Chapter 7: Dudley

For the remainder of the week Harry kept to himself in class, studied, did his homework, and looked forward all day to the best part of each day, the hour he got to spend in the library with his friends. Harry had begrudgingly apologised to Lockhart at the beginning of DADA the next day and Lockhart had dismissed his apology before Harry had even completed it, saying that Harry was clearly under a lot of pressure, but at some point they really should have a chat about an interview for Witch Weekly.

The second time Harry and his friends all met in the library, Fred and George came with Hermione and Neville. Madame Pince looked like she might have a heart attack at the concept of the twins coming to the library. Whether that was because she thought the twins were in there to study or whether she thought they were there to cause mischief, Harry never could decide. But she certainly kept a closer eye on them now the twins were around.

The twins were their usual selves. They noticed Harry wasn't looking too happy with life and did their best to cheer him up, telling him how they'd managed to get the shower heads in the Hufflepuff dorms to spray glitter rather than water.

"How on earth did you manage to get into their common room, never mind their dorms?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Not a secret we're sharing, but suffice to say, there's very few places we can't get into." George replied with a wink.

"Speaking of which, we're going to go plan a kitchen raid." said Fred. "This year we've decided to corrupt the first years early, we're taking a few with us this evening."

"We'll have to go check that they look like they won't wet themselves at the first hint of Filch!" said George, and with that they ran off back to Gryffindor.

Harry didn't get to see Ron for the rest of the week unless it was in Potions. It wasn't until Saturday morning after breakfast that they crossed paths, and only then, Harry thought, because Ron was on his own and not with Dudley. Harry wondered if Dudley had been keeping Ron away from him deliberately, or whether he was keeping Ron from being friends with everyone but himself. Harry mentally shook himself, surely Dudley wasn't that good - Ron had his own free will, he could have sought out Harry if he wanted. A small voice in Harry's head said he could have knocked on the door of Gryffindor common room any time he wanted to too, but guilt silenced that voice rather quickly.

Harry had gone outside to fly around on his broom for a bit of fresh air and freedom there was something about flying that made his cares go away. When he got to the field Ron was already there. Harry smiled and quickly pushed off from the ground towards his friend. When Harry got closer, he realised Ron looked upset about something. Hoping that it wasn't related to him he asked, "What's up?"

"Hi, Harry, good to see you too!"

"Sorry, it really is good to see you as well. You look not best pleased, what's up?"

"It's the twins. They do whatever the hell they want without thinking. They don't get it, they're jerks!" said Ron with bite.

"What did they do?" asked Harry. Harry knew Ron felt that the twins often had fun at his expense - not like with Percy - more inadvertently. Ron was smart enough to know when he was the subject of one of their jokes and took it to heart, but the twins never meant him harm, they were just having fun.

"They were eating a bag of sweets, being all like they were the best sweets in the world," Ron explained. "You know how your cousin is about food, (Harry tried to keep a straight face - that from Ron!) well, they offered him one, which he ate and his tongue swelled up to like giant proportions. He had to be taken to Madame Pomfrey!

Harry laughed, the first genuine laugh in a long time."Oh, I wish I'd been there!" he said, wiping tears out of his eye with one hand. "What had Dudley done to annoy them?"

"Fred said afterwards it was in retaliation for them getting caught when they raided the kitchens the other night. They'd taken Dudley with them, and he was on look out. The twins and the first years were on the way back when they heard Filch. Dudley got back to the tower, but the others were caught. They got detention yesterday evening. They had to scrub the floor in the entrance hall. George said that they'd given Dudley ton-tongue toffee. He's till with Pomfrey now."

Harry laughed even harder.

"Harry, it's not funny." said Ron.

"Not that the twins got detention no, but the payback was."

"How is that funny? He's only been a wizard for a couple of months, he doesn't know anyone or anything about the wizarding world! He's a nice enough person to be round."

Harry laughed even harder. "Ron, stop! I'm going to fall off at his rate," Harry managed, in between gasping for breath from laughing so hard.

"You're just jealous!"

