When the gut-wrenching feeling of Apparition passed, Dudley found himself in the field in front of the Longbottom house.
“Run!” shouted Hestia.
Dudley wasn’t sure why they had to run but he obeyed, still carrying Dean over his shoulder. When a bolt of red light narrowly missed hitting him, he looked back to see Hestia and Dedalus battling another wizard. Dudley didn’t even take the time to question where the wizard had come from; he just kept running.
When he got to the porch, his mum threw open the door and yelled, “Dudley! My Ickle Diddykins! You’re safe!”
Dudley ran past her and set Dean on the couch in the parlor. “Mum, get some water, please!” He was glad to see that Dean was still breathing, despite being unconscious, and started shaking him.
“Dudley, what in the bloody hell did you think—”
“A little busy here, lecture me later, dad,” snapped Dudley. He was sure his father’s face turned dark purple then, but he was too concerned with Dean being unconscious and the battle outside to care.
Petunia came back in the room with a glass of water, which Dudley threw on Dean’s face like they did in the movies, but Dean didn’t move.
“Where did you disappear to? What’s wrong with Dean? Why is there a man out in the field?” asked Petunia frantically, barely pausing between each word.
“I don’t know. I think he was hit by a stunning spell,” said Dudley.
“What about the man?” grumbled Vernon. “Why was he waiting for you?”
That caught Dudley’s attention. “Waiting? What do you mean ‘waiting for us’?”
“He showed up just after you all disappeared to Who-Knows-Where! He’s been standing out there in the field ever since. Made your mum and me ill with worry! And of course those two idiots who were supposed to protect us were gone again!” The shouting seemed to be doing Vernon some good; the color of his cheeks had gone from deep purple to dark red.
“I thought he’d followed us from the hospital,” said Dudley, more to himself than his parents. “How did he know we were here?”
Dudley wandered back to the front door; almost forgetting about Dean. Outside, Hestia and Dedalus were no longer fighting the other wizard. He seemed to be in a binding hex on the ground, and Hestia held her wand at him threateningly. Dudley walked clumsily across the grassy field to them.
“You should be back in the house, Dudley!” Hestia shouted before he was even halfway there. “Is Dean okay?”
“He’s unconscious, but breathing,” said Dudley. “Do you know where this guy came from?”
“He must have grabbed onto one of us outside of St. Mungo’s and Apparated with us,” said Dedalus.
“No, he didn’t,” said Dudley. “My parents said he’s been out here the whole time we were gone.”
Hestia’s eyes widened in alarm briefly before she turned around and scanned the empty field around the Longbottom home. “Inside, now!” she ordered. She pointed her wand at the wizard and performed some sort of spell that made him stand up. They marched quickly back to the house.
“Dedalus, is he going to be able to get back into the house through the protections?” asked Hestia as they walked up the porch steps.
“I believe so,” said Dedalus. “Augusta performed the protections differently this time, after all the trouble we had last time.”
Sure enough, the hooded wizard was able to pass into the house without trouble. Vernon’s shouts came roaring from the parlor as soon as the front door shut. “You people can’t stay and do your bloody job for a single day! You keep running off, roping my son into your dangerous missions, bringing bloody, unconscious boys into the house—though he probably deserved whatever he got for associating with your lot! And the whole time you were gone, there was some man running around out—THAT’S HIM! You brought him in the house! Are you on his side? You two are betraying us, aren’t you? I always knew there—”
Vernon’s voice was suddenly cut off. Though his mouth was still moving—even more angrily with each passing, silent second—no sound passed from his lips.
Dudley looked back at Hestia with raised eyebrows. “Did I do that?” she asked, with a smirk. “Oops. Where’s Dean?”
Dudley, remembering his unconscious friend, pointed to the parlor.
Hestia went into the room, pointed her wand and said “Reenervate!”
Dean woke with a start. He blinked several times, grabbed his shoulder (Dudley guessed this was where he’d been hit with the spell), and muttered, “Why am I all wet?”
“Oh, well I tried waking you up by throwing water at you,” said Dudley.
“You thought that would counter a Stunning Spell?” asked Dean, chuckling. “You’ve been watching the Muggle tele too much.”
“Are you okay?” asked Dudley.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Dean offhandedly. Then he glanced around the house and noticed the extra guest. “What did I miss?”
“Just a small battle in St. Mungo’s, a hoard of confused Muggles outside, and a snatcher waiting outside the house,” said Hestia with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
A loud thud from the doorway brought their attention momentarily to Vernon, who was banging his fist against the wall and jumping up and down like a child to get everyone’s attention.
“Would you quit it before I put you in a binding hex with this guy?” Hestia threatened, motioning to the snatcher. “Damn it, it’s impossible to have a bloody conversation around this clot!”
Vernon stopped beating the wall, but kept his menacing gaze on Hestia.
“What are we going to do about the snatcher?” asked Dedalus.
