avannak:

What if Dudley had actually wanted to talk to Harry before they have to say goodbye in book seven, possibly forever?

A steaming cup of tea meant comfort, at least at Hogwarts. The house elves would deliver English breakfast brewed with loose leafs if you asked. You only wouldn’t want to drink tea in Madam Trelawney’s classroom, because there was no cool spot in the room. Besides, she could never produce sweetness, only leaves that foretold disaster.

But in the Dursleys household, tea usually meant that someone was upset. Usually Aunt Petunia, because Uncle Vernon preferred the hard stuff.

Harry was packing. He had a determination that had vanished from the year before, of taking only what he’d need for his quest. If only he had Hermione. Hedwig was out, hunting.

A nervous clearing of the throat. Harry looked up. Part of him expected that it was Dumbledore standing, wanting another chat. It was Dudley instead, holding a steaming cup of tea. A smell of Earl Grey filled the room.

“Um, hello,” he said.

“Hello,” Harry said. He resumed packing the handful of books he thought he’d need for hunting down Horcruxes.

“Um, do you want this?” Dudley offered it. “I made it for you.”

He spilled some on his fingers but didn’t even flinch. That actually made Harry stop mid-packing. Dudley was a big baby about that sort of pain because it inconvenienced him.

“What?”

“Do you want tea?” Dudley asked.

“Why did you bring me tea?” Harry asked suspiciously. He had no memory of Dudley ever making tea for himself, let alone anyone else. Aunt Petunia usually handled the kettle, or made Harry brew it.

Dudley flushed. It wasn’t his usual angry blush or the face he made when preening before his mother. No, it was more…awkward. Like he was trying to ask out a girl toa  dance.

“So you wouldn’t curse me?” he asked tentatively.

“You’re in luck; I can’t curse you for a few more days,” Harry said dryly. “And even if I wanted to, I have bigger things to curse. Find a place to sit.”

He took the tea, with suspicion. Dudley sat on the locked up trunk.

“I, I don’t know how to say this,” Dudley said. “You’re going to be leaving, aren’t you? That’s why you’re packing? But Daddy’s not making you pack your things in the car.”

“I’m not coming with you,” Harry said. “But the Diggles will protect you. They won’t give you a pig’s tail or feed you cursed toffee…”

His voice trailed off. For the first time, with Dudley willingly coming to his room and not trying to dunk his head in a toilet or insult him, he thought he saw why Dudley clutched his bottom every time he saw a wand. Harry knew what it was like for people to try and knock him down for seemingly no reason.

“I’m sorry all the wizards you’ve met have been nasty,” Harry said. “The Diggles will keep you, your mum and dad safe. They’re nice.”

“Nice wizards,” Dudley said hollowly. “I understand why they haven’t been nice.”

They sat in silence. Harry sipped the tea. It was watery, but not bad when coming from the hands of someone that had never burned their finger on a kettle before. Harry had done that, and sucked on the burns afterward.

“I’m sorry too,” Dudley said. 

That made Harry nearly drop his tea. His turn to feel hot splatters of liquid. He barely noticed the growing water marks on his jeans.

“What?” he gaped.

“Well,” Dudley’s face grew pinker. “Remember when those hooded monster movie thingies came and you saved me, even though you didn’t have to? You saved my life.”

“Dementors. They’re called Dementors,” Harry said.

“Yeah. The monster movie thingies.” Dudley seemed more comfortable. “There was an old movie that featured them, only it was a person. These weren’t human, were they?”

“No. The Dementors actually would have taken your soul,” Harry responded, feeling in shock. “Big D, you’ve never apologized. What made the Dementors different?”

“They…showed me things.” Dudley looked away. “You know the feeling of suddenly feeling small, like someone’s looking at you from above? They…”

He tried to find the words. Harry sipped more tea to fill in the silence.

“I chased you around!” Dudley said. “I made you scared to go to school! Why did I do it? Why?!”