Harry's laughter died in his throat as he looked at Ron. Oh god! He's serious. Harry suddenly felt like throwing up. It was happening again... Dudley taking away everything.

"But Ron, that's not Dudley. Dudley is a nasty, vicious bully. He's using you." That proved the wrong thing to say.

"He's not. You're just jealous. He said you'd say that about him. But he's being nice. We played a great prank on Filch the first evening. He gave me credit, even though I'd only done a bit of it. In front if everyone! He's cool."

Harry didn't have a response. He wanted to shake his friend for being so naive as to fall for Dudley's tricks. But he supposed with so many older brothers, and having The Boy Who Lived as your best friend, there were very few instances Ron was the centre of attention.

Harry suddenly didn't want to be out flying any more. He just wanted to get away and hide in a Dudley-free corner. After a few more awkward moments he made an excuse about being too cold. He went to the owlery to be in the peace and quiet with Hedwig until lunch, then went to the common room and finished his homework on his own in a corner.

When Harry went to dinner next day, Dudley was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Ron. Harry caught Ron's eye and when Ron looked away Harry's heart dropped into his shoes. He feared their friendship had been irrevocably damaged by their conversation this morning. He hoped he could prove to Ron that Dudley was a horrible person, but now that Ron was ignoring him it was going to be a lot harder.

With a heavy heart and a lot on his mind, Harry went to the common room. Theo asked him for a game of chess, but Harry was so abysmal at chess and his mind was just not on the game, that even the three games they had didn't last until bedtime. Harry went to bed early, not wanting to share his unhappiness with the others.

Next day, Sunday, Harry met up with the twins on the way out of the great hall after breakfast.

"Merlin, but your cousin's a right git," said George.

"I heard," said Harry, "Ron told me about the food raid."

"Did he tell you how we got him back though?" asked Fred.

"Yes, he did, but he's taken Dudley's side. He thinks you're bullying Dudley."

"We should have words with our little bro, George," said Fred.

"Definitely." said George. "Speaking of having words, I'm sorry that we ever thought Dudley was anything but a cheating, cowardly weasel. If it wasn't for Dudley we'd have got away with it. He heard Mrs. Norris coming and instead of coming back to warn us, he just scarpered. He deliberating ran away! We got caught by Filch, who dragged us to Snape who was on patrol that night. He assigned us back to Filch for detention and told us that we should be glad we weren't in Slytherin else we wouldn't have got away so lightly. Whatever that means."

Harry flushed and didn't quite meet George's eye. He knew exactly what Snape had meant by that sentence.

"It's OK," said Harry, "Dudley's good at getting away with things, and convincing people he's nice. He's been doing it for as long as I can remember. So, is ton-tongue toffee good enough payback or were you planning something bigger?" Asked Harry in the hope that changing the subject would make George less curious about Snape's means of discipline.

"What do you normally do?" asked Fred. Harry became awkward again. The honest answer was nothing. Payback was impossible as Harry just got blamed for everything and given extra chores.

Fred noticed Harry become pensive and more withdrawn. "Harry?"

In a rare moment of honesty, due in part to feeling separated from his friends, he confided just a little.

"I don't. I can't. Vernon and Petunia always take his side. If he takes any of the few things that could be called mine, they let him keep them, if he starts a fight with me, I get blamed and sent to my cu... room. Whatever he wants, he always gets. That's how it's always been. And now he wants Ron's friendship." Harry shared bitterly.

The twins' faces fell. they didn't have a clue it was that bad. "Harry, you're like our little brother too. We'll kick Ron's arse until he's friends with you and has seen Dudley for the git that he is." said Fred.

"We're in danger of this getting mushy," said George. "We've got to get to quidditch tryouts now else Oliver will kill us. Stay strong, Harry. See you around." with that, Fred clapped him on the shoulder and they ran off in the direction of the quidditch pitch.

Harry decided to follow at a distance and go flying. Not on the quidditch pitch, but where he could watch their practice from afar. He enjoyed watching the team tryout. Their new seeker wasn't up to much Harry thought critically. For the rest of the morning Harry watched, and could pretend for a little while that his life wasn't a complete mess.

