Author's note: Hello everyone! I began writing this story a while ago. I have recently rediscovered the wonders of FanFiction, as I was suffering from PPDD (Post-Potter Depressive Disorder) having just reread the series for the umpteenth time. And I figured I'd post this chapter. I'll update if people like it!

CHAPTER 1

Crack!

Harry waited until he was absolutely sure his feet were still on the ground before he opened his eyes. Though he had been apparating successfully for over a decade, he still could not get past the feeling of seasickness that overtook him every time he used this most convenient form of wizard transportation. He didn't care what anyone else said; he preferred brooms, floo powder, and even thestral rides to this. However, as his home in Godric's Hollow was over a hundred miles from the Ministry of Magic, he was forced to accept the fact that apparition was indeed the most practical.

Feeling a little disheveled, he straightened his coat collar and began walking up the walkway that led to his house. He pushed open the door and entered his home.

"Daddy!" he heard as he saw a flash of red hair zooming towards him down the hallway. He bent over so that his daughter could jump into his arms.

"Hello Lily," Harry kissed his daughter on the cheek, "how was your day at school today?"

Lily's cheeks instantly turned as red as her hair. "It was…fine." She said sheepishly.

Harry stifled a chuckle. She looked so sweet when she was guilty. As a six-year-old girl, what harm could she really have caused?

"Oh, no. Tell me what you've done Lily."

She looked away from Harry towards the woman that had just come out of the small office into the hall. Ginny met Harry's glance with an amused expression for just a moment before looking back at her daughter. "Tell daddy what you've done." She said sternly.

"Well…I…there were three boys bullying the small muggle boy that lives down the lane. You see, they were much bigger than him and they tried to steal his lunch money. And, well, I didn't mean to but-" It seemed she was too ashamed to finish.

"When the bigger boys had each taken some of the smaller boy's coins, they suddenly found that the coins had mysteriously turned into cockroaches, which all began trying to bite their captors." Ginny finished for Lily.

Again, Harry tried not to laugh. After all, young wizards and witches could not control their magic. He knew this first hand. All those times he had been afraid or angry as a child had caused his magic to occasionally show itself. He and Ginny had knew this might happen when they had decided to send their children to muggle primary school. They wanted their children to grow up accustomed to both wizard and muggle culture.

"Lily," Harry began calmly, "I'm pleased that you wanted to defend the small muggle boy, but you must be careful not to use magic. It was only bugs this time, it could have been something far more dangerous to the bullies."

"I knooow." Lily said in a sing-song voice. "I'm sorry. Can I go call the boys now that Dad is home?"

"Okay, but wait for me in the sitting room and I will help you." Ginny said. Harry lowered his arms so that Lily could hop out of them and skip down the hall towards the sitting room. "Don't you touch that floo powder until I'm there!" She added threateningly.

"Are they at the burrow then?" Harry asked.

"Yes, playing Quidditch with their cousins."

"I think James is showing some promise," Harry said fondly. "Maybe we will have ourselves a Griffindor house player in a couple of years."

"Yes, perhaps, but Harry listen to me," Ginny began. "A letter from Dudley has arrived for us today."

Harry was taken aback. "Dudley Dursley? My cousin?" It had only been a couple of months since their last visit. Harry and Dudley made it a point to visit with each other twice per year so that their children could spend time with each other.

"Yes." Said Ginny. "You will be quite interested to read this. Come on." She led him to her office. Ginny was the Quidditch columnist for the Daily Prophet, and her home office was littered with scraps of parchment, old quills, and empty bottles of ink. She walked over to the desk and snatched up a folded piece of paper and handed it to Harry.

He looked at the letter. He instantly recognized Dudley's messy handwriting.

Harry,

I'll have to write this quickly. I don't want Amelia to see it. I'm writing because I was wondering if perhaps you and Ginny could come to my house next Sunday, October 12, for lunch. Amelia has offered to chaperone the twins' weekend trip to London for their school. There will be no need to bring James, Albus, and Lily. I have some questions for the two of you. I would appreciate this favor, and I apologize for the secrecy, but I don't want to worry Amelia if I don't have to. I hope to see you Sunday.

-Dudley

Harry looked up at Ginny. "What in the world could he possibly be on about?" Ginny shrugged and she looked just as perplexed as he felt.

"No idea." She said. "And why would he want us to come when Amelia is out with the twins? Doesn't that mean that Joseph will still be there?"

Dudley had married a kind woman by the name of Amelia who bore no resemblance in looks or personality to the Dursleys. They had three children. Twins boys the same age as Harry's son James, and another son, Joseph, who was Lily's age.

"Yeah," said Harry. "I thought about that too. Well, Joseph is a quiet kid and usually keeps to himself anyways." He said thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose we had better go and see what he is on about."

Ginny nodded and then the two of them headed to the sitting room where Lily was waiting near the fireplace. She jumped up as her mother approached her.

"Incendio." Ginny said as she pointed her wand at the empty fireplace. At once, flames shot up. Harry watched as his wife and daughter knelt facing the blazing fire. Ginny grabbed a handful of powder that sat in a tin on the mantle and threw it into the fire, which instantly turned a bright shade of emerald. She and Lily stuck their heads in the flames.

"JAMES! ALBU—oh, hello grandma!" Harry could hear Lily say.

"Hi, mum." Ginny said. "Could you fetch the boys for me? It's time for dinner. Yes, yes I remember it's dad's birthday next week. Don't worry, we will all be there."

"Can't wait, grandma! I will see you and granddad next week!" Lily said as she lent backwards out of the fire and left the sitting room.

