"Are you sure that he's gonna be there?"
Katherine Dursley asked this question innocently of her husband. She knew that Dudley had been on a mission - more like a quest really - to find his cousin Harry. They hadn't talked for over two decades. He didn't talk about it much, or give a lot of detail about why, but the last time they saw each other was the day before his cousin's seventeenth birthday.
"I'm not sure, love. But it's the only place I can think to look where he might be. If he's not there, then I might just have to give up."
She looked at him without saying anything. Then she walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You better get going then. Call me if you need anything. And if you want me there if he agrees."
Dudley got in his car and embarked on his mission. Even after all of these years, he knew he would have to be on time if there was a chance of finding them. Luckily, the streets of London proper were cooperating - a rare occurrence given the normally unholy amount of traffic that they house. Still, he would have liked to get there with more time to spare, but alas he couldn't - when one has children to look after, one's time is not one's own.
But in any case, 10:30 was not a bad time at all for his purpose. Parking his car, as had father twelve times during his childhood, he stood like a sentry in the concourse of King's Cross station. He knew that if Harry had children, at least of the proper age, he would be here. The first of July, 11 am. It was like that every year. Probably, Dudley thought, for at least a hundred years.
He also remembered the first year that they dropped Harry off. His father, as well as himself, had laughed at abandoning a child at a train station. His ticket bore a platform that was supposed to not exist, but rather than try to help out a confused 11 year old, they had laughed and walked away. He didn't know if Harry would forgive him for that and the million other things that were done to him - but he hoped that he would forgive the one who had gave him this impossible quest.
He found that he couldn't look directly at the pillar between platforms nine and ten. Somehow or other, whenever he tried to focus on it his mind seemed to scream to shift focus to something else. Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw someone that was there just disappear. But he could never see directly. He decided to keep shifting his focus between platforms nine and ten - since he was never directly focusing on the hidden platform, its magic didn't effect him, but if someone were to walk out he would see them.
He waited and waited. Starting at about 11:30, there started to appear strange people in the concourse. Many were actually relatively normal looking. But if one was in on the secret, one could tell by the owls kept in cages and the broomsticks fit to their carts that they were wizards. Dudley waited more, and hoped against hope that Harry had school-aged children.
"I should have known that I was just inviting trouble by naming you after my dad and Sirius."
Dudley had momentarily turned his back, but even after decades, Dudley recognized the voice. He spun on the spot. He saw where the voice had come from. He was still thin, but now with a leanness that betrayed a physical prowess. He walked with confidence and was clearly the one in control. He was immediately recognizable by his green eyes and, of course, the distinctive lightning shaped scar on his forehead. He was laughing with a boy who was, judging by the resemblance, his son. Another boy was walking with a woman with red hair, and a teenage girl, with the same red hair, was at the head of the small convoy of luggage carts.
Steeling himself, Dudley made his move.
Walking up to the small regiment, he tried to get the patriarch's attention "Excuse me, Harry."
"Not now, I'm with my family." The kept walking.
He must not have recognized me, Dudley thought.
"Please Harry, I need to talk."
"I said not now."
"HARRY IT'S IMPORTANT."
Dudley didn't like to be reduced to yelling in a public place - his mother's influence to not embarrass himself. A few passerby's momentarily shifted their attention to them, to see if there was anything worth noting. It however, had worked - Harry and his family had stopped. Harry turned and revealed the annoyed look on his face.
The annoyance changed to confusion as he realized who had called him. "Dudley?"
"Hey, Harry. I'm glad I found you."
Harry's heart started beating faster. He hadn't seen his cousin in over twenty years. But he still remembered all of the beatings, name-calling and abuse that his cousin had put him through. Buried in the back of his mind for all of these years, it all came back to him, wave after wave of memories crashing into the theater of his consciousness.
"What do you want, Dudley?" He said in far more rough a tone than he intended.
