Opening Eyes, Opening Minds
AN: This was written for the 'Speed of Lightning Competition'. The prompt was to write about a character we have never written about before, and to be over 3000 words.
Everything was perfect for Dudley Dursley. His parents loved him. He got whatever he wanted, when he wanted. His parents swallowed his lies and let him get away with anything. But what happens when he realises it shouldn't be this way?
i.
Dudley Dursley was just over a year old when he had gained a new playmate. He was too young to understand, but this new black haired baby with the funny scar shaped like lightning was indeed his cousin, Harry Potter. He didn't realise what Harry was or what he symbolised, and that only the previous evening He Who Must Not Be Named had disappeared, saving the wizarding world from the evil wizard and his followers, the Death Eaters.
He did not know that this new child would grow to become one of the most influential figures the wizarding world has seen. He did not know that he would become the hero of the second wizarding war, and would finally put an end to the threat of Lord Voldemort not once, but twice. He did not know that the presence of his cousin and his actions would force him to re-assess everything he believed to be true, everything his parents had told him that he had previously gone along with.
No, one and a half year old Dudley did not know any of this. All he knew was that there was a new addition to his home, one that he was already larger than. He knew that it was fun to pinch and prod him, ignoring his whimpers or his cries when he did so. He used his slightly larger size to shove him around and take what little toys he possessed, even though he had no use for them, as his own toys were a lot more fun. But most of all, he knew that doing so would not get him in trouble with his parents.
It was no surprise, then, to see the type of person Dudley Dursley had turned out to be. What was unanticipated, however, was that he was able to see through his prejudice and discover the truth for himself, and have the courage to show this to his parents.
ii.
At the tender age of five years old, Dudley found himself dressed in a smart uniform consisting of dark grey trousers and a navy blue jumper, sitting in the back of his parent's car, on his way to his first day of school. Sitting beside him was his cousin, dressed in what should have been an identical set of the uniform, but his was noticeably more dull and frayed. Whilst Dudley's new blue rucksack contained a pencil case featuring cartoon characters and was full of pencils, and his lunch box was full to the brim with treats, Harry's was almost empty, filled with the minimal amount Dudley's parents had to provide.
As soon as the car reached the school gates, Dudley jumped out, slamming the door in his cousins' face. He kissed his mother and strode towards the gates. Harry had appeared behind him as he reached the classroom however, so he fell back and stuck his leg out, grinning with satisfaction as Harry fell forward and onto the muddy floor. He heard a laugh and turned around to see a group of three boys grinning at the sight of Harry on the floor. He felt a surge of smugness and sauntered into the classroom.
"You're Dudley, aren't you?" One of the boys from outside asked, approaching him.
"Yes," Dudley said, eying the three boys. Despite being the same age, he was already larger than them, especially the one who was talking.
"I'm Piers," he said, smirking. "I saw you tripping that weird kid over."
"He's a freak," he grinned. It looked like he would get on fine here.
The four boys quickly become best friends; Dudley their leader. When the teachers weren't looking in class they would steal Harry's belongings and sabotage his work. In the playground, away from the teachers, they would chase Harry, tackling him when they caught him.
iii.
Dudley had been having the strangest week he had ever had in his life. It began with a letter addressed to Harry. He could tell his parents were keeping something from him, something big. They had refused to let him read a letter that they were fretting over, or tell him what it was about. His father even had the nerve to kick him out of the kitchen whilst they talked about it! He had to listen from outside with the freak. To make matters worse, his father gave Harry his spare bedroom! He needed that bedroom, he didn't have enough room in his own for all of his toys. He couldn't believe Harry was going to have it!
Then, he was bundled in the car with his parents and cousin, who wouldn't even tell him where they were going. He wasn't allowed to take his T.V or his computer, which means that he had missed several shows he wanted to see, all just to travel around and have to stay in strange hotels. Then, his father announced that they were staying in a shack! First he didn't have enough food, then he was forced to sleep on the sofa, which was a far cry from his comfy bed back at Privet Drive, not caring at all that his cousin had even less and had to sleep on the dirty, wooden floor.
It all made sense the next morning. The freak was even more of a freak than he believed! Some weird giant broke down the door and told Harry he was a ... that he could do...that he was a freak! He was going to go off to a different school, far away from everyone else so his freakishness didn't affect normal people like him and his family.
That week marked the first of many things for Dudley. Never before had his parents kept things from him, never before had he had to go hungry, and it was also the first time he had felt fear.
iv.
