Story Title: RIPPLE EFFECT

Summary: rip·ple ef·fect

Noun

the continuing and spreading results of an event or action.

Chapter Rating: K+

"speech"

'thoughts'

Chapter One (October 31st – December 31st 1999)

Petunia didn't grimace or scowl at the colorfully dressed group of children that came knocking at her door. A few years ago she might have done just that or even have ignored them by turning off her porch light to indicate that they didn't celebrate the holiday. Nor did she feel inclined to glare at the child dressed as a witch or slam the door in the hopeful smiling face awaiting a treat to be dropped into her open bag. Instead, the woman just gave the children a smile, reached into the large bowl filled with candy that she'd brought with her before opening the door, and dropped a couple pieces into each waiting bag or bucket. The politer children said thank you before darting off to the next house with their friends, parents, or siblings.

Vernon had gone to the store to pick up a bag or two more of candy taking their son with them hoping the drive would lull the child to sleep. They had agreed that rather than trying to put Dudley down for a nap or perhaps the children frightening him with their costumes, it would be best if he went with Vernon. Neither he nor Petunia had dressed up or had their son in a costume but neither begrudged the parents who were accompanying children who were dressed up. Just as long as none of her sister's kind from that world showed up. While Petunia didn't abhor this holiday as much as she had in the past, it didn't mean that she still didn't dislike it to a certain degree. Most people would say that you weren't normal if you didn't celebrate the holiday, and the Dursleys were normal thank you very much; which meant they had secrets just like everyone else. Both Vernon and Petunia had been raised in families that believed and practiced not 'airing their dirty laundry in public' as the saying went. That was why their neighbors weren't aware that Vernon's sister who only visited every so often was a verbally abusive alcoholic that basically owned a puppy mill. Nor that Petunia had a witch for a sister who was currently in hiding from an evil cult of their kind its psychopathic leader.

The two sisters had been able to keep in touch with the only magical item in the Dursley home which thankfully didn't look out of place. It was ironically James Potter who had given Lily the idea and the two had worked on the ornate homemade keepsake boxes. The boxes worked as a mix of the pocket mirrors James and his friends had used in school along with the in/out boxes used in the Ministry of Magic to deliver paperwork. One sister would write a letter and put it in their box and it would appear in the other's box. It was the only way the sisters could talk and that wouldn't be intercepted. It helped that they could still talk after a fashion while Lily was in hiding. They had communicated their irritations with their husbands during their pregnancies, how it felt to have their sons moving in their wombs, along with a lot of other things that were insignificant as well as those that were important to them and personal. They traded photographs so they could see how their families were doing. To keep Petunia safe Lily after seeing photos of Dudley, Petunia, or a family picture of the three Dursleys, she would send the pictures back. Petunia once she got them back would put them in a scrapbook hoping to be able to deliver it to her sister once the mess with the evil wizard was done with. Lily in return never sent moving photographs to Petunia and the pictures she sent were only of her and her son. Occasionally they would have James in them but only because her son was the main feature in the picture.

The two women had a set schedule that they followed when they 'spoke' to one another. They were due to send letters tomorrow to share how their holiday went. The first Halloween neither had much to share as they'd had a three and four month old baby to take care of. Lily had confided that she didn't have such a love for the horror aspect of the holiday after seeing what she had with the wizarding war that was going on. Petunia herself had never been that interested in that genre. This year however both were a bit busy seeing as they now had a fifteen and sixteen moth old child which meant they were a bit more active. This year Petunia had also been handing out candy and had planned on asking Lily if their kind were about ringing doorbells as well.

Sunday was not the day they sent letters which was why later that night after putting Dudley to bed Petunia was surprised to see the letter box was not its usual rich mahogany color but a paler shade. It had never done that before. Usually whenever a letter was awaiting for Petunia to read the box's engraving on top would change subtly. With a frown, she'd reached taken the lid off and was surprised that more than just a letter was in the box. The letter bunched as her fingers clenched tightly to it as the hand shook. Vernon seeing how pale his wife's face became as well as the expression wondered in concern, "What is it, Pet?"

