Ancestry 06 - The Dursleys. by Voracity2

Ancestry 06 - The Dursleys.

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Ancestry 06 - The Dursleys.

Harry met with his aunt that afternoon, handing over a few things in a small box. He had arranged for them to be in this little, quiet tea shop in the back of a bookstore. "It was in the family vault," he said, pushing them over. "From your parents."

She stared at him. "What happened?"

"Someone removed the curse and the scar." He grinned. "The aurors in the US had someone handle it. Someone good handle it." She nodded, taking the box to look through. She nearly cried at one thing. "I had a few copied for myself but that should be yours. You'll have to tell Dudley about how amazing your family was when you were growing up." She stared at him. "It had to be to make my Mother."

She sighed and nodded. "I should."

"You could also use the thing in the bottom of the box as I found that in the same box. Your parents bought the mortgage on the house and left it to Mom. The paperwork's been in the vault all this time. The deed's in there."

"We've been paying."

He nodded. "It went into a maintenance and upkeep account to make up for what insurance wouldn't cover, Aunt Petunia." He let her see that statement.

"Oh." She looked it over, touching the signature. "He knew."

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea how that works. It's never went on around me and no one in school ever talked to us about how to buy real estate." She scowled. He stared back. "They didn't. Maybe in high school they would've. No idea."

She sighed but nodded, going over the other contents. "My doll," she said quietly, touching the dress. "Why was that in there?"

"I found two boxes with your name on them. The other's huge and coming to the house tomorrow by house elf delivery while Uncle Vernon's at work. That way you can go through it without him." She stared at him again. "I didn't figure you wanted to remember your family with him there."

"No, he wouldn't understand. He doesn't do sentimental things." She closed the box with everything in it again. "Are you coming back?"

"Not if I can help it. It's not good for anyone, Aunt Petunia. Not for you, not for making Uncle Vernon deal with people who he doesn't like or understand, and definitely not for me." He shrugged a bit. "I don't want to go through that again. Though I have no idea what I'm doing in the future yet. I'll figure that out with some help from some of my friends. Hermione's really smart and knows a lot."

She nodded. "Girlfriend?"

"Not at the moment. Somehow my beginning of puberty was pushed back. It also stunted my growth." He stared at her. "I won't get any taller they tell me." She winced at that. "But maybe it can be fixed when I'm a bit older. Not sure yet." He patted her on the wrist. "I hope you have a happy life, Aunt Petunia. You carry a lot of memories no one else has. It'd be a shame if they're lost too soon." He got up and left her there.

"Boy, I'm sorry," she said quietly. He nodded but kept going. She went home to look at things and hide them from Vernon. He'd hate her being sentimental about her original family. His temper had been off since Harry had left the house, and he tended to try to yell at her about things he hadn't before.

Dudley came in from the kitchen, staring at her. "Dad's going to shit and that's wrong. All the things the school talks to us about abuse and how to spot it says that Dad's really got an issue, Mom." She stared at him oddly. "We all know that. The teachers in grade school knew it too but considered Dad too dangerous since any reports were covered up somehow." He shrugged. "They watched and made notes but figured they couldn't do anything."

"Oh, no," she sighed.

He gave her a hug. "You were better than he was," he said in her ear. He sat down to look at the baby book. "Wow, Grandmother was pretty." She swatted him but went over the pictures with him to tell him who they were. He had no idea about her family. Vernon hadn't wanted him to know. When it was getting closer to time Vernon came home she hid most things and made sure Vernon couldn't find it. Dudley didn't know where they were either.

The important things went into the important documents lock box. All but the deed's paperwork. The house was in her name. He hadn't told her. Vernon came in and looked around, looking pleased. "Vernon." She kissed him on the cheek. "I haven't thought a bit about dinner. I got a delivery from the bank. They found some paperwork in Harry's files that I had to go over." She walked off.

"What paperwork did the freak have?" he demanded.

She looked at him. "The deed." He flinched. She went back to the kitchen.

"How did you get that?"

"They did an audit of the stuff that Lily and James had stored before they died. It was in there. My parents gave the paperwork to Lily when they died." She stared at him. "I would have liked to have known."

"We paid it all back."

"I know. I saw all the bills." She went back to fixing sandwiches. "Dudders," she called. "Sandwiches." He came down to wash up and take plates to the table to set it. "Thank you, Dudley." She smiled and patted him on the cheek then let him take the food out. "Do you want yours warmed, Vernon?"

"No, cold's fine," he said, going out there.

Petunia followed to serve and pour drinks. Then she came back to sit down and eat. "I've stored it with the legal documents we have. Though there's copies made and in the bank's safety deposit box." She ate a bite and chewed slowly. "That way we can prove it's paid off." He nodded once, staring at her. "That does mean that we can make sure Dudley goes to a decent college as long as he can pass the tests."

