Heather Potter was an unusual girl, there was no other way to put it. Everyone thought she was weird, her family, her peers from school, her teachers and sometimes even her own brother, though he didn't really mind, since he was rather odd himself.

Their aunt and uncle despised their weirdness and tried their hardest to squeeze it out of them, but it seemed like they couldn't run from it, even if they tried.

She didn't feel like either she or Harry belonged there, and it's not like their family tried to make them feel that way.

"Wake up! Both of you, now!" Her aunt yelled shrilly, banging on the door of the small cupboard Harry and Heather called bedroom.

"Ugh," Heather groaned, sitting up and stretching her sore neck. "How can someone possibly screech this loudly this early in the morning?"

"Beats me." Harry sighed, still laying on the small and tough mattress.

When Heather and Harry were younger it was almost comfortable to share that bed, but now even though they were still rather small, was almost impossible. They could barely fit inside the cupboard without bumping into each other, not to mention the spiders and mold that kept the twins company.

"You'd better get up," Heather said, standing up and grabbing her glasses from the little shelf. "Don't forget it'sDuddy'sbirthday today." She said her cousin's nickname in a tone that matched her aunt's high pitched and annoying voice.

"Oh no," Harry groaned into his pillow. "I completely forgot..." Heather rolled her eyes at her brother.

"How? He hasn't shut up about it for at least a month." Harry shrugged, scratching his ridiculous bed head and yawning.

"Guess I was just trying to push that thought away from my head." Heather snorted and left the room before her aunt came screeching again.

She washed her face, brushed her teeth and tried to slightly tame that mane of hers, but soon gave up and put her hair on a low ponytail.

Heather didn't bother much with her appearence, mainly because she hated the way she looked and didn't see the point on bothering with a lost cause.

It's not like she could do much either. Firstly, all of her clothes were hand-me-downs from Harry that were once Dudley's and could easily fit three versions of herself, so often people would mistake her for a rather scrubby boy.

Then there was just her general physical apparence. She was small, scrawny and rather sickly looking like her brother and she didn't know if it was the effects of growing up inside a cupboard or from often being starved. Unlike her brother though, she was oddly pale from never really getting out of the tiny space often. Harry's skin was a few shades darker while she was rather pasty looking and she found that incredibly unfair, not to mention it contrasted terribly with the dozens of freckles that coated her nose and cheeks.

Then there was that untamable hair. It was waist long, extremely frizzy and tangled. It had a light brown shade to it with a few lighter streaks that almost looked auburn. Dudley said she looked like a scarecrow and she couldn't help but agree.

The only thing she actually liked about her face were the emerald green eyes that matched Harry's, but it didn't help that they were framed by square horn-rimmed glasses that were too big for her face. Not to mention that weird scar she had on her forehead on the opposite side of Harry's, almost as if they completed each other.

Harry often said that she was pretty but she never believed him. He'd say anything to make her happy, and he wasn't above lying.

"Oi!" She heard a knock on the door. "What's taking you so long?" Heather sighed, unlocking the bathroom door, gathering her things.

"Trying to delay the inevitable," She said, miserably. as her vrother rushed inside.

She sighed, making her way to the kitchen to find a huge pile of presents on the table as Dudley oggled them and uncle Vernom beamed at his son. "Finally!" Petunia screeched. "Where is the boy?"

"In the loo." She stated unexcitedly and took her place at the stove, frying some bacon. A few minutes later Harry emerged from the restroom, standing next to his sister and frying the eggs and sausages.

"Don't dare to burn anything, you two!" Aunt Petunia snarled at them. "Everything should be perfect for Duddy's special day," The woman kissed the top of her sons hair, though Heather couldn't help but notice that Dudley's face was growing red much like his father.

"How many are there?!" Heather sighed, looking at her brother. They both knew that a tantrum was about to unfold, and a bad one at that seeing as Dudley's face was tinged purple now.

"Thirty-six! Counted them myself!" Uncle Vernom said proudly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his son looked ready to burst.

"Thirty-six?!" Dudley screamed, getting up forcefully, almost knocking the table down and making the pile of presents sway dangerously. "But last year I had thirty-seven!"

"B-But Dudders, this year they're bigger, see? Look at the new racing bike we've got you. The computer!" Said aunt Petunia, a bit frightened. The twins finished up breakfast and served the table quickly, before their cousing could give him a taste of his wrath.

