Dudley Dursley and the Knights of Walpurgis

July 16, 2018

Dudley watched Harry walk into the pub and felt himself relax. Even though he knew it was stupid, he'd been expecting the sullen, defiant teenager he remembered from his own teenage years, not this cheerful man dressed in jeans and a bright red jumper. As Harry walked back to his booth, Dudley reminded himself of what he wanted to say -- and not say.

After Harry had sat down, and they each had a pint in front of them, Harry sat back and asked, "What's up?"

"Couple of things," Dudley said, looking at his pint. He really didn't want to have this conversation, but he had to. "We had Mum and Dad over yesterday--"

"Sorry to hear that," Harry said. His smile said it was a tease; he didn't seem to be serious.

"Er, yeah. They want to come on the tour. Can it be arranged?"

Harry sat forward abruptly. He didn't say anything for several minutes; his expression, when Dudley peeked up at him, was stunned. "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia want to tour a magical school? Full of witches and wizards and other freakish, unnatural sorts? 'Cause, you know, there are non-human people around. Centaurs and such."

"Yeah," Dudley said, not looking up. "And, well, Sophie made Dad promise not to say 'freak'. Or anything similar. He's not happy, but he agreed to it."

"That's nice," said Harry, his voice faint. Another minute passed before he said, "Why?"

Dudley finally forced himself to look up at his cousin. There was so much past behind them; it was hard to believe they could ever get along, let alone be friends. But Dudley had made himself a promise the night before, as he'd lain in bed, holding his sleeping wife and watching the clock. He and Harry should have been like brothers. It had taken him nearly forty years, but he was ready, if Harry was willing. He sighed. "Because they don't want to lose Daphne. That's what it all comes down to.

"Did you know, Mum always thought Hogwarts steals kids? Not really, but their hearts. There was some boy, not your father, that your mum met and Mum thinks he convinced your mum that she didn't belong in her family any more, now that she was a witch. And, from what Mum says, he was kind of, I dunno, weird-looking or something. Anyway, I think she always wanted to see the school, so . . . "

When he looked up, Harry didn't look quite as stunned as Dudley had expected. Instead, he looked thoughtful. After finishing his pint, and pouring a second from the pitcher and drinking half of that, he finally smiled. "You know, that actually makes sense. I know the boy she's talking about, and, well, he's not who you'd choose as an example of a 'fine upstanding Wizarding youth'. One of my least favourite professors when I was at school." He took another drink. "Probably the bravest man I ever knew, but no one'd call him nice." He looked down at the table and said, so softly Dudley almost couldn't hear him, "'Cept maybe Mum."

It took another couple of drinks, and a bracing deep breath, before Harry said, looking straight at Dudley, "I'll set it up, but it won't be easy. I never told how they treated me, but my friends did, and, after, all the idiot biographies made a big deal of it." He shrugged. "I'm sorry about that, but there's not much I can do about it."

Dudley nodded, struck by what Harry had said. 'I never told.' It sounded like every TV show about abused children he'd ever seen. He shook his head. "I'll tell them, but it's no more than they've earned, wouldn't you say?"

Harry smiled at him. "Ah, Dudley," he said quietly, "if all we ever got was what we earned, we'd all be in sad, sad shape."

"You remind me of a saint, sometimes," Dudley said in wonder. He'd never been any good at forgiving. Not even Sophie and the kids.

Harry snorted, spraying beer. "Don't let Ginny hear you say that," he said, sniggering. "Or any of her brothers. They'd never let me live it down. Now, how have things been going with Daphne? I know she's been sending letters to Lily and Al, who I won't call Asp, no matter how much he wants me to, but I'd like to hear how you're seeing it."

They spent the next several hours talking about Daphne and how excited she was. Then the conversation wandered to their favourite sports teams. To Dudley's surprise, Harry still followed football, although he wasn't as keen on it as Dudley was. By the time they left the pub, neither of them could walk very straight.

"Y'don' mind if I crash on y'r couch, d'ya?" Harry asked, weaving a bit as he walked home with Dudley. "I'd splinch m'self for sure 'f I tried to App'rate now. 'N borrow Daphne's owl so Ginny won' worry. Don' wan' her to worry."

"Good husband, y'are," Dudley said, hoping he was heading in the right direction.

"Hell, no," Harry said, laughing. "Y'ever had bats comin' out y'r nose? She's nasty when she gets angry." His eyes got distant, and his smile broadened. "Beaut'ful, though. Even more'n normal."

