3

Letters From No One

Emily's wish was granted, she had time to heal and then some. By the time her and Harry were allowed out of the cupboard, even for chores, the school term had come to an end. In a way Emily was relieved but it meant the twins would be behind come the fall and that thought didn't sit well with either of them.

All the gifts Dudley had received for his birthday had been destroyed in some fashion by now. While poor Mrs. Figg who had just had her cast removed, had been pushed over by Dudley's gang. They seemed to think it funny but the older woman found little amusement in their actions and for once Dudley had been forced to apologize to someone. Petunia wasn't pleased having to force her son to offer an apology and Mrs. Figg fell lower in the woman's opinion.

Emily for her part was struggling with the 'freedom' of summer. Dudley's gang was everywhere she turned, she, having become their main target. While Dudley was their leader, it seemed his friends had taken a liking to the idea of kissing Emily. All the group's efforts went into trying to catch her. Luckily for Emily, she was rather quick and could out run the boys. The few times they had gotten too close for comfort Emily had been able to use her ability at transporting herself far enough to a safe spot while she waited them out. The gang often went home frustrated at their inability to track her down.

"I swear she just vanishes," she overheard Gordon say after she had been forced to use her ability.

"But that's not possible!" Piers cried, "She must have a hiding place, nobody can just disappear."

Malcom shrugged as he looked around the edge of the park, "We can go back towards the house, I doubt she went into the woods alone."

Emily had trouble holding in her laughter from her spot in the tree above them. The boys always seemed to be looking down, trees had become a key hiding place for the girl.

When she wasn't having to hide from Dudley's gang Emily spent her time with Harry at the local neighborhood park. The park always had plenty of adults with little children around, so Dudley and his friends tended to avoid it.

Unlike most of the children in the neighborhood, Emily was already looking forward to the coming school year. Dudley and his friends would be attending Smelting, a prestigious school that Uncle Vernon had attended in his youth. Of course, she had been the one to write the essay that got her cousin accepted but it was worth it to finally not have to attend the same school as the pig.

Petunia and Vernon had made it quite clear they would never pay for her and Harry to attend a private school, though Emily doubted they would allow her to attend one even if offered a full scholarship. Anything that put her above Dudley was a very big no, no in the Dursley household. So the twins were off to the local school.

On the day Aunt Petunia insisted on taking Dudley to purchase his new uniform the twins were left with Mrs. Figg. Petunia looked smug as she left, clearly certain the twins would be miserable in their current predicament but it was quite the opposite. Mrs. Figg suddenly seemed eager to help the pair and make them feel welcome. Harry spent his day watching telly while Emily helped the older woman bake a chocolate cake. Mrs. Figg even had some fresh strawberries to add to the filling of the chocolate icing. The cake turned out so well that the trio nearly devoured the entire thing.

Emily spent all day waiting for a cat to come dashing by, or attempt to steal some of their food and was rather surprised not to be bothered even once by the cats the older woman kept. It turned out Mrs. Figg was disenchanted with her feline companions after they had caused her to break her leg in the first place. She, like Emily, enjoyed baking and was happy to have some help in the kitchen. When Aunt Petunia returned to pick up the twins, Emily and Harry pretended it had been merely another visit of looking through scrapbooks of cats. Petunia was pleased with their gloomy appearance and the twins were quite pleased at their acting skills.

Deciding it was better not to push their earlier success Emily and Harry hid in their cupboard while Dudley showed off his new uniform. Neither twin wanted to be caught laughing after having done so well at making Aunt Petunia believe they had a terrible day. Vernon no doubt would go on and on about his days at Smelting and boast about his numerous achievements, which the twins highly doubted the man could have accomplished since in their imagination he was merely a gigantic whale. Needless to say, the twins were on an unheard of streak for getting out of punishments and they weren't about to throw that away because they couldn't stop thinking of a large whale attempting to flop across a finish line.