Heather almost found it comical that Dudley had asked for a racing bike, seeing as he could barely walk down the streets without being short of breath, and was sure that he'd just let it get rusty along with the numerous forgotten toys he kept on his second bedroom. Heather ate her breakfast quietly, brooding over the fact that Dudley had a whole bedroom dedicated solely to his old toys while Harry and Heather were forced to share the cupboard. It was terribly unfair.

"The size doesn't matter!" Dudley's face geeatly resembled a beet and Heather was sure he'd pop a vein if he didn't calm down. "I want my presents!"

"Okay dear, How about this? When we go out today we'll get you two more presents, how does that sound?" Dudley seemed to be deep in thought and Heather could almost smell the fumes his brain was making from thinking too hard.

"Then I'll be left with..." Heather looked at Harry and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing at the boy's stupidity.

"Thirty-eight, dear." Said aunt Petunia.

"Oh, alright then." Dudley sat back doen heavily and began opening the first parcel. Heather shook her head and went back to her bacon and eggs.

one of the few things she took pride in was being smart, smarter than most kids her age, and definitely smarter than Dudley. She hated school for many reasons, most of them had to do with Dudley, but she liked the satisfaction of showing her remarkable report card to their aunt and uncle while Dudley's was less than satisfactory.

"Oh!" Aunt Petunia said as the phone rang suddenly. "It must be Mrs. Figg," She left the kitchen and Heather sighed heavily, already feeling her nose itching by the mere thought of Mrs. Figg's cats.

She didn't really mind Mrs. Figg herself. Sure, she was a batty old lady whose house smelled strongly of cabagge and had about half a dozen cats that made Heather go into fits of sneezes, but she was the only person to ever show them the slightest bit of sympathy and kindness.

Heather sighed, thinking about how her airnways would probably burn for a whole week while Dudley unwrapped present after present hungrily. Minutes later Aunt Petunia walked back into the kitchen, looking both furious and worried. "Bad news Vernom, Mrs. Figg broke her leg, she can't take them."

Heather's eyes widened and so did Harry's. They looked at each other, a hopeful gleam on their eyes, But Dudley's jam dropped in shock and his face was starting to get red all over again.

"What do we do now?" She looked at the pair with such anger that Heather was positive she thought it was their fault somehow. She felt really bad for Mrs. Figg's leg, but she couldn't help but be thankful that she wouldn't die of allergies for another whole year.

"We could ask Marge to look after them?" Heather's heart dropped. She'd take the godforsaken cats any day if it meant she'd get to stay away from retched aunt Marge and her demonic dogs.

"Don't be silly Vernom, she hates them."

"We're right here, y'know," Heather mumbled and hissed as Harry kicked her leg warningly. She glared at her twin who gave her a look but aunt Petunia didn't seem to listen to what she had said.

She wasn't afraid to talk back, and maybe that was a bit stupid of her seeing she'd get in trouble a lot and often Harry went down as well because of her cheek.

"Don't you have that friend...Yvonne, isn't it? Can't she take them?" Aunt Petunia shook her head.

"Vacation at Majorcas."

"You could leave us here maybe?" Harry asked and Heather looked up hopeful. They'd never been alone in the house before, though it was their dream. They'd get to eat whatever they wanted, watch tv, maybe have a go at Dudley's computer and even nap in one of the normal beds if they were lucky.

Aunt Petunia snorted, though there wasn't a hint of himor in her tone. "And find the house in ruins?!"

"We wouldn't blow up the house, you know?" Heather said, but was once again ignored.

"Maybe we could just leave them at the car?"

"Absolutely not!" Uncle Vernom said. "The car's new, they're not sitting there alone!" Just then Dudley's face turned purple and he started to wail as loudly as a siren. Of course, both Heather and Harry knew he wasn't actually crying, but it went unnoticed to his parents that not a single tear rolled down his fat cheeks.

"I-I don't want t-them to come!" He screamed. "T-They always spoil e-e-everything!"

Heather groaned and waited for the show to be over, but suddenly the doorbell rang and aunt Petunia held her breath. "Oh God, they're here." she went to answer the door and Dudley stopped "crying" immeadiately.

Moments later Pier's Polkiss walked in along with his mother. He glared at the twins who glared back, but it was clear he was putting up an act for his mother.

