Chapter Fifteen “ Twenty-Four Hours Missing
Harry had been waiting in the passageway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk for quite a while now. He was leaning against the wall, starting to think that Luci wasn’t coming. She had been mad at him for not staying in touch with her. Could that mean that she just wanted to keep track of him? When he listened to his intuition, it told him that he could trust her, but he would give anything to be able to read her, to know for sure.
Luci appeared beside him a few minutes later.
“Sorry that took so long,” she said, sounding breathless, as if she’d been running.
“How’s Malfoy?” Harry asked sardonically, without even looking at her.
“Cheeky as ever, thinks you’re up to no good.” Luci glanced up at him with a lighthearted expression.
He felt his breath catch. She had done herself up for this role, and she looked impressive. She had always been pretty, though not excessively so, but this was an inebriating façade.
“You’re trying too hard,” said Harry, grinning.
“You can never try too hard,” she replied, gazing up at him.
They were both silent for a moment. Then Luci said, “Harry, are we OK?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem like you’re still angry with me.”
He took a deep breath. She stripped his defenses, and he couldn’t understand it. The loss of control unnerved him.
“Yeah, we’re OK,” he told her.
She seemed to exhale in relief.
Harry took out the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over their heads. Since Luci was much shorter than he was, he had to wrap his arm around her to keep his own feet hidden. He could feel the heat of her body so close to his and he couldn’t shake the tension in his stomach.
They walked slowly towards number four, Harry hoping that Dudley would, indeed, be there alone.
“Why did you think I was mad at you?” asked Harry.
“All of the reasons that I said before,” Luci answered. “We hadn’t talked in days. It was… bizarre.”
“There’s a lot going on.”
She tipped her head in agreement. “There always seems to be. Is it Hagrid?”
Harry didn’t respond.
Luci sighed heavily, and then she pressed herself into him in a kind of half-hug, saying, “I wish that I could take it all away. I just don’t know how to make it better.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to this, so he said, “It’s not your job to make it better for me.”
They both lapsed into an awkward silence.
Finally, he said, “It’s Ron and Hermione,” though that was only a very small part of the unrelenting pain that plagued him without respite.
“What is?”
“What’s been bothering me.”
“Oh,” she nodded.
“I caught them… kissing,” Harry said, softly.
Abruptly altering the mood, Luci stifled a laugh. “Hmm,” she said.
“It’s not funny!”
“No, of course not,” she grinned.
Harry frowned.
“I’m sorry you’re upset, but I could see that coming a mile away!”
She must have discerned the look on his face, because she said, “Oh, Harry, don’t feel guilty. You’re dealing with far more than anyone should have to. It’s not your fault that you didn’t notice your best friends falling in love right under your nose.”
“In love?” He stopped walking.
“Yes, I think so.” She stopped too, hindered by the Cloak.
He gaped at her.
She laughed. “It happens!”
Harry took a deep breath as they both started up walking again.
“They’re still your best friends,” Luci continued. “You dated Ron’s sister. That’s pretty huge and everyone survived that, didn’t they? You and Ginny seem to be widely accepted now.”
Harry nodded. He felt his nerves tighten. He still didn’t want to talk about Ginny with Luci.
“So you’ll get used to this too,” she concluded.
“I guess,” Harry agreed.
“Why haven’t you talked to them about this?” Luci asked him.
“I usually go to Ron and Hermione with my problems, but considering that they were the problem…”
She smiled. “I’m always happy to listen. Well, here we go.”
They were now standing on the doorstep of number four, Privet Drive.
Harry rang the doorbell, and they listened for Dudley’s heavy footsteps. Luci was tapping her foot nervously. When he heard his cousin’s hand on the doorknob, Harry pulled the Cloak from Luci’s body and made sure that he was still covered.
Dudley opened the door hesitantly, wearing his Smeltings sweater again.
“Whatever it is, we don’t want any,” he snapped.
“Hello, Dudley.” Luci’s smile was so charming that, for a moment, Harry, himself, couldn’t breathe.
Dudley stared open-mouthed at her. He was moving his lips, as if to speak, but nothing was coming out.
