Chapter 2

So his cousin, the freak, had gone off to attend his first year of magic school and Dudley was off to his first year at Smeltings, his dad's old school.

It wasn't too bad. Piers and two others from his old gang were also going to Smeltings so he already had friends when he started and didn't need to worry about a lack of followers. It wasn't hard to get a few new boys to join up either, though the group wasn't quite as large as the one he'd had back in elementary.

However as the months dragged on Dudley actually started to miss his cousin. He had never really had to do his own homework before and both his mother and father were more snappish and stressed without Harry to do the chores or to lash out at. Also, none of the other kids were nearly as fun to harass as Harry. Way too many of them would start to cry or get caught far too easily – barely running. Frankly, when it wasn't Harry they were tormenting, Dudley found the whole thing rather boring, but he kept it up because his gang expected it. Harry was always defiant, bright green eyes shining with anger even though he didn't usually fight back, never tattled – not that anyone would have listened if the boy had- and had a habit of finding new interesting hidey holes when he ran that Dudley could then discover if he could catch the other boy.

Harry had always been there before and now he wasn't.

Even though it wasn't as satisfying Dudley kept up the bullying because it filled at least part of the hole his cousin's sudden absence had left in his life. Other children took Harry's place as targets, Dudley let his gang pick them out, and then he made them do the things that Harry once had – such as his homework or taking the fall for things his gang had pulled. It wasn't the same but Dudley it his best not to think about it too much, instead choosing to spend his time wandering the streets with his gang over going home where he would have to deal with his parents.

The months settled into a routine and soon it was summer again and Harry was back.

Dudley wasn't quite sure what he expected when his cousin came home but he was surprised and relieved when everything seemed to go back to normal once his cousin's trunk was locked under the stairs. The only real changes seemed to be that Harry was still living in his second bedroom, the white owl in its cage, and the occasional happy smiles that graced his cousin's face when he thought no one was looking.

Everything was fine now, back to the way things were supposed to be and that was all Dudley had wanted all year.

It was perfect.

Then came the night of that horrid dinner party. Dudley had been forced into a suit and ordered to act politely for a set of his dad's potential investors. He was beyond bored, his suit was itchy, and all the fake smiling and overly polite talk was making his face twitch. All he wanted to do was go back to his video games and so he was slowly trying to sneak out of the living room when he saw it. Some strange looking creature with green/grey skin and big ears and eyes was levitating the dessert pudding in the kitchen while Harry was quietly begging it to leave. Dudley could only stare as the creature refused before gesturing and sending the floating dessert flying through the air with Harry futilely chasing after.

Suddenly, everything was in chaos. The pudding was all over Mrs. Mason's head, the creature was gone, his parents were apologizing and yelling, an owl was flying around the room, and the Mason's left in a huff. There was shouting about Harry doing magic in the house before his dad dragged his protesting cousin up the stairs and threw the boy into his room.

The next day the door, of what was now Harry's room, was lined with multiple locks holding it closed from the outside, a small cat flap at the base. Bars covered the only window outside. It was like staring at a prison cell in his home and every time Dudley walked through the upstairs hall his eyes were drawn to it.

Dudley found himself watching it, staring at its many locks, and eying the cat flap, waiting for the flash of his cousin's small pale hands lifting it to place his meal trays –when he got fed - in the hall.

It was a few weeks later when some strange sounds – those of shrieking metal and a small explosion – woke him in the middle of the night.

It took him a little while to drag himself out of bed and he found himself following his father's voice through Harry's open door.

/What the..?/

His father was leaning out of Harry's broken window -the bars were gone- screaming at his cousin. While that wasn't something to be considered unusual, what was outside the window was.

A blue car was floating outside his cousin's window.

/A floating CAR?/

And his cousin was climbing inside it, in midair, helped by two red-headed boys while another drove. Once inside his cousin smiled, waved and shouted that he wouldn't be back till next summer.

With that, the car flew off and vanished right before their eyes.

Not only did the car fly it turned invisible.

Dudley returned to his room while his father was still shouting at the sky

/That was SO COOL! /