He stared at a loose buckle on the trunk. The red was now scarlet shame, as if he had painted himself to resemble a featherless rooster.

“Because you were a kid?” Harry offered. “And it’s not like your parents stopped you?”

“I should have stopped me,” Dudley said. “I knew what was I doing, making you miserable. Because you were easy to pick on. You were so tiny, and helpless.”

“Hey, I was a good runner,” Harry quipped. “Maybe I should have tried out for track.”

That made Dudley’s shame stop for a moment. A chuckle escaped him.

“What will you even be doing?”

“Hunting down the Dark Lord, Voldemort,” Harry said. “We know his weakness. If we don’t, Muggles like you will be in danger, like my friend Hermione’s parents. Voldemort doesn’t just kill you. He plays with his food, tortures people.”

He shuddered, remembering a time when his wrist was cut, and he was tortured in a graveyard.

“You’re not going to die, are you?” Dudley said. “Please tell me you’re not going to die.”

“I’m not planning to,” Harry said drily. “Besides, Voldemort’s tried to kill me at least once a year. I’m kinda used to escaping him at the last minute.”

“Once a year?!” Dudley was wide-eyed. “There’s so much I don’t know.”

“Yeah.” Harry finished his tea. “I could tell you all about it.”

And he did. There was not enough time to cover everything. But there was enough time to talk over tea.

—

Submitted by @jayalaw

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Jaya thank you! I love this for “Harry Potter” month… mainly because I love all Harry/Dudley action and the potential behind their awkward goodbye in book 7. Thank you so much for the AU on a day I could use one!

Ok so this my new Canon about Harry and Dudley last time together :O sooo nice!

• cracks his knuckles against any hard surface he finds
• pushes his glasses up by the frames and then gets angry when he leaves a mark on the lens 
• sips his tea when it’s too hot, burns his tongue, and then does it again
• drinks his tea with no sugar in it even tho he likes it better with sugar
• literally always humming a muggle song. it’s old lady music though because he was only allowed to listen to what petunia liked
• uses muggle swears only
• used to be part of the nativity christmas plays in school because dudley was always in them. was def a tree or smth tho
• has the best posture ever because petunia never let him slouch. can walk up and down stairs or run with books on his head.
• literally so good at magic tricks. can pull anything out of your ear
• packs a mean fucking punch
• like you do not want to be on the receiving end of his fist
• is so bad at reading. he is harry 19 never learned how 2 fuckin read
• like he doesn’t even have any learning disabilities he just fucking sucks at reading
• but so good at math
• math gay !!!! bi
• is so good at an american accent. does one constantly. it annoys hermione and ron so much
• his handwriting is borderline illegible
• sometimes even he can’t read his handwriting
• can master any spell within a few tries and everybody hates him for it
• is the best at DADA but also very good in transfiguration and charms and literally all of his classes because he isn’t stupid
• remember kids harry is only stupid when it comes to his actions, not his academics. also, grades don’t determine intelligence :)
• hates men so much but is also so attracted to them
• he came out as gay to everyone and a few months later had to sit them all back down and say ‘so girls are cool too’
• when he cares, he has an amazing fashion sense
• but he usually doesn’t care lmao
• looks ethereal in a skirt and crop top
• absolutely doesn’t care what people think of him. will walk around naked given the chance
• massive dick energy
• will tell you to shut up if he doesn’t want to listen to you
• can and will change the subject five different times in the span of a minute. only hermione can keep up when he gets going
• king of breaking awkward silences with the worst possible thing he could say in that moment
• maxed out at 5′5″ (165 cm) 
• has the same feral energy as a chihuahua
• no self preservation. if he sees something that even hints at the possibility of hurting him, he is absolutely going to touch that thing
• so intimidating
• his glare has murdered thousands
• people are terrified of him but respect him so much
• terrified of dogs because of marge’s dog
• got over his fear slightly when sirius showed up but also not really because sirius really scared him in third year :(
• also scared of toads. i don’t make the rules, i just play by them
• a toad jumped and hit him in the face once when he was gardening and it scarred him for life
• trevor is the only exception but you won’t catch harry holding him
• snakes tho? the love of his life. will kill a man for a snake
• also cats :’)

i might add more at some point who knows. feel free to add your own obscure harry headcanons :)

