Dudley wasn't interested in books and reading. Due to Harry's help, he was doing well enough at school but never tried reading for fun. Playing games was much more interesting for him.
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Still, after seeing Harry and Hermione pouring over some big and heavy books his attention was attracted. "What do you find so interesting in these books?" he asked.
Hermione was the one who answered. "We find information about magic and how it's used in daily life, how magical folk do things, how they think and what they think about people without magic. It's fascinating."
Discover moreCompare WindowsCompare MattressesGet Writing ToolsLearn DIY SkillsBrowse Art Prints"When I have to read, I'd rather read adventures. They're not boring, at least." Dudley's answer surprised nobody.
Harry responded to that. "There are also adventures here, of course. They are very different from what we normally read and more interesting, at least for me."
Dudley shrugged. "Many adventure books have wizards and witches in them. The Wizard of Oz is one and Narnia stories are another example. What's so different?"
"Those stories are only fiction, which means they are not about real events, only imaginary ones. These books tell about real people. You already know that magic is real, don't you?" Hermione said.
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Dudley scratched his head. "I'm not too sure. It looks like I did some things that seemed magical, but I didn't have any control over them. You've mentioned doing things intentionally, I believe."
Discover moreFind Study AidsLearn a LanguagePrep for TestsHire ArchitectsHire ContractorsHarry smiled. "I believe you also did some things intentionally, although you may have not noticed at the time. You wanted to punish your Aunt and her dog when they misbehaved although you didn't quite consider how to do it. You also wanted to score in the ball game when you made the ball fly all the way to the other side of the field. I think you have quite a bit of magic in you, no less than either Hermione or I have."
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Dudley sighed. "Dad wouldn't like it. He barely tolerated these events, you know. Doing it intentionally may be too much for him." He then smirked. "Can't you teach me a bit?"
Harry shrugged. "We don't know that much yet, but we can teach you what we already know. Then, you may try to tell us what you thought or wished when things happened around you and we may try to replicate the deeds. That's how we learn, you know."
It was a very new experience for Dudley, who normally was on the receiving side of tutoring. It was also beneficial in more than one way as it forced him to exercise his memory and retrieve memories, not all recent. He didn't know it, but trying to tutor Harry and Hermione would also lead to him becoming a better student.
Discover moreFan fiction merchandiseAuthor collaboration toolsDigital book publishingStory writing promptsFan art commissionsThey were so busy trying to recall, understand, and replicate, that they didn't notice the passage of time. The adults did, of course. Mrs Granger came and knocked on the partly open door. "It's time to say goodbye and start for the road, dear. You all have school tomorrow and we still need more than an hour's drive to reach home."
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Hermione knew better than to argue. She said her goodbyes and also told Dudley, "I hope you can come along with Harry next time. We need to finish learning what you did and we need to teach you what we already know. Please come!"
Dudley smiled reluctantly. "Alright, I'll come. I wanted to learn a bit from you but ended up teaching you instead. You still owe me."
All three smiled at that.
–..–
Discover moreMattressesFan fiction booksWriting softwareCreative writing coursesOnline writing communityThey didn't waste time on other things when they met next. The Granger parents even encouraged them to try some magic in the backyard and to only ensure nobody else would see anything.
They started by trying to catch a ball that flew in a different direction. Dudley, as the one who had already done it and even taught the others, was the first to succeed. It didn't yet work perfectly for him but he could force the ball his way about one out of three tries. Even that achievement meant a lot to Dudley.
Harry needed longer to practice until he caught the main points. He then excelled at it, catching almost every ball thrown, even ones going the opposite direction.
Hermione needed a lot of contemplation before even trying. She then needed a few "trial runs" before her first success. She then did quite well, managing to catch every ball that went even roughly in her direction. She couldn't yet put enough power to completely change the course of the other balls, but she was confident she would, given some more practice.
Discover moreWriting contest entriesRead BestsellersbookBooksShop Kids' Books"You can practice with each other in your backyard. I think it's almost as well protected as mine," Hermione told the boys.
"And you can ask one of your parents to throw the ball for you. They seem to like helping you with this, unlike my uncle," Harry replied. Dudley only grimaced at that.
Hermione then frowned. "But we still have so much to teach and learn! Dudley also sent a ball to the other side of the field and slammed a grown-up and a dog to the wall. I can summon my books and I also punished some girls who acted nastily towards me. Harry… well, what can you do with your magic?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean, whatever you taught me I did well enough, but I can't remember anything special. Oh, I spoke to a snake, but I don't think I can teach you that. Minnie said it was something one is either born with or not, like the colour of your eyes."
Dudley was compelled to add, "I could understand it too, but I'm not sure I could speak to snakes. Never tried, though."
Hermione frowned at that. "It may be something you inherited from your common ancestors. I wonder if I inherited anything special." She then shrugged. "It may also be something I can only find when we're older, I suppose."
