Treaty - 6

Dudley – massive, round Dudley – walked onto the podium with a rolling gait, his great girth covered in expensive, finely made green robes. He waved at the cheering crowd, his expression smug, as if they all had come to pay him homage. Harry's chin dropped when he noticed Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia standing to the side, beaming and applauding their son. Uncle Vernon kept glancing warily at the various wizards around him, but his pride for Dudley clearly showed.

Harry felt as if his entire world had tilted sideways, and he was struggling to stay upright. This was not what he'd expected. His aunt and uncle had always doted on Dudley – to the point of being absurd – but to see such a turnabout on anything related to magic was more than he could grasp.

Perhaps their acquaintances in the Muggle world had finally grown tired of Dudley's bullying ways, and the Dursleys were finding it harder and harder to find anyone they could still impress. Maybe they simply enjoyed the lavish attention he was certain Umbridge had showered on Dudley. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always been overly impressed by their average son.

Umbridge nodded at Dudley, covertly pushing a small piece of paper toward him. Reading had never been one of Dudley's favorite pastimes, and his long pauses and struggle with words was painfully apparent.

"Greetings fellow w-w-wizards," Dudley, said, his voice wavering. "I was raised with one of you – but I was taught to fear you." Dudley paused, most likely because he was stuck on a word, but he appeared to enjoy the reaction and stretched the moment out longer. "I was told that you were all abnormal – freaks – and made to believe that everything magical was meant to harm me. I was wrong. My family was misled."

Dudley's frustration with the parchment and what was written finally overcame him, and he crumpled it. Dolores's face registered alarm when Dudley tossed it to the ground.

Harry shook his head, clearly seeing why Dolores would have gone after Dudley once she realized the magical register had been obscured. Her reasons for using him were twofold. First, she could strip Harry's strong public appeal by supplying a new "hero," and this time, she'd found one she could control. Manipulating Harry's blood connection to Dudley was a win-win for her.

"Look. I'm magic just like you. From what she tells me," Dudley said, jerking his thumb in Umbridge's direction, "I've got a lot of power. My folks were afraid of magic until they realized how special it made me. We've been threatened so many times, we thought—"

"Yes, and we all owe you an apology for that, Mr. Dursley," Umbridge said, swiftly moving Dudley behind her. "Your family never should have been made to fear your gift."

Harry could see Aunt Petunia dab her eyes, staring adoringly at her little popkin, who took up half the stage with his wide girth. Even Uncle Vernon had managed to maintain a stiff upper lip around all the magical folk. He proudly stuck his chest out and clapped Dudley on the back.

Harry carefully schooled his features, unwilling to allow any of his feelings to show. He knew Ron and Hermione had both seen something in his eyes, and he refused to look directly at them lest they see it again. He'd spent his entire life being made to feel abnormal for what he was. The Dursleys had always hated magic and anything to do with it. Now that it was their precious Dudley being lauded for that same abnormality, suddenly it was a gift.