What Nargles Can Do
AN: I was asked for a story by a reader who noticed the pairings at the end of "Lord and Ladies". This story is not exactly what he asked for, as it happens after the war, after Dudley and his parents had stayed in hiding and after all that happened in book 7, except for the epilogue. It was still fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. BTW - if you want it to fit into the "lord and Ladies" world, just ignore any mention of war and add the missing wives.
It was almost Christmas time. The previous Christmas, Dudley had spent in hiding, along with his parents and a group of what his father called "freaks." There had been no Christmas presents and there had barely been a cake to share with all other occupants of the Safe House. Dudley felt like he needed to compensate for that. Actually, he hadn't quite suffered during that time. Sure, there had occasionally been some lack of food, as their supplies arrived quite haphazardly, and he had badly missed his computer and television, but the young people there had all been friendly and nice, even some who knew of him and his cousin. He tried to stay in touch with a few after they had been allowed to return home, but as they were inaccessible by phone and he didn't have his own owl, nor access to one, this didn't go quite the way he had hoped for.
Still, Christmas was a time to rejoice. He was walking through the cold streets of London, trying to find appropriate gifts for his old friends and for his parents, and possibly something for his new ones, hoping he would be able to send them on time. The streets were crowded despite the cold weather, and some shops were too crowded to even try to shop at. A small, out of the way toy shop attracted his attention. Unlike the big shops that had mostly electronic games and toys on display, this one seemed to keep traditional stuff: toys made of wood, cloth and tin; board games that needed no batteries and traditional decorations. Dudley was intrigued. He pushed the door and went into the store that was surprisingly not crowded. He saw an old couple near a collection of newer toys, probably looking for something for their grandchildren; a younger couple was examining some rag dolls; a young woman looked at everything seeming a bit lost. One of the shop attendants was walking towards her.
Dudley smiled as he saw the prices. Being somewhat out of mode, the toys and the games at this shop were less than half the price of their more modern equivalents. He could afford buying more presents. After spending most of a year without electricity, he came to appreciate the ingenuity of those toys and games that didn't need batteries nor a power supply.
He was checking several spring-wound toys, when the young woman he had seen before came at his side. She seemed to be very interested in the way he tried these toys. Dudley allowed himself to get a better look at her. She seemed to be very slim, even slimmer than his mother; her blond hair escaped her warm hat, falling below her shoulders; her face seemed serious and pensive, yet he saw some fleeting smiles passing her face, almost too quickly to notice. Her eyes were the most fascinating eyes he had ever seen. They were grey-blue with some golden specks, and seemed to look way beyond the limits of the store, as if watching a different world. He thought she looked quite attractive and way beyond his reach. No girl had paid him any attention before the family went into hiding, and very few after, despite his slimmer form.
"Excuse me, can you explain how this works?"
Dudley was startled to hear her. Although her voice sounded quite dreamy, the question was clear and down to earth. He looked around, expecting the shop attendant to reply. He was surprised to see that the young woman – not much more than a girl, now that he could see her face clearly – was addressing him.
"Eh… What do you want to know?" he asked back.
"This," she held a toy up for him to see. "It was turning a few minutes ago and now it stopped. How can I make it move again?"
He took the toy from her hand. It was a metal toy of a boy riding bicycles. It had a large key coming out of the back of the boy, clearly intended for winding the spring. A small metal tab could be moved to stop the movement or allow it.
"This is a wind-up toy. You have to wind the spring using the key here, and then you move this piece of metal to make it move or stop moving." He proceeded by showing her how to wind the toy and make it move, putting it on a free area of a shelf for the demonstration.
"That's really ingenious! I'd like to buy a few like this for Dad. Maybe one for Mr. Weasley as well. He loves this kind of toys."
Dudley was sure that he had heard that name more than once. It didn't take long for him to remember the redhead twins and the ton-tongue sweet, and then the news of one of them dying during the last battle. Was this Mr. Weasley a relative of these? "Is Mr. Weasley a redhead?" he asked, unsure if it was even right to mention this.
