It went like that for the next couple of weeks. Dudley had exchanged more letters with Harry and he slowly felt like he was finally getting to know the other side of his family. Around ten letters had been passed between the pair and Dudley only figured that it would take Archimedes a while to fly between both of their homes- it was the only logical explanation he could think of anyway. Dudley walked down the busy London street seen as he always opted to take the tube to work every day, not even daring to risk London traffic in the morning rush hour.
He wore a fitted black suit which he had gotten specially tailored two weeks prior. He wouldn't openly admit it but he felt amazing in it considering two years prior he couldn't even squeeze into a men's size large. He was proud of himself for managing to stick to a healthy balanced diet for so long although he still allowed himself an 'off day'. Basically, Dudley used his day off to eat junk food but he knew he had to treat himself occasionally. Felicity did not mind this as she loved to bake so her delicious creations never went to waste.
A few people stared at him as he walked over to his building and like almost every day that he was required in office he was rendered speechless over how lucky he had gotten. He had managed to do this on his own without any help from Vernon's respected position in Grunning's Drilling Manufacturer's. It wasn't this which shocked him most of the time though. He knew now that all of those years that he spent not caring about his schoolwork and relying heavily on his parents would have gotten him absolutely nowhere in life. He cringed at the single thought that his ex-best friend Piers was now a father to twins and he couldn't find a job that paid well enough in order to support them in the way they needed.
Dudley knew that he would likely be in a similar position if the reality of the awful situation he was caught up in three years ago did not strike him full force. He really shouldn't be grateful for a war happening but he was because he managed to get his life back on track and he also met his other half in the midst of all the mayhem going on around them.
Like the majority of mornings in which he was required in his office, he was greeted merrily by his co-workers. Technically he was their boss but he treated everyone equally and paid everyone equal amounts; a reason why he was so liked within the company. Dudley only done what he did because he wanted to prove to his parents and more importantly, himself, that he was capable of doing things so long as he set his mind to it.
It was a hard start for them. Dudley had made advertisements searching for a credible business partner because he didn't want to do it all himself. It took nearly five weeks before he found Trisha. She was in her early thirties and already had a couple of successful business' under her belt. At first, she was sceptical of his age but she was won over quickly.
Dudley put whatever extra money he had aside from paying his rent and bills towards it. Trisha put in a much larger amount but Dudley assured her he would pay her back if their venture failed. Whatever was left, Vernon invested in. It was slow for a couple of months and he wanted to pack it in then. But Felicity and Trisha gave him a talking to. Not long after, word had gotten out of his business and their profits inflated massively.
And he hasn't looked back since.
For a brief second he wondered if people knew about his small fortune back at his home in Little Whinging. He grimaced at the word home mentally; he never really did consider his childhood house his home. All there was in the average sized family home was favouritism and a lot of it. He may have liked it at the time when he was still being brainwashed by Vernon and Petunia, but he was older and more mature now. Whenever he looked back on his childhood he was simply full of self-loathing. In a way though he was glad because it made him the person he is now.
Dudley sat down on the chair in his office before turning on his computer. He didn't really need to do much for about four hours but he figured he would come in earlier so he wouldn't be distracted from his work for much longer. He wasn't falling behind per say, but he much preferred being slightly ahead of everything. He was the head of a business and he needed to know everything in advance to be prepared for whatever may arise. Who knows though, tomorrow he could possibly be jobless. It wasn't likely but it was still a possibility and he did not want to take any chances.
For roughly an hour he typed out his numerous emails and answered his phone calls which he usually had forwarded to his home telephone whenever he wasn't required in person. Seen as he had a meeting though and video technology was still not accessible unless you were a scientist- he had no choice but to attend in person. He shook his head at the thought as sciences were always his worst subject. He didn't like them and as a whole he wasn't good at them in the slightest bit. He didn't need to complain about it though as he opted to not take anything remotely involving the said topic for his A-Levels. People say that you should at least learn one science in order to be successful and he was a living contradiction of the theory.
