Return To Sender
In a small suburb of Surrey, a boy sat staring the underside of a staircase. He knew he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. His Uncle was still furious over what happened at his cousin's birthday party. But he hadn't meant to do it. He let out a sigh and waved some dust particles from his face.
Time seemed to pass by slowly until he heard the sounds of voices in the kitchen. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to hear what they were saying. His concentration was broken when his stomach gave a loud rumble. It was dinner time. He tried the handle on the door to his right but it was still locked. No dinner for him tonight.
The following morning Harry awoke to loud pounding. He sat up and searched for his glasses. He shoved them onto his nose and tried the latch. It was open. He pushed the door open and slowly poked his head out. Uncle Vernon was pounding a board across the mail slot. Harry quickly ducked back inside the cupboard. So his Uncle was also still made that he had received a letter. It had only been one letter and he never got mail.
"Boy, get out here," Vernon shouted, causing Harry to jump slightly and hit his head. He rubbed it as he quickly stumbled into the hallway.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," he said, straightening his glasses.
"Get in the kitchen and help your Aunt with breakfast," Vernon ordered gruffly. Harry hurried into the next room to find his Aunt scrambling eggs. She spotted her nephew and handed the spatula to him.
"And don't let the bacon burn this time," she snapped and walked away. Harry turned his attention to the eggs and the bacon on the griddle. He pushed both around to try and evenly distribute the heat. He could hear his family sitting at the table talking, acting as if he wasn't there. Sometimes he felt like he wasn't there.
"Hurry up with the food, boy,' Vernon demanded. Harry carefully picked up the pan of eggs and dished them out onto plates followed by the bacon. He sat down and stared at his food as he ate. His ears pricked up at a tapping sound. He looked up to see an owl sitting on the window ledge above the sink, something attached to its leg. So far no one else had noticed the bird. Harry kept staring at it until his faraway look caught Petunia's attention.
"Vernon, look," she said, pointing to the window. Vernon stood up, bumping the table with his large stomach and went to shoo the bird away. Harry's heart fell a little as he set to cleaning the dishes. He had hoped they wouldn't notice the owl, that he could sneak the letter in without being seen.
The day dragged on for Harry. He longed to go outside and enjoy the fresh air but Uncle Vernon wasn't letting him out of his sight.
"Why can't I go out just in the front yard?" Harry protested at lunch.
"You're not setting foot outside this house, boy," Vernon grumbled. Harry glared at his cousin, his skin slightly tanned from his time outside. After lunch Harry holed himself back up in the cupboard.
"It's not fair," he screamed into his pillow. Now more than ever he wished someone could take him away from all of this, his life. It was almost his eleventh birthday and he didn't have a single friend. He was alone in the world and it was really starting to weigh heavily on him.
The next day during Sunday tea, Vernon smiled down at Harry.
"Do you know what is so good about Sunday, boy?" he asked.
"No mail on Sunday," Harry answered glumly.
"Right you are," Vernon said happily, taking a large swallow of tea. Not two minutes after Harry gave his response, the front door began to rattle. All eyes turned to the front hall. They all saw the plank of wood go flying backwards and envelopes come flooding in by the dozens. The window behind Petunia and Dudley burst open and more letters came flooding in. Harry tried to grab a few but Vernon beat him to it. His hand came down heavily on Harry's face and he blacked out. When he came too, he saw Vernon stoking the fireplace with the letters, each being eaten away by the flames.
"No! Those are my letters," Harry protested but it was too late as Vernon tossed the final one in.
"Not anymore," he replied cruelly.
Despite Vernon's efforts, the letters continued to come until he couldn't take it anymore. He packed the family up and took them a remote college on a lake. As the family was ferried to the cottage, which sat on a small island, Harry's heart sank. Now he was never going to get to see what was in the letter.
July the thirty-first arrived and Harry found himself awake into the wee hours of the morning. As always, they didn't bother celebrating his birthday. He resigned himself to draw a cake in the dust on the floor, blowing it away as the clock struk midnight.
"Happy Birthday," he mumbled to himself. He laid his head on the pillow and was about to try and go to sleep when the entire frame of the cottage began to shake violently. He sat up and looked around, Dudley had woken up and apparently so had Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Both crept down the stairs in their nightclothes. As they reached the bottom step the door to the cottage came crashing in, leaving a very large man in the doorway. He dunked into the room and looked at the door.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
"What do you?" Vernon asked, shaking a bat at the large man.
"Oh shut your pie hole Dursley. I'm here for Harry," the man said.
"For me?" Harry choked out. The man nodded, extending his hand.
"Rubeus Hagrid," he said and after shaking Harry's hand went fishing in his large coat pockets. He muttered to himself for a minute before finding what he was looking for. He pulled out a very familiar looking letter and handed it to Harry.
"This is for you," he said. Harry swallowed and turned it over.
'Well go on, open it," the man prompted. Harry undid the seal and pulled out the letter inside. It said he had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"I don't get it," Harry finally said.
"Harry, you're a wizard," Hagrid remarked.
"A wizard? No there must be a mistake. I can't be a wizard…I'm just…Harry," Harry denied.
"Course you're a wizard…just like your Mum and Dad," Hagrid said.
"My parents died in a car crash," Harry mumbled.
"Car crash? What kind of rubbish you been filling his head with?" Harry scoffed, looking at Vernon and Petunia.
"What were we supposed to say?" Petunia sputtered.
"The truth of course," Hagrid shot back and shook his head. Harry looked at his Aunt and Uncle. Had they known this about him for all these years?
"Mum and Dad were so happy…we had a witch in the family," Petunia spat.
"Come on, Harry. We best be leaving. Have a lot of things to explain," Hagrid said. Harry looked at his family once more and grabbed his jacket from the peg on the wall. He didn't bother to change out of his nightclothes. He followed Hagrid out into the rin and stood back as Hagrid reattached the door.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked tentatively.
"The Leaky Cauldron," Hagrid answered as he helped Harry into a boat.
"The what?" Harry muttered.
"It's a pub in Wizarding London," Hagrid explained as he began to row away from the island. Harry tried to cover his head while they traveled across the choppy water. They finally reached land and Hagrid led Harry along a winding street as quickly as they could. After hopping a short train to London, they finally reached the front door of a darkly lit establishment.
"Evening," Hagrid said to the doorman before leading Harry up to a room.
"Here let's get you dried off," he said and handed Harry a thick blanket.
"Thanks," Harry said, wrapping it around his body. Hagrid disappeared for a few minutes, finally reappearing with a bowl of hot soup.
"Eat up. It will keep your from catching cold," he instructed. Harry happily sipped the warm broth.
"Hagrid," Harry said after a while.
"Yes?" Hagrid answered.
"Why didn't you come for me in Little Whinging?" the boy asked.
"We were hoping you'd get your letter like all the other kids, by owl post," Hagrid answered.
"Uncle Vernon burned all the letters," Harry mumbled.
"That ain't your fault, Harry. Besides, you got your letter now don't you," Hagrid assured the boy. Harry nodded and took another spoonful of soup.
"Though I have to say, it did delay the other kids getting their letters," Hagrid laughed.
"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll explain things in the morning," he said once Harry was done with the soup. Harry tried to stifle a yawn but failed. He climbed into bed and as soon as he shut his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.