The man was content with his wife's deal with her sister as long as that no good husband of hers stayed away and never contacted them unless it was absolutely necessary. He'd been intrigued when he got the gist of how the box worked and stated it would help clear up his in/out box if they worked like that! Just seeing how much paperwork awaited him some days didn't provide inspiration to motivate a person.

"She's dead." It took a moment to sink in. "Lily's dead."

In Godic's Hollow the protection that had surrounded the Potter home fell and brought attention to it. Due to the holiday some of the neighbors weren't home as they were out celebrating. Those that were home hadn't been expecting the small earthquake that had rocked the neighborhood due to the concussive blast of the magic from the Potter home when it exploded. Once they had noticed the condition of the house, those of a mind dialed the emergency number and stayed on the line to continue to give updates to the operator unsure what to do otherwise.

Outside the house Sirius Black and Hagrid discussed the Potters' son Harry or rather who he was to go to. The half-giant informed the distraught man that he'd had orders from Dumbledore to bring him to him. Unbeknownst to both, the headmaster had sent Hagrid ahead after being told by his spy that Voldemort planned on attacking the Potters, only he attacked before anyone could do anything with that information. Sirius knowing that Dumbledore was the strongest wizard alive at the moment would be able to protect the child, so he went to confront their betrayer seeking revenge but left his beloved motorcycle in Hagrid's care. The half-giant was able to retrieve the boy before the neighbors started to swam the house their concern and curiosity overriding their fear.

With the exhausted child who'd cried himself to sleep, Hagrid had bundled him in a blanket to keep him warm as he placed him carefully in the sidecar of the motorcycle and drove away. They made their way to London where Hagrid stopped to get some food for himself and little Harry. Showing some rare common sense the man didn't take the floo but had used it to communicate with Dumbledore. The wizard stepped through later and took the boy to St. Mungo's to be looked over to be sure he was alright. In hindsight he might have gone with his original plan of taking the boy to Hogwarts and Poppy Pomfrey to look over despite her expertise being with juveniles from ages eleven to eighteen. While at St. Mungo's it was clear that aside from the nasty gash on the boy's forehead and being emotionally exhausted the boy was healthy. The only thing about the cut on the forehead they could tell was that it was cursed magically and wondered what could have caused it. Later, the healers would talk amongst themselves then hearing about the Potter's house and how Lily and James were dead would slot things into place that made sense to them; hence the story came about of the Boy-Who-Lived. It was only later confirmed when early the next morning Sirius Black was arrested after decimating a street with muggles and former friend Peter Pettigrew.

Dumbledore had taken the boy Hogwarts where he left him in Hagrid's care while he tried to get ahead of the press. Severus was keeping to himself feeling overwhelming grief that he had been the one to cause the death of his very first friend whom he'd come to love. After confirming to Dumbledore that the dark mark was faded, the old man knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Death Eaters realized what that meant. The old wizard had to act quickly in order to ensure that Harry would be safe. Knowing many would want to take their revenge upon the innocent child, Dumbledore went to the Dursley residence while invisible and was about to set some wards but paused. There were some protection wards already in place which he recognized Lily's handiwork in them and it caused the man to smile. Despite everything the woman had ensured that her muggle family would come to no harm. Adding his own atop hers being sure they wouldn't work against each other but complimented and worked together, he left satisfied that this would be the perfect place to ensure Harry's safety for the time being.

Word had quickly spread about the Potters, Harry's role, and how it had vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Wizards who were either brave or foolish were celebrating the evil wizard's downfall while Voldemort's followers were quickly working to keep themselves out of prison by either bribery or with a silver tongue. Among those who were able to talk their way out of Azkaban was the Lestranges who had decided to make themselves scarce as they tried to find out where their lord had went to quell these vicious rumors of his supposed death. Many more would be quickly tried over the coming week.

It had been three days since the last letter Lily would ever write to her sister had been delivered. In the letter it had explained how it had been pre-written with the hopes she would never have to send it. It stated that if she managed to send it then the nasty cult leader had found them due to a mole. The Potters hadn't known who to trust and Lily hadn't trusted all those her husband had and unknowing what the future would hold, had laid down all of her thoughts, requests, as well as instructions should certain events happen. There were regrets that she wouldn't be able to not only see her own son grow up but she wouldn't be able to personally meet her nephew or thank Vernon face to face for being open minded enough and kind for not hating everything magic to allow the bond that the sisters had reforged. That had shocked Vernon and had him clearing his throat gruffly. It had given the man something to think about.

