I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

Dudley Dursley travels through time and makes sure Harry has a better childhood.

-0-

Vernon Dursley looked at his wife Petunia in open astonishment. "What makes you say that?!" he asked in disbelief.

Petunia shrugged weakly. "It's just, well, this is Dudders we're talking about! Why just the other day he didn't want to share his biscuits with us but now he's sharing them with...him?"

Vernon looked into the sitting room, seeing his son Dudley sharing biscuits with the baby boy that had arrived on their doorstep. If he was telling the truth, Vernon was also a little shocked by the change in his son. His son was not one for sharing, just like Petunia said. He was, again if he was being honest, a bit selfish. Not that there was anything wrong with that, the boy had been an only child for the majority of his life.

The man coughed and shook his head. "Yes, well, just shows how good he is," Vernon said proudly. "That he has excellent moral fiber, already taking his cousin under his wing like that, calling him his little brother. That's being a proper gentleman!"

"True," Petunia said slowly. "So...we are to raise him then?"

"I don't have the hear to separate them," Vernon said. "Not after Dudley thanked us for giving him a little brother. That'd be cruel."

"Yes it would be," Petunia agreed. She smiled at her son. "You're right Vernon. Such a good little boy our son is!"

Dudley was thankful he was facing away from his parents right now. He had a very big smile on his face and he knew it would be difficult to hide. Though it could be construed that it was childish happiness, it had something a lot more behind it, much more calculating.Good,he thought.That was easier than I thought.

If one could listen to his thoughts, they would be confused to hear a much older and more mature person thinking them, a mind wholly unmatched with the body of a very little boy, barely a toddler. The truth was even stranger. Dudley had closed his eyes, a man on his deathbed, and had opened them in his baby bed. It had taken him some time to believe the circumstances. It involved some very clumsy self pinching, a laborious trip to the mirror to gape at himself, and a lot of sitting and ruminating on how this happened.

Not to mention why.

Then the why came the next day. He had woken up and was slowly coming to terms with things when he heard his mother scream. He toddled to the door and saw his mother standing there staring at the baby in the basket on the doorstep, the milk bottles still in her hand. Only then did Dudley know why he was back.

And he was going to make the most of this second chance.

Don't worry Harry,he thought, looking down at his cousin who was munching a biscuit and looking remarkably calm given the circumstances. He did not trust himself to speak out loud, not yet.I got your back this time. I'm going to be a proper brother, one you deserve.

I solemnly swear it.

-0-

"But, I don't want to go," Harry said sadly.

Dudley snorted softly. It was the opposite of how things went the first time and he knew that the other Harry would be appalled at his other self. He also hoped the other Harry would approve of how Dudley treated this Harry.

True to his word, the pair grew up as close as brothers. Dudley shared the chores with him, the treats, everything. Dudley defended Harry from everyone. He fought the bullies at school. He fought with Aunt Marge, earning the respect of Vernon and Petunia, and their confusion. In time, Harry would learn to fight too. Taught by Dudley, Harry readily joined any fight his cousin was in, fighting for and with him.

But it was finally the day. Harry received his letter to Hogwarts. Dudley knew it was coming but was surprised at how melancholy it made him feel, how suddenly lost. Harry would be gone most of the time now, facing horrors and troubles that Dudley had learned second-hand and well after they happened. Despite preparing Harry for it, it was still a difficult feeling.

Dudley had carefully and subtly changed his parents' mind towards magic. He asked for stories about Aunt Lily and with persistence and cajoling, Petunia had shared the memories and was kinder and fonder with them. With this familiarity, they helped treat Harry better than other time, and prepared him for this.

Harry had refused to go when he learned Dudley could not follow. He insisted on going to Smeltings Academy with Dudley. With his brother.

Dudley still loved hearing that.

"You gotta go," Dudley said. "No magic classes at Smeltings."

"I don't need it," Harry said. "I need you."

Dudley grinned. "You'll need it, trust me. And I'll need you to know how to do it. Come on Harry, you can do this. You're going to be awesome at it."

"You think?" Harry asked, confident and uncertain in equal measure. Whenever Dudley told him he could do something, he believed him. But this was such a huge change for him and he would be facing it without his cousin.

"I know," Dudley said sincerely.

-0-

"Hi Hedwig."

The snowy owl barked warmly at the boy. She flew at least once a week between Hogwarts and South East England, either Smeltings or Number 4 Privet Drive. She delivered packages and letters both ways and Dudley always liked seeing her.

"How is he?" Dudley asked. He smiled when Hedwig fluffed up and cheeped proudly and lovingly. "That's good," Dudley said. "Let me refill your water dish and I got you some bacon."

-0-

"Nice to meet you," Sirius Black said to Dudley. "Harry tells me you're his cousin, but more like a brother. He also said you had him ask a few questions on my behalf, which led to me being like this. I'm grateful but have to wonder how and why."

"I figured since you were best friends with his parents, something was weird about how things went down," Dudley said.

"That makes you smarter than most," Sirius snorted. "Well thanks, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

-0-

"Harry, come on, you can't be serious and no I'm not talking about your godfather."

"I am being serious!"

"Harry, you can do actual magic!"

"Which isn't helping me right now!"

Dudley resisted the urge to punch his cousin. "Okay, just take a deep breath, stand straight, and be a man and just ask her to the ball. It's not that hard!"

Harry rubbed his neck. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Dudley nodded. "You got this little bro."

"Okay, okay, I got this," Harry said, nodding. "Are you sure she'll say yes though?"

Dudley grinned, remembering the conversation he had with the other Harry a lifetime ago. "I'm sure."

-0-

Harry looked at his cousin as if seeing him for the first time. "You're not having a laugh, are you?"

"Nope," Dudley said.

"I always wondered how you knew things," Harry mused. "Told me what to do when I needed to make a huge decision. I mean, I knew time travel was a thing, but a lifetime's worth? And for a Muggle? That's incredible."

"Yeah it's weird, but it turned out okay."

Harry snorted. "Better than okay. Tom's gone for good. Things are better than how you said things shook out before. And we're brothers, and I don't hate Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon." He coughed awkwardly. "Still don't like Aunt Marge much though."

"Me neither," Dudley chuckled. "She's a piece of work."

"Yeah she is." The two young men sat in companionable silence. "Did things turn out how you wanted them?"

"Better than," Dudley said. "You got the life you deserve, less people dead, a lot less regrets..."

"Did you know it was going to turn out like this?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly, but I figured it would be something close." Dudley smiled at his brother. "Because I knew you could do it."

"Only because I had you," Harry said warmly. "We did it, together."

"Yeah we did."