The rest of the Potters were surprised at the aggressive demeanor that the head of their family took with this person who was, to them, more like a character from a book than a real life human being. In most of the children books about Harry's life, which had proliferated after the war and the children had gotten their hands on (despite their parents' refusal to buy the book), the Dursleys were usually given in caricature. Vernon a large buffoon, pounding on a cupboard door with ape-like arms. Petunia a cruel taskmaster. Dudley usually as something close to a cruel imp that had no other purpose than to make life difficult for the hero of the story.
"I know you probably don't want to see me. And I don't blame you. But there is something important I need to ask you. You're the only one that can do it. Is there somewhere private we can talk?"
Harry stood for a couple of moments. Part of him wanted to tell Dudley to go to hell, and to sort out whatever trouble he had gotten into on his own. Another part of him knew that if Dudley had found him after all of this time, then he must be truly desperate. The battle raged inside of him. He finally settled that he could at least hear what Dudley had to say. If he didn't like it he could tell him to exactly where to go then. But where could they talk? Harry decided to take him to their home - Grimmauld Place. Even if he kicked Dudley out, it wasn't like he could come back and find it again.
"Ok." The tension in Dudley's shoulders softened, but didn't quite disappear. "We can talk at our house. Either Ginny or I will have to drive - you won't be able to see it."
"I'll drive. Where is your car?" Ginny asked. She suspected that if she let Harry drive him, one or both of them might not make it all the way back home.
"It's right this way." Dudley replied. As Harry went to their car to put all of the children's school things away. Ginny and Dudley made their way to his vehicle. He handed her the keys as she got into the driver's side.
"My name is Ginny by the way. I'm Harry's wife." She said.
"Nice to meet you, your family looks lovely." Dudley replied, each one wanting to be polite, but neither knowing exactly what to say in this situation.
Ginny decided on small talk as she pulled out of the drive. Her driving skills were not exactly the best, having grown up with more magical means of transportation, and still preferring floo or apparating to driving - and she didn't want the extra effort of deep conversation. "Thank you. Are you married?" She continued.
"Yes I am. I have three kids, the oldest looks to be a bit younger than your oldest. The youngest one is a bit younger than yours."
Ginny said "It's just up here" as they approached the hidden house. Just as they passed number 13, Dudley thought she had gone mad, since she wildly swerved and was headed straight at the house, with no sign of stopping short. Dudley braced himself for an impact. However one never came, and as soon as he passed where a wall should be he found himself looking at a small driveway next to a courtyard, with Harry and the kids getting out of the car in front of him.
"Sorry," said Ginny "should have warned you. We just don't get many muggles visiting and wizards can see it."
Ginny and Dudley got out of the car. The kids made their way inside, laden with their supplies from the year that had just ended.
Harry turned to Dudley "We can talk in the kitchen." He then turned to his children. "I want you to take your things to your rooms…and stay there. No eavesdropping."
"But Dad, we don't want to stay there…" Albus started, but quickly paused when he saw the look that his father was giving him.
Suddenly a voice that sounded like it should come from perhaps the most decrepit old man one could imagine spoke "Kreacher did not know we were having a guest. Should Kreacher put on some tea? Maybe make some biscuits?"
Dudley turned to the source of the strange voice. And the sight was even stranger. He saw a small creature, humanoid in appearance, but with arms and legs slightly too long in proportion. His eyes, ears, and nose were all quite large and he was wearing a white tea cozy.
In contrast to Dudley's shock, Ginny acted as if this strange creature was an every day occurrence. "Yes, please put on some tea, but biscuits won't be necessary." The small human bowed and disappeared. Seeing the look on Dudley's face, Ginny simply said "That's Kreacher, he's our house elf. He helps out with things around the house."
The three adults made their way to the kitchen. Kreacher had the tea ready in short order and made three cups for those there. Harry then got down to business.
"Why did you come here Dudley?"
Dudley stared into his mug. After a moment he spoke "She's dying."
"What? Who's dying?"
"Mum. After Dad went she held on for awhile, but she won't be around much longer."
Harry again felt a strange mixture of emotions. He felt anger at the multitude of horrors that the Dursleys had inflicted upon him. Sadness for the childhood that he was denied. And…grief? For Vernon Dursley?
