Raising Albus

CH 1 "The death of Vernon Dursley, and reflections on Marriage"

I want to thank my beta FriendofMolly for some critical work on this chapter.

As you can tell, I don't like Vernon Dursley. At all.

Please star the chapters if you like them.  

*

Wednesday December 3, 2008, before Harry left for work, he received a call from Dudley. "My dad just died, we suspect of a massive heart attack," Dudley told Harry. "He died last night."

"I'm sorry," Harry responded, wondering if he really was sorry.

"Yea," Dudley grumbled. "He felt terrible and refused to go to the hospital. He went upstairs to the bedroom, and when my mother went up to check on him a couple of hours later he was dead. You are his closest living relative, other than mum and me. Well, other than Aunt Marge Dursley, his sister. His business partners were really second cousins, and not that close to us. I do not really know any of their children, and I don't think any of the children will come to the funeral. I would like you with me when we meet people a couple of days from now."

"Just me or my family too?" Harry wondered.

"I would like to see your family there," Dudley pled. "These types of affairs are about family after all, and you are the closest family I have."

"Not Aunt Marge?" Harry wondered.

"I guess someone will have to tell her," Dudley muttered. There was a pause and Harry could hear a big sigh. "I guess we are going to have to put up with her at the funeral. It is her brother, after all."

"I'll clear the next days and help you, Dudders," Harry agreed.

"I would really appreciate that," Dudley replied. "There is apparently a fair amount to do."

Harry called his office. Mary Lou was already there, and Harry told her that his uncle had died, and he was going to be spending much of the next four days helping his cousin and aunt.

Harry then went and found Ginny, who was getting the three children ready to go to school. Al usually went next door until about noon, when Jean took the children over to the New Burrow so they could play with their cousins. Getting permission for Jean to use the Floo network, and then arraigning the magic so she could, was another exercise that blurred the lines between the magic and Muggle world, something that worried Hermione, even as she was one of the main facilitators in blurring the lines. Ginny usually took the other two over to the New Burrow between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM for lessons for James.

Harry went back upstairs just as Ginny was finishing getting the three children dressed in their coats. They were going to let Al go out the front door and run over to Roses house, and when he was inside Ginny (and Mitzi), James and Lily would go to the kitchen and take the Floo to the New Burrow. Before Al had time to leave Harry told Ginny, "Vernon Dursley died last night."

Ginny sneered, "I should be sorry he's dead? He's the one who locked you in the closet under the stairs. He was a mean man."

"He was still Dudley's dad," Harry argued. "I'm going to be helping Dudley and Aunt Petunia, my mother's sister. Dudley wants the whole family at the funeral, if we will come."

"I'll come for you, and for your mother," Ginny reluctantly agreed. "Oh, I like Dudley. I'll come for him too. Do we need to get new Muggle clothes for this?"

"We probably ought to get little dark suits for the boys" Harry suggested. "They'll look cute dressed up like little Muggle bankers."

"Your job," Ginny countered. "Out the door, Al." Albus went out the door, and took the familiar path down his front steps and up the front steps to where Rose and Jean were waiting.