It was a lovely night for travelling, thought Harry, as he looked up into the night sky. It was a mild December night and all around him Harry could hear carols being sung from the nearby houses and lights twinkling from nearby windows. Yes, thought Harry, of all the nights to be travelling to Surrey, that night was probably the best night they would get all month.

Just as Harry had finished contemplating this the sound of argumentative voices snapped him back to reality, as Lily, James and Albus all trotted noisily out the door, arms folded begrudgingly across their chests, followed by Ginny. Harry smiled to himself at the look on his children's faces as they hugged themselves against the chilly breeze, old milk could not have looked sourer.

"But why do we all have to go! I'm almost thirteen I should be allowed to stay home on my own by now!" moaned James in a winey voice that reminded Harry of next doors cat.

"If I've told you once, James Potter, I've told you a thousand times! Until you are sixteen years old you are not being left in the house by yourself…" James looked on the verge of a comeback before Ginny gave him one of her Mrs-Weasley-Esk glares and he closed his halfway open mouth.

"What do you think Dad," came a sudden small voice from somewhere near Harry's naval, luckily he was used to Lily sneaking up on him by now or else he might have knocked her over she was so well hidden behind the scarves and woolly coat Ginny had dressed her in. "Do we really have to spend all of Christmas eve with them!" Lily's eyes were brimming with hope as she looked up, hopefully at her father. Harry felt a twinge of guilt as he felt the lie rise to the back of his throat, the truth was that in all honesty he had no desire whatsoever to spend all of Christmas eve with the Dursleys, and would have loved to tell his expectant daughter that it was all a big joke and they were actually going to the Weasley Christmas party, sadly however the look Ginny shot at her husband at that precise moment contained enough threat to send all possible thought of escape out of the window and he was forced to look down at those big expectant eyes apologetically.

"Now Lily, the Dursley's are my only relatives and we said months ago that we'd go and spend Christmas Eve with them. Now its only one night, we'll be back before you know it, and tomorrow we'll get to visit your grandparents for Christmas dinner. So I don't want to hear another peep from the three of you about it, understand?" Harry forced himself to add the last sentence as at that moment James looked capable of violent mutiny, but one last stern look from his mother finally made him succumb to the inevitable and with that all three of Harry's children slid into the car.

Harry sighed, he never like to be a hypocrite, especially with his own children. Ginny noticed his melancholy and walked over to him as he headed for the drivers door.

"Don't worry," she whispered as she looked at him, fiery hair flying all around in the winter breeze, "they'll get over it." As if knowing exactly what Harry needed Ginny leant in an pecked his cheek, he could smell her perfume and it clung to him even as she pulled away and walked round to her own door, Harry smiled at her over the roof of the car before getting in himself.

The journey to Surrey was very uneventful, the radio was full of Christmas songs but it was turned off by Ginny halfway through the journey when the children all refused to sing along to their usual favourites. By the time they reached Moorland View it was almost six o'clock, the sun had faded long before and now the only illuminations were the larger than life Christmas trees in the windows of the well-to-do residents. Moorland View was a lot like Privet Drive, the neighbours were just as snooty and nosey as they once had been and every lawn was freshly mowed. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened on Moorland View, or at least it was never spoken of if it did. In fact, Moorland View had such an overbearing sense of muggledom that Harry wondered if he might burst into flames the second he left the car.

Luckily for Harry this event did not occur as he pulled up to Number 45. Emptying the car of all three as yet still unhappy children and their mother, Harry headed for the door, the knocker was covered with a bright holly wreath decorated with ribbons and bows and it reminded Harry awfully of one of Aunt Petunia's frilly dresses. Harry shuddered at the thought of seeing his Aunt and Uncle again, he hadn't bothered to invite them to his and Ginny's wedding, Dudley had come, but he doubted that they would have enjoyed being seated next to the Weasleys, especially after what Mr Weasley had once done to the living room. Harry doubted that even Christmas and the presence of children would warm their coldness and Harry swore to himself there and then that if either of them did anything to upset Lily, James or Albus he'd turn them into frogspawn. With this happy thought flitting through Harry's mind he knocked, with rather too much force, on the door.

The moment Harry was certain he was at the wrong house as his eyes were suddenly met by the happiest smile he'd ever seen on a person.

