The Day It all Began
"Wake up, wake up wake UP!" Darling barely had time to even open her eyes before her blanket was yanked harshly off, pulling her along with it onto the ground. Her brother - the perpetrator - stood grinning triumphantly.
"Happy Birthday, nerd." Dudley sneered, "Mummy wants you down in five minutes. We're going to the Zoo. Now hurry up - they won't let me open my presents till you're down too." He left her room before she could say anything, and she winced as she heard him stomping down the stairs rapidly. Poor Harry.
Goosebumps prickled at her skin as the cold morning air crept over her now unprotected self, and she was so very tempted to crawl back into the warm embrace of her blanket. Had she not known better, of course. Darling was never late.
She got ready in record time, opting to wear the pale yellow sundress Aunt Marge had mailed over a week ago. It looks hideous, she thought, lips pressed tightly against each other at she stared at her reflection in the mirror discontentedly. Sure, the dress was pretty, and she was exaggerating just a smidge, but she had never been fond of the colour yellow.
The girl did suppose she was grateful that it was a pastel yellow and not the neon, blinding sort.
She hurried down the stairs quickly, expertly pulling her hair into a neat braid and snapping an elastic onto it. She stumbled when her foot caught onto something as she entered the kitchen, frowning as the elder of the twins pulled his leg back before any of their parents caught him. "Morning Daddy," she pecked the man on his cheek as she passed his chair, wrapping her arms around what she could of his neck. "Morning, Princess. Big day today - and look at you! All grown up. Daddy's going to have to start beating boys off soon," he laughed, pressing a kiss onto her forehead. She bristled at the feeling of his moustache tickling her, laughing demurely.
"Nothing like that, Daddy. Good morning, Mother." She hugged her mother cheerily. Petunia's lips pulled into a thin smile, and while Darling could see that her mother was looking at her, it felt as if her gaze passed through her like light would glass.
That's alright, she told herself.
She took a seat opposite Dudley, beaming at her older twin. "Morning, Dudders. Happy Birthday."
The blonde gave a curt reply, and Darling pretended that the twinge in her heart wasn't there.
"Happy Birthday, dear," Her mother parrive during after her, then snapped at Harry to hurry up with the cooking. Darling smiled bitterly at the ground, and like always, it went unnoticed. Only Dudley saw, yet he may as well not have with how ignorant he wasn't of her feelings.
Its alright, she thought again.
Piers Polkiss joined them on the trip, much to Darling's dismay. He had harbored a crush on her from the moment they first met, and while it was not terribly obvious to her parents, it was blatantly so to the children. On the bright side, Harry was coming along too. Perhaps the trip would be her chance to better their already strained relationship.
"Morning, Mr. And Mrs. Dursley. Happy Birthday, Dudley," Polkiss greeted, and presented Dudley with a store-wrapped gift, to which Dudley tore into without hesitation and pulled out an action figurine. Darling rolled her eyes simultaneously with her cousin, and they shared knowing glances at one another which, in all honesty, had Darling feeling rather positive about today. If there was one thing they could bond over, it was their mutual dislike for Dudley's choice in friends.
"And hello, Darling. Y-You look great! Happy Birthday to you too. I hope you like this gift," he said as they all piled into the car, and he presented her with a little box. Darling graciously thanked him, inwardly groaning at how he flushed red, and then tucked it into the pocket at the back of the driver's seat. He looked disappointed when she didn't open it immediately, but Petunia intervened upon noticing how down Polkiss seemed and suggested that Darling open it, insisting that she was curious. Piers beamed immediately, and Darling didn't have the heart to say no, so open it she did. Harry glanced over from the corner of his eyes, curious.
It was a heart ring, and the brunette wanted very much to throw it out the window.
Harry shook in the seat next to her, head deliberately turned to the window so she couldn't see his expressions. She still could, because his reflection was in he window, and she could him her younger cousin struggling to contain his laughing, his face contorted and his palm casually pressed against his lips.
In all honesty, she didn't know what to say, and panicked when Piers asked for her opinion. "Why... It's... Very cute. Thank you, Piers. I shall take care of it."
The bright look in his eyes made Darling scoot over in her seat towards Harry, and she was more than glad that Dudley had chosen to sit between her and Piers to not so subtly separate his best friend from his sister. He was possessive like that, and Darling knew he didn't like it when she spoke to his friends. She knew, that her brother was worried that she would take them away from him.
'I'd never do that to him.'
It happened so quickly, Darling nearly had a heart attack.
Their trip to the zoo started off like everyone else's. They got their tickets, went in, and split up to look around. The children started off ahead eagerly, while Darling's parents lagged behind, taking time to look at and read about the various animals displayed.
Harry hadn't spoken much to her like she'd hoped, but they had at least shared a somewhat meaningful conversation on gorillas (and how Dudley instantly came to mind when they saw one, earlier on). Darling had nearly forgotten that this was Harry's first time coming to the zoo. They'd always left him behind, and Harry had spent his entire life cooped up at home. Like a prisoner, a part of her whispered to herself.
Darling didn't visit the zoo often, and for good reason. The caged animals made her incredibly uncomfortable, and she had no idea why. She felt awful, and imcredibly sensitive. These animals were once free - some of them, at least. They belonged in the wild to roam freely, or at least deserved bigger enclosures.
Still, she had to admit that some of these creatures were simply beautiful. The giraffes, the lions, the mice-deer... Personally, she liked the mice-deer the most, because of how adorable and small the little things were. She regretted having left her sketchbook at home. Animals were so aesthetically pleasing sometimes, especially in drawings.
