This is for my beautiful Kat. I'm sorry it's not finished but hopfully it is a good start!

'Hey, Big D!'

Dudley turned.

'Oh,' he grunted. 'It's you.'

'How long have you been "Big D" then?' said Harry.

'Shut it,' snarled Dudley, turning away.

'Cool name,' said Harry, grinning and falling into step beside his cousin. 'But you'll always be "Ickle Diddykins" to me.'

'I said, SHUT IT!' said Dudley

Dudley rolled over in his bed facing his bedroom door, pale faced and sweat dripping from his forehead, he frowned wiping some of it away.

'Don't the boys know that's what your mum calls you?'

'Shut your face.'

'You don't tell her to shut her face. What about "Popkin" and "Dinky Diddydums", can I use them then?'

Dudley frowned, glaring at his bedroom door now, why did he do these things to him? Is it magic? That Harry had thrown over him while he was sleeping?

'So who've you been beating up tonight?' Harry asked, his grin fading. 'Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago –'

'He was asking for it,' snarled Dudley.

'Oh yeah?'

'He cheeked me.'

'Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? 'Cause that's not check, Dud, that's true.'

Why did he say such things to him? When he knew how hard he had been trying. It's not his fault that Mother makes such delicious food, and leaves them sitting in the fridge like that.

'Think you're a big man carrying that thing, don't you?' Dudley said after a few seconds.

'What thing?'

'That – that thing you are hiding.'

Harry grinned again.

'Not as stupid as you look, are you, Dud? But I s'pose, if you were, you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time.'

Harry pulled out his wand. He saw Dudley look sideways at it.

'You're not allowed,' Dudley said at once. 'I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school you go to.'

'How do you know they haven't changed the rules, Big D?'

Why does he try, always, trying to scare me? And he knows, I know. He is always successful. But I got him back, I try just as hard and I don't need magic to be successful.

'Not this brave at night, are you?' sneered Dudley.

'This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this.'

'I mean when you're in bed!' Dudley snarled.

'What d'you mean, I'm not brave when I'm in bed?' said Harry. 'What am I supposed to be afraid of, pillows or something?'

'I heard you last night,' said Dudley breathlessly. 'Talking in your sleep. Moaning.'

'what d'you mean?' Harry said again.

God, Harry in bed was the last thing Dudley wanted to think about. Harry, in bed moaning, but if only it wasn't Cedric's name that was called out from his mouth as he twisted and turned, sweaty in his sheets every night. If it wasn't Sirius, or Dumbledore, or anyone else Harry had lost who was dear to him. If only he was dear to Harry.

'"Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!" Who's Cedric – your boyfriend?'

Dudley pulled his bed covers closer to himself, he hated saying that.

'I – you're lying,' said Harry automatically.

'"Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, dad! Boo hoo!"'

'Shut up,' said Harry quietly. 'Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you!'

I was so scared that night…

'W-What are you d-doing? St-stop it!'

'I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!'

'I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I –'

'I said shut up!'

'I'll t-tell Dad!' Dudley whimpered. 'W-where are you? What are you d-do--?'

'Will you shut up?' Harry hissed, 'I'm trying to lis-'

'C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!'

'Dudley, shut-'

Why did I hit him? Dudley questioned himself as he sat up in bed trying his hardest to forget that night, but still wanting to remember all the same.

'You moron, Dudley!' Harry yelled, 'DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT! DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand!' Harry muttered.

'Where's – wand – come on – lumos!'

'Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum… EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

'What had those words done anyway?' Sure it had made him feel warm again, but still scared him, 'It had to have been magic… he was just trying to scare me…'

'He's ill, Vernon!'

'What is it son? What's happened? Did Mrs. Polkiss give you something foreign for tea?'

'Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?'

'Hang on – you haven't been mugged, have you, son?'

'Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy, darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?'

'Who did it son? Give us names. We'll get them, don't worry.'

'Shh! He's trying to say something, Vernon! What is it, Diddy? Tell Mummy!'

'Him.'

'Why,' thought Dudley as he heaved himself from his bed and walked to the door slowly that he had been staring at for a while now. 'Why did I say it was him? Now that I know that it wasn't him… he was trying to help me… save me.' Dudley opened the door and walked down the hallway a little, passed a clock that read, '4:42'. It had been a year since that incident, he tried desperately to forget. He stopped in front of another door, one he stopped in front of a few times before and had been too scared to open and peek inside, this time he pushed it open.

Harry lay there, sleeping with a troubled look on his face and a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

Dudley watched Harry as he rolled onto his side moaning painfully, Dudley went to close the door, but Harry sat bolt upright, hissing in pain and holding his scar.

Harry rubbed at his scar painfully and then looked up at his door hearing it creak.

'Who's there?'

Harry's heart begun to pound harder along with Dudley's.

'It-it's just me Harry'

Harry gave a great sigh, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, and leaned over the side of his bed to grab his glasses.

'You scared the shit out of me Dudley' Said Harry putting his glasses on and brushing some sweat and hair out of his face. 'Why are you here? Is something wrong?' Harry sat up looking worried, now over the surprise of Dudley standing in his bedroom doorway, but it soon turned into surprise again when Dudley blushed.

