The Adventure of Dudley Dursley

Chapter Two: A Thoroughly Magical Place

Dudley had quickly dropped his bags and hustled downstairs where he came upon what would be a familiar sight for the near future. His parents and guards were trying to organize their possessions, and his father was muttering about how "these sorts of people" were useless, just because the house didn't possess a dishwashing machine. Of course, the fact that Hestia had offered to do the dishes by magic didn't help.

His mother Petunia had squeaked, "How dare you! We don't need that sort of help! What will our new neighbors think if they see you doing something that unnatural!"

Vernon had added, "Quite right Petunia. There will be no unnecessary magic under this roof when I'm around. It only figures that the boy would send us off with some incompetent types."

Dudley correctly sensed that their caretakers were already starting to regret agreeing to protect them, and thus sought to separate the two groups. He asked for assistance from Dedalus and Hestia in his room and with a withering look from Hestia directed towards his parents, they agreed to follow him.

Once they arrived upstairs, Dudley decided that he needed to set the record straight between his hosts and his family. He found this quite difficult, considering the event he had seen outside his window only moments ago, but dove in nonetheless. "Listen you two: I appreciate all that you're doing to look after my family, but I think you need to know some things about me and my family. My cousin Harry grew up with us and it was a horrible home for him. I don't think he was ever happy at home, and that is largely my fault. I wouldn't go so far as to claim complete responsibility, because I learned how to treat him from my parents, but I never gave him a chance, and I've regretted it all last year." His two hosts looked curiously at him, aware that they were learning insights into the upbringing of the so-called chosen one that they wouldn't get anywhere else but kept quiet so Dudley would continue to speak.

Dudley took a deep breath and continued, "My family never talked about Harry's parents if they could help it. It must have been really hard for Harry to live with us, because we always treated him poorly, and never respected him."

"Not to be rude Dudley," Hestia said, "But we already know this. It was common knowledge among Harry's friends that he hated living with you and your parents, and of course when people spoke about protecting Harry over the last few years, Order members witnessed how your parents treated him."

With a sigh that even more people knew how badly Harry had been treated by him and his parents, Dudley wished that he could undo it all. However, he continued, "Well, you might know that, but I doubt that you guys know about this part because I've never told anyone. The thing is, Harry saved my life last year when we were attacked by Dementors, and my family yelled at him. I even was mad at him initially, because I didn't understand what had happened. But when I ran through what happened in my mind, and remembered seeing one of our crazy neighbors at the scene. It had been Mrs. Figg, who lived next door, and I'd always laughed at her, because she seemed to be, as my friends called her, 'bat-shit crazy,' always walking around in her bathrobe and slippers, her hair in curlers, and the like. But when I stretched my memory past all of the horrible things I'd seen, I seemed to remember her in the alley, and thus resolved to ask her what had happened that night when I came home that winter for Christmas break. I'd snuck out from home on the pretense that I would going to visit with Piers and the rest of my gang, and instead knocked on her backdoor. She'd come to the door, and seeing who it was, arched an eyebrow, and politely asked what it was that I wanted. I told her that I needed to talk to her about what had happened the previous summer, and she looked even more concerned. She then asked me a series of questions that only I could have known (what color was my racing bike that I'd run her over with six years previously and broken her leg, that sort of thing). I was surprised, but answered all of her questions before she finally sighed, and let me into the house."

At this point, Dedalus looked questioningly at Hestia, but she shushed him with a look, and Dudley continued his story. "I told her that I wanted to know what had happened in that alleyway, and what Harry had done, and if she really had been there. She told me that since I was being polite for a change, she would answer my questions, but first she had sworn me to secrecy. She didn't want my parents to find out what she knew, or who she really was. She told me that she was the daughter of a witch and a wizard, and that she was what was called a squib. She told me that she didn't have any real magical powers, but that she had been born and raised in a place called Godric's Hollow. She told me that was where Harry's family had lived, and that she had known the Potter family. When that dark wizard, whatever his name is, had arrived to kill the family, she had seen the ruins of the house, and immediately gotten in contact with the Headmaster of Harry's school, Albus something or other. He had told her that Harry, who had survived, would be going to live with my family, at which point Mrs. Figg had volunteered to move to the same neighborhood to act as a guard against any attempts on Harry's life. She also told me how much of a hero Harry was, and how he had saved my life, and the lives of countless others before. She also told me that I ought to be ashamed of myself for how I had acted, and believe me I was. So, I left her home, thanking her for setting me straight, and went back to my room to ponder just what the situation really was. I was too ashamed to apologize straight up to Harry, because why would he forgive me for 16 years of abuse. But I did decide to change how I acted towards him in the future, and who I wanted to be as a person."

