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"Harry, someone sent you muggle mail!"
Harry pokes his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush dangling out his mouth. "Wa 'ou men 'uggle 'al?" Harry holds a finger up as a response to his husband's unamused look, rushes back into the restroom to spit and rinse, then starts down the stairs. "What do you mean muggle mail?"
Draco holds out a cream envelope to Harry. "Muggle mail. Don't ask me how it works, you know I didn't take muggle studies."
Harry takes the letter curiously and leans against his husband while he opens it. He pretends he doesn't notice Draco's blatant curiosity as he unfolds the letter.
"Dear Harry,
I am not sure how to start this letter to you. I know I should apologise to you, but it seems cheap to try to do it in a letter. A simple sorry isn't enough to fix our childhood.
I write to you for help. It's not something that is safe in a letter, or I don't think it is? I don't know how these things work.
Meet me at Foresters in Horley, Wednesday at 17.00 if you're willing. After everything, I understand if you'd rather not.
Hope to see you Wednesday,
Dudley"
Harry stares at the letter, open-mouthed and speechless.
Draco, on the other hand, bristles as his pale face turns red. "What is your lame arse of a cousin writing to you for? Asking for help, no less. How dare he, after everything your family put you through when you were underage, he thinks he can write to you to ask a favor. Oh, if I get the honour of seeing him, I will hex him into next bloody year. Who needs a face anyways? Not him!"
Harry lets Draco rage, angry-cleaning as he rants on, while he just stares at the letter. Help that wouldn't be safe in a letter? Harry dreads exactly what it is that Dudley could have gotten himself into with that description.
Draco doesn't want him to go. Or rather, Draco wants him to go to hex Dudley, then leave. However, as much as Harry loves his husband, it's not his choice to make.
On Wednesday, at a quarter to 17.00, Harry steps out of the floo of a wizard's shop in Horley, just down the street from Foresters.
Harry walks up to the shop, his stomach tied up in knots. He glances around, but doesn't see anyone who could be his cousin, until he sees a bloke coming down the sidewalk wave at him.
Dudley?
The years have been good to his cousin. While he's not skinny like Harry, Dudley has certainly lost a few pounds since Harry last saw him, and he's grown into his size. If Harry had passed him on a random street, he would have walked right by none the wiser.
"Dudley, is that you?"
"Same old, same old."
"Sure," Harry says sarcastically. He takes one last look at his cousin before turning his eyes to the storefront. "This the place, right?"
"This is it. Thanks for coming, Harry." Dudley holds out his hand, shaking Harry's when he awkwardly meets the gesture. "Dinner's on me."
"It should be," Harry mutters before he can stop himself. He grimaces. "Sorry, ignore that. I told myself I would try to be…" He struggles to come up with a word. Nice isn't right; he won't be nice if Dudley isn't. Forgiving is bullshit, especially since he's not sure Dudley is actually sorry or playing some game. Even pleasant is too much of a stretch; Harry will not allow himself to be walked all over like he had as a child.
Dudley nods, seeming to understand. "I get 'cha. And you're right, it should be. There is… Well, there's a lot in our past, ya? I owe you on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start. But I guess," Dudley splays his hands out, "I'm sorry for me, in general I guess, while we were kids. I know I bullied you and played into-" Dudley stops with a shake of his head, "-and was a right prick."
Harry tries not to gape at his cousin. Here they both are, years later, both grown and matured, in different places in life, having a civil conversation. For now, Harry's mind warns him. He tries to push that line of thought away.
"Thank you, Dudley." Harry gestures toward the pub door. "Why don't we go in? It'll be more comfortable to sit and talk than stand here."
A few minutes later, they're sitting in a booth, ordering their beers. Once the waitress leaves, Dudley looks Harry over curiously.
"Were you always this posh?"
Harry looks down at himself. He's in muggle jeans and a plain button-down, though Harry wouldn't be surprised if Draco bought them designer. He seems to think everything needs to be designer —"It's taking pride in how you look, Harry! Think of the impression you make and how that can affect you." — and he's set his napkin in his lap on instinct, because if Draco insists on designer clothes, Harry isn't going to waste money by ruining them.
Harry straightens his shoulders as he looks back up to his cousin. "If this is some dig-"
"No, no." Dudley shakes his head. "It's just, you talk different. Less of an accent. And you're dressed a bit posh, but I wasn't trying to- it's just that I don't actually know you that well, do I?"
Harry relaxes a bit, allowing himself to slouch just a tad. "I would blame the posh boarding school, but really it's my h- my partner's influence."
Dudley smiles and nods. Whether he noticed Harry's almost-slip or the way he decidedly used gender neutral terms, Harry can't tell. Harry's not sure yet if Dudley deserves his truth, an inside look into the most intimate part of his life that he created for himself. "Partners will do that to ya, won't they. I got married, about a year after I last saw you in front of Privet Drive. Name's Amanda. She's helped me see a lot about- uh, about you, actually, and how we treated ya and how mum and dad- Well, today isn't about them. I'm not making any excuses for them."
Harry nods along and grabs his pint that the waitress had just set down. "Speaking of what today's about, what is today about? If it's something illegal, I can't help."
Dudley pales and grabs his pint, downing a good bit before setting it back down. "Not illegal, no."
Harry frowns. His cousin looks like he'd just seen a ghost. "What is it?" He asks more earnestly than before.
Dudley opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He sighs and brings out his wallet, pulling out a muggle photo. "This is Amanda and our little Hannah. She turns six next month."
Harry looks at the picture. A man who's obviously Dudley has his arms around a pretty woman, a few inches shorter than him in a long purple dress, and a little girl, probably around four or five, with soft brown ringlets.
Honestly, he's a bit confused about where this is going. If it's girl problems, Harry is certainly not the person to ask. Besides, Dudley surely has closer people than his estranged cousin to talk to about things like that. "They're both very pretty. You're a dad then?"
Dudley glances at the photo with a smile before putting it away again. "Ya, just Hannah. We wanted a second, but Amanda is worried, I guess you can say."
"Worried?" Harry asks with a singular raised eyebrow. This was starting to sound an awful lot like girl problems. "Look, I might be married too, but if you're looking for woman advice, I'm not the person to go to for that. Trust me."
Dudley chuckles and shakes his head, which just confuses Harry more. "No. Sorry, I know I'm being vague, but you were the only person I could think to ask, since I'm not supposed to talk about it to others."
Harry waves to the waitress for another round, his glass empty perhaps a tad too quickly. Hopefully, alcohol will offer Harry more patience. "Why am I the only person, Dudley? We havent seen each other in, what, almost seven years?"
Harry's cousin leans forward in his seat. His voice is quieter when he says, "I think Hannah is like you. I think she's, uh, magic."
Harry blinks a few times. "You think your daughter is a witch?"
Dudley nods and opens his mouth to respond, but the waitress stops at the table to drop off drinks and take their order. Harry hasn't even looked at the menu and just chooses the first thing his eyes fall on, topside beef yorkie wrap, his mind running a thousand miles a minute.
Harry makes sure that the waitress is out of earshot before starting defensively: "If you think that you can shove your daughter off to some distant relative because you don't want to deal with m-"
Dudley gasps slightly and interrupts, his face reddening. "I would never abandon her!" Dudley hisses.
Harry stops and takes his cousin's face in. He's definitely gotten this wrong in possibly the worst way. He raises his hands apologetically. "I am sorry, Dudley. That was an unkind assumption of me to make."
After a deep breath, Dudley leans back in his booth and nods an acceptance. "I love her, unconditionally. She's my daughter. But the magic has been happening more often. She'll break mirrors during tantrums, she turns her clothes different colours when she doesn't like what she's wearing. Try explaining that to Amanda's mum when Hannah's dress changes from white to pink in the middle of Christmas photos." He runs an exhausted hand through his hair. "We feel like we're constantly chasing after her, putting out fires, making sure no one gets hurt from broken glass or toys. We want another kid, but Amanda doesn't understand what's happening because I can't tell her due to secrecy laws your group has, and she's scared that a new baby will get hurt on accident."
"Accidental magic," Harry says weakly as he processes just what's happening. "It happens with young witches and wizards. We don't know how to channel our magic yet, so it lashes out instead."
Dudley looks Harry directly in the eyes. "I need help. Amanda is scared, Hannah is nervous to go to school because of this, and I just feel… lost, I guess? I don't understand why her, or how this kind of thing happens."
Honestly, that seems like a question for Hermione. Harry rests his his chin on his knuckles as he organises his thoughts."Well, your aunt — my mum — was a witch, so there's an argument that it runs in Petunia's family in general, but it skipped your generation. Have you told your parents about Hannah?"