Emily did however wonder, how Vernon would handle what was sure to be a poor performance by Dudley in school now that Emily wouldn't be around to do his homework for him. It would be a surprise if her cousin made it past the first year without Vernon having to make a large donation.

The rest of the night was surprisingly quiet and when the twins woke up the next morning Emily couldn't help herself as her tongue slipped when they came upon their Aunt dyeing their uniforms. The kitchen smelled terrible and she may have wondered a little too loudly on why the clothes were so wet. Luckily enough Petunia genuinely seemed to miss her sarcasm. Harry smirked at his sister and mimed wiping sweat from his forehead.

The twins set about making breakfast pretending their Aunt didn't exist, her back was to them anyway probably trying to attempt the same feat. It wasn't long before Dudley came banging into the kitchen, his walking stick in hand. Emily was incredibly happy not to have to sit at the table for once because everything that the boy came near was smacked with the wooden stick. The walking stick was part of his new uniform and apparently his favorite new weapon. The young girl wondered whose bright idea it was to give an eleven-year-old boy a cane and expect him to be mature about it.

When Emily heard the thump of the mail landing in the hallway she was taking the bacon off the stove, so she nudged her brother to get going. To her astonishment her Uncle asked Dudley to retrieve the mail before Harry could even put down the plate in his hand.

Emily and Harry stared at each other not quite believing what they had heard. Dudley was not pleased with the request in the least and swung the end of his can close to his father before pointing it towards the twins, "Make them. It's not my job!"

"He asked you," Harry snapped, which had been the wrong thing to say. The small boy quickly found his cousin's cane very close to his face and held by Vernon.

"Don't be smart boy! You'll do as you're told!"

Vernon lifted the cane as Harry quickly side stepped the swing and rushed into the hall. While her brother grabbed the mail, Emily continued serving breakfast before returning to her spot behind the counter.

Harry was slow to return and Emily kept glancing at the kitchen door. When he finally entered, Harry looked a bit dazed and was staring at something in his hand. He absentmindedly handed Uncle Vernon the mail, who barely noticed the boy, before joining Emily at the counter and passing her a letter. Why would he hand her a letter? Looking down she was surprised to find it addressed to her. The paper looked like old parchment and she was certain there was no mix up as the green ink on the front clearly read:

'Number Four Privet Drive
The cupboard under the stairs'

No one outside of Number Four knew she lived in the cupboard. Looking up Emily noticed Harry was standing in clear view of the Dursleys with his face still staring in disbelief at his hands.

"Harry…" Emily hissed in an attempt to get her brother's attention. "Harry, stop it, they'll notice."

Harry was oblivious and so Emily inched herself farther back into the kitchen and opened her letter as quietly as possible. She knew it wasn't long till the letters were ripped from their hands and she wanted to know what was inside before that happened. She started to pull out the paper and was just able to make out the header announcing, 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' when Dudley finally noticed Harry and pointed him out to his parents.

"He stole our mail!"

Emily immediately tried to hide her letter as Harry's was snatched out of his hand.

Vernon looked ready to rage at her twin before taking a glance down at the paper in his hand, the words seemed to freeze in his throat. The large man started to stutter and immediately called for Petunia. She had initially looked up at him ready to dismiss his request until she saw the fear written on her husband's face. She stood and moved to lean over the man's shoulder. Looking at what was in her husband's hand Petunia made a choking sound.

"No-no, no… Vernon!"

As her Uncle and Aunt seemed horrified, Emily took the opportunity to move towards the door. She figured if she was quiet enough she could make it there and hide the letter before her relatives remembered there was more than one twin. Her attempt was halted by Dudley who angry with the lack of attention and not sure what was going on, hit his father with his walking stick.

It seemed Dudley had shaken Uncle Vernon from his daze as the man looked up at the children in the room and screamed, "OUT NOW!"

