The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Aleena her longest ever punishment. By the time she was allowed out of her cupboard again, the summer holiday had started. Aleena was glad school was over, but there was np escaping Harry and Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day.

Piers, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon were all big and stupid and do everything Harry and Dudley tell them to do. Aleena thought they only did that because they were scared of them and didn't want to get kicked out of the gang, but because of this, all four of them were happy to join in Harry and Dudley's favourite sport: Aleena hunting.

This is why Aleena spends as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of he holidays, where she could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came she would be going off to secondary school and for the first time in her life, she won't be with Harry and Dudley. They had a play at Uncle Vernon's old school, Smeltings.

Aleena, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local comprehensive. Harry and Dudley thought this was very funny.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall" Dudley told Aleena.

"Do you want to come upstairs and practise?" Harry added.

"No thanks" Aleena said, feeling confident enough to talk back to them. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick" Then she ran, before Harry and Dudley could work out what she'd said.

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Aleena went in for breakfast. She walked into the kitchen and saw Aunt Petunia standing in front of a large metal tub in the sink. She went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.

"What's this?" she asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if she dared to ask a question.

"It's your school uniform."

Aleena looked in the bowl again. "Oh, I didn't realise it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid!" Aunt Petunia snapped. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's once I've finished."

Aleena seriously doubted this, but decided to keep it to herself. She sat down at the table and thought about how stupid she's going to look on her first day at Stonewall High. Uncle Vernon, Dudley and Harry walked into the kitchen and wrinkling their noses in disgust when they smelt the smell that was coming from Aleena's uniform.

Harry and Dudley looked in the bowl and smirked at Aleena once they realised what Aunt Petunia was doing. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual, whilst Harry and Dudley banged their Smeltings sticks down on the table. They hadn't put them down since they got them 2 weeks ago.

Aleena eyed them nervously. They have been hitting the back of her legs for days. It hurts and leaves her with bruises. Harry saw Aleena looking at his stick and quickly moved it which made her flinch so much, she almost fell off her chair. Harry and Dudley snigged under their breath whilst Aleena cursed herself for being so jumpy.

Just then they heard the click of the letter-box and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the post, Dudley" Uncle Vernon said, from behind his paper.

"Make the freak get it."

"Get the post, girl."

Aleena sighed and got up from the table. She quickly rushed into the hallway before Dudley could hit her with his Smeltings stick. Four things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and a letter for Aleena, there was also the same letter for Harry.

Aleena picked them up and stared at them. No one has ever written to her before. Who would? She had no friends or any other relative, yet here is was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake.

Miss A. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. She turned it over and saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a ling, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'

"Hurry up, girl!" Uncle Vernon shouted from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?"

He chuckled at his own joke. Aleena rolled her eyes and walked back into the kitchen. She handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, then handed Harry his letter. He looked at her with raised eyebrows but Aleena just shrugged and sat down at the table so she could open her letter.

"Marge's ill" Uncle Vernon said, reading the back of the postcard. "Ate a funny whelk."

"Dad!" Dudley said suddenly. "Dad, Aleena's got something!"

Aleena was on the point of unfolding her letter when it was jerked sharply out of her hands by Uncle Vernon. "That's mine!" Aleena said, trying to snatch it back.

"Who'd be writing to you?" Uncle Vernon sneered, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. Aleena frowned when she saw the colour drain from his face. He looked over at Harry and saw him reading his letter with a frown on his face. Uncle Vernon grabbed it off him.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"Petunia!" Uncle Vernon shouted. Dudley tried to grab the letters to read them, but Uncle Vernon held them high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took them curiously and read the first line, she gasped when she realised what letters they were. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Dudley, Harry and Aleena were still in the room.

Dudley, who wasn't used to being ignored, smacked his father on the head with his Smeltings stick. "I want to read their letters" he said loudly.

"Get out!" Uncle Vernon croaked, stuffing the letters back inside their envelops.

"I want my letter!" Aleena shouted.

"Let me see them!" Dudley demanded.

"OUT!" Uncle Vernon roared. Aleena jumped to her feet but didn't move, neither did Harry and Dudley. This made Uncle Vernon angry. He grabbed Aleena by the scruff of her neck and threw her into the hall, making her land funny on her wrist. She groaned when Harry and Dudley were pushed on top of her.

They got up and had a furious, but silent fight, over who got to listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between the door and the floor. Aleena went to listen at the door too, but Dudley pushed her away. She sighed, knowing that she's not going to hear anything. She walked into her cupboard and rubbed her aching wrist.

