On Sunday, October 18th. 2020 at 1: p.m. Hogwarts time, James, Albus, Devon and Lily held their weekly meeting in the Room of Requirement to learn about Potter-Dursley family history.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all opened their books to chapter ten of the Potter-Dursley family history book. Chapter ten was titled The Potter-Dursley Connection.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily read:
Dating back to the beginning of their traceable history, the Dursleys had always been a completely muggle family. Days, months, years, decades, generations, centuries, and even millennia passed and Dursley after Dursley continued to be completely muggle. This circumstance was aided by the fact the Dursleys had always been a one child per generation family. This reduced the number of marriages and therefore reduced the overall likelihood that any one of them might marry into a magical family. Time marched on and so did the Dursleys lack of magic. That all changed on April 4th, 2008 at 4:44 a.m. British time when Debra Dursley gave birth to her and Dudley Dursley's son Devon Dursley. Perhaps fittingly, the first ever magical Dursley took a while before his wizardry showed itself. When Devon had been a toddler, preschooler, and kindergartener, he had shown ZERO signs of possessing magic. The majority of witches and wizards reveal their magic as babies prior to even turning two years old. While it is fairly common for muggleborn witches and wizards to reveal their magic a little later, say around age three or four, the overwhelming majority of witches and wizards show signs of magic prior to their 5th birthday. In fact, only one to two percent of witches and wizards display their magic for the first time at a date later than their fifth birthday. Devon Dursley proved to be one such rare case of a late blooming wizard. On July 13, 2014 at 2:22 p.m. British time, six year old Devon Dursley was playing in his room and misplaced his favorite toy train. As Devon's frustration grew, there came a nanosecond where Devon's beloved misplaced train came zooming right into his hands, a classic case of accidental magic. Dudley knew enough about the Wizarding World to realize that what he had just seen was magic. He wasn't knowledgeable enough about the Wizarding World or about magic to know that Devon was a "late blooming wizard" so it was with an aura of calmness that Dudley explained to Debra what had happened and what it meant. Debra had no prior knowledge of the Wizarding World or magic. All she knew then was that she was going to support her son unconditionally and that she knew she could count on Dudley to do the same. Like all British witches and wizards, Devon received his Hogwarts letter on his eleventh birthday. Devon had mixed feelings about taking up his place at Hogwarts. While he relished the opportunity to become a fully trained and qualified wizard, he was also incredibly sad about leaving behind the three dear close friends he had in the muggle world, Miles Munson, Gary Coates, and Todd Murray. Devon had believed (incorrectly) that he would never see Miles, Gary, and Todd again after starting Hogwarts. However, being a firm believer that opportunity was both more important and more valuable than friendship, Devon never doubted that he made the right decision to take up his place at Hogwarts. On September 1st, 2019, Devon found himself standing outside the door of the very back compartment of the Hogwarts Express repeatedly dropping his trunk painfully on his right foot. After a while, two children of his own age, Harry Potter's youngest child and only daughter, Lily, and Lily's closest cousin and BFF, Hugo Weasley, approached the compartment. Hugo entered the compartment and settled himself in, but Lily stopped and helped Devon with his trunk, stowing it into the luggage rack for him. Doing this kind of favor for people was nothing new to Lily. In prior years, when James and Albus had come home for Christmas or for the summer, Lily had always carried their trunks to their rooms for them. Lily was the kind of person who frequently did courtesy favors for people, be it holding doors for people, helping people pick up things they had dropped, or helping people with their trunks. This "was who she was" and everyone who knew her appreciated her for it. Lily's gesture of helping Devon with his trunk that day made a lasting impression on Devon. Here he was struggling and here comes this total stranger of his own age who is only too happy to help him out. Devon was immediately struck by the kindness of an eleven year old girl. Not many people of that age did such favors for strangers. At that nanosecond, Devon realized he'd just met the most special friend he would ever make. However, he did have a moment of nervousness after he asked Lily her name and she had informed him that she was Harry Potter's daughter, Lily Potter. Devon had feared that Lily would not want to be his friend after she learned that he was Dudley Dursley's son due to the childhood