“Remember me?” she asked sweetly.
He nodded and made a gurgling noise. Harry had to try very hard not to laugh aloud at his cousin.
Luci was still grinning brightly. “Mind if I come in?”
Dudley made a new choking sound and stepped out of the way.
Luci glided past him, and Harry followed close at her heels, though he needn’t have. Dudley was so distracted that he left the front door wide open and dreamily pursued her into the sitting room.
Harry stood just outside, so that he could go upstairs when he felt that it was safe.
Luci seated herself casually, as though she visited here often. She patted the space beside her and gestured to Dudley. He sidled up to the sofa and perched himself on the very edge.
Sweeping the hair alluringly from her face, Luci put a hand on Dudley’s knee, which caused the frumpy boy to slide abruptly to the floor. He hastily climbed back up, his face purple with embarrassment. Harry sniggered quietly beneath the Cloak.
He found Luci’s charade entirely unnecessary. Dudley had probably never had this much attention from a female in his life, and Luci could have been totally hideous, and he still would have fallen at her feet.
“Now, Dudley,” Luci began. “I need your help.”
This was the first time that Dudley had managed to speak. “W-with w-what?”
“Well…” she said silkily. “It’s a matter of vast importance, so I need to know that you’ll keep this just between the two of us.”
Dudley’s fat cheeks wobbled as he nodded.
As much as Harry wanted to continue watching this amusing scene, it seemed that Luci had things under control. He tore himself away and quietly saw himself upstairs to his Aunt and Uncle’s bedroom.
Without wasting a moment, he began to search the room, peering into Aunt Petunia’s trinket box, the closet, the drawers, and even under the mattress. He didn’t discover anything even remotely interesting, however, so he glanced around to make sure that everything was as he’d found it, and then he tried Dudley’s room.
The place was a disaster, with underwear and socks strewn on the floor. Harry imagined Aunt Petunia would clean it up when she got home, so this must be only the morning’s mess. He grimaced and looked everywhere he could think to look for the letter, but found nothing.
Back in the hall, he saw that it had been almost half an hour since he’d left Luci with Dudley. He had to search the other rooms quickly.
The spare bedroom was the emptiest of all of them, the drawers and closet entirely vacant. Then, he hunted through the bathroom, in the medicine cabinet, under the sink. Finally, he tried his own room, though he knew it wouldn’t be there.
Halfway through searching his own closet, Harry remembered something. There was a safe in the kitchen! He’d never seen anyone go into it, but he had seen a key in Aunt Petunia’s trinket box!
He hurried back down the hall and retrieved the key. Then, he crept quietly down the stairs, past where Luci and Dudley sat together on the sofa, and into the kitchen.
The tiny silver box opened with no difficulty when Harry inserted the key. Inside, he found a few valuable jewels, some documents, and…
“Aha!” he whispered aloud.
The first article was a love poem that Uncle Vernon had written to Aunt Petunia. Harry gagged before shoving it back into the safe.
The second piece of paper that he unfolded was Dudley’s birth certificate. This, too, he returned to its place.
Then he came across a letter with a Hogwarts seal. It was from Dumbledore, warning Aunt Petunia that Harry would be returning for the summer before his seventeenth birthday. It was recent, and must have been written shortly before Dumbledore’s death. Harry ignored the pain in his chest and pocked the letter.
Next, he found what he’d come here for in the first place.
“Dear Petunia,” it read, and Harry thought it odd that Dumbledore would address his Aunt by her first name.
“It is my regret to inform you that your sister and her husband, Mr. James Potter, have been murdered by a very dark wizard who goes by the name of Lord Voldemort. It is highly possible that you, also, along with your family, may be in danger. However, I believe that the same thing that protected the Potters' son, Harry, can also protect you. Therefore, I am sending Harry to live with you. This will insure his safety, which will, in turn, insure the safety of you and your family. Please inform Harry, when he is old enough, that his parents died bravely, and that they loved him very much. When Harry reaches the age of eleven, he may attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, assuming he is, indeed, capable of magical ability. We will send word when the time comes. I will be in touch as the need arises. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”
Harry was busy pushing back tears, but then he noticed that the date of the letter read November 2nd, 2:33am. Weren’t his parents killed on Halloween night? Wouldn’t he have arrived at the Dursleys’ the following day, November 1st? There were twenty-four hours missing. Had he been in Godric’s Hollow alone for twenty-four hours?
