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Fourteen and thirteen years together hadn't changed the two cousins much. Dudley had certainly gotten to a rather medium size and Harry was still as scrawny and confusing as always. The two boys could hardly recall a day where they weren't fighting over table scraps or hitting each other over the head with random objects strewn across the house. It was almost as if they were siblings, perhaps they were in a sense despite his parents claiming to never know who 'Harry' even was. Dudley himself was no fool and by watching his younger cousin's movements and overall actions, something was troubling him, something that didn't deal with Dudley's world but of his own, his parents.

He had felt compelled to question his cousin, to be told about everything that dealt with the magical world, he wanted to know how they functioned and how their school system worked yet the most important thing that Dudley wanted to get out of Harry was what's been bugging him for the past two hours as they sat together in the car, Vernon refusing to have the trouble making boys ruin his shopping experience.

Dudley was used to being left alone with Harry for as little toddlers, he could still remember his mother in the passenger seat trying to persuade him to let go of his cousin and that Harry wasn't going to die because of a bump in the head. The blonde teenager snorted at the mere memory as his eyes raked across the sidewalks out the window, watching people walk by and mingle. His eyes strayed towards a young boy who looked to be the same age as Harry himself holding a brand new cage in his grasp.

He couldn't quite tell if the boy was a wizard or not but as he cleared his throat to get Harry's attention, the mere glare sent his way was enough to have the blonde boy slowly opening the care door with another clearing cough.

"I'm going to um...get a drink, want anything?"

Silence filled the car and Dudley was left staring at the back of his cousin as he waited for a response, receiving none, He stepped out of the automobile and let the door shut behind him. Finally out of the stuffy car that was filled to the brim with the tension of a coiled mattress spring, Dudley let out a breath he didn't he was holding and decided to make way on his word of getting something to drink despite not being rather thirsty.

The walk to the nearest cafe took only ten minutes and Dudley was fairly certain that Harry was a weakling who couldn't protect himself which was partially the reason why he was tapping his foot on the ground in an anxious beat while his eyes darted outside and back inside for more than three seconds. It had been a grueling ten minutes before his order was given to him and Dudley could have sworn that he had been drinking energy drinks from how fast he had to run to the car.

Harry was still in the same position, glaring out the window and into the shop where Vernon was currently trying to bargain with a sales associate yet failing miserably. Dudley opened his mouth, debating on starting a conversation with the brooding teen yet standing against it when Harry opted to ignore his offer at small talk. Instead, the blonde boy drank from his coffee slowly opting to look out the window at the passerby as if they gave him any entertainment. It didn't take long for Vernon to arrive, shoving whatever bags of goods he had managed to buy into the backseat and having them collapse on top of the scrawny teen.

Dudley's heart skipped a beat but when Harry emerged, perfectly fine and heavily annoyed, he opted to ignore the way he was ready to throw the bags out the window. The drive home had not only consisted of his father lecturing Harry but also of the snide remarks said underneath the boy's breath. He shrugged to himself, better to stay silent than to engage in war with his father and cousin. Once the car stopped in the driveway, Dudley was the first to get out, not wanting to endure another lecture about how Harry was a freak in this world and that he should, as usual, stay in his locked up prison room.

Instead, he slipped through the front door, bidding his mother a greeting as she poked her head out from the kitchen yet before she could answer, he was already up the stairs and pushing open the door to his room. Dudley's Room was pure indication of a teenage boy, in his case honestly. A bookshelf was on the left corner but the young boy had barely read them, opting to drop them in Harry's room whenever his parents weren't looking. The window was wide open causing wind to have the curtains flap around and as Dudley neared it, he caught a glimpse of another window opening outside.

Curious, he leaned forward to stare with raised eyebrows. A blue bird flew out into the sky and as Dudley waited for any panicked child to call it back so he could snigger at their dumbness, his eyes caught sight of someone also leaning forward, holding their head up with their hands as their elbows stood on the window sill. He couldn't catch a good glimpse of the boy's face but before he could examine further, a loud yell of his name was what had him turning around as quick as ever, not wanting to meet the gaze of the person across from his own window.

"Dudley! Where's my textbook?!"

Dudley paused, shoulders slumping as he looked around for the tattered Potions book that he had seemingly borrowed from Harry for entertainment. Of course, he found everything in there to be interesting and if he wasn't a Muggle living in a magic hating household, Dudley would have surely accompanied his cousin towards King's cross. Finally finding the book after searching around his room for a few, Dudley watched with disinterested eyes as Harry swung open his door and hesitated just a minute or two after.

"Do you want my book on charms? I'm done with homework for that one..."

The blonde boy almost went tumbling down in shock before nodding eagerly as he tossed the Potions book over and received another one in return. Giving his cousin a mock salute, Dudley closed his door and whirled around to sit on his bed, cracking open the book to read yet before he could begin looking at the first few lines, his attention was stolen by a loud call directed towards him.

"Hey!"

"What do you want?" Dudley narrowed his eyes at the boy only to receive a snort in return as he rolled his eyes and leaned out the window.

"Was that Harry Potter in your room just now?"