Revenge?

Petunia Dursley was a bitter woman. She was always in a foul mood. She was a narcissist that didn't care for other people. The circumstances of her childhood, when she was still Petunia Evans, were never acceptable for her.
For many, she didn't seem capable of love, so when she got married to an up and coming owner of a drilling company, people wondered why. Vernon Dursley was a greedy, envious, ambitious little fat man, looking for the trophy wife a man of his caliber needed. That doesn't mean he doesn't go to some very questionable 'business trips' with his plethora of secretaries. He practically bought his way into Petunia's life. She didn't care. The only son they had produced was the only reason they acted as wife and husband to the outside world, and if anybody knows the ways of the narcissistic behavior, they soon would realize that Dudley Dursley was "The Golden Boy" of the household.

That only started though, when Petunia had found in her doorstep two little packages of rags. At first, she thought someone had tried to throw some toilet paper over her house and failed miserably, it was, in fact, the morning after Hallowe'en, and those American trends were picking up in Britain too. Then she took a closer look at the rags and noticed they were wrapping something. They were babies! When she picked one of them up while looking up and down the street for something or someone, an envelope appeared out of nowhere. This had Petunia's guard up in milliseconds, she had seen some similar thing in her childhood with "The Bitch", the 'oh so special' sister of hers.
When she snatched the envelope out of the air and took the babies inside out of fear for what the neighbors would say, she was already fuming. Things only got worse when she read the letter contained in the envelope. She couldn't believe it!

That was the moment one of the babies decided to wake up, wailing and screaming just like babies do, and all her terrible fears were confirmed. As both babies were identical, it was hard not to assume that they shared the eyes that had been boring into Petunia's soul from the little girl that was in her hands. Those electric green eyes. The same green eyes "The Bitch" had. Another pair of green eyes the found their way onto Petunia from the living room couch she had left the boy, as the second baby was woken up by the cries of his sister, he didn't cry though. Petunia had sworn never to see those eyes again. She had loathed them, and everything they represented. But, here they were again, imposed into her by one of those freaks of which "The Bitch" was part of. The worst part is that she recognized the name of the remittent of the letter: Albus Fucking Dumbledore.

Deep down she knew what she had to do, or rather what she couldn't do, she couldn't just rid herself of these babies to an orphanage or something, she even considered just leaving them where she had found them and forgetting about the whole ordeal. She knew she would be dead if she tried though; the letter had made it quite clear, she had to take in these kids, otherwise, she might find herself forced to in one way or another, and she most certainly preferred to do it voluntarily, or at least of her volition. Two more mouths to feed. Not that they didn't have the money, but now she just knew that all of the money she would rather spend on herself was going to be wasted on these two freaks. If the letter was correct - and she assumed it was - then these babies were the same as "The Bitch": freaks of nature, capable of doing things normal people could only dream of, and they were just over one year old. That would mean her son was older than these freaks, by two years no less, and he still would be eclipsed by them. She would not let that happen. She wouldn't. SHE WOULDN'T!

Then, a realization hit her. The letter didn't mention anything else about their upbringing. She could do whatever the hell she pleased with them. As stated, the moment they entered the house, the boy and the girl were essentially hers. A wide and ferocious grin appeared in Petunia's face. She had a husband who didn't like kids. She had an older son than these two freaks. She could finally, finally after so long get her revenge. HER REVENGE! She laughed at the thought of her now-dead sister watching how she was going to treat her 'oh so precious' little freaks. She would come up with some way of not spending a single penny on the freaks. She could even have the two of them cleaning and cooking for her in a few years! For now, it was time to shut these freaks the fuck up and convince her husband of this newfound cheap labor force for their household.

