The trip to Scotland easily marked the high point in Dudley's life. He'd spent almost the entire drive north with Mr. Lovegood apologizing for his father. The old man waved off these apologies, but the conversation provided Dudley with an opportunity to vent. Mr. Lovegood seemed to know just what questions to ask to make Dudley… no Darren… feel comfortable enough to share. Deep down, Darren loved his parents, well, certainly his mum and yes even his father, but that didn't make his relationship with them any less complex. Strangely, Darren had never really let himself notice any of these issues consciously, but once he started explaining his home life to Mr. Lovegood, things just fell into place. A lot of things that had bothered him for years started to make some sense.
For his part, it took Mr. Lovegood some time to calm himself down. He strove not to show his anger and frustration to this strange Muggle whom his daughter assured him would be playing an increasingly large role in his life. His initial anger had been focused on the foul way in which this Vernon Dursley had referenced his beloved Luna, but as Darren shared more about his life, that anger shifted from the specific incident to the more general situation the poor lad, and by proxy Harry, had found themselves in in this household. As he contemplated it, he considered something that hadn't previously occurred to him; maybe having a living, breathing Horcrux in your home made it hard to be a normal, loving family. Mr. Lovegood wasn't quite ready to absolve the Dursleys of their sins, but he wondered how his life might have gone if he'd spent it in such close proximity to a shard of He-who-Must-Not-be-Named's soul.
Somewhere just south of Hadrian's Wall, their conversation shifted away from the past and towards the future. Darren realized he'd probably spent more time talking on this car trip than he had over the last year and was happy to sit back and listen as Mr. Lovegood regaled him with tales of the strange and mystical beasts which roamed the highlands.
When they arrived in the remote hills where Mr. Lovegood assured Darren the Curl-toed Fruit Swackers congregated, they found Luna had already set up the campsite. The sight of the waifish blonde girl brought a warmth to Darren's heart and he barely restrained himself from running forward to embrace her. He needn't have worried, though, as Luna rose swiftly and dashed up, taking him by both hands and pulling him forward. "I've missed you, Darren," she said quietly, in that soft tone which he'd only ever heard directed at him. To her father, she called "I'll show Darren around the tent, Daddy, while you get the fruit boxes ready."
Darren examined the campsite and blushed, dismayed to realize his palms had started to sweat in Luna's hands. If she was grossed out by that, she didn't show it, though she did note his concern.
"What's wrong, dear?" she said, with the easy informality of an old married couple, rather than someone on their second date.
"Well, ummm," Darren sputtered, "there's only one tent, and there's three of us…."
Luna's laugh washed over him like the water from a cool mountain stream. "It's more than big enough, silly." She tugged him forward and threw open the tent flap to reveal a grand, carpeted room, like some sheikh's nomad palace. Darren stumbled inside, trying to wrap his brain around what he was seeing. "It's bigger on the inside," he muttered.
Luna laughed again and dragged him deeper in. "That's Daddy's room," she pointed, "and mine is over there. You'll be in the one on the other side, in here." She pulled him through a door and helped him unload his duffel onto the bed. It was bigger than his bedroom at home and much more tastefully furnished.
"I'll give you some time to freshen up from your trip. The bathroom is on the left of where we came in. I'll help Daddy with the boxes. See you soon!" Before leaving, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, just a peck but their first kiss of that sort and both young adults blushed deeply. Before Darren could really process that development, Luna fled the room giggling.
Thus began, as previously stated, one of the best weeks of Darren Dursley's life. Days spent meticulously placing various pieces of tropical fruit in strategically located boxes; long periods of calm and comfortable silence as they waited and watched punctuated by moments of sheer adrenalin as a Swacker appeared and photos were hastily taken. In the evenings, Dudley contentedly sat by the fireplace outside the tent ('more authentic camping', Luna insisted), holding his girlfriend's hand and listening happily as she and her father discussed the Swackers, planned future expeditions, or otherwise chatted about all things magical. Darren began to acclimate to life in the Wizarding World, learning which things the Lovegoods used magic to do and which they did the normal way. No, he corrected himself, not the normal way. The other way. He recognized his parents' programming in the thought that their way of life was "normal" and other ways were not.