Dudley paused for a second to catch his breath, but seemed to want to get all of this out. It was clear that he'd never spoken of these events to anyone, and now that he'd begun, he wanted to finish. "That evening, I sat down with my mother and asked her about Harry's mom, my aunt and her sister. Initially she reacted in a shocked manner, but I managed to manipulate her into talking about her sister because I told her that it was for school, and I needed to write an essay about my mother and her family. I therefore learned about my mother and her sister Lily, and their experience growing up in Spinner's End. It was like a dam bursting once she started to talk to me about growing up there, as she mentioned how close she and her sister had been until Lily had turned nine years old or so, and had started to manage to do odd things, and how my mother had been jealous. Because she didn't understand how these things happened, and couldn't do them herself, she resented my mother, eventually growing estranged and bitter because she went from being equals to her sister to feeling like she was being outshined because she wasn't a witch. Still, I got the sense that if she had been able to learn how to do all of these things, she would have done it. So she grew up always resenting her sister, and thus resolved to treat them poorly both out of spite, as well as in a hope that she would return to acting normal (and thus not out-shining her sister)."

Hestia had a bit of a sad smile on her face and said, "Well, that certainly explains her hostility towards magic."

Dudley nodded in agreement and said, "You're right, my mother hates any example of magic right now, because it reminds her of the sister that she lost, and the mistakes she made. I think that she regrets driving away her sister, and having Harry was a constant reminder of this mistake, and therefore she needed to be cruel to convince herself that she wasn't wrong. Her hatred of magic was only buttressed by my father, who was so biased against anything not considered normal, and things that he couldn't explain that he forced my mother to regret even being related to her sister, which was wrong, because she did love her sister Lily."

Dudley finished his epic explanation to the witch and wizard, who sat there in silence, pondering what they had learned, amazed both at the horrible atmosphere that Harry Potter had been raised in, and yet also impressed at the depth of knowledge that this boy, Dudley, possessed, and the apparent remorse he felt for his actions. There was perhaps a thirty second pause before Dedalus, who had dropped his excitable manner, finally was able to respond. "So you think that we should attempt to live in a manner similar to you? That we should not do magic around your family? Because we're here to protect you, and we can't do that if we refrain from using magic."

Dudley's response surprised them even more then his previous statements, as he said, "No, I want you to feel free to use magic around me. It doesn't bother me to see you do it, and I actually want to see how you do these things. I think that it would be best if you limit the amount of magic you do around my parents, specifically around my father. But I think that if I accept you for who you are, I might be able to influence my mother and by proxy my father. Besides, I want to know more about my cousin. He is my only relative my age, and I've realized that I don't want to alienate him anymore then I already have. We're the only family he has, and I at least want to be there for him in the future."

With that off his chest, Dudley took a moment to consider how much he had changed. The fact that he had dedicated himself to his schoolwork the previous year after his experience in the alley clearly had helped him grow up, because he couldn't imagine himself having all of these ideas and feelings before that experience. He also was quite impressed with the new vocabulary he'd developed by studying, as he didn't think that a few years ago he even knew was buttress meant and instead would have made some sort of joke about someone's backside. His life prior to that fateful night had consisted of desires and wants. He'd wanted something, and found some way to get it. He'd never though of others or what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Dudley then remembered why he had asked Dedalus and Hestia upstairs. He jumped and then quickly said, "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, can you please explain what's going on outside my window?"

The witch and wizard exchanged a confused look, then crossed to the small pained window and peered outside into the backyard.

"What are you going on about now Dudley?" asked Dedalus.

Dudley raked the backyard with his eyes, but saw no sign of the headless men who had been riding horses and yelling. He explained what he'd seen, and asked about "headless hockey."

With a laugh, Hestia explained that Goodmanham was a thoroughly magical place. The horsemen that he had seen were members of what is called the Headless Hunt, and they must have been passing through the area.

Dudley paused, then asked, "What is so special about Goodmanham?"

