Harry Potter Apparated to a point in his front yard. Walking into his kitchen, he saw his wife busily working on dinner. A sauce seemed to be stirring itself on the stove while Ginny directed her wand towards a knife, which immediately began chopping vegetables. Harry, knowing his two children would be somewhere upstairs, couldn’t help smiling to himself at the idyllic scene his home presented.
After defeating Lord Voldemort almost fifteen years ago, life seemed to go perfectly for the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry married Ginny as soon as she finished school, and then underwent Auror training. Within in a few years of becoming part of the elite unit, he was named Head of the Auror Department.
Meanwhile, Ginny played Chaser for Puddlemere United. After one too many broken arms, she decided she really didn’t want to play Quidditch professionally. Instead, she substituted for Professor Flitwick until he retired about ten years ago, at which point she became the new Charms professor. She was one of the few teachers who didn’t live at Hogwarts during the school year, but Apparated home after her classes were done each day.
Ron and Hermione Weasley, just as the Potters, lived a short ways outside of Ottery St. Catchpole. Harry loved the community and family this provided: his two best friends - not to mention Molly and Arthur Weasley - were always close by.
Harry came up to Ginny from behind and slid his arms around her waist as he kissed the top of her head. “How’s everything?”
Eagerly, Ginny turned around to return the embrace. “Fantastic. And how was work?”
“Same as always. Hey, I was thinking…”
“Uh-oh.” Ginny couldn’t resist a grin.
“Haha. Anyways, Brian’s going into his third year. Maybe now would be the perfect time to give him the Marauder’s Map.”
“You don’t want to save it for Dana?” Ginny’s eyes held a slightly dangerous edge, and Harry missed that she was joking.
“But “ but…”
Putting a hand to her husband’s chest, Ginny interrupted, “I’ve got a few things for her that I got from my mother. I know it’s the same with this map. And yes, I think this year would be the perfect time to give it to him.”
Harry sighed with relief before changing the subject. “When are you going to Diagon Alley? I’d like to go with you if you can wait until this weekend.”
Now it was Ginny’s turn to sigh. “I suppose we do need to get school supplies, since the booklists came. I can’t believe Dana’s starting her first year.”
“Don’t worry “ you’ll get to see her. You do teach there, remember?” Harry bent his head to meet his wife’s lips with his own.
Yes, life was practically perfect. So perfect, in fact, that it could become boring. Harry needed an adventure, something to shake up the routine. And something was on its way to do just that...
Harry vaguely noted the rustling of wings just before something heavy collided with the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward and almost knock down Ginny. She was forced to reach back and steady herself on the kitchen counter. Quickly, he disentangled their arms and spun around, looking for the intrusion.
“What was that?!?” Ginny spoke breathlessly. “It scared me to death!” She peered over her husband’s shoulder and spotted an owl. The bird sat at their feet and stared up at them, dutifully waiting to be relieved of its letter. Stooping down, Harry took the parcel from the owl’s leg. Immediately, the creature flew back through the window, looking terrified of being given a reply to deliver.
Harry stared at the letter, trying to remember where he had seen the sloppy scrawl before. “Who’s it from?” a voice whispered. Ginny had moved to stand in front of him.
With a shrug, he tore open the envelope and unfolded the single piece of parchment inside.
Harry,
I need to see you immediately. We have things to discuss. 10 Magnolia Road.
Dudley Dursley
Harry turned to Ginny with wide eyes. “Dudley?!? I haven’t heard from him in over fifteen years. What could he possibly want?”
“This does seem rather cryptic; although, it does explain the owl’s behaviour. He didn’t want us to send him back to your cousin. Are you going to go right now?”
“Do I have to?” he whined, with an obviously fake pout.
She swatted his arm playfully. “Yes, you have to.”
“Fine - I’ll see you guys in awhile. You should probably eat without me.”
Ginny stood on her tiptoes to kiss him once more before he headed back out the door into the front yard. Harry heard her yelling up the stairway. “Brian James! Dindrane Rose! Supper’s ready!”
Spinning on the spot, Harry concentrated on 10 Magnolia Road. A moment later, he was once again standing in a front yard, but not his own. He couldn’t repress a sigh as he trudged towards his cousin’s house. Before he could even knock, Dudley yanked open the door.
“What took you so long?” he hissed.
“Good to see you too, Dudders. It’s nice to see you got your own place.” He turned and stared pointedly in the direction of Privet Drive. Harry’s childhood home was no more than a few minutes’ walk from where he stood. He shuddered at the idea of visiting his aunt and uncle there.
Dudley didn’t seem to notice Harry’s sarcasm. He was too busy looking horrified at the wizard’s robes his cousin wore. “Get in here “ before someone sees you.” A pale hand grabbed the front of Harry’s robes and forced him in the doorway.
Once inside, Dudley released his grip as though he had touched something foul. Harry took a step back and looked appraisingly at the man in front of him. Dudley’s wrestling muscles had retreated back to fat, but he was considerably lighter than he had once been.
“So, what’s new with you?” Harry tried for a curious tone, but he simply did not really care about what was happening in Dudley’s life.
“As if you didn’t know…”
“Er… no, I don’t. And how did you get an owl, anyway?”
“I used the one that delivered the letter here.”
“What letter?”
“You bloody well know what letter!”
Harry rubbed his eyes with one hand. “Dudley, I haven’t the foggiest idea what you are talking about. If you’d care to explain, I’ll listen. Otherwise, I have a family to get back to.”
By now, the pair had travelled down the hallway. At the mention of family, however, Dudley stopped and pointed at a photograph on the wall. “My wife, Mildred, and daughter, Tulip.”
Harry noted both how strange it seemed to see a picture that wasn’t moving and that Mildred looked eerily like Petunia. Out loud, he asked, “What’s Tulip’s middle name?”
“Breanne.”
I wonder if she would prefer to go by that name…Tulip…that’s truly dreadful.
“Harry, what did you do?”
He opened his mouth, not sure how to respond, but Dudley spoke before he could say anything anyway. “You can undo it, right?”
“Undo what?”
“I mean, how else could this have happened? We’ve always been so normal. We don’t have anything to do with your kind, so it’s not because of us…” Dudley seemed to be thinking out loud. “How can I explain this to Mildred? I’ve never told her about you.”
Exasperated, Harry once more tried to get an explanation. “What’s going on, Dudley?”
Without another word, the man continued down the hallway and turned into what appeared to be the living room. When Harry stepped in behind him, he spotted a young girl, perhaps ten or eleven. He recognised her from the picture in the hallway. Harry was looking at Tulip. Like her father, she had blonde hair, but the resemblance ended there. Short and rather skinny, she was nonetheless a beautiful child.
“If you can’t fix this, you have to take her!” Dudley was beside himself with panic, but his cousin was no longer listening.
Harry was gazing into Tulip’s eyes. He saw an emotion in them that he himself had once felt “ a strange mixture of disbelief, excitement, hope, and even joy. When he finally tore himself from those eyes, he noticed she clutched an envelope in both hands. It had familiar green writing on it…
With a trembling hand, Tulip held the envelope out to Harry. In the faintest whisper, she said, “I’m a witch.”