Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Harry Potter, J k Rowling, or Warner Bros. Everything in this story is meant to entertain and no money was made in the making and distribution of this story. Any similarity with real life is completely coincidental.

AN: This story has not been Beta Read. English is not my first language, so I apologize for any and all mistakes in spelling and grammar. This was written for the Holiday Challenge.

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Unsung Carols

~o~

When his girlfriend laughingly announced that they were going to be spending their Christmas' Eve carolling from door to door on her grandparent's neighbourhood, the last thing he expected was to have a good time. It was bloody cold, his girlfriend sounded like a dying cat when she sings and with the snowy white faux fur coat his mother had given him as early Christmas's gift, he looked like an overgrown snowman.

Despite all that, Dudley had to admit that he was having far much fun that he ever thought. Most people living on the small village he was visiting were as old as his girlfriend's grandparents. Having known her from all her life, they would humour her, sing with her and load them up with candy.

He had always been fond of candy, as his size will attest to.

Most importantly, his girlfriend was deliriously happy. That, more than anything was worth it.

"Admit it, you are having the time of your life!" She said, twirling around him on her Santa's Elf costume. She hadn't complained about the cold once, but Dudley figure that she would start to shiver soon enough. The temperature kept on dropping and according to the evening's weather prediction they were expecting snow any time now. But she did looked damn cute in her outfit. "It's like Halloween and Christmas rolled into one." She unwrapped a candy cane she had gotten from the last house and stuck it on her mouth. "Literally."

He couldn't give up that easily, however. Grunting, Dudley shook his head. "It's freezing. I'm tired of walking." She laughed, and wrapped her arm around his much larger one, leaning against him. He was suddenly feeling very warm. "But the hot chocolate was nice." He said, and as if he had just admitted defeat she grinned widely.

"Well, we only have one more house to go!" She reassured him, as they reached the corner of the street.

The house was different than the other ones they had visited that night, thought Dudley couldn't quite put his finger on why. It looked like a simple, three story house. Bigger than the rest, but not enough to be out of place. Not his style, as he usually went for the new, the shiny, post modern style. This house looked old, with a fairytale like charm to it. The sort of home you would expect to find deep in the woods, with a princess and a dragon inside.

There was no car parked in the driveway, but there was an inviting glow coming from inside. The closer the two of them came to it, the stronger the scent of delicious food got, causing Dudley's stomach to forget it had been recently filled with candy and other desserts. He didn't even pretend to dragged his feet when his girlfriend bounced into the house. He was curious about the owners, but he was also hoping that whichever old person lived there would be willing to part with something more substantial than candy. Maybe a full plate. Or three.

He let his girlfriend knock on the door, and patted his grumbling stomach. Yet, as rehearsed, the moment the door opened he started to sing.

They didn't get far into the song.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Dudley wasn't sure if he was more surprise at the words or the anger behind them. Then he took a good look at the person that had greeted them and realized that if anything, it was her he should be afraid of. She looked ready to commit murder.

"I.. I.. Sorry. Think there is a mistake." He managed to stammer out. "We are Christmas's carolling and – but he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you were doing, Dursley. I want you as far away from my house as you can get. Now."

Dudley started at the woman in utter confusion. The idea that she might have be mistaking them from someone else leaving him as quickly as it came. She knew him. By name. Problem was, he had no idea who she was.

"Dudley, baby, what's going on?" His girlfriend asked, looking apprehensively between the two of them. Typically she was the kind of woman who liked to avoid confrontation, but she didn't run away from it when it came her way. "Who is she?"

He was trying to figure that out. He truly doubted he had seen her before. Even glaring at him, ready to kill him, the woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Not the kind of woman one would easily forget.

She had the most fascinating shade of red he had ever seen, flowing around her in a long wavy mane. Her pale skin was flushed with anger, and that was strangely appealing. She had wide brown eyes, plump pink lips and a spatter of freckles around her face that might as well be a small constellation. He thought that once upon a time she might have had a perfect figure, but right now it was hard to ignore the large beach ball she was hiding under the dress. The woman was obviously pregnant.

"Oh I doubt he knows who I am." She practically snarled, barely glancing at his girlfriend. "But I know who he is. So I'm going to say this one more time: Get the fuck off my property. Or I swear to Merlin that I will make you."

