Amends

"conversations" 'thoughts' ~Dudley speaking to himself~ [Scene change] (A/n)

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It's been 5 years since then. Throughout these 5 years, a lot has happened.

The first thing he did after he woke up, was to sleep or at least pretend to. Although his head was hurting, he wanted to know all about this new world he saw in his memories. After all, the first time he experienced the memories, he only got general knowledge about his behaviors.

He could see that the new world was more developed than his own. As a child that he was, his attention immediately went towards video games, cartoons, and such. But the oddest thing was that there was a movie series named Harry Potter. Jack seemed to have been very invested in it but he couldn't access the memories related to it.

The fact that the movie had the same name as his brother's didn't seem like a coincidence. Due to this, he kept on trying to find out more. Despite all his efforts, he couldn't access it at all so he gave up for the time being as he went through the remainder of the memories. But the throbbing sensation in his head kept on growing. He was forced to stop looking through the memories.

At the time, he thought that his fall from the stairs was the result of the headache, which it was. But, it wasn't the only reason. Later, the cause of the headaches was found to be his still-developing brain. It couldn't bear the excessive amount of knowledge gained through the memories all at once.

After he opened his eyes, he could see the white ceiling he had woken up to earlier. He sat up as he looked at his family who was sleeping by his side. His heart softened at the sight as he once again vowed to himself to be better. They woke up at the movement of his body as they continuously asked him whether he was hurt anywhere or suffering from pain. He smiled as he calmed them down but they seemed shocked.

After further check-ups, he seemed to be okay besides the headaches and they headed back towards their home. It had already been dark by the time they reached home. He found it odd that he couldn't find Harry anywhere at all. But he ignored it thinking that he must have been sleeping or sth. His mother soon cooked up some food for the family.

As they sat down to eat, he asked his mother, "Mom, where's Harry? Let's call him to eat with us." He was even more puzzled by his parents as they looked at each other.

"Harry won't be having dinner with us, Diddykins. He is a freak and he deserves it for making you fall down the stairs." As his mother said that, he finally remembered that he wasn't the only one who harmed Harry, his parents were equally responsible, if not more. He didn't know what to say. He knew his parents were a stubborn bunch. Although they accepted all his tantrums, they would always hold their beliefs very strongly. That night, he couldn't eat his food properly despite not having eaten the entire day.

He felt that Harry must have been starving as well. So he came up with an idea. "Mom, I want to take the dinner to my room and eat there." "But why Diddykins, you can eat here. Are you perhaps not feeling well?" she asked in a worried tone.

"It's nothing mom, just a little headache. Nothing serious."

"Let Dudley eat in his room if he wants to. He's a strong boy." His father added. His mother reluctantly accepted as he went upstairs with the food. He kept the food uneaten by his side in his room. After a little while, his mother came to take the dishes but he refused her by saying that he will take them down after he finished eating on his own. He again saw the shocked expression he had seen at the hospital. "Are you sure?" she asked to confirm once again. "Yes, you can go to sleep," he replied as he watched his mother go back.

After an hour or more, he finally went down thinking that his parents were asleep. But when he reached downstairs, he heard muffled screaming and sounds of lashing and hitting sth. He slowly went towards the source of the sound only to see a tied-up Harry being beaten by his father with a belt. A piece of cloth was kept in Harry's mouth to prevent him from making excessive noise.

He completely froze up as he saw his devil of a father continue beating Harry until he was satisfied. He hurriedly went somewhere to hide as he saw his father lock the door and go upstairs to sleep. He waited in silence, terrified that his father would come back. After some time, he finally came out of his hiding place. Fortunately, the lock was a barrel bolt lock that could be easily opened. He opened the door to find Harry crying while holding his mouth to prevent any sound. Harry stiffened when he saw the door opening.

He gave the food he brought to Harry as he said sorry repeatedly and he went outside. After Harry had completed his meal, he went back inside in order to return the dishes to the kitchen. Without uttering a single word, he took the dishes, locked the room's door, and went back to his own room. He couldn't sleep all night as his tears streamed down like rivers, wetting the pillow his head laid upon.

Throughout the years, they became as close as real brothers. He continued to bring back food for Harry every night. One was no longer a fat bully and the other was no longer a weak scrawny boy. He also tried multiple times to change his parents' behavior but despite the reduced frequency of beatings Harry got, they continued to ignore Harry, called him a freak, and repeatedly tried separating him and Harry.

Apart from that, their life was going very well. They performed extremely well in school and they didn't hide their friendship there. Dudley kept on improving himself in all aspects, physically, mentally, academically, and socially. They soon grew up to be 10-year-olds almost reaching 11 years of age.

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