Open Day

Dear Mr Dursley,

I would like to invite you, and the rest of your family, on behalf of the rest of the school to the Hogwarts Open Days. The open day has been newly introduced and is hoping to be a great success. As Hogwarts is such a large school you will be designated a day on which to come, the day you and your family have been designated is 21st June- 23rd (which is also the last day of term). Kindly return the owl with an answer.

Yours sincerely

Professor M. McGonagall,

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The cursed letter had arrived early that warm June morning, and it had arrived in the cursed way, by owl. You might think, oh they live with a wizard, it'll be fine. If you thought that, you were wrong, so wrong I cannot begin to tell you how wrong you were. After Vernon Dursley had been returned from the hospital (he had had a near heart attack on receiving the letter) that night he and Petunia Dursley had burnt the letter, they had not mentioned it since.

So on June 21st when a serious woman with long flowing green robes and a matching hat turned up at their door step Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley (who had been suspended from school for a week) stared at her with shock.

"Didn't you learn it's rude to stare? I am Professor McGonagall," the woman announced sharply, and without waiting for a reply stepped inside the gleaming household. "I am here to escort you to Hogwarts, we shall be leaving in three minutes and forty five, forty four seconds."

"Excuse me?" Vernon asked completely bewildered by the sudden appearance of this strange woman.

"You heard me Dursley, get your overnight things and extra clothes and we shall be leaving."

"Listen here, we are not going to that freak school for a day and nobody can make us!" the eldest Dursley fumed.

"Yes you are, you did not return the owl so we assumed that you would be delighted to go, and as all the preparations have been planned out it is impossible for you not to except." McGonagall explained calmly as she looked straight into the anger filled, piggy eyes. With that she grabbed the Dursleys and forced them to touch an old deflated football.

One second later the Dursleys were sprawled on the Great Hall floor as Professor McGonagall stood above them. "We have done some minor adjustments to the schools security, which allows Muggles, sorry non magic people, to come inside and us to portkey straight into the Great Hall. You cannot leave the school until you are escorted out by a member of staff so please don't try. Potter will be here in a minute, until then I shall leave you to talk to the rest of the parents. Today their will be seven families here, one from each year group. There's your nephew, I'll call him over. Potter your family is here."

"So how come you came." Harry said coldly as soon McGonagall had left. Harry, being eighteen and in eighth year of Hogwarts (they had set up another of Hogwarts, so people could make up for the time the missed) was taller than Dudley could remember him, more intimidating, his eyes looked too old for his body, full of grief and there was something Dudley couldn't recognise on his cousins face, happiness. Harry was wearing his full length Hogwarts robes, his Quidditch captain badge (he had been reinstated Quidditch captain the moment he came back to school) gleamed, and his hair looked unruly as usual.

"We were dragged here by some you know what against our will." Vernon Dursley snarled.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what a you know what is." Harry replied pleasantly, obviously realising how much fun he could have with the three of them that day.

"Boy, stop playing with me." growled Uncle Vernon.

"Fine. First on the list." Harry pulled out a piece of paper from his robes, "go to your common room and introduced your family and friends."

When Harry reached the common room all the Dursleys were ready to have a nervous break down, moving staircase, fine they were like escalators, but talking portraits and people waving wands in every place they looked was too much. "Hi everyone, I'm supposed to introduce everyone to my Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley." The whole of Gryffindor tower erupted in boos. Uncle Vernon turned from bright red, to a bloody scarlet to a dark purple. But Dudley didn't hear the boos, he was watching someone. The girl had long red hair, and a beautiful face, Dudley loved her.

"OK, this is Ron, he's my best mate," A tall, gangly, red headed, boy stepped forward from his position by Hermione, he had a very freckled face which was full of suppressed anger. Harry carried on introducing people who Dudley couldn't care less about until he reached the girl, "and this is Ginny, she Ron's sister and my girlfriend." Dudley didn't think, he just punched Harry so hard that he staggered into his fellow wizards. Harry drew his wand and Dudley shrank back towards his mother and father.

"Why, in the name of Merlin's pants, did you just hit me?" Harry growled in anger, and a little surprise.

"Potter, hand over the wand, as you cannot restrain yourself from threatening your family it shall be confiscated for the day." Professor McGonagall had appeared in the Portrait Hole.

"But Professor." Harry moaned.

"Potter, you are nearly eighteen you should be able to last a day without your wand."

"Fine." He said handing over the precious object. After Professor McGonagall left Ginny drew her wand.