The next morning, Harry looked no better than Dudley felt when he got up. "Thank Merlin I'm in charge of my department," he said, looking at the clock. "No one'll yell at me when I'm a little late. Thanks for the couch," he said as he kissed Sophie. He shook hands with Dudley and said, "See you Saturday, unless it's earlier. Hope you're feeling better than me." He shook his head and disappeared.

"I just hope Ginny doesn't spell bats up his nose," Dudley said thoughtfully as he looked at the empty place where Harry had been standing.

"Can she do that?" Sophie asked, and shook her head when Dudley shrugged. "Handy thing to know," was her final comment.

July 17, 2018

Dear Mrs. Dursley,

I am in receipt of your letter regarding the addition of your in-laws on Saturday's tour. I must admit that I am puzzled as to their reasons for wanting to attend; from everything that I have heard, they have hated the Wizarding World for longer than either of us have been alive.

Nevertheless, since their granddaughter has been invited to attend Hogwarts in September, and we believe that family is the most important thing in any person's life, they are welcome to attend and I will add their names to my list. Please remember that everyone attending will need to be at the Leaky Cauldron precisely at 11:30. Meals will be provided at the school at twelve and six; we will be returning to the Leaky Cauldron no later than eight o'clock.

Please wear comfortable clothing, especially shoes, and remember that we expect parents to monitor their children's whereabouts at all times.

I hope that the tour will answer any questions you may have and that we may look forward to your daughter, Daphne's, presence on the Hogwarts Express on 1 September.

Yours sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

Hogwarts Muggleborn Family Liason

July 18, 2018

Dear Lily,

What do you know about your Grandmother Evans Potter? Dad doesn't know anything and Gran won't talk about her except she did on Sunday when we went over to visit and it was awful. She says Hogwarts, or the wizards anyway, steal children and that's what'll happen to me if I go. Mum says it's rubbish and that Gran is blaming the distance between her and her sister on Hogwarts but I don't want to get stolen. It must not happen if you live in a wizard family since none of you have been.

Rich says to tell James Hi but I'm not sure I want to. He's being a real prat right now; stole one of my books (not Hogwarts just fiction) and won't give it back. And he has to because Mum'll have a fit if she sees it. (It's a love story and there's kissing and stuff.) I hope your brothers treat you better than mine do me but I doubt it. Why do we have to have brothers?

See you on Saturday if I don't talk with you before.

Love,

Daphne

July 19, 2018

Judith walked in to Matt's room to collect his dirty clothes. He was lying on his bed, flat on his back, staring at the ceiling and looking miserable. Judith's heart went out to him; this was so very hard. "Sweetheart," she asked, a little tentatively, "is there anything I can do for you?"

"Can I have a cheese sandwich?" he asked, with a bit of a whine. "I'll even eat broccoli. Mum, I'm so hungry!"

"I know, but it's important," Judith said. She wasn't sure how long it would be before she gave in to temptation and fed him properly. His face already looked so much thinner, and it had been days since he smiled. "You don't want Satan to have you, do you?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Would he feed me?" he asked quietly.

Steeling herself, Judith said, "None of that now. Our Lord fasted for forty days while Satan tempted him. You're at least getting something every other day. You'll see, you'll feel better when he's gone."

"Hogwarts doesn't sound so very dangerous," Matt said. It was an argument he'd been repeating since he'd received the letter. "Maybe, if I go, I can control it and keep it from being evil."

"Matt, you know what the Bible says. It's evil! Now, would you like to watch some TV?" Judith usually didn't let Matt watch much TV, but maybe it would cheer him up. There were channels with appropriate programming.

With a sigh, Matt sat up. "Might as well be bored there as here. Mum? Can I call Dad tonight?"

Judith sighed. Her ex-husband, and how angry she still was that he'd divorced her, was something else she tried to limit his son's exposure to. But even if he wasn't a good Christian, he did love Matt and wanted what was best for their son. She was pretty sure, anyway. "Sure. But let's wait until tonight when he'll be home, OK?"

"OK," Matt said, as he got up to move to the couch. His shoulders were slumped and he seemed so disinterested in everything. Judith had to keep reminding herself that she was doing this to keep her son from evil. He was all she had.

July 20, 2018

Draco sighed as he knocked on the door. He'd tried several times to write and phone Mrs. Mitchell to convince her to bring her son and come on the tour of Hogwarts. She'd never really explained what her problem with Hogwarts was; she just insisted that she wouldn't send her son someplace "evil". How anyone could consider Hogwarts evil was beyond him, but she was a Muggle and they had some rather strange ideas about magic.

