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 Two (August – December 2002)

This year would mark the beginning of the boys' years of schooling and it caused great debate between the two adult Dursleys. One of the things they had discussed was whether they should use the name Lily had given the boy and was on his 'muggle' birth certificate or if they should enroll him with the name they knew and were likely to call the boy as it was on his other certificate. It was something they had talked about off and on for the bast three years unsure how to proceed. In the end they just ended up using the name Lily had wanted and letting the chips fall where they may. Their logic was that the boy would have the anonymity that the old wizard wanted by using the boy's 'muggle' name. Of course that didn't mean they wouldn't tell the boy his other name before those crackpots came to try and take him away.

The second thing they had talked over and were unsure if they should just put Dudley in preschool or if they should also enroll their nephew. While they had pride in their son, they had to admit that it seemed that the younger boy was the one to catch on quicker when it came to words or numbers as proven when they used to watch Wheel of Fortune together before the show got canceled before the new year. In the end they decided they didn't want either of the boys to feel as if they were being left out or receiving special privileges. That was how they were currently shopping with two very hyper four year olds for their school supplies. They had allowed the indulgence of buying the boys the shoes they wanted rather than the ones they (Vernon and Petunia) would have normally gotten them instead. Dudley proudly wore his new shoes that featured Pikachu. Dudley had gotten into Pokemon while watching an older child playing a game when they were dropped off at the Jenkins house to be babysat. The younger boy however favored light up shoes whenever he took a step.

Petunia had left Vernon in charge of the boys as she went to retrieve their crayons, glue sticks, and such that didn't need a big decision like their choice of backpack did. Each boy was able to pick out their own bag but told it had to last at least until they were in first grade! Blond and brunette heads had nodded seriously and were torn right away choosing then discarding what they wanted. Dudley had been the first one to settle and it was naturally after his new favorite show which would match his shoes.

"What's taking so long, Ned?" Vernon wondered looking down at his nephew who was biting his lip, head going back and forth as his gaze went from a Thomas and Friends bag to another that was white and had a purplish starry background with a dragon on it. Tears were almost in the green eyes as he said, "I like 'em both."

"You like dragons?" Vernon asked knowing this was true. The boy still had the dragon plush he'd come to their house with sitting on a shelf to keep it from getting damaged. At his nephew's nod, he asked, "And you like trains?"

Another nod. That was one of the reasons he liked the show. That the trains talked added even more allure to it. Of course he knew that trains couldn't talk in real life, something he didn't think he and Dudley needed to be told but Mr. and Mrs. Dursley had made sure they boys were 'grounded in reality' and knew make believe was made up.

"Want me to help?"

"How?"

"We'll flip a coin." Digging out a ten pee coin he held it up and had Ned decide which would be Thomas and which would be the dragon. It came up with dragon side showing which caused the boy to grab that backpack and stick it in the cart with a smile and a, "Thank you, Unca Vern."

After their shopping was done, Vernon dropped the boys off at their soccer club. The boys had gotten into the sport while playing with Justin but more often from children at the play park. Being four years old their games more or less was an exercise of trying not to laugh for the parents who actually paid attention to the children and not their phones. It was likely the boys got into the game as well because Vernon and some of his friends would watch games either at the Dursley home or one of the other men's houses.

With the boys at practice, the Dursleys decided to once again broach one of the two subjects they routinely avoided but knew they should talk about eventually. Each held a cup of strong tea in their hands as they both tried to avoid the subject and waited for the other to bring it up first. Finally it was Mr. Dursley who was able to get his courage up to state, "All I could find was a company address."

It had taken a bit for Vernon to try and figure out a way that he and Petunia could try and contact Mr. Stark, but the man's personal address was unlisted. The email provided on their web address wasn't one that he trusted as he wasn't sure who exactly would answer that email or take him seriously. Grunnings had their own email address for business that was answered by a secretary rather than the CEO. It wasn't as if the Dursley could schedule an appointment either in order to see the man since it was quite expensive to go to America and back without any surety that they'd be seen. There was also the fact that he and Petunia weren't sure if they wanted to give the man his son, but knew it was only right that the man at least knew he had one.

Looking at his wife's lips thinning, he soldiered on. "Could send him a letter and a photo come picture time."