"He doesn't need that," Vernon complained. "I didn't."

"Dad, your company's hiring someone and they have to have a degree to get an entry level job," Dudley said. "I looked at the career stuff the school had us doing and they suggested we look up what our parents did, what their companies wanted to see if it was something we might want to go into too.

"The two hiring notices both said college and two years design work for the junior people on the design team. The factory people need trade school." He ate a bite. "Though I'm not sure if I might want that. Factory jobs seem like long hours and a lot of it doing boring things over and over again."

"It can be," Petunia agreed, smiling at him for that wisdom. "I had a small job a few summers when I was about your age for spending money. It was a lot of very long, very boring hours. Though there are the trades. They're well paid." She smiled at him. "Electricians are very well paid and don't take a lot of training. It's a good field. Not prestigious but well paying. You can raise your future family on it."

"I've thought about that. They mentioned that and plumbing but that seemed like handling a lot of pipes full of nasty stuff."

"It can be but electricians don't do that," she said happily. "They only have to unclog their own toilets at home, not be called out of bed at two because a sewer pipe is broken and flooding a basement. Did you look at any other options?" Vernon's face was getting very angry-red at the moment.

"Not yet. I know I don't want to teach. I can't stand other kids now, much less when I'm older. I don't want to do something where I have to study all day. Business stuff seems boring too. I had a bad dream about being a barber."

"That's a necessary job," his father said. "But not prestigious. Not something we could tell others about. The trades are better but not really that desired either. You could look at engineering or drafting."

Dudley looked at him. "Father, I'm realistic sometimes. I learned to be from the school. I do not do well in math. I can do basic maths but advanced maths give me great headaches and confuse me enough that I nearly flunked. I don't think I can do that for a career." Vernon grimaced. "I like doing physical things. I'm fairly good at a lot of them."

"That school won't teach you that. It's meant for those going to college."

He nodded. "Smeltings is pretty nice and they said even a basic education would help me, even if I gathered garbage for a living. There were always things to learn and nothing can stop you from reading things once you know how." He dug in again then shook his head suddenly. "I don't see how anyone can go through eight or nine years of college and then do a job that makes them sit in a library all day every day."

"Those sort aren't good at many things and hire people to do things for them," Petunia said, smiling proudly at him. "Like electricians. My grandfather was one when it first started to come out. He built their original house."

"He did?"

"Yes. My mother said that her father built their house since he didn't want to take over the family's farm. He did general contracting work on the side of his factory job. That let him send his own children to a good school and they went onto better jobs. My father was an accountant."

Dudley looked at her. "I've never heard that."

She smiled. "My mother actually did have a degree to teach but quit once she had children. That's how it was done in those days." She ate a bite of her sandwich. Once she had swallowed she smiled at him. "They met at college. He was doing some of the work near her classroom.

"Mother told me that he stopped some uncouth young men from harassing some of the young women and my grandmother suggested she talk to him the next day. So they talked and ended up dating." She patted him on the hand with a smile. "I hope you find something as suitable and happy as they were. My parents died within days of each other."

"Probably thanks to your sister," Vernon complained.

"No. Actually there had been a car accident. He would have survived it but didn't want to be without my mother." She stared at him. "We were married by that time, Vernon. It was a few months after our wedding." He grunted at that. She looked at her son again. "What other options were you looking over?"

"The school counselor thought I should try for college, take some business classes just in case it'd help me later. A degree, even not related, could always help me get a later job. To take practical classes that I could warp towards whatever I want to do.

"If I do something physical I could end up owning a company some day and I should know how to do that was what she suggested." His mother nodded. "I said I liked some of the physical jobs and she suggested next summer I volunteer with something like a building program so I can see if any of that appeals to me."

"We do not volunteer," Vernon said firmly.

"We have to do community service credits anyway," Dudley told him. "We have to do twenty hours before our senior year, Father. That would let me look at how things went to see if I wanted to do that plus make sure I met that requirement."

"Schools are going to hell these days," Vernon complained loudly. "How dare they expect you to do community service work! You're not a hooligan doing court hours!"

"It's a national requirement," Dudley told him. "Has been for years they said. My first year was the first year it was required instead of suggested." He looked at his mother again. "Would that be okay?"

"Yes!" She smiled and nodded. "Doing that would show you if you liked the work and it won't hurt you to get some experience in how work goes. Would it, Vernon? Did you want him to gopher around the office to learn how offices work?"

He gave her an odd look. "We don't do that."

"Really? Hmm. Hailey, in Number 7, had her daughter doing that with her husband's work. Their school demanded sixteen hours for second years." He looked horrified at that. She nodded. "Hailey said that they expected it to go with their parents so they could explain things. In fourth year she'll be doing community service hours.

