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The call came early in the morning. Dudley blearily answered the phone and listened numbly as Mum explained that Dad had a heart attack late last night. And that he didn't make it. He held it together while listening to the sobs over the phone explain the funeral plans. As soon as he hung up he felt himself breaking down. Not wanting to wake Percy, Dudley made his way quietly to the kitchen. He sat at the table, no longer bothering to stifle his sobs. Percy would wake soon, he was always an early riser, but Dudley wasn't sure he could put his emotions into words yet.
Things with Dad had been strained the past few years. After coming out of hiding, Dudley had strode to fix things with Harry. It had been a long, hard process but when Harry had married Ginny, Dudley was in attendance, the only member of Harry's family present. It had been strange to be surrounded by so much magic. After all, most of his previous experiences with magic had been negative. But this magic was a wonderful, joyous thing, a far cry from a pig tail or dementor. And he had met Percy there. They had very little in common, but they both knew what it was like to struggle to work their way back into someone's good graces. Before long, their chance meeting had turned into regularly scheduled meetings, and eventually they admitted those had transformed into dates. When they got married, Percy joked that bringing a Muggle into the family had done more to fix things with his dad than anything else.
But fixing things with Harry meant coming to terms with how horribly his parents had treated Harry. The closer he got to Harry, the harder he found it to talk to his parents. Getting together with Percy had pushed this already strained relationship even further. Dad especially had struggled to accept any level of magic, and having a wizard for a son-in-law horrified him. He had pushed hard for a Muggle wedding, only relenting when Percy gently mentioned that the marriage would only be legal in one world, and it wasn’t the Muggle one. Confronting the fact that the magical world could give Dudley something the Muggle one couldn’t had been nearly impossible for him to accept. And yet he attended the wedding, with all the magic and wizarding customs. He refused to talk to any of the Weasleys, but he was there. And he was Dudley’s father. Despite everything else Dudley still had all the memories of growing up with a father who loved him.
He heard a door open down the hall and took a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to compose himself. Percy came into the kitchen and hurried over to Dudley, asking what was wrong. As Dudley explained, Percy sat down and hugged Dudley, letting him cry into Percy’s shoulder. Percy offered quiet reassurances, asking if there was anything he could do.
“I just… I don’t know how to feel,” Dudley haltingly explained. “He’s gone and I’ll never see him again. And part of me regrets all the time we lost the last several years. There’s so many times I could’ve seen him but didn’t. Does that make me a bad person? Dad was a horrible person. I know that. I hate how he treated you and Harry, and probably other people I don’t even know about. And I feel guilty even part of me misses him already. Then there’s part of me that wishes I had confronted him more when he was alive. Maybe I could’ve gotten him to understand.”
Percy looked hesitant, as if debating what to say, before replying. “I know this was a very different situation but I can tell you that there’s almost nothing you could have done to convince him. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do except hope they come to a realization on their own.” He trailed off.
Dudley knew how rare it was for Percy to talk about the years he spent estranged from his family. He had confided in Dudley once, just before they got married, wanting Dudley to know everything going into the wedding. But despite their usual openness with each other, this was one topic Percy generally avoided. It touched Dudley to realize Percy was willing to bring it up if there was any possibility it would bring comfort to Dudley.
Percy went on, “And after so many years of hating magic, it would be very difficult to admit being wrong. Just a year was hard for me. Even once I was forced to admit to myself I had trusted the wrong people, I didn't know how to go back and admit that to anyone else.” He took a fortifying breath and took Dudley’s hand in his own, “I lost my last years with Fred. For a long time I didn’t know how to forgive myself. Sometimes I still don’t. But I promise it gets easier. Remember the years you had, and his love for you. But also remember how much you grew beyond his beliefs. I promise you’re not bad person for missing your father, not when you’ve worked so hard to escape what he tried to teach you.”
“Thank you. It’s going to be hard, but you helped a lot.” Dudley glanced at the clock, “I’ll be okay, you can go get ready for work.”
Percy frowned, “Of course not. Work will be there tomorrow, you need me today.”
He reached for his wand, conjured a silvery bird, and quickly explained the situation. Dudley leaned against Percy as they watched it fly away to deliver the message. They sat together in silence, Percy’s presence providing more comfort than any additional words would.