Redemption

Privet Drive

People were starting to leave. Most just apparated away. Pansy noted that Dudley was still looking apprehensively at each disapparition. "Aren't you supposed to go back home?" she asked him.

"I probably should leave soon. My parents don't even know I've left." He chuckle humorlessly. "They would have freaked out finding I used magical transportation."

"So, you're a muggle?"

"I thought that was plainly evident."

"Yet you know a lot about magic."

He shrugged. "After Harry saved me from those... Dementors..." there was a slight tremor in his voice, "I started getting more interested, although I've kept it secret. Then we had to spend almost a year in hiding among magical folks. One can't help learning at least a bit in such cases."

Pansy felt somewhat overwhelmed. She had heard that Potter was good at defense magic, but a Patronus? She couldn't do it and she wasn't sure any of her parents could. Yet she had heard about some of the members in the DA being able to do it. Come to think of it, it was Potter who led that group, which she would have liked so much to join. Well, that was something she needed to learn more about.

She didn't want to be left alone again, now that she had this young man's company. "I don't feel like going back home just now. May I come with you?" she asked Dudley, surprised to be doing this. 'That's probably the recklessness that made the hat consider putting me in Gryffindor,' she thought.

"I'd like it, but..." Dudley had never had any female friend. He wasn't sure how to handle this request, and she was evidently a witch to boot. "We need to find some cover story, in case my parents see you. They loathe everything magical. You should change your clothes and hide your wand before we go."

For some unknown reason, Pansy liked the "we" he said. It suggested some sort of partnership, of comradry, of friendship – things she had never experienced in the Slytherin house.

Pansy waved her wand over her robes, turning them into a muggle light overcoat, similar to Dudley's. She was wearing jeans and a shirt underneath, which would not stand out in either environment. She tucked her wand into its holster which turned invisible immediately. "Is that OK?" she asked, not quite sure of herself.

He smiled at her. He didn't know why he accepted her idea. Well, he knew a bit. He was lonely and he had never been with a girl. This one seemed nice enough and she had some past actions to regret, just like him. They could try to get closer, at least.

He took his parchment out. She put her hand on it as well. "Home" he said.

He stumbled as he landed back in his room. Pansy held him and helped him stay on his feet, just as her parents had used to do when she was still a small girl.

Still, Petunia heard some noise. "Is everything all right, Dudikins?" she called from the kitchen.

He cringed at the nickname. "Yes, Mum, everything is just fine," he called back.

Pansy looked around her. A bed, a dresser, a wardrobe – these were of a much lighter "modern" style than she was accustomed to, but it didn't bother her. The desk was also familiar, but the rest...

Two boxes with dark gray rectangular front surfaces attracted her attention. A metal box under the desk, with some weird openings and some cables connected at the back reminded her of some stories she had overheard from muggleborns, talking about computers. The light fixtures on the wall and on the ceiling were certainly not meant to hold candles or torches. She wondered if she could even find her way in such a room.

She sat on the chair near the desk, noticing what she could identify as a keyboard, although it was not part of a typewriter. A few more gadgets, connected with wires going to the back of the desk, probably to the box under it, were spread near the keyboard. She couldn't identify any of them. Dudley sat on his bed, which looked not too neat. He was suddenly unsure of himself. What would he do with this strange young woman?

He already knew about the birds and the bees and what men and women do for pleasure and for multiplication. He had even watched quite a few porn films. Yet this was reality, not a film. He didn't know what she had in mind and wasn't sure how she would react to anything he said. Pansy noted his reluctance. She didn't feel too confident herself, yet she tried to break the ice.

"It's my first time in a non-magical house. Can you explain everything to me?" This topic seemed to be safe enough.

Dudley wasn't surprised. The months he had spent with the magical children in hiding made him understand both his limits and theirs.

He pointed at the switches near the door. "These are the light switches. One turns on or off the main ceiling light. The other handles the reading light near my bed." He demonstrated. Pansy knew there was nothing magical about it, yet seeing the light appear suddenly in full power at the touch of a button was exhilarating.

"This is my TV set," he pointed at the larger of the two gray rectangles. "It is operated by this remote control." He grabbed another small item from the side of his bed. She saw an irregular box with a small dark window at the front and numerable buttons of different sizes and colors. "I can turn the TV on using this button," he demonstrated, making the dark rectangle brighten and fill with moving images accompanied with sound. It was fascinating! Better than any magical entertainment she had known.

"I can change channels, make it louder or quieter and eventually turn it off," he continued demonstrating. She felt almost sad when the TV, as he called it, turned back into a dark gray surface. He didn't seem to notice.

"This is my computer," he pointed at the box under the desk, "and it connects to the screen, the keyboard, the mouse and a few game-pads. I used to play many games on it. Now, it just doesn't seem right. I can surf the Internet, though."

He didn't seem inclined to demonstrate and she wasn't sure she understood it all. It didn't really matter, though.

"This is my music system," he pointed at another box with multiple buttons. "I can hear music on it from the radio, like I know you have the wireless. It can also play CD's and even the old cassettes, although I have none. These are the loudspeakers through which it makes the music," he pointed at two rectangular boxes with cloth-like front, standing close to the wall.

He looked around, trying to find any important item he had missed. "Oh, this is my phone extension. I can call my friends over the phone or get their calls without having to go down, where the main extension is." He then took another rectangular item out of his pocket. "This is my mobile phone. Dad bought it for me a day after we returned home. It is like the regular phone, only I can go everywhere with it and it is wireless. I have to charge it every few days, though, or the batteries may go dead."

It was all too much to digest at once. Pansy was sure she could get accustomed to light switches and the TV. She was uncertain about the rest, though. Trying to compare this to what she had experienced, she could say that fire calls were a bit like telephone, and radio was like the wireless, but there was no equivalent of TV or CD music, and certainly not computers. It was quite humbling, really.

