It was twenty years, almost to the day, since Harry Potter had left number four, Privet Drive, and now he was back. He had come to explain to Dudley’s son that he was a wizard, and to offer him a place at Hogwarts.
Harry wished he could give someone else the task, but knowing the reaction the Dursleys were likely to have, he knew it had to be him.
Walking up the familiar drive, Harry looked around and saw all the neighbours looking through their curtains to see who was doing what, just as they had always done. He looked down at himself and was annoyed that he had conformed to what they would find normal.
He was wearing a suit and tie, and he was not comfortable. He did fit in, though, and that is what had always counted the most with the Dursleys. They didn’t tolerate anything different from themselves.
Knocking on the door, Harry looked at the neat yard and flowerbeds. He glanced up and down the street at all the other neat yards and flowerbeds. Not one thing looked to have changed, except the cars; they were all nice and shiny like the old ones, but these were clearly of newer make than the ones of memory.
Suddenly, the door opened and there stood Petunia Dursley. She looked the same, except for a little grey in her hair now. Her face pinched in disapproval, and her eyes narrowed as she recognized Harry.
“What do you want?” She hissed, “I threw away all that junk you left here years ago.”
“I’m not here about my things, I’m here about Christopher,” Harry explained.
“What about him?” Petunia looked up and down the street, hoping no one saw Harry there.
“If I may come in, I’ll speak to his parents about it.” Harry took a step forward, and Petunia, not expecting this, backed up enough for him to enter the house.
He glanced around and noticed the only differences here were the pictures on the walls. There used to be hundreds - or so it seemed - pictures of Dudley. Now they were all of a different child. He didn’t look like his father in any way, which Harry considered a good thing. He had brown hair and green eyes, almost the same hue as Harry’s eyes. He was quite a bit smaller than what Harry remembered Dudley being, too.
Petunia closed the door with a snap. “Tell me what you are doing here, and what you want with Christopher,” she ordered with a glare.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Petunia, but I won’t. I’ll talk to the boys parents. It’s up to them if they want you to know what I’ve said.” He wasn’t trying to be cruel to his aunt; it was just a happy accident that it turned out that way.
“Mother Petunia, who was at the door?” A young woman about Harry’s age stepped out of the kitchen and stopped short at seeing Harry standing there. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she turned to leave.
“Excuse me, Ma’am, are you Lydia Dursley?” Harry asked before she could retreat into the kitchen.
“Yes I am; why?” She asked curiously.
“I need to speak to you and your husband about your son, Christopher.” Harry stepped forward to shake her hand.
She took it and cocked her head asking, “Do I know you?”
“I doubt Dudley has talked about me, and I haven’t been around this neighbourhood since I was sixteen, so I am going to say no,” Harry joked lightly.
“Dudley took Christopher out for an ice cream; they’ll return soon though, if you want to wait.” Lydia informed him.
”If you don’t mind,” Harry said, nodding his head.
“Not at all,” replied Lydia. “Why don’t you come into the lounge and I’ll get you something to drink while we wait for them.” Lydia motioned him into the room and noticed that he looked around, taking in all the differences in the room.
Harry stepped into the lounge where he'd had to serve tea as a child and saw little resemblance to the room it was now. Someone had painted the walls a very pretty shade of pale blue, and the furniture no longer resembled the formal and uncomfortable pieces from the past.
Petunia followed them into the room saying, “I’m surprised to see you alive.”
Harry smiled slightly and said, “Well, you almost got your wish. He almost killed me. But, with the love for and from my family, I beat him.”
Petunia’s cheeks took on a pink tinge, but it didn’t stop her from injecting her next words with venom. “You mean your kind, don’t you?”
“Careful, Aunt Petunia.” Harry’s voice took on a hard edge. “Insult me all you want, but watch what you say about my family.”
She thought she was safe in the fact that she and Lydia were Muggles, as they called them, so she kept on going. “Family? Where was this family when you were left on our doorstep? They didn’t want you until they knew you’d survive.”
Getting more frustrated, she drew a breath; then started again, “I’ve seen that family, too many kids, and dirty all the time. You’d think they’d never heard of soap, or does your kind not use soap? That little girl looked to grow up and be just as much of a nothing as her mother. Married into poverty and breeding more freaks than she could feed…”
She stopped mid sentence, for Harry had reached for his wand.
“That’s my wife you’re talking about. One more word, Aunt, and I will Silence you and not allow you to speak again,” Harry threatened.
His threats seemed to hold more weight now than they did as a kid. Of course, now he wasn’t restricted by being underage, so she knew she couldn’t push him any further.
Just then, the door opened. Vernon Dursley followed Dudley and a little boy into the room, and if anything, Vernon looked larger than he did when Harry had last seen him.
Dudley looked taken aback for a second upon seeing Harry, but then smiled and quickly moved forward to shake his cousin’s hand. “Hi, Harry, I was wondering when you were going to show up.”
“You knew he was coming?” Petunia gasped.
“I’ve been noticing a few strange things happening around Christopher lately, so I thought he might be like Harry.” Dudley shrugged and dismissed his mother’s outraged spluttering. “He is, isn’t he?” Dudley asked Harry.
“Yes, he is.” Harry confirmed. Turning to include Lydia, he explained, “Your son is a wizard, and he has been offered a place at my school. It is called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
Lydia looked confused, but with Dudley sounding happy about it, she figured it was a good thing.
Vernon started to grumble. “I won’t have it! I won’t have another one here.”
Dudley’s smile froze; he turned to his father and said, “You will have it, or you won’t have me.”
Christopher had stood there taking in the conversation, and when Harry looked down at him, he stepped forward, held out his hand and introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Christopher Dursley. Who are you?”
“I’m your cousin, Harry Potter. I’ve come to ask you if you want to come to my school and learn to do magic.” Harry crouched down to be on an eye level with the boy, while the argument raged over their heads.
“I c-c-can do magic?” Christopher stuttered.
‘Yes, you can. And if you come to Hogwarts, you’ll learn to do even more.” They continued to talk until the argument overhead finally wound down.
Harry stood up and turned to Dudley. “Will you allow Christopher to attend Hogwarts?”
“Yes, Harry, he can go. Just tell me what he needs and I’ll get it for him.” Dudley was showing no sign of noticing his parent’s huffiness.
“I’ll go with you and your wife the first time to Diagon Alley, if you’d like me to show you how to get there. We can go whenever you’re ready.” Harry looked down at Christopher and winked.
Hastily leaving the house, Dudley and Harry started to talk about how no matter how much time had passed, Petunia and Vernon had never and would never change, while Harry and Dudley had both done quite a bit of maturing.
“If you don’t mind, I think we should stop and pick up my family to go on the trip into town with us.” Harry thought he wouldn’t mind his cousin meeting his wife and children now that he’d grown up.
~End
All Grown Up by red haired mom
Story Notes:
This was written in response to a prompt in the Ravenclaw Tower; Putting Pen to Paper. The prompt was a quote by Nelson Mandela: There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
Huge thanks go out to HermionesTwin_FromOz and Squib Kitten for their amazing beta skills.
Chapter Endnotes: A/N- I hope you liked this and will leave me your thoughts in the little box down there. All reviews will receive a response. Again, thanks to HermionesTwin_FromOz and Squib Kitten for agreeing to beta this and doing an excellent job. Thanks Caitlin and Elaina you guys are the best!