Chapter Seven

The door closed softly behind Dudley, Beth, and May. They looked at each other. Even the silence felt incomplete; like it needed a fourth silent person to be truly silent.

"Well," Dudley said. "We're home…"

"It's quiet," May said. "I miss Time already."

"Me, too, sweetheart," Beth said. She had already spent most of the car ride home weeping, and Dudley had thought that she must have no more tears left. However, a new tear formed and dripped onto her cheek. Dudley wiped it away with his thumb and then put an arm around her.

"Should I make us some tea?" he asked.

Beth and May agreed, and Dudley took them to the kitchen to put a kettle on the electric stove. May pulled out her box of crayons and some scrap paper to draw on while they waited for the water to heat up. Beth put some bread in the toaster and jam on the table.

Then Beth asked Dudley how work was going, and the Dursley's ended up having a very normal and quite lovely morning together. Vernon and Petunia called in the afternoon to see how Beth and Dudley were getting along with their firstborn out of the house and on his way to Smelting's, and to say again just how much they loved their grandchildren.

/~/~/~/

Harry and Dudley were having lunch one autumn afternoon at a café just down street from where Dudley worked. It was an occasional, non-formal, unspoken arrangement they had since their eldest children had left for Hogwarts, and this was their third such lunch. It was substantially, though not completely, less awkward than the first.

Dudley had finished most of his toasted ham and cheese sandwich and was contemplating starting on his chips when Harry suddenly changed the topic of Hermione's latest work with house elves (during which he'd mumbled something about being asked to see if Dudley and Beth wanted to join S.P.E.U., or something like that, but Dudley had given Harry such a blank look that he dropped the subject almost immediately).

"So Big D…" (Dudley glanced up and frowned at Harry's sudden hesitation) "…why did you contact me after you read my book?"

Dudley dropped the chip he'd picked up. He blinked several times at Harry and then wiped his salty fingers on his paper napkin. "Er…" he said finally. But that was all he could say. It was a question Dudley had asked himself many times, but had never been able to come up with an answer for. But now that he was under the pressure of Harry's gaze, he felt like he needed to keep talking, just to say something.

"Well…I just felt…I just needed to is all…"

"Needed to?"

"Well I didn't do it because I wanted to!" Dudley said before he thought about it.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Thanks Dudley…"

"No, that's not what I meant," Dudley said quickly, even though it kind of was. "It's like…When Aunt Marge hands you money, you take it. When a guy takes a swing at you, you block it. You don't think about it."

"So it was instinct?" Harry frowned, and then got a sudden twinkle in his eye. "Sounds kind of like magic to me."

Dudley's eyes widened. "But I don't have magic," he said.

"Magic is everywhere, Big D."

Dudley sat back and frowned. No, there must be a more logical explanation. "Maybe…" he finally said, quietly. He shifted his eyes around the small café before letting them focus on his plate of chips and sandwich crusts. "I started to see that you were like me. I mean not…we don't have anything in common. I just mean. I just started to see that you're more of a person than a w-wizard," he whispered that last word in case anyone was eavesdropping.

Dudley paused and would not look up at Harry until he said what he needed to say. He took a deep breath. "And if that was true, then…I didn't have to be afraid of you anymore."

A charged silence followed. Finally, Harry said, "You spent all those years being afraid of me?"

Dudley shrugged, mildly embarrassed. "I tried not to think about it, honestly. But your book made me think about it. And then…I guess I just had to know. That last time we saw each other, I told you that I didn't hate you." Dudley glanced up. "But you never said that you didn't hate me back."

Harry stared across the table at Dudley with his mouth slightly open, and Dudley squirmed.

Finally, Harry's expression softened, and he leaned forward. "I don't hate you, Dudley."

Dudley nodded quickly, a little awkwardly, and smiled, also awkwardly. He knew that now, of course. But it felt oddly nice to hear it. It was the nicest sentiment Harry had ever given him, and it made him feel…approved. Respected. And Dudley always liked that feeling.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "I don't hate you, either."

The corner of Harry's mouth twitched in a smile. "I know, Big D."

Dudley's mouth twitched, too, and he picked up a chip again and bit into it. They were quiet for a minute, and then Dudley said,

"I got an owl from Time the other day. He got an O on his first potions essay. I don't know if that's a good thing…but he sounded excited."

Harry smiled. "It's a very good thing. Tell him congratulations from me."

"I will," Dudley nodded. He took a sip of his Pepsi. He and Harry both shifted in their seats. "So what's this about house elves again?"

And then Harry explained the situation with house elves to Dudley, who took more interest in it than usual, and since he thought that Beth might also take interest, he signed them up for S.P.E.W., which Harry said would make Hermione very happy.

When they finished lunch, Dudley went back to his office while Harry Disapparated back to his office; and when Dudley caught sight of an owl gliding quickly past his window, he gave a small smile.

The End

A/n: Yes, really. That's the end. This is, after all, Dudley's story, and he's done here, don't you think?

Thank you all who followed this story and reviewed (and thank you to those who will review). I have loved writing this story, and for readers as fabulous as you all, it was completely worth it.

A sequel for this story is in the works, though it's not so much of a sequel as it is a separate story in the same universe. I'm psyched about the plot, though. Babblefest helped me come up with the key point to it many months ago, and it still blows my mind. I'm working on it between school and actual work, so it'll be a while before it's done. In the meantime, put me on author alert if you want to be notified when it does go up, and you can check my profile for brief updates on its progress (including the first line of the story).

So I've gotten a lot of interesting feedback on what people thought of the ending of this story (lots of uneasiness about Dudley's decision), and more than anything I'd like to hear your reaction. Knowing that I made some people uncomfortable and thoughtful about this particular moral dilemma is a reward in itself since it means that I, as an author/communicator did something right in the storytelling scheme of things. So tell me, what kind of taste did that leave in your mouth?