Chapter 7 Dudley
Chapter 7 Dudley
Dudley’s body was aching. Not being able to move for several hours had left his muscles tight, he had to consciously force himself to relax them, the tension made the pain worse. Draco had left him with some supplies. Dudley couldn’t really find it in himself to be grateful considering where he was and what Draco had put him through only hours before. Dudley’s breaths started to come too fast when he thought about it. He hated Draco. He hated all of them.
How had this happened? A week ago he had been quite happy, an average life, cinema trips and eating out, all the tiny big things he took for granted that made his life wonderful. A week ago he had parents, a home, friends, a proper life. All of that was gone. As quick and easy as blowing out a candle. Dudley was going to die here, he was almost sure, but the idea didn’t scare his as much as it might have a week ago.
It was the uncomfortable feeling of wet trousers that eventually forced Dudley up. He reluctantly stripped, wrapping himself in a towel and washed his clothes in the soapy water Draco had left. He then rinsed them in the cold water and laid them out on the floor, there was nothing to hang them on. He then laid down on the floor, the exertion of the washing had given him a migraine, or maybe it was concussion, hard to tell. At least the cell was warm. Dudley tried to sleep, he surprised himself by nodding off almost immediately. It was fitful and interrupted with frightening images.
when Dudley sat up again hours later the two water buckets were gone. Had someone been in? Surely he would have noticed. Then he remembered fucking magic.
His clothes were also bone dry somehow again fucking magic. He put them on again regardless, he felt more vulnerable in just a towel. It was a small comfort to be in something that was his after so much of him had been stolen and exposed.
A while later a plate appeared in Dudley’s cell. Chicken salad. It looked good, on any other day Dudley would have demolished it but he could barely even look at it without feeling nauseous. It disappeared and was replaced with a plate of pasta. Dudley turned away from it and gently rested his head on the wall. That plate disappeared too. At least they weren’t planning on starving him to death. Dudley’s thoughts quietly turned to the ‘blockage’ in his head. It didn’t make sense. Dudley could feel it now that Voldemort had shown him where it was located, but his head felt normal, he could remember everything as far as he was aware anyway. Dudley would have given Voldemort what he was asking for if he had known how. Maybe they could teach him how to lift it, so he could give them what they want and they’d let him go. His thoughts stilled. What if there really was some important information hidden inside him? Had Harry put something there? It was possible. Dudley knew almost nothing about magic but he definitely didn’t want to sell Harry out to Voldemort. He realised his previous confusion about Harry had gone, it was clear that Voldemort was the enemy, Dudley felt guilty for believing that Harry was capable of cold blooded murder. Maybe he did kill that family but Dudley was sure that if he had killed them he would have had a reason for it. Dudley wasn’t sure what he was going to do about this blockage. He wanted to protect Harry but if they hurt him like that again, Dudley was sure he would give up anything to make it stop. He was not a brave person. Maybe he should kill himself before it could get any worse.
He thought of being with his mother again the corners of his mouth pulled up into a small smile.
Crack
Dudley looked up and saw Draco was back. Stood a few feet in-front of where he was hunched in the corner.
‘Are-are you alright?’ Draco asked
Dudley actually laughed
‘Oh yeah I’m just peachy’ Dudley gestured to his eye that was still swollen shut.
‘Right- sorry’ Draco at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
‘You should eat’ Draco continued
The conversation was slightly off kilter, the power dynamic was so vastly tipped in Draco's direction, yet Draco was acting as though Dudley wasn’t locked up in his family dungeon, like they were equals.
‘Why are you here?’ Dudley asked with all the confidence he could muster, Draco wilted.
‘I- I don’t really know. I guess I was worried about you? I am really sorry for yesterday.’
‘What? When you invaded my mind without permission?’
Draco cringed
‘I’m sorry.’ Was all he said.
‘It’s not okay’ Dudley managed in reply.
‘I know.’
Draco slumped back against the wall opposite, head down. They were at least 20 feet apart, Draco kept a good distance between them but it felt a lot closer.
There was a lingering silence, Dudley began to feel awkward, he was about to fill the silence when Draco lifted his head
‘I am really sorry’
‘Okay’ Dudley said, not forgiveness but acknowledgement, the best Draco was going to get.
‘You’re a muggle then?’
‘A what?’
‘You’ve got no magic?’
‘Oh- no. No magic’
‘It’s weird. That blockage in your head. I’ve never felt one like it. I didn’t know muggles could do occlumency.’
‘Occlu-what?’
