-Author's Note:
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Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their neice on their front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living-room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.
Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten
years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bobble hats, and a tiny pink bundle in various coloured blankets as she slept.
Dudley and Daisy Dursley were no longer a babies, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, a blonde haired little girl with pigtails on a roundabout at the fair, a little boy playing a computer game with his father, and a little girl being hugged and kissed by her mother.
The room held no sign at all that another child lived in the house, too.
Yet Jane Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Her Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice which made the first noise of the day.
"Up! Get up! Now!"
Jane woke with a start and her aunt rapped on the door again.
"Up" she screeched.
Jane heard her walking towards the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the cooker. Jane rolled on to her back and tried to remember the dream she had been having. It had been a good one. Jane sighed when she realised she could not recall anyof the details, although she was sure she had had the dream before.
Aunt Petunia was back outside the door.
"Are you up yet?"she demanded.
"Nearly" said Jane as politely as possible.
"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."
Jane groaned.
"What did you say?" her aunt snapped through the door.
"Nothing, nothing …"
Dudley's birthday – how could she have forgotten? Jane got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. She found a pair under the small and very old matress, that was her bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.
Jane was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where she slept.
Once Jane was dressed in the ill-fitting and over large clothes that belonged to her cousins. She wore a pair of Daisy's jeans and one of Dudley's t-shirts. Jane went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had got the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.
Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Jane, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise – unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favourite
punch-bag was Jane, but he couldn't often catch her.
Jane didn't look it, but she was very fast.
Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Jane had always been small and skinny for her age. Jane looked even smaller and skinnier than she really was
because all she had to wear were old clothes of her cousins and both Dudley and Daisy were about four times bigger than Jane was.
Jane had a thin pale face, knobbly knees, long, unruly raven black curls and bright emerald green eyes. Jane wore round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched her on the nose. The only thing Jane liked about her own appearance was a very thin scar on her forehead which was shaped like a bolt of lightning.
Jane had had it as long as she could remember and the first question she could ever remember asking her Aunt Petunia was how she had got it.
"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."
Don't ask questions. That was the first of many odd rules the Dursley's had set. But if it meant a quiter life with the Dursleys, Jane was happy to follow them.
Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen with Daisy as Jane was turning over the bacon.
"Can't you do somethign to tame that unruly tangel you call your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.
Daisy giggled her squeaky giggle, her round face and plump body wobbling with her laughter. She was wearing a pink firlled dress whith ehite tights and white pumps. Her blonde hair was styled in a curled bob with a wide fringe.
Aunt Petunia had wanted Jane to cut her hair too, but Jane refused. Jane preferred her hair long, the tips of her raven black curls currently reached her elbow.
About once a week, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia said that Jane needed a haircut. Jane must have had more haircuts than the rest of the children in her class put together, but it made no difference, her hair simply grew that way – all over the place.
Jane was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large, pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick, blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Jane on the other hand often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.
Jane put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room, and then sat on one of the high stools at the kitchen counter, unlike the rest of the family Jane would not be having Bacon and eggs.
The Durlseys all agreed that Jane was far too…..something….and refused to give her what they called was the good food. Jane's diet was basic and simple compared to the rest of her family.
As Jane sat down to eat her toast, and drink her milk the Durlseys tooked into their large portions.
Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. After a while he gaveup and looked at Uncle Vernon.
"How many are there?" he askedurgently
"Thirty six, I counted them myself" replied Uncle Vernon proudly, but Dudley's face fell.
"Thirty-six," he said angrily, looking up at his mother and father. "But last year, last year I had thirty-seven"
"Yes but some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year" Said Uncle Vernon trying his best to explain'
"I DON'T CARE" yelled Dudley, going red in the face.
Daisy, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down her bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly,
"How about this, we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"
Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly,
"So I'll have thirty … thirty …"
"Thirty-eight, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.
"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."
Uncle Vernon chuckled.
"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.
"WHAT ABOUT ME, CAN I HAVE A PRESENT WHEN WE'RE OUT" Daisy yelled, she was determined to get something as well
"Of course you can sweetheart" chuckled Uncle Vernon,
"Just one thing though, as it is your brother's day" added Aunt Petunia. Daisy thought for a moment and then nodded. Jane knew she was going to get a very large one thing.