Dudley barks out a laugh. "Please, if I tell mum about magic anything, I'll just get a door in my face. I've been avoiding both of them since the accidental magic started."
Smart choice. Very smart. Harry winces slightly, remembering exactly what Petunia and Vernon used to do to him when his magic made its presence known.
"What do I do?"
"Good news is that you can tell Amanda about magic," Harry starts slowly.
"What? Really?"
Harry nods. "You're parents of a magical child. You'll both be notified when she turns eleven anyways." Sooner, if Hermione's proposed new law to notify muggle-born families as soon as a child starts showing magic gets approved. "There are magical day-cares or magical primaries if you wish to enroll her. Muggle-borns, witches or wizards born to muggle families that is, don't usually attend, but I can pull some strings if you want."
"Strings?" Dudley asks. "Like, in the government? Do you work in the magical parliament or something?"
"I used to work in a small capacity in the Ministry of Magic, yes. But I have connections in other ways."
"How?"
"Well," Harry sighs. Damn, he can feel his face growing pink. "I might be a little famous in the wizarding world. It's mostly annoying, they snap photos of me in the market or doing something stupid and put it in the papers. The only good thing is that I can pull strings when I need to. Also, my best friend is a lawyer, specializing in muggle-born and squib rights, so she'll be willing to help, too."
Dudley seems to think about this for a minute, looking less surprised than Harry expected. "When we were seventeen, and you stayed behind in Surrey, did that have something to do with it? The fame?"
"Oh, cousin, we're going to need a lot more drinks for that story."
So, they get more drinks, Harry switching to whiskey after his second beer emptied, and Harry tells him the truth of his parents' deaths, the war, and everything in between. Harry assures his cousin that the wizarding world is safe, or as safe as it can be, considering everyone walks around all day with an instrument capable of being more dangerous than an automatic rifle in the wrong hands.
By the time they tab out, the summer sun is long gone down the horizon and the two cousins are pissed. They both stumble out the door laughing about something that Harry's already forgotten.
"Ya need ta crash at mine?" Dudley asks. "I've gotta couch and- and blankets."
Harry snorts. "Nah, my husband's probably at home waiting for me."
"Husband?" Dudley asks, whipping his head over.
Bollocks, Harry thinks. Or maybe he says. He can't tell anymore. "Yeah, 'usband. I'm gay and if you're not 'kay with that then-"
"Harry!" A cold voice calls out.
Harry spins around — oh no, bad, too fast — to see a blurry Draco strutting towards them. "Dyraco? What'cha doin' in Horley?"
Draco reaches them and grabs Harry's wrists, looking Harry over with precision. "It's almost one in the morning, Harry."
Oh, damn, Draco is sexy when he is worried. Not that Draco's pride would let him admit that in front of strangers. Speaking of!
"Dyraco, this is Dudley. Dudley, this is ma 'usband I was tellin' you about. 'E's a bit posh and rude, but 'e's not rude really."
"You're quite pissed, aren't you?" Draco mutters under his breath.
Dudley nods and holds his hand out for a shake. He looks much more sober than Harry, but then again, Dudley didn't recount stories of war, so Harry doesn't care how not-pissed he is. "Nice to meet you, Draco."
"It's Potter for you," Draco snaps and sneers at the outstretched hand. "Listen, I don't know what you want from Harry, but keep your muggle-"
Harry places a hand on Draco's chest, keeping him from stepping closer toward his cousin. "Woah, woah. Dwraco, Dudley wants 'elp for 'is daughter, who is a witch. Or will be. Accadentnal magics."
Draco freezes, looks between the two men and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Accidental magic, Harry. Merlin, how much did you have to drink?"
"Yes," Dudley answers, which Harry finds absolutely hilarious. "Blame that one on me. I asked for some context on some things and he explained the war and everything."
Draco's eyes flash under the streetlights. "There's a whole lot I can blame you for, actually. I wouldn't start adding to the list if I were you."
Dudley looks at Draco while Draco glares at Dudley. Harry looks between the two until everything starts getting dizzy again. "Dudley, it wa' good to see you. Sorry I'm pissed, but I'll send you an owl tomorrow, 'kay? We'll set up- something up."
Dudley looks away from Draco to nod at his cousin. "Sounds good. Thanks for giving me a chance to sit down." Dudley shakes Harry's hand, clamping his forearm. "And Harry? I don't mind- That is, I don't care who your choice of partner is. You deserve to be happy, after everything."
The trip back home is quiet, Draco keeping a supportive arm around Harry as they walk to the floo connection. The shop keeps the front part open, where just the fireplace is accessible, for any late night wizards coming and going.
It's not until they get back home that Draco breaks his silence.
"I told you I didn't want you going to meet him!"
"Piss off, Draco. I can make ma own decisions, y'know?"
"It could have been a trap, Harry! You could have been hurt and I wouldn't have known it," Draco argues, arms crossed and cheeks red. Damn, he's hot when he's like this. Or always, but especially like this.
"He's my cousin-"
"Exactly! That man used you as a punching bag for years, treated you like shit, and you just jump to meet him as soon as he requests?"
"Imn't a-a defenseless child an'more, Draco. I don't haveta to worry about what ma own family will do to me an-anymore."
"I would have gone with you."
"I don't need ya to! I can protect maself!"
"Oh, so you just don't need me anymore? I can't be there simply to be there for you? If you'd told me you were going, I would have gone with you, not because I think you need a bodyguard, but because these are things we're supposed to face together!" Draco rubs a hand down his face and his shoulders droop. "Our vows said 'to face every challenge together' and you, repeatedly, don't allow me the chance to do that."
Harry looks down at his shoes sheepishly. "I thought 'ou'd stop me from goin'."
"I know," Draco sighs. He gestures towards the bedroom. "Go get some sleep. Sober up. We'll talk tomorrow."
Harry shuffles towards the bedroom, quickly brushing his teeth before stumbling into bed. He lies there waiting for Draco to join him, but he falls asleep before the bedroom door even opens.
In the morning, Draco's side of the bed remains pristine, but there's a glass of water and a vial of Anti-Hangover Potion on his bedside table, along with a note in Draco's perfect handwriting: "Drink both. I'll see you after my shift. I love you."
Harry met up with Dudley again just a week later, and he was prepared this time with a bag full of books, toys, and snacks. They'd made a plan to bring alone the whole family, on both sides. Dudley was bringing his wife and his little girl while Harry was bringing Draco — he wouldn't make that mistake again — and Teddy. Everyone agrees that it is best to distract Hannah with someone her own age while everything gets explained to Dudley and Amanda.
They double-checked the allowed apparation areas into town, since Draco refused to get ash on his new muggle button-up, and both Draco and Harry, Teddy side-alonging, apparated, into the alley behind St. Elizabeth Park. Draco presses down his shirt as he looks around casually, checking that no muggles saw them appear in the alley.
"Draco-"
"I'll behave, don't worry," Draco interrupts, sounding bored. Eyes softening as he meets his husband’s eyes, he says, "I'm here for you, Harry. I'll follow your lead."
Harry can't help smiling at his husband. They'd argued the afternoon following the late night pub visit before they both agreed: Harry will take Draco when visiting any Dursleys and Draco will behave himself. Harry's proud of their communication, even when it fails at first.
He especially enjoys the make-up sex afterwards.
But this isn't the time to think about that.
"Okay, Teddy," Harry bends down to look at his godson, "we're meeting muggles, remember. Their little girl might be a witch, but she doesn't know that yet."
The six-year-old Metamorphmagus frowns slightly, his hair turning a nervous purple. "So I need to hide what I am?"
"Absolutely not," Draco says firmly just as Harry also says, "Never."
"We never want you to hide who you are, Teddy," Draco says as he ruffles his cousin's hair. Well, second cousin once removed.
Teddy's hair gradually changes back to its natural light brown as his body language relaxes.
"Draco's right, we both love you the way you are. But the people we are going to meet won't understand what you can do at first. They'll learn, though. This is a muggle village, however, so maybe don't change into a duck nose again."
Teddy smiles brightly, a small laugh escaping. "That lady screamed so loud when I did that."
"Remus Lupin, I swear I'll find you in the afterlife," Draco mutters with a good-natured eye roll.
"Can I go play now?" Teddy asks as he points toward the swings.
"Go ahead, just look both ways before crossing the street."
Harry and Draco follow behind Teddy, who stops at the sidewalk, looks both ways, and bolts to the closest swing.
"Thank you for joining me," Harry says conversationally as they make their way to the empty picnic tables and sit.
"Thank you for allowing me, this time," Draco responds shortly.
