I will never forgive them for cutting out this scene.
Tumblr app doesnāt show this gif set but I already know what it is. No need to hesitate to reblog.
And he did this just before a road trip, stuck in the car with his parents asking what he was thinking.
The look of utter defiance Dudley gives Vernon as he steps over the fence thoughĀ
And how he does it really slowly as well as if to say āWhat you gonna do about it huh?ā
The phone rings. It was an absurd wedding gift from his father in-law, and one which much to Harryās surprise, had actually worked when heād plugged it into the landline. Arthur had taken to phoning him on it, just for the pure novelty of the thingāthough how theyād managed to get a BT engineer out to the Burrow without causing an incident, Harry doesnāt know. Heās not sure he wants to.
āHello?ā
āUhm,, is thisā¦is this the Potter residence?ā
Thereās a beat of silence as Harry adjusts the receiver against his ear, not quite sure heās heard who he thinks he has.Ā āā¦Dudley?ā
āYeaā¦uhm, Harry?ā
āDudley.ā Harry repeats numbly, turning to look at Ginny who is looking at him expectantly, eyebrows raised.Ā āUhā¦Christ, Dudley, hi how didā¦how did you find this number?ā
Thereās another beat of silence and the crackle of static that might have been a sigh or simply just the line breaking up.Ā āHi, sorry I know you probablyā¦sorry this was stupid. I uh, I put your name in the computer and this was the only thing that came up.ā
āOh.ā Harry breathes, still trying to recover his equilibrium. Ten minutes ago heād been using his wand to clear away dinner, heād been getting ready to sit down and read through some reports before putting the kids to bed, and now somehow, heās talking to his muggle cousin who he hasnāt seen sinceā¦Ā āHow, how are you?ā
āGood, yeaā Dudley replies, seeming to rally,Ā āYou?ā
āYea, uh, doing wellā¦ā
The conversation lasts maybe a half hour, faltering and awkward. But theyāre going for a coffee at the end of the week and Harry supposesā¦thatāsā¦thatās a thing that is happening.
*
āHarryā¦ā
Harry turns and looks up, and looks up some more at the looming figure blocking out the light.Ā
āDudley,ā he says, standing up and hoping the pang of somethingĀ awful doesnāt show on his face. For a moment he thought heād been looking at Vernon.Ā āItās good to see you.ā
Dudley gives him a look that says he clearly knows Harry is lying, but is thankful for being humored.Ā āYou too, youāre looking goodā¦ā
They pass the Ā first few minutes with awkward pleasantries and even more awkward silences. But itāsā¦niceĀ would be too strong a word, but itās not bad either. He even manages to get a smile out of him when he calls him Big D, the other man shaking his head with a self depreciating eye roll.
āDad died,ā Dudley says after a while, and Harry feels an icy hot flash go down his spine, curdling in his gut.
āOh,ā he says, not quite sure how heās supposed to feel about that, āIām sorry to hear that.ā
Dudley snorts into his coffee.Ā āSomehow I doubt it.ā and itās not accusing, but Harry still canāt help but feel like he should defend himself. The words they locked me in a cupboardĀ are on the cusp of his tongue but Dudley gets there before him.Ā āThereās a lot of thingsā¦looking backā¦lot of thingsā¦ā and itās not an apology, not really. āTook me a long time to realize certain things werenāt rightā¦too long.āĀ
Harry nods at that, because yes, it had also taken him a long time too to understand the full of extent of what had gone on in 4 Privet Drive. He still doesnāt like tight spaces.
āYou realize things though, when you have kids,ā Dudley carries on, shaking his head,Ā āLike theyāre just kids, how can you do that to a kid? They need you for everything.ā
And Harry can relate to that too. Lily is three and Ginny is pregnant again and James already has an alarming alacrity for finding trouble and with or without magic Harry doesnāt have enough hands to deal with it all. But he loves it, and he loves them, and the thought of anyone ever treating his children the way he remembers his first eleven years of life is enough to make the electric lights over their head flicker.Ā
āYouāve got kids?ā
āTwo,ā Harry says,Ā āthird one on the way. You?ā
āNice. Just the one, so far.ā He hands over his phone, the image of a bright young girl with dark skin and tight ringlet curls staring back at him from the grasp of Dudleyās arms.Ā āEffie.ā He smiles ruefully at Harryās obvious surprise.Ā āDad wasnāt too happy about that either.ā
āSheās gorgeous.ā Harry says, handing the phone back and pulling out his own wallet to reveal the moving pictures inside.Ā
Dudley flinches a bit at that, but he guffaws broadly when he spies James. āCor, he donāt half look like you. No glasses though.ā
āNo,ā Harry says, pushing his own glasses back up his nose. āHeās got his motherās eyes, thankfully.ā
āActually, Harry, there was something I was hoping we couldā¦talk about.ā
And ah, there it is.Ā āWhat about?ā
āItāsā¦itās about Effieā¦ā
And when heās done talking Harry just wants to lean back and laugh and laugh and laugh,Ā because of course Vernon Dursleyās granddaughter is a witch, of course she is. But he doesnāt, because Dudley is doing the one thing he can think of to try and help his child, and Harry canāt fault him for that.
*
They keep in touch after that. Christmas cards, postcardsāgifts for the kids on birthdays. The year Effie turns elevenāthe same as JamesāHarry drops a casually long thought out text into the familial void.
āDiagon A this weekend, if youāre up for it?ā
The text comes back quickly, a little too quickly for the way Dudders pecks at his phone whenever Harry has seen him typing.Ā āSnds gd, 1st pint on u ;-) - Big D šŗšŗšŗššā
Itāll be painfully awkward, it always is. But itās something.