"So you are Harry's family. Lets see, you've got no neck, very purple, and a very big moustache, obviously Vernon." She indicated Vernon, then turning to Petunia she said. "You've got a too long neck, and too neat, easily Petunia." As she passed Dudley, "You are a fat little pig, who has used my boyfriend for a punching bag as long as he's lived and today you are going to pay." Then Dudley said something even more stupid than he normally did.

"You're really pretty." Harry and Ron launched themselves at him. Hermione could calm down Ron, and she did, but nobody could control Harry. He and Dudley scrabbled around on the floor, punched kicked and biting, until Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the neck.

"Boy, how dare you abuse my son." he boomed, Harry gasped for breath through his constricted wind pipe. Then something hit Vernon Dursley, something that Harry recognised as Ginny's Bat Bogey Hex.

"I'll take the hex off you if you promise not to hit or strangle Harry." Ginny told them.

"I promise we'll never again." Aunt Petunia promised, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tended to a Dudley with a black eye and watched Uncle Vernon trying to throw off the hex. Ginny waved her wand and Uncle Vernon was free.

"Thanks Ginny." Harry said, taking large gulps of air and massaging his throat.

Lunch was an uncomfortable affair. Uncle Vernon told his family not to touch any of the food while Dudley secretly shovelled anything he could into his fat mouth. After lunch there was to be a small presentation in the Great Hall on the history of Hogwarts.

Dudley found the presentation immensely boring, well he found it immensely boring until his cousins name was mentioned.

In 1992 Slytherin's monster was once again unleashed, pupils were attacked until a student was taken into the chamber its self. The student that was taken was Ginny Weasley, in her first year at the time now in her seventh. Ginny's brother and best friend would stop at nothing to save the girl. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley rose from the chamber victorious, Harry Potter being slayer of the Basilisk with the legendary sword of Gryffindor.

The room exploded with applause at this as Harry blushed and Ginny gave him a very large hug.

In 1994 Hogwarts held the Tri-Wizard tournament once again. Two other Wizarding schools can to participate in this contest, Beauxbatons Academe of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. The Beauxbaton champion was Fleur Delacour, (now Fleur Weasley), Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum and the Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory, (who tragically died at the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named) and after a small mishap with the Goblet Of Fire, Harry Potter too, was named a Hogwarts champion. All was well until the third task in which the Tri-Wizard cup transported the two winners,Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter, too a graveyard where Cedric Diggory was murdered and Harry Potter witnessed the Dark Lord's return.

A few tears fell down the cheeks of some of the viewers as Cedric Diggory's death was mentioned.

In 1996 Albus Dumbledore died, he fell from the Astronomy Tower as the most loved Headmaster in Hogwarts history. But soon after his death (1997) Hogwarts was left in mercy to He Who Must Not Be named and his followers. That year was the darkest Hogwarts had ever faced, screams of tortured pupils constantly echoed through the corridors. Later that year Harry Potter, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger returned to the school as the Chosen One, our single hope. He stood in front of the Killing Curse for us and survived, we are all in debt to The Boy Who Lived, who killed Lord Voldemort with his own curse and showed the world that love is more powerful than any spell.

The crowds cheered and wiped tears from their eyes as The Boy (or man) Who Lived looked down at the table beaming through his blushes.

"So you're famous here, huh?" Dudley grunted to the tomato coloured eighteen year old.

"Um, sorta." He muttered back.

"He's a legend, but to modest to admit it." Ginny grinned as he blushed an even deeper red, and Dudley began to scowl.

Then, just as Ginny leaned in for a kiss, Harry jumped up causing Ginny to promptly fall off the bench.

"Merlin Harry, are to trying to get me to break my nose?" Ginny screamed as she pulled herself back onto her seat.

"Sorry Gin, a whale just stepped on my foot at the same time your dear brother sent a stinging hex at me." Harry glared at his cousin and Ron.

"Yeah, that's because nobody wants to puke up their lunch." Ron replied sneakily.

"Don't you call my son a whale!" Uncle Vernon bellowed as he digested what Harry had said.

"Well put him on a diet, then it wont be so hard to mistake him as one." Harry yelled back, causing Ginny, Ron and Hermione to snigger heartily.

"Don't back talk me boy." Vernon growled as he swung his heavy fist at Harry, who ducked hurriedly.

"Mr Dursley, I cannot have you abusing my students." McGonagall had walked down from the staff table towards the small group on the Gryffindor table.