"Hey, watch it," Harry warns. "We're past that. I already apologised and we had make-up sex. It's in the past."
Draco smirks from across the table and sets his chin on top of his long fingers. "Is that what 'in the past' means? That sex was involved?"
"Make-up sex dissolves the argument, everyone knows that," Harry waves flippantly. "You can't bring up a post-sex argument. Such a faux pas, Draco, I'm amazed."
"You want a faux pas, Potter-"
"Heya, Harry!" Dudley greets. "Mr. Potter."
Harry and Draco turn towards the opposite end of the table where Dudley and Amanda — if Harry remembered correctly from the photo he saw in the pub —were setting down their toddler bag. Behind Amanda's legs, Harry can just make out Hannah hiding shyly in a pink flowery dress.
"Hey, Dudley. You must be Amanda?" Harry stands and shakes her hand politely.
"Yes, nice to finally meet you," she says in a nice, sweet voice and smiles as they shake hands. She looks over to Draco curiously.
"This is my husband, Draco Potter," Harry introduces. Draco nods at Amanda. Harry looks at the little girl hiding behind her mom. He kneels down and makes eye contact with her. "Hey, Hannah. I'm Harry. I'm your dad's cousin. That makes us cousins, too."
Hannah steps out from behind her mother's legs cautiously. "Does it? You look too old to be my cousin."
"Hannah, manners," Amanda chastises, but Harry waves off her worry.
"Well, we're technically first cousins once removed. I'm the same age as your dad." Harry holds out his hand and Hannah shakes it with her small one. "I have a godson just about your age. His name is Teddy. He's swinging on the swings over there. You can play with him, if you'd like."
Hannah looks up at her parents nervously. "Can I? What if…"
Dudley pats her shoulder gently. "It's alright, Honey-Bee. Nothing will happen. We'll be right here."
Hannah nods, still unsure, and walks onto the playground towards Teddy.
"I see what you mean by nervous," Harry comments as he sits back on the picnic bench, this time beside Draco, who had turned around in the seat to keep an eye on the kids.
"All the time. Hopefully after this, she'll start feeling better," Dudley says as he sits across from Harry and Draco with his wife.
"I'm sorry, Duds didn't really explain. What about this is going to help?" Amanda asks, looking between the cousins at the table.
Harry shares a quick glance with Draco. "Amanda, I had the same strange occurrences happen to me when I was a kid. Things that I didn't know how they happened or what was going on."
"You did?" Amanda shoots a glare at her husband. "Dudley didn't mention that either."
"He wouldn't have," Harry assures. "It's not his story to tell. It's called accidental magic, and it's completely normal."
A few days before the park, Harry met with Hermione and Ron in their cottage for lunch. Little Rose, with her curls and child energy, already finished her food and decided to play with the cat in the sitting room.
"So, you went to see your cousin last week?"
Harry froze with his tea cup halfway to his lips as he side-eyed Ron. "You and Draco really need to stop owling so much. It's weird."
"We're friends!"
"Yes, and the fact that you're such good friends is weird!"
"Honey, even I don't owl him that much, and we work together." Hermione sipped her tea and set it back on the table. She looked over at Harry with concern clear in her eyes. "How was it? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it was fine. We talked for a bit. He apologised-"
Ron snorted loudly. "What, he thinks an apology will just erase everything?"
"I didn't say I forgave him," Harry pointed out. He let his hands fiddle with his tea saucer. "It… It's nice to have the apology, but you're right: it doesn't erase anything. Maybe it's a process, maybe it'll take years for me to find that forgiveness, and maybe I'll never find it. But I don't want to be stagnant with hatred because my childhood was fucked up."
"You don't owe him anything, Harry, just know that," Hermione said gently. "Forgiveness comes in its own time."
Harry smiled at her and Ron, who nodded along with his wife's words. "Thank you both. Really, I appreciate it."
"Of course, mate." A crash sounded from the living room. "Oi, Rosie?" He stood up and went to investigate what his daughter was doing. "What was that, Rosie?"
Hermione waved her hand towards her family. "Rosie's of that age that she gets into everything. He can deal with it. Tell me more about what happened? Why'd he ask you to meet?"
"Well, he has a daughter about Rosie's age," Harry began slowly. "She's started to show signs of accidental magic."
"What?" Hermione gasped.
"What is it?" Ron asked from the doorway. He had Rosie cradled in his arms, tears running silently down her cheeks. Harry could see a little pink scrape on her shin, a sure-tell sign that a quick Healing Charm healed up a cut.
"Harry's cousin has a magical daughter," Hermione explained hurriedly. "What's he going to do? Is he upset?"
"No, no, he just wanted to understand more. We're meeting again in a couple days. I didn't know if you could give me any pointers on what to cover, topics to explain? Maybe a book or two? Dudley said that Hannah's accidental magic is pretty frequent and it scares her. It also scared him and his wife, but I think that fear is mostly for Hannah's safety?"
Hermione smiled. "I have some things I think would be helpful. Oh, I could take Rosie to go meet them and explain everything."
"Eventually, yes, but, uh," Harry scratched the side of his head awkwardly, "Draco was pretty upset that I went behind his back to meet Dudley. I think he's worried I'm going to get hurt. I agreed to take him next time, but if I show up with three wizards and two wizard children…"
"It might be too overwhelming for them," Ron finished. He sat back at the table with Rosie on his lap. "That makes sense. You're taking Teddy?"
"I figured it might be better to discuss this with her distracted with a new friend?"
"You're probably right," Hermione agreed. "Well, if I can't go, let me tell you what to discuss.
"They're muggles, so everything is new. Don't overwhelm them. I know Dudley knows the basics, but his wife is probably still processing. Let her. Start with magic is real and what Hogwarts is."
"How about primary school for wizards? Could we get her accepted, despite being muggle-born and everything?"
Hermione thought for a few seconds. "Possibly? I'll ask around the Ministry. They might have to prove that she has magic, but that's as simple as handing her a magic detection charm.
"I'll give you a toy wand of Rosie's. They're toys, of course, but they help channel the child's magic so they don't explode everything. I might have a Remembrall she might like to play with, just as something to help introduce magic to her.
"Next, I would give them Hogwarts, A History for some of the basics and a couple fairytales to read to Hannah. This should give them a good foundation of magic in general."
"I'll throw in some wizard candy," Ron said with a smirk. "None of the Wizard Wheezes stuff yet, but chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts, stuff like that."
"Thank you, guys. Really, I didn't know how to begin. I didn't get a normal introduction to all this. I just winged it and somehow didn't die."
"Well, muggles are given an extra book to read before first term. It introduces everything; I'll add that in the bag, though mine is written on… maybe I should grab them a new copy."
"Your copy is fine, Hermione," Harry assured her. "Your notes might help them. I know it helped me in school when you wrote in your textbooks."
"Same here."
Hermione shook her head. "Cheaters."
Harry finished relaying all of Hermione's info to Dudley and Hannah, though he still feels as if he's missing important parts. They purposely chose not to dive into the muggle-born and pureblood politics. After all, Dudley already knows about the war. They don't need to know about complicated, ongoing legislative debates about muggle-born regulations.
"So… Any questions?" Harry asks them.
"I mean, it sounds… crazy?" Amanda shakes her head. "But, it explains everything that's happening."
"That was my reaction at first," Harry admits.
"You're a, what did you call it, muggle-born?"
Harry shakes his head patiently. "No, my mum and dad were wizards, but they died when I was a baby. Petunia and Vernon took me in and they were muggles. So, I pretty much learned like a muggle-born at first."
Amanda nods along. "So, we know that she's a witch. But, magic is kept pretty secret, right? Who can we tell about this?"
Harry looks over at Draco. He knows the laws better than Harry. "There is a Statute of Secrecy that the Ministry of Magic enforces to ensure the safety of both wizards and muggles. Only the close family members are allowed to know that they have a witch or wizard in the family. No friends or neighbors. No one else."
"Oh, Dudley!" Amanda smiles at her husband. "That means we can tell Petunia and Vernon and we can start visiting again-"
"We can't tell my parents," Dudley firmly says at the same time Harry half-shouts, "You can't tell them!"
Amanda looks between the cousins, confused. "But, they're close family?"
"You can't tell Petunia or Vernon," Harry warns firmly. "You can tell your parents, Amanda, but I'm not sure if there's anyone else you can tell. The law is pretty strict, and the Ministry of Magic will get involved if they think too many people know."
"But don't your parents already know about magic?" Amanda asks Dudley.
"They do, but…"
"They used to punish me for accidental magic," Harry finishes for his cousin. "They hate magic. Vernon admitted that he tried to beat the magic out of me."
