If all else fails, at least you have yourself

Harry had been thinking about this decision for a while, wondering what he should do.

He was mistreated and abused when he lived with the Dursleys but they loved their son and gave him everything that he wanted...but not what he needed. He knows how hard it was for Dudley to become a functioning member of society after years of being allowed to mistreat others without consequence. He had been to prison multiple times despite trying to be better. Dudley was filled with guilt and shame about all that he had done. Some days, he could hardly look at them. He felt terrible about what he did to Harry. He also thought his family was too good for him and that was a feeling that Harry knew would never go away. In some of their talks. Dudley confessed that he wished that someone had intervened when they were younger. Aside from Harry being hurt, the family wasn't great for Dudley himself. Vernon and Petunia encouraged his horrible behaviour and turned him into a spoiled brat. Marge was just her own brand of evil.

Harry had grown to love his cousin and he didn't want him to live like that if he could help it. He decided the best solution was to try and talk to Petunia and Vernon himself.

That is exactly the reason why he was knocking on the doorstep of Number 4 Privet Drive, dressed in a very smart and expensive suit.

He was greeted by a friendly-looking Petunia holding baby Dudley in her arms. "Oh Hello?."

"Hello there Mrs. Dursley, do you think I could come in for a chat?"

Her eyebrows rose slightly as she confusedly said "Yes, I guess." She opened the door wider and moved back to allow him to step inside. They settled in the living room and Petunia offered him some tea which he politely declined.

"Mrs. Dursley, everything I am about to say is of great importance to you so I suggest you listen very carefully You won't like some parts, probably not most of them anyway, but I ask you to listen to everything anyway. The worst thing that could come out of you listening to me is that I waste an hour of your day."

After some thinking, Petunia nodded, "Fine but my husband will be home soon so make it quick. What do you want? You've been acting terribly suspicious."

"This will be hard for you to believe but I am your nephew... from the future." Petunia's face drained as she realised who he was, or more importantly what he was. "I trust you have been told about your sister and her husband's passing on October 31st."

Petunia's eyes went wide, "What, no! I have not been told such a thing. What do you mean they're dead?"

"Voldemort- a terrorist who threatened the Wixen World for years- heard about a prophecy. The prophecy stated that I could potentially put an end to him- something he did not like. He went after Lily and James and killed them. They were in hiding but one of their friends was on his side and revealed the secret. They were killed with a spell that most Wixens find to be unforgivable. It was a quick and painless death, I promise. She didn't suffer. Do you have any questions?"

Petunia scoffed, "Of course I have questions. How would you know that she died quickly and painlessly? Why would you even have a spell like that if you aren't supposed to use it? What does this have to do with you being from the future?"

"I know because that spell was used on me years after they died. I died but thankfully I came back. That doesn't normally happen but it did to me. I was lucky. Your sister didn't leave you on purpose and she loved you so much. I inherited her diary and all she wanted was for her older sister to come back." Harry pretended not to see the tears falling out of Petunia's eyes. "The unforgivable curses were made a very, long time ago. It is similar to laws made years ago. They might make no sense to you know but that is just how they did things back then. After my parents died, I was sent to live with you, against my parent's wishes. They understood that you didn't want to take care of a magic child and they didn't want you to hurt or mistreat the child. I'm afraid to say that when I was in your care, I was hurt and neglected. I was made to live in the cupboard under the stairs till I was eleven when you thought the house was being watched. I was then moved into Dudley's second bedroom during the summers that I was here. I remember the first year I was in there, I was locked in. There were bars on my window and I had a cat flap on my door where you would give me barely any food. No one from the Wixen World checked up on me because they thought I was fine. The only person who knew what was happening was Dumbledore." Petunia's face turned sour at the mention of him. "He wanted me to feel lonely so I would do as he pleased. He was manipulating me so that I would sacrifice myself to save everyone. It worked because I did, That is when I came back from the killing curse. I am glad I didn't die because I have a large, beautiful family. My wife Ginny had 6 brothers, one of who unfortunately died the day that I killed Voldemort, and most of them had children. I have several children myself. I have my beautiful oldest Teddy, who is actually my godson, but I love him like my own anyway. His parents died fighting against Voldemort's followers so I have raised him with his grandmother. My eldest biological son is called James. He is so alike my father, godfather and their friend (whom he was named after).  My youngest son, Arthur, is named after my father in law and very good friends of mine. Voldemort's followers killed them. I then have my youngest child and my only daughter. She hadn't been born yet and I had only just found out that she existed the morning before I went back in time but I now know that she is named Luna. After both my mother and two dear friends."

"...Lily.... Do you think she would have been like my, I mean our, Lily?"

"I have no idea. I only know what my mother was like through her diary. You wouldn't speak of her when I was growing up and the only times you did was to call her bad names or to tell me that she had died in a car crash due to my 'drunk' father which never happened."

"...Oh."

"I didn't have the best life for the first half of it. Neither did Dudley actually."