"They have fifty hours per year. Their school does projects like cleaning up and setting up playgrounds." She smiled. "It's rather sweet of them. Their seventh years last year went around helping fix some elderly's houses that needed bigger repairs as part of a national program." She ate another bite.

"That is horrifying! We do not do that!"

"If the school demands, we have to let him," she said. "Didn't you have a summer job about that age?"

"No!"

"Oh, well.... I did and while I didn't enjoy it I did learn a lot about how things worked in the real world." She ate another bite. "The next summer I had some in a shop by a beach selling chips and soft pretzels. It only lasted four weeks but it was a very annoying job. People are horrible to those poor people." She ate another bite, not mentioning that job was why she had decided to be a traditional wife. "What about something like selling real estate or insurance, Dudders?"

"That's another option they gave me. It doesn't take much training but you can make good money. They have someone who came in to talk about those sort of jobs too. We'll have people coming in each year from now on to talk about careers and planning for the future and college admissions. In the same class I learned how to set a budget and pay bills."

His father stared at him. "Is that truly mandatory?"

"It was part of the Life Skills course they have us going through."

"I need to speak to that Headmaster!" Vernon complained. "That's for weak students, not for you!"

"This last time they went over how to pass the A levels to get into college," Dudley said. "That test seems really hard."

Petunia smiled and nodded. "Yes it is. I passed it fairly well when my mother demanded I take it. Vernon passed it I believe." She stared at him but he nodded he had, getting up to go rant in the living room while he called the school. She looked at him. "As long as you are a good man, I'll be happy if you are," she said quietly. "No matter what career you have."

He nodded. "Yes, Mum." He dug in again and went up to his room to play a video game. The thing with Harry disappearing had made him take a long look at what his family was really like and how his mother kept others from realizing it. Mostly because his father demanded it.

Vernon was still ranting about the headmaster saying it was a required class for all students. He heard his father yell 'he'll not take such womanly classes; my son will have a wife not be the wife' and put on his headphones. He heard his mother go to their room to lay down for the night and waited until his father went to bed to calm himself down.

Dudley had heard his father ranting about Harry that way but never him.

"Where is that dratted deed, Pet? We'll have to take out a loan to put Dudley into a *real* school since his has fallen down on the important things."

"No we will not," she said sharply.

"I said we are."

She stared at him. "If something should happen to you, like an accident or a workplace accident, we'd lose the house and have to live in a slum," she said firmly. "My son will not be raised like that!" He flinched back. "It's the only insurance we have in case of problems. His education is just fine and it's good he won't be the sort who'll go to court repeatedly for not paying his own way." She shut the door and went back to her nightly routine.

"We'll pay it back."

She opened the door again to glare at him. "My parents apparently made sure that if something happened to you, we didn't have to rely on a government estate house to survive." He looked horrified. "I will not endanger our survival as proper people to ruin that intent. Had I known earlier that it's in my name I would have protested the second mortgage we took out ten years ago as we didn't need that work done at that time and could have saved for it instead."

He glared. She stared back. "It stressed our finances greatly at that time. It meant we didn't save for his schooling. We nearly had to delay sending him for an extra year, Vernon. I want my son to live better than we do. Even if he does do physical trade work, it's well paid and safer. He'll be happy with it. He'll hopefully find a nice wife who will appreciate the nice house he buys for her.

"I will not endanger his future by touching the house's deed or taking out another loan against the house. With the way the economy's looking we could end up owing more than we think and interest rates are presently in a bad place. The neighbors would be horrified if they heard. We would clearly not be their type if we can't afford his schooling." She stared at him. "How did you take out that loan since it's in my name anyway?" He stomped off again. She went back to her nightly routine then laid down to read for a bit.

Things were definitely different now that Harry wasn't there for Vernon to use to sate his temper.

***

The next day, Dudley went to meet with one of his teachers who lived not that far away. He had spent all night thinking about things like his future, his life, his current attitude things that were partially an act anymore. He wasn't who he was when he was eleven. And that scared him a bit but his father was scaring him more.

Thankfully that teacher he liked to go to for advice, that a lot of kids went to for advice, was relatively close by. The man had talked to him a few times about things and he seemed to understand about weird family things thanks to some of his fellow students. His mother knew, and probably realized why.
He knocked and was let in. The guy wasn't that much older than his mother but he had that air about him that spoke of experience in things that weren't standard. "Thank you for seeing me, Professor." He stared at him. "My cousin disappeared this summer. Not dead," he said at the shocked look. "But he did just vanish into thin air for a few weeks."

"I didn't know you have a cousin, Dudley." He led the boy to his sitting room because this looked serious. A lot of the students came to him with bigger things that needed discussed.