The girl lifted her eyes at him in surprise. "Of course he is a redhead, or was, before most of his remaining hair turned white. Do you know him?"
Dudley felt suddenly uncomfortable. This girl was probably one of THEM. Yet he was also intrigued. "Not exactly. I met him and his twin sons once. I've heard one of them died last spring."
The girl looked at him, as if trying to identify him. "And you are…?"
"Dudley. Dudley Dursley. You may have heard of my cousin Harry."
Those eyes were looking at him unblinkingly, as if reading his deepest secrets, and yet he felt attracted at them. He was sure he was out of his mind. He still heard her say, "Yes, Harry Potter has a cousin named Dudley. You've probably got much slimmer during last year."
He chuckled. "You bet. I needed a whole new wardrobe when we came home. Do you know Harry?"
Although he hadn't seen his cousin since that night when they went into hiding, he felt quite proud of how that scrawny boy, who couldn't even give a good punch, finally managed to beat the arch-villain that seemed to have unstoppable powers. He would have liked to congratulate Harry, but he didn't know how to reach him.
The girl looked around. "This is not the right place to talk about him. Help me finish my shopping here, and we may go to a place where we can talk more freely."
Dudley nodded, unsure about what to say.
"Oh, and I'm Luna Lovegood, sometimes also called Loony."
Dudley didn't like that. "Why should anybody call you that name?"
She just smiled dreamily. "I may tell you later."
Concentrating back on their shopping, it took them only a few more minutes to find what seemed appropriate, have it packed and paid for, before they went out to the cold again.
"Have you ever visited Diagon Alley?" Luna asked him.
"No, although I think I've heard Harry mention that place."
"Well, let me take you there," Luna said playfully, grabbing his hand.
Dudley was confused again. Never had any girl walked hand-in-hand with him. He didn't know how to act or what to say. He liked the feeling, though. It was only vaguely similar to the way he used to feel as a small child, when his mother held his hand. This was more… He didn't really know how to say it, but it was certainly different, and much more… personal?
Luna filled the silence. "You know, I thought that this time it would be nice to give Dad something different. What I can buy at Diagon Alley cannot surprise him, nor cheer him up. He was held in captivity last year, you know, for almost as long as I was, but he didn't escape it unscathed. He still needs a lot of cheering up. I hoped such presents might help."
"You were captive?" The girl looked as happy and as carefree as if she'd never suffered in her life.
She shrugged. "Yes. I was held somewhere for a few months, until Harry rescued me."
Dudley's mind was never fast working. Now it was overwhelmed by too much information that needed some serious consideration. He felt lost.
"Oh, here we are!" Luna said happily, as they reached Charing Cross Road.
Dudley looked around, seeing nothing but a derelict book store with barred doors. "Where?" he asked.
Luna just dragged him forward. A few paces later, the view changed. It was no longer a book store but an old style pub, named, "The Leaky Cauldron," judging by the faded sign over the door.
Luna held the door open for him and urged him in. Dudley looked at the place, that seemed to have come out of some children history book, not believing his eyes. He could see some weirdly clothed people sitting at a few tables, but most were unoccupied. Evidently, this was not a busy hour at the pub.
Luna dragged him forward and out to the backyard. There seemed to be nothing there, except for the garbage bins and a tall wall. Luna tapped some of the bricks with a stick. 'It's called a wand,' he reminded himself. The bricks moved, forming an arched gate, leading to a street that looked very busy.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Luna said brightly.
Dudley looked around, barely believing his eyes. The street seemed to come out of some fairytale, with weirdly clothed people doing their shopping in some weirdly named shops, with stuff he couldn't recognize being displayed in the windows.
"There's a small tea-house just around the corner. It could serve us nicely," Luna said, leading him out of the busy street and into the quaint tea shop.
Dudley felt a bit out of place. Everybody seemed to be wearing robes and carrying wands, even Luna, now that he looked at her again. He wondered when she changed, as she had been wearing different clothes when he first saw her. Only he was…
"I changed your clothes to fit," Luna told him, putting her wand away.
