Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
The Four Potter's
There was nothing about the starry sky that night to suggest that strange and mysterious things were about to happen. Our story starts on a street called Privet Drive and with a family called the Dursleys.
The Dursleys prided themselves on being normal and they looked down their noses at anything that could be considered abnormal. But the Dursleys also had a secret one that they feared anyone finding out about.
Mrs. Dursley had a sister who in her opinion was as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursleys younger sister and they have not spoken to each other for almost three years. Mrs. Dursley was aware that her sister had two children but she really didn't care to remember their names.
All day long Mr. Dursley had been hearing about "the Potters" and their children "Harry and Marie". He had also seen numerous people in cloaks of all colors. When he got home from work the tabby cat that he had seen that morning was sitting on his low garden wall, but the things that unnerved him the most were the news reports that he heard on the telly that evening.
Mr. Dursley went to bed that evening very disturbed and fell in to a fitful sleep unaware of what was happening down in the street below. The tabby cat on the garden wall was looking towards the end on the street where suddenly a man appeared.
Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive before, his name was Albus Dumbledore. He was an old man as his long white hair and beard could attest. He wore a long purple cloak and half-moon glasses and he seemed to be looking for something in his pockets.
He finally seemed to notice the weight of the cat's eyes upon him and he looked up only to chuckle and mutter "I should have known". He went back to looking in his pockets and found what he was looking for in an inside pocket.
He pulled out what seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He opened it and clicked it twelve times putting out all of the street lights. He put the put-outer back into his pocket and started to make his way up the street to where the cat sat.
"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall," he said, turning to look at the cat only to find that it had been replaced by a woman.
"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore." She said.
"Are the rumors true, Albus" she asked.
"And what rumors might those be my dear?" asked Dumbledore
"The rumors that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone and that Lily and James are dead?" She asked sniffling.
"I'm afraid so Professor." He said as he bowed his head.
"And what of the children, it is said that when he turned his wand on the two of them he could not kill them. What is to happen to them?" she asked eyeing his cloak as though he had them hidden underneath.
"Hagrid is bringing them." He replied
"Do you think it is safe to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"
"Ah Professor, I would trust Hagrid with my life."
"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place but… What was that?" she asked as a loud rumbling sound filled the night. Suddenly a bright light filled the sky as a large motorbike fell out of the sky and on to the street below.
Astride the bike was a huge man with a moleskin overcoat.
"Ah Hagrid, no problems I trust?" asked Dumbledore
"No sir, the little tykes fell asleep just as we was flyin' over Bristol." He replied.
McGonagall and Dumbledore leaned over the pile of blankets in Hagrid's arms to see two sleeping babies all with scars in the shape of lightening bolts in the middle of their foreheads.
"Is that where…?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Yes, they will carry those scars for the rest of their lives."
"But Dumbledore why have you brought them here? Surly you don't intend to leave them here do you?" She asked frantically.
"Yes, I fully intend to leave them here because they will be safe with their only living blood relatives."
"Yes, but I've watched them all day, they're the worst sort of muggles, they really are…"
"The only family they've got." he finished.
"They will be famous; there won't be a child in our world that doesn't know their names." She intoned
"Exactly, it is better that they grow up away from all that to have a happy childhood without dealing with the pressures of our world." He replied "I have a letter that I will leave with them for their relatives and they will be informed of our world when the time is right."
"A letter! How do you intend to explain all of this in a letter?" She asked but was ignored as Dumbledore placed the four children on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive, and put the letter slightly inside of the blankets around the children.
Hagrid let out a slight whimper as he watched as Dumbledore turned and left the children there.
"There, there Hagrid, it's not really goodbye." Said Dumbledore "Now we should all leave here and head to a party to celebrate."
"I will stay a little while longer." Replied McGonagall.
Dumbledore just walked to the end of the street, took the put-outer out of his pocket and clicked it once as Hagrid took off, he turned to look at the doorstep of Number four and could just make out the children there "Good luck young Potters" he whispered as he popped out site.
