"Well I met an old man dying on a train
No more destination, no more pain.
Well he said one thing before I graduate:
Never let your fear decide your fate."
-Kill Your Heroes (Awolnation)
Dudley sat in a dimly lit room in a government office-an underground wizarding government office, of all the bloody things-clenching and unclenching his fists in a black rage. He had been questioned by a mustachioed freak in a dress and cape about his recollections of the ordeal at the Diagonal Alley, over and over, until his head was spinning and he could not bear to speak anymore. Yet still the images danced through his head like the reel of some horror movie that could not be turned off.
–You can pay me back by taking me to lunch,†Parvati had said. Then all hell had broken loose.
The banner above the freak shop had caught fire and shortly afterward a sharp crack had sounded to Dudley’s immediate left. He had turned to see a short, portly man who had almost certainly not been there a moment ago standing with another wand-thing held above his head. A thin lasso of honest-to-God flames were coming out of the wand, and Dudley had leapt aside, throwing his arms in front of Parvati to protect her from the swirling tongues of fire lapping at terrified passers-by. But Parvati was no longer behind him: she had taken out her own wand and was pointing it at the newcomer, muttering nonsense words under her breath. The lasso of flames had vanished, but before Dudley could puzzle over whether Parvati had made it happen, another crack had echoed to his right and a woman every bit as stout as her partner had appeared out of thin air to shoot a jet of red light at Parvati.
–Dudley, you need to get out of here,†Parvati had yelled. For some reason her movements had become sluggish, and she appeared to be struggling to move the arm holding her wand. Dudley had stood frozen, unable to formulate a thought beyond blind terror. His first instinct had been to pummel the man with the flames, but before he could bring himself to launch an attack a horde of customers had come trooping out of the shop to assist Parvati in subduing the plump man and woman. Only there was no one there. Both offenders had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
–Dudley?â€
A voice roused Dudley from his dark thoughts, and he saw that Parvati was peeking into the room, a stricken look on her face. Dudley turned away from her, feeling a small twinge of guilt which he squashed immediately. Enough of this nonsense, he told himself sternly. All this time, there was a good reason his parents had kept away from her lot.
–Oh, I’m so sorry, Dudley,†said Parvati, rushing to his side. –I’ve been running through the department all day trying to find out where you were, and no one would tell me. Are you all right?â€
Dudley sat for an unknowable time, contemplating what he meant to do. The freaks who had brought him in had not bothered to hide their purpose from him, no doubt thinking that he would be unable to understand a word they said. But Dudley had managed to read through several of Harry’s school books in the past few days, and he realized what was meant by Obliviation. They meant to wipe his memory.
He would beat them to a pulp before they had the chance, he had decided. They had no right to take his thoughts from him. But in the meantime...
Dudley turned a blank stare on Parvati and said, –Who are you?â€
Parvati’s eyes grew very wide and filled with tears immediately.
–Dudley?†she murmured. –It’s me, it’s Parvati. Don’t mess around, it’s not funny.â€
Dudley took a deep breath and, hating himself a little, snapped, –I’ve never met you before. What do you want?â€
–I’m too late,†she said, and Dudley could tell that she was speaking more to herself than anyone. –They wiped your memory already. Oh, I’m too late!â€
Without another word she swept out of the room, wiping furiously at her eyes. Dudley buried his face in his hands. The memory of the smell of Parvati’s hair haunted him, her smile and her laugh, the way she looked at him as though he was the most interesting person in the world. He thought back to the mounds of gold and the fighting little creatures in the Diagonal Alley with something akin to wistfulness.
–Stop it,†he said aloud, mentally chastising himself. He had made his choice. Dudley thought briefly of the deal he had made with Hermione Granger, wondering whether he ought to continue on with that ill-advised venture. That was a dilemma for another time, he decided. At present he needed to get himself out of this place.
He stood, intending to try the door. He had seen one of the freaks in capes point his wand at the doorknob and heard the lock click, but if all else failed Dudley supposed he could break the door down. Just as he was about to try his luck, however, the door burst open again and Dudley found himself face to face with Harry Potter.
The temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees and a deep silence expanded through the room. Dudley and Harry faced one another, each unable to believe what he was seeing. What Dudley saw was a young man in a well-tailored (if a little ridiculous) cloak and dark clothes, with unbroken glasses framing his disbelieving face; a man small in stature, but healthy and vital and whose stance betrayed that he was undeniably in charge of the situation. Somehow the image Dudley had always held of Harry in his mind was that of a scrawny kid with a dodgy air and baggy clothes. If he had ever existed, that boy was no more. This was the Harry Potter that Hestia whatever-her-name-was and Dedalus however-you-said-it had spoken of in Dudley’s presence: respected and in command. Dudley could understand the attentions other freaks had always seemed to bestow so lavishly upon his cousin, which had seemed stupid to him at the time.