If they sent him a letter, that was their duty done. They weren't looking for a hand out as the boy was being well taken care of in a loving home. They hadn't been sure about this before, hesitating to contact Stark because of his reputation. Nor had they known if Lily had ever hinted at magic or a witch, both of which Petunia was almost sure he was unaware of. There had been that letter from that Dumbledore person to consider as well.

"I suppose," Petunia finally got out stiffly. "When we take the boys to get their injections we can have them about one of those DNA test as well."

She was sure that with his womanizing ways that the man had at least one person trying to file a paternity suit. It was amazing he hadn't had more children than just Ned but the others had settled quietly or were content as the Dursley were just raising the child? While she was quick to judge and already had an opinion of the man, she had yet to say anything to her nephew about his father. She knew it would come soon where she would have to tell the boy that he had a living father and one that might not possibly want him, but for now all the boy knew was that his parents were dead. It would only be a matter of time before the boy started asking questions such as why he had his mother's last name and not his supposed father's.

While the Durlseys were talking of serious matters, the boys were having fun chasing the black and white ball around the field. At their age the adults didn't really expect them to actually behave like a real team, and had to keep herding them in the right direction. When kicking the ball, they missed by at least three feet each time. A few boys even forgot they weren't supposed to use their hands and would pick up the ball to throw it. All the children were having a great time and lots of fun which was the whole point in the kids' opinion. The adults just took it as it came and were happy when their team was heading for the right goal. Edward got smacked in the face with the ball once when a boy was throwing it back in play after the ball had been kicked out of bounds. Ned hadn't been paying attention as his attention had been caught by something in the stands. The resounding sound of ball meeting flesh then the cry of a four year old in startled pain had the referee blow the whistle and Dudley blinked in confusion until he saw his cousin crying. That resulted in Dudley pushing the boy responsible even though Ned wasn't hurt that bad more startled and the pain was starting to fade already since a four year old couldn't throw that hard quite yet.

When Vernon came to pick the boys up he was upset to hear that Dudley had been banned for a week for fighting. Feeling as if it was his fault the brunette apologized to his uncle, eyes shining with tears from guilt and avoided looking at his cousin who was sitting with his arms crossed in an angry sulk. "S'my fault."

"What happened, boy?" Vernon asked looking at his nephew in the rear view mirror. The boy's face was slightly red from the ball earlier but wouldn't leave a bruise and the coloring would likely be gone by the time they reached Privet Drive.

"I saw somethin'?" It came out more as a confused question since he wasn't sure if he'd really seen what he thought he saw. When he'd been waiting for the ball to be chucked back in, he'd glanced up and thought he'd seen a cat. It wasn't just any cat either, but one of the ones that weird lady down the street had. The neighborhood children said she had lots and lots of cats and that her house smelled like old cabbage and he knew Aunt Petunia didn't like her. The woman had tried to talk to him once and his aunt had quickly come and yanked him away and gave him the 'stranger danger' talk. He'd seen her cats come and go though and knew that or thought he knew the one he saw was hers. "I think the cat lady lost a cat."

Neither boy saw the warning signs that Vernon was angry at what he heard. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel and his face got a bit red but he took breaths to try and calm himself as he groused under his breath. He proceeded to ignore the chatter in the backseat as the boys talked until they reached home where they were immediately sent upstairs to wash. "Walk! Don't run!" he hollered after the boys who had started to run up the stairs but reduced that to a quick walk at the reprimand.

"They're watching us," he growled to his wife as she came from the kitchen wiping her hands with a dish cloth. Her eyes widened before her lips pursed as he told her about the boy seeing one of the woman's cat's. It made them very glad they had never asked the woman to babysit either of the boys and that they had plenty of normal people to call upon should the need arise. "I always said there was something peculiar about her!"

School had gone much as they had thought it would go. Dudley was the more extroverted and had taken his cousin's hand to drag him over to the play area after they had put their coats and backpacks on their hooks. They made friends and played well with others for the most part. Both boys were slightly ahead when it came to naming their colors and counting. They were still four years old however and had short attention spans and would get distracted easily. Edward's favorite part aside from play time was when they got to spend quiet time to themselves doing what they wanted to do. He would go and lay in a corner and read to himself or whisper it to his cousin if he decided to join him. Both boys enjoyed building with blocks and then knocking them down by pretending to be giants. They made a few friends and Dudley became fast friends with a boy named Gordon who's parents had gotten him a handheld pokemon game.

