Don't own HP
Harry and Dudley still saw each other after the war, but more out of a sense of duty to their children to see their cousins than any familial bond that could ever arise between them.
They always met at Christmas and it was always at Dudley's home in the same neighborhood: Little Whinging of Surrey, outside of London, England, on Privet Drive. It was four doors down from Number Four that Harry Potter would bring his three children and his wife every year to celebrate the Yuletide with his only cousin and his family.
Number Twelve Privet Drive was an exact replica of the old Number Four Privet Drive that Dudley and Harry both called their childhood home. The stairs were to the right of the door, the parlor to the left, behind a door. The short hall that led to the small kitchen and even smaller dining room that looked over the quaint garden was all very much the same as Petunia and Vernon Dursley's home. The only welcome change was the color of the walls and the more modern furniture that Dudley's wife had smartly bought on sale from a local retailer.
That and the cupboard under the stairs was not housing any downtrodden orphan children; just a few bottles of cleaner and a broom.
On this day, the day before Christmas Eve, Dudley was smoothing out his crispest button-down and straightening his best tie while he waited for the dreaded knock that would signal his cousin's arrival. This day would forever be awkward for him.
Mary, Dudley's wife, was in the kitchen, finishing up the last of the snacks for the children. There were ginger cookies shaped like little men and frosted sugar cookies as well, shaped like snowflakes – these were her daughter's, Annabel's, favourite.
The same knock, three quick raps, and then the sound of the doorbell rang through the house and Mary hurried to place the tray of cookies on the table before shouting up the stairs for Dudley. Annabel and Tyrone were already by the door, excited to see their cousins after an entire year.
Dudley came trundling down the stairs, two at a time, and nearly missed the landing, but caught himself at the last second. He took a large breath and Mary opened the door.
Ginny was front and center today, little Lily on her hip as she tried to brush down her curls into something more presentable. Apparating always flew her hair up in a tizzy.
"Ginerva," Mary said. She smiled warmly and ushered the Potter family off the stoop and into the warmth. There was a flurry outside and the kids would probably be rearing for some fun.
"It's so good to see you again, Mary," Ginny said, setting Lily down on her feet. The little girl immediately rushed to Annabel's side and started talking a mile a minute about her cousin's new dress.
"You look as lovely as always, dear. I have tea on the cooker, if you don't mind helping." Ginny looped an arm through Mary's and the two women left down the short hall and past the swinging door that separated the kitchen.
James grinned as soon as he saw his older cousin Tyrone. The two boys shared identically mischievous smiles and ran upstairs to produce some kind of chaos. Albus, though, stayed planted behind his father's legs, always the shy one. He peeked around Harry and up at his Uncle Dudley's awkwardly smiling face.
"Won't you join your brother, Albus?" Dudley ventured. "I bet Tyrone is showing him his new video game." Albus just shook his head and hid once more behind Harry's legs, effectively becoming invisible.
Harry smiled softly down at his youngest son. "That's alright, Albus. Maybe later."
A minute of silence passed between the two older cousins. Both tried to make it seem as if there were nothing wrong, but truly they were just filling a shared, silent obligation.
"Mary has, uh, tea. In the kitchen. If you want some," Dudley said lamely after the silence started to become unbearable. He hated staying in a room alone with Harry. It made him feel as small as a mouse.
"Sure. Uhm, Albus, why don't you have Mummy fix your tea? Try not to trip me, eh?" Albus, though, wouldn't have any of it. He clung to his father's pant-leg as the three made the short trip to the kitchen-dining room combination.
Mary and Ginny were chatting away in the kitchen, setting tea cups and plates on the table for the two girls and catching up on their families' news. Annabel was getting perfect marks in all her classes, Mary was gushing. Ginny laughed and said as she put the cutlery down beside the plates, "Well it's no surprise, now is it, Ann? You hear that, Lils? Your cousin is smart as a whip."
That comment fueled the fire to Lily's own obsession with her only female Muggle cousin. She started chattering away about Muggle school and asking how different it was compared to wizarding school.
Dudley sat at his usual spot at the table and Harry sat opposite him, next to Lily. For a second, Dudley thought Harry might have sat on top of Albus, but looking over his cousin's shoulder he could see a mop of black hair ducked behind him.
"So, how's the company?" Ginny asked suddenly. She and Mary were setting the sandwiches and the kettle down at the table before taking seats for themselves. "Mary tells me you are up for a promotion?"
"Ah, yes, uhm." Dudley floundered for words as he looked at his cousin's wife. She smiled at him and nodded. "It's nothing concrete, er, solid, but that's the rumor."
"Harry just got a promotion as well. He's Head Auror. He's Ron's boss now and that drives him crazy. But, Ron's been thinking of helping George out with the shop soon so…" Ginny shrugged as she held up her teacup. "Why don't you sit down, sweetie?" She said to Albus. The little boy shook his head again, but he did inch his way around his father to stand just to the side of him. He took the cookie his mother handed him.
"So when do the children start school, Ginny?" Mary asked when it became clear neither of the husbands would be contributing, like always.
"They start at Hogwarts at eleven. James will be up to start in about two years now. But my Mum teaches all the little ones the basics beforehand. She's a saint, really."
"I can't imagine how she does it. It's hard enough for me with just Ann and Ty."
"Oh, she had practice, trust me!" Ginny laughed and started in on a tale of George and Fred from when they were little. Harry smiled as he listened to her.
Albus tugged on his father's shirt. Harry glanced his way and hummed. Albus then bent and whispered in his ear, asking for his dad to pass his tea cup.
"It's okay to ask, Al," Harry said softly, not to disrupt Ginny and her now animated account of Ron and his misery due to the twins' antics. "There's no reason to be shy." Albus just shook his head and blushed, taking the tea cup and gulping down half of it.
Upstairs, suddenly, there was a loud thumping noise and James could be heard hollering something unintelligible. Ginny stopped in her tale and shook her head. The hollering stopped just as quickly, so the parents all let the noise slide for now.
"Why don't you check on your brothers?" Mary asked. "Albus, I'm sure there's lots of fun going on up there."
"Go on, honey. You can come back in ten minutes. Us adults want to talk about boring stuff," Ginny cajoled.
Albus looked put out for a moment, anxious at stepping more than a foot from his father, but Lily grabbed his hand and started dragging him away and though he didn't like to admit it, his little sister was a lot stronger than she looked.
Once the door had stopped swinging, the adults left in the dining room returned to their half-awkward, half-comfortable conversation; meaning the two men continued their silence while their wives kept up the livelihood of their little tea. No more yelling could be heard for the time being upstairs.