Chapter One - Vanishing Glass
Evil laughter. A scream. A bright green light. Heat. Thick Smoke. A bushy head. Large, bushy arms. A deep, scratchy voice. A warm blanket. A loud rumble. A rush of wind. Hushed words. Hard ground. Silence.
"Up!" Two pairs of eyes; one an ocean blue, the other an emerald green; shot open as the shrill voice cut into the dream the two boys were having. "Get up!" The boys' aunt shrieked as she rapped on the door as the blue-eyed boy silently sighed as he grabbed his glasses and sat up on his cot. "Now!"
Haiden, the blue-eyed boy, ran his hand through his unruly black hair trying to tame it somewhat as his eyes were drawn to his twin brother, Harry, as he silently crawled out from underneath the cot. Haiden watched as Harry curled up in front of the door with his legs pulled to his chest, Harry's emerald eyes looked up at Haiden. Haiden glanced away from his brother's eyes that seemed unnaturally large, but maybe it was because of how small Harry was compared to him, and he wasn't very large himself. Haiden nearly jumped in fright when their aunt rapped on the door again. "Are you up yet?" Their aunt demanded.
"Nearly." Haiden called back knowing that his brother wouldn't answer her; Harry barely spoke out of fear of being punished. It seemed that whenever Harry opened his mouth something strange always happened.
"Well, hurry up! I want Harry to look after the bacon, and don't you dare let it burn!" Their aunt snapped through the door; Harry nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. "I want everything to be perfect for Duddy's birthday." At that Haiden accidentally let a groan slip.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing!" Haiden called back quickly, not wanting either him or his brother to be beaten, especially not today. If they did anything to warrant a beating today, it would be ten times worse than a normal beating. Today was special. Haiden let his eyes fall to his brother who had his chin resting on his knees as he played with a spider. The twins had no problem with spiders seeing as the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where they slept.
With a silent sigh, Haiden began to search the small space for their socks as he kept an eye on his brother. He didn't need Harry to accidentally do something that would cause them to be in trouble and thus getting a beating. Haiden knew his brother never actually tried getting them in trouble; however, it seemed that the more Harry tried not to get into trouble, the more trouble he seemed to get them in. Haiden would not allow that to happen today.
"Here." Haiden whispered to his brother as he handed him the nicest pair of socks they owned; this pair of socks only has six holes in them. Harry took the socks from his brother with a silent nod of thanks before gently pushing the spider away from him and slipped the socks on. While wiggling his big toe as it stuck out of a hole in his socks, Harry took his and Haiden's shoes from their spot and handed his brother his shoes. "Ready?" Haiden asked after they had slipped their shoes on. After another silent nod from Harry, Haiden opened the cupboard door.
As quickly as Harry could, he slipped past his brother and led them down the hall to the kitchen. "Don't you dare burn them." His aunt hissed at him when he took the pan from her, allowing her to leave the room. Harry looked over his shoulder to his twin to see him standing out of the way by the kitchen door looking at the table that was covered with their cousin Dudley's birthday presents. Harry looked back at the bacon, flipped it, before looking over his other shoulder to the table.
From the looks of it, Dudley had gotten the new computer he had wanted, along with the second television and the racing back. The reason why Dudley wanted a racing bike still remained a mystery to both Harry and Haiden, seeing as their cousin was very fat and hated exercise, unless it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Haiden, Dudley tried to make Harry a punching bag as well but could never catch him.
Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Haiden and Harry had always been small and skinny for their age, with Harry being the smaller of the two. The two looked smaller and skinnier than they actually were because all they were given to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, who was about four times bigger than they were.
Haiden and Harry both had thin faces, knobbly knees, and black hair. Harry had large, bright emerald-green eyes. Haiden, on the other hand, had dull ocean blue eyes that were hidden behind round glasses that were held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the time Dudley punched his nose. Haiden also had a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He'd had it for as long as the twins could remember, and the first question Haiden could remember asking their Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.
