Dudley Dursley and The Golden Feather
By: SleepyAngel
2. Two Owls
"Hey, no fair!" A slightly chubby boy of eleven called after his cousin, legs
pumping to catch up. Dudley hated it that Harry was quicker and better at games then
himself, especially when the younger boy cheated a little to improve his chances. Like
using his father's wand to throw a ball into Harry's arms as he ran, making it impossible for
Dudley to play.
Harry was laughing by the time Dudly had caught up, panting and collapsing on
the green lawn. Dudley lay on the soft ground and stared up at the sky, wishing he knew
some magic too. Green eyes twinkled above his prone figure, telling him that Harry was
leaning over him.
"Having fun, Duds?" The question was a mockery, but Dudley didn't respond. He
wasn't up for jumping at his cousin's bait right now.
Hooting caught both of the boys' attention, looking up for the owl. A brown, barn
delivery one swooped toward their home, going in through the open kitchen window. It
flew out, minutes later, after two voices inside could be heard accepting the message.
Dudley and Harry stared at each other, knowing that what would come next would not be
good.
Sure enough, a roar came from within the kitchen, causing the boys to jump and
for Harry to search for a hiding place. Apparently finding it, he sped away, using those
super fast running skills he had. Dudley sat, dumbly, on the grass, waiting for his two
angry relatives to come out, ready to punish some one. Aunt Lily burst out the back door
first, short, red hair swaying at her shoulders, eyes blazing. Uncle James followed,
stomping like a battling centaur and his jaw set in a tight lock. Harry looked like both of
them so much and that thought struck Dudley in a painful way. He'd never known who he
looked like.
"HARRY! Where ever you are, I demand you show yourself now! Young man,
you have really crossed the line!" bellowed Uncle James, a vein nearly visible in his neck.
Dudley stared at the grass, wishing he wasn't caught in the middle of this. If Harry didn't
have Dudley around to taunt about the fact he couldn't do magic, he wouldn't have
cheated again, causing the Improper Use of Magic Office to send another letter. The third
this month, meaning Harry was in big trouble this time.
A cowering figure slunk out from behind the huge trees in the backyard, his black
hair falling in front of his face. Aunt Lily ran up to him, dragging him by the ear over to
her husband, her eyes on fire. Dudley was glad that he never got those type of looks from
his aunt.
"Explain yourself," Aunt Lily growled, never raising her voice, making the tone
even scarier. Dudley pretended to examined a little ant crawling up his arm. Its little feet
tickled, but he didn't feel like laughing.
"I-I was just playing with Dudley. I didn't mean to-to set off any spells. Did I,
Duds?" Harry's frog eyes pleaded for his cousin to agree, and Dudley shook his head, still
not meeting anyone's eyes.
Naturally, Harry's parents weren't going to buy that. By some supernatural power
only parents had, both of the adults' glares found themselves moving to the forgotten
wand on the grass, the most important part of the puzzle, laying in plain sight. Harry and
Dudly stared at it, both wishing to be somewhere else.
"I-I-" Harry stuttered, trying to explain, Dudley guessed, but failed. Aunt Lily
threw her arms up in the air and Uncle James ran over to the wand, whispering and
pointing to himself. He was gone, Apparated. Unfortunately, there was still an adult
around to yell.
"I've had enough of this behavior! What is the matter with you, Harry? Why do
you have to cause so much trouble? We expect more out of you, young man. You better
start thinking before you do things. Your father has been looking all this morning for his
wand so he can get to work, only to find that his own son has taken it to taunt his cousin!"
Dudley pretended to be deaf and dumb, like he had no idea which cousin they meant. He
hated it when he was dragged into the fights.
"Maybe I wouldn't taunt him if he wasn't so different!" Harry shot back, his own
anger awaking. Dudley looked up, unused to his cousin having the courage to fight back.
It was the wrong thing to say. "What do you mean, different?" The last word was
stressed to the point of a snarl. Aunt Lily never liked to mention the fact that Dudley was
a Muggle. Somehow, it made her sad or angry, depending on her moods. Right now, she
was boiling.
Harry didn't seem to notice that if he answered truthfully, he'd be in worse trouble
than before. "Why should he get to be in our family? Why do we have to take care of him?
He always gets his way, just because he doesn't have parents! It's always my fault
whenever there's trouble and he just sits like he's so innocent. When I try to have fun,
some how it just gets me in trouble. I hate him!" Harry ran away, slamming the back door
behind him. Dudley could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs, and loud crying from
upstairs. He couldn't look at Aunt Lily, sure that she asked herself those same questions of
herself. He didn't deserve to home with them, worth as much as a Squib. Her eyes were no
doubt blazing now, angry for the responsibility of another child.