He’d figure this out later. He folded the letter and put it into his pocket with the first one. Then he quickly shuffled through the pile to find anything with a Hogwarts seal. He found one additional envelope, and then he returned the remaining papers to the safe.
After hastily putting the key back in its place in the trinket box, Harry returned downstairs. He was just in time to hear Dudley telling Luci how Harry was terribly ugly and smelly. He tapped lightly on Luci’s shoulder to signal that he’d found what he’d needed. Then he went to the front entrance and waited for her.
“Well, Dudley, I think I have enough,” he heard Luci say.
She appeared around the corner, Dudley waddling quickly behind her.
“Can’t you stay?” asked Dudley eagerly. “I have tea and cakes. Anything you want.”
“Thank you, but I really can’t.”
Dudley looked disappointed. Harry knew that he wasn’t used to not getting what he wanted.
“You’ve been very helpful, though,” Luci said to him.
“B-but…” stammered Dudley. “I need your help too.”
Luci turned to him, an expression of curiosity on her face. “With what?”
Dudley looked as if he’d swallowed a bee. He shook his head.
“It’s OK,” said Luci warmly. “You can tell me.”
She was doing such a marvelous job of acting that it actually frightened Harry. A horrible sick feeling presented itself in his mind, but it flew right back out again when he heard the next thing from Dudley’s mouth.
“Harry did something to me.”
Harry’s mouth fell open, but no one saw this, of course.
Luci was intrigued. “What do you mean?”
Dudley gulped and continued to appear hesitant.
When he hadn’t said anything for a few moments, Luci stated, “Well, I can’t help you, then.”
“No, wait!” exclaimed Dudley.
Luci nodded patiently.
“I keep having nightmares…” Dudley began.
Luci raised an eyebrow. “And how did Harry cause this?”
Dudley licked his lips, as if he still wanted to reconsider telling Luci all of this, but then he said, “It started when he attacked me in an alley a few years ago.”
“Harry attacked you?”
Dudley nodded.
Harry was growing angry. He’d have to explain to Luci about the Dementors.
“Now I can’t stop having nightmares.”
“And what are you having nightmares about?” Luci asked in a concerned voice.
Dudley slammed his eyes shut. He was taking deep breaths, his massive chest rising and falling.
“I keep seeing my mum… w-with a… a… one of those w-wand thingies… and she’s waving it around and chanting something… but nothing’s happening and she’s mad and yelling…”
Luci was listening silently to this, and Dudley still had his eyes closed. Harry’s heart was pounding. Was his Aunt Petunia a witch? It certainly wouldn’t be far-fetched.
Finally, Luci asked, “Did this actually happen to you, Dudley?”
Dudley opened his eyes and nodded. “When I was six.”
“And has it happened since?”
Dudley shook his head. “Only in my nightmares.”
Luci was chewing on her right thumbnail in thought.
“Can you make them go away?” pleaded Dudley.
Luci looked up at him sympathetically. “No, I can’t. I’m sorry. But they’ll go away on their own, with time.”
“They will?” Dudley asked hopefully.
“Yes, I think so.”
Dudley smiled in relief. Then his expression turned to anger and he growled, “I hope you do catch my nasty cousin and put him away for what he’s done to me, and to loads of others, probably.”
Before he could stop himself, Harry lunged forward in fury. At this moment, Dudley squealed like a stuck pig and jumped back three feet, pointing frantically at the floor and mumbling nonsense.
Luci and Harry both followed his finger. Harry’s right trainer was sticking out from under the Invisibility Cloak. He really was getting too tall for it. Could this thing be stretched?
Luci swore under her breath.
Dudley was still shrieking incoherently.
“Calm down!” commanded Luci, and Dudley ceased instantly.
Harry, who had gotten what he needed and wasn’t the least bit afraid of Dudley, tore off the Cloak.
“Hi Dudders.”
