A Different Halloween

Chapter 43

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Saturday 26th May 1991.

Dudley had known for years this day would come and actually found himself comforting his mum. The Potter / Granger family had held a discussion on the subject earlier and she was now in his room to see if he was really all right with this.

"Honestly mum, I'm fine. This will work out for everybody. With you and dad now at Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione will be looked after. I'll be staying with Aunt Em and Uncle Dan who'll only have one kid to concentrate on, I'll probably end up spoilt rotten." Dudley's smile didn't seem to alleviate any of his mum's concerns so he kept going.

"I'll still be going to school with Luna and either you or dad will be home every weekend."

Lily felt terrible, almost as if he was abandoning her son. Hearing Dudley rationalising the situation just made her feel worse. "I'm really sorry son. Minerva is finding it just too difficult teaching and running Hogwarts. Your dad was faced with the choice of going full-time or quitting while she got someone else. With your dad, Harry and Hermione there full time..."

"Mum, please stop beating yourself up over this. I'll be fine at the Grangers and the whole family will be together for Christmas at the manor." They were both sitting on his bed as Dudley lent his head on his mum's shoulder.

"You've told us all the story of how you and my mother stopped being close when you headed off to Hogwarts. That's never going to happen with us, you've seen to that. I've been included in magic from the time we were old enough to know what magic was, I can do a lot of the stuff you don't need a wand for. You and my mother never had that chance. We've all got our mirrors and Uncle Remus is working on a special one as a surprise."

This had Lily wrap her arm around her boy, she was so proud of him. She was also curious though, having heard nothing about these 'special' mirrors.

Dudley explained some of it. "How do you think the girls would cope without their fix of Neighbours?(1) What would a Saturday night be for Harry and Neville without Match of the day? (2) Uncle Remus is working on ones that will enlarge to the size of a small TV screen and Uncle Dan has converted a camera tripod for me to use. I can tape the daily episodes of Neighbours and beam them to Hogwarts on a Sunday afternoon for Hermione and Susan. I'm hoping the guys will still be able to watch the football with Uncle Dan and me on a Saturday night."

This actually saw a slight smile play on Lily's lips. Dan had introduced all the kids to football, even taking them all to watch Crawley Town(3) play. Like most of the country, the BBC's Match of the Day on a Saturday night had become something of an institution in their family. Being able to continue that and giving the six kids the ability to chat any time they weren't in classes would certainly go a long way to maintaining the closeness the group had.

Dudley could see he was finally getting through to his worried mum, he hated to see her like this so pushed on. "Mum, Harry and Hermione are my two best friends. They are also like my brother and sister, being apart for a few months at a time isn't going to change that. We've been inseparable for nearly ten years, none of us have any wish or intention to grow apart."

Lily couldn't help but hug her boy. "I have the two best sons in the whole world."

"Hey, don't forget to put Hermione in there somewhere."

This released more of Lily's apprehension so Dudley continued in the same vein. "You know Hermione is already thinking about university? That girl has it all mapped out already, the three of us sharing a flat while we attend our courses. She's even planned for part-time jobs so we can stand on our own feet. Does that sound as if we're going to let anything part us?"

Lily had come in here with the intention of comforting her son, only to find he was the one doing the comforting. She thought there was at least one thing she could do to help keep his spirits up, and it was also time. "I don't think you'll need those part-time jobs son, you're old enough to be told this now. When your mother and father were killed, there was quite a bit of insurance money left to you. Your dad set it up in a trust fund that becomes available to you when you leave school."

Dudley didn't know how to feel or what to say about that, then it hit him. "Oh that means I'll be able to help Harry and Hermione out."

Lily was so proud of the way Dudley had grown up, he was always thinking of others before himself. "Dudley, you know what your dad's like."

Dudley got it at once. "He would have set funds up for all three of us! Do they know? Can I tell them?"

She could only smile and nod as Dudley gave her a quick peck on the cheek before shooting out the room to spread the good news. Lily couldn't help but think all four parents would be delighted if the three of them ended up at university together. She remembered Hermione asking her if it was possible to take a magical degree, or transfer to a muggle one with NEWTs. Lily had carefully explained the situation to her and it would appear the girl was already making plans. That both her boys would be included in those plans was a given.

Hermione's squeal of delight alerted Lily that all three kids now knew the secret. She wondered how long it would take Hermione to have her plans revised to take account of their new circumstances? On past form, not long at all. Dudley hadn't even asked what size his trust fund was, he just couldn't wait to tell his two best friends the good news.

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