Forever Family

Chapter 21

Publish Date: 11/19/18

A cold windy day in October was the perfect time to go to a Muggle cafe and get some tea, according to Hermione. That's why Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione found themselves seated at a table in a quiet cafe in Muggle London.

"See? I told you you'd like it," Hermione grinned as Ron reached for another scone. It was rare that all four of them had a day off at once, but they were taking advantage of the opportunity.

"Any more news with work, Harry and Ron?" Ginny asked. Though the question may have sounded like casual small talk, both Harry and Ron knew what Ginny was actually asking.

"We've filled you in on everything that's been going on," Ron shrugged.

"Then I guess our best course of action now would be to get the news out," Hermione said. "We should talk to Kingsley."

"I agree," Harry began. "Kingsley will definitely..." his voice trailed off as he saw a man at the counter—a man he thought he'd never see again.

Dudley Dursley.

Dudley had definitely changed since the last time Harry saw him. Where once stood an overweight, spoiled boy, now stood a muscular, mature man. Harry watched as Dudley carried a cup of coffee to a table and sat down.

"Harry? You alright?" Hermione asked. Harry's attention was drawn back to his friends.

"Yeah. Fine." Harry glanced at Dudley again, and Ron's eyes followed his line of sight.

"Bloody hell, mate! Isn't that your cousin?" At these words, Hermione and Ginny looked in the direction of Dudley.

"That's Dudley?" Ginny asked, eyes wide. "He looks a lot different than how you lot described him!"

"He looks a lot different than I remember," Harry agreed. Before they could talk anymore, Dudley started walking over to the table.

"Excuse me, can I borrow some silverware—" Dudley's eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to. "H-Harry?"

"Hi, Dudley." The group was silent for a moment, waiting for someone to speak up.

"Er...you wanna introduce me?" Dudley pointed to the other three at the table.

"Oh! Yes, alright. These are my best friends, Ron and Hermione, and this is my wife Ginny." Harry went around the table introducing his family.

"It's nice to meet you all." Dudley wrung his hands nervously. The cousins were silent again, neither of them really knowing what to say.

"Listen, Harry, I wanted to apologize for everything my parents and I put you through when we were kids," Dudley started. Whatever Harry was expecting, it wasn't an apology. "I'm mature enough now to know that we had no right to treat you that way."

"Thanks, Dudley. I appreciate it. How are Vernon and Petunia anyway?" Harry had long since stopped referring to Dudley's parents as Aunt and Uncle.

"They're okay. But what about you? How's your family?"

Harry grinned. He could talk about his family all day. "They're great. You've met my wife, and I also gave a godson. And, of course, the rest of the Weasleys."

"I'm happy for you, Harry. You deserve it." Dudley smiled. "Hey, why don't you come over to my flat and we can catch up? If you want to, that is."

"I'd like that." Harry figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to make amends with Dudley.

"They can come, too, of course," Dudley indicated to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"No, thank you," Ginny replied. "You guys can go on ahead, I think we'll head home." Ginny gave Harry a quick goodbye kiss, and she left with Ron and Hermione.

Dudley drove Harry to his flat. There wasn't much talk on the ride there, but Harry was fine with that.

"Here we are." Dudley stopped the car and opened the door for Harry to get out. "It's not much, but I wanted to pay for my house myself."

Harry was once again struck by how much his cousin had changed. A few years ago, Dudley never would have paid for his house himself. He probably wouldn't have even left the comfort of his parents' home.

Dudley led Harry inside. "Can I get you anything to drink, Harry?"

"Just a water's fine, thanks."

A few minutes later, Dudley came back with two glasses of water. The two men sat down on the couch.

"So, Dudley, what do you do?" Harry asked, wondering what kind of job this new Dudley would be doing.

"I work for Grunnings, just like Dad," Dudley grinned. "What do you do?"

"I'm an Auror. I catch dark wizards." Harry realized that he had spoken of magic as soon as the words left his mouth. To his surprise, Dudley didn't seem to mind.

"You did kill that....wizard that was after you, right? Voldie-something?"

"Voldemort? Yes, I killed him," Harry responded.

"We didn't get much news when we were in hiding," Dudley began. "Would you...mind telling me what happened?"

Harry didn't do a very good job hiding his astonishment on this one. "Wow—sure, okay. This is a long story, though, are you sure you want to hear all of it?"

"Yes. We have time."

And so Harry began the story, from the day that the prophecy was created. Harry told him all about his adventures at school with Ron and Hermione, and eventually got to the part about the Triwizard Tournament.

"You saw Cedric die, and I made fun of you for it!" Dudley exclaimed, aghast.

"It's alright, Dud, you didn't know." Harry continued on with the story. When he got to the part about the Final Battle, Dudley was full of questions.

"How did you survive the Killing Curse?"

"It was my mother's protection, from the night she died. Her love kept me alive," Harry explained the best he could.

The topic turned from the war to just the Wizarding World in general, and Harry was happy to be talking about something more cheerful.

"What was your school like?" Dudley asked, taking a sip of his drink. "You were always so excited to go back—I figured it must be good."

Harry smiled. He appreciated that Dudley wanted to know more about his world, after all these years. "Hogwarts was brilliant. It was huge! I remember when Ron and I were so proud of ourselves because we made it to the Great Hall without getting lost."

Dudley laughed. Assuming he had been talking to much about himself, Harry changed the topic to Dudley's life. "What about you, Dudley? Any special people in your life?"

"Well, there is one girl. Veronica. We've been dating for about a year now...and I think I want to propose." Dudley blushed. He never thought he'd be telling Harry Potter, of all people, about his love life!

"That's brilliant, Dud!" Harry clapped Dudley on the back, then checked his watch. "Speaking of girls, I should be getting back soon. Ginny won't be happy if I'm late to dinner."

"Oh, right. Well, I'll see you soon?" Dudley asked hopefully, standing up.

"I'd like that," Harry said. "Here, I'll give you my address so you can write me." Catching Dudley's confused expression, he said, "Yes, you can use Muggle post."

Dudley breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, thanks for coming, Harry. I know we weren't exactly the best of friends—that was my fault—but I hope we can change that."

"Me, too, Dudley. Me, too." And with that, Harry walked out pf Dudley's flat, feeling satisfied. After all those years of a bad relationship, it seemed like things were finally going right.

A/N: Hey guys. I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little bit random, but I've been wanting to write a Harry and Dudley interaction for a while. I hope this didn't interfere with the plot to much, but we'll be back to normal for the next chapter. Also, thanks for 300 reads! Thanks for reading! 💛
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