When Harry got back to common room, there was a notice pinned on board announcing quidditch tryouts next Saturday. Malfoy was bragging about his new broom being the best and that he was sure to be on the team, as he'd practised for years at his manor. He said it was only because Harry was the Boy Who Lived that was why he had been allowed to be the youngest seeker for a century and allowed on the team early.

Harry was grateful when Flint said "Well, that and perhaps talent," with tones that suggested Draco should back off. Malfoy stalked off muttering about Malfoys not cheating.

At study group that evening Harry talked to Theo about quidditch. Millicent and Pansy joined in the conversation. They eventually got on to Malfoy's outburst earlier. Harry discovered from Pansy that Malfoy had got the Nimbus 2001. Theo said that it wouldn't matter what broom Malfoy had, he'd still suck at quidditch. Harry began to feel that there had been a turning point in the feeling of the Slytherin common room, that he was slowly being accepted. They then spend some time practising a freezing charm they'd learnt on Friday in Charms before they got sent to bed by a prefect.


Over the coming weeks, Harry got into a pattern. After classes, which generally speaking went well, Harry would go to the library before dinner. He could talk with his friends for a while and then they would get some homework done. There appeared to be a tacit agreement between Madame Pince and Harry and his friends that if they were in the furthest corner, and didn't disturb anyone, they could talk quietly for a while before doing their homework. Some days when they'd been talking for a while Madame Pince would clear her throat meaningfully, and they'd get on with some work. They really didn't want to get thrown out of the library, as it was one of the few places that students from different houses could meet together. Hermione and Neville would always be there, and the twins were there maybe two days a week. Other days the twins had quidditch practice, or they were planning their next prank.

Early on, Harry tried to convince Hermione that Dudley was the nasty, vindictive, conniving weasel that he was, but she just didn't see it. Harry had got rather angry with her, and the atmosphere round table grew awkward. The situation had been rescued by the twins arriving telling them all about a Ravenclaw who'd engorged her own leg so much in Charms that she'd fallen over and couldn't get up without help. They'd all forced a laugh and the twins had regaled them all with a few more stories until the mood had lightened. After that, Harry was careful not to mention his cousin when they were in the library, in just the same way that Hermione and Neville didn't mention Ron.

If Harry were honest, he would admit that being in Slytherin got him his homework done on time and it was of better quality. Hermione helped him when they were in the library and by the time he got to study group in the Slytherin common room, he'd already made a decent start on his work. He was pleasantly surprised the day he got to help Pansy with her Transfiguration essay as he'd already finished his the day before. Neville's Potion's grades improved a little, as working with Harry who was now in Slytherin meant Snape didn't actively try to dock points from Neville. Snape didn't hover quite so much waiting to pounce on his prey at every opportunity.

Harry had been unsure how appreciated it would be that he was doing his homework with his Gryffindor friends before going to study groups in the common room, but Harry decided that as Madame Pince knew what they were doing in the library, then surely she would have talked to Snape. Harry was thankful that he'd found a way to be with his friends even for just a short amount of time that wasn't frowned on.

But school wasn't all about academia, and Harry was getting increasingly withdrawn. For that one hour of the day in the library when they could talk he was his usual self, but otherwise he rarely spoke. He answered questions in class and spoke to the people in his study group about work, but otherwise he found it difficult to truly get on with the other members of Slytherin. There was no animosity - if he asked to borrow a quill or parchment the conversation was perfectly normal - it was just that he didn't have things in common with them. Theo was the closest, but some of the things he said were just a bit too stereotypical pure-blood. Most of the people he interacted with on a daily basis also came from families with money, who were highbrow wizards down to their fingernails, and he just feel he didn't quite fit in.


There were a few instances of Malfoy being, well, Malfoy, like with the tryouts list, but even Malfoy had come to accept his presence in Slytherin. But none of this made Harry happy. Every day at meal times he was forced to watch as Dudley would lord it over his friends. Apart from the twins, the rest of Gryffindor were quite accepting of him - he'd wormed his way in.

