"Harry, it's time for you to get up." I heard my Aunt Petunia say.
I rolled under my covers on my bed. I really didn't want to get up. "It's too early. Five more minutes Aunt Tuney," I mumble. I heard the door open.
"Then do I have to get a bucket of cold water to dump on your head?"
I was up in a flash. "I'm up!" Then I sigh. "Bacon, coffee, eggs, and toast today?"
Aunt Petunia sighed to. "I'm sorry for this Harry. You know how Vernon is."
"I know. But, why don't you just divorce the man? The only two people he really cares for is you and Dudley."
"He owns the house Harry. He's the only one in this family that works since he wanted me to be a house wife. But," she said smiling. "At least we get along when he's not here hmm?" She said with a hug.
I hugged her back. "At least there's that. If he found out, there'd be hell to pay."
She looked shocked at my language. "Where did you hear that kind of language?"
"Piers, why?"
She scowled. "I wish you two didn't spend so much time around that boy. He's a bad influence, to the both of you. But, that's neither here or there. I'll let it slide just this once Harry, you understand?"
"Yes Aunt Petunia."
"BOY! Come down here and make our breakfast!"
"Come on Harry, before Vernon gets really angry. Don't forget, it's Dudley's birthday today."
The both of us headed down stairs and into the kitchen. As I was walking into the kitchen did I see the pile of presents that my brother in all but blood had. I looked and saw that he must've got that new computer he wanted. I looked in the corner and saw that he had a chopper bike. 'Now he and I can race each other. Or we can just cruise around.' I smiled at that because as a secret present from Aunt Petunia, she got me one of those chopper bikes. Mine was a Schwinn Stingray. I looked at the symbol on his, and it was an Orange County Chopper pedal bike. I knew who they were because Dud and I watched them on the telly. We loved how they made custom bikes for people. Now Dudley had one of his own. Then, I was brought back to a harsh reality.
"Mrs. Figg called," my Uncle Vernon said. "Broke her ankle apparently. Damn woman has too many cats. That's not normal for a person to have so many cats," he said from behind the paper. He looked up. "You need a haircut boy. I will not have any hippies in this house."
I got that once a week. Aunt Petunia tried humoring Vernon and went to get my hair cut. The first time we tried, the scissors broke on contact with my hair. The second was a small buzz cut. By the time we got home my hair had grown back longer, darker, and shaggier. In some places we can manage it. Others, it just sticks up everywhere. We didn't bother for a third try after that. I started frying the eggs and bacon when Dudley came down.
"Mornin' Mum, Dad, little Cousin." I smiled. That was as much as I was going to get for now. The three of us really hate it but, when the tub of lard is gone, we breathe a sigh of relief. I still don't get why Vernon hates me so much. He always says that I'm a burden, a no good for nothing, and my personal favorite, a freak. At least Dudley didn't hate me. He looks a lot like Vernon in all but weight class. He had some baby fat on his pink face, a short neck, small blue eyes, and blonde hair on his head. If he was as big as Vernon, the running joke was he'd look like a pig in a wig.
I tried to carefully put all the food on the table without disturbing the mound of presents. I watched as Dudley counted them. His face fell.
"Thirty six," he said looking at Aunt Petunia and Vernon. "That's two less than last year."
'I swear, he could take acting classes,' I thought to myself. Earlier in the week Aunt Tuney told my brother how many he was going to get this year. Then we rehearsed just what to say when the time came.
"Duddy dums, you haven't counted Aunt Marge's present, see, it's there under the big one from Mommy and Daddy."
"All right, thirty-seven then," Dudley said getting red in the face.
I wolfed down my breakfast as fast as I could. We decided that this year we would be a bit more dramatic. If Vernon ever found out about how we really felt, Dudley would flip the table in a tantrum and seal the deal that they all hated my guts.
As practiced, Aunt Petunia said quickly, "And we'll by you another two presents while we're out today. Will that be all right," she said winking at me.
I loved how she did that on the sly. Dudley could really care less how many presents he got, as long as he got to spend time and shared them with me.
"So I'll have thirty…thirty nine," my brother said. He was actually pretty smart. I figured by the time he saw the presents, he did the math in his head. He just counted for show.
"That's my boy! Wants his money's worth just like his dad." Vernon jubilee proclaimed while ruffling Dud's hair. That moment the phone rang and the tub of lard answered. Aunt Petunia and I watched as Dudley unwraps his new bike, 16 new video games, a camera, a remote control airplane, and a DVD player. He was ripping the paper off of a gold pocket watch when Vernon put down the phone.
"Bad news my pet. Marge is sick and can't take him. I called earlier after Mrs. Figg did and I left a message on her phone asking to take him." He glared in my direction.
My heart leapt with joy. I saw it in my Aunt and brother's eyes that they were happy too.
"Now what?" She said feigning anger. "We can't exactly leave him here. He'd probably destroy the house."
"What about what's her name, you know, uh - Yvonne?"
"She's out on holiday in Majorca."
Aunt Tuney pinched the bridge of her nose. Her hand covering a smile that, thank goodness, only Dudley and I could see. "We could always bring him to the Zoo…and leave him in the car."