‘Occlumency, you can protect your mind from magical interference’
‘I don’t know what that blockage is any more than you do. I would have told him if I’d known how’
‘Right’’
‘But I definitely don’t have any magic, whatever the blockage is, it’s muggle. Harry and my aunt are the only members of my family with magic. I don’t want anything to do with it. I hate it’
‘You hate it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Why?’ Draco looked genuinely confused
‘Because it’s dangerous and weird, that’s why’
Draco smiled
‘What’s funny?’ Dudley asked
‘I’ve never really spoken to a muggle before, not properly, not one who knows about magic. I just assumed muggles who knew about magic would be wildly jealous, it didn’t occur to me that you’d dislike it.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself magic is fucking evil, exhibit A’ Dudley gestured to his broken nose and swollen eye socket.
The levity that had begun to glow in Draco was immediately snuffed out.
‘Yeah I suppose so. Not everyone is like him though, like them.’
‘Oh you’re different are you? Because it hurt me more when you did it’ Dudley fired the words at Draco like daggers.
‘Oh god’ Draco dragged his fingers down his face
‘I didn’t want to, you have to know that I didn’t want to do it’ he whispered
‘That didn’t really matter from where I was sat’
‘I don’t want to hurt people’
‘Let me go then’
‘What?’
‘They’re going to hurt me more right?’ Dudley gestured upwards to the evil wizards in the house above.
‘Yes.’ At least Draco had the decency to look ashamed.
‘So let me go’
‘I can’t.’
‘Why?’
‘He’ll kill me, he’ll torture my family- he thinks you’re important. Even if I let you get away, he’s just get you back, the power he has you have no idea’
‘He thinks I’m important, why?’
‘There’s a huge fucking wall blocking something massive in your head, he thinks you know where Harry Potter is’
‘But I don’t’
‘You need to figure out how to get through that blockage Dudley’
‘But what then? He’ll just kill me like he killed my mum’ Dudley winced at the memory. His voice had got louder, he was just realising himself. He was going to die either way.
Draco seemed to have the same realisation, he paled and said nothing.
‘Brilliant’ Dudley said finally.
‘I’m sorry’ Draco repeated.
‘Yeah I know. You’ve mentioned it’ Dudley scoffed.
Draco stood then and walked closer, he wore black jeans and a grey aran sweater.
‘Will you let me fix your face?’
‘With magic?’
‘Yeah’
‘Absolutely not’
‘What can I do?’ Draco sounded desperate
‘If you won’t let me go there’s nothing you can do.’
Even as he said it Dudley felt guilty, he was asking Draco to sacrifice himself and his family to give Dudley an attempt at life on the run. Dudley wasn’t smart, he would be easily found and dragged back, these people had fucking magic, the game was rigged.
‘I’m going to get Vinny to send more food, what would you like to eat?’
‘Nothing’
‘Please?’ Draco pleaded.
‘Pancakes’
‘Okay’ and Draco was gone.
That afternoon (or at least it felt like afternoon, it was hard to tell in a dungeon) a plate of pancakes arrived and Dudley nibbled on one before he fell asleep.
Dudley barely slept. Stomach aching but also tying itself in knots. Dreams of dead eyes, slumped bodies, bones, blood, pain. His eye was agony, his nose definitely broken.
The next morning Dudley was picking absentmindedly at the wall when Draco appeared in his cell. He looked flustered, face flushed and hair mussed.
‘Here’ Draco said walking toward him, Dudley leaned back.
‘I went to a muggle shop’
Dudley took the polythene bag from Draco
Inside was a first aid kit, bandages, antibacterial spray, paracetamol, toilet roll, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
‘I thought, seeing as you wouldn’t let me help you with magic, you could help yourself the muggle way’
‘Oh. Thank-you’
‘Ive never been in a muggle shop before, my parents have never really let me into the muggle world, old pureblood family you know. I had to sneak to Gringotts to get some muggle money, I’m not sure I got it right’
‘You guys have your own money?’
‘Yeah’ Draco tossed a strange coin that read ‘one knut’ to Dudley, Dudley ran his fingers over it. He was nervous to hold something magic, like this money might bite him.
Draco reached into his back pocket and brought out a thick wad of fifty pound notes.
‘Holy shit’ Dudley scoffed aghast. He’d never seen so much money in one place before.
‘That’s what the lady behind the counter said’
‘You took that out in the middle of the shop?’
‘yeah’
‘Bloody hell, you’re lucky you weren’t mugged’
‘It’s too much?’
‘You could probably buy a car with that’
‘So yes?’
‘Yes’
‘Right, I’ll know for next time’ Draco slumped back against his wall sitting in the same position as the day before.
Dudley reached for the paracetamol and took two from the blister pack, then hesitated realising he needed water.
‘What is it?’ Draco asked
‘I need a drink’
‘Oh?’ Draco said ears going pink. He stood and picked up Dudley’s glass from the first night.
‘Wait, what have you been drinking?’ Draco asked realising he hadn’t been providing Dudley with a regular supply of water. Dudley couldn’t just use aguamenti.
