(Next Chapter :))
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After the zookeepers finally managed to get Dudley out of the snake's cage, Pierrs told the Dursleys that he saw Harry and Lucy talking to the snake. From there, it went downhill.
Uncle Vernon locked the twins straight in their cupboard as soon as they got home, but not before demanding an explanation on their part.
They were to get no meals for an entire week and Uncle Vernon even nailed a piece of hardwood over the latch to keep them from sneaking out to get food.
Luckily Harry had saved some of the sweet candy Dudley didn't want anymore from the zoo so he and Lucy rationed that out to make sure it lasted them an entire week.
By the time they were allowed out of their cupboard, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken more than half of his birthday presents.
This meant of course that Dudley would be bringing around his friends more often and that meant more rounds of "run and hide" for Harry and Lucy.
Dudley's Gang was notorious at their old school and for fear of retribution from them, no one dared make friends with the Potter Twins, because everyone knew that "Big D" and his posse hated the Potter Twins the most.
This coming school year though, they would all be starting at different schools and this was a source of relief as well as dread for the Potter Twins.
Dudley would be starting at Uncle Vernon's alma mater in the fall, Smeltings School for the Distinguished where students were permitted to carry around long heavy sticks with which to wack others with. Apparently it helped to build character for young boys.
Harry however would be going to Stonewall High while Lucy would be sent over to Greenwood School for the Girls oversea in Ireland.
Stonewall called for gray jumpers while Greenwood called for dark green dresses for girls.
While Uncle Vernon and Dudley were out buying his new Smeltings uniform, Aunt Petunia quickly grabbed the first suitable pairs of clothing she could find from Dudley's old things and set them in two seperate bowls with dye.
When Harry and Lucy came upon them later while cleaning the living room they were a little confused. "What's that?" asked Harry, being the more vocal of the twins.
Aunt Petunia calmly took a sip of her tea. "Your new school uniforms of course." Lucy wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from the two bowls.
"Oh...I didn't realize they had to be so wet." She said without thinking. Aunt Petunia quickly gave her a sharp look. "Don't be stupid! I'm dying some of Dudley's old things green and gray for you. They'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." She said going back to stirring her tea.
Lucy flinched then quickly continued with sweeping the living room. For some reason Aunt Petunia had always seemed to hate Lucy more than Harry. Lucy was never entirely sure why this was, but one thing she did know.
She and Harry were sure to look like they were wearing bits of elephant skin and bread mold when they went to school seperately in the fall.
The twins finished up in the living room just as Uncle Vernon and Dudley returned for breakfast. Aunt Petunia dropped her stirring spoon when she saw them.
"Oh! Is that my beautiful Duddy boy?" She gushed as Dudley proudly pranced around in his new uniform. Lucy and Harry had to quickly dodge into the kitchen to keep from laughing and getting into trouble again.
They had never seen Dudley look so ridiculous.
Still they kept straight faces throughout breakfast, saying little as they split an egg and a toast between them. Suddenly the mail slot clicked signalling that the mail had arrived.
"Go get the post, Dudley." Uncle Vernon said without looking up from his newspaper.
"Make Harry or Lucy get it." Dudley whined. "Harry go get the post, boy." Mr. Dursley responded.
"Make Dudley get it." Harry tried to retort. Lucy tugged on her brother's arm.
"Dudley, hit him with your smeltings stick."
Harry barely managed to dodge in time as he dashed off from the table to retrieve the mail. Lucy wasn't so lucky though and got knicked in the elbow by the tip of Dudley's smelting stick.
Harry returned slowly with the letters from the front door. As he sifted through them, (most of them bills or business forms for Uncle Vernon) he stumbled upon two letters sealed in a thick yellow envelope.
One was addressed to him while the other was addressed to his sister. Curious, Harry turned the letter over and saw a strange seal was imprinted on the other side.
"Hurry up Boy!" Uncle Vernon barked. "What are you doing? Checking for letter bombs?" He laughed at his own joke. Lucy merely rolled her eyes at it.
Suddenly Dudley reached over the table. "Dad! Look! Harry's got a letter! And Lucy too!" He snatched two thick envelopes from Harry's hand as he was about to pass Lucy hers.
"Hey! Those are ours!" Harry demanded angrily as Uncle Vernon snatched the letters from Dudley. Lucy gave her brother a curious look.
"You?..Who'd be writing to you two?" Uncle Vernon started to laugh until he read what was on the envelope.
"P-Petunia!" Uncle Vernon started to stammer while handing one of the two letters off to his wife.
Aunt Petunia took one look at the letter and started shaking like an earthquake. "Vernon!...Oh Vernon, what are we to do?"
"Hey! I want to read those letters!" Dudley insisted rudely.
"No! We should get to read them as they are ours!" Harry argued, while looking to Lucy for help.
"Get out! All the lot of you! Out!" Uncle Vernon suddenly roared sticking Harry's letter into his shirt pocket as he got up to throw Harry out. To Lucy's surprise, he also grabbed Dudley.
Aunt Petunia snatched Lucy up from the table and threw her out after the boys as Uncle Vernon locked the door. Immediately the boys started up a silent war over who would get to listen through the keyhole.
Dudley won of course and Harry and Lucy shared the space on the floor to listen under the door crack.
"Vernon! Look at the addresses! How could they have known where the Twins sleep?" Aunt Petunia very nearly screeched. "You don't...you don't suppose they've been watching the house?" She seemed very terrified at the idea.
"Watching..spying..may be following us." Uncle Vernon grumbled. Lucy nudged Harry on the shoulder. "Harry move. Your glasses are hurting me." She complained softly.
"Sorry." Harry hastily apologized while trying to adjust his position on the floor.
"But Vernon what should we do? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-!"
"No Petunia! The best thing to do would be to ignore it. If they don't get an answer..yes that's the best thing...we won't do anything."
Lucy began to wonder what was written in those letters as she continued to eavesdrop. It had to be something very bad for her Aunt and Uncle to get upset in this way.
"But-!" Aunt Petunia continued.
"I'm not having one in the house!" Uncle Vernon cut her off. "Didn't we swear when we took them in that we'd try and stamp out all this dangerous nonsense? No! They're not going and that's final!" He made a sound that sounded like he hit the table.
Lucy carefully picked herself up from the floor. Harry..why are Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia getting so upset about those letters? What was in them?
Harry shook his head. I don't know Lucy. I wish I did though...
Later that evening the Dursleys had the Potter Twins move up into Dudley's second bedroom though Harry hadn't the foggiest clue why. Lucy had a hunch though. She suspected that they were trying to move them in secret so that whoever had sent them those letters couldn't send them again.
It didn't work though.
The next morning two more letters showed up at the Dursleys' front door this time with the Second Bedroom on the second floor printed in place of the Cupboard Under the Stairs.
Dudley pulled several temper tantrums over the week, kicking and screaming to have his second bedroom back. Of course this time his parents refused to bend to his desires.
The letters kept coming until finally Uncle Vernon got fed up and nailed a board over the mail slot. The letters that did happen to make it into the house, Uncle Vernon burned as tinder in the fireplace.
Then Sunday arrived and it seemed for all the world to be a normal Sunday afternoon. The Dursleys were relaxing in the parlor while the Potters waited on them, but Lucy couldn't help the feeling that something extraordinary was about to happen.
She shared her feelings with her brother who didn't know what to make of them at the moment.
Uncle Vernon looked like he was having the day of his life as he stared around the living room.
"Lovely day Sunday!..Anyone have the faintest idea why?" He asked, looking around the room. "Dudley, how about you?" Uncle Vernon turned immediately towards his soon.
Dudley shrugged stupidly. "Because there's no post on Sunday?" Harry asked with a hint of bitterness as he refilled Uncle Vernon's cup.
"Right you are Harry! There's no post on Sundays." Uncle Vernon sounded gleeful. Lucy lightly rolled her eyes. "No sir! Not one ugly, blasted le-."
Uncle Vernon got cut off when he heard a strange noise at the window. Curious, Lucy peeked around the shades and was astonished when she saw the whole yard covered with owls.
She turned just as flood of letters zipped through the fireplace and more of them shot through the mail slot popping off the board Uncle Vernon nailed onto it.
Harry started running around the house trying to grab as many letters as possible before making a run for the cupboard. Lucy saw what he was doing and ran after him only to get body slammed into the wall by Uncle Vernon.
He grabbed Harry by the ankle just as Harry was about to jump into the cupboard. Lucy quickly picked herself up from the floor. "Let go of him!" She shrieked above the noise of the owls and all the letters.
Uncle Vernon didn't listen to her of course. He dragged Harry off of his feet and tore the letters from him, tossing them over his shoulder as he reached for Lucy.
"That's it! I want everyone back here in five minutes! Just pack some clothes! We're going away!" Uncle Vernon screeched as he held Lucy by the end of her hair.
Dudley looked scared for his life. "Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he Mum?" He turned to Aunt Petunia.
...
