June 23, 2013, about 10 pm

Dudley was laying in bed, his eyes wide open, trying hard not to think about the way his birthday had pretty much gone to pot. Annie had her arm thrown over his chest as she lay snuggled up to him. He had one arm tucked under her, going numb, while the other held her arm close to him.

"Stop thinking so loud, Dudley. You'll wake the neighbors," she muttered, her eyes still closed.

He couldn't help but smile as he turned his head and pressed his lips to her hair, "Thought you were asleep."

Annie shook her head slightly against his shoulder. "Can't. Too worried if Petunia will spill the beans about Bea."

"She won't. Mum has mellowed a lot since we had to go into hiding."

"But your father-"

"Yeah, my father." Dudley paused, not knowing quite how to explain things to her. "I told you a bit about when we had to hide from that Riddle fellow, right?"

"Not too much. You really don't seem to want to talk about it much, so I figured I shouldn't prod." Annie opened her eyes and met his. "Was I wrong?"

Dudley shook his head, "No, you weren't. But I guess I should tell you some of it so you'll understand why Dad is the way he is, especially since it might just affect Bea in the future." Dudley exhaled heavily. "It's not fun, or pretty, so bear with me."

#####

As a kid, you should grow up with a few certainties in life: parents who love you unconditionally, food, clothing, warmth. A home you feel safe in. Well, apparently, whatever my Aunt Lily did to protect Harry, and by extension, us, went away the day he turned seventeen. So, that morning, we loaded up the car and left him behind in that empty house. The one that was no longer safe.

Two of Harry's friends from the Order, Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle, took us to a safe house. You'd like them, actually. Hestia was like Mrs. Kramer, the first grade teacher. She was really no-nonsense, but also really nice. Ded, well, he's a character. I really liked him. Anyway, they took us to a safe house in the country. I guess it was owned by one of his relatives. I never did get the full relation. Maybe Mum did. We weren't there long before we travelled to another place, then another place a few days after that we stayed in for about five months.

We didn't know it until later, but apparently the Death Eaters had cast some sort of spell that let them know when a person used a few key words, kind of like government wire-tapping. One of us must have said one of the key words because it called them to us. It was nearly Christmas. Mum and Dad were in the living room while Ded and I were fixing dinner. It was a novelty, you know? Draco and Tori don't really do any magic around us, but Ded did. He'd chop veggies and start fires and all sorts of stuff that was pretty cool. I don't even know which of us said it, but one of us said "Voldemort" and suddenly the alarms he and Hestia had set went off like crazy. Some Death Eaters had Apparated within the boundaries. Ded grabbed me and we Disapparated. He brought us to a predetermined escape spot. Hestia went to the living room and grabbed my parents.

I guess she didn't give them any time to prepare, as if you actually can for Apparation. It's awful, Annie. Dad just collapsed. I'll admit I was too busy puking up my guts to be all that concerned with him. Mum had gone sheet white. Hestia lost a bit of her little finger in the travel. It bled like crazy until Ded sealed it over with some spell.

Dedalus and Hestia had stashed some basic supplies there so we weren't totally helpless, but you know I've never been much of a camper. And Dad? We're lucky he didn't try to throttle Hestia. Mum actually did the best that first night. I guess my grandparents had taken her and Aunt Lily camping when they were younger. She helped Ded and Hestia set up the tents since they were afraid to use their magic beyond some protection spells.

We stayed there in the woods for a few days. Eventually another Order member came and brought us to another safe house. I never caught his name since he really didn't talk to us much. Just Dedalus and Hestia. Raggedy-looking fellow.

Anyway, we had a few months at the next safe house. A few times we had some others hiding out there. Ginny's twin brothers stayed there for an extremely tense week. Dad had decided by then to just pretend it wasn't really happening. He spent that whole week in his room, writing out future plans for Grunnings. Mum brought his meals in to him.

A month or so after Ginny's brothers stayed there, someone slipped up again. I think it was the wizard staying with us, Magnus. Magnus Eastwick. Ded was beating me at wizard's chess again when the alarms went off. He grabbed me and Mum, who had been watching the game while she was doing some mending. We Apparated out of there and waited for Dad, Magnus and Hestia.

I'm not even sure how long we waited but finally Hestia showed up with Dad. But not Magnus. Dad was in a bad shape. Even worse than the first time we did the emergency Apparation.

Turns out the Death Eaters had Dementors with them that time. Dad was trying to avoid Hestia so she couldn't Disapparate with him when they broke into the house. Obviously, Hestia and Magnus had to fight their way out. While they were a Dementor managed to get Dad. I guess he decided go out the back door on his own. Magnus kept the Death Eaters busy while Hestia went after Dad.

The Dementor had him on the ground and was going for his soul when she found him. Hestia told me she wanted to wait for Magnus but she had to get Dad out of there. I still don't know everything that happened, but Hestia told me later that he didn't make it. He gave her the time she needed to save Dad.