enmity between Harry and Dudley. As kindly and warm hearted as Lily clearly was, Devon couldn't see her going against her father. But when Devon revealed to Lily that he was Dudley Dursley's son Devon, Lily vouched to give Devon a fair chance and judge Devon on his own merit and not his family's and assured Devon that Harry would want her to do so. This began one of the sweetest friendships in Hogwarts history. This meeting was also significant in that it was the first contact between a Potter and Dursley since the end of the second Wizarding War. Had Devon not been magical, there may never have been any future contact between the Potters and the Dursleys despite the families being related. In the postwar era, the Potters and the Dursleys had gone from despising each other to simply being nowhere near each other's radar screens. They barely realized each other existed. Devon and Lily meeting on their first day at Hogwarts was the key both to reconnecting the families and healing the wounds between them. In their first two weeks at Hogwarts, Devon and Lily had not known that they were related and had developed a best friend relationship. Ironically, Lily was the person who was most able to comfort Devon after his Grandma Petunia had died a few days into his Hogwarts career. Then a couple of weeks into their Hogwarts careers, Devon and Lily discovered via Devon's family tree in the Room of Requirement that they were related as second cousins. This didn't change their relationship much, but it did make the bond between them feel stronger. Not too long into Devon's Hogwarts career, he would become quite close with Lily's older brother, James. It would take longer for Devon and Albus to bond although they were usually cordial to each other. But while the meeting between Devon and Lily was the key event to reconnecting the Potters and the Dursleys, Harry Potter himself played a key role in healing the wounds between them. When Harry was picking up his children at King's Cross to take them home for Christmas 2019, James and Lily had introduced Harry to their newest friends. While Devon, Samantha, Stephanie, and Ainsley all seemed like decent people during Harry's brief meeting with them, Harry noticed how overweight Devon was. Harry, knowing of the trust that existed between Devon and Lily, assigned Lily a mission to talk with Devon and get through to him about the dangers of his lifestyle. Lily succeeded in this mission and when Dudley became aware of this mission and its results, he realized that Harry and Lily were responsible for saving his son's life. This resulted in Dudley wishing to make a connection with Harry. Dudley and Harry met up for first time as adults that next summer and would maintain a cordial relationship the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, Devon only grew closer to all three of his second cousins as time progressed, a circumstance sped up by the four having meetings in the Room of Requirement to learn about the Potter-Dursley family history. While there were a few flare ups during a couple of these meetings due to learning very emotional things, James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all were ultimately behind each other 100%. The close knit relationships between Devon and the three Potter siblings also helped to rebond Harry and Dudley as this meant they were seeing a lot of each other. From this point forward the Potters and Dursleys were rebonded.
"Wow!" chorused James and Lily in an awestruck voice after the reading was done, "July 13 at 2:22 p.m. British time! That's the date and time we were both born!"
"Really?' squealed Devon in disbelief.
"Really," chorused James and Lily.
"They were LIETRALLY born four years apart," explained Albus.
"I remember holding newborn baby Lily in my arms at the hospital just minutes after her birth," said James emotionally, "That is my earliest actual memory and that memory plays a role into why I still get some much warmth out of holding Lily in my arms and having her sit on my lap."
"I can feel that warmth being transferred from James to myself when he holds me or strokes/messes up my hair when I sit on his lap," said Lily in an equally emotional voice.
"Fate works in funny ways," said Devon thoughtfully, "Maybe that's part of that bond between our families that I discovered my magic on the same date and at the same time as two of you were born.
"You know?" said Albus briskly, "My birthday is July 31st, but my birth time was 4;44 a.m. British time."
"So, you and I share a birth time?" Devon grinned at Albus, "So many cool twists here!"
"Looks like you have these various connections with all three of us," said Albus.
"It's so wonderful!" smiled Devon.
"I know one point we all come back to is that the Potters and the Dursleys were never supposed to be enemies," said James matter of factly.
"I couldn't be prouder to part of the generation that rebonded our families," said Lily radiantly, "Devon, James's, Albus's and my lives are far better because of your presence in them."
