Not for the first time, an argument had broken out at Number Four, Privet Drive, complete with shouting, a slam of the patio door, and a profusely red-faced Vernon Dursley.
However, this may well have been the first time said argument had nothing to do with the Dursleys' infamous nephew, Harry Potter, whose presence was known to ignite more than a few altercations in the last fourteen years.
This cloudy Tuesday morning was consequently a welcome change for Harry, who felt perfectly content to sit, concealed behind the bushes, and listen to the exchange unfolding on his uncle's doorstep.
"If your rhinoceros of a son tries to pull another stunt like that, I will have no qualms about flattening that bloody BB gun with my car!"
"How dare you threaten my son? I have nothing left to say to you. Get off of my property before I call the police!"
"I am the police, you daft idiot. So, tell that boy to stay the hell away," snarled the woman who had marched up to the Dursley's home minutes before, interrupting the news broadcast with three loud, sharp knocks.
"They told me this was a nice neighborhood," she huffed as she crossed the street back over to Mrs. Figg's house. Harry reflected that, all things considered, it could have gone worse. At least the new neighbor realized that arguing with Uncle Vernon was a hopeless case, despite her completely reasonable justification.
The crash that rattled the street in the middle of breakfast originated when Dudley had the brilliant idea to test out his birthday present, a top-notch BB gun, on poor old Mrs. Figg's window.
It was a sound plan at first, seeing as Mrs. Figg, with her bad leg, would never have reached her shattered window in time to see Dudley's friends running down the road and out of sight. However, they had failed to take into account that Mrs. Figg had a visitor whose ability to detect trouble rivaled Aunt Petunia's.
Harry heard Uncle Vernon return to the living room, grumbling about nosy degenerates as he presumably retook his seat by the television.
"Don't worry, Dudders, she won't pester us again. Just some busybody who came out of nowhere and can't mind her own damn business," he reassured.
"Must be the niece Mrs. Figg was telling me about," Aunt Petunia's voice drifted from the kitchen. "She won't be here more than a week, as far as I know."
Lucky her, Harry thought as he stared at the clouds overhead, trying to erase the miserable reminder that he would remain stuck on Privet Drive for the next two months.
The hours passed quietly and without any indication that an incident had taken place. Once again bored and frustrated out of his mind, Harry found himself kicking pebbles scattered around a street that he could only remember venturing to on one previous occasion. There was a playground ahead, empty now that the sun was beginning to set, and what looked like an abandoned tunnel standing in the middle of the path. Harry's thoughts had carried him to the outskirts of Little Whinging, but at least no one would care if he was gone for a while.
Unfortunately, this time it seemed that someone had noticed his absence, as proven by a snide "Where'd you think you're going, Potter?"
Harry didn't even have to turn around to know who it was: Dudley's gang, who he somehow managed to encounter in the most unlikely of places at a time when there was no one else around.
"I said," sneered Dudley. "Where're you going? Haven't seen you 'round lately. You hiding from us?"
There was never a chance of avoiding his cousin, but Harry remained silent, his hand instinctively moving closer to the wand in his back pocket.
"You scared? Must be why you're always crying and screaming at night…"
"Follow the boy, Erin. Don't let him out of your sight," her senile aunt had told her.
Her incredulous response: "The one who put a bullet in your window? Can't imagine that will go over well. I can drive you to the station to file a report in the morning."
"Don't be silly, I meant the Potter boy. He's been hiding in the Dursleys' yard all day, and now he's set off. Don't tell me he isn't up to something."
"C'mon, Auntie. As if I have nothing better to do."
But she didn't have anything better to do, and her aunt knew it.
Trailing the boy wasn't especially difficult, even though she still had no idea why it was necessary in the first place. There was only one road in and out of Little Whinging, so as long as she kept a reasonable distance, there was no reason to alert Potter's suspicions.
Erin wasn't exactly the police, as she had so proudly declared earlier. Certainly not anymore. But the training hadn't been for nothing, although she always imagined putting it to better use than keeping tabs on a teenager who, by all accounts, had been minding his own business.
But apparently, trouble didn't need an excuse to find this boy, and trouble took the form of three rather menacing figures, one of which Erin grudgingly recognized. Wonderful.
Sure enough, there was Dudley (who made quite a name for himself in the neighborhood, as Erin already heard in her brief visit) carrying his prized weapon.
The ringleader said something to Potter that Erin couldn't hear from her convenient, though admittingly undignified, hiding spot behind a dumpster, but she did notice Potter reaching for something behind his jacket, and she was not going to stay in this godforsaken town any longer than planned just to give her statement as a murder witness.
"Alright, that's enough," A voice that Harry immediately recalled emerged as its owner came into view: a woman who he had never seen before, approaching the scene in quick strides until she was standing in between him and Dudley.
