Chapter 1
Petunia Dursley opened the door one October morning to find the milkman, Mr Jones, holding a small bundle of blankets and her two pints of milk.
"This was on your doorstep Ma'am." He said, handing her the bundle and milk. "Have a nice day." And he wandered down the path towards his van.
Petunia, in a daze, carried the bundle into the living room, where Vernon, her husband was reading yesterdays paper. He saw the bundle in her arms and watched speechless as she unwrapped it to reveal a baby with a tuft of jet-black hair and a lightning cut on his forehead, fast asleep. A note fell out. Petunia opened it and gave a sharp shriek, which awoke the child.
"What is it?" Vernon asked, taking the note and reading it for himself. His usually red face turned to the colour of blackberry ice cream in two seconds.
"She's dead." Petunia whispered hoarsely. "My sister and her husband. Gone."
"And this must be Harry." said Vernon, taking a closer look at the baby, running a thick finger over the cut. The two stared at the baby for a moment before Dudley, their tubby son waddled into the room. When he saw his parents, holding another child he began to bawl.
"Waaaaaa!" he wailed, tears pouring down his pink cheeks. Harry laughed, showing one tooth.
"Oh, don't cry Dudley." Cried Petunia, as her husband rushed over to give their attention hungry son a cuddle.
"What's that?" he asked impatiently.
"This is Harry, your cousin." Petunia told him, showing Dudley Harry. Dudley took one look at Harry down his nose and sniffed.
"Don't like it." He said stubbornly, folding his arms, imitating his father. His bottom lip trembled. Vernon saw the signs and not wanting another out burst took him into the kitchen for a chocolate biscuit.
Petunia was left alone with Harry, who was holding out his tiny arms and babbling.
"Mama?" he asked, smiling at Aunt Petunia.
"No." she said quietly, looking from him to her son who was coming back into the living room, chocolate all around his mouth.
Chapter 2
The day passed slowly for Petunia. Vernon took the day off work and bough Dudley a new cot, (Harry was to have his old one) pushchair and some clothes for Harry who couldn't fit into any of Dudley's. That afternoon, Vernon took Dudley out to the big Toy superstore that had just opened on the edge of town. Petunia was left alone with Harry yet again.
She watched the baby sleep soundly in Dudley's old cot, cuddling a blanket. Flash backs of Petunia's childhood came back. Herself aged about five seeing her baby sister Lily for the first time. Dressing Lily in one of her doll dresses. Despite however much she hated Lily for being…being…well, not normal on the outside, on the inside her baby sister had just died a horrible death.
Alone tears poured down her bony cheeks, showing the emotions, which hadn't surfaced for many, many years.
The key turning in the lock snapped her back into her persona. Vernon had returned bringing Dudley and a very expensive toy robot, which made loud noises and lit up. Fixing a smile on her face, she walked downstairs, leaving Harry to sleep, while she took a great interest in Dudley's robot.
That night, Petunia couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, thinking about the day which had just passed. Eventually, she got up to go to the bathroom. As she passed Dudley's room, she poked her head through the slightly open door. Dudley was sleeping soundly, not woken by his loud snores and grunts. She also looked in Harry's room, where the small child was also sleeping. Unfortunately, she stepped on a creaky floorboard and he awoke, his big green eyes looking up at her. He gave her a big smile and held his arms up, wanting to be picked up.
"Mama?" he asked hopefully.
"No." she replied again, turning away from the baby and walking away.
Something happened inside Petunia. A battle, a struggle. She had ever liked those 'people' no matter how nice they were. When she had married Vernon, she had confided in him and he seemed more petrified than she was. They vowed never to have any of these 'people' inside their house. Any here they were, with her sister and her husbands baby, breaking those promises. Vernon had been very upset at the thought of one of them 'residing' under his roof. Already, he had begun to squander Harry, not treating him the same as Dudley. Buying Dudley a toy robot and Harry nothing. The only things Harry owned at the moment were the blanket he was holding and the clothes he wore. Dudley had so many toys; he was going to need another room just to keep them in.
Not knowing what to do, she went back to bed, trying to figure it out.
The years passed. Vernon had succeeded in pushing Harry down into nothing more than a household pest. Harry had been given the cupboard under the stairs as a room. Dudley had taken over Harry's old room at the age of 3, with all his extra toys that he never used. The photos on the walls changed, showing the once tubby little boy get his first bike with stabilisers, being hugged and kissed by his mother and opening presents at Christmas. There was never another sign that another boy lived in this seemingly normal house.
At the age of 4, Harry and Dudley started school. St Mary's Primary School. On their first day, Petunia took both boys over to the school, although to look at them, they mightn't be related. Dudley was dressed smartly, in brand new shiny shoes, with a new lunchbox and blue jumper, part of the standard uniform. Harry however had an older lunchbox. One that Dudley sat on the summer before. Vernon had patched it up with Duck Tape. His shoes were some old, grey trainers, his trousers worn, bought obviously from a second hand shop.
They two boys didn't look anything a like either. Dudley was blonde, overweight for his age already, and had gained a second chin. Harry was short and skinny with jet-black hair and green eyes behind sellotaped glasses. His cut had long gone, but had left behind a thin lightning bolt scar, which his Aunt Petunia tried to persuade the hairdresser to hide.
When they reached the school playground, Petunia kissed Dudley goodbye and gave him a big motherly hug. To Harry, she simply pushed gently into the playground, to smother her son, leaving the boy alone. A teacher came up to Harry and Dudley, and took them inside. Petunia sighed, wiped a tear away from her eye and called
"See you at lunchtime Duddy!" waving at her son, who didn't wave back. Harry waved however, smiling cheerfully.
Chapter 3
This was how it went. Year in, year out. Harry, quietly living in his cupboard and Dudley expanding every month. Toywise and physically. However, Harry eventually got the idea that his aunt and uncle didn't like him very much and stopped being cheerful and smiling, no matter how many times he was told off for doing nothing.
Strange things happened to Harry, revealing Vernon and Petunia's worst fears. One day, Petunia was called into the school, after Harry had been found levitating in the playground. At the age of 8, Harry's headmistress had complained that while talking to Harry, her wig had tuned blue. Another incident was when Harry somehow managed to land on the roof of the cafeteria. Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon regularly locked him in the cupboard for things he didn't mean to do.
"It just happened!" he shouted through the door of the cupboard at Uncle Vernon. Petunia felt anger and pity for the boy. He had no idea of his past, or why these things were happening. Yet, she couldn't tell him, or help him. No, she was actually afraid of him. Physically, he couldn't do her any harm, but Petunia was scared that his 'abnormalities' could. Her husband had tried to squash that out of him. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it leaked through, causing havoc.
One day, a letter came for Harry, much like the one that Petunia had been left on the night Harry was delivered to them. That night she felt guilty, and afraid, afraid of what those 'people' might do to her, for not letting Harry find the truth. She could tell, however that Vernon was more scared than she was as he nailed up the letterbox. Deep down, Petunia knew they would never hurt her, but Vernon didn't know that. His fear led him to almost insanity, taking them to a rickety old house on a big rock in the middle of a grey sea.
After Harry had gone to 'that school' and Dudley to 'Smeltings', Vernon's old private school, Petunia began to fell lonely, what with her husband at work. She wrote regularly to Dudley, but never actually received many replies. If he did reply, it was along the lines of
'Dear Mum, can you send me some more sweets. Dudley.'
Harry never wrote of course, learning long ago that they welcomed him as much as a hoard of cockroaches. But, when he returned for the summer holidays, Petunia couldn't help thinking
'My, hasn't he grown.'