Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter universe. It is the property of Joanne Rowling. The only things that belong to me, are the original characters and stories that I have written.

Contrary to the world around them, with the changing of the seasons, very little – if anything at all, changed in the Dursley's home. Vernon might have gained a little weight and his first few grey hairs, but unless you knew him well, it was nothing anybody paid any mind. Petunia, a few years younger than her husband, looked very much the same as she always had.

Harry and Dudley were the only true measuring stick of change in the Dursley household. The two of them still shared a room and did everything together, but like the weeds in the backyard, they had started growing.

It was shortly before Dudley's fourth birthday when Petunia and Vernon had explained to them that they were going to start attending school this coming autumn. How the school and their teachers would address them with different surnames, and why. The conversation continued, with Petunia carefully explaining that she wasn't Harry's birth mother and that her sister Lily was. That was the reason he could do magic, while none of the Dursleys could.

Dudley had confusedly asked why Harry didn't live with his own parents, and Petunia, with tears in her eyes. Had explained, in a way a four-year-old would understand, how they had been murdered, when Harry was only one. But she also clearly emphasized, to Dudley, that she and Vernon were Harry's parents and would always be. Just not the ones who gave birth to him. In the same vein, she continued, stating, that they were still brothers – even if technically – they were cousins. That seemed to mollify Dudley, who nodded his satisfaction and wandered off to play with his toys.

Harry then felt how Petunia's gaze landed on him, she seemed uncertain, as if based on his reaction – or lack thereof – she doubted he truly understood. Which, considering he was an adult in a child's body, he did. The fact was that he had never known the Potters, his only memory of them was of their bodies on the night he was reborn. Which, honestly, he tried his best to suppress. Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley were the only family he knew in this new life, and he had truly come to love them.

Trying his best to avoid an uncomfortable continuation of this conversation. He simply patted Petunia's arm and, as solemnly as he could, said. "Mama." Then he waved at Vernon and in the same tone continued. "Papa."

That seemed to be the right thing to say, because, in the blink of an eye, Petunia had hoisted him off his feet and was hugging the life out of him.

"See, Pet, I told you it would be fine. You worry too much." Vernon muttered.

Petunia turned and glared at him. "I'm allowed to worry, I'm his mother."

Going through school, once again, was exactly as boring as Harry had imagined it to be. Learning things like writing and reading, then basic arithmetic. Combined with the fact that he no longer could play freely with his magic, made him want to pull his hair out. He complained to his teacher that he already knew what they were learning. That had only earned him a pat on the head and a picture book.

So, Harry had taken to doing what he loved the most, napping. Which the teachers hadn't liked at all, so it got him and the elder Dursleys a visit to the headmistress's office. Because sleeping through every class, apparently meant there was something wrong with him. Watching Petunia explain to the headmistress that, yes, Harry loved to nap – and – no, there was nothing wrong with him.

"It's just so boring," Harry interjected.

"Boring you say?" The headmistress asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, I already know how to read and write, the maths too," Harry answered.

The headmistress turned her head to Vernon and Petunia and levelled her glare upon them. "You do know that we don't expect children to come here fully educated, that is the point of a school after all, to teach."

Petunia fidgeted in her chair as she answered. "Well, you see… We didn't actually teach him any of these things, he kind of just picked it up on his own."

"Um-hum" Harry nodded his head. "Mum just fall asleep when reading to me and Dudley. I had to teach myself, so Dudley and I could find out how the stories end." He continued.

Petunia blushed bright red and Vernon laughed heartily. He even saw the headmistress covering a grin with her hand. Harry grinned unrepentantly at his mother, and she, in revenge, playfully mussed up his hair.

The headmistress cleared her throat. "Well, we're going to have to come up with a solution, we can't have you sleeping in class. It sets a bad precedent for the other children." She paused for a moment to leaf the papers on her desk. "We could move you up a class or-"

"Nuh-uh, I wanna stay with Dudley." Harry cut in.

The glare he received for interrupting her was truly magnificent. "Or, as I was going to say, you could be allowed to read a book of your choice during class. You hinted that you like stories, and we have a great library here at school. Should we try that, and see how it goes?" She paused long enough for the elder Dursleys to nod their assent. "We can meet again in a few weeks and re-evaluate, if necessary."

Petunia turned to Harry. "Would you like that?"

Harry nodded vigorously.

Being allowed to read whatever he wanted in class, was fabulous. He'd started his reading spree with his all-time favourite book – The Hobbit. The teacher had been sceptical that Harry could truly understand the contents of the book, but after a short argument, left him to his own devices.