Petunia's eyes widened in alarm, "What happened to my precious baby? Was it you?" she asked as she then narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"No, it wasn't me. It was you actually. You, Vernon and Marge. You two spoiled your son and taught him that it was okay to hurt others. This led to him going to prison multiple times for assault among other things. He got better after Vernon died though."

"No. Not Vernon. Please, tell me you are lying."

"I'm sorry. He died of liver failure. He was warned many times by doctors over the years that he needed to stop drinking so much because it would be fatal for him but he chose to ignore them. Dudley was okay after a while. He met the love of his life Evie and fell in love. They had four children together. Petunia Hope Dursley-Alistair was named after you and Evie's sister. Lily Mae is the second oldest. Dudley wanted to honour the aunt he had never met. Cedar Hadrian is the third oldest and the only boy. They wanted to name all their children after vegetation like they have done for generations in the Evans family. He was also named after me. The youngest child is Holly Jane, who was named after Evie's side of the family." Petunia eagerly listened to what Harry had to say about his son's life. "Are you ready for a surprise? Evie was a witch. Their children were all wixen except for Petunia who was a wizard-born. She was reassured that she is just as special as the rest of her siblings though. Evie's side of the family are witches so Petunia Jr had them to help her. She also had me as her godfather and unofficial uncle, and you as her nana. She loves other parts of magic though. She loves potions and magical creatures the best."

Petunia seemed conflicted as she listened to what he had to say. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up, "And he's happy with this Evie girl?"

"Yes, they're so in love with each other that you don't need to know them to see it. To be honest, he's the happiest now than I've ever seen him. He's not the best, he still has bad days. He feels guilt and shame over what he did to me and what he used to be like. I don't think that's ever going to go away. You and Vernon didn't exactly encourage him to do the best in school either so he struggled to find work for a while."

"...Why are you here...?"

"Harry, my name is Harry."

"Why are you here Harry?"

"I love my cousin and I want him to grow up as a better version of himself so he can look himself in the mirror without feeling disgusted. I also know that you love Vernon, even if I think you could do better. I wanted to discuss what we can do to make sure that my future doesn't happen."

"Why could I do better?"

"Petunia, you have good qualities that outweigh all of Vernon's bad ones. He is abusive, unhealthy, selfish, and honestly not too smart. You could definitely do better and I honestly wouldn't blame you if you left him. Now, what should we do about Dudley?"

It had been just over an hour since he arrived before Harry was walking out of the door with Dudley in his arms. They eventually got to the agreement that Harry would take Dudley and raise him as his son. Petunia loved her son but she wanted him to be the best he can be. Petunia would still meet with them and be a part of his life but she needed to sort some things out first. Dudley would know her as his godmother. Everyone would think that they knew each other when they were younger. They were paired up as pen pals and they quickly became the best of friends. They would send letters once a month, telling each other about what they had been up to. They had to fabricate a lot of letters but it would be worth it. It didn't take too long thanks to the special quick writing quill he used. She would wait a few months before going to visit them. They couldn't be too suspicious about what they were doing. They realised that Dudley was going to have to be renamed but they couldn't decide on a name as they liked both.  They wanted to carry on the Evans tradition so they were trying to choose between Koru and Oren. Koru is the spiral shape of a silver fern. Silver ferns represent strength, stubborn resistance, and enduring power. Oren means pine tree. Pine trees represent longevity and wisdom. Harry would make the final choice when he was ready.

Harry had to alter Petunia's memories (with her permission) to make their lie more believable. He would eventually change them back but for now, she also believed the lie. Vernon would know that wixen had been there because Petunia wouldn't remember having a son. He took all of their baby supplies and photos of Dudley from the house so that their plan would work flawlessly.

He walked down the path when he was greeted by the sight of Vernon Dursley walking towards him.

Joy.

Harry could see the moment when Vernon registered who Harry was holding. Just before he could open his mouth, Harry wandlessly obliviated him.

As Vernon was processing his loss of memories, Harry walked off to a place that he could safely apparate from.

When he got home, Sirius and Remus gave him a look as if they weren't even surprised anymore. Harry took offence to the exhausted resignation in their eyes. You kidnap take look after yourself one time and suddenly you have a 'bad habit of stealing children'. That couldn't be further from the truth. Harry just has a healthy wish to care for the people that he loves. Is that so wrong? Sure, he might have decided to look after one or two more but does that really make him a kidnapper? No. No, it doesn't. He rolled his eyes and walked into the new room that had appeared. This was clearly meant for his new son. Who else could it be for?

The walls were covered in animal wallpaper and a soft pink carpet was spread across the floor. There was a cot set up in the corner of the room where the bed part was almost completely lowered to the floor. Dudley was a climber when he was younger so he wanted to prevent any escape attempts. There was a comfortable-looking white rug that seemed to cover the quarter of the room with the cot. He had toys and teddies hidden away in two light wooden toy boxes opposite the cot. There were a few other pieces of furniture such as a dresser for clothes.

Harry knew that despite being in a different home with a different childhood, his cousin and Evie would find their way back to each other when they are older so he isn't worried. After all, what was there to be worried about?