stumped.
Thanks,
Harry

His cousin was an idiot. Who follows two grown adults, both more capable of magic than most of the students because they're teaching them, without any backup or anything?! Apparently Harry Potter!

Deciding he'd worry about that later, Dudley sighed, leaning back and thinking.

What could his cousin do about this…?

An idea occurred to him and he groaned, looking around. The one time he wanted the stupid bird and he wasn't around.

As if the thought alone summoned him, Fawkes the Phoenix appeared with a happy trill and flames that Dudley had actually somewhat gotten used to and what looked suspiciously like a chicken nugget in his mouth.

And they had served chicken nuggets for lunch in the cafeteria….

Dudley's eyes widened. "You didn't," he said to the phoenix. He had thought that the magical world hid itself. Wouldn't it just be his luck to be the one that ruined it with some greedy phoenix raiding their food supplies? No. Surely the bird didn't risk all of that just for chicken nuggets.

The happy, mischievous trill told Dudley all he needed to know and he watched as the phoenix tossed the chicken nugget up in the air and caught it in his beak.

"I could do that," grumbled Dudley.

The phoenix had the nerve to give the boy what he swore was an obvious look of 'Yeah right.'

"I can!" protested Dudley before realizing that he was yet again arguing with a bird and losing. He grumbled and said, "I was thinking of sending Al a letter. Good timing."

Fawkes held himself proudly at the compliment.

Al,
Odds are you know a bit about school rules and all that so I'm asking you your school's policy for if you suspect a staff member is participating in activities that could seriously endanger other people as well as themselves. Before you ask, yes, I'm asking for a reason and no, I can't tell you it yet. Sorry.
Also, I know you magical folks like your world secret so if that's ruined, blame your dumb bird! There's this rumor spreading all around that some rare red and yellow bird got into the kitchen and cafeteria and flew off with a basket of chicken nuggets.
If you're curious, the presence of your bird confirmed those rumors. As did the chicken nugget he still had in his mouth. I bet you wish you settled for something like a nice boring pigeon now, aren't you?

The indignant squawk at his shoulder made Dudley smirk slightly.

I can't believe you have to pay 2 Galleons for lemon drops. I did the math-that's £10 you're paying for your sweets and that's really expensive unless you're buying them in bulk. If not, I can get them for you in the school shop for £3. Let me know.
And no, robes are not fashionable unless you're graduating. And why would anyone in their right mind have a plum suit? And RUFFLES? Yours is a strange world, Al.
If you want to blend in wear something like dark grey or black. And no ruffles.
-D

Dudley had given the letter to Fawkes, who kindly took it and then butted his head against Dudley's hand. The boy lightly pet the phoenix, scratching under his beak and earning what reminded him very strongly of a cat's purr. Dudley suspected Fawkes really liked the scratching because soon he found himself with a lapful of purring phoenix. He tried to keep his laughter in check and wondered what anyone would think if they walked in right now.

"Fawkes," said Dudley, stopping the scratching and earning a small peep of protest. "I'm sorry but you have to go. My dorm mates might see you."

The phoenix sighed and butted Dudley's hand once more, the warm feathers feeling nice, and then with a gentle song and a quick running of his beak through Dudley's blond hair, the bird flew outside with the letter, vanishing in a flurry of flames.

Dudley smiled and turned back to Harry's letter, thinking before he sighed. He'd write tomorrow, after classes.

History was, as always, very interesting, though the assignment Gawlinski assigned was different.

"A family tree?" Everyone asked.

"Yes," said Gawlinski. "It doesn't have to go back too far, but I'd like it to look nice and it'll show you that history isn't just something that nameless people lived through. These are your ancestors, your family. Go ahead, start now, we've got ten minutes."

Dudley began to jot down on a piece of paper. He wrote his name and his parents names and his Aunt Marge and his grandparents….

"Hm." Gawlinski's voice over his shoulder made him jump. The man gave Dudley a smile, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," said Dudley, writing his great-grandparents' name in. His dad often went on and on about their family so Dudley knew a fair bit. He noticed Gawlinski frowning. "Sir?"

