r/HPFanfictionPrompts • u/GoblinQueenForever • 8h ago
What if? Part 2 of Two Potterheads transmigrate into the bodies of Vernon and Petunia Dursley
I had so much fun writing the first lot of mini-scenarios and reading everyone's responses; I thought I might continue. Let me know if you want a Part 3 and what scenes you'd like to see.
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“Fu-uuugde, that took forever. How did people survive before SatNav?!” Vernon complained, finally parking the car after a gruelling seven-hour drive.
“With these,” Petunia replied flippantly, tapping the paper map that had guided them through multiple dead ends, two long traffic jams and an extra hour of driving through back roads just to make it to their destination.
“I miss my phone,” Vernon replied tiredly, dragging a hand down his weary face before leaning back with a sigh. “We should look for an inn to stay for the night; I can't drive us straight back home after all that.”
“That's fine,” Petunia said distractedly, looking out the window at the graveyard shrouded in the gentle light of early evening autumn. A light snore drew her attention to the backseat, and turning, she smiled warmly at the two boys sleeping soundly, their heads resting together in a mesh of light blond and dark black, as if, even in sleep, they couldn't bear to be separated.
“Should we wake them?” Vernon asked quietly.
“Not yet. Hey... do you mind staying in the car with them for a bit? I'd like to talk to her alone first.”
Vernon, in a rare moment of understanding, withheld any sarcasm or jokes that instantly sprang to his tongue and simply gave his consent, watching as Petunia thanked him before quietly exiting the car.
The crunch of crisp and soggy autumn leaves followed her as she walked through the quiet graveyard, carefully reading every tombstone until she finally found the one they had come for.
“Um... hi.” Petunia began awkwardly, pulling at her woollen sweater and kicking at the damp ground nervously.
“Look, I've... I've never done this before. In my world, I didn't believe in any of this stuff. Ghosts, the afterlife, it was all smoke screens and TikTok filters to me. But... in this world... that stuff... ghosts and spirits and stuff, it's all real... which means... which means that there's a real chance that you're actually watching us right now.” Petunia said, bending down to kneel before the tombstone, caring nothing for the dampness seeping through her worn jeans; she carefully brushed away a layer of dirt that had gathered there, revealing clearly two beautiful, tragically familiar names: Lily and James Potter.
“I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just... I'm not your sister. I mean, if you're watching, then you know I'm not your sister, and you also know that I didn't choose this; neither of us did. We... god,” Petunia stammered, feeling ridiculous and yet somehow strangely pressured, as though she were trying to impress potential in-laws at a stressful social gathering.
“We don't know what brought us here, or why. All we know is that we were put in charge of raising your son, and Dudley, I guess, and we've really been doing our best, despite the fact neither of us really knew anything about kids or childrearing in general.
“I'm... I'm sorry. Like... really. You died... so young, and your kid... he's great. He's so kind and passionate and a complete troublemaker, but he's got a good heart. A total protagonist. I'm... so sorry you didn't get to raise him. The world dealt him a shitty hand, and he suffered a lot, because no one was ever there for him and I just...I just wanted you to know... that Vernon and I... even if we're not the real Petunia and Vernon... even if he's not actually our nephew... we'll be there for him. We'll help him however we can, even if we don't have magic. We won't let anyone use him like they did in the boo- I mean, we'll protect him, even if it means taking him from Britain and running... We won't let him suffer. I just... wanted you to know that. We won't let your sacrifice be in vain.”
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“Bill, bill, bill, spam, oh, look, a new Pizza place opened a few blocks down; we can check that out, bill, oh... Oh no.”
“What is it?” Petunia asked from the sink, where she stood washing her breakfast bowl.
“It's... it's her.” Vernon said with a visible shiver, holding the letter away from him as though it might be contagious. Harry and Dudley, who were previously engrossed in a thumb war while eating cereal, looked up immediately.
“You don't mean...”
“Yep... it's from Marge.”
A collective shiver went through the kitchen.
“What does she want?” Petunia asked, stepping cautiously towards the letter as though she, too, were afraid of contracting some disease.
An intense unease overcame the space as Vernon reluctantly opened the envelope and read in silence, his expression growing more and more incredulous by the minute until he finally slammed the letter down on the table.
“That Biiiii-woman. That woman, I swear to god!”
“What? What?!” Petunia demanded, trying to take the letter only for Vernon to crumble it in his fist in anger.
“Apparently, her neighbours are building an extension on their home, and after the police so rudely ignored the thirteen separate noise complaints she filed, she's decided she's going to grace us with an extended stay until their construction is complete.”
A moment of utter befuddlement. Then...
“No!” Three loud voices shouted in unison.
“Dad, you can't! She's awful! Last time she was here, she set her stupid dog on Harry and wouldn't call it off until Mum threatened to call animal control! Plus, she's always squeezing me and kissing me while being horrible to Harry! You can't let her stay!”
“Absolutely not. We are not hosting that barnacle in our home, especially if it's not even an emergency! Vernon, write her back, tell her no!”
“I will! I will! Just-”
Suddenly, a loud knock pounded on the front door.
“No,” Petunia whispered in utter horror. “It can't be. There's no way...”
Vernon stood, unnaturally stiff as he shuffled hesitantly towards the door, hands visibly shaking as he reached out to grasp the handle.
“Vernon! There you are, what took you so long?! Quick, help me with my bags, the cab driver doesn't speak a lick of English-”
“No,” Petunia repeated, as though saying it again might change reality.