"Dudley, their here! Their here!" Harry blinked as he saw a rather plump looking young bounding towards him, ribbons of emerald green and ruby red flowing through a long mane of hazelnut hair. She was carrying what appeared to be a gigantic Christmas pudding and Harry flung himself out of the way as she tripped over her long emerald green dress and the cake was flung out of the door. It landed just before the car, narrowly missing Albus who looked as if he had narrowly missed an attempt on his life as he clung to Ginny's leg.

"Oh botheration!" the woman exclaimed as she lifted herself up off the floor and rubbed the dust off her dress.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, helping her to her feet. Looking up the woman straightened her rather askew glasses and returned the gigantic smile back to her momentarily demur face.

"Oh yes, don't worry about me, I'm always doing that I'm so clumsy." She smiled once more at Harry and then rounded on Ginny, Albus, James and Lily. For a moment Harry thought the children might laugh at the woman's strange appearance but when he saw Lily break into an equally cheesy grin and Albus extricate himself from Ginny's leg he remembered that with friends like Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom the weirder this woman was the more his children would be at ease.

"Harry?" Spinning around at the mention of his name, Harry momentarily gaped at the tall, bulky figure before him. Unmistakable from his size alone and flowing blonde hair Harry looked upon the form of his cousin Dudley Dursley with a small sense of awe. Not only did Dudley look as broad as ever but in a hand knitted Rudolph sweater he seemed almost jolly.

"Hey Big D, your looking dapper." Harry suppressed a slight chuckle as he saw the sweater edge a little closer and come to a stop behind the emerald green woman at the door. The two of them looked like a bad department store window as they stood in the door frame beaming out at him.

"Thanks Harry, Davina here made it for me; she's ever so good at knitting." The woman in front of him, clearly the aforementioned Davina, went redder than her ribbons as she giggled and looked back at Dudley.

"Oh Dudley you do talk a load of old codswallop sometimes!" she patted him affectionately on the arm before turning back to the Potters.

"No I mean it Davina, its brilliant!" Davina let out a slight giggle and went a deeper shade of crimson.

"Oh gosh I completely forgot!" exclaimed Dudley, much to Harry's alarm, "You guys have never met have you?"

"Never mind that Dudley, they must be frozen standing out on the driveway. All of you, please, come in! Come in!" Harry smiled gratefully as he suddenly realised the cold that was creeping up his feet and allowed himself to be ushered in to the warmth of the hallway. Dudley led the way into the living room once they'd deposited their hats and cloaks with Davina; it took a few minutes to de-mummify Lily.

"Please, make yourself at home." Dudley said as he motioned to several large sofas that sat in front of the huge Christmas tree. As Harry sat down he was reminded elegantly of the sofas in front of the fire in Gryffindor Common room but as he settled himself he noticed something rather odd about the set up of the room. All around were pumpkins, carved into several strange looking faces with flickering candles inside them. Dangling from the tinsel that hung around the tree were little bauble broomsticks and witches hats and several large black hats were dotted about the room amongst the other decorations of tinsel and candles. Harry shot a questioning look at Dudley but he was too busy helping Davina with the coats to notice. Ginny sat in an adjacent sofa silently trying to stop Lily from giggling; she had evidently noticed the hats aswell. Harry searched the room for Albus and James, expecting them too to be chortling merrily, but instead found them sitting in front of the tree examining the presents underneath.

"Dad! Dad! These have got our names on!" the boys looked up with joyful eyes at Harry just as Davina and Dudley finally entered the room.

"Well of course they have silly!" chuckled Davina "they're all for you!" Harry almost burst out laughing at the look on James and Albus' faces; Lily too had stopped giggling at the decorations and was staring down at the mountain of presents under the tree with awe. Harry exchanged a look with his children, as if they were seeking permission to believe their eyes.

"Wow, Dudley, that's very generous of you!" Harry spoke as softly as he could so as not to ruin the abject silence that had ensued after Davina's revelation.

"Oh it's nothing Harry; just consider it several years worth of unpaid Christmas and birthday presents, courtesy of Mum and Dad." At the mention of his parents Dudley flashed an uneasy look at Harry but was forced to look away within moments as he and Davina were attacked by James, Albus and Lily who squeezed them in such air sucking hugs that Harry wondered if they'd fracture their legs. Dudley and Davina seemed impervious to the pain however and just smiled down at the delighted faces in front of them.