He looked at himself. His outer coat was now in the same style as that of others. Looking at the other patrons, he noticed that they were wearing mostly normal clothes, once they put their outer robes aside.
Luna chose a table and sat down, motioning Dudley to sit there as well. A moment later they were approached by a young waitress. "I'd like some Chamomile tea," Luna said, "and what for you? Their Mint tea is very nice."
Dudley nodded, unable to do more.
Luna just chatted freely about nothing in particular until they got served. Dudley wasn't even sure what she was talking about, mentioning Nargles, who told her she would soon meet someone meaningful for her, and Snorkaks, that he father was searching for – whatever those words meant – but was content to let her talk while trying to come to terms with what he had just learned.
They didn't need to wait long to be served. Dudley was surprised when a cup of tea materialized in front of him, along with all the additions, just as another cup appeared in front of Luna.
"So, you are Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin. You don't look like him at all," Luna commented.
He chuckled. "I look a lot like my father, while Harry seems to look a lot like his. No reason for us to look similar."
"But you're still good at heart, just like him."
That was the first time anybody considered him good. Dudley didn't really know what to say. He had never considered himself good, and had no reason to claim otherwise.
"Oh, I know you used to be a bully, but that's mainly due to your parents," she added.
He started thinking that he could understand why some would call her Loony. He still didn't like that.
"What would you like to hear about Harry?" she asked.
"Practically everything. I feel like I don't really know him at all. He had always been the small, scrawny boy who had to keep as far away from me and my parents as he could. He barely ever spoke to me, even after he saved me from those... Demistors?"
"Dementors. I saw his patronus – that silvery apparition that deters Dementors – and it was really magnificent. He taught me how to produce one. He taught many of us, or we wouldn't have survived the last battle." Luna sounded very serious this time.
"Are you friends?" he dared ask.
She smiled reluctantly. "I hope we are. He was always acting nicely with me, unlike some other students, but I'm not as close to him as Hermione."
"That's the..."
"The one with the bushy hair. Have you seen her?"
"Once, after his fifth year. She looked nice."
Luna smiled. "She IS nice, and she's the closest person to Harry. Ginny tried to come between them, and so did Ron, but it was just impossible."
"The redheads?" Dudley thought he knew who these were.
They spent more than an hour just talking. At a certain moment, Dudley found himself fascinated just by her voice and her expressions, not quite paying attention to her words. He knew he would like to meet her again.
"Well, it's been nice meeting you, but I should hurry back home, or Dad may burn his lunch; maybe the whole house with it," Luna brought him out of his musings.
"Do you know how to contact Harry? I think I need to apologize for my behavior as a child and try to finally behave like real family." He had enough time to think of that while at the safe house.
"I'm going to visit him tomorrow. You can just come with me, if you like." Dudley hoped that the slight hope he detected in her voice was for meeting him again.
"I sure like the idea. Where can we meet?" He was sure he would be unable to come to Diagon Alley by himself.
"You already know Kings Cross station, don't you? Wait for me near the main entrance."
Luna helped him out of the magical quarter before parting. Dudley felt like he was much lighter for the rest of that day.
Although he came early, Luna was already waiting for him. She looked pleased when she saw him. He didn't know why, but he felt an urge to kiss her cheek when they met. He wasn't sure she would agree, though, so he just took her hand in his.
"You may also kiss my cheek, I don't mind," Luna told him.
He didn't question his luck. Her cheek was soft and smooth and he felt like kissing the rest of her face, the rest of her, but that was clearly more than she could allow under the circumstances. He just smiled thankfully at her, cherishing the moment.
Luna took him to a secluded spot. "Hold my hand tightly. You may feel uncomfortable for a few seconds, but it will pass just as quickly."
He wasn't sure what she had in mind, but he soon found out, as he felt squeezed and tumbled and then found himself standing, not quite steadily, in front of some old apartment house. "Is this where Harry lives?" he asked. Harry could do better just returning to Privet Drive, so it seemed.
