Mrs Dursley, do you mind if we come in for a chat? I'm Lyn Bagley and I'm a social worker with the NSPCC, we've received a complaint regarding the care of your nephew, one Harry Potter?

Petunias face blanched and she stepped back out of the doorway. "Oh yes, please do come in and sit down."

"VERNON" she called as they made their way into the kitchen to sit down.

"What is it Pet?" He asked as he came in, "The rowing is on."

Petunia gestured to the woman sitting at the table who again introduced herself.

"Now see here" Vernon blustered, " We've been nothing but kind to that boy since he arrived! I'm not sure where you're getting you information from but..."

It was here that he was cut off.

"Look Mr Dursley, it's my job to try and uncover the truth of the situation. I'm not saying you have been mistreating your nephew, but the fact is, someone has reported you and we need to have a chat.

I have a few issues that have been bought to our attention and I'd like you both to tell me what happened please." She said as she looked at the couple seated across from her.

"The first thing seems pretty minor, but we are trying to establish a base line of behaviour here. Is it true that the only present you gave your nephew this Christmas just gone was a 50p coin?" The social worker looked up from her notebook at the couple expectantly.

"ONLY a 50p coin?!" Exclaimed Vernon.

Petunia layed a calming hand on his arm. "I know it sounds bad Ms Bagley" she said "but the thing is, Harry is an avid coin collector and that 50p is actually the rarest coin currently in circulation. It's known as the Kew Gardens 50p and there were only 210,000 minted. It's actually worth around £230! He's been wanting it for ever so long, but we only recently managed to get our hands on it. It sounds bad, but surely with the extra background..."

"Well, yes, that does explain things a lot better" Lynn agreed.

"The next item on my list, is it true that your nephew is working all hours of the day in the garden during the holidays Mrs Dursley?"

"I'd hardly call it all hours" Vernon snorted, "Lazy bugger doesn't get out of bed till 8!"

"What my husband is TRYING to say" Petunia interjected with a severe look at her husband, "Is that yes, Harry does do the gardening during the hols, but the reason behind that is that he has a vitamin D deficiency and the GP recommended time outdoors to get his levels up. He's such an active boy that he was becoming bored so we've encouraged him to look after the garden and make sure his pocket money reflects the extra work. I'm happy for you to check with the GP's office."

"Be assured that we will Mrs Dursley." Lyn stated. "I do still have a few more issues to check on though."

"It would seem that Harry rarely goes on day trips with your family?"

"I've never seen a child suffer from motion sickness quite so much, little blighter turns green at the mere mention of a Sunday drive." Vernon answered.

" There was also something about Harry having to cook meals for you?"

"Oh I can answer that" Petunia stated confidently, "He must be the pickiest eater I've ever come across! He was of course eating solids when he came into our care, but we could only ever get him to eat white foods! Rice, bread and potatoes... it was a difficult few years." She trailed off as she remembered the tantrums meal times had caused. "Anyway, as he got older, I tried getting him to 'help' me in the kitchen to see if he would eat more. It worked, but maybe a little too well! By 6 he was desperate to surprise us with meals he'd created and I'm afraid that I just couldn't say no to him. We ate scrambled eggs on toast at breakfast time for a year because that's all he could make!" She chuckles at the memory. "Thankfully he's expanded his repertoire since then!" She exclaimed and Vernon nodded forcefully in agreement. He certainly hadn't enjoyed the scrambled eggs!

Lyn nodded and made a few notations in her note book before looks up at the couple again.

"Right, well, I must agree that the explanations do sound reasonable but we will be double checking what you've told us" she said before rising. "I'll be in touch Mr and Mrs Dursley".

Petunia showed the social worker to the door before making her way back to the kitchen and collapsing into her seat.

"Well I never," she said to Vernon, "what has he been saying at that school if his?"