Hestia took a second to answer, but eventually said, "Well, I'm a little surprised that you don't know about this place. I guess that I shouldn't be surprised that you don't know the history of Goodmanham, because it is more famous in the magical world then your own, but this place is still known in your world for an event which occurred here many years in the past."

Hestia continued, "First off, Goodmanham's land is extraordinarily fertile and people have lived here since prehistoric times. The earliest traces of settlement are from the stone age, and there are many ancient burial sites here from both Muggles and wizard settlements. The boundaries of the village lie along the lines of ancient earthworks and these are evidence that it was a prehistoric place of worship. Near the western boundary of the village lies one of the most ancient roads of Britain, later adopted by the Romans. Later in Saxon times, after the recall of the Roman legions, the village reached a position of great importance and fame. It became the site of the high shrine of Northumbria, a great temple of Woden, the father of the gods. The dramatic overthrow of this temple in 627 A.D. by the high priest Coifi upon the conversion of King Edwin of Northumbria is related by St. Bede in his History of the English Speaking Peoples (Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), which is known in the Muggle world."

As she continued, Dedalus and Dudley stared at her, both of their jaws dropped at the incredible lecture they were receiveing. Without missing a beat, and ignoring the looks of impressed bewilderment, Hestia continued. "In this history, Bede notes, 'I have known long since,' [Coifi] said, 'that there is nothing in this religion that we have professed the more I sought the truth of it the less I found this can give us life salvation and eternal happiness. I advise that we burn the useless sanctuary and who better than myself as an example?' So saying, he borrowed a war stallion and a war ax, both of which were forbidden to him as a priest. He galloped to the temple and flung the weapon into the holy place. Seeing that no ill befell him the company that followed him demolished the shrine and burned it to the ground."

Dudley continued to look surprised at how much Hestia knew about the history of this place, but it was clear she was not yet done relating the tale. "The thing is Dudley, this act by a former high priest of the pagan religion was more then just an act of converstion to Christianity. The temple which he destroyed in 627 was in actuality a joint venture between wizards and Muggles, and in willfully destroying it, Coifi was severing ties between the Muggle and wizard neighbors of the village. Specifically, he allegedly used a famed magical artifact, his ax, to destroy the temple. Through his actions, he drove the witches and wizards into hiding their powers, or risk being burned at the stake, or tested by trial by fire or water. Thus what he did that day in 627 was the beginning of the difficult relations between wizards and Muggles, and Goodmanham has thus been a place where many powerful magical families have lived, almost to spite that initial action. They have choosen to live here both in memory of the freedom to live in the open that they once posessed, as well as to prove that they still can live here."

As Hestia finished her speech, both Dudley and Dedalus looked at her, dumbfounded. Finally Dedalus spoke, saying, "How the bloody hell do you remember the exact text about the place? I just knew the rough history and that there were a lot of witches and wizards who had lived here, and that many of them had searched for that ax."

Hestia smiled, and said, "Didn't you know that History of Magic was my favorite class at Hogwarts?"

"Figures," Dedalus muttered as he turned away, smiling at Dudley.

But Dudley still looked confused. He asked, "But surely it isn't good that lots of wizards and witches come here to this little village. Won't some of that evil wizard's followers turn up here?"

Dedalus answered, "No, you misunderstand; lots of wizards and witches used to live here. But nowadays, most of the families that have lived here in the past have died out, and the ones that remain have moved on. That's why you saw those ghosts. Someone in the headless hunt must have lived here however many hundreds of years ago he died. We're probably the only two magical folks in the whole area at the moment, and even if someone does show up, there are charms on the house that prevent the people who would be looking for you to find you here. We've put spells over the whole village to protect you, and we'll have an eye out at all times to see if anyone comes who shouldn't be here."

With their talk ending, Hestia and Dedalus bid Dudley goodnight, saying they needed to get settled themselves. As they shut the door, Hestia smiled back at him, glad that at least the boy seemed to be a good person, and that alone might make their time here bearable. Dudley sat down on his bed, unzippered his bag, and placed his clothing into his dresser. Later that night, he lay awake in his bed thinking about what he had been told, and what it was that he had said. He strongly felt that he wanted to know more about his cousin, and the world he lived in, and he wanted to do what he could to help out. He was most impressed with Dedalus and Hestia, and had no way of knowing that as they sat downstairs having a cup of tea and discussing the day, they were feeling the same way about him.