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SIYE Time:5:46 on 29th March 2024
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A Beautiful Life
By TheHallowsInMe31

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other
Genres: Angst, Drama
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 5
Summary: Dudley Dursley hasn't seen his cousin in twenty years, but after a chance encounter with a woman at a park who says she can take him to Harry, Dudley jumps at the chance to lay old ghosts to rest.
Hitcount: Story Total: 1293



Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights ? J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.



Author's Notes:
This is in the same universe as my "Remember the Lights" one-shot story, only it's 19 years later obviously. This follows the same format of remembering Harry but now includes Dudley as well.




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Dudley Dursley was a man of immeasurable size. Years of boxing had done wonders to slim down his physique, yet he was still built like a mountain; a mountain with fists that could knock out a man in one punch.

Not that Dudley used his fists much anymore. He had grown up quite a bit since his days as a neighborhood bully. Dudley didn’t look back on his younger years with any semblance of wistful nostalgia. To put it simply, Dudley hated who he had been. Dudley looked back instead with regret that still ate at him to this day.

Maybe if he could’ve apologized to his cousin, if he had just been braver and not so cowardly at what his parents might think, he could’ve eased his cousin’s suffering. Growing up, ‘Harry Hunting’ had been his favorite pastime, and yet now, the feeling left a horrible taste in his mouth. Why had he been so cruel?

He knew the answer to that of course. It had taken years of unlearning the horrible belief system his parents had instilled in him to let go of the person he used to be. He would never forget, nor could he ever forgive himself for the bully he used to be, particularly towards his cousin.

He hadn’t seen Harry Potter in twenty years, not that he expected to really. Why would he try to stay in contact with the family who made his life hell?

Dudley still hoped that he would run across Harry one day just so he could attempt to apologize for the part he had played in is miserable existence.

His wife, Samantha, knew everything about his past and she didn’t fault him for it. “You were a stupid kid,” she had said to him, “You’re not that person anymore. If your cousin is half as great as you say he is, I know he’d forgive you.”

“Would you forgive me, Harry?” he whispered to himself as he stared at his spot from the bench he was sitting on.

It was a nice, cool summer Saturday and he had brought his son to the park to give Samantha some time to herself.

He watched as his son, beaming from ear to ear, slid down the slide before scurrying back up the ladder to repeat the process.

He would definitely raise his son different than his parents had raised him. It was unavoidable now really since he had started displaying accidental magic when he was four. He knew his son’s letter would be coming in about a week.

He noticed a red-haired woman sitting on a bench across from him watching what Dudley assumed was her son play with his. The red-headed boy looked to be a few years younger, but they seemed to be getting along well enough.

Dudley was instantly reminded of the time his cousin’s ‘friends’ had come to pick him up one year and they had blown the fireplace apart. The red-headed woman and child reminded him of the red-heads he had seen back then.

He could still vividly remember his tongue swelling to an ungodly size before the red-headed balding man had fixed him up. He had apologized for his sons, stating they were natural pranksters. Dudley hadn’t found it funny at the time, but looking back, Dudley couldn’t deny that he deserved it.

He deserved a lot worse if he was being honest with himself.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the woman he had spotted earlier on the bench who had walked around the play equipment to join him on his bench, “Is that your son?”

“It is,” he replied with a smile as he looked at the two kids taking turns sliding down the slide, “The red-head yours?”

“Oh, heaven's no!” the woman exclaimed with a laugh, “I’m just babysitting for my brother and his wife. They are on vacation at the moment and since I don’t have any kids of my own, I told them I’d watch.”

“That was nice of you,” Dudley said absentmindedly.

The woman shrugged her shoulders, “I always wanted a family of my own, but this is the next best thing I guess.”

“How come you didn’t?” Dudley asked, “have a family of your own, I mean? If you don’t mind telling me that is.”

The woman looked off into the distance, her eyes displaying an age that Dudley couldn’t see on her body, before she replied, “Life just worked out this way, I guess.”