During a Herbology class in the second week of term, Harry was asked to deliver a message to a student in another class by Professor Sprout. He enjoyed Herbology and he got to work with the Ravenclaws, but he jumped at the chance to skip class to be an errand boy.

Harry was on a quiet corridor on his way back from delivering the message when he ran into Dudley, presumable skipping one of his classes, something he did regularly at his old school. They were alone. No witnesses, no eyes, no ears.

"Well, well, it's the freak. Without an entourage. Where are your friends, Potter? Got any? What happened to them? Oh, wait, I know, they're my friends now. Who would want to be friends with you?" said Dudley nastily, checking first that there truly was no-one around.

"Did you think that the wizarding world would give you friends, a family, a home? You don't deserve those things, you're just a freak. I'll always be here to make sure you're kept in your place. When will you learn, Potter? You're a freak. And not because you're a wizard. I quite like being one actually. It's just you. You are alone. You're parents abandoned you and no-one in the wizarding world wanted you. I know about you now. People talk. I know all about the war, and your parents dying, about you being abandoned on Mum and Dad's doorstep. You... are... just... a... fre... "

Harry's wand came out before he knew what he was doing. There was no thought, just inarticulate rage and a sense of loss. "NO!" he screamed, and he lunged for Dudley. He didn't think about doing magic, he just wanted to punch his lights out, to pummel him into the floor until the boy stopped talking.

His punch would have connected except that he found his wrist held in a vice-like grip mid-lunge.

"Mr. Potter..." said a silky voice behind him. Dudley's face had taken on a pale tinge and Harry saw him swallow, his Adam's apple going up and down. How much had Snape heard? Or had he just come round the corner behind him as he tried to flatten his cousin?

"Go wait for me in my office." said Snape staring at Harry, daring him to disobey. When he released Harry's wrist, Harry, seething, walked away towards the Slytherin dungeons.

Ten minutes went by as Harry waited for Snape, standing in front of Snape's desk. He had a dreadful feeling he'd be bent over it as soon has his head of house arrived. He tried to calm himself down, but he was too angry and upset. Dudley was right. He had no-one and he was alone. Those few snatched moments in the library weren't enough. They could share stories and anecdotes of the day, but they didn't have the time to properly be friends anymore. Harry knew that in his whole life he had had two real friends and now, once again, he had none. He knew what having no friends was like. He'd had enough practice. He had to keep his head down and survive.

The door opened and shut quietly behind him. Professor Snape came and sat behind his desk, his hands folded in front of him. His onyx eyes met Harry's emerald ones. Harry dropped his gaze and studied his shoes, unable to bear Snape staring at him, it was like the man could see straight into his soul. Snape looked at Harry for an uncomfortably long time before speaking.

"Explain."

Harry didn't know what to say. How did he explain to the professor that disliked him for just being him that being him was the problem. That, far from being the golden boy, the Boy Who Lived, he was alone, friendless and bullied. Snape would never understand. He opened his mouth to try to explain, but the words died in his throat. His shoes were getting a lot of his attention.

"Mr. Potter. We are going to have a conversation. A two way conversation. I cannot help you if you do not explain what is going on. You cannot continue in this manner. You cannot scream at and shove members of staff. You cannot fight with students on corridors."

"I did not..." Snape raised an eyebrow. "If I had not stopped your fist, it would have connected with your cousin's face, yes?" Harry's indignancy died. He looked at his shoes again.

"Your cousin is at Hogwarts. He is not going away. He is, admittedly from what I have seen, a spoilt brat with an attitude problem. But you have to learn to deal with him. You are a Slytherin. Act like one."

"He... he..." Harry stopped. Snape realised Harry wanted to talk but the words wouldn't come out. Slytherins were usually easier to deal with, he thought. Appeal to the their sense of pride, make them indignant and they would always tell him what was the matter. But Harry seemed lost. Where was the cheeky disrespectful boy of last year? Admittedly, Snape was in some ways happy Harry was different. More like Lily than James this year, less arrogant, and those eyes, when they weren't glued to the floor, so much like Lily's. But something in Harry had broken, and the boy needed to talk before it ate him from the inside. And as much as Snape hated to be the person that Harry, son of his childhood nemesis, opened up to, the boy was in his house, and Snape cared a great deal about his Slytherins. He was a good head of house for a reason.