As Luna had predicted, she and Darren did manage to sneak off from time to time when her father was kind enough to make himself busy. Neither had any great deal of experience with snogging but learning together was a great deal of fun and left both Darren and Luna breathless and laughing.
All too soon, though, the week came to an end. Mr. Lovegood had to prepare his next issue with all the wonderful photos they'd taken and Luna needed to get back to her job at the Magical Animal Preserve. Darren didn't really have anywhere to go. He'd finished school, but not gotten a job. His father made noise about him joining his firm, but Mom had insisted that her little Duddipoo be given a break. She was in no rush for him to start his adult life.
Packing his duffel into the back of Mr. Lovegood's vehicle (procured from Harry's girlfriend's dad, apparently, and magicked up), Luna took advantage of another convenient absence on her father's part to pull Darren into a long and serious kiss. "Now, when you get home, things will not be pleasant. It will still be some time before the effects wear off and your parents get as close to normal as they ever do," Luna said. "They spoil the kids, but I suppose it's to be expected," she sighed resignedly. Darren wasn't sure what kids she was referring to. Sure, they'd spoiled him, but only him, certainly not Harry. "I think you should go back to see Harry soon," she continued. "Hermoine's probably figured it out by now and it'll be good for you to spend time with your cousin anyway."
"Hermione is Harmony, right?" he asked, with vague recollections of an intense brunette with tangled hair barking questions at him and Luna.
"Hermione, not Harmony," she explained. "It's cute when baby Rose says it that way, but not you." She kissed the tip of his nose to apologize for not finding him cute.
"Why would she be at Harry's?"
"Well, she and Ron live nearby, of course. They're really inseparable, the four of them," Luna pointed out with a warm smile. "Godric's Hollow is a wonderful place to live, though of course far too tame for our tastes. Hardly any magical creatures at all!"
Darren nodded. He'd learned very quickly this week not to worry at all about things his girlfriend said or did that he didn't understand. He just trusted her and knew that eventually it would all make sense. Just as she accepted him as he was, he accepted her completely. He didn't know where they'd live, but it was nice to know that they'd live together. Pulling her close, he gave her another deep kiss. He felt her warm, thin body press against his and felt himself responding to that. Luna emitted a small moan and rubbed against him in a particularly enjoyable way before reluctantly pulling away just before her father reappeared by the car. "Soon," she whispered, her breath hot in his ear. "The first couple times will be a bit awkward, but it's going to be fabulous," she promised, squeezing his hand and leaving him breathless.
"See you soon!" she called, stepping away as if nothing had happened and kissing her father on the cheek. "Ride safe," she commanded as they loaded up and drove off.
A week later, Darren once again sat his cousin's kitchen table. It had been a tense few days at home. Sometime while he was gone, his father had had the door replaced. Darren's mother made cautious overtures to him, especially while Vernon was at work, but whenever Darren begin discussing specifically magical things, she turned pale and changed the subject. Vernon ignored his son for the most part, saying perhaps ten words to him over the entire time. It wasn't pleasant, but it was better than yelling and punching. Darren decided to simply trust Luna's words that time would make things better.
He spent some time with old friends, but that felt empty. Now that he knew from his nightmares what they thought of him, it was hard to spend time with them. Really, they had nothing to talk about. After a couple evenings idly discussing football or tossing darts, he stopped bothering.
It was only when the next nightmare came that Darren realized he hadn't had any since meeting Luna. The nights he'd spent in the tent, he'd gotten the best sleep he'd ever had. Thus, he was totally unprepared for their return.
As always, he stood in the dark mists of the playground as the all-too-familiar wraiths swirled around him. Again, he began to see horrific, distorted versions of himself, from the viewpoint of old friends, teachers, classmates, and his parents. This time, though, different visions arose. He briefly saw a taller, leaner version of himself, standing tall and proud. The vision lifted his spirits ever so briefly before the Dementors swooped down, flying in a frenzy around him as if to burn away that brief moment of hope. He struggled to hold on to that one shining moment, but it eluded him, and he felt the despair clutch at his soul before suddenly that familiar burst of light shook him awake.