She knew she had her husband convinced when she mentioned all the money they would save if they could use the freaks as their cooks and cleaners. The thought occurred to Vernon that since Dudley was older, all his old clothes could be put to good use for the freaks, he refused to spend much for his son, much less for those two freaks. She did mention that they needn't have to endure the freaks all their lives, only until they were both seventeen. And even then, when they turned eleven the would also spend most of the year in that same goddamned place "The Bitch" used to go. That only sweetened the deal for the Dursleys. After some much-needed shopping for Petunia's self-congratulations of her revenge plans, she started 'caring', for her nephew and niece.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoO-

Harry woke up at the same hour he had woken up for the last four years. He was six now and he had had the same routine for as long as he could remember. He went to the tiny bathroom, freshened up a little, then came back to the room he shared with his sister. He walked two steps in the tiny room and sat in front of his sister. His twin sister. His beloved twin sister. The only person in his life. He woke her up with a kiss on her cheek and another to her forehead.
"HEYlee... wake up..." The little wordplay had become part of his morning routine.

Hailee woke up to the same sight she had woken up for the last four years. She was also six and with her brother, they had been working ever since they could learn to follow basic instructions. She woke up with him looking down at her, sitting on the edge of their little bed. Her twin brother. Her beloved twin brother. The only person in her life. She smiled when she felt his lips on her forehead.
"Good morning. How did you sleep?" said Harry after backing away a bit.
"Argh… wha?… oh… Good morning! The same as you Harry…" she yawned "… I slept with my eyes closed." Harry rolled his eyes at her answer and hugged her up to him, also part of their routine.
"Remember what day it is. We better get going," he reminded her when she closed her eyes against his chest.
"Yeah, you're right. Our beautiful cousin's birthday," they both laughed at her remark.

They quickly got dressed, the same baggy clothes and the huge trousers, hand-me-downs from their cousin. Speaking of, today was said cousin's birthday, which meant that they would have double the work and half the food. It was five-thirty in the morning and they left the room they slept in and walked right into the kitchen. The room only consisted of a bed and a few drawers for their shared clothes, as well as a tiny nightstand, big enough to fit an alarm clock set every day at five-thirty in the morning. It connected directly with the kitchen and was located on the ground floor of the mansion. The kitchen had two connections, to the living room and the dining room. The living room connected to the study and the stairs to the upper bedrooms. They were not allowed to go upstairs if there were people in the house. They only could go to the rooms upstairs to clean them. There were four rooms on the second floor with two bathrooms, on the third floor there were only two rooms with only one bathroom. On the third floor slept Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, and she had a single bedroom dedicated to her clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, and some other things. Of the four rooms on the second floor, three belonged to Dudley, one was where he slept, the second one was where he kept all his toys and the third room was where he would play all his video games, computer games, and movies. The fourth room was a guest room, usually occupied by Aunt Marge when she came to visit with all her dogs. Those times, that room would become a nightmare to clean between the dog trying to bite you and all the shit they left behind.

Hailee rapidly set out with the kitchen and started the breakfast feast for the celebration that was going to happen later in the day. Three dozen pancakes, fifteen scrambled eggs, six cups of coffee, and more bacon than would be healthy for any normal person. Since several people were staying over the previous night, including Aunt Marge, this would take a few hours to finish. Harry, on the other hand, started cleaning the mess left by their Uncle Vernon the night before. As always, he had been drinking since three in the afternoon of yesterday. Uncle Vernon's study was the epitome of opulence for any normal person. He spends a lot of time in the study, so it was the best-decorated room in the mansion. Right now though, it looked like a monkey had been left loose and trashed the place, it was Harry's mission to fix that, or to try at least.

As the day went by things were looking great, the afternoon came, and after Dudley had opened his thirty-six presents - two more than last year - the guests started to leave the house, which meant they could now join at the table for their first meal of the day. Once they got to the table, it was already quarter past five in the afternoon, and Uncle Vernon left the table as they approached, almost spitting in their faces. Hailee, as always, had her hand on Harry's and they sat quietly and started eating the few leftovers of the lunch and breakfast they had prepared themselves. Dudley went upstairs to enjoy his new presents, and it would have been a relief, were it not because in turn, this left Aunt Petunia and Aunt Marge drinking their afternoon tea alone with them, with no one to draw their attention it was inevitable…

"So, Petunia dear, when are you going to buy another table?" Marge said with a sly grin.
Petunia hadn't caught up to what she was saying, so she asked "Pardon me? What are you implying Marge? That this century-old mahogany isn't good enough?"
"Oh, please Petunia, that is exactly my point! This table is just way too good for this tramp and her lazy brother! You need to get something more around their level."

