A/N
The Houses Competition
Round Four Bonus
House: Hufflepuff
Student: Year 5
Category: Bonus (1000-3000 Words)
Prompt(s): [Crossover with:] Bones, [Character] Dudley Dursley, [Action] Chasing
Word count: 1302 (Per Google Docs)
Beta(s): Magi
Notes: AU Crossover, OOC!Harry, Good!Dudley (Spot the Marvel Reference for cookies!)
Meetings Abound
Dudley took three steps backward and ducked behind the door as he heard Temperance Brennan start yelling at their resident agent.
"Stop talking, Booth! You are being completely asinine!" Doctor Brennan demanded as she headed toward Angela's workspace.
Dudley grabbed Zack's arm as he moved to leave the safe haven of the bone room. "You really don't want to go out there right now. Doctor Brennan sounds like she's gonna rip Agent Booth a new one. Personally, I like being able to work with her… but she is entirely off her rocker."
Zack looked at his British teammate in confusion. "Doctor Brennan is brilliant! There is nothing to indicate that she's 'off her rocker' as you so eloquently put it."
Dudley released Zack's arm with a shrug. "Suit yourself, mate. I've got a backlog that I need to sort out, yeah?"
Zack eyed Dudley warily. "Okay then. I'm going to see if Doctor Brennan needs my assistance with anything."
Dudley winced in sympathy. The poor kid had been trying for months to get the leading forensic anthropologist of the Jeffersonian Institution to give him any kind of acknowledgment. "Good luck, kid. I've got plenty here that you can help with if she runs you away."
Zack just nodded and left the room.
Dudley sighed as he looked at the stack of files he had been trying to finish before his attempt at escape only a few minutes prior. He glanced at his watch and frowned. "Ten minutes until…"
Dudley shook his head and made sure the sign on his door still read he'd return after lunch. He closed and locked up the bone room after adding a note telling Zack how to contact him at the bottom of his sign.
Dudley ducked as Agent Booth turned to look out the window of the office he and Doctor Brennan were arguing in. He had zero need to get dragged into that mess when he was going to be late to a meeting of his own.
"Booth!" Temperance growled again. "Why are you chasing down leads on magic? Magic has never, does not, and will never exist!"
Seeley shrugged. "It's the only thing that makes sense, Bones."
"Don't call me that!"
Seeley sighed. "Fine, I'll go ask someone else to help with the case."
Before he could move, Zack Addy came through the door. He crossed his arms and stared down at the kid.
"Hello, Doctor Brennan, Agent Booth. Is there anything I can help you with today?"
Seeley had turned to look out of the office window in irritation while ignoring Temperance's tantrum. As he watched, the twitchy British man glanced up and saw him through the glass. The man ducked and caused Seeley's eyes to narrow with a hint of dislike. The man looked normal enough, but there was just something that-
Temperance threw up her hands. "I have nothing for you today, Doctor Addy, and Booth," she glared at the tall man, "was just leaving."
Seeley snorted. "See ya, kid. Bye, Bones. I'll see you when I have a more 'normal' case for you."
He opened the door and headed in the same direction the smaller British man had headed, not quite chasing him, but still in pursuit.
Dudley made his way out of the Jeffersonian and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone following him. He walked a couple blocks away, then veered into a local park to sit on a bench. He leaned his head back and waited at the last few seconds counted down. "Five, four, three-"
"What are you counting down for?" Agent Booth asked as he sauntered over to Dudley's bench.
Dudley bolted up. "What are- You can't-"
A cheerful voice cut into Dudley's rant with a happy call of "Dudley!"
Dudley dropped his head into his hands as he groaned. "Hullo, Harry. How was your flight?"
Harry glanced at the imposing man before giving him a thorough once-over. "Fine, as always. Who's this? He bothering you?"
Dudley just dropped his hands and groaned in frustration. "All I wanted was a peaceful day, but you had to ruin it by setting off Doctor Brennan, and following me like I'm some sort of criminal! What is your problem?"
Harry narrowed his gaze and stepped forward. "Are you stalking my cousin, sir?" Harry questioned acidically.
"What- No!" Seeley took a step back as he suddenly felt much more threatened by the small man.
"Then go. Away." Harry intoned. "My cousin is an upstanding person on a work visa to one of the most prestigious Institutions that the Colonies offer. You are insulting him by being so distrusting of him."
Seeley growled, "Now look here, I'm a Federal Agent-"
Harry sneered and pulled out a badge declaring him as part of the Special Forces Division of the FBI. "I think my rank is higher than yours, Colonizer."
Seeley glared at the black-haired menace. "I'll-"
"No, you won't, Agent Booth. I'm well aware of what you think you know, and you could not possibly be further from the truth without visiting the moon." Harry turned his back on the seething agent and faced his cousin. "Dudley, can we go elsewhere since that wanker seems to think he can butt in on our conversation?"
Dudley nodded mutely and started to walk away from the pair. Before he made it past the bench he had been seated on, Booth had grabbed Harry's arm.
"Release me, or I'll have you extradited to a place you've never heard of and can never escape, No-Maj." Harry bit out as he turned flashing green eyes onto startled brown ones.
"No-Maj? You're a wizard!" Seeley yelped as he released the small man and backed away with his hands raised.
"Now he gets it," Harry muttered.
Dudley just watched Booth fearfully. "He knows, Harry! Why does he know?"
"He either has a magical spouse, magical child, or high enough clearance level to know." Harry shrugged. "It also should warn him that I know what I'm doing when I promise to send him to the pits of hell if he doesn't back off."
"Harry Potter!" Dudley yelped. "You can't just threaten-"
"Potter?" Booth questioned, as he went nearly white in fear.
"Aw, hell," Harry groaned. "It's the clearance level then. Let's just go, Dudley. Daisy gave me several letters for you and a Pensieve memory that I can show you so you can see how she's doing in school."
Dudley nodded and started walking.
Seeley stood in mute awe as the most dangerous person on the planet talked cheerfully to the man he had come to dislike just for being different. "Doctor Dursley," he called out before the two got too far away from him.
The man in question flinched as he glanced over his shoulder. "Yes, Agent Booth?" Resignation dripped from his tone.
"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting toward you. I'll try to be better, now that I know why I was on edge."
Green eyes bore straight into brown as the wizard contemplated the agent while his cousin stood next to him, wringing his hands.
"See that you do, Agent Booth, or I'll have you redacted." The wizard grinned brightly and looped his arm through his cousin's. "Come on, Dudley. Daisy's letters await!"
Dudley let himself be dragged along, as he mentally wrote up an apology for vanishing from work for half a day instead of half an hour. 'Oh, well. At least I know my job will still be there in the morning.' Dudley thought to himself. He smiled at something Harry said about his daughter, Daisy, and let his worries drop from his shoulders. He knew that Agent Booth wouldn't be chasing after him anymore on false accusations if he didn't want to have his cousin visit again.