After finishing the book, he continued with the rest of Tolkien's works that were available in the library. When he asked the librarian for 'The Children of Húrin' she'd looked it up in the registry, and told him they didn't have it. It was only then that he realized, that it hadn't been released yet. From what he remembered, it was released sometime in the twenty-first century.

Not only am I in another world, but I'm also in the past as well.

Harry facepalmed. It was ridiculous really, that it had taken him this long, to realize that fact. He'd been living in the eighties for four years now. Then he started giggling maniacally. He was going to make so much money.

Uh-oh, the Librarian is looking at me weirdly.

Deciding not to draw any more undue attention to himself, he hastily exited the library.

Another benefit of being allowed to read stories every day was that his list of things to replicate with magic grew steadily. Fantasy books were such a good source of inspiration. He'd been dying to try weaving power into his voice like Finrod did against Sauron. Finrod was such a badass that he almost defeated a divine being, that had with others woven the world from nothingness. With only willpower as his weapon. Only Fingolfin was more badass in his opinion, he who in his great wrath and despair, fought – in single combat – and permanently wounded, a being so strong, it took the combined might of the entire world to defeat.

Because of school, he had not been able to experiment as much as he wanted with his magic. The list he and Vernon had started together was more of a book by this point, several pages, with ideas, annotations, and sketches. He couldn't wait for summer break – so he could have two months of uninterrupted experimentation. Unfortunately, that was many months away.

Despite his diminishing time for experimentation. He had managed to learn various interesting spells. His ability to levitate things had improved to the point where it was second nature. At home, he levitated everything Petunia hadn't forbidden, so he had to hold himself back from levitating his things outside the house. The sticking charm had taken some time to figure out, but it was very useful once he had learned it. Same with the cleaning charm, though that one had been tricky, and Petunia had not been happy when his first tries resulted in pieces of shredded clothing.

Another thing he had started trying to do, was enchanting objects. Inspired by the Lord of Rings, he wanted to make an invisibility ring, soul-shard and mind-bending powers not included. That, however, he had absolutely no success at all with. Despite how many times he tried, he could not leave a lasting impression of his magic inside of objects. So that would have to wait until he started his formal magical education.

The next thing on the list to learn, was something Petunia had asked of him, repairing spells. Dudley and he, while playing valiant knight and evil wizard, had broken a vase that she had got from her mother – their grandmother. Now it was in a hundred pieces in the bottom of a box, waiting for him to fix it. They had been grounded for a week after that. He was a decent part of the way to learning it, another week or two, and he should have it finished.

Besides going to school, and learning magic in his spare time. He and Dudley had joined weekend football classes because according to Vernon, every self-respecting Brit needed to know how to play football.

Harry, who in his previous life had been sickly, and therefore never really interested in sport, didn't think too highly of it. Dudley, on the other hand, really liked it, so Harry – in support of his adopted brother – stuck it out.

When school let out for the summer, Vernon and Petunia, surprised their children with a trip to Legoland in Denmark. They stayed in a cabin at the nearby campground, and they enjoyed their visit immensely. It had been a wonderful week of fun for the whole family.

The day after their arrival home, Petunia and the boys had taken a stroll to the local corner shop at the end of Wisteria Walk. Where Harry got his first reintroduction to the magical world.

When they had gone through their usual routine shopping, with Dudley getting ice cream and Harry a comic book. They were waiting in line for Petunia to pay, when a short elderly lady none of them had seen before, introduced herself to Petunia – as Arabella Figg.

If he remembered correctly, this was the cat lady whom Dumbledore assigned to keep an eye on him. Maybe he'd been worried when the Dursleys and he disappeared for a week. According to the conversation she was having with Petunia, she had just moved into the neighbourhood, to a house on Wisteria Walk. She seemed quite lonely, which, considering she only had her cats for company, was probably true.

She was telling Petunia all about her cats, which if his memories were true were kneazles and half kneazles, the same type of cat Crookshanks was. Those were highly intelligent magical cats, perhaps he could convince Petunia and Vernon to purchase a kitten from her. Harry loved cats, and these were the best kind of cat you could get.

So Harry put on his most adorable face and interrupted them. "Could we visit the cats, please, mum?"

"Pleaseee mum. Can we go pet the cats?" Dudley followed.

Petunia sighed exasperatedly. "Why are you asking me, I don't have any cats. It's Mrs Figg you need to ask."

Both boys turned their heads to face Mrs Figg and Harry asked. "May we please visit the cats, Mrs Figg?"