When it became obvious that Harry was not going to say anything at that moment, Ginny filled the gap. "I'm so sorry."
The silence stretched on. Dudley seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, as if looking for something to say. Eventually, he settled on it.
"Harry…for what it's worth…I'm sorry."
Harry's eyes widened, and his heart sped up. He barely stopped himself from pulling out his wand and hexing Dudley.
"That's it? You're sorry? You and your parents put me through hell my entire childhood and now you come and say 'I'm sorry.' What - am I supposed to forgive you."
Dudley's voice was quiet. "No." he paused a brief moment then went on. "You don't have to forgive me - and to be honest, I don't expect it. We were horrible to you. What I can say, for my part, is that it was what I was taught. I saw how my mum and dad treated you and just followed what they did. That's no excuse, but it's my explanation. What happened to you should not have a happened to any child - let alone someone who has lost their parents.
If you never forgive me - if you tell me to shove it and kick me out to the street right now. Well, that might be what I deserve. But you should know that I have spent most of my life at this point trying to change the way that they taught me to think. I can't go back and change what happened to you. But I like to think I have changed from the boy I was back then."
Harry sat there stunned. He had no idea how to react. On the one hand this was Dudley - the same person who had treated beating him up like a sport, the boy who made sure that he knew that he was always unwanted in the family, the bully who made sure that he didn't even have school friends for a respite from his own personal hell. It was hard to believe that such a person could change.
But Harry then thought of a boy who grew up in the very house in which they now sat. Not of Sirius - the brave iconoclast, the one who always stood up on the side of right. Instead he thought of Regulus. One who went dark, intoxicated by the propaganda of his family. But also the one who changed his mind - and sacrificed his life in the hopes that the Dark Lord might be mortal when it came time for him to face the chosen one.
He felt something on his hand. He looked and saw that Ginny had grabbed it. He looked at her and gave a slight smile. He thought of others, those long dead. Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, even his own father. Why could it have happened to them, but not to Dudley?
He sighed deeply, then spoke "What do you want from us?"
"She wants to see you." was Dudley's response.
"Dudley - you know even wizards can't stop people from dying. And even our cures for things - a lot of them require a person to have magic."
"I don't think that that's what this is about. She's changed - for the better. Especially after Dad died. She asked me to find you. I didn't know how, but I had try - however bad she was to you growing up she's still my mum. I tried to google you, find you in the phone directory. I even started to look when I was out to see if I could catch someone who was a wizard, so I could give them a letter to send to you. I know it's a big ask, and I totally understand if you say no. All I can say is that I think she has changed also. That doesn't mean that you have to or that you owe it to her. But if you do want to see her, it has probably got to be soon. I obviously can't force you, and I'm not planning on trying to strong arm or guilt you into coming, and I wouldn't even if I could. But she wanted you to know that she would like to speak to you before she goes - so I worked to find you."
Harry sat there. Mulling over in his mind what to do. He squeezed Ginny's hand just a slight bit tighter. Rather than him responding, it was her that spoke.
"Honey - I think that you should go."
He turned to his wife, he was slight surprised at the suggestion. "Why?" he queried.
"This is all a lot, and it will take awhile to process your feelings. Dudley said that she has changed. The only things that I know about her are what you told me. So I don't know what she is now - all I know is that she was a monster growing up. But if you don't see her you will never know. Either she has changed, and you can see, or she hasn't, and you can see that also. But I know you - if you don't go you would always wonder what if you had. So you should go."
"I don't know —" Harry started to say.
"DAD YOU HAVE TO GO!"
The exclamation came as the door to the kitchen swung open. He silently cursed himself - he would usually put up an auditory ward for a conversation like this, but with the bombshell of seeing Dudley again, he had forgotten. With the foreseeable result of his kids listening at the door. The one who had burst in had been Lily - with Albus and James standing sheepishly behind her in the doorway.
Harry became a bit more stern with his daughter. "Lily, you shouldn't have been listening to our conversation."