September passed quickly into October and soon the kids were planning their costumes and looking forward to their classroom party for Halloween. It also heralded a Dudley tantrum. He'd been getting better to where he threw them less and less, but for the four year old this was important and why couldn't his parents understand? Tears were falling and he was red faced as he asked uncomprehendingly, "Why? I wanna dress up!"

Edward watched with wide eyes as he munched on his apple slice, gaze darting between his cousin and aunt who looked like she wanted to break down and have her own tantrum. "I said, 'No'." While Petunia wanted to give in just to get Dudley to stop screaming, she stood firm in the face of the boy making himself sick with crying. It was something that her friends told her she needed to do in order to give her son boundaries. She didn't know how to explain to the boys that they couldn't afford to spend money on something as frivolous as costumes that the boys would only wear once. Finally she napped, "Your father can deal with you when he gets home."

Sliding off his chair after his aunt had taken his plate to the sink, Edward grabbed his cousin's hand and all but dragged the hiccuping boy up the stairs to their play room. It helped to distract the blond until his father came home and the process repeated all over again with Vernon telling him in no uncertain terms, "No! And that's final!"

Twisting the hem of his shirt in his hands, Edward looked from one to the other of the adults, and whispered, "Can we make one?"

"What?" came the irritated response. "Speak up, boy."

Nearly flinching from the anger of his uncle, he almost looked down but remembered his uncle didn't like that. "Can we make 'em like in arts 'n crafts?" He and Dudley played pretend all the time with boxes and made their own world with them all the time. In school they learned to make robots and trains out of paper rolls and milk cartons. He looked from one to the other of his guardians hopefully as the two adults had a silent conversation with looks. Finally, Vernon nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you can do that."

"Thank you!" He gushed happily. Petunia helped him get the things he wanted and needed from the recycles. Vernon helped him cut, paint, and glue things together. The adults did the same with Dudley who had been stumped for the whole week and kept changing his mind from one thing to the next until his parents got fed up with him. Finally, he settled on one with help from his cousin. That thursday both boys were excited to show off their costumes when it was time to change into them. Dudley was a scuba diver with painted plastic bottles for the oxygen tanks while Edward had dressed up as a robot. It was the first thing he could think of with what they had on hand at home. Both boys were praised by their teachers for their costumes.

That night something different happened. Before her nephew could go brush his teeth, Petunia kept him downstairs and had him sit on the couch with her. As if sensing the serious nature of what the woman wanted to say, Edward kept quiet as he stared at his aunt wondering if he was in trouble. Before he could start to get worked up and ask, she asked her own question. "Neddy, remember the stories from your mummy's letters?"

The boy nodded since he liked those stories. While the tales in the books his uncle and aunt read to him and Dudley were nice, he liked the ones in the letters best. He didn't know that his aunt left a great deal out of those letters and it had taken her quite some time to figure out how to make those into stories. Of course it had taken her courage to do so as well. Ned had a bit of a right to those letters as that was the only thing he had left of his mother. It helped too to tell the boy about the world that stole her sister through story. This way she wasn't denying him about the part of himself that he'd find out about when he turned eleven.

"Do you remember the story of the evil man and the nice family?"

He nodded once again. He didn't like that story but had begun to grasp that it was the story about his mummy and daddy. That the evil man made them go away like how the class pet in school had gone away. "The green light made them falled down."

That was something that the Dursleys hadn't counted on; their nephew remembering what had happened to his mother. Of course when the tragedy had been so fresh when he'd first been brought to them, they understood. However, they had thought over time he would forget and he did for the most part, but he still remembered a little. From stories her sister had told her and from what she could piece together of what Ned could recall, Petunia had realized that the 'green light' was the spell that could kill someone.

"That's right," she choked petting his hair before she took a steadying breath. "Your mummy and daddy fought the bad on Halloween. They died this night, three years ago."

Turning, she reached and picked up the candle she'd had there and the lighter they used to light the stove with. Holding the candle out she told her nephew they were going to light the candle. She tried to explain as best she could about how they would light it and remember Lily on this night. Petunia had thought her nephew was old enough to understand which was why she decided to try this year. She had to blink away tears when she heard Ned whisper, "Thank you for savin' me mummy an' lookin' after me an' Aunt 'Tunia, an' Unca Vern, an' Dudley."

