Chapter 2: The Dursleys

When Harry awoke the next morning, he was surprised to find a tawny owl waiting with a letter at the foot of his bed. Dumbledore couldn't have written back already, could he? Indeed, he had not; it was from Hermione.

Harry,

I'm sorry I haven't written until now, to say the least, it's a little awkward after everything that happened. Harry, I don't know what to say other than that I'm so sorry about Sirius; it hurts to even think about it.

But I don't want to focus on that right now, there is so much happening in the wizarding world! You probably haven't gotten much news (or maybe none at all) about Voldemort and what's happening in the Ministry. It looks like Fudge might be thrown out as Minister of Magic; can you believe it? He deserves to get thrown out, after everything he did to smear you and Professor Dumbledore's name. If he does get unseated as the Minister, it will most likely be Amelia Bones to fill his position. She would definitely be an asset to the war against Voldemort. Harry, even though the war isn't official yet, it's coming. Voldemort has been attacking muggle families and wizarding families with members known to be against him. My parents are starting to think that maybe I should stop attending Hogwarts.

Harry's breath caught in his chest. Hermione might not come back to school? But Harry realized that it might be safer that way, she was endangering herself by hanging around him and learning magic at the same time. Harry continued to read her letter.

I of course told my parents that they were being ridiculous and they somewhat agreed. I'm not overly concerned about it and you shouldn't be either.

'Harry then let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.

'Moving on, I got the results from my O.W.L.s. I got an O.W.L. for every exam I took! My parents are thrilled; apparently I got the most O.W.L.s out of our entire class. How did you do? I hope you did well! Ron isn't too pleased with his; he got four. But you know what this all means, don't you? Depending on the results from our O.W.L.s, we'll be able to select much more interesting courses for next year. Professor McGonagal scheduled my course selection with her later this week. When's yours?

Harry wondered the same thing; he didn't receive his exam results or a course selection date.

Ihope to see you soon, Harry. I know how you must be feeling right now. Losing someone that close to you must be very painful. If there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask. –Hermione

Harry stared down at Hermione's letter, his eyes brimming with tears. He rubbed his sleeve against them and thought about Voldemort's attacks. Why hadn't he known about it before? Why hadn't he been informed about anything? Harry was suddenly angry. He was the Boy-Who-Lived, and nobody thinks it's important for him to know that Voldemort is attacking? Didn't they think he should know that Fudge is going to be unseated as Minister? Furious, Harry crumpled Hermione's letter and threw it towards the trash bin. He missed. Calming down, he retrieved her letter, smoothed it out, and carefully placed it under the loose floorboard under his bed. He then felt ashamed of how he reacted. He knew his temper aught to be controlled; it was the center of many of his problems last year.

Harry got dressed and headed downstairs. The Dursleys were seated around the kitchen table. Uncle Vernon, behind the newspaper, Dudley, stuffing his face with breakfast and Aunt Petunia, glaring out the window at the neighbors. They looked up when he entered, Harry rarely came out of his room.

"I need to eat," Harry said flatly.

"You know how to feed yourself, or do you need me to do it for you?" Dudley asked from over his plate of bacon and eggs.

Choosing to ignore him, Harry walked to the refrigerator, grabbed something to eat, and left the room to enjoy his meal in private.

As he sat on his bed he heard someone enter the room. He looked up to find Uncle Vernon looking uncomfortably at him. Saying nothing, Uncle Vernon sat down beside Harry. Thoroughly confused, Harry chose to also say nothing. An awkward silence fell between them until Uncle Vernon finally decided to speak his mind.

'"I got a letter from your…err…school," he started. Harry looked up. Could this be about his O.W.L.s? "It said something…interesting, or rather…um…note worthy," he continued. By this point Harry was started to worry, did he fail too many O.W.L.s to return to school? "Harry," at this Harry became even more confused, Uncle Vernon almost never used Harry's first name, if any name at all. "Harry, it told me about your godfather," Harry looked back down, so that's what this is about. Harry knew that he now didn't have any way of scaring the Dursley's from being cruel to him, but to his utmost surprise, Uncle Vernon lightly put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said gruffly, then, "Don't think that this means that I accept your abnormality," and with that, he got up and exited the room.

Harry sat in shock, had Uncle Vernon just sympathized for him? Knowing that the answer was yes, Harry sat for a long time thinking to himself. Maybe there's a hope in the Dursleys after all.