Lily responded "I know Dad. I'm sorry. But you have to go see her. She wants to try to make things right after all of these years. You have to give her a chance. And even if she was bad she was basically your mum growing up - I want to meet the person who is like my grandmother once before she dies."
"Now wait just a minute, young lady. Even if I go, I don't think it is such a good idea to take you three."
"It might be." Dudley interjected timidly, being wary about interfering in his cousin's family. "You know…to let her know you turned out ok…despite…well everything."
Harry realized that his head was not in the right place to make a decision. He turned to Ginny "What do you think?"
Ginny thought for a moment. "We can take them. They aren't little kids anymore - James is almost 17. And if there is something you don't want them around for, I could take them while you finish up."
Harry considered her response. "Ok." was his final pronouncement.
Ginny then turned to Dudley. "Your family - will they be there? Do they know about magic?"
Harry didn't even realize that Dudley had a family. But looking closer now he could see a wedding ring on his cousin's finger.
"Yes they will be. and no they don't." Dudley replied "I know that talking about it to people not in the know is against your laws. Mum has been talking about it recently. But they all think that she's just losing it a little."
Ginny then turned back to her children. "Ok kids - that means if you're coming then you have to act right. No doing, talk about, or even hinting at magic - is that understood?"
Albus spoke up "Muuuum - we now how to act around muggles."
Dudley smiled to himself a little bit. Although the context was obviously different, the same tone was used many times by his own kids. Some things seem to transcend even the barriers between the muggle and the magical worlds.
Ginny gave her final pronouncement "Ok then, now go get ready." Then she turned to Dudley "I guess we will follow you in our car?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry should have recognized where they were going. Or at least have expected it. He didn't realize it at first, but as they got closer to their destination, memories of the places he was seeing, memories that he hadn't thought about for decades, came unbidden to his mind. Places where he would hide during 'Harry hunting.' Places where he would go when it all became too much. And there - the place where he fought off the two dementors attacking him and Dudley. But the bout of memories became all too forceful when they reached their destination - number 4, Privet Drive.
He should have expected it - after all, his aunt and uncle owned the house. And if she was terminal - why would she leave? But that still didn't make Harry ready for facing it. As he looked at the house it felt small - and not just because he had grown over the years. His palms started sweating and he could hear his heart thundering in his chest. His mind went blank.
"Is this where you grew up, Dad?
It was Albus who had spoke, and had pulled Harry out of the reverie of his memories. He wasn't 9 years old having to go face his aunt and uncle after messing up at school. He was chief of the auror division, a father, and the one who defeated the dark lord. He could face this.
"Yeah, kid. This is it."
They walked up to the house. Dudley walked up to door and put a key in. He opened it, as a voice unfamiliar to Harry called out from inside. "Dudley, is that you?"
"Yes, dear. We're out here." Dudley replied.
A woman emerged from one of the interior rooms of the house, jeans and a loose fitting top covered by an apron. She walked up to Dudley, hugged him and gave him a kiss. She said "I decided to make a little something, the kids were getting restless."
"Good idea, love. How's mum?"
Katherine's expression turned downcast. "She isn't doing too well. I don't know how much longer she has." Katherine then turned to Harry.
"You must be Dudley's cousin, Harry." She said, with a kind of forced cheerfulness "I'm Katherine, Dudley's wife."
"Nice to meet you." Harry said politely "and this is my wife Ginny, and my children: James, Albus and Lily."
"Oh you must be named after your grandmother — you look a lot like her. Especially those eyes that you got from your dad."
Harry's face must have betrayed his surprise. How would Katherine know at all how Lily Evans looked?
Katherine must have seen the confusion on Harry's face. She explained "We were cleaning up the attic and found an old photo album. Lot's of photos of your mum and aunt. It's been by Petunia's bed - I think she likes to look at them from time to time. I actually have copies here for you" as she handed him a stack of photographs. "There's actually one person who showed up in a lot of the pictures. Dudley said that you met a lot of people who knew your mum, so maybe you saw him. I couldn't figure out who he was, but with him around so much he must have been a friend of the family, right? He and Lily look close in a lot of the pictures. I was wondering if we should try to find him before…well, if he is alive that is. This is him here."
