It was there last night together. Tomorrow, Harry Potter would be leaving for a magic boarding school and there was nothing Dudley could do about it. It was their last night together, and he was making sure it would be perfect. After all, this would be the last time they would be able to be together for a while. Their only form of communication would be through the mail, and Dudley wasn't even sure how that would work. Was he just supposed to trust that an owl would deliver his mail to Harry intact? It just didn't make any sense!.

But back to their perfect night.

Dudley had set candles all around his spare bedroom, now Harry's. It was the only place they could be together and be sure that they would not be found out. Dudley's parents would not dare step foot in Harry's room for fear that they would get turned into frogs or something. This made it the perfect place for them to hang out.

It had all started about a year ago, when Harry, in one of his fits of anger, had shouted that it wasn't fair that Dudley got all the food while he got barely scraps. Dudley had been surprised to say the least. It, for some reason, had not occurred to him that Harry would be hungry. He was so small anyways.

His mom had replied that her Dudikins needed the food, to which Harry had said that a fat pig like him didn't need any more. At this, his father had stood up, smacked Harry across the face, and sent him to his cupboard. Dudley, for the first time, felt ashamed of his weight. He couldn't figure out why at first, but he grew to be obsessed with losing weight and getting more fit. He only ate one helping of food, and ran in the mornings, taking a quick shower afterwards before going to school. After school, he did sit-ups and push-ups in the living room while watching his favorite television shows. His mother and father had been worried to say the least. He had had to tell them multiple times that he was, in fact, not on drugs or in a gang, or in a rebellious stage. He simply didn't like that fact that people (especially Harry, though he didn't tell his parents this) would think of him as fat. Over time, they grew used to it. They made Harry cook healthier foods to feed to Dudley as well as the fatty steaks and burgers to feed to them. With Dudley eating less, he had hoped that more food would go to Harry, but since he was always the one cooking the food, he would be blamed for wasting food if he made too much and wouldn't get any dinner at all!

Harry had noticed Dudley's change in attitude, but had note it in a passing thought. It, after all, only made more work for him, though the energy he had been expending on exercise seemed to lessen the amount of insults he had been receiving from him. He had assumed he had just been too tired for it.

Then many things had happened at once.

Dudley had been going out one morning for his run when he spotted Harry laying under the windowsill, listening to the morning news. He had been mowing the lawn and, so he could cool off, had taken his shirt off. Harry's thin, yet lean muscles were on display, his sweat clearly evident in the morning sun. He seemed to had his eyes closed, almost as if he was taking a nap, but he muttered to himself every once in a while in response to something the anchorman had said.

Dudley was hypnotized. This beautiful creature had been living in his house for 10 years, and he had never noticed. Dudley was flabbergasted. He wanted more than anything to spill his feelings for Harry right then and there, but his parents were right there, next to the open window, not to mention the fact that Harry hated him. He would have to find some way to share his feelings without outright rejection first.

So Dudley got to thinking. First he would have to show that he cared about Harry's well-being in some way. Dudley began to stick up for Harry in small ways, like complementing the food and changing the subject when painful or dangerous topics came up.

Harry had finally started to notice. Harry was thanking his lucky stars that Dudley seemed to hate the confrontation between them. Dudley was thanking his lucky stars that it was working.

Dudley began to worry about Harry's health, so he slipped extra food into the cupboard secretly, hoping that it would make some kind of difference.

Then one day, after his mother and father were had gone for their monthly night out a town, Dudley went and knocked on the cupboard door. He was hesitant at first, barely touch the wood the first time. After it had appeared that Harry hadn't heard him, he knocked again, louder this time. He heard a groan as the door opened a crack.

"Who is it?" came the weak voice of one Harry Potter.

Dudley immediately know something was wrong. This wasn't the wary voice that Harry used while talking to his parents. This wasn't the small voice that Harry used when he was bullied at school. This wasn't even the quiet, snide voice that he used when he was muttering curse under his breath. This was a weak, sick voice.

"Harry, are you alright?!" Dudley said, wrenching the door open as he did so.

Harry shielded his eyes from the sudden light. "What are you doing Dudley? I didn't think I had done anything wrong today."