After a minute, she opened the door, but only as far as the chain would reach. She was scowling fiercely. "If you come around here one more time," she said, "I'll call the police on you for harassment. Now, go away!"

"But, Mrs. Mitchell," was as far as Draco got before the door slammed in his face. The failure felt horrible; this was the first year he'd been allowed to handle the entire process of notifying the Muggleborn students and he couldn't even convince all of them to consider attending Hogwarts. None of them had accepted yet, but he suspected that they were just waiting for the tour. Amazing, really, that they'd ever convinced any Muggleborn students to attend without seeing the school first, and who could blame the parents? It made him wonder about the ones who'd attended in the past; why had their parents agreed?

Shaking his head, he turned and left, hoping that he wasn't wrong not to insist. He couldn't help the bad feeling he had.

July 21, 2018

Daphne could hardly stand still, she was that excited! Hogwarts! She was going to get to see Hogwarts! And, then, maybe Mum would finally agree that Daphne could go there.

In the end, Gramps had decided not to come. "Too many freaks," was what he'd said. He didn't seem too upset with Daphne, though, or the boys; he'd slipped each of them a ten-pound note. Mum had sighed when she'd seen that, but she hadn't said anything else.

Gran was coming, though. She looked as if someone was about to beat her up or something, but she was here. Standing as far away from everyone except Daddy as she could, and making sure her dress didn't brush against anything, but here.

Finally, finally, the Potters showed up. The two boys were in long, well Daphne thought they were robes rather than dresses. They were plain and black, with badges on them. James's badge was red and gold and Al's was green and grey. Uncle Harry looked to be wearing a robe uniform as well; it was red, with a couple of medals on it! Daphne wondered if she could look at them more closely later; at least one was probably an Order of Merlin. That seemed to be the big one for wizards. Aunt Ginny was wearing robes as well. Hers were dark green, with a gold badge on it. Lily was the only Potter who didn't look "official" in any way, although she was wearing robes as well.

Everybody was greeting everybody else, except for Gran who was hanging back. Finally, she heaved a great sigh and walked up to Uncle Harry. "Looks like you're doing all right for yourself," she said. Her face was pinched and her voice sounded angry.

Uncle Harry's face was blank. "Thank you, Aunt Petunia," he said, his voice flat. "I'm doing quite well. Now. May I introduce my wife, Ginny, and my children, James, Albus and Lily?" He'd put his arm around Aunt Ginny and pulled her close to him.

Gran shook hands, but Daphne could tell it was the last thing she wanted to do. When she got to Lily, though, she looked startled. "You named your daughter for her?" she asked, sounding stunned.

"She was my mother," Uncle Harry said. His face was still, but, somehow, he didn't look happy.

Mum and Daddy got between them before they could say anything else. Daphne was happy about that; the tension between the two of them was awful. Gran kept sneaking looks at Lily, though; Daphne wasn't sure why.

While they were greeting family, other people had started to arrive. Other than the Weasleys, Daphne didn't know any of them. Most of the people were dressed like Daphne's family, in regular clothing. Well, she supposed she'd better start calling it Muggle clothing, but it still felt like the Wizard clothing was the "different" kind. There were a few families that were dressed in Wizarding clothing. Daphne noticed that each of those families had at least one child in what she thought were Hogwarts uniforms.

Finally, 11:30 came around. One of the men dressed in Wizarding clothing, with pale blond hair and a sharp face, walked to the front of the room. He touched his wand to his throat and said, loud enough for everyone to hear him clearly, "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to what we hope will become an annual Hogwarts tour. As it is the first one, I'm sure we're going to find a few bumps along the way, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know what worked and what didn't after we complete the tour."

With a big smile, he said, "For those of you who haven't met me, I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm the Hogwarts Muggleborn Family Liaison. That's also new, by the way, so if you have any suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them. This is my wife, Tori," he gestured to the attractive brunette woman standing next to him, "and this is my son, Scorpius," he gestured to the boy standing on her far side. Daphne had heard of Scorpius Malfoy; he was one of Al's best friends. He looked just like his father. "Now, because it occurred to me that there's an awful lot of you and not very many of me, I called in some other Hogwarts alumni and their families to help out." He waved his wand; there were red balls of light over Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione and green ones over Al and Rose. "The balls of light," Mr. Malfoy said, "will indicate Hogwarts students past and present. The colour indicates their House; since I only set up the help very recently, we have only two Houses represented. Green is Slytherin and red is Gryffindor. If this works as well as I hope it does, next year there will also be blue for Ravenclaw and yellow for Hufflepuff. The students are in their school robes while their parents are in their regular robes."