Dad was nearly catatonic for a good week after that. I don't know what was worse: Mum's worry or Hestia's anger. If Dad had just gone with them right away, Magnus would probably still be around today.

We had a few more close calls with people called snatchers getting close to our safe house, but that was the worst and, thankfully, we didn't have to move again. But Dad got more and more angry about magic as the months wore on. He never has realized that his pigheadedness is the reason Magnus got killed. I guess I'm still angry about it, too. Magnus was a nice guy. He and Mum grew up in the same area. A generation apart, but they still bonded a bit over their childhood haunts.

Dad became more and more obsessed with getting back to Grunnings. He ended up with three or four notebooks full of grand plans for the company. He just closed himself off from Mum and me. He didn't even really help with house stuff. Of course, he never has, so that wasn't much of a surprise.

When we were finally allowed to go back home, it was pristine. The Ministry totally repaired the house from the damage the Death Eaters had done to it. Mum didn't say much about it, but Dad was furious. I guess he thought the Death Eaters would have left it alone once Harry was gone, even though Hestia was adamant about the fact that they would destroy anything that had protected Harry so he couldn't even think about going back there. It's been completely renovated over the last ten years. The only thing Mum wouldn't let him touch was the cupboard under the stairs. I think it's her penance.

I don't know, Annie. He hates magic. It's not even the dislike it was when I was a kid. The year we were hiding took him from the job that he loves. The utterly normal life he loved. Wizards were responsible for risks to his life and his family's. They both destroyed and rebuilt his house. They had been responsible for a lot of the crap that happened to us when I was growing up and on a fundamental level just offend his sense of order. Magic is unpredictable. The Dementor attack on him probably just sealed the deal. Trust me. I know how it makes you feel. Like nothing good is left in the world. Dad was already on his way to having major anger issues over magic. To be attacked by something magical and evil that he couldn't even see? Yeah, not good. He never really had good coping mechanisms to begin with, honestly.

#####

Annie held Dudley's hand as he finished telling her about some of the Dursley family's year in hiding and their homecoming.

"We're just going to have to make sure Bea doesn't do any magic around him. Ever, Annie"

"It's bad enough he ignores her because she's not of his own blood, Dudley, but if he takes his anger for magic out on her, he'll just wish that Dementor had gotten him, Dudley. Mark my words."

Dudley grinned. "Sic Tori on him, will you?" The bad memories were being pushed to the back of his mind in the face of his wife's righteous fury.

"Worse, dear, I'll find that Hagrid fellow you're so afraid of."

Dudley sat back abruptly, his hand automatically starting to reach for his bum. He stopped almost immediately, his small smile becoming a look of mild fright. He paused for a moment before he chuckled and reached for Annie. "Evil, evil woman. No wonder I love you so much."

As they sank into bed, glints in both of their eyes, she whispered, "But you have school in the morning, Dudley."

"Your point?" he asked as he nuzzled her neck and started to lift her nightgown up her thighs, moving down her body. He hadn't talked about or even thought so much about that year in quite a while. He really didn't want to think about it anymore and he didn't know of a better distraction than to make love with his beloved wife.

"Oh!" she gasped as he found a spot he decided to explore a little more thoroughly. "No point. Dudley! Just saying, is all. Ummm."

Dudley chuckled huskily at the look on his wife's face and was pulling the nightgown further up so he could remove it altogether when the sound came.

BEEP BEEP BEEP His eyes closed and he rested his forehead on Annie's stomach. BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Who the hell would be calling this late at night, damn it!" He reached out blindly with his left hand as he pushed himself off his equally frustrated wife with the other. He looked at the caller ID on the phone as he brought it up to his ear, it read simply RSCH.

Annie pushed her nightgown back down her body as she sat up and listened to her husband's side of the conversation.

"Dursley here…But…Yes, of course, I'll be there as soon as I can…Will he be…I understand." Dudley put the phone back on its cradle and simply looked at Annie, his face devastated.

"Dad's had a heart attack. And the last thing I did was tell him off."

"Oh, sweetheart." Annie put her arms around her husband and he laid his head on her shoulder. Dudley didn't cry but his eyes welled with tears as he held her to him.

Dudley lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. "I've got to be there for Mum," he replied dazedly.

Annie nodded. "Be careful as you drive, Dudley."

Dudley nodded and let go of her as he got out of bed. He quickly pulled on the clothes he had laid out for work the next day, not bothering with the tie he usually wore with them. Thoughts raced through his mind as he dressed. What if Vernon died not knowing how much Dudley loved him, flawed father that he was? How could he live with that guilt? After he was dressed, he turned to his wife and told her, "I'll call you as soon as I know exactly what's going on, alright?"

Annie nodded. "What should I tell the children when they wake up?"

Dudley's mouth flattened in a line as he thought, "I don't know, Annie. I really don't. How about we wait to decide that until we find out exactly what's happening?"

"Sounds good. Give your mother my love."