CHAPTER FIVE

At last it was here, the final day she had to spend babysitting Dudley. Arabella had flitted in and out of sleep throughout the night, hovering close in case Dudley continued to scream. After the encounter with Greyback, Dudley had become emotionally exhausted, with Mrs Figg tucking him into bed in the guest room at four thirty in the afternoon. He managed to sleep for a few hours before falling into nightmares of wicked grins and teeth sinking into his fleshy neck and since the first time Mrs Figg had comforted him, he had continued to wake up on and off over the course of the night.

Dudley woke up at half seven on the day his parents were due to return home, curling his legs up underneath the sheets. He badly wanted his Mum to cuddle and had a sudden thought that made his blood run cold.

'What if Mum and Dad don't want me anymore? What if they liked not having me around so much that they get Mrs Figg to keep me here? What if they take Harry on as their son and lock ME in the cupboard instead?'

He swallowed down a sob, then sat up in bed, pyjamas sticking to his body. The door opened and Mrs Figg lingered in the doorway, giving him a small smile.

"Are you alright? You're going home today so that's something."

"Yeah… I'm going to have a bath. Can you run one for me?"

She would have gotten annoyed at his request, but after the ordeal he had been through, she decided to take pity on him.

"Yes, of course. Then you know what, we can have some pancakes for breakfast afterwards. I think I still have some pancake mix in the cupboard."

Dudley smiled genuinely. "I'd like that."

They sat and ate pancakes, Dudley's one covered in sugar and coated in syrup, before Mrs Figg helped her neighbour pack his bag. When all of his belongings were packed, Arabella placed his bag and shoes by the front door then sat them both down, sipping a cooling tea as Dudley helped himself to a plate of biscuits.

"It's… been tricky looking after you. You're not the most… well-behaved boy, Dudley."

He crammed another biscuit into his mouth, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not naughty."

"Really?" Mrs Figg snorted. "I find that hard to believe."

Dudley didn't take offence to her comment, instead licking his lips and muttering:

"Can I have milk?"

"Please."

"Yeah, that."

"It's in the fridge, go pour yourself a glass."

He heaved himself up from his chair and wandered into the kitchen. Mrs Figg shook her head in exasperation. She didn't want Dudley to be scarred from his run-in with Fenrir Greyback, but already, he seemed to be back to his normal self. Unfortunately.

Dudley came back into the living room with a glass of milk and sat down, just as the doorbell rang. Setting aside the milk, Dudley jumped to his feet and ran to the door, wrenching the door open.

"Mummy!"

He crashed into her, hugging his mother tightly and burying his head into her skirt. Petunia looked down in surprise, before recovering and becoming overwhelmed with joy.

"Duddykins! Oh, sweetheart, we missed you so much! I tried to call Mrs Figg, but the reception at the place we were staying was very bad! I love you so much!"

She waited for him to pull back before crouching down and cupping his face.

"Have you been a good boy?"

There was a cough that interrupted the emotional reunion and Petunia looked up to see Mrs Figg in the hall-way, arms across her chest. There was silence for a few moments before Mrs Figg reluctantly smiled.

"He has been good. We had a bit of an upset yesterday, but I think we're over that now, aren't we?"

Dudley nodded, shocked that Mrs Figg had mentioned that he had been upset. Usually, he would have proclaimed that he was a 'big boy', but he still just wanted a long cuddle from his mother.

"Really? Why were you sad, Duddy?"

Her son looked up at her and said: "I missed you and Dad, that's all." His voice quietened and he glanced to the floor. "I thought that you and D-Daddy wouldn't want me back."

"Sweetheart!" Petunia swept him back into a hug. "Of course we want you! We love you dearly! Come on, let's go home. Daddy's in the car, he can't wait to see you!"

Mrs Figg thought it odd that Vernon wouldn't come with Petunia to pick up their son, but guessed that the walk from the car to her front door was too far for him. And also she wanted to bring up the awkward topic of payment.

"About me taking care of him…"

"Ah." Petunia narrowed her eyes slightly as she let go of Dudley and stood up, taking out her purse from her handbag. "Twenty pounds, here you go." She took out the money and gestured for Mrs Figg to take the twenty pound note.

Arabella took the money, thinking that she should have been paid more to take care of the Dursley child, but at least he was going and she wouldn't be stuck with him day in and day out.

"Let's go, Duddy." Petunia smiled sweetly at her son, sticking out her hand.

"Hold on, Mum. I forgot something." Dudley grabbed his bag and headed up the stairs as Petunia and Arabella were left to wait around awkwardly and in silence. Petunia didn't bother to make small talk with her neighbour, simply sighing as she took in the décor and worried about her son's treatment. He seemed fine, but only time would tell.

A few minutes later, Dudley came stomping down the stairs, bag in hand.

"All done, let's go."

Mrs Figg nodded and said: "Well, I'm sure I'll see you again soon, Dudley… take care."

"You too." And to her utmost surprise, Dudley Dursley came over to her and hugged her. Arabella stood still, arms at her side as he squeezed her, whispering:

"Thanks for saving me." A bit of rummaging around in his pocket revealed a chocolate bar, which he pressed into her loose hand. He let go of his neighbour and grinned lop-sided at her.

"Got it from Malcolm yesterday at the party. See ya around."

Dudley turned on his heel and followed his mother out of the house, banging the front door behind them. Mrs Figg breathed a sigh of relief, before going upstairs to check the guest room. She wasn't sure what Dudley had been doing when he had gone upstairs a few minutes earlier by himself and wanted to check that everything was in order.

A thorough check of the room revealed that nothing was out of place, but as night fell and she could only count fourteen of her cats, she suddenly realised that potentially Dudley Dursley may have stolen one of her cats to keep for himself.

"That wretched child." She muttered to herself as she pulled on her coat. Time to get her cat back from the hands of one greedy child.