Dudley retreated into himself slightly embarrassed, he glanced at the metal bucket.
Draco looked like he might be sick
‘God! Why didn’t you say!’
‘I don’t know? It was fine from the bucket’
Draco had a white knuckled grip on the glass and a horror struck expression, eyebrows knotted, like he was in pain.
‘Aguamenti’ Draco muttered, his wand tip inside the glass. A fine jet of clear water emerged from the end and gently filled the glass. Dudley’s his jaw went slack, the magic was simple and elegant and so useful. He picked back through his memories of magic, pig tails, snakes at zoos, his aunt blown up, terror under a bridge, father dead, mother dead, pain, humiliation and destruction all of it. But that, a simple spell, beautiful and harmless. For the first time ever magic that didn’t destroy and corrupt. Draco passed Dudley the glass. Careful not to touch Dudley’s hand as he handed it over. Dudley was thankful, he still wasn’t sure he could touch anyone without throwing up. He gulped down the pills.
‘I’ll be back tomorrow, is there anything you need before then? I’ll have Vinny send pancakes and a drink later? What would you like?’
It was strange. Why did this boy care? Didn’t his lot hate muggles, he was on their side, the ones who had hurt him, in fact Draco had helped them torture him, why did he care all a sudden now? Fuck him.
‘Tea’ was all Dudley said, not meeting Draco’s eyes then crack and Draco was gone, and Dudley was alone again.
Sure enough that evening pancakes and a teapot appeared on an elegant silver tray. Dudley managed to eat more than the previous night, and the tea nearly made him cry. It tasted so good it almost made him forget his imminent and inevitable death. Almost. He slept better that night.
When Dudley opened his eyes he found Lucius staring down at him. Lucius’s eyes lit up when he saw Dudley was awake.
‘Good morning’ Lucius smiled
Adrenaline flooded Dudley’s body. He was wide awake in seconds and across the other side of the cell, thank God it was so big.
‘Stay away from me!’
‘Dudley’ Lucius continued walking very slowly across the room to where Dudley had retreated. His dress shoes echoing round the empty room.
‘Really Dudley that’s no way to address your betters, you must show some manners, some decorum. You should be honoured, I do not usually allow muggle scum under my roof. It would be polite to bow’
Dudley felt a huge weight at his back and his body was forced to bend at the waist. He groaned as the pain blossomed in his head, he must still be concussed.
‘That’s better’ Lucius was close now.
‘In fact, bowing is probably more appropriate for mud bloods. Muggles probably belong on their knees’ as he said the words Dudley felt an invisible force pull him down hard onto his knees. Dudley was looking up at Lucius from the floor now
‘Perfect. Yes I think that’s exactly where you belong. You look just perfect down there’ Lucius lifted a hand
‘Please don’t touch me’ Dudley sobbed, tears had begun to fall again without his permission. But he couldn’t move his body, it was not his anymore for some reason. It was like someone had poured cement over his body and let it set.
Lucius grinned, he was enjoying himself.
Lucius grabbed Dudley’s chin and Dudley felt his stomach drop. The grip was tight, but his hands were soft. Lucius brought his face close and Dudley could taste peppermint in his warm breath
‘Such an ugly face’ Lucius shor the words like bullets.
They didn’t hurt though, if anything it was a relief that Lucius found him so disgusting, for a minute there he had thought…
‘…But this is still useful’ Lucius pushed a finger into Dudley’s mouth, Dudley felt Lucius’s long fingernail on his tongue as his finger explored his mouth. Dudley tried to bite down, close his mouth, anything to reject this intrusion but he couldn’t, couldn't do anything but hold his position and allow it to happen. Another finger, and another and another until Lucius had all four fingers forced inside Dudley’s open mouth. Saliva dribbled, Dudley couldn’t control it, his mouth had been open too long.
‘Truly grotesque, you really are a horror to behold’ Lucius removed his hand from Dudley’s mouth and wiped the drool off his fingers on Dudley’s shirt.
Lucius stood up ‘I see the house elf is treating you far too well’ he gestured over to the plate, bag and empty glass of water in what Dudley had now claimed as ‘his’ corner.
‘I’ll be sure to remind Vinny that you are a prisoner and not a guest’ Dudley did not inform Lucius that in fact most of this had come from his own son.
‘I’ll see you very soon Dudley’ he said before disappearing with a crack
As soon as Lucius was gone Dudley had his body back. The cement was gone. He rushed over to his corner and fished in the bag for the toothpaste. He brushed and brushed. Fuck. His stomach was writhing. Why? Why did he do that? Panic rose in Dudley hot and blistering. What did that mean? Lucius’s fingers in his mouth and his face far too close.