Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything, of course.
A/N: So, I was trying to write the second chapter of Shattered Vows and Hermione was giving me a bit of trouble. Then, an idea for a one-shot came to me, so I decided to write it. Though, now I'm not sure if this will stay a one-shot or if I want to write a second part from Dudley's point of view.
Harry remembered the day when he had the biggest shock of his life quite well. When asked what day that would be, many would be surprised by the answer. It wasn't the day that his parents were killed by Voldemort, since he was too young to remember it anyways. It wasn't the day that he found out that he was a wizard, though that was up there. Nor was it the day that he found his godfather, Sirius, and learned that his favorite professor was a werewolf. It wasn't even the day of the Battle of Hogwarts, as it came to be called, when he had had so many shocks including Snape's deep love of his mother and actually living after Voldemort had shot the Killing Curse at him.
No, the day that he was thinking of was made all the more shocking by how normal it had been. Little Lily Luna had just turned four, making Albus six, and James seven. Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Angelina, Lavender, and Parvati had decided to go on a girl's day out. Luckily, Harry had a day off so he was taking care of his young children. Lily was sitting in her chair where she was supposed to be eating lunch, though she was banging her spoon on her overturned bowl. James was chasing Albus all around the house, holding what was supposed to be a fake tarantula that he had somehow turned real.
And that was when he heard a knock at his door. Walking towards the door, he called out to all three children, "Lily, stop banging on your bowl. Food goes in your mouth, not on the floor. James, leave your poor brother alone! I swear, I don't know how your mother manages you three every day!"
Still yelling at his children, the frazzled wizard opened the door. He was so surprised by what he found when he opened the door that his jaw almost dropped. Standing on his doorstep was none other than his cousin, Dudley Dursley, whom he hadn't so much as had a letter or a phone call from since he was about twenty.
The years had been good to Dudley, though. Away from his overbearing parents, he had actually taken the initiative to go to a gym and had thinned considerably. Harry barely recognized his older cousin, though he was still wearing the leather jacket he loved so much. They stood in the door way staring at each other, both at a loss for what to say. This silence was broken as Albus ran up to his father and tugged on his sleeve, "Dad, James says that there's a banshee under the bed and that she eats little unsuspecting boys who accidentally break their older brothers' brooms!"
Albus stopped talking as he noticed the tall blond man in the doorway and hid behind his father's leg, peering at Dudley nervously. Harry patted his son's head before turning his attention to the cousin he hadn't seen in years, "Dudley, please come in…"
Once Dudley had come into the house and Harry had closed the door, they both walked into the kitchen. Harry's middle child clung to his leg with both arms and legs, refusing to let go so Harry had some trouble walking. Harry had to groan as he saw James trying to feed Lily both the food that had spilled on the floor and some unknown substance that he seemed to have found in the garden, "James Sirius Potter, do not feed your sister that! If I have to take you children to the hospital on one of the few days I'm actually taking care of you by myself, your mother will never let me live it down! And stop telling your brother stories that you know aren't true."
Dudley watched on in amusement as Harry tried to discipline his children. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably closer to thirty minutes, Harry had managed to convince all three to take a nap. Though they were probably going to be terrors later that night, he thought it was worth it for the quiet that he would be getting while he was talking to his cousin.
The blonde was still sitting at the kitchen table when Harry walked in and sat down, "So, Dudley…to what do I owe this pleasure?"
Tapping the table nervously, Dudley shrugged, "Well, it's been a while and I had been visiting Mom and Dad last week. I asked them about you, but they didn't really seem to know anything."
Still unsure about what Dudley wanted, Harry nodded, "Yeah, Aunt Petunia and I don't talk a lot. Once Uncle Vernon refused to come to my wedding and made those comments about my children, I thought it best to just sever the family ties. Not like we had the closest family to begin with. The kids have a large enough family just from Ginny's side."
Dudley shifted in his seat as he ran a hand through his hair, "Actually, that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I know that this is going to sound odd, but I'd really like to try and become closer to you and your kids. I'd even like to stay and meet your wife, if you don't mind."
Harry had to admit that he was surprised by Dudley's seeming change in attitude. Though there had been the few minutes when he had actually seemed to be nice to Harry, the young father had chalked it up to the fact that they had no clue what was going to happen to him once he had fought Voldemort.
Deciding that being candid with Dudley would be the best course of action, Harry quirked an eyebrow, "Why the change of heart, Big D?"
Grinning at the nickname he hadn't heard in years, the older cousin decided to be honest, "I know it'll be hard to believe, but Dad's disowned me. You see, I told them that I'd married a witch and that she's pregnant with my kid…"
A/N: I tried to stay mostly within canon with this and I think I succeeded for the most part. I don't recall ever reading what had happened with the Dursleys and I could honestly see them not having a lot of contact with Harry after he leaves their house. Plus, I was reading the first part of Deathly Hallows again and it seemed to me like there could have been something there with Dudley and Aunt Petunia. The next part to Shattered Vows should be up within the week.