A/N: This is just for my (and hopefully your) amusement. I own nothing and I'm not seeking any profit from publishing this work.

Step Brothers

As they apparated to a park near Harry's childhood 'home' Daphne seethed. It had taken every bit of her years of training on comportment and controlling her emotions to stay calm during Harry's conversation with those people. Harry had handled the situation perfectly and didn't need her or her family's help but that was beside the point. He should have never had to deal with such wretched treatment. They should have been celebrating their nephew's return, not insulting him with every breath. Her recently dormant anger at Dumbledore flared once again as she thought about what Harry had been needlessly subjected to his entire childhood.

She was broken out of her thoughts as Harry quietly led them down a pathway toward Privet Drive. "Could you ease up on the grip there Daph," he pleaded. "I'm starting to lose feeling."

"Sorry!" she blurted. "It's just those people…" Once again she had come up short to describe what Harry had had to endure.

"It's all right-" he began to reply before being met by Daphne's indignant glare. "No, it's not all right. But it's over. I'll get my things and I'll never have to deal with them again."

Daphne wrapped her arm in his and pulled herself as close to him as possible as they continued walking, rubbing his arm with her free hand. "I love you Harry," she assured him one more time. He deserved to hear it as many times as she could manage.

The phrase had become so innocuous to her over the years...simply a benign way of saying goodbye to her parents. What it declared was obvious and didn't really need to be said. But with Harry it consistently garnered a surprised smile that always seemed to break something inside of her. And every time he said the words back that broken part was mended and made stronger than before.

As they continued to walk Daphne noted how well manicured and similar the houses were and smiled. Despite herself she had always admired the structure and sameness in parts of muggle society. Her father looked much better in a traditional muggle business suit than some of the ridiculous outfits she'd seen other wizards wear. And Harry looked brilliant in a well fitting muggle t-shirt and jeans regardless of the fact millions of others wore something similar.

"This is it," he said in monotone, unconsciously stopping in front of the walkway.

"The flowers are nice," Daphne noted, not sure of what else to say.

"Thank you," he replied. At her quizzical look he continued. "I was responsible for their planting and maintenance when I lived here. The sun was brutal sometimes but mostly it was peaceful...relaxing."

She wanted to ask how old he was when they first tasked him with the chore but held her tongue. The answer would just make her furious. She would ask him later when they were alone but for now she would remain calm, for him.

"Let's go," he continued matter of factly before making his way to the front door and muttering a quick Alohomora.

As they entered Daphne was struck by how antiseptic everything seemed...as if no-one was allowed to enjoy themselves within its confines. Unlike the pleasant sameness and symmetry of the neighborhood this was...too much. It was stifling in its quest for orderliness.

"I'll just be a minute," Harry stated as he headed for the staircase.

"I'll come with you," she instantly volunteered, not wanting Harry to be alone any more than necessary. He'd been alone for years in this house.

"I'd rather you stayed down here Daph," he pleaded softly as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "My room is sort of like my shoddy clothes...embarrassing."

"I don't care about that Harry," she replied.

"I know you don't," he answered, falling into his now less frequent habit of staring at his shoes. "But I do. You've really helped today but I'd rather do this alone. I just want to get it over and done with."

"Okay," she said with a soft smile before kissing him quickly. "I love you," she repeated, extracting another smile.

"I love you too," he said as he embraced her. "Remember your promise."

"No magical revenge," she replied in his ear. "I promise."

As he pulled away and headed up the stairs his soft expression morphed into one of determination, clearly wanting to complete the task as quickly as possible.

As she waited for Harry to return Daphne scanned the living room looking for any sign that Harry lived there. Anything at all. Despite the overabundance of pictures on the wall not one included Harry. This was never Harry's home. Daphne seethed.

She quickly sat down and attempted to not think about how ignored Harry had been in this house. As the seconds dragged on her failure to remain calm grew exponentially as the Dursleys' disinterest in Harry seemingly seeped from the pores of the place. Without another thought she retreated to the kitchen. A change of scenery was desperately needed.

The kitchen was much better. It was just as bland, just as antiseptic, but there were no family pictures to be found making it much easier to forget that Harry was not included. She leaned against a nearby counter and exhaled, willing herself once again to remain calm.

She spotted a step stool nestled away in a corner and cursed to herself, imagining a younger Harry using it to prepare breakfast for his 'family.' Her mother had always told her context was essential when forming impressions and the Dursley household drove that fact home in spades. Without context it could be judged as the home of a slightly boring but loving family. With context it was the most foul place Daphne had ever been in, beating the Chamber by leaps and bounds.

Her growing uneasiness was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and someone muttering to themselves from another room. The voice was decidedly not Harry's.

Harry's paranoia coupled with her family's obsession with preparation had immediately sprung her into action as she prepared for one of Riddle's remaining rats to scurry into the room. Without a thought Daphne pulled out her wand and pointed it toward the entryway and grasped her necklace/portkey in case a quick escape was necessary, ready for a confrontation and a quick escape.