"Thanks Uncle Dudley!" Lily squealed as she let go of Dudley's legs and attacked Davina's.

"And you two Davina!" exclaimed Albus.

"My pleasure kids, as Dudley said it's well overdue!" Harry noticed for the first time since arriving how kindly Davina looked in her emerald green getup and scolded himself for even contemplating leaving, clearly Moorland View couldn't be all bad if a person like Davina could stand to be there.

Lily, James and Albus didn't waste time in opening presents, which they all assured their parents had to be opened there and then or else there was no way they'd fit in the car! James and Albus were exceptionally pleased with their hoard as Dudley had bought them several of the latest computer games, as well as the games console to play them on ("I didn't know if you had one or not"), aswell as loads of cool toys. Lily was also well pleased as her lot included several dolls and a rocking horse and each of them had been given a new bike. Harry and Ginny were also bestowed presents, for Harry it was a knitted sweater with the Hogwarts crest on it (Dudley had apparently explained to Davina about them being wizards and had told her about Harry's school so that she could make him a sweater just like Dudley's). Ginny on the other hand had been given an ornate grooming set complete with pearl hair brush and make up case which Harry knew would be put to full use on her rambunctious hair.

Harry found it a joy to watch his children enjoying themselves with their new presents as he sat in one of the armchairs sipping a scotch that Dudley had poured him from a decanter on the table. Ginny and Davina were in the kitchen busying themselves with dinner. Ginny had insisted on helping after the fiasco with the Christmas cake but Davina had brushed it off, claiming to have made two more to replace it. Which left Dudley and Harry alone in the room together watching the kids and sipping their scotch, Harry was surprised how easy it seemed to be to be able to sit with Dudley like this and thought either it was the scotch or that in the years Harry hadn't seen Dudley he'd grown into a much more likeable person. Dudley too seemed at his ease as he sat looking at his nieces and nephews play, happy in the knowledge he had given them things they enjoyed.

As Harry took another sip from his glass it suddenly occurred to him that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia weren't there, he couldn't understand why he'd never noticed it before but it suddenly occurred to him like a bolt of lightening.

"Dudley," Harry said before he could stop himself, a side effect of the scotch he was sure, "where are your mum and dad?" Harry distinctly saw Dudley's face go a little whiter as he drained his glass and placed it delicately on the coffee table. He waited for a moment, possible for the right words to come to him, and then leant marginally closer to Harry.

"May we speak about this outside, Harry?" Dudley whispered. Harry knew from his grave tone that whatever it was he had to say wasn't to be said in front of the children or Ginny and so, draining his own goblet, Harry proceeded to the patio doors and he and Dudley stepped out into the cold night air.

Harry's sudden disappearance was not noticed by either his children or his wife as they all busied themselves with other things and Harry was glad of this as he saw Dudley's face round on him once they were a decent distance from the patio doors.

"What's up then Big D? Why aren't your parents here?" Harry watched as Dudley gritted his teeth and let out a low growling sound before speaking, it surprised Harry how Uncle Vernon-like he appeared but chose not to mention it.

"My parents, refused to come for Christmas this year on the grounds that they didn't want to spend Christmas with…with…" Dudley's face became a sudden ferocious shade of crimson as he spoke and words seemed to fail him.

Harry took in a deep breath, whatever it was he'd better hear it or it'd bug him forever. "Go on, Dudley," he said "come out with it".

Dudley sighed, the colour receding slightly from his cheeks and looked at the fresh snow beneath his feet.

"They said they didn't want to spend their holidays with a pair of freaky weirdoes and their good-for-nothing children." Harry was grateful that Dudley didn't look back up at him straight away as it gave him time to compose himself. At the sound of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunias words a sharp strong hatred has burst through Harry like a bomb, consuming every part of him until he wanted to hit something he was so angry. It took a minute or so for him to calm himself down but even then he must still have looked annoyed because when Dudley did finally look back at him he let out an almighty sigh. Harry was surprised at Dudley's face, he looked almost as disgusted as Harry felt with the same distinct lack of colour Ron had had after spitting up a bucket of slugs. With another almighty sigh he began to pace around the large garden, "walk with me Harry," he said, motioning his cousin to his side. Harry obeyed, just for the simple fact of wanting something to do, and the two began to pace around the garden.

