A/N: This isn't really a particularly long chapter, I'm afraid. Boekenworm said in a review they'd like to see Draco's perspective on the last chapter, so this is it. It's not hugely detailed, but I'll try and get a proper chapter up soon.
Chapter Seven
"Dudley, why do you spend so much time with Malfoy?" Draco froze. He'd just come downstairs to get a book he'd left, but hearing this question from the next room caused him to stop in his tracks. He should have seen it coming really. He should have known Harry wouldn't be happy letting his cousin be friends with his old enemy for long. This was when Harry would tell Dudley about all the awful things Draco had done, and Dudley probably wouldn't even speak to him again. He shouldn't have cared. He should have been used to it. Nobody really wanted to speak to him much nowadays. But for a little while he'd managed to convince himself it might be different with Dudley.
But to his surprise, Harry didn't immediately reveal Draco's history as a Death Eater. They started to talk about why Dudley spent so much time in the house (which Draco had also been wondering about), and then about Dudley's parents. And as Draco listened, knowing that he should really stop eavesdropping and walk away, but unable to do so, he had a strange realisation. From what they were saying, it sounded like Harry hadn't had the idyllic childhood that everyone in the Wizarding World believed he had. In fact, it sounded like Dudley had contributed quite significantly to making that childhood hell.
Once upon a time, Draco would have congratulated Dudley on that achievement. Now he was simply confused; he didn't know what to think. He listened to Dudley attempt to apologise, and wasn't really surprised when Harry turned it down and walked out. But he knew that must be hard for Dudley and, much as he didn't wish to admit to eavesdropping, he knew he had to go in there and check on him.
And then Dudley started telling him more, which Draco listened to in bewilderment. He'd experienced Dudley only as someone thoughtful and patient, so it was a shock to suddenly discover that actually Dudley was a lot like him. Almost exactly like him, in fact.
Perhaps it would be possible to tell Dudley the truth about his past after all. Not yet. Being a Death Eater was worse than just being a petty bully, and he still wasn't ready to admit it to Dudley yet, but maybe it would be possible one day.
And so, having expected their friendship to end, Draco found it had actually grown stronger. They went up to Dudley's room to chat further, and Draco found himself laughing more than he had in a long time as Dudley described what he'd been like as a child, unafraid of making fun of himself as he acted out the ridiculous tantrums he'd thrown and the ways Harry had often got the better of him, in spite of all his advantages.
He felt relaxed, he realised. That wasn't something that had happened often recently. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever felt properly relaxed. Even when he'd been a child, he'd constantly been worrying about whether his father would approve of whatever he was doing, and whether he was doing it well enough.
The two of them lost track of time as they talked, and the room grew dark. Draco knew he should head upstairs to his own room, but all that awaited him there was disturbed sleep and the constantly recurring nightmares. So he put it off, until his eyelids felt heavy and he found himself growing drowsy. Curled up on Dudley's sofa, he felt warm and comfortable and really couldn't be bothered moving.
He'd leave in a minute. Maybe in a couple of minutes. Just a couple more minutes …