"The feeling is mutual," answered Devon emotionally.
"If I may ask?" said Lily, "Devon how do you feel about being an only child?"
"I love it," said Devon instantly, 'It means that mom and dad have more time and attention for me at home, I am freed from potential sibling rivalry, I get my way in things, and mom and dad can spend more on me because I'm the only kid in the house. I share the historical Dursley viewpoint that being an only child is better than having siblings for those reasons."
"You can argue it either way, but I love having a brother and sister," said James warmly, smiling at Albus and Lily, "With siblings, I don't get lonely at the house, I always have people to play with/talk with/ do things with and I have people to support me during any hard times that may come up."
"I'm in agreement with all that," said Lily, smiling warmly at her brothers, "Many experiences in my life have been more fulfilling because I have gotten to share them with James and Albus."
"You can argue it either way," said Albus thoughtfully, "I think most people will be likely biased towards whichever situation they are in themselves if they are happy with their lot in life. and biased the other way if they are unhappy with their lot in life."
"Nailed it on the head," smiled Lily.
"You know," said James thoughtfully, "I've always appreciated how Lily does all those favors for us, such as carrying our trunks to our rooms for us when we come home from Hogwarts. But it's really something to think that a gesture of Lily helping Devon with his trunk led to such a special relationship."
"What comes around goes around," said Devon, "Remember when Lily kind heartedly arranged for me to be reunited with Gary, Miles, and Todd last Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving she got her prize(d) ring and made three new friends for herself into the bargain."
"Everything we're talking about here comes down to love and caring and kindness," said Lily meaningfully, "When dad gave me that mission to help Devon, he did so because he cared. He cared about what happened to my friend and he was also concerned in general about a kid whose life he saw spiraling out of control. It was Dudley's love of his son that cause to appreciate what dad and I did so much and want to make those connections."
"Lily is exactly right," said James firmly as Albus and Devon nodded fiercely, "Beautiful things grow from where love flows."
At that nanosecond, James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all engaged in a group hug and felt each other within themselves. At this nanosecond there were neither tears nor words nor anything tangible. It was simply a feeling, a feeling of being a special part of each other.
When they had let go, a note shot out of one of the now closed Potter-Dursley family history books.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily huddled together to read it:
Dear James, Albus, Devon, and Lily:
Your meetings to study Potter-Dursley family history have now concluded. You have learned all the history you can, and I am honor bound not to reveal anybody's future. All that is left for me to say is to encourage you four to stay as bonded with each other as you possibly can. It has been a pleasure teaching you about Potter-Dursley family history. I know I haven't come close to seeing the last of you as you will have other reasons to come see me, but you have now completed the Potter-Dursley family history course. As a reward for completing the course, I have treats for you that will present themselves after you finish reading this note, Well wishes
-The Room of requirement.
When James, Albus, Devon, and Lily had finished reading the note, it dissolved and a small bowl with four chocolate bars in it appeared. These were not James's beloved Old Faithful bars, but they did have chocolate and marshmallow. In fact, they had an outer chocolate layer topped with coconut and had a chocolate marshmallow filling. These chocolate bars were shaped like potatoes and called Idaho Spud bars.
Lily stood back as Devon, James, and Albus eagerly dug into the bowl and helped themselves to one candy bar each. After making sure that Devon, James, and Albus had all gotten theirs, Lily picked up the last candy bar in the bowl.
As had been the case with Old Faithful, the Idaho Spud bars were a smashing hit with James, Albus, Devon, and Lily, especially with James, who was in seventh heaven at any combination of chocolate and marshmallow.
After finishing the candy, James, Albus, Devon, and Lily hung back in the Room of Requirements for a few minutes just to savor each other's company.
This was the culmination of all these meeting in the Room of Requirement on Sunday afternoons.
They had all the knowledge they needed of Potter-Dursley family history and it was largely up to them to determine their futures.
There was an aura of peace about knowing everything.
And the connection they had felt during their group hug summed up everything.
They all loved each other with all their hearts, and nothing was purer than love.