Life was great for Dudley now that Harry had gone off to his freak school. Not that he wasn't spoilt rotten before; it was just now that he was being even more spoilt. Now there was no Harry to have to look after, feed and pay for (his father was always complaining that his cousin cost a fortune to look after), he was showered with even more gifts and junk food and anything he wanted.
He liked Christmas the best. He had it all to himself and his parents, and they were like a proper family, without Harry getting in the way and spoiling their fun. His birthdays, too, were never again tainted with the presence of Harry like it had been all those years ago, on the trip to the zoo for his eleventh birthday.
His new school was great, too. Although there was no Harry to chase and bully - the only thing he missed about his cousin - there were plenty of other kids in his year, which he attacked with the knobbly stick they carried at school. He was never foolish enough to get into trouble, having learnt from his years of bullying Harry at primary school when and what exactly he could get away with and what he couldn't. These opportunities grew as he got older, and was now bigger than the younger students, and he especially liked picking on the first years. During his fourth year, he had taken up boxing, which he often utilized against the other students. Most of the other students looked at him and his gang with a mixture of fear and respect, something that Dudley was very proud of, and his parents were very supportive of all his little 'friends'. They were as blissfully unaware as the teachers were.
v.
He was fifteen when everything changed, although Dudley didn't realise it at the time. It was a warm August evening, and he was walking home from the park, where he had won a fight against a neighbourhood kid, Mark Evans, who had insulted him the day before.
"Hey, Big D!" A voice called, and he turned around, only to find his cousin standing there.
"Oh, it's you," he grunted, contiuing to walk. He had no desire to argue at this time, especially with someone as unimportant as Harry. That's what he told himself, anyway. Deep inside, he knew the real reason was because of what he knew his cousin was carrying, and he was scared of it. He may be able to beat anyone from school in a fight, but he knew his brawn would not help him here.
"How long have you been 'Big D' then?" said Harry.
"Shut up," he growled. The two continued to argue as they walked through the streets, night beginning to fall.
"You're not brave at night," he taunted. "I can hear you through the walls. 'Don't kill Cedric!'" he said, putting on a fake, high-pitched girlish voice. "Who's Cedric - your boyfriend?"
Suddenly, everything went dark. The air became unnaturally cold for such a warm night, and he heard things. He swung at where he thought his cousin was, and felt smug satisfaction when his fist connected with him and he heard him fall to the floor. But still, the feeling did not go away. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise up, and he began shivering. He felt something approach him, but there was nothing there. A ghost? But he didn't believe in such nonsense.
He felt as if whatever the thing was, it was in his mind. He saw his memories, not from his own eyes, but from Harry's and the other kids he had attacked. He felt the pain of every blow, the humiliation, the fear.
He didn't understand it then, but he owed Harry his life.
He didn't know it then, but this was the start of the new Dudley.
vi.
Dudley was watching television and eating a pre-bedtime snack in the living room, when the doorbell rang. Making no move to get up and answer the door, he heard his father a few moments later unlocking the door and being greeted by a strange, unfamiliar voice.
Dudley pulled himself up out of the chair and peered around the living room door, to find the most bizarre man he had ever seen. He had long, silver hair and a matching beard, and looked very old, even older than his grandparents on his father's side, who seemed positively ancient. Not only that, he was wearing odd clothes, they could only be described as robes, and wore a pointy, black hat perched on his head. Dudley gaped, this man was clearly…like Harry.
"And this must be your son, Dudley?" the stranger asked.
Dudley could not help but gawk at the man as he invited himself into the living room, and his cousin joined them. He remained silent, not even taunting his cousin, too terrified of the man, all the way through their conversation. It was not until the man said the most curious thing that he had spoken.
"The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."
"What?" Dudley said, all fear of the man forgotten. He did not reply, he just looked at Dudley as if he were x-raying, and his look was filled with – pity?
That look sent him back, to almost a year previously. When he had encountered those things in that dark alleyway – dementoids, Harry had called them. Since that day, he no longer got the same enjoyment preying on those weaker than him, not since he had to see it from their eyes. He hadn't exactly become a saint, but he had begun to limit his victims to those of similar age, preferring a fairer fight. But one thing was for sure, something inside him had changed.
vii.
Dudley sat in the living room, waiting to leave. He had heard that the war of…Harry's kind had escalated, meaning they, his family, were in danger. Harry's family…it felt weird to be referred to as such. He had never seen Harry as 'family', his parents had treated him as if he were inferior, which Dudley had imitated, pushing him around and outright bullying him.
