Poor Harry, all alone with my personal least favorite kinds of candy. Read, review!
Characters are all borrowed from J.K. Rowling. Dudley, she can have back.
Soliciting Chocolate
By Scabbers
1985, 4 Privet Drive
"I'm ready now. I want to go," whined the little king. "I want to go get candy!"
"Daddy's almost ready, Duddy-kins," cooed his mother, adjusting his crown. "He's just fixing the video camera. Don't you want Mummy and Daddy to have a video of you to show Auntie Marge and Grandma?"
"No, I want CANDY!" demanded King Dudley, his lower lip protruding impressively. He proceeded to throw a noisy little tantrum that almost (but not quite) drowned out the stream of obscenities coming from the living room, as his father fiddled with the video recorder. The mother patted her son's shoulder consolingly, but to the boy's shock and dismay, she did not attempt to hurry his father along. Instead, she whirled around, and acknowledged for the first time that evening her young nephew on the staircase.
Dudley's cousin Harry was sitting silently on the fourth step with a bowl of candy in his lap; he was to answer the door for trick-or-treaters, as he had done every year for as long as he could remember. He was a peculiar looking boy- at the age of five, he already wore glasses, and the eyes behind them were large and green. He was staring now, through the glasses at his aunt, saying nothing.
"Well, what are you waiting for, stupid boy?" she barked, "Give Dudley some candy!"
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said quietly, standing up to offer some sweets to his cousin. Dudley regarded the selection unhappily. "These are gross, and I hate them. Where are the Snickers and the Crunch Bars?"
"You ate them all, dear," said his mother nervously, for she could tell Dudley was gearing up for another tantrum. Dudley always ate the best candy before Halloween every year, so all that was left over for the trick-or-treaters were the nastiest flavors of colored Tootsie rolls, and black licorice. Unfortunately, as Dudley also liked to nibble on the home supply before going out to collect his own candy, there was a conflict nearly every year when he discovered his precious chocolates were all gone.
Thankfully, Dudley's father burst in at that moment with the video camera, ready to go. "Dudley's fifth Halloween," he said gruffly, fixing the camera upon the round little king as he stuffed a generous handful of the "gross" candy into his bag anyway.
"That's m'boy," chuckles the father. "Clever lad to get a head start."
~
Left alone with the rather meager bowl of candy, Harry was somewhat happier, He had never much cared for Halloween, always felt uneasy about it for some reason, but at least he knew he had a few good hours before his uncle, aunt, and cousin returned. Not much of a walker, Dudley had a surprisingly good stamina when it came to collecting candy.
Besides, Harry thought, the fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls weren't so bad. His aunt always warned him not to lay a greedy finger on the candy bowl, but he knew he could get away with a small indulgence if he was careful about throwing away the wrapper. He had just finished a yellow one that was either lemon or banana (you could never tell), when the doorbell rang for the first time that evening,
It turned out to be two little girls, one dressed as a princess, and the other as a ballerina. Harry offered them their pick of the candy, which they accepted politely enough, although they were clearly somewhat unenthusiastic about their options. "Thank you!" they chorused, running to join their parents at the end of the driveway. Harry watched them go, sadly, as they continued down Privet Drive. He always wished he could be a part of the fun, laughing with friends as candy accumulated in his pillowcase. It was always so lonely sitting on the staircase of number 4 Privet Drive, waiting for the doorbell to ring.
It did, soon enough- a boy, this time, with his parents. Harry admired his costume silently, as he thrust the disappointing bowl of candy before him. The boy was dressed like a wizard, with a sparkly purple robe and a clever pointed hat. He even carried, Harry noted, a magic wand with a silver star on the end. If only he had a magic wand with a brilliant silver star on the end, that would bring his parents back, so at least he wouldn't feel so alone every time another kid said "thank you" and continued down the street.
Sighing softly, Harry closed the door and settled back into his place on the fourth step. He removed two green tootsie rolls and a piece of licorice from the bowl, but instead of eating them, he arranged them to look like a smiley face next to him on the step. He didn't know who it was supposed to be, but he liked that it was smiling just for him. "Happy Halloween," he said to the face, and he didn't eat it, not for the whole night.
~
~
That's the last of 1985- prepare to travel ten forward ten years as the gang prepares for a different sort of Halloween.