"Just curious. Don't you have a cousin you play chess with?"

Dudley blinked in surprise; he had thought Gawlinski forgot about that. "Yes, I do." He wrote down Harry's name near his own, drew the line from his mother's name and paused, frowning.

He didn't know anything about his mother's side. He couldn't even remember Harry's mother's name. And his mother had never talked about her parents. Just that once when she had said they were proud to have a witch in the family…

Dudley felt sick to his stomach at the thought of someone being proud to have that kind of person in their house. Proud of someone like that huge man who gave him a pig's tail and bent a gun like nothing, of someone who had gone into a house and tried to kill a baby.

But he had been writing to Harry and he was all right. Did that mean Dudley was proud to have a wizard in the family?

"Are you all right?" Gawlinski's voice was kind and Dudley realized he had clenched his pen tightly enough to crack it slightly.

"Yes," said Dudley quietly as the bell for the end of class rang. "We just don't talk about my mother's side of the family much. My parents… they don't know that my cousin and I write to each other."

Gawlinski slowly nodded, "I see." He smiled slightly, "Then perhaps you can do some research into your mother's family for this."

"I don't even know their names," admitted Dudley.

"You know your cousin's. Maybe he can help a bit." The man smiled.

Dudley smiled back, "Thanks, sir. Have a good day."

"You too."

Classes passed in a pretty normal way but Dudley was far too distracted thinking about the family tree project to really focus in boxing and robotics. He was in the computer room when Jake spoke.

"All right you, spit it out. What's wrong?" His friend was looking at him with concern.

"Huh?" Dudley looked up.

"You've got the same look on your face that you did when you were telling me about what those gits did to your father's car," said Jake. "That look where you're wondering how people can be so… so hurtful."

"That obvious, huh?" Dudley sighed, "Gawlinski gave us a project. A family tree. I thought it'd be easy since my dad talks about our family all the time. I can even tell you my great-great-granddad lived in some town called Mould-on-the-Wold. We would've probably still been living there but something happened to him and the family moved."

"What happened?" asked Jake with interest.

Dudley leaned back, furrowing his brow, "In 1891.. this insane guy in the village snapped."

"Snapped?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. He really hurt my great-great-granddad and two of his friends. Supposedly they hurt a little girl that was the guy's daughter but why would three older boys do that?"

"Even bullies don't mess with little girls," said Jake.

Dudley nodded, thinking of his old friends. They had picked on other kids, yeah, but little kid? Babies? No, he couldn't imagine that. "Yeah. So the bloke was mad, you know? Raving. His family moved somewhere and he got put into prison but it made my family worried and they moved." He smiled, "My Aunt Marge still lives on the land they bought when they moved. She breeds dogs."

"Whoa." Jake smiled, "Well, what's the problem? You know all of that about your family, so this project should be a breeze."

"Well, here's the issue," said Dudley, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I only know about my dad's side of the family. I don't even remember my mum's sister's name. And I don't know anything about her parents."

Jake tilted his head, "Why not ask her about them?"

"She doesn't like to talk about her family," explained Dudley.

"Oh," said Jake. The other boy nodded, "I can see why that'd be a problem. Do you know where they lived or anything?"

Dudley shook his head.

"You don't know anything?" Jake asked, frowning.

Dudley was about to shake his head again before perking up, "Wait. I do know where they went to school. They went where Harry goes."

"Well, there you go then!" Jake grinned, "See if there's an alumni association or something, there's bound to be some information on your grandparents there, even if it's just their names and where they lived."

"You're brilliant. I need to find a girl to kiss you so I don't have to."

Jake laughed and the two friends began to work on their game. Dudley got back to his dorm later that evening after dinner and went to bring books back to the library. When he returned, the dorm room was empty and he figured he'd turn in for an early night.

He frowned.

There was something in his bed, under his blanket. Something that made a large lump in his bed. Frowning and reaching to grab his dorm mate's polo mallet, his heart racing because it felt like something out of a horror movie, Dudley slowly removed the duvet, ready to smash…

Fawkes?

