Yeah, I don't know why this was rated so highly. The evolution of Dudley didn't feel natural to me, but then it didn't feel natural in canon either, so I guess that's no surprise. I never really felt like Dudley needed redemption, some people are evil because they're bad people, but Dudley is just spoiled and stupid. I always felt like he'd grow up to be a reasonably decent person.

If Recall Alice wasn't quite so hit and miss in its writing, I'd recommend that as a much more interesting story about Dudley. But that struggles with some really OOC Harry and a serious lack of skill in the writing department.

Back to this; I'm not wildly keen to be honest. I don't think it brings anything to the table and the writing, though solid, isn't anything exceptional.

3/5

 

This. Decent read, but nothing special at all. Don't know how its getting high ratings since it seems llike a really average fic to me, with an interesting premise. 3/5.