New Year, New Bonds
Soon after Dudley and Chloe returned from Privet Drive, they saw Vernon and Petunia at Hogsmeade Station.
"Mum! Dad!" Dudley said, happily hugging his parents.
"Dudders!" They hugged their son and Chloe, "Chloe!"
"Hello, Petunia! Vernon!" Chloe warmly greeted them. "Here, let me carry your luggage."
"Oh, don't bother." Vernon said.
But Chloe wasn't listening. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"
Vernon's and Petunia's luggage hovered in mid-air and followed them. Vernon and Petunia stared open-mouthed, while Dudley chuckled.
"Where do you live? And where do you work?" Petunia recovered first.
Dudley nodded and answered her. Chloe had to focus on her magic, or else the luggage would fall. The four of them walked throughout the village, Petunia glancing wistfully.
"This is our house, Mum, Dad!" Dudley said.
"I will keep the luggage in your room, Vernon and Petunia!" Chloe cheerfully said, and she went inside.
"Sheldon! Lynn!" Dudley called out.
"Dudley? What happened?" Sheldon and Lynn came out.
"Mum, Dad, these are the house owners. Sheldon and his niece, Lynn. Both are from magical families and have been to Hogwarts. In fact, Lynn teaches transfiguration at Hogwarts." Dudley said. "Sheldon, Lynn. Meet Vernon and Petunia Dursley, my parents!"
"A pleasure to meet Harry Potter's relatives!" Sheldon jovially shook hands with the Dursleys. When it was Petunia's turn, she turned to Lynn and asked, "What about Professor McGonagall?"
"Oh, you don't know? She has been the Headmistress of Hogwarts since after the Battle of Hogwarts." Lynn said pleasantly. Petunia nodded. Obviously, Lynn and Sheldon did not know that Petunia knew of McGonagall through Lily.
"Here for the wedding? Have the preparations begun?" Sheldon asked.
"Dudley, Chloe, Harry, and Ginny have been doing wedding purchases and the like. We are here to help with other arrangements like wedding halls, catering, guest lists, etc." Petunia said.
"If you don't mind, I can't stand or walk around for too long these days. My legs hurt!" Vernon said, clutching his leg.
"Oh, no worries. You take rest." Sheldon said.
"Come in, Dad, Mum!" Dudley entered his house, where Chloe was waiting in the living room.
"Slowly, Dudders! I want to look around before I go to the room!" Vernon said.
"Certainly, Dad!" Dudley said.
Together, Dudley and Chloe helped Petunia and Vernon around the house before showing them up the stairs into the bedroom Harry and Ginny used whenever they visited.
The following day, Dudley and Chloe left for work after preparing a meal for the elderly Dursleys.
Petunia stood on the balcony, staring at a distance with a wistful look as she sipped her coffee.
"You miss Erica, Joan, and Annie, dear?" Vernon put an arm around her. Petunia shook her head and continued staring. Confused, Vernon squinted his eyes and stared into the distance.
"What are you looking at, Petunia?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and putting on his spectacles again.
"Hogwarts Castle, Uncle Vernon. Those very ruins you see in that distance!" Harry's voice made Vernon and Petunia jump.
"I dropped by because I heard you were here. Arthur and Molly are with me." Harry said.
"Right!" Petunia brought her hand to her forehead and said, "We had to discuss the wedding hall and catering arrangements! Vernon, come quick!"
Vernon stared at her. "I am the one who has been calling you, and you're now telling me to hurry up? Oh, never mind! I'm coming!" He went after her.
"They've chosen a nice house, Arthur!" Molly was saying. Arthur nodded and sank back into the cushions.
"Back pain?" Molly asked. "Even after the pain balm?"
Arthur nodded and looked tired. Age was catching up with everybody.
When Vernon and Petunia slowly made their way and sat on the couch, Molly rubbed Arthur's back as the Weasley and Dursley parents began their discussions. Harry had already left for work.
Harry returned in the evening to collect Arthur and Molly. He found his uncle sharing muggle brandy with Arthur in the living room. Staring at them, he looked over inside and saw his aunt knitting a jumper or two with Molly.
He chuckled, and when Dudley and Chloe came, he told them to come quietly and watch. The three watched in amusement as the Dursleys and the Weasleys bonded.
As they entered the third week of March, Chloe found Luna at her front door one morning.
"LUNA!" She cried and hugged her friend.
"CHLOE!" Luna had dropped her trunk and hugged Chloe.
"Six months, girl! I missed you!" Chloe wiped her eyes.
"I know! There is so much to tell you!" Luna sniffled, "But first, tell me about you and Dudley! Harry and Ginny? Ron and Hermione? Neville? Hannah?"
"Come in!" Chloe pulled her friend inside and forcefed her coffee and some toast with butter.
When Dudley came down, Chloe ran up to him.
"Dudley, can Luna please stay with us?" Chloe gripped Dudley's arm tightly.
"Hi, Luna!" Dudley said.