Having been used to having two children underfoot it had been a surreal yet pleasant relief for Petunia when the boys had started school. She had found the time to do house chores and such she'd had to put off because she hadn't enough time. Then she'd found it a bit empty to have the house so quiet and had joined a sewing club of sorts with the neighborhood ladies and gossiped with them. Then it was back to the noisy house when the boys were back from school or soccer club. The boys were always overflowing with excitement and chattering and wanting to tell her about their day or even show off something they'd done. That was why when they came home and only Dudley was as energetic as ever, Petunia wondered what was going on. Ned would chime in here or there but stayed quiet and fidgety. That was one of his tells when he was anxious.

"Ned?" She questioned interrupting her son when Dudley took a breath between words. "What's wrong?"

"'M sorry!" he cried and teared up feeling guilty that he hadn't given the note to his aunt but notes were bad. That was what a kindergartner had said when he heard Edward and Dudley trying to figure out what the note was while they waited for Mrs. Dursley to pick them up from school. He didn't know what he did wrong but the teacher wanted to talk to his aunt and then she'd get mad at him.

"What on earth?" Petunia wondered while Dudley ran upstairs and brought back the note to give to his mother. He didn't want to give it to her and get his cousin in trouble, but he didn't want to get in trouble because he didn't give it to her either.

"Mr. Webster wants to talk to you," he said handing over the note to his mother who read it with a furrowed brow which morphed into a stricken expression as she read. Had Ned used his strangeness and been caught? The Dursleys had known there was a high chance that the boy had inherited it from his mother and had already showed signs if Lily's letter had been the truth. As they had done telling each other of their sons' accomplishments and milestones, Lily had told Petunia when Ned had caused his food to fly at his step-father with his gift. There hadn't been anything that they knew of while the boy had been in their home.

"Thank you, Dudders. You and Ned go play." Petunia worried about the note all day until Vernon came home and they talked about it. Both were apprehensive when the appointment came and they went to the school. They hadn't been able to find anyone that was open to watch the boys so had to take them along, not willing to let the cat woman watch them even though she had volunteered back when the boys had been in diapers. Ned was more anxious then Dudley who wasn't worried about it and headed straight for the toys when the Durlseys were greeted by the boys' teacher. It confused them that the men seemed pleased to see them and wasn't wearing the expression that such a grave situation called for.

"You must be Dudley's parents and Edward's guardians, pleasure to meet you."

"Right," Vernon replied. "How do you do."

The couple remained apprehensive as they looked about the room before taking seats at at the teacher's desk. All the other chairs in the room around the round tables were sized for the small children that inhabited the room during the day. There were a few chairs for actual grown ups as there usually was more than one teacher in the classroom at a time. Mr. Webster continued to smile at the confused couple. "You both must be really proud of the boys. They're both a delight to have in class, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Vernon asked not liking the implications.

"Dudley and Edward are both bright boys that are having some difficulties in certain areas. Tell, me do you read to them at night?"

"Yes," Petunia replied before Vernon could ask what areas the boys were having trouble in. "We let them pick out the book they want read."

"Does either of them read along with you?"

Petunia furrowed her brow while Vernon was getting an inkling where this was going and didn't like it one bit! The woman recalled Ned's mouth silently moving sometimes when she read to him, or a finger on the page following along. Dudley would look at the pictures and knew when it was time to turn the page on stories they'd read at least a hundred times. Seeing her expression, the teacher nodded with a knowing look. "What has that got to do-?"

"Dudley refuses to participate when it comes time for reading. He can recognize some words like his name, which I expect, but others he doesn't."

"Are you trying to tell me my son is stupid?!" Vernon blustered.

Mr. Webster seemed shocked that the man would get that impression let alone voice especially when the children could hear him! "Not at all, Mr. Dursley!"

"That what are you saying?"

"The words trick him," a young voice interjected. No one had noticed how quiet the boys had gotten or that they had been having their own heated whispered conversation. Edward now having three adult gazes on him shrank back a little before glancing at his cousin who was pouting.

"What do you mean, Edward?" Mr. Webster asked his student.

