The Dursley's adopted son

Chapter 30

Mrs. Dursley had prepared a delicious meal. It was some sort of casserole, but I wasn't quite sure what was in it. It wasn't quite as yummy as the American food from earlier, but it was still mouth-wateringly delicious. Mrs. Dursley smiled fondly when I complimented her cooking and thanked her for the meal.

Dinner was a rather peaceful affair. Piers, Dudley and I were all too exhausted to contribute to any sort of conversation much, but that was alright because it allowed Mr. and Mrs. Dursley to lead the discussion. There was no more awkward tension-- at least not on my end-- and it was kind of sweet to see Vernon and Petunia talk to each other lovingly.

After dinner, I volunteered to wash the dishes. That got a few weird stares, but Mrs. Dursley seemed grateful for the offer. Dudley and Piers reluctantly tagged along to help as well, feeling awkward about leaving me on my own. I was kind of horrified to realise that Dudley had never had to wash a dish in his life, and didn't know the first thing about doing it properly. Poor Mrs. Dursley, left to do all the chores by herself.

While the three of us had been at the park, Mrs. Dursley had pulled together some sleep clothes, a toothbrush and a small pile of blankets for me. After washing and putting away the dishes, Mrs. Dursley handed me the bundle of sleepover necessities, and ushed the three of us up into Dudley's room. I was slightly surprised that the Dursleys had clothes around my size, but decided not to ask about.

Piers, Dudley and I piled into Dudley's bedroom. He groaned and flopped onto his bed, declaring,

"Normally when I have friends over, we stay up all night playing video games, but honestly boys, tonight I think I just need to sleep."

Piers and I both laughed in agreement. Piers wandered over to Dud's bed and stole a few pillows, tossing them onto the floor.

"Don't fall asleep without helping us set up beds!"

"Or brushing your teeth," I chimed in, which resulted in my two friends nodding as though I has shared something particularly wise.

"Okay, plan of action. Set up bed, brush teeth and put on pyjamas, then maybe put on a movie or something to fall asleep to. Sound good?" Dudley's voice was slightly muffled from the way he had buried his face in his blankets, but we heard the plan all the same and voiced our agreement.

It took about half an hour to getty ready for bed, and Dudley had queued up Star Wars: A New Hope on a small telly he had in his room. Upon seeing the film the Dud had chosen, Piers let out a low whistle.

"Wow, feeling rebellious today, aren't you Big D?"

Dudley turned red and shot a bashful glare at Piers, before turning to me in explanation,

"My parents don't like anything with magic or anything weird in it." I nodded. This was something I already knew. Dud continued,

"So I'm not technically supposed to watch Star Wars, but come on, it's Star Wars, so I don't listen to them." Again I nodded,

"Yeah I mean, I don't blame you." Dudley smiled at me, and then continued,

"And anyways, the rule is less about me and more about Harry."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dudley and Piers both kind of freeze. I had no idea who Harry was, but clearly Dudley didn't mean to mention the name.

"Harry?" I asked, perplexed. I turned to fully face Dudley, so I was able to watch as a look of dread overtook his face, and as Piers closed his eyes in an overdramatic wince. I thought for a second, trying to piece together who this mysterious Harry was.

"Is that your cousin? You've never mentioned his name before, I don't think."

Dudley paused the movie as he nodded. I was taken aback by the sudden shift in atmosphere, one second we're watching the iconic opening of Star Wars, the next it's been paused and replaced by a sullen silence. I waited patiently for Dudley to say something, but he had the expression of someone who was debating every decision he had ever made. After a moment, he closed his eyes and breathed out,

"Yeah, uh, Harry's the cousin. My cousin" I nodded slowly at the confirmation, and decided to take pity on Dudley.

"Cool, nice to have a name, I guess. Look man, if you don't want to talk about your cousin, we don't have to."

"You should probably know. I mean, you're literally wearing his clothes right now, and it's not like he's a secret or anything it's just--"

My stomach dropped as I realized what was happening. Dudley's cousin must have died. That's why he such a taboo topic! And it was probably pretty recently too, I thought, remembering how Piers's had mentioned that Dudley's cousin was supposed to attend Stonewall. I tried to catch Piers's eyes, but he was resolutely examining the quilt that made up his make-shift bed. As gently as I could, I reached over to Dudley and pat his shoulder,

"Oh Dudley, I'm so sorry for your loss. It must have been really difficult today to be at Stonewall, if that was the school Harry was meant to attend. I'm sure he's really proud about how well you did today."

Dudley's shoulder stiffened under my hand, and Piers breathed out sharply, in a way that sounded almost like an incredulous laugh. I tensed up as well, worried I might have upset Dudley on what was clearly a sensitive topic. As he met my eyes, I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but was caught off guard by the confused, and almost disgusted, look on Dudley's face.

"Harry isn't dead. He's just an ungrateful, annoying, little prat."

The vitriol in his voice caused me to physically flinch back. I don't think I've ever heard him speak with such hatred--even back when he was a bonafide bully. Piers must have sensed my discomfort, because he let out a sharp, scolding,

"Dudley."

Dudley rolled his eyes,

"I'm just telling it the way it is, Piers. Harry is nasty and stuck-up, and honestly just insufferable."

"I don't know if that's fair to--"

"Oh shut it. He's always calling me dumb, and taunting me, and being rude to my parents. Don't forget that he was the one who set the snake loose!"

My eyebrows shot up. Piers had sworn that the glass just disappeared, but if Dudley said it was Harry's fault...

Piers shot me a look, and I must have had a look of realization on my face or something, because he panicked and yelled,

"How about we just move on! Yup, Harry is the name of Dudley's cousin, we don't talk about him ever because they don't get along. Can we press play on Star Wars now?"

I still had a lot of questions, but Dudley obliged Piers's request, so I didn't get the chance to ask them.

The three of us were swept away into the story of a galaxy far far away, and the tension seemed to dissipate. Well, at least it did for Dudley and Piers. I was only able to pay half-attention to the movie, because something about the whole Harry situation still wasn't sitting right with me.

As the movie ended, I steeled myself to ask further questions about Harry, awkwardness be damned, only to notice that my friends had fallen into an easy sleep. My curiosity was killing me, but I wasn't about to wake either of them up, especially after such a long day. I resigned myself to asking tomorrow, and curled up on my makeshift bed on the floor, trying to ignore the persistent unease that had settled in my gut. My last comforting thought before I fell asleep was that even if there was something more to the Harry situation, it really wasn't my business. Whatever relationship Dudley had with his cousin wasn't for me to stick my nose into--I yawned and turned over--it really doesn't affect me.

I'm alive! I might also be dumb, because this chapter has actually been fully written for literal months, and I guess I just,,,never uploaded it?? Huge failure on my part, but I hope I can be forgiven. I promise that the next chapter isn't over a year away. Please leave votes and comments! I want to know if people are still actually invested in this....

Word count of 1363.