He pulled out a stack of bracelets and began passing them around. "Please have everyone in your party put one of these on. They have two functions. The first is transportation; they're Portkeys which will take us to Hogwarts at noon and bring us back this evening." Mr. Malfoy was now walking around the room, making sure everyone was wearing a bracelet and helping a few people who were having problems. "They also contain a tracking spell; that way, if anyone gets lost, we can find you again. However, I would really, really prefer it if no one got lost, so please pay attention to where you are, and try to keep one of us in sight." He checked his watch. "We have five minutes before the Portkeys activate."

Mr. Malfoy looked like he was trying to come up with something to say when Uncle Harry spoke up. "For anyone who's never travelled by Portkey before, you may want to brace yourself. Or even sit down; it's a bumpy ride." Some people took Uncle Harry's advice, although he did move to advise the lady sitting in a chair not to do that; apparently the chair wouldn't come along. And, then, finally, finally, the Portkeys activated and they were going to Hogwarts!

They arrived with a bump, which meant that the adults were complaining and the little kids were crying. Daphne wasn't paying attention; the sight of the honest-to-goodness castle, from right out of a fairy tale, in front of her took all of her attention. She dimly heard Mr. Malfoy giving instructions but couldn't be bothered to pay attention; this was a school? And she got to come here? And all she needed was her parents' permission? She had to get it; she just had to.

She was brought out of her reverie abruptly when her mother said, "Daphne!" sharply in her ear. It didn't sound as if it was the first time she'd called. "Mum, it's a castle!" she said, sweeping her arm around to indicate everything.

"Yes," her mother said, sounding amused, "and if you were paying attention, you'd know we're going inside of it. So move it, young lady!"

Daphne found she was at the back of the group entering the castle. Once inside, Mum squeezed the two of them next to the rest of the family. Gran didn't look happy; she looked kind of impressed, but like she didn't want to.

Before Daphne could say anything, a man with a long, grey beard and elegant-looking robes stood up on a dais, raised his hands and said, in a voice that could be clearly heard throughout the hall, "Greetings! I'm Headmaster Pernell Higginbotham and it is my pleasure to welcome all of you here today. If you have any questions, please ask anyone of us for assistance. Before we sit down to eat, let me introduce you to the Heads of House. There are four Houses here at Hogwarts; our students are Sorted into one as soon as they arrive, and it becomes their home and family for their seven years of schooling. So, we have Professor Aurora Sinistra, Head of Slytherin House, professor of Astronomy and my Deputy Headmistress." Professor Sinistra was a tall, middle-aged woman with long, black hair and a serene expression. "Next is Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House and professor of Charms." Professor Flitwick was very tiny and looked quite elderly but very nice. "We have Professor Dorothea Smith, Head of Hufflepuff House and professor of Transfiguration." Professor Smith was a plump woman with short blonde hair, thick glasses and a rather vacant smile. "And, finally, Professor Neville Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House and professor of Herbology." Professor Longbottom looked to be about her parents' age, with a round face and a pleasant smile. "And, now if you will all find seats at the tables, and I will ask our current students and alumni not to restrict themselves to their own House tables so our guests have someone to ask questions of nearby, we will begin the Feast."

It took several minutes for everyone to figure out where they were going to sit. Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and their kids sat at the Gryffindor table while Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and their kids sat at the Hufflepuff table. Daphne's family stayed near the Potters; Gran was wide-eyed and looked as if something was going to snatch her, or Daphne, away at any moment. Daddy finally had Gran sit between him and Mum to try to help her relax. Daphne wound up on Mum's other side, across from Al.

A few moments later, everyone seemed settled. Headmaster Higginbotham stood and clapped his hands. Immediately, the tables were covered with platters of food, all kinds of food! Rich and Tom joined the other boys Daphne could see in piling as much food as possible onto their plates. Daphne craned her neck trying to see as much as possible while everyone was eating. Mum put a chicken leg and some roasted potatoes on her plate, leaned over and said, "Eat something. And I do mean now!" Daphne couldn't stop looking, but she did try to nibble as she did so.

Gran was poking at the food on her plate, looking completely revolted, while Daddy had tucked in cheerfully. In fact, most of the people around were doing the same. Daphne didn't know how they could; there was so much to see and wonder about! There was the ceiling that looked just like the sky outside, and the puzzle of how and where the food they were eating came from, and what they were going to be seeing later, and--

"I said eat!" Mum said quietly but firmly into Daphne's ear. She sighed but did what she was told. She had to come here; she just had to.