'For some reason, Marge has always hated Hailee, and she always calls her so many awful names,' thought Harry. Hailee was just squeezing the life out of Harry's hand under the same mahogany table, trying not to react. They both didn't look up and they just started eating their scraps faster.

"But dear Marge, how could I expect to find something so horrid enough to be at the level of those godforsaken freaks?" Said Petunia with a horrible grin, finally catching onto Marge's game. Now it was Harry who was squeezing the life out of his sibling's hand, his instinct had always been to protect his sister, even if she could very well do that on her own, most of the time.

Marge finished slurping her tea, and now with a very wide and cruel smile jabbed another comment at them. "Besides Petunia, even if you could find something suitable to the style of these leaches, it would still be worth some money," her grin increased in intensity, "and you could never justify wasting money on a little whore!"

'That is it!' He thought. "My sister is not a WHORE!" Harry spat. He had stood up so violently, the chair he had been sitting on flew to the back and stammered onto the floor. The grins in both Aunts' faces disappeared and scowls replaced the smiling faces. That was when the door of the study blasted open and a half-drunk and furious Vernon Dursley walked into the dining area. He had heard the ruckus and came to investigate. He saw Harry standing up in the table and Petunia and Marge scowling at him.

He didn't ask for context as in his mind, everything was the freaks' fault. Vernon walked up to him, grabbed his hair, and slammed his head into the table twice. Harry couldn't take the hit and the six-year-old boy soon found himself regaining consciousness a few seconds later with his sister knelt beside him. She had tears running down her cheeks and a horrifically reddened handmark on her cheek. Harry felt the blood in his forehead and reached up a hand to feel it, it was a big opening from his left eyebrow to his hairline.

Vernon picked both of them up and dragged them towards the kitchen, there, he threw them to the floor and kicked each of them on their ribs. Harry passed out again, so he didn't listen to the yelling and howling his uncle spewed for the next few minutes. Later that night Hailee would tell him of the consequences of their actions.

'Fuck! And the day had been going so well,' Harry thought with regret. Instead, that day marked a change in their lives. Dudley's eighth birthday marked the beginning of the beatings. And there were many of them. Harry took most, just because he couldn't bear the thought of Hailee being hurt again because of him. Hailee didn't agree to that in the slightest. She thought that they both should share the hurt equally but, after the second time of Vernon knocking her out cold with just one punch, she was forced to admit that Harry at the very least didn't have as high a risk of dying from Vernon's outbursts.

Hailee never blamed Harry, but Harry did blame himself. Constantly. Although both had seen it coming, Harry could never forget the fact that he was the catalyst for the situation. Brother and sister tried their damndest to reduce the chances of they getting 'disciplined' as Vernon called it, but sometimes there was just no escape.

The one silver lining of the situation, (or as Hailee liked to call it, the 'Emerald Lining', for their eyes), was that the relationship between them became incredibly strong. If they were already close before their daily dose of 'discipline', then after it began they grew even closer. It was almost as if they shared more than blood, it was as if they shared their minds and souls. They knew what the other was thinking and feeling with just one look, they drew comfort in each other, as only themselves knew how they wanted to be treated. The nights were special to both of them. Since they had always shared a bed, shirts, shoes, trousers, even their toothbrush was shared, the moment they started sharing dreams at night came as naturally to both of them as anything else. They slept cuddling each other, holding on for dear life. They were so in sync with each other, they actually went to sleep and woke up at the exact same time. They both had no way of knowing that what they had was anything out of the ordinary.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoO-

Things in school were better but not by much. From the beginning, Dudley was encouraged by his parents to mess with the twins. This came from destroying their homework, hiding their things, getting them in trouble, and beating them up with his group of friends who were two years older than the twins. Most of the time, Harry could only watch helplessly as Dudley and his gang beat the crap out of her sister. Dudley preferred the softer target, and he knew that Harry could do nothing about it, which made things even more satisfying to him by making Harry watch as he was held down by one of his group's members.

The only beatings Harry took willingly were those Vernon gave him in response to Harry defending Hailee from Dudley.

