CHAPTER 1 – Age 7
Marie Potter stood shyly behind her aunt looking at the stranger who entered the house. The man was her uncle's boss. She remembered the strict instructions her aunt and uncle gave beforehand.
"You better be on your best behavior, I am up for a promotion at work." her uncle spat out. Her aunt gave her a nicer dress, which was much prettier than her other clothes, as they were Dudley's hand me downs.
"You have lovely house Vernon." The man said looking around, he stopped when he saw Marie hiding behind Petunia, "And who might this young lady be?" he asked.
Aunt Petunia gave Marie a nudge to speak, "Hello sir, I'm Marie." She remembered her manners and called him "Sir".
"Well aren't you an adorable one. I'm Steve Harding." He put his hand out and Marie shook it. He then turned to Vernon, "You never told me you have a daughter."
Uncle Vernon looked flustered, "She is not my daughter, she is my niece. We have taken her in, since her parents died in a car crash."
Mr. Harding looked impressed, "That is awfully kind of you to take in your niece. I would have never guessed that underneath all that fat was a kind hearted man." He poked Vernon in his flabby stomach as he joked.
Marie inwardly scoffed, her uncle was anything but kind.
Dudley was starting to get impatient and hungry. "Mr. Harding, allow me to show you to your seat."
Marie was surprised to see that there was a chair for her. Normally she ate after the Dursleys and was allowed only the leftovers.
Mr. Harding continued to talk with Uncle Vernon and Dudley continued to eat to his heart's desire. Marie enjoyed warm food and made sure to eat with proper manners. When it was time for desert, she was surprised to see that Aunt Petunia put a slice of cake in front of her. She never got desert before! She looked at Aunt Petunia for permission and she gave her a slight nod.
She slowly took a bite of the chocolate cake and it was divine. One thing she couldn't deny was that her aunt was a good cook and baker. Petunia was already teaching her recipes and how to cook.
After dinner, her uncle, aunt and Mr. Harding went to the front room to discuss some important matters.
Dudley and her went to the TV room, normally she wasn't allowed to watch telly after dinner. However, since Mr. Harding was here, she couldn't just go into her cupboard.
As she got engrossed in the movie, her eyes started to droop and soon she was asleep.
An hour later, Vernon and Petunia were saying their goodbyes to Mr. Harding. Vernon was overjoyed, he got the promotion. He wanted to celebrate by drinking his whiskey and watching the telly.
He took his whiskey and went to the room, he kicked Dudley out saying that it was his bedtime. He saw Marie sleeping on the sofa, "Girl…" he started, but felt Petunia hush him.
Petunia explained, "Let her sleep, you can watch the telly in our bedroom."
Vernon saw his niece sleeping peacefully and sighed. He retreated up the stairs to the bedroom. Petunia went to the kitchen to put away the food, but she saw that it was already put in the fridge and that the dishes was washed. There was only one other person in the house who does chores, Marie, she thought.
Petunia went towards the staircase, but stopped at the cupboard. She opened it and pulled out Marie's blanket. She went back to Marie and placed the blanket on her. Petunia stepped back and stared at her niece. Marie looked so much like Lily when she was younger and they were best friends.
She shook her head at the childhood memories and went to her bedroom.