"It's a huge secret because he's....special somehow."

"Like a disability?"

Dudley looked at him. "It's a huge secret society thing that his parents were part of but they died and Harry was left on our doorstep one night." His teacher frowned. "Anyway, we got cleared by social workers and all that I guess. But he left to be more around others like him I guess." He shifted.

"But it's meant I had to face a few things about the rest of my family. How my mother's desperate to look like the right sort to the neighbors in case they're watching and ignoring everything that's not right. How my father's got a huge temper. I mean I saw it against my cousin."

He paused. "More than once. But now he's yelling at Mom and about me." He stared at him. "He called the headmaster to complain about the life skills classes. Said he wanted me to have a wife not be the wife. I'm thinking the headmaster hung up on him with the way he ranted."

The professor looked at him. "Your father sounds very...angry," he decided was the right word.

"The same as Mom is, he's wanting to be normal very hard and he's really concerned about what we look like to the neighbors." He looked at him. "I was ignoring how wrong things were. Even though I knew, I didn't seem to see it."

"You were taught that it was all right to yell at your cousin but you were pampered," the professor said.

Dudley nodded. "I was. I still am." He looked at his hands then at his teacher. "I don't know what to do about this and how to stop Dad before he does something stupid."

"It's not your job to stop your father's anger, Dudley. It's his. You can only stop your own anger." He stared at him. "I've suggested this before but have you talked to the school counselor about anything?"

"My mother would be horrified."

"Yes but if you can't figure out how to fix all this, someday you'll have a family and the only way you've seen to raise one is your own." Dudley gave him an odd look. "You and Sissy seemed to be talking quite a lot. She wanted to be a traditional wife. She seemed a bit skinny."

"So's my mother," he admitted, considering that. "Sissy really is a younger version of Mum," he realized. The teacher smiled at that. "Mum would still heave a fit about counselors. My father would have a bigger one if he found out the school had one on staff. It wasn't like that in his day."

"Oh, there's been one but he probably ignored they existed. We've had a counselor on staff since the sixties." He looked at the boy. "You don't have to tell them. You don't need a permission slip to talk to them. They won't need your health card." Dudley stared at him. "They could also probably help you get a bit more fit if that's a goal."

"I hadn't wanted to think about that either." He looked at his stomach then at his teacher. "I lost a few pounds and Mum nearly had a fit that I was sick."

"She's using that to cover up her own issues, Dudley. If she hadn't had kids they probably would've divorced long ago. Even if your cousin had been handed to her."

Dudley considered that. "I can see that. Dad is very much...he's the head of the family and Mum can't really do much on her own though."

"Hmm. It's never too late for an education." Dudley looked at him. "She can go to training or school now if she wanted. You should also consider what happens if one parent has an accident or a health issue and passes. Like Sissy's grandmother, bad health runs in families."

"She does?"

"I know her grandmother had cancer but it's one that hits older people usually."

"Oh." He nodded. "Mum never does much. Mostly just leaves the house to go shopping. Maybe to talk to the neighbors or to snoop."

The professor nodded at that. "I remember meeting your parents when they signed you up, Dudley." He grimaced, he had been a little shit that day. "You've grown up a lot with us." He stared at the boy. "Now it's time to figure out the adult you'll be in just a few years. Is this the man you want to be?"

"I don't know. Mum asked me about career things last night. I told her about the physical stuff I had looked at. She encouraged electricians because her grandfather had been one apparently." He stared at him. "Dad said it's not something prestigious enough for him to talk about."

"You can only live your life for yourself, Dudley. Even if you're a garbage man, if you're happy with that then it's a good job for you. The same as being a teacher would probably drive you to drink."

"And then some," he agreed with a grimace and a nod. "Dad got mad about the community service hours too."

"Hmm. Some people want to be served, some want to serve others. But you have to live your life for yourself. Even if your father can't brag about you and your mother doesn't approve, then it's your life and if you're happy then that's what matters. Because you won't always live with them. You'll graduate and go onto your own house someday. Then what?"

"I hope my mother likes my future wife."

"When you meet the right woman for you, she may not want to get married for a good while. It's a lot less likely that you'll marry quickly these days. How long did your parents see each other for before they got engaged?"

"I don't know. I never asked." He considered that. "I know some people live together instead. Mum complained one of the neighbors was doing that and it was bringing down the neighborhood's reputation."

He grimaced. "Dudley, thinking like that is a problem of its own. Be more concerned about what the ones that matter to you think than the neighborhood."

"To her that does matter."

He nodded. "Which means she's got nothing else to take the place in her life." He blinked a few times. "Or your father made her think so much about that."

"I didn't think about that."