Heather still couldn't believe the fact that they were headed to the zoo for the first time. Sure, they'd have to endure the Dursleys and stupid Piers Polkiss for the whole day but she didn't think they'd pay them too much attention and maybe they'd get to actually have some fun.

"Now you two listen here," Uncle Vernom said, pulling them aside just as they were about to get in the car. His purple face uncomfortably close to theirs. Heather could feel specs of spit flying to her face. "Any funny business, any at all and you'll be locked up on that cupboard until christmas."

Heather gulped. She knew fully well that her uncle meant every word he said and even though they assured him that nothing was going to happen she couldn't help but feel nervous.

Weird things happened around them, but they couldn't control it. Heather often thought thst they were cursed somehow, because there wasn't a logical explanation to half the things that happened to them, and that bugged the girl a lot since she was a very logical person.

They arrived at the zoo and both twins were overwhelmed with the place. It was a sunny day and the zoo was packed with families. The morning was going better than Heather had first thought. They kept their distance from the rest of the family so they wouldn't pay them any attention and even got to eat lemon lollies when the Dursleys bought two fat chocolate ice cream cones to the other boys.

She was the happiest she had been in a long time, having fun with her brother and secretly comparing the rest of the family to the animals they'd encounter.

She tried to stop herself from thinking that it was too good to last, that it was just her inner self being paranoid.

Unfortunately for them, her inner self was always quite right.

After lunch they headed to the reptilian house and that was the place the girl least enjoyed at the zoo.

It was cold and dark, not to mention the many lizards and snakes that crawlrd and slithered behind the glasses.

There wasn't many things that scared her. She wasn't scared of the spiders that kept them company at the cupboard, nor was she afraid of her uncle's meaty hand when he was particularly angry about something, but she was definitely afraid of snakes.

She didn't know why but they just didn't sit right with her. Maybe it was the fact that one big enough could swallow her whole without much effort, but either way instead of headinh towards the gigantic cobra the rest of the family was ogggling at, she headed to the lizards and chamaleons, which she deemed much safer, though still a bit unsettling.

She was observing a particularly funny looking chamaleon and could hear Dudley complain about something, but decided to make an effort to ignore him. The chamaleon shifted colors, blending in with thr background and she was taken by surprise, she had never seen such thing before. "Hey Harry! Come look at this!" She called to her brother but he didn't seem to listen. She reluctanly took a step towards him but he seemed too engrossed on the snake.

She heard him hissing and she was just about to ask him what that was all about when Dudley came running and punched Harry on the ribs hard enough for him to fall at Heather's feet. "What did you do that for?!" She yelled at the brat but he didn't listen.

"MUM, DAD, THE SNAKE MOVED! COME LOOK AT IT." Dudley was bouncing up and down, greatly resembling one of the chimps thry chad seen

"Are you okay Harry?" Heather kneeled besides her brother, who nodded, but was stil grimacing in pain. She glared at both Dudley and Piers who were leaning against the glass. She felt hot with anger, just wishing they'd pay somehow for being so rotten.

"C'mon let's-" Before she could finish her sentence there was a loud splash and she looked up startled and froze at the sight she was met with.

Dudley and Piers had fallen head first into the little lake inside the snake's compartment. Heather almost laughed at the sweet vengeance, but then she realized that they couldn't have fallen if the glass was in place, and soon the big snake slowly slithered out of the window, winked at Harry and left.

Heather had never screamed quite so loudly in her liefetime.

an hour later they were all back in the car. Heather was still rather shaky and pale, swearing she'd never set foot at a zoo ever again.

Dudley and Piers were going into detail about how the snake had allegedly tried to kill both of them and Harry was rolling his eyes at the false accusations. "And Harry was talking to it! Weren't you, Harry?" Piers said. There was a silence so thick Heather was sure she could cut it with a knife.

"Don't be stupid," She snapped at the boy before she could control herself. "How could someone possibly talk to a snake?"

"i wouldn't put anything past your freaky selves. And don't you talk to my friend like that!" Anger was slowly taking over her body and she had to bite her tongue in order to keep herself from telling Dudley where to shove it.

They dropped Piers off and drove back home in a silence that made Heather want to scream in agony. She already knew they were in deep trouble, but she'd rather have uncle Vernom yelling at the top of his head than seeing his face going through all the colors of the rainbow in silent rage, just bubbling it all up so he could lash out when they got home.