Vernon had thought of calling in on the first day to take the day off due to family but his wife forbade it. Her face had still been pale and eyes red rimmed from crying but that Evans' stubbornness and determination and fire dominated her expression and demeanor. "You read the letter, Vernon. They might be watching. We aren't supposed to know."

Resignedly knowing his wife was right, Vernon had agreed with her that they should go about their day business as usual. The wizards weren't to know that the Evans sisters had kept in touch these past year nor that they knew of the Potters' death. Only James had known about his wife's correspondences with her sister and had been sworn to secrecy about it. As non-magicals they shouldn't know about the secret war being fought. They waited but in the three days there had been no word from anyone to inform them of Lily's death which caused a new anger in Petunia as she already knew that she wouldn't likely be able to go to her sister's funeral. They tried to maintain that the common belief that no news was good news and that perhaps Lily's son was in the care of his godfather. They would give it a week before they would discuss what to do in regards to Lily's letter.

They didn't have to wait that long as that day Vernon had sworn he saw a cat reading a map as he left then the other strange happenings that day. A stone had settled in his stomach when he'd gone to get himself a bun at the bakery for lunch (what Petunia didn't know couldn't hurt him, only his waistline a little bit) and overheard what could only be those kind of people talking about 'Potters' and 'their son Harry'. Vernon thought wizards were a bit backwards and insufferable fools who couldn't be more obvious. Pompous and thought magic trumped everything which was one of the reasons he'd disliked Potter when he'd met him, aside from taking a go at his pride. The thought about wizard kind only cemented as the day wore on and hearing the news about shooting stars and owls and the like. Then as if they hadn't done enough to his wife's family she had to find their orphaned nephew on the stoop as if he were the morning paper or a package.

Both adults had read the letter placed with the boy and Vernon couldn't help his snort of derision towards this Dumbledore fellow. Even if the man had placed spells and such to keep the boy warm, asleep, and keep predators away, it was a rather foolish and rude thing to do. Not enough courage to knock on their door to inform them about Lily Potter's passing or that accepting the boy would activate protection wards for his family. While a letter was the only way Lily could have sent word to her sister, it was inconsiderate for this codger to tell Petunia about her sister being murdered. It was a good thing that Lily had seen to Petunia and through her Dudley and Vernon's protection to keep them safe all these years. He didn't trust Dumbledore's word and from the look on his wife's face neither did she. There had been no effects of the child's save for the jim jams he was wearing, the blanket he was bundled in, and a plush dragon that was clutched in a tiny fist. No mention in the letter about how they were to provide for an extra child, if he'd had his immunizations, nothing!

"Clearly the man doesn't have children," he groused. Children weren't cheap and only got more expensive as they grew older and you had more of them. Just thinking about having to purchase another cot and such for a toddler had him blanching.

"Clearly," his wife agreed frowning at the cut on her nephew's forehead. "Get Dudley in the car, Vernon."

"Pet?" He wondered confused.

"Look at him! No stitches despite how deep that is! What have they done with him these past days if they hadn't seen to him?" Petunia fumed. She'd cut her hand with a knife in the kitchen before which was a lot smaller and shallower than the strange cut on her nephew's head and she'd had to get stitches. Knowing wizards did things backwards, she doubted they would have thought ahead towards the boy's inoculations either. While they were there they would be able to set up a primary doctor for the boy as well.

Aside from the odd cut, it seemed that their nephew was healthy but cranky as he'd woken up and hadn't known where he was. Even if Lily had shown pictures to her son of the Dursleys seeing a flesh and blood version of a two dimensional picture was vastly different. He wanted his mother and continued to cry for his parents pulling at Mr and Mrs Dursley's heartstrings even as they were getting a bit exhausted and short tempered because of it. Dudley not knowing what was going except that there was a new toddler in the house who was sad and getting his parents' attention would end up crying in confusion as well. It was a very trying time for all involved.