Amanda gasps, shocked. "But they… They're family. How could they do that to you?"
"How indeed," Draco mutters darkly.
Harry elbows him in the ribs, but Amanda is already focused on him. "You agree that we can't tell Dudley's parents about her?"
Draco takes his eyes off the kids to look over at the muggle mother. "I wouldn't allow any kid around Petunia and Vernon Dursley, magical or otherwise. I think they are awful, horrible people who abused not only Harry-"
"Draco, we talked about this," Harry interrupts. The two husbands share a pointed look, a mini conversation happening silently.
"No, Harry, I would like his perspective too." Amanda reaches over to brush Draco's arm. "You grew up in the magical world, didn't you, Draco?"
"Why doesn't she have to call him Mr. Potter?" Dudley asks to no one.
Draco looks up at Hannah mildly, completely ignoring Dudley. "I did. A very different upbringing, being a pureblood." Draco wrinkles his nose at the word. "My parents were focused on propriety and politics in the magical world. Much like how you know nothing of our world, I knew nothing of the muggle world until…" He looks over to Harry. "We were fourteen, weren't we?"
Harry chuckles and nods along. They were fourteen, at the Quidditch World Cup, and Death Eaters had descended on the innocent party-goers. While running in the woods to try and get to safety, Harry had gotten separated from Ron and Hermione, and stumbled — literally — into Draco. A very frightened Draco, who didn't understand how his father could be a part of something so horrific.
That day started their rocky friendship and Harry started teaching Draco the truth about muggles, counteracting the lies he'd been told his whole life.
Within a year, that rocky friendship turned into something more. It all seemed to spiral from there.
"Anyway, my upbringing was strict, and my parents weren't the warmest people, but they would never have done what Harry's aunt and uncle did. And cousin," Draco adds pointedly as he looks at a red-faced Dudley.
"Behave," Harry warns.
"Dudley's told me," Amanda confides in a low voice. "I know he used to be a bullying arse. He was still an arse when we first met. He's told me what went on at home growing up, or at least his part in things. I assume there's more, and I don't excuse it." Amanda turns her attention to Dudley. "But people change sometimes, and sometimes it's for the better. It's not an excuse for the past and it doesn't create a clean slate, but it's a start."
Harry nods his head once. "It's a start."
"No!"
All the adults snap their heads towards Hannah's scream. They all rush off the picnic benches and towards the slides where Hannah and Teddy are playing.
Hannah is on her knees, arms curled around herself in a ball. Rubber mulch is floating a few inches off the ground around her. Teddy sits against the side of the slide, rubbing his shoulder as if he'd gotten thrown into the playground equipment.
Teddy meets his godfather's eyes and shakes his head. Harry gently grabs Dudley's and Amanda's arms to stop them from intervening. "Wait a second," he whispers.
Teddy stands up and slowly makes his way to the younger girl. "It's okay, Hannah."
"No, no, no. I hurt you. I don't want to. I can't help it," Hannah cries into her arms.
"But I'm not hurt," Teddy declares. He sits beside Hannah, but keeps a bit of space between them. "I do the same thing, you know? One time, I got mad at dinner and made the pudding explode." He giggles at the memory. "It got all over the ceiling and fell in Draco's hair!"
"Ruined my hair," Draco mutters by Harry's side.
Hannah looks at Teddy with wide eyes. "You can… you can do it too? I can't help it. I don't know how to stop it."
"Neither do I. But I'm going to school one day and then I'll learn. I'm going to be the best! Look!"
Teddy stretches out flat palms towards the floating rubber chips and squeezes his eyes shut. The pieces gather together into a ball, slowly growing in size until it's a rubber baseball. He opens his eyes and smiles widely. "It's a ball! We can play with it-" The ball falls onto the floor and crumbles into its original pieces. "Oh." Teddy frowns as he stared at the offending rubber.
Hannah giggles and wipes her eyes. "What else can you do?"
Teddy's face lights up instantly in the way only a child can shift between emotions. "Ooo, watch me!" He scrunches up his face and his brown hair turns a deep pink, then into a ginger red, then to a calm cerulean.
Hannah gasps, fascinated as Teddy rotates through the hair colours he knows to do so far. "I wanna do that! I wanna learn!"
"Teddy," Harry chastises gently. Dudley and Hannah stand on either side of him with shocked expressions evident. "What did I say about showing off?"
Teddy turns around to look at his godfather. "You said no duck faces! And there's no muggles around, I looked!" He pauses as he looks at Hannah's parents. "Well, other than them, but they don't count."
"Are you okay, Hannah?" Amanda asks softly.
Hannah nods with a smile. "Teddy is like me. Teddy isn't scared."
"Scared? Magic is awesome! You should see the bank! There's a dragon and goblins and-"
Harry takes a step back towards the picnic table. "I think Teddy has this covered, yeah?"
"Will Hannah be able to do that with her hair?" Dudley asks as they sit down again.
"Teddy is a Metamorphmagus," Draco explains. "He's able to take on different features at will. One day, Hannah might be able to change her hair colour or something similar, but that would be with a complicated spell."
"Or accidentally." Harry looks at Dudley. "Remember when my hair grew back overnight and Petunia went mental? Accidental magic. If something like that happens, let one of us know; we can come correct it."
Amanda frowns slightly as if an idea just came to her. "Is it easier when you're a wizard with a wizard kid? You can fix their outbursts and heal injuries instantly, right? I feel like I'm constantly cleaning broken glass off the flooring."
"She'll grow out of it," Draco assures. He picks up one of the bags he and Harry brought. "A friend of ours is a muggle-born witch. Brilliant, was always top of our class. She packed some things to help you while Hannah's too young for Hogwarts. There's a training wand in here; it'll help direct some of that magic so there's are fewer accidents."
Amanda accepts the bag and glances inside. It's packed to bursting — Hermione hadn't wanted to overwhelm them with an Extension Charm — and heavy, as Harry's shoulder can attest to. "Can you tell her how thankful we are? This is wonderful."
"You might be able to thank her yourself." Harry signals to Draco, who then stands to start gathering the kids. It's about time for them to get going. "Hermione has a little girl, Rose, who's a year younger than Hannah. She wanted to come here and meet you all today, but I didn't want to overwhelm you or Hannah with too many wizards. If you'd like, we can set up a playdate for all the kids sometime this next week."
Dudley looks at his wife, then to Harry. "I think we'd enjoy that very much."
Turns out, Amanda is very inquisitive. Dudley mostly sits comfortably in the background as Amanda takes the lead in questions and discussions. She reminds Harry of a Ravenclaw and a little of Hermione.
In private, Draco admits that he's not averse to her. "Her intelligence is good company," he says specifically. Not that he'd ever admit it out of the house, if only to spite Dudley.
"So there's four houses, based on personality, and sorted by a hat?"
"In the basic sense, yes."
They're in Harry and Draco's house in the main floor's sitting room. Hannah, Teddy, and Rose, who Hermione dropped off this morning before work, are playing somewhere in the house together. It's nice that all the kids get along, playing amongst themselves. The four parents — Harry, Draco, Dudley, and Amanda — sit on the various couches with a tea tray on the middle table.
"But how does the hat know?"
"It just does. Magic," Harry says as if it's an explanation.
Amanda simply looks over to his right at Draco, who sighs. Dramatic prat. "It's old magic, no one is quite sure how it works," Draco explains. "It seems like a simple animation spell, allowing the hat to talk and move, but an animation spell would have worn off by now. The Sorting Hat also seems to read your mind and have some sort of prophetic capability? So there's even more that goes into it."
"So, no one knows how it works, but they trust it enough to make eleven-year-olds wear it?" Dudley asks, confused.
"Welcome to the wizarding world," Harry cheers the air with his tea. "In the muggle world, I think there would be a lawsuit every week for something or another. I think it helps that any property damage or injuries can typically be fixed by magic, so people don't have to sue to get things fixed."
"Sweetheart, I don't think that's as comforting as you think it is," Draco comments.
Harry frowns. It seems comforting to him: magic can fix most of your troubles, within reason. Most illnesses, injuries, damaged antiques, house damages, just gone with a wave of a wand. He remembers one year at the Dursley's, the roof leaked and leaked. Harry had to empty out the buckets full of water every hour. Vernon complained that the repairs would cost thousands of pounds, that the damage was already done to the carpet, and that it also needed to be replaced. With magic, there's none of those worries.
Amanda and Dudley share a look together, but before anyone can say anything else, Hannah screams from the kitchen. All the parents scramble from their seats and burst into the kitchen.