To her relief and surprise this did not happen. Instead it was a very large boy dressed in tacky muggle clothing and sporting music headphones while rapping to himself...very badly. In his hands was a plate with the largest sandwich Daphne had ever seen. This had to be Dudley. Fear turned to anger as she released the portkey and pointed her wand fiercely at the idiot, waiting for him to notice her.

She watched as the boy sat down at the kitchen table and began eating, so wrapped up in the music that was playing and the food in front of him that he hadn't noticed the wand pointed his direction. The sight of Dudley eating was only slightly preferable to his horrible rapping.

"Dursley," she finally stated loudly and angrily, tired of waiting for the oaf to concentrate on something besides stuffing his face.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed as he spotted her, dropping his food and bolting up from his chair, seeking refuge in the furthest corner of the room. "He's not here!" he spit out desperately. "Harry isn't here!"

Despite herself Daphne felt a small...very small...bit of sympathy for the boy. Unlike his father she could tell Dudley wasn't blustering and was genuinely fearful for his life.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Daphne stated calmly despite wanting to do exactly that. "I'm a friend of Harry's. He is upstairs gathering a few of his things and then we are leaving for good."

"Thank Christ," he exhaled as he slumped against the wall. Daphne waited as she watched the boy calm himself and slowly sit back down, never taking his eyes off of her, still looking somewhat terrified. Daphne guessed it was because she was still pointing her wand directly between his eyes.

Once he was back in his seat she slowly lowered her wand and leaned back against the counter, relaxed but ready in case the idiot tried something. "So you must be Dudley," she volunteered.

"Uh, yeah," he finally replied nervously. "I guess you go to school with Harry?" he asked, still nervous but curious.

"Yes," she replied curtly. "He is my boyfriend actually."

She watched as the boy seemed to process this information and evaluated her. "You don't look like one of them," he stated.

"One of them?" she asked.

"A magic person," he supplied. "You look normal. Not like the other nutters who've come here for Harry."

"Well we magic people come in all shapes and sizes, just like mug- non magic people," she answered condescendingly. "I just met your parents and know for a fact that most non magicals are much nicer."

To her surprise she was not met with rage or annoyance. She watched as the boy considered her words and nodded to himself, looking slightly embarrassed. "They don't like Harry," he said simply.

"That's one way of phrasing it," she countered. To Daphne's continued annoyance the oaf failed to get angry, only looking more embarrassed.

After several moments he spoke again. "You said Harry is leaving for good? That old wizard said Harry had to stay here in the summer...that there was a psychopath after him and we protected him."

"This house protected him, not you," Daphne immediately corrected him. "And Harry took care of the psychopath so he is out of the picture now."

"Really?" he replied. Although it was clear that he was surprised, unlike his mother there was no trace of disbelief in his expression. He immediately became more pensive. "So I suppose he won't be back at all after today."

"No," she answered. "Harry has several families, including mine, who are thrilled to have him and your father made it abundantly clear he never wanted to see him again."

Dudley nodded uncomfortably once again, his eyes cast down at the table.

She continued to watch Dudley as he seemed to be deep in thought. Unlike his parents he was very different than what she expected. He actually seemed...human. "Are you allowed to do magic outside of school?" he asked tentatively. "Harry said he wasn't allowed until his birthday this year."

"Yes," she replied, immediately becoming suspicious again. "I've already turned seventeen. Harry received special approval so he can as well."

"He made me promise not to do anything you know," she continued on. "He's told me a bit about how horribly you treated him and I came up with loads of ways to get you back...to make your life miserable. But Harry made me promise not do anything."

"He's so much better than you lot," she added spitefully.

Despite her best efforts Dudley once again failed to take the bait, his remorse palpable.

"Can you show me something? Something normal?" he asked uncertainly.

"Show you magic?" she asked dumbly. "Harry said you hated magic."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Apart from when Harry saved me last summer everything I've ever seen has been bloody terrifying. Harry said most magic is boring...I'd like to see it."

In Harry's original retelling he only mentioned summoning his patronus to save himself that summer, never mentioning he saved his cousin's life as well. Until the confrontation at the station Daphne had no clue Dudley had been in danger. Another instance where Harry had saved someone's life...another instance never mentioned by Harry.

She walked over to Dudley's empty glass on the kitchen table and quickly cast Aguamenti. She smiled to herself watching Dudley's eyes bulge as the glass filled with water.

Dudley picked up the glass and began to take a drink before suddenly stopping. "How do I know you didn't poison this?" he asked suspiciously.

Daphne rolled her eyes and quickly picked up the glass, taking a drink. "Delicious," she exclaimed as she smacked her lips and placed the glass back on the table.

"Sorry," he mumbled before taking a drink himself. "Force of habit with you lot."

Once again the boy had proven himself much less wretched than his parents. Daphne ventured asking him about something that had bothered her since they had arrived.

