Dear Dudley,
Hey Dudley, this is Harry. Do you remember me? It would probably be hard not to, after all, I did ruin your life. Dudley, I want to say I'm sorry.
When we were children, the truth hadn't really hit. I hated your parents and detested you, believing that my life would have been so much better without the lot of you. The night of my 17th birthday, however, began the realization that has managed to come to me. I know that you're not interested in details, so I won't bore you, but I almost lost many people very close to me. At that point, I saw just how powerful the protection provided from living with you was. There was an entire army up there in the skies just waiting for me to become vulnerable. That protection became even more powerful in memory as various places I believed to be sanctuaries were slowly destroyed. My godfather's home was lost with the supposed betrayal of a close friend, my best friend's home lost it's sanctity when the wedding was crashed, and Hogwarts itself became the place of the final showdown between Lord Voldemort and me. As I lost these places I thought to be safe, I realized more and more just how powerful the protection offered by your family was to have kept me safe for 17 years from any wizards who might wish me harm.
As I had my own children and looked at them with love, I understood why my aunt and uncle treated you the way they did. Although they did not know the exact details surrounding my parent's deaths, they knew enough to know that by taking me in, they would be placing you and themselves in mortal danger. Although I do not approve of the way they handled the situation, I have come to understand why they did as they did. Because of their own distrust of magic, they weren't confident in the strength of the protection. They feared every day throughout our lives that an evil wizard would come in and kills all of us. Naturally, a small grudge would be held against me for forcing them through this (one that simply grew) and naturally they would want to spoil you because they weren't sure if it was your last day. Once I started school, it got both better and worse, they treated me less like a slave, but my studying of magic had brought back the realities of my living there. I am sorry for the danger I brought to you and your family. After having my own child, I will honestly say that I am not sure if I could keep from acting the same way. To find a child on my own doorstep and to know that adopting said child would put my kid and my wife (and any other possible future children) in danger for the rest of our lives; I would definitely do it. I would absolutely take in the child. However, I am not as confident in my ability to keep from wavering in my sense of fairness between that child and my own.
Although, as I said before, I do not approve of the way your parents handled the situation and the very clear unfairness and hatred shown, I have come to understand why they acted as they did. With my understanding, also comes forgiveness, whether or not they want it. In addition to all this Dudley, I have also come to understand you much better. Later in my school years, you started wanting to be friends with me, but clearly you weren't sure how. The nervousness you would suddenly have when doing anything other than bullying and the bit of time spent with me before leaving made it obvious. Now that the chaos of our lives has passed and we have both grown up and married, what say you to a cup of coffee now and then? After all, you are the closest thing to a sibling I have ever had and it would be a shame to just let that go because of childhood disputes partially brought on by parenting troubles.
How about next week at KoKo's? I'll be my treat.
Sincerely,
Harry