Hello there and welcome to Chapter 2. So I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, as stated before I'm planning on continuing this story until the end of year 7 with a nice epilogue to wrap it all up. I hope you enjoy the journey and please review favorite follow it's a big help. Also, I own nothing, everything belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 2: Life with the Dursley's
Harry beamed as he ran into the kitchen with Hermione by his side waving his picture proudly. Harry and Hermione watched Dudley color and all his drawings ended up on the fridge and Petunia and Vernon praising their son for such fantastic drawings. Just once Harry and Hermione wanted their pictures to be on the fridge too.
"Look!" Harry tugged on Petunia's dress.
"We colored pretty," Hermione smiled pulling on Vernon's pants legs.
"Go away," Vernon shooed the three-year-old off.
"But we colored," Hermione frowned.
"Get your grimy little hands off my skirt Harry James Potter." Petunia scowled.
"Duddy's on the fridge." Harry frowned letting go
"That is because Dudley is talented and smart, the two of you are neither of those things," Petunia took up the pictures giving one to Vernon.
Hermione was almost bouncing with the anticipation of her picture getting put up. Hermione just knew that when her picture was on the fridge she'd get a cookie after dinner, maybe Petunia would even hug her, and then Uncle Vernon would let her sit on his lap as he read the paper.
Harry took his sister's hand watching his Aunt and Uncle his eyes gleaming with unbridled excitement.
Petunia started laughing at the colorful scribbles, "Where did either of you get the colors for this?"
"We borrowed them from Duddy," Harry smiled proudly.
Vernon frowned leaning forward, "You mean you stole your cousin's crayons?"
"No, we put them back," Hermione's eyes widened.
"Did you ask?" Petunia asked looking suspiciously between the twins
"No," Harry looked down.
"Then you stole," Vernon snarled taking both pictures and getting up.
"Are you going to put them on the fridge?" Hermione asked hopefully making Vernon laugh nastily.
"No we don't need no talent work from thieves on our fridge," Vernon growled ripping the two pictures not once or twice, but until there was no way to put them back together.
"Mine," Harry cried reaching for his now shredded picture tears building up in his eyes. Hermione just watched her eyes never leaving the trashcan as Vernon grabbed them both under their arms.
"No!" Hermione cried trying to hit Vernon with her tiny arms and legs while Harry just sniffled looking down.
Vernon unceremoniously dropped them onto the floor of the cupboard under the stairs slamming and locking the door leaving them in the dark both too small to reach the light.
"M'sorry," Hermione whispered crawling to her brother.
"Why did we do bad?" Harry asked.
"Duddy takes things from us all the time," Hermione agreed hugging her twin who hugged her back.
"No more pictures," Harry said resolutely Hermione just nodding.
HJPHJPHJPHJP
Hermione was standing on her tiptoes stretching to reach the cookies while Harry was on his hands and knees to help her reach. "Harry hold still I've almost got them," the five-year-old reached.
"Mione you're heavy," Harry groaned.
"What do you think you're doing?" Petunia snarled while Harry tried to get up accidentally knocking Hermione off his back. Hermione frowned looking a bit startled at finding herself on the floor.
"We, we just wanted some cookies," Harry stepped in front of his sister his bright green eyes a direct contrast against his sepia complexion.
"You did, did you?" Petunia jerked them both up by their arms. "These cookies are for good boys and girls not bad little brats like the two of you."
"We aren't bad Aunt 'Tunie," Hermione took Harry's hand. "There just are never any cookies left for us, Duddy eats them all before we can have one."
"You know why that is don't you?" Petunia jerked them apart leading them toward their cupboard. "Now stay in there the both of you and don't bother coming out; just wait until your Uncle hears about this."
"No," Hermione wailed her fists beating against the door.
"Please Auntie Tunie, we'll be good don't tell him please," Harry cried.
"He's going to get the belt," Hermione sniffled.
"Shut up," Petunia snapped slamming the grate shut.
HJPHJPHJPHJP
The rattling sound of someone banging on the door to the room sounded loud as Petunia Dursley's voice echoed into the cupboard that Harry and Hermione Potter shared. Groaning Hermione looked at the time before reaching up and pulling the string attached to the lone light bulb in the room. Looking over at her brother she sighed pulling the blankets off their shared bed. "Harry c'mon!" She said tugging at him laughing as he rolled out bed and landed on his butt.
"Morning brother of mine," she grinned at him running her fingers through her bushy curls and carefully plaiting it back into a braid. Her aunt hated her hair, she'd threatened more than once to shave her and Harry's head because their hair refused to be tamed.
Hermione rubbed her face as she searched for some clothes that wouldn't look like a tent on her. At the moment she was in an old pair of Dudley's sweats and they were far too large for her. "You know Harry its Dudeykins birthday!" She said in a sing-song voice causing her brother to roll his eyes at her.