"In the car crashed when your parents died." She had told him, looking as if she had smelled something rotten. "And don't ask questions."
The twins had learned early in their life with their relatives was that if they wanted to quiet life with the Dursleys then they didn't ask any question and did as they were told without arguing.
Harry flipped the bacon again as their Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen. "Comb your hair, boy!" He barked at Haiden as his way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon would look over the top of his newspaper and shout that Haiden needed a haircut. Harry was sure that his brother had had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in their class put together, but it made no difference, Haiden's hair simply grew all over the place. While Harry's hair fell in waves to his shoulders and never seemed to fall out of place or look dirty like his brother's hair.
By the time Dudley entered the kitchen with his mother, Harry had finished cooking the bacon and had started frying the eggs. Their cousin Dudley looked a lot like their Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face; not much neck; small watery blue eyes; and thick, blond hair that laid smoothly on his thick, fat head. Their Aunt Petunia said that Dudley looked like a baby angel. Haiden and Harry both agreed that he looked more like a pig in a wig.
With the help of his twin, Harry put the plates of eggs and bacon on the table, which had been quite difficult as there hadn't been much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. Harry watched silently as Dudley's face fell and knew that his cousin was about to throw a tantrum and began to silently eat his breakfast, along with his brother.
"Thirty-six," Dudley said as Harry took a sip of some water, "that's two less than last year."
"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." Aunt Petunia told him pointing out the present as Haiden and Harry quickly finished their breakfast.
"All right, thirty-seven then," Dudley said as his face began to turn red, alerting everyone that a tantrum was on the way. Harry, finished with his breakfast, quickly scooted away from the table as Haiden began to all but shovel the food into his mouth in case Dudley turned the table over.
"And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that Popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?" Aunt Petunia soothed. Dudley's face returned to its normal color as he thought for a moment, though it looked like hard work for him.
"So, I'll have thirty… thirty…" Dudley said slowly.
"Thirty-nine, sweetums." Aunt Petunia said.
"Oh," Dudley said as he sat down heavily on the seat Harry had occupied just moments ago and grabbed the nearest parcel, "all right then."
"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father." Uncle Vernon said with a chuckle before somehow managing to reach over and ruffled Dudley's hair. "'Atta boy, Dudley!" Harry moved closer to his brother and sat down on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest to take up as little space as possible as the telephone rang. Aunt Petunia went and answered it as Uncle Vernon and Haiden watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote-control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. Dudley was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.
"Bad news, Vernon," she said, "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take them." Aunt Petunia jerked her head in Haiden's direction as Harry got to his knees next to his brother to peer over the table at her and Vernon. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror. Harry's heart gave a leap of excitement and glanced up at his brother to see that his brother had had the same reaction. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took their cousin and one of their cousin's friends out for the day: to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. And every year Harry and his brother were left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. The twins hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made them look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.
"Now what?" Aunt Petunia asked looking furiously at Haiden and Harry, as if blaming them. Harry shifted on his knees knowing that he should feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself that it would be a whole year before either he or his brother had to look at Tibbs, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tuffy again. Harry shifted on his knees again while glancing up at his brother who glanced down at him and knew they were feeling the same.
"We could phone Marge." Uncle Vernon suggested as Harry looked at him trying to hide his fear at being stuck with his Aunt Marge. That woman hated him and his brother with a passion, and Harry wouldn't put it past her to try and seriously harm (if not murder) him and his bother should they be forced to stay any length of time alone with her.
"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boys." Aunt Petunia said and Harry let out a silent breath of relief. Haiden and Harry were used to the Dursley's talking about them as if they weren't there or they were something very nasty that wouldn't understand them, like slugs.
"What about what's-her-name, you friend, Yvonne?" Uncle Vernon suggested.
"On vacation in Majorca." Aunt Petunia snapped, and once again glared at Haiden and Harry as if they had somehow made sure Yvonne had gone on vacation.
