Dudley did know what was happening to Harry but he had been indoctrinated by his mother to believe that Harry was a freak who deserved whatever he got. It takes a bright, inquiring mind to look at the situation in which one has lived all their lives and think 'this is not right because of a, b and c' and Dudley just doesn't have that type of mind; In the cannon, Dudley accepts it when Harry is locked in a cupboard, starved, emotionally abused and treated as a slave and, indeed, endorses and aids his parents neglect by beating Harry up and frightening away potential friends. In this fic, Dudley 'sees the light' and, like many people who suddenly find themselves complicit in abuse, he pretends that he knew all along that what was happening was wrong but was too scared to speak out.

Thanks for the compliments; I'm really glad you like the idea of Hermione being in Slytherin. In the canon, we see the Slyths from an outsider and aggressor's point of view. Although it is arguable that some of the Slyths would not have developed into nice people whatever the circumstances, there is a degree of self-fulfilling prophesy: Harry is told that Slytherins are evil, backstabbing bastards and, because he treats them with suspicion and contempt, they act like evil, backstabbing bastards. However, from a friendly, insider's point of view, the Slyths are going to show the nice sides of their characters and, with the softening influence of Harry and Hermione, could develop very differently.

Thanks for the review. I know that my Vernon is rather 'Alternate Universe' but I really wanted to mirror Severus and Harry's lives.

Considering what most of my reviewers have said, I don't think they would have been all that pleased if I let Petunia off scott-free lol! However, Severus's revenge is just the beginning of the story.

As for Slytherin's book, I have the problem that, if I wrote in actual Anglo-Saxon, I'd have to spend a couple of hours on the translation and then add huge long paragraphs in the End Notes, translating it back into Modern English. And then there is also the fact that Slytherin's phrasology, I feel, adds charm to his writings (which, if I used Old English, would be lost to any reader who couldn't understand Anglo-Saxon.) Therefore, I've compromised by germanic words (and spellings) where I can and throwing in the odd bit of Old Norse or Latin. Sometimes one needs to find a balence between authenticity and practicality.

 P.S. I have a BA in English Literature and I specialised in Old English ;)

I know but, unfortunately, many abused children feel that they deserve it because their self-esteem has been eroded to such a point that they truely believe that they are worthless/useless/bad.

Anyway, thank you for the compliments: I'm really glad that you enjoyed the chapter ^^.