Harry and Hailee knew this situation wouldn't change for as long as they lived in that house. They thought about many ways to escape the living hell they found themselves in, but just couldn't be certain that any of them would work. They had tried talking in school with authorities when the beatings started, but Vernon's reputation as the proud owner of one of the biggest oil extracting companies in Britain meant that all their plans were squashed by a single comment from their Uncle to the staff that they liked to make up weird stories and tales, and they were never taken seriously again by the school.

They were only happy when they were in each other's arms.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoO-

It was thirty past eleven, and neither of them wanted to sleep. They were laying closely in bed discussing the same thing they had argued over since they had any notion of birthdays: Who was the older twin and who was the younger twin? Who had come first?

"Obviously I'm older Ree, can't you see that I'm the better twin?" Said Hailee with a smile on her face.

"Nope. I'm definitely older than you Lee. I'm more responsible, knowledgable, and strong. Of course, I have to be the older twin! Those are traits of the older siblings!" Said Harry, with a smile of his own. Ree from Harry and Lee from Hailee, those were the names they chose for each other. Only they knew them.

"You cannot be serious! That is total bull crap and you know it!" Hailee jammed her elbow in Harry's side that she knew wasn't bruised or injured from the brutal onslaught their uncle had given them both earlier this day, she also didn't do it hard at all, Harry still complained though.

"Ow, ow, ow, sister. You hurt me so bad." He said with a fake pain grimace in his face, he certainly knew how to fake those, "You've just proved my point sister! You have to resort to violence to argue, and that is something very immature to do," he said while pointing his finger at her, "and since obviously, the older sibling is the mature one, that can only mean that…"

He was interrupted suddenly as his sister bit his extended finger. She released him and burst out laughing. He fake pouted at his sister for rudely interrupting him, but soon was laughing along with her. There were so few instances of laughter in their life that he wasn't going to be the one to spoil the moment; he believed he had done enough harm to her already. They were still laughing hard when a little 'cling' sound interrupted them. It was the sound the old alarm clock made whenever it would hit an o'clock hour. That could only mean one thing, they were eleven now!

They both started singing at the same time, perfectly in sync with the other, "Happy Birthday to us… Happy Birthday to us… Happy Birthday Hailee and Harry… Happy Birthday to uuuuuuuusss…"

"Night, Ree…"

"Night, Lee."

They soon were fast asleep in each other's arms. They needed their rest. It was already Wednesday, July 31st, 1991. Although they were in their summer break, they still had to be up early to make breakfast for the Dursleys who had to work.

They didn't know, they couldn't possibly know, that their world was going to change drastically in just a few hours.

They could tell something was off from the moment their Aunt and Uncle showed up for breakfast. They knew it was serious when Vernon didn't go to work but instead ordered them to follow him into the study after he finished his meal, even before they could serve themselves the scaps. They had long ago lost any kind of hope of a birthday celebration, or the Dursleys hardly ever remembering the date, so that thought never even crossed their minds. They were going through the past week's chores in their minds and thinking they must've screwed up royally for them to be escorted to the study with Vernon on the front and Petunia on their backs. Dudley was long lost to the wonders of the new gaming console in the market, they were even forced to take his breakfast to one of his rooms earlier.

Vernon sat down in his chair at the front of his expensive desk. Even while sitting down he was still taller and wider than the both of them combined. Eating two small meals a day for the past almost ten years meant the two siblings were tiny for their age. Petunia stood behind her husband. There were a few chairs around the room, but they knew better to seat without permission, they stood and hung their heads low. Vernon spoke:

"You have turned eleven today."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement. The siblings were so shocked that this was about their birthday that they were lost for words, their expressions didn't change, however.

"I have a few things I need to clear up before the events this afternoon will bring are allowed to happen," boomed Uncle Vernon. "First and foremost, you will not speak ill of any kind of treatment or behavior you have been subject to in this house. I have committed no harm to you. Do I make myself clear?" Harry could recognize the threat in his Uncle's voice. He squeezed his sister's hand, and both said at the same time, "Yes, Uncle."

I have committed no harm to you… Harry knew that this was a common lie from their Uncle, to keep pretense that they were a 'happy family'. Hailee knew this too, but the children simply could not understand how people refused to see what to them was completely obvious.