"It's also something that'll drive people to mental health services because those sort are often insecure in themselves and their own skills. People who know who they are, they're only concerned with what they think about themselves and maybe some of those they choose to have around them." He looked the boy over. "A lot of boys and girls leave their family home after graduation and never go back. The higher level teachers weren't sure if you'd be one of those or not."

"I love my mother."

He nodded. "Most do."

"I...I respect my father."

"Do you?"

He blinked a few times. "What?"

"Do you respect him or fear him?"

"I...he's my father!"

"Yes but those two are different, Dudley. The same as you can love a relative and not be able to stand them. I love my sister greatly but I can't personally stand the woman and if we're trapped in the same building one of us will walk into a storm instead to get away from the other. It's mutual in our case." He smiled a bit.

"I've seen twins that had the same problem. Just because they're your family doesn't mean you'll ever go home once you graduate. Every human has some sort of problem. Some are minor, some are major, some need therapy, some need medication, and some just need a judge to stop it for them. I'm taking your mother as having some insecurities and anger."

"Her sister was special like Harry is and got to go to a special school but Mum didn't get to go. She said once that they were close until then."

"How did her sister die?"

"She told Harry a car crash for years but apparently it was some sort of attack on their house. Someone broke in or something." He shifted with a grimace. "I have no idea. I stayed out of that and all the Harry stuff as long as he kept out of my way."

"I'm betting you bullied him for years too." Dudley gave him an odd look. He grinned. "You learned it from your father, Dudley. And now that Harry's not there, your family doesn't have a convenient way to get that out of them and onto someone else. A scapegoat for everything wrong in their lives. Someone to blame, someone to make do things, someone to bully so you had power over something or someone."

"I...."

"You're not the first," he admitted. "We've seen a number of them. Smeltings seems to draw boys like you."

"My father went there."

"I remember. We looked him up after your touring day. The headmaster remembered him from being a student." Dudley snorted, shaking his head. "Thankfully you're doing better than he said your father did." He adjusted his shirt. "I think the counselor would be a good idea. It could help you figure out how to find other ways to get power.

"It could help you settle how you feel about your cousin and his specialness. You could talk about your mother's insecurities that make her so desperate to appear to be perfect to outsiders even if she's falling apart inside. He could even help you figure out who you are and why you're so much calmer at school than you probably are at home. Beyond the punishments you served your first year for being a bullying little oink."

"Mum could probably use it too but she'd freak out. Normal people don't."

"Bull. It's even fashionable these days," he said dryly. Dudley looked at him. He grinned and nodded. "It is. I'm shocked social services didn't make your cousin go since he was an orphan."

"I'm not sure if his people have anyone like that."

"They have teachers at schools I'm sure."

"We have no idea. His school's full of freaks and weird things." He shuddered. "It's in the middle of nowhere somewhere."

"They didn't do an interview day?"

"No. They sent a letter. Well, a lot of letters. When he didn't answer they sent some tall, bearded, shaggy person that horrified my father by being taller and being bearded that way." The teacher blinked. He grimaced. "Father tried to get us away from the letters for a few days."

The teacher looked up then at him. "That's very odd. Did you ever talk to him about that?"

"Father wouldn't talk about anything like that. It's not how he said men do things."

The teacher smirked. "Yet, men do talk about things or else you'd be at home doing something." Dudley flinched. "Which isn't a criticism, Dudley, just a note that you're not your father. Children often need to talk about things that confuse them. Have you ever done that?"

"No. Well, homework a few times with Mum."

"Did she help your cousin?"

Dudley looked at him. "Don't ask about him please?" he asked quietly.

"So things weren't good there. Is he safe?" Dudley nodded. "You're sure?"

"He probably is. I know he's alive and not coming back. I'm guessing he's safe wherever his people have him."

"That's fine. I won't report that as he's left the situation and is finding his own way." Dudley looked confused. "He'll have to figure out who he is the same as you, Dudley. Someday he'll be an adult."

"Oh." He considered that. "I guess he would if more things didn't attack him." He grimaced. "Had that happen once already."

"Your cousin is hopefully finding a good place to build for himself and his future. Right now, we need to get you to talk to the counselor about how to make your own future." He smiled. "They can help you work through all the complicated mess that feelings create. They can help you figure out what you're doing when you graduate and how to be at home during the summers. They could even probably find you a summer camp to go to so you're not home all summer."

"There are?" he asked, looking confused.

"Yes. Including ones for those who want to go into certain fields. There's religious ones. There's ones to get you into the woods and outside to swim and play. There's all sorts of camps out there." He grinned. "Which would get you around other children who haven't known you for years. It's a simple lesson in how college or starting work is going to go because no one there is going to know a thing about you and will only know you by how you act and what you do."

"I...I didn't think about that."

"That's part of growing up and moving on. In fact in college you'll probably be rooming in the dorms and have to share a room. Can you do that?"

