They had met in a park. It wasn’t love at first sight, surely not for Dudley. He was still mourning the loss of his wife, Imogen Dursely. She had passed away last winter due to a sickness she couldn’t shake. Her immune system was shot and she eventually stopped fighting. The threat of death wasn’t new to him, if the stories his cousin told were true, but the experience still clung to him.
It was his daughter who was carrying him through the loss. If little Melody wasn’t with him, he was sure he would have wasted away and buried beside his wife. Melody was four and missed her mother, but she had a child’s strength to persevere and knowing that she needed her daddy, kept him going.
Going to the park every Saturday morning had become their little tradition. Walks to visit her mother’s grave and then to the park for a break, and then they’d end their morning with a late breakfast.
Melody was chasing pigeons around the grass; she had a napkin full of biscuits that she threw at the birds.
There were a few other people up and about this Saturday morning. There were a few elderly people sitting on benches with newspapers and some young people jogging. There also happened to be a large man sitting on a bench staring vacantly off at a tree.
Dudley watched the other man for a moment, curious. He was dressed strangely; his clothes were a mismatch of patterns and fashion sense. He almost reminded Dudley of...no it couldn’t be. Maybe some people just had bad fashion. There’s no way that man could be a wizard. Just no way.
Dudley decided that staring was rude, even if the man was dressed so strangely and turned his attention back to his daughter who was now sitting down and nibbling on her biscuits. Dudley felt fortunate that Melody took after her mother, she was a little heavy, but compared to Dudley’s own baby photos, she looked positively svelte.
Dudley snuck a glance over at the other man again and saw that he was watching Dudley. Dudley blushed and looked away. Sometime after his first year at St. Brutus, Dudley was horrified and confused that his eyes wondered a little too freely in the locker room. Dudley was raised in a normal family and such behavior was an aberration. Dudley tried so hard to be normal and though he loved his wife—such feelings were never in question—Dudley spent too much trying to hide such embarrassing tendencies.
Dudley decided that he and Melody had spent enough time at the park. He gathered his daughter up in his arms and walked towards the park exit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the large, strange man watching him.
Dudley didn’t take Melody out to the park the next day. They spent a quiet morning at home, enjoying a big breakfast, and then Dudley took his daughter to visit his mother. His father died two years ago, a year before his own wife. His mother was alone now, and though Dudley was still grieving, he knew his mother understood loss as well.
Petunia Dursely looked older now. The wrinkles heavy in her face, her hair limp and not as prim as she used to style. She gathered her granddaughter in her arms—Melody was a little too heavy and Petunia was a little too frail—and led Melody into the kitchen. She had made a batch of biscuits which Melody dived into excitedly.
Dudley and his mother had some tea and talked about weather or things they read in the paper. The elephant in the room was obvious but also unnecessary. Neither really needed to talk about Vernon and Imogen.
Petunia talked about the cooking class she signed up for a few months ago. She was experimenting with Mediterranean dishes, sometimes not always successful. Finally she mentioned a friend she made. He owned a shoe shop and was perfectly normal in every way. Dudley didn’t necessarily know why this person was important and assumed it was just to fill up the silence, until Petunia mentioned grabbing tea with the man during the week.
Oh.
As he was driving home, he couldn’t help but wonder how he felt about his mother dating again. His father had been dead for two years and Petunia had been very lonely. Should he begrudge her of this? She was an older woman, what was a little companionship, if that was all she needed.
After Melody was tucked in bed, Dudley lay awake in his. His mind drifted to that lonely man at the park. Had he lost someone as well?
Dudley took Melody to the park the following day. He gave her a packet of crackers and set her off after the pigeons. Dudley took a look around the park and saw the same man sitting by a bench near a tree.
The man was cloud gazing. He had bag in his lap which he was fingering nervously. The man sighed and stood up to leave. Dudley admired the shape of the man. He wondered if he boxed. Dudley was too distracted and didn’t notice his daughter fall into the pond immediately.
The man did and his head turning brought Melody’s peril to Dudley’s attention. He jumped off his bench and ran to the water.
