A/N: House: Hufflepuff | Category: Themed | Prompt: "You will stay here until I give you permission to leave," | Word Count: 529
"Boy!"
Harry instinctively shrunk back into the corner of his cupboard. Thundering footsteps grew louder and dust from the ceiling settled around him. He drew a shaky finger through the white particles that now covered his worn blanket in an attempt to distract himself from his quickening heartbeat and the thin layer of sweat that had formed on his palms. He brought the dust-covered pad of his finger close to his face to examine it with forced interest, but it was no use. His panic took over and he began to go through a mental list of wrongdoings he had committed, intentionally or not, that would warrant Vernon's current state of rage, but he couldn't think of anything that stood out. Admittedly, it did not take much to make Vernon angry with him; in fact, he seemed to always be angry with Harry to varying degrees.
The door slammed open and Vernon appeared, face red with fury and fists clenched at his sides.
"Why have we gotten another letter from your teacher about odd behavior?" His voice was quiet, almost as though he was afraid of his own words, but his tone was drenched in malice nonetheless.
Harry averted his eyes—he knew what the letter must have been about. Just two days ago, he had been working quietly by himself at school when Dudley and Piers approached him and began taunting him. When the teacher's back was turned, Dudley snatched Harry's project from his desk and ripped it up. Before Harry could respond, he felt a surge of anger and both Dudley and Piers were suddenly and inexplicably forced back as if they had been pushed. At the time, Harry had laughed at the expressions of shock and fear on their faces, but he should have known the incident would not go unnoticed.
He glanced back up at Vernon, whose fury had not diminished in the slightest. He watched his clenched fists warily and tried to swallow his fear. He was tired of cowering.
"I don't know," he replied, straightening his shoulders and meeting Vernon's eyes defiantly. He thought he saw his Vernon's eye twitch.
"Don't take that tone with me," he growled. "Any more freakish behavior and you'll be without food for a month."
"Okay," Harry said flatly. Vernon's fists clenched and he let out a loud breath.
"You will stay here until I give you permission to leave," he ordered menacingly.
"Whatever you say," Harry replied, trying to sound unconcerned.
Vernon glared at him, seemingly deciding whether or not it was worth his time to argue further. His hatred of being around Harry won over his anger in the end and he left the cupboard, slamming the door behind him, making the walls vibrate with the impact.
Harry flopped back on his bed and rubbed a hand over his face wearily. He went over the confrontation in his mind and, for once, he found that he was pleased by how he handled it. He had found his strength and faced Vernon with confidence for the first time, and, now that he had, he decided that he would never again cower in the face of Vernon's anger.