Since the incident, he had been forced to re-evaluate his outlook on both Harry and the others which he had deemed as inferior or weird. It didn't happen immediately, it had needed a catalyst - and that came with the strange wizard who had invited himself into their home, almost a year ago. He had been right. Dudley had been forced to realise that it was him who was weak, by projecting his insecurities onto others and trying to make himself better through violence. Despite his parents acceptance, and their involvement themselves, especially towards Harry, he had come to realise that this was not right, and slowly, he had stopped these bad habits.
"Dudders!" his mother called from the hall, "we're leaving!"
He followed his mothers' voice, to find her accompanied by two newcomers, a tall, serious looking witch and a considerably shorter man, both of whom were engaged in conversation with Harry.
"Off we go," the man addressed them after they had finished. He followed his mother to the door, pausing when he realised Harry was not following.
"I don't understand," he said, "why isn't Harry coming with us?"
His father came in to see why they were taking so long, and he joined his mothers' staring when Dudley repeated himself.
"I don't want to," Harry said, and he could see in his eyes that he'd prefer to be anywhere but living with them.
Catching the look in his eyes spurred Dudley on. He continued the conversation with Harry, even wishing him luck as they left.
He saw the shocked expression on both of their faces, and felt proud. It was the first time he had ever stood up against his parents ideals, and it felt good.
viii.
With his newly found confidence at going against what he know realises was his parent's brainwashing, Dudley makes a resolution. Harry had once saved his life - well, his soul, Harry had clarified, which Dudley didn't find any more comforting - whilst he had done nothing but make his life a misery, purely because he was scared and didn't understand Harry's world. So, his resolution was to learn about...magic, and to find out why his cousin was so famous. And, living in the safe-house with their two escorts, with several others popping in and out, was the perfect situation to do so.
Instead of staying in their rooms, like his parents had been doing, he roamed the house. He plucked up the courage to join the others for dinner, whilst his parents had their food taken up to their rooms. He loved his parents, he really did, but now he knew that what they had done was wrong, both to Harry and to himself. It wasn't right to teach a child that it was okay to bully and be narrow-minded. He knew he was responsible, too, it wasn't just them. So, he was rectifying it.
He spent his time learning all about the …wizarding world, and learned to say words like 'magic' and 'wand', which he had been unable to do before. He learned what terms such as 'Death Eaters' and 'Quidditch' meant, the latter caught his interest. It sounded a bit like basketball, only on brooms and with three hoops instead of one. He was sitting in the kitchen one morning when Dedalus entered and handed him a parcel. Inside, there was a small book, entitled 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. It was the first thing from the wizarding world he had owned.
He was sitting there reading when door flew open, and a tall, cloaked figure entered the room. Dedalus and the woman, Hestia, drew their wands, but removed them when they realised the new comer was not a threat.
"It's over."
They all stood there, shocked.
"The war. You-know-Who. He's dead."
"And Harry?" To everyone's surprise, it was Dudley who spoke.
"He's alive."
He breathed a sigh of relief. He would make it up to him.
ix.
Ten years had passed since Dudley had made his resolution. During that time, so much had changed. He had repaired his relationship with Harry, as challenging as it was, but it was worth it. Whilst they were not the best of friends, they were far closer than they had ever been.
Dudley had attended Harry's wedding to a pretty red-headed girl named Ginny, whilst his parents had refused to. He had to admit, he was pretty impressed by the ceremony, and it had been truly magical in more ways than one. It was nice to see Harry happy after all he had been through.
He had met little James, just hours after he had been born, and then Albus and Lily when they had come along. He even babysat them when Harry was busy, and they looked forward to their visits to Uncle Dudley, who treated them but was careful not to spoil them.
When Dudley married his long-term girlfriend, Hannah, and they had their child, Alexander Dursley, he was overjoyed. Harry seemed more present than ever, helping Dudley with looking after Alex, sometimes bringing over his own children, and being older, they doted on little Alex. The shared experience brought Harry and Dudley closer.
It was one morning before Harry was due to visit that six year old Alex was playing in the living room, whilst Dudley was reading the paper. Dudley, too distracted by Alex' chatter to his cuddly horse to read, moved to the floor and began playing with him.
"Horsey's flying!" Alex said, running around the room with the toy in the air. To both their astonishment, the horse sprouted wings and floated, just above Alex' head. At that exact moment, Harry had walked in, and was frozen in place in the doorway. There was no mistaking what had just happened.
"Dudley," Harry said, slowly approaching them.
But Dudley just took Alex into his arms. He would give this child the life his cousin should have had.