Dudley could hear the regret in her voice and found himself curious at the woman’s mannerisms. She seemed almost... bitter? No that wasn’t the word. Lost was more like it.

Wanting to make the woman feel better, he spoke up, “I used to have a cousin who I bullied a lot when we were both younger and not a day goes by that I don’t regret how I treated him.”

The woman turned to look at him, “Why tell me that?”

“I dunno,” he replied, “You just seemed like you’re lost and full of regret. I used to be the same way. I mean, I'm no longer lost, I have a wonderful family, but I still feel the regret.”

The woman nodded, not saying anything as she turned back to the kids playing. She looked almost pensive as she watched the carefree children.

“I never got to apologize,” he spoke up, “I think that’s what eats away at me the most.”

“What happened to your cousin?”

“I’m not sure,” Dudley replied, “He was in the....uh... military, and when he left, he said he was never coming back. He could be married with a family or dead for all I know. If he’s alive, he never kept in touch; not that I blame him in the slightest. We were horrible to him.”

“You seem to be a decent bloke,” the woman said, “I’m sure he’d like the person your turned out to be.”

“I sure hope so,” Dudley said quietly, “I named my son after him you know. Samantha, my wife, thought it would be a wonderful idea.”

“That was sweet of you. I’m sure he’d appreciate that if he knew.”

Dudley chortled, “It freaked my parents out let me tell you. They hated him with a passion that I never really understood, at least, Dad hated him. Mum just ignored him. Ever since Dad passed, she seems more open to talking about him now. I think Mum was just scared of dad to be honest. I think Mum had to admit that she disliked my cousin for completely asinine reasons. My son is just like him and there’s no way I’d let her treat him like we all did my cousin.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Dudley didn’t even know this woman, but he still felt compelled to talk to her. Maybe it was because she seemed so sad and lost.

“He died,” the woman said finally.

“Excuse me?”

“The man who I thought I was going to have a family with,” the red-head said and Dudley could see the masked pain behind her chocolate brown eyes, “He died. After him, there was no one I could ever see myself having a family with like I did him.”

“I’m sorry,” Dudley said to the woman, “Sometimes, life just isn’t fair.”

“Don’t I know it,” the woman said sadly as she cocked her head, “It’s been years though and there’s no use dwelling on it.”

“And yet, you can’t seem to stop.” Dudley said.

The woman nodded, “He was an amazing person, almost perfect really. How do you forget someone like that?”

Her pleading tone made Dudley think she really wished he could give her the answers she seeked, but Dudley couldn’t. He wished he could.

“I’m not sure,” he said, “I’ve only been in love with Samantha and I don’t know what I’d do without her. She accepted me, faults and all, when I felt unlovable.”

“She seems like an amazing person.”

“She is.”

They looked at each other before turning back to the kids, “He was like that. He just had this way of making you feel like you were the only thing that mattered. After hearing how he grew up, I’m surprised he had so much love inside of him. He was bullied too.”

Dudley hung his head in shame before he said through gritted teeth, “I hate bullies. They remind me of the person I used to be and I hated that person.”

“At least you changed,” the woman said with a smile, “Some people don’t.”

Dudley nodded. It was true. He thanked whatever deities or gods that existed that he had been able to see the error of his childish, hurtful ways; even if it had been too late.

“It’s getting late,” Dudley said as he checked his watch, “I should be getting him back home now.”

The woman nodded, “It was nice talking to you.”

“Likewise,” he grinned as he stood up, “Harry!” he yelled, “It’s time to go.”

Dudley watched as his son nodded before sliding down the side one more time.

He turned back to the woman to see her eyes, wide in amazement, as she stared at him, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes, I’m quite alright,” she said suddenly.

Harry ran up to them followed closely by the red-haired boy, “Dad, this is Hugo.”

“It’s nice to meet you Hugo,” Dudley said as he stared at the boy.

The shy boy muttered a “hello” before running to the woman and hiding behind her.

“Go wait up in the car for me,” Dudley said, “I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Okay!” Harry said as he ran off to the parking lot.