"You could just leave us here." Haiden put in hopefully. Harry shared his feeling of hope, if they were left there, they could maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer. Harry fought the urge to duck under the table when Aunt Petunia looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon. He knew that look, that look was usually followed by a slap.
"And come back and find the house in ruins?" Aunt Petunia snarled, and at that moment Harry was quite glad that she was on the other side of the table.
"We won't blow up the house." Haiden said softly, but the Dursley's were no longer listening.
"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," Aunt Petunia said slowly, and Harry perked up. Harry and his brother had never been to the zoo before, heck, they hadn't been anywhere other than school, Mrs. Figg's, and the occasional market, "and leave them in the car." She finished.
"That car is new! They're not sitting in it alone!" Uncle Vernon snapped. Dudley began to cry loudly, in fact, he wasn't even really crying. The twins knew that it had been years since their cousin had actually cried; however, they also knew that their cousin knew that he if screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.
"Dinky Duddy-dums, don't cry. Mummy won't let them spoil your special day!" Aunt Petunia cried, flinger her arms around Dudley.
"I… don't… want… then… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "They always s-spoil everything!" He shot Haiden a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Harry and Haiden shared a look as the doorbell rang.
"Oh, good Lord, they're here!" Aunt Petunia cried frantically and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. The second Dudley had seen Piers step into the kitchen, he stopped pretending to cry.
Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his and Haiden's luck, was sitting on the floor of the Dursley's car in between his brother's legs while his brother sat in between Dudley and Piers on the way to the zoo for the first time in their lives. Their aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with them. However, before they had left, their uncle had taken them aside.
"I'm warning you, both of you freaks," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Haiden's, "any funny business, anything at all, and the both of you will be in that cupboard until Christmas."
"We're not going to do anything," Haiden had promised, grabbing Harry's hand "honest." But their uncle hadn't believed Haiden. No one ever believed Haiden, and that was because no matter how many times or how much Haiden promised, strange things always happened, and Harry had a feeling it was because of him. No matter how many times Haiden kept telling not only the Dursley's, but Harry himself that things happened and neither of them had made it happen, Harry would always feel it was his fault.
And Harry had proof. Once, Aunt Petunia (tired of Haiden coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all) had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he had almost been bald, expect for his bangs, which she had kept to "hide that horrible scar". Dudley had laughed himself silly at Haiden who had silently cried himself to sleep while Harry had run his fingers through what was left of Haiden's hair, knowing that Haiden would be mocked and picked on when he had felt a strange sensation in his nasal (a tingle, almost like a stuck sneeze) for a second before Haiden's hair began to grow. When Aunt Petunia had seen Haiden's hair the next morning, both Harry and his brother had been given a week in their cupboard for it.
Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force Harry into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (it was brown with orange puff balls). However, as his aunt tried force the sweater over his head, Harry felt that strange tingling sensation in his nasal once more, and the sweater began to shrink until it might have been able to fit a hand puppet. Harry knew he was small, but thankfully he wasn't that small, and his aunt had decided that it must have shrunk in the wash, and, to both Harry and Haiden's relief, had not punished them.
However, on the other hand, Harry had gotten him and Haiden into terrible trouble when Harry had been found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley and his gang had been chasing both Haiden and Harry, as usual, when (much to everyone's surprise) there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursley's had received a very angry letter from the school's headmistress telling them that Harry had been climbing school building. But all he'd tried to do, as Haiden tried to explain through the locked door of their cupboard, was jump behind the trash bins outside the kitchen doors with Haiden. Both of them had come to the decision that (because of Harry's small figure) the wind must have caught Harry mid-jump and carried him to the chimney.
However, today (Harry decided as he pulled his knees closer to his chest while hiding his smile in them) nothing was going to go wrong. Harry would make sure that he wouldn't do anything that would cause that strange sensation in his nasal. He glanced over his shoulder to glance at his twin and saw the barely concealed excitement in his brother's eyes. With a small nod to himself, Harry buried his face into his knees. Yes, Harry would make sure not to mess today up, his brother's happiness would be well worth the struggle he would no doubt have to go through today.
