The Cousin of Harry Potter

It was a beautiful day. Dudley Dursley was sitting in his room, playing his Playstation. He was not in his own house at Number four, Privet Drive, where he had been living for 17 years; where he and his parents had to leave. He was now in a rental house in a small town 4oo mile away from London. He was so focused on the Playstation that he didn’t notice when his mother was out shopping. Suddenly, he heard a smashing sound downstairs. Dudley stopped what he was doing and listened with all his might.

“Mom, is that you?” he asked uncertainly.

But there was no reply. Dudley went out of his room and walked down the stairs slowly and quietly with a stick in his hand. He was a bit frightened. Then he heard someone breaking something in the dining room. He walked quietly towards the dining room. Then he saw it. A man dressed in black and his face was covered by a mask, was putting everything valuable into the bag. He was stunned. It took a moment before he realised that a burglar had broken into the house. He did not know what to do. Then suddenly, even he did not know what made him.
“OI! This is MY house! YOU are stealing!” he said loudly.
Before he knew it, the man turned around and pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.
“Don’t do anything silly.” the man threatened.

So Dudley did not move. He didn't want the man steal anything from him, but yet he could not stop him. But he felt something that he never felt before was running through his veins. He raised his hand fiercely, still holding the stick. Then-BANG! The gun flew out of the man’s hand and something heavy was swinging towards him as something attached a magnet. The burglar was immediately knocked out unconsciously.

He could not believe his eyes. How on earth did he make those things happen? For a moment he considered ‘magic’. But it was impossible, he thought. His cousin had told him that he was a Muggle (non-magical people). How could he have done that? Dudley tried to trace back how it could happen to him? His mind was flying back to the past.

He had a cousin only several months younger than him, who was very different from other children. He bullied him all the time but still he had feared him from the bottom of his heart. His cousin Harry Potter could make something incredible happen without any reasons. Harry then went to a weird school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since he was eleven, which gave all the explanations of the crazy things because he was a wizard. He had always thought that his cousin was mental. But merely two years ago he was attacked by ‘dementor’ and it was his cousin who saved his neck. Since that he felt a rush of gratitude towards his cousin but couldn't say it. Afterwards, he felt something different growing inside him. He couldn’t say what the difference was, though he could sense it. He became more and more silent and kept distance from his gangsters. He watched his cousin carefully and tried to observe what made him a wizard. He sometimes read the weird books without been noticed. He grew curious and interests towards the weird world. He didn’t bully Harry any more as he used to and began to show some respect to his cousin. It was not just because Harry saved his life from the dementors, but…, he didn’t know why. Somehow something had changed him.

Then one month ago, Harry asked them to leave their house at Number 4, Privet Drive and came to this small town with their names changed. He explained why they must do it because the Lord Voldemort was back and after he was 17 years old, the protection on this house and the members of the house would break. Then the Death Eaters might kill them all. Vernon, his father was so furious that he refused to leave. It was Dudley persuaded his father to go, protected by Kingsley from the Phoenix Order- the guy often appeared on TV, standing beside the Prime Minister of Britain.

On the way to this small town, Kingsley briefly instructed them how to react when there was a risk and how to contact him if he was needed. He said that Harry would not go to the school, but he didn’t know where Harry would go and what he would do. When there was a time only himself and Kingsley in the car (his parents went to buy some burgers), Kingsley said to him: “I knew you were different from who you had been. Maybe you already sensed the strength inside you. Follow the strength and don’t fear it. Use it.” Then he passed him a stick and a book seriously.

Now he held the stick – a wand in fact which he got from Kingsley a month ago. He had the magic power eventually when he was now 17. He was a bit of proud of himself, though still shaky like a leaf. Suddenly he found his mother was standing beside him.
“I didn’t know what happened.”
“It’s all right dear.” said his mother.

Dudley looked up and saw his mother’s face whiten.

“You are just like Harry.” said his mother in a rather tired voice. “Well, you know why Harry is in our house. But you don’t know I once applied to enter the Hogwarts School when I was young. Well I received a letter from the headmaster who refused to accept me because I was a Muggle. I was different from my sister Lily who had the talent but I didn’t. I used to envy her so much that I envied her son Harry as well, who was born as a wizard but you were not.” said his mother. “But still the blood, you have wizard gene. You’re just late matured. Don’t panic. It will be alright.”

That night Dudley couldn’t fall in asleep. He watched the wand again and again, thinking what he was going to do. He opened the book which Kingsley gave him and found it was a thin book about how to concentrate with the strength and sense the tie between kin. He followed the book and tried very hard to sense the tie between Harry and himself. He could feel something but couldn’t really see them.

The next couple of months, Dudley practiced very hard, at school or at home. He concentrated on the book and imagined he had sensed the connection with his cousin.

Then, the day came. Dudley was doing practice as usual in his room after school. He was imagining how he could help Harry, when he felt something fell into his pocket. It was a stone, crystal clear. He held it tightly and felt like electrified. Watching it carefully and closely, he could tell the unusual stone has life – a sort of magic life.

“Where did you come from? What do you want me to do?” Dudley asked the stone. The stone was shining, with light twisting.

Since then, Dudley was bringing the stone all the time. He put the stone in a very tiny silk bag and wore it like a necklace. Now he could sense the tie with Harry. He could tell the mood of Harry from time to time – his worry, his sorrow, his joy, and his despair.

Time passed quickly. One night, Dudley was woken up suddenly. The stone on his chest was burning. He could hear Harry was murmuring: “Where is it? Now I’m ready to die.” He got up immediately, put on his cloth and ready. But where was he going? He didn’t know. He just told himself and the stone that he was ready now. He took out the stone from the silk bag and grasped it so tight that he could feel the pain of his palm. Take me to him. He demanded. Suddenly, the stone was getting red, like ruby, still crystal clear. Dudley felt dizzy when he was suddenly swirling and swirling, dropped into deep darkness.

Dudley found now he was in a scary forest. Silent and dark, the moon was hidden behind clouds. He opened his hand, the light from the stone twisting. Then the stone jumped from his hand and fell on the ground. He heard steps from somewhere. Hiding himself behind a giant tree, he could see the tiny stone shining. Then, he found his cousin Harry Potter walking towards the stone. He found the stone he needed. Dudley didn’t know the stone was one of the three deathly hallows, which was purposely hidden in him - the kin of Harry. When Harry was ready to die, his cousin Dudley would bring it back to him. Both Dudley and Harry knew nothing about this plan – a perfect plan from Dumbledore, who was the former headmaster of Hogwarts School.

Dudley saw how Harry confronted with Voldemort and how Voldemort was killed by the bounce of his own killing curse. The stone together with the invisible cloak and the elder wand – the three deathly hallows together protected Harry Potter from the killing curse and bounced it to Voldemort himself. He knew Harry didn’t see him and didn’t even know he was here to assist him.

“It doesn’t matter” said Dudley to himself. “I understand him now.”