It wasn't long however until an only recently familiar noise rung in his ears. Dudley looked around the room and spotted a familiar tawny owl sitting on a branch right next to his window. How did the owl know exactly where to go? This had been the second time during the week that Harry's owl had found Dudley when he wasn't at home. He simply figured that it must be something to do with their abilities. He had already improved in giant milestones despite it only being fifteen days since he had gotten back in touch with Harry. He could now say the word magic without instantly thinking it was freakish and that was a drastic improvement. However, there was still a single thought that lingered at the back of his brain.
He had still not told his parents that he was back in touch with his cousin who was only a month younger than him.
Dudley had talked to Felicity about this and she agreed with him that he should wait and see how everything goes with Harry before he breaks the news to both Vernon and Petunia. Either way he knew they would be absolutely horrified but there were only two possible outcomes that would happen even if they were rather outlandish. If he did finally manage to patch things up with Harry, then he knew Vernon and Petunia would no longer pay him any single thought as they both despised anything to do with the other world. Until three years ago Dudley had thought the same.
He wasn't even sure if it was three years ago now that he sat down to think about it. The owl had flown in once he opened the small latch to swing the window open enough for it to fit through without getting caught on any area of the window before closing it again. It was a rather chilly start to the morning and Dudley was silently cursing at himself for allowing himself to get used to sleeping in until a certain time wrapped in thick linen with Felicity curling up inside his embrace. He pulled his suit jacket tighter around his body which now boasted impressive muscles underneath the fabric in a futile attempt at trying to warm up. Once again, he spotted a faded yellow parchment.
He quickly untied it and wrote a response on a plain piece of white paper. It did confuse Dudley at times why his cousin's world seemed to use more medieval methods but he also wasn't going to complain as he didn't know anything else yet. He wanted to see some of Harry's world and not just hear about it. He wanted to see pictures of Harry's world. The only thing he didn't really want to see were a couple of red-headed terrors he had met seven years ago now in 1994. He had still not gotten over that toffee incident. It tasted good but he definitely didn't expect his tongue to enlarge so much that it was almost touching the floor. He proceeded to fetch out some wild bird seed which he now always carried with him just in case the owl decided to make another impromptu appearance and sit it on the table for the bird to happily snack away on.
So Dudley, I have been thinking recently that it may be about time to actually meet up. It may have only been a couple of weeks ago that I finally reached out to get into contact with you again but there is so much going on in both of our personal lives that I think would be better being said face to face. Would you be up for it? If so, please reply back as soon as possible because then I can let Ginny know and I don't have to face her wrath.
Harry.
He knew this was going to happen eventually, but he wasn't expecting it to be this soon. He had to chuckle lightly at Harry's indirect reference to his own fiancé. Dudley had found out in the second letter Harry had sent him but he groaned internally a little. He knew that Ginny's brothers were the twins from hell and he really did not want to see either of them. However, he felt bad for her as Harry had told him already that she had lost one of her many brothers in the war and was even involved herself. Dudley had never met Ginny in person but from the limited information he has heard about her is more than enough for him to realise that she is perfect for Harry. They were both hot-headed, had short tempers, and incredibly passionate about what is right.
He didn't realise he was writing out a response and he was a bit shocked at seeing his reply on the previous blank piece of paper. This has been happening more recently with him. He would get so lost in his thoughts that his brain simply wasn't processing his body movements. It was a bit weird but he wasn't going to overanalyse what is surely a normal thing for whenever someone has a lot on their mind. Once again, he carefully tied his reply to Archimedes' leg and braved the freezing gust of air that entered his office when he opened the window to watch the brown owl disappear into the daylight.
Dudley sat back down again and continued to send his emails to his co-workers and he chuckled silently at seeing they were playing tricks on one another again. Many bosses wouldn't permit such childish behaviour but Dudley was a different person. He reasoned with all of the people he worked with that as long as they got the job done he was fine with them having a little fun in between their breaks. It certainly made him a huge hit with the employees and he couldn't hide the grin at some of the incredible pranks that have been pulled. No one ever dared to do anything to his office though because they knew if they stepped even slightly over the line they would be sacked on the spot.