"Dudley?" Aunt Lily's voice wasn't cutting and sharp when she said his name, but
barely above a whisper. Slowly, cautiously, Dudley raised his eyes to see his aunt's blotchy
face and teary eyes. Surprised, he stood up, brushing the grass off his bottom.
"I'm-I'm so sorry, Dudley. Harry-he just....he doesn't mean it. Eleven years ago, I
thought that keeping you with us would be best. I don't know why Harry is so upset about
it. He doesn't understand how hard it must be for you." She didn't say it, but Dudley knew
what she meant; living in a completely wizarding world, and not having a touch of magic
or even anyone he could call parents. Parents like him at least.
"Something just came over me when I saw-saw Petunia. I had to take care of you.
But-" With a shaking hand, Aunt Lily wiped her eyes. Dudley studied the skies, seeing a
owl in the distance coming closer. He wondered what message it brought. "-Hogwarts no
doubt sending a letter any day now, I don't know what we should do. I can't see sending
you to some awful boarding school-" The owl's deep, rich chestnut feathers ruffled in the
wave it created, gently drifting on wind currents. Dudley wished himself such freedom, the
ability to just soar, far, far away.
"-how much you hated going to school with Harry for these years. Whenever you
couldn't do a thing with a wand, the teacher having to explain what a Squib was-" Dudley
knew it was rude to not listen, but he couldn't take his eyes of the yellow eyes of the owl.
He could see the pupil and iris of the bird as it neared. He knew it was coming to the
Potter's.
Finally, Aunt Lily stopped her attempts to explain Harry's behavior, noticed the
bird and held her arm out as a perch. The beautiful animal landed gracefully, hooting
softly, like a true lady. Dudley couldn't stop staring at her. He could just tell she was
female by her motherly eyes and perfectly groomed feathers. Involuntarily, Dudley reached
his hand out to stroke the owl. She tilted his head to meet his hand and hooted again when
he traced fingers down her neck. Aunt Lily was murmuring to herself at the letter she'd
snatched from the owl's mouth. Her brow was furrowed.
"Who is it from?" Dudley asked, leaning to try and get a glance. Aunt Lily jumped,
as if she'd forgotten he was there. She quickly composed herself, pushing her hair behind
her ears, clearing her throat and looking into Dudley's eyes for a second before leaving
them.
"It's...well, it's from Sirius," she replied, her eyes scanning the page again, as if she
couldn't believe it. Dudley wondered what would be so wierd about Harry's Godfather
writing, since they usually got a few letters a month, and sometimes gifts. Dudley knew
Sirius-he visited once a month-and he liked him. He was a carefree, smiling, trickster,
something Uncle James said he'd been all his life. Dudley had never met his own
Godfather, a man who'd died when he was very young, some man named Remus Lupin.
Aunt Lily and Uncle James didn't like to talk about him much, and Dudley and Harry didn't
know why.
"I-I think I need to get James," Aunt Lily said, more to herself than to Dudley. He
stared as she walked back inside, totally dumbfounded by something. The owl hooted
from her arm and flew out to Dudley. He watched, breathless, as she landed on his
shoulder. No animal had ever come to him before.
"Why is that owl here?" A voice asked. Dudley snapped to attention. The bird had
captivated him and he'd forgotten he was standing in the middle of the Potter's yard,
staring stupidly at the beautiful creature.
The voice belonged to Harry as Dudley quickly found out by turning around to
find his cousin standing behind him, arms crossed, eyes red under his thick glasses. The
affect of the glass magnified them, making them look watery and big. Dudley didn't say
anything to reply to Harry's question.
Rolling his eyes, Harry came up to Dudley and reached out a hand to the bird. She
stared at him, allowing the hand to travel over her fine feathers. She cooed gently and
nipped at Dudley's ear, rather affectionately he thought. Harry smiled and nodded. "She
likes you."
"You think she's a girl too?" Dudley asked, relieved his cousin had gotten over his
previous tantrum.
Harry nodded again. "She has motherly eyes and such a gentle...I don't know. A
gentle aura? I'm not good at describing those type of things. You can just tell." Dudley
understood what he meant and smiled at the bird. She was truly beautiful.
"There you are, Harry!" Both boys jumped slightly, surprised by the female voice, no
longer angry. Aunt Lily was fairly running over to them, though she still managed to look
like she was simply gliding over. "Your father will be coming soon. We need to talk to
both of you. It's very important. Come inside." Aunt Lily walked back to the house,
leaving the boys to stare at eachother. Harry shrugged and Dudley repeated the gesture.