“We’re going to play a little game with him,” said Hestia maliciously. Once again, she waved her wand at the man and he followed her down the stairs to the basement. Dedalus followed them, closing the door behind him.
“What’s a snatcher?” asked Dudley.
“They’re You-Know-Who’s wanna-be-death-eater thugs,” Dean explained. “They go around looking for Muggle-borns and Blood Traitors to turn into You-Know-Who for a reward.”
“So they’re who you’ve been running from?” asked Dudley.
“Yes,” said Dean. “It’s nice to see one of them scared of us for a change.”
“What do you think Hestia will do to him?”
“She’s just going to interrogate him. She won’t torture him or anything—I don’t think.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Dudley joked.
Dean laughed and stood up. “I’m going to find something to eat. Want anything?”
“No, thanks.” Dudley glanced back at his silent parents. “Oh, are you able to take the spell off my dad, though?”
“Sure,” said Dean. He pointed his wand and muttered a spell under his breath, then walked into the kitchen.
“Dudley,” said Vernon, in a high pitched voice that made him cover his mouth in embarrassment, his face morphing from purple to crimson. “My voice—why is it—why do I sound like a girl?”
“Sorry Mr. Dursley,” shouted Dean from the kitchen. “I’m not very good at that spell, but when Hestia and Dedalus come back, they can get your voice back to normal.”
“Not very good at the spell!” Vernon squeaked. “You could have killed me, aiming that bloody stick and not knowing what you’re doing with it!”
Dudley forced himself not to laugh; his father wasn’t as intimidating as usual with the voice of an eight-year-old girl. “Dad, Hestia or Dedalus can fix it when they’re done dealing with the snatcher.”
“Oh, the snatcher!” Vernon stretched his body to its full height to seem more threatening. “That man skulking out there in his leather jacket and combat boots and red bandana on his arm, like he’s in some kind of gang, and they’re not here to fight him, running off with you to some battle at St. Mugwap’s, whatever the hell that is, coming back with that injured kid like nothing’s wrong, and bringing in the punk from outside and taking him downstairs, probably to plot something against us! What are we doing trusting these freaks? We’re better off marching right out of here and going off on our own. Go, get your things and we’ll be gone before they get back with their bloody accomplice!”
Vernon started like he was going to march upstairs, before he realized neither Dudley nor Petunia was following him.
“What are you waiting on? We don’t have much time,” he squealed.
“Dad, we can’t leave. There are probably more snatchers outside. Plus, you need to wait for Hestia and Dedalus. You don’t want to be stuck with a little girl’s voice the rest of your life.”
“How dare you talk to your father that way!” Vernon squealed.
Dudley glanced away to keep from laughing, and noticed his mother on the couch, covering her mouth to hide her giggles.
“I’m not leaving, dad, and, if it comes to it, I’ll wrestle you to keep you from leaving too. You know I’ll win.”
Vernon’s jaw dropped, and he looked to Petunia for support. “Are you laughing at me?” he asked.
“No,” Petunia said, between breaths, “of course—not.”
Vernon groaned shrilly and plodded up the steps, slamming his door when he finally made it to his room.
Petunia and Dudley looked at one another when he was safely in his room, and burst out laughing. “I’m never going to forget that voice!” Dudley exclaimed. “That was brilliant!”
“I really shouldn’t be laughing at him,” Petunia giggled. “I’ll bet he’s upstairs practicing making his voice lower.”
“I’ll bet Hestia won’t fix his voice for a few hours after she comes back, just for fun,” Dudley joked.
They laughed for a moment longer, then Petunia became more serious. “Dudley, you really are growing up.”
“Oh, err…thanks, mum.”
“I’m serious, Duddy, you’ve become much more independent in the past few months, and for a while, I’ve been trusting more in your opinions that your father’s. You’ve been put in a difficult situation and you’re dealing with it better than I could ever have imagined.”
“To be honest, mum, it’s been the best experience of my life,” Dudley said. “I’ve learned so much, and not the boring stuff we learn in school, but about real life and this whole new world—and Harry, who I lived with but never even took the time to realize was an incredible person. I don’t know if you have realized that yet, mum. He’s saved so many lives, putting himself in danger, and now he’s still fighting. We’ve treated him terribly his whole life, but he’s still done all of this to make sure we’ll be okay.”
“I’ve started to realize that too, Dudley,” admitted Petunia sadly. “I wish I’d taken the chance to get to know Harry. After pushing away your Aunt Lily, the least I could have done was to make up for it through her son.”
“It’s okay, mum. Better to figure that out now than never.”
“Do you think that you could tell me what you’ve learned about Harry—about his life? I want to know now, but I’ve been too afraid to ask.”
“Of course, mum, that would be great,” said Dudley. “Where should—?”
“That grimey snatcher thinks he’s the one with the advantage,” Hestia ranted, interrupting them as she and Dedalus came back upstairs, “well, he’s wrong, and he’ll learn it soon enough.”
