"Take care, Big D"
The last words Harry had spoken to him. Dudley hadn't really thought about Harry since the day they'd left number 4 Privet Drive. For a start, it had been so busy that he simply hadn't had time to think about his cousin. But now, almost 10 years later, everything had calmed down enough that he could just recall the last decade of his life.
That time the dementors attacked Harry and him when they were 15 was his first thought. That was the first time he'd experienced how dangerous the world could be and appreciated that Harry actually had a tough time in his own world, he didn't need Dudley and his parents making his life out of school miserable too. After that he'd just begun to think about everything that had happened since he and Harry had parted ways.
Dudley's parents had gone to America, said they wanted to live a peaceful life there. Obviously they thought wizards only existed in Britain, sometimes even Dudley couldn't believe how ignorant Petunia and Vernon could be. He also suspected that it was because they thought he'd grown up so much that he couldn't be their little Dudders anymore. He had a girlfriend, and his own job – a well-respected position in an oil company – and his own house. He didn't need or want to be spoiled by his over-bearing mum and dad anymore, so they'd left him.
Speak of the devil, in came Dudley's girlfriend with a cup of tea. She put on the TV and watched a movie, but Dudley couldn't concentrate, he could only think about how much he missed his cousin, even though he'd never really thought much of him.
Dudley said Harry's name aloud by accident.
"Harry?" said his girlfriend in her Scottish accent, "I knew a Harry at school, he was a year younger than me, went out with him for a bit, but it didn't work out between us. Not that you'd want to know about him," she blushed.
"Well, this Harry was my cousin, same age as me. I treated him horribly for a while but now I realise how much I miss him, I wish I could take back almost everything I ever said to him. He saved my life once," Dudley told her.
"Do you want to talk about it? Tell me about him, what was he like?" she asked.
"His parents died when he was a baby, car crash, he had a scar left from it. He lived with us and my parents and I treated him horribly. His full name was Harry James Potter."
Dudley's girlfriend spat out her tea and dropped her tea. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide with disbelief and she was fiddling with her long, dark hair.
"What shape was the scar, and where was it?" she asked.
"It was a lightning bolt, on his forehead. Here, love, the cup smashed. I'll clean it up for you."
"No, no I need to tell you something," her voice shook.
"You're as white as a sheet," Dudley sat back down, "What do you need to tell me, sweetheart?"
"You won't like this, not at all, and your parents wouldn't approve, they looked after Harry and still never liked him, oh my gosh, you're going to hate me…"
"Cho, you aren't making much sense. But it would take something truly horrible to make me stop loving you"