"The letters don't stay put." Edward tried to get them to understand that it wasn't Dudley's fault. If the words didn't work right for him, he'd get angry too! "Numbers stay put."

Understanding began to dawn in the teacher's eyes while the Dursleys were just as confused as before. So while the teacher thanked the boy and told him that he and Dudley should return to playing, he then explained that he believed that their nephew was trying to explain dyslexia. They would have to run some tests to see and keep an eye on Dudley over the next year to see if that was the case. After that the meeting went a bit smoother as Vernon was placated that his son seemed to be on par with his age group in most ares and as Edward had pointed out, was a bit ahead when it came to numbers, and behind when it came to recognizing and learning new written words.

"As for Edward, the principle and I have spoken and believe that while social interaction at this age is important and encouraged, it might be in his best interest if he was moved up a grade. He's ahead of his age group and we can see that he's a bit bored and it does cause problems when he doesn't want to participate."

Vernon and Petunia were of mixed emotions and thoughts upon hearing that. While they were stunned to hear that their son might have a learning problem, it was even more so to hear that the school wanted to move Ned up to Kindergarten already. They had thought it might have been a waste of money and time to send the boy to school with Dudley, and it was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow that they'd been right. It shouldn't have come as a surprise as they both knew that his parents were intelligent. It was natural for them to have a stab of jealousy that another was outshining their own son, but that was tempered by the pride they felt for the boy they had come to care for.

The Dursleys thanked Mr. Webster and told him they would think about it and let him know of their decision. Both knew they would likely have Ned move up a year after the holidays as it was suggested. In the mean time they would have to speak with the boys and ensure they understood what this meant for the both of them. They didn't want Ned to think he was smarter than Dudley or have their son feel inferior to his cousin. While they weren't really worried about that since the boys seemed to have already known that Dudley had problems reading and nothing came of that except Ned speaking up to make sure that the teacher knew it wasn't Dudley's fault.

When the boys came home with their pictures from school, one of each of them were added to the wall. Two wallet size pictures went into Vernon's wallet and Petunia's pocket book. While they mailed a picture of Dudley to Marge, they did not do that with Ned's since the woman had shown how she'd felt about the boy. She had angered both herself and Vernon when she had called Ned a runt and insulted Lily and Petunia's family. It did however give the Dursleys pause before they decided to send one with the letter they had written to the boy's father. They waited with it seemed baited breath for months until they realized that they would not be receiving a reply back. Again, they weren't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, they had come to care for their nephew and wanted to keep him with them where he could continue to grow into a respectable young man, on the other they didn't want to have to tell Ned that he had a father who possibly didn't want him.

Whenever mail came into Stark Industries it was sorted and screened; personal mail for Tony Stark even more so. Depending on the return address it was either immediately thrown away or sent to Pepper Potts his personal assistant (or as some would say his glorified nanny). She in turn would sort the mail even further to either throw away, respond to it, send it on to Obadiah Stane the company's second in command. Lastly if it was something that Tony needed to see and respond to, she ensured it.

That Christmas along with the usual invites and Christmas cards, a particular airmailed envelope fell of the cart of mail and slid under a cabinet. It lay unseen until after the holidays. When a mail clerk did find it, it was placed in the stack of mail that had yet to be sorted. As the business generated a lot of mail and more kept coming in, it was buried under the pile that was marked as 'non urgent'. When it finally made its way across Pepper's desk it again lay for another day before it was opened. Just as she had opened it and was about to pull out the papers within, she was interrupted by her boss who had tried to escape from a board meeting. Sighing, the woman had set the envelope atop a pile without realizing which it was in order to inform Tony that yes he did have to speak with the board members and that it was important not to blow it off. Once again the envelope was forgotten as it got mixed in with the throw away pile.

AN: Yes, I changed Harry's name. Sort of. He still has it and will use it at some point. Hopefully you'll stick around to see there is a method to my madness. There's been a huge debate for YEARS about nature versus nurture. I think canon Harry is a mix of both. I am attempting the same which is why Harry/Edward's personality is slightly different than canon Harry's. No, I am not going to make Harry/Edward super smart and be into mechanical engineering and/or robotics; not more so than any other average kid his age is into it. Thank you for reading and apologies for any mistakes. Creative criticism welcomed ^_^