Saving Dudley Dursley

Chapter eleven: I do

On the morning of his wedding day, Dudley woke up almost more terrified than he'd been when he faced the Dark Lord. For that matter, his soon-to-be wife could be, when the mood took her, as fierce as the once time terrorist.

She looked at him, having completely ignored all the rules that stated that the groom couldn't see the bride on their wedding morning. As she put it, they'd been living together for months, so there was no reason not to do it that day. He agreed.

"Not having second thoughts, are you?" she asked, raising herself onto her elbow.

He shook his head. "Are you?" he asked.

She grinned. "Well, when I was seven I did promise myself that I would only marry a pureblood…"

He paused, translating that – he still had a bit of trouble with wizarding terminology, especially this early in the morning, – then shrugged. "I am a pureblood," he reminded her.

She laughed at that. "You are," she agreed. "And you're mine!"

He didn't object to that, and she kissed him soundly before getting out of bed. When he protested, she only laughed again. "You're going to see me this afternoon," she reminded him. "Surely you can let me out of your sight for the morning."

He sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"No."

He waved her out, deciding to postpone the inevitable fight that would follow his insisting that she stay. Besides, he did have things of his own to do.

Six months had passed since Harry had defeated the Dark Lord – Dudley still wasn't up to calling him Voldemort yet, though Althea did – and the world, at least, the wizarding one, was still recovering. Ron and Hermione had been hit especially hard, though they'd found comfort in each other. To lose their best friend like that was bound to be emotionally scarring: even Dudley, who had hated Harry up to the end, still had nightmares about it sometimes. He didn't even want to think about what it had been like for them.

Neither one of them had talked to Althea for a long time after that day. It was finally Tonks who, tired of the tantrums, locked Althea and Ron in a room together and made them talk to each other. When they finally came out, a truce had been achieved. They would never be great friends, but at least they could talk to each other. Hermione, oddly enough, proved to be harder, and it was Ron who talked her around in the end. She was still on cool terms with Althea and Dudley, and Dudley doubted that she would ever really warm up to them again. She truly was the sibling that Harry never had. He found that he didn't begrudge her that in the least.

Althea had been hailed as a hero by the wizarding press (as well as, to a lesser extent, Dudley himself), and she found it grimly humorous. At least, she remarked cynically after finding her name in the papers yet again, they weren't trying to knight her. Dudley had answered that the muggle government would, and both of them laughed at that. It had been nice to laugh; Dudley hadn't realized how much he'd needed it.

He climbed out of the bed and went downstairs in search of food. He made himself a sandwich and ate it slowly, wondering whether he would be able to cope with life as a married man. As he swallowed the last of the bread and went back upstairs to get dressed, he rather thought that he would.

"Do you take this woman to be your wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

Dudley looked into Althea's eyes as the minister read the words of the ceremony. The love he felt for her was reflected a hundredfold in hers, and his voice was slightly hoarse as he said, "I do."

"Do you take this man to be your wedded husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

Althea took a deep breath, squeezing Dudley's hands as she vowed, "I do."

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Dudley reached into his pocket and drew out a ring, which he slid onto Althea's slim fingers. It fit her perfectly, as he'd hoped that it would. "As long as I shall live," he promised, drawing her close.

She nodded. Their lips met, and he knew that everything would be all right in the end. His family was all dead, but he would move on in time. He'd been plunged headfirst into the sea of wizardry, but he was learning to swim. And the woman standing across him, Althea Dursley, née Althea Gaunt, would be there to help him all the way through.

fin

So it's over. This is the last chapter, and there will NOT be a sequel. Sorry people. Hope you liked it!