Harry loves his sisters more than anything in the world. He might not remember their parents, but he remembers his older sister being the only person in his life that loved him. She took care of him and protected him from their relatives. She taught him how to read and write and his time tables. She even taught him how to be a great older sibling, though he has to admit that she'll always be the best.
Lia and Lettie are his family. He wouldn't give them up for anything. Harry would do anything to make them proud. Which is why he is currently weeding the back garden while his little sister sits beside him with broken crayons and one of Dudley's used coloring books.
While there's a breeze, September is abnormally warm. Sweat drips down Harry's back, but he pays it no mind. Lia has done the Dursley's chores for years without complaint so that he and Lettie wouldn't have to, it's only fair he does the same for Lettie in their sister's absence.
A shriek from inside the house startles the Potter siblings, causing Harry to flatten a tulip and Lettie to color outside the lines of a cartoon elephant. Both children swing their heads toward the sound.
"You-you- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Aunt Petunia's voice is so loud that Harry's sure the house two streets over can hear her. Dusting his hands on his ragged jeans, he pushes himself to his feet and moves toward the house.
"Mummy?" Dudley almost sounds scared, not an emotion Harry is used to his cousin having. He and Lettie come to a stop right outside the back door.
"I can't believe you're a - go to your room !" Their aunt's voice is thunderous in her fury.
"No! I still want my snack-"
"ROOM. NOW ." The command is followed by a sharp 'smack.' Shocked silence radiates from the house before Dudley's pounding footsteps sound up the stairs.
Harry and Lettie share a look of surprise before Harry corrals them back to their previous tasks. If Aunt Petunia just smacked Dudley, her precious Diddykins , there's no telling what she'll do to them if they cross her path.
That evening, Harry lays on their bed, reading a letter from Lia. Lettie dances around the room without any music, twirling in the robes they must keep hidden from their relatives. His head is spinning from the events of the day.
Dudley hadn't been allowed out of his room. When they had come back in from the garden, Aunt Petunia had glared at them venomously before sending them upstairs without supper.
"HE WHAT?"
The bellowing voice of their uncle down below startles the siblings, sending Lettie to the floor after tripping over her feet. His little sister stares up at Harry with wide eyes as he stares at the bedroom door, straining his ears to listen to the argument that must be taking place downstairs. It's when large feet begin to stomp up the steps that he jumps into action.
"Get under the bed." Harry is on his feet, tugging Lettie backward.
"What? Why?" The five year old looks up at him in confusion.
"Just do it, Violet." Her hazel eyes blink at him a few times before she does as she's told, crawling under the bed.
Not a moment too soon. Harry barely has time to turn around before their bedroom door slams open.
"You freaks infected him!" Uncle Vernon yells, spittle flying from his mouth. He's almost purple with rage. "We house you!" He takes a swing at Harry. Thankfully, Harry is able to dodge. "We clothe you!" Another swing and dodge. "We feed you!" Uncle Vernon clips Harry on the shoulder, sending him sprawling on the floor. "And you turn our son into a freak !"
All of the air leaves Harry's lungs as his uncle's foot connects with his torso. Lettie gives a small gasp from under the bed, but Vernon is too focused on Harry to take notice of it. Harry makes it up onto his hands and knees before another kick lands in his side, tossing him a couple of feet. He groans.
"I should have put you and your sisters out with the rubbish! You ungrateful freaks!" Harry scrabbles for purchase, just managing to scuttle away from his uncle's flying fists. "I won't have it! The lot of you will be normal if it's the last thing I do. I'll beat the freakishness right out of you if I have to!" His words are emphasized by a smack round Harry's head. He thinks he might see stars.
With one last kick, their uncle storms from the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that the house shakes. Harry lays on the floor gasping for breath. It's blessedly quiet for a few moments, allowing him to calm down. Shuffling alerts him to his sister crawling out of her hiding place. A moment later and a head of curly black hair leans over him, puffy red eyes looking at him from behind a pair of glasses Aunt Petunia got from a charity bin.
"H-Harry?" The fear in his baby sister's voice makes his heart hurt. Adjusting his glasses, Harry grits his teeth and forces himself into a sitting position.
"I'm okay, Let." He reaches out, tucking a stray curl behind her ear as he offers a shaky smile. "Couple of punches can't do me in."
A sob escapes the girl and she throws herself into Harry's lap, clinging tightly. He grunts as she hits his tender ribs, but wraps an arm around her all the same. Tucking his little sister under his chin, Harry takes a few deep breaths.
"We are not telling Lia."
It's not until a couple days later that Harry realizes his uncle meant magic. He thinks Harry and his sisters gave Dudley magic. Which means Dudley is a wizard. Harry can't decide if this is his relative's karma for being so mean to them or not.
He almost feels sorry for his cousin. Aunt Petunia won't even acknowledge him, turning her nose up with a sniff anytime her son enters the room. She barely looks at Harry and Lettie either, merely handing over a list of chores or a glass of water and plate of scraps to share. Uncle Vernon is worse and Harry avoids him at all costs. He glares at all three children constantly, as if they might light on fire if he's angry enough. Harry and Dudley have both found themselves roughed up over the past several days. Vernon only dared to raise a hand against Lettie once. The moment he had stepped in the girl's direction, his mustache had grown long enough to wrap around his neck and attempt to strangle him. Harry's not sure he's ever felt more furious than when he saw a man raise a hand against his little sister.