"Congrats, Dudley. Take care of my friend! I speak on behalf of her parents!" Luna winked.
"Haha, of course!" Dudley said.
"I plan on staying at my house, Chloe. I will be here only, but in my house instead." Luna told Chloe, who looked disappointed.
"We have another room," Chloe said.
"And you will need that room. You will have lots of guests. It is, after all, Harry Potter's wedding, too! So, you can imagine." Luna said.
As Chloe pulled Dudley into the chairs, Petunia entered.
"You must be Harry's aunt." Luna said politely.
"Petunia Dursley." Petunia nodded. "My husband, Vernon, is upstairs. You might know."
"Of course I remember. My memory is sharp. We met last year at the Burrow." Luna said matter-of-factly.
Petunia blinked. "Right."
"I'd like to see Mr. Dursley before I proceed home. Good time to see?" Luna got up, and Petunia led her upstairs.
Luna came down barely a minute later. "He needs his rest. I just said hi." She said pleasantly and left with her trunk.
That evening, Harry and Ginny came to Dudley and Chloe's house with a medium-sized portrait with gold borders.
"This looks familiar," Dudley said.
"It is! My parents want to join in the arrangements, and my mother asks for Aunt Petunia." Harry said.
Vernon and Petunia's jaws dropped open, and their eyes popped out of their sockets. Despite themselves, James and Lily couldn't help but chuckle.
"Here is a nice place for the portrait! In the middle of the house!" Chloe excitedly made way.
"Thanks, dear!" Lily said.
"Harry, shall we show the Dursleys the Shrieking Shack?" James said.
"I have seen it from afar, Uncle James. We haven't gone near or inside it, though." Dudley said.
Dudley accompanied Harry outside for some work.
Vernon grunted in pain just then. "It's my leg! This pain is chronic."
"You should sit down, Vernon." Petunia said.
As Petunia helped Vernon sit, Lily leaned over to her sister and asked, "How does he treat you now? Does he still drink?"
Vernon did not hear anything and had shut his eyes. Petunia looked at Lily in shock and hissed at Lily, "You stay away from this, Lily! We are here for our children's weddings. We will finish it and go our separate ways! Don't call Vernon an abuser or a drunkard!"
Her sister stare back at her with shock and hurt in her green eyes.
"Lily is concerned about you! If you can't answer her question, at least don't shout at her!" James glared.
"Petunia! Vernon! Time for your medicines!" Chloe said a little too loudly and ushered them upstairs with significant looks at the Dursleys and the Potters.
"Sorry about them, Lily, James." Chloe said this after Vernon and Petunia had settled in their room.
Lily shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I will probably never be able to mend things with my sister."
"It's not true! Look at Dudley and Harry! Look at Ginny and me! It just needs time!" Chloe consoled Lily, who gave a watery smile.
"She is worried about her sister. You see, Vernon has been a habitual drinker for a very long time." James said. "So, Lily wants to know if Petunia is happy in her relationship."
"Oh, I can answer that for you." Chloe said. "Apart from minor disagreements, Petunia and Vernon are happy with one another. Vernon was Petunia's pillar of strength when Voldemort went after you!"
"You too say his name aloud? That's lovely!" James nodded in approval while Lily looked up from James' chest at her with pride.
"Yeah, especially after his atrocities, I feel he deserves no respect." Chloe said.
"That's right!" James said.
"Hey, any chance we can meet people we know? The Longbottoms, and the Lovegood girl who happens to be Harry's friend, for instance?" Lily asked.
"Certainly! And Luna is my best friend. I'll tell her to come right away!" Chloe said cheerfully.
"Oh, no need to make haste. Just when she has time." Lily said. "Thanks, dear!"
"Oh, please don't!" Chloe said with a blush.
As promised, Chloe arranged for Luna and Neville to come over and talk with the Potters. While Luna came out looking cheerful, Neville came out in tears.
"Thanks, Chloe! Perhaps you have no idea, but arranging my meeting with the Potters means so much to me." He said.
Wide-eyed, Chloe only managed to nod. 'You okay, mate?"
Neville nodded shakily and left.
"Poor Frank and Alice!" Chloe heard Lily's muffled sniffles.
"Alice and Frank were truly heroes!" James' voice floated over. "But we will miss them!"
After meeting Neville and Luna, the Potters portrait looked more enthusiastic as ever and helped with the wedding preparations with vigor.
"Molly, we should try out red and white flowers! Tuney, remember the light brown dress that Misha used to wear in primary school? I think that color highlights Ginny's and Chloe's eye color." Lily would say.
"Arthur! George has the best prank ideas! Maybe we should try some!" James would say, and Lily would loudly say, "PRONGS!"
As March came to a halt, more and more people began arriving from within the country and abroad. Various dignitaries, such as Kingsley Shacklebolt, arrived and stayed in costly suites at Hogsmeade.
"Big D! Our old Quidditch mates will be staying at Grimmauld Place for the wedding, and it will get noisy." Harry told Dudley. "Would you and Chloe mind it if Andromeda Tonks and Teddy stay at your house for the duration?"