Dudley grimaced. "We have a separate bedroom at school."

"Colleges often have two people or so per room or suite. Sometimes three per suite. Dorm rooms are often just two beds, two desks, two closets, and all the stuff you both pack into it. You'll have to learn to deal with someone being there often and how to manage to get along."

"I did not know that."

He nodded. "I had different roommates each year until I moved off campus my last year. They don't allow first years to do that," he said to break the happy look the boy got suddenly.

"Dad's going to have a fit," he said quietly. "I take up a room by myself."

"That's something to work on. You don't move a whole house's full of things into a dorm. You move your clothes, books, and the things you need in. And the one you're living with would often use the same things if you bring something like a teapot. Or a game system."

"That's horrifying to think about." He shifted uncomfortably. He realized he couldn't stand that. "I have no idea how to do that."

"Which is something to work out since you've got a few years. Most of your fellow students have siblings they learned to share with as they grew up. It doesn't sound like you did?"

"No. I beat Harry a few times for touching my stuff."

"You can't do that in college."

"Oh."

"Or whack them with the stick the school gave you for that." He smirked a bit. "We've noticed your own temper a few times but it has nicely gotten better in the last year."

Dudley looked at him. "That's a huge adjustment."

"The real world isn't like the safe family environment that got created for you. You'll have to make your own decisions, right or wrong, and you'll have plan how to get your needs met. Girls like Sissy would expect a house within a few years after marrying her. A flat would be okay for a bit but once the future kid's on the way you'd have to get a house.

"Which means you'd have to be able to afford a house. Which means a good job and college most likely or a trade. Or the military. That is an option and they'll send you to school if they think you should go." He looked him over. "To join up you have to meet certain health goals so you'd have to get more fit first. Doing college means that you'll have years to date and can go to the same college."

"Why would a wife who stays at home need college?"

"Because if something happens, she'll have to get a job some day. The same as if your father had a heart attack tomorrow, your mother would have to take over the duty to provide for the family."

"Oh." He considered that, scrunching up his face then shaking his head. "She said last night she had a job when she was about my age."

"Many do and it teaches good responsibility."

"Father didn't like it."

The teacher grimaced. "I don't think he likes anything, Dudley. Does he?"

"Being above average but normal. Perfectly normal." He frowned. "Which is why I should be talking to the counselor?" The teacher smiled and nodded. "Are they in town?"

"They're by the school. There's a few counselors in town who can see you until you get back there."

"Mum would be appalled."

"It is fashionable and I can have the headmaster suggest it. Sometimes you can sneak to see one. Sometimes services for teens are hidden from parents and everyone."

"The teen center I hang out at doesn't have one and Mum hates me hanging out."

"Well, you need to have friends." He stared at him. "Also, have you told your mother you spent a few days in the infirmary ward for chest pains?" He winced at that. "Which would mean she'd have to change your diet and things, Dudley."

"She's going to scream."

"She'll hate you dying of a heart attack worse."

"Probably." He stood up. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. This is what we teachers do for students." He smiled, letting him leave and locking up after him. He sent the headmaster an email to let him know generally what they had talked about. He could tell the counselor to maybe expect the boy. Hopefully.

***

Dudley went home and looked around. His father was home. This was not a good time. He walked in. "Sorry, Mum, I was talking to a professor about my summer homework."

"That's fine, Dudders." She stared at him. "The drill factory had an audit today so they had to close for a bit to do some maintenance work." She smoothed his hair down. "Did you travel all right?"

"Yes. The bus isn't that hard." He sat down, looking at her. His father wasn't in hearing range so he decided to be blunt. "Mum, what if I wanted to lose some weight?"

"Why would you need to?"

"Because I'm fat, Mum, and other kids don't like fat kids." He stared at her. "It's also healthier."

"Did someone bully you?" she demanded.

"No, Mum, but I did spend three days talking to the infirmary about my blood pressure being too high. It was so high that they had to restrict salt from me for a week." She sat down, looking horrified. His father came in. "I kept getting asked if I was having chest pains. The nurse suggested I'm a bit heavy and I could lose about thirty pounds and be healthier without those things."

She cleared her throat. "We can help you figure out how to do that. There's all sorts of exercise things you can do. You already ride your bike a lot."

"I haven't ridden it all summer," he admitted. "It's hard for me to pedal." He grimaced. "Which is probably the weight." He looked at his father. Then at his mother again. "They've been talking to me about my weight since the interview we did up there, Mum. Especially since I needed my uniforms specially tailored." She huffed at that. "So can we work on how to get me to lose weight?"