They visited the reptile house last, and Darling was absolutely mesmerized. Their newest addition to the house was a coral snake, and Darling hurried over to it the moment she set her eyes on it, green eyes bright with wonder. It was young, a baby, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for it. It's beady little eyes stared back at her, and for the briefest of moments she felt the sorrrow and longing it did. "You poor baby," she murmured, fingers pressing against the glass.
The Dudley came and got his face all up in the glass, and the baby coral snake slithered off, frightened by her brother's ungraceful appearance.
"Dudley!" She snapped, brows furrowed. "You scared it off."
Her brother scoffed, shoving her out of the way. "Whatever. It's so puny and ugly - like Harry," he sneered, brushing her off. Darling frowned, opening her mouth to protest, but Dudley had long gone.
She waited by the coral snake's enclosure for a little while, only to be dissapointed when it did not reappear again. Moving on to the other exhibits, she strode over to Harry's side upon realizing he was alone, recognizing the snake as a boa constrictor. Harry was conversing with someone, and she looked around to see if she had unintentionally interrupted their conversation. Then she realized there was no one around.
The snake stirred, and Harry was in the midst of turning to face her when suddenly, Dudley came over and unceremoniously shoved Harry out of the way, only with more force than he had used with her. "Dudley, stop pushing—Wait, Dudley, the glass!"
Darling watched in pure, unadulterated horror as her brother's hands landed on nothing, and he toppled headfirst into the snake tank. Piers jumped back, screaming, and Darling rushed forward to catch her brother, doing the only reasonable thing she could think of then.
She yanked on Dudley's arm just before he could fully fall into the tank, and used her body weight and momentum to send him falling backwards, out of the tank. Unfortunately, her brother was heavier than her, more so than she had expected, and instead she was the one who took a nosedive into the water. She heard more screaming, and all she could think was shut up Piers.
She resurfaced as soon as she gathered her bearings, cold and wet, and headed towards the glass. Harry stood by the side, equally as shocked as she was when she walked into the glass that had and had not been there earlier.
Dudley was, much to her relief, next to Harry, on the ground, and Piers screamed so loudly for her parents that she could hear him from inside the tank.
As she finally processed her current predicament, she grew more nervous. She was in a tank, with no visible way out. A snake tank at that.'Wait, if I'm in here, then— oh, thank god.' She placed a hand over her nervously beating heart at the sight of the snake outside of the , until her parents came over and started screaming themselves.
Darling was nervous. Frightened, maybe, just a smidge. Yet as soon as she saw her flustered parents, she bunched up her fists on the hem of her skirt and put on a shaky brave smile. It would not do to worry her parents, and she was eleven years old today. She was a grown girl, and mature, and she wouldn't scream just for being stuck in a snake tank.
"Mum, Daddy..."
"Oh my poor baby! Don't worry, Darling, we'll get you out of there!" Her mother proclaimed determinedly, and immediately, like magic, the fear in her settled a little. Mummy made everything better.
Her father pressed himself up against the glass, evidently worried. She smiled assuringly at him.
"I'm fine, Mumm—"
"My darling boy! Are you alright? Oh, poor thing... Hush, hush, Mummy's here. Mummy's here."
Mummy's here, Mummy's here. Don't cry, baby.
Darling blinked, her smile receding as she watched her mother coddle her older brother. Her brother, who was on the floor. Dry. Her brother, who was not stuck in a snake tank. Who likely had no more than a bruise on his rump, and not a stinging scrape on his shin and a sore wrist.
Distracted, she failed to notice the murderous glare her father directed at Harry, instead turning away from the scene in front of her entirely, until Piers arrived with the security and staff, who did a little less panicking and more helping when they saw a helpless little girl standing in a snake tank. A crowd had gathered somewhat, but Darling was too preoccupied with her thoughts to care. She hadn't noticed Piers leave to get help, she thought.
Inattentive. Just like her mother.
Although Darling was wrapped up in a towel, she still felt cold. She began shivering on the car ride home, but remained quiet because she didn't want her father turning down the air-conditioner any further. It would get too stuffy and unbearable for everyone else.
Piers kept shooting her worried glances every now and then, and it was nice to know that he was actually concerned. And wasn't it weird, that her brother's best friend had more humanity in him than her own blood-related sibling himself? He hadn't said a word since they got into the car, only cast guilty glances at her. She found some comfort in that, though. At least he still cared. Her mother would take peeks at her from the front mirror, but otherwise remained silent as well, aside from the usual assurings of "We're almost home, dear."
Darling wanted to ask which one.
Harry, however, seemed guiltiest of them all. And worried. Afraid. Darling figured it was because he had something to do with the glass disappearing, and her father. And he didn't look at her either, but she could see his eyes dart up every now and then, checking on her reflection in the mirror. She sighed, trembling hands pulling the towel around her closer to her body.
She drifted off to sleep eventually, and could've sworn she felt someone lean towards her and press himself against her side, providing more of the warmth she desperately sought after.
A/N: I forgot the disclaimer in the Prologue, so let's just pop this in here. I'll do a little intro as well.
The Harry Potter franchise is the original work of author J.K. Rowling, an admirable, mighty imaginative woman with hundreds of copies sold worldwide. I do not own any of the characters except Darling Dursley.
Now that that's aside, hello everyone! I'm Hour. Thank you for giving this story a chance - I hope not to disappoint. I'm more or less a newbie to writing fanfiction, so forgive me if my plot or characters aren't well developed. On another note, I would greatly appreciate reviews, be it casual discussion, tips, questions or constructive criticism. Thanks.
Till the next chapter!
Edit: Slight error here, there were changes I made before publishing that are strangely enough not in tthis chapter. I'll have to see if I can find the correct one, otherwise please bear with me whilst I work on it again.