(A/N: Thanks for the responses, everyone. Glad you like it.

Nalini213: You are entirely correct (in all ways, wink wink). Thank you for catching that. Blame my roommate – she was breathing down my neck while I finished the chapter b/c she has an 8 o'clock class and it happened to be 2 in the morning... I need to find new times to write.

gallandro-83: Yes, I am very new... thanks for the tips!

maz: Will do.

Everyone: You may wish to reread chapter 3, as a few names have changed... sorry for not fixing this before I posted... and speaking of names, I have a challenge for you, readers. All the names of Helen's wizarding siblings and cousins have canon significance (they were all named after someone we know). Can you figure them all out? Warning, a few are tricky, but they are all within the bounds of reason, I think. First reviewer to correctly identify them all wins the prize – I will name an upcoming character whatever you would like... just remember it's G-rated, people.

That's all for now; enjoy the new chapter!

P.S. Disclaimer now posted in chapter 1.)

Chapter 4: A Letter Arrives

30 June was a warm, slightly overcast day, with a heavy feeling of oncoming rain in the air. Dudley followed his son down the stairs into the kitchen. Helen had just turned the bacon out of the pan and was cracking in eggs. Marcie was reading the newspaper.

"Mail's in, dear, and there's something for you," was all she said, but the look she gave him was filled with meaning. He sat down casually and picked up the envelope she slid towards him.

The envelope bore the insignia of Goldenrod Academy, and it was heavy in his hand. Quickly, Dudley tore it open and began to read the cover letter.

Dear Mr. Dursley:

We would be delighted to take your daughter, Helen, here at Goldenrod. Please call as soon as possible to confirm her place in our next class.

We have a summer program which you may be interested in, valuable for accustoming children to our unique code of rules. It begins this year on 28 June, but children will be accepted as late as 12 July. Call this number for more information...

Dudley closed his eyes and exhaled a long sigh of pure happiness.

"Well?" demanded Marcie. "Can they take her or not?"

At the stove, Helen stiffened.

"Oh, they can take her," Dudley answered, watching the girl out of the corner of his eye. "What's more, they can take her starting today. They've a summer program, apparently. Should we spring for it?"

"Yes," said Marcie firmly. "It'll be well worth it."

Dudley nodded and turned to his daughter, who was scraping the last of the eggs out of the frying pan onto her brother's plate. "Helen."

She put the pan down on a cold burner and turned to face him. "Yes, sir."

"Your mother and I have decided on a school for you for next year."

"A school for me?" The girl actually had the nerve to look surprised.

"Yes, girl, a school for you. You can't get by in life on just a primary school education. Go and pack your things. We're leaving as soon as you're ready."

Helen had gone so pale that her freckles stood out plainly. "T-today, sir?" she stammered in a voice very unlike her own.

"Yes, today. They have a summer program to help you get adjusted to the school before you have to start classes. This way you'll be all settled in and used to their routine when fall comes. Is there a problem?"

Helen's hands were clenched on a corner of her shirt. She was twisting the hem so hard Dudley wouldn't have been surprised to see her rip it off. "No, sir," she said quietly, looking fixedly at her hands.

"Well, then, go. You have a lot of packing to do, I'm sure."

"Yes... yes, sir." Helen looked at him for a split second with a very odd expression on her face, then abruptly bolted for the stairs.

"Wait!" Chester yelled, but Helen was already gone. He groaned. "Mum, can you hand me over my breakfast?"

"Certainly, dear," said Marcie, getting up and handing the loaded plate to her son. She beckoned Dudley to follow her into the living room.

"Should we watch her?" she asked as soon as they were out of Chester's earshot. "Make sure she's packing?"

"Why bother? We can check on her in an hour and see if she's ready. If she was... one of them... she would have done something, wouldn't she?" Dudley was feeling unbelievably cheerful. Even if his daughter wasn't a witch, she was a cursed nuisance, and now she was going to be gone from their lives for a whole year. It was like a dream come true.

"She might be trying to trick us. You said they were sly; she's always been secretive, you know that. What if she's up in her room doing something... something nasty?"

"They're not allowed. They get in trouble if they do that outside their school. And she won't ever get there, Marcie, don't you see?" Dudley wanted to jump in the air – he had solved a problem that his father had been unable to solve. "If we send her away to Goldenrod, by the time that letter comes, if it ever does, there won't be anyone here to give it to. And they'll never find her there. Great pile of a place, and all the student dormitories are on the inside of the building."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"If it hasn't got any windows, how is the..." Dudley mimed a bird flapping. "... going to get in, eh?"

Marcie giggled. "It might try to fly through a wall. Didn't you say they tried to fly through closed windows a few times?"

Dudley snickered, remembering. "Not much room for brains up there in that feathery head."

Marcie shook her own head. "Crazy way to send letters, anyway. I mean, what if the creature were to eat it?"

"What's to stop it from dropping the letter and hunting?" Dudley agreed. "But, of course, nothing they do makes sense. Never has."

"It always frightened me." Marcie shivered. "Freakish people who pop out of thin air. Little sticks of wood that do things that shouldn't be possible."

"I'm sorry, Marcie." Dudley put his arm around his wife. "I should never have gotten you into this."

Marcie smiled tremulously and shook her head. "No, you told me the truth up front. It was my decision. And remember what we swore all those years ago? I think we've done it, Dudley. I think we've won."