"I think that you are far too happy and it's way too early!" Harry said yawning as he pulled his flannel shirt on looking up as their small room started to quake with thunderous footsteps. Frowning as he looked up watching as dust fell into the room he sighed shaking his head. "I take it back he's far too happy," Harry grumbled as he opened the door to their room about to walk out when Dudley ran in-front of him shoving him back into the cupboard.
Hermione let out a groan of pain as Harry was forced into her. "Ouch Harry you're on my foot," she cried pushing him out the door rubbing her foot. Slowly she followed Harry glaring at her cousin irritably. "I think Dudeykins needs to be reminded who he's dealing with, the ignorant prat," she huffed quietly to her brother before walking into the kitchen. Frowning as her aunt's bony fingers gripped her arm she shoved her in front of the coffee and bacon.
"Don't start anything Mione last time we didn't leave our room for three days," Harry grimaced.
"Try not to burn anything," her aunt hissed at her before jerking her chin at Harry indicating for him to start serving everyone.
"Hurry up and get my coffee boy!" Hissed Vernon. Harry frowned and made a face at Hermione but quickly served the coffee.
"How many are there?" Harry's large and spoiled cousin Dudley demanded looking at his father.
"36, counted them myself," Vernon said proudly smiling at his son.
"36! But last year I had 37," Dudley yelled.
"Yes but some of them this year is quite a bit bigger Dudley." Vernon smiled.
"I don't care how big they are!" Dudley sneered hatefully looking furious at the fact there was one less present. Hermione gripped the frying pan tightly her hands shaking in anger. There was a time when the twins were growing up that they had sought their relative's acceptance.
Hermione remembered coloring pictures of their family when she was still too young to go to school. Harry used to ask Uncle Vernon to teach him how to ride a bike, and Hermione used to beg to go to the park. There had been a time when the twins were so young that they thought Petunia and Vernon were their Mum and Dad and called them such. Each of these circumstances was met with disdain and hate and at least a full day locked up in their cupboard.
At least they had each other and that was all they really needed. No one at school dared to be their friend because Dudley and his friends would torment anyone who dared. This made Harry and Hermione easy targets for the common schoolyard bully. Although once together anyone who dared to mess with either of them soon regretted it. Hermione wasn't one to just let idiots torment her brother and herself without retribution.
Harry walked over to his sister who was still glaring down at the frying pan. Gently moving her out of the way he took the pan from her hands and began serving his aunt uncle and cousin before putting what was left on two plates. He understood why his sister was so angry, last year for their birthday they had each received a pair of Dudley's old socks. They were never given a chance and it hurt for the first few years, but now it hardly even phased Harry.
He was used to the extended trips to Mrs. Figg's and hearing all about her cats. He was also used to the treatment he and his sister received. Harry smiled bumping Hermione playfully as he went to get the mail.
Hermione had sat down when Harry came back with a stack of letters. Handing all but two of them to their Uncle Vernon he sat beside his sister at the bar like usual, while the other three sat at the table. Handing her the letter made out to her he looked at her and bit his lip softly shrugging. He wasn't quite sure why they had letters it was a first-time occurrence. As both twins examined the letters they started to open them when suddenly the letters were swiped from their hands. Both twins looked up startled only to find Dudley's face beaming as he handed the letters to Uncle Vernon.
"Hey give those back!" Hermione cried standing up with her arms crossed.
"Yeah, those are our letters!" Harry said standing at the same time as his twin and meeting her eyes.
It was moments like this when they were so perfectly in sync that it was easy to tell they were twins. Most people; however, were usually surprised to learn that fact. Harry and Hermione looked almost nothing alike. Except for the shape of their eyes, and the same lips they had nothing else in common looks wise. Harry had dark green eyes, and required glasses to be able to see anything. He had unruly hair that was jet black and a sepia skin tone only causing his eyes to stand out more. He was scrawny and short, although the school nurse assured him he'd soon hit a growth spurt. In short aunt Petunia once made the remark that he was identical to his Father except for his eyes, which were his mothers.
Hermione was short with deep auburn curls that glowed red in the sunlight, she had a more tawny complexion that would fade to a fawn color in the winter, and had a light dusting of freckles all over her face. She had brown hazel eyes that in the light looked almost amber. Along with her bushy hair, Hermione's front teeth were too big for her mouth, which was something she was ridiculed mercilessly about by her cousin and other school bullies. Petunia also remarked that Hermione looked exactly like her mother except for her eyes, which were her fathers.
Vernon Dursley looked at his niece and nephew and snorted taking the letters in his beefy hands. "Yours? Who would be writing to either of you?" He said with a laugh his eyes widening as he read the address. Looking at his wife he frowned as he sent a glare in the direction of the twins. "Get dressed you two, we have a long day and you should consider yourselves lucky we're taking you with us," the hulking man snapped at the two ten-year-olds causing them both to scurry out to their room in alarm.