The twins walked miserably in and as soon as the front door was shut and uncle Vernom made sure none of the neighboud were nearby to listen as he grabbed a handful of both of their hair, making them scream. "Tell me now!" He yelled ferociously. "What the bloody hell did you two do?!"

"Argh! Nothing! Let go of us!" He threw Heather hard on the ground, making her hit her head on the wall so hard she was sure she had seen stars. She whimpered, her eyes watering as she felt the clear bump that was about to form.

"Stop, she didn't do anything!" Said Harry, still wincing from the death grip his uncle had on his hair. "It was me!"

"Oh, I know it was you, boy!" He said tightening his grip. "I had my eyes on you as soon as we got to that place. Now tell me! What did you do?!"

"I dunno! The glass just vanished! It was like magic!" Uncle Vernom's face went beet red, then a shiny purple and Heather was sure that if they were on an animated cartoon that'd be the moment that steam would start coming off his ears. Suddenly he grabbed Heather by the arm forcefully and did the same thing to Harry, throwing the both of them in their cupboard.

"There's no such thing as magic." He screamed and banged the door behind him. Heather wanted to cry when she heard the lock.

"No! Let us out!" She proceeded to kick the door in a desperate and failed attempt to stop the inevitable. "Let us out!" She screamed, but like always, no one came to their rescue.

"Stop, you're gonna hurt yourself." Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Finally she relented and went to sit besides her brother.

"I don't understand!" Her eyes pooled with tears and she tried her best to keep them from rolling down. "This is so unfair!"

"Most things with us are." She couldn't help but agree with her brother. It seemed like they were doomed for the confined space of their cupboard for the rest of their lives. She couldn't undestand why they had to be so miserable while all the other kids their age were able to be carefree and happy.

She looked at her brother and he had that telltale guilty demeanor. He avoided her eyes, bouncing his leg up and down. Heather sighed, she knew her brother too well.

"What actually happened at the zoo, Harry?" Her brother blushed and looked down, shaking his head. "Tell me."

"You'll think that I've lost it." He mumbled. Harry didn't cry often, at least not as often as his sister. but he seemed to be on the verge of tears. Heather took his hand and squeezed it.

"Harry, have I ever given you a reason to not trust me?" The boy shook his head, finally looking to his sister. "Then why don't you?"

"It's not that, it's just..." He hesistated. "It seems too crazy even for me."

"I can deal with crazy." Harry smiled sadly and breathed heavily, bracing himselg for his sidter's reaction.

"Piers...wasn't lying." He admitted. "I actually did talk to that snake, or at least in my head I did." He blushed. "It winked at me and...I've gone mad, haven't I?" Heather was silent. That'd explain the hissing she had heard from him...and she was sure she saw the snake nod it's head and wink at Harry and as much as she tried to find an explanation she couldn't think of any.

"Well...maybe," She said finally. "But then that'd make two of us." Harry looked at her eith a curious look. "I saw it too, the snake winking at you, how it nodded at you when it...slithered away." Heather shuddered. "Next time, talk to puppies or, I dunno, kittens, won't you?"

Harry snorted, nodding his head. "I'll keep that in mind, don't worry." Heather smiled. She always tried her best to lighten up situations like this, and she often suceeded. She hated seeing her brother down more than anythinlg.

"How are your ribs?" she asked as Harry clutched his side. He winced and shrugged.

"It's seen better days." He said. "How's your head?" She put a hand on the pulsating bump that had formed and hissed in pain.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Same here." She couldn't wait for the day they'd turn eighteen and would just leave without looking back.

The Dursleys were right, theywerefreaks, but Heather liked to think it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and honestly, if being normal was anything like being like them, she'd much rather be her weird self.

Magic.that word stuck with her. It would be awfully convenient if magic was the reason behind all the oddness that surrounded them, it was a much better than thinking they were cursed. But Heather knew it was silly. Just like her uncle had said 'There's no such thing as magic.'

Or so she thought.

Hey! so, this is the first chapter and I really hope you like it! Reviews are always lovely!

I'm sorry if there are any (or many) gramatical errors, I wrote it off my shitty cellphone :( but do let me know! Constructive criticism is always appreaciated.

I'm sorry if it's rather short, Im judt trying to get past the first few chapter quickly to get to the action lol.

thanks for reading! xoxo