'No harm… yeah… the dozens of scars I have, and the hundreds Ree has are absolutely no harm at all,' Hailee thought, with barely contained anger, her face remaining impassive.

"Good" Vernon had a twitch in his eye that was very pronounced whenever the two of them spoke in sync. It was a tiny bit of rebellion from the twins' part.

"Second. I want you to know that we do not want you to stay here, in my house, for any longer than it isn't strictly necessary. Not a second longer. I want you to… endeavor… to stay as far away as possible, for the longest time possible, whenever it is possible. Otherwise… " He trailed off, the threat crystal clear in his voice.

The twins really had no idea what their Uncle was talking about. They still nodded in agreement, they knew the methods their Uncle used to force them. "Yes, Uncle." They said, again in sync.

"Good," he craned his neck and looked rather apprehensively at his wife. Petunia now spoke with an edge on her voice that they'd never heard.

"Third. Your Father and your Mother." Harry squeezed his sister's hand, as he was sure she was just about to let out a huge gasp of surprise, this was certainly the weirdest conversation they'd had with the Dursleys in their entire lives. That was why it didn't need to be jeopardized whatsoever, who knew what would be their reaction to any perceived slight.

"They didn't die in a car accident. They were murdered. They weren't lazy bastards, they were much, much worse: They were... magical." Petunia continued. She said the word 'magical' as it was the worst insult in the language, it carried so much hate that the twins almost grimaced. Almost. Vernon couldn't help but to chip in: "Bunch of fucking freaks… what they are. Filthy unnatural freaks."

Petunia looked at her husband and nodded.

"And so are you. You are also freaks of nature. the scum of this world. Magical, all right…"

The scowl on her face didn't quite hide the envy clearly displayed in their Aunt's words, the edge on her voice was now easily recognizable despite the clear hatred for this supposed 'magic' she displayed.

"Finally," Aunt Petunia finished the conversation with, "I don't want you speaking about the topics discussed here today, with anybody. Absolutely. Nobody. Do you understand?"

The answer came not a second later, again with both twins speaking at the same time.

"Yes, Aunt."

"Now, get the hell out of my study!" Yelled Vernon.

The twins almost ran their way back to the kitchen. The hot air of some simmering pots and the summer sun creeping from the windows meant the room was a few degrees hotter than comfortable. Harry sat on the stool they used to reach the high parts of the kitchen, while Hailee went to open a window. She then sat on Harry's lap in the stool.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Hailee.

"What were they talking about?" Asked Harry.

"What was that about magic?"

"They seem to really hate it. Whatever 'it' is."

"They certainly expect us to leave," deduced Hailee "but where?"

"And more importantly, how soon can we leave?"

Hailee smiled at his brother, the sooner they were out of this hellhole the better, it didn't really matter where.

"How soon indeed, brother mine… how soon indeed." He put an arm around her sister and kissed her almost-black hair. The same hair he had. The dark red strands of hair they both shared and assumed came from their father since Petunia was blonde and their mother was her sister.

Hailee had it very long, almost to her calves. Despite the boys from Dudley's gang easily pulling on it, she refused to have it shorter. Harry, on the other hand, had his hair barely large enough to cover his scars in his neck and forehead. Funnily enough, they had never had had a haircut.

Hailee turned her neck and two pairs of bright green eyes were now staring at each other intensely. They stared at each other's eyes whenever possible, it was as if, when they were looking at each other that way, the sensations and feelings of the other sibling came to the surface and were easily grasped by the other. It was their private and silent way of saying, 'are you ok?'

This connection they shared was one of the reasons they were able to endure this hellish existence, and whenever they faced any problem, discomfort, or pain, the connection halved it. If they were to ever hear the saying 'A problem shared is a problem halved,' they would think it described them perfectly.

A sudden flutter interrupted their wordless mind-conversation, they turned to see a little tawny owl, perched in the window frame, its huge deep eyes fixed on Harry. When it seemed to confirm something to himself, he flew over their heads and dropped a thick envelope at their feet. It then circled them once more and was out of the house.

Shocked, Hailee went for the envelope.