Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Harry Potter.
Maera went through the chores set aside for her as she would any other day. She kept quiet and worked as quickly and efficiently as she could. But, she didn't work too quickly. Not only would that be suspicious as it would defer from her normal abilities, but it would also likely cause her to be assigned further chores that her aunt would then expect her to complete every day after this one.
With this in mind, Maera continued to act as if the day was completely normal. There had been no letter and she was simply doing what was expected of her. She would do her chores and nothing freaky would happen.
Her family had very specific views of what should be and what shouldn't be. Maera tended to fit in the middle of these, something that her relatives hated. Maera would have already suffered as abnormal for being an orphan, but she was further put at odds with her family because odd things would happen around her or even to her. To Maera, this mysterious letter was another example of something freaky happening around her.
It wasn't her fault, though. She couldn't control that this mysterious letter came to her. It's not the same as when she accidentally used to change her appearance to fit into her family more, something that she was punished for relentlessly until she learned to control it better. This freaky thing was the first of many that led Maera to realise that she simply was different from her relatives, though she wasn't exactly sure why. The mysterious letter might be able to provide her with some answers, though, so she was willing to do most anything in order to get the chance to read it.
Maera was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't realise that she had been scrubbing the same area of tile for the past ten minutes. She also didn't realise that her aunt had just entered the room and had called out for her attention. That is, she didn't realise this until she felt the sharp slap to the side of her head. Looking up through her dark fringe, Maera stared meekly at her aunt.
"Next time I call you, make sure that you pay attention." Aunt Petunia seethed through clenched teeth. "When you're finished with the floor, start dinner. Maybe when you're done, and if you make a good enough supper for us, I'll give you something to eat and let you stay in your cupboard for the night."
This was the nicest her aunt could be. Maera was happy to walk away from this instance with only a slap as punishment. There had been plenty of other instances where Maera wasn't so lucky, but this time was not one of those. Nodding to her aunt to show that she had both heard her and understood her, Maera continued to clean the floor.
After finishing that task, once again, as quickly and efficiently as she possibly could, Maera returned all of her cleaning equipment to where it was meant to be under the kitchen sink. She poured the dirty water that was in the bucket she used outside, though she made sure to pour it in the area of the yard that her aunt had designated for that specific purpose. When she was younger and had accidentally thrown the water out into the roses and hydrangeas, Maera had received one of the worst beatings of her life. She had learned from that moment to do everything as close to her aunt's instructions as possible.
Coming back into the kitchen, she washed her hands. She was ashamed to admit that she needed to use the step stool that had been given to her as a much younger child still, but it wasn't her fault that she was short. She suspected that her height had to come from her father's side of her family as her aunt was rather tall, but Maera couldn't be sure. All that Maera was sure about was that she was the shortest girl in her grade and this was one of many things that Dudley and the other children liked to make fun of her for at the school.
In the morning when she cooked breakfast, Maera didn't have to move the stool much and thus didn't notice it. It was at dinner time when she was more affected by its presence. She often forgot her age, height, and situation throughout the day due to the vast number of chores that she had to complete. But, being confronted with something that reminded her of one of these things would often bring her back to her present situation. She was an orphan- her parents had died due to a drunk driving accident that was caused by her father according to her aunt and uncle. Maera felt alone. That's what this step stool reminded her of, her solitude.
Taking a deep breath, Maera shrugged off her loneliness and began to grab what she would need in order to make a roast dinner. Thankfully her aunt had all of the ingredients that she needed, Maera wasn't sure what she would have done were anything to have been missing. Though, with all of the experience that she had with cooking, it was likely that she would have easily been able to substitute whatever she needed.
Once again, she found her calm within the kitchen. She julienned, diced, and chopped the different veggies. Maera calmly prepared the roast, taking the time to get enough seasoning on the piece of meat. She boiled potatoes to mash, prepared oil within the oven and batter for yorkshire puddings, and set the table. Finally, as everything was coming together, Maera began to make the batter for chocolate souffles.
All of the food looked amazing and Maera honestly wished that she could try what she was making, but this wish was one that she's had before and, just as then, she knew it would be left unanswered. Pulling everything when it was ready, she dished up the servings for her family. She made sure that Dudley and Uncle Vernon received the most while her Aunt Petunia received less, though it was still a healthy amount of food and it would definitely be more than what Maera would receive.
Putting everything on the table, Maera walked back into the kitchen and prepared the ramekins for the souffles. Pouring the batter into the dishes, she then put them into the refrigerator to sit until it was time to put them into the oven. She grabbed the drinks that her family was likely to want and set them out, making sure to pour a glass of wine for her aunt and a tumbler of bourbon for her uncle.
Maera went from the kitchen to the living room, knowing that her aunt would be sitting there watching the telly or knitting something. She stood next to her aunt, not saying anything. It was always better for her to remain silent unless spoken to. Aunt Petunia glanced up from whatever it was that she was making (it looked like some sort of misshapen hat that would likely be gifted to her precious Dudders) and looked down her nose at Maera.
"What are you doing here?" The nasal question was asked so contemptuously that Maera was wary to answer, but she knew that she needed to.
"S-s-su-supper is ready." She stuttered to her aunt, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"What was that, girl?" Came the harsh reply.
