Locked In

Several more weeks passed and Harry had only heard from Irlynn. She'd been very disappointed at the news that he couldn't visit her and her parents. He was disappointed too but at least she wrote to him. He couldn't understand why Ron and Hermione hadn't sent him nay mail. Harry was sitting in his room rereading Irlynn's last letter. It had been relatively brief. July was finally upon them and she was excited for their birthday. She'd gone on for a little bit about spending time with her friends. At least she was having a good summer. Suddenly, Harry was jolted from his thoughts by the booming echo of his uncle's voice.

"Boy! Get down here this instant!" Vernon bellowed, his voice reverberating in he staircase. Harry jumped at the call. He set the letter down and trudged down the stairs. He wandered into the sitting room to find his Uncle sitting in his arm chair.

"Yes Uncle Vernon?" Harry stated, making his presence known.

"Have you done the dishes?" Vernon asked, his temper very clearly on the verge of exploding. Harry's gaze flitted to the kitchen.

"No…not yet I was…" he began but Vernon cut him off.

"You were what?" Vernon snarled.

"I was just…reading a letter from a friend," Harry muttered. Vernon began to sputter and force himself out of his chair, looming over the boy.

"Well we're going to change that right now," he spat and grabbed Harry roughly by the arm. Harry had no choice but to follow behind his uncle. With a firm shove, Vernon sent Harry stumbling into the cupboard beneath the stairs. Vernon slammed the door and se the lock. Just then Petunia came in from the back yard.

"What is going on?" she asked, seeing how purple her husband's face was. Vernon didn't answer right away. Instead he stormed into the kitchen and grabbed his car keys.

"Vernon, what are you doing?" Petunia demanded.

"He's been talking to one of them," Vernon ground out.

"I'm going to make sure he doesn't talk to them again," he added and walked towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" she called.

"To the store. I need to buy some things," he answered and opened the front door.

Harry sat in the cupboard, just staring at the door. He had no idea what his uncle was going to do but he got the feeling it wasn't good. He wished he had his wand with him. A simple Alohamora could get the door open. Unfortunately his wand was on his bedside table and he was not allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts.

Several hundred miles away, Irlynn sat in the front yard on the swing. She couldn't help but think back to a year earlier when she'd gotten her Hogwarts letter. So much had happened since that day. As the sun drifted out from behind a cloud she was hit with a vision. She saw Harry's uncle dragging him towards the stairs and tossing him in the cupboard. As quickly as it came, it was gone. There weren't usually that short.

"Oh no," she mumbled to herself and rushed inside.

"Mum!" she called out. Victoria stuck her head out of the kitchen.

"In here," she answered. Irlynn walked in to find her mother making fresh lemonade.

"We need to go to Surrey,' the eleven-year-old said.

"That's a long trip. Why do we need to go there?" her mother replied.

"Because…I just saw Harry get thrown in a cupboard by his Uncle," Irlynn replied. Victoria put down the lemon in her and pointed to the seat at the table. Irlynn sat down.

"Are you sure?" her mother asked. None of them were entirely sure Irlynn's visions were normal for a witch but she wasn't going to question them.

"I'm positive. They treat him awful and they won't let him come stay," she rambled. It wasn't anything Victoria didn't already know about Harry's living situation.

"Honey, I don't know what we can do," Victoria finally said.

"Mum, he's my brother. I have to help him," Irlynn protested.

"Have you talked to your other friends? Maybe they can help," her mother suggested. Irlynn nodded and stood up.

"I'm going to write them," she said and ran up the stairs.

Back at 4 Privet Drive, Vernon had returned home and was busy installing metal bars across Harry's window. Hedwig watched him carefully from her cage, hooting every now and again. The man grunted as he finished with the last bar. He gave a satisfied smirk as he picked up the tools.

"That will be the end of this bloody nonsense," he said, looking at Hedwig. With that, he made his way back downstairs. After putting the tools away, he unlocked the door to the cupboard. Harry h ad since fallen asleep.

"Wake up," Vernon called. Harry groaned but opened his eyes.

"Go do the dishes," he spat. Harry climbed out of the cramped space and raced into the kitchen. He turned on the water and began scrubbing the plates from lunch.

Half an hour later he walked up the stairs and back to his room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the bars on the window. He immediately looked to Hedwig. He could tell she was disappointed. Harry turned and slammed his door in anger before collapsing onto his bed. He lay there for a while, just staring at the bars. How was he supposed to write to Irlynn now?

"Sorry Hedwig," Harry muttered, sitting up. She rustled her feathers and gave a soft hoot.

Harry got up and ran his hands over the bars. He had always felt like a prisoner in this house but now he literally was one. He was going to be cut off from the world even more than he already was. As he stared out through the bars, he wondered if Irlynn had seen what happened. Part of him hoped she had. Maybe she could do something to get him out of here.

Back at the McQuillen residence, Irlynn was finishing up a letter to Ron. She'd already written one to Hermione. She sat back and stared at the note, rereading it.

Dear Ron,

I hope you are having a good summer. I am doing alright. I was hoping you would be able to help me with something. Harry tells me you haven't written back to him all summer. Neither has Hermione and he feels rather lonely. Please send him a letter before the summer finishes. His birthday is the end of the month. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Well his Uncle and Aunt are horrible people. I know he told you that during the year but he told me more in his letters. They lock him in a cupboard for no reason and leave him there for hours. I want to get him out of there. I was hoping you would want to help. I've sent a letter to Hermione asking for her help too. If you have any ideas please let me know. Please write back to me as soon as you can.

Your friend,

Irlynn

She looked over at Artemis. The owl sat on her perch, looking intently at her owner. Irlynn knew the owl needed to rest more. She'd been making frequent trips out to Surrey back several times a week lately. The girl stood up and held out her arm. The bird took flight and in one graceful arc landed, letting her talons rest lightly on the girl's bare skin.

"You need to fly fast today. Take this Ron and this one to Hermione," she said. Irlynn tied the two letters to the owl's leg. She gave the owl a pat on the head before opening the window and letting the bird fly away. She hoped one of her friends would have an idea of how to rescue Harry. If she had the money and the means, she would get on the ferry that night and find him. She couldn't bear to think of Harry cooped up in that house much longer.

"Hold on. I'm going to get you out," she spoke to the silent air around her.

Evening soon fell and Irlynn somberly sat through dinner. She got sympathetic looks from brother her parents but it didn't bolster her mood. She kept trying to concentrate, trying to see if she could will a vision, just to make sure Harry was alright but it didn't work. In Surrey, harry was doing much the same throughout dinner and afterwards, hoping he could find some way to send Irlynn a mental message that he was still out there. He was also unsuccessful in his efforts. That night, both fell asleep with their thoughts centered on the other. Irlynn gazed out at the night sky, hoping her letters had reached their destinations. Harry tossed and turned until the early morning hours, unable to fall asleep. His mind kept churning with ways of getting in touch with Irlynn. He finally succumbed to exhaustion just as the sun was starting its initial ascent into the sky.