The Adventure of Dudley Dursley

Chapter 11: The Final Battle and Its Aftermath

Dudley stared at Hannah and said with a confused look on his face, "What are you talking about?"

Hannah said, "Dudley, this is a coin that a friend of Harry's made a few years ago. It has a special charm on it that allows us to communicate secretly. The only reason that this would be used is to summon us to Hogwarts. At the end of school last year, I spoke with my friend Neville and he told us that he'd contact us like this, and if it happened, we were to go to Fred and George's shop in London and they'd know how to get everyone into the castle."

Dudley was frightened for his girlfriend (and it felt odd thinking of her like that, but he had to admit to himself that he cared deeply for her). "But you don't have to go, do you. You could be killed."

"I've got to go Dud, this must mean that my friends need my help. I've got to go!" she answered.

"Well, at least let me come with you," Dudley said, standing up and drawing his new wand.

However, Hannah smiled at him and said, "Dudley, you can't. No offense, but this is going to be a battle with deadly wizards. I know that you can use magic now, but you don't yet have the reflexes to react yet to spells you've never seen to defend yourself. Plus, no one besides Harry would know who you are, and I don't even know if he's there, so there'd be a lot of questions about who you were and if you were a spy. No, you need to stay here and protect your family. You've got to warn them and Hestia and Dedalus, because if we fail, they might be able to track you back here if they're searching for you."

"If you think I'm just going to sit here and wait for Voldemort to kill you then you're crazy! I love you, Hannah, and I've got to help!" Dudley then clasped his hand over his mouth as suddenly the air was filled with popping and a group of six Snatchers appeared around Dudley and Hannah.

"Well, well, well. What've we got here?" the leader of the Snatcher group said as he grinned malevolently at the pair.

"Looks like a coupla kids, boss. Ya think they're on the run from 'ogwarts?"

The leader looked intently at the pair and said, "Nah, I think it's more likely these two are some of them Order members on the run. They're the only ones who said the Dark Lord's name. Anyway, you've got the sheet of missing mudbloods there; check it to see if anyone matches their descriptions."

While one of the subordinate Snatchers took out a scroll and started to look at images, the leader slowly circled Dudley and Hannah. When there didn't appear to be a match for Dudley, he said, "Boy, what's your name?"

Dudley, not knowing that Harry had given the surname Dursley when he'd been captured by Snatchers, thought for a moment before saying, "Dudley Dursley."

At the name Dursley, a feral grin lit the face of the leader. "Ah ha, boys, we've got one! You remember what we heard at the office, that Harry Potter claimed he was a Dursley. These two must be working with Potter." With a kick, the man lashed out at Dudley before ordering two of his fellows to hold him. "Tell me where Potter is, or you'll regret it."

When Dudley showed no signs of saying anything, the man glanced at Hannah. He saw the look of panic on her face as she stared at Dudley and realized that these people were a couple. Changing tactics quickly, he started towards her. "Dursley, tell me what I want to know or your little girlfriend will pay for your silence. What's your name, girly? You're a cute little thing."

Hannah glared at the short, shabby wizard who had spoken, while Dudley's blood began to boil as he struggled against his captors. The two of them were surrounded, and had no chance in a duel, not that Dudley really knew how to do that yet. Dudley knew that they needed a distraction, and it was lucky that they suddenly got one. Apparently drawn by the anger that Dudley was feeling, a flash of silver suddenly lit the evening and the Ax of Coifi fell softly to the ground at Dudley's side.

The six Snatchers stared at the ax. Even though they weren't that bright, they still recognized that it was some sort of magical object, and knew it must be valuable. The leader said, "Well, this might be even more of a profitable evening then we thought." He strode forward to grasp the ax, but the second his hand touched the handle of the ax, there was a flash of crimson and silver and it rose in the air. The Snatcher screamed as the fingers on his left hand lay bleeding on the ground. With a yell, the other Snatchers looked around for the wizard that had cast the spell to hurt their leader. This momentary inattention allowed Dudley to wrestle himself free of his captors and to draw his wand. At his side, Hannah also withdrew her own wand and the pair commenced to attack the Snatchers. In a span of several seconds, the group of Snatchers lay on the ground, hit with a combination of stunners and a variety of ancient spells that Dudley had learned from his contact with the ax.

Hannah said, "Dudley, what did you do to that one there?" pointing at the lead Snatcher, whose hair had suddenly grown in a massive spurt and then attacked its owner. He appeared to be in a cocoon of hair, struggling to get out.

Dudley grinned and said, "Hair-binding spell, you don't know that one either? Its one of the ax's favorite spells."