“He’s just playing us,” Dedalus said. “He knows we’re in the Order and we can’t torture him for information, so he doesn’t have anything to worry about.”
“Can’t torture him? I may bloody well torture him if he keeps on about this!”
Dudley was concerned by how serious Hestia sounded. Of course, she was always very strong and terrifying if you weren’t on her side, but she was starting to look scary even to Dudley.
“Hestia,” Dedalus chided. “He will break if we give him time. You know the rules.”
“Rules, rules, rules, when I get him alone rules won’t make a bloody hell of a difference, will they?”
“Hestia, this is not an issue I will yield on,” said Dedalus confidently, lacking his usual awkward stutter that came with conflict.
Hestia seemed too taken aback to say anything.
Dudley hesitated before interjecting. “What did you learn?”
“His snatcher gang has been watching the field ever since the taboo was triggered, but they’re unable to see the house because of Augusta’s enchantments,” Dedalus explained.
“We’re okay, then, right?” asked Dudley nervously. “If they can’t see us, what’s the big deal?”
“We’re okay, but they’re holding an Order member’s father captive,” said Dedalus. “They think they’ll be able to use him to lure us out.”
“What are you going to do about it?” asked Dudley.
“Nothing, yet,” said Dedalus. Dudley noticed that Hestia glared at him after this answer. “He hasn’t given us enough information to know what we’d be getting ourselves into.”
“We would know if we—”
“That’s not an option,” Dedalus interrupted.
“But it’s Tonks’ father!”
“I’m not going down to their level!” Dedalus argued. “Not while I have another option left.”
“What allows you to make that decision? We’re a team.”
“But I was put in charge of the team, so I’ll have the final say. We’re not harming him.”
“Fine. When you and your little snatcher friend are done chatting, let me know what the plan is,” Hestia snapped, before walking upstairs.
Dedalus left Dudley and Petunia alone in the living room, and Dudley was excited to tell her everything he’d learned about Harry.
“I don’t know where to start the story,” said Dudley.
“Why not from the beginning?” asked Petunia. “What do you know about before Harry came to us?”
“Well, Hestia and Dedalus told me all about the Vol— I guess I should call him You-Know-Who because of the snatchers—and the war that was going on when Harry was a baby,” said Dudley. “I’ll start there.”
Dudley told Petunia everything he knew, from Voldemort being a student at Hogwarts to his war against Muggle-borns and Blood Traitors. Petunia listened attentively, never stopping to ask a question, leaning forward in her chair toward Dudley as if to better hear him.
When Dudley came to the time when Voldemort killed James and Lily, Petunia changed. She leaned back in her chair, looked away from Dudley to the window, and put her hand over her eyes.
“Mum, do you want me to stop?” asked Dudley.
“No,” she said, after a pause. “Keep going. I need to know.”
“Okay, mum.” Dudley hesitated.
Petunia looked back to him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and urged him on with a wave of her hand.
Dudley continued the story. He too stared out the window, unable to watch his mother become upset.
As Dudley moved into the stories he’d heard of Harry in his early years at Hogwarts, the conversation was more light hearted and Petunia once again leaned forward to hear the story better.
He was just telling Petunia that Sirius Black, the escaped criminal they’d seen on the tele so long ago, was actually an escaped wizard and Harry’s Godfather when the front door opened and Mrs. Longbottom walked in.
She looked into the parlor where Petunia and Dudley were talking, unaware that she was interrupting anything, and scolded Dudley.
“You’re one crazy boy to follow us into St. Mungo’s!”
“I’m sorry Mrs. Longbottom, but I didn’t mean to,” admitted Dudley. “I accidentally Side-Apparated with Dean.
“Well, at least you’re okay,” she said. “Everyone else is alright too, I imagine?”
“Yes, we are, but—” Dudley was about to tell her about the snatchers, but she cut him off.
“Good, then I have an experiment for you,” she said. She walked to a trunk in the corner of the parlor and dug for a moment, pulling out a long, thin wooden box.
“This belonged to my son’s wife, Alice,” she said. “Nine inches, holly with a dragon’s heart string at the core.” She held it out delicately toward Dudley, opening the box in front of him.
Dudley studied the wand, unsure why she was showing him. “It’s very nice,” he said awkwardly.
“It’s yours,” she said.
“Mine?” asked Dudley curiously. “What use do I have with a wand?”
“That’s where the experiment comes in,” said Mrs. Longbottom. “Why don’t you try giving it a wave?”
Dursleys, Meet The Wizarding World by Ghoul In Pajamas
Chapter Notes:It has been forever and I can't apologize enough! At least I'm getting it in before a year has passed (barely). I hope the wait was worth it, and thanks for everyone who hasn't abandoned my story yet! I'm still not JK Rowling.
Chapter Endnotes:Let me know what you thought of it! Don't worry, the wait won't be as long this time!