'Now to reel him in,' I thought proudly. Dudley and my beloved Aunt came up with the different scenarios on how this could all go down.
"I will not leave him in the car! It's brand new and he won't be sitting in it alone."
'Qu the fake tears and key word.'
"I…don't…w-want… him to c-c-come! He al-always spoils everything!" He cried between sobs. I saw him grin and wink at me. He and I both knew that once Vernon was gone, he was going to share his spoils with me. Then we heard a knock on the door.
"Oh good Lord, they're here!" Said Aunt Petunia frantically. She went and opened the door, and revealed one of the other least favorite person on this planet. It was Piers Polkiss. When Dudley isn't around, he uses me as a personal punching bag. I even told Dudley, who beat the living snot out of him. Then after a while, he did it again. Last time it was Aunt Petunia. She tried to call his mother, but Vernon was in the house and never could. The thing is, we're all afraid of him and his short temper. He has a shotgun in the house just in case of burglars, but I think it's to keep us in line. So, we never tried pushing him to his limit. Then there was another knock on the door.
Petunia opened it and gave the person a hug.
"How's my best friend Tuney? Didn't think I wouldn't stop by and at least give your son his gift did you?"
The man that was at the door was like an Uncle to us both. His name was Vladimir Knight. Apparently, he's known Petunia since they were kids. He apparently worked at a place called Heart Inc. that varied in all types of things. One was restoring old cars. He took me for a ride in a vintage 1958 Plymouth Fury for my birthday once. But, once in a while I would get a vibe saying he was something more than extended family. He looked about 6 feet tall. Today he's wearing a Victorian style red trench coat, a charcoal suit, leather boots, and a red cravat. To top it off he was wearing a red overcoat with a wide brimmed red fedora. All in all, he could pass for a good double of Alucard from the Hellsing series. The only difference was he had amber eyes instead of red.
"Hi Uncle Vlad!" Dudley yelled.
"Hiya kiddo! Turning 11 today huh? You're getting old," he said taking off his hat.
"Am not! I'm a preteen."
"Uh-oh, you better watch out for him now Tuney. Who knows who he'll be bringing home from school," Uncle Vlad said laughing. "Hey, you know what Dudley? I have your present right here. I asked for a favor from an old friend, and I was able to get this right off the line." In his hands was a large box. It was wrapped in purple paper with a red and black bow.
"Go on little man, open it and show yer Mum and Dad."
We all watched as he ripped it open with gusto. As he took off the lid, and pulled out what was inside, I thought my jaw was going to fall off.
"This is…this can't be…is it really mine?"
Uncle Vlad grinned as he answered, "Yes it is Dudley. You hold in your hands your very own replica of the Fenrir keyblade. It's 43 inches long and it's about 20 pounds. Your dad can probably help you hang it in your room."
I thought I was going to faint. Dudley and I were HUGE fans of Kingdom Hearts and always wanted one of our very own keyblades. Whenever we'd play my pseudo Mum would watch with vigor. We caught her playing a few times to. It was fun to watch.
"20 pounds you say? It feels rather light to me. Look at this Mum and Dad! My very own keyblade!"
I looked at my Aunt who's treated me like a son. But, instead of jubilation or fondness, I saw a worried look on her face. A look that said she was terrified at what he was holding in his hands. My Uncle however, couldn't contain his happiness.
"Oh thank you Mr. Knight! My Dudley is very fond of that game. He's beaten it at least a few times now. Always wanted one of those blade things as a tike. Not sharp is it?"
"I assure you Vernon, it's not. It's as dull as an unsharpened pencil."
"Good…good. Don't want my Dudley getting hurt on an actual sword. Besides, he wouldn't even know how to wield it anyway."
Dudley and I continued to stare at the blade. Then my cousin said something that would forever be ingrained in my memory.
"It feels odd holding this."
"Odd? Why?"
"I don't know. It feels as though there's something missing."
I saw Uncle Vlad grab his chin in thought. "I got it," he said snapping his fingers. "We didn't do the ceremony. That's probably it."
"Oh yeah! Can you do it Uncle? Since you gave it to me?"
"Sure thing kiddo."
"Ceremony? What ceremony?" Vernon said turning red in the face.
"In the game of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, there's this thing called the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony. A Master wielder gives a future wielder a keyblade, and if the blade accepts the oath, it will shine. But, it's just a game so nothing will happen here."
Uncle Vernon smiled at this. "Good. Besides, there's no such thing as magic, Heartless, or Nobodies anyway. If there were, I won't have that type of freakishness in my house."
I looked back at Uncle Vlad, and he had a small smirk on his face.
"Right you are. But, if Dudley wants to do it right, I don't blame him." He turned to Dud then. "The key if you please nephew."
Dudley gave it to him.
"Right then. You ready young man?"
He nodded his head vigorously.
"In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend-no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."
I watched as Dudley grabbed the handle. As he took it back nothing happened. I turned my head to smile at him, but saw the strangest thing. I saw his eyes flash bluer than they were. 'Must be a trick of the light,' I thought.
"That's that then. I'm sorry I can't stay. I was only able to come on my lunch break. See you guys later." He hugged Dudley, my aunt, and me. He shook hands with uncle Vernon, and left.