'N-nothing… I – It's just…' Dudley took a deep breath, 'It's nothing'

Harry raises an eyebrow.

'Are you sure Dudley?'

'…Yeah'

Harry moved over on the bed, obviously not convinced, and patted the space there, hesitantly; Dudley entered the room and sat beside Harry, glancing over at Harry's wand, on the bedside table. Harry watched him, and looked over at his wand, then back at Dudley.

'I'm not going to hex you, Dudley. Now. Tell me what's bothering you.'

Dudley looked over at Harry.

'Harry… I can't –'

'Can't or won't?' Harry asked and watched Dudley closely. 'Just… tell me what's wrong, we may not agree on most things but, we're still family, Dudley.'

Dudley closed his eyes at the word 'family' making Harry frown.

'Dudley…' Harry continued to watch him. 'Do you… -'

'Shut up' Dudley's hands clenched in his lap, 'Just… don't' Dudley stood up and walked out., leaving Harry by himself.

Harry got up and closed the door behind Dudley, then set his glasses down beside his wand and crawled back into bed, remembering the dream that he woke up so rudely from just moments before. A dream that he was enjoying very much so before Voldemort let his anger get the best of him, and whispered, 'Dudley, you have some magic on me that I will never know how to use.'

One year later.

Harry was bleeding. Clutching his right hand in his left and swearing under his breath, he shouldered open his bedroom door. There was a crunch of breaking china: he had trodden on a cup of cold tea that had been sitting on the floor outside his bedroom door.

'What the -?'

Harry looked around; the landing of number four, Privet Drive, was deserted. Possibly the cup of tea was Dudley's idea of a clever booby trap.

Harry pulled the bed covers over his head more, hearing the birds singing outside, and here he is stuck in his dull room, thinking about things long passed.

'If we'd even seen CV's …'

'These accidents aren't accidents – the crashes and explosions and derailments and whatever else has been happened since we last watched the news. People are disappearing and dying and he's behind it – Voldemort. I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fogs – they're caused by Dementors, and if you can't remember what they are, ask your son!'

Dudley's hands jerked upwards to cover his mouth. With his parents' and Harry's eyes upon him, he slowly lowered them again and asked, 'There are … more of them?'

'More?' laughed Harry. 'More than the two that attacked us, you mean? Of course there are, there are hundreds, maybe thousands by the time, seeing as they feed off fear and despair - '

Harry pulled tighter against the cover's trying to drown out the birds, but a loud exploding sound joined them. 'Bloody hell,' Harry thought as he sat up in the small bed and looking to his left to see Ron still sleeping. 'How can he sleep through them?'

'Don't you understand? They will torture you and kill you like they did my parents!'

'Dad, Dad – I'm going with these Order people.'

'Dudley, for the first time in your life, you're talking sense. They'll be here in about five minutes.'

Harry continued to watch Ron sleep, who grunted and rolled over, open-mouthed and snoring loudly, Harry tried his best not to throw a sock down his throat to stop the noise, and chose to look out the window instead. 'I wonder how the Dursley's are handling things…' thought Harry, before a smirk spread across his face, thinking of Uncle Vernon trying his hardest not to throw the short, Dedalus out the window but his mauve coloured top-hat, for asking a simple question such as, 'Do you know the wirings of a cum-pout-ear? I find it very fascinating!' Harry had to shove his fist down his throat to stop himself from laughing too loud and waking Ron up.

'Why isn't he coming with us?'

'What?'

'Why isn't he coming too?'

'Well, he – he doesn't want to, you don't want to, do you?'

'Not in the slightest'

'There you are. Now come on, we're off'

'But where's he going to go?'

'But… surely you know where your nephew is going?'

'Certainly we know, he's off with some of your lot, isn't he? Right, Dudley, let's get in the car, you heard the man, we're in a hurry.'

'Off with some of our lot?'

Ron rolled over again snorting, noisily and then it muffled slightly, his face pressing into his pillow, and Harry watched him. 'Why me?' he thought, watching his best friend. 'I can't even tell, Ron, the amount of times I've seen him in the shower, or getting dressed. He'd absolutely freak at the idea of me being gay.'

'It's fine, it doesn't matter, honestly.'

'Doesn't matter? Don't these people realize what you've been through? What the danger you are in? The unique position you hold in the hearts of the anti-Voldemort movement?'

'Er – no, they don't. They think I'm a waste of space, actually, but I'm used to –'

'I don't think you're a waste of space.' Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself.

'Well … er … thanks, Dudley'

' … You saved my life.'

'Not really, it was your soul the Dementor would have taken … '

Harry groaned, falling back against his bed, which gave a loud creak, and the springs bounced him up and down for a few seconds. He threw his hand over his face with an embarrassed look upon his face. 'How could I say something so stupid to him?' Harry sat up and glared at his lap now, 'Well it's not like I could say much to him then… in front of his parents.' Harry felt around on the nightstand for his glasses and put them on. 'Dudley… I realize now that, that teacup wasn't a booby trap at all, it was a friendly gesture. I wish I made more friendly gesture's before our separation… than maybe things would be different…'

Well Ideas would be wonderful! 'Cause I'm stuck! And I can't get out! >