Harry allowed himself to fall into a trance-like state as he listened to Uncle Vernon complain to Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon liked to complain about things: people at his work, Haiden and Harry, the council, Haiden and Harry, the bank, and Haiden and Harry were just a few of Uncle Vernon's favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.
"…roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums." Uncle Vernon said as a motorcycle overtook them.
"I had a dream about a motorcycle last night." Haiden said catching Harry's attention. He, too, had had a dream about a motorcycle last night. "It was flying." Haiden finished and Harry turned his head to look at his twin in shock, had they had same dream? Harry winced in pain when his head collied with the middle console as Uncle Vernon has to slam on his breaks to keep from crashing into the car in front of them. Uncle Vernon turned around in his seat to glare at Haiden, as Harry began to rub his newly formed bruise on his temple. Harry's eyes widened slightly when he felt that strange sensation in his nasal again, and then the pain left.
"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" Uncle Vernon roared at Haiden, causing Piers and Dudley to snicker. Harry let out a silent sight of relief when he noticed that no one had seemed to notice what he had just done.
"I know they don't fly." Haiden muttered cowering away from their uncle. "It was only a dream." Harry glanced at his brother as their uncle turned back around and continued to drive. Harry could tell that his brother was wishing he had never mentioned his dream. The twins knew that the one thing that the Dursley's hated more than them asking questions was Haiden talking about thing acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon. The Dursley's seemed to believe that it might give either Haiden or Harry ideas.
Harry gently touched his twin's leg to let him know that he was there and that everything would be all right. He wasn't shocked when Haiden nearly jumped and looked at him in shock, as if his brother had forgotten that he was even there. This seemed to happen a lot. Since Harry was so small and quiet, he was constantly being forgotten, however, Harry didn't mind. He knew that even if he slipped from his brother's mind, his twin would eventually realize he was missing and would come find him.
~Forget Me Not!~
It was a very sunny Saturday, and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursley's bough Dudley and Piers each a large chocolate ice cream at the entrance and then (because the smiling lady in the van had asked Haiden and Harry what they had wanted before Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon could hurry them away) they bought Haiden and Harry a cheap lemon ice pop to share. The ice pop wasn't bad either, Harry noted to himself as him and his brother took turns licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching his head. The gorilla looked remarkably like Dudley, except it wasn't blond. Harry felt that strange sensation in his nasal and quickly pinched the bridge of his nose before while turning away from the gorilla.
As the day went on, Harry knew that his brother had the best morning that either of them had ever had in their lives. The twins were careful to walk a little way away from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers (who Harry could tell were starting to get bored with the animals by lunch time) wouldn't fall back into their favorite hobby of hitting Haiden. Harry made sure that anytime he felt that strange sensation in his nasal to pinch the bridge of his nose and turn away from whatever he felt was causing that sensation. It seemed to work.
The group ate in the zoo restaurant. And when Dudley threw a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bough him another one. Haiden and Harry were allowed to finish the first one.
Harry liked to believe he was smart, and so he should have known that it was all too good to last.
After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over kits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and this, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash bin. However, at that moment the python didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.
"Make it move." Dudley whined to Uncle Vernon, his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the python didn't budge. "Do it again." Dudley ordered and Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, however, the python just snoozed on. "This is boring." Dudley moaned before shuffling away.
Harry moved in front of the tank as his brother made his way to another take just a few tanks down. Harry looked intently at the python, there something about this python that pulled at him, however, there was no strange sensation in his nasal, so he felt safe. Looking at the python, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom with no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It had to be worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least him and his twin got to visit the rest of the house. The python suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were level with Harry's.
And then it winked.