Hannah has herself pressed against the wall, staring towards the stove in fear. The rest of the kids are fine, standing in the middle of the kitchen with ice lollies in their hands.
"Hannah, sweetie, what's wrong?" Dudley grabs her arm and Hannah folds herself against her father, hiding her face in his pant legs.
"I is sorry, Master Harry, Master Draco. I no meant any harm to you's little friends," the house elf bows by the stove. Harry can see her hands shaking from here.
"Miply just gave us lollies," Teddy explained defensively. "I don't think Hannah knows what house-elves are."
“House-elf?” Dudley asks as he soothingly pats Hannah’s back.
“House-elves are magical beings that traditionally serve wizards, like cleaning and cooking,” Harry explains. “Miply is a free elf that I hired.”
“I is sorry, Master Harry,” Miply bows lower.
“You have nothing to apologise for, Miply. Hannah has just never seen a house-elf before, that’s not your fault.”
Teddy walks up to Hannah and touches her arm gently. “Do you want to meet her? She’s nice and she gives us lollies if it won’t spoil our dinner.”
Hannah sniffles and pulls away from Dudley. “I-I-” She swallows, straightens her shoulder, and nods at Teddy. She takes his hand to allow herself to be led away from the safety of the adults.
Amanda and Dudley watch their daughter as she gets introduced to Miply. “You specified that Miply is a ‘free’ elf?” Amanda asks.
“Traditionally, house-elves are in servitude to wizard families for generations,” Draco explains quietly. He understands this topic much more than Harry, having grown up with it. “They were magically linked with the master of the house and were not able to leave; to leave a wizard’s service was to die. Since our school days, Hermione has been lobbying for regulation changes on house-elves treatment. Some house-elves enjoy the old ways; they like making sure they have job security for generations. By law now, any elf that wants to be freed should be allowed to, though not all of the old party cares to listen.”
“I hired Miply as a non-free elf,” Harry says. “Finding free elves before the regulation was near-impossible. Most die without a family to serve. I offered her freedom and pay, but she refused. It was an offensive thing to them, you see. But I left the option open to her, and one day she requested I free her so she could become an employee rather than a servant.”
"There's a lot of politics involved." Draco waves his hand. He gestures towards Hannah, who's now smiling and enjoying an ice lolly of her own. Miply seems to be in the middle of one of her infamous stories by the way the kids keep giggling. "I think they're good here. Should we go back to the sitting room?"
All the adults migrate back to the living area and take back their respective seats.
"Are house-elves the only, um, beings that wizards work with?" Dudley asks curiously.
"Well, our banks are run by goblins and most financial advisors are goblins. They're very good with money. Then there used to be a dragon that guarded the bank, but I don't know if they replaced the one I released."
"What?" Dudley and Amanda ask simultaneously.
Harry just waves them off. "Long story. Anyways, at Hogwarts, there's Hagrid, who is the groundskeeper and professor. You met him once, Dudley. He's a half-giant."
Dudley shifts uncomfortably. "He gave me that pig tail," he commented miserably. "So itchy."
"Then there was that time a centaur taught a class for a few months."
"Remus was a werewolf," Draco reminds him.
"Oh yeah, Remus taught us when we were thirteen, but he quit when parents found out he was a werewolf."
"Aren't werewolves, like, really dangerous?" Amanda asks.
"Only during full moons, but there's potions to help with that," Harry explains patiently. "Remus was my godfather's husband and Teddy's father."
"Oh… Did he and your godfather…"
"No, there's no kind of magic that can create life, including between male partners. Remus and Sirius asked one of Sirius's cousins to be the surrogate for them, just like muggles would."
Amanda puts her teacup down on the table. "You're using past tense? What happened?"
Draco and Harry exchange a heavy glance. "I've explained the war to Dudley and I don't particularly want to get into all that again, but they both died in the last battle. Tonks too, who was his surrogate. Teddy lives with his great-aunt, who was Tonks' mother. He stays here whenever he wants. During primary school, he spends most afternoons here since we live within walking distance."
"Teddy doesn't remember his fathers," Draco adds softly.
"Why didn't Teddy's custody go to you two? Aren't godfathers supposed to be the guardians in cases like this?" Amanda asks.
"Well," Harry winkles his nose, "Draco and I were seventeen-"
"I was eighteen," Draco argues.
"I was seventeen and Draco was freshly eighteen," Harry amends. "We hadn't graduated yet, we were fresh off of a war where we lived mostly in the woods. We had no real house, no diploma, no job, and no idea how to raise a kid. Mrs. Tonks took Teddy in while we finished school and got our lives in order, but by the time we were ready, Teddy was so attached to his great-aunt. We didn't want to ruin the peace they created together."
"We're here for Teddy whenever he wants us, but we won't force his living situation apart."
Amanda watches Harry carefully. "You know, Harry, you weren't what I was expecting From Dudley's stories. I don't know what I thought, but not…"
"You were probably expecting a pushover," Harry half-jokes. "But I'm not that scared little kid anymore. I've fought bigger bullies, fought bigger still villains."
Dudley looks at his cousin with a small smile. "It looks good on you, Harry."
The cousins meet each other's eyes and an understanding passes between them, the closest thing to forgiveness that Harry can give. Camaraderie, support. Some trace of kinship.
They sit around talking about little things; Dudley explains rugby to Draco (Dudley definitely held most of that conversation if Draco's one-worded answers are anything to go by), Amanda asks more questions, Harry mostly just sits peacefully.
A month ago, if anyone had told him that he would be hosting Dudley in his own home, he'd believe they were rat-arsed.
If anyone had told him he'd be planning more such hang-outs, he'd have sent them to Mungo's for fear they'd gone off their rocker.
"Hey, boys!" The front door slams shut and Hermione comes into the sitting room in her court robes and her curly hair in a messy bun. "I hope Rosie's been good for you- Oh!"
Hermione smiles at Dudley and Amanda. "You must be Harry's cousin and his wife?"
"Long day at the office?" Draco asks. He flicks his wand at the pot to pour Hermione her own cup of tea. Small magic, just to get the muggles used to such things.
"Would have been shorter if you'd come in to consult, consultant," Hermione shoots back. She takes the cup and sits opposite Amanda. "I'm Hermione, Rose's mum. I'm glad that you both are still here; I was worried I got off work too late."
"Hermione, I told you they'd be here all day."
"Harry, it is half five," Hermione informs him matter-of-factly.
Harry and Draco share an alarmed look. How did it get so late? Rosie got dropped off before nine that morning, Dudley and his family arrived at lunch, which means they've been here for over five hours.
"I'll order muggle take-out," Draco says as he stands. "Everyone fine with Chinese?"
"Oh, thank you, but we really shouldn't stay any longer," Amanda says apologetically.
"If you're trying to do that muggle thing where you try not to inconvenience hosts, don't bother. If a wizard doesn't want you in their house, they don't offer tea or food. Is Chinese okay?"
There's a quiet moment in the room. Amanda's eyes doesn't leave Draco, but there's a small smile on her lips as she gives her reply.
"Lo mein, please."
"Great. Hermione, your normal?"
"Please," Hermione responds sweetly. She turns back to Amanda and they fall into easy conversation about everything from family to Hogwarts to dentistry.
Dudley turns to Harry, who's alone now as Draco orders food in the other room. "So, Hannah's birthday party is on Saturday. I didn't know if you'd like to stop by for the barbie."
Harry gives a thin half-there smile. "I don't know, Dudley… If Vernon or Petunia see me-"
"They won't be there," Dudley says quickly. "We haven't talked in a few weeks. I haven't even told them we were going to have a party for her."
"I'm not sure it's the best idea," Harry reiterates. But why not? If his aunt and uncle won't be there, then why shouldn't he go? If he's going to reconnect with Dudley, if he's going to allow Dudley into his life again, why shouldn't he stop by a simple barbecue for his baby cousin's birthday party?
"Think about it, yeah? Offer won't close."
"I will."
"Oi, Potter!" Piers Polkiss hisses.
They're in a backyard, with a low white fence and beautiful shrubbery. There's dozens of people milling about, minding their own business, but the scrawny, rat-faced man sneers at him.
"You thought comin' here was a good idea? You think he wants ya here?"
Dudley laughs behind Harry, who turns quickly to see his cousin cracking his knuckles. "Pathetic. I tell you a story and you come running. You're so starved for love that you'll talk to me again. You really are just a sad, little orphan, aren't you?"
Turning his back on Piers was a bad idea. He should have known after years of his childhood spent being a punching bag. Piers does what he always did: grabs Harry's arms and holds him in place as Dudley takes the first swing.
