Dudley stared at the piece of paper on the table in front of him. The table was new, just like every other bit of furniture in the house. The paper was laying there, the questions mocking him. He hadn't graduated from Smeltings. His last year of courses were taken by correspondence. It was something he never thought he'd be worried about. School hadn't been anything he cared about, it was simply somewhere to go until he could follow his father into working at Grunnings. Dudley heard heavy footsteps approach the kitchen and his hand quickly darted out to drag the paper under the table before his father could see it.

"Ah, Dudley, I didn't hear you come home last night. Out late with Piers?" Vernon puttered around the stove, setting the kettle to boil. His mother was out shopping for the groceries so his father had no choice but to make it himself. "Dudley?"

He realized he hadn't answered his father and started a bit. "Sorry, Dad. Yeah, we went round to the pub. Got in late."

"Well, boys will be boys. Hope you had a good time." Vernon turned away from Dudley and the young man took the opportunity to shove the paper under the book his mother had on the table. Vernon would never look under there. When his father turned back, Dudley was straightening them as if he had just noticed they were a little crooked. "Tied one on good, did you? You're quiet today."

Dudley shrugged. He didn't really want to tell his father of his plans to attend college. He knew what Vernon would say. Dudley already had a job in Grunnings, supervising one of the workshops designing new drills. He had no clue what he was doing and he knew it and so did his subordinates. It was a very polite situation, actually, run by one of the lead engineers, who made a show of reporting to Dudley, who made a show of reporting to his boss. All three knew the truth, but keeping the status quo the way it was kept the executives, ie. Dudley's father, from breathing down their necks. If Dudley had just been the same person he was a few years ago, he would have been happy with it the way it was. However, the events of the past year had changed him.

He looked up at his father, the mustache hiding a worried frown. That was one thing he could count on, at least. For all of Vernon Dursley's faults, he did love his son deeply. Dudley sighed, this wasn't going to get any easier the longer he put it off, and while he had hoped it would happen when his mother was around to defuse what was sure to be an argument, he was just going to have to accept that that wasn't going to be the case. Dudley slipped the paper out from under the book and slid it over toward Vernon across the table.

The older man picked it up and read the letter carefully, years of contract negotiations showing in the way he took in every word. "College? You've been accepted?"

"Yes, sir. With my grades from Smeltings, they were hesitant, but the courses I took, um, this last year, brought them up well enough." Mentioning the last year was risky, but Dudley was damned proud of himself for doing so well in the classes he'd taken while the family was in hiding. He'd never been able to claim any sort of academic scholarship before that and he was happy that he'd proven to himself that he wasn't the complete moron that everyone thought he was.

"But you already have job." Vernon glossed over the brief mention of the last year.

Dudley sighed. How to get it across to his father that Grunnings wasn't his dream, he still hadn't figured out. There was nothing for it, but to try and see. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I don't want to sell drills for my entire life." He continued quickly to forestall any comments, "I know you love it, Dad and that's great but it's just not for me. I want to do more."

His father's mustache started quivering, "You what?" The question was calm, low, and lethal.

Dudley's mind was swirling faster than it ever had before. If he could get his father on board then college wouldn't be as painful, and Dudley could work around the expectations of his father to achieve his own goal. He'd had almost two decades of experience at that. But how to do it? By making it about Vernon, of course. "You said once that the only thing holding you back from the presidency of Grunnings was that you didn't have the degree in business that the other directors had. I don't want to be held back."

Vernon cringed. He knew how badly he wanted to be in complete charge of the company he'd given his entire life to, and that was the only thing he could think of that was holding him back. He never thought of his attitude being the factor because, in Vernon's mind, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Dudley could reach higher than him if he had the degree. He could be the President of Grunnings. And Vernon would have been the one to ensure his greatness.

Dudley could see the exact moment when Vernon decided that Dudley going to school was a good idea. It was in his eyes and brows. They relaxed from their anger and settled into smug satisfaction. It was probably not ideal for the career Dudley wanted that he was playing his father to get it but at the moment he saw no other option. Just before Vernon spoke again the front door opened and his mother carried the groceries into the house. Dudley didn't want to move and possibly break the moment, but as Petunia bustled into the kitchen, she saw there was some sort of stand-off going on between father and son. The last year had left her on high alert, so instead of being cheerful, she simply looked at her son questioningly. The two of them had formed an even greater bond in hiding. Dudley simply picked up the registration form he'd been filling out when Vernon came in and handed it to her after she put down the bag of groceries on the table.

When she read what it was she smiled broadly, "Oh, Dudley, they accepted you! I just knew they would. I'm so proud of you." Petunia leaned down and hugged her son tightly.

"You knew of this, Petunia?"

She nodded briskly. "I did, Vernon. He didn't want to tell you unless he was accepted."

"Well, of course he'd be accepted! My boy, not accepted? That's ridiculous. And he'll be the finest young executive of Grunning's when he's done. And then President of the company." Vernon practically cackled as he planned Dudley's future.

Petunia looked at Dudley, knowing he had no interest in business. Dudley just shook his head minutely. Petunia nodded back. They would keep Dudley's intentions to teach quiet while they let Vernon imagine a world in which he ruled all. After all, after the last year, it's what they did every day.

I said in my profile I wasn't finished with my HP 'verse. This one came to me as the result of a word prompt: registration form. I hadn't yet explored how Vernon reacted to Dudley wanting to go to college, so this is where it led. It's set in the summer of 1998, shortly after the Dursleys are allowed to return home from hiding, so probably July for Dudley to get into school just in the nick of time. For those of you who haven't read my story Dudley's Tale, he ends up as a teacher and guidance counselor in a primary school.