Chapter 5

It was starting to get cold on their little rock. The ocean spray that had been so comforting was now an evil menace best left alone. Though there was always a fire lit, they still were forced to bundle up in extra layers within their own home. Vernon insisted they get electric heating installed, but Dedalus argued that this shack wasn't built for that kind of thing. And no one was to know they were there.

Out in the wizarding world, things were not going well at all. Families were torn apart; people were being tortured more and more. The worst part was, if anyone tried to stand up to this new regime, their families were killed and they were tortured. Dedalus told them how You-know-Who was controlling people's minds so they would be forced to follow him. If anyone grew too strong, they were either wiped out entirely or taken in as an Imperiused Death Eater.

Harry was the exception. There had been a massive man hunt for Harry Potter for over four months, yet he was still at large. You-Know-Who had put out the story that he wanted Harry for questioning about Dumbledore's death, as Harry was the only witness. Only the most idiotic of the gits actually believed this, everyone knew You-Know-Who wanted Potter dead as quickly as possible.

There was a huge reward for his capture; many of the darker wizards were searching fruitlessly for him. You-Know-Who promised eternal glory to the one that brought him Potter. The weekly Anti-You-Know-Who radio program had been urging people to help Harry if they saw him. Not that anyone had seen him. Some believed he had actually left the country, but the Order members knew he was still out there, doing whatever mission Dumbledore had left him.

How had Harry evaded Him for so long when all over highly esteemed Order members and Aurors were being captured and killed? How was You-Know-Who finding them all? How was Harry avoiding him? Where was he?

On their little island, they felt fairly secure in their safety. They constantly worried about their friends or family on the outside, but they were okay. They were perfectly protected. They all repeated those words over and over to themselves during the day, but that didn't stop the nightmares when at night. If all of these highly trained wizards could be found and taken down so easily, then why not them? What was stopping You-Know-Who from finding them?

Dedalus thought that it was perhaps because they weren't very important targets. There were plenty of people You-Know-Who wanted to find, and the Dursleys were a bit lower on his list. They were safe as long as they remained lower on that list.

After two months of practicing magic with Hestia, Dudley still hadn't gotten very far. He had learned Summoning and Expelliarmus, and now he was working on Stupefying. He was having a very difficult time, as they had so little time to practice anyway. Now that it was getting colder, the family was going shopping less and less, so they had fewer opportunities to practice. It was time to tell them.

"Mum, Dad?" Dudley asked tentatively. He was standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room in front of a roaring fire. His mother put down her knitting and his father folded the paper. Dudley cleared his throat. Hestia was upstairs breaking the news to Dedalus. "Lately… I've been doing some stuff with Hestia." His face reddened as he watched his mother's face pale. "No, no, no, not that, Mum!" Great, now he was really embarrassed. "I meant, well… she's been teaching me… magic." He stopped. He had whispered the last word so that Vernon and Petunia were thoroughly confused.

"What? Son speak up!" Vernon barked. He thought that perhaps the last word had started with an 'M', but no, that was impossible.

"Magic! She's teaching me magic!" Dudley rubbed his hand over his eyes, waiting for the effect that this louder remark had made. After a moment of silence, he removed his hand.

They hadn't moved. Hestia had told him of a spell that could freeze people. She told him she could possibly teach it to him later. "Mum, Dad?" he repeated. Their faces were frozen in shock. Petunia looked close to tears, and Vernon's face was steadily growing redder. Dudley had seen this happen many times before, but he had never been the target. It had always been Harry.

A few more seconds passed. Vernon was turning purple, about to blow. "Dad?" Dudley asked timidly.

"You, did, WHAT?" Vernon roared. Dudley could almost see lava flow from the volcano's mouth. He cringed back the slightest bit; he was not used to his father talking to him like this. Maybe they would lock him up. "Are you MENTAL?" all Dudley could do was stand there and take it.

"All this time, when we've been out shopping, that's what you've been doing?" Petunia asked quietly. He looked his mother in the eyes and nodded. She looked like she was about to faint. Dudley also noticed a glimmer of something other than tears in her eyes, was it jealousy? No that would be unreasonable. "Why?" was all she could say.

"Mum, it could be really useful. Hestia said we're pretty safe here, but if we needed to defend ourselves, at least I could be a little helpful. When we left the house, didn't you hate being completely powerless against those Death Eaters?"

"Of course but…"

"Well, this could really help us in the future!" Dudley could tell he'd sold his mother on the subject. If it would keep her little boy safe, of course she would condone it. He turned back to his father who was still shaking. Vernon was looking from Dudley to Petunia, probably wondering what he had married into. Vernon could also see that the battle with Petunia was lost; he was on his own.