"Can I ask you something? About your parents?" she asked. At his tentative nod she continued.

"Harry said they are obsessed with making sure the neighbors think they are normal. Don't people think it odd that Harry, their nephew who lives with them, is in none of the family pictures? Most people love their nephews, particularly when they've been orphaned after their parents are murdered."

"He used to be included when we were younger," he replied quietly. He looked up, a nervous expression crossing his face. "When we got a bit older they started telling everyone that he was a delinquent...violent...stealing things all the time. At some point it became accepted why he wouldn't be included."

Harry had alluded to how sad his childhood was but as expected he hadn't even scratched the surface at how bad it had been. Damn Dumbledore and damn the Dursleys.

"So it wasn't enough that you three hated him. You had to make sure everyone else did as well. Pathetic."

"I never hated him," Dudley protested feebly.

"From the little I've heard you've got a horrible way of showing it," Daphne replied tersely.

The mood was broken as she heard Harry bounding down the stairs. "This bag you and Hermione charmed is brilliant! Everything fit without a-"

Harry's expression hardened immediately as he spotted his cousin. "Hello Dudley," he greeted, all traces of emotion now gone from his voice, "your parents said you wouldn't be here."

"Plans fell through," Dudley answered simply.

"Well we're off," Harry continued. You ready Daphne?"

She made her way over to Harry and quickly grabbed his hand. "Goodbye," she replied as they headed out.

As Harry opened the door to leave they were stopped.

"Wait!" Dudley pleaded as he quickly bounded into the room. "Your girlfriend said you wouldn't be coming back...that you took care of the bloke causing all the problems."

"Yeah, we took care of him," he replied as he cast her a sidelong glance. "And I won't be back."

Dudley nodded, once again looking pensive. "Maybe...in ten years or so...if you want...we could meet to catch up. Just you and me...not my parents."

Harry looked stunned. He had braced for an insult and had received the exact opposite.

"Maybe," he finally replied. It was clear to Daphne it was the best he could offer.

She watched as Harry became visibly uncomfortable. "Look...I made an offer to your dad but he wouldn't listen. I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered before trailing off.

She watched as he pulled out the football from his bag and handed it to Dudley. "The main guy is dead but there are a few of his followers still out there looking for revenge so you lot could still be in danger."

"This," he continued as he pointed at the football, "is what we call a portkey. If any dodgy folks ever show up and you think you are in trouble this can magically transport you to safety. Just make sure you are all touching it and say "Harry" and you'll be transported to a safe place.

"Really?" he asked in wonder. "All I have to say is "Ha-"

"Don't say it while you are touching it!" Harry interrupted.

"Right," Dudley replied in embarrassment, carefully placing the ball on a nearby table. "Sorry."

Harry continued. "If they catch you by surprise and you can't get to it in time just tell them about the ball. Tell them it's a portkey that was set up so you could escape to where I am. Hopefully they'll be dumb enough to use it instead."

"You want me to send them your way?" Dudley asked disbelievingly.

"The portkey will transport them directly to a prison cell where magic can't be performed," Daphne interjected. "They will be trapped with no way to escape."

"Wow," he replied dumbly. "Okay."

"There is one more thing," Harry continued. "The last few summers I've had people secretly guarding me when I've stayed here. They've offered to keep watching the house through the end of summer to protect you and your parents but Vernon refused. If you want I can ask them to stay...just don't tell your dad. They don't deserve to be harassed for doing a nice thing."

"Yeah...sure," Dudley answered, furiously processing everything they had shared. "Do you really think we're in danger?"

"No," Harry answered simply, "It's merely a precaution. I think my friend Tonks is on duty right now...I'll let her know you'd like them to stay."

"Thanks Harry," Dudley offered.

"Sure thing," Harry replied clinically. "I'll be right back Daph," he said before quickly going outside to find Tonks.

After several moments of silence Dudley spoke. "I can see if we still have any old pictures of Harry when he was younger. There is a park down the street...maybe we could meet there next Saturday...at noon...and I can give you what I find?"

For the first time since going through the barrier at King's Cross Daphne smiled, heartened by the fact that one of Harry's horrible relatives had shown a bit of remorse...a bit of humanity. "That would be great. Thank you"

"We're all set," Harry said as he returned. "Bye Dudley," he spit out as he grabbed her hand once again and began walking down the drive.

"Goodbye," she heard Dudley say as Harry quickened his pace down the street.

As the park once again came into view she spoke. "Well he wasn't too horrible," she offered. "A bit dim but not horrible."

Harry chuckled. "Only took him sixteen years. Better late than never, I suppose. Did you keep your promise?"

"I did," she replied warmly as they discreetly ducked behind a cluster of bushes, preparing to apparate.

"Ready to go home?" she asked as she wrapped him in a hug. Technically minimal contact was necessary for dual apparition but this was much more preferable.

"You have no idea," he replied, the emotion clear in his voice.

Daphne planned on placing Harry's picture on the table next to her bed as soon as they arrived home.