Life as a baby was uneventful.
After all, even if they wanted to stir up trouble, they simply didn't have the ability.
Ever since adjusting her mindset, Ashley had been getting along quite well with Dudley.
Perhaps it was the mysterious bond between twins, or simply the result of spending every day together, but there were moments when Dudley seemed to understand Ashley without a single word exchanged.
By the time they were around one year old, both Ashley and Dudley had begun to speak, and their relationship became even more… "close."
Every morning, Dudley would wake up and call out, "Ashley! Ashley!" without stopping.
He was clearly a little glutton, fiercely protective of his food. Anything placed in front of him was off-limits to everyone else. Whoever touched it got hit. If he couldn't win, he would burst into tears. A proper little tyrant.
Except…
There was one person he didn't dare challenge.
Ashley couldn't help but sigh at that. As twins, their physical strength was completely unmatched. One was like a sturdy little calf, the other like a fragile chick.
But if brute force didn't work, she used something softer.
And somehow, she seemed to know instinctively how to handle him.
Their first real "battle" happened not long after they started eating solid food.
Dudley had boldly snatched Ashley's apple puree.
Ashley didn't even like apples that much, but she wanted variety. More importantly, who did he think he was, taking her food?
Without hesitation, she started crying.
Ashley rarely cried. At least, Dudley had never seen it before.
Whenever she needed something, she would simply make small sounds to alert Petunia or Vernon. She was easy to care for. And because she had been weak since birth, they unconsciously favored her a little more.
So when she cried, not only was Dudley stunned, even Vernon and Petunia panicked.
And Ashley didn't cry loudly.
She sniffled softly, eyes glistening with tears, looking utterly wronged as she stared straight at Dudley.
Faced with this, one-year-old Dudley followed pure instinct.
Avoid danger.
He quietly pushed the bowl of apple puree back toward her.
Sure enough, the anger on Vernon's face disappeared, replaced by satisfaction.
Still, Dudley couldn't escape being carried off for a "lesson."
From that day on, he had a firm rule drilled into him.
"Your sister is weak. You took her nutrients before she was born. You must not bully her. You must take care of her."
And that rule stayed with him for years.
After that, Dudley would dare to grab food from Vernon, Petunia, even Marge.
But never Ashley.
Sometimes, if Ashley wanted something of his, all she had to do was give him a pitiful look.
No matter how reluctant he was, he would hand it over.
Of course, it wasn't as if Ashley treated him badly.
Her appetite wasn't even half of Dudley's. She would eat what she liked and leave the rest to him.
So in Dudley's mind, his sister only took a little, but gave him a lot.
And so, he happily followed her around, day after day.
…
Time passed quickly.
By October 1981, both Ashley and Dudley were already toddling around unsteadily.
The closer it got to the end of the month, the more complicated Ashley's feelings became.
She couldn't change what was coming.
But she couldn't help feeling sad.
Petunia had never once mentioned her sister's family, as if they didn't exist.
Yet toward Ashley and Dudley, she was a truly devoted mother, willing to give them everything she had.
After giving birth, she had quit her clerical job and become a full-time homemaker.
Watching her care for them day after day, keeping the house spotless, always busy yet never complaining…
It was impossible not to feel moved.
Sometimes, Ashley even wondered…
What if there were no magical world at all?
What if they were just an ordinary family?
She and Dudley would go to school, make friends, graduate, work, maybe even marry and have children.
They might still have flaws.
But they would be happy.
No fear. No suffering. No harm done to Harry. No judgment from others.
Wouldn't that be enough?
…
November 1st.
Just after October ended, Vernon let out a startled exclamation.
Ashley knew.
Harry had arrived.
By the time Ashley and Dudley were cleaned up and placed on the carpet in front of the fireplace to play, she finally saw him.
A child even smaller than her sat quietly on the rug.
He looked around timidly, fiddling absentmindedly with a toy.
The lightning-shaped scar on his forehead said everything.
Dudley noticed a stranger playing with his toys and immediately grew upset.
He struggled to his feet, toddled over, and shoved Harry.
Harry fell backward onto the carpet.
His lips trembled, his eyes filled with grievance, but he didn't cry.
Surrounded by strangers, without his parents, he didn't dare.
The sight made Ashley's heart ache.
It was impossible not to like a child like this.
She walked over to Dudley first, looking at him seriously.
"Dudley. Pushing… is wrong."
Seeing her expression, Dudley lowered his head obediently.
"…Okay."
He turned and sat down elsewhere, picking up another toy to play with.
Ashley understood.
That was his way of giving in.
She then went to Harry, carefully helping him sit up, placing a toy gently into his hands.
Harry looked up at her.
Ashley smiled warmly.
He said nothing, only lowered his head again and continued playing quietly.
Ashley sighed inwardly.
It's alright. Take it slow.
On the sofa, Petunia and Vernon had been watching everything.
But neither of them felt like praising their daughter at that moment.
Vernon's attention was on Petunia.
She held a letter in her hands, her expression conflicted and heavy.
Vernon had clearly already read it.
Now he was waiting for her decision.
Memories of Lily flooded Petunia's mind.
She could hardly believe it.
Her sister, the one everyone thought perfect, was gone.
The sister who always shone so brightly that Petunia felt invisible beside her.
The sister who had everything, stirring both admiration and jealousy.
The sister who had always cared about her, even when Petunia chose to turn away.
Petunia had once believed their paths would never cross again.
And yet…
This was how she heard the news.
After a long while, she steadied herself.
But the question in the letter remained.
She looked at the child on the floor.
His eyes were just like Lily's.
But…
Could she really take him in?