Prompt:

Dudley marries a witch (either knowingly or unknowing) and has a magical child.

Fic Name: Where it all began…
Rating: T
Characters: Dudley Dursley, Demelza Robins-Dursley, Andrea Dursley, Harry Potter
Summary: Two complete strangers meet in a busy cafe and become quick friends…. one has a massive secret! Join Dudley, Demelza and Andrea on their journey and see where it takes them! Let's go back to where it all began…..
Prompt: Dudley marries a witch (either knowingly or unknowingly) and has a magical child.
Warnings/Triggers: N/A
A/N: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

"If love is not all, then it is nothing: this principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale" quote taken from The Moors last sigh by Salmen Rushdie.

Alpha/Beta love: Thank you so much to my amazing beta for all you do for me! You are amazing SandraSempra and I don't know where I would be without you! Thank you again you amazing and beautiful person!

Chapter One: Prufock Meetings

Dudley Dursley looked around as he entered the cafe. His workmates had recommended coming here for the coffee and pie, so as soon as his lunch hour arrived, here he was. Prufock was filled to the brim with people, but apparently that was part of the appeal: you could be surrounded by people, but still be left completely alone. He found a table down at back of the cafe and sat down in the booth-like chair.

Not long after he settled in, a waitress came by and took his order, leaving him to get comfortable. His thoughts trailed to that of his father's company, and how he had left it because he couldn't deal with the pressures anymore. He came to despise how his father treated him and his mother after Harry had left. It was horrible coming back to London, seeing his old family home destroyed. So he had paid someone to rebuild it and moved his mother back in.

He went and got himself an apartment in the main city working in a bank. Though it was a boring job, he wouldn't be found easily by his old friends as he would rather leave that life behind.

Once he had seen what his cousin was really going through and his family being made to leave their home, he changed a lot. He wanted to meet Harry again now that he was a different person, and build bridges that were long ago burned from an upbringing of prejudices to being different. Dudley knew they wouldn't be best friends at this point, but he hoped they could at least become closer than they were.

He had searched for Harry on and off over the past months to no avail, uncertain to reaching the right place to get in contact with his cousin. He felt he owed him that much. Owed himself that much.

There was a clear of a throat and the shuffle of feet, Dudley peered up to a girl with long, straight black hair and brown eyes. "Yes?" He asked her, pondering why she was standing so close to his table.

"I'm sorry, but I was wondering if I could sit here? I won't bother you, there's nowhere else to sit and I'd really like to have a relaxing lunch break that involves sitting down." Smiling at Dudley, the girl gestured toward the seat across from him.

"Sure, I won't be too much longer. I'm a quick eater." He fell back into his own thoughts, trying to ignore her, but found himself looking up at her while she was distracted by the menu.

There was something about this girl that had him intrigued, and he flinched as she noticed him staring at her. She smiled curiously at his blushing reaction.

"What's your name?" Dudley asked her.

"Demelza Robins, and you are?" Quirking her eyebrow, she hoped he would answer her.

"Dudley Dursley, what brings you here?" He smiled nervously at her.

"I decided I needed a change of scenery from my usual lunch place, and this one spoke to me."

"Where do you normally go?" Wondering where she would go that she needed to change her usual spot.

Demelza flicked her eyes to the side, avoiding making eye contact. "Oh.. um… it's a little restaurant close to my work, not widely known." She paused briefly. "Where do you work?" She asked, changing the subject from the place she usually goes.

"I work as a Financial Officer for the Royal Bank. It's not much, but it's better than working with my father." He casually took a sip of his drink and a bite of the bread roll before picking up his spoon and tasting the pie for the first time. He groaned from how good it felt moving down his throat and how tasty it was.

When he opened his eyes, Demelza was watching him curiously. He laughed and said, "I kind of like my food. When I was younger my metabolism wasn't very high so I was quite big , but I worked hard while I was away for a couple of years and changed my whole outlook. I still love to indulge at times".

She smiled in response. "I couldn't imagine you being anything more than you are now."

"Anyway.. enough about me, where do you work?" Feeling slightly self conscious about what he looked like.

"I work in a government position…" Her voice trailing off, knowing she couldn't say anymore than that. Working for the Ministry of Magic was hard sometimes, especially when she had to talk to her muggle friends. But that was okay as she loved the work and challenges she faced.

