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Word Count - 446
Waning Hope
Petunia heard the door slam and sighed, listening to Dudley's footsteps thundering up the stairs. His bedroom door slammed a moment later and she shook her head. Later, she would go and check on him and hear all about how he was fired from yet another job.
She'd made so many excuses for her son over the years, dating all the way back to him being a toddler in playschool and her getting reports of his issues with sharing and his lack of motivation to work for anything.
Now, she was wondering if she'd done her boy a disservice with the excuses. Perhaps if he'd been taken better in hand when he was young, he wouldn't be the way he was now.
At twenty three, he should be out living his life, working, partying with his friends, perhaps have a pretty girl on his arm. He shouldn't still be living with his parents, working at a string of dead end jobs to pay for the cider he drank by the bottle in his bedroom.
She looked down at the photo album she'd been flicking through, and sighed. She searched the pictures, looking for a moment that could pinpoint where his life started going wrong, all to no avail. He was a happy child, and he got everything he wanted.
Perhaps that had been the problem.
Vernon, when Petunia forced the subject, blamed it on Harry. He vowed that growing up alongside the abnormalness of Petunia's extended family had had a bad effect on their son. Vernon refused to agree that it was their fault that Dudley was such a…
Petunia shook her head. Maybe he just needed more time. Maybe he hadn't found the right job yet, or found anything that would occupy his mind enough to keep him in the same job long enough to get a promotion so he could finally get his own place and start really living his life.
Closing the photo album, Petunia stood up and placed it back on the bookshelf before she walked into the kitchen. She'd make Dudley a sandwich and then check if he was okay. Maybe she could convince him to join her for a walk in the park.
There were often people Dudley's age in the park in the early evening, playing sports. Maybe she could even encourage Dudders to join in. Make some new friends.
Shaking her head, she opened the fridge door.
She knew that in reality, he'd take the sandwich and close the door in her face.
The hope she had for her son was waning, and she could only pray that his own hope in himself wasn't doing the same thing.
Written for;
Showtime - 34. Being Fired
Hamilton - A2, 9. Photo Album / Extra - 4. Dudley Dursley