Disclaimer: JKR owns everything!
Written for House Cup Competition – Prompts: Dudley Dursley, Every picture tells a story
Written for Book Quotes Boot Camp – Prompt13: I had no choice. Love does funny things to people. – True Believer.
Written for Head Canon Boot Camp – Prompt22: Tyro
Written for Movie Quote Boot Camp – Prompt10: Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (Casablanca, 1942)
Written for Pairing Diversity Boot Camp – Prompt11: Never
Written for Television Quotes Boot Camp – Prompt14: Eli doesn't love anyone; he's a seriously messed dude. You and me, we have a spiritual connection – Degrassi
Thank you Clever Ink Slinger for editing this one for me! : )
Summary: When Dudley decided to attend Harry's wedding, it never crossed his mind that he would find something more than what he bargained for. He had come to seek forgiveness and friendship; in turn, he found a possibility of love.
Chudley Canons, She Said.
The first time Dudley Dursley laid eyes on her, it was at his cousin, Harry Potter's wedding. Never in a million years had he thought his attendance would be requested for that particular occasion, considering the past between the two young men. But, nonetheless, he had been invited and he planned on attending the wedding. Dudley was a changed man after all, and making amends to keep a amicable relationship with his only living cousin was what he wanted to do.
However, that aim had taken a setback from the moment Dudley saw her. Making his relationship with Harry less strenuous and awkward suddenly became a secondary chore! She had become his most important thought that night.
Dudley had met numerous women on many different occasions. Some had been uptight prudes, which was understandable since they were set up for him by his parents. While other women he had met at pubs or office events had been too casual. Yes, he had had quite a few flings with different women, but never had he felt a strong attachment to any of them. Always, always he shied away from the possibility of love – never. But, when he saw Cho Chang that evening, dressing in a striking blue satin wrap-up, her jet black hair twisted into a bun and held in place by chopsticks, her beautiful slightly tanned face lit up with a smile and friendliness, and her ever slender body holding the rest of her well, Dudley felt himself sinking.
The moment Dudley had seen Cho . . . he knew he was a goner. He had seen many girls, but not one of them had ignited the fire that she had in his heart. He remembered the first time his heart reacted when he saw her, because that was how it reacted every time he saw her – the sudden frenzy, the accelerated beating, the slight nervousness, and excitement . . . She made him feel all of these things and more.
Boldly, he had walked over and spoken to her. At first she had seemed a little apprehensive, but after a couple of drinks, she had loosened up enough to talk to him freely, even laughing at his stupid jokes which he was trying to make impressive. Of course, that could have been the alcohol talking, but he wanted to think that his presence had done that. Yes, he was a hopeless romantic wearing his heart on his sleeve with her. How pathetic he was! It was even more pathetic that it didn't really matter to him much.
That evening, both of them had danced, laughed, discussed various things, and never gotten bored with each other's company. Dudley had stayed longer than he had originally planned, and left only when he really had to.
"Will I see you again, Cho?" He asked; his heart was in a nervous mess.
"Maybe . . ." She had winked at him, and leaned in, on the tip of her toes to place a kiss on his cheeks.
"I hope so," he said under his breath while he watched her back as she walked away.
The one thing that enamored him was the fact that she hadn't said 'goodbye' and he had made no attempt to do so either. That could only mean one thing, right? He would see her again!
With that imaginary hope, he walked away too.
The next day, when he visited his parents for lunch, they had watched him like hawks. He could see the disdainful look on his mother's face and knew that his father was barely controlling himself from burst out into a lecture. He didn't meet their gazes, but he couldn't stop smiling like a moron.
"Had too much fun, did we?" The question brought him back to the bitter reality, pulling him from his thoughts about a certain black haired beauty.
He simply hummed in reply, and saw that his mother's eyes had narrowed. "You shouldn't have gone over to that place first of all! Look what it has done to you!" She spat.
Her words irritated him immensely, "What? My happiness is bothering you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
Petunia gasped, and Vernon growled. "Don't you dare speak to your mother in such a disrespectful manner young man! We've taught you better than that." He reprimanded Dudley.
Dudley was dying to say words which would bring nothing but further disappointment to his parents, so he pursed his lips and swallowed back his own anger.
". . . It's a heinous crime! He spends one evening with that boy and look how he argues! I bet –"
"I am leaving," Dudley announced in exasperation. He was tired of his parents' useless and very unwanted rants. Once he would have joined them, but now he had grown up and grown weary of the once enjoyable pastime.
"W-what?" Petunia stammered. Never had he behaved so rudely, especially with his parents.
"Goodbye," he said dryly, walking out of the house and banging the front door deafeningly.
He stood at the front steps, breathing heavily. If this were how his parents reacted when he had merely attended a magical wedding, how would they react if he introduced them to a girl who was purely magical?
The answer was straight to him . . . he wouldn't.
Days passed into weeks, and he hadn't seen her. What had started as initial happiness had turned him bitter. He scowled at everyone, barely spoke to anyone unless he was shouting orders, and stayed in his flat, alone for most of the nights. Dudley wondered if he should be the one contacting her first, but he had been such an idiot! He had slipped his number to her, but he should have known that her kind didn't use the basic means of communication that non-magical folk like him did. He vaguely remembered how Harry used to communicate with his friends using his bird.
He had gone as far as looking for an owl at every pet store close to his flat. He had stared and stared at every owl he could find, which was quite a rarity, but none seemed special enough. The first time he had found an owl, Dudley had asked the helper if it could be used in exchanging letters – and the look that she had given him, as if trying to decide between his sanity and the possibility of his question being a prank. Well, it was safe to say – after that Dudley kept his queries to himself after that particular incident.
He tried to write to her using the normal way, but a letter could only go somewhere if it had the receiver's address written down.
Her 'maybe', which had been teasing back then, had turned into an irritation. He couldn't help but feel a little angry at her. Why hadn't she simply answered him straightforward instead of leading him on this way? But, was she even leading him? Did she even think of him? Or, was he some stranger whom she had had (hopefully) a good time with and she had forgotten him the next morning?
Yes, that was possibly the case.
He wondered if he should write his cousin a letter, asking for any contact details. Harry didn't disappoint him; in fact he seemed very enthusiastic. Dudley finally got her address, and he wrote a casual letter – or rather, what he thought was casual. After much staring at his words, he had posted it before he lost his nerve.
When he had posted, he continued to wait patiently. He didn't know how the address would be dealt with. Would the postman even know where she lived?
Again, the days passed and all of his hope began to falter. Dudley came to a conclusion – either the post had gone astray or Cho Chang wasn't interested at all.
And he feared the latter option very much.
Quarter of a year had passed since Harry Potter's wedding, and the change in Dudley was beyond recognition. He had accepted the fact that the woman he had fallen for wasn't interested in him, but it hurt very much. It was stupid of course, he didn't know why her rejection should hurt that much. They had had just a few hours together, but he couldn't help but feel like those few hours had been the best of his entire life.
He didn't know what he was feeling, and he didn't have anybody to tell him either. Dudley didn't really have any proper friends. Acquaintances, yes – many . . . but friends – none.
It was he who finally had decided that enough had been enough. He couldn't pine over a single girl for the rest of his life now, could he? He had been his own best friend – he had taken a shower, gotten dressed in his best, and walked out of his flat in an attempt to return only in the morning.
Moreover, that was exactly what he had done. He had gotten drunk, and he had found someone willing enough to have a no strings attached night off. They had gone back to her place and fucked like animals…and then, only in the early hours of morning had they fallen asleep due to exhaustion.
At around noon, Dudley had woken up to an empty bed. The woman whom he had slept with was already up and about in the kitchen. He quickly got dressed, feeling the hard hangover, and headed out of the small bedroom. At the entrance, he was greeted by the woman he had slept with – awkwardness hung in air between them. Dudley was sure that neither knew each other's name. He walked out with an awkward goodbye and said that it was fun. She agreed.
He realized that he was much closer to his flat, but he wasn't ready to face the sun's intensity. He took a cab and reached his home in as much comfort as he could. When he entered in, someone was using the lift, loading up boxes of belongings. Sighing, he walked back up four floors wanting nothing more than the covers of his plush bed after a quick stress relieving shower.
He was huffing slightly when he reached his floor, and fumbled with his keys. He dropped them when he heard a familiar voice and he turned in surprise.
There she was – Cho Chang. She had just walked out of the flat opposite to his and was ordering the moving men to do something. Their eyes met and her words stopped. Dudley opened his mouth twice to speak, but no words came out.
He knew she remembered him, though. He could see the recognition in her eyes. But, he could also see something else – judgment. He immediately knew what was crossing her mind. Of course, with one look at his disheveled clothing and hangover look – it would be obvious to anyone.
Dudley Dursley had been faring quite well – would be her conclusion. Nodding once, she turned back to the laborers. He stood there for long moments watching her, but then he decided to go into his own flat.
When he reached the bed, Dudley tried to fall back asleep. But, sleep evaded him completely. His thoughts were back on his black haired beauty, and they weren't going elsewhere.
After the awkward meeting in the hallway, Dudley didn't see Cho very often. The following weekend, he knocked at her apartment door with some homemade cookies. She had looked slightly surprised, but invited him in anyway.
They had gotten back into their familiar way of talking after few minutes. Cho told him about how she had gotten a new job at the muggle (apparently that was what they called people like him) Ministry, and had to get a flat in London to keep up the appearances. Dudley hid his excitement, and behaved nonchalantly. But, all the while, he had been thinking of – destiny, fate, and everything along those lines.
He listened to Cho with rapt attention, hanging onto her every word . . . and by the end of the night his suspicions were only confirmed – he was smitten.
Every bit of free time Dudley had was spent with Cho – she was changing him into someone he had never been. He smiled more often, he laughed too, and he enjoyed life as it came! She had made him take an optimistic look on life. But, never once had she instigated anything romantic, they were just friends … and nothing more.
It was only when Dudley saw her getting cozy with another man that he reacted … he had taken her to a pub close by on a Friday night. Cho had dressed up in less formal wear – a beautiful pale orange sleeveless dress which hugged her every curve tantalizingly and had a deep enough neck to turn Dudley's thoughts dark with desire. He had tried to remain as indifferent as possible, but it bothered him. When he saw her dressed up like that, he didn't want to take her to the pub anymore. He didn't want any other man to look at her the way in which only he should. But, she had been so excited, he couldn't just say no just because he was pathetically insecure!
So, they had gone. Cho gushed over the crowd, and seemed to enjoy it enough. Dudley felt happiness creep up to him as he watched her have fun. He knew he could spend the rest of his life making her happy . . . I am so sappy!
It had only taken few moments for other men to recognize and pursue her. Dudley had gone to get them their drinks leaving Cho in the less crowded area of the pub, when he saw another man approach her. Anger fuelled his body when he saw him take hold of her hand and place a chaste kiss on it. He saw Cho giggle, and gritted his teeth.
Dudley didn't know what took over him, but he forgot all about the drinks and rushed over to her.
"Come-on!" He said and grabbed her, pulling her out of the pub. He could hear Cho asking him what was wrong, but he didn't pay any attention until they were out in the crisp cold air.
"What is wrong with you?!" Cho asked, angrily.
"I – uh . . ." Yes, what was wrong with him? He didn't have to rush her out like that! He could have dealt with it much more formally, but everything about them was so formal that he had had enough.
He didn't say anything further; instead he pulled her into a kiss, holding her close to his body.
Destiny and fate could only draw him to her so strongly . . . it was he who had to act.
Cho seemed to freeze for few moments; Dudley hesitated and thought that he should stop. Just when he was about to, she started to kiss him back.
And suddenly, nothing else mattered – He was Dudley, and she was Cho – nothing more and nothing less.
AN: Well, here's my first Dudley/Cho story! I had been wanting to write them forever . . . and now I finally have! XD I hope you liked this – please leave me your thoughts. =)