Dudley Suddenly Pays A Debt

Dudley Dursley was not a nice boy. He followed his parents examples and despised anything that was not "normal". However, his cousin, the freak, was a wizard and went to the school for such people. He didn't think he himself was a freak. He thought he was being perfectly normal.

Unknown to him, he had someone outside of his home that knew there was something wrong with the Dursley boy and was wanting to do something about it. There was someone in the neibourhood who could do something about it. The unknown man had become a school counselor in the area and was watching the boys run havoc in the neighbourhood. He couldn't do anything yet, but he hated seeing and hearing the filth coming from their mouths. The man had a chance to meet Dudley sooner than his mother did.

Dudley Dursley and Piers Polkiss had broken a window. From the view of everyone, including the boys themselves, it was done on purpose. In the eyes of the Dursleys, and what the boys tried to pass it off as, was that it was an accident. The man stepped outside to confront them. The boys denied it, for where they were standing and where the door was, the man had cut off their escape. Neither boy was in a shape good enough to hop the hedge, so they were stuck. The man demanded repayment for the window. Unfortunately for Dudley at the moment, he was broke as he had just spent his money. Piers didn't have enough to cover the whole thing, but had enough to cover half. The man refused to let Dudley go without some sort of repayment. In order for him to not press charges, he had to work for the man for a week and both boys had to help put in the window. Polkiss gladly left without his money and a copy of his phone number - the man knew which house he lived in. Dudley had to stay and sweep up the glass on the inside.

When Petunia went over to the man's house, Dudley didn't say a word. He kept in hiding as much as he could. Petunia had a blind eye to what ever anyone was doing except for the person she was either trying to compete against, or wanted to pansy up to. She saw him, and ignored him.

It became a pattern for the week. Dudley would go over to clean, and the blind eye his mother had given what he had been doing started to hurt. He felt like things were unfair, but that was the deal he had chosen. Piers started teasing him as well. That stopped because Dudley stopped buying him things, and started ignoring him. For the two friends from childhood, that hurt more than what they were used to. They quickly made up. Their friendship was even stronger when they helped the man put the window in. To keep what attention he had of his parents, Dudley kept acting the same at home. In return, Dudley's parents gave him attention at home.

The week was an eye opener for Dudley. He acted the same way to his cousin after he came home, and realized it hurt for some reason. Dudley every so often would stop by the man's house just to talk. It was there for the first time he learned about empathy.

"Why does it matter? He's the freak!"

"Why is he the freak?"

"He's an orphan and does freaky things. He goes to a freaky school."

"Mr. Dursley, he is a boy your age, is he not?"

"Yes, but..."

"No, we're going to learn something. He is a boy your age?"

"Yes."

"Does he do the chores?"

"Yes."

"Does he get sore and tired and hungry?"

"I think so."

"Does he ever do things slower when he's had a busy day before?"

"Hey... Yes."

"Then he gets tired and sore and hungry just like you do."

"But he's been doing them much longer. He's fast."

"Just like anyone who starts a job is slower than the person that has been there a while, the boy who lives with you has feelings and needs to."

"Yeah right."

"Even if you don't believe me, he does. Anyway, what you are feeling is called empathy. You are starting to put yourself into his shoes."

"And the reason the feeling hurts?"

"Your conscience, the part of you that tells right from wrong, is hurting when you treat him wrong because you know what it is like."

"That's why it hurt when my mother ignored me?"

"Yes."

"I don't know whether or not to believe you."

"Will you promise to think on this?"

"I promise, Mr. Stephen. Oh, here's Piers."

"Bye for now."

"See you later, Mr. Stephen."

There was no instant immediate change. Dudley had yet to decide whether or not to use this information, but coming from a man that Dudley was coming to respect, he didn't ignore it completely. He started treating Harry at least like he belonged there and started giving commiserating looks whenever Petunia went long or passing a cold wet cloth when he saw him on the floor. He still bullied Harry verbally when his parents or friends were around, but he started being more silent.

As for Mr. Stephens, he didn't see an immediate change in how that group of boys started treating the people around them either. However, soon at least, malicious vandalism stopped as the boys' ringleaders had passed on the price of that stuff and if they broke anything else that they would have to at least pay for it. The problem of their morals continued to be one. However, since they stopped to talk, he hoped that he could help in some form, despite what their parents told them.

Later that summer, Marge came over, and Dudley started hating his aunt. He was learning that a smarting conscience and disappointment in authority could hurt way worse than he thought, even if other authority figures approved it. His relief when she left was bigger than normal. He didn't see Harry until the next summer.