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Snow fell from the sky lightly dusting the sidewalk leading up to the house Harry swore he would never return to. It looked as it always did, nothing out of the ordinary and exceptionally dull, matching the neighboring homes. With their daughter, Maeve between them, Harry and Hermione walked up to the wreath covered door.
As Harry lifted his left hand to knock on the door, it swung open and there stood his cousin Dudley, almost the same as he had been when leaving over seven years ago.
“Harry, I, uh, saw you coming up the drive,” Dudley explained, shrugging his shoulders.
Harry looked down at his daughter, then at his wife who gave him an encouraging smile and nudged her head in the direction of Dudley silently telling him to say something, but not to stick his foot in his mouth.
As Harry went to speak, a voice Harry hadn’t heard in many years sounded from inside the house.
“Dudley, darling,” the voice said, breaking through the palpable tension in the air. “Whyever do you have the door open? It’s freez—”
A woman with straight, black hair and olive skin appeared behind Dudley, a small child on her hip. It was Cho. Harry was shocked, to say the least...Dudley and Cho? How did that happen?
“Oh, Harry, Hermione, please excuse him. Come in! Come in!” Cho said, lightly pushing Dudley out of the way who was still standing there as if he was unsure of what to do.
“Thank you, Cho,” Hermione said, leading her family into the entryway, less shocked by the reappearance of Cho than Harry. Harry, coming to his senses, followed Hermione into the house, shutting the door behind him.
Cho took their jackets before inviting Hermione and Maeve into the kitchen, leaving Harry and Dudley standing lost and confused in the entryway.
Harry, out of habit, ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick on end. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dudley beat him to it.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” Dudley blurted out, almost yelling. He opened and closed his mouth several more times before shutting it, his jaw clenched.
“I forgive you, Dudley—”
“No, I wasn’t done! I have this huge apology written, begging for you to forgive me —” He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. “—See?”
Harry just waved it away. “I forgave you a long time ago, Dud.” And he had. Hermione had made him realize that Dudley was a product of his environment, much like Malfoy had been — mimicking their parents’ behaviors and actions.
Dudley nodded and folded up the paper before shoving it back into his front pocket. He looked back up at Harry. “I am really sorry though, there’s nothing I can do to fix my past mistakes, but I was hoping —”
“That we’d be able to make up for it now?”
“Yeah,” Dudley said, giving Harry a rare smile.
“Come on, Dud,” Harry said, walking toward Dudley and clapping him on the back. “Let’s go enjoy Christmas with our families.” With the apologies accepted and forgiveness received, the two cousins followed the sound of laughter to the kitchen where their wives held glasses of wine, their children sitting at the table covered in flour as they attempted to make cookies.
Harry walked over to Hermione and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss against her temple.
“All right, love?” Hermione asked, slipping her free hand into his, giving a comforting squeeze.
Harry lowered his gaze to Maeve, then to Dudley’s family before looking back to Hermione. He smiled. “Never better.”
The Potter and Dursley families made it tradition to get together each year for Christmas, burying the past and creating new memories for years to come.
Fin