It was only after he gotten his second son that Dudley noticed the problem. It started slow at first, small things. Freddy got less presents for his birthday, or when they went to trips, Dudley's parents always went to somewhere he was too young to join his bigger brother.
He didn't think a lot of it, and made sure always to go to the playground or the swimming pool with Freddy while Georgie went somewhere with his grandparents.
Then it grew a little bit more noticeable. Whenever his children visited their grandparents, his first son was spoiled, but his second son was ignored, or punished for the littlest things.
When he confronted his mother about this, she acted like he was just imagining things, that he just happened to come in when his second son had been naughty.
During the holidays, his children often spend a week or two with their grandparents. His oldest just loved going, but his youngest hated it there, more so when the years went by. Still, he made them go, remembering how much he loved his parents.
When he arrived to pick them up early in the morning, he found them sitting at the table, only plated for three and saw his littlest serving them.
"Mom, why is Freddy serving you?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable at seeing his youngest in a position he had only seen his cousin in.
"Oh, Freddy was being mean to Georgie, so we wanted him to apologize," his mother said, but it sounded like a quickly made excuse.
"You shouldn't take it that far mom," Dudley said, taking the pan with bacon from his youngest.
"You go sit Freddy, and eat." Frederick quickly took a seat, but didn't say anything, quickly eating the food that was put on his plate. He seemed to have lost some weight, but he could have just entered another growth spurt.
"Frederick, manners," Dudley heard his father say in a gruff way and saw Freddy slow down and put his head down, as if he expected to be cuffed.
Dudley felt his stomach clench, but ignored the feeling. His parents would never hurt their grandchildren like that. They loved them too much for it.
A few days after they had returned from the two weeks with the grandparents, he came home to chaos, his wife was angry and both Freddy and Georgie were crying.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later. Georgie, you are not to watch anymore telly today or tomorrow. I want you two now to calm down, sit down and tell daddy what happened and why," his wife told his kids, making him raise his eyebrows.
When they told him that Georgie hit Freddy because he wanted to look some cartoons while Freddy was watching TV.
"Georgie, why did you that." Dudley asked his oldest son, who looked stubbornly to the side.
"Grandpa and grandma told me I could," he said, "they told me that Freddy should always listen to me, and if he doesn't that I should hit him until he does,"
Dudley sat there gaping, his mouth wide.
"Tell him where they have you sleeping Freddy," his wife said, her tone short and clipped and he could feel the hairs from his back rise.
"I have to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs," Dudley exploded at that, angry, but a look from his wife made him swallow that anger down for the moment.
He had never realised when he had been younger how wrong Harry had been treated. It was only when he got older that he realised that Harry hadn't deserved his treatment.
And now to hear it being done to his own son, it felt bad.
"Georgie, I want you to apologize to Freddy," Dudley said, trying his best to stay neutral. He wasn't the smartest one around, but his wife and him had discussed how they would raise their kids and explosive tempers was not in there.
"But I jus did what grandpa and grandma told me too," he said, pouting and starting to cry.
"I know, but that kind of behaviour is not accepted. You and Freddy are the same, and you shouldn't hurt him when you want something he has." His wife said softly.
Georgie looked a bit to the side, but in the end he apologized.
"I'm sorry Freddy," he said.
"It's fine Georgie. Next time don't hurt me." He said.
When both kids were sent to their beds, he talked to their wife.
"They are not to see the kids unsupervised again," she said and Dudley agreed.
"I'm sorry," Dudley said, "I never expected them to this to my kids,"
"No one expects their parents to behave that way," his wife said and he flinched. She narrowed her eyes at him, "Dudley?"
"They did it to my cousin. He lived with us since his parents died when he was just a baby, and they always treated him like that." He said.
His wife gasped.
"But why?"
"He was a bit...weird," he said, not knowing how his wife would react if he told him that Harry was a wizard, "nothing he could do about it, though. I treated him the same way as Georgie treated Freddy. It was only after he saved my live that I started to see he wasn't actually bad."
"Dudley, if don't want them to make our children bullies." His wife said and he flinched.
"They won't," he said decisively, "I won't let them,"
No, he thought, I won't let them grow up like I did. His children would be good men, just like his cousin.
YOU ARE READING
No Repeating History
FantasyDudley had never thought he could hate his parents, but it seemed all it took was them discovering that one of his sons had magic and treating him as bad as they did Harry. Discovering that they let him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs wheneve...