They both went inside.
By: SleepyAngel
2. Two Owls
"Hey, no fair!" A slightly chubby boy of eleven called after his cousin, legs
pumping to catch up. Dudley hated it that Harry was quicker and better at games then
himself, especially when the younger boy cheated a little to improve his chances. Like
using his father's wand to throw a ball into Harry's arms as he ran, making it impossible for
Dudley to play.
Harry was laughing by the time Dudly had caught up, panting and collapsing on
the green lawn. Dudley lay on the soft ground and stared up at the sky, wishing he knew
some magic too. Green eyes twinkled above his prone figure, telling him that Harry was
leaning over him.
"Having fun, Duds?" The question was a mockery, but Dudley didn't respond. He
wasn't up for jumping at his cousin's bait right now.
Hooting caught both of the boys' attention, looking up for the owl. A brown, barn
delivery one swooped toward their home, going in through the open kitchen window. It
flew out, minutes later, after two voices inside could be heard accepting the message.
Dudley and Harry stared at each other, knowing that what would come next would not be
good.
Sure enough, a roar came from within the kitchen, causing the boys to jump and
for Harry to search for a hiding place. Apparently finding it, he sped away, using those
super fast running skills he had. Dudley sat, dumbly, on the grass, waiting for his two
angry relatives to come out, ready to punish some one. Aunt Lily burst out the back door
first, short, red hair swaying at her shoulders, eyes blazing. Uncle James followed,
stomping like a battling centaur and his jaw set in a tight lock. Harry looked like both of
them so much and that thought struck Dudley in a painful way. He'd never known who he
looked like.
"HARRY! Where ever you are, I demand you show yourself now! Young man,
you have really crossed the line!" bellowed Uncle James, a vein nearly visible in his neck.
Dudley stared at the grass, wishing he wasn't caught in the middle of this. If Harry didn't
have Dudley around to taunt about the fact he couldn't do magic, he wouldn't have
cheated again, causing the Improper Use of Magic Office to send another letter. The third
this month, meaning Harry was in big trouble this time.
A cowering figure slunk out from behind the huge trees in the backyard, his black
hair falling in front of his face. Aunt Lily ran up to him, dragging him by the ear over to
her husband, her eyes on fire. Dudley was glad that he never got those type of looks from
his aunt.
"Explain yourself," Aunt Lily growled, never raising her voice, making the tone
even scarier. Dudley pretended to examined a little ant crawling up his arm. Its little feet
tickled, but he didn't feel like laughing.
"I-I was just playing with Dudley. I didn't mean to-to set off any spells. Did I,
Duds?" Harry's frog eyes pleaded for his cousin to agree, and Dudley shook his head, still
not meeting anyone's eyes.
Naturally, Harry's parents weren't going to buy that. By some supernatural power
only parents had, both of the adults' glares found themselves moving to the forgotten
wand on the grass, the most important part of the puzzle, laying in plain sight. Harry and
Dudly stared at it, both wishing to be somewhere else.
"I-I-" Harry stuttered, trying to explain, Dudley guessed, but failed. Aunt Lily
threw her arms up in the air and Uncle James ran over to the wand, whispering and
pointing to himself. He was gone, Apparated. Unfortunately, there was still an adult
around to yell.
"I've had enough of this behavior! What is the matter with you, Harry? Why do
you have to cause so much trouble? We expect more out of you, young man. You better
start thinking before you do things. Your father has been looking all this morning for his
wand so he can get to work, only to find that his own son has taken it to taunt his cousin!"
Dudley pretended to be deaf and dumb, like he had no idea which cousin they meant. He
hated it when he was dragged into the fights.
"Maybe I wouldn't taunt him if he wasn't so different!" Harry shot back, his own
anger awaking. Dudley looked up, unused to his cousin having the courage to fight back.
It was the wrong thing to say. "What do you mean, different?" The last word was
stressed to the point of a snarl. Aunt Lily never liked to mention the fact that Dudley was
a Muggle. Somehow, it made her sad or angry, depending on her moods. Right now, she
was boiling.
Harry didn't seem to notice that if he answered truthfully, he'd be in worse trouble
than before. "Why should he get to be in our family? Why do we have to take care of him?
He always gets his way, just because he doesn't have parents! It's always my fault
whenever there's trouble and he just sits like he's so innocent. When I try to have fun,
some how it just gets me in trouble. I hate him!" Harry ran away, slamming the back door
behind him. Dudley could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs, and loud crying from
upstairs. He couldn't look at Aunt Lily, sure that she asked herself those same questions of
herself. He didn't deserve to home with them, worth as much as a Squib. Her eyes were no
doubt blazing now, angry for the responsibility of another child.