After a few minutes of walking Dudley began to speak, Harry had managed to calm himself to a point of control and so listened intently, expecting his cousin to make excuses for his parents.

"They we really dreadful to you when we were growing up weren't they Harry. I never realised it before a few years ago but…they really were despicable to you."

Harry didn't know what to say to this so just continued to walk on.

"The worst part is I let them, they did anything for me, I could have asked them at any point to leave you alone and they've probably done it. But I didn't. For years and years I could have made life so much easier for you, but I just sat there stuffing my face and enjoying my cushy life." Dudley made a noise of disgust and looked away. Harry really was taken aback by this, he'd expected to be angry with his Aunt and Uncle but he never expected an announcement of empathy, of guilt! Not from Duddykins.

"It's not your fault, Dudley." Was about all Harry could muster, he didn't know what else to say, he'd never needed to comfort Dudley in his life.

Dudley suddenly stopped midstep, Harry paused next to him and tried to catch his eye, but Dudley wouldn't look at him.

"No. Maybe not entirely…but it's not like I was much of a good cousin was I! I should have looked after you! I should have done more…instead of being such a…a…a thug!" And with that Dudley punched a nearby fig tree, shaking it all the way to the roots and causing snow to topple down, narrowly missing Harry's head. Harry watched as his cousin leant his almighty shoulders on the trunk of the grand tree and looked up at Harry, tears glistening in his eyes. For once, Harry looked at his cousin and was amazed to see him looking so…small. Unable to do anything else Harry just stared at Dudley, who stared back into Harry's eyes as if searching for some unknown redemption within them.

Eventually, after what felt like an age Dudley rubbed his eyes on his Rudolph jumper and stood up once again. He gave Harry a half hearted smile before starting to walk again. It took another few minutes for him to compose himself, Harry walked in silence trying to process what he'd just witnessed and by the time Dudley spoke again they were near the end of the garden.

"I don't agree with them you know, about you and the kids." Dudley spoke softly. "I think their great, and Ginny. They're so full of life, and so happy! You've done so well for yourself Harry!" Harry felt a smile itching on the edges of his mouth as he looked up into Dudley's eyes, no longer filled with tears but with fierce admiration.

"I'm so sorry for the past Harry! I'll regret it for the rest of my life, I promise you that! And I don't expect you to even come close to forgiving me but, maybe, you might let me try and make it up to you and the kids?" Harry had to smile at his cousin just then; he looked so helpless as he begged Harry for his forgiveness that Harry no longer cared about his Aunt and Uncle, or about what Dudley had done to him all those years ago. All that mattered now was the future and as he stood there in the freezing snow looking at his cousin, he decided from that point on to forgive Dudley and start a clean slate with him from then on.

Harry extended his arm to Dudley who looked at it for a moment and then shook it gladly with a smile to match that of Davina's stretching across his face. Before they knew it the two cousin's were laughing at one another like they'd been doing it all their lives and when Davina finally stuck her head out of the window to call them to dinner they were both wiping tears of laughter from their eyes.

"So Dudley, considering it's a clean slate and all, you gonna tell me who this Davina girl is then?" Harry smiled at Dudley as he saw his cousin go distinctly red once again.

"Well," Dudley began "I met her about a year ago at the police station…"

"The police station! What were you doing there?" Harry exclaimed.

"Oh no, don't worry, it wasn't for me. One of my old friends got into a scrape with a bloke down the pub and called me down to bail him out – cheeky git! Anyway Davina was there looking after some of the boys from the school she works at, she's a kind of support worker for the boys there and looks after them when they get themselves into all sorts of tricky scrapes. She's got the patience of a saint I swear it! Anyway so whilst we were both waiting for people we got chatting and next thing I know she's giving me her number. The rest is history really."

"So, are you guys like moving in together or what?"

Dudley scoffed loudly at Harry's words.

"Geez, Harry, you really are out of the loop! We've been living together for months now! We're getting married next October." It didn't even cross Harry's mind to be angry for not getting an invite he was so happy for his cousin! Davina was going to be a Dursley, what a fantastic influence, Harry thought! If ever there was going to be someone to change how he felt about his relations it seemed Davina would be the one to do it!