Dudley's heart tore in two. Here Harry was, looking as white as a sheet and sounding as sick as the dying, and he was worried that Dudley was going to punish him for something that he didn't do. This was too much for Dudley to bear, so without thinking, brought Harry up in a big bear hug, being very careful not to hurt Harry in doing so.

"Let me go get you some medicine, " Dudley said. "I'll only be a second."

Harry, finding this too bizarre to believe, wrote it off as a dream and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

A few minutes later, Dudley came back with some cold medicine. He carefully measured out the clear, red liquid and lifter Harry's mouth up so he could drink it. After Dudley made sure that Harry had drunken it all, he went and got a spare blanket from the closet and draped it over Harry's shivering form. It wasn't until Dudley, after kissing Harry on the forehead, had to run up to his room when he heard his parents at the door did he realize he hadn't had a chance to confess his love to Harry.

The next day, when Harry woke up, he couldn't figure out if it had all been a dream or not. Had Harry, in his delirious state, imagined Dudley actually being kind to him? Had he kissed him? And did he want it to be true? To many questions lingered in Harry's mind as he prepared breakfast; pancakes and French toast for Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and scrambled eggs for Dudley. He got so distracted that he slightly burned the eggs for Dudley, but he thankfully didn't say anything. That was one blessing at least.

Dudley looked up at him and smiled. Harry was so startled that he almost missed him chair sitting down. His heart fluttered in a way it wasn't supposed to. What was this feeling? Harry certainly didn't know.

A few more days passed, and Harry was getting rather paranoid. He was finally noticing that Dudley wasn't treating him like dirt anymore. He noticed every time Dudley changed the subject for Harry's benefit, every time Dudley smiled at him, and every time Dudley stood up for him. Harry would equate it to "Twilight Zone," if he had been allowed to watch television in the first place. All the things he hadn't noticed before, he did now.

Finally, Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He decided to confront Dudley about it. He was worried at first. What if he had been imagining it and Dudley laughed at him. What if he got beat up because of his "freakish" thoughts? Harry decided, though, it wouldn't be anything new. Better to clear up the whole situation and face the consequences then to walk on eggshells, not sure how Dudley felt about him.

Harry decided he would catch Dudley after his morning run. That way, if Harry was wrong, he would most likely be able to outrun Dudley if worse came to worse.

Harry was waiting on the front steps when Dudley turned the corner. He was panting hard, but still moving at a very respectable speed. He had his headphones in as he jogged, glassy eyes facing forward. When he slowed to a stop at the front steps, he almost didn't notice the small frame of Harry sitting on them. This was new. Harry was normally doing housework by now.

Dudley took out his head phones and looked down to Harry as he stood up. "Can we talk?" questioned Harry. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Sure," Dudley said, motioning for them to move to the side of the house where his parents couldn't hear them.

After they made it to the shade of the wall, Dudley asked, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Before Harry could say anything, his breath hitched at the attraction he was feeling towards Dudley. His sweaty shirt that was intoxicating and his deep voice took Harry's breath away. After calming his beating heart once again, Harry said, "I was wondering why the sudden change in attitude. Not too long ago, you were bullying me for fun, and now you almost seem like you might like me. What's going on?"

"I like you Harry."

There it was. Dudley had plainly, without any hesitation whatsoever, stated that he liked Harry. It was a miracle Harry didn't faint right then and there.

"What do you mean by 'like'?" Harry asked more softly, as if afraid of the answer.

"I like you as more than just a brother, as more than just a friend. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, though I can understand if you feel differently. I never had done anything to make you like me after all."

Harry was speechless.

What was he supposed to say to that? That he liked him too? But he wasn't sure. He still didn't completely understand these feelings he was having that were making his heart ache. But one thing was for sure. He was beyond happy about what Dudley had said. It was the first time in his life he had ever felt loved by another human being.

Dudley was quite surprised when he felt Harry jump into his arms for a hug. He felt something wet on the front of his shirt, and realized it was Harry crying. Dudley embraced him, much like he had when Harry had been sick, and whispered soothing word into his ears. "It's all going to be alright. You're okay. It's all going to be alright."

After Harry managed to calm down some, Dudley whispered, "I'm going to go inside now. You count to 30 and follow me. Okay?"