It was clear that Dudley wasn't useless at dueling, given his ability against the Snatchers, but they now had a new issue. The presence of a group of unknown men in Hannah's house, one of whom was missing fingers, and obviously the victims of some sort of freaky accident would not work in such a small village. Sighing, Dudley realized that he'd need to stay here to sort this out, and trust that Hannah would be able to defend herself if she went to the battle. Hannah hurriedly wrote a note to her father to tell her that she had to leave, and that Dudley would fill her in, and then she looked up at Dudley.

The pair shared a hurried kiss, and a hug. Dudley looked into Hannah's eyes and said, "Please be careful Hannah, I love you and I couldn't stand to lose you."

Hannah, a single tear in her eye, said, "I love you too Dudley, and you can count on me coming back here to claim co-discovery of the ax with you!" She turned on the spot and vanished.

Dudley felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He was terrified for her, but knew that he needed to deal with his own situation. He therefore Apparated to his home and hurried to find Hestia and Dedalus, and told them, "Guys, you've got to help me. Hannah and I were attacked after I said that name that we're not supposed to say. We took care of them, but who knows, there might be more on the way and we've got to do something with the ones that are already here."

The three of them hurried back to Hannah's house to find her father in a state of panic. While Hestia and Dedalus hurried to move the Snatchers out of the house, Dudley told Hannah's father that she'd gone to help a friend. He managed to calm the man down, and then he left with Hestia. She told Dudley, "We've modified their memories. They now think it is three years ago and that they have tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. They're going to go to the World Cup site, and by the time they realize that it's a different year, we'll be gone."

Dudley told Hestia about the battle, and then told her that Hannah's father Jon ought to come with them. Therefore, all of them returned to the Dursley household to find Vernon trying to explain to Petunia that he'd somehow managed to make the dishes disappear when she'd asked him to clean the table. Once the whole family was inside the house, Dedalus activated some of their more heavy-duty charms to make the house invisible to everyone in the village (and to make them forget that it had been there for the short term). Dudley therefore was forced to wait in anxious silence, rocking back and forth on his bed, hoping that Hannah was safe.

As Dudley was worrying, Hannah was acting. She had arrived at Hogwarts with the other students and had acquitted herself well in the initial battle. She managed to disarm several Death Eaters, and even managed to hit one with a spell Dudley had taught her, leaving the Death Eaters unable to move and speaking in some unintelligible tongue that sounded quite archaic.

When Voldemort's voice sounded that Harry was dead, she cried, fearing that she too would die, and never be able to see her father or Dudley again. However, when Harry somehow returned from the dead after Neville killed the giant snake, she had a front row seat at the final battle. While Voldemort and Harry duked it out in the great hall, the majority of the combatants watched and listened in awe to what Harry and Voldemort had to say. When Voldemort attempted to cast the Killing Curse at Harry again, Hannah closed her eyes so as to not see him die, and then screamed at the sound of a body hitting the floor. She opened her eyes and saw Voldemort, not Harry, lying on his back, clearly dead. The remaining Death Eaters stared at their fallen master and then tried to flee. Hannah helped capture those that she could, and then returned to the castle for the celebration. She was sad that so many nice people had died. She hadn't known many of them well, but she had been in the DA with Colin and Fred, and cried to know that they were gone.

Hannah needed to tell Dudley and her father that she was safe and not to worry. She knew that if would be difficult to get an owl to them, but had to try. Therefore, she excused herself after a few minutes and went to the Owlery. She found that many more owls than usual were there. It appeared as though the owls of people who had been killed had fled their homes and were taking refuge at Hogwarts. Upon entering the room, one owl in particular, a brown and tan owl circled down and landed next to her. It was not a school owl, and seemed to be offering to deliver news for her. Hannah told the owl, "Listen, my family and friends are hiding, and I need you to tell them that I'm alright." She then attached the letter to the owl's leg and he flew into the night.

Back in the Dursley household, Dudley was aware that the gloomy feeling that he'd become accustomed to had lifted. It felt as though he'd been sick for so long that he'd forgotten how it felt to be well. He spoke with Dedalus and Hestia about this, and they told him that the Dementors appeared to have left the area. Suddenly, there was a tapping noise at the window. Hestia went and saw an owl with a letter at the window and let him in. She removed the envelope and opened the letter. She told Dudley that she needed to talk to Dedalus and told him to go and check on his father, who was attempting to rein in his magic.

Once Dudley left, Hestia said, "This letter is from Hannah. She claims that Harry killed Voldemort, and that the war is over." Dedalus looked excited, but Hestia said, "We can't be sure of this. We better not leave the house just yet, in case this is a trap."

About fifteen minutes later, a Patronus burst into the house and startled Petunia into dropping one of their remaining dishes after Vernon had banished the other ones. Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the house. "Hestia and Dedalus, the battle has ended, and you're free to return the Dursleys to their home."