Something was forming on his brain, a small nagging thought, but he couldn't quite grasp it yet.

"Ginny! Who is at the door? Are you coming?"

At the voice, the woman seemed to startled. She turned around quickly, sending a panicked glance over her shoulder, but the speaker didn't seem to be in view of the door. With a small relieved sigh, she turned once more towards the visitors. "It's the neighbours, love. I'll be there in a moment." She shouted back, then lowered her voice. "What are you waiting for? A map? Go away!"

She didn't give them a chance to leave before slamming the door on their faces. Dudley stood on his place unable to move or form a coherent thought. His girlfriend however didn't seem to have that problem.

"Well, that was rude!" She said, letting out an exasperated breath. "What a bitch! What was her problem?" She ranted, and glared at the close door. "Are you sure you don't know her?" When Dudley didn't replied, she turned her gaze towards him, frowning at his expression. He was thinking so hard, it looked like it was a painful process. "You know what? We are not leaving until we get to the bottom of this." She said determinately, before knocking on the door once more.

"Huh?" Was all Dudley said, blinking away as small puffs of snow started to fall around them.

"That woman." His girlfriend hissed at him. "She clearly has a problem with you, and she knows you by name, so let's find out what is it." She knocked louder.

The redhead opened the door once more, the scowl on her face unmistakable. "What is wrong with the two of you?"

"Right now, you are!" Dudley's girlfriend said, crossing her arms around her chest. The expression on her face matching the woman's. "We want to know what's your problem with Dudley."

The scowl turned into outrage. "I don't have to give you an explanation." She patted down her side, clearly looking for something, but the dress she was wearing didn't have any pockets. Cursing, she titled her head slightly away from them. "Teddy!" She shouted to someone inside the house, "Teddy, honey, be a dear and bring me my wand!"

It finally clicked.

"You are.. You are." Dudley swallowed, his eyed growing wide. "You are one of them!"

Ginny's glare returned with full force. "One of what? Say it." She dared him. Her fingers itching to wrap around her wand. "Call me a freak, see where it gets you."

They could hear someone coming then, and the same voice that had shouted at her early spoke, but this time in amusement. "Baby, you know you are not allowed to hex the neighbours any more."

He hadn't came to the door yet, and Ginny reached with one hand to stop whoever he was from actually seeing them. But Dudley already knew.

"Go away, Harry. I called Teddy not you."

Harry's chuckle died on his throat the moment he took a good look at his wife. "What's wrong?" Before she could react, he reached for her, physically removing her from the doorway and coming to stand on her place. For a moment he was as in shock of seeing his cousin as Dudley was of seeing him.

It probably wasn't longer than a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before he managed to get out some words out. "Harry –

Once more the door was slammed on his face.

~o~

~o~

Snow was falling steadily around them now. His girlfriend finally started to shiver awhile ago, and he had given her his coat, having become temporally numb to the cold. He didn't leave his cousin's front yard, and his girlfriend didn't suggested they go either.

Except to exchange the coat, none of them had move. Neither one had spoken.

He could hear from the door that his cousin and -whom he assume was his wife – were having an argument. He could pick on the tone of their voices, sometimes angry, sometimes pleading, but he couldn't quite make out the words.

Dudley was sorry he had ruined their Christmas' Eve. But he couldn't make himself leave.

Throughout the years since the last time they saw each other, Dudley liked to think that he and Harry had parted in good terms. Most of the time he had managed that, but every now and then he couldn't keep up the lies and the pretends. You didn't – one couldn't – fix a lifetime of wrongs with a cup of tea and a not quite a thank you.

It was all he had at the time. But it would never be enough.

If Dudley thought living with that was bad, this was the first time he had consider how it felt to Harry.

"So that's your cousin?" His girlfriend broke the silence, concern on her blue eyes. Dudley nodded. "You two look nothing alike." She smile faintly.

Dudley shrugged, titling his head to the sky to watch the tiny little balls of snow fall. "Guess he takes after his dad. Gods knows I take after mine," He snorted, though there was no much humour behind that.

She was silent for several moments before she reached towards Dudley. "You need to call him. Not only because we are freezing here, but... It's the Holidays right? Time for family. Yeah?"