Draco fixes his collar in the mirror. "I still think we shouldn't go."
"I'm not going to run and hide from a dream, Draco," Harry repeats for what feels like the tenth time.
"I'm not telling you to run and hide, you Gryffindor. I'm telling you to prioritise yourself. If it makes you uncomfortable, you shouldn’t go."
"Good thing I'm not uncomfortable."
"Your dream last night says otherwise."
"Draco, I'm going to the bloody six-year-old's birthday party and I would like some damn support," Harry snaps at his husband. "I'm not going to avoid it just because I had a childish dream."
"Fine!" Draco rubs his fingers against his temples. "Look, I'm trying to be supportive. The muggles aren't that bad, Amanda is sweet, and Hannah is going to be a great witch, but I also know you. You have a history of putting aside your own feelings to please others. I simply want to ensure that you are doing yourself justice."
Harry wraps his arms around Draco's shoulders. "I know, Dray, and I love you for that." He gives Draco a quick peck on the lips. "Thank you, but we're going to the party today and we're going to eat barbecue and make small talk with muggles and everything is going to be fine."
And everything was fine.
Actually, the party is surprisingly enjoyable considering it’s for a kid's birthday. Most of the adults are parents of Hannah’s school friends, the others are from Hannah’s side of the family. Matter of fact, Harry doesn’t see one person he knows other than Dudley, Amanda, and Hannah. The weather is nice, the typical English rain dissipating for the day, the beer is cold, and the food is good.
Teddy runs around with the muggle kids, behaving himself and managing to keep his hair from changing drastically, despite his excitement.
Harry and Draco brought Hannah her gifts before the party — on the account of them being of the magical variety. Wizard Wheezes candy, a child's illistrated version of Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, and a key chain port key.
"A key chain?" Hannah asks, perplexed.
"It's a port key. Wizards use it to travel between two places," Harry explains, squatting down beside her.
"Like teleportation? You can teleport?"
"Kinda. Draco and I are in the process of setting up your fireplace to connect it to ours, but this is in case you can't reach the fireplace. You just touch the key chain and say 'Potter's Manor.' Can you say that for me? Eh, without touching it, please."
"Potter Manor," Hannah says dutifully.
"Good. If anything happens, if you need help or you don't feel safe, you can come to us. I don't care what time of day it is, I'll help you. Okay?"
"More bangers?" Dudley offers as he sits in the lawn chair beside Harry.
"I don't think I can eat anything else for the week," Harry groans and shakes his head. "Some bloody good barbecue, Dudley. You didn't learn that from Vernon."
"No, no, Dad was never one for a barbie. Posh dinners to impress peers are much more his schtick," Dudley says with an eye roll. Harry looks at his cousin, slightly impressed. "Hannah's dad showed me some tricks, but it was mostly trial and error."
"Well, it paid off," Harry clinks his beer bottle against Dudley's, then finishes off his bottle.
"I better make my rounds. We're cutting the cake soon. Teddy's good to have some, ya?"
"Yeah, he's good to have whatever."
Dudley walks away to mingle with other parents and Harry watches after him.
Some days, it's harder than others to differentiate between this confident, warm man and the cruel, attention-obsessed child of Harry's past. They seem like two totally different species — but then Dudley will say something, and his accent will remind Harry that, yes, this is his bully of a cousin who tormented him all those years ago.
But adult Dudley is standing with his daughter's friend's parents, and laughing over a couple of beers, and Harry still can't reconcile the two in his mind.
He doesn't want to think about this right now.
“Do you want a beer?” Harry asks Draco beside him, who's quietly observing Teddy. They have to be vigilant in case there's an accidental magic incident where the muggles can see.
Draco winkles his nose. “Heineken is vile. Is all muggle beer like that?”
“Basically,” Harry shrugs and glances around to ensure no one is listening. “I'll cover you if you want to spell it to wine."
Draco sighs dramatically. "Alcohol transfigurations are such a pain."
"Are you saying transfiguration is too complex for the great Draco Potter, former heir of the Noble House of Black?"
"Bring me a damn Heineken."
"There's my husband." Harry stands from his lawn chair and stretches. "Back in a jif."
Harry waves at a few people he met earlier as he heads to the beer cooler, strategically left in the kitchen to keep the kids away from it. He grabs two Heinekens from the white cooler and pops them both open with the bottle opener set on the counter.
"Hey, you're Dudley's cousin, right?"
Harry turns to see a gentleman, probably in his late thirties, in fitted jeans and a nice button-up. "My name's Harry," he says and sticks his hand out, which is immediately shaken.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Colin, Dudley's supervisor. My daughter's out there playing with Hannah."
"It's nice to meet you," Harry says pleasantly. "My godson is out there as well."
"The one with the long hair?"
"Um, yeah," Harry frowns slightly. "How did you know?"
Colin waves off Harry's worry. "I haven't seen you around before, and I recognised everyone else's kids out there, so the only other option is Dudley's elusive cousin."
"Elusive?"
"Again, I'm around a lot, but I haven't seen you." Colin looks Harry up and down. "But, I think I would like to."
Harry can feel his cheeks go pink. Is Dudley's supervisor… flirting with him?
"Oh, um, yeah. I didn't have a good relationship with Dudley's parents, so I went no-contact as soon as I was legal, you know." Harry fumbles through his entirely unnecessary explanation. "We've just recently reconnected and, uh, my godson is her age. My- Oh, my husband is out there keeping an eye on him, so, yeah…"
"Husband, eh?" Colin raises an eyebrow. Instead of looking deterred by the fact that Harry is married, he looks more interested. "Good to know my assumption was correct. If you're interested in-"
"Look, I'm flattered-"
"Harry Potter!"
Harry and Colin both whip their heads to the door, where none other than Petunia and Vernon are standing and looking at him with faces full of shock.
Fuck. Fuck, Harry didn't want to deal with any of this.
"Colin, can you allow us a moment alone?" Harry strains out, trying to keep calm despite the cold rush of anxiety sweeping through him in waves.
Colin looks awkwardly between the three of them before extracting himself to the backyard.
"Harry, what the hell-"
"I thought you weren't coming today," Harry says smoothly as he leans against the kitchen counter to hide how his knees are shaking. What the fuck is wrong with him? He can fight Death Eaters, even kill Voldemort, but his muggle aunt and uncle cause him to go into panic mode?
"What the hell does our schedule have anything to do with you?" Petunia sneers at him.
"You need to leave, boy," Vernon spits at him, his face reddening. "This isn't your house and Dudley doesn't need your kind around his little daughter."
Oh, if only they fucking knew. But Harry takes a deep breath to keep steady. "I don't think you get to make that decision, Vernon. If Dudley doesn't want me here, he can tell me to leave. Now, if you excuse me, I was just heading back outside."
"Are you trying to tell us," Petunia starts as she points her nose to the ceiling, "that Dudley invited you here? How dare you lie to us! You should be grateful we raised you, but instead you stand in your cousin's house and lie to us!"
"Petunia, don't embarrass yourself by opening your mouth," Harry responds coldly. His palm stings where his nails are digging in. "Dudley and I have been reconnecting lately, and seeing as my godson is the same age as Hannah, we thought this would be nice for the kids."
"Y-your-" Vernon face turns a concerning shade of purple. "Your godson will not tarnish our granddaughter with your freakishness!"
"Shame you feel that way," Harry clips. "But that's not going to-"
"Get out!" Vernon slams his fists against the counter and, fuck, Harry flinches at the movement, then again at the sound.
Harry's cold anxiety turns to icy anger. He hates how much his uncle can still affect him, all these years later. Harry leans further into the counter, trying to appear immune to Vernon's outburst. "Listen here, Vernon. You don't control me anymore, either of you. You can't tell me where to go or what to do or who not to talk to. You have no power over me, and fuck you for coming in here expecting me to bow to your fucking orders."
Petunia huffs. "You can't-"
"I think you'll find that I fucking can, Petunia. You should be ashamed; your sister bloody would be," Harry spits viciously.
"Harry, I thought you were getting us beer-" While Harry doesn't turn away from his aunt and uncle, he can only imagine the expression on his husband's face. "Harry? What's going on here?"
"Who the hell are you? Another one of those freaks?" Vernon vituperates.
"Don't you dare call him that." Harry steps in front of Draco, who simply sidesteps him to stand hip-to-hip with Harry.
"Fuck what you-"
"You must be Vernon and Petunia," Draco drawls disdainfully. Harry remembers that tone from their first few years at Hogwarts. Draco drags a judgmental, aristocratic eye up and down the two muggles. "I expected more, but then again, you act similar to the trash at the bottom of my rubbish bin, so I shouldn't have expected much."
