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Chapter 1: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003585181

Tags: @Diantha Angelina Black @MeowTasticCat @Bellatrisblack

Chapter Two: The Invitation

By the time Harry arrived in the kitchen, the three Dursleys were already seated around the table. None of them looked up as he entered or sat down. Uncle Vernon’s large red face was hidden behind the morning’s Daily Mail, and Aunt Petunia was cutting a grapefruit into quarters, her lips pursed over her horselike teeth.

Dudley looked furious and sulky, and somehow seemed to be taking up even more space than usual. This was saying something, as he always took up an entire side of the square table by himself. When Aunt Petunia put a quarter of unsweetened grapefruit onto Dudley’s plate with a tremulous ‘There you are, Diddy darling,’ Dudley glowered at her. His life had taken a most unpleasant turn since he had come home for the summer with his end-of-year report.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had managed to find excuses for his bad marks as usual: Aunt Petunia always insisted that Dudley was a very gifted boy whose teachers didn’t understand him, while Uncle Vernon maintained that ‘he didn’t want some swotty little nancy boy for a son anyway.’ They also skated over the accusations of bullying in the report—‘He’s a boisterous little boy, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly!’ Aunt Petunia had said tearfully.

However, at the bottom of the report there were a few well chosen comments from the school nurse that not even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could explain away. No matter how much Aunt Petunia wailed that Dudley was big-boned, and that his poundage was really puppy fat, and that he was a growing boy who needed plenty of food, the fact remained that the school outfitters didn’t stock knickerbockers big enough for him anymore. The school nurse had seen what Aunt Petunia’s eyes—so sharp when it came to spotting fingerprints on her gleaming walls, and in observing the comings and goings of the neighbors—simply refused to see: that far from needing extra nourishment, Dudley had reached roughly the size and weight of a young killer whale.

So—after many tantrums, after arguments that shook Harry’s bedroom floor, and many tears from Aunt Petunia—the new regime had begun. The diet sheet that had been sent by the Smeltings school nurse had been taped to the fridge, which had been emptied of all Dudley’s favorite things—fizzy drinks and cakes, chocolate bars and burgers—and filled instead with fruit and vegetables and the sorts of things that Uncle Vernon called “rabbit food.” To make Dudley feel better about it all, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the whole family follow the diet too. She now passed a grapefruit quarter to Harry. He noticed that it was a lot smaller than Dudley’s. Aunt Petunia seemed to feel that the best way to keep up Dudley’s morale was to make sure that he did, at least, get more to eat than Harry.

But Aunt Petunia didn’t know what was hidden under the loose floorboard upstairs. She had no idea that Harry was not following the diet at all. The moment he had got wind of the fact that he was expected to survive the summer on carrot sticks, Harry had sent Hedwig to his family with pleas for help, and they had risen to the occasion magnificently. Hedwig had returned from Mould-on-the-Wold cottage with a large box stuffed full of non-perishable food such as granola bars, beef jerky, dried fruits, and crackers with little jars of peanut butter, jam, and honey. Harry’s Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted had sent a tin of homemade cookies of different varieties plus some different flavour juice boxes. Finally his beloved cousin Nymphadora had sent him a handful boxes of chocolate frogs and a bag of assorted soft drinks. Of course for his birthday and any other time he was home in Cotswolds Harry was treated to a proper meal. So Harry, looking forward to a real breakfast when he got back upstairs, he ate his grapefruit without complaint.

Uncle Vernon laid aside his paper with a deep sniff of disapproval and looked down at his own grapefruit quarter.

‘Is this it?’ he said grumpily to Aunt Petunia.

Aunt Petunia gave him a severe look, and then nodded pointedly at Dudley, who had already finished his own grapefruit quarter and was eyeing Harry’s with a very sour look in his piggy little eyes. Uncle Vernon gave a great sigh, which ruffled his large, bushy mustache, and picked up his spoon.

The telephone rang. Uncle Vernon heaved himself out of his chair and set off towards the landline. Quick as a flash, while his mother was occupied with the kettle, Dudley stole the rest of Uncle Vernon’s grapefruit.