At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Jane, Uncle Vernon and Daisy watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a cine-camera, a remote-control aeroplane, sixteen new computer games and a video recorder. He 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 him." She jerked her head in Jane's direction.
Dudley's mouth fell open in horror but Jane's heart gave a leap. Every year on either Dudley or Daisy's birthdays her parents took them and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger bars or the cinema. Every time, Jane was left behind with Mrs Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Jane hated it there.
The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs Figg made her look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.
"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Jane as though she'd planned this.
Jane knew she ought to feel sorry that Mrs Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when she reminded herself it would be a whole two months before she had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr Paws and Tufty again.
"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.
"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the girl"
The Dursleys often spoke about Jane like this, as though she wasn't there – or rather, as though she was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.
"What about what's-her-name, your friend – Yvonne?"
"On holiday in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.
"You could just leave me here" Jane put in hopefully (she'd be able to watch what she wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.
"And come back and find the house in ruins?"she snarled.
"I won't blow up the house," said Jane, indignantly, but they weren't listening.
"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly,"… and leave Jane in the car …"
"That car's new, she's not sitting in it alone …" retorted Uncle Vernon, glaring at Jane
Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying, it had been years since he'd really cried, but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.
"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let her spoil, your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.
"I … don't … want … her … t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge pretend sobs. 'She always sp-spoils everything!"
Dudley shot Jane a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms as he said this.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, Good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia 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. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.
Half an hour later, Jane who couldn't believe her luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers, Dudley and Daisy. It was a squash in the back seat and Jand was forced to share a seatbelt with Daisy, much to Daisy's horror.
Jane didn't mind though, for she was on her way to the zoo for the first time in her life. Neither aunt Petunia or uncle Vernon had been able to think of anything else to do with her, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Jane aside.
"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Jane's,
"I'm warning you now, girl – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."
"I'm not going to do anything," said Jane "honestly …"
But Uncle Vernon didn't believe her. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Jane and it was just no good telling the Dursleys she didn't make them happen.
Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Jane coming back from the barber's looking as though she hadn't been at all, because the staff at the hairdressers refused to cut Janes' long thick curls, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut her hair so short she was almost bald
except for her fringe, which she left 'to hide that horrible scar'.
Dudley had laughed himself silly at Jane, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where she was already laughed at for her baggy clothes and Sellotaped glasses. Next morning, however, she had got up to find her hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. Jane had been given a week in her cupboard for this, even though she had tried to explain that she couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.
Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force Jane into a revolting old jumper of Daisy's (flamingo pink with yellow bobbled flowers). The harder she tried to pull it over Jane's head, the smaller itseemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a glove
puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Jane. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to her great relief, Jane wasn't punished.
On the other hand, Jane had got into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing her as they usual did when, as much to Jane's surprise as anyone else's, there she was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys
had received a very angry letter from the headmistress telling them Jane had been climbing school buildings. But all Jane had tried to do (as she shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of her cupboard) was jump behind the big bins outside the kitchen doors. Jane supposed that the wind must have caught her in mid-jump.
But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Daisy, Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, her cupboard or Mrs Figg's cabbage-smelling living-room.
While she drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon liked to complain about things: people at work, Jane, the council, Jane, the bank and Jane were just a few of his favourite subjects. This morning, he was ranting about motorbikes.
"… roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorbike overtook them.
" had a dream about a motorbike," said Jane, as with a huge jolt she suddenly rembered her dream "It was flying, and there was a man laughing" she trailed off as Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. Uncle Vernon turned right around in his seat and yelled at Jane, his face like a gigantic beetroot with a moustache,
"MOTORBIKES DON'T FLY!"
Daisy, Dudley and Piers sniggered.
"I know they don't" said Jane quielty "It was only a dream."
But she wished she hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than her asking questions, it was Jane talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon – they seemed to think she might get dangerous ideas.
It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Daisy, Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice-creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Jane what she wanted before they could hurry her away, they bought her a cheap blackcurrent ice lolly. It wasn't bad either, Jane thought, licking it as they watched a pair of gorillas fighting over a bunch of bananas. They looked remarkably like Dudley and Daisy except that they weren't blond.
Jane had the best morning she'd had in a long time. She was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the
animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting her.
They ate in the zoo restaurant and when Daisy had a tantrum because her knickerbocker glory wasn't big enough, Uncle Vernon bought her another one and Jane was allowed to finish the first.
Jane felt, afterwards, that she should have known it was all too good to last.
After lunchwhile Uncle Vernon, Dudley, Piers and Jane went to the reptile house. Aunt Petunia waited outside with Daisy, Daisy was terrified of reptiles and had thrown a massive fit and the thought that she too would have to go inside.
"It's Dudleys birthday sweetheart" Aunt Petunia had tried to reason with Daisy
"NO, NO, NO" screamed Daisy, digging her heels into the ground so she couldn't be dragged inside.
"Alright, we'll wait here then" sadi Aunt Petunia quickly as people started turning to look at the commontion.
It was cool and dark in the reptile house, there were lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, 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 dustbin – but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.
Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.
"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.
"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.
"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away, Piers following behind.
Jane moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming
their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up – at leasts he got to visit the rest of the house.
The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Jane's. And then It winked.
Jane stared. Then she looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. she looked back at the snake and winked, too.
The snake jerked its head towards Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Jane a look that said quite plainly:
"I get that all the time."
"I know," Jane murmured through the glass, though she wasn't sure the snake could hear her. "It must be really annoying." she added and to her suprise, the snake nodded vigorously.
"Where do you come from, anyway?" Jane asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Jane peered at it.
Boa Constrictor, Brazil.
'Was it nice there?' Jane asked, The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Jane read on:
This specimen was bred in the zoo.
"Oh, I see – so you've never been to Brazil?"
As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Jane made both of them jump.
"DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"
Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could.
"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Jane in the ribs.
Caught by surprise, Jane fell hard on the concrete floor, her head colliding with the floorm causing her to see stars for a few brief minutes.
What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.
Jane sat up, ignoring the bruning pain in her head and side, and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out on to the floor – people throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.
As the snake slid swiftly past him, Jane could have sworn a low, hissing voice said,
"Brazil, here I come … Thanksss, amigo."
The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.
"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"
The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong sweet tea, once they were sat in his office, while he apologised over and over again. Daisy was whimpering and crying, Aunt Petunia was in shock, Uncle Vernon was yelling and shouting and cussing at anyone and everyone, while Piers and Dudley could only gibber.
Jane was the only one sitting quietly in the office, As far as she had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car,
Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Jane at least, was Piers calming down enough to say,
"Jane was talking to it, weren't you, Jane?"
Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Jane. He was so angry he could hardly speak. She he took a swing at her with his massive clenched finished, he just managed to say,
"Go – cupboard – stay – no meals," before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.
Jane lay in her dark cupboard much later, wishing she had a watch. She didn't know what time it was and she couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, she couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.
Jane had lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since she'd been a baby and her parents had died in that car crash. Jane couldn't remember being in the car when her parents had died. Sometimes, when she strained her memory during long hours in her cupboard, she came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on her forehead.
This, Jane supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. She thought perhaps it was from a traffic light.
Jane couldn't remember her parents at all. Aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon never spoke about them, the topic of Jane's parents seemed to be banned, and of course she was forbidden to ask questions.
There were no photographs of them in the house. So Jane did not even know what they looked like. Jane didn't know anything about them, she didn't even know their first names.
When she had been younger, Jane had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take her away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were her only family.
Yet sometimes Jane thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know her.
Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to her once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Daisy. After asking Jane furiously if she knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything.
A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green, who was sat a bus stop opposite the primary school Jane attended, had waved merrily at Jane, as Jane stood in the playground trying to avoid her cousins at breaktime. Janes's teacher had quickly ushered Jane away from the fencing.
And only last week, when Jane and the Dursleys had been in town after vising the dentists, a bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken Jane hand as she crossed the street and then walked away without a word.
The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Jane tried to get a closer look.
At school, Jane had no one. She was bullied mercilessly because she was an odd one.
All the other students and even the staff seemed to hate Jane. She was just 'that odd Jane Potter in her baggy old clothes and broken glasses'.