"You can't talk to us that way," Petunia scolds, and Harry snorts at her. Fucking entitled his aunt is.
"I can talk to you any way I want, considering you abused Harry — and Dudley in other ways — for years with no repercussions. In fact, someone ought to put you in your bloody place, and I am more than happy to."
"Draco," Harry warns, pulling on his husband's sleeve. He glances around to see some of the guests looking in to see what the commotion is. Even Petunia's eyes are flickering over the gathering people warily. "We should just leave."
Draco takes a calming breath, nodding at his husband before turning back to Petunia and Vernon. "If I ever hear you talk to my husband like that again, being overheard and judged by your kind will be the least of your worries; you'll have to deal with me, and while I might enjoy the looks on your faces, you certainly won't."
"Husband? You bloody poofs-"
"Mum, Dad, what are you doing here?" Dudley comes into the room.
"Diddykinns," Petunia frets, "oh, we thought we would surprise Hannah for her birthday, but Harry and his husband are here-"
"Harry and Draco are my guests, Mum," Dudley interrupts, not taking any shit. "Hannah wanted their godson here and I wanted my cousin to come see my house. You don't get to come in here-"
Harry grabs Draco's hand and pulls him out of the now-crowded room. The heat hits them as they step outside. "I want to go home."
Draco nods and automatically scans the yard full of blissfully unaware kids. "I'll grab Teddy. How do you want to leave? We can't floo now."
"We'll just walk around the block and apparate. Can you side-along Teddy? I don't think…" Harry trails off and clears his throat. His hands are shaking, his anger barely tempered.
"I got it. Give me a second."
Draco heads off to grab Teddy when someone touches Harry's arm. It's embarrassing how Harry flinches for the third time tonight.
"Harry, I am so sorry." It's Amanda, her kind face looking like tears are going to fall any second.
Harry shakes his head. "'S'not your fault, Amanda, nor Dudley's. Vernon and Petunia are just blinded by their hatred of me."
"Not of you, Harry," Amanda argues gently.
"Hatred of what I am, that and gay," he corrects flippantly.
Amanda bites her lip. "Dudley's telling them to leave now. Won't you stay a little longer? I'm about to cut the cake."
"Thank you, but I don't fancy being whispered about behind my back. But you have a lovely home, and I appreciate you opening it up to Draco, Teddy, and I."
"You're always welcome, all of you. Well," Amanda cracks a small smile, "maybe not if Petunia and Vernon are here, but I don't see that happening again any time soon. Not if I have a say."
Harry gives her a quick hug as he catches sight of Draco with Teddy in his arms. "Thank you. Apologise to Dudley for me, yeah? And… Tell him thank you."
Thank you for standing up for me.
Amanda smiles wider. "There's nothing to apologise for, Harry."
The emotional fallout of the party gets put behind everyone as things always get left in the past: going on with life as if nothing happened. This works for Harry at least.
Hermione convinced a court in the Ministry of Magic to allow Hannah to attend a magical primary school before she starts at Hogwarts, the first muggle-born in history to do so. The press was ravenous for information, the old order loud about their outrage, and the newest generation hopeful for what this means for blood equality going forward.
Hermione, with Draco’s consulting help, is writing legislation to plan for more muggle-borns, ways to detect muggle-borns early on, viable transportation to schools, and other important administration topics that make Harry’s eyes gloss over.
Dudley’s fireplace is now connected to the Floo Network, though on a very limited scale, only allowing access to Harry’s house, Hannah's primary wizarding school, and St. Mungo’s for magical injury emergencies. Harry even took Dudley, Amanda, and Hannah to Diagon Alley to purchase robes and books that Hannah would need; Dudley and Amanda wondered through the streets like house-elves in a new home, eyes wide, trying to take in everything at once. Hannah, on the other hand, ran from storefront to storefront with Teddy and Rose and oohed at all the different merchandise.
“Cousin Harry, cousin Harry!” Hannah had called from the front of Dervish and Banges. “The brooms are so expensive! Do wizards really really like cleaning?”
“No, they’re racing brooms!” Teddy said excitedly. "One day, I'm going to get the Firebolt Golden and I'll be the fastest at school!"
This didn’t clear anything up for Hannah. “So, wizards race to clean up messes the fastest?”
Harry had chuckled at his little cousin. “Have you ever watched Hocus Pocus? Remember how those witches flew on broomsticks?”
“You can fly?!”
Harry's floo roars in the next room and he walks through the door to see Hannah and Teddy have arrived from school. "Good afternoon, children."
Hannah coughs from the fireplace dust. "Hia, cousin Harry! Did you know there's such things as an-ani…" She frowns and sounds the word out carefully: "An-i-ma-gous."
"Animagus?" Harry supplies. He flicks his wand and a tray of food Miply had prepared as a post-school snack floats to the kids.
"Yes! And there's charms to do the washing up! I hate helping with dishes. One day, I'll charm my sink at home and then I'll never have to dry the dishes!"
"You can't do magic at home, Hannah. You live in a muggle house."
Hannah frowns at Teddy. "Why's that matter?"
"He means there are just different rules," Harry says gently and shoots a chastising look at his godson. "It's not a bad thing, but if you charm your sink to do the washing, then your parents have guests over who see it, would that be good?"
Hannah thinks for a moment. "It would be bad because muggles would see the magic."
"Exactly."
"But my parents are muggles?"
"Yes, but they are allowed to know about magic. Your dad knew when we were younger, and now your mum knows because you're like me."
"Why? Why am I… magic?"
Harry shrugs his shoulders. "I can't answer that. There are some theories, but no one knows for certain."
"Besides, it doesn't matter. You're magic because you are and now we're best friends," Teddy declares.
Hannah looks over at the young boy and gives a small nod. "Best friends."
Harry ruffles both of their heads. "Okay, you two. Hannah, your parents will be home in an hour and I'll send you through the floo. Teddy, your aunt will be here after dinner to pick you up."
"Can Hannah stay for dinner too?"
Hannah jumps up and down. "Please? Please please please?"
Dammit, how can Harry say no to her. "I'm fine with it, but we'll have to ask your parents when they get home."
Both kids jump and cheer as if Harry just saved the world a third time.
"Okay okay, now go play for an hour."
And so the routine starts.
Hannah and Teddy flooed to Potter Manor every day after school, hang out until Hannah floos back to her parents' house, then Teddy leaves either before or after dinner. Repeat. Once a week, Dudley and Amanda come over for dinner, drinks with Ron and Hermione, large birthday celebrations, and loud sleepovers. Days turn to weeks, turn to months. Soon enough, Rose turns six and joins the routine, joining Hannah and Teddy in the manor after school.
Before Harry knows it, two years have passed and he's in the hospital waiting room with Draco on his right and Hannah and Teddy on his left.
"Cousin Harry?" Hannah whispers. Her small fists grip the hem of her skirt. "What if something goes wrong?"
Harry soothes her with a hand down her back. "Hannah, everything will be fine, I promise you."
"What if I mess up? What if I do something-"
"Okay, guys," Dudley enters the waiting room looking exhausted. "I am happy to announce Mason Dursley, born at 10.38 and weighing three-point-eight kilograms; mother and son doing excellent."
Harry stands and claps his cousin on his back. "Congrats, Dudley."
Hannah stands beside Harry with one hand tightly gripping his. Dudley squats down to her level. "Are you ready to meet your little brother, Hannah-bear?"
Hannah shuffles her feet. "What if I'm not a good sister?"
Dudley shakes his head and tucks his daughter's hair behind her ears. "Hannah, you're going to be an amazing sister. You're so patient and caring; one day, Mason is going to look up to you. Do you believe me?"
Hannah nods slowly. Harry gently pulls her hand out of his. "I can't go with you, but I'll be right out here, okay?"
Harry watches the two of them go and returns to his spot next to Draco.
"Muggle hospitals are weird," Draco mutters quietly. "Where are the singing plants and who cleans if not house-elves?"
Harry rolls his eyes, but catches sight of Dudley entering the waiting room again without Hannah. "Everything alright?"
Dudley sits on the chair directly across from them. "Yeah, everything's good. I just, uh, needed to talk to you two.
"I talked to Hermione, and I know that muggles have godparents, but magical godparents have different responsibilities, right? So Amanda and I were wondering- well, if you were okay with, or rather if you'd accept-"
"You want Harry to be Mason's magical godparent?" Draco asks sceptically.
"Both of you, actually, and Hannah's. I know she's older, but if something happens to both of us, Hannah can't go to any muggle relatives. I know it's a lot to ask, especially when you already have Teddy-"
Harry shares a quick look with his husband before he cuts off Dudley's rambling. "We'd be honoured to be both of their godfathers, Duds."