The two sleeping children could not know that in a few short hours they would be awakened by their Aunt's scream as she opened the door to put out the milk bottles for the milk man, they could not know that at that moment all around the world people were lifting their glasses and saying in hushed tones "To Harry and Marie – the children who lived".
Ten Years Later
Knock, knock, knock. It was the first sound of the morning that woke the two Potter siblings. Knock, knock, knock. There it was again accompanied by Aunt Petunia's annoying voice.
"Up, Get Up! Now, you need to cook Dudley's breakfast and I don't want any mistakes because it is his birthday. GET UP!" She said through the cupboard door. Marie quickly sat up and shook her brother to get him moving even though it was a challenge because of the soreness of their bodies and the small confines of the cupboard under the stairs.
Marie was the first to get out and move into the kitchen.
"Set the table girl and be quick about it then take over cooking the bacon, but don't burn it!" said Aunt Petunia with a glare directed at the mess of Marie's hair an clothes "I am going to wake Dudley and your Uncle and breakfast had better be done when we get down here or it will be the belt for the both of you."
"Yes, Aunt Petunia." Replied Marie
As Aunt Petunia marched upstairs her brothers and sister came into the kitchen.
"What do we need to do Marie?" asked Harry
"Can you move the presents around and set the table?"
"Ok sis" replied Harry.
"Here are the plates and the forks." Said Marie setting them on the counter.
"Ok"
Harry and Marie had just finished putting the food on the table when Uncle Vernon came into the kitchen.
"Comb your hair" he barked as a way of morning greeting. About once every week he would look over the top of his paper and growl that Harry needed a haircut.
Everyone looked to the door when they heard Aunt Petunia and Dudley on the stairs. When Dudley walked in he immediately headed over to his presents and started to count them.
"Thirty-six" he said "that's two less than last year"
Harry grabbed Marie and started to pull her even further into the corner they were standing in just in case Dudley turned over the table in a tantrum.
Aunt Petunia also sensed a tantrum because she kneeled in front of him and said "And we'll buy you two more presents while we're out today."
Just then the phone rang and she left to answer it while Uncle Vernon, Harry, and Marie watched Dudley unwrap his presents. Aunt Petunia walked back in from the telephone call with a frown on her face.
"Bad news Vernon that was Mrs. Figg, She's broken her leg and is not able to take them." She said jerking her head in the direction of Harry and Marie.
Harry looked at Marie with a frown on his face; not going to Mrs. Figg's meant going with the Dursley's.
"I suppose they'll have to come with us because I'm not leaving them here." Replied their Uncle.
"But I don't want them to come" wailed Dudley "They always ruin everything"
"There, there Duddykins Mummy won't let them ruin your special day" cried Aunt Petunia gathering Dudley in her arms as he shot a nasty grin at the two of them over his mother's shoulder.
At that second the doorbell rang'
"Oh good lord their here!" cried Aunt Petunia.
A second later Dudley's best friend Piers Polkiss and his mother walked in and Dudley immediately stopped crying.
A little while later found Harry and Marie sitting in the back of the Dursleys' new van.
Before they got in the van Uncle Vernon took the aside and said "I'm warning you, I'm warning you now – any funny business anything at all and I'll beat the both of you to a bloody pulp and lock you in that cupboard until Christmas. Understood?"
"Yes Uncle Vernon" said Harry quietly while Marie nodded.
On the way to the zoo Uncle Vernon raged complained about his favorite things to complain about namely, Harry, people at work, Marie, traffic, Harry, and Marie. At the entrance to the zoo Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice cream cones and before they could walk away the nice lady asked Harry if the two of them would like something so Uncle Vernon bought them each a cheap lemon ice pop.
'This isn't half bad' thought Marie as they walked through the zoo staying behind Dudley and Piers incase they got bored and fell back on their favorite hobby of hitting them.
