Before boarding the train, Hagrid presented Harry with a photo album containing precious pictures of his parents.
This gift delighted Harry immensely, and it marked the first time Dudley had actually seen what his aunt looked like. You could clearly tell that Harry indeed resembled his father remarkably, but his eyes were unmistakably his mother's. People had mentioned this resemblance countless times, but this was Dudley's first opportunity to witness it personally.
Everyone boarded the train and departed the school amid laughter and cheerful conversations. Time passed swiftly, and the Hogwarts Express arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in King's Cross Station.
Since they had chosen seats toward the rear of the train, they were among the final group of students to disembark.
"Come visit my house this summer holiday, all of you!" Ron extended enthusiastic invitations to Dudley and the others. "I'll send owl invitations to everyone."
"Absolutely, that sounds wonderful," Harry agreed happily.
Hermione smiled and nodded her acceptance as well.
"I'm genuinely looking forward to visiting a wizarding family," Dudley added with obvious interest.
They walked together toward the station wall, where a weathered old wizard stood guard, carefully managing the flow of departing students to avoid attracting Muggle attention.
"Goodbye, Dudley!" "See you later, Big D!" "Until next semester, Sir Dragon Knight!"
Various students called out their farewells to Dudley, and many to Harry as well. In terms of school-wide fame, these two cousins had become absolutely unrivaled at Hogwarts.
"Look, Mum, I can see Harry! Is that Dudley beside him? The famous dragon knight?" Not far away, the Weasley family waited for their children, but their attention seemed focused on Harry and Dudley rather than their own son.
"Hush, Ginny, that's quite rude," Mrs. Weasley gently corrected.
Harry and Dudley accompanied Ron to greet the Weasley family properly. During Christmas, they had sent thoughtful gifts to both boys.
After bidding farewell to Ron's family, Dudley and Harry walked toward the station exit together.
"Honestly, Dudley, if this were last year, I definitely wouldn't want to return home now," Harry confided.
"What about this time?" Dudley asked with genuine curiosity.
"Now I feel quite positive about it. Although there are some difficult memories, that's all in the past. We all need to look toward the future," Harry said with a genuine smile.
"Here's to having a wonderful summer vacation!" Dudley laughed.
"Oh! My dear little Dudley!" Petunia's voice carried across the crowded platform before she pulled Dudley into a fierce embrace.
"So wonderful, finally home, finally home," Vernon called out joyfully as the family gathered in a group hug.
Petunia was already in tears. This marked the first time she hadn't seen her son for such an extended period.
Harry watched from nearby with a gentle smile.
"Sweetheart, you've gotten thinner," Petunia said, examining Dudley with maternal concern.
"I've gotten stronger!" Dudley protested with laughter.
"Compared to you, Harry is the one who's really grown stronger," Aunt Petunia observed, releasing Dudley to give Harry an unexpected hug.
"Welcome home," Petunia said warmly.
This embrace caught Harry completely off guard, and he returned the hug somewhat stiffly.
"Ahem, Ha... Harry, thank you for looking after Dudley at school. Dudley told us all about your help," Vernon said with obvious awkwardness.
"I..." Harry looked at his uncle in complete disbelief, then glanced at Dudley.
At school, it had clearly been Dudley who took care of him constantly.
Soon, he noticed Dudley wink at him and immediately understood the hint.
"We looked after each other," Harry said, his face slightly reddening.
"Well, well, mutual care is excellent. I mean, after all, you're brothers," Vernon declared.
"Alright, alright, we can discuss these matters when we get home. I've already prepared an elaborate dinner, just waiting for your return," Petunia said, pulling both Dudley and Harry toward the car parked outside.
The sky was brilliantly blue, and the sunshine felt perfect.
During the drive home, Vernon and Petunia asked numerous questions about Dudley and Harry's school experiences. Although they still harbored some apprehension about magic, they remained genuinely curious about how the boys were truly faring at Hogwarts.
Although Dudley had already described life at the school in his letters, written words couldn't compare to hearing his personal accounts.
Dudley and Harry tactfully avoided mentioning the various dangers they had encountered at Hogwarts, focusing instead on amusing incidents and positive experiences.
Dudley specifically inquired about Snape, because based on previous behavior, his mother should have some knowledge of the professor. Unfortunately, although Petunia knew Snape, she wasn't familiar with him personally, and their relationship hadn't been positive either. This explained why Snape would target Dudley specifically.
After returning home, Petunia even requested that Dudley and Harry demonstrate some magic.
Dudley clearly remembered that previously Petunia had called Lily a "freak" for practicing magic at home during their youth, but now she obviously didn't mind her son using magic in her presence. She even looked at him with eyes full of eager anticipation.
Only when Dudley explained that underage wizards couldn't legally use magic outside school grounds did she abandon this idea with slight disappointment.
However, Dudley could see that Petunia felt tremendously proud of his excellent academic performance at Hogwarts. If she could share the news publicly, he believed his mother could spend entire days bragging until the entire neighborhood knew about his achievements.
Harry also enjoyed a much more pleasant homecoming experience this time. Under Dudley's positive influence, his aunt and uncle's attitude toward Harry had improved dramatically, especially after Dudley told them that at Hogwarts, Harry had helped him deal with troublesome classmates, which made them considerably more attentive to Harry's needs.
A week passed quickly.
"Duddy, your birthday is the day after tomorrow. Do you have any special plans?" After dinner, Petunia cut a plate of fresh fruit, and the family settled in front of the television to eat and chat.
"Birthday? Then let's visit an amusement park," Dudley suggested after brief consideration.
"Certainly, that sounds perfect," Petunia immediately agreed.
"Harry can come along too," Uncle Vernon offered proactively.
"That would be great," Harry accepted without hesitation.
"Let me plan this properly. We'll need to get up early. I'll drive directly to London since the amusement parks there are larger and more entertaining," Vernon mused aloud.
"Oh, that reminds me! Last time we bought that tarot deck for Dudley at a shop near an amusement park in London," Petunia suddenly recalled.
"You mean that tarot deck that was missing two cards?" Harry asked with surprise.
"Exactly right," Petunia nodded.
Hearing this reminder, Dudley suddenly remembered the tarot cards. So many dramatic events had occurred recently that he had nearly forgotten about this matter entirely.
"Then let's visit that shop again while we're there," Dudley suggested with renewed interest.