Classes for the 2020-2021 school year started on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020.
On Friday, September 4th, 2020, the first mandatory library sessions were held.
Not much of note happened in either of those.
And on Sunday September 6th, 2020, at 1 p.m. Hogwarts time, James, Albus, Devon, and Lily resumed their meetings in the Room of Requirement to learn about Potter/Durley family history. They had decided to do this every Sunday until they finished the book.
As James, Albus, Devon, and Lily entered the room, a feeling of familiarity sank in on them. Upon entering the room, each of them felt as those they had just left it the day before even though it had been months.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all automatically found their favorite Room of Requirement sofa seats. After enough times, each of them found his or her way to his or her favorite sofa seat without thinking about it.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all opened their books to Chapter seven.
Chapter seven was titled The Naming of Devon Dursley.
"Ohhhh!" said Devon eagerly, "I am about to find out why dad named me Devon!"
"I'm really happy for you to have this opportunity, Devon," said Lily genuinely, "There have been a few more Potter centric chapters and a few mixed chapters so far, but this is the first Dursley centric chapter we've encountered."
"The one thing Devon already knows is that Dudley is the only person who had any say in his naming, I am right?" asked James.
"Correct," said Devon, "Dad has always said that he had a very specific reason for naming me Devon, but he's never told me what that reason is. He has told me that he thought that knowledge would come to me at some point. "
"Let's get cracking them," said Albus.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all read:
When it came time for Dudley Dursley to name his son, it was a decision he took very seriously. Of course, all fathers should take the naming of their children seriously, but Dudley took this decision especially seriously because he knew that Devon would be his only offspring. For thousands of years it had been Dursley family tradition to have only one child. The Dursleys had always believed it best for a child to grow up as an only child. For one thing, only children would never have to deal with 'sibling rivalry." For another, having only one child allows that child to get more attention from his or her parents. Sure, this did mean that Dursley children were often spoiled but the Dursleys had never seen any problem with this. In fact, many Dursleys, including both Dudley and Devon, were believers that it was worth sacrificing some character to gain more happiness. Not having to divide attention between children had always been the biggest of all reasons that the Dursleys had historically and still believed in being a one child per generation family. On one hand, the Dursley family philosophy of "one child per generation." had indeed led to strong parent-child bonds in the Dursley family. Unfortunately, Dudley Dursley's father and Devon Dursley's grandfather Vernon Dursley had disowned them when he discovered that Devon was magical. Vernon had also disowned Petunia for being supportive of Devon being magical. Having disowned all his living family expect his sister Marge, Vernon became a workaholic. The good news, however, is that a VERY strong bond between Devon and Dudley and Debra has reestablished the close knit relationships the Dursleys have always had amongst themselves. Of course, the downside of "one child per generation." is that it makes the end of the family line much more likely. If that one child never marries, then there are no kids in the next generation to keep the legacy alive. Still, the Dursleys had always taken that chance and the line is still alive as of now. Knowing that Devon would be his only child, Dudley wanted to name his son after someone who had really done something special for him. Well, after Voldemort died, Dudley turned eighteen and he decided to go away to the United States for college. Great Britain would always be home and he knew he would return home after college. But, after everything that had happened in the years leading up to his turning eighteen, the diet, the dementors, having to abandon house and go into hiding, Dudley wanted to get away from it all for a while. His ideal situation would be to attend a United States university for four years, then return to Great Britain and start a new British life. Ideally, he would be able to marry quickly after moving back to Britain and move into an adult house and hopefully have his child soon thereafter. There was one major problem: Being forced into hiding had prevented Vernon from working during that time so the Dursleys didn't have as much money at that time as they normally would. Well, when Dudley Dursley was researching a handful of United States colleges via various websites, he had mentioned his hopes and financial situation in a comments section of a website on comparing universities. In a genuine act of kindness, a wealthy stranger who did not wish to give his last name, but who went by the first name of Devon, stepped forward and became a donor to Dudley. "Devon" arranged for Dudley to receive full tuition, room, student fee, book, and meal money for four years. Dudley simply communicated with "Devon" what his needs for each semester were as the semester approached via the internet and "Devon" would put the needed amount of money in the Dursleys bank account. Not only that, but, after Dudley married Debra and moved into his adult house, "Devon" provided funds that paid for the Dursleys house to be both painted and furnished. Though it wouldn't be long after Dudley's and Debra's marriage that the Dursleys became wealthy again, and, in fact, more wealthy than ever before, Dudley never forgot how much "Devon" had helped him when he really needed it and he thus named his son Devon in honor of the kind donor. Dudley's choice to name his son Devon was a sincere gesture of gratitude towards a man who had helped out when he had really needed help. He had informed his wife Debra as well as several of his friends, including his best friend Piers, of his decision to name his son Devon a few weeks before his birth and they could tell how genuine this decision was. To honor and acknowledge "Devon", Dudley named his son Devon.
"That just goes to show how different dad is as an adult from his childhood self," said Devon proudly, "As a child dad would have accepted the money without even thinking about it. As an adult, dad appreciates and remembers when someone does something for him."
"You know," said James thoughtfully, "This Devon's gesture seems like the type of thing Lily would do. A generous act of kindness to help out a total stranger. Here's a guy who saw that someone needed help, realized he was in a position to help, and did."
"I always like stories like this," said Lily warmly, "It's sad that Dudley was in that position through no fault of his own but it's heartwarming to read about "Devon's act of kindness to help Dudley out."
"Devon was a fantastic name choice given what "Devon," had done for Dudley," said James approvingly, "This story may not have the same level of emotional significance that the naming of we Potters did but I have great respect for a person who can remember who helped him or her when he or she needed help long after things get better."
"People do tend to lose perspective quite easily," admitted Albus, "But not Dudley. And I also give Dudley credit for keeping the naming of Devon to himself."
"The only person who has any right to name any baby is the baby's father," said Lily firmly, "Keeping this decision to himself is part of being a good father in my opinion."
"You're totally right about that Lily," said Devon cheerfully, "Now that I know why dad named me Devon, I am very proud to carry the name Devon."
Devon felt his heart warming as he let the story of his naming sink in on him.
Knowing now about "Devon", Devon couldn't be prouder of his dad for naming him Devon.
