House: Snakes

Class: Charms

Category: Standard

Prompt: Homesick [Emotion]

Word Count: 1,039

Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoy this standard! I absolutely love writing in this style so I hope y'all can appreciate it as much as I loved writing it for you :)

As always, enjoy

-Carolare Scarletus


The True Meaning of Family


It was only during the dead of night that Dudley was able to think.

Closed off from the ordinary world around him, he allowed the lull of midnight to pull him into an eternal reverie. His thoughts traveled to a more pleasant time, one filled with mischief and magic. The stars clustered around him in a protective blanket as his memories whisked him away to a more vulnerable state. Those days spent under the tree in the backyard and stealing cookies from the kitchen would always have a special place in his heart. It's only been three days since his cousin departed for the extraordinary school for the gifted, leaving him to wonder what it means to truly belong and what it meant for the imminent future. It's been three days since his life turned upside down.

Never in his life had he felt so homesick. Dudley didn't know the true meaning of the word until Harry suddenly dropped the idea of putting his family into hiding. He came to them during a time of desperate need; his eyes had been filled with such anguish that Dudely knew that whatever he was about to tell them wasn't for the faint of heart. With the darkness lurking in every corner, Dudley suspected that it was for the greater good and Harry must care for them in his own way to extend that gracious idea. For some odd reason, he only felt right when Harry was with him and, despite everything Dudley and his parents did to him over the years, Harry forgave them. They were a family in their own special way; it was only now that Dudley was coming to his senses and regretted everything he'd done.

A home was a place of solitude and a place of worship.

For every wrong-doing and despicable act he'd done as a child, Dudley would softly bang his fist against the wall and let out a heartening sob. Life, one of the greatest showmen of comedy and drama, wasn't fair and he would've done anything to go back in time and reprimand the child he once was. Maybe then, they wouldn't be in this predicament. They were nothing more than defenseless animals for slaughter. They didn't know what they were up against and the only one they could trust with a connection to that world was Harry, wherever he may be.

"We're not the same, Dudley," Harry's cool voice echoed in his mind as he laid his chin to rest against the window frame in his second bedroom. His eyes briefly combed the darkened room, landing on the miscellaneous things he'd procured from his parents with a little bribery and full-blown tantrums. It was true the toys and knick-knacks were pleasant enough at the time, but now they've lost their purpose. Dudley wondered if all things were destined to come to an end; as destiny would have it, life wasn't always fair. "We don't reside in the same world but you have to take my word. You have to leave because it's the only way I can protect you."

"What if I don't want to go," the conversation continued as if they weren't already living in their own personal hell. Even though he wasn't like his cousin, he knew when trouble was brewing. There were dark forces playing this night; it was the likes of which no one had seen. Dudley sighed, but didn't expect a voice to answer his call."What if I want to stay and fight?"

"You must leave," it told him sternly, his eyes giving the only sign that the fight he will be facing may be his last.

"You don't know what you're doing," Dudley told it bitterly, allowing the silence to engulf him. He played this conversation in his mind so many times, but this was entirely new. It was a 'what if' that didn't have a chance to prosper and he couldn't help carrying it through. "How do you know that you can defeat whatever is out there?"

Again, there was silence until the voice answered in a broken tone. "I don't know. I could succeed or I could fail miserably. Whatever the cost, I cannot allow another person to die at my expense."

"What about us," Dudley cried into oblivion. "You're leaving us to fend for ourselves! We don't know what we're up against and you're placing us into hiding until you solve whatever evil that's lurking out there. It's not fair!"

"Sometimes life isn't fair either, Dudley."

Harry's voice left a chilling impression inside of his heart.

Dudley broke down and sobbed.

He sobbed for all the years he tormented his cousin, for all the times his parents were cruel to him and made him feel so worthless. Most importantly, he sobbed for not being able to provide the kind of structure Harry needed to feel welcomed. Harry had lost so many to the cause and it was only now that Dudley was finally able to come to terms with the severity of the situation.

Like the friends he was fighting so desperately for, Harry wanted his home back. That school had been a place of comfort and sanctuary. Now, it was only the shining remnants of what the meaning of family stood for. That school was his home and the people who lived there had become his family. Dudley was so blinded by his emotions that he didn't see what was right in front of him. If Harry could be strong for the ones he loved, so could Dudley. He, too, had a family he wanted to protect. Harry was always able to face evil head-on and Dudley wanted to be able to possess the strength his cousin had.

A home was something you fought for and protected with your life and that's exactly what Dudley planned on doing.

Dudley needed to fight for his home, his life, and his own future. But, he was going to do it his own way. He wasn't going to listen to what other people had to say because this wasn't their story to tell. He will do everything to protect his home, so that he has something in the future.