I didn't actually intend to continue this, but there was some expressed interest so I figured- why not? Also, the chaotic within me desperately wanted me to put Dudley in Diagon Alley with four wizard-raised teenagers and his famous cousin but before I do that I think I need some context-y stuff so-.
Part Two: A Dinner Party.
Dudley
Dudley supposed he had probably lost his mind. Inviting a family of freaks into his home for a bloody Sunday roast. No- not freaks, Wizards. That, he thought, might take some getting used to. Dudley Dursley loved his daughter more than anything in the world and, unlike his parents, having a connection to the wizarding world was not going to dampen that love in the slightest. If supporting Ella through this journey meant dinner with the Potters every week, he would do it for her, but best of all was that he knew Alex felt the same way.
Admittedly, it had taken a few days for the shock of meeting two wizards in his living room to wear off, but Dudley was proud of how far his husband had come over the course of time. On Friday evening, when Ella had returned home from school, the couple sat her down and told her everything. Well- everything they could. When they couldn't answer all, or even most of her questions, it became apparent that they really would need Harry's help. A lot of it.
Dudley smiled to himself as he diced the carrots, remembering his daughter's reaction to being told that her Uncle Harry and family were coming to dinner and then to take them shopping for school supplies. According to Ella, two gay men in their early forties simply did not understand how important it was to be adequately prepared and dressed for such an important occasion. Alex hadn't been able to contain his laughter at Ella's scrambling towards the stairs- desperate to find a suitable outfit in time. Three hours is not nearly enough warning, Papa!
After placing the chicken onto the roasting tray, surrounded by vegetables, Dudley placed it carefully into the oven and wandered through the house in search of his family. He found them in Ella's bedroom and watched from the doorway while they combed through the wardrobe in search of 'suitable attire'. It was quite obvious to anybody who came into contact with the trio that Ella had gotten her fashion sense from her Daddy. Whilst Dudley had changed in many ways since he was a teenager, dropping a lot of weight and taking pleasure in cooking healthy meals and going for long runs, his habit of residing in light jeans and oversized hoodies had not. Alex, on the other hand, usually looked like he had stepped out of some magazine- and their daughter had followed suit. It was hardly worth counting the amount of times Dudley had zoned out at the dinner table whilst his husband and daughter discussed taffeta or the latest fads.
"They'll be here soon," he announced, huffing out a laugh as Ella jumped in surprise. Obviously she had not seen him coming.
"How soon?"
"About half an hour. They're coming a little before dinner so you have plenty of time to interrogate everybody before we leave," he teased, noting his daughter's pink cheeks. She nibbled her lip, and Alex pulled her into his side comfortingly.
"What's the matter, buttercup?"
Her voice was small as she replied, and she kept her eyes directed at the edge of the green rug on the floor. "What if they don't like me?" Alex hugged his daughter tightly and looked towards where Dudley was still stood, asking for help with a glance.
"Harry is one of the kindest people I have ever known," reassured Dudley, "and I highly doubt he will have raised his children to be any different."
"But they're older than me, and they've known about magic their whole lives!-"
"-Harry didn't. My parents didn't tell him anything. He didn't find out until a giant broke down the front door of the hut that we ran away to and told him the full story. Mum and Dad were furious, and I was terrified, but Harry had his whole world turned upside down with that one visit. If nothing else, he understands how difficult this is for you. Just give them a chance, sweetheart, okay?"
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded. "Okay, I'll give them a chance, but get out now." Dudley looked at her in shock. "I need to get dressed," she explained, pushing her Papa's arm from around her shoulders, "and so do you!"
"I am dressed-" Dudley protested, but Alex took his hand and led him away.
"No, babe, you're not."
Laughing at her parents, Ella pushed her door shut and stepped in front of the mirror. Staring into her reflection for a moment, she breathed deeply, then she shook her head and puller her white blonde hair out of its long plait. It was time she started getting ready for what was bound to be one hell of a day.
There was a knock at the door roughly forty minutes later, signalling the arrival of his cousin. Dudley paused at the front door to take a deep, grounding breath, then pulled the door open wide and smiled at the sight before him. Two grinning boys stood at the front of the crowd, each the spitting image of their respective father. Behind them a young girl, assumedly Lily, was leaning her head on Draco's shoulder looking exasperated, whilst the man simply smiled fondly at the boys. Harry brought up the rear, an older boy stood at his side looking up the street with an uncomfortable expression on his face. Dudley was a little relieved to notice that they were all dressed quite normally.
"Hiya-" came a chirpy voice from the front of the group, and Dudley saw one of the boys looking up at him.
"We're the Potters-"
"-and the Malfoys-"
"-you must be-"
"-Harry's cousin Dudley-"
"-nice to meet-"
"-Okay that's enough!" glowered Lily. "I'm not going to get through this meal if you two start twinning again." She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her brothers, then looked up to where Dudley was watching them. "It is nice to meet you though," she continued kindly.
"Th-thanks" stammered Dudley.
"Just ignore them all, Dud, they've been bickering all damn day," laughed Harry from the back.
"Sure-" Dudley wasn't quite sure what to say, so he stepped backwards and waved his arm, "come in." Draco headed through first, leading the family in the direction of the living room, leaving Harry at the rear. As he passed, he shook Dudley's hand.
"Good to see you again, Dud." Then, nodding, he followed into the house.
When Dudley eventually shook off the feeling of bizarre that seemed to have overcome him, he rounded the corner into the living room to see Alex greeting everybody, and seats being taken on chairs, windowsills and the floor. His daughter's voice behind him made him chuckle.
"Really Dad, you couldn't even find enough chairs for them all?"
Dudley flushed a little as he muttered "-they're all around the table," but Draco smiled kindly, drawing his wand out from his sleeve.
