It was my no good cousin's birthday when it all went wrong.
I was not yet seven (picture is me!) and Dudley (more like Dummy) was turning eleven. I woke up to Dudley banging on the stairs above Harry's "room", if you can call it that. I pull my pillow over my head. Aunt Petunia walked over to the couch that served as my bed and pulled the pillow off.
"Oh, no," she snapped. "You're not going back to sleep. You have work to do to make sure Dudley's birthday is perfect. Starting with cleaning up this room."
"Yes Aunt Petunia," I said. I sat up and stretched my arms high over my head. Then I began cleaning up my sleeping things. I took them to the coboard and dumped them on the bed. I went over to the trunk that kept all my possessions in. I pulled out a yellow dress that was incredibly soft.
My cloths were incredibly better than Harry's because only Aunt Petunia's old things would fit me.
"Karma!" Aunt Petunia yelled.
"Coming!" I called, slipping out of my night cloths and into the dress. I walked into the kitchen and ate the food Harry had made. He was a terrible cook, but it was all we had.
I listened as Uncle Vernon droned on and on about the stupidity of the world these days.
I finished my food and set the plate in the sink. Then I had an idea, a very devilish idea. I sat on the counter behind Uncle Vernon across from Harry. Then I started mimicking him.
Harry rolled his eyes. I stuck my tongue out at him and point both my eyes toward my nose. Harry rocked with silent laughter.
I smiled wide as I hopped down.
"Come on, Harry," I said, dragging him out of the room. "We've got cleaning to do."
We cleaned the house until we got a huge surprise, we'd be going to the zoo with them! I'd always wanted to go to the zoo! Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon weren't so happy though.
"Any funny business, boy," Uncle Vernon warned Harry. "And you'll be in the closet for a week!"
Everything went fine, I even got my first ice cream cone (it was chocolate of course)! But then my day had to go wrong in the reptile house.
Harry stood by the giant boa after Dudley and Uncle Vernon left. I don't understand his fascination with snakes, personally, they creep me out.
I walked over to Harry, reptiles really don't interest me anywho. I looked back and forth between the snake and my brother. Harry looked to be talking to the snake! "Harry," I asked. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Talking to the snake," Harry answered simply. I rolled my eyes.
"Harry, snakes can't talk."
"This one can." Harry turned back to the snake. "We both know what it's like, people pressing their ugly face to you everyday." There was silence for a few seconds, with only the slight hissing of the snake.
I caught sight of the plack on the side and started reading it. "I wonder of it was nice there," I said. "Sure must've been better than the Dursleys."
Harry shrugged. "He says he was born in captivity." I blew a stray strand of hair from my face.
"Trust me, I know the feeling." Suddenly, the snake started doing something. I stared in aww as it rose higher so it was looking me in the eye. Then I knew what Harry meant, this snake could talk. Kind of, I just got a feeling of what it was feeling. It wanted to go home.
"Daddy!" shouted Dudley. "Look what the snake's doing!" Dudley ran over and shoved Harry and I put of the way. I was sent flying.
Dudley pressed his fat, ugly face against the glass. Suddenly, there was no glass! Dudley fell into the cage and the snake slithered out.
The snake hissed something and Harry said "No problem." And the snake left the building.
Course, it WAS a big problem. It ended our trip to the zoo, and got Harry stuck in the closet for a week with no food. My aunt and uncle are cruel.
A month later, it was almost Harry's birthday, though he wouldn't get any presents of course. Neither of us ever did.
I covered my ears as Uncle Vernon and Dudley argued about who would go get the mail.
"Make Harry get it," Dudley whined.
"Harry, go get the mail," Uncle Vernon said.
"Make Dudley get it," Harry returned.
I groaned. "I'll get it," I said, jumping off the counter. I walked out of the room and got the mail from the mail slot in the front door and flipped through them.
Bill...
Post card...
Bill...
Bill...
Holiday resort invitation...
Bill...
Dudley's school supplies list...
Bill...
Bill...
Bill...
Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts...
I had to look at that again. Harry got excepted to a school called Hogwarts?! Had Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia applied him for this school? Or perhaps Harry himself? I ran into the kitchen and dumped everything but Harry's letter on Uncle Vernon's lap.
"You've got a letter!" I shouted handing Harry the letter.
"I've got a letter?" Harry asked. I nodded eagerly.
"Open it!" I cried. Harry started to open it when Dudley took it from his hand.
"Hey! That's mine!" Harry exclaimed. Uncle Vernon chuckled.
"Who would be writing to you?" Uncle Vernon turned the paper over. He and the rest of my family stared at me and Harry like we were freaks.
Well, that explained that. Harry didn't know about the letter and my aunt and uncle didn't seem to like this school, or whatever it was.
Over the next few days, more and more letters arrived. More everyday, it seemed to double! Bit Uncle Vernon didn't let Harry have one.
That Sunday, a million or more letters, all for Harry, came poring into the house.
"We're going away!" Uncle Vernon yelled. "Far away, where they can't find us!"
"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley whined. For once, I had to agree.
An hour later, we were on the road, going far away from the place I called home for years. Uncle Vernon moved us into a rock, literally. It looked like a rock! It was really a broken, run down, one room shack. Truly something terrible.
That night it rained, and it thundered. And I was scared. Me and Harry had to share the dirt floor with Dudley on the couch and my other relatives in the bedroom.
I crawled over to Harry. "I'm scared," I whimpered. It wasn't usually like me to cry or be scared. But things weren't normal lately.
Harry hugged me and rubbed my shoulder. "I know, but the storm will pass soon enough. Then everything will be back to normal."
I sniffled. "Mummy and Daddy won't be back," I said. "And that's the only way we'll be a normal family is with them."
Harry and I drew a cake in the dirt and wrote 'Happy Birthday Harry' in it. Harry blew on the candles and made a wish when Dudley's watch beeped midnight.
A man pushed the door in and in came the biggest man I have ever seen who we later learned was named Rubeus Hagrid.
Hagrid explained all about mine and Harry's parents were wizards and they were killed by a bad wizard by the name of Lord Voldamort, not in a car crash.
We were also told, guess what, we were wizards! Well, technically I was a witch, but that's besides the point. Hogwarts was also a school for magic, but you had to be at least eleven to attend. Poo!
Well, Hagrid took Harry the next morning to go shopping for school supplies. I was invited, but Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't let me.
I turned seven June 16th, and Harry was soon on his way to Hogwarts.
Little did I know, the next seven years would not only mean a great deal for Harry, but for me as well.
This was only Harry's first year. Things just got interesting.