Dudley considered pretending that his memory had been wiped of Harry as well. But his cousin had grown up watching the deceptions he perpetrated on his mother every day, and something told Dudley that Harry was not likely to be taken in by the same kind of charade.
Another woman stood behind Harry, but Dudley ignored her. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that he had parted with his cousin on good terms, Dudley extended his hand and said, –Hello.â€
It was a moment fraught with tension, but at length Harry’s face broke into an uncertain grin and he shook Dudley’s hand, eyeing him as though he was a household pet that had learned to talk.
–It’s been ages, Big D,†Harry said. –You, er, you look well. Mind if I ask how you ended up here?â€
–Got sort of... brought along to this shop called Wheezing Weasels, run by your lot.†Dudley struggled to maintain his train of thought as he formulated an explanation, which proved difficult because there was so much about the story he did not understand himself. –There was a man who set fire to the place. Withmagicorsomething.†He cringed. –And I landed here. Won’t let me go until they obliterate- er, obliviate me.â€
Dudley could not be sure whether the sight of Harry’s jaw hanging open in shock was a good sign or not.
Finally Harry turned to address the woman behind him. –He’s my cousin. You don’t need to wipe his memory. I can take him home.â€
–I have my orders,†the woman replied haughtily. She wore her hair in a splendid arrangement atop her head like a beehive, and her gold wire-rimmed glasses gave her a rather superior air.
–Right, then I’ll need to speak to Arthur Weasley,†Harry told her.
–I don’t see what that has to do with the matter at hand.â€
Harry’s eyes flashed. –As Head of Muggle Liaison, I think you’ll find his involvement would have everything to do with this matter. I’ll get him myself.â€
He made to exit the room, but at the last moment the haughty woman scowled and held him back, muttering something to the effect that she would do it herself even though it was a huge imposition. Dudley had a vague sense that this was exactly what Harry had intended. Though he had to admit to himself that he was happy to see his cousin, Dudley found that he remained very much frightened of him as well.
–I never thought I’d be thankful for Dementors,†Harry remarked as they awaited the woman’s return, –but they must have really done a number on you.â€
Dudley shrugged. –Heard you... er,†he cleared his throat, examining his feet quite carefully so as to avoid looking at Harry. –I heard you were getting married.â€
–Merlin, where did you hear that?â€
Merlin? Merlin of the Arthurian legend and the round table, who starred in one of Dudley’s favorite video games? Dudley’s tired brain labored to decipher Harry’s meaning, coming to the startling conclusion that many of the characters he had long thought made-up might in fact be alive and hiding among Harry’s lot. He wondered with some trepidation if James Bond or Darth Vader might be hiding somewhere in this very building.
–Harry.†A second woman, gruff-voiced but of a much pleasanter demeanor, had entered the room. –Harry, you should know that Rita Skeeter is out in the Atrium. Something about Muggles in the Ministry and a disgrace.â€
Harry rolled his eyes. –Thanks Delilah. I’ll have to see if Hermione might help me chase her off.â€
Dudley twitched at the mention of Hermione’s name, attracting a curious glance from Harry. He tried his best to adopt an expression of total ignorance, so as not to give away his connivance with Harry’s friend, but was not sure he had pulled it off.
The woman named Delilah added, –And Arthur asked me to let you know that he pulled some strings and you’re free to go with Mr. Dursley here.â€
Harry and Dudley’s eyes met, and there was a curious, fleeting moment in which they shared a small smirk of disbelief at hearing Dudley addressed as –Mr. Dursley.†The moment passed, and Harry clapped his hands together.
–Excellent,†he said. –I owe him one. Listen Dudley, would you mind staying here for a minute? There’s some press downstairs I have to get rid of and it wouldn’t do to take you with me. I don’t want people finding out you’re here or they’ll ask all kinds of questions.â€
Dudley nodded, and Harry was gone with a sweep of his cloak. Batman, Dudley reflected while he stood alone in the dimly lit room, now, Batman would have been an exceptional man to meet while he was here, if indeed he did exist. Parvati would have liked his Batman comics... No. He mustn’t think that way.
Harry returned within five minutes and gave Dudley a lot of mumbo-jumbo about reporters and departments and something called Floo powder. They walked together through the halls of the underground structure without incident until they arrived at an enormous room lined entirely with fireplaces.
–Keep your head down,†Harry advised. –You’re dressed like a Muggle, you’ll attract notice.â€
Dudley bowed his head, stealing a few furtive glances here and there as he allowed himself to be led into an old-fashioned lift. Inside, a cool voice announced the names of a series of departments which Dudley did not even attempt to understand.
