I'm finally back and writing this again! Hopefully I'll be able to get a chapter up no later than every fortnight but if anything changes I will let readers know. This one is more on the fluffy side because the drama is going to start very soon in this.
Time was feeble. At times a single second could feel like years and other times years could feel like seconds. At this moment in time, it was the former. Ever since Harry had suggested asking Hermione for help, that was when it really struck a chord within Dudley. Deep down he knew that something bad was going to happen, there was simply no other way. It started with that prophecy that seemed to be centred around him, then Felicity was getting visions, then there was the mass breakout. In a way, everything seemed too orchestrated to be that of real life, almost like it was someone's fantasy.
However, fantasy was clearly not at play here. He couldn't deny it anymore to himself. Of course, it had to be just when he had gotten used to the magical world that all of this occurred. It was almost ironic really. The second he had accepted it wholly and had gotten really interested in this side of the world, only for the evil side to show itself. To come out from the shadows and grab a hold of him, dragging him into a standstill. A part of his head kept telling him to go back to his old loathing ways but he knew in his heart that he couldn't do that. He'd worked too hard to learn this and he wasn't going to throw any of that away because of a threat looming over them.
A part of him was furious with Felicity though. The fact that she had refused any help and that she wanted to stay here. The night prior they had gotten into an argument that was right on the borderline of being very serious. They rarely ever fought with one another but terror does things to people. Dudley simply couldn't understand that she didn't want any help on this. Felicity had a perfect response though that had shut him up. If she was on her own with no one to protect her she was only going to become an even bigger target than she already was. Whereas if she remained in London with Dudley, then she would always be close by someone who could help.
Even then, he refused to back down. Some traits about both of his parents that he had inherited. Never wanting to accept no for an answer. That night they had slept in different rooms but this didn't last for long because he had woken with her wavy blonde hair in his face. That was the thing about them, they could never remain mad at one another no matter what circumstances. A small smile played on his lips as the idea that it might be her mood swings kicking in that was causing her to react this way. It seemed like it had only been a matter of days since she had told him that she had a little baby inside of her, but she was now in her eighteenth week.
This tied in with the time thing for him. Parts of his life seemed to be going a lot faster than he wanted and others seemed to be taking forever and a day. Everyone knew that it was only a waiting game, it was the only thing that they could do. Rita had not returned yet and Harry was slowly beginning to get worried. Had it been a bad idea to send her into the thick of things to try and get information? Kyra seemed to always be multiple steps ahead of them and it made him question if there was someone pretending to be on their side but they really weren't.
Betrayal was a difficult thing for anyone to overcome. There are too many forms of that word for it to mean one thing. He had trust in the people he had assigned to help on the case and he himself was researching as much as he possibly could in his free time. Even Ginny was trying her best to help. There wasn't much that the fiery woman could do to help that would be beneficial however, and she had simply settled on spending multiple days with the blonde woman to keep her as occupied as possible. As much as she tried to tell people that she simply wanted to spend time with her friend, everyone knew this was only a minuscule part to it.
Felicity was beginning to feel suffocated in everything. She was always rather social and it didn't take much for her to become friends with someone. But she liked to have time to herself on occasion. She was beginning to consider Dudley's proposal to spend a few days at her parents away from everything but she was also someone who hated to admit defeat. It might have been petty but in turn it had made her a difficult shell to crack. It took a lot to break her. In fact, she'd never really reached a point like that in her life. Like everyone in the world, there had been times when she had received a knife in the back but instead of wondering where she went wrong she concentrated on growing a thick layer of skin around her, never letting words or actions hurt her much.
It was one of the qualities that had caused Dudley to fall so hard for her, the fact that she was so independent. The only times she ever really got to herself anymore was when she needed to be at the clinic but she still didn't get any time to herself then because she was busy with clients. This was why she had agreed to let Hermione try and help. She didn't know the bushy haired woman well, they had only met a handful of times prior. Felicity knew when someone was being genuine though and she knew that she really did want to help stop this mess before it got even more tangled into a knot that would be difficult to escape from.
Now, there was something else that was occupying their minds. Today they had a scan to check on their baby, make sure it was healthy and was growing at a decent rate. Neither of the pair liked using 'it' in relation to their child but neither could agree on a gender-neutral pronoun or word (Dudley wanted to call the baby bean, and she wanted to call the baby peanut). This was why nerves were eating away at them because if they were lucky, they would be able to find out the gender. It was a long shot though, it was the position that would allow them to do this and that isn't always the most accurate.
This was really the only thing that was keeping them from cracking, their own little gem in the dirt. With so much else going on around them it was difficult to keep a steady mind and to remain positive. Dudley wondered if this was a plot of Kyra's, it wouldn't surprise him. The woman had already proven that every plan she ever made that she always knew how to play her cards. A bit like she was a puppeteer and everyone else were her puppets. This time, it was Dudley and Felicity who were her puppets and the other people involved were desperately trying to sever the translucent wire that attached them to free the pair.
Everyone came back to the same conclusion. Of course, no conclusion could be drawn until they heard back from Rita and if Harry somewhat trusted her, then he did also. Hermione had sat down and told him everything that had happened between them and why they were not friendly, but instead had a relationship full of favours. In his mind, favours and blackmail were the same thing. A couple of times a week, the bushy haired woman came over and much to his relief, Ron never did. Even now after so many months of being in contact with Harry again, they still held grudges with one another. Although, Dudley would never forget the telephone incident with Ginny's youngest brother.
He had almost completely blocked out the entire toffee thing because he felt awful that one of the twins was disfigured and the other was no longer alive. They seemed so goofy with each other, he found it difficult that they could ever be serious when the time came. Now though it was obvious that they could otherwise they wouldn't have willingly gone out on the battlefield to give Harry safety and to protect their side of the war. There were always two sides to an argument, occasionally this turning into a fight, and other times becoming something a lot more.
Now wasn't the time to think about these types of things. He can forget about the troubles for a few hours and instead focus on his family that would be gaining another member in a few short months. It frightened him a little, becoming a parent that is. Surely it bothered every soon-to-be parent's. There was no way that couldn't be the case. Their baby hadn't been planned timing wise but neither were going to complain about it, they wanted to have kids whilst they were young so that they could run around in a field with them without a struggle.
His hands were shaking just slightly in a mixture of nerves and excitement over what they might get today. If they were lucky enough and they did find out the gender of their child, then they could start buying what they needed and start decorating the nursery. The room they were going to use had always been a storage room and this annoyed the pair just slightly because it meant they would have to go through everything in there soon. Well it would just be Dudley since he didn't want Felicity to be lifting any heavy objects.
This was a feeling he'd never really experienced prior to now. So many emotions melting together into one and neither being decipherable from the next. He wasn't sure if he was more scared, nervous, or excited. Any time a happy feeling overcame him, it was weighed down heavily with the situation that they were in. There was no backing out now though. There was one person that Dudley was trying to keep out of it as much as he possibly could though, and that was Petunia. His mother had never had a decent experience with the magical world and he didn't want her to revert to her old self.
It had taken her years to finally forgive herself over her wrongdoings and of her treatment of Lily, and there was no way she was ruining all that hard work now. By keeping her as much in the dark as he could, it wouldn't be difficult for her to remain the way that she was. For the first time in his life, Petunia seemed genuinely happy and he didn't want things to turn around again. He shook his head at this, there was no use thinking about these things especially with what they might find out today. There wasn't any point in letting the bad things outweigh all the good things, and there wasn't a point in letting negative thoughts take over him again.
He'd already gone through years of that and he's been trying desperately to let go of everything. It was now he moved from his spot and started to get dressed for the day. Once he had done this, he checked the time to see that they still had three hours until their appointment. He glanced over at his snoozing wife and tried to hold in a laugh at the small puddle of drool next to her slightly parted mouth, deciding to let her sleep a bit longer. It was a good thing that it didn't take her long to get ready and that they lived only a thirty-minute drive to the hospital.
However, now that he was on his own, his thoughts began to consume him once more. He really needed to find something to occupy himself with and he wasn't in the mood to watch television currently. An idea came to mind and he quickly changed into his regular workout clothes before going into the bedroom that the pair had turned into a makeshift gym. There wasn't anything fancy in here; there was a treadmill in one corner, a cross-trainer in another, a weight section behind the door. There were a few other bits and pieces as well but they rarely ever used them.
Why they even had them, Dudley wasn't sure. He stowed them into a box and put them up against a wall and looked at the three stations, trying to decide what to concentrate on. After a few minutes, he decided on doing a twenty-minute run with each because that would give him enough time to shower, make some breakfast, and wake up Felicity. With a timer set, he began his workout. It had been a while since he had done anything involving exercise so within the first few minutes, his muscles were aching but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to power ahead.
Once again, time seemed to fly by because soon the timer went off and he moved over to the next station, and finally repeating this once again. By the time that he had finished, his joints were aching but he felt drastically better than he had earlier. After they had all gone into hiding and he really started to watch his weight and health, exercise was an escape for him. It helped him get lost in his own world and it was also his own little way to defy the way that he was brought up. Dudley ran downstairs again to get a glass of water before running back up two at a time to jump into a shower.
Now freshly washed down and clothed once more, he started on breakfast. At least Felicity's appetite had not disappeared in the slightest since she found out that she was expecting. The only thing that made her feel slightly nauseous was eggs and they rarely ate them anyway so it wasn't a problem. He grilled plenty of sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, and ham before he decided to wake her up. Hopefully she wouldn't get too irritated considering she'd never liked being woken up by anything.
Much to his surprise, she simply only groaned for a minute before dragging herself off the comfortable mattress and warm covers. Immediately, his eyes trailed down her swollen middle, a smile breaking out on his face. There was no mistaking it now, it was obvious that she was expecting. A small snort left his mouth when she tripped over the bedpost before he went to check on the food once again. Roughly eight minutes later, she emerged with her blonde hair tied up into a messy bun, black leggings and a large jumper that fell almost to her knees.
Within a few minutes, the food had been completely devoured and Dudley couldn't hold in his laugh when she went to yawn but instead a burp escaped her. Just like that, pink tinted her cheeks in embarrassment and her hands were furiously trying to cover her face. He shook his head slightly before checking the time once again, their appointment was in an hour. With the thought in mind, they both left their house and started on the journey to the hospital. There wasn't much of a point because either way there was going to be a ridiculous waiting time but neither like to be late under any circumstances.
It was a good thing that they left early, because the traffic was worse than normal. Felicity reminded him that there was a football game where Manchester United were playing Chelsea, so that explained that. By the time that they arrived, they had ten minutes before their appointment was scheduled. Nerves and excitement bubbled up in both, right on the verge of spilling over. They refused to let this happen though because neither wanted to become the centre of attention. Just like they both assumed, they weren't taken for another thirty minutes and Felicity let a smile break out on her face as she had the same doctor who had confirmed her pregnancy in the first place.
They'd only had a couple of scans other than this and both times there was a different person. It was nice to have a sense of familiarity in this situation. Like in their others, they were asked about their diet and made sure she was sticking to her vitamins. After rolling her eyes in annoyance, she nodded her head just slightly. For the next ten minutes, small checks over Felicity's health were done such as blood pressure, sugar level, and whatever else needed. Soon, the doctor concluded that she was indeed tip-top shape before directing the pair of them to a room nearby that held an ultrasound so they could check on the baby's progress.
It never changed, the happiness that built up in Dudley every time he saw that on the screen. Occasionally there were a few times where he didn't believe it was happening but not in a bad way- it was more in a disbelief way. If he had been asked five years ago, what he would have been doing, there wouldn't have been a conclusive answer. It was because of this that he was forever in debt to Harry. If the roles had been reversed and it was his younger cousin who had done all those things to him, he wouldn't have made sure they got to a safe place. Even after everything that happened between the pair, he had still done that.
He came out of his thoughts when some more tests were carried out to ensure their child was growing at a healthy rate and there were no problems going on. Time seemed to melt away now, the only thing in both of their focus' being their unborn child. It was after this examination they were going to get a definitive midwife to help them throughout the rest of the pregnancy which they were glad about. They were going to need that when all the chaos does drop. Nobody knew when Kyra was going to press the button and detonate the bomb that was ready to explode. There really was no choice but to wait and let her plan begin to unfold.
Numerous words were exchanged and despite Dudley trying to understand it all, he obviously didn't. It was a good thing that nobody's attention was on him because he didn't want anybody to see his confused facial expression. For a few seconds, he just stared at the screen before turning to face his wife who was crying silently as she stared at the visual. The wand was moved occasionally as the midwife attempted to find a position to see the gender. The pair of them held their breath as they looked on, no words spoken between them.
Eventually, a tiny smile formed on the midwife's face and right then they knew that she had found an angle that let her see the gender. She pointed to a part of the screen and Dudley looked closely to see himself. At first, he was confused but once realisation dawned on him, a wide smile broke out on his face before leaning forward to gently kiss Felicity on the cheek.
"A girl, a baby girl."
As she heard those words, a beaming smile came across her, a few tears desperately trying to fall that she wouldn't allow. The gel was wiped from her now as the midwife left to print out some pictures of the sonogram. Once they were on their own, a few small laughs escaped them as they hugged each other tightly. A few minutes after this, they had received their pictures and they left the hospital. Dudley made sure to drop off Felicity near the city centre where she was meeting Ginny for the afternoon before making his way to the train station, desperate to tell Petunia the news.