"Of course, Dudley." She got up to kiss him on the head. "We can arrange the meals we have and help you find an exercise you enjoy." She smiled. "It's not a problem from my side of the family but I know there's all sorts of groups to exercise as part of. The community center that has the teen center has yoga classes and the like. Mildred in Number 2 goes to it weekly for her arthritis."

He nodded. "I don't think I can do yoga, Mum."

"We'll look to see what else you can do," she promised. "Maybe swimming. She said she got sent to physical therapy after they had to replace her knee joint due to the arthritis and they had her in the pool each time to exercise in there. Said it kept it from stressing her joints."

"Like swimming?" Vernon demanded.

"Yes, only in a more shallow pool. You do the exercises in water to take some of the weight off your joints. Her rheumatoid arthritis has really destroyed a few of her joints. Thankfully they have medicines for that these days since it's an autoimmune illness. She has to buy a great many every month apparently."

Vernon shuddered. "Thankfully they don't have children to pass that onto."

"That's not hereditary. One of the children asked if that's why she hadn't had any." She looked at her son. "What else did you talk about?"

"He thinks I should get used to having to share things as college means sharing a single bedroom apparently." She looked calm and nodded. Vernon looked livid. "Apparently colleges live in dorms and you share a room or a suite with someone in the same bedroom."

"Yes they do. I had a cousin who went to college. She arranged to share with a girl she already knew. They made sure they could work things out. It's a bigger bedroom but both girls lived in there and shared things." Vernon gave her an odd look. She smiled. "That's how college goes. So you went to talk about career things?"

"Mostly. He suggested the other option was the military but I'd have to be a lot more fit to even sign up. Apparently you have to fit into higher standards."

"Nonsense! They take anyone!" Vernon sneered.

"Hilary's brother is military. There's a test to pass to go there now," Petunia told him. Vernon looked horrified. "It's as hard as an A level test for college." Dudley grimaced at that. "Also you have to be physically able to do the workouts when you sign up.

"Like the gym tests we used to have, Vernon. Then he'll be working out a lot during their preliminary training times. She said her brother was a bit chubby like Dudley is and came out of his preliminary training forty pounds lighter and having muscles he could show off to make girls giggle. There's no more national draft."

Vernon spluttered. "I don't see why not! It teaches boys how to be men!"

Dudley looked at him. "Women are in the military, Father." He got glared at. "They are."

"They are," Petunia agreed. "Though I don't like them in higher powered positions there or flying jets and the like, they do that. It was on the news the other day that one of our small war ships was now headed by the first female general." Vernon shuddered again. "She was a pretty young woman. Very smart in her uniform." She looked at her son. "Are you thinking on the military?"

"Not really. I'll keep it as an idea if I can't find something else I want. The professor said that they'd send me to college if I found something I liked."

"They can," she agreed with a smile.

He grimaced. "He also mentioned summer camps for next summer. That way I get a few weeks away from the house and doing things. He said some were about future careers for those who wanted them. Some were just to get kids out into nature."

She stared at him. "There are. You almost went to one when you were eight but you go that silly sickness that year."

"Oh, that year." He nodded. "I have no idea if that's an idea I like or not either. I have no idea what I'd do in the woods all day."

"You can swim and do crafts," she said with a smile. "The one we were going to send you to would've taught you to swim and do some limited crafts plus teach you how to handle being in the woods. Plus it would've let you play with children your own age all day. Unfortunately you got ill."

He nodded. "I might've liked that. Being here all day is boring in the summers." He considered it. "I have no idea what I want to do yet."

"You have years," she reminded him. "And some people try one career and decide to switch after a few years. Mildred's husband used to teach and then decided he wanted to do banking. He seems happy with that."

"They don't let you play with the money," Dudley said. "I don't see how that can be interesting."

She smiled. "You'll figure that out. The same as you'll figure out who you want to date eventually and introduce us."

He nodded. "There's a girl in school I like but the professor pointed out she was like a junior version of you, Mum. Which is making my brain cramp." She laughed and hugged him. "He also said that she'd want a house soon after we married so I had to wait until I could do that."

"It is the smarter way. Many people find the ones they want to date and marry in college," she said with a smile. "They date through college, graduate, get married, and once they're secure the babies start coming."

"I think I'm going to wait a long while on kids, Mum. I'm not sure if I could stand having a kid. We seem like a lot of work."

She laughed. "You are." She nodded with a smile. "Thankfully your wife will do a great bit of it."

"Dads have to be responsible or they're just sperm donors," he said. Vernon spluttered at that. "They are. Real fathers do things with their kids. They do more than pay for stuff. The school had that talk with us after a teacher got removed for that." He looked at his mother. "Are there people who help you figure out what sort of job you want to do? He suggested there's counselors who just do that."

"I have no idea. We can look. Though I doubt you need a counselor."