Dudley seems miserable. He's wandered about the house at a loss of what to do. The only time his mother has spoken to him was to ban him from going anywhere but to school and home. Harry even heard his cousin crying in his room the night before after he'd been smacked by Aunt Petunia again. He had knocked over his mother's favorite lamp but it had frozen midair before it could shatter on the floor. Petunia had practically been apoplectic, causing Harry and Lettie to flee before her anger could focus on them as well.
They've yet to answer Lia's last letter, the one that arrived the day this madness began. She had written about her first week of classes and more about her new friend Patricia, then asked about Harry's classes and Lettie's first day of school. If they don't write back to her soon, Harry's almost sure Lia will walk back from Scotland to check on them if she has too.
Harry and Lettie lay on the floor of their room together, Lettie coloring in her new sketchbook. Harry taps a quill against his mouth as he stares at the blank parchment before him. He's just not sure what to tell his sister. He wants her to know Dudley has magic, that he'll be going to Hogwarts with Harry. He also thinks he should warn her how mad their aunt and uncle are, but he doesn't want to worry her either.
"Do you think Lia will like this?" Harry is pulled from his thoughts by Lettie. Looking up, he sees his little sister holding up her drawing as she sits back on her heels.
"I'm sure she'll love it, Let." He smiles at her. Lettie grins widely in response before practically shoving the page under his nose.
"That's Lia and you and me and Hedwig!" The smaller girl points to the stick figures. Then she moves her finger to below the drawn siblings. A green squiggle sits at the bottom. "And that's Lia's slithering snake!"
"Slytherin." Harry corrects, saying the word slowly. "It looks great Lettie, Lia will definitely hang it up in her dorm."
"You'll send it with our letter?"
"Of course." Harry nods, looking back down at the blank parchment. If he can ever write the blasted thing.
"H-Harry."
Harry looks up from his book, surprised to see his cousin standing before him. Lettie notices him as well, pausing the game of fetch she had sweet talked their owl into. Dudley stands at the corner of the shed the Potter siblings are hiding behind in the back garden, seeming unsure of what to do.
"Dudley." Harry's tone is cautious as he nods to his cousin, setting his book on dragons down beside him. Hardly a second later and Lettie has found her way under his arm, pressing into her brother's side as they stare at the intruder. Hedwig hoots before fluttering down to settle on Harry's opposite shoulder. Even she seems to glare at the older boy.
"Can we- could I…" Dudley trails off, looking at the ground as he wrings his hands. "I'm sorry."
"What?"
That's definitely not what Harry expected his cousin to say. His eyebrows seem to be doing their best to crawl into his hair in surprise.
Dudley blinks several times as he continues to stare at his feet, as if trying not to cry. "I'm sorry. To you and Violet and Dahlia, too."
"Why?" Harry almost jumps as Lettie speaks, looking around him to stare at Dudley with curious eyes.
"For being mean. And calling you a f-freak." The boy's voice breaks on the word and he emits a sound that seems like a sob. Suddenly, Harry finds himself with his sister on one side and his cousin on the other, Dudley dropping to the ground beside him as tears leak from his eyes. "'Cause now I'm a freak too!"
Harry awkwardly pats the other boy's shoulder, not sure how to comfort him. Broken sobs shake Dudley's shoulder as he cries. Lettie shows no such hesitation, clambering over her brother to wrap their cousin in a hug. Harry stares in shock, feeling more bewildered with every second.
"We're not freaks, Dudley." Lettie squeezes her arms around him, rubbing his back. "We're magic. You're a wizard like Harry and I'm a witch like Lia."
"But now Mummy and Daddy hate me!" Dudley clings to Lettie, crying into the girl's skinny shoulder.
No one says anything more for a few minutes, the only noise being the sound of their cousin's sobs. Finally, Harry sets his hand on Dudley's shoulder once more.
"It's their loss, Dud."
Taking several ragged breaths, the boy looks up at Harry, loosening his grip on Lettie. "Huh?"
"It's their loss if they hate you. You still have your magic. And… you still have us." The words stick in his throat for a second, but it feels like the right thing to say. It's what Harry would want someone to tell him if he was Dudley.
"But-But I've been horrible." Another tear streaks down his cousin's pudgy face.
Harry nods. "Yeah, but now you've got the chance to make it right."
"We've got to be nice now, Dudley." Lettie pats the bigger boy's cheek, causing his blue eyes to look at her. "Be nice and you can be our brother."
The blond boy seems confused by Lettie's statement, though Harry understands it immediately. Lettie's heart won't let her leave their cousin on his own. And with how stubborn his sisters both are, Harry is pretty sure he just gained a brother.
"We're all each other got, Dudley." Harry squeezes his shoulder to regain his attention. "It's us and Dahlia. We've got to stick together so no one is left behind."
"How can you be this nice?" His cousin seems genuinely confused.
"You said you were sorry."
After a moment of hesitation, Harry nods in agreement with his little sister. "You're one of us now."
That seems to be Dudley's breaking point as a new round of tears begin. This time, though, they seem to be sobs of relief.
-
Dear Lia,
Lettie and I miss you awful. We can't wait to see you at Christmas!
School has been fine, though history is boring. Lettie likes her teacher, Mrs. Johnson. Dudley and I have Mr. Benson this year.
Also, don't freak out, but Dudley is a wizard and Lettie made him our brother. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have been horrible to him. But, he apologized to us and wants me to tell you he's really sorry. (Don't worry, I haven't let them hurt Lettie.)
Have you seen any ghosts yet? Or a dragon?
Lettie, Dudley, and I drew you some pictures! Let' made sure to include your 'slithering snake.'
Tell the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall that Lettie and I say hello!
Love you!
Harry, Lettie, and Dudley