It wasn't before long they had finished their lunch after a long chat and parted ways, both hoping they would bump into one another again. Dudley asked her many times in his head for the girl's number, but refrained, feeling silly being so forward after knowing her only an hour over lunch.

oOo

Demelza had been waiting at their table for over twenty minutes, and still no sign of the enigmatic man she had sat with yesterday. She wanted some of Tom's famous minestrone soup and his homemade bread, but she wanted even more to see Dudley. Yesterday's lunch break was the most fun she had in awhile.

They had gotten on so well, and Demelza saw him becoming someone she could call a good friend if they got the chance to see each other again. With a sigh, she gave up, walking around the corner to the apparation point to head back to the Leaky Cauldron when the door of the cafe opened. In walked the subject of her thoughts, peering around the tables for a minute before his eyes locked with hers.

Walking over to her with a quickened pace, he sat down and smiled. "You're here, I thought it was a long shot, but I didn't want to miss you if I could help it."

"You wanted to see me again?" She questioned, her cheeks turning a hint of pink.

"Of course! It was fun yesterday, and if I could help it, I would much rather spend my lunch breaks with you over my work mates." He gave her a slanted smile.

"Shall we make it a regular thing then? Not every day, of course. I mean if you don't want to that is, but more than never?" The light pink of her cheeks blushed to red at her own rambling.

"Definitely make it a regular thing."

Demelza was surprised she had made such a big impression on the first day, she too would rather the company of this muggle than the witches and wizards that she spent most of her day with. A waitress came over and took their order, neither one leaving the other's eyes from the other as they both repeated their order from the previous day.

"So, what do you like to do on the weekends?" Dudley's curiosity was winning out.

"I like to read or go to one of the museums around London. I also found this neat little restaurantI quite often go to on a Saturday night. What do you do?"

"I spend most of my time at the gym and sports centre. I used to go and see my parents often, but my father works a lot on the weekends now so there's not much point. I still make it a point to see mum once a month."

"That's nice of you. Most of my family died in a horrible accident a few years back, so I take care of my little sister sometimes. She's old enough to be at boarding school now, so I don't see her as much as I'd like." Her tone was melancholic.

"Boarding school? Why boarding school?"

"She didn't fit in at public schools, and was having a hard time after our parents died." Dudley saw a flicker of something in her eyes, but ignored the feeling there was more to her story than she was saying.

"Does she like it at the boarding school?" Demelza blinked up at him.

"Yes, she does. It's a pretty exclusive and fun boarding school and we made a lot of lifelong friends there. She's one of the top students of her year." Demelza's tone held a hint of pride in her voice.

"That must make you proud that she's doing so well, even after losing your parents."

"It does. She's come a long way and I can't wait to see what she makes of herself." Looking around the cafe, she noticed more people had come and gone than she realised. The last two days of eating with Dudley had been perfect and it seemed as if everything and everyone disappeared, leaving them in their own little bubble of space.

"When's the next time that you can meet here?" Dudley questioned her.

"Tomorrow and Thursday, I'll be out of the office with my boss, but Friday I can meet you?" She said smiling across the table at him.

"Friday is perfect" They both stood and walked out of the cafe looking forward to the next two days passing by so they could see their newfound friend again.

oOo

Dudley was lying in bed the night before his mother's birthday and still hadn't purchased her anything. He had been searching for weeks, but nothing stood out. He was going to go for one last shopping trip tomorrow but wouldn't have much time before dinner because he didn't want to miss his lunch time meetup with Demelza. It had been two weeks since they met in the cafe, and every time he saw her his day brightened considerably.

They had been meeting nearly every day and texting back and forth, never really having a day where they didn't talk. He had placed his phone on the charger as he was turned over to turn off the light off. His phone vibrated as he settled in bed, alerting him to a text.

"Hey :)" Demelza's name flashed across his screen.

A smile took over his face and he knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon. He would much rather stay up late talking to her than be well rested the next day.

He quickly typed back a reply "hey ;) how are you doing?"

Moving into a seated position, he awaited her response, it was mere seconds before another text came through. " I'm good, laying in bed and wanted to talk to you, how are you?"

"I'm laying in bed as well, I'm great now, thinking of where I'm going to go to get mum's presents tomorrow after work" He pressed send quickly before he changed his wording.

Demelza had him second guessing everything he did and said, hoping he wouldn't say the wrong thing. She made him feel something deep within himself and he wanted to be everything she dreamed of.

"Would you like to go during lunch? We can reschedule, I wouldn't want you to miss the perfect present" as he read her last text he refused to reschedule.

