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Not for the first time, Harry questions the brilliance of living in a fifth floor Muggle flat with a broken lift.
“Hurry up, Harry! Open the door!” Draco says from behind him. “These bags are heavy.” He drops one grocery bag on the ground to make a point.
“They are not,” Harry says, lowering his voice when he continues, “You know perfectly well that we cast a weight lightening charm before we left Tesco. These bags are light as a feather.”
“Yes, but the Muggles don’t know that. All they see is a handsome young man carrying five overflowing bags of groceries in the sweltering heat. It’s a wonder I haven’t fainted already.”
Harry rolls his eyes. “You’re just upset because it’s so hot outside and we went shopping the Muggle way. If you’re in that much of a hurry, just put down some bags and reach into my back pocket for the keys.”
There’s a sigh and then a jingling of the keys as Draco pulls them out and inserts them in the door knob. He pushes the door open and waves Harry through.
“Thank you,” Harry says, kissing Draco as he enters. He toes off his shoes as he walks towards the kitchen, setting the bags down on the table. A quick swish of his wand has the groceries sorting themselves in the fridge and pantry. “What do you want for dinner? We could try the chicken -- Draco? What’s wrong?”
Draco has just walked into the kitchen with a peculiar look on his face. “I found this outside on the doormat. It’s for you.” He holds out an envelope and Harry takes it.
A letter for me? Harry thinks. Impossible.
To get away from the public and press, Harry and Draco had decided to live in Muggle London. No one besides their closest friends and family knows where they live. All their bills are automatically paid and any notices are held in a post office box. Anyone else who needs to contact them sends post to their workplace or, thanks to Hermione who has taught them the wonders of Muggle technology, sends them a text message. Harry doesn’t think that in the three years he has lived at the flat they have ever received a letter on their doormat.
However, now there’s an envelope in his hands that has only his name and no return address that has miraculously made its way to Harry’s home. This wouldn’t be the first time he receives a life-changing letter.
“Are you going to open it?” Draco asks.
Harry taps the envelope to check for curses, but nothing happens. At least it’s not dangerous, he thinks, as he carefully opens the envelope and unfolds the paper.
Harry, the letter begins.
It’s me. Dudley.
Memories overwhelm Harry at the mere mention of the name. Harry remembers a large blond boy laughing as he dropped Harry’s food to the floor; remembers Dudley ordering his friends to hold Harry down as he punches him; remembers dragging a shocked Dudley to Number 4, Privet Drive after a dementor almost Kissed them.
Harry doesn’t realise he has closed his eyes until he hears Draco’s voice repeating his name and rubbing soothing circles down his back.
“Harry, what’s wrong?” Draco asks as he tries to tug the letter away.
“It’s a letter from my cousin Dudley.”
Immediately, Draco’s eyes grow cold. He’s heard all about Harry’s Muggle family and every time Harry has nightmares about the cupboard under the stairs, Draco has to be reminded that Harry doesn’t need to get revenge.
“What does he want?” he says, crossing his arms, probably so that he isn’t tempted to grab his wand to Apparate to find the Dursleys.
“I don’t know. I stopped reading because I was so surprised. I haven’t heard from Dudley in years.”
“And you don’t need to,” Draco says. He tries to Summon the letter, flicking his wand with such force that Harry tears the letter trying to resist the spell.
“No, I want to know why he wrote,” Harry says.
“Why?”
Harry shrugs his shoulders. “Mostly curiosity. I mean, he doesn’t know where I live, but the letter somehow made its way to our doorstep and it’s not cursed in any way.”
Draco’s lips are pressed in a thin line as he mulls over Harry’s words. “Alright, but I’m going to make us some tea before we decide to do anything rash.”
“Okay,” Harry replies. He picks up the letter and begins to read.
I don’t know if this letter will reach you, but I remember all those letters that came to our home and followed us around to hotels and the shack on the rock when we were kids. Hopefully, I don’t have to resort to sending you hundreds of letters.
I know it’s been a long time, and you probably never expected to ever hear from me, but you are the only one I know who may be able to help.
The reason I am writing you is because of my seven-year-old daughter. Her name is Daisy and she is the light of my life.
I also think she’s a witch. My wife, Julia, says that strange things happen around her, things I remember happening to you when we were kids.
If you could help us, please call the number below so that we can arrange a time to meet and I can send you my address.
Hoping to hear from you, although I understand if you don’t.
