A/N: Leave it to Cheeky's competitions to get me hooked on odd pairings. Pairing: DudleyPansy, prompt: busy
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
He sees her in a coffee shop and he can tell she doesn't belong there. Her face is small and her dark hair frames her strong jaw just so. He is busing the table next to her; he can see that she is busy reading intently, her brow furrowed in concentration, and he stuffs his hands in his apron before he catches her attention, standing in front of her.
"Looks interestin', what you're reading." He gestures to the book dumbly— you can do better than that, Dursley.
She looks up, her face pinched into a grimace. She was busy and now he's interrupted her and he's sure he looks like a fool.
"Not very, no. History was never my subject."
"Oh? What part? I've always loved history, really, too bad I was rubbish at school."
The dark haired girl cracks a smile and that, and Dudley feels his heart speed up and he can't help but feel like he's won some sort of victory— he gets the feeling that maybe she doesn't smile much.
She clears her throat and composes herself. "It's nothing you'd understand. Aren't you supposed to be working or something?" She sniffs dismissively and Dudley can tell she usually gets what she wants. But he can't help himself. He drops into the chair at her table and the shock reads clearly on her face.
"It's just, that book— it looks like one my cousin used to bring home. 'Course, Dad would never let him have 'em, but I snuck a look once in a while."
The girl is clearly intrigued now. "Your cousin was magical?"
"Yeah, dunno where he is. Sometimes he writes mum and me, but they're short letters."
Her interest peaked, the girl leans forward, the freckles on her face illuminated by the neon sign that flickers in the window— her lips curl into a small grin and Dudley's hands grow sweaty.
"What's his name? Maybe I knew him."
"Harry Potter— guess he's a big-shot now."
She is shocked, he can see it in her grey eyes, and he briefly wonders if she was a friend of Harry's. Probably not. Harry never had many friends.
"Oh. Yes, he is." She grows stiff, and he can tell that she is ready to bolt. He gets up, watching her gather her things and stuff them into her rucksack, but he can't let her leave, not yet.
She flicks a strand of hair back before it has the chance to fall to her cheek and stands, grabbing the cup of steaming whatever-it-is before offering him a small smile that barely reaches her eyes.
"Excuse me."
Dudley was never brave before, but he is now.
"Wait! Whatever he did, I'm not him."
She stops, turning around to face him.
"I know… He saved us all, you know." She smiles again and this time, her face lights up. "You know, I like it here." And with that, the mystery girl is gone and Dudley is in love.
A/N: Leave a review, yeah?