"Supper is ready." Maera stated, some strength filling her voice and allowing it to be more audible than it previously was.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go to the kitchen and start cleaning it!" Her aunt's shrill voice pushed her away. Maera went straight back to the kitchen, but her eyes did briefly glance towards her cupboard door when she walked past it. She began to clean what she could of the dishes while her aunt gathered her uncle and cousin. Soon each member of her only remaining family was eating their dinner and Maera was once again left to longing in the kitchen.
Her stomach grumbled in protest to being ignored throughout the day, but Maera ignored it again. There was nothing she could do. If she were to take anything she'd be punished, so it would be better for her to simply wait until her aunt gifted her with whatever she deigned to provide Maera as sustenance. Likely she would receive a piece of toast and a glass of water. Both would be filling enough for the night, but she sorely wished that she could be with her family eating what she had made.
Noticing that her family was finishing up their dinners, Maera quickly grabbed the souffles from the fridge and placed them into the oven. It would take the remainder of her relative's dinner for them to be baked, so she had to time it perfectly. She had learned from a very young age that making supper included a dessert. The first few times that she didn't make one or that she forgot to make one were not good times for her. She often was punished for these mistakes by being denied her daily food and water. This was a punishment that she wanted to avoid at all costs.
Just as Uncle Vernon and Dudley put down their utensils and sat back in their seats, the timer for the oven dinged announcing that the souffles were finished. Pulling them from the oven, Maera grabbed the vanilla ice cream from the freezer as well as bowls and utensils. Scooping large portions of ice cream into two of the bowls, she put two souffles onto two plates and brought both as well as spoons to Uncle Vernon and Dudley. Aunt Petunia would receive her smaller portions of the dessert as soon as she sat back in her own chair.
Maera began to clean the kitchen as she waited for the cue from her aunt. After cleaning both her uncle and cousin's dirty dishes from dinner, Aunt Petunia finally sat back in her chair. Wiping her hands on the ratty hammy-downs, Maera grabbed her aunt's dessert and traded it for the dirty dishes. Cleaning the remainder of the kitchen did not take long and Maera was able to finish everything aside from the dessert dishes before her family finished with those.
Waiting patiently, Maera minutely leaned against the counter. Although she was used to being on her feet all day, it was always nice when she was able to relax. She didn't dare think of the mysterious letter, though. She needed to remain alert if she wanted to finish all of her chores early enough to be sent to her cupboard and to receive her food for the day.
After what felt to be a half hour more, Maera was finally finishing the last of the dishes and making sure that the entire kitchen was up to her aunt's absurd expectations. Aunt Petunia walked into the kitchen from the living room where the rest of the family was currently enjoying the telly. Looking around at the entire kitchen as Maera stood at attention, Aunt Petunia nodded slightly. She walked over to a cabinet and pulled a packet of bread out, putting an end slice on a paper napkin. Grabbing a half empty bottle of water, her aunt turned to Maera.
"Here's your food and water, girl. Make sure that you eat in your cupboard and be prepared to remain in there until I let you out in the morning. Now go!"
Maera took her things to her cupboard and waited for her aunt to open it, thankful that she didn't seem to notice she had forgotten to lock it earlier in the day. She was barely inside of the small, dark space when the door was slammed shut behind her. She sat down and waited to hear the locking noise, but as her aunt was going to lock the cupboard door Dudley shouted for her from the living room.
"Mummy! Where are you? Could I have something more for dessert tonight?"
Hoping that her aunt would not enlist her, Maera held her breath. The lock was released, but not reset as Aunt Petunia moved towards Dudley.
"Of course, Duddykins! What would you like?" Her aunt's reply could barely be heard from within the cupboard, indicating that she was in the living room. Maera was shocked. Her aunt hadn't locked her in! She wasn't sure what this might mean, but the small form of freedom that it represented brought some comfort to her.
Releasing the breath that she had been holding in, Maera finally allowed herself to relax. She ate her bread slowly, she didn't want to choke after all. She took small sips of water, but didn't drain the whole bottle just yet. She needed to keep the water as long as she could, so she put it aside. Turning towards her small and beaten up mattress, Maera looked at the mysterious letter.
At last, she could find out what this letter meant! She dearly hoped that it wasn't a prank. She could see Dudley playing a mean trick on her, but she honestly hoped that that wasn't the case. Picking the weird envelope up, Maera looked at the front.
In sparkly, green ink and the nicest writing that she had ever seen was written:
Ms. M. Potter
The Cupboard Under the Stairs
Number 4 Privet Drive
Little Whining
Surrey.
She was shocked by the address. Earlier she had only seen that it had her name on it, but now that she was able to look she could not believe that it said 'Cupboard Under the Stairs'. Who would address a letter to her cupboard? She wondered.
Fear and hopelessness surged through her. How was this supposed to be from anyone but Dudley now? No one else knew that she lived under the stairs. Everyone else believed that her relatives cared for her out of the goodness of their hearts and provided for her in the same manner as they did Dudley. How anyone believed this considering the state of her clothes, she honestly had no idea, but that didn't change the fact that no one knew where she lived.
Sighing, she almost threw the letter away from her. That is, until she realised something. Where would Dudley have found paper like this? She thought, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. Hope began to blossom once more in her chest. There was no way that Dudley could have found this paper, whatever it was. Taking this as all the proof she needed, Maera took a deep breath and broke the wax seal on the back of the envelope.