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Chapter III: Dinner with the Dursleys

Today was an important day. Harry spent much of it out and about, running as he had done since being released from his cupboard last week. While he couldn't keep a constant pace for more than a few minutes, he was getting better. Previously, he had only been able to run for a few seconds before a painful stitch in his side forced him to slow down. Being kept in a small enclosed space for most of your life will do that to you.

With a start, Harry glanced at his watch and hurried home. He didn't want to miss the post man. He couldn't. Today was a very important day. Today, Harry's Hogwarts letter would arrive.

Rounding the corner and speeding down the street, Harry Hersaw he was just in time. The post man pulled up to number four, Privet Drive and Harry rushed to him, offering to take the mail. The post man was thankful; any time he could save would help him get home sooner. With a tip of his hat and a wave, the post man continued on his route leaving Harry standing at the foot of the driveway, a fist full of letters in hand.

Quickly, Harry extracted the Hogwarts letter from the bundle as he walked into the house. He dropped it onto his cot before continuing into the kitchen. There he found his aunt stirring what looked to be an extremely dark and disgusting soup on the stove. Closer inspection revealed the soup to actually be clothing. "What's this?" he asked Petunia.

"Your uniform for secondary school," she replied, not moving from the stove. "I'm dying some clothes so they will look just like everyone else's."

"Oh. I didn't realize it had to be so wet or stinky." Before Petunia could reply to Harry's wry comment, Vernon and Dudley walked into the room, their noses wrinkling at the smell. Quickly, Harry walked over to them and handed the mail to his uncle. "I got the post on my way in."

Vernon eyed his nephew oddly. The boy had recently taken an odd turn, and not in his usual way. He seemed obsessed with fitness, often exercising and running. He also seemed more composed somehow. Perhaps the funny business his parents had been involved with was something they could avoid after all.

"I'm going to go take a shower," Harry said before rushing up the stairs. Dudley pulled some snacks out of the fridge before seating himself in front of the telly, leaving Vernon Dursley alone in the kitchen with his wife. Petunia turned away from the stove, drying her hands on a towel, and glanced at Vernon.

"Let me take a look at those," she said, gesturing toward the mail in his hand. He handed it over, and Petunia rifled through the letters before giving them back with a sigh of relief.

"Looking for something in particular, dear?" Vernon was a bit mystified at his wife's reaction to the mail.

"He's the right age, Vernon. Or near enough as makes no matter. He's going to get that letter soon, and we have to stop it." Petunia turned back to the stove, pulling the pot of dyed clothing off.

"What letter? For who, Dudley?" Vernon's confusion only deepened. It wasn't like his wife to deny their son anything.

"No, Harry. His mother was the same age when she got the letter for that crazy school." Realization suddenly overtook Vernon Dursley.

"But he's seemed so normal lately, are you sure he's going to get it?" Vernon's new found hope that his nephew might grow up to be a respectable member of society started to flag. Petunia only shook her head before answering as she dumped the pot into the sink.

"He's just like Lily was – a few odd occurrences, but for the most part normal." She pulled the soaked clothing from the sink and started to wring them out. "I can see the signs easily enough, Vernon. He's suddenly found himself on the school roof before. And with no explanation as to how he got there."

"He could have climbed up and lied about it to stay out of trouble." Vernon definitely thought his nephew was capable of that.

"Why would he do it, though? He's a smart boy; his school marks prove it. Why would he go somewhere he's not supposed to and then lie about how he got there and not why he was there to begin with?" Petunia finished one shirt and moved on to another. "Besides, what about that time I cut his hair? By the next morning it had grown back, just as messy and unruly as ever."

Vernon, couldn't deny his nephew always seemed in dire need of a haircut. The boy's hair was always a mess – a trait Harry had inherited from his father, Vernon had heard. Still, he felt the need to try to rationalize it anyways. "Maybe it was a growth spurt." The excuse fell flat on Vernon's ears and he recognized just how weak and flimsy it was. Petunia snorted as she pulled free a pair of pants and started wringing the water out of them.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened, Vernon. He had a growth spurt and his messy hair was back overnight." Vernon's shoulders hunched slightly as he heard his wife speak with such obvious sarcasm. "Don't forget the zoo, darling." Petunia's voice was riddled was such derision that Vernon was unsure of how to reply. Of course he remembered the zoo. How could he forget?

With a small and weak voice, Vernon finally replied after a long moment. "What can we do?" He did not want his nephew engaged in the sort of activity that had gotten Petunia's sister killed.

Petunia sighed before placing all the dyed clothing in a basket to be hung out back. "I don't know, Vernon. The only thing I can think to do is get that letter and destroy it before Harry finds out. The last thing I want is for him to end up like his parents." Petunia grabbed the basket and headed for the back door. "Now go get cleaned up. I'm going to hang these up to dry and I'll start dinner when I get back."