"Now, see here, Dudley…" his voice trailed off as he tried to think of something to say. "I won't let my son get involved in this… crackpot magic! You can't be a, a wizard! No, I won't allow it!" He had whispered 'wizard', as if to lessen the pain it caused emerging from his mouth. He looked absolutely disgusted.

"Dad," Dudley pleaded, "Please. Let me do this. I've wanted to for so long, and now I can! I know you hate magic…"

"Like hell I do!" Vernon interrupted.

"But I kinda like it, and I think mum does too," Dudley looked again at his mother who was gazing at him oddly. Dudley could only imagine the torture she'd gone through growing up.

Dudley hadn't exactly lived in Harry's shadow at his house. His mother had a sister who could do magic. She had to watch her go off to Hogwarts and learn magic while she had to learn how to become a housewife. Dudley had been jealous of Harry, even though his parents had basically tortured him for his abilities. Apparently his aunt had been favored for hers.

She said nothing, but stood up and walked away without a backwards glance at Dudley. "Look what you did!" Vernon roared as he lumbered after his wife, who could be heard sobbing up the stairs.

Dudley stood alone in the room. What had he done?

--

"Vernon, it's not fair!" Petunia cried. She was face down on their bed. Vernon closed the door behind him. This was the closest thing he had ever seen to a temper tantrum from his wife. It was very uncomfortable.

"I know," he replied softly. It was odd to use such a quiet voice after all the yelling he had just done. "Don't worry, we'll run away from here before we let those idiots teach our son magic."

"No!" Petunia screamed. Vernon was confused now.

"What?"

"It's not fair that everyone can do it, but I can't!" she sounded like a two year old and she knew it, but she had been suppressing these feelings for so long. They were all going to spill out now. Vernon was shocked, did she mean what he thought she meant?

"You want to do… magic?" he cringed involuntarily. Petunia stopped crying. She lay motionless, not even breathing. What the bloody hell was happening around him?

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "This isn't fair to you at all," It bloody well wasn't. Vernon wasn't even really related to the kid, but it wasn't like he was about to abandon his family or anything. Still, every day he had to stay cooped up here, a little more hate would build up towards the wizarding world.

"It's alright, this will all be over soon," He knew this was a lie. He had forced Dedalus to tell him how bad it really was. Dedalus informed him that it looked like the end was nowhere near. He had said they could be here for months, maybe even years. It all depended on how things played out.

Petunia was shaking. He couldn't understand what she was feeling, no one could. Her little sister had always been better than her in everything. Her parents had always loved Lily more than her. Lily was so special. And then her little freak of a son shows up on their doorstep because she and her moronic husband got themselves blown up.

So instead of her living out the normal, happy life she had been forced to live, Petunia had to take Lily's son. Lily had never done anything for her. Why should she have to ruin her life for her? Why should she have to be cooped up here just for being related to her?

This was all Lily's fault, if she'd just been normal, none of this would have ever happened. But Petunia couldn't lie to herself, she knew that she was extremely jealous of Lily, and the nine years of magical life she had led. Yes, she had died young, but she had truly lived. After Lily's first year at Hogwarts, she had started to come home less and less. Petunia pretended she didn't miss her, she pretended she hated her; but deep down, she knew that Lily had been her best friend.

Magic had ruined her life in more ways than she could count, but things might've turned out differently had she been in Lily's boat. If she could actually do magic, then this could totally be different. She could've gone to Hogwarts and had an exciting life. She wouldn't be stuck on this rock.

Life could've been so different. So much better… and fun. She had always traveled the typical route. She had always followed the customary procedure. Now Dudley wanted to go away from normal and towards her sister's very different path. Could she really deny him the chance for the new, exciting life? Or could she force him to carry out his life in the orderly manner that she had been forced to live, not by choice, but by elimination?

And could this really keep her boy safe? Magic hadn't helped Lily when was faced with danger, why would Dudley be any different? But she knew that it was better than him staying like a sitting duck in this world of magic. She felt insecure and powerless all the time here. Dudley didn't have to though.

"Vernon, I think we should let him do it." Vernon was frozen with shock, but Petunia knew he would agree if she explained it all properly to him.

--

"Yes, yes, YES!" Dudley whooped. He found Hestia and told her his parents had actually agreed that he should do magic, though he dad was extremely reluctant. Hestia told him that Dedalus wasn't all for the idea, but had said he would let them try this out for awhile. She told him that she suspected Dedalus was as impressed by a Muggle doing magic as she was. And since Dedalus was better at teaching than Hestia, they thought this might go a whole lot faster.

This could not have gone any better.

A/n: I've split this chapter into two, since it was nearly eight pages. Review!