It was still weird, going back to Little Whinging that was. It was where he had spent the majority of his life yet at the same time it felt like he hadn't ever really had a life there. Trapped in a bad crowd, not caring about his education in the slightest, and bullying other kids because he thought it was fun. It's crazy just how much a person can change in such a short amount of time, but it was a change that he was grateful for. He just hoped he wouldn't bump into someone once again like he had with Piers months ago. Yes, the slightly younger had changed somewhat for the better but a bitter taste was always left in Dudley's mouth when he thought of his childhood friends.
Were they even his friends? Over the last couple of years he had made multiple, and not a single one of them felt even remotely similar. He snapped out of his thoughts when that familiar screech coming from a train stopping on the tracks. No matter how many times he had used this method of transport, that noise never failed to make him cringe internally. Once again, there were only a few people on the train and it was times like this that he was glad that the town he has grown up in was small and didn't have much in it to attract people.
He had over an hour to himself now on the journey down, and he looked around for a discarded newspaper or something but he came up empty handed. With that, he groaned in annoyance and instead decided to just stare out the window, watching as the city buildings morphed into fields lined with forests. A tiny smile formed on his face now but this was changed when he remembered catching this exact train years ago with his friends and just what they used to boast over.
/
It was just another one of those days. Where the weather wasn't being awful yet wasn't being nice either. Another day when they had turned up to school and instead had remained for a single period before leaving to catch a train up to London. How they got away with doing this so often, none of them were sure but neither of them cared either. They had raced one another there, pushing a few younger kids to the ground as they did so and running off laughing.
All that was on their minds was skipping a day of school along with the potential of getting into a lot of trouble from their parents once the school realised they had ditched again. They did this so often that on the rare occasions they turned up for their lessons, their teachers were shocked to see them. However, none of them cared about the impending scolding and if anything, relished the adrenalin rush they always got from doing this.
Along the way, he watched as Dennis reached into his pocket to remove his cigarettes and lighter, asking them if they wanted one. Dudley hated being singled out and he wanted to remain the leader of their group, so he was the first to take one of the white sticks and lighting it. They all ran now, taking alleyways and shortcuts that lessened their chances of being caught by other parents of locals who recognised them. Not like any of them would do something, there was a reason the group of five had such a bad reputation in their hometown.
Once they arrived at the station, they grabbed the money that they had stolen from unsuspecting people and had managed to get away to buy their tickets. Once they had received them, they raced each other to the front carriage as it was the one that let them off closest to the exit of the station they always got off at. Gordon was the first to jump on the carriage and soon the rest followed after wrestled each other as they fought over where to sit, causing disruption to everyone else in the carriage.
As usual, they ignored the looks of disapproval being directed at them, too caught up in their own bubble to notice anything else around them. They began talking about the fight they had gotten in that morning, even though it wasn't really a fight as all they had done was corner a poor kid and beat him up. They had only done this because they no longer had their favourite punching toy, or human punchbag really. Only Dudley knew what Harry was and that he was hundreds of miles north studying who knows what, the other believed he was in a school for criminals.
This showed just how stupid they really were. Harry had never shown any signs of criminal behaviour under any circumstances but Vernon always had a response to that by saying the change had happened over the summer and that was why they refused to let him out in the months leading up to him going to Hogwarts. Rarely was the scrawny boy let out but when he was, rumours spread throughout the community about him. Since they could no longer beat him up, they resorted in going after boys of a similar stature to Dudley's month younger cousin.
/
Dudley blinked as he came out of his reverie. What had happened there? It has almost been like he had travelled back in time, reliving that exact moment. Was he even awake when that had happened? Truthfully, he wasn't sure. No matter how hard he tries to push memories like this to the back of his mind, pretend that they never happened, they always came back. It was almost like he was having an episode of some sort, causing everything around him to dissolve and letting his mind take over every ounce of his sanity. His mothers words rang in his mind, about how he has to learn to forgive himself before he can be forgiven. Right now though, Dudley really didn't know if he would ever be able to forgive himself- and that thought terrified him.
However, if he didn't do so, then he was always going to be an outsider and was constantly going to be eaten up by his guilt. Guilt that had developed over the span of five years. Maybe it had been festering away for longer but he had simply just ignored it. Ignorance over important things like this seemed to be something he was very good at, but then again, he'd had a lot of practise in that field. He just hoped that one day, these memories would appear and instead of feeling guilt, he would feel relief instead. How long that was going to take though, Dudley honestly couldn't give a definitive answer.