“Daddy!” Melody cried as Dudley picked her up. The water was shallow but she was still wet and scared. Dudley waddled to her and picked her up by the armpits. “Daddy,” She said again, relaxing. Dudley held out as she dripped water on the ground.
“Here,” Dudley turned to the man and saw that he held out a jacket. “Wrap this around her.”
Dudley did so quickly then set a friendly thankful smile to the man. “Thank you.” He said. As Melody was still wet in his arms and shivering despite the tepid weather, he decided a warm bath would cheer her up. He unwrapped her from the man’s jacket and held it out for the man. “I should take her home…”
“Keep it,” The man said. “You can throw it away when you get home.”
That was all the man said as he turned and walked out of the park.
Dudley rewrapped his daughter and pondered the sadness he had seen in the man’s eyes. Dudley wondered if the man had lost someone like he had. He seemed aimless, and he came to the park as much as Dudley did, maybe more.
Melody survived the swim in the park, and the next day she was back to chasing the geese just as close to the water’s edge as the day before. Dudley was sitting in his usual bench where he had the perfect view of his daughter and the man where he sat near the entrance. During his quiet inspection, Dudley thought the man seemed sorrowful and lonely. Dudley looked down to the man’s freshly washed coat and breathed evenly.
He slowly stood up and walked towards the man. The man watched him and shifted on his bench to make room for Dudley to sit. They sat in silence every once in a while, sharing glances and watching Melody. She had grown tired and was lying on her back in the middle of the park. Dudley wondered if he should tell her to stand back up. She was getting her dress dirty. His mother would have been upset. She liked things clean and kept them so, painstakingly. Imogen, on the other hand, was a bit more free-spirited. She liked to make mudpies with Melody and jump in puddles on a rainy walk.
Dudley made the decision to keep silent and let his daughter get a little dirty. Instead he turned to the stranger and held out his jacket.
“Despite your suggestion, I figured I would return it anyway.”
The man accepted the jacket with a nod. “I guess I didn’t really want it thrown away. I just thought I wouldn’t see you again.”
Dudley wondered why as he had seen the man almost every time he’s come to the park.
“I also wanted an excuse to introduce myself,” Dudley said. The man raised an eyebrow at him and Dudley blushed, feeling like a child back at St. Brutus. “I’m Dudley Dursley.”
“Gregory Goyle,” The man said. He held out his hand and Dudley shook it. There was something different about the man. He dressed strangely and he was quiet. He seemed to mind his own business and appreciate blending into his environment. But at the same time he didn’t seem to mind Dudley playing close attention to him.
They talked quietly and sparingly about all things unimportant. Imogen was never explained or why Dudley and Melody were alone. Speaking of her seemed inappropriate with the man. The man, like-wise, didn’t reveal anything of a personal nature about himself either. They spoke of the weather and people-watched. The man didn’t pay attention to football so he let Dudley talk about his favorite team and a game he went to with coworkers a couple of months ago.
Eventually when Melody came to him tired and hungry, Dudley invited Gregory to join them for a late breakfast. Gregory seemed disinclined to agree but also reluctant to leave. Dudley could understand the feeling. After Imogen, it took a lot of strength to crawl out of bed and keep leaving life. Gregory agreed and the three left for a nearby café.
Dudley and Gregory met up at the park every day. Some days they never spoke and Some days they played with Melody. Melody seemed fascinated by Gregory and that only made Dudley more attracted to him. Gregory in turn seemed not to mind his daughter and instead indulged in bizarre stories: Bizarre but not unfamiliar and not all together untrue. Despite the man passing them off as fantasy, Dudley realized the man must be a wizard like Harry. He kept that realization to himself not sure how he felt about it.
A month later, Dudley invited Gregory to have breakfast at his flat. Melody had excitedly boasted about his pancake-making skills and had eagerly encouraged him to join, which Gregory happily agreed.
They ate at the tiny kitchen table and when she was done, Melody ran off excitedly to play with her dolls in her room. Dudley led the man to his family room where they sat on the couch and Dudley tried explaining his work as an executive at Grunnings. Gregory had a friendly blank look for most of the conversation and so Dudley tried to shift the conversation to Gregory, but the man wasn’t forth coming. Instead they ended up talking about inane objects around the room.
