DISCLAIMER: HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, and Property solely of J.K Rowling.

A/N: Hello All, I must say I am extremely sorry for the wait for an update, but must admit that I'm at a loss as to where I was once going with this story. I was ill at the time with Pneumonia when I started it, and am once again ill with it. As I mentioned before i'm a better reader then writter. So my question is this, what are YOU hoping to see/ get out of this story. My main objective was to have a post Ootp story as I tend to convince myself that the last two book never happened. I also happen to be M.P.D and can not get my 'selves' to agree on a particular direction for this story, so any suggestions?

Dudley turned back just in time to see Harry's face lose all colour and watch as his cousin suddenly collapse upon the front stoop. His head bounced against the concrete step and blood started gushing from a head wound close to his temple.

Chapter 3- Dudley?

Dudley was shocked, 'what just happened?'

Looking around Dudley couldn't pinpoint where the noise had come from. He looked at his cousin laying on the ground, many thoughts ran through his head to fast to understand, all he could grasp was that one moment he had been talking to Harry, then a crack, and the next second Harry had collapsed. What was he suppose to do?

Dudley looked at his unconcious cousin, the head wound was still seeping blood, but not at an alarming pace. He walked over to Harry and decided to get Harry back inside the house.

Dudley slowly and carefully slipped his arms under his cousin and as slowly as he could picked him up.

'He weighs next to nothing,' Dudley thought as he slowly moved up the walkway and climbed the step to the front door and manouvered Harry and himself through it.

Knowing that his mother would freak should he place his dirty and bloody cousin any where in her spotless and carpeted living room he walked toward the kitchen.

When Dudley entered the kitchen he slowly layed Harry upon the kitchen floor out of the way of the entrance. It would be the easiest place to clean before his mother came home.

Dudley felt at a loss of what to do next.

'What would mum do, if it where me?' He asked himself.

Thinking back to when he had come home from a late night fight at the park he thought of what his mother had done to fix him up.

'She cleaned me up, so I need the roll of bandages, the medic tape, the package of cotton swaps, and that antiseptic stuff.' He thought.

He ran up the stairs as fast as his bulk would allow, and into the bathroom. He rummaged through the medicine cabinet till he found what he needed and then ran back down into the kitchen. Nearly tripping in the process.

He walk to his cousin's side, and looked down. There wasn't much improvement. He was still unconcious, but breathing and the bleeding looked to have stopped.

'That something.' Dudley mutter sarcastically.

Dudley bent down over Harry. He uncapped the bottle of antiseptic and pulled out a cotton swap which he poured a small amount of antisptic onto and used it to wipe the blood from Harry's head. When the liquid touched the wounded area it fizzled and turned white.

Dudley remembered when his mum had used this stuff on his scraps and cuts, it had burned and stung like crazy.

' At least he's unconcious and can't feel it,' Dudley thought.

After cleaning the cut up, Dudley pulled out the bandages and placed them as neatly as possible over the wound. He used a fair amount of tape to make sure it stayed in place.

Dudley sat back and tried to think of the next course of action.

'Should he call his mum home?' He thought that over before deciding against it.' She wouldn't care and would probable just tell Harry to get back to his chores.

He re-capped the bottle of antiseptic and sat cross-legged beside his cousin. He put his head in his hand a just sat thinking.

'What had caused him to care about his once dispised cousin?' 'The Dementors' thought Dudley.

He remembered how Harry had been just as scared as he himself had been last years when Dementors, not like he had know what they were at the time, had shown up out of nowhere intent upon getting to Harry.

Harry, however, had not run, and left Dudley to his fate, even though Dudley knew that had the tables been turned, he would have left Harry.

Harry had not only stayed, but even after years of Dudley having tormented him, Harry had tried to protect him from the Dementors.

Dudley knew he owed Harry, and if taking care of Harry was all he could do while Harry was ill and unable to recieve help from his own 'kind', then thats what he'd do.

He would make his mum see it from his point of view, they owed Harry for saving his life, and his mum knew that.

Giving up on attempting to figure out his feeling regarding Harry, he went back to trying to think out the next course of action with limited consequences when he heard a groan from the floor.

"Harry!' Wake Up! He frantically shouted at his cousin. Hoping that if he could get his cousin to stay awake, that he may get help in sorting out the situation.

"Come on Harry! Get up!"

"w'ats the m'tter" Harry groggly replied. He squinted and then attempted to sit up.

"No! Just lie still", Harry stopped trying to sit up, but his face scrunched up in confusion and asked. "What happened?"

"You passed out", Dudley said as he moved to sit closer and more comfortable on the floor. He crossed his legs and started fridgetting with the hems of his pants. They were silent for a moment. Both lost in thought.

Harry wondered why his cousin, who had hated him most his life, seemed to care suddenly. It confused him. It was so out of character for Dudley to be helping him, Harry.

Harry gave up on trying to sort out Dudley's odd behaviour when the muscles in his back gave a spasm of protest on lying on a hard, cold floor.

"I feel like I got hit by a train", Harry grumbled.

"Well, you did hit the ground pretty hard", Dudley said. "Hows your head?"

"It kills, but thats nothing new", Harry replied.

Dudley ignored the ending to the response and asked, "Do you think your alright to get up?"

"Mum should be home soon and I don't think her seeing you lying on the floor is a good idea."

Harry agreed, and knowing through experience, he slowly and carefully sat up, and when his head stopped swimming, got to his feet.

"Maybe you should just sit down for a bit?" suggested Dudley as he moved toward the kitchen table a took a seat himself.

Harry thought it a grand idea, his body ached and his head hurt. However knowing that if his aunt found him sitting at the kitchen table instead of doing his chores he have to face her screaming and she tell his uncle and then he'd be in deep trouble.

"I have to finish my chores", He responded to Dudley, and Dudley looked at him with an odd emotion running across his face.

Harry was to disoriented to pay much attention to this however as he sway on his feet.

"There is no way your going to finish them in your state, and you'll only make matters worse for yourself." He said. "I will explain to mum what happened, and that your sick."

Harry would have argued that he doubted that his aunt would care, but his head started to swim again and so he acknowledged Dudley's point and said, "Alright, night then". As he turned to leave Dudley said,

"Here I'll help you get upstairs",

Dudley got up from the table and crossed to Harry and put one of Harry's arms over his shoulder and used the other to hold Harry standing up right. They made there way slowly up the stairs and into Harry's room.

The moment he got to his bed, he collapsed upon it and fell asleep.

Dudley watched his cousin for a moment more before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.