"May we watch some more TV?" she asked.

"Sure!" He turned it on and showed her how to change channels. "You may zap through them until you find something interesting. Let me bring you some refreshment now."

His mother was no longer in the kitchen. She was in the living room, watching one of her favorite soap operas, one she had badly missed during hiding. Dudley gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I've brought a friend home. I'll take some refreshment up."

"Who is it?" his mother asked. "I've seen nobody coming in."

"You were probably too preoccupied with TV or with the kitchen," he said evasively. "I'll take everything myself. You don't need to bother."

Petunia smiled, being so proud of her little boy.

Dudley took some biscuits, two glasses and two different kinds of beverage, put them all on a tray and carefully brought it to his room.

Pansy was immersed in one of the science channels, showing some African wild life. She barely noticed him coming in with the tray. She was fascinated by the cheetah chasing her prey and finally catching it in a deadly bite. He noticed a tear drop. "What is it?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"I hoped that gazelle would manage to flee," she said. "Isn't it childish of me?"

"I don't think so. I used to identify with the predator. Now I feel more compassion with the prey." He put the tray on the night stand. "What would you like to drink?"

Pansy couldn't recognize any of the beverages. One was dark, almost black. The other was bright orange. "What are these?"

"Both are soda drinks. The black one is Cola, the other is orange flavored. Both are sweetened."

Pansy felt there was too much black in her life at the moment. She tried the orange one. It tasted good and the sparkling tickled her mouth, making her laugh a bit.

"You look beautiful when you laugh," Dudley said. He really thought so. She looked so serene before. Laughter brought more life into her face.

"Well, thank you," she said, blushing at the compliment. She had never been considered pretty. She had always been acutely aware of her looks. She thought she was just plain, maybe even borderline ugly. This was the first time she was complimented for her looks.

He sat at her side, watching the program with her to its end. Pansy seemed reluctant. "I'd really like to stay longer, but I've taken already too much of your time and I have some other things to attend to. Will I see you at other funerals?"

Dudley wasn't sure. "Somebody sent this list to me, underlining a few names. I know who Fred Weasley was. I know nothing about the others, but whoever sent this to me thought I should attend at least these."

Pansy saw it was the same list that she had received, differing only by the underlined names. She didn't recognize the handwriting on the note, though. Dudley recalled that young woman telling him to come to the marked funerals. Maybe she was the one to mark them? He wasn't sure.

"My list has some names marked as well, although these didn't fight for the light side. I wonder why they put them all in one list," Pansy said.

Dudley thought for a moment. It was really a new experience, thinking before acting, but it seemed to be beneficial, so he kept doing it. "Maybe they want to show that whoever died is a victim, no matter which side he had taken?"

Pansy thought about it and smiled sadly. "Yes, most those fighting for the dark were just as much victims, unable to really choose, their actions dictated by their bigoted environment. Will you join me at these funerals?"

Dudley looked at the list. She only had two names underlined: Vincent Crabbe and Bellatrix Black. "Who are they?" he asked.

"Vincent used to be my classmate. He joined the forces of the dark lord during seventh year and died during the battle. I've heard he started a fire which he couldn't control and burned to death. I wonder what they're going to bury there. Belatrix was an awful woman, yet my father had known her as a very kind soul during their school years. It may be that she was forced into the service of the dark, becoming completely insane. I think she was just as much a victim as her victims."

"Will Harry be at these funerals?"

Pansy shrugged. "I doubt it. They were his enemies. He fought Bellatrix more than once." This reminded her. "You said he saved you from dementors. How?"

Dudley shuddered at the memory. "We were just walking back home that evening. I was teasing Harry, as I used to do since early childhood. I didn't see the dementors, but I suddenly felt intense cold and I felt as if I could never be happy again. I thought it was something Harry had done and started berating him, but he didn't listen. He just told me to keep my mouth shut close, no matter what. I then felt those cold hands holding me and a voice whispering as if inside my head. I thought I would die. Then Harry did something and a bright light came, chasing the cold and the dread away. It looked like a stag, I think. I then collapsed and Harry had to carry me home."

Pansy looked at him. She thought he was at least twice as heavy as Harry. How could that slim fragile boy carry this one? It seemed impossible.

"I was much fatter at that time. It's a wonder he managed to carry me," Dudley added, understanding her appraising look.

She remembered Harry had to face a trial and was acquitted. She didn't know the details.

"Well, I need to go now. Do you mind if I come to visit again?" She wasn't sure why, but she really wanted to meet him again.

"You're welcome. I only suggest you come through the front door and leave that way. My parents may become very unpleasant if they find you're a witch. I can show you a place where you can, how is it called – apparate? with nobody noticing." He took her hand in his, enjoying the physical proximity. They descended silently. His mother was still watching TV, not noticing anything else, so they just tiptoed to the door and went out.

He showed her to the playground. There was a fence at the back with a few trees hiding it from view quite well. He had beaten many children in that spot. Now he felt bad about it.

"You can apparate here and then nobody will notice. I'll tell Mom I've met you at the mall when shopping for clothes."

"Maybe you should show me that place some time, just in case..." she smiled at him.

Dudley smiled back. "Fine. When will I meet you again?"

"I could use some company at the funerals, but I don't think you need to attend most of them." She thought for another moment. "I think I'll come tomorrow, after the funerals. I'll probably need some cheering up."

"I'll do my best for you," he promised.

Pansy stood on her toes to kiss his lips quickly and then turned away, went behind the trees and vanished with an almost silent "crack". Dudley stood there for several more minutes, looking at the trees and touching his lips.