Harry nodded, seeing the wisdom in Dudley's words.

After that, things had slowly begun to progress. Harry and Dudley would share meaningful looks throughout the day and greet each other when they could. After a mysterious letter had appear, causing Dudley's father, Harry's Uncle Vernon to move Harry to the extra bedroom, they met there in secret, sharing words of encouragement, and soon after, love.

When Harry finally decided he was happy with his life, sharing his and Dudley's secret moments together, the universe decided to throw them a curve ball. On his birthday, after vacationing on a deserted island for some reason, Harry awoke next to Dudley on the couch to the sound of the front doors breaking down. A huge man with a long, black beard and a pink umbrella invited himself in, claiming that Harry was a wizard and that he had been sent to bring his letter of acceptance to the "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." It had all sounded rather unbelievable, but after he had shot fireballs out of the end of his umbrella, Harry was willing to believe anything.

When he was told he had a choice of going, at first he said no. Why would he leave Dudley for a school of strangers when he was finally happy about his life? But after Dudley pulled him to the side and spoke to him, he reluctantly changed his mind. Dudley had pointed out that, at Hogwarts, he would have the chance to make friends like he had never been able to at public school. He also said, at Hogwarts, he wouldn't be in danger of angering his aunt and uncle. Dudley said that, if they only had to put up with him during the summer, he might be able to warm up to them so that they would be more accepting of his relationship with Dudley (though they both knew that that was incredibly unlikely, given that they were not only against wizards but where homophobic as well).

It would break their hearts, but since Dudley was willing to let Harry go for his own happiness and wellbeing, Harry was willing to leave Dudley behind, though they promised to send letters to each other every day.

And that brings us back to their perfect night.

Dudley had placed candles, unscented so as not to leave a trace, all around Harry's room. Being careful not set the whole place on fire, he lit each one with care.

After Harry finished doing the dishes, he came up to go to bed. When he opened the door, he was beyond touched. No-one had ever done anything like this for him before.

After closing the door behind him, Harry was pulled into Dudley's warm embrace. "I love you Harry." "I love you too." they chorused. After that, Dudley pulled Harry down onto their bed, as they were calling it. Most nights now, after Dudley's parents had gone to sleep, Dudley would slip into Harry's room and they would sleep together, hand in hand. In the mornings, Dudley would slip out of bed, rumple his sheets so it looked like he had slept in them (but not too much, seeing as Harry had to make his bed after breakfast), and get dressed for his, now habitual, morning jog.

Harry and Dudley, laid in the bed, silently looked into each other's eyes. Dudley would ruffle Harry's messy hair and Harry would snuggle up beside him. After what felt like hours, Harry began to speak.

"I don't have to go you know. I can refuse if I want to."

"I shouldn't be the reason you don't take this amazing opportunity, Harry," Dudley said, Harry's name sounding like an angel's from Dudley's lips. Harry had never like his name before Dudley had come into his life in a romantic way. Who would want to be named after a trait that was normally considered disgusting and ugly?

"But what if I don't fit in? What if I am lousy at magic and they say they have made a mistake? What if they say I can never see you again?"

"Then they don't deserve you, but you don't have to worry about that. You are so talented and beautiful. Who wouldn't like you? And you will be back during the summers. That big guy with the umbrella said so."

"His name is Hagrid, and yes. I guess he did say that."

Dudley pouted. Obviously Harry had purposely neglected to comment on the fact that he had called him beautiful, as if he didn't believe it himself. He would have to fix that. So Dudley, with slow, deliberate movements, began to train kisses up Harry's arms, starting with his pinky finger and moving up to his ear. Harry tried to pull away at first, but Dudley held on firmly, careful not to hurt him. In between each kiss, he said. "Harry," kiss. "You," kiss, "are," kiss "the," kiss, "most," kiss, "beautiful," kiss, "person," kiss, "I," kiss, "have," kiss, "ever," kiss, "met." After that, Dudley looked deep into Harry's eyes and said, without any hesitation, "And don't you think otherwise."

After that, Dudley pulled Harry closer to himself and hugged him until they both fell asleep.

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I just want to thank Brien James for being my first follower. It means the world to me that you think my story is worth reading. You are my new best friend :)