He suddenly noticed Emily as she moved to leave the room. "Hand it over," he said holding out his large beefy fingers. Clearly, he knew if Harry had one than she must as well. Feeling slightly frustrated she handed over the letter deciding it was wiser than to fight for it. She reached for Harry and tried to make him follow her but he refused to budge, his face getting redder with every second.

"I WANT…" Emily quickly covered her brother's mouth.

"Don't, we've made it this long without getting punished," Emily whispered. "He's ready to blow."

Emily wasn't certain if her brother was truly listening to her but one more look at their Uncle who was looking rather blue and Harry allowed Emily to pull him out of the kitchen. Vernon for the first time the twins could remember, grabbed Dudley by the shirt and lifted him up, shoving him out into the hallway. "I said get out!"

Instantly Harry and Dudley started warring over who would get to listen at the keyhole as the door closed and Uncle Vernon was hidden from sight. Emily merely rolled her eyes at their antics. The boys seemed to forget the kitchen, dining room and sitting room were all connected. Emily snuck through the lounge and hid behind a cabinet to better listen to her relatives.

She seemed to catch the end of what her Aunt was saying, "…watching the house."

"They wouldn't dare."

"Vernon, just look at how it's addressed," Petunia sounded nervous.

Emily nodded, that had been a curiosity to her as well but who cared enough to try and spy on the Dursleys? Her Uncle's voice rose and Emily focused her attention back to what was happening around the corner from her.

"They have to go, we've done this long enough!"

"Vernon," this time her Aunt sounded like she was chiding her husband. "You know we can't do that!"

"Why not? We can't house two of their kind any longer!"

"No Vernon, if they are watching us they will find a way to stop us. We just need to make it a few more…"

"NO! You listen here Petunia, I told you if you brought them into this house I would stamp it out of them but it doesn't seem to be working. They have to go!"

"Vernon, they will…" Petunia sounded like she was pleading with her husband. "Just wait, that's why they received these. The sooner we accept it, the sooner they are gone."

"I won't have it Petunia, I can't."

The kitchen went quiet and Emily scrambled back to her feet. Tugging on her brother's leg who was lying on the floor listening at the gap between the floor and wood of the door, she indicated they should go to their room. He seemed to understand it wouldn't be a good time to be caught snooping by his Uncle and followed his sister.

That night Uncle Vernon opened the door to the cupboard looking as if he wanted to come in, Petunia and Vernon had continued speaking privately throughout the day and it seemed they had finally decided on a next step. Emily was immediately on edge unlike Harry who was already asking questions about what had happened to their letters before Emily could stop him.

Vernon gave the twins a grimace that seemed to be a poor attempt at a smile. "They were rubbish, a joke," his voice was short. He was trying to hold back his anger for some reason but Emily doubted that could last all that long.

"They weren't yours!" Harry cried out, upset by the new revelation. "They said our names!"

"And I told you they were rubbish!" Vernon snapped. There was a tutting from behind him and Vernon took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"You two gather your things and go upstairs. Your Aunt and I have decided you should be in Dudley's spare room."

Emily was suspicious. The twins were never allowed upstairs expect to clean, why suddenly were they being offered a proper room. "Why?" she asked before she could think better of it.

"No questions!" Vernon quipped before taking another deep breath, "Just hurry up and gather your things."

Emily and Harry did as they were told but were hesitant all the same. Number Four had four bedrooms. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon shared one, while Dudley had two to himself, one for his toys and one to sleep in and the last room was reserved for guests. The guest room was mostly claimed by Marge, Vernon's sister and was a room the twins never dared to enter even to clean.

It didn't take the pair long to move all their belongings to the small bedroom as everything the twins owned fit into one cardboard box. The twins eyed the room trying to decide what was safe to touch without getting them in trouble. Everything appeared to be broken, although the books looked rather dusty and untouched. That was a find that rather excited Emily, she figured she could start reading them if they were that unwanted.

