"Harry, this statue is based on my Auntie Lily, Uncle James, and you. These two here are your parents."
Dudley patted Harry, who was staring blankly at the statue. Before heading to the old Potter house, Dudley had taken the two of them to the graveyard next to the village chapel.
Everyone who passed away in Godric's Hollow was buried here, whether they were wizards or Muggles. Though their lives were vastly different, in death, they were all the same—just a handful of dirt. Death treated everyone equally.
The trio approached a specific headstone.
Engraved on the stone was a thought-provoking epitaph: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
This was where the Potter couple was buried.
A bouquet of fresh flowers had already been placed in front of the tombstone, a clear sign that someone had been there before them. The flowers—carnations, hyacinths, and zinnias—all carried meanings of apology and regret.
The placement of the flowers was a bit odd, though. They were on one side of the tombstone, not in the center. The strangeness didn't stop there; the side with the flowers was meticulously clean, while the other side was covered in dust, as if the person who came to visit only wanted to honor one of the couple.
It was all too obvious who had done this.
Dudley knew exactly who it was. He placed the white flowers he had brought in the center of the gravestone.
"Auntie Lily was truly a great witch," Dudley said.
Lily had sacrificed her life to protect her child and, in doing so, had defeated Voldemort. By all accounts, she was a heroic mother.
Without her sacrifice, Voldemort would not have been defeated. And if Voldemort had lived, it would have been a disaster for the Muggles living in England.
Dudley had wanted to come here for a while. He believed it was Harry's duty as a son to pay his respects to his parents.
"Harry, let's make sure we come back to visit them every so often," Dudley said, patting Harry's shoulder.
Since arriving in Godric's Hollow, Harry had been completely spaced out, not even noticing the details on the gravestone. Hermione had noticed, but she knew now wasn't the time to mention it. She simply stared thoughtfully at the flowers.
After they left the cemetery, Harry's expression began to return to normal. He was, after all, only a boy about to turn twelve.
"Come on, Harry. Let's go see your house," Dudley said. "From now on, you're the head of the Potter family."
Dudley's mind was on something else entirely. Harry was the most legitimate and only heir to the Potter family. He had heard that the Potters had made their fortune in hair care products, and his Uncle James had been quite wealthy even after leaving school.
But now, all Harry had left was a vault full of Galleons.
So, where were the other Potter family assets?
Those Galleons in the vault might fool Harry, but they wouldn't fool Dudley. He needed to do some investigating. Dudley, or "D-Dog" as some called him, wasn't to be trifled with.
The trio walked across a lawn to the outskirts of the village, where the old Potter house stood. It was a dilapidated, ivy-covered ruin.
It truly was a wreck. Though most of the house was still standing, the right side of the top floor had been completely blasted apart. The house was severely damaged and hadn't been maintained for years, and the Fidelius Charm that once protected it was gone.
It looked no different from an ordinary haunted house.
Harry was disappointed by the sight. It was big, but it was far too broken down. It was a miracle it hadn't completely collapsed.
Dudley stretched. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."
Harry heard him and spun around. "D-Dog, you don't mean...?"
He had a feeling what Dudley was thinking, and a glimmer of hope sparked in his heart.
"That's right..."
Dudley immediately invested experience points into his life skills of craftsmanship and renovation.
"To fix up this house?" Hermione asked eagerly after hearing Dudley's idea. "Can I stay and help?"
Even though she was a young witch now, she had never actually stayed in a wizard's home before, and she was bursting with curiosity.
"Of course, but first, we need to let your mum and dad know."
For the next week, the three of them camped out on a patch of land near the old Potter house.
Tents, sleeping bags, even a frying pan for cooking—Dudley's bag was like a magical warehouse. If it had more space, Hermione suspected he'd try to fit a whole house in it.
That's it, I'll get Dudley a bigger bag for his next birthday, she decided.
She had made this bag herself when she was first learning the Undetectable Extension Charm, and now she could make one with a much larger capacity.
Repairing the old house wasn't too difficult for Dudley, as long as he had enough time. But they did run into some problems.
The obstacles weren't from other wizards but from a group of small magical creatures.
These were creatures that loved to live in wizarding homes: gnomes in the yard and Doxies in the house.
Gnomes were a pain. They loved to dig holes near wizard homes and were simply disgusting.
Doxies were even worse. Also known as Biting Fairies, these were classified as 3X magical beasts. They had humanlike bodies but were very small and covered in thick black hair, with an extra set of arms and legs.
The problem was that they had two rows of sharp, poisonous teeth. The venom was quite potent, and they could lay up to five hundred eggs at a time, which hatched in just two to three weeks.
These nasty creatures seemed to see the trio as intruders and constantly attacked them, trying to stop Dudley's repair work.
Fortunately, neither the gnomes nor the Doxies could get through Dudley's defenses. Hermione used a lot of gnome and Doxy spray, and Dudley even made a special container to catch the pesky creatures.
Besides the gnomes and Doxies, the old Potter house was also home to a few Puffskeins. These creatures were gentle and liked to eat leftovers, and they were quite cute, so they were allowed to stay.
A week passed, and Dudley had repaired most of the house. While there was still a lot of work to be done, it was now perfectly fine to live in.
Just as planned, Caroll arrived in Godric's Hollow to sign the contract with Dudley and finalize the last details of their partnership.
About two weeks later...
A wildly popular game was released to the wizarding world.
It was an instant sensation, capturing the hearts of witches and wizards, young and old.
The game was called Wizard's Card.