She pointed out one photograph to Harry, and pointed to a boy. The picture seemed to be of one of Lily's birthday parties. She was leaning over a huge cake, obviously sucking in air to blow out the candles with. There were many people sitting around the table, mostly children with their parents standing behind or around them. In the background was Petunia, sitting in a hunched position, arms crossed in front of her, staring off into space, separate from the celebration going on. But the boy that Katherine had pointed to was sitting right next to Lily. He had a big hooked nose, long black hair, and was wearing clothes that were a couple of sizes too big for him. He seemed tense, as if expecting for something to happen that required quick action, but was also smiling adoringly at Lily.
"That's Severus Snape." Harry explained. Albus' interest piqued - he always wanted to hear information about his namesakes. "I did know him. He and my mum were friends when they were kids. But he died a long time ago. I don't think he and my aunt got on anyway."
"Oh." said Katherine "well it's good to know anyway." She paused for a moment "I guess we should introduce you kids to your cousins." She turned shouting into the house: "HEY, EVERYONE GET IN HERE."
The first to arrive was a teenage boy, with ripped jeans and a Metallica t-shirt. He had an ear-ring in one ear and had an earbud stuck in the other, with part of his hair dyed blue. Harry wondered for a brief moment if this kid was adopted, since he had skepticism that anyone this "alternative" could come from the line of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. He was followed into the room by two younger girls - presumably his sisters.
"Daniel this is your father's cousin, Harry. Harry this is our son, Daniel."
"Wicked scar" Daniel said "how'd you get it?"
"Daniel!" Dudley scolded "You can't just ask people things like that!"
A half-hearted "Sorry" was Daniel's response.
"It's fine." Harry replied "I got it when I was a kid — don't even have a cool story to go with it."
"Bummer"
Katherine continued with the introduction. "And this is our older daughter - Elizabeth. Everyone calls her Lizzy." The girl was about 12 or 13 years old, but dressed far more conservatively than most people her age. She had glasses and wore her hair up in a bun. She was holding a book in her hand - she had obviously been reading it when her mother had called her in.
"Nice to meet you" She said very formally.
"You as well." Harry said
Katherine then motioned to the youngest of the three, who looked to be about seven. "And this is our youngest, Petunia. We call her 'Little Tuney'."
"Mum, don't call me 'little'" the girl said in a whine, but then broke into a wide smile as she turned to her newly introduced family. She was bouncing around like a ball of energy. "Hi, I'm Tuney, I'm named after my grandma - who are you?"
Harry smiled to his small relation "I'm Harry, I'm your dad's cousin."
"I didn't know my dad had a cousin."
"We haven't talked in awhile."
"Oh, well now that you found each other, maybe you can come play with me sometime!" Tuney shouted as she ran into the other room. Katherine smiled "I better go after her. Maybe you lot better get upstairs. Harry and Ginny, it was nice to meet you. Dudley called me from the car so I put on some extra roast - there is more than enough if you want to stay for dinner - but if you don't, I understand. You should also know in case Dudley didn't tell you, Petunia might not be all there - she keeps going on about how you and your mum were magic and things like that. If she seems confused, Dudley said it's best to just play along with it."
"Thanks" Harry said.
Katherine went to make sure her youngest wasn't getting into any trouble, as the two older Dursleys went back into the house to resume whatever activities their mother had pulled them away from. Dudley, along with the Potters, went upstairs. Harry's heart felt heavy in his chest as they passed his old room - that is, the one that he got when the letters started arriving. This feeling, like a lead weight, grew more profound as they approached the master bedroom. Dudley slightly opened the door and gently knocked.
"Hey, Mum." He said quietly "How are you doing? I've brought someone that I think you might like to see."