They had seen to a solicitor who'd gotten their nephew added onto their family register and had the Dursleys listed as his official guardians. There was the paperwork to apply for government allowance to help in the child's care. Lily had had the foresight to send a copy of her son's birth certificate (both of them) to Petunia. It had helped things along greatly.

After having the doctor's visit out of the way as well as scheduling to get the boy his shots, they had to figure out the nursery situation. The boy would clearly say, "NO!" and would start getting hysterical anytime they were in there with him which resulted in the boy exhausting himself and crying to sleep. They felt a bit thick when they finally realized the problem and their thoughtlessness about how the toddler was clearly traumatized since his mother more than likely died in the nursery! They didn't know what to do but didn't want the lad to fear the room or repeatedly exhaust himself or relive that night when trying to put him down to sleep. Even if they cleared the upstairs guestroom they were at a loss as to how to make a nursery look not like a nursery. Add to that neither toddler was used to being around another continuously. Dudley had been to play parks but didn't interact with other children just yet, while Lily's son hadn't even had that luxury. The toddlers had to work out for themselves how to get along until they realized neither was leaving. It was a bit much for Dudley who'd never had to share before and wasn't sure about it.

Strangely enough it was one of the women from Petunia's infant care classes that helped them out with the nursery problem. Petunia having fretted about how she might not know what to do or how to take care of such a delicate thing as a baby had attended classes while she'd been pregnant. She'd been two and didn't remember much about what her mother did when Lily was born. The classes had been informative and helped her know how to hold her child, bathe it, and even what sizes food should be be cut up into when they got to that point. Petunia had kept in touch with a few of the women from the class who'd been as anxious as she had been and had formed a quick connection with. Heather, was one of these women and she'd been on the phone with discussing her problem with her nephew when Heather had hesitantly suggested an alternative. According to her, her son Charlie hadn't sleep in his cot since he was a few months old. Her husband routinely fell asleep on the couch or in their bed with their son when it was nap time. Chralie was now used to sleeping with his parents and she wasn't looking forwards to when he had to learn to sleep in his own bed. Heather's suggestion had been that maybe Dudley and her nephew could share a bed so it wouldn't be so scary and perhaps make it less like a nursery and more like a room.

Petunia and Vernon talked it over and agreed that the boy didn't seem to have any negative reactions when he was in any other room of the house. It was better than listening to their nephew exhaust himself and listening to those heart wrenching sounds every night. So the couple put the toddlers in the play pen in their bedroom before heading to the guest room and nursery to make it more friendly. They put in a child's bed with padding on either side just in case they fell out of bed. They moved Dudley's bookcase into the room along with a few small soft toddler chairs. The toys and anything that would make it look like a nursery like the changing table stayed in the actual nursery. It seemed to work when they tried it out that first night. Not even Dudley cried about being in a different bed, both boys seeming content for the time being as they babbled in the language only toddlers understood.

The Dursleys while prideful had already decided they would not let that come in the way of their children's care. They had decided that long before they'd ever had Dudley when they'd been looking at houses and if she should go back to work after Dudley was born or if she wanted to be a homemaker. That was why they lived in the neighborhood they had as well. It was nice and modest with room for another child if they decided to have one. While they weren't living above their means, their checkbook always balanced out with enough left over for an indulgence here or there. That indulgence would now be reworked into the checkbook to where they would just be coming out even now that they had that second child.

He was frowning over his checkbook when a co-worker came into his office to drop off some folders and paused seeing the man glaring at the bank ledger as if it had personally offended him. Dropping the folders he'd come with into the man's in tray, he wondered aloud, "Alright, Dursley?"