"He's my nephew, I can treat him however I feel it is appropriate to treat him." Vernon said boldly.

"However you are in my school, and must abide by my laws." The oldest Dursley turned purple at this and stalked out of the Great Hall, closely followed by his family.

"Do you think he knows where he's going Potter." McGonagall asked as she watched the small family walk out of the Great Hall.

"Nope." Harry yawned. "I'm not going after them though."

"To be honest, Potter, I wouldn't have expected you to." McGonagall replied, before walking back up to the Staff table.

Chapter 2

"So, did you get it?" Harry asked Ron, when the snores of their room mates filled the dark dormitory.

"Yeah, you?" Ron whispered back.

"Uh huh, d'you think they'll like it?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I dunno mate, let's hope so."

"Night." Harry said, rolling over in bed.

"Night." Ron yawned.

The next morning Ron woke up, saw Harry was not going to regain consciousness any time soon, and made is way down to the common room, where Hermione and Ginny were waiting.

"Where's Harry? He needs to meet the Dursleys in McGonagall's office in quarter of an hour." Hermione asked.

"Good morning to you to. He's sleeping." Ron replied placing a kiss on Hermione's cheek.

"I'll wake him." Ginny said exasperatedly.

When Ginny reached the dormitory she wandered over to Harry's bed and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, Harry murmured,

"Ginny, wassa matter." through his semi-conscious state and she bent closer to his ear and yelled into his ear,

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUTT!" this had the desired effect as Harry got caught up in his bed sheets and toppled onto the floor at Ginny's feet.

"Blimey Ginny, you had to wake him like that?" Dean Thomas asked from the far bed, as groans issued from the other two beds, which were occupied by Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan.

Ginny ignored them and turned to Harry.

"Get dressed and come downstairs." she commanded.

"'K" Harry yawned as he ran a hand through the messy black hair.

Twenty minutes later Harry tumbled through McGonagall's office door.

"Sorry I'm late Professor, I overslept." he muttered as he took a seat next to the equally tired looking Dudley.

"It's perfectly alright Potter. We are here to talk about what you shall do today with the Dursleys as we have already settled that they are staying until the last day of term."

"Oh." Harry managed to say as he yawned behind his hand.

"Today there shall be no events for you to attend to so Harry will show you around some more and introduce you to more people as everybody is having the last two days off school and tonight is a Thursday, and Harry runs a club on Thursdays so you shall attend that with him." McGonagall finished. "You may now leave." With that Harry left with the Dursleys.

"Boy, where are we going?" Vernon growled.

"To breakfast." Harry said dully without looking back. They all travelled to breakfast and once that had finished they headed to the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey Ron?" Harry shouted to his friend.

"Yeah mate."

"Dudley here is chess champion in his old school, why don't you have a game?" Vernon nodding in agreement, he would agree to anything his son might win in and he couldn't wait to show up some wizards.

"Alright." Ron grinned, and started showing Dudley the rules of wizarding chess as Harry looked around for Ginny.

Finally he found her sitting by the window as her friends chattered about something which she didn't have the remotest interest in. Harry walked over to the gaggle of girls who began giggling uncontrollably. Harry ignored them and tapped Ginny on the shoulder who jumped out of her revelry and smiled at him.

"Hi." she said.

"Hi. Gin, will you come with me for a second, I need some help." Harry asked as the giggles of the other girls became louder.

"Yeah, sure." As she followed him out the corridor.

"Do you have any of The Weasley Wizard Wheezes stink bomb collection?"

"Yes, why?"

"I have a plan." Harry grinned mischievously.

The rest of the day passed with nothing of particular interest happening, the Dursleys huddled in a dark corner while Harry laughed along with his friends.

"Oi, Dursleys!" The Dursleys looked up from the dark corner which they had vacated all day. Vernon looked at him angrily, Petunia looked fearful and Dudley just gazed past Harry, a dribble of drool collecting at the corner of his mouth. "Come with me, it's time for my club." the Dursleys grunted as they stood up to follow Harry. "Hey Gin, coming to help set up DA." Harry asked Ginny who was listening to Ron and Hermione's conversation with a look of through boredom on her freckled face. She jumped up immediately.

"Yes!" she cried in relief. "I just need to grab my wand from my trunk." with this Ginny ran upstairs to her dormitory. Dudley's eyes followed her in confusion, he had been watching her carefully for the past hour and she had used her wand twice without going to her dormitory once.

After a few seconds Ginny ran back downstairs