Harry heard Uncle Vernon answering the telephone, then to Harry's surprise he called out for him, though his voice was full of disgust.

'You,' he barked at Harry. 'In the living room. Now.'

Aunt Petunia set the teapot down on the table and looked curiously around to see what was going on. Bewildered, wondering what on earth he was supposed to have done this time, Harry got up and followed Uncle Vernon out of the kitchen and into the next room. Uncle Vernon closed the door sharply behind both of them. Uncle Vernon looked livid.

'It's your freakish little brother, tell him you have two minutes.' He handed Harry the receiver, Harry had long since given up trying to explain to his muggle family that he had no little brother but they remained purposefully ignorant, instead he put the receiver to his ear.

'Hi Canini, my uncle is only giving me two minutes so be quick.'

Her voice was full of excitement, 'Harry go to the mirror right away, there is something incredible I want to tell you and I couldn't wait for you to go back to your room!'

'Ok, ok, ok. I will be right there.' Harry told her, then hung up the receiver and made his way towards the stairs. In the back ground he could hear Uncle Vernon getting upset over his missing Grapefruit. Outside in the hall he nearly ran into Dudley, who had been lurking behind the door, clearly hoping to overhear Harry being told off. He looked shocked to see the cheeky grin on Harry’s face.

'Great breakfast,' said Harry. 'really filling, no?'

Laughing at the astonished look on Dudley’s face, Harry took the stairs three at a time, and headed towards his bedroom where even from the other side of the door he could hear Canini's excited voice.

The first thing he saw when he entered was that Hedwig was back. She was sitting in her cage, having a short rest after her night hunting. Harry gave her a treat and his letter for Sirius. He then turned his attention to the books on his desk. Hidden between two of his school textbooks was a magical two-way mirror that had once belonged to his father, that Sirius had gifted him when he first started staying the summers with the Dursleys. When he held it up to his face it wasn't his own staring back.

His adopted little sister Canini Howling was staring back at him with her shoulder length blackish brown hair, and light hazel eyes. She had an olive skin tone and a round cute face that was starting to mature as she approached being twelve. Her face was still healing from the werewolf claw marks she had gotten protecting Harry and his friends a couple month back, Harry was still getting used to this change but he still knew his caring little sister was underneath them.

'Ok, what was so exciting that it could not wait,' Harry asked.

‘Paddy got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! He bought the best money can buy!’

Harry’s jaw dropped. He known that the match between Ireland and Bulgaria was coming up, but it was near impossible to get tickets and Remus had told him not to get his hopes up.

‘I can’t believe it. This isn’t a practice right. Please tell me you are telling the truth!’ Harry was now just as excited as his sister.

‘She is telling the truth.’ Theodore had come into view, his blueish-grey eyes were shining with eagerness. ‘We are all going. We leave for the game on Sunday.’

Canini couldn’t contain her joy anymore, ‘And Mr Weasley got his hands on some good tickets too so we’ll be going with them! Ginny must be so excited!’

Harry soon learned all the details. Their family, plus the Weasley’s, and some friends of the Weasley’s would all be traveling to the World Cup together on the coming Sunday. Remus had even secured some wolfsbane potion so that him and Canini could still go and just would transform peacefully in private. Sirius had also bought an extra ticket so that Harry could bring his friend Terence who would not have had the ability to go otherwise.

After hours of talking they all said their goodbyes and Harry put the mirror back between his books. It was only then that he realized that Hedwig hadn’t left yet with his letter for Sirius. She must have realized Harry was in a call with his home and that he might tell Sirius what happened personally without her needing to fly there. He hadn’t told Sirius though, so with a soft swooshing noise, she spread her enormous wings and soared out of the open window.

Harry watched her out of sight, then crawled under his bed, wrenched up the loose floorboard, and pulled out some cookies and a chocolate frog. He sat there on the floor eating it, savoring the happiness that was flooding through him. He had sweets, and Dudley had nothing but grapefruit; it was a bright summer’s day, he would be leaving Privet Drive on Sunday, his scar felt perfectly normal again, and he was going to watch the Quidditch World Cup. It was hard, just now, to feel worried about anything—even Lord Voldemort.