"I don't want to hear any more shots fired today, 'kay? Whatever this is can wait until I am far, far away from here, but for now, why don't we all make nice and go home?"
Dudley refocused his attention as he took a step closer.
"You think I'm scared of you?"
To her credit, the woman didn't flinch as she was glared at like a bug about to be squashed, although she kept her eyes on both Harry and Dudley.
"I don't want to tase you, but you can bet I won't regret it if I do," she replied warily.
Dudley sneered and was about to respond when he felt it. He must have, because Erin did too. A sudden and overwhelming sense of dread that pierced her very soul and made her feel as though she had plunged through a sheet of ice.
She barely had time to register the sensation as abnormal for a warm July day when the clouds began to close in around them, and the darkness that had overcome her senses was reflected by the pitch-black sky.
Dudley's cronies ran off, but he remained still.
"Stop that! Make it stop!"
He bellowed at the other boy, who was silently scanning his vicinity as though the person responsible would suddenly appear.
Bewildered, Erin was about to ask what the hell was going on, when Potter spoke for the first time, whispering more to himself than to the others.
"What are they doing here?"
"If you don't quit it, I'll…"
"Shut up!"
He screamed at Dudley, who had raised his fists as if punching the air could make the cold disappear.
But it was not just the cold, Erin realized. There was something else happening, something that she couldn't and had no desire to explain. She turned to face Potter, who had backed away and was cautiously approaching the tunnel. Erin saw the beam of a flashlight over his retreating back. He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly turned around and bellowed.
"Run!"
The command turned to lead in Erin's brain, as she felt darkness envelop her and the street blur from her view…
Replaced with something far worse than the frigid atmosphere. The questions that should have been irrevocably erased from her memory, echoing through and consuming her pounding head.
…make things so difficult, Erin?
…we promised, didn't we?
…do you know why you're here?
And suddenly, the voices stopped as soon as they had come. And there was no more darkness, but the scene before her eyes wasn't a much better sight.
One boy was lying sprawled on the grass, and the other had crouched down beside her. She became dimly aware that she was no longer standing, but had bent over to keep her shaking knees from giving way under her.
"Are you alright?" He asked cautiously, glancing over at Dudley before returning his attention to her.
Taking what felt like her first breath in ages, Erin replied hoarsely,
"Not sure. What happened to me?"
She could see him hesitate before answering.
"It's better if I explain later. Right now, trust me, we have to get out of here. I'll get Dudley up, but we've got to start walking. Can you do that?"
Not knowing what else to do, Erin nodded and, after taking a tentative step to ascertain that she wouldn't immediately fall over, picked up her pace to reach the two boys. With difficulty, one heaved the other up and struggled to support his weight. Erin took his other arm, receiving no response from a seemingly unconscious Dudley.
The walk back to Privet Drive was slow and agonizing, and Erin could feel her entire body aching from the strain. The effort left no energy to think, but seeing the familiar street completely deserted aside from the chirping of crickets in the distance reminded her where she had been for hours.
"I'll listen to that explanation anytime now," she muttered, looking up at Harry for the first time since they left. "Starting with who you are, if you don't mind."
Under the streetlights, Harry was able to see the woman clearly for the first time. She was wearing jeans and sneakers, leaving no doubt that she was a muggle. He decided there was no point in lying to her.
"I'm Harry Potter. I live with the Dursleys, but I think you've already met them. This is my cousin, Dudley."
The easiest question was answered, but Harry was no closer to finding a convincing way to explain the events that had transpired, when he hardly knew the truth himself.
"Thanks for stepping in, by the way, but can I ask you something: what were you doing on Magnolia Crescent?"
"Keeping an eye on you," she replied with a tight smile. "Well, following you, really. Take it up with my aunt…uh, Mrs. Figg, if you want to know why, because all she told me was that you were up to something. Anyway, I guess if I know your name, it's only fair that you know mine. I'm Erin Mills, and dying to know exactly what happened back on…what was it? Magnolia Crescent."
Another moment of silence followed as Erin realized that they had arrived at her driveway.
"Look, I really am sorry about everything. But I'm still trying to piece that part together, and I know you're probably not feeling too good right now. The best thing you can do is get some rest, and I swear I'll tell you everything when I can."
At any other time, Erin would have aggressively pressed for answers, but as Harry Potter looked almost as exhausted and confused as she felt, and she knew that there would be none tonight. Besides, her desire to sleep and get rid of the sense of misery that had lodged itself into her gut convinced her to release Dudley and return home without a word of protest.
She barely managed to close the door behind her before she collapsed into a heap on the kitchen floor.
Author's Note
I don't own Harry Potter.
Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated, and Chapter 2 will hopefully be up in a few days!