"Take your time, Potter." Snape watched harry and waited. Reading Harry's face was easy. He would need lessons in being a Slytherin with such an open face like that. Snape could see the emotions washing over the boy's face.

Harry was thinking. To speak? To not speak? Would talking to Snape help? Or would be his response be full of derision and condescension? Harry had been angry when he'd tried to punch his cousin, but that was because Dudley had hit a nerve and said hurtful things that Harry feared were true. Harry swallowed, his decision made.

"He said I was alone." said Harry, haltingly. "That I am a freak. That he has taken my friends. He did that when we were in primary school and because I did accidental magic it was easy for him to tell people I was a freak and they'd believe him. Vernon and Petunia never did anything to stop him. He just did what he wanted to me." Harry looked at his shoes again. He continued to talk, but to his shoes. It was easier than talking to those eyes.

"I've always been alone. Dudley made sure of that. Any friends I had were 'encouraged' to go find another person to be friends with. At school, learning-wise, Vernon and Petunia always praised his achievements even though I had done the same things. But I had to get lower grades than Dudley otherwise my life wasn't worth living. At home, magic was freaky. They only call me 'boy' or 'freak'. Then I came to Hogwarts. My name might be famous here and I might be The Boy Who Lived, but I can finally be me."

Harry trailed off. He had managed to say all that without particularly taking a breath, in case once he paused he never continued again. Then quietly he added, "And now I'm Dudley's punch bag again."

Snape waited to see if there was more. It seemed there was more behind those words than would ever be said out loud. Snape understood. Neglect was, in some ways, worse than abuse. So many things the boy had not said. They would be simple, everyday things, perhaps like Dudley being bought a treat meaning Dudley was being praised for being a normal boy and taken for a reward while Harry was made to watch and given nothing. Inaction was harder to catalogue than a list of poor actions.

Snape thought about what to say. The boy was miserable, dejected and felt alone.

"No-one, Mr. Potter, can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"Sir?" said Harry.

"A muggle, Eleanor Roosevelt said that. You let Dudley treat you like a house elf and in doing so you become a house elf. You should remember, Potter, that here your cousin is not supported by Vernon and Petunia. Here there are rules, and you are all held to them. All students are equal. I explained that on your first night in Slytherin. If you let him act that way, you have lost before you have started. I repeat, you are a Slytherin, act like one."

"Sit down, Mr. Potter. Have some tea, you are in no state to return to class, and my marking can wait." Snape tapped his wand on the desk and a house elf appeared. "Bring a tray of tea for two please, Missy."

" Yes, Professor Snape, sir." Missy disappeared with a pop. Harry examined his own shoes again while waiting for the elf to return. He couldn't bring himself to look at his head of house again. Missy popped back with tea and Harry was grateful for the distraction. He didn't realise how thirsty he was until he took a sip from the cup Snape handed him.

"Thank you, sir." Harry's gratitude was for more than the tea, but he couldn't articulate it. He hoped Snape realised. He got a nod of understanding in return, thankfully Snape had known what he meant. The next ten minutes until the end of the lesson were spent with Harry slowly nibbling a biscuit and drinking his tea. It was awkward, but bearably so. He knew Snape knew he was embarrassed and thankfully his head of house didn't dig any further. As the bell sounded, Snape rose, and Harry returned his cup to the tray.

"Thank you, sir."

"Do not thank me just yet Mr. Potter. You have detention to serve this evening for your behaviour in the corridor. Fighting is not acceptable."

"Will I serve it with Dudley?" Harry asked in near panic.

" Mr. Dursley has been assigned detention with Mr. Filch." Harry exhaled the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Yes, sir." Snape gestured to the door. Harry walked out and Snape followed, closing the door behind him.

"7 pm Mr. Potter, do not be late. With that, the potions master swept away down the corridor.