Dudley wailed, turned a bright shade of magenta, and sprung at Harry. He threw a fist into Harry’s jaw, and Harry heard it crack. Pain seared through the side of his head and he groaned loudly.
Suddenly, Luci had flown Dudley into the air and pinned him against the wall, her wand pointed at his throat. He was looking terrified and had his hands up in surrender.
She was glaring at him. “Now that wasn’t very nice,” she hissed.
Dudley shook his head in frightened agreement.
Then, strangely, Luci slammed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw, standing there in silence for a moment, though Harry couldn’t imagine what she was doing. He was about to ask her if she was all right when she appeared to return to the present, opening her eyes slowly.
“I’m sorry, Dudley,” she said calmly, but sternly. “Harry is very important in our world. I can’t have you hitting him. Do you understand?”
Dudley nodded obediently.
Harry realized that he could now use magic outside of Hogwarts, but it was much too exciting to watch Luci defending him. He got to his feet, but continued to observe silently.
“Now, I think that we can forget that this ever happened, yes?”
Dudley nodded again.
“Good. I appreciate it.”
Luci slowly lowered Dudley back onto his feet and backed away. The chubby boy was pressing himself into the wall and didn’t dare move.
“Episkey,” said Luci, turning her wand to Harry. He felt his jaw click back into place and the pain subside.
“The Cloak, Harry.”
Harry threw it over the two of them.
Luci called behind her, “Thanks again, Dudley, and don’t worry about those nightmares!”
Harry and Luci stepped outside together and shut the door behind them, leaving the shocked Dudley staring after them.
“That went well,” Luci grumbled sarcastically.
“Sorry.”
She shook her head but didn’t say anything. She was looking down, checking to make sure that they were both completely covered.
“Are you OK?” she asked him. The sullen mood conveyed in her voice was very different from anything he’d heard before, and he wondered what had caused it.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
He got the indication that she was in a foul mood, so they walked on without another word.
After a few minutes, Harry longed to break the silence, so he said, “Oh, here!” and handed Luci the Professor’s Pass, which he’d been carrying in his pocket.
“Thanks,” she said dully. Then she seemed to force herself into normal conversation and asked, “So your aunt’s a witch, eh? You never told me that.”
“I didn’t know,” replied Harry.
She shrugged. “Maybe she’s not. Maybe she wants to be. Dudley made it sound like she couldn’t do magic.”
Harry tried to look back throughout his childhood, but he couldn’t recall Aunt Petunia ever showing any signs of magical ability. In fact, she had always appeared to loathe magic. Was it just an act?
“So you found the letter?” continued Luci, still sounding strangely despondent.
“Yes,” Harry replied, only just remembering.
“Notice how I didn’t demand to know what was in it,” she said, though her voice had now become teasing.
“Yeah, yeah,” he responded. “Hey, thanks for your help. You were brilliant! Sounded as if you really cared about fat old Dudders.”
Luci glanced sideways at him. “I did care.”
Harry gaped at her. Of course, she would. She was sympathetic to Malfoy, of all people, and Dudley wasn’t half as bad as all that.
“I don’t understand you,” he said. “Besides, you threw him!”
“Only because he hit you, and you can’t help but pity a boy like that,” she sighed. “He seemed really tortured by those nightmares.”
“He deserves a lot worse, believe me.”
She smiled faintly. “Sometimes, you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Just because a person has treated you badly doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve any compassion.”
He looked at her incredulously before replying, “And I didn’t attack him. It was Dementors.”
“That explains a lot, because I wouldn’t pin you as an attacking kind of guy,” said Luci.
“I’m not.”
“Poor kid,” she muttered, and Harry rolled his eyes. “What do you think they feed him?”
He laughed.
They had reached the alley between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk, whereupon, at the count of three, they Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.
In the entryway, where they landed, they were greeted by Ginny, who looked livid, her face almost as cherry colored as her hair.
“Where the bloody hell have you been with her?”
The Progeny of the Pure-Blood by Sunny Christian
Chapter Notes: Harry didn't think he'd return to Privet Drive, but while he's there, he might as well have some fun with Dudley...