–..–
It took them a few more meetings until they could say they had good control of a thrown ball, regardless of which direction it initially went. Since Dudley had done it first and needed less practice, Harry started teaching him some other stuff he'd learned with Hermione while she was still practising with the ball.
They next tried to replicate the way Dudley had banished both Marge and her dog and stuck them to a wall. Not wanting to risk harming anybody, Hermione found an old baby mattress that was stuck in the attic and used it as the target.
Dudley was less confident about this. He hadn't thought clearly at that time and couldn't trust his vague memories of that event. Harry still tried to encourage him. "Imagine that this is Aunt Marge and she's acting nastily towards me. You may even close your eyes if that can help you."
It took several tries, but Dudley eventually succeeded in replicating that deed. The mattress flew to the nearby wall and stayed stuck on it until released.
Hermione took the lead, interrogating Dudley about what he thought, how he felt, and what he may have told his magic unknowingly. It was a new experience for Dudley, but he quite liked it. Unlike adults, who usually questioned him to find his errors or his misdeeds, Hermione wanted to understand and help him understand it too. Besides, he found her quite pleasant, although he had no doubt that she and Harry belonged together.
Once Hermione (and Harry, too) finished interrogating Dudley, all three of them understood much better how he did that and how they could do the same if ever needed.
"We now need to practise until we can do it with no problems whenever we want. It can help protect us from bullies or worse," Hermione said.
"Do you suffer from bullies at school?" Harry sounded quite appalled by the mere thought.
Hermione squirmed uncomfortably. "Not exactly, but some of my classmates don't like me. They usually only call me names and laugh behind my back. Only once I was subjected to physical bullying, but the teachers stopped it immediately."
"It's still wrong!" both Dudley and Harry said.
Hermione shrugged. "It doesn't matter any longer, now that I know I'll be rid of them after I reach eleven. Then, I'll have the two of you to protect me, if I can't."
Both nodded solemnly.
–..–
Hermione managed to reach Diagon Alley in the middle of the week, This time, she bought some books about spells. Although she was sure they wouldn't be able to do any spell as written in the books before reaching Hogwarts, she thought that they could use their magic the same way they had done with other matters. Just like she summoned her books without spells, or banished that mattress into a wall or even changed the colour of her dress, she could do the same things as the spells did but using her own methods. Well, theirs. It was becoming a combined effort of Harry and Dudley along with her.
When they next met during the weekend, these spells proved simple enough for them to master quite a few during that not-very-long visit.
"In a way, these are much simpler than what we've been doing until now. It's like these are simple elements while we combine them and others to do much more complex tasks." Dudley was already much better at expressing himself, mainly due to Hermione's influence.
Harry added, "Yes, it is like these are building blocks while we're using walls or complete buildings. Still, I think we'd better know all the building blocks before building something more complex."
Hermione nodded. She then had an idea. "How about playing some ball games while using only magic, no touching? That can also help us improve our control, you know."
She got two enthusiastic "Yes!" in response.
–..–
One of the books Hermione had bought mentioned apparition and gave a very short explanation about it. That was enough to push her and Harry to try it. Dudley was dragged along, not quite sure what he wanted.
"Unlike the times I bring a book to me or banish something away, apparition requires us to let our magic work on our bodies," Hermione explained in a lecture tone. Harry was sure that some children might dislike her for that tone, but he considered it cute.
"We must imagine our body and our clothes, along with anything else we may carry one way or another, at the destination. We then need to instruct our magic to make that real. In a way it's no different than making a book come to where I want it, only this time, I'm also the target of this magic." Hermione's explanations made sense to Harry. Dudley needed some more detailed explanation, but he eventually understood just the same.
They then tried apparating from one corner of the backyard to another. It took a few false tries before each succeeded, but they all managed it within an hour.
"It's nice to be able to move that way, but it's not very useful if we only move a short distance away. Can't we do it over longer distances?" Dudley was the practical one, this time.
Hermione gave it some thought, but it was Harry who responded first. "We may try going this way to my room. I left the door closed, so it should be safe enough, and you both know where it is. I'll go to the foot of the bed. You should each choose a different place, or you may end one on top of the other."
Harry didn't wait. He quickly concentrated and vanished, reappearing in his room at the Dursleys'.
He had no time to think of his achievement as Hermione and Dudley materialised in the room within seconds.
"We did it!" Hermione cried enthusiastically.
"Shush, Hermione. My uncle may not like it very much. Let's go back now, each to where we stood before coming here."
Indeed, they could already hear Vernon's heavy steps as he mounted the stairs. They vanished all at once, making practically no sound. When Vernon opened the door, the room was just as empty as it had been after the children left with Petunia to visit the Grangers. He sighed and closed the door.
He was quite sure he heard correctly. Well, he'd accepted Harry's magic and Dudley's too. He should be able to tolerate it further, as there seemed not to be any way back. At least Dudley seemed to do much better at school since he was joining Harry and his friend.