Chapter - 28.
"No way! Dudley can head back to his room, and I'll take care of your question," Vernon said, a bit anxious that Dudley might accidentally spill some details about Harry. He tried to usher Dudley out of the living room, but before Dudley could move, Theodore appeared right next to him. With a hand gently resting on Dudley's shoulder, he looked at Vernon with a serious expression. "Mr. Dursley, I have to say, your attitude is a bit concerning," he said. Then, turning back to Dudley, Theodore flashed a warm smile and said, "Hey there, Dudley! Why don't you take a seat? I'd love to ask you a few simple questions about your family."
Dudley looked a bit worried as his dad shot him a sharp look, almost as if he was silently urging him to obey. But with Theodore watching him, who seemed a bit more intimidating for some reason, Dudley decided it was best to just sit back down on the couch.
Noticing that his little magic suppression trick was working like a charm, Theodore smiled and plopped down next to Dudley. "So, Dudley, let's start with an easy question: how many people live in your house?"
Theodore could have jumped straight to the point, but he didn't want to give Dudley any weird ideas. Plus, Dudley wasn't a bad kid at all; he actually had a pretty big character change by the end of the story! The ones Theodore was really concerned about were Petunia and Vernon. Petunia was a bit jealous of not having the magic, while Vernon was just too set in his ways to consider any changes.
"There are four of us..." Dudley taking a glance at his father who could only sigh in defeat, replied and with that theodore continue to ask questions till it came down to the word "Cousin" and "Harry Potter".
"Tell me dudley, how's your relationship with your cousin harry? since both of you're about the same age i feel you two might be best buds or something, am i right?" though theodore already knew the answer to that questiion, he still asked.
Dudley heard the question again and glanced at his dad, looking like he wanted to ask, "How should I answer this?" But when he saw his dad nodding in a strange way, he figured his dad wanted him to be honest. So far, his dad hadn't reacted negatively to anything Dudley had said to this unexpected visitor who had barged into their home.
Feeling pretty confident about his conclusion, Dudley opened his mouth and, just as Vernon had feared, started to spill everything. "Nah, there's no way that freak and I could be friends. He's just a loner who happens to be my cousin, nothing more than that." With that explosive start, Dudley kept going, while Vernon wished he could make him stop digging a deeper hole. But it was too late, and Theodore wasn't letting him step in to change the course of the conversation.
"Alright, Dudley, you can head to your room now, just like your dad asked," Theodore said with a slightly awkward smile. He thought Dudley wasn't too bad, but it seemed like being around his not-so-great parents had messed with his head a bit. As Dudley stomped upstairs, shaking the house, Theodore turned his attention back to Vernon, who looked like a scared animal trapped in a corner.
"Mister Dursley, no.. i don't need to be respectful to someone like you. Since your son has already shared how you treat Harry Potter, it's clear that your behavior has influenced him, making him unruly and a bully—definitely not good signs for a kid. Honestly, all of this is enough for me to put you behind bars for at least ten years for being manipulative and abusive toward a child you were supposed to care for."
With that final statement, Theodore fell silent, watching as Vernon looked around the house, desperately searching for a way out of this mess. He never thought he'd be held accountable for that "freak" child of those deceased folks.
If it hadn't been for his wife insisting they keep the child in the family that day, none of this would have happened. Going to jail for that "bastard freak child"? No way that was going to happen!
"If I were you, I'd think twice about going that route." Theodore, skilled in both Occlumency and Legilimency, quickly picked up on what was swirling around in Vernon Dursley's mind. Without missing a beat, he urged him to stop those thoughts. But it seemed like Vernon had no intention of listening. Instead, he got angrier at the idea of someone reading his mind. Clenching his fists, he charged at Theodore, probably thinking he could just beat him up a bit since, in his eyes, Theodore didn't look all that intimidating.
'If I can handle him, I won't have to deal with all this chaos,' Vernon thought. Then, without any warning, he swung his hefty fist at Theodore, who was ready for it.
*Slap* *Thud*
The sounds echoed through the living room in an instant, prompting Dudley to rush back in, panting. He was followed by a skinny kid with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, who looked both confused and excited to see his uncle sprawled out on the carpet, finally getting a taste of his own medicine.
Seeing Harry Potter in the house, Theodore let out a sigh of relief. "You must be Harry Potter, right? Could I borrow the house phone for a minute? I need to make a few calls to sort this out." Then, noticing Dudley's eyes welling up with tears, thinking his dad was gone, he added, "Hey, no need to cry! He's not dead, just knocked out for now."
Note : please give me some power stones, it will motivate me to write more. [You can also share ideas if you have some] :)