With that settled, the family had to make plans to move. However, Jon and Dudley were desperate to know if Hannah was alright. Hestia explained that she was, and shared the letter with them. Jon wanted to go and see her, but Hestia explained that Muggles could not enter Hogwarts. "However, Dudley, you can go to see her if you'd like. I'll take you if Dedalus will agree to take your parents back to their home and see Mr. Abbott here home as well." Dedalus agreed, and therefore, Dudley and Hestia walked outside and concentrated on Hogsmeade and with a pop they arrived at the train station. Hestia and Dudley hurried up the hill towards the school, and despite how worried he was about verifying Hannah's safety, Dudley couldn't help but be impressed by the majesty of the school. He'd thought that Smeltings had been nice, but this was a real castle.

As the pair entered the building, they could see scorch marks on the floor. They entered the Great Hall to hear a great deal of noise and saw people celebrating the end of the war and mourning the loss of those who had been killed. While Hestia walked forward to speak with other order members and find out what had happened, Dudley scanned the benches for a sign of Hannah. With a start, he saw his cousin Harry in a corner sitting next to a girl with fire red hair who was holding him. Then he saw the gigantic man who had taken Harry from that tiny rock in the sea when Vernon had freaked about Harry being a wizard. Finally, he saw a flash of blonde hair as suddenly Hannah was in his arms. She was crying, overjoyed to be alive and to be with him again. Dudley said, "What happened?!"

Hannah said, "It was horrible! People dueling everywhere, giant spiders attacking us and Death Eaters around every corner! But Harry managed to kill Voldemort and now we can finally live in peace!" She kissed him again, and the two of them continued to catch up. Dudley finally reminded Hannah that she ought to visit her father, who was worried. She agreed to do that, but first introduced him to Professor McGonagall. When Hannah told her what the pair of them had accomplished and how Dudley now had magical abilities, McGonagall responded, "You must be joking, Ms. Abbott, something like this has never occurred before."

In response, Dudley drew the wand he had made and conjured a chair. He sat down and looked up at Professor McGonagall, who said, "Well Mr. Dursley, I think that once all this chaos had calmed down, you and I ought to have a little talk."

Hannah then wanted to leave, but Dudley said, "Hannah, can you wait a second, I just wanted to say hi to Harry." Overhearing this, Professor McGonagall said, "I will remove the wards against apparition on this castle for five minutes specifically for you Ms. Abbott. You may return home to tell you father that you're safe, while Dudley here talks to his cousin."

With that resolved, Dudley walked over and cleared his throat next to his cousin. Harry, who looked exhausted and was still covered in grime from the battle, glanced up with a resigned appearance on his face, clearly expecting to see some other stranger congratulating "The Chosen One." Instead, he saw his cousin Dudley standing there, holding a wand with a strange, half smile on his face.

"So this is where you vanished off to every year. I can't say I blame you for fancying this place over Little Whinging."

Harry looked shocked at seeing Dudley, and his jaw dropped. "Dudley, what... how..."

The girl seated next to him said, "Umm, you must be Harry's cousin, my name is Ginny."

This seemed to bring Harry back to earth and he said, "Right, Ginny, this is Dudley. Umm, Dudley, how are you here?"

Dudley said, "Well, that's a pretty long story, but first I need to tell you something." He then proceeded to tell Harry how sorry he was for treating him so badly. When he finished, Harry looked amazed but pleased.

"Well Dudley, thanks for finally making up for being such a bastard for all those years. But how did you get here? And how do you have a wand?"

Dudley smiled and said, "How much time do you have. The short story is, I met a friend of yours named Hannah Abbott and she and I managed to basically find a treasured magical artifact which basically gave my family back its magical heritage, which means, by the way, that my dad now is making plates vanish by mistake. He'll probably go bonkers before too long if he can't control it." This caused an uproar of laughter from Harry and his friends.

However, the word "magical artifact," had made Hermoine, who had been listening, pipe in, "What do you mean magical artifact?"

Dudley looked at the girl with bushy hair who was staring at his with a intellectual passion that almost scared him. "Umm, well we found the Ax of Coifi."

At these words, Hermoine's eyebrows raised and she said in an excited squeal, "Oh my goodness! You found the legendary Ax of Coifi! Are you sure?! This is the most important archaeological discovery in the wizarding world in decades! You've got to tell me how you did it!"

With an amused Harry looking on, a somewhat surprised Dudley began to tell Hermoine about the legend and the book he'd found, about the well of souls and what he and Hannah had done. At that moment, Hannah returned, and with her hugging Dudley, he finished his story with Hermoine, Ginny, Harry and Ron listening on. Hannah insisted on telling how they'd met, causing Dudley to blush slightly when she elaborated. When he finished, Harry looked at his cousin Dudley with a newfound respect and said, "Dudley, it seems like you've had quite a year. Welcome to the wizarding world!"

**Note, Epilogue to Follow**