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Harry stepped into his cupboard, clad only in wet hair and a towel. He quickly turned on the light, relieved that the letter was still on his cot. After dressing in some fresh clothes, he pulled open the envelope, briefly scanning to make sure the letter was just as he remembered it. It was. Everything was exactly the same, even the emerald green ink describing his address down to his cupboard under the stairs.

Sighing with satisfaction, Harry moved over to his night stand and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He quickly wrote a reply before calling out for Athena. With a flash, the green and silver bird appeared and trilled softly. Stuffing the new letter into an envelope, Harry tied it to her leg. "Please take this to Hogwarts as soon as possible and return with an answer." He stroked Athena's head before admonishing her, "Be sure to change before you get there."

Athena sang a little plaintively; clearly she was not happy about this bit. "I know, but you're kinda my ace in the hole. I don't want anyone to know about you for a while. At least not like this." The bird seemed to glare at Harry for a moment before vanishing in a bout of green flame. Hearing his aunt call for supper, Harry left the cupboard knowing Athena would do exactly as he asked no matter how much she might grumble and complain.

Dinner was a mostly quiet affair for Harry and his relatives. He hardly touched his meal, moving bits and pieces of it around on his plate. Vernon and Petunia were both pensive as well. Vernon silently wondered how long it would be before his nephew started to change, while Petunia thought only about how she might get to that letter before Harry did. The only person who did not seem subdued in the slightest was Dudley, who ate his overly large portion of spaghetti with gusto.

Harry sat there for a few minutes before apprehensively opening his mouth. He wasn't quite sure how this conversation would go, but he had to give it his best shot. "I received a letter earlier today." Petunia's face went white and she clutched at her husband's knee underneath the table. Was it possible he hid the letter before she got to the post?

Harry paused, briefly noticing his aunt's expression, before continuing on, "It was from a boarding school up in Scotland. It said I had been accepted there." At this, Dudley looked up from his dinner.

"You can't go! You have to go to the public school here while I go to Smeltings." Dudley wasn't actually sure where Smeltings was, but it was the only private school he knew about. Dudley had gotten in because his father, Vernon, went there when he was a boy. Finally Dudley would be free of his annoying cousin!

Harry glanced at his cousin before expertly twirling spaghetti onto his fork. "It's not Smeltings, Dudley, though it does have an odd name."

"What's it called?" Vernon managed to get out as Petunia's grip on his knee increased.

Harry replied with only one word while closely watching his aunt's face for her reaction. "Hogwarts." Vernon winced as his wife's nails dug into his leg. He could only guess what had put her dander up so much.

"Odd name, that. You won't be going, of course," Vernon said casually as he discretely tried to pry Petunia's hand from his thigh. Dudley looked relieved and shoveled more pasta into his mouth. When his dad said something, Dudley believed it, no matter what it was.

Glancing at Vernon before returning his gaze to Petunia, Harry shot back, "I've already sent a reply that I will be attending." Dudley dropped his fork and frowned. Harry had never stood up to the Dursleys before.

Finally Petunia opened her mouth, her vocal chords unclenching. "You will most certainly not be going," she said vehemently. "We can't pay for both you and Dudley to go to a private school, and we are not putting him in the public system!" It was only the best for her son, and damn the guilt she might feel if she were ever to visit her sister's grave.

"That's why I asked them to send someone to discuss our options, Aunt Petunia." This was actually going a bit better than Harry thought it would. So far his uncle hadn't exploded. A quick glance that way showed him he spoke too soon. Vernon's face had quickly turned an ugly shade of puce at this last comment.

"You invited a stranger into my house to talk about financial matters? Go to your cupboard, now! You are done with dinner." Vernon couldn't believe his ears. Earlier today he thought his nephew might end up being a good person, and now here he was, scheming behind their backs. "And you will not be going to that freak school!" he added as an after thought as Harry quickly left the room.

A/N: Another week, another chapter. Sadly, though, this is the last one I had pre-written, with chapter four about a third done. That just means I have to get cracking, but be aware I might not have something to upload next week. Once again, thank you, everyone, for all the comments!

ArtanisRose: Keeping Harry's memories in tact is very important to the story; it just wouldn't have worked right otherwise. And the length of chapters isn't really about not having the inspiration to right more (though it may affect when I break to a separate scene), instead, I end chapters where I feel appropriate. Also, do you really want to read a 10-15 page chapter online?

Olaf74: I'm very glad you feel that way. This chapter may have been a bit tame compared to the last, but there is still quite a bit more to come.