"So the nightmares came back a few days after you returned to Privet Drive?" Ginny asked, handing him a cup of coffee. She settled back at the table next to Harry, idly laying her hand over his. Darren had arrived almost an hour ago, appearing unsure himself as to why he was there.
Ever since the party, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been trying to figure out what was going on with Dudley. The latter spent her evenings lingering in long-ignored sections at the Ministry of Magic, reading all she could on Dementors. Ginny and Ron worked to come to grips with the fact that someone they'd loathed for so long would apparently now be part of their friend circle, thanks to Luna. Harry, though, had been more introspective about the whole thing. Ginny found him one evening looking at an old picture book she didn't even know he'd owned. Very few of the photos of his and Dudley's childhood had him in them and apparently Petunia had been more than happy to discard those which did. Harry had found them in an old shoebox in the attic as he'd been packing up the last of his few meager possessions from Privet Drive. Apparently, Petunia couldn't bear to get rid of any photos of her beloved Dudley.
"Yeah," Harry's cousin replied, "a few nights after I got back."
"How was Scotland, Dudley?" Ginny felt horrible almost immediately as she saw the look of revulsion that swept over the young man across the table. "Darren," she corrected, "sorry!"
He waved it off and sipped his coffee. "It was the best week of my life," he said simply. "Luna is the best thing that's ever happened to me." The pure love and adoration in his voice made Ginny's heart melt and she knew that if Darren could care for her good friend like that, he must be ok.
Harry looked up, as if only now realizing a conversation was taking place around him. "Hermione will be here soon. She told me at work that she thought she was on to something but needed to check one more source."
"Sounds like her," Ginny laughed.
Darren shrugged, "That'd be good, I guess, to know what's going on." He thought for a moment more and asked, "Hey, are they hiring at your office? Are there any jobs that maybe you need a Muddle for?"
"Muggle, and why do you ask?" Harry asked, befuddled.
"Well, if I'm going to provide for Luna and all, I need a job, don't I?"
Harry and Ginny had grown accustomed to Luna's blatant disregard for the sanctity of the timeline or narrative cohesion, but hearing Darren so brazenly imply that he and Luna would be married threw them off.
"Aren't you making some pretty big assumptions there, after a couple of weeks?" Harry asked, trying to maintain an even tone.
"Just because it takes some people six years to realize that they're in love with someone doesn't mean it takes everyone that long," Ginny huffed. Harry wisely chose to ignore this comment.
For his part, Darren looked confused. "But that's what going to happen. Luna hasn't come out and said so, but even I figured that much out."
Harry spent some time bringing up things like Free Will, Determinism, and other topics which he'd heard far too much about from Hermione lately, but soon admitted defeat. Darren might be nicer, but he certainly hadn't gotten any smarter or more interested in discussing philosophy.
A knock on the door gave everyone a chance to get out of that conversation. Hermione entered, long since granted 'enter on your own' privileges, dragging a surly Ron behind her. Of them all, he'd had the most interaction with Dudley (beyond Harry, of course) and was the slowest to accept him as part of their new normal.
"You're here," Hermione stated simply, noting Darren at the table. "Well, that will save some time. I think I've figured out what's happened." Before she could continue, though, there was another knock at the door. Ginny headed to the front of the cottage and returned moments later with a radiant-looking Luna.
Darren made to stand up, but Luna pressed him back into chair with a dainty push, kissing the top of his head. "Don't mind me," she said, "but I couldn't miss this part." She gestured for Hermione to continue.
Ron saw the gears starting to spin in his wife's brain and calmly took her hand, rubbing the back of it gently with his thumb. "It's just Luna," he said soothingly, "don't mind her and go back to what you were saying." Hermione took a deep breath and carried on.