"You know we are not.. Things are.." He had told her of course. Not all. He was sure she wasn't ready for all of details yet. Her love for him would only go so far, and if he started speaking about magic, wizards and evil invisible demons that could kiss your soul away... well, she would probably had him committed. But he had told her enough for her to get a picture of how life was at the Dursley's home while growing up. To know that while he was given everything his cousin had been given nothing, made feel like nothing.

When he thought about it – and to be honest it wasn't that often – the guilt was almost overwhelming.

"Things are complicated." He finished lamely.

"You were a child." She said, as she always did when they speak about the subject. "It doesn't make what you did okay. It doesn't fix it, and it's not like you get a pass. But you can't keep blaming the man for the mistakes of the kid. It doesn't work that way."

"Easy to say."

She took his hand in hers. "Dudley you made mistakes. You know that, I know that, they obviously know that," She pointed to the door with the side of her head, where the argument was still going strong. "You can't change that. What you can do is decide what you are going to do now. Are you going to walk away or try to fix it?"

"What if he doesn't want to fix it?"

"Then, it's his choice. The least you can do – and this would be for you and not for him – is to try."

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You are right."

"Of course I am!" She grinned, and stood on her tiptoes before leaving a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Dudley wrapped his arms around her, bringing her as close as it was possible. "What do I do now?

"How about we do what we came in to do?"

He frowned. "Look hungry enough so they take pity on us and give us some dinner?"

She rolled her eyes and punched his arm. "No silly. We sing."

Dudley wasn't sure that was a good idea. They might listen to one verse of Silent Night and thinking his girlfriend's voice was a declaration of war. With their magic sticks, the two of them didn't stand a chance. But he couldn't very well tell her that. He was slow, but not a complete moron.

"I guess that's a good plan as any." He was a hundred percent sure it wasn't.

Thankfully, the two of them didn't get an opportunity to sing. The door was opened a third time, this time both Harry and the red head were on the doorway.

"Dudley," Harry said after a moment but Dudley interrupted him this time.

"Look Harry, we didn't know this was your house. We were doing the Christmas carol thing. I swear, we have no idea this place was yours."

Bright green eyes observed him with a seriousness that was as scary as the fury from the redhead. But Dudley stood his ground, his arm still around his girlfriend.

"Small world and all that crap." Harry finally said, a tired smile gracing his lips. "This is Ginny," He said setting his hand on her back. Dudley wasn't sure if his cousin needed the contact with the woman, or was trying to restrain her. Probably both. "My wife."

"You are having a baby." He wasn't sure why he blurted that out. His cheek flushed as red as the woman's hair. But his cousin laughed, his stand relaxing slightly.

"We are, yes. First pregnancy but we actually have another child. Teddy. He is inside."

That made no sense to him, but Dudley was suddenly curious. He never thought much about kids, but those were his relatives. His family. He wanted to meet them. "That's great. You two, hmm, married young." He was older than Harry by a few months, and they were on the early twenties.

"You have no idea." Harry said, sending Ginny a warm glance. "We were what? 17?"

"We were dumb." She said dryly. Despite her words, she reached for her husband's hand, entwining their fingers.

Amused, Harry grinned at her, before turning to face his cousin once more. "Would you two want to come inside? Must be freezing out here."

Dudley sent a wary glance at Ginny, knowing that she was the most dangerous of the two. "We don't want to impose."

Without missing a beat, she moved to the side allowing them easy entrance, "Come on in, there is food inside."

Dudley glance at his girlfriend, squeezing her hand before following his cousin and his wife inside.

"Thank you." His girlfriend told Harry and Ginny, closing the door after her. "You have a really nice home."

Dudley nodded, recalling some of this early thoughts about the house, and seeing them now reflected on his girlfriend's eyes. He had been right too, there had been a princess and a dragon. They just happened to be the same person.

Having survived that, maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for their fairytale to have a happy ending.

~o~

~o~

AN2: If you made it this far, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Questions, comments, suggestions, are more than welcome. If you want to contact me you can do it through here, -PM or Review- I can also be found on twitter : iLadyGuilt.

Thank you once more for all the support. Don't forget to let me know what you thought!

LadyGuilt