Harry could see Uncle Vernon's feet moving back and forth and he could hear him and Aunt Petunia talking about the letters.

"I always knew that this day would come, but I didn't think it would come so soon, they aren't even 11 yet" Aunt Petunia said.

"I know, me too" Uncle Vernon mumbled. "But how on earth did they know where they slept?"

"I dunno, Vernon, but I think it's time we told Harry the truth. I'm happy for him to go, but Aleena, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere!"

"Yes" Uncle Vernon agreed. "Yes, it's about time we told Harry, but what about the neighbours? I couldn't it bear if someone found out about our secret."

"They won't find out, Vernon, and Harry isn't stupid enough to go around telling everyone our family secret. He's a good boy."

"Yes, I guess he is" Uncle Vernon smiled. Harry jumped to his feet when the kitchen door suddenly opened. "Ahh, Harry, there you are. Could you come into the kitchen for a few minutes? Me and your auntie have something we would like to talk to you about."

"Erm, yeah sure" he said, walking into the kitchen only to find Aunt Petunia sitting at the table with his letter in front of her. "Does it have something to do with the letter me and Aleena got?"

"Yes, sweetheart" Aunt Petunia answered. "What we are about to tell you might be a shock at first, but I'm sure by the end of it, you will be excited. And you have to promise not to tell your sister about any of this, ok darling?"

"Ok, aunt Petunia, I promise I won't say anything to that freak."

Aunt Petunia smirked and told him to sit down. Uncle Vernon closed the kitchen door and sat down at the kitchen table.

Aleena has been in her cupboard all day, thinking of nothing else but her letter. She's been trying to work out where it could have come from and who could have sent it, but she's came up with nothing. She can't think of anyone who would want to write to her. Aleena jumped when the door to her cupboard suddenly opened. She looked up and saw Uncle Vernon's face.

"Where's my letter?" she asked at once. "Who's writing to me?"

"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake! It had my cupboard on and they also knew where Harry slept."

"SILENCE!" Uncle Vernon yelled, making Aleena jump because she wasn't expecting him to yell. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.

"Er - yes, Aleena - about the cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking - you're getting a bit big for it now, and we think it might be nice for you for moved into Dudley and Harry's second bedroom."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions! Take your stuff upstairs, now."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

The Dursley's house had five bedrooms. One for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, another room where Harry slept, then where was Harry and Dudley's junk room which was filled with broken toys from their birthdays and Christmases.

It only took Aleena one trip upstairs to move everything she owned from her cupboard to her new room. Surprisingly, there was already a bed in the room, along with Dudley's broken birthday presents that didn't even last him a day.

From downstairs came the sound Harry and Dudley bawling at their mother/auntie. "We don't want her in there" Dudley cried.

"We need that room - make her get out!" Harry ordered.

Aleena sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday she would have given anything to be up here, Today she would rather be back in her cupboard with her letter.

"Why didn't I hide it in my cupboard before I went into the kitchen?" she often groaned to herself.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Harry and Dudley were in shock. They had done everything they could think of to get their room back, but nothing they did worked. Aunt Petunia didn't like seeing her boys upset, so she took them to Asda and let them pick out anything they wanted.

Aleena looked up from her toast when she felt someone looking at her. She looked around and saw that it was her brother. Harry smirked at her when he saw her looking at him.

"I know something you don't know" he whispered.

"What do you know?" she asked curiously, but Harry didn't answer her and carried on eating his toast. Aleena frowned but didn't say anything else. She had just finished her toast when the post arrived. Thinking that Uncle Vernon was going to ask her to get it, Aleena stood up.

"Sit down!" Uncle Vernon snapped. She quickly sat back down and looked at him confused. "Dudley, could you get the mail for me please."

Dudley groaned but didn't complain and went to get the mail. Aleena could hear him banging his Smeltings stick off the wall as she walked down the hallway, then she heard him shout, "There's another letter for the freak! Miss A Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive."

Uncle Vernon made a weird sound before he shot up from his chair and into the hallway. Aleena got up and saw him wrestling Dudley to the ground so he could get the letter off him. Without thinking, she jumped on Uncle Vernon's back, wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to grab the letter from Dudley.

After a minutes of confused fighting, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Aleena's letter clutched in his hand.

"Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom" he wheezed at Aleena. "Dudley - go - just go."

Aleena paced back and forth in her new room. Someone knew she had moved out of her cupboard and they seemed to know that she hadn't received her first letter. Does that mean they would try sending her another letter? But why didn't they send Harry another letter? Does that mean he read his first letter? It that what he meant at breakfast when he told Aleena that he knew something she didn't?