When everyone was done eating and with pudding and with coffee, Headmaster Higginbotham stood again. "I hope everyone has enjoyed their meal. Now, if you will follow Mr. Malfoy, you will be able to see Hogwarts School for yourselves."

Reminding herself that if she did anything stupid, she probably wouldn't be allowed to come, and would be punished besides, Daphne stayed near her parents as everyone stood to follow Mr. Malfoy, who was standing by the door. Once everyone had gathered, he opened the door and went farther into the castle.

Standing in a room with what seemed to be millions of staircases, some of them moving!, Daphne noticed that her mother and grandmother both looked unhappy. Before her mother could say something, another woman raised her hand and asked, "Mr. Malfoy, what safety precautions are there to prevent the students from falling off the end of the staircase while it's in motion?"

Mr. Malfoy looked surprised; Daphne didn't think he'd ever thought about it. "I'll have to get back to you on that," he said after a moment. "I can tell you that I've never heard of anyone falling off the staircases, no matter how active they get, but I don't know if that's because the students are careful, or if there are protective spells on them." He smiled. "Knowing how careful youngsters generally are, I suspect the latter, but I'll check into that." His wife made a note on a pad she was carrying. "Now, if you'll follow me to the dungeons, Professor Sinistra has kindly agreed to allow us to see the dorms and common room of Slytherin House. Although they're not identical, the other houses are set up in similar fashion."

"Dungeons!" Rich said, looking jealous for the first time.

Gran, on the other hand, looked queasy. Daphne heard Uncle Harry say, "If it makes you feel better, Aunt Petunia, just think of it as the basement. It's not what you're thinking. The Potions classroom is down here as well, so I was down here all the time." When Daphne looked at her again, she saw that Gran's lips were thin and her face white, but she kept walking, holding Daddy's hand very tightly.

They came to a door with Professor Sinistra standing before it. "I hope you understand the honour you're being given," she said in a clear voice. "This will be the first time in over four hundred years that non-Slytherins will be entering our house. Please follow me." She turned to the door and said, "Welcome," and the door opened! Daphne noticed Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron smirking at each other. Aunt Hermione seemed to see it as well since she smacked Uncle Ron.

As he gestured that everyone should follow Professor Sinistra, Mr. Malfoy said, "All of the houses have similar security systems. I believe that Ravenclaw has a slightly different system than the standard password, but the houses cannot simply be entered at will. The passwords are changed on a regular basis by the Heads of House, and they are to be given only to the students in that house. The Headmaster, of course, can override all of them, in the event of an emergency, but I can't find evidence of the system failing unless a student gave the intruder the password."

"Or wrote it down and had it stolen," muttered Uncle Ron.

"Hush," Aunt Hermione said. "He learned his lesson, and no one was hurt."

"You weren't the one looking at a wild man with a knife."

Aunt Hermione shushed him, which seemed to work that time, but it left Daphne wondering what had happened.

"This is the common room," Mr. Malfoy said, turning to look at everyone. "This is where the members of the house gather to socialize and study. Any meetings of the house as a whole are held here as well, and they would gather here if a head count needed to be taken." Daphne looked around; it was a comfortable enough room, she supposed. "Girl's dorm rooms are to the left; boys to the right. I'll take you into the boys' dormitory so you can get a feel for the amenities available to your children."

"Why not the girls' dormitory?" someone asked.

Mr. Malfoy grinned, and walked over the door leading to the girls' dormitories. As soon as he stepped through the door, there was a loud ringing and Mr. Malfoy was deposited into the centre of the common room, forcefully. "That would be why," he said as he stood up. There was laughter around the room. "The only exceptions are if the Head of House or the Headmaster is male, and the Head of House can only go into the dormitories in his own house. I'm sure all of you can understand why." Daphne didn't understand why it only worked one way, but she didn't say anything. She did notice that even Gran was smiling at Mr. Malfoy's antics.

The dorm rooms were no more exciting than the common room; there were seven beds in the room they got to see. The beds were kind of cool, four-posters with hanging curtains, but, really, they were just beds with bedside tables and wardrobes. A man asked Mr. Malfoy, "Do the kids spend any time here other than to sleep?"

Shrugging, Mr. Malfoy replied, "If they want. Typically, their time is spent in the common room or in the common areas of the castle. The dorms can be a good place to come if you need a little quiet time; usually your roommates will cooperate." He grinned, "Or not. I could tell you stories." That got a chuckle.