"Get out of my bed!" Dudley snapped, brandishing the mallet dangerously.

The phoenix sang at him and had the nerve to settle in more, obviously quite liking the feel of the duvet against his feathers. He held a letter towards Dudley, who took it, seeing Al's familiar narrow loopy handwriting.

Dudley,
I happen to like my plum suit. It matches my personality quite well. And ruffles are quite elegant, I'll have you know.

For some reason, the usual thought of some posh bloke from something like Masterpiece Theatre entered Dudley's vision. Al really could sound like some fancy nancy sometimes. There were times where Dudley just wanted to tell him to put on jeans and a shirt and use Fawkes to go out one weekend. Dudley felt that Al could use an education and he'd bring the wizard with him and Jake to different places where the posh language would get him stared at and make him see how odd it was.

As for the other thing, if the concern is very high, the staff member would need to be scanned to be sure it is not something like the Imperius Curse (that is an Unforgivable Curse and when cast successfully, it places the victim completely under the caster's control) being used. After that, if it is indeed through said teacher's own free will, the law would have to be followed but for that to happen the Headmaster would have to be told. I admit, I am quite concerned at your secrecy. I thought we were friends.

Dudley felt worried when he read about that Imperius Curse and then a bit guilty and grumbled under his breath before a thought occurred to him.

How come he had to tell Al tons of things but Al only told him things when he specifically asked? Maybe it was part of the whole 'secret magical world' but that didn't make much sense since Dudley got told loads of things by Harry, Ron and Hermione.

As for Fawkes and the "chicken nugget" incident, I have had stern words with him about it. I don't know how many times I have to tell him that fried foods simply are not healthy for him!
Do take care and I hope to read more from you soon.
~Al

"I think he's missing the point," muttered Dudley, sitting on his bed next to Fawkes and scratching him under the beak, making the phoenix purr happily and rest his head on Dudley's lap. "The point was you being seen, not you eating the chicken nuggets…" He glanced at the bird. "He doesn't let you eat fried food?"

Fawkes sang dully.

"So what do you eat?"

Another dull song that somehow Dudley knew meant 'boring tasteless healthy food.' He repressed a shudder thinking of tofu.

"I hope Hedwig stops by again," murmured Dudley, going to his desk after covering Fawkes with his duvet once more. "I think I can help Harry out." He pulled out his notebook and began to write back to Harry.

Harry,
If this teacher is doing illegal things, then you should go to your Headmaster. You're in a magical school and there's a spell that lets people control you. Maybe your teacher is under that, maybe not. If he is though, then your Headmaster and the others can get him out of it. If not, then they can get the law involved.
However, I must say that to follow two adult wizards is just plain idiocy.

Dudley frowned, reading that. Al was rubbing off on him. The boy wondered if he should buy a thesaurus. Shrugging, he returned to writing.

So I would recommend not doing that again. As for the things guarding the Stone, like I said-get an adult. What if you're the one caught there? Maybe you're trying to save it but you still would be breaking rules and stuff, wouldn't you? So you'd still be punished. Just food for thought.
I just got an assignment for a family tree. Do you know anything about your parents? Mum never discussed her side of the family so besides you and your parents, I'm stumped.
Thanks!
-D

He read over the letter and nodded, looking up towards the window and smiling slightly when a familiar snowy owl flew in.

"Hey," he said to Hedwig. "I was hoping you'd be here. I have something for you to deliver if you don't mind."

The owl hooted at him and took the letter with an affectionate nip of Dudley's fingers before she flew off into the night. He glanced at the phoenix that was sleeping and the boy shook his head, turning his attention to homework. He finished it pretty quickly except for the family tree.

Dudley sighed, staring at what he had jotted in class. He glanced at Fawkes and mumbled, "You're lucky. You don't have to do a family tree."

The bird opened his eyes to look at Dudley and tilted his head curiously.

"Are you going to sleep there all night?" Dudley asked, rubbing his eyes.