"Sure, Mum." She relaxed again. He looked at his father. "Maybe I'll find something that I like doing that we can do together when you're not working."

"I like my downtime life just fine, son."

"Dad, that same redness in the face is why I spent three days in the infirmary for my blood pressure. The teacher saw me starting that and rushed me up there like I was having a heart attack." Vernon got up and stomped off. He looked at his mother. "I saw the charts, Mum, I'm really fat," he said quietly.

"You're big boned."

"Mum, I weigh over three hundred pounds," he said quietly. "I'm fat. Big boned stops at about two hundred." She grimaced. "And I was told that I can't father children at this weight. Mostly because girls don't like boys my size."

"We can help you slim down if that's what you want," she decided, calming herself down. "Any other revelations?"

"I had two of my classmates go missing their parents due to their health," he said. "They were pushing everyone to send their parents to their doctors to make sure they were fine."

"I see mine yearly and he hasn't said anything."

Dudley looked at her. "Do you?" She glared. He grinned. "You called it off again, Mum. And..." He looked toward the back yard where his father was still fuming. "You're not the only one who needs to go."

"Yes he does. They send him for his insurance."

"Do I see one?"

"Yes, for shots." She considered it. "We can take you to see if the doctor may have some ideas if you can't do it on your own. I know there's weight loss programs. Is that the sort of summer camp he was suggesting?"

"No, he was more suggesting I get into the woods and go do things that weren't playing video games."

"Oh. Yes."

"He also suggested maybe a counselor to talk about the bullying I got caught doing and got a few days of suspension for." She winced at that. "But I said I didn't need to."

"We'll help you figure out what you need."

"He said it's fashionable."

"It is," she agreed. "Many people go that don't need it. They just need to think more often." She huffed. "But we can take you to the doctor's to see if there's something that's making you gain weight."

"Thanks, Mum." He kissed her on the cheek and went to browse in the fridge. She relaxed and thought about it. Without Harry there, things were suddenly coming out of the closets in a bad way.

***

Dudley snuck off to his doctor's office on his own. His mother was consciously ignoring that he had wanted to go. The nurse gave him a long look when she brought him back, putting him on the scale. He sighed at the few pounds less. "I've lost three pounds."

She looked at him. "Have you been trying?"

"No."

"Three pounds usually isn't a problem." She took him to a room and went to give the doctor a head's up. She came back with him.

"Mr. Dursley," the doctor said as he walked in. The kid was young. "Just the usual annual check up?"

"My professors and the school's nurse thought I should probably lose about thirty pounds."

The doctor looked at him. "That would reduce your chances of arthritis and other complications like diabetes." Dudley winced at that. "I want you to be blunt with me, Mr. Dursley. I haven't seen the nurse's notes from your school."

"I had a blood pressure spike last year and they kept asking about chest pains. Which I had a few of because I had gotten so frustrated. I realize I'm fat. I'm starting to figure things out. My mother thinks we can find something exercise like from the community center of our community."

"A lot of them do have that. At your weight you may not be able to do them yet. We can send you to physio."

"My mother would freak out if anyone else heard."

"I'm betting your knees are hurting," the doctor said, getting a grimace and a nod. "That maybe your back joins them sometimes. That you're tired a lot." He nodded. "All that can probably be mostly fixed by losing some weight. It may not cure it."

"Mum wanted me to see if something was making sure I couldn't lose weight. She says I'm big boned."

"Is she your size?"

"No, she's really skinny. I get this from my father. I'm starting to realize I'm a lot like my father." He slumped, staring at him.

"You know, there's inpatient programs to help with the weight," the nurse offered. "They'd have counselors on staff."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "She would die from the shame. Though I get the point. You're not the only one that's noted I could find a counselor."

The doctor nodded. "It helps many teens figure out the complicated things that come up as you grow up. They also can't tell anyone."

"If anyone saw me going in there they'd gossip like my mother does and she'd hear," Dudley said. "There's one at the school."

"That's good," the doctor agreed. "Let's see if we can legitimately send you to physio for the pains you're going through. They can teach you how to exercise and work on how you lose weight when you have to make your own food decisions at school. Plus work with your mother about what you eat at home. Which could probably help your father too."

"If it's like rabbit food he'll have a fit."

The doctor nodded. "Many would," he sighed. "We'll figure that out. Plus do your new shot set."

"Must we?" he whined.

"If you're going to school, yes." Dudley slumped. "We'll also be pulling blood to check your thyroid and blood sugar before you need daily shots of insulin." Dudley shuddered at that idea. "Exactly. It's smart to get it fixed." He came over to do the exam and draw blood for the boy. Then he said he'd call tomorrow with results or they could call him back to do that. He agreed to come back and drag his mother this time. He left to go sulk. The doctor was amused at the teenager but he had to get that fixed.

***

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