Emily began choosing a book as Harry closed the door to their room, Dudley was beginning to throw a tantrum and they could hear it all the way upstairs. His Mum and Dad must have told him of what was happening to his second bedroom. Emily and Harry were both pretty certain his fit would last for some time since the twins were invading his precious space.

Carrying the book that looked most interesting to her, Emily walked over to look out the window while Harry spread out on the bed. She knew she should be glad about the change in scenery and all the added space but all it really did was make the puzzle her mind was trying to work out more complicated. It was clear whatever those letters had held scared their Aunt and Uncle, their reaction to all of this spoke volumes. What troubled her most though was the little she had read from the letter, what was Hogwarts and why did it call itself a school of witchcraft and wizardry…

Magic wasn't real, was it? It had been something that was engraved in the twins' minds enough that she had never truly thought of the possibility of it existing outside of fairytales. Then again had she not already accepted that at times her and Harry were capable of making things happen when they wished, was that magic? Her mind turned towards what her Uncle had said earlier in the kitchen, he didn't want two of their 'kind' in the house. Did that mean Emily and Harry, as in a witch and wizard? Perhaps the twins' odd dreams even played into all of this. For all she knew one of the lights in the sky could be the flying motorcycle they had dreamt of. Emily remained at the window for a while, while she thought on the topic a bit longer. Eventually she decided she was getting nowhere and joined Harry on the bed who was already fast asleep.

The next day as the twins made breakfast Emily watched her Aunt and Uncle with caution. They were far too quiet for her liking. The pair remained silent and though her hair was down Vernon didn't yell at her to put it up once. Dudley on the other hand was sulking, he had broken a chair by throwing it at the wall and still nothing had changed. He wasn't used to not getting his way so instead of speaking or annoying anyone he sat grumpily with his arms crossed, simply staring at the food in front of him.

Harry also seemed to be sulking that morning but with a slight nudge he was prodded into helping prepare breakfast. That morning when the mail came before either twin could get it Vernon had his hand in the air to halt the pair and demanded Dudley retrieve it. The boy was further incensed by his father's demands but for some reason stomped all the way there and back. His cold demeanor quickly melted as the boy pushed the door open, waving letters in his hand.

"Look, there's more!" he called out excitedly tossing the other mail on the table.

Vernon and Harry both moved to snatch the letters from the boy's hand and Emily immediately made to stop her brother from acting on impulse. Harry wasn't the best at considering the consequences before acting and she didn't want him pushing his luck only to get punished for his once again brash behavior. She was too slow though and before her eyes all three boys were wrestling for the letters. Hiding her head in her hands she sighed and stepped out of their way.

"Go to your cupboard!" Vernon finally yelled before Petunia pretended to cough behind him. "Right... your room, go to your room!"

As she passed her Uncle she saw the man was holding his chest and panting but he had been victorious, the letters were tightly scrunch in his hand.

Sitting on the bed Emily watched her brother pace back and forth. He seemed deep in thought and Emily knew he was ultimately planning something crazy that would land him in trouble. Harry loved to make plans but they rarely had the effect he wanted them to.

Finally, Harry looked at Emily with a face she knew all too well.

"No," she said shaking her head but her brother merely smirked back at her. "I mean it Harry, no plans! We've been lucky enough that they haven't punished us for a few days. Please don't push it!"

"You don't have to join me," Harry said as he climbed into the bed.

Emily groaned, "I know, but you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah," was Harry's reply as the pair both got comfortable. "Night Em."

"Night Har."

The next morning Emily woke to the sound of an alarm clock instead of her Aunt. Harry had fixed the broken device the day before but she worried why he had done it when the clock read an earlier time then their usual wake up hour. She turned over and kept her eyes shut pretending she didn't feel Harry slip from the bed. She had a good idea that her brother was attempting to beat their Aunt and Uncle to the mail but for the moment she couldn't be bothered. Contemplating getting a little more sleep in, she sat straight up when she heard a strangled cry. It was far too deep to be from Harry and her stomach dropped.

