'Wow' thought Dudley as he sunk into his bed. 'And all this time I thought he was a slimy little git.' He look out window to see snow swirling down and had a tiny thought as to it being New Years the next day but wasn't as excited as he normally would have been. He had just over heard a rather disturbing conversation between a few members of the Order of the Phoenix while he was going to the loo.
"..stupid muggles. I wouldn't even bother hiding them if they weren't his only family. We should just ship them off to Azkaban!" Spat Dedulas Diggle.
"Yes well Harry may hate them but the last thing he needs is more people dying on him. I'm truly amazed that he hasn't cracked yet. Everyone he loves is slowly being picked off by the death eaters and he feels helpless, and sometimes responsible. Lily and James, Cedric Diggory, Sirius and then Albus. Even his owl was killed in the chase when we were picking him up. He can't take much more" sighed the other one. Dudley couldn't quite remember the name but he thought it was something along the lines of Raymond or Rufus.
"Yes well Harry is the only reason I'm doing this, Remus. His uncle's a prat, his aunt's snob and his cousin is a great bullying git. We tried to be pleasant to them but they just turn up their noses and make snide remarks. If I had a knut for every time I heard them referring to wizards as 'that lot' or a 'ruddy bunch of nutters' I'd have more gold than in all of Gringotts!" he exclaimed angrily.
"Still no sign of him yet, Remus?" said the only woman there, Hestia Jones. She was forcedly polite to them but was extremely unsuccessful in hiding her hatred for his whole family. Dudley often heard her muttering 'Its for Harry', under her breath after his parents made their opinion of magical people quite clear.
"No, but I'm sure he's still alive. I know Albus left him a mission, and he's got Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger with him and I know he's got his wits about him. The wizarding world is in his hands, and I know they are capable. If Harry is at all underestimating what he is up against, which I sincerely doubt, then Hermione at least will know what's going. Never misses a trick that one." Remus attempted a smile but it turned into more of a grimace.
"He's out they're trying to fight He Who Must Not Be named with a couple of teenagers?" asked Hestia, shocked. She looked as though she might burst into tears.
"Surely not, Remus!" squealed Dedulas.
"I offered to go with them, but they wouldn't hear of it. Apparently Albus' mission is top secret, none of the Order know. And they didn't want me to leave behind Tonks now that we're expecting. I tried to talk them into it but they seem to think they can manage with me." Dudley thought he heard a trace of bitterness in Remus' voice but was sure he imagined it.
"Well, our thoughts go with them. How is Tonks doing by the way? She must be getting big now.." Said Hestia and the conversation turned to this Tonks person.
Dudley was fine with this. He had heard more than he imagined possible and this new information was disturbing and hit quite close to home. He couldn't help but feel disconcerted. These people idolized Harry; the fate of their people rested on his shoulders.
He found this all quite unsettling especially since his parents had instilled in him a hatred for Harry and anything else that was not what they considered normal. He thought they must have under estimated his worth because surely they would have treated him better if they had known his importance to these people. The existence of their people was in his hands!
Deep down, he was reluctant to admit that he knew he was wrong. He knew his parents knew perfectly well what Harry was. It was in the letter that came with him. The most utterly terrible part of it all was that his parents knew and didn't care. They didn't give a damn whether he lived or died; or any of the rest of these people.
'We'd all be better off to stamp the whole lot of 'em out, you'll get nothin' but trouble with this lot.' That's what his father had said nearly every single day since the Dursley family had went into hiding with Dedulas Diggle and Hestia Jones nearly six moths ago, and his mother always nodded her head in vigorous agreement.
Dudley wasn't sure what the feeling was that kept hitting the bottom of his stomach. It came in pangs, whenever he thought of Harry's name or of his parents supremacist ways.
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"Tonight on Potterwatch we have Rodent, Rapier, Royal and of course, myself, River. It'll be a short but sweet programme tonight folks. But the biggest, and best news we've had to report since beginning months ago and what I am sure everyone has been hoping to hear has happened. Harry Potter has been confirmed alive!" said the announcer sounding as though he'd just won the lottery.
Dudley was sitting in the kitchen of their safe house, not having a clue as to where it was, or how far away Privet Drive from it was. He was amazed as to the profound effect these words had upon everyone who heard them; Hestia Jones burst into tears, as did Dedulas Diggle; His father began to seethe and slowly turned purple; He thought his mother looked relieved for a moment, but if she did, she quickly disguised it with the usual look of distaste some one got when they started describing what happened to them while going to the loo at a dinner party; and Dudley himself slopped milk all down his front as he grinned broadly. Then quiet fell as a slow, deep voice start to speak in soothing tones, and Dudley found if vaguely familiar.