And can I pose a question to the other authors- is it just me, or is Dudley Dursley really fun to write? Later,
Scabbers
Characters are all borrowed from J.K. Rowling. Dudley, she can have back.
Soliciting Chocolate
By Scabbers
1985, 4 Privet Drive
"I'm ready now. I want to go," whined the little king. "I want to go get candy!"
"Daddy's almost ready, Duddy-kins," cooed his mother, adjusting his crown. "He's just fixing the video camera. Don't you want Mummy and Daddy to have a video of you to show Auntie Marge and Grandma?"
"No, I want CANDY!" demanded King Dudley, his lower lip protruding impressively. He proceeded to throw a noisy little tantrum that almost (but not quite) drowned out the stream of obscenities coming from the living room, as his father fiddled with the video recorder. The mother patted her son's shoulder consolingly, but to the boy's shock and dismay, she did not attempt to hurry his father along. Instead, she whirled around, and acknowledged for the first time that evening her young nephew on the staircase.
Dudley's cousin Harry was sitting silently on the fourth step with a bowl of candy in his lap; he was to answer the door for trick-or-treaters, as he had done every year for as long as he could remember. He was a peculiar looking boy- at the age of five, he already wore glasses, and the eyes behind them were large and green. He was staring now, through the glasses at his aunt, saying nothing.
"Well, what are you waiting for, stupid boy?" she barked, "Give Dudley some candy!"
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said quietly, standing up to offer some sweets to his cousin. Dudley regarded the selection unhappily. "These are gross, and I hate them. Where are the Snickers and the Crunch Bars?"
"You ate them all, dear," said his mother nervously, for she could tell Dudley was gearing up for another tantrum. Dudley always ate the best candy before Halloween every year, so all that was left over for the trick-or-treaters were the nastiest flavors of colored Tootsie rolls, and black licorice. Unfortunately, as Dudley also liked to nibble on the home supply before going out to collect his own candy, there was a conflict nearly every year when he discovered his precious chocolates were all gone.
Thankfully, Dudley's father burst in at that moment with the video camera, ready to go. "Dudley's fifth Halloween," he said gruffly, fixing the camera upon the round little king as he stuffed a generous handful of the "gross" candy into his bag anyway.
"That's m'boy," chuckles the father. "Clever lad to get a head start."
~
Left alone with the rather meager bowl of candy, Harry was somewhat happier, He had never much cared for Halloween, always felt uneasy about it for some reason, but at least he knew he had a few good hours before his uncle, aunt, and cousin returned. Not much of a walker, Dudley had a surprisingly good stamina when it came to collecting candy.
Besides, Harry thought, the fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls weren't so bad. His aunt always warned him not to lay a greedy finger on the candy bowl, but he knew he could get away with a small indulgence if he was careful about throwing away the wrapper. He had just finished a yellow one that was either lemon or banana (you could never tell), when the doorbell rang for the first time that evening,
It turned out to be two little girls, one dressed as a princess, and the other as a ballerina. Harry offered them their pick of the candy, which they accepted politely enough, although they were clearly somewhat unenthusiastic about their options. "Thank you!" they chorused, running to join their parents at the end of the driveway. Harry watched them go, sadly, as they continued down Privet Drive. He always wished he could be a part of the fun, laughing with friends as candy accumulated in his pillowcase. It was always so lonely sitting on the staircase of number 4 Privet Drive, waiting for the doorbell to ring.
It did, soon enough- a boy, this time, with his parents. Harry admired his costume silently, as he thrust the disappointing bowl of candy before him. The boy was dressed like a wizard, with a sparkly purple robe and a clever pointed hat. He even carried, Harry noted, a magic wand with a silver star on the end. If only he had a magic wand with a brilliant silver star on the end, that would bring his parents back, so at least he wouldn't feel so alone every time another kid said "thank you" and continued down the street.
Sighing softly, Harry closed the door and settled back into his place on the fourth step. He removed two green tootsie rolls and a piece of licorice from the bowl, but instead of eating them, he arranged them to look like a smiley face next to him on the step. He didn't know who it was supposed to be, but he liked that it was smiling just for him. "Happy Halloween," he said to the face, and he didn't eat it, not for the whole night.
~
~
That's the last of 1985- prepare to travel ten forward ten years as the gang prepares for a different sort of Halloween.
And can I pose a question to the other authors- is it just me, or is Dudley Dursley really fun to write? Later,
Scabbers