"It all has to do with emotion magic," she began. "It's not something they teach at Hogwarts, because it is very dangerous for hormonal teenagers to experiment with."
Ginny and Ron nodded, having heard of such magic. Harry looked a bit confused, but waited, knowing he could get Ginny to explain it later if he still didn't understand when Hermione was finished.
"The core of the Patronus charm is Love," she went on. "When you form your Patronus and summon it, you're really drawing on all the reserves you have of loving others and being loved yourself. That's why the form is always something reflecting either you or something you love."
"But what does that have to do with Dudley's nightmares?" Ron asked. "What?" he asked, noting the sharp glare he got from his sister and the sudden squeeze of his hand.
"It's Darren," Luna said firmly. Luna did not really "glare" but the look she gave Ron was about as close as she could come.
"Oh yeah, Darren," he stammered. "Sorry."
"Anyway," his wife picked up, "as I was saying, the Dementors feed on emotions, but not things like Love. They feed on anger and sorrow and despair. This is why they make such good prison guards. The prisoners are full of negative emotions. The Dementors feast on them and the act of feeding keeps the prisoners docile and drained."
Harry's eyes glinted harshly. "Made. Feasted. Kept." One of the first things he'd insisted on after the fall of Voldemort had been the removal of all Dementors from Azkaban.
Hermione blushed, knowing what a sore point that was with Harry. "Of course," she apologized.
"But what does it all have to do with Darren?" Ginny inquired, changing the subject. She set a cup of tea down in front of Hermione. Ron made some noise about his drink, but Ginny just gestured to the fridge. "Get your own beer," she said, eliciting some muttering about ungrateful, spoiled little sisters from her favorite brother.
Before continuing, Hermione took some time to consider how to phrase the next part. She didn't want to insult or hurt Darren, but she also would not shy away from harsh truths. Luna gave her an encouraging nod and shifted closer to Darren, laying a protective arm across his shoulders.
"Darren didn't have any reserves of love to draw on," she began slowly. "I think that's pretty clear from what you told us about your nightmares and…. Well, what we know about your life."
To her relief, Darren didn't seem put out by this. He'd only really just learned what he'd been missing his whole life. A more introspective person might have felt the loss, but Darren preferred to live in the moment and at the moment, he felt nothing but love coming from that warm hand on his neck. He even began to feel a kind of love from the other people in the room. It was nice.
"I must have been an all-you-can-eat buffet for them," he said. "No wonder they went after me!"
Harry stood and paced the room a bit, processing the new information. "That explains the night of the attack, Hermoine, but not the nightmares, and especially not why I didn't appear in them. No offense, cousin, but I certainly didn't love you back then."
"None taken, Harry," Darren replied. "I'm not sure Dudley was worthy of it anyway." The chipper tone he'd started with faded at those last words. Before that sadness could gain traction, though, he felt soft lips kissing his cheek.
"You were worthy of it, darling," Luna said quietly, but loud enough for all to hear. "You were and are."
Darren thought on this for a bit. "It's a nice thing to say," he said, hating to disagree with Luna, but knowing he was right, "but, truth is, I was a real prat. Maybe I might not have been if Mum and Dad had been better, but I did my own bad stuff, too." He gave Luna's hand a quick squeeze and stood up, moving to face Harry. He extended a hand. "I'm really sorry, Harry, for all the crap I gave you. I know that doesn't do anything to make up for it, but I hope you'll give me a chance to do better in the future."
Harry looked at the outstretched hand and then back up at his cousin. The rest fell silent as they waited to see what he might say. It was one thing for them to forgive Darren, but Harry was the one who had suffered the most at his hands.
"I'm sorry, too, Darren," he said finally. "It can't have been easy growing up in a household with a Horcrux. I know you don't know what that is, but let's just say it was something really evil and nasty that someone very bad put inside of me when I was a baby. Ron and I just about killed each other after only a few days of holding one. You lived with one your whole life."
"Doesn't sound like that's your fault, if someone did it to you."