–Once we reach the top you’ll be in a telephone box in Muggle London,†Harry told him. –I’ve sent for a taxi for you. Try not to get into too much trouble after you leave.â€
–Thank you.†The words escaped Dudley’s lips before he could properly think on what he had really meant to say. Perhaps he had meant to express his frustration that his rights had been entirely violated by the imprisonment he had suffered at the hands of his cousin’s lot. Perhaps he had meant to ask about Batman. Yet somehow, Dudley knew that he really wanted to thank Harry, both for coming to his aid that day and for saving his life five years ago.
Harry gave him a strange look. –You could come to my wedding, you know. If you want.â€
Dudley’s first impulse, after the events of that day, was to refuse. However the prospect of earning his life back changed his mind. Besides, he could not say that seeing Harry again after all this time was entirely distasteful. It would be a one-off, he told himself sternly. He would attend the wedding, collect his reward from Hermione Granger, and have no more of this magic nonsense. No matter how grateful he might be to Harry. No matter how pretty Parvati was, or how giddy she made him feel... No. No more. There was no place for him in his cousin’s world.
The lift clanged up into a red telephone box, and just like that Dudley was back in the sane peoples’ London. He turned to face Harry as he stepped out, and muttered, –You’ll send me the time and place for the wedding, then?â€
Harry nodded curtly and handed him the tote bag from Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes he had almost forgotten about. Dudley took a step towards a taxi waiting for him nearby.
–Your mother wanted to be one of us once,†Harry called after him, thoroughly startling Dudley, who stopped to listen with his back still turned. –She wanted to be a witch. She wrote to the headmaster at my school, Hogwarts, and asked if she could attend. She didn’t always hate magic.â€
The telephone box door slid shut in time for Harry to add –See you around, Big D,†and to leave Dudley completely stricken by the side of the road.
By the time Dudley arrived home that night courtesy of a helpful but rather incompetent taxi driver, there were five messages on his phone from his boss at Grunnings asking where he had disappeared to. He erased them all, ignored his father’s indignant queries about where he had been all day, and locked himself in his room, where he found yet another surprise awaiting him on his desk.
A piece of unusual looking paper almost the color of tempered animal hide had been placed by his computer. Feeling that no one person should ever be expected to deal with so much information in a day, Dudley picked it up and began to read:
Mr. Dudley Dursley
It has come to the attention of my coworkers and myself that at approximately one thirty-seven this afternoon you were taken into the custody of the Ministry of Magic and subsequently escorted out by one Harry James Potter, your estranged cousin.
This reporter requests your aid in the form of an interview in which you will disclose the nature of this day’s events as well as any and all other information regarding your unpublicized childhood growing up with Mr. Potter. In exchange we will refrain from revealing to one Ms. Parvati Patil of the Muggle Liaison office that your memory of her is in fact as intact as ever. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and encourage you to reply by Muggle post if this is most convenient to you. We will receive the message.
Sincerely,
Rita Skeeter
Special Correspondent
Daily Prophet
***
A dark expanse of forest. A clearing bathed in the cold light of the moon. A group of creatures gathered in a place where blood was often shed.
–The others’re late,†a cold voice called from beneath a hood. –We’ll start without ‘em.â€
A stooped figure also concealed beneath a hood shuffled forward, dragging to the center of a circle a bound, gagged woman with short blond hair and several deep gashes across her arms. The light from the waxing moon threw her features into sharp relief, revealing a look of abject terror.
–Verity Sinistra?†the first speaker demanded coldly, ignoring the girl’s distress. When she did not speak he nodded to the stopped figure, who administered a swift kick to the girl’s stomach. Groaning, she nodded.
–Daughter of the Hogwarts professor of Astronomy?†the speaker continued. When the girl nodded again he threw back his hood and smiled, a gruesome sight. His face was grubby and looked as animal as it did human.
He crouched next to the frightened girl, ripped away the cloth gagging her, and said, –Pretty little thing. You and I are going to be right good friends, aren’t we?â€
–What do you want from me?†the girl asked in a hush.
A cloud passed over the moon, temporarily casting a shadow over the man’s face. His eyes flashed in the gloom like those of a wolf.
–I want you to get me into Hogwarts.â€
The man raised his head to the sky and inhaled the night with an air of savage triumph. He walked away, leaving the girl behind to shake her head in silent protest. As the clouds blew out of the sky and the moon returned to watch over the forest, she heard a faint howl in the distance.
The Phoenix Or The Flame by GinnyRULES
Chapter Notes: So this is a much quicker update! I'm afraid some of you are going to hate me after this chapter... Ah well, these characters don't always listen to me. Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy!