"Get in the car, boy, we don't have all day."

Harry opened the door and threw his meager belongings into the back seat before climbing in behind them. Petunia didn't even wait for him to fasten his seatbelt before launching the car into motion.

Harry didn't speak, preferring to look out the window at the outside world. He'd been stuck with the same views for the last six years and he didn't want to miss a thing.

Petunia made the best time she could getting back to Little Whinging and Privet Drive. When they arrived, She ordered him up to Dudley's second bedroom. The cupboard under the stairs was now entirely too small.

He opened the door and sighed. The room was a mess. Broken junk was stacked everywhere and the bed was completely covered in what looked like broken video game controllers, their cables tangled up beyond separating.

Petunia poked her head in the door. "Get this room cleaned up and then come downstairs for your assignments."

The door slammed shut and Harry got to work. He did everything he could to maximize the space in his room by shoving the piles of random things into the closet, under the bed and into the drawers of Dudley's extra dresser. As he was clearing the bed he found a pair of boxing gloves that looked pretty worn.

I knew Dudley liked to fight but this doesn't bode well for me.

He threw the gloves in the dresser and continued cleaning. He eventually found an old iPod and some headphones. He quickly hid those in the loose floorboard he remembered so he could listen to it later. He didn't really care if he liked the music on it or not, he hadn't been able to control what he listened to in a long time.

When he was finally done, he made his way downstairs to find his Aunt Petunia writing something on a clipboard. She looked up as he entered the room and pointed at the kitchen table with her pen.

"Sit, I'm just finishing up your task list."

Harry sat quietly until Petunia handed him the clipboard and explained which tasks were of what priority for each day. It had the normal things like mowing the lawn and fixing their meals as well as some more unusual things like caulking the bathroom and repairing the chairs for the kitchen table. She dismissed him for the evening saying he would begin the next day at five in the morning.

He was sitting in his room fiddling with the ipod when he heard his uncle come home. He didn't think anything of it before shouting rang out downstairs.

"I DO NOT WANT THAT FREAK IN MY HOUSE, PETUNIA!"

"We don't have a choice, Vernon. He will only be here a short time before he goes off to that wretched school."

"I don't care! His freakishness is abhorrent and I will have nothing to do with it!"

"VERNON!"

Harry's eyebrows rose. Petunia never raised her voice to her husband.

"He will only be here for a short time and then we will be rid of him forever."

There was a pause as Vernon thought for a moment.

"Fine! But I am going to give him some ground rules. This is MY HOUSE!"

He hid the ipod again and waited, knowing his uncle would be upstairs soon.

Sure enough, he heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and approach his door. He stood, waiting for the inevitable and wasn't disappointed. His uncle burst through the door and waddled up to him, ready to rip into the boy with all he had.

Harry expected the verbal barrage to begin but Vernon stopped short and eyed him in confusion. He seemed surprised at how tall Harry had grown. He also noticed the boy wasn't the scrawny rat he'd been before and had filled out quite a bit.

Harry just waited as the man in front of him wavered before setting his jaw and finally speaking through gritted teeth.

"You are not welcome in my house, boy. If it weren't for my wife you would be on the street or in some nut house. You will do everything on the list she gave you and you will keep your mouth shut at all times unless I say otherwise is that understood?"

Harry nodded, still thoroughly confused at his uncle's change in approach. The man gave him one more look then turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

And so it began. He still didn't know what was going on but he kept his mouth shut, hoping he wouldn't have to stay in this cursed house for too long.

Harry slogged his way through his task list over the next week. He did everything he could to stay out of sight of his relatives and only had one incident with Dudley who seemed to have calmed down over the last several years.

Harry had gotten up at five to make breakfast on his first day and made the usual pancakes, bacon, and eggs only to have Dudley come down at six expecting a more healthy meal. Dudley had flared up quickly but calmed much faster than Harry had expected. He then explained what kind of breakfast Harry should make each morning before he turned and started his morning run.

Harry had guessed that Dudley had taken up boxing but wasn't expecting the transformation his cousin had gone through. Gone was the chunky boy who got winded chasing Harry down the stairs. He had lost the baby fat and clearly put effort into boxing. So much so that he was currently training for his last amatuer fight before hopefully going professional.

He was cleaning up in the kitchen after preparing breakfast for his relatives when he heard the mail slot open and close. He placed the last dish into the dishwasher and went to collect the mail. He laid out each item on the kitchen table before pausing at the last envelope was made out of what felt like parchment and was sealed with a red wax seal indented with what looked like a coat of arms. It was addressed to him.

Mr. H Potter

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Harry stared at it, not sure how it could have made it here. He never gave this address to anyone at Brutus and he certainly didn't know anyone from the area who would want to send him a letter. He was about to open the letter when some pudgy fingers snatched it from his hands.

"What have we got here, boy?" Vernon lifted the letter to eye level before his face morphed into what could only be deep fear. He crushed the letter in his hands before turning to Harry and ordering him to his room.

"But I've got more tasks today, can't I ju-"

"UPSTAIRS NOW BOY AND DON'T MAKE ME TELL YOU AGAIN OR YOU'LL NOT HAVE FOOD FOR THE REST OF YOUR TIME HERE!"

Harry was confused but went to his room wondering just what the letter could be.

He woke again the next day and made his way downstairs. He was surprised to see his aunt and uncle sitting at the kitchen table, a pile of brown letters in between them. They started as he approached and his uncle quickly gathered the letters and walked them to the fireplace tossing them in.

Vernon looked nervous for some reason before looking up at Harry.

"It's your birthday on Friday, yes?"

"Uh, yeah. What's going on? What are those letters?"

"Never mind that," Vernon said, looking back to the fire. "Go pack your things. We are leaving."

"What?" Harry was incredibly confused. He'd never seen his relatives so subdued. He was about to burst out with more questions when he heard Dudley coming down the stairs.

"What's going on? Why are you two up?"

Vernon stood, pushing his way through Harry and Dudley who were standing in the hallway.

"Go pack a bag, we are leaving for a little while."

"What are you talking about? I have a fight in three weeks. I can't leave right in the middle of training!"

"Dudley!" The two boys jumped at Vernon's shout. He looked at his son with an intensity they'd never seen before before he visibly calmed herself and spoke again.

"Just do as I ask. We will be back soon."

"Fine, but when we get back you are getting me the punching bag I asked for and putting it in my room."

"Just go pack."

It only took Harry a minute to pack his toiletries and his three changes of clothes. He was waiting in the living room when he heard something fluttering outside the window. He got up and looked out the window to see a large gray owl land on the street lamp. The owl looked at him before flapping its wings and taking off again. He watched it fly away and almost turned away before noticing a letter on the outer windowsill.

He froze before looking around the room and listening for the sound of his relatives upstairs. He crept towards the front door before easing it open and stepping outside. He reached over the hedges and grabbed the letter. He was just reading his name when Dudley took him by the arm, snatching the letter from his hand.

"Hey! That is addressed to me! I should be able to read it."

"Listen, I don't really care one way or the other but my Mum and Dad are freaked out by it. Just chill out until this blows over and I'll give this back to you."

Harry scowled, pissed that Dudley had taken the letter but somewhat hopeful that he'd be able to read it eventually.

"Fine, but don't let your Dad find it in your stuff. I don't want to miss the chance to read it if I can."

Dudley nodded before stuffing the letter in his gym bag.

Over the next few days, Harry began to worry about what was in the letter. Everywhere they went letters appeared. At one of the hotels, there were four waiting on him before they even arrived. Vernon didn't even let them out of the car before tearing off towards the next hotel. They had been to three different hotels and were now on a rowboat on their way to what looked like a shack on a rock a half mile off the coast.

Dudley had volunteered to row the boat for a good workout so the trip was rather quick even though they were soaked by the sea spray. Harry carried all their luggage into the shack before looking around. A single couch was in front of a larger than expected fireplace. There was one bathroom with a single bedroom upstairs.

Dudley immediately claimed the couch and fell asleep while Vernon and Petunia made their way upstairs for the night. Vernon was clutching a long package he had picked up where they rented the boat.

Harry laid a blanket down in front of the dark fireplace and got ready for bed. It was late evening and he thought about asking Dudley for the letter but decided against it. Waking the bigger boy up could go very badly for Harry.

He laid down and stared at the ceiling for a while before rolling onto his side. He was about to fall asleep when he thought he heard something outside. He dismissed it and looked over at Dudley's arm hanging off the couch. His watch said 12:00:08 31 July.

Happy birthday to me…

BOOM!