Oliver Dursley And The Secrets Of Hogwarts

Chapter 3: Professor Longbottom

Oliver stared at his mother. Was this some sort of elaborate joke? He wondered; but this wasn't his mother's style, and she did look awfully faint.
"Um, okay mom," he said carefully taking the letters from her shaking hands. "Why don't we sit you down, we can talk about this, um, later."
1 Ann fell forward to her son, grabbing the front of his shirt. "You don't believe me?" She looked at him desperately, "you have to believe me Oliver, it's true! We must get the house ready for this Longbutter fellow, he'll explain it all to you!"
"Okay sure mom, but we have three hours." He said soothingly, walking her over to the sitting room. "Why don't you just take a moment to breathe first." Ann nodded and sat down, she stared at her son who read the letters again.
After a few minutes, he finally said, "so really, what is this about?"
Ann threw her hands up in the air, "I'm telling you, you're a wizard. And this is a school for wizards, and they're inviting you to go and learn magic and what-not, and quite honestly I didn't fully believe it until this letter came, but that pretty much solidifies the fact, now doesn't it?" She was talking so quickly, she had to catch her breath now.
"How long have you known I was a wizard?" Oliver asked cautiously, wondering how long it has been that his mother's mental state had started to crack, and he hadn't noticed. What a terrible son he must be!
"Since May."
"Ah." The two sat in silence, and he looked back at his letter. He started to read his booklist out loud again, "A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot, The Rise And Fall Of Lord Vol...deee-mort, by Harry Potter." Ann gasped at the name, causing Oliver to look up.
   "It's him! He's the one!" She was pointing wildly at the letter, "he's the one who explained it all to us!"
   "This Lord guy?"
   "No, Harry Potter!" Ann was up now and pacing, "he came down the fireplace and made things fly, and he said you could do it too!" Oliver's mouth was hanging open now, his mother had completely lost it.
   Just as he was grappling about what to say next, his father came bursting through the back door, panting as he called for his wife. "Ann!" He called, "Ann, I have just received news, the you-know-what is coming today! Ann!" He rushed into the living room where his son and wife were facing opposite each other, the letter already held in Oliver's hand.
   "Oh." Was all Dudley could manage to say. A moment passed and when nobody said anything he continued, "well I expect your mother has explained it all to you?"
   "Not at all, actually." Oliver cast a look at Ann who was now biting her nails. "And honestly dad, if you start telling me I'm a wizard too, I-"
   "You are."  Dudley interrupted. "And you're not the only one in the family."
   "Oh so you and mom are too?" Oliver asked mockingly, cracking a smile. "How ever did you keep this from me?"
   "No, not us. Your second cousin Harry."
   "Cousin Harry? Who on earth is Cousin Harry?" He looked back at his list, "could this be the Harry Potter on my book list?" He asked. Dudley nodded. "Okay so, why don't you have magic?"
   "Grandma Petunia's sister Lilly had magic. She passed it down to her son, Harry. I guess the gene is in Grandma Petunia's lineage or something, boy I don't know!"
   Dudley was growing agitated, he never imagined that magic would come back into his life. He thought for sure once they left the house 20 years ago, left Harry behind to defeat Voldemort, he thought they had closed the door on all of it.
   "What I do know, is this is real. And it all ads up. You my son, have always created oddities. One time, when you were just a tyke, you let go of a balloon, and when you jumped to get it, you must have gone at least 6 feet high. I should have known then. Or the time we wouldn't buy you a Captain Ratton action figure, and somehow three of them ended up in your bedroom." He rubbed his face with his hand, "oh boy. I should have known then." Ann let out a squeak of protest.
   Dudley took the letters from Oliver and scanned over them. "Oh look, someone will be here to explain at 6 o'clock. Thank goodness." He handed the letters back to Oliver.
   "Why don't we hold our questions until then." Oliver was stating at the letters back in his hands now, as if he were seeing them for the first time. "I think it would be best to show you some proof."