"Why are toddler clothes so expensive!" They outgrew them so fast it was ridiculous! While the boys could share toys, it was just a fact that Dudley was a bit stockier than his cousin. Dudley took after the Dursley side with his size and it looked as if his nephew would favor the Evans'. Petunia was thin and Lily had been willowy. The boy took after them being on the skinny side as well as being shorter than Dudley. Both his nephew's father as well as Vernon himself were of average height but were of different body types which it seemed their sons had inherited. Even in his youth and before he was resigned to a desk job Vernon had always been on the side of husky. The doctor's appointment they'd taken the boy to had confirmed that he was just naturally smaller, something that Petunia had worried about until the physician had assured them he'd likely stay think through childhood only putting on more weight as an adult. While that was fine for now and since neither Vernon nor Petunia had thrown away any of Dudley's clothes, they were able to dress their nephew in those. It would however become an issues as the boys got older.

"Dudley outgrown his clothes already?" John asked laughing. He had a few children of his own so know how quickly they grew.

"If only that was the problem. No, Petunia and I received custody of her nephew. Parents were murdered. Lad was left with nothing but the pajamas he was wearing when they dropped him off." Vernon and Petunia had decided that they would be truthful to a point when asked about their nephew or Petunia's sister. While they could have said the boy's parents were ne'er-do-wells neither felt it was appropriate. They also felt that they would be doing Lily at least a disservice if they did. There was also the fact that they knew for a fact that the boy's biological father was alive but weren't sure about contacting him just yet. From his own childhood, he knew what it was like to be around someone who drank and he wasn't that keen on letting his nephew have the same experience.

"Poor lad, how old?" John asked deciding it would be bad form to ask for further details just yet about what had happened. He had known Vernon for awhile and knew the man didn't like sharing anything but good news about his family and boast about his son's milestones. He also believed just as Vernon that it was rather inconsiderate of the child service to not at least pack a bag with the boy's clothes.

"Same age as, Dudders." They were only a month apart something that had been a bit of mixed emotions for Petunia and Vernon had just been relieved that it hadn't tilted into anger and aggression. Her mood swings had been bad enough without adding in outside stimuli! He added, "He's smaller though."

"We might have some of Dennis' baby clothes still, I know Janet was wanting another boy," he mused with a smile. The man had one son and two daughters. "I could ask her to bring some 'round at lunch?"

It took a moment for Vernon to actually articulate, "That would be appreciated, Jenkins."

The man just gave a smile and nod before leaving the office. Vernon sat there dumbfounded before picking up the phone to dial his wife and speak with her. They were prideful people and it was a bit embarrassing letting someone else know of their struggle, but it was a relief to know that they'd be able to clothe their nephew. Soon it wasn't just John Jenkins but a few other generous employees at Grunnnigs that brought in clothes that were softly used that their own children had outgrown. When they'd learned of the Dursleys' nephew they even brought over a few items for the non nursery as well as playroom. In accepting the offers and not making a big to do over it, Vernon made new friends that never hesitated to help out in a pinch and Petunia made some new friends in some of their wives. The Dursleys gladly returned the favor of helping out the others if they could as not to be indebted at first, then because slowly they found they had friends. It helped to be able to ask for advice when it came to dealing with stubborn toddlers!

Before long it was December and they would be celebrating their first Christmas with their nephew who seemed just as captivated by the fairy lights as Dudley. They boys were able to toddle about on their own legs and were a bit wobbly and uncoordinated. Vernon in a good mood had taken the family out to drive and look at all the light displays. Naturally both boys got tuckered out and were soon sleeping in their car seats and had to be carried inside. On Christmas day they had been invited to a huge celebration at one of their friend's house but had politely declined. It was their first Christmas together so the other understood about wanting to have a quiet celebration at home with just the four of them. Suffice it to say, the boys had more fun with the paper then with their gifts until they actually paid attention. A picture had been snapped of them having fun in the piles of scrap paper that would adorn the mantle once it was printed and framed. Another would join it from New Year's Eve with the boys in paper crowns and giggling with their new friend Justin.

While the little family celebrated with cheer they had no idea that an hour ahead of them in Switzerland events were playing out that would shape and change their lives. Not to mention that neither party would know they'd be drawn back together in a few years time.

AN: Yes, I added some OCs but it'd be quite annoying to always have to write 'the man' or 'man one said this while man two said that' etc. I couldn't help it and had to use another flower name for Petunia's friend LOL. The next chapter will likely contain a time skip. Thank you for reading and apologies for any mistakes. Creative criticism welcomed ^_^