"I don't want to miss having lunch with you, though"

There, he had sent it and there was no taking his words back. She would now see that their lunches were the thing he looked forward to most.

"I can help you, we can grab our lunch to go and that way you'll have a woman's opinion on the presents" A smile took over his features, he liked that plan. He would get to spend time with her and get the present. The best of both worlds. He could relax before going to dinner with his parents as lately they hadn't had a lot to say to him.

He knew he had disappointed them when he had left the drilling company, choosing to work in a bank instead.

"That would be perfect, what time are you going to lunch tomorrow so I can make sure to leave then too"

Now that he knew they would still meet, he was more cheerful about shopping for the present.

His phone dinged again and he read the message "I was thinking one, that way I might be able to take a longer lunch if you need it"

Thinking whether he could afford a longer lunch and realising he wouldn't have much to do, he text back "that sounds great, I'll be able to take a two hour break tomorrow so we might even be able to eat at the cafe or somewhere and then go and look for the presents"

Yawning he looked at the time and calculated he was only going to get six hours instead of his usual eight hours sleep, but didn't mind one bit when he got to talk to her. "Okay, sounds like a plan, I really wish I could talk more but if I'm going to have any chance of waking up in the morning and getting to work on time I better get to sleep"

Laughing as he was thinking the same thing "I had better do the same! See you tomorrow at one :D have a good sleep"

He waited for her to text back before placing his phone on the bedside table and closing his eyes. "Night Dudley, sleep well :) see you tomorrow!"

Rolling over, he fell asleep with a smile on his face, already looking forward to waking up in the morning.

oOo

Demelza had been ansty all day. Since the moment she had woken up and remembered she was going to see Dudley today, she had a giant grin painted on her face. Everyone at work had asked her why she was so happy as she usually would walk around in a dreamlike state that held people back from her. They all knew it was a mask, but they didn't want to interrupt her musings.

Her lunch hour finally arrived, her morning had trudged along which resulted in Demelza checking her wristwatch every few minutes. Her boss allowed her to take the extended break, knowing it would be a reason of importance as she did her work with efficiency. He/she thought it would bring her a much needed peace.

Walking from work to the cafe allowed her some time to think. Dudley had managed his way into her every thoughts lately and she didn't know what to think of that. She never let anyone in besides her parents and sister before the war, and was a weird feeling having someone else to talk to that listened.

Looking around the cafe she saw Dudley had once again picked their table to sit at. He had already ordered their usual and was sitting there peering at his phone frowning.

"Hey, why so glum?" His head instantly rose and the frown disappeared, replaced with a smile stretching across his lips.

"Oh, reading a message from my father. I'll deal with it later though! How was work this morning?" Placing his phone in his pant's pocket, he turned all of his attention to her and made her fall a little bit more.

"It was fair; extremely quiet but good. I almost didn't wake up in time! How was your morning?" She sat down,taking a sip of her coffee before looking into his cobalt, blue eyes, momentarily getting lost for a second before he spoke up.

"Lots of customers but it was rather nice. I, too, had troubles waking up, but it was definitely worth it." he said smiling across at her. There was the smile that took her breath away again. How could she ever think to hold a conversation with him if he kept sending her off into dream world with a simple look.

She was falling, and fast, and she didn't know what to make of it., It wasn't normal for her to be enamoured with someone but she was.

Demelza would have to deal with whatever came at her when it came. For now though, she was here to help him pick a gift for his mother. And from what he had said of her, his mother was one of his favourite people in his life. He would want to have the gift reflect his love for her. They finished eating and found the closest mall. When they arrived, they went to the homewares stores first.

They took to the shelves, where Demelza caught her focus more on the man she arrived with rather than the items on display. She blushed when he caught her eyes on him, pulling her focus to a vase in front of her. Holding it up, she showed off the crystal with painted roses embossed into it. When Dudley smiled in response, taking the vase from her in a nod, she breathed a wistful sigh.

"Where do you think we should go now?" Dudley questioned her whilst looking at the many stores around him and having no idea where to go next. He wasn't a "shopping" kind of guy.

Demelza looked at her watch and realised that one and a half hours had passed and they had already used half of their time in the cafe and the one store. They would have to use the rest of their time wisely.

"How about we go to that Jewellers we saw on the way in? Or the digital media store?" She suggested.

"Jewellers first, then the digital media store." Thinking they could get something from both stores.

