The Magic Shop: If Dudley Dursley had a Magical Daughter

Chapter Twelve

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes, Dad, for the millionth time, I have everything." Azalea rolled her eyes. 

"Okay, just checking," Dudley said. He pulled her trunk into the back of the car. "Let's go. We don't want to be late." 

"We're not going to be late, Dad!" 

"Not if we hurry!" 

"Ugh." Azalea got into the passenger seat of the car, and a minute later her dad pulled the car out of the garage. 

"You do have everything, right?" 

"You asked that less than a minute ago!" 

"All your books? Robes? Regular clothes? Your owl?" 

"Her name is Annabeth, Dad. And yes, I have everything." 

"Good." Dudley was quiet for a moment, in a contemplative sort of way. 

"What?" 

"I'm just going to miss you." 

"Good." 

Dudley snorted. "You're supposed to say, 'I'll miss you too, Dad', or something similar." 

"Oh. Well, I'll miss you too, Dad." 

Dudley laughed for real now. "It's not the same if you say it like that." 

"I will miss you!" 

"I know." 

Azalea huffed, though she could feel a smile creeping up her lips. "I promise I'll write." 

"I know you will. I want at least one letter a week, and I want to hear everything. Your classes, your teachers, your new friends . . ." 

"Of course," Azalea said, grinning. "I'll tell you everything, and you'll see me at Christmas."

"Yes." Dudley pressed his lips together. "If anyone gives you trouble, you have to promise me you'll go to a teacher."

"I still don't understand why you think people are going to give me trouble," Azalea said. "But I will." 

"If anyone recognizes your last name, they probably will," Dudley said with a sigh. "When we get to the station, we have to avoid Harry, okay?" 

"Um . . . I don't know what he looks like, and why?"

"Look for the one everyone's staring at, and because I don't want to talk to him." 

"You know, the adult thing to do would be to talk to him," Azalea pointed out. 

"When did you get so smart?"

"I don't know." 

Dudley sighed as they pulled into a parking lot at King's Cross. "Do you have everything?"

"Yes, Dad, for the millionth time, I have everything! And if not, you can send it to me!"

"Good. Just double checking." 

"Are you sure it's only double checking?"

Dudley ignored her, turning off the engine and getting out of the car. "Are you ready?" 

"Yes, Dad." Then it hit her. She was leaving to go to a boarding school where she knew no one. And this boarding school was a magical boarding school. In a whole other society. Was she truly ready? 

Well, even if she wasn't, she was going to get on that train, and go to school, and she was going to be phenomenal. 

Azalea got out of the car, grabbed her trunk and Annabeth, and led her dad into the station, heading to platforms nine and ten. 

"We run through the wall, right?" Azalea clarified, after standing there for a moment and inspecting the area between platforms nine and ten. 

"I think so." 

"Okay, well, let's go." 

"I can't believe I'm doing this," her father muttered. "Running through a wall. Ridiculous." 

"It's magic," Azalea said. "What did you expect?" With that, Azalea ran through the wall.