“You know,” the woman said, turning his attention back to her. Dudley could see her eyes glistening in the sunlight, almost as if she was willing back tears, “I think your cousin would forgive you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do,” the woman said with a large smile.

“Thank you,” Dudley said as he stuck out his hand, “I’m Dudley by the way, Dudley Dursley.”

“A pleasure,” the woman said as she gripped his hand, “I’m Ginny Weasley.”

Dudley dropped her hand and started to walk away but the woman grabbed his arm, “Would you like to go see him?”

“See who?”

“Your cousin.” Ginny’s eyes bored deep into his, “I know your cousin. I was wondering if you’d like to go see him.”

“You knew Harry?”

She nodded. Dudley was surprised to say the least. What were the odds of meeting someone in a random park that not only knew Harry, but could take him to his cousin.

“Alright,” Dudley said finally, “Let me go drop my son off and I’ll meet back up with you here. Is that okay?”

Ginny nodded.

Dudley rushed home, pecked his wife on the cheek as he told her about how he had met a woman who knew his cousin and was taking him to go see him.

He arrived back at the park to see Ginny sitting on the same bench although the red-haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

“Ready?” she asked

Dudley nodded, “I’ll drive us if you want to give me directions.”

“I have a faster way,” she said as she grabbed his arm.

All of a sudden, Dudley felt like he was being squeezed through a small tube, he was being compressed on all sides and it was most unpleasant. As soon as the feeling started, it stopped.

Dudley gulped once, forcing the bile in his throat back down as he turned to the woman in surprise, “Did we just teleport?”

“We Apparated,” Ginny said, “Sorry for not warning you. Side-Along Apparation is most unpleasant.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Dudley replied.

“Welcome to Godric’s Hollow.” Ginny said morosely.

Dudley looked at his surroundings and took a step back in shock. The breeze was blowing through the trees softly giving them an almost life-like appearance but what drew Dudley’s attention was the headstones they were standing in front of.

“No!” Dudley gasped as he read the gravestone with his cousin’s name on it.

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said, “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.

He turned to look at her, expecting to see her crying, but was surprised to see no tears. She looked like a woman who had cried all she could and was now just empty to the feelings.

Dudley dropped to his knees in front of Harry’s grave.

He touched the headstone hesitantly, as if to prove it was real, before he let the anguish out. He traced his cousin’s name with his fingertips slowly, as if memorizing every detail.

Ginny didn’t interrupt him. She let him cry. He felt her hand on his shoulder and looked up, “How did it happen?”

“He fought Voldemort,” Ginny said breathily, “He was so brave, even in the end. He managed to kill him, but the fight had taken its toll. They struck each other down nineteen years ago. He saved us. He saved everyone.”

“He’s been gone nineteen years?” Dudley asked as he wiped his eyes. He stood up, “I never even got to apologize for how I treated him.”

Ginny then did something that took Dudley completely by surprise. She hugged him. Dudley hugged her back and it was then that Ginny finally let her own tears fall.

Dudley thought Harry being dead was a possibility, but he had never really stopped to entertain it. He always pictured Harry finishing the War and having a whole brood of annoying raven-haired children.

“You loved him?” he asked

“With everything I had in me,” Ginny replied as she wiped her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he said as they both stood there, gripping at each other as if trying to take comfort from the other, “I never got to say sorry.”

“I think he knows,” Ginny said with a smile, “And I think he forgives you.”

They stood, arms interlocked, her head on his shoulder, as they stared at the headstone of Harry Potter.

“He had a beautiful life,” Ginny said softly, “It might not seem like it if you were to look at it like an outsider, but I know in my heart he did.”

"Was he happy?" Dudley asked.

"He was," Ginny replied, "And now he's with his mum and dad and everyone else that he's lost through the years, and I know that makes him happy. We'll see him again."

Dudley squeezed her arm but said no more. He couldn’t help but feel that him and Samantha had chosen right when they named their son after his cousin.

Life could be unfair, but it was all the more beautiful because of that fact.
Reviews 5
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