Privet Drive
As I looked outside the window of the car looking at the mind numbingly similar houses of Privet Drive, I felt as if I understood the saying "Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you". Considering I've just returned from Hogwarts, the dichotomy of Hogwarts' wonders and Privet Drive's normalcy gave me a headache. I wondered if this is how all muggle born students feel when they go home. Or I wonder if it is just me.
Anyway, as soon as we reached number 4, Uncle Vernon jumped out of the car and entered the house without a word. Not that I expected him to help me with the luggage or anything.
'Still, I'm looking forward to this summer.' I thought with a grin. The Dursleys didn't know that I'm not supposed to use magic at home before 17, and I'm going to take full advantage of the fact. Not that I would actually try to make them do anything. I will just ask them to leave me alone and pretend I didn't exist, which should suit them just fine. If I pushed my luck too far and provoked them too much, Uncle Vernon might just forget that he feared magic in his anger.
Dragging the heavy trunk behind me while balancing Hedwig's cage on top of it while day dreaming about my summer, I entered the house far more bravely than I felt. Looking back, I should have realised something was wrong when I saw all the Dursleys assembled in front of the doorway. Retrieving my Holly wand from my pocket and mustering as much bravado as I could, I began what I felt was a heartfelt, righteous speech.
"I know that the three of you think I am an unnatural, good for nothing freak, and that you raised me in your oh so delicate care out of the apparent goodness of your hearts. Frankly, I don't care about your opinion..." As I was still going on, Aunt Petunia gave me an unimpressed look and threw her frying pan at my head. The pan hit my head. Hard. My last thoughts as I started to faint was hoping that it wouldn't leave too big a bump on my head.
As I slowly came to consciousness, I tried to remember where I was and why I was unconscious. Slowly, I started to remember. Privet Drive, Dursleys, my speech, the frying pan….
"Bugger" Harry cursed. He felt so stupid. He should have known Aunt Petunia would know about the underage laws related to magic considering she lived with his mother. They knew about the Hogwarts acceptance letter. It stands to reason that they should at least have some basic knowledge on the wizarding world. Or at least as much knowledge as a muggle born student's family can have.
Suddenly, as I remembered something, my face paled. What about Hedwig? My wand? And my trunk? Were they thrown out? I should be able to buy a new wand and school supplies somehow. I shouldn't be the first wizard to break his wand, considering how accident prone the wizarding world is (A/N: No, that's just you, Harry. Rest of the wizarding world is downright dull compared to you). But the main thing I'm concerned about is losing Hedwig. As I wildly looked around the room for her, I found a pair of amber eyes looking at me from within a cage. Letting out a sigh of relief, I opened the cage allowing her to fly out and land on my shoulder and nuzzled my cheek.
"Thank God you're okay, Hedwig"
"Hoot"
"What do you mean 'Of course you're okay'? You don't know the Dursleys. They're mean people and could've hurt you badly"
"Hoot"
"Don't underestimate them just because they're muggles. They have plenty of ways to hurt you. By the way, did you see what happened to my wand and trunk?"
"Hoot. Hoot."
Listening to Hedwig's answer, I sighed in relief. It's good that the Dursleys didn't destroy them and just threw them in the cupboard. Figures. They know (or at least Aunt Petunia knows) that if they do anything too overtly, they'll get a visit from the wizarding world, and that is something that they wished to desperately avoid. Still, I can never know when Uncle Vernon's temper might rear its head leading them to do stupid things, so it was good to confirm it.
Thinking for a bit, I decided to go ask Dursleys for my trunk at the very least. I could use an excuse saying all my clothes are in there. As I went towards the door, I noticed there was a folded piece of paper on the floor near the door with something written on it.
Boy,
How dare you think of threatening me and my family now that you have learnt more freakishness? You ungrateful, good for nothing…
And so it went on. Knowing Vernon's propensity for rants, I ignored the initial part of the message and quickly reached the bottom.
….if you know what's good for you.
As a punishment, you are confined to your room for a week. Let this be a lesson to you if you ever think of rebelling again.
I was used to this kind of confinement. I used to get sent to my cupboard a lot whenever something freakish happened, only to be let out for bathroom breaks and meals once a day each. Still, things are different now. I looked at Hedwig with a grin.
"Hedwig, what say you bring me something to eat? No mice, okay? Just fruits"
"Hoot"
I rolled my eyes. "Mice are only tasty to owls. Humans can't eat them raw."
"Hoot. Hoot."
I nodded my head. "One piece of bacon per fruit. Just remember that I will not be able to get your bacon now. I'll try to sneak away some extra pieces during breakfast, but if I'm unable to, I'll give them to you once we get back to Hogwarts."
Hedwig gave me a pleased nip on the ear, and flew away. As I looked at the owl flying through the window for her hunt, I started wondering what else was in store for me this summer.