Hello Harry Potter fans! I'm Gryffinclaw99. This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction I've written, and I'm so excited to finally post it. I finished it all today, so there are a total of 7 chapters, which I'll post every few days. For now, though, enjoy this Dudley-centric story I've written!

((Disclaimers: 1) Obviously I don't own the rights to Harry Potter and 2) I am American, not British, so if there are words that are spelled differently or something, that's why.))

First year Gryffindor Harry Potter sat at the long, wooden table in the Great Hall, impatiently awaiting the feast that was soon to come. He and Ron, both hungry and bored, were chatting about the upcoming quidditch match against Slytherin when something in Albus Dumbledore's speech caught their attention.

"As you all know," the headmaster droned on, "this weekend we will be hosting Family Day here at Hogwarts." Excited whispers filled the Great Hall, but Harry returned to his state of boredom and hunger. He had no family. Not really. He had seen his mother and father in the Mirror of Erised earlier that year, but he wished now more than ever that they could be there with him. Everyone else seemed so happy and enthusiastic about being able to show their families around Hogwarts. Even Ron had a grin on his face thinking of the trouble he could get Fred and George into if he played his cards right.

Dumbledore quieted the students with a raised hand. "Invitations have been sent to each and every one of your families, and we have special activities planned for them upon their arrival. You will also be allowed a trip to Hogsmeade as long as a parent or guardian accompanies you." So much excitement had filled the Great Hall that it became apparent that any attempt to continue his speech would be futile. Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eye as he surveyed the happy students before him. "Let the feast begin!"

O-O /*

After the feast had finished and students had started to leave, Dumbledore glided up to Harry, who was one of the only Gryffindors still at the table. The others had left to start making plans for their family's visit.

"Harry, dear boy," Dumbledore addressed the first year, "I couldn't help but notice you were looking a little forlorn during dinner, would you care to talk?"

Harry surveyed the old man. Then, feeling a hand on his shoulder, decided that if he could confide in anyone right now, it might as well be him. "Just thinking of my parents, I guess."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "You have been through a lot Harry, more than anyone else at this school, I daresay."

Harry looked away from Dumbledore's pitying gaze. "It just… hurts to see everyone else talking about their families when I haven't got one." Harry sighed and stood from the table, shaking Dumbledore's hand off his shoulder. "Family day…" he mumbled. "Yeah, right."

Harry turned to exit the Great Hall, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Dumbledore call out to him. "I'm sure your aunt and uncle will consider accepting the invitation I have sent to them."

Harry whirled around, face paler than a ghost. "WHAT?!"

Dumbledore was unfazed. "Was I incorrect in my assumption that you would not wish to be alone on Family Day, Harry?" the old wizard asked.

"You can't invite them! Take it back! Can you stop the invitation from being delivered? Can you…uninvite them? They can't come to Hogwarts. Please, Professor, don't let them come!"

Dumbledore was puzzled. He hadn't expected this reaction from Harry at all. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I'm afraid it's too late. The invitations were delivered this afternoon, by owl post."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he suddenly felt dizzy. Owls. Delivering a letter inviting VERNON AND PETUNIA DURSLEY to Hogwarts. He couldn't believe it.

As he headed back to his common room, he tried to console himself. Surely they won't come. They hate magic.

Harry felt himself relax. He didn't have anything to worry about. There was no way the Dursleys would ever set foot in Hogwarts.

O-O /*

Wednesday after school, a very pudgy Dudley Dursley sat at the kitchen table, shoving food into his mouth while staring at a soccer match on the television.

Out of nowhere, a large, brown owl swooped down and landed right on top of the television set, having entered the house through a window left open to let in the cool April air. Dudley nearly fell off his chair in terror, then proceeded to hide under the table. To his horror, the owl followed him to his hiding place and screeched at him, shaking its leg at him which held a rolled up piece of parchment. Clearly the owl wanted Dudley to remove the parchment from its leg, so Dudley, afraid of what might happen if he didn't, reached out and grabbed it. Feathers flapped in his face as the owl took off just as quickly as it had come.

With hands shaking, Dudley unrolled the parchment and read what it said.

'You have been invited to visit Hogwarts for the first ever Family Day, which will take place this Saturday. The day will include: a tour of the castle and its grounds, a brief seminar with headmaster Albus Dumbledore, a trip to Hogsmeade, back-to-back quidditch matches, with Hufflepuff facing Ravenclaw at 3:00, and Slytherin facing Gryffindor at 7:00.

And of course, there will be a special feast in the Great Hall in honor of all of our visitors.

Families wishing to stay overnight should seek lodging in Hogsmeade.

Hogwarts looks forward to your visit.

~Professor Minerva McGonagall'

Dudley had no idea what half of the words meant in the letter, but he did recognize one. Hogwarts.

Ever since his cousin had run off to that school, Dudley had been curious. Scared, yes, but also very fascinated by the fact that there was a whole other world out there that he had never seen.

But before he could comprehend what this invitation meant, Petunia Dursley had stolen the letter from her son's hands. Her face blanched as she read the words, her eyes darting back and forth across the paper.

"VERNON!" her shrill voice shouted, "VERNON COME HERE!"

Vernon's meaty hands snatched the paper and Dudley knew exactly what was about to happen. After he, too, had read the letter, he was seething. His face turned a dark shade of red and he ripped the parchment into thousands of little pieces.

For a few short moments, Dudley had thought about what it would be like to actually visit the wizarding world that he had heard so little about. A castle? It sounded wonderful. But he had been stupid to think that he might get to go. He should've known that it would never happen.

Trying his best to hide his feelings of disappointment, Dudley glanced up at his mother, who seemed to be processing the information with a wild look of confusion on her face.

As he lay in bed that night, after an evening of his family pretending the letter never existed, Dudley had a thought—one of his own, which didn't come by often. Why should he not be allowed to go to this "Hogwarts Family Day" just because his dad said no? Harry got to go to Hogwarts even though Vernon tried to stop it from happening! It was then that Dudley decided that he would figure out a way to get himself to Hogwarts. He had no idea how he would do it, but as he fell asleep that night, his mind was filled with images of cackling old witches brewing potions and old, bearded wizards pulling bunnies out of hats, which for the first time, was a happy thought.

That's all for now! If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear from you, and make sure you follow or favorite it so you get notified when I upload a new chapter. Also, I accept constructive criticism, so if you have any advice or corrections, feel free to leave a review with those as well. Reviews make me super happy, so have at it.

I've always been super fascinated by Dudley, and I love Dudley redemption stories, so I just really wanted to try my hand at it. Up until now I've only written NCIS stories (check out my other account, NCIS Obsession) so it was a little difficult to switch gears into our favorite magical world.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think!

~Gryffinclaw99