"I don't know boys." She said while trying to cover her grin.

"Please, please, please," Dudley begged.

"Oh, okay." Mrs Figg capitulated with a completely exaggerated sigh. "Why don't the three of you stop by for a spot of tea tomorrow." Turning to Petunia, she continued. "Shall we say around noon?"

Petunia accepted with a nod, before turning to the boys. "What do we say to the nice lady?"

Together they chorused. "Thank you, Mrs Figg."

The following morning, Dudley was so excited he was practically vibrating in his seat during breakfast. Vernon and Petunia gave him exasperated looks, there were still several hours until their teatime at Mrs Figg's. Vernon chuckled as he stood from his seat. Wishing them all a great day, he kissed his wife on the cheek, playfully ruffled Harry and Dudley's hair, and then left for work.

With Vernon gone, Petunia started to clean up after their morning meal and as she did so, she asked them. "What will you two be doing today?"

Dudley gave her the most incredulous look Harry had ever seen him wear, before shouting. "We're going to see the cats, mum!"

Petunia paused for a moment, sighing, and then she tried again. "Yes, Dudders, I know. I meant before that."

"Don't call me Dudders!" Dudley exclaimed.

That was another great change in Harry's opinion, Dudley abhorred that awful nickname.

When Petunia continued, he could practically hear the mirth in her voice. "Yes, yes. As you wish, dear." Dudley nodded feverishly. "Why don't you two try that new donkey game Vernon bought for you? I know how much you like your video games."

Harry couldn't let that comment stand. "It's not a donkey game mum, it's a game about how you defeat an evil monkey that kidnaps innocent girls, and he's called Donkey Kong."

Petunia chuckled and patted Harry on the head. "Whatever you say, dear."

His pout only made her chuckle more.

Petunia hadn't been incorrect, they did love their video games. It was Dudley's favourite thing in the world, and for Harry, it was second only to magic, though the games of the eighties were a bit simple. Harry was looking forward to the nineties when some of the best games of all time were going to release.

That was how he and Dudley spent the rest of their morning, in front of the television with their good old Atari 2600. Trying to one-up each other's high scores on Donkey Kong. So immersed in their competition were they, that when Petunia came to get them for an early lunch, he could have sworn that they had just started.

Dudley, who'd been playing when Petunia called, instantly dropped the controller and zoomed off to the kitchen, leaving Harry the task of cleaning up. Though he didn't mind, it had been a while since he'd seen Dudley this excited. After turning off the telly, he wandered into the kitchen, to the scene of Petunia scolding Dudley.

"Calm down, Dudley, you're going to choke if you inhale your food like that."

"But muuuum." Dudley whined.

"No, Dudley, the cats will be there even if you're a few minutes late."

Dudley pouted. But the pace at which he devoured his fish and chips slowed down considerably. Oh, nice. There was fish and chips for lunch today, proper British food, and Petunia cooked it very well.

"Thanks for the food, mum." He said as he dug in.

"You're very welcome, dear." She smiled.

Lunch was very enjoyable, even though Dudley had hurried him on – much to Petunia's irritation. It didn't take very long for him to finish, and then they'd been out the door in seconds, or Dudley had. He and Petunia followed at a more sedate pace. A few seconds later, Dudley had come running back to them, complaining he had no idea where Mrs Figg lived. Petunia and Harry laughed at that, much to Dudley's annoyance.

It was maybe a five-minute stroll to Wisteria Walk, where Mrs Figg lived. Though, it felt like Petunia slowed down on purpose several times, just to mess with Dudley. Whether she did or not, it was hilarious watching Dudley shake in place from impatience.

The houses on Wisteria Walk looked much the same as they did on any street adjacent to Privet Drive. Two-story brick-and-mortar houses, classic British suburb, completely and utterly drab. With ease, he could recognize which house belonged to Arabella Figg, it was the only one that had been spruced up, obviously for the sale. The front of the house had been power washed, the windows painted, and the lawn mowed.

But the biggest indicator was the three, very much larger than normal – cats – slumbering away in a pile next to the doorstep. As they approached the door of number seven, the cats were instantly alert and trying to disentangle themselves from the pile in which they'd been enjoying the summer weather.

Harry found the intelligence with which they stared at him, startling. It was one thing to know that they were intelligent, but to actually experience it was truly fascinating. At first, they'd been wary, almost protective, but when they took in their entire company, they relaxed. If his suspicions were correct, Arabella had told her cats they'd be hosting two young children today. The pileup outside the door was a very big coincidence otherwise.

