CW: moving, heights, divorce & custody cases

:Eighteen:

"Mum!" Dudley yelled from the back seat. "Where are we going?"

"I told you diddydums," Petunia said, looking back at her son from the passenger seat. "We're going to look at a flat to see if we want to live there."

"Why are we looking for a new home when we have one already?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, Harry," Remus explained. "This way Aunt Petunia and Dudley can have their own rooms. We'll still be together, just with some personal space."

"Okay," Harry shrugged, holding onto his stuffed deer.

They arrived at the building a few minutes later. It took some time to get everyone out of the car, but they eventually were able to get over to the main lobby. A man at the front desk gave them the keys for a tour, saying they'd have the paperwork ready for them when they got back.

Harry immediately ran for the windows, taking in the height of where they were on the second floor. Dudley, on the other hand, held onto Petunia's hand as he observed the flat.

"I think we should be on the 1st floor, mum." Dudley said, looking apprehensively at the windows. "It's awfully high up here."

"You're not scared, are you?" Harry teased, smiling at Dudley.

"No!" Dudley retorted, stamping his foot. "Mum is scared though, aren't you, mum?"

Petunia smiled fondly at her son. She wasn't actually afraid of heights, but nodded anyway so Dudley wouldn't feel bad.

"See?" Dudley stuck out his tongue at Harry. "Let's go see downstairs, mum."

And he pulled her away down the stairs, leaving Harry and Remus alone.

"What do you think, Harry?" Remus said, looking around with his hands in his pockets.

Harry shrugged. "It's alright. I like being with just us again."

"Yeah," Remus acknowledged. "I know it's been hard on you, but I appreciate how kind you've been about all this."

"I miss magic." Harry murmured, but then he perked up. "But Dudley has been nicer lately, and Aunt Petunia too."

Harry reached up for Remus' hand, which Remus gave willingly.

"It's like you did magic on them, even though you keep saying you didn't."

Remus laughed, then led Harry around each room in the flat. They'd discussed it beforehand, and Remus would be paying for utilities and groceries so that they could all live together. The flat was cheaper than the house Remus was currently in, but it just made more sense for her to prove financial stability with the divorce and custody cases.

So, with that out of the way, Remus felt free to look around and wonder what the flat would look like if they moved in. The space was nice and open, a blank canvas that Remus thought they might be able to grow into. It wouldn't have any negative memories attached, no reminders of the past for the three people now in his life.

It was still so strange to him that this had progressed so quickly. Once Aunt Petunia had her sights set on freedom, she had become a force to be reckoned with. Between herself and the lawyer, Uncle Vernon hadn't really stood much of a chance. He blustered and stormed his way into some visitation with Dudley, but settled once he was told Petunia wanted nothing from him financially. Unbeknownst to him, Vernon had also had several magical wards placed on his house once the ministry realized what had happened.

They hadn't seen him once since, though Remus was skeptical that this problem could be solved so easily.

Unwilling to worry Petunia; however, Remus had just joined her in the second task. She wanted a new home before Harry and Dudley left for primary school. This meant constant touring and scouring of newspapers, until now. This was the first place they'd brought Harry and Dudley to see, because they had decided it would be the best option for them all. As much as Petunia appreciated what Remus had done for her, she was now absolutely determined to stand on her own and make a space entirely by herself.

So they filled out the paperwork, with Dudley and Harry playing around the lobby of the building. The two children were absolutely thrilled about the idea of moving to a new space and making mischief in this huge new building. But Dudley became quiet when they left, staying so all through lunch.

"What's the matter with you?" Harry asked him, once they were out in the garden.

He poked him with his stick, which they had been playing pretend swords with earlier that morning.

"Oi," Dudley swatted the stick away, but then went back to being thoughtful. "It's just…"

"What?" Harry asked, plopping himself down right next to his cousin.

"Well," Dudley said slowly. "We've never lived apart before."

Harry looked at him for a moment, then thought about it too.

"That's true." He muttered. "But it won't be apart, really. I mean, it's only one stair away."

Dudley nodded, still looking pensive. Harry stood up and reached out to help Dudley.

"Will you...will we still play, Harry?"

"'Course we will." Harry rolled his eyes. "Who's supposed to be Mr. Tiger and play Knights with me otherwise? Natalie can't - she's the octopus and she's dreadful at sword-fighting."

Dudley grinned. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

He took Harry's hand, putting aside his worries in favor of walloping Harry at sword-fighting.

Notes:

One of my all-time favorite Dudley bits in the books is in the 7th book, where he attempts to leave Harry some tea and then gets so confused about why Harry isn't coming with them. He knows by now that their family isn't normal, that Harry isn't treated the best, but after what happened with the dementors I think Dudley had a reckoning. Despite what he'd been raised to think, Harry was his family, and had saved him without thinking. Even after all the bullying Dudley had done over the years.

So I did it again, just with a four-year-old interaction!

Happy Reading!