Archive of Our Own ^beta

Dudley only realized later that something was wrong with the way his parents treated his cousin.

He never would have even noticed if it weren't for the courses he took at school. During one of them, the professor had defined bullying and the way bullies targeted the victim.

One of the students had replied that if the victim stood alone while the bully looked for a support group behind him, then the victim probably wasn't the weak one.

Dudley had stayed after class, pretending to waste time packing his backpack while he listened to the professor's comments and responses to some of his classmates, those he would call the professor's pets, the losers.

Was Dudley a bully?

As he entered his dormitory, Dudley thought back to the way he'd grown up. He thought back to how his parents had encouraged Dudley to systematically isolate Harry from everyone: friends, teachers, at home, outside.

Harry was the freak, and he had no right to make friends, according to his dad.

But Harry had friends, didn't he? He'd made friends in that castle. He even had a godfather, right? A godfather who was willing to murder them all for Harry—he had to love him, right?

Were Dudley's parents bullies?

Were they so afraid of Harry that they'd mistreated him his whole life?

Dudley shook his head, sighing and deciding that since there was no requirement to stay in the dormitory on weekends, Dudley might as well go home and try to figure out if they were really the ones who had been in the wrong all along.

Except, as he entered the house, Dudley blinked at the mess: overturned furniture, torn curtains, the door to the basement off its hinges, and traces of blood smeared across the floor and walls.

Dudley really hoped it wasn't Harry's dried blood.

He would definitely vomit.

"Mom!" Dudley shouted, seeing his mother there. "What happened?"

His mother blinked, looking around. Then, returning her eyes to her son, she muttered in shock.

"I can't remember what happened."

If a Trickster was laughing nearby and decided not to punish the son, well, only the Trickster would know.