Harry's summer went as bad as he feared. Which meant back to normal. The moment they were alone at home they locked his trunk up under the stairs, and shut Hedwig in her cage, uncaring when he insisted she needed to be able to stretch her wings. It was horrible. The cage was just for transport, owls needed space.
"Well you shouldn't have gotten one then," Uncle Vernon said, putting the key in his pocket.
"He was a gift. You know, those things you give to Dudley and not me." He wouldn't have brought himself any pet if he had a choice, not with his cousin around.
Aunt Petunia sent him out to weed the garden so that she didn't have to look at him, "It had been very restful with you gone and I don't know how I'm going to manage seeing you every day. Best if you make yourself scarce."
"Yes, Aunt Petunia." He understood her feelings. He didn't want to see her either. The last thing he wanted was to go slog in the sun but at least in the garden he could get some insects for Hedwig, so he changed his school clothes to Dudley's oldest cast-offs and went out.
It went from bad to worse. Neither Ron nor Hermione wrote him any letters and he was unable to use the phone, his aunt keeping a hawk eye over him when she allowed him out of his room. Meanwhile, the bread rolls he had stolen from school became stale in his locked trunk.
It all came to a head one afternoon, when Uncle Vernon invited a potential client over for an important dinner, and Harry was told in no uncertain terms to stay quiet, stay out of sight, and pretend he didn't exist.
"I wish I didn't," he said, trudging up the stairs.
"You're not the only one!" Dudders shouted up after him.
To be told you should pretend not to exist on your birthday was the worst. None of them had remembered the day. Not even his friends had bothered to send a card. He truly felt done with them all. Harry lay on his bed, moping about his lot in life, when it happened:
… He reached a decision. He was going to run away. (chx)
… The strangest creature popped into existence beside him. (Ch x)