Drabble Four: Toddling Around
Anyone outside of the close-knit Dursley family could tell that their child was lazy. Spoilt rotten and overfed, the mutterings about his lack of mobility spread and some swore that the boy would struggle so much with walking that in a few years, he would be pushed around in a wheelchair, sweets stuffed into his mouth.
However, they hadn't counted on Dudley himself, who had decided in his developing mind that today was the day that he was going to conquer walking. He crawled yes, but he wanted to walk round like Mummy and Daddy. Like big people, even if he only toddled. Luckily, his mother seemed to sense her baby's urgency as she placed her hands under his outstretched arms and pulled him up, positioning herself behind him. She gently held his hands as she slowly moved his legs forward, helping him to balance when he became unsteady. Dudley babbled along to himself and Petunia beamed in triumph as only an hour later, her son was toddling around by himself.
Folding her arms, she smirked smugly. 'Take that Lily, my son is developing faster than your freaky spawn.'
Little did she know that she would soon have the smirk wiped off of her face.
A couple of weeks after properly learning to walk, Dudley now had free reign of the house and using his endless time spent indoors with his mother to explore. He scurried about downstairs, peering into cupboards and looking up high in search of treats. Petunia would only turn her back for a moment before hearing her son toddle off in the opposite direction, despite her telling him to stay put. She thought it would be easy to catch up to him, but after almost tripping over her feet upon trying to stop Dudley, who had quickly veered off into another direction, Petunia realised that it was going to be hard work.
Throughout the day, she chased him around the house. His chubby little legs propelling him forward, Dudley evaded his mother by darting around the furniture and crawling under the kitchen table, giggling as his mother attempted to grab him.
Dudley stopped moving when the front door opened, his father returning home from work. Vernon stepped into the kitchen, a bundle of flesh crashing into his legs.
"DADDY!"
"Hey, little man." Dropping a quick kiss onto the top of his head, Vernon raised an eyebrow at his wife, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, unsavoury sweat patches under her arms and pristine hair loose and limp.
"Our little boy learned to walk today, Vernon. He loves it."