"Not exactly. This is not even his main lodging. Keep holding my hand."
As they walked forward, the apartment houses seemed to shift aside, as another house seemed to emerge between them – a large, elegant house, suitable for nobility. Dudley gasped at the view.
"I think I reacted the same, the first time I came here. It's fascinating, don't you think? And his other places are even more elegant," Luna said.
He turned his glance in her direction, finding her looking at him with some twinkle in her eyes. He liked it.
Luna knocked on the door, which opened a moment later, showing a small ugly creature. "Tell Harry it's Luna and a friend," Luna told him.
"No need to. Master was expecting you, and your friends are also welcome," the creature said, gesturing for them to come in.
"Luna! How nice to see you. How's your father?" Dudley recognized the voice, but it was… more mature, maybe much more confident as well. Harry sounded happy, of that he was sure.
"Dad is doing better, mostly, as long as I don't leave him alone for too long. Now, I think you know the person who came with me."
Dudley saw Harry lift his eyes and become very silent, as if he was surprised by something quite out of the ordinary. "Dudley? I never thought I'd see you here," he finally said, stepping forward and taking Dudley's hand to shake.
"I never thought I'd be here either, but I'm glad I can see for myself that you are really well. Actually, where are we?"
Harry smiled. "You're in London, not very far from all interesting places. Come, it's time you meet my wife."
Harry led him to another sofa, that didn't face the entrance, where a beautiful young woman with brown curls was sitting, She was evidently pregnant, Dudley noticed. "Darling, you may have seen my cousin Dudley at the train station, once or twice. Dudley, this is my wife, Hermione, whom I believe you've seen at least once, when we were not a couple yet."
Hermione lifted her eyes at Dudley and smiled, offering him his hand. "Pleased to meet you," she said politely. Dudley still thought he felt some reservation in her voice. He turned to Harry.
"I think it's way overdue for me to apologize. I made your childhood hell and I'm sorry for that. I wasn't smart enough to understand, and I let my parents' prejudices dictate my actions. I hope I'm smarter now, and I'd like to be a better man as well. Please accept my apology and allow me to become the cousin I should have been from the start."
Harry smiled and clapped his shoulder. "Wow, Big D. That's a lot coming from you. What made you change?"
Dudley shrugged and let himself be led to a couch. "It started after you saved me from those horrors I couldn't even see. That made me think. It took me quite a while to realize what I was doing and why and where that could lead me in life. I didn't like the way Dad acts, belittling everything he doesn't understand. I didn't like Mom's behaviour either, pretending I was perfect while I knew I wasn't, and blaming you for everything that went wrong. Then, there was that year we spent in hiding, along with some magical families. I found out they were not freaks. They were just people like me and like you. I then realized that we could have been like brothers, had my parents acted a bit wiser. I'd really like us to be… at least like close cousins, if that's fine with you."
"It really is fine with me. Now, what about you and Luna?"
Dudley wasn't sure what to say. Luna beat him to the answer. "We've only met yesterday while shopping for Christmas, and the Nargles tell me we're going to have a future together. It would be quite interesting to become related, I think."
Despite her dreamy voice, Dudley was sure that she was teasing them. He still liked the idea. Having a future with this weird girl seemed to be something he could like. He then thought what his parents might say, once he found the courage to present her to them, and for a moment he didn't feel so sure. Then he thought of letting her go. He felt like that would tear him apart. He'd have to face his parents and make them accept Luna, weather they liked it or not!
He rejoined the conversation with some new determination. There was still some time until that dreaded moment came, and he could start learning about the world his cousin and his future mate were living in – where he would soon spend a large part of his life.
Dudley moved closer to Luna and hugged her shoulder. She rested her head on his. It felt right. Dudley knew he would never be able to do magic, not even understand it, but it didn't matter. Harry would support him, and Hermione would help, and the best – Luna would stay at his side. He could suddenly see himself raising children with her, sending them off to Hogwarts and enjoying their magic. He looked at Luna and tightened the hug. Yes, he had what to look forward to in the future.
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