Fawkes sang a very positive tune and Dudley groaned before shrugging and pushing the bird a bit so that he could lay down. "If your owner complains that you stuck around and broke your little secret thing again, I'm just saying I told you to go and you didn't listen… but you are nice and warm…" The boy yawned, petting the phoenix and soon drifting to sleep.

He woke earlier than usual and was amused; Fawkes was still there, but no one had noticed. Perhaps magic had its uses…

Wait, what? No! He couldn't think that way about magic! Then his parents would freak out and he would end up with another pig tail or something! Wizards were weird. That was all there was to it.

Shaking his head at his own foolish thought, Dudley left Fawkes sleeping soundly and he was soon ready for the day.

The day passed normally, with Dudley having called Aunt Marge to make sure that at least his father's side of the family tree was fine. He had quite an extensive tree on one side at least. Now just to figure out more about his mother's…

On his way back to the dorm, he saw some kind of table set out. A fund raising sale for the orchestra to get new instruments. Dudley looked over the things with interest. He perked up slightly at seeing the oatmeal bars and banana bread; they weren't too bad and he could snack on them. As he was about to go, something else caught his eye.

Lemon fudge.

Al immediately sprung to his mind and the boy bought some for his pen pal. After that, left the bake sale, hoping the orchestra made a lot of money, and returned to his dorm. When he was there, he stared at his family tree and sighed before grumbling to Fawkes.

"I just wish that we had something, anything," he muttered. "It's not like there's someone that knew her side of the family growing up or something…"

The phoenix peered at Dudley steadily and sang softly but before Dudley could think aloud more, Hedwig flew in with Harry's reply.

"That was fast," murmured Dudley, taking the letter from the owl and petting her. He ripped open the envelope.

Dudley,
I don't know about telling Dumbledore. We don't have any actual proof. And if I say I followed Snape and Quirrell I might get in trouble. But you're right too… Ron said there's something called the Imperius Curse that makes people do whatever you want so I'm not sure what to do. Ron thinks we should investigate more, Hermione thinks we should tell Dumbledore. And you suggested it too…

Dudley wondered why this Dumbledore man put that Stone in his school in the first place and he rolled his eyes. "That Dumbledore man is an idiot," he muttered, shaking his head and earning a squawk from Fawkes.

My mum's name was Lily Potter and my dad's name was James Potter. My dad's family was all magical so I don't know anything about them, but he was on the Quidditch team like me, but he played Chaser, and he was head boy too. As for my mum, all I know is just that your mum and her were sisters and I have her eyes and was really nice. She was head girl here, so she was probably pretty smart too but that's all I know. Oh, and they were both in Gryffindor House, like me. And that's it.
Sorry I couldn't be much help. Let me know if I can do anything else.
-Harry

Dudley read that bit over and over again, frowning. Harry said his father's family was all magical. But Dudley knew his aunt's wasn't.

But then why would his mother have said their parents were proud to have a witch in the family?

"This doesn't make any sense," Dudley muttered sighing. He thought a few moments before an idea occurred to him. Al was older than Harry and had been in school more. And Fawkes was still right there…

Dudley took out another piece of lined paper and began to write.

Al,
We are friends but just like you can't tell me everything, I can't do that all the time either. And it was for another friend who asked too-just like I'd keep your secrets I have to keep theirs.
You're brilliant, though, so maybe you can help me.
I tried asking Harry about his parents but besides their names I didn't get much to use in my assignment-it's to make a family tree. Is there some kind of magical way to track relatives or just to find someone that might've known about my grandparents. There was something my mum said that made me wonder more about my mom's side and now I'm really curious.
Oh, and Fawkes is really cozy. And warm. And he really likes my duvet. I'll have to ask mum where she got it so you can get him one. And here, I got you some lemon fudge at a bake sale. Let me know how it tastes.
-D

Fawkes was already poking his beak into the lemon fudge and Dudley lightly tapped him, "That's for Al, not you."

The phoenix was quite indignant and squawked loudly to prove it.

"You can argue with him for some. Now, if you don't mind…?"

Fawkes butted his warm head affectionately against Dudley's hand before taking the letter and fudge, lightly singing and flying off a little before vanishing in a flurry of flames.