Dudley
PS. If I never see you, then I want to tell you this: I’m sorry for everything I did to you. I know this apology is not enough, can never come close to it, but I hope that I can start working on earning your forgiveness.
Harry doesn’t know what to think. He never thought he would see the day that Dudley Dursley would ask for forgiveness. Harry only remembers the spoiled bully that thought the world belonged to him, but the letter shows that Dudley has grown up and now has a family of his own. He has a daughter who might possibly be a witch and rather than shun her, like Uncle Vernon did with Harry, Dudley wants to help her.
He startles when Draco sets down a cup of tea in front of him.
“Dudley wants my help,” Harry says.
“For what?” Draco says, frowning. Harry hands him the letter and watches as Draco quickly reads it.
“Do you want to help?” Draco asks. His face does not show any emotion, something Draco does on purpose when he doesn’t want to influence Harry’s decision.
Harry slowly lets out a huge breath. “Well, yeah. I want to. She’s just a child, only seven, and if she’s a witch, it’s still a long time until she gets her Hogwarts letter. Hermione says that Professor McGonagall personally delivered her letter and answered any questions her parents had. I don’t want Daisy to wait that long or cause her to be afraid of her magic because she doesn’t know what is happening.”
“Afraid? Why would she be afraid?” Draco asks, confused.
“Dudley’s probably never mentioned that I’m a wizard to his family, if I’m mentioned at all. So if she has bursts of accidental magic, especially around other people who become scared, there would be no one around to tell her that it’s normal. Wouldn’t you be frightened if strange things happened to you, things you couldn’t explain? I think it’s better to know the truth than to be kept in the dark, don’t you agree?”
Draco doesn’t speak for a very long time and Harry’s already thinking of what words to help him understand why he’s agreeing. Suddenly, Draco takes both of Harry’s hands in his and squeezes them. “I hope that when you call your cousin, you wait for an apology.”
Harry lets out a startled laugh. “What? I thought you would be trying to convince me not to go.”
“Harry, I know you. You sacrificed yourself to help defeat Voldemort. You want to help people any way you can. And I don’t fault you for that; it’s in your nature. But I do want you to understand that you deserve an apology at the very least. You may want to help your niece, but don’t forget how you were treated by his family.”
“I know that. You know very well that I’m willing to forgive someone as long as I’ve seen they have changed.”
“I do,” Draco says, kissing him. “After all, you gave me a second chance and forgave me. I just hope Dudley doesn’t waste his chance.”
&&&
“It’s not too late to turn back around,” Draco says, squeezing Harry’s hand as they stand in front of Dudley Dursley’s home. It looks nothing like Number 4, Privet Drive, but it’s exactly the sort of house Harry had promised his younger self he’d buy as soon as he was free from the Dursleys and his cupboard.
Harry’s here because he’s curious. He never thought that any magic would be passed through Vernon Dudley’s blood, as bigoted as the man was.
When Harry had rung Dudley the next day after he had received the letter, the conversation had been stilted. They had exchanged pleasantries, and Dudley had talked about his job and his family. He really opened up when speaking about his daughter Daisy, who wanted to be the first singer-astronaut in the world. Apparently, she still hasn’t decided on which one she liked best.
Harry had been charmed by Daisy and as soon as Harry had finished the phone call, he and Draco had made a plan. Harry would talk to Dudley and Draco would observe Daisy to see if she actually displayed any accidental magic. Harry had even talked to Hermione about what information to share with Dudley and his wife, even though at the end of her Floo call she had asked if Harry was going to be okay.
“I’m fine,” Harry had told her and it holds true now. Taking a deep breath, Harry pushes the white gate door open and walks through to the front door. The garden is lovely; it’s filled with roses, sunflowers, poppies, and lilies and holds a bird bath at the center. It’s much nicer than his Aunt Petunia’s. When Harry presses the doorbell, a dog begins to bark.
“It’s okay, Sunny!” A girl’s voice calls out. “You’re okay!” The door opens and a black Labrador jumps on Draco, trying to lick him all over his face. Right behind the dog is a brown haired girl with blue eyes exactly like Dudley’s.
“Hello!” she says with a wide smile, trying to pull the dog back by the collar. “Sunny’s a good boy, good dog! He doesn’t bite!”
Draco, who doesn’t like dogs, scowls. To him, every dog is Hagrid’s dog, Fang. At last he manages to gently push the dog down and prevent him from tearing his shirt.
“Who are you?” the girl asks.
“My name is Harry and his name is Draco--“
“Like the constellation?” she asks excitedly. “Mum is teaching me to find them, but they all look the same to me.”