"..currently staying at the house of a member of the Order, Harry along with Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger are all safe and sound according to our extremely reliable sources. Harry, Ron and Hermione showed up with 4 others whom I am sure everyone will be pleased to hear are safe and sound: Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas and Griphook the Goblin. Reports are coming in that the Death Eaters have felt their master's wrath and are frantically searching houses on the off chance that they group may be hiding there with as usual, no regard for innocent lives. People are warned to try to cooperate as much as possible because.." But his voice was drowned out from the chatter that started up.
"Oh thank heavens! I've not been able to think about anything but Harry since Remus was here months ago!"
"Bless his little soul, he must've been caught to have rescued Ollivander, You-Know-Who took him months ago. And Lovegood and Thomas must have been captured as well!"
"Oh my I wonder if Elphias knows—" Hestia was cut off as Uncle Vernon started to speak loudly to his wife.
"Oh the ingrateful little buggers alive Petunia, dear. I wonder when he'll come apologize for coming and putting us in this ruddy hell hole. I've half a mind to—" but what Vernon had half a mind to do, Dudley had no idea because Hestia Jones started shouting.
"YOU DARE CALL HARRY POTTER UNGRATEFUL? YOU'RE THE UNGRATEFUL ONE YOU FAT UGLY MUGGLE! HARRY POTTER IS THE REASON YOU LOT HAVEN'T BEEN SHIPPED OFF TO AZKABAN YET! IF HARRY DIDN'T WANT YOU PROTECTED YOU'D BE ON YOUR OWN, AND THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU! YOUR HOUSE WAS BROKEN INTO AND SEARCHED 3 DAYS AFTER YOU LEFT!" she said, a look of the utmost loathing on her face as she caught her breath and prepared to start again.
"YOU AND YOUR SNOBBY WIFE ACT ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY WHILE YOUR NEPHEW IS OUT THERE RISKING HIS NECK TO SAVE THE LIVES OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE TURNED INTO A HAMSTER THEN I SUGGEST WE GET ONE THING STARIGHT. WE—WILL—NOT—HEAR—ONE—WORD—AGAINST—HARRY—POTTER!"
Dudley was shocked. No one had ever spoken to his father like that. He was terrified, at everyone's reaction. His father and mother would rage, and possibly try to take them out of hiding which by the sounds of it could kill them all; and the witch would turn them into hamsters. To his relief, all fell silent and all that could be heard was the end of the programme.
"..all in all ladies and gents, if the Chief Death Eater was abroad he sure as hell isn't now. Horrible as it is, it's a small price to pay to find out the Boy Who Lived title is not up for grabs. For all of you who did not know, The Chief Death Eater can fly, we've known this for months. So if you see some one flying through the sky with no broomstick the cast the Disallusion Charm on your self and everyone around you as quick as you can; and everyone take ten paces out from where they are incase you were spotted, that way if you were seen then You-Know-Who can avada kedavra some bushes and pebbles. That's all for tonight. We should be able to make it back on the air within the week so check those dials 'round 9-ish. Next password will be Grimmauld. Long Live Harry Potter!"
At these words the radio shut off. The scene tension that had evaporated when everyone was listening to the programme had come back at record speed and made the air feel as though it was cement-laden.
"Petunia, Dudders; bed, NOW!"
"I'm not tired." The words had come out of Dudley's mouth before they were fully formed in his mind.
"Diddykins, listen to your father." His mother was trying to mask her frustration that Dudley would not listen, but failing miserably.
"No, I'm staying down here. I'm not going to bed. I'm staying to read the paper."
He added that last bit because he didn't really have a reason to defy his parents wishes, but felt he didn't need one at the moment.
"Dudley you should not be in present company for longer that needed. We wouldn't want to wear out our welcome now would we?" said Petunia in a sugary sweet voice that as complimented by the poisonous glare in her eyes.
"Don't tell me you're turning into some nancy boy feeling sorry for the Potter freak." Spat his father. A section of his neck seem to pulsate slightly, and though Dudley expected it was a throbbing vein, it was masked by a layer of fat.
"He's not a freak. He's just… just different is all." Said Dudley timidly. He was starting to lose his nerve. They sat in silence for a moment before his father exploded.
"HE'S A FREAK! AN ABNORMALITY! A GENETIC MISTAKE! SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM AND YOU'VE KNOWN IT YOU WHOLE LIFE AND NOW YOU'VE BEEN AROUND THESE NUTTERS TOO LONG AND YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED! THAT'S IT, WE'RE LEAVING PETUNIA! WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE ACCEPTED THEIR HELP, RUDDY CRAZY BUNCH OF FREAKS—" he finished his sentence, but not in English or any human language, for there on the ground where Vernon Dursley stood moments before. Was the fattest, ugliest hamster any of them had ever seen.