The Dursley's adopted son

Chapter 27

Wow! She had actually spoken to me! Albeit awkwardly, and with her face twisted into a literal grimace as if acknowledging me went against her very being, but she had chosen to initiate conversation, which had to mean something.

"Blue ma'am. Like the ocean."

I was about to ask what her favorite color was (if I had to guess, I would say beige), but then Mr. Dursley spoke, so the question died in my throat.

"You've been to the ocean then?"

"Yes sir, sometimes we go on holiday there. I think I'd want to live seaside when I'm older, it's just so pretty, you know?"

Mr. Dursley grunted, but it seemed like it was in agreement. It lapsed into silence again. I looked over to Dudley, and it seemed like he was holding himself back from saying something. He met my eyes, and I raised one eyebrow in a look that prompted him to speak up,

"Mum, Dad, could we go to the ocean on holiday? Now that Har--"

The rest of Dudley's sentence was cut off by Mrs. Dursley exclaiming hurriedly,

"Oh of course Poppykins! We can holiday wherever you want."

Mr. Dursley nodded in agreement, although his heart didn't seem in it. He was still too busy looking at me, less angry now, and more questioning. Mrs. Dursley then turned to Piers, saying,

"And of course darling, you're always invited along." Piers and Mrs. Dursley shared a smile as Piers thanked her. I tried not to be jealous of the almost maternal way that Mrs. Dursley spoke to Piers. Dudley had told me that the two of them had been friends since before they had even started primary school, so it made sense that Mrs. Dursley was familiar and friendly with Piers. Still, I couldn't help the pang I felt at the way Piers was so easily included into their family unit. I was busy trying to convince myself I wasn't at all bitter, when Mrs. Dursley turned to me,

"And Percy, you're also welcome."

Surprisingly, her voice sounded relatively genuine, although the grimace on Mr. Dursley's face showed that it wasn't a unified decision. Dudley's face lit up with excitement and disbelief,

"Mum, really?"

Mrs. Dursley's shoulders tightened slightly at Dudley's enthusiasm. I was mentally preparing for her to change her mind or for Mr. Dursley to speak up in disagreement. Instead, both of Dudley's parents shared a glace and nodded.

"He'd have to get permission from the head of his orphanage, of course," Mr. Dursley said gruffly, but not unkindly. Part of me suspected that he didn't think Madame Wool would allow me to leave, and that was why he thought it safe to extend the offer. To be honest, I wasn't sure that Madame Wool would allow me to go on holiday with the Dursleys-- she always tried her best to make sure we could participate in social gathering, but at the end of the day there was no guarantee. Legalities. All part of being an orphan, I suppose. But still, even to have the offer was thrilling.

"Wow! Thank you so much, Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley! That's awesome of you to include me. I know that you guys've known Piers much longer but really I--"

Mrs. Dursley cut me off with a tight smile,

"Dudley has spoken very positively of you, Percy. Although you're not what we pictured, what kind of parents would we be if we excluded a close friend of our son?"

Mr. Dursley nodded, and it only looked a little pained. I wasn't sure how these two had gone from looking at me like I was the bane of their existence to inviting me along on their family holiday, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I rather like horses.

Not the point, the point is, I didn't want to press my luck. Some sort of switch seemed to have flipped and the Dursleys no longer saw me as a pathetic American orphan boy who was bad news, instead they saw me as a pathetic American orphan boy who was worth keeping around if it meant their son was happy. That was good enough for me!

The five of us had lapsed into silence yet again, but this time it wasn't too tense. I decided I wasn't going to be the one to break it. Dudley sniffed and looked at a clock mounted on the wall before standing,

"Perc, we've gotta head back to the gym, I think the meet is about to start."

I looked at the clock, but I honestly have a hard time reading traditional clocks, so I just nodded in agreement and stood. As I stood, Piers and the Dursleys also got to their feet. Mrs. Dursley wrapped Dudley in a big hug and kissed his forehead,

"Good luck Duddy-kins! I love you!"

Mrs. Dursley's display was followed by her husband hugging Dudley as well,

"You've got this son, make us proud."

Then Mr. Dursley turned and offered his hand to me. I shook it, as thats the polite thing to do, and surprisingly, he smiled a real smile at me!

"Good luck to you as well, Percy. You'll be joining us for a late lunch afterwards, right?"

I nodded, and thanked the Dursleys for everything, saying it was a pleasure to meet them. I got sincere smiles from both of Dudley's parents, and after Mrs. Dursley gave Dudley one more hug, Dudley, Piers and I started to make out way back towards the gymnasium.

1620 words! Wooo! Enjoy!!