Harry stared at the python in shock before quickly looking around to see if anyone was watching. No one was. Harry looked back at the python and (even though Harry knew he should just walk away) winked back at it. The python jerked its head towards Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling before giving Harry a look that plainly said: "I get that all the time."
"I know," Harry found himself muttering to the python somehow knowing that it could understand him, how he knew, he wasn't sure just that he did, "it must be really annoying."
The python hissed out a "Yes" as it nodded vigorously.
"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.
The python jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry read it: Boa Constrictor, Brazil.
"Was it nice there?" Harry asked curiously.
The python jabbed its tail at a little sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo.
"Oh, I see, so you've never been to Brazil?" Harry asked and as the python shook its head, Harry was pulled away from the conversation by his twin grabbing his arm just seconds before a deafening shout behind the two caused the twins and the python to jump.
"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" At Piers's shout, Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.
"Out of the way, you!" Dudley said, punching Haiden, who was the closest to him, in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Haiden fell hard on the floor, bringing Harry with him since he was still holding onto Harry's arm. What came next happened to fast no one saw how it happened. Harry felt that strange sensation in his nasal, and (before he could turn away) the glass that Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to vanished in the blink of an eyes causing both boys to leap back in horror. Haiden and Harry sat on the floor in shock, Haiden pulling Harry closer to him as the great snake quickly uncoiled and slithered out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exit.
As the python slid swiftly past the twins, Haiden tightened his grip on Harry's arm as the python hissed out a "Thanks." And the only thing Harry could think to do was respond.
"No problem." He whispered feeling his twin's grip on his tighten even more.
"But the glass, where did the glass go?" The keeper of the reptile house kept muttering as the zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while apologizing over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the python hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels at it passed. However, by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten his leg off, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all (at least for Harry and Haiden) was when Piers calmed down enough to say: "Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?"
Uncle Vernon had at least waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry (and Haiden by default). Uncle Vernon was so angry he could barely speak, though he did manage to say "Go… cupboard… stay… no meals." Before he collapsed into a chair, Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.
~Forget Me Not~
Harry was lying under his twin's cot in their cupboard curled into a ball, tears were silently slipped down his cheeks. He had messed up again, he had ruined his brother's happiness. After the two of them had been sent to their cupboard, Haiden had turned to him and had quietly demanded to know what he had been thinking. Why had he been hissing at the python? What had happened to the glass?
All Harry could do was silently shake his head. He remembered he had opened his mouth to say something, but all that had come out had been a tiny squeak of fear. He had honestly tried to be good today. He had tried to keep that strange sensation in his nasal from causing anything unnatural from happening. However, he had failed.
Harry curled even more into himself when he heard his brother's stomach growl, causing his own to respond with its own growl. Harry wished that he had a watch so that he knew what time it was. If he knew what time it was, then he could know if the Dursley's had gone to bed, allowing him safe passage to sneak out to the kitchen and at least get his brother something to snack on.
Haiden and Harry had lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, for as long as either of them could remember, ever since they were babies and their parents had died in that car crash. Neither twin could remember being in the car when their parents hand died. Sometimes though, when they strained their memories during long hours in their cupboard, they could come up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green. However, whenever Haiden recalled this memory, he would get a burning pain in his forehead. This, the twins supposed, was the crash, though neither could imagine where all the green light came from. They couldn't remember their parents at all. Their aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course the twins were forbidden to ask questions. There was no photographs of them in the house.
When Haiden had been younger, he had hoped and dreamed of some unknown relative coming to take both of them away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were their only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers seemed to know him. Very strange stranger they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him and his brother once while they were out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Haiden furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed in all green had waved merrily at him and Harry once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day, and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Haiden tried to get a closer look.
At school, Haiden and Harry had no one but each other. And even then, sometimes the twins didn't feel like the other wasn't there for them, or at least that was how Haiden felt. What with all the times Harry got them into trouble, Haiden was beginning to wonder if his twin was doing it on purpose. Harry had been talking to the snake before the glass vanished.
