Very good! I’m favoriting this...

Awww - thank you! In the previous generation, many children who'd had an bad upbringing, even if they managed not to be outright evil, grew into very damaged adults and died tragically young (Sirius Black, Severus Snape) - and even if Albus Dumbledore finally realised that his life was going disastrously down the wrong track, it didn't click until AFTER causing his sister's death (which also left him so appalled at what the one love affair he'd had, had led him into, that he didn't risk getting romantically involved with anyone ever again). I'm glad Dudley, as well as Harry, managed not to.

I'm also glad to see that wizards are starting to take child protection seriously - as Borolin comments in 'Lost And Found', in the past they seemed to accept levels of child abuse that muggles would be horrified by. In that one, where Snape complains that Dumbledore hadn't seemed to care about Sirius Black trying to kill him when they were children - at least not enough to expel Sirius for it - the other teachers (most of whom are much older than Snape, and had been teachers at the time) point out that Dumbledore had been worried about Sirius's sanity, given his terrible home-life, and had felt that school provided him with the only stability he had. But nobody at the time had either suggested that Sirius needed to be taken into care, or realised that young Severus himself was just as vulnerable, and just as likely to fall into bad company if there was no-one to protect him.

This is so beautiful, thank you!
I really appreciate stories where the mistreatment of Dudley becomes clear. He never really got a chance to be a decent person either.

LOVE IT

This is a wonderful fic. Thank you for writing

A fascinating story.
It is interesting to see the parallels between Dudley and Harry and recognise that abuse comes in many forms, not all of them obvious.

Well, so far my guess would be that Dudley is Gay, or a Communist. The only two things Vernon hates more than Magic.

This story is delightful! I don't think I caught the fact that you named the boyfriend "Mr Sansa" before though, that's hilarious! :D

May I just gush about how beautiful this story is? You’ve officially claimed a permanent spot in my post-Hogwarts headcanon. This is so true to Harry’s legacy as the abused child who rises above the odds to find love and acceptance, much more so than Cursed Child ever was (although to be fair, that’s not saying much). I love everything about your depiction of the adult Dudley - his loving marriage to Phillip, his immediate acceptance of Eleanor’s magic, his calling as a social worker, and most of all, that touching dedication to Harry. I also love your portrayal of the adult Harry - all-around successful in both his professional and personal life, but still sporting some internal scars from his past (most convincingly depicted by his reaction as Dudley approaches him from the kitchen sink, when he flashes back to Vernon closing in for a beating - that line gave me goosebumps). Just excellent, excellent work. I only wish it had been proofread a bit more carefully, but it’s obvious you know what you’re doing when it comes to writing utterly believable characters and scenarios. Thank you for writing this - I am so touched. I will remember this story for a long time.

Dudley’s dedication page gave me goosebumps.
I wish Cursed Child had explored new emotional territory like this fic.

'ranting about the bloody Pakis'
wtf Vernon was based after all?!

Wow. That was incredible. You know I can't read the books anymore because of the illogic of it. I know since it's a kids series the abuse (as well as the damage it caused Harry) isn't as pronounced, but still. it changes everything. His character makes NO sense with what his childhood logically would be. Fics where he suffers physical abuse are actually more canon than the original story. It just makes me so mad cuz if it was written properly SOMEONE would've noticed and done something. This story is just amazing and I love Dudley in it. He's one of the character that should and don't really get redemption in the books. I think his daughter being a witch is really fitting. This was great.

That was really sweet. Well done.

3

Hahahaha! Suprise!