"Dudley?" Aunt Lily's voice wasn't cutting and sharp when she said his name, but
barely above a whisper. Slowly, cautiously, Dudley raised his eyes to see his aunt's blotchy
face and teary eyes. Surprised, he stood up, brushing the grass off his bottom.
"I'm-I'm so sorry, Dudley. Harry-he just....he doesn't mean it. Eleven years ago, I
thought that keeping you with us would be best. I don't know why Harry is so upset about
it. He doesn't understand how hard it must be for you." She didn't say it, but Dudley knew
what she meant; living in a completely wizarding world, and not having a touch of magic
or even anyone he could call parents. Parents like him at least.
"Something just came over me when I saw-saw Petunia. I had to take care of you.
But-" With a shaking hand, Aunt Lily wiped her eyes. Dudley studied the skies, seeing a
owl in the distance coming closer. He wondered what message it brought. "-Hogwarts no
doubt sending a letter any day now, I don't know what we should do. I can't see sending
you to some awful boarding school-" The owl's deep, rich chestnut feathers ruffled in the
wave it created, gently drifting on wind currents. Dudley wished himself such freedom, the
ability to just soar, far, far away.
"-how much you hated going to school with Harry for these years. Whenever you
couldn't do a thing with a wand, the teacher having to explain what a Squib was-" Dudley
knew it was rude to not listen, but he couldn't take his eyes of the yellow eyes of the owl.
He could see the pupil and iris of the bird as it neared. He knew it was coming to the
Potter's.
Finally, Aunt Lily stopped her attempts to explain Harry's behavior, noticed the
bird and held her arm out as a perch. The beautiful animal landed gracefully, hooting
softly, like a true lady. Dudley couldn't stop staring at her. He could just tell she was
female by her motherly eyes and perfectly groomed feathers. Involuntarily, Dudley reached
his hand out to stroke the owl. She tilted his head to meet his hand and hooted again when
he traced fingers down her neck. Aunt Lily was murmuring to herself at the letter she'd
snatched from the owl's mouth. Her brow was furrowed.
"Who is it from?" Dudley asked, leaning to try and get a glance. Aunt Lily jumped,
as if she'd forgotten he was there. She quickly composed herself, pushing her hair behind
her ears, clearing her throat and looking into Dudley's eyes for a second before leaving
them.
"It's...well, it's from Sirius," she replied, her eyes scanning the page again, as if she
couldn't believe it. Dudley wondered what would be so wierd about Harry's Godfather
writing, since they usually got a few letters a month, and sometimes gifts. Dudley knew
Sirius-he visited once a month-and he liked him. He was a carefree, smiling, trickster,
something Uncle James said he'd been all his life. Dudley had never met his own
Godfather, a man who'd died when he was very young, some man named Remus Lupin.
Aunt Lily and Uncle James didn't like to talk about him much, and Dudley and Harry didn't
know why.
"I-I think I need to get James," Aunt Lily said, more to herself than to Dudley. He
stared as she walked back inside, totally dumbfounded by something. The owl hooted
from her arm and flew out to Dudley. He watched, breathless, as she landed on his
shoulder. No animal had ever come to him before.
"Why is that owl here?" A voice asked. Dudley snapped to attention. The bird had
captivated him and he'd forgotten he was standing in the middle of the Potter's yard,
staring stupidly at the beautiful creature.
The voice belonged to Harry as Dudley quickly found out by turning around to
find his cousin standing behind him, arms crossed, eyes red under his thick glasses. The
affect of the glass magnified them, making them look watery and big. Dudley didn't say
anything to reply to Harry's question.
Rolling his eyes, Harry came up to Dudley and reached out a hand to the bird. She
stared at him, allowing the hand to travel over her fine feathers. She cooed gently and
nipped at Dudley's ear, rather affectionately he thought. Harry smiled and nodded. "She
likes you."
"You think she's a girl too?" Dudley asked, relieved his cousin had gotten over his
previous tantrum.
Harry nodded again. "She has motherly eyes and such a gentle...I don't know. A
gentle aura? I'm not good at describing those type of things. You can just tell." Dudley
understood what he meant and smiled at the bird. She was truly beautiful.
"There you are, Harry!" Both boys jumped slightly, surprised by the female voice, no
longer angry. Aunt Lily was fairly running over to them, though she still managed to look
like she was simply gliding over. "Your father will be coming soon. We need to talk to
both of you. It's very important. Come inside." Aunt Lily walked back to the house,
leaving the boys to stare at eachother. Harry shrugged and Dudley repeated the gesture.
They both went inside.