Harry came into the room behind Dudley, with the rest of his family filing in behind him. As they walked in, Petunia's eyes were fixed on Harry - she barely even noticed the rest of the coterie walk in. Whenever he had chance to be called into this room as a child, it was never a pleasant experience. But this time, Harry took in the sight of his aunt. She was so much different than the woman that he remembered. Gone was the strength to lift a frying pan, much less aim it at a child's head. She could no longer crouch by fences to try to eavesdrop on neighbors. Instead on the bed was a frail woman, with thin skin and grey hair. She seemed to barely have the strength to continue breathing.
There were an array of chairs around the bed - set up so that the family could come and see her. Dudley took the one closest to his mother, with Harry sitting next to him. On the other side of the bed were three chairs - claimed by the Potter children. Ginny stood discretely off into the corner.
"Harry" Petunia started to say, her breathing labored, "I'm glad you came."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "Harry, I owe you an explanation. There is nothing to excuse the way that I treated you, but I want you to understand me…maybe that will help you find some peace with what was done to you. What I did to you."
Harry sat shocked, waiting for her to go on.
"My home growing up was horrible. I didn't realize it until far too late, but most of my pain came from then. I had a lot in common with that Severus boy, only none of my scars were on the outside. My father was alright, when he was around. By your grandmother - she was evil. She made sure that I knew that she only had so much love to give - and that all of it went to my sister. I don't blame your mum, she was just being herself. She was smarter than me, funnier, more sociable and, most of all, had our mother's love that I was denied.
When we were small, it wasn't so bad. Even if mum was bad, I could always go to Lily to help. She was like that…kind…always helpful. That's why she got involved in fighting those people. We got on well…it wasn't until the letters came from your school that we started to drift apart. There it was - reality itself confirming what I already knew. That Lily was magical - in more ways than one - and that I was not. Then she went away, to a castle out of a fairytale, while I was left alone without anyone to help or protect me."
Harry sat there. He never really thought about how it was for the families of muggleborns, for those left behind. How they saw their brother or sister join a world that they could never be a part of, no matter how hard they tried. Petunia continued.
"It was then that I started to feel bitter. I hated what was happening to me, and I felt like your mother abandoned me. I was all alone, with no one to protect me from our mother. I was in so much pain that I didn't know what to do. And when my parents were killed - by the people with the skull and snakes - I snapped."
Harry was shocked again. He didn't know that his grandparents were killed by death eaters.
"I felt that your mother had again not protected us - protected me. That was when we truly lost each other. And not too long after that - you showed up on our doorstep, with a note from that headmaster explaining that my sister had died, and that to protect her son, he had to come live with me.
I should have watched over you better. Like Lily would have watched over Dudley, if the roles had been reversed. She was always better than me. Braver. Kinder. But from when I was a child, I was taught the lie that one only has so much love to give. And I was going to be damned if I didn't make sure my son didn't receive it all. It was only realized that what your old headmaster said all those years ago was right…love is the greatest magic of all and it's available to both muggle and wizard. And I should have loved you like a son as well.
Harry. I can't make up for what happened, but I am truly sorry. I hope that if you have kids of your own, you don't make the same mistakes that I did. I hope I haven't ruined your life."
Harry sat there collecting his thoughts. He could hear Ginny crying softly in the corner. He took a deep breath. Part of him wanted to yell at his aunt, to let her know that her apology meant nothing, and that the past is what it is. But a larger part of himself could feel empathy with her life story. Her entire family was taken by magic - some multiple times. And then it just showed up on her doorstep again. What she did was wrong - but it seemed like she had really changed. He considered what he would want his children, who were sitting across the bed, to do. He made his decision and spoke.
"Aunt Petunia, I forgive you." Petunia's body let go of the tension that it was somehow holding. "It was a long time ago…and I've grown up. You haven't ruined my life, my life is great. And I do have a family…I want you to meet them."
He motioned Ginny to come closer.
"This is my wife Ginny. And these are my kids." Motioning to the side of the bed that they were sitting on.
"This is my oldest son, James."
"James…" Petunia said absently, as if recalling a far off memory.
"And this our second son, Albus."