Dudley sighs in relief. "Oh, thank god. I thought I would have to convince you and I've only had two hours of sleep."
"We're family," Harry says simply. "Hannah already spends as much time at my house as she does at yours."
Dudley sighs. "And in a few years, she'll spend most of the year at Hogwarts."
"You still have three years until that happens."
Then, Harry blinks, and Teddy receives his own Hogwarts letter on his eleventh birthday. He refuses to go school shopping until Hannah also receives hers. On the night before Hannah's own eleventh birthday, Teddy spends the night at Potter Manor preparing to spend the entire day with Hannah, complete with school shopping and ice cream.
"Teddy, eat your eggs," Harry says for the third time that morning from behind his teacup.
"I'm too excited to eat!"
"No, you're not," Draco retorts dryly. "Once you eat your plate, we can floo call the Dursleys and see if Hannah's letter has been delivered yet."
Crack
All three wizards look toward the door to the sitting room. "Were you expecting someone?" Draco asks.
"Maybe it's Hermione?" Harry sets his tea down and stands up. "I'll check it out. You," he points at Teddy, "eat your breakfast or you won't get ice cream in Diagon Alley."
Harry pushes through the living room door and freezes. He scans his eyes around the room, but it's empty at first glance? He turns around, heading towards the front door, when he hears it: quiet crying. Harry steps around the couch to see Hannah curled on the ground, crying into her knees, the small port-key key chain on the ground next to her.
"Hannah?" Harry hurries to her side. "Hannah, what happened?"
Hannah just sniffles and shakes her head.
Harry wraps an arm around his little cousin's shoulders and rubs her back. "Hey, I can help, but you have to talk to me."
Hannah shoves her face into his shirt, her whole body shaking with each sob. "Gran'pa and gran'ma sh-showed up at breakfast and everything was fine, but then my Hogwarts letter came and th-they started yelling and- and-"
"Shh," Harry murmurs. "Take a deep breath, okay? With me, breathe in…. and breathe out. Good. Were your parents there?"
Hannah nods her head as she wipes her cheeks. "Yeah, everyone was shouting, and gran'ma and gran'pa seemed really upset and I didn't know what to do, so I used the port-key. I'm sorry for just popping in…"
"No, you did the right thing. We gave it to you for a reason, for times just like this." Harry keeps his arm around Hannah as he looks towards the dining room door and calls for his husband, who pops his head in a second later. "Can you muggle-call Dudley and let him know that Hannah is safe? I don't think they know she's here."
Draco frowns and tenses up. "Did they-"
"Draco, I wouldn't ask you to call them if that was the case. Can you please?"
Draco disappears back into the kitchen where they keep the muggle landline. Hannah sniffles and coughs. "I'm sorry-"
"Hannah, you have nothing to apologise for. You're always welcome. Anytime."
She's silent for a few moments before whispering, "They hate me. They said that I was a f-freak and-" She breaks down crying again and Harry holds her tighter.
"You're not a freak, Hans. You're simply you."
"Why?" she asks, and it hurts Harry to hear her voice crack.
"Sometimes, people are blinded by hate. Your gran'ma always hated magic; she taught your gran'pa to hate it too. They're can't see past that hatred, and they're worse off for it." Harry kisses the top of her head. "I'm so sorry you had to hear those ugly things."
It's an hour until Dudley and Amanda pull into the drive at the manor. Hannah had calmed down enough to play with Teddy, even if she's still a bit subdued.
"Hannah-"
"She's fine," Harry assures. "She got frightened and came straight here. She's in the garden."
Amanda heads straight towards the back, three-year-old Mason in her arms. Dudley takes a deep breath. "Thank you. I don't know how she used the floo. I didn't hear it go off or anythin'. But, Mum was pretty shrill, maybe she drowned it out."
"Actually," Harry picks the key chain up off the floor, "she used the port-key I gave her."
Dudley frowns. "The what?"
"A port-key. It's an object spelled to teleport anyone touching it to a pre-designated location. I gave her this one on her sixth birthday, spelled to this sitting room, in case she ever felt in danger or for an emergency."
Dudley blinks slowly and his ears start to turn pink. "Why would you think my daughter would need a- an escape plan from my house? Did you think I, what, would hurt her? Because of her magic?"
"What?" Harry asks, bewildered. "Of course not!"
"You thought to give my six-year-old an emergency plan to get out of my house. Obviously, you didn't trust me! What, you thought I would play nice in front of you, then go mental back at home?"
Harry takes a shocked step back, the back of his legs hitting the couch. "Dudley, I never said anything like that!"
"Then why-"
"Because I know your family!" Harry snaps. "I believe everyone needs an emergency plan, for injuries and, for instance, if a fire were to happen and she wouldn't be able to reach the fireplace to floo, but I also know your rotten parents! I knew that they would find out one day, and look at what happened! Hannah showed up sobbing because of her wretched grandparents!"
Dudley runs a shaky hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. "They weren't supposed to be there. They surprised us with a visit and then the post came… I thought they would change." Dudley looks at his cousin and visibly deflates. "I thought that, maybe they'll realise how wrong they've been, that with their granddaughter it would be different — they love her — but they called her a-"
"'Freak,' yeah, I know." Harry gestures towards the back garden. "She mentioned it. Look, Dudley, your parents aren't the type of people to just change. They are consumed with their fear of magic."
"What do I do then? Just cut them out of our lives?"
In Harry's opinion, that's the best thing to do. But, if his own parents were still alive, Harry knows he'd want a connection to them despite any bumps on the road — though this feels like an entire mountain blocking this particular road. Draco would feel the same way if his parents hadn't died in Azkaban years before.
"I'll talk to them," Harry says.
"You?"
"Yeah, I think it needs to be me."
It's decided that Harry will wait until Hogwarts starts its term to approach his aunt and uncle, to allow them to cool off.
So, two and a half weeks after Harry found Hannah curled up on his sitting room floor, Harry knocks on the door of the house he used to call home.
Petunia opens the door. "Yes, wh-" She freezes when she realises it's her own nephew standing on her doorstep, right where he was left as a baby wrapped in blankets. "What do you want?"
"To talk," Harry simply says. "I think it's about time that we do that, don't you?"
Harry side-steps his aunt and walks into the house, past the stairs and his own cupboard, and into the kitchen where he knows his uncle will be. They're nothing if not creatures of habits, even after all these years.
"What the hell-"
"Good morning, Uncle Vernon," Harry says pleasantly. "I need to talk to both of you about your granddaughter."
"As far as we're concerned, she's no kin of ours, nor are you," his uncle spits vehemently.
"I think it's best if you leave," Petunia firmly states and points to the door.
Instead, Harry sits at the table. "I think it's best if I stay, actually, but thanks for the suggestion."
"Listen here-"
"No, you will both listen to me." Harry's voice is hard as he allows some of the boiling anger he's feeling to show in those words. He leans forward and clasps his hands in front of himself. "Dudley is your son, Hannah is your granddaughter, and they are your family. Who cares if they are magic or not? What does it matter? When it comes down to it, they are supposed to be the closest people to you, but what did you do? You called your own granddaughter a freak."
"That owl came into the kitchen and she got that same awful letter you did!" Petunia crosses her arms around her abdomen, and Harry can't tell if it's a defensive gesture or if she's trying to keep herself together. All in all, Harry knows Petunia loves her son; this tension between them must hurt her. "It's not right, just like Lily, just like you."
"But it is right, Petunia," Harry emphasises heavily. "She's a witch, and that's just who she is. She can't help it, and she won't stop being one just because you don't want her to be. It's in her nature."
"We don't have to listen to anything you say, freak," Vernon grounds out from behind clenched teeth, his face purple with anger.
"You will lose them," Harry says calmly. It's no use fighting with them, not anymore. He looks at his aunt in one last effort to get through to her. "You lost my mother, long before she died, because you couldn't handle the nature of the world. You lost Lily's only son, the only blood relative you had left, because you treated me like shit out of fear. Don't lose your grandchildren because you're stuck in your ways. Don't lose your son because you insist on being blinded by this fear. Because Dudley will choose that little girl over you, and I don't think he'll mourn your company."
Harry turns to go, but hesitates in the doorway. He looks back at the people who raised him, the people who bring pity to his weary heart. "I forgive you. You don't deserve it, but for my own sake, I forgive you for all that you did to me."
And he walks away, away from the years of pain and anger and confusion and hurt and fear, and he feels so much lighter inside.
Written by a human in Ellipsus.