At those words, Harry can’t help but laugh. “I know exactly how you feel. Is your dad home?”
No sooner had the question been asked when they hear a man call out, “Daisy, where are you?”
“Oh, that’s my dad. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers so please don’t tell him,” Daisy pleads.
“We won’t,” Harry promises, just as his cousin approaches.
Dudley Dursley is nothing like Harry remembers. For one thing, he’s wearing glasses and has turned the excess weight into muscle. For another, he’s keeping quiet, watching Harry almost as if he’s afraid of him.
“Dad, Harry’s here to see you. Is he your friend?” Daisy asks.
“No,” Dudley says, “he’s my cousin.”
“Cousin?” Daisy says, frowning. “But I’ve never met him before.”
“That’s my fault,” Dudley says, his face turning slightly red, “but I hope it’s not too late to fix that.”
Harry’s eyes widen in shock. He’s never heard Dudley admit to anything being his fault, not if it meant Harry would get in trouble.
“Hi Dudley,” Harry says at last.
“Harry, thank you for coming. Come inside, please,” Dudley says, and then does a double-take when he spots Draco. “I’ve seen you before! I used to think you were following me around, but it’s been a while since I last saw you. Are you a friend of Harry’s?”
This is a surprise to Harry, who looks over at Draco with a raised eyebrow. Draco has never mentioned seeing Dudley before, not even when he wanted to get revenge on Harry’s behalf.
Draco avoids Harry’s gaze and wraps an arm around Harry’s waist, pulling him close. “I’m Harry’s boyfriend and I was just trying to learn more about his family. He’s told me so much about you,” Draco says with a tight smile that does not reach his eyes.
Dudley’s face turns white. “Er, right. Well, come on in, both of you.”
They are ushered in the living room where the walls are covered in film posters and there’s an entire bookcase filled with DVDs and Blu-Rays. Daisy runs over to a woman on the couch, who’s busy typing on a laptop. When she sees them, she shuts it closed and stands to greet them.
“Harry, Draco, meet my wife, Julia. She’s the one who convinced me to send you a letter after I told her about first signs of, well, you know,” Dudley says, trailing off to a whisper, looking to see if Daisy has heard.
Daisy, however, is busy petting Sunny, giggling when he licks her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Harry,” Julia says as she shakes his hand. “I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do with your cousin. Draco, if you don’t mind, let’s go outside. I think Daisy wants to show us her science experiment.”
“We’re making a rocket and I want it go higher than anyone else’s,” Daisy says, grabbing Draco’s hand and tugging him further into the house.
Draco looks back at Harry with wide eyes and mouths science experiment?
You’ll be okay Harry mouths back and turns to find Dudley staring at him. “Sorry, he still isn’t used to being around Muggles.”
“Muggles?” Dudley asks.
“Non-magic people,” Harry says. “He’s a pureblood wizard, which means there’s not a single person in Draco’s family who wasn’t born with magic.”
“Right,” Dudley says, pausing as if he has many questions to ask Harry and doesn’t know where to start. “Let’s go to Julia’s office,” Dudley says instead. “I don’t want Daisy to interrupt us.”
Julia’s home office is the Muggle version of Hermione’s office at the Ministry. An entire wall is covered with bookcases crammed with books. Multiple diplomas are displayed behind a desk that is neat and organised, but stacked with several inches worth of paperwork. Painted on one wall are different structural formulas of chemical compounds.
“Julia has a degree in Chemistry. I don’t understand most of it, but I do know she’s brilliant,” Dudley says with a proud smile on his face. “She teaches me something new every day and that’s why she caught on that Daisy has m-m-magic.”
It’s funny to hear Dudley be scared to say a word that has become a part of Harry’s identity. Still, Harry has promised himself that he will listen to everything his cousin has to say before offering his advice.
“Why do you think Daisy is a witch?”
Dudley rubs the back of his neck. “Honestly, it started out with small things. She would be eating her food and anything she didn’t like would disappear. Or one time she climbed a tree and then jumped off the highest branches without even a scratch on her. But all those could be explained away.”
Harry nods. Those seemed like perfect examples of accidental magic. “Well, what made you change your mind?”
“Daisy takes after her mother and loves to read. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room and I was trying to read her a bedtime story because she was sick with a fever. She didn’t like what I was reading, so she held out her arms and a book came floating over to her.”
Harry smiles at such a harmless piece of magic. It’s something he imagines Hermione would have done as a child.