Late Breakfast turned into an early dinner, which Dudley didn’t mind the company. Neither did Melody as she was eager to talk off their new friend’s ear.
Dudley liked having Gregory around, but when his secrets unraveled, Dudley wasn’t sure if he was relieved to have his speculations confirmed or scared that this was punishment for his rotten behavior towards his cousin. Gregory was a wizard. Dudley knew this because he saw his wand. Gregory had pulled it out and cast a spell at the park when he thought Dudley wasn’t watching. Of all things it was a non slip spell that was aimed at Melody. It had rained the night before and the park was muddy. Melody wanted to come anyway and truthfully, Dudley wanted to see Gregory.
But now Dudley definitely knew that Gregory was one of them. One of his kind. He stayed away from the park. He didn’t know what to do. Melody was upset. She didn’t understand. She was too young to understand. Even Dudley didn’t understand.
His visit with his mother would have been fine, but she had seemed antsy and around four in the evening. She eventually shooed them out claiming she had plans with some girlfriends. Dudley would have taken that as it were not too long ago. But now he knew she wasn’t concerned about girlfriends but more about a particular shoe-seller.
A small part of him was bitter at his mother for moving on from his father, for shooing him out and for not telling him the truth of this new relationship. If she did, maybe Dudley would share too.
He wondered what she would think. Her son having an attraction for a man. Dudley had known he had grown fond of Gregory. Maybe thought him a new friend. One day they might make plans to go to a pub and catch a football game. But Dudley liked it best when they sat in the park on cold mornings, sharing body heat. He wanted to be closer.
He wondered what would horrify his mother more. That Dudley had an attraction to another man, or that the man was a wizard.
He never knew where she stood on magic anymore. She never spoke of his cousin. Dudley had come to peace with him, but he would never understand magic. He was not invited into that world and he would forever associate with his troublesome cousin who he used to beat up. Dudley idly touched his lower back thinking back to the tall man with the umbrella.
He had never been fond of magic, and not since he was seventeen had He encountered it. Until Gregory.
Dudley took Melody to the park. He wasn’t sure if Gregory would be there or if Dudley’s behavior had chased him off. No doubt, Gregory wouldn’t have understood what had scared Dudley. But there he was, like always.
Dudley made his way over to him as Melody ran off to play.
He sat.
And they talked, like always.
And Dudley felt good again. And if the small smile on Gregory’s face was anything to go by, he must have felt good too.
The next time Dudley invited Gregory over, it was not to a pub like he had once thought but to his home for dinner. He dropped his daughter at his mother’s and cooked a ravioli dish. Gregory came and they shared a nice meal.
Dudley had dimmed the lights and had thought about lighting candles, but felt it was too forward. He didn’t think Gregory would appreciate it much either. Instead they sat comfortably with each other, for once alone without the chaperone of his daughter.
They talked like usual and Gregory talked a bit more about his friends, without mentioning magic. He seemed to struggle with what how he wanted to say it.
Dudley covered his hand which gave a nervous twitch. “I know he said.” His eyes flickered to his pocket which he knew held the wand. “Don’t worry about it.”
Gregory looked shocked, and mildly relieved. Dudley knew he would have to explain about Harry Potter. He wondered if Gregory even knew him. But that was for another time.
They moved to the living room and watched a game on the telly, before slowly moving to the bedroom.
Gregory came over more and Melody never seemed to mind. He and Dudley had been seeing each other for a few weeks now and Dudley felt a missing piece slide back into his heart. A piece he hadn’t felt since Imogen.
He watched Gregory help Melody tie her shoes, when the phone rang. He answered and was surprised to hear his mother. She normally called him in the evening.
“Hello,” He answered.
“Dudley, I’m happy I caught you,” She said knowing of his ritual to the park. “I want to invite your for brunch afterwards. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
He looked to side at his family then smiled softly.
“Yeah, Mum,” He said. “I have someone I want you to meet as well.”