Redemption (Dudley Dursley)

III. Dudley.

It went like that for the next couple of weeks. Dudley had exchanged more letters with Harry and he slowly felt like he was finally getting to know the other side of his family. Around ten letters had been passed between the pair and Dudley only figured that it would take Archimedes a while to fly between both of their homes- it was the only logical explanation he could think of anyway. Dudley walked down the busy London street seen as he always opted to take the tube to work every day, not even daring to risk London traffic in the morning rush hour.

He wore a fitted black suit which he had gotten specially tailored two weeks prior. He wouldn't openly admit it but he felt amazing in it considering two years prior he couldn't even squeeze into a men's size large. He was proud of himself for managing to stick to a healthy balanced diet for so long although he still allowed himself an 'off day'. Basically, Dudley used his day off to eat junk food but he knew he had to treat himself occasionally. Felicity did not mind this as she loved to bake so her delicious creations never went to waste.

A few people stared at him as he walked over to his building and like almost every day that he was required in office he was rendered speechless over how lucky he had gotten. He had managed to do this on his own without any help from Vernon's respected position in Grunning's Drilling Manufacturer's. It wasn't this which shocked him most of the time though. He knew now that all of those years that he spent not caring about his schoolwork and relying heavily on his parents would have gotten him absolutely nowhere in life. He cringed at the single thought that his ex-best friend Piers was now a father to twins and he couldn't find a job that paid well enough in order to support them in the way they needed.

Dudley knew that he would likely be in a similar position if the reality of the awful situation he was caught up in three years ago did not strike him full force. He really shouldn't be grateful for a war happening but he was because he managed to get his life back on track and he also met his other half in the midst of all the mayhem going on around them.

Like the majority of mornings in which he was required in his office, he was greeted merrily by his co-workers. Technically he was their boss but he treated everyone equally and paid everyone equal amounts; a reason why he was so liked within the company. Dudley only done what he did because he wanted to prove to his parents and more importantly, himself, that he was capable of doing things so long as he set his mind to it.

It was a hard start for them. Dudley had made advertisements searching for a credible business partner because he didn't want to do it all himself. It took nearly five weeks before he found Trisha. She was in her early thirties and already had a couple of successful business' under her belt. At first, she was sceptical of his age but she was won over quickly.

Dudley put whatever extra money he had aside from paying his rent and bills towards it. Trisha put in a much larger amount but Dudley assured her he would pay her back if their venture failed. Whatever was left, Vernon invested in. It was slow for a couple of months and he wanted to pack it in then. But Felicity and Trisha gave him a talking to. Not long after, word had gotten out of his business and their profits inflated massively.

And he hasn't looked back since.

For a brief second he wondered if people knew about his small fortune back at his home in Little Whinging. He grimaced at the word home mentally; he never really did consider his childhood house his home. All there was in the average sized family home was favouritism and a lot of it. He may have liked it at the time when he was still being brainwashed by Vernon and Petunia, but he was older and more mature now. Whenever he looked back on his childhood he was simply full of self-loathing. In a way though he was glad because it made him the person he is now.

Dudley sat down on the chair in his office before turning on his computer. He didn't really need to do much for about four hours but he figured he would come in earlier so he wouldn't be distracted from his work for much longer. He wasn't falling behind per say, but he much preferred being slightly ahead of everything. He was the head of a business and he needed to know everything in advance to be prepared for whatever may arise. Who knows though, tomorrow he could possibly be jobless. It wasn't likely but it was still a possibility and he did not want to take any chances.