Vernon Dursley had been having a good day, all things considered. His son and wife had been lovely as ever this morning, and he hadn't even had to see his miserable nephew before he left the house. The commute to work had been quite manageable and traffic was low, so he had managed to get to his office, brew his coffee, and begin working before the clock hit seven-thirty. Unfortunately, his perfect day had been ruined when he had spotted a couple of freaks from his office window. Mr. Dursley had heard of early trick-or-treaters, but for Pete's sake it was the end of August, not October!

While he had been sipping his coffee, it chanced that he glanced outside his window at the exact same time a white flash had filled the alleyway across from the Grunning's building. He had spit out his coffee in shock, watching in shock and disgust as the flash receded, leaving two strange creatures laying facedown on the pavement. Now, Mr. Dursley was (unfortunately) no stranger to the… odderside of life, but despite everything that had happened to him due to his nephew, he could safely say this was near the top of the list of 'things I wish I'd never seen'. The two creatures, which appeared to be animals of some sort, had on over sized gloves and shoes. They reminded Mr. Dursley of that morning three years ago when he had seen the large group of freaks walking down the streets, dressed in cloaks in the middle of summer.

After a period of time, the furry(?) black creature stirred. Not long after, it's… companion followed suit. They appeared confused, but Vernon refused to believe that animals could have the same sentience as a man. Vernon's suspension of disbelief continued as they appeared to… converse with each other. At this point, Vernon was completely flabbergasted, and he hated how everything strange (he refused to say magical) always seemed to happen to him. Fortunately the display ended rather quickly, the first creature abandoning its companion and speeding off, much to Vernon's confusion. The second creature appeared to think for a moment, before shrugging and stretching, also speeding off shortly after.

His coffee was cold by the time he looked away from the window. Vernon's face was white with shock, but was quickly purpling with anger. How dare he? How dare his nephew pull one of his freaky little pranks on him?

Vernon knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on work, so as he left he told his coworkers he was feeling rather sick. Most believed him, partly due to his red face, which appeared to be morphing into a tomato. Vernon slammed the door on his car as he got in and sped home, for once uncaring about any laws he broke. However, as he was approaching the Surrey house, he reconsidered beating his nephew. The brat's damned godfather would surely come and protect the boy, and Vernon did not want to get more involved than he already was with Petunia's family's freakish ways.

'Just what in the devil did I see?' He thought to himself as he rubbed his temples with one hand.

Mind weary and annoyed at his inability to concentrate, he slammed on his breaks when he thought he saw the shadow of one of the creatures, but it was only a tabby cat. He shook his head at his own paranoia, and continued to weave the car home. Twice he thought he saw something, but he didn't stop for it, and finally arrived at his house. He got out of the car and headed inside.

As he prepared for his impromptu nap session, he decided to make a call.

"Hullo, is this the police?"

"Yes."

"I would like to report a disturbance."

"What kind?"

"A large public one."

"Please explain the situation."

"I was looking out my office window, and I saw some freaks in costume. Except, I am not sure whether it was costume, because they didn't appear to be, well, normal . As soon as I got a good look at them, they sped off, faster than the cars on the street. I saw them at different times, mind you, but they arrived one after the other, a few seconds apart. Could you perhaps put out a warrant? They were about three foot, one black and one blue."

"Sir, have you been drinking?"

"WHAT? Absolutely not! I can swear upon my life they were real!"

"Sir, do you need some help?"

"NO!"

"Are you sure about that?"

Vernon slammed the phone down angrily into its slot on the kitchen wall.

"The nerve of some people!" He spat, storming off to bed.

AN: This chapter is actually nonessential to the main plot. I just figured I'd put it in the story since it was already written.