"Oh, and mum," Ginny continued. "Could you take the kids on Sunday? Harry and I are visiting his cousin, Dudley. Yes, thank you. I will send them to your fireplace Sunday morning." She bade her mother goodbye and lent back. A moment later, their two sons toppled out of the fire.

"Hi mum, hi dad!" They said as they hurried past their parents and into the kitchen.

Harry pulled over to the curb and shifted the car into park. He and Ginny had also decided when they sent their children to muggle school, that they should both learn how to drive muggle cars and obtain muggle driver's licenses. They got out and walked up the walkway to the front door of Dudley Dursley's house. They rang the bell and waited.

A large blonde man opened the door. Dudley had lost much of the excessive weight he had obtained throughout his teen years, but was still wider than the average man. Dudley and Ginny kissed on the cheek and then Dudley turned to shake Harry's hand. "Thanks for coming. Amelia just left with the twins half an hour ago."

"Any time, Dud." Harry said as he walked through the door and into Dudley's sitting room. It bore obvious differences to his and Ginny's. It was clean, non-cluttered, and was devoid of any magical objects that may reside in any wizarding family's home.

Perhaps Amelia's only resemblance to her mother-in-law Petunia was her knack for cleanliness.

Instead of floo powder atop Dudley's fireplace mantle, there were photos. Of Dudley and Amelia's wedding day, of their three children, of Amelia's parents and siblings, and one of Petunia and Vernon—looking like they just ate something sour, as usual. There was even a photo of Harry, Ginny, and their three children. Stationary, because it was taken with a muggle camera of course.

Harry and Dudley over the years had put their differences aside and had become something akin to friends. Harry had seen his aunt and uncle exactly once since they parted ways for the last time at Number 4 Privet Drive all those years ago, at Dudley's wedding. To say things between them were still icy cold would have been an understatement.

After the victory at the Battle of Hogwarts, Dudley sought out Harry and the first thing out of his mouth was a sincere apology for how he had treated him throughout their childhood. They had been friendly ever since.

As Dudley ushered Ginny and Harry to the sofa, Harry saw a small tuft of blonde hair peep out from behind a door to the adjacent room.

"Hello there, Joseph!" Harry called to his (for a lack of a better word) nephew, and the small child walked shyly into the room. He came over so Ginny could kiss him on the cheek and then skipped away back to the other room.

Harry waited for Joseph to be out of earshot before turning to Dudley. "So why all the secrecy, Dudley?" he asked. "What can we do for you?"

"Well…" Dudley seemed not to know where to begin.

Ginny and Harry exchanged curious glances.

"It's about Joseph." He stated cautiously.

Harry did not know what to make of this. "What do you mean? Is he in trouble, is there something wrong with him?"

Dudley was silent for a moment. "Well, no. Not something wrong." He said evasively.

"Dudley," Ginny began. "We don't understand what you are talking about. If there is nothing wrong then why do you look so concerned?"

"Well, I suppose there is something," he paused for several moments "…unusual going on with him. Amelia is afraid but I have different opinions about the matter."

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" said Harry. "Spit it out, will you?"

Dudley still wore a hesitant expression on his round face. "Harry, you were about Joseph's age when things started happening, right?"

When Harry did not respond, Dudley continued. "You know, like that thing where you ended up on the roof at school, and your hair grew back overnight?"

Harry gaped at Dudley. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Dud?"

Dudley looked slightly embarrassed now. "Well, I don't want to jump to conclusions. I can't be sure. That's why I asked you and Ginny here today. There have been—things—that have happened." He trailed off.

"What kind of things?" Ginny asked interestedly.

"They began a couple of months ago. At first Amelia and I just attributed them to strange coincidences. However, they have become more frequent. For example, last week the twins were watching television and Joseph asked them to change the channel so that he could watch his favorite program. They refused and told him that as they were older, they automatically got to pick the program they would all watch. Joseph seemed really frustrated and then, the television screen went blank and then when the picture came back, it was the program that Joseph wanted to watch. The remote control had been on the table, out of everyone's reach. The twins angrily grabbed it to change the channel back, but the channel would not change. Only after Joseph's program was finished did the television go back to perfectly working order."

Dudley said all of this very fast and then looked skeptically at Harry and Ginny.

"And then just yesterday," he continued, "the twins had locked Joseph in a closet and refused to let him out. I scolded them, sent them to their room, and then went to let Joseph out myself, but as I was about to unlock it for him, the door completely vanished and he ran past me. Luckily Amelia wasn't there to see that one because I don't really know how we could have called it a coincidence."

Harry was still speechless.

Dudley pressed on when Harry had still not replied. "All I could think of was that time you made the glass disappear at the zoo all those years ago." He finished.

He looked expectantly at Ginny and Harry.

Ginny was the first to break the silence. "Well, I don't think you need us to tell you this Dudley, but I think it is pretty clear that Joseph is a wizard."

Dudley suddenly looked very uneasy. "How can we be sure? I can't tell Amelia until we are sure. She still knows nothing about your world."

Harry seemed to find his voice then. "Joseph!" he shouted "please come back, we want to speak with you!"

Joseph appeared a moment later and then Harry stood up and took his hand. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and get a drink." Harry led him into the kitchen, a perplexed Ginny and Dudley following in his wake.

He poured a glass of water for Joseph and then walked towards the boy. He intentionally 'tripped' and dropped the glass of water.

No shatter came.

A second later the glass was in Joseph's hands, though he had been standing halfway across the room. He looked just as surprised as anyone to find it there.

His eyes the size of quaffles, Joseph turned to his father, who mirrored his expression. Ginny beamed at them from the doorway.

"That settles it, I think." Harry said.