Aleena sighed in frustration and sat down on the bed. She looked around the room and noticed a little alarm clock on the table side table. She picked it up and looked at it. A smile appeared on her face when an idea popped into her head. She was planning on waiting for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. Aleena set the alarm clock for six o'clock in the morning and put it down on the night stand, then she spent the rest of the day reading books in her room.

The alarm clock went off and six o'clock the next morning and Aleena dived out of bed to quickly turned it off. She quietly dresses and then tiptoed down stairs in the dark. Her heart was hammering inside her chest as she got closer to the front door. She walked down another step only to leap in the air when he stepped on something squashy - something alive!

A light flicked on from upstairs and, for the first time, Aleena could see what she stepped on. To her horror, she saw her uncle lying on the floor. She had to stop herself from laughing when she saw her shoe print on his cheek. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag. It's almost like he knew what Aleena was planning to do.

He shouted at her for half and house before telling her to make him a coffee. Aleena shuffled miserably off into the kitchen, and by the time she got got back, the post had arrived.

She looked in Uncle Vernon's hands and saw that there was 4 letters addressed to her. "I want -" she began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before her eyes. Aleena has never had the urge to slap her uncle before, but at this minute, she really wants to smack that smirk off his stupid face.

On Friday, no fewer than 12 letters arrived for Aleena, and since Uncle Vernon had blocked up the letter-box at the being of the weeks, they letters couldn't get through, but that didn't stop them from finding there way into the house. Letters were pushed under the door and even forced through the little window in the downstairs toilet.

Aleena tried to grab the letters but Uncle Vernon had beaten her to them. Once he had all the letters, he burned them all in the fireplace whilst Aleena sadly watched them burn. On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. 24 letters to Aleena had found their way into the house. They even came inside eggs which shocked Aleena when she tried to cook breakfast with them.

Aunt Petunia walked into the kitchen just at the right time to stop her from reading them. Aleena was starting to get sick of being so close to reading them before they are ripped away from her. She wished that they would just turn up in her bedroom instead of downstairs. She would easily be able to grab one then.

On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill. "No post on Sundays" he reminded them happily as he spread marmalade on his newspaper. Aleena saw this and snorted into her cup. "No damn letters today!"

Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney and caught Uncle Vernon on the back of his head. Next moment, 30 to 40 letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys and Harry ducked under the table, but Aleena leapt into the air and tried to catch one.

She managed to catch two at once and was about to put them down her top when they were ripped from her hand. "I don't think so, little girl" Aunt Petunia growled. Before Aleena could say anything, she was grabbed and thrown into the hall by Uncle Vernon.

Aunt Petunia, Dudley and Harry came running out a few seconds later. Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut whilst he was still in the kitchen. They could hear the letters bouncing off the walls and floor. Aleena was really hoping that one would find it's way under the door and into the hands, but it didn't and Uncle Vernon opened the door instead.

"That's does it. I want you all back here in 5 minutes, ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

10 minutes later they were in the car, speeding towards the motorway. Harry and Dudley were sniffling in the back seat; Vernon had hit them round the head for holding them up while they tried to pack their television, video and computer in Dudley's sports bag.

They drove and drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turning and drive in the opposite direction for a while. Something that Aleena hated because she hit her head off the window when he first did it. Something that Harry and Dudley found very funny. They were quietly laughing for a good 5 minutes.

"Shake 'em off ... shake 'em off" he would mutter whenever he did this. They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Harry and Dudley were howling. They have never had such a bad day in their life. Aleena couldn't help but smirk at that.

Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Aleena, Harry and Dudley shared a room with twin beds and a tiny little chairs. Harry and Dudley claimed the beds and told Aleena that she could either sleep on the chair or the floor, it was up to her.

She ended up choosing the chair since there was no way she was sleeping on the floor, not that she did much sleeping. Harry and Dudley were snoring too loud for her to sleep. She groaned and got off the chair and sat on the window-sill instead. Aleena looked down and watched the lights of passing cars.

They ate stake cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table and looked from Aunt Petunia to Aleena.

"Hello, but is there any chance that one of you is Miss A Potter? Only I've got about hundred of these at the front desk."

She held up a letter so they could read then green in address:

Miss A Potter

Roon 17

Railview Hotel

Cokeworth

Aleena was in too much of a shock to make a grab for the letter. How on earth did these people know where she was every single time they send her a letter? Was there someone who was hand delivering them to her? Is that what Uncle Vernon meant by shake them off? Is there someone watching them so they know where to send the letters?

