Chapter 3- Harry's arrival
Harry woke up at 7:45 on Thursday morning. He quickly got dressed and began to write his farewell letter to Ron and Hermoine. It began like this:
Dear Ron and Hermoine,
Please take good care of Hedwig for me. Take her to Hogwarts and let her fly free at night. I will write to you in our secret book everyday and every night. Thanks guys, you are my best friends.
Love always,
Harry
He waited until 7:59 and pet Hedwig goodbye and sent her to Ron. He then grabbed his suitcase of the little things she had and went downstairs. Vernon and Petunia were downstairs waiting in the living room until 8:00 on the dot to leave the house.
"Come on Dudley we are going to take that awful human being you call a cousin to an orphanage far away. Get in the car" Vernon told Dudley.
Dudley listened like a puppy listening to it's owner.
They all got into the car and Vernon drove for what seemed like hours.
They finally stopped at a house with a big banner that read: "Madame Claire's House for Unfortunate Children".
"I thought this place was supposed to be a disgusting hole in the wall not some lovely vacation home" Petunia whined to Vernon.
"I am sure this place looks good on the outside so people will come and visit the poor old brats but disgusting on the inside. It happens all the time." Vernon said.
When they walked into the orphanage his opinion changed completely.
The inside was much nicer than the outside.
They had just remodeled last year and hired Madame Claire as the manager of the orphanage.
"You must be Harry" a woman called down the hallway.
"Yes that is him and who might you be?" asked Vernon.
"Oh I am sorry. I am Madame Claire and I manage this Home for unfortunate children. Are you Harry's parents?" Madame Claire asked Vernon and Petunia.
"No not at all. We are his aunt and uncle. I am Petunia Dursley and this is my husband Vernon. His mother was my sister." Petunia said.
"Oh well we are going to have to sign some papers basically giving over Harry to me and the orphanage and then you are free to go. Harry, why don't you say goodbye to your aunt and uncle now so you can have some time to meet the other children here before lunch. I will be in my office down the hall when you are ready." Madame Claire said.
"Good bye Harry" Petunia said and gave Harry a fake hug as Madame Claire walked away.
"Now that she's gone, we hope we never see you again. Good bye" Vernon said.
"Goodbye" Harry said as he walked up the spiral staircase with his suitcase.
He was finally free of the Dursley.
He walked up a hallway to a doorway that read: "Welcome Harry" in big bold letters.
He turned the doorknob and saw four faces staring at him.
"Hi I am Harry" he said.
"Hey I am Mark " a boy in a red sweatshirt said. He looked the same age as Harry.
"Hey I am Chuck and you must be the new boy" a taller boy said.
"Hi I am Justin. Chuck, leave him alone. Don't mind him, Harry." a boy with brown hair said.
"Hey I am Karen" a girl with brown freckles said.
"Hi I am Rachel" a girl with blond hair and blue eyes said.
They all looked around Harry's age.
"We are all in the same age group as you. Do you want to see your new room?" asked Mark.
"We are all except Daffs. She is always late!" Karen said.
"What is Daffs short for?" asked Harry.
"It is short for Daffadil as in the flower. She hates the name so we all call her Daffs. It's kind of cool". Rachel said.
Harry was directed to a room with a bed and a closet. I t was twice the size of Harry's room at the Dursley's house. He was very pleased with the size of it. He opened his closet and saw a whole closet full of clothing. Shirts, pants, pajamas, even slippers. Harry was confused.
He ran to the hall and yelled "Mark" very loud. All of a sudden, Mark came running down the hallway.
"What is the matter, Harry?" he asked worried.
"Nothing I just wanted to know who's clothes are in the closet?" Harry asked
"Oh Madame Claire never told you?" Mark asked Harry.
"Tell me what?" Harry said.
"Tell you that whenever there is a new kid in the orphanage, Madame Claire calls up her friend that works and manages a big department store. She tells him your size, weight , taste in clothing based on what the people who brought you here say. Then she orders a whole wardrobe for you. We help her put it nicely in your closet and there you have it." answered Mark.
"That's so nice of her. Why does she care about children so much?" asked Harry.
"Because we are all she has. She never married and doesn't have any kids of her own so she decided to work here five years ago. The owner, Bob and his crew of monsters, treated us real mean. They made us work for free as slaves. Claire worked her way to the top and fired every person that got in her way. She originally came here from France with her sister Ellen. Ellen was sixteen and Claire was twenty five. Claire was supposed to look out for Ellen but Ellen got too wild. She hung out with the wrong people and made some bad choices and got herself killed. After that Claire started working here she said she felt our pain." Mark said.
"Wow that's harsh! I thought my life was bad!" Harry said amazed.
"Well I guess you should get changed, lunch is about to start." Mark said.
Mark turned around and left.
Harry closed the door and took out a shirt and a pair of blue pants from the closet.
He looked out the window at the beautiful view of the garden. He saw children playing on swings and an older woman singing songs with them.
He closed the blinds and began to change when he felt someone staring at him. He turned around and saw two gorgeous blue eyes staring at him from the door way.