Hermione looked at her brother and sighed as they stood cramped in their bedroom under the stairs. He shook his head as he pulled his regular clothes on and walked out leaving her to contemplate the letters by herself. As she pulled on the trousers that were two sizes too big and the jumper that nearly went to her knees she couldn't get the thought of it out of her head. She thought about the elegant scrawl and the stamp on the back as she quietly and gently shooed the spiders from her socks. Looking up as she pulled on her shoes she met Harry's eyes her determined.
"Uncle Vernon's probably already torn up the letters, but if we get any more I promise you, Harry, we're going to read them!" She said standing up and stretching. Harry for his part only nodded giving his sister a weak smile, he knew that once she decided on something nothing would change her mind.
"Yeah right, we'll never read those letters and you know it," Harry sighed.
As soon as the family reached the zoo the twins knew it was going to be a long and unfortunate day. Harry was already fighting a headache from the pseudo shopping trip to get Dudley two more presents. He looked over at his sister who looked like she was trying hard not to acknowledge the presence of her cousin who was annoyingly pestering her with his new toy. "Don't you like Hermione, I bet you wish you had one, you and Harry," Dudley said smirking at his younger cousins obviously enjoying the chance to gloat.
Finally, after about the tenth time Dudley had repeated the sentence Hermione snapped. "Oh yes, Dudeykins! I wish I had everything you have that way I can be a fat piggish girl who only thinks of myself, and has no regard for how I make others feel," she hissed hatefully glaring at her older cousin grabbing her twin's hand as Petunia whipped around.
"You foul little git! It is Dudley's birthday! I will not have you trying to ruin it for him because you are jealous!" she growled at an unblinking Hermione who had a look of indifference on her face. Petunia's hand itched but she held back shaking her head in disgust at the child in front of her, "Apologize to him now!"
"I'm sorry Dudeykins I am extremely jealous of you and the fact that you're so much better than me. I mean, after all, you have to be maybe I should start making D's in all my classes too. Then maybe I can be as amazing as you Dudley," Hermione said with as much sarcasm as she could muster pushing her brother out of the car as fast as she could grabbing his hand and running to an alcove behind one of the exhibit signs.
"Shh," Harry had to put his hand over her mouth because Hermione couldn't stop laughing. Harry moved to watch Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley pass by their hiding spot, Vernon and Petunia looked furious, but Dudley just seemed appropriately confused.
"You shouldn't have egged her on like that," Harry said sighing softly as he relaxed against the wall behind him.
"It was Dudley's fault prattling on like that, so what if I go to bed without supper and it needed to be said." Hermione crossed her arms turning her head almost like a child.
"Sorry," Harry sighed his hand running through the shaggy black hair on top of his head, "I-I don't want you to get in trouble for something so stupid-"
"I get it." Hermione was trying to peak past the sign covering them to see if the coast was clear. "I think we can go now."
"Where do you want to go?" Harry moved cautiously out of the alcove behind her.
"The reptiles sound fascinating, did you know they have a Burmese Python, it was bred in captivity."
It was unclear how Hermione managed to retain all the information that was in her mind. Teachers often marveled at her, and it was one of the many reasons she was top of their class. Hermione typically downplayed compliments to her intelligence saying it was mainly due to the number of books she read. Reading was Hermione's favorite escape, one Harry didn't quite share.
Harry often wished he could read like his sister because he could see how engrossed his sister became with the books she read. It was clear that when Hermione was reading she wasn't with him at Number 4 Privet Drive, but instead, she was off in a different world undoubtedly better than their own. Harry would never admit it, but he often felt envious of that fact. He wanted to escape into different worlds, but books couldn't hold his attention for that long.
Hermione led Harry to the python's terrarium. It was a fascinating setup, but it looked so small, and the sunning snake seemed so sad. "I wonder if it knows we understand?" Hermione looked at Harry whose eyes were focused on the Python.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked quietly his eyes never moving from the tank.
"It doesn't know it's family," she said softly. "It doesn't know anything about its life... it isn't fair," she mumbled, "We don't know anything about our family outside of the Dursley's, and we live in a tiny cage that we're forced to be in-"
"I guess I never thought about it." Harry stood up straighter his eyes going to his sisters when he saw his pink-faced cousin huffing towards them. With a grimace, Harry pulled Hermione closer to him and out of Dudley's way.
Dudley's features were marred by a look of disgust as he realized the twins were beside him. The twins didn't move and Dudley's gaze slowly went to the snake in the cage. "Someone needs to come make this bloody snake move!" Dudley commanded haughtily. When there was no valiant effort to follow his demand Dudley sneered before declaring, "It's boring!" With one final slap against the glass Dudley and his crew of hoodlums decided the snake was a lost cause and turned to leave it.