"Sure, if we don't take long in both places we can get some wrapping paper to wrap them and some flowers to go in the vase once she opens it?" Smiling up at him, she hoped she wasn't being too forceful with everything.

Walking in a comfortable silence to the jewellers they looked at the display cases, but Dudley kept pulling faces at everything they saw. Demelza checked her watch again. "We've got about an hour left, Dudley."

"Oh, let me look in this last case and then we can go next door."Anxiously, he walked over to the last case he looked inside. Demelza stood at another case closeby, looking for something she could send to her sister for her birthday.

About to give up on finding anything for her sister, she found something that might be perfect for his mother: a sterling silver chain with a pendant on one end. The pendant itself had two circles and a heart. She eyed the heart more intently, seeing two little footprints cut into it. She smiled at the two circles, thinking it would be perfect to engrave Dudley's name and birthdate or his mother's name. It was something her mother would have loved, maybe his would too.

Calling him over, she showed him what she had found and his face lit up. it was perfect. The jeweller quickly engraved his name and his birthdate and wrapped it neatly in a little box.

Having found the perfect item, they walked out of the store with forty five minutes left of their lunch breaks. They went into the digital media store to see what they could find there quickly.

Ten minutes ticked by before Dudley found a digital frame he could put a microSD card in or a USB drive and have a slideshow of her favourite pictures. He had these at home already to give to her so she could place them on her computer, but this was way better. They quickly bought the frame and rushed to find a news agency. Picking out some wrapping paper and birthday card, they sat in the middle of the centre wrapping everything.

"She's going to love these Dud, you did well!" Demelza said with a smile.

"I couldn't have managed this without your help. You found the chain afterall," Touching his hand to hers he continued, "thank you for helping, I really appreciate it."

After he pulled his hand away from hers, she could still feel where it had been. His hands were soft and had felt so good on hers. Shaking the feeling off quickly, she finished the last present and asked whether they should get some flowers now or if he wanted to go and get a coffee before going back to work.

"I should probably get the flowers after work so they don't ruin, let's get that coffee" he said while standing and gathering the presents.

It was a quick stop at the coffee stop and then a mad rush to get back to work, both again wishing they could have spent more time together.

oOo

Dudley had been attempting to do this for weeks now. When he had walked into that cafe, he had never in his wildest imagination thought he would meet one of the most amazing people She was everything he had dreamed of for his perfect girl and more.

They had planned to meet for breakfast before going to work, and Dudley thought this was the perfect opportunity to ask her out on a proper date. She would be fresh and open-minded, willing to listen, and it would be a quieter atmosphere so he didn't chicken out because of the noise and the crowd.

He walked into the cafe and saw her sitting in their wonted spot, waiting for him with their usual coffee order and a serving of raisin bread they both enjoyed. Perfect, he wouldn't be interrupted by a waitress; he could ask straight away and not overthink it in his head.

Sitting down across from her with a smile, he took a sip of his coffee to build his courage up. She seemed to know he had something planned because she was silently eyeing him intently.

"I wanted to ask you something and want you to really consider it. It's important." His words poured out of his mouth quickly, his nerves getting the better of him.

"Anything Dudley."

Swallowing hard, he took the plunge. "I wanted to know if you would go to dinner with me…"

"Why would that be something I have to consider, I eat lunch with you everyday anyway." Her words made it evident to Dudley that she wasn't catching on.

"Not any dinner, Demelza. I want to know if you would like to have dinner with me. On a date I've been trying to ask you for weeks." Dudley flicked his eyes down at the table, seeming to be suddenly interested in the design, not wanting her to see how nervous he was of her reply.

"Dudley, look at me" she said in a forceful tone and continued once he made eye contact, "of course I would like to go on a date with you. I think that is a wonderful idea. I've been hoping that our lunches and friendship would go further for a while now."

Dudley sighed in relief. "Oh thank god. I thought because I'm not exactly a ' top catch ' you wouldn't want to be with me."

Demelza's face fell. How dare he think he wasn't good enough. "You are the perfect person for me, Dudley. We fit so well together and have fit together since day one. Never think you aren't enough for me."

After they had gotten the tension out of the way, they had agreed on a time and date for their dinner, and Friday couldn't arrive fast enough. Their breakfast went easier after that, and they laughed together, both finding it funny neither had acted on their feelings sooner. Dudley walked Demelza to the train station, then strode back to the bank a happy man. He had forced himself out of his comfort zone, and in result snagged a date with his dream girl.

oOo