As Petunia went to knock on the door, it pre-emptively opened inwards. Mrs Figg was standing there with a slight smile on her face. "Welcome, welcome. The tea's ready, you're just on time." As she spoke, the cats entered through the door and crowded around her legs. "Yes, yes, you'll get some treats as well" They responded with meows and then disappeared into the house.

"Come in, come in." Mrs Figg waved them inside.

Inside the house, it still looked half unpacked, with boxes littered around, and piles of items here and there. The wallpaper was new, the carpet was cleaned, and the house was most definitely spruced up for the sale. Thank Merlin, there was none of that cabbage smell that had been described in the books.

"I apologize for the mess, I haven't had enough time to unpack it all yet." Mrs Figg said as she led them into the living room.

"It's quite all right, it can't be easy moving all on your own." Petunia placated.

"Oh no, especially not at my age. Luckily, I had help from some very good friends with the furniture." Arabella chuckled, and then she continued. "Please take a seat, and I'll bring the tea and something to nibble on." She waved her arm towards the couches, before disappearing through the connecting door into the kitchen.

Dudley jumped up on one of the couches and impatiently began to tap his hands to some unknown melody. Harry shook his head and chuckled as he took a seat beside him. Petunia kept her eyes on them while taking a seat in one of the recliners.

"If you don't calm down, Dudley, the cats won't be comfortable around you."

He tried valiantly to calm himself down, he took a deep breath and sat on his hands, but he was still vibrating in his seat. Harry had to hold himself back from laughing out loud.

Their little moment ended when Mrs Figg entered the room carrying a tray. "There we go." She said as she handed out cups and plates. "Good old British tea, with cake, and some cinnamon buns. I hope it's to your taste."

As she poured them tea, three grateful voices chimed in unison with a resounding "Thank you."

It was quiet in the room as they all took a moment to enjoy the refreshments. Arabella Figg broke the silence when she spoke. "Now, there are a few ground rules before I allow you to play with my dearies." She paused to take a sip of her tea. "You have to be calm when close to them, if you are nervous they will be nervous. When petting them, you can't be too rough, or they might scratch you. We don't want that." She continued. "If you behave well, you see, Tiger just had a litter of kittens, and I might just let you meet them."

Dudley nodded enthusiastically, his beaming smile stretching from ear to ear.

"— then we got to meet the small ones, they were so cute, dad can we get a cat? Pleaseeee." Dudley finished the story between bites of his dinner.

Vernon chuckled and put down his knife, so he could ruffle Dudley's hair. "I don't see why not, we'll have to get a cat flap on the back door in that case." He turned his head to face his wife. "What do you think, Pet?"

"Well… After seeing how happy the kids were, I asked Arabella if she would be amenable to selling us one of the new litter. She told me that she only sells the young ones in pairs."

Vernon seemed a bit apprehensive at her answer. "Only in pairs?"

"Her explanation was that: despite what people think, cats aren't complete loners. She said they are much healthier and happier with a companion." Petunia reassured him.

Despite her words, Vernon still didn't seem completely convinced.

"Please, dad, pleaseeee." Dudley pleaded.

Scratching his chin and humming thoughtfully, Vernon responded. "If we're going to do this, the two of you will be helping your mother and I take care of them. Is that understood?"

Dudley whooped his delight and then shot out of his chair to hug his father first, then his mother, he hugged his father again. After that, he ran a lap around the kitchen, then out into the hallway, where they heard him putting on his clothes.

"He does realize that we're not getting them today, right?" Harry asked his adoptive parents. "There's like a million things to do before we can bring them home."

"Moooom, daaaaad, Harrrrry". Hurry up. Dudley shouted.

Harry barked a laugh at that.

It took their parents quite a while to calm Dudley down from his cat-induced euphoria. Only their assurances that Petunia and he would go shopping for all cat-related necessities tomorrow seemed to settle him.

Then Petunia asked the most important questions of their lives – or at least it seemed that way if one were to observe Dudley. "What are we going to name them?"

"I figured, two children and two cats. We let them name one each." Vernon replied.

"That'll work," Petunia responded. "So what are you going-"

"Imma gonna name mine Paws!" Dudley shouted with glee.

"Couldn't you come up with anything cooler than Paws, Dud? Something epic, like Poseidon, Mars, Athena, or… Oh, I am definitely naming one of them Minerva. That is an awesome name." It had absolutely nothing to do at all with the fact that Harry could use it to cause hi-jinks, especially if Minerva came to Hogwarts with him.