Aleena snapped out of her thought when she saw Uncle Vernon grab the letter out of the owners hand. "I'll take them, all of them. Thank you."

"Ok. Well, if you would like to follow me."

Uncle Vernon shot Aleena a warning look before he followed the owned over to the front desk. Aleena knew from that look that he was warning her not to move.

"I don't think they are going to give up" Aleena heard Harry whisper to Aunt Petunia.

"Who's not going to give up? Who's writing to me? What do they want? What do you know that I don't?" Aleena asked in one breath.

"Don't ask questions, you little brat" Aunt Petunia snapped, before she noticed that people were looking at her. She went red in the face of out embarrassment and smiled at them awkwardly. She turned back to the children and beckoned them to follow her out of the dining room.

15 minutes later, they were all back in the car driving god knows where. Aunt Petunia made a suggestion that they head back home but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. He just kept muttering 'shake 'em off' under his breath. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car and off they went again.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia late that afternoon. Aleena snorted before she could stop herself. She thought Uncle Vernon had gone mad years ago.

He had parked at the coast, got out, locked them all inside the car and disappeared. Aleena was watching the rain drops on the window and trying to guess which one would reach the bottom first. She rolled her eyes when Harry and Dudley started snivelling about all of the television shows they have missed today.

"It's Monday" Dudley told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight."

"We want to say somewhere with a television" Harry demanded.

Monday. This reminded Aleena of something. If it was Monday, then tomorrow would mean that it's her and Harry's 11 birthday. Not that it was something to look forward to, not for Aleena anyway. She would get presents like a coat-hanger or a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks and spent most of the day being Harry's slave. He would make her do everything for him, much to her annoyance.

Harry, on the other hand, loved his birthday, mainly because he got whatever he wanted. If he wasn't bossing his little around then he was out with the Dursley going to fun places that Aleena dreamt about going to. Aleena smirked to herself when she thought about how Harry is going to have a rubbish birthday tomorrow.

Just then Uncle Vernon came back with a smile on his face. He was also carrying a long, thin package. Aunt Petunia tried to ask him what he had bought, but he didn't answer her.

"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

Aleena got out of the car and started shivering uncontrollably when the cold air hit her body. It had been nice and warm inside the car, but outside was freezing. She could hear Harry and Dudley sniggering, but decided to ignore them. Aleena looked around and saw that there was only a little shop around them.

Are we going to be sleeping in the shop? She thought, frowning to herself. Her question was answered when she heard Uncle Vernon telling Aunt Petunia where they are going to be staying tonight. She looked to where he was pointing to and saw the most miserable little shack you could imagine.

"Strom forecast for tonight" Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless old man was walking over to them. He stopped by Uncle Vernon and pointed to an old rowing boat that was bobbing in the water below them.

"I've already got us some rations, so all aboard!" Uncle Vernon said. It was freezing in the boat. Harry and Dudley cuddled up to Petunia in order to stay warm whilst Aleena put her hood up and hugged herself. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon led the way to the broken-down house. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the place was damp and empty.

Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a packet of crisp and 5 bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty crisps packets just smoked and shrivelled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully. Aleena narrowed her bright green eyes at him. She was really hoping that the house was full of letters when they got back. Maybe she would be able to grab one and run off down the street. Uncle Vernon would never ran after her and she could easily out run Harry and Dudley.

Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Harry and Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door whilst Aleena was left to find the softest bit of floor she could find.

They storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Aleena sat on the floor and listened to the waves hitting the rocks outside. She tried getting some sleep but the floor wasn't exactly comfortable and all she was doing was tossing and turning. She was cold and hungry and would give up anything to be back at the Dursley's.

Aleena looked at Dudley's watch and saw that she would be 11 in ten minutes. She looked up at the ceiling when it started creaking. She was hoping that the roof didn't fall on her, although, she would be warmer if it did, then again, she would also be flatted by the weight of it.

Four minutes to go.

She thought about waking up Harry and Dudley just to annoy them, but thought better of it when she thought about getting into trouble with Uncle Vernon.

Two minutes to go.

Aleena could hear the wave hitting hard against the rocks, but what was that crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? She was hoping that the cabin didn't fall in too. She looked at the door when it sounded like there was someone out there. Aleena shook her head to get rid of that thought.

"Don't be stupid" she told herself. "You're in the middle of the sea. There can't be anyone out there."

She looked at Dudley's watch and saw that it was only 10 seconds to her birthday. She smiled at started counting down. When she reached one, there was a loud bang from outside the door. Someone really was outside, and they were knocking to come in.