He wasn't an extremely harsh boss like many people assume him to be, but he sure knows when a barrier has been crossed. It was a well-known fact that Dudley did have a short temper and he was terrifying when he was angry.
Fortunately, it had never gotten to that point. He began packing away all of his things seen as he was leaving almost immediately after his meeting because he no longer was needed. He reasoned he would finish off all of his emails once he was back at home. He smirked silently because he knew that it would not happen. He didn't need to worry anyway as like always he was a few days ahead in his work so he could easily sacrifice a few hours to himself and Felicity. She would be home soon as well seen as she finished at the clinic at 3pm today and Dudley's meeting was beginning at 2:40pm. To be honest, he really couldn't be bothered sitting in a room with twenty other people who were tossing numerous ideas back and forth in an attempt to integrate their own respective business' together in multi-million contracts.
He never really saw any point in it but unfortunately he had to deal with it seen as he was the owner. Not exactly a perk of being a businessman.
He was nervous though about what was going on with Harry now. He had agreed and had written down the name of a little cafe just on the outskirts of London. Dudley wasn't stupid because he knew that Harry was extremely famous in his world and he didn't want to chance numerous strangers introducing themselves to him whilst they were catching up on every single lost year. Which was twenty. Dudley can't even remember not having Harry around the house when he was growing up but that would make sense seen as he was only a year old at the time. The only thing he really did know about everything was that it was on Halloween 1981 that Harry James Potter appeared on the Dursley's doorstep.
He never found out exactly how his parents had died. He was always told they had died in a serious car crash but he now knew that couldn't be true. From what he knows, wizards and witches didn't drive cars. He understood why though because they do quite literally travel through fireplaces to their desired destination. A small ring coming from his pager alerted him he had to begin making his way down to his meeting if he didn't want to be late. As much as he tried to not let Petunia's influence affect him, first impressions still mattered greatly to him.
He quickly fixed his tie and made sure his jacket didn't have any wrinkles in it before sauntering down to the first floor where meetings were held. Overall, the meeting lasted just shy of an hour and Dudley was mentally rolling his eyes when a fellow businessman suggested they band their companies together. Unlike the other man who had suggested it, he wasn't interested in the money side of things. Yes, it was nice to treat himself occasionally and not having to worry about being in debt. Apart from that though, the only thing he likes about his wealth is when he can spoil Felicity even though she absolutely hates it.
Dudley learned this not long after he first got a large profit. He had gone to the nearest jeweller in town who was known for working with diamonds and had gotten a bracelet which in total had more than fifty of the tiny stones set in pure rose gold- her favourite metal as she always claimed that real gold was too showy. It came to a staggering £5,000 but he didn't even blink reasoning that it was for a girl he loved and was secretly already imagining her walking down the aisle in a floor length white gown. At first she loved the bracelet seen as she assumed it wasn't too expensive because Dudley had yet to tell her of his promotion. When she did see the price though she automatically demanded that he return it but after almost an hour of arguing back and forth she had submitted to him, knowing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
That was the only time he had ever seen Felicity even slightly angry and he didn't want to see it again. Despite her only being a petite five-foot-two inches tall, she was very strong and had a black belt in Karate. She definitely wasn't the typical blonde girl and that was one of the many reasons Dudley fell for her. Now he knew not to buy her anything that was out with a specific budget but he reasoned with her that he could treat her on her birthday and on Christmas. Knowing she couldn't really argue with that, she nodded her head but she did tell him nothing ridiculous like an antique telescope that didn't even work.
He chuckled lightly to himself whilst he walked down the pavement, looking at all of the damp grey buildings which surrounded him. The only grey he ever really liked was the shade of Felicity's eyes because it was unique. It was a well-known fact that his fiancé belonged in the five percent of the population to have that colour of iris. He didn't need to wait long until the next train appeared and he was silently glad that he and Felicity had bought a house far from the centre of the busy city so the platform was practically empty. Twenty minutes had quickly passed seen as he was occupied in his mind again over what may go on with Harry but he eventually concluded that he really shouldn't worry much about it.