As Harry shifted around in his cupboard, trying his best to get comfortable, Vernon and Co. sat down for dinner. Conversationally, Vernon began.
"How was your day?"
"Great daddy! There was a new wimp at school whose hair I pulled. It was fun!"
"I hope he wasn't hurt, son."
"No daddy. It was a joke after all."
"And how was mummy's day?"
"It was fine. It would have been excellent, if just not for Boy."
"Oh? What did he do now?"
" Almost burnt the steak. Put our beautiful white gossamer bedsheets into the coloured mix for laundry. Almost ruined them both."
"Humph. Good thing he was of some use to me today."
On a side note, Vernon realised that it might be better to get Dudley out of there before any further, ah, edifying discussions.
"Dudders?"
"Yes daddy?"
"Dessert? Extra scoop of icecream in front of the TV?"
"Can I dad?"
"Go ahead son."
"Whoopie!"
Followed by the sound pf Dudley getting out of there. On second thought, given Petunia's glares, keeping Dudley in the room may have been a better decision.
Taking a fortifying sip from his glass of water, Vernon tackled the proverbial elephant in the room. Looking rather sheepish, he began.
"Well... I figured we could do with a vacation. There was a lottery for families of four. With winners going to the Far East for a month. And I thought maybe, just maybe entering could be good for us? So I had to reveal his existence to the others. I mean, I also spun a story on how we took him in and decided to raise him right. How his parents were lay-abouts and that he was brain damaged? You know, make people think we were even more of the upstanding sort that they see us as?"
Petunia stared at him with pursed lips, before breaking into a smile. "Darling, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed. "And going abroad, it would be so easy for him to get lost somewhere, wouldn't it? We'd be free of him. What a brilliant idea! Now only if we win that lotto..."
Meanwhile, in his cupboard, Harry caught snatches of their conversation. The words prize, freedom, and win drifted into his ears. Hmmm. Freedom from the Dursleys was something he hadn't even dared to think about. He just wished with all his heart that he would find that freedom sometime soon. And as he wished, he felt that tingly feeling which always resulted in freakish things rise inside of him. And for once, for the first time in his short life, he embraced it. If that was what it took to be free, then so be it. With unshakable willpower, Harry James Potter performed his first intentional magic. He magicked the lottery (though he wasn't to know) so that the Dursleys would win. So that he could be free. Suddenly drained after an impressive bout of magic, Harry's eyes gently closed and he fell asleep soon after .
At the same time, in a castle in Scotland, quirky and rather intriguing devices that puffed smoke and whistled eerie tunes went haywire. Disks and sticks that spun approached escape velocity. Smoking pipes puffed more smoke than ever before. The whistling ones' pitch flew into ultrasonic ranges, much to the chagrin of a cat loitering the draughty halls. Unfortunately, there was no one in the room to see what had happened. The consequences were not to be seen until much later, but they would be dreadful when the time came.
The next morning, Harry woke up most optimistic about his chance at gleaning freedom. He went about his daily chores with a spring in his step. Even Aunt Petunia's 'love-taps' did not subdue the subtle excitement he displayed. Well, he hadn't done anything wrong and hence he was not punished. But alas, no tickets to freedom arrived on that day. The next day proceeded similarly. But when no tickets arrived even then, Harry's enthusiasm fell slightly. Maybe tomorrow, he reasoned to himself with childish delight. But tomorrow turned out to be a disappointment again. As days passed, and no tickets arrived, Harry's enthusiasm fell. He was back to his dull self. Then, one fine Sunday morning, Harry was sent to pick up the mail. Usually, Vernon's mail came in brown or white envelopes, or occassionally bright yellow packages with red writing. Whatever it read. Aunt Petunia's and Dudley's magazines and comics (respectively) came in transparent plastic covers. Hence, his surprise in seeing a hefty blue envelope with a plane drawn on it. He didn't pay any attention to it as he proceeded to hand it over to Vernon, who was reading the Financial Times, which coincidentally had an expose on Japanese investment strategies. As he continued on soullessly with his daily chores - cooking lunch, mopping the floor and the likes, he was jarred out of his reverie by a yell of delight from Vernon.
"Pet! Duds! Com'ere! And BOY! You too. And get the cola from the fridge and three cups while you're at it."
Harry hurried along with his cups and cola, entering the dining room to find the Dursleys all standing. Vernon's face was flushed pink from excitement. Petunia's face revealed her intrigue, as she tapped her foot impatiently. Dudley was picking his nose as he grumbled about not being able to play on his game station. With a murmured 'sorry', Harry handed the cups to everyone and poured them cola. He went and stood in the corner as he had been trained to. With everyone in the room, Vernon proclaimed.
"Dursleys, and unfortunately, you too Freak, I have some good news. We have won the grand prize at the... Sod it. WE'RE GOING ON AN ALL EXPENSES PAID VACATION TO THE FAR EAST!"
Pandemonium ensued. Dudley looked up, interested all of a sudden. Petunia shrieked as Vernon picked her up and twirled her around. Harry fainted. His last conscious thought was - ' I'm dreaming ' .