"No problem, Harry!" Dudley said.
"We expected that there would be many guests! Feel free to use the third room upstairs!" Chloe said.
Andromeda had taken to visiting her ill sister at Malfoy Manor every evening. Chloe and Dudley were tasked with taking care of Teddy during this time. Narcissa was ill, and it worried Andromeda a lot. But she could not leave Teddy alone for longer periods. Nor was Narcissa welcome anywhere.
It had become a daily practice for Dudley to walk into his and Chloe's room to find Chloe rocking and putting Teddy to sleep. The first time Dudley saw this, his jaw dropped. Suddenly, Chloe was his wife, Chloe and he had a baby, and that baby was in Chloe's arms now. Shaking himself out of this, Dudley approached Chloe and Teddy with fascination. While Teddy slept safely in Chloe's bosom, Dudley gathered him and Chloe in his arms, Chloe's brunette head sinking deep into Dudley's large chest. Chloe snuggled into Dudley, holding Teddy protectively, and Dudley grinned.
Harry and Ginny stayed at Grimmauld Place. Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Oliver, Demelza, Ritchie, Jimmy, and even Merriwinkle from Ginny's team at Hogwarts halted with them.
The Delacours and Madame Pomfrey from Hogwarts halted at Shell Cottage; the latter would attend to Fleur, who was eight months pregnant now, while the Cruz's halted at Percy and Audrey's new flat. Ron and Hermione moved into their new flat, and the Grangers halted with them. Arthur's brothers and their families stayed at the burrow with Molly and Arthur. Once Charlie came over for George's birthday, he halted with George in Fred's old room above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes until the wedding. Specific places were designated for Healers to attend to Fleur at the wedding venue. Additionally, her mother, Molly, and Audrey were always there to look out for her.
On George's birthday, George sent wizarding candy to his family and friends in place of hosting a party and cutting cake. He gave Dudley a bonus that day.
Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, and Horace Slugorn would be joining Hagrid and coming over directly to the venue with the portraits of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
A special place was designated for the portraits of Lily and James, Dumbledore and Snape, a specially made portrait of Lupin and Tonks, and an enlarged framed photo of the Marauders.
Nicholette, Meave, and Altair would be meeting Neville, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones at Neville's house, and they'd arrive together, bringing Augusta Longbottom along. Luna decided she would stay with Aberforth Dumbledore the night before the wedding and go to the venue with him.
Chloe's employer from the quill shop and Ginny's captain from the HolyHead Harpies, Gwenog Jones, were also invited. The latter halted at Hogsmeade the day before the wedding.
Dean and Seamus would join Lavender and the Patil twins at Parvati's house, and they'd come as a group.
Cho Chang brought her muggle boyfriend to Harry and Ginny.
"Hey, Cho! Long time, no see!" Harry greeted her. Cho enthusiastically shook hands with Ginny.
"Meet my muggle boyfriend!" She indicated a tall boy who reminded Harry of Cedric Diggory. The only difference was that this boy was a muggle.
The boy's blue eyes betrayed nervousness, so Harry called Dudley. "This is my cousin, Dudley Dursley. The Dursleys are also muggles. There are a few more muggles here, so feel free!"
After Dudley took the boy with him, he seemed relaxed. Cho giggled. "Micheal Corner is here, Ginny!"
"Umm, okay," Ginny said.
"Gin," Harry said.
"Harry, he is our guest! Like Cho Chang, like Dean Thomas! We must make him feel welcome!" Ginny said.
When Harry looked at her longingly, she pecked him on the lips and said, "Come, now. Even Ron and Hermione are comfortable. And Lavender is here!"
"Krum came? When?" Harry said. He had been looking forward to seeing his friend from the tournament. Ginny chuckled.
"He was with Fleur the last time I saw him." Ginny said, leading Harry along.
Truly, Ron seemed comfortable around Krum, and Hermione happily attended to Lavender. Even Ginny was comfortable with Cho. Harry decided he would also be comfortable around Michael and Dean.
Dennis Creevey sent an owl informing Harry that he would be attending the wedding with his parents, who were keen on meeting the one person Colin always spoke about. They'd arrive at Hogsmeade the day before the wedding and stay in a room at The Three Broomsticks Inn.
Other members of the Order of The Phoenix and the Dumbledore's Army, too began showing up as the big day approached - such as Ernie McMillian, Zacharius Smith, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and even the Greengrass family. The Greengrasses were a neutral family during the war and had actually helped protect innocent Slytherins from the malicious death eater Slytherins like Malfoy and Parkinson. The Greengrass sisters had helped rebuild the school after the war. The Greengarasses would arrive at the venue on the date itself directly.
On the date of the Hindu New Year, Yugadi (or Ugadi), on April 5, the dual wedding was scheduled at the foot of the snow-capped mountains in Hogsmeade, overlooking the Shrieking Shack, Hogsmeade Village, and Hogwarts.