"Congratulations, Dudley! That's brilliant!"

"I know, it is actually pretty cool. Davina's been great about it to, she's not bothered about a big fancy wedding, and just a little ceremony in the local church would suit us just right I think."

Harry chuckled at Dudley, he never thought he'd see the day when Dudley would choose to go for the humble option rather than be the centre of attention.

"I'm really pleased for you, Dudley; she'll be a great wife."

"Yeah, I know, oh I completely forgot! She told me I'd better ask you, do you want to come? To the wedding I mean? You're the only thing I've ever really had to a brother and I know Davina would be over the moon if you came!"

Harry stopped in his track for a moment as he considered this possibility, he'd never expected to be invited to Dudley's wedding but now he considered it, he didn't know what to say. Or, for that matter, what Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would say if he turned up at their Duddykins special day, if they didn't even want to spend Christmas together.

"I mean…if you don't want to then…" Harry was snapped back to reality by Dudley's slightly downhearted voice. He suddenly realised that his face must have looked awfully downcast as he considered the idea of his Aunt and Uncle and realised what Dudley must have thought.

"Oh gosh, sorry Dudley, I wasn't thinking about the wedding, honestly, we'd love to come!" Dudley's face lit up like his own massive Christmas tree.

"That's brilliant! Davina will be so pleased!"

Before Dudley could say anything else Ginny's head had popped out of the patio door and was giving Harry the same threatening stare she'd given her son at which point both Dudley and Harry rushed into the house for dinner.

The Christmas Eve dinner was a feast magnificent enough to rival that of the Hogwarts House Elves. Everything you could ever imagine wanting at Christmas was there, pigs in blankets; mash potatoes; carrots; turkey; beef; pork; broccoli; parsnips even the Brussels sprout plates were wiped clean by the starving guests and the two Christmas cakes were polished off completely when they too were rolled out. By the time ten o'clock rolled around everyone was full to bursting and had pulled so many crackers that the floor was littered with miniature spyglasses and colourful paper hats. The room was full of the sounds of raucous laughter as all around games were played, jokes told and anecdotes given a new lease of life. Everyone was having so much fun that no one wanted to part by the time the clock struck midnight and it was only when a yawning Harry looked at his watch and nearly fell of his seat that they finally began to leave.

It took at least half an hour to make everyone ready to depart, Ginny insisted on using her wand to help clean up the mess and pack all the lovely presents away into the car with an impressive shrinking charm. Davina was captivated by the magic and it took nearly as long to stop her asking to see more. Eventually, however everyone was re-mummified in their hats, cloaks and scarves and began to say their goodbyes. Lily began to cry as she gave Davina one final hug before being chaperoned out of the door by her mother. James and Albus were having punching patches with Dudley, who was happily showing them his boxing moves right out of the door and Ginny was exchanging recipes with Davina. By the time the kids were packed off in the car and Ginny had given Davina and Dudley one final hug, Harry was wondering if they were ever going to leave. As his wife closed her car door however Harry was finally able to say his own goodbyes.

Turning to Dudley the two clasped each others hands in a firm but friendly handshake.

"See you round Big D. And you'll have to send me an invite to the wedding." Davina giggled at the mention of her big day, she had nearly collapsed Harry's eardrums with the scream she had made earlier upon finding out the Potters would be attending. Harry preferred the giggle much better.

"Of course we will, mate. And don't you worry Harry," Dudley looked very determined as he spoke "I told Mum and Dad before I invited you that unless their going to be civil to you and your family, then their not welcome at my wedding." Harry let out a bark laugh at this remark as he imagined the look of horror on Aunt Petunia's face if she were forced to miss her own Duddykins' wedding. With one last shake of their hands Harry turned from Dudley to Davina who gave him a huge hug and another one of her signature smiles.

"Do be sure to come and see us before the wedding Harry, I'd so love to see you, Ginny and Lily again." Harry reassured her that they would visit again before the wedding, he was sure that Lily would be desperate to return, not to mention Ginny. With one final smile and a hug he left to rejoin his family in the car and with a few last frantic waves of goodbye, headed off into the night away from the still glistening houses of Moorland View. Harry smiled to himself as he heard his children's snores from the back seat and saw Ginny quietly drifting in and out of consciousness beside him. All in all Harry didn't think he'd ever had a better Christmas.