I haven’t done a Harry Potter illustration in awhile and in my desire to Draw Harry in a hand me down Doctor Who t-shirt (remember the books take place in the 90s) I realized that I have never drawn Dudley before so I decided to depict the scene of Harry & Mrs. Figg helping Dudley up after the Dementors attack

James Potter A Good Uncle

Everyone talks about how sad it is that Petunia didn’t treat Harry right because if it had been reversed Lily would’ve loved Dudley. I want to expand on this but with James instead.

James would’ve taken Dudley on a broom with him so he could experience it.

James would’ve given Dudley a real bedroom.

James would’ve limited magic usage in the house to make Dudley more comfortable.

James would’ve sent Harry and Dudley to muggle school because he knew Dudley had a low chance of having magic.

James would’ve helped Dudley with his eating so he wouldn’t be picked on at school.

James would’ve treated Dudley as if he was his own son.

James would’ve been willing to sacrifice his life not only for Harry and Lily but also Dudley.

It’s a tragedy that James and Lily died and Petunia and Vernon mistreated Harry.

Vernon can’t handle the knowledge that his oldest granddaughter is a witch. Petunia, though, pushes through and tries to continue her relationship with her family. She does her best to continue to love Myrna, but sometimes she comes out rather judgy and pointed after so many years.  

She tends to say things like, “So are all witches ….unfeminine, Myrna, dear, or is that just you?”

“Mustyou bring that owl with us to France? I don’t believe it will leave a very good impression with customs as all it seems to know how to leave is it’s droppings everywhere?”

“Myrna, it’s just that if you didn’t insist on wearing robes, our family pictures would look so much nicer. But of course it’s up to you and your fathers.”

“Your grandfather couldn’t even put up with this unnaturalness. At least I’m here. You could cut me a little bit of slack.”

Dudley and Aaron stick up for her, as does Rhea sometimes, but it doesn’t change Petunia’s behavior. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 

Based on a super fun conversation with @dragonflyinsideajar <3 (Credit to her for the owl quote - I spit out my cough drop laughing when she sent it.) 

Memorial Tattoos

Neville’s Frank and Alice tattoos on either wrist made Augusta furious at first, but she grew to like the way the names shimmered.

Teddy Lupin has a tattoo for his mother and a tattoo for his father. For his father, he asks the tattoo artist to capture the moment between casting a patronus and seeing its form, the flash of beautiful white light and the anticipation of something silvery sweet, a sort of Patronus-y feeling of joy and bravery. For his mother, he gets an ever-changing picture of a nose on his wrist that makes him smile every single day. 

Parvati has a line from The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock on her wrist in honor of Lavender, who had clung to Elliot’s Wasteland in the midst of their own war.  There will be time to wonder, do I dare? It reminds her of the daring, nerve, and chivalry that she and Lavender had learned to embody together, the six years they spend wondering and the year they spent daring under the reign of the Carrows.

The only reminder of the child Greg Goyle used to be are the tiny crab tattoos on his biceps, in honor of his best friend Crabbe.

All the women in the Bones line have a matching family crest tattoo. When Susan comes of age and is asked to join the family tradition with her mother and her aunt Amelia, the world is it war. It seems uncouth to mark her skin with a mark of purebloodedness given the state of things. When the war is over, she gets a memorial tattoo for the friends she lost in battle instead. She prays that this will not be a new family tradition of mourning the dead. 

Dudley has a bunch of petunias on the inside of one arm, an array of lilies on the other. When he hugs his daughters, they feel his love through both.