Harry frowned and looked back at the snake as Hermione started reading the pamphlet beside the window. "I'm sorry about him, he doesn't understand what it's like to be looked at as a freak. Having people press their ugly faces against the glass day after day." Harry said softly. He was talking more to himself and for his own benefit than anyone else's. So when the snake lifted its head and stared at him Harry gulped. "C-can you hear me?" Harry asked his eyes wide as the snake flicked his tongue and seemed to nod at him.
"Yes, I can hear you, Harry, I always hear you even when you don't want me to." Hermione looked up teasing only to find her brother's gaze on the python instead of her. Looking at the snake with a tilted head she looked confused.
"Not you Mione the snake, here ask it something," Harry said with an excited grin as he met Hermione's eyes.
Hermione looked skeptical but placating her brother she looking at the snake. "Hello Mr. Python, if you can understand me I'd very much appreciate it if you please moved to the edge of the glass," she said pleasantly feeling like a total idiot as the snake just hissed at them.
"I told you." Harry grinned at his sister smirking as the snake lifted to watch them converse. It was a little unnerving how much the snake seemed to be paying attention to them.
"Harry I didn't hear anything," Hermione frowned looking at her brother reaching out to feel if he had a fever. Unfortunately, neither twin was paying enough attention as a very solid human body slammed into them to get a look at the snake. Hermione winced as she fell back, and Harry colliding into her caused her head to hit the floor. Harry glared at the offender unsurprised to see Dudley there with his pig-like face pressed against the glass.
Harry felt Hermione rise up, and at that moment he could feel her anger just as clearly as his own. Glancing back to Hermione whose hand was on the back of her head. "You okay?"
"Fine." Hermione grimaced glaring at her cousin.
Harry followed her gaze and suddenly felt the keen desire to see the glass disappear. He wanted Dudley to fall into the Python exhibit and feel what it was like for people to watch him.
The thought had barely come into Harry's mind, when the unthinkable happened, everything happened so quickly that if you blinked you would've missed it. One minute Dudley was standing right against the window pressed against it, and the next he was falling forward where the glass had been. Before he had a chance to realize what was happening Dudley was inside the python's pond, while the python slithered out of its holding cell. Harry and Hermione watched with wide eyes as the snake stopped in front of them hissing slightly and saying "Thanks."
"Anytime," Harry blinked and looked at his sister who seemed to have understood that time. Hermione paled at the hiss and looked at Harry, she didn't even want to know at this point.
At some point when they had taken their eyes off of Dudley to watch the snake slither its way out of the zoo, the glass had reappeared. So when they looked back up they saw a very panicked Dudley banging on the glass desperate for a way out of the terrarium. The sight of the soaking hulking mass of their cousin was enough to make Harry laugh a bit, and soon Hermione joined him. It wasn't long before each twin straightened up, however, after their uncle and aunt appeared out of seemingly nowhere and started glaring daggers at the duo.
Harry looked down quickly so as not to meet his Aunt and Uncle's eyes. This would prove disastrous he knew, Harry wouldn't even be surprised if the Dursley's locked them away in their room and left them there until school started. Hermione was having a harder time maintaining a straight face, she found she had to keep her eyes firmly on the floor in front of her or else she'd be in danger of giggling again.
Vernon was glaring daggers at the two and she was afraid of what the consequences were going to be. So, when Dudley was finally freed from the Python terrarium, they all silently trudged to the car. Dudley was solemn and soaking as he climbed into the car first. Hermione got into the back and found she couldn't stop the nervous twitches that drove her aunt crazy. She was chewing on her nails and bouncing her knee trying her best to stay calm.
When they pulled up to No. 4 Privet Drive Hermione wanted to crawl in a ball and hide so that she wouldn't face the wrath of Vernon Dursley. Needless to say, he didn't disappoint when he dragged both twins into the house by their hair. "You can come out tomorrow," Vernon spat.
"But it wasn't us," Harry pleaded.
"It was like magic," Hermione said quietly her eyes stinging.
"There's no such thing as magic." Vernon shut the grate of the cupboard door. The simple action was enough to plunge the twins into darkness, and Hermione cautiously moved to sit against the wall, which was hard to do with so little space.
"This is a disaster." Hermione pulled her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around them.
"I know, but we'll get through it," Harry said carefully sitting on their bed.
"What if he never lets us out?" Hermione muttered her hands going to her neck as she put her head between her knees.
"Someone will come looking for us eventually," Harry offered. Harry could feel the incredulous gaze Hermione was giving him despite the pitch black room.
"Harry, no one outside of this room gives a damn about us," Hermione whispered.
"I-I know, but still maybe Mrs. Figg would notice," Harry offered and Hermione scoffed.
"We should just get some sleep and hope he's merciful tomorrow," Hermione huffed.