He even took them to see the bathroom. Since there weren't any boys living there now, it was clean and tidy. One of the women asked, "Aren't there any outlets? My daughter will need her hairdryer."

"There is no electricity," Mr. Malfoy pronounced that word very carefully, "used at Hogwarts School. In fact, you'll find that most wizards don't use it at all. Even Muggleborn witches and wizards don't tend to, although that does depend on the individuals. Magic and electricity don't mix well, so it's generally one or the other." He shrugged. "I haven't yet heard of a use of electricity that can't be duplicated by a spell. Your daughter is likely to be taught hair-drying spells the first week she's here. If she has trouble, she just has to ask for help."

As they walked to the next stop, the Potions classroom, Daphne could hear the discussions between the different adults becoming more concerned about the "primitive conditions" at the school. Personally, with the exception of her computer not working, Daphne thought that was half the fun. And she was determined to find a way for her computer to work. Or to find spells that would do the same things.

If she thought the dorms upset the parents, she was wrong. The Potions classroom had them horrified. Daphne didn't see the problem. Professor Hitchens clearly knew a lot about Potions; he'd even done research for St. Mungo's, which was the wizarding hospital, before he came to work for Hogwarts. He'd explained all of the safety procedures, including the venting spells, the station to flush out eyes or other body parts, pointing out that in a Muggle chemistry lab, their flushing-out station only handled eyes. He'd also shown them the emergency Floo that went straight to the Hospital Wing in the event of a real emergency. "And please note," he said kindly, "that in the five years I've been here, the Floo hasn't needed to be used once. Nor did it need using in the seven years I was a student. The spells are very effective; typically, they prevent the serious accidents from ever occurring."

At least the library calmed everyone down. Madam Read, who'd been the librarian for fifteen years, was delighted to be able to show her library off and showed them the card catalogue, which looked more like a database search engine than an old-fashioned card catalogue; Daphne couldn't wait to talk to her. She also demonstrated the spells on the Restricted Section to show that the students couldn't get to books that they weren't supposed to. She seemed rather surprised when several of the parents were upset at what they called "banning books" and wanted to know if they could sign waivers for their children. She told them to talk to the Headmaster about it.

Their final stop inside was the Hospital Wing. It looked . . . like any other hospital to Daphne. Kind of boring, really, but the parents obviously felt differently. While the parents grilled Madam Pomfrey on her emergency procedures and how she handled various medical conditions and problems, a discussion Daphne couldn't have found more boring, James began to tell stories about the different injuries and ailments he'd been treated for in his three years. When Al, Scorpius, and Rose joined in with their experiences, Aunt Hermione interrupted. "Maybe this isn't the best time to have this discussion," she said, looking at the group around Madam Pomfrey who were beginning to listen to the current students.

"Why?" James asked. "The only time she couldn't sort me before curfew was the time I managed to get a Muggle cold. That I had to live through. It took a week." His expression said it'd been nothing but torture.

"Do you mean the longest you've ever been here was with a cold?" asked one of the parents Daphne didn't know. "Even though you've been hurt so often?"

James shrugged. "Well, yeah. And Madam Pomfrey says I'm nothing on Dad. She said they were threatening to give him his own bed here. And Aunt Hermione--"

"Did some very stupid things and paid for them," Aunt Hermione said quickly. "Really, Madam Pomfrey is amazing; I prefer to call her than the regular Healers. Although she always sends me to them," she finished, sounding disgruntled.

"The students keep me more than busy enough," Madam Pomfrey said. "I've been taking care of students here for decades and I've seen just about everything. And, if you wish, I will contact you before I begin treating your child. I will ask you to sign a release form for that, of course; the treatment for some conditions is rather time-sensitive."

Her no-nonsense voice and competent air seemed to reassure the parents. Certainly the way the magical parents seemed comfortable with her helped that.

From there, Mr. Malfoy took them outside to show them the greenhouses and Quidditch Pitch. Gran had gone very quiet; her shoulders were hunched in and she was shooting looks at Uncle Harry when he wasn't looking. About halfway to the greenhouses, he caught one of her looks. He walked over to her and asked, "Is something the matter, Aunt Petunia? Other than the obvious?"

"I'm surprised we never heard from that Madam Pomfrey," Gran said, sounding subdued. "Or didn't you attend at the same time as Mrs. Weasley. I thought I recognized her."