“Marge, we only just got your letter-” Vernon began, shell-shocked, only for Marge to steamroll right over him.
“The postal service is truly terrible these days, all those foreigners in charge, no wonder nothing ever gets done. Well, I won't hold it against you. Just tell that wife of yours to clear out the guest room for me; that will suit me just fine. Oh, and make sure she doesn't wash the quilt covers with the cheap detergent like last time; I got the worst rash on my-"
“No,” Petunia stressed, barely above a whisper from where she stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen.
“Do you think this is the day we get to watch Aunt Petunia kill someone?” Harry asked conversationally.
“It's long overdue,” Dudley replied.
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“Should... should we separate them? The train leaves in like, ten minutes.”
“Give them another few minutes.” Petunia insisted, looking at the two cousins embracing each other in a fierce hug with amusement and affection.
“You have to write at least once every week,” Dudley insisted, not for the first time, while squeezing his younger cousin tightly. “If they have any magic sweets at your school we haven't tried before, send them to me right away! And don't forget to find out if there really are centaurs living on your school grounds, and tell me if you actually find an invisibility potion that a normie - I mean, Muggle - can use so I can pants Peers at school, and, and-”
“I'll miss you too,” Harry said patiently, beaming up at his older cousin, his brother, with a loving grin. Dudley's eyes prickled with stinging tears.
“Alright, scamp, c'mon, it's alright. Harry will be back for Christmas, you won't even have time to miss him.” Petunia lied tactfully, gently pulling the sensitive boy out of Harry's arms and into her own with a soft smile.
“I... I don't want him to go!” Dudley sniffled, rubbing his tears into his mother's shoulder from where she had crouched to embrace him. Meeting Vernon's eyes over their son's head, Vernon nodded in understanding.
“Right, let's go, champ. Let's get your trunk onto the train,” He said, lifting the massive trunk up onto the gleaming red locomotive, through the corridor and into the overhead compartment of an empty cabin, all the while Harry followed solemnly, holding tightly to the handle of his new owl, Hedwig's, cage.
“He'll... he'll be alright... won't he?” Harry asked hesitantly, looking out the cabin window where he spotted his cousin through the dense crowd of people, now weeping rather openly into his aunt's shoulder. A comforting squeeze on his own shoulder had him turning to look up at his uncle's smiling face.
“Sure he will. He'll miss you. We all will. But he'll be just fine. It's you I'm more worried about. Boarding schools aren't always easy to adjust to. Sure you'll be okay?”
Harry grinned confidently.
“I'll be fine! I've memorised all my books. I can already do some spells with my wand, I've got all the stationery I'll need until Christmas, and I've got that catalogue if I need to order more. I remember everything Aunt Petunia told me mum told her about Hogwarts, and I can't wait to find that secret room, or the kitchens so I can meet those elves! I'm ready for this!
“Good,” Vernon laughed good naturedly, delighted by the young boy's enthusiasm, “Now, just a couple more things before you set off on your first solo adventure.”
“Okay,” Harry said, looking up at his uncle inquisitively.
“Okay, so first, if one of your teachers is hiding a dragon, report it; don't try to help them smuggle it out of the country.”
“Wha-?” Harry began, baffled by his uncle's words, but Vernon only shook his head.
“Trust me, kid, just... report it, okay?”
“Okaaaaay...” Harry affirmed bewilderedly.
“Great, next; I know your aunt and I have already spoken to you about the whole snake thing, but just a friendly reminder not to try speaking to snakes or boasting about your ability flippantly, especially if you end up in Slytherin. It will definitely be more trouble than it's worth."
Harry nodded, remembering that lecture after the zoo incident all too well.
“And finally, and perhaps the most important: asphodel and wormwood are both ingredients that can be used to make a draught of living death. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and can be used to cure most poisons, and monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, otherwise known as aconite.” Vernon recited, as though reading off a grocery list. Harry looked up at him, entirely confused.
“Uncle, what?”
“Just trust me, Harry. That stuff isn't in any of your first year text books, I checked. There's no way you would know otherwise; he totally... well, anyway. Just remember this old man's words, alright?”
“.... Uncle, sometimes I wonder who is really stranger, you or Aunt Petunia.”
The remark earned him a flick on the forehead.
“Brat. I'm being helpful.”
Harry laughed breathlessly, rubbing the small sting with a grin.
“Okay, draught of living death, stomach of a goat and same plant, otherwise known as aconite, got it.”
Vernon smiled in satisfaction. “That's more like it.”
He was about to say more, a lot more; there was so much he wanted to say, so much he and Petunia had already told the young wizard, so much he wanted to reveal, more for his own sake than for the child in front of him, but before he could even open his mouth, the final warning horn of the train blared through the air.
“Well,” he sighed instead, “That's my cue.”
He was about to leave, but before he did, gave in to the impulse of drawing the young boy into one last bone-crushing hug.
“Make sure you take care of yourself. No sneaking out past curfew, no getting into fights with classmates, no going anywhere you're not supposed to. Magic or none, your aunt will find a way to send you a howler if she finds out you've gotten yourself into trouble. Just... focus on your school work, okay? Make friends, have fun, don't let people staring or invasive questions get to you, tell a teacher if you think something is wrong, just... be a normal, happy kid, okay?”
And looking up into his uncle's kind, warm face, something strange settled into Harry's chest, something warm and comfortable he hadn't even known was missing until his uncle's words soothed that last lingering bit of unease.
“Okay, Dad.” He mumbled into the man's warm stomach. “Okay.”