"Do you mind, Dudley?" he checked quickly, but at Dudley's nod he drew a large figure of eight in the air, and the sofa- usually big enough for two- stretched before their eyes until it was long enough to span the entire lounge. Ella's eyes were wide with excitement, and she looked up at Draco eagerly.
"Show me more?"
Around the dining table sat four dining chairs, one stool, one armchair, two garden chairs and two beanbags, stacked one on top of the other. Dudley noticed, that it was not the chairs catching Harry's attention. He stared, horror struck, at the oval table sat in the middle, which sat currently uncovered in the centre of the room. It suddenly occurred to Dudley that they had not changed the dining table when they moved into Privet Drive, and recalled with horror the times Harry had been thrown across this very room, and his head slammed down hard on the surface at which he was now gaping.
Quickly stepping back into the living room, he grasped Draco by the arm and pulled him through, ignoring his protests. "Please," he hissed. "It's Harry, I forgot about the table I'm so sorry I just didn't think-" he trailed off as they entered the kitchen again to see Harry still in the exact spot he had been before. Draco moved quickly to face his husband, not touching him but blocking the table from view.
"Harry, you're stuck in a memory darling and I need you to come back for me."
Dudley watched for a moment, before realising that he needed to cover the table before this happened again. As he pulled out a tablecloth from underneath the sink, he heard Draco speaking again, his voice calm but firm.
"Harry, it's Draco, I know you can hear me. Look at me, recognise me. You're stuck in a memory but you are safe, he can't hurt you here. You are at Privet Drive, but he is not. I am here, you are safe-" After a few more minutes of Draco repeating himself, Harry seemed to come back to himself. Dudley had covered the table with a large blue cloth and set places for everybody where the seats had already been deposited, but he saw Harry's eyes wash over the table again nervously before the man looked back to Draco. Seeing his husband's face seemed to be the last straw, because Harry's head fell onto his shoulder and he started to cry quietly.
Draco held Harry in his arms as the man sobbed, and Dudley felt a little uncomfortable- as though he were intruding- but continued pulling the roast out the oven and setting it down. He was shocked when a moment later a slightly shaky Harry was next to him again, pulling plates out of the correct cupboard and walking over to the table to set them down. "You don't have to-" he began, but Harry shook his head.
"I've been having flashbacks since before the war, Dud, don't worry about it. I'm surprised actually, it has been a while since something so trivial has set me off."
Dudley frowned. "You may have worked through everything that set off the war related flashbacks Harry, but you probably haven't seen many things over the years that remind you of the trauma you faced here. I was honestly shocked that you had no reaction to walking past the cupboard."
Harry seemed to consider him for a moment then returned to Draco's side, pulling the taller man into a hug, mumbling against his shoulder, "At least I was expecting to see the cupboard."
Alex walked into the kitchen then, followed by the myriad of teens and Ella, stopping short as he noticed the tense atmosphere. "Everything okay?" he questioned.
"Just a flashback," Harry sighed, pulling away from Draco to smile at the man. "Nothing to worry about." Then Harry looked past Alex to where Lily was stood, nodding at her. Dudley watched on, confused, as Lily pulled a small vial out of her handbag and passed it to her father, who unstoppered it and took a gulp before putting the top back on. Lily reached out, but Harry kept hold of the bottle and instead placed it into his jeans pocket. Then he glanced back to his cousin. "It's a calming draught," he explained, kindly.
"Are you alright?" asked Ella timidly.
"Yes, just tired." Harry looked at her for a moment, trying to decide what he should explain, but he settled on the truth. "I had some differing views from your grandparents-"
"-No," interrupted Alex. Harry looked up at him in confusion. "Vernon and Petunia are- well, not involved." Dudley laughed at Harry's raised eyebrows, and took pity on the man.
"I started to realise how awful they were when we went into hiding, but really, how do you think they reacted when I came to dinner one week with the news that I was to be getting married to a man?"
"-not so well I take it?"
"About as well as they reacted to- what was his name- Hagrid."
"You know, you keep mentioning that-" jumped in Alex. "What exactly happened with this guy?"
Laughing, Dudley shook his head, "We'll tell you that story another time. Anyway- Cammie and Leon are Ella's only grandparents." He turned to Ella then, "My parents were horrible to Harry because they didn't understand that being magic made him special, not a freak. I was quite mean to him too. When somebody gets treated that badly, sometimes it can make them really poorly when they get older and such. A flashback is when you feel like something is happening again, even though it isn't, but all the sounds and feelings come back as though it is and it can be really scary. Plus, Harry was in a war. He fought real hard, but horrible things happened to him which means there is even more for his brain to make him remember when it is playing up. Do you understand?"
Ella looked between her parents and Harry for a moment, but then walked over to where he was standing and put her arms around his middle. Harry was shocked for a moment, before he hugged her in return. Pulling back, she looked directly at him as she spoke.
"You were really brave, I hope the memories leave you alone soon." Then, squeezing him one last time, she moved to her seat at the table where the Albus, James, Scorpius and Alex were looking at her with a mixture of wonder and pride on their faces- each of them smiling widely.
"You're right, Ella, he was really brave. One day, I will tell you more about what happened. Dad and Dray find it hard to talk about it but I think you will find it interesting. Plus, if you want you can tell people that you are related to The Famous Harry Potter." Lily winked. "Your classmates will think it's pretty cool."
Dudley put his hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed as he watched his daughter chatting along with the siblings. Who ever would have thought that they would come together like this after so much time apart, he wondered. One thing was for sure, he was going to be there for his cousin this time. After all, he had a lot of bad behaviour to make up for. Pleased that Ella seemed so comfortable with the group, Dudley braced himself- he had a feeling shopping for witch supplies wasn't going to go quite so smoothly!