Chapter 2-
Scream at me, and if you like
throw your hate ate me with all your might
Hit me 'cause I'm strange, hit me!
-Korn
'Oh, to hell with it. I need to have some fun," Harry smiled confidently and rose from the swing with an easy grace. Dudley wouldn't dare touch him, he was certain of that. As he strode confidently toward the noisy group of teens, Harry felt strangely calm. He needed to project his feelings onto something or someone before they got out of hand, and his cousin was the perfect canidate.
"Hey, Big D!" he called loudly across the desolate park. "Beating up twelve year olds again? What a challenge!"
Dudley turned around slowly, his piggy eyes narrowed threateningly, while his friends muttered angrily amongst themselves quietly. They weren't used to people treating their ringleader with anything other than fear, and that counted his strange relative. Dudley gave a warning growl and resumed conversing with his friends, hoping that Harry would take the hint and leave. If his cousin had known what events were about to unfold, he might have. However, seeing as how he was not blessed with the ability to see into the future, the young wizard smirked self assuredly and continued his stroll toward the gang. This would be fun.
"Aww, why are you ignoring me, Duddykins? What, are you scared of lil' ol' me?"
One of Dudley's friends, a boy with greasy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, gave an unpleasent snigger and nudged one of his friends, leaning over to whisper something into his ear. Dudley shot him a withering glare and he gave an apologetic smile. Dudley rolled his eyes and turned toward his cousin.
"Shut the fuck up, Potter," he spat bitterly. "You don't know what you're dealing with..." he trailed of threateningly, eyeing the boy in front of him angrily.
Harry grinned ferally and began shifting from foot to foot aggressively. "Oh, really? Funny, I could say the say same to you..." he glanced boredly at the night sky. "Wow," he said innocently, "...the clouds cleared up rather quickly, didn't they? As if by magic..." he smiled coldly. 'This is just too easy...'
A strange look flitted across Dudley's face, but it passed too quickly for Harry to see what it was. Fear, perhaps? Rage? 'Odd,' Harry reflected to himself. His cousin usually wasn't skilled at masking his feelings.
The small group glared at him angrily. Harry stood his ground and glared right back, arms folded across his lean chest. Dudley was, surprisingly, the first to break eye contact.
"It's getting late," he said slowly, turning toward his friends. "Go, I'll handle him."
The boy with the stringy blonde hair looked at his leader increduously. "Late! Dud, it's only just after nine! Hey!" Dudley shoved him backward violently into the arms of a redhead behind him.
" I said I'll handle him! Now get out of here, all of you!" Harry raised an eyebrow. This definetly was not normal behavior for his cousin. After a lot of mutinous grumblings, the teens began to go their seperate ways, still complaining and wondering aloud why he was afraid of his own cousin. Dudley spun on his heel and began to walk home, chest heaving angrily.
Harry grinned and fell into step with the boy, breathing in the cold air happily. This was doing wonders for his previously bad mood.
"Aww, come on, Dud! Why leave? I thought you were going to handle me!"
Dudley gritted his teeth and dug his fingernails deep into his hands. "I'm warning you, Potter. You better fucking shut up if you know what's good for you..." he stopped suddenly and turned toward the boy next him, eyes radiating with loathing. "Go away, Potter. You're starting to get on my last nerve."
End Flashback
"That should have been when I took the hint and went back to the house. However, I didn't take my cousin seriously and continued to tease him." Harry sighed and looked down at his hands. "I payed for my folly just a few minutes later..."
Flashback
"You know, Dudley, that temper of yours is going to get you in trouble one day," said Harry conversationally. "So, how was your year?" His cousin said nothing and continued walking towards his home.
"So, got a girlfriend hidden away or someth-" Without warning, Dudley snapped and rammed his fist into Harry's face so hard he felt something crack.
"Unn..." Harry groaned. He fell back onto the cold hard concrete, and couldn't see anything but stars dancing in front of his eyes. The pain in his face was so intense he felt like he was going to throw up. He slowly became aware of the fact that his nose was bleeding profusely onto his shirt...and Dudley was standing over him with a strange, feral gleam in his narrowed eyes. Harry swallowed fearfully and inched his left hand toward his pocket for his wand. His heart skipped a beat when his fingers met nothing but lint. "Shit..." Harry realized he was helpless...and completly at the mercy of his cousin.
For the first time that night, Dudley smiled.