"No, Hermione was in my year," Uncle Harry said. "Maybe Professor Dumbledore told her not to?" He shrugged. "I always thought you just didn't care."

Her mouth pinched and she shook her head, but didn't say anything else. Uncle Harry walked with her until they reached the greenhouses, but she didn't say anything more.

Professor Longbottom took them through the different greenhouses, which were separated according to both the environments the plants needed and the danger the plants represented. Daphne couldn't find it very interesting; she'd always thought that plants were pretty boring, and even magical plants that might move, or bite, or hurt you with their voices didn't really change that opinion. Still, it was a lot more interesting than dissecting frogs or whatever you did in biology classes.

The next stop was the Quidditch Pitch. Daphne didn't care about sports at all, but she kept quiet while Mr. Malfoy went on and on and on about Quidditch. Some of the girls looked really happy when they found that they'd be able to play with the boys. In fact, they only had the one set of teams. "Are you sure the boys get enough competition that way?" one of the fathers asked.

Aunt Ginny smirked. "If they can keep up," she said.

Before they could really get into it, which the father looked like he wanted to and Aunt Ginny looked ready to as well, Mr. Malfoy stepped up. "We've always had both men and women playing the sport, right from the start. In professional Quidditch now, every team has at least one woman on it, usually the Seeker. That position needs someone fast, which is usually easier if you're smaller."

"Which explains why I always beat you," Uncle Harry said.

Mr. Malfoy smirked. "Shall we show these good people what it looks like when two Seekers go up against each other?"

Uncle Harry's eyes lit up, and then he looked up. "Do we have a Snitch? And brooms?"

"Yours is in the broom shed," Aunt Ginny said, her eyes sparkling. "I'll release the Snitch and referee for you two." While Uncle Harry and Mr. Malfoy headed for the broom shed, Aunt Ginny explained the rules. "In normal Quidditch, there are seven players to a team, but it's the catching of the Snitch that ends the game, which also earns that team 150 points. And to give you an idea of what's going on here, Harry and Draco played on their House teams when they went to Hogwarts." She grinned. "And Harry always won, with one exception. And that wasn't Draco Malfoy and Slytherin."

While she'd been talking, the two men had found brooms and were now flying over everyone. They seemed to be concentrating on their flying, but the witches and wizards in the crowd were cheering for their favoured Seeker. Except Al, who seemed torn. Finally, as Aunt Ginny released the little gold winged ball, he shouted, "Get it, Dad!"

Daphne decided that, while sports in general were pretty boring, Quidditch was wonderful. The two Seekers looked so graceful as they swooped around the pitch, sometimes chasing each other and sometimes flying to opposite sides. They each tried to fool the other one that they'd seen the Snitch. Daphne was sure they were feinting because she could see it hovering on one end of the pitch, hiding in the shadows. She whispered this to Rose, who looked at her in surprise. "Where?" she asked, squinting.

Daphne didn't want to point, in case Mr. Malfoy saw her and Uncle Harry didn't, but she did tell her where she could still see it.

Rose grinned and elbowed Al. "I think you might get the Seeker genes from the Evans side, not the Potters." She indicated the Snitch with her chin just as Uncle Harry appeared to have spotted it.

Mr. Malfoy appeared to have seen it at the same time, and they were racing to catch it. Everyone was cheering them on now. Most of the Muggles and new students were cheering for Mr. Malfoy, who they knew, but Daphne and her family and the Potters and the Weasleys were all cheering for Uncle Harry. Aunt Hermione was jumping up and down and waving her arms, Uncle Ron was punching the air and Aunt Ginny was shouting and clapping. Even Gran was cheering him on, although she wasn't making any noise doing it. And Uncle Harry caught the Snitch!

He took a victory lap, holding the Snitch high in his hand before he landed, gracefully, in front of everyone. "Thanks, Malfoy," he said as he handed the Snitch back. "It's been much too long."

"At least I can console myself that you earned all those d--, er, Gryffindor wins," Mr. Malfoy said, shaking Uncle Harry's hand. "Good match."

Uncle Harry grinned and then hugged Mr. Malfoy. They pulled away quickly, looking embarrassed, to everyone's laughs. Then Aunt Ginny and Mrs. Malfoy came up to kiss their husbands and lead everyone back to the castle and supper.

It was a quieter meal than the earlier one had been. Daphne noticed that, although they still had things they were worried about, most of the parents were talking about when their children would start, not if. The students-to-be were talking about the different classes and the professors. Daphne heard one boy, a blond boy built kind of like Rich, say something about how strange it was that the head of the house of the lions was a Herbology professor. "I mean, how brave could he be?"