Hedwig hooted and Dudley smiled at her, petting her lightly. "Unless Harry likes banana bread or oatmeal bars, there wasn't anything I got that he'd like. I'll write back to him in a few days. Does he have enough soap for your taste?"

The owl hooted and lightly nipped Dudley's fingers before flying off.

Dudley collapsed onto his bed and slept rather deeply. He was surprised that the rest of the week seemed to fly by with no letters or anything. He had a robotics tournament on Saturday and was surprised he and Jake had come in third. It was Dudley's first try and he was quite proud. His dad and mother had come to watch it but had quickly gotten bored and after congratulating Dudley on third place in rather bored tones, they had taken him and Jake out to lunch.

"So how's school?" Vernon asked his son.

"Oh, it's great," said Dudley. "I'm always busy."

Jake nodded, "Yeah, especially now. Any luck with Gawlinski's assignment?"

"Not yet," said Dudley.

"What assignment?" asked Petunia.

"We have to do a family tree," said Dudley, seeing no point in lying.

"Well," said Vernon. "Marge said you called her. It should be easy!"

Dudley debated on mentioning how his mother never spoke about her family but seeing her fondly smiling at his dad made the boy sigh and decide to keep quiet about it.

He and Jake had been brought back to Smeltings and they had worked on their game for a bit before Dudley had wanted to go on a run around the campus when he saw a flicker of red flicker by.

The boy looked around; no one else had seen it…

It appeared again, the familiar sound of Fawkes singing softly accompanying the brief flash.

"I'll be in my dorm in a few minutes," muttered Dudley quietly, noticing some people jogging past him gave him a strange look but continued jogging. He sped up his run and, after a quick shower, returned to his dorm and saw Fawkes waiting patiently for him.

Next to the bird was a large book and scroll, along with an envelope with his name in Al's familiar writing.

Dudley decided to read the letter first. He opened it.

Dudley,
Enclosed is a book with the distasteful name "Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy." It may prove helpful to your research into magical relatives.
As for your grandparents, I did some reading and asking around claiming it was for a history project. Your aunt Lily grew up in the city of Cokeworth. The information I received about her is in the scroll. I think it goes back to her great-grandparents. I hope it is helpful. It's a shame Harry Potter doesn't know more about his family. Maybe other people here will talk to him about it.
The lemon fudge was delicious. If you can find more, I would greatly appreciate it. I would pay for it of course. It was simply delightful and I cannot seem to duplicate it. It was so perfect. So… lemony. Others here did not understand how perfect it was. It may just replace lemon drops as my favorite sweet. Perhaps. I am not sure. But it is definitely now my favorite type of fudge.

Dudley laughed at that, amused.

And I am not getting Fawkes a duvet. You've spoiled him enough. He had the nerve to crawl into my bed last night! He has feathers and magic to keep him warm, but does he listen? No! What a stubborn bird…
Also, what is that rectangular thing you are constantly on? Fawkes keeps communicating that it's like a magical portrait
but it obviously is not the case… you and another young man keep going to a room full of them, according to him. I am just curious and would greatly appreciate learning more about the Muggle world since it seems I am woefully out of date.
Thank you and I do hope to read more soon,
~Al

"I'm glad he liked the fudge," murmured Dudley. "Maybe I can get the recipe for him…" He glanced at Fawkes and pet him lightly, "Thanks. He said I'm spoiling you though. And he's apparently curious about the computer lab..."

Fawkes purred as Dudley scratched under his beak for a bit before picking up the scroll and book and walking to his desk.

"I've got a load of work to do," the boy informed Fawkes. "But we had fish and chips for dinner if you want to sneak into the kitchen. Don't tell Al."

The phoenix gave a conspirator's tune back to Dudley and vanished as the boy began to look through the information. He was very surprised; his uncle James hadn't been some drunkard or anything. His family had been very wealthy and influential…

But then why would his mother and father have lied about that?

And if they were wrong about his uncle… and they had definitely been wrong about Harry….

So maybe they were wrong about magic too...

Dudley pushed the thought away. That could wait. For now he had a family tree to work on.