Harry's Turbo Hopper
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Harry's birthday and Dudley's birthday both had the word "birthday" in them, but they were entirely different holidays. Dudley's birthday fit into the same category of Dudley's Christmas and Dudley's clothes and Dudley's meals. Harry had his own category for all of these things, but compared to the Dudley's variety, they should have been written in lower-case.
harry's christmas, harry's clothes, harry's meals
harry's birthday
The day before, Harry had had high hopes. Aunt Petunia had purchased the 'Turbo Hopper' remote control car that one of Dudley's friends had and Dudley was over the moon. That is, until it wouldn't turn left as swiftly as Dudely's friend's reportedly had. Aunt Petunia drove back to the store, Dudley in the front seat, Harry in the back with the groceries, only to find that it had closed.
In Harry's mind, this was a perfect opportunity for Aunt Petunia to simply give him the faulty car. Then Dudley could get a new one the next day. "Will you throw it out?" Harry asked quietly from the back seat, his heart racing.
"Did you say something?" Aunt Petunia replied sharply, not taking her eyes off the road as she drove.
Dudley, who had not fastened his seatbelt, stuffed his doughy face in between the edge of the passenger's seat and the driver's next to it, was now beaming at Harry unpleasantly.
"Mummy, when we buy a new car tomorrow, I want to keep this one. It's slower but I need two to race. It's no fun unless I can race, Mummy." His eyes gleamed as he watched the hope drain from Harry's small face.
"Of course, Duddykins. Now sit properly for Mummy, please, wouldn't want Mummy's special widdle Duddy getting in an accident." Dudley complied without resistance for once.
Harry had felt his heart sink lower at this reminder of the consequences of unsafe driving. He clasped his own seatbelt tightly. He wondered if his parents had been wearing them. He had tried to ask Uncle Vernon before and been sent to his room with no supper.
When he had just turned six, Harry thought that his aunt and uncle must have loved his parents very much, because usually when people didn't want to talk about people dying it was because they were very sad. He had since had the revolutionary realization that his aunt and uncle did not like him at all, though, much less love him. Harry had never done anything to them on purpose, so it was probably because they didn't like his parents.
So there was to be no RC car today as a gift. Dudley had figured out that when he seemed tired of toys, there was a possibility they would go to Harry, so he had taken to announcing he wanted Harry to have something, then immediately reclaiming it and playing with it as Harry watched on.
That evening, harry's birthday evening, Uncle Vernon handed him an old golf jumper with three gaping holes in them to Harry, and gruffly mumbled, "You're seven now, boy, if anyone asks. Not that they would."
Harry made sure to thank his uncle politely enough not to get punished for being ungrateful, but quietly enough that Dudley didn't suddenly take interest in his golf jumper and take it away from him.
As soon as he was excused from the table, he sat alone in his room under the stairs and decided to try out all the ways the jumper could be worn as a headpiece, as in its traditional style it would appear like a gown on him.
When he awoke the next morning, he found that the golf jumper was lying on his floor in pieces, the sad product of scissors and strong, chubby little hands. Tears warming the edges of his eyes, he stuffed the strips of jumper into his bottom drawer and curled up beside it.