"Maybe not, but I'm sorry anyway." Harry took Darren's hand and shook it. Darren looked over at Luna and got an encouraging nod. He pulled Harry into a "bro hug", tapping him on the back a few times.
"Thanks," he said finally, before realizing something. "Hey, wait, where's this twat who put a bad thing into you. Let's go kick his arse!"
Harry stepped back with a laugh. "Been there, done that," he replied.
A bit disgruntled that he'd missed the opportunity to pound on the sod who'd screwed with his family, Darren settled back next to Luna. "You're wonderful," she whispered so only he could hear. The feel of her breath on his neck gave him goosebumps and made him blush.
Ginny sat Harry down again and stood behind him, arms wrapped loosely around his chest, laying her head on his. She and Hermione sniffled back some tears and even Ron looked moved by the scene.
"To continue," Hermione eventually went on, "recurring nightmares after a Dementor attack are not uncommon, but such things have happened rarely since the Dementors were gathered and assigned to Azkaban. I had to dig back through old records predating that to find out. I even saw some studies indicating that Muggles were particularly susceptible, but those really could use some additional peer reviews to properly validate their findings…."
"Focus," Ron said gently, smiling at his wife. Of all the things he loved about her, her incessant drive to learn was high on the list.
"Yes," she continued, blushing slightly, "anyway, that would explain the nightmares. The only part I can't figure out is why Harry was excluded from them. I suppose it's possible using some form of Legilimens magic, but Harry, you weren't capable of such subtle casting back then."
"Even if I was, I wouldn't have done it," Harry admitted. "I had my own problems during that attack."
"Oh, that's an easy one," Luna interjected. "I did it."
Everyone turned to stare at her. Ron all but lifted his wife's jaw back into place. For a moment, no one could respond as they processed this impossible information. Darren, not quite getting what had everyone so worked up, turned to his girlfriend and smiled. "Hey, thanks, babe! That was really sweet of you!" Luna blushed and tilted her head shyly in a way that Darren knew meant she wanted him to kiss her. So he did.
As always, Ginny recovered first to the latest Luna bombshell. "Luna, that happened a long time. You barely knew Harry back then. You certainly didn't know Dud… Darren, and you hadn't had any training in such intricate magic."
Luna pondered for a moment. "No, I suppose technically not, but like I've told you, it was much harder for me to keep things straight when I was younger. It's been getting easier as I've grown. I guess when you see more of the pieces, it's easier to understand how the puzzle all fits together."
Hermione began to percolate, but Ron leapt out in front in a vain attempt to shield Luna from the inevitable grilling. "So, you didn't know why or who, but you knew where and what?"
"Exactly, Ronald!" Luna beamed. "You've gotten so wise!"
"But, but, that's not…" Hermoine began. Harry turned to her, "Is that even possible…"
As the cacophony grew and the trio plus one began to argue about deep philosophical and cosmological issues of space-time and causality, Darren slipped to his feet and tugged Luna out of the kitchen. Quietly, they slipped out the front door and, hand in hand, proceeded down the long lane outside, just as they had during that birthday party which seemed like it had taken place twelve and a half years ago.
After a good long while, Luna paused to look up at the stars. "Do you know one of the things I love most about you, Darren?"
He just waited, lingering over the joy of hearing her say that she loved him.
"You never get wrapped up in stupid, inconsequential things. You know what's important."
And he did know. Darren Dursley pulled his right-now girlfriend, someday-to-be wife, someday-later-to-be mother of his children, into his arms and kissed her soundly. He was a man of action, after all.
[A/N: It has been a decade since I last updated this story, 12 and a half years since I wrote the first part of it. If you're reading this after having read it at some point during that long period, I hope it was worth the wait. I always hoped and sometimes suspected I'd finish it at some point. If the characters in this chapter seem off from previous chapters, I hope you'll forgive me.
If you're coming to this new, please know that this was written before Deadly Hallows, so I guess it's now an AU where none of the Weasley brothers died and the ending went down a little differently. I don't think it matters all that much to the story, truthfully, but I'm not going to bother trying to update to make it canon-compliant. 😊 ]