They had lunch at the zoo restaurant and after that they went to the reptile house. Once there Dudley and Piers set out to look for the biggest snake there.
"Make it move" he demanded of his father.
"Move" said Uncle Vernon rapping on the glass.
When that didn't work Dudley rapped on the glass even harder and shouted "Move!"
"He's asleep" said Harry as he came over with Marie.
"This is boring" moaned Dudley as he and Piers walked off.
"Sorry about him" said Harry.
"He doesn't understand what it's like lying there day after day" said Marie
Both her and Harry were shocked when the snake lifted up its head and winked at them
"Can you here us?" asked Harry.
"This is really cool we've never talked to a snake before" said Marie.
A shout behind them startled them.
"Dudley, Mr. Dursley come look you won't believe what this snake is doing!" shouted Piers.
Dudley waddled over and shoved Harry and Marie to the ground. What happened next was a blur. One second Dudley and Piers were pressed against the glass and the next they were jumping back as the snake in the tank slid out on to the floor. As it passed Harry and Marie they could have sworn they heard a hissing voice say "thanks amigo and amiga."
All three Dursleys' were in hysterics and so was Piers but by the time they had gotten back to the car Piers had clamed down enough to say "But Harry and Marie were talking to it weren't you?"
Uncle Vernon barley waited for Piers and his mother to be out of the house before he then turned to Marie who was the closest and backhanded her so hard that she fell to the ground and he did the same to Harry. The beating continued for the next hour and a half before Harry and Marie were tossed into the cupboard.
By the time they were let out of the cupboard again the summer holidays had started and Dudley had broken most of his birthday presents. Harry and Marie spent most of their time running and hiding from Dudley's gang.
One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley into London to buy his Smeltings uniform which consisted of maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks used for hitting each other when the teachers weren't looking. That evening Dudley paraded around in his uniform while Aunt Petunia cried and Uncle Vernon gruffly said that "this was the proudest day of his life"
Harry and Marie couldn't look at each other in fear of laughing and getting a beating. The next morning there was a horrible smell coming from the kitchen when they went in to cook breakfast.
"What's this?" Harry asked Aunt Petunia
"Your new school uniforms" she informed them stiffly "I'm dying some of Dudley's and my old things gray for you. You'll look just like the other children when I'm done."
They both doubted this but knew better then to say anything so they went about making breakfast and was just putting on the table when Dudley and Uncle Vernon walked into the kitchen wrinkling their noses from the smell.
They heard the click of the mail slot and Uncle Vernon said "Get the mail, Dudley."
"Make Harry get it." Replied Dudley
"Get the mail, Harry"
"Make Dudley get it." Said Harry
"Hit him with your Smeltings stick Dudley" replied Uncle Vernon
Harry dodged the stick making it hit Marie who was behind him and went to get the mail. On the stoop, Harry found four things. There was something that looked like a bill, a postcard from Vernon's sister Marge, and two letters that were each addressed to one of the siblings.
Harry walked back into the kitchen and handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard and walked over to Marie. Once he was with her, he showed her the letters and slowly started to open one. A shout from behind him startled both of them.
"Dad Harry's got some of our mail!" shouted Dudley.
Uncle Vernon spun around in his seat and ripped the letters from Harry's hand.
"Hey give those back, their ours!" shouted Marie
"Yours," sneered Uncle Vernon "who'd be writing to you?"
He then proceeded to finish opening the letter that Harry had started. Harry and Marie looked on in amazement as their Uncle's face changed from red to purple and finally to white faster than a set of traffic lights.
"Petunia!" he managed to gasp out.
Aunt Petunia took the letter curiously and started to read. Instead of turning red like their Uncle she just turned white and grasped at her throat with her bony hand.
"Vernon! Oh, Vernon!" she gasped.
Uncle Vernon finally remembered that they were not alone and shouted "Both of you! Go to your cupboard and Dudley go, just go!"
