The day had been so good, the best she could remember, but she should have known that it would not last.

Jasmin Lily Potter was an orphan after her parents had died after they had been out driving drunk, she had survived the car crash and got a strange scar on her forehead, it looked like a bolt of lightning, Jasmin was a small girl, very skinny for her age, it did not help that the clothes she wore were hand-me-downs from her much larger, cousin. She had Raven black hair that always was messy no matter how much she tried to comb it, something that annoyed her uncle to no end.

It had been her cousin Dudley's 11th birthday and the lady that was going to look after her while her aunt and uncle took Dudley to the zoo had broken her leg, they didn't want her to come with but did not trust her alone in the house they had begrudgingly taken her with them.

It had been great, she had even gotten an ice cream even if it had just been because they hadn't hidden her away fast enough to buy ice creams for themselves, she had also been given an almost empty plastic bottle, mostly because Dudley had been too lazy to throw it in the rubbish bin. She had cleaned it out and filled it in the sink in the toilets.

That had been a bad mistake. Her first rule after the "Never ask any questions" was to never eat or drink more than she needed, she had many times been locked in her cupboard and only been allowed out once or twice to the toilet during a whole day.

She had ignored this rule as the day was going great, and she felt so much better after drinking a bottle and a half, no thirst, no headaches, and she just felt more energetic.

She had found herself talking to a giant snake, she felt a bit silly, but the snake acted as if it understood her and nobody else wanted anything to do with her, suddenly she had been knocked hard to the floor by Dudley who wanted to look at the snake and suddenly the glass was just gone, and the snake escaped, she thought she could hear the snake speak "Brazil here I come... Thanksss amigo"

The reptile keeper had been in shock wondering where the glass had gone, something Jasmin also would like to know. If she knew, she could tell her aunt and uncle, so they wouldn't blame her again. Weird things had happened before, like her hair growing back overnight or that she ended up on the roof of the school when Dudley and his friends were trying to beat her up. She always ended up with severe punishments, she could sense a new one coming.

The ride home had been awkward and as soon as Dudley's friend had gone her uncle had grabbed her, dragging her toward her cupboard, she tried to tell him that she hadn't done anything.

"SILENCE!" her uncle Vernon had yelled and slapped her across her face, she would have fallen to the floor if he hadn't had an iron grip on her arm, he threw her into the cupboard and slammed the door, she could soon hear a 'click' as he locked it. "You will stay in there! No dinner!" She could hear her aunt Petunia outside lead Vernon away, probably to pour him some brandy.

Jasmin hid her face in her pillow and started to sob, trying her best to be quiet so her 'family' wouldn't hear. She hadn't done anything, why didn't trust her... why did they hate her so? Jasmin slowly drifted to sleep.

Sometime later Jasmin woke up, she had no idea what time it was, but there was no light outside her cupboard. She was hungry, she hadn't eaten anything since the morning, a couple of pieces of toast, she moved slightly and could feel another issue, she needed to use the loo, she needed to use it rather badly. Internally, she cursed herself for the water she had at the zoo, she should have known better. She stood up, even being small she had to hunch and tried the door, but it was still locked.

She tried to figure out what time it was, the only clue she had was the small slit under her door, as she could not see anything it meant it was as dark outside the cupboard as inside it, the Dursleys had gone to bed, and she would guess it would still be many hours before any of them wake up. What was she going to do?

"Just don't think about it" she whispered to herself. "You have been looked in here before" A small voice in her reminded her this why she never drunk any more than a cup, so she would not be in this predicament if she got locked in.
She laid back in her bed, it wasn't much she could do about it now.

The hour stretched and Jasmin could not sleep, not that she dared to either, she felt like she could pop any minute, she knew that she would not be able to wait and was frantically trying to figure out a solution, she had no container she could use and even if she had she would be stuck with it for who knows how long. She could probably get the door open but that would be loud enough to wake her uncle and would damage the door, she shuddered thinking of what the punishment would be if she did that. Time was running short, she was already crossing her legs as tightly as was possible and the inevitable was reaching closer, she was starting to panic, any minute now and she would not be able to hold back any longer, she was going to wet her bed, would she be allowed to wash her sheet or would she be forced to stay in it, what would day say to her, how would they punish her? It was coming! The door needed to open now or...

She heard a soft click and her cupboard door slowly opened, with a start she uncrossed her legs now wanting to show any signs of weakness, she looked out and could not see or hear anything, she painfully got up from her bed and peered out, nobody was there, she as quickly and quietly as she could, made her way to the toilet locked the door and sat on the porcelain throne and could almost hear an angelic choir. She washed her hand and held her breath as she flushed, didn't sound like anyone had woken up.

She snuck into the kitchen and tried to find something she could take that Aunt petunia would miss, she ended up taking two pieces of toast bread and made her way back to her cupboard, she looked at the lock, it required a key and it was not in the lock, how had it opened? She went in and closed the door after her, she hoped they would notice that it was unlocked, she ate the bread and laid back in bed and she soon fell asleep still thinking how in the world her locked door had opened by itself.

Jasmin woke up when her uncle stomped down the stairs, she stretched out sleepily and heard how her aunt was making breakfast in the kitchen, the smell made her stomach growl angrily. She hoped they had calmed down enough to let her have breakfast.

There were footsteps and an angry knock on her door, "Wake up" her aunt shrilled. "You got 10 minutes to wash up."

"I am awake" Jasmin answered and suddenly realized that her door was unlocked, would aunt Petunia notice this?

She heard a key rasp in the lock and click twice and an annoyed sound coming from her aunt, then the door opened up.

"10 minutes!"

She was safe, it looked like Petunia only thought the lock was jammed. Jasmin quickly med her way to the loo and took care of her business and showers in what must be record time. She was soon back in her cupboard, not long after her door opened and Purina put a plate and water bottle on the floor and locked the door.

"Thank you" Jasmin murmured.

She looked at the plate, two pieces of toast whit cheese, they were both burned but not too bad, she even had some "extra crispy" bacon on them.

She looked at the water, her mouth felt like a desert but she wasn't going to do the same mistake again. She ate her breakfast and took a couple of sips of her water to help it down.

She laid back in her bed, it wasn't much else she could do, the space was cramped even for her small size. She tried to think back on a dream she had the night before about a flying motorcycle.

It had become summer break before Jasmin was allowed out of the cupboard even if she stayed inside most of the time, at least her door wasn't locked.

One morning she was helping with the breakfast and was told by her uncle to get the mail, she did so knowing she didn't have a choice when she picked up the mail she found that one of the letters was addressed to her, it was a thick almost yellow paper written in emerald-green ink, it was the strangest letter she had ever seen.

Miss J Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Being so surprised she didn't think of hiding it before coming up to her uncle, he grabbed all the letters.

"Excuse me, one of those was for me," she said

Uncle Vernon snorted "For you? Who would want to write you?" He had a mean smile until he saw the letter. "P..P...Petunias come here!"

Petunia came over and looked just as pale.

"What is it?" Jasmin asked

"Nothing! Wrong address, go away!" Vernon snapped, when she didn't move he stood up and physically threw her out, to her surprise Dudley was also forced out even if more gently before Vernon closed the kitchen door. Jasmