Dudley sometimes thought about his childhood. He thought about everything his parents had given him, and the few things that they had not, which were the things he needed most. Then, he thought about his cousin, and the cupboard under the stairs, as well as the beatings, curses and ridiculous amounts of work thrown Harry's way. It was such a stark contrast, and at the time he had enjoyed it, being superior and dominating. But now, it almost made him cry, thinking about how he would feel if that happened to him or his own children, and he would realose the disgust he belatedly felt for his own father.

He knew where it came from, all the hate; it stemmed from fear of what Harry was and the fact that his mother knew that the boy could actually harm them of he wished too. He later learnt the story of Lily and Petunia, and suddenly he understood his mother a lot better.

Nonetheless, he knew it still wasn't fair, everything that had happened. It was too late to fix it, however, Dudley still wanted to, even though he knew that Harry was a happy man now. He'd read the Prophet, one day, learning that his cousin was now a famous Auror, and was happily married. Though he didn't quite understand everything that was written in it. He was still getting used to the Wizarding World.

Of course, Hannah tried her best to help him with it. He wondered what his mother would have said if she knew his wife was a witch. She'd probably disown him, he knew, so he hid everything from her, including the facts that he preferred traveling by Floo than by car and that her grandchildren went to Hogwarts like their uncle, and not to a boarding school in Ireland. He realised how Harry must have felt, unable to share something that was such a big part of his life.

Often Dudley would wonder if he should visit Harry, but then the image of an younger version of himself calling his cousin cruel names would come to mind, and he would shake the thought away, with a bitter laugh. He would look at Hannah and the children and sometimes feel somewhat jealous, echoing his mother's sentiments towards Lily all those years ago, but unlike her, he did love them too much to let those feelings overpower him into hating them.

It was ironic, he thought, that in his entire life, there were so many people who were linked with the magical world, but that he didn't have any. He had once confided to Hannah about him and she had laughed and told him that he didn't need magic, in her sweet, comforting way. He had laughed too. Because he knew she was right. He was what he was, and what he used to be, without it, and in the end, he was just Dudley Dursley, and he was happy.


Notes: For TGS' 12 Days of Christmas Day 12!

Uhhh...I'm not too happy with this one, but well.