"But I want to read the letter" whined Dudley.
"So do we, and their our letters!" shouted Harry.
"OUT!" shouted Uncle Vernon.
The two siblings and Dudley all ran out of the room and Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut behind them. Harry, Marie, and Dudley all had a furious but silent fight to see who would listen at the keyhole; it ended with Marie pressed against the door with his glasses snapped in the middle hanging off his right ear.
"Vernon what are we going to do!?" asked Aunt Petunia quietly.
"We swore when we took them in that they would not go and that if they showed any signs we would beat it out of them!" he replied.
"But look at the envelope; it's addressed to their cupboard!" she cried
"They must be keeping an eye on the house spying on us." He said.
"But what are we going to do about it Vernon?" she asked.
"We'll ignore it for now and hopefully they'll get the hint." He replied.
After the discussion everyone left to do what they normally do, but that evening Uncle Vernon paid a visit to the cupboard.
"Where are our letters?" demanded Marie
"They were not your letters they were addressed to you by mistake." He replied.
"It was not a mistake, they had our cupboard on them!" she shouted back.
"SILENCE!" he yelled. They could see him taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Speaking of your cupboard, your Aunt and I think you're getting a little big to be in here so were are giving you Dudley's second bedroom."
"But what about our letters…" Harry started.
"Enough! Just move this stuff upstairs now!" yelled Uncle Vernon at his wits end.
Both of them quickly complied and grabbed what little they had. It only took them one trip to get everything upstairs. Once they were up there they set what they had down on the bed and look at the mess of toy's and books and anything that wouldn't fit into Dudley's first bedroom.
Marie bent down and started to pick-up the broken toys and set them in a corner to get them out of the way. After they finished that they sat on the floor and tried to come up with a plan that would allow them to get the letters before anyone else.
Harry had found and old alarm clock and handed it to Marie who plugged it in and set it for early the next morning. Both of them had agreed to share the bed.
The next morning when the alarm when off they got up and dressed as silently as possible and crept down stairs avoiding the squeaky stair. Marie headed in to the kitchen to layout the things for breakfast while Harry made his way to the front door, but when he got there he stepped on something squishy and alive.
"Arghhhhhhhhh!" it was Uncle Vernon sleeping on the door mat to prevent them from doing what they were trying to do.
Marie quickly ran out of the kitchen when she heard the scream but fearfully ran back into the kitchen when Uncle Vernon started to yell.
Harry came into the kitchen an hour later with a split lip and a reddening eye to get a cup of tea for their Uncle and when he went back out, Uncle Vernon was sitting with the mail in his lap. When he saw Harry, he gleefully started tearing up the letters by hand.
Uncle Vernon stayed home from work that day to nail-up the mail slot. Things just kept getting worse every day watching their relatives get more and more of their letters and finding ways to destroy them. Aunt Petunia freaked out when letters appeared in the eggs and she tied to shred the letters in the food processor. Uncle Vernon stayed home from work the day after to nail up the windows and doors to prevent any letters from getting in.
On Sunday morning the Dursleys' sat in the living room all looking a little worse for wear.
"Fine day Sunday" said Uncle Vernon "Why is that Dudley?"
Dudley who was eating a cookie just shrugged his shoulders.
"Because there's no post on Sunday." Suggested Marie
"Right you are Marie, no post on Sunday, no blasted letters today!" he said gleefully.
Harry who had been looking out the window turned sharply toward the fireplace when a large rumble came from it.
All of a sudden hundreds of letters came flowing out of the fireplace. Harry and Marie jumped up into the air and tried to catch a letter. Neither were successful in snatching a letter before Uncle Vernon grabbed them and threw them out of the room with Aunt Petunia and Dudley following with their arms over their heads. Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut behind them.
A little while later he came out breathing hard with a mad glint in his eyes.
"All of you pack some things we are leaving, just pack some clothes." He said in forced calmness.
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