"What's wrong with Paws? It's super-duper cool, and what kind of name is Minerva? It sounds suuuper silly." Dudley rebutted.

"Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and justice, and one of the three most significant gods in the Roman Pantheon, together with Jupiter and Juno. Totally wicked." Harry stated.

"That's very good, Harry, did you learn that in one of your books?" Petunia complimented him.

"Uh-huh." Harry nodded.

Five days and two shopping trips later, the house was filled to the brim with cat toys and pet food. The back door now sported a brand-new cat flap, and the living room as well as Harry and Dudley's bedroom now contained recently assembled climbing trees with sleeping areas for their new family members. They might have gone slightly overboard, but the family of four were very excited.

He and Dudley had earlier that day – after Petunia negotiated a reasonable price – been allowed to pick out a silver-striped kitten each. Dudley had simply picked up the closest one to him and dubbed it, as he had proclaimed, Paws. Harry hadn't chosen, as much as – been chosen – by one of the kittens. It had crawled into his hand and lightly gnawed on one of his fingers. When he found out that the kitten was female, Harry, without hesitation, named her Minerva.

Then, accompanied by Mrs Figg they returned home to Privet Drive. She wanted to make sure that they had everything they needed to care for the kittens. Harry privately suspected that she had an ulterior motive – acquiring information for Dumbledore. When they arrived home, there was a surprise visitor in their living room. Tiger. The cat was suspiciously inspecting the future home of her children. Kneazles were scarily intelligent.

Both Tiger and Mrs Figg had seemingly been satisfied after a thorough inspection of number four, and after a final goodbye left for their not-so-far-away home. Arabella had left with the parting words that they better treat the kittens right, or she'd know because Tiger would be a frequent visitor.

Afterwards, the adorable little kittens had been in full exploration mode, stumbling around the living room and trying to get accustomed to their new living arrangements. Harry and Dudley had introduced them to their food and water bowls on the tiled kitchen floor, they had also put them in their litter boxes for a while. Hopefully, Kneazle kittens were more intelligent than regular kittens and understood what they were trying to teach them, which would mean significantly fewer messes to clean.

That same evening was spent lazily in front of the telly. Where he and Dudley had lovingly cradled their new companions, until they both had one after the other, dozed off. Whereupon, Petunia and Vernon had taken out their old Polaroid and captured several adorable photos, perfect as future blackmail material. Then Petunia had tucked them in with blankets, and left them to their slumber, while they themselves watched the evening news.

It was in this type of blissful environment, the former family of four – now numbered six. Spent their time during the following years, of course it wasn't all sunshine and roses, but if anyone asked any of them, they were content with their happiness and health.

Vernon, on the orders of his wife combined with the nagging of his doctor, scaled down his working hours, and even more importantly – the size of his meals. He had absolutely loathed it in the beginning, but, it had, in combination with the hours he and the boys had spent at the boxing gym, resulted in him losing over three stone. These days he was much healthier, and from what Harry heard through the walls, much happier.

Harry, for absolutely no reason at all, felt the desperate need to learn how to self-obliviate.

Dudley, who in Harry's memories had been as round as he was tall. Was in this life still huge compared to the other children his age, but there was no fat at all to be found. He had a wicked right hook, from hours upon hours spent boxing, and was also one of the top scorers of their local children's football team. This Dudley didn't have a gang, and he most definitely wasn't a bully. In fact, Piers Polkiss – the local bully, had been smacked down by Dudley more than once.

Petunia had learned from one of her many magazines, about yoga – which Vernon had playfully dubbed 'American nonsense'. Harry had tried to explain to him that it had absolutely nothing to do with America at all, which had only resulted in a pat on his head. These days she spent two mornings a week stretching and bending her body, which again, from what he heard, Vernon really appreciated.

Silencing charms had out of necessity taken very little time to understand.

Their almost idyllic existence had come to a crashing halt, on the morning of Harry's eleventh birthday, when he and Dudley had found their mother crying in the kitchen. Upon noticing them, she'd simply gestured towards the table, whereupon a thick envelope lay. A glance later, Harry understood what had Petunia in such a state.

Mr H. Potter

The Third Bedroom

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

I have re-read the earlier chapters and found a load of spelling & grammatical errors, I am in the process of fixing that. I don't really know how the notification system on FFN works, so if you get a bunch of notifications, I apologize. The story in the chapters aren't changed, so if you read them previously, there is no need to re-read them.

If you liked it, review & favourite.

Thank you for reading!