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It was a dreary, rainy day as Draco and Dudley headed to King's Cross. Nevertheless, Dudley couldn't wait to see Scorpius again now that the Hogwarts year was over. He’d never envisioned himself being a father, but now he couldn't imagine life without Scorpius. It had been nine years since he’d met Draco, eight since being introduced to Scorpius and it still felt surreal.
Almost a decade ago now he’d reached out to Harry to apologize and they’d begun tentatively exchanging letters. Eager to prove he didn’t share his parents’ beliefs he’d asked Harry to show him around his world. Dudley had quickly become a fan of Quidditch. It had been the third or fourth professional Quidditch game Harry took Dudley to when he had been struck in the head by a misaimed bludger (although he’d heard whispers later of an investigation to determine if it was a deliberate shot from a player who objected to a Muggle attending the match). Dudley had been sent to St. Mungos out of an abundance of caution as the medical team at the game had little experience treating Muggles. They’d insisted on keeping him for a few days for observation. At first this seemed excessive, but after he struck up a conversation with the man recovering from a potions accident in the neighboring bed, a few days no longer seemed that long. When Harry arrived to help Dudley get home he’d questioned Dudley’s judgement, confused that out of all the possible people, Dudley had befriended Draco Malfoy.
Their romantic relationship began very slowly. It had been several years since Dudley had dated anyone and he was wary enough of a relationship even before worrying about how to navigate Draco being a widower. Draco had told Dudley about Astoria early on in their friendship, and it had been around a year since she had died but Dudley hadn't been sure how much Draco was ready for. But when Draco invited Dudley to the Wasps's next Quidditch game (saying his box seat would provide much more protection from bludgers) Dudley knew it was the start of something. It was only after a year of dating that Draco introduced Dudley to Scorpius. Dudley had been extremely nervous, he hadn't known how to act around children, especially not seven-year-olds, and had worried Scorpius would think he was trying to replace Astoria. Instead it had been easier than he ever imagined. Scorpius had been fascinated by Dudley's stories about the Muggle world, and Dudley loved seeing Scorpius's face as he introduced him to various Muggle things. There had certainly been bumps in the road, but Scorpius was soon telling all his friends about “his Dudley.”
“Dad! Dudley!"
Scorpius’s shouted greetings broke Dudley out of his thoughts. At fifteen, Scorpius was beginning to pull away from him and Draco, but even a teenager couldn’t hide his excitement at seeing his parents after several months away. Draco pulled out the can he’d charmed to be a Portkey, the easiest form of transportation for the three of them, and they headed home.
Once they arrived, Draco helped Scorpius put away his stuff while Dudley headed to the kitchen, grabbing a bag of popcorn for the microwave. Draco had scoffed when Dudley had first brought it home, but Dudley insisted, arguing it was his form of a warming charm. The following Christmas, Dudley was surprised to find Draco had gifted him a hand mixer. Dudley hadn’t had the heart to tell Draco he’d never used one before. But Draco had caught on, and each following year Dudley found himself the proud owner of some increasingly obscure Muggle kitchen equipment or electronic item. Draco always feigned ignorance, but Dudley knew he had to be getting ideas from someone Muggleborn. It was a sweet gift made all the better the first time Lucius and Narcissa saw the whole collection. He'd always treasure their horrified expressions.
Dudley brought the popcorn and joined Draco and Scorpius as Scorpius excitedly related everything that had happened that year.
“I was pretty much the first to get Accio down. At least in the first five, maybe first eight. And in Muggle Studies we learned all about Muggle sports, I already knew it all of course, easiest exam ever, but you should’ve seen some of the others try to understand the rules of rugby.”
He grabbed the bowl of popcorn before continuing, “I’ve been craving this all year, Hogwarts is really missing out. Anyway, we almost won the Quidditch Cup this year. That last match was so close, but Boot just managed to get the snitch. She’s good but I was hoping she wouldn’t be enough to make up for the Ravenclaw Beaters. I think their captain just chose his friends cause they don’t know what they’re doing half the time.”
Dudley snorted, “Sounds like the Beaters for the Wasps this year. I thought this would be their year now that they have a new Keeper but guess it’s not enough.”
“Speaking of Quidditch, guess who I got!” Scorpius rummaged through his bag, mumbling that it would be much easier to find if he could just summon it and cursing Draco’s insistence on following the underage magic ban. He finally found the cards and slid one over to Dudley. “Bowman Wright! We don’t have him yet, right?”
“Are you two still trying to finish that collection? You know the cards are just a way to sell more Chocolate Frogs?” Draco said.
“Dad, no. You always say that but I’d buy them cards or no cards. Anyway, we’re gonna finish the collection no matter what.”
“Don’t listen to him Scorpius, I have faith in us,” Dudley said. Unlike Draco, he found the cards delightful. “Find anyone else good?”
“Got a lot of Merlin, some Dumbledore, a bunch of Harry, I snuck most of those ones into Albus’s textbooks.”
As Scorpius shuffled through the cards, Dudley remembered the surprise he had for him, "Guess what I got?" He pulled out the wrestling tickets and waved them in front of Scorpius.
"No way! I thought I was going to miss that match," Scorpius exclaimed.
"It got rescheduled from last week, and I just managed to get the tickets from a co-worker," Dudley explained.
As he watched Scorpius eagerly grab for the tickets he reflected on how special his family was. In the years since meeting Draco, Dudley had learned much more about the wizarding world and the ideas Voldemort had stood for. He'd had a vague idea from growing up with Harry, but hadn't fully understood. He remembered the sneers he and Draco had gotten from many of Draco's acquaintances, and the whispers that at least Draco had had Scorpius before sullying himself with a Muggle. Several months into their relationship, Draco had tearfully confessed the full extent of his involvement with Voldemort. It has been hard to hear, but the Draco Dudley had gotten to know had proved that he had changed. Their marriage had brought plenty of media speculation and Rita Skeeter has written a long analysis declaring "Former Death Eater Weds Boy Who Lived's Muggle Relative: Unexpected Change of Heart or Long Planned Vengeance?"
But while Draco had shed his old prejudices, he was still firmly a wizard. He often accompanied Dudley and Scorpius to Muggle events, and it always amused Dudley to see his normally extremely self-assured husband off-balance and struggle to fit in. Dudley himself had adapted to magic more than he'd thought possible. Magic was now a comforting presence in his life, and he easily joined in most conversations about wizard current events. But it was Scorpius who treated both worlds as his own. He could switch instantly from planning his next Hogsmeade visit to rattling off football stats and had both Muggle and wizard friends. He delighted in confusing old Pureblood wizards with detailed explanations of Muggle technology when they had expected a typical Malfoy heir. It was a far cry from most of his Malfoy relatives, and Dudley knew Scorpius sometimes struggled with the assumptions and expectations others placed on him. But he navigated it masterfully, with far more skill than Dudley could have at his age, and Dudley couldn't have been prouder of him. Dudley's current life was far from what he ever could have expected, but he wouldn't change a thing about it.