“The first time I saw that, I was shocked and picked her up and took her to the kitchen to get away. At the time, I thought it was a trick of the mind, but then Daisy kept levitating different things: her teddy bear, chocolate sweets Julia had hidden from her, and even Sunny’s lead to go for a walk. I didn’t know how to mention it to my wife, because things only ever happened when it was just Daisy and me. Until one day Julia saw Daisy have a tantrum and make a dinner plate shatter without even touching it. That’s when I had to tell her that magic is real.”
“What did she say?”
“Julia insisted we take her to her paediatrician to have a physical because she wanted to make sure that Daisy had a clean bill of health. The doctor told us that her results were all normal and that nothing was wrong with Daisy. Julia convinced me to write you a letter and then to wait and see what you recommend.”
“Has her magic ever caused any problems?” Harry asks.
Dudley shakes his head. “No, nothing she ever did harmed us. I even took her to the zoo to see if she would talk to the snakes, but I don’t think she can.”
“I can’t either. Not anymore,” Harry says to a confused Dudley. “It turns out I was never supposed to be able to talk to snakes. That was a piece of magic transferred to me by the wizard who killed my parents.”
Dudley turns pale. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Harry asks.
Dudley takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “For being horrible to you when we were kids. I was imitating my father, but that’s no excuse. It wasn’t until after you left for the final time, that I noticed how terrible he was as a person. He was bitter, angry, and didn’t even change when Mum divorced him. He died alone because he pushed everyone away. I don’t want to end up that way, so I tried finding you. But you are very difficult to find.”
Harry smiles. “So I’ve been told. I have my ways.”
“Still, I sent off the letter, hoping that even if Daisy wasn’t a witch, then at least I could try to mend things between us. I understand if it’s not possible.”
“Let me ask you a question,” Harry says. “Do you promise to tell the truth?”
Dudley slowly nods. “Okay.”
“Do you think Daisy’s a freak?”
“No!” Dudley shouts, and Harry is taken aback by hearing Dudley raise his voice for the first time that day.
“I don’t care if she’s a witch! She’s my child and I love her. I’m not going to treat her like my father treated you when we learned you were a wizard. I just want her to be safe.”
Harry takes a hard look at Dudley, who’s never been that good of an actor. His eyes are wide and his hands are clenched in fists that show off his white knuckles. His cheeks are red and he’s breathing heavily, opening and closing his mouth several times as if he’s figuring out what to say.
In the end, Harry decides that Dudley is telling the truth.
“Okay, I believe you. And I do want to help,” Harry says. “Most magic is harmless, especially if coming from a child. Draco and I can come over and help her, if you’d like. Or I have a friend, Hermione, who’s brilliant and knows practically everything. If anyone can help you, it’s her.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry says, holding out his hand for Dudley to shake, but Dudley surprises him by enveloping him in a hug. When they break apart, Dudley is smiling.
“Will you stay for dinner? It’s nothing fancy; I’m just ordering pizza.”
“Sure,” Harry says. He’s never seen Draco eat anything with his bare hands, so this will be interesting to watch.
They walk to the kitchen and through the window, Harry can see Draco and Dudley’s wife and daughter in the center of the yard. Daisy is speaking to Draco, who is kneeling down on the grass and is paying strict attention to Daisy, despite Sunny trying to lick his face again. In his hands he holds a plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid. If Harry remembers correctly, the liquid is vinegar and when mixed with bicarbonate of soda, will cause the rocket to launch into the air.
Draco is in for quite the surprise.
“How long have you been together?” Dudley asks, breaking Harry away from his thoughts.
“About four years, but I’ve known him since Hogwarts.”
“Ever plan to marry him?”
“Maybe in the future, but we’re okay as it is now.”
“Pity.”
Harry turns to look at Dudley. “Why?”
“Because I hope I look at Julia the way you’re looking at him right now.”
Harry’s cheeks turn red. “Oh, I didn’t realise we were that obvious.”
“Being in love looks good on you, Harry. If you ever have kids, he’d make a great father,” Dudley says, pointing at where Draco is carrying Daisy as she shakes the plastic bottle and lets it go. The mixture bubbles in the plastic bottle before it flies high above their heads and Draco falls back onto the grass in shock.
“Funny you should say that. He grew up with a shit father and Draco thinks he’ll repeat his father’s mistakes. But I disagree,” Harry says as Draco begins laughing as the rocket soars over them in the bright blue sky. Harry turns to look at Dudley. “People change and he is living proof of that.”