"But he is!" Al said. "During the War, right at the end, Voldemort was going to kill him if the Sorting Hat didn't Sort him into Slytherin the second time, which you're not supposed to do, but do you know what happened?"

The boy who'd made the statement shook his head, his eyes wide. The conversations at that end of the table stopped as everyone was listening.

"The Sorting Hat dropped Gryffindor's Sword right on his head, just like it did for Dad when he rescued Mum in the Chamber of Secrets, and Professor Longbottom took it and he swung it and he whacked the head off of Voldemort's snake, which was helping keep him alive, and Dad says if it hadn't been for him he couldn't have defeated the most evil wizard in over a century so he does belong in Gryffindor!" He'd been acting out what had happened, with a truly dramatic sweep of his "sword", which was really his butter knife, as he'd said it. When he finished, to dead silence in the Great Hall, he realized that he'd not only been acting it out, but had been nearly shouting his defence of the Herbology Professor. His cheeks went bright red and he sat down, mumbling, "Well, that's what Dad says, anyway."

Uncle Harry's eyes shut, and he looked embarrassed and upset. Professor Longbottom's cheeks were as red as Al's. When Uncle Harry opened his eyes, the two men exchanged a long look. After a moment, in which no one spoke or made any noise at all, Professor Longbottom stood and said, "Well, it seems that the Potters are still my staunchest defenders. Thank you, Albus."

Aunt Ginny grinned at all three of them and said, her voice kind but firm, "Now all we have to do is to teach him the appropriate time for these stories and re-enactments."

"Yeah," Professor Longbottom muttered, "I know I wasn't that heroic."

"You were, but you still nearly broke my feet at the Yule Ball," Aunt Ginny said, which broke the silence as everyone laughed and went back to their conversations.

Daphne made a note of all the stories she wanted to hear from Al and Rose, and maybe even Scorpius, since it sounded like they had more information than even the books, which wasn't supposed to happen.

Headmaster Higginbotham gave a speech about how fortunate Hogwarts would be with these new students, which was boring but made the parents happy. Then, Mr. Malfoy directed everyone out to the lawn again, where their Portkey bracelets brought them back to the Leaky Cauldron so everyone could go home. Daphne and her family said their good-byes to the Potters and Weasleys and headed home.

To Daphne's delight, Mum and Dad were talking about what she would need when she went to Hogwarts, and what they wanted to ensure her safety. Daphne kept her mouth shut; safe wouldn't be nearly as much fun, she didn't think, but her parents didn't want her to go to school with excitement. The boys jabbered about all the things they thought were cool, while Gran sat quietly.

When they dropped her off, Gran hugged Daphne very tightly and whispered in her ear, "I just want you safe. Please, sweetheart, promise me you'll be safe, and stay away from trouble."

Her face was white and pinched, and she looked so broken-hearted that Daphne hugged her back just as hard and said, "Always, Gran. Always, for you."

July 22, 2018

Dear Dad,

I wish you'd been home the other night when I called, or that you'd been able to call back. This would be a lot easier to say on the phone. Still, since you won't be able to call me back for a while, I thought I'd send you this letter because it's really important.

I know you said you can't go against Mum; that that's what the courts say. And I agree that she's a really great Mum most of the time. She makes sure I eat right and

I told you about the letter I got from that Hogwarts place, and how cool it sounded. And how Mum got really upset and said I wasn't going because its evil and stuff. And you said she's the one who makes those decisions and your hands are tied. But maybe you could get the courts to listen to you?

Because Mum's gone mad! She went to her minister, who told her there's no such thing as magic and Hogwarts is some kind of hoax. Which would have been OK, even if I really want to go there. But she found this other minister who said there is magic, and its evil and made by satan and anyone who can use it is evil. So they're trying to get rid of my evil. Which means I can only have some bread every other day, but I get vitamins and as much water as I can drink.

Mum took me to some kind of special service this afternoon, where the minister and a bunch of people who go to his church prayed over me to get the evil out. But he said, because I still want to go to Hogwarts, that the evil didn't come out, so they might have to resort to stronger measures.

Can't you please take me on a vacation? Just until Mum calms down a little. Maybe until the school year starts. It's not like I'm going to any school if Mum says I can't. I still think it'd be cool, but parents think different about stuff like this. But I don't think I can take much more of this stupid minister. I told mum that and she said it was the devil doing something.

Please call. I want to talk to someone who doesn't think I'm evil.

Love,

Matt