"I met an Albus once..."
"And this is our daughter —"
"Lily…" Petunia said
"Well - yes - but how did you —"
Tears started to well up in Petunia's eyes as her voice cracked "You came back for me."
The pieces fell into place. A person familiar with them both could tell them apart, but one who's mind had gone and was on the verge of death could easily have gotten grandmother and granddaughter confused.
Lily looked up at her father, silently asking him what she should do. "Do whatever you are comfortable with, honey." He responded "you don't have to do anything that you don't want to."
Lily looked down for a moment, then her face hardened with resolved. It softened as she looked back at Petunia.
"Of course I did, Tuney." Lily said "You didn't think I would leave you behind, did you?"
"Lily" Petunia said "I'm sorry…for everything."
"Ssshh. That was a long time ago, it doesn't matter anymore. But we're here together now." Lily paused "And we'll be together again soon. Forever. Somewhere where there isn't any pain. And where everyone has magic."
"And we'll be sisters again?"
"Yes, of course, Tuney."
"That will be enough."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and turned to the other side of the bed.
"Dudley." She called.
He grabbed her hand. "I'm here mum." He said quietly.
"Let me look at you."
He leaned in so that she could have a full view of his face. She took her free hand and and rubbed the side of his face and smiled at him. She put it back down next to her.
"I love you, more than you will ever know."
She then closed her eyes. And with that, Petunia took her last breath.
Dudley was still holding onto his mother hand. He was not crying out, but clearly tears were rolling down his cheek. Ginny quietly said "I should go tell Katherine." and quietly left the room.
"That was a real good thing you did there." Dudley said to Lily "You didn't have to do that for her."
"It was the least that I could do." Lily said absently.
Katherine came into the room, and knelt by her husband, taking his hand in hers and placing her other hand on his back. Harry stood up. "Let's give them some privacy" he said to his children. They made their way downstairs. The children went to go wait in the living room, while Harry stepped out onto the back porch.
He sat down on one of the lawn chairs, put his head in his hands and started crying. Ginny came, sat next to him and simply put her arm around his shoulder.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Potter family was invited to the funeral, which they attended. It was a somber affair. Harry saw that many of the people in attendance were friends that Petunia had made after he had lost contact with the Dursleys. He was also surprised that many of them had a very high opinion of him. Apparently, rather than the lie about St. Brutus' to cover up for Hogwarts, she had changed the story that he went to an elite school for the gifted and was top of his class.
The service itself was nice, with Dudley, Katherine, and many others giving eulogies. It seemed that in her latter years, Petunia had made quite a positive impact on many people. The minister asked Harry if he wanted to give a speech, but he declined - he wasn't sure what he would have said.
After the service, the Potters and the Dursleys go to Dudley's house. Many of the attendees at the service had brought dishes for them so that they didn't have to deal with the stress of cooking in their grief. They were all in the back yard - the adults sitting on the porch and the kids playing.
"That was a nice speech that you gave Dudley." Harry said.
"Thanks." Dudley replied "Listen, Harry. I don't know if you're up for it, but it might be nice to try to stay in touch — "
Just then they hear a loud crack. For a split second, Harry had thought someone had apparated. But no - little Tuney had been climbing high up in the tree and the crack was a branch that could no longer support her weight, catching the attention of everyone in the yard.
The heart of every parent there skipped a beat. But then something strange happened. Rather than speeding towards the ground, Tuney drifted back and forth and lightly landed on the ground, just like a leaf.
There was silence for a moment, before all of the Potters started talking at once.
"Which one of you —"
"This is serious, you could get in trouble — "
"You weren't even supposed to have your wands —"
"It wasn't ME —"
Then Harry realized what had happened. But before he could take control of the situation, there were another two loud cracks. These ones were, in fact, apparition. Two very official looking wizard stood there in blue robes with a script O sown into the chest - obliviators.
They looked around. The surprise on their faces was evident when they saw Harry.
"Chief Potter. What are you doing here? Is there something more serious going on?"
"No. This is my cousin's house. Why did you come?"
"The trace was activated. We were coming to protect the statute."
"The statute is intact. My cousin's kid just showed her first sign of accidental magic. The trace was activated because my children are also here. Your services are not needed, I'll take care of it."
"Yes, sir, sorry for the trouble" The obliviator said, then he turned to Dudley. "Congratulations." Both then disappeared.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Katherine blurted out "Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?"
Dudley said "Perhaps it's better if we take this indoors."
Dudley went to go pick up his daughter who had fallen. She had been laughing when she hit the ground, but was getting upset due to all of the commotion that obviously had something to do with her. They all made their way inside and sat in the living room. Tuney ran to her mother and sat on her lap. Harry and Dudley stood before their families.
Dudley started. "Love, there has been something that I haven't been completely honest about. While yes Harry did go to special boarding school growing up, it wasn't really for the type of gifted that I implied." He paused "It was a school for wizards. Harry, and the rest of his family, have magic."
Katherine face screwed up, as if working on problem that she couldn't quite figure out, or that she couldn't quite decide on which question to ask next. She finally just said "You aren't having me on, are you?"
"No, love. Look at what just happened. How can you explain that without magic?"
Katherine had to concede that point. "Why didn't you tell me?" She said.
"He wasn't allowed to." Harry cut in "There are pretty strict laws about who can know. That's how we stayed secret for all of these years. I'm sure he wanted to tell you, but basically the only muggles - that's non-magical people - that are allowed to know are those who live with a witch or wizard."
"So when you saw Tuney about to fall, you used magic to slow her down so that she wouldn't get hurt?"
"None of us used any magic today."
It took a minute for the implications to dawn on her. "You mean Tuney did that?"
Tuney turned to look up in surprise at her mother.
"Yes, but accidentally, she can't control it yet." Harry said, before leaning down so that he was eye level with wide-eyed Tuney. "You have magic, and when you get a bit older, you can go to a special school where they will teach you how to use it."
Tuney just said "I have a lot of toy wands upstairs that I play with. Do I get a real-life magic wand?"
"Yes, dear, but when you're a bit older."
Tuney started talking at a mile a minute about all of the magic that she wants to be able to do. The rest of the family - both the Potters and Dursleys - were excited as well. Plans were being made to take a trip to Diagon alley - in order to introduce them to the magical world well ahead of time. There was only one person who didn't share in the excitement. Slipping out unnoticed, Elizabeth Dursley quietly left the room.
Or, at least, she thought she was unnoticed.
"You doing ok, kid?" She heard her father's voice say behind her.
"I'm fine." She grumbled.
"No you're not. Lizzy, you practically deflated when Harry told Tuney that she was magical. Something is going on and I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me."
"Fine…it's just that Tuney gets everything in life. She's obviously prettier than I am, she makes more friends, and she's gonna be way smarter, people like her more. And now she's literally MAGIC. Why can't I just have one lucky break?"
"That's tough." Dudley responded, his mind on his own mother. "I can understand how you feel. Harry and I didn't have the best relationship growing up, but when he went away I did sometimes wonder what it would be like to go and learn about things so far out of the ordinary. But I eventually realized my life was mine to live. And let me tell you - your sister looks up to you a lot."
"Really?"
"Of course. And yeah, maybe she has some advantages, but you also have a lot of things going for you. You're dependable, you're very practical and willing to do the right thing when it counts, even if it's difficult. Your little sister is going to need you and you're going to need her. You should stick together."
Lizzy was quiet for a moment. Then Dudley continued.
"Listen, kid. You don't have magic, there's nothing that can change that. But that doesn't mean your life can't be magical. It's up to you to choose how you want to live your life. If you want to make an amazing life - well not having magic won't stop you. It's up to you."
Lizzy thought about what her dad said for a moment.
"Thanks Dad" Lizzy said, as she gave him a hug.
"Don't mention it, kiddo." Dudley said "now let's go celebrate with your sister."
And with that they rejoined the rest of the family, making plans to see a little Petunia Dursley off to the magical world.