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It is during Harry's rare free time, all his extensive chores done before more is heaped on, when uncle Vernon drags a yelling and crying Dudley by the ear into the house.
Harry's too shocked at this turn of event to even feel anything else. Aunt Petunia gives a shrill cry and demands to know what uncle Vernon thinks he's doing and that he let Dudley go at once.
Uncle Vernon, his face a frightening purple, replies that Dudley had run in front of traffic on the dare of his friends. This turns Aunt Petunia's already pale face stark white and she doesn't protest anymore as uncle Vernon drags Dudley up to his room.
Harry has gotten over his shock by now to be utterly gleeful over seeing Dudley being the one in trouble for once.
No one has noticed him so he creeps up the stair and in front of Dudley's room.
The door has been left open a crack. Harry doesn't dare open it further knowing while Dudley might be in trouble, he was definitely not allowed to be happy over the event.
Still, he can't help peep inside the room.
Dudley's bedroom is mostly bare since he keeps most of his things in his second bedroom. Uncle Vernon sits on the bed lecturing a bored looking Dudley about road safety and recklessness.
"Are you done now?" Dudley asks once Uncle Vernon stops although his voice is subdued, not the usual grating whine he uses. Clearly a bit shaken at seeing his parents mad at him for something when they never are.
Uncle Vernon sighs, "do you promise to never do that again?"
"No," Dudley says defiantly, he's not used to his parents asking him to do or not do things, usually they plead with him or try to bribe him.
But apparently Uncle Vernon was having none of it. "Dudley," he started sternly, "I'm not playing here."
"I don't care. I don't see what the big deal is. Nothing happened. Other than you making me look like a fool in front of my friends. And I'll have to do it again to show them I'm not a pussy daddy's boy. And I will."
Dudley turned to leave and Harry was about to leave his spot because he really didn't want to be in the way of an angry Dudley when something neither of them could ever predict. Uncle Vernon reached out for him and yanked him over his lap.
"Dad, what are you doing?!" There was real panic in his voice.
"I told you I'm not playing and if telling you isn't going to work, I'm going to have to show you." Uncle Vernon said as he started to tug down Dudley's pants. There was no doubt about what he's going to do.
Harry felt himself grin, it was like Christmas had come early. He couldn't believe what he was about to witness. Well, Christmas wasn't a particularly fun time for him, it was just more chores but he'd heard that phrase somewhere.
Dudley started to thrash in Uncle Vernon's grip but it was unrelenting. And then he suddenly shouted in his desperation, "Harry did it! He- he did something to make me so reckless. Probably did something to Malcolm, Piers and Duncan too."
It was an absurd accusation of course but Harry still took a step back. The Dursleys often believed he did things, what or how, he didn't know and everything that could be and a good many things that couldn't be was blamed in Harry. He didn't want to be caught spying on them, it will probably make his punishment worse, uncle Vernon will probably say he got Dudley in trouble and waited here to see him punished.
But apparently uncle Vernon meant it when he said he wasn't playing.
"Do you take your father to be a fool, boy?"
"Yes," Dudley replied angrily.
Uncle Vernon just sighed again. "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."
"N-no, it won't." Dudley had actually started to cry now. Harry wasn't sure if it was his usual crocodile tears or he was just that afraid.
Uncle Vernon started spanking Dudley and Dudley started to squeal like a pig, yelling at Vernon to stop. And okay, that Harry was sure was fake. It couldn't hurt that much already.
And slowly the fake sobs and yelling subsided to real sobs and pleas. At this point uncle Vernon had taken off Dudley's underpants to reveal his bright pink arse.
When uncle Vernon stopped, Dudley was too tired to do anything than lay limply over his lap and cry softly.
Uncle Vernon pulled him to his feet and then into a hug, "There, there. It's alright son. It's over. It's over. I'm sorry." Uncle Vernon kept repeating the words to Dudley as Dudley cried into his chest.
Harry suddenly felt his grin slide off and his stomach drop. He couldn't understand why. Sure, uncle Vernon was hugging him but Dudley was still crying. And it wasn't like he wasn't used to seeing Dudley being hugged and coddled.
Once Dudley had calmed down, uncle Vernon looked at him and said, "I promise I didn't want to do it but I can't have you do something so reckless again. I love you too much to see you get injured or die over a dare. Do you understand?"
"Yes, dad. I'm sorry, I love you too." Dudley replied in a soft voice, apparently too tired to argue anymore.
Vernon kissed Dudley on the forehead and said, "Let's go get ice cream."
Harry slipped away from his spot ad the father and son duo made their away across the room, still feeling strange.
For the next two weeks Harry tried to get Uncle Vernon to spank him, doing increasingly reckless things from "accidentally" taking something out of the oven without gloves and burning his hand or climbing the tall tree in the school since that was what pushed him over the edge with Dudley.
None of it seemed to work, it got him yelled at and locked in the cupboard as usual when there was complaints from school and Aunt Petunia threw him some ointment and told him not to expect to be able to slack off chores for the burn.
Then one day, by no effort of his own, he was spanked by uncle Vernon.
Apparently Harry wasn't the only one who wanted Harry to be spanked. Dudley knew he must know about his punishment and even though Harry hadn't dared to say anything to him about it, he still must not like that he had been spanked while Harry never was.
So, he had broken his own toy, accused Harry of doing it and demanded that uncle Vernon spank him for the offense.
Uncle Vernon who had gone back to treating his son as the master of the house obliged without protest.
Harry had stood there with bated breath, waiting for uncle Vernon to scoop him over his lap, curious at his own absurd need to be hit on the ass.
But uncle Vernon didn't put him over his lap, he bent him over a chair. And there was no reassurance provided before or after when he thrashed his bare arse with a belt.
Harry was sure his spanking was more painful than Dudley's had been but he couldn't bring himself to cry one tear from it.
Later, in his cupboard with a stinging behind, Harry mused how he didn't want Uncle Vernon to spank him, he wanted Uncle Vernon to love him. And even at the tender age of seven, he knew that wasn't possible.