Running out of the room to the top of the stairs, Emily turned on the lights. The scene she found would have been amusing if she wasn't terrified of what punishment was coming the twins' way. Harry, it seemed had stepped on Vernon who was currently sat up rubbing his nose grumpily.

Vernon had obviously had the same idea as Harry and camped out in the hallway to stop anyone else from retrieving the mail before him. He angrily tossed his sleeping bag to one side before demanding Emily come and join Harry. Their Uncle's rant was rather short but Emily attributed that to his stomach as it had growled and then he suddenly ordered the pair to the kitchen to get breakfast going.

Harry was upset that his plan had been foiled but Emily was grateful all her Uncle had done is yell. It wasn't long before they could hear the mail drop and Harry rushed out of the kitchen. Shaking her head Emily snuck a quick bite of bacon since she was the only one left in the room. Harry looked dejected as he came back to help his sister finish putting the food on the table.

"He tore them up this time."

"You need to be more patient. Whoever is sending those letters hasn't given up, today makes three days of them being delivered." Harry nodded slightly as if he was agreeing but Emily knew her brother had never been very good at being patient.

When Monday came Uncle Vernon decided to call out of work for the week. His paranoia was growing with each passing day, so much so he had decided he needed to block the mail slot on the door with a short slat of wood. He kept muttering to himself about how 'their minds are different' and 'this will stop them'.

Emily doubted that covering the mail slot would stop anyone and found herself hoping her Uncle was right about these people being different when he tried to use a slice of cake to hammer in one of the nails. By the end of the week her Uncle's efforts were for not as the letters were arriving a dozen at a time. Some came through open windows, others were shoved through the cracks in doors. Vernon had become so nervous they were boarded up in the house and had no way to get out.

Slowly the family watched as Vernon came closer to snapping, it was beginning to get out of control. Twenty-four eggs had been filled with letters, causing Petunia to have her own personal break down. She had merely wanted to make a cake for Dudley who was complaining that he couldn't go to the corner shop and get a pack of his favorite cookies. Once calmed down from her panic attack she shredded the letters while Vernon in the background yelled at various customer service reps trying to find someone to blame for the 'bad' eggs.

Dudley just couldn't understand what was so special about the twins that someone was trying so hard to get ahold of them. Sadly, Emily had to concede his point, no one had ever written to the twins before. Why did someone suddenly want to speak to them? People were always quick to believe the lies the Dursleys spread about the twins and their tendencies to cause trouble, why reach out now?

Sunday was the day that seemed to cement, for Emily at least, that her Uncle had completely lost his marbles. She brought him the marmalade for his toast as usual but instead of spreading it on his slice of bread, it ended up smeared across his newspaper which he proceeded to try and eat. He trembled from his lack of sleep and the slightest noise set him off.

"No post… no post on Sundays," he kept mumbling to himself.

"Vernon, did you hear that?" Petunia said standing from her chair. She had become a touch jumpy but was far more in control than her husband.

Vernon shook his head, "No, there's no post on Sundays. There was no noise."

But he was wrong and suddenly letters flooded the room. They came in from the chimney and there had to be hundreds. Emily easily grabbed one of the falling letters but she wasn't sly enough. Uncle Vernon thundered towards her and tore the letter from her hand before picking her up and throwing her into the hallway.

Harry was soon to follow her and he made to help her stand up. "Are you okay?"

Emily nodded in return she was more shocked than anything. It had been awhile since her Uncle had been violent and she had not been expecting it. Aunt Petunia and Dudley came rushing through the doorway.

"Get your things! We are leaving, NOW!" Vernon came lumbering through the door and pushed the twins towards the stairs. "Be quick, I expect all of you back down and ready to go at quarter past!"

It wasn't long before the twins found themselves in the backseat of the car with Dudley who was still rubbing his cheek in shock. For the first time in his life, Dudley had been met with his father's wrath and when he complained that he couldn't pack everything he want Vernon had smacked him. Not even Dudley could get away with holding them up, they were leaving Privet Drive whether Dudley had all his comforts or not.

Emily and Harry held hands tightly, both scared by what they were witnessing. There was no definite spot their Uncle was driving to. He just kept driving. He often changed directions suddenly, nearly causing several crashes. Despite how much Dudley whined Vernon refused to stop the car. Emily soon wished her Uncle would give in to his son's demands as her head was throbbing from the current tantrum Dudley was having and fear of the uncertainty of what was going on didn't make matters better. Emily felt Harry squeeze her hand and she let out a sigh, the twins would make it through this madness together, like always.

When it was dark Vernon finally pulled over at a rundown hotel. Petunia rushed all three children into one of the two rooms they had purchased for the night. Dudley had been so tired he collapsed fully dressed on the closest bed and began snoring. The twins couldn't sleep like their cousin, their minds were consumed by the events that led to them fleeing Privet Drive… What was so bad about a couple of letters? Surely this would all end if they were just allowed to read them.

The next morning the twins found themselves in the lobby eating a stale breakfast, when the hotel owner came over stating he had hundreds of letters for an Emily and Harry Potter. Vernon was quick to jump up and cut off Harry's response. After Uncle Vernon returned they were immediately ushered back into the car only to drive around aimlessly once again. Vernon would stop at various points to get out and survey the different locations. Nothing seemed up to his standards and so the pattern continued.

"Dad's not right," Dudley finally decided when Vernon stopped for the fourth time.

"It's okay Darling," Petunia said turning to comfort her son. "Just a little bit longer and I'm sure I can get him to let us settle for the night."

"For the night? I'm already missing my shows!"

"I know but it can't be helped right now."

They finally came to a stop when they reached a random beach. Vernon took off, leaving the rest of them in the car as it started to rain. Dudley was still upset about his missed TV programs and the twins had come to the realization that tomorrow was their birthday. It wasn't that exciting, as the Dursleys never celebrated it but they had each other and you only turned eleven once.

When Vernon finally returned he was cradling a long package in his arms and when Aunt Petunia inquired about it all she got in response was smile. Even she looked worried about Vernon's behavior as she helped the children get on the boat. Vernon stood to the side waiting for them to all settle down before climbing in the boat himself and taking the group to a giant rock out in the water that had a small shack perched on it.

A storm was picking up as they entered the broken-down shack and a chilly breeze swept through the little island. There were only two rooms and it smelled strongly of salt inside the broken-down place. Rations for the night were some crisps and once they were gone Vernon tried to burn the bags to start a fire but the best he did was produce a little smoke. Harry practically growled when Vernon looked back at Petunia and asked if she had any more of the letters to burn.

Vernon seemed quite pleased with his choice of shack and made it known that he felt like he had succeeded in his mission to evade the letter sender. The shack was on a rock off shore, no one was getting out here and definitely not in the current storm.

They didn't have many blankets in the shack and Petunia used the better blankets to make a bed for Dudley on the couch. The twins had been tossed a thread bare blanket for the pair to share on the floor. Both Emily and Harry had no delusions that they would be able to sleep so they amused each other by drawing shapes in the sand that covered the floor.

Soon there were sounds coming from outside that did not sound like waves crashing on the rocks. "Har, what's making that noise?"

"I don't know," he said continuing to draw on the floor.

Emily turned her head and could see the clock glowing on Dudley's watch, there were only two minutes left till midnight. The sounds seemed to be getting louder and the twins were looking from each other to the door. One minute left and the sounds were even closer. Dudley's watch blinked and turned to midnight, the twins turned to wish each other a happy birthday as they always did at midnight when… BOOM.

"Har, I think someone is out there…" Harry just nodded and looked towards the trembling door.