Chapter 29
Even though he had mentioned that Dudley kept crying in the living room, Theodore eventually left him to his own devices after a few attempts and walked over to the landline phone. He picked it up and dialed a number that he already had in mind.
After a brief conversation on the phone, Theodore focused on the frail young man who was looking at him oddly, "You must be Harry, right?" Theodore inquired, trying to help the boy relax a bit.
"Y-Yes. Are you really a child support officer?" Harry stammered at first, but gathering some courage, he managed to ask. He had heard about this so-called child support from one of his teachers at school, who had once approached him to ask if he was being treated poorly at home or something similar, so he added before falling silent, "Did Mrs. Smith send you here?"
Theodore, momentarily confused, quickly understood what Harry might be implying and replied, "No, I'm not, but you could say I'm something similar, someone who assists children like you who are mistreated by their guardians or something like that, and no, it wasn't Mrs. Smith who sent me here." Although Theodore could have lied, he knew he would eventually see Harry Potter at Hogwarts and wanted to help him grow, so it was best to share some truths.
"You aren't? And it wasn't Mrs. Smith who sent you here." Harry appeared somewhat disappointed.
"Why do you seem disappointed? Did you perhaps ask Mrs. Smith for help?" Theodore inquired, encouraging Harry to come closer as he took a seat on the sofa.
Harry glanced at his cousin, whose crying had subsided as the sound of pig snoring had disappeared from the living room, and then turned his attention back to the man in front of him, attempting to say, "No, I didn't, but I thought she..."
"Take a seat, Harry." Theodore gestured to the sofa beside him, and as Harry sat down, he continued, "Although it may seem like I'm imposing my thoughts on you, instead of relying on others, one should stand up for themselves in times of need. Most importantly, there's something you'll need to do when the other officer arrives."
Harry listened closely to Theodore and asked, "What is it? Is it about Uncle Vernon?" while pointing to Vernon, who was sprawled out like a fat pig.
"Something like that." Theodore replied with a smile and then shared what he needed to tell Harry. After that they all waited until a knock was heard at the door about ten minutes later.
"Mom is finally back..." Dudley, who had been quite silent until now while secretly watching Harry and Theodore, who was just smiling and listening to whatever Harry was whispering, felt relieved at the sound of the knock and rushed to the door.
"Mom, there's a man with Harry who attacked....." Dudley's words got caught in his throat the moment he realized that it wasn't his mom behind the door, but a few unfamiliar individuals dressed in suits looking very serious.
Seeing the group, Dudley was unsure of what to do, and thinking that these strangers were there to attack his dad again, he fainted, feeling his blood rush to his small brain.
"Robin, catch him." The man in front, noticing Dudley faint at the sight of him, instructed his colleague, who quickly caught Dudley in her arms, muttering, "I got him, but sir, you seriously need to look more approachable."
"Aren't you guys a bit early?" Theodore, who had now reached the door, couldn't help but scoff at the officials, wondering what would happen if he wasn't in control of the situation.
"I apologise, sir; anyway, where is the child you mentioned on the phone?" The man, giving Robin a serious look, shifted his gaze to Theodore with an apologetic expression that made him appear even more intimidating, he said.
"He's inside," Theodore replied, then led him toward Harry.
When the officers entered the living room, they quickly scanned the area and, upon noticing Vernon's condition, glanced back at Theodore for a moment before approaching Harry.
Since he was an unrelated individual, the officers requested him to step aside for a few minutes while they questioned Harry. Having already explained everything to Harry and knowing the decision was his to make, Theodore chose not to insist on staying. Instead, he approached the female officer and asked, "Can I assist?"
"Sure," Robin replied, although she was reluctant to say it, as the child was quite heavy.
As Theodore moved forward, she handed Dudley to him, and while cradling the heavy Dudley in his arms, he said, "I'll need your assistance, so could you help me get him onto his bed?" while lifting Dudley slightly, indicating that both of his hands would be occupied with Dudley's weight.
Robin simply nodded and inquired, "Do you know where his room is?"
"No, how would I?" Theodore responded, though he didn't want to, the implication of "are you stupid" was evident in his tone, so he quickly added, "Well, why don't we let him rest peacefully in that nearby room?"
"That's a good idea," Robin said, scratching her nose in embarrassment, and added, "By the way, how did you know the other child was being bullied?"
"Well, that would require a lengthy explanation, but I can give you a brief answer: you need to look at the child I'm holding right now and then at the other child sitting in the living room with your fellow officers." Although Theodore said this, he felt that Harry was not someone whose body could carry much weight, as he had seen him in movies and the original story enjoying Hogwarts food while still appearing frail.
Hearing Theodore's reasoning, Robin opening the door looked at Dudley as if she were mentally assessing his weight; then realizing that her thoughts were against her professional ethics—how could she consider a child's weight in such a context?—instead of feeling angry with herself, a smile appeared on her face as she said, "sigh, I understand, you don't need to answer my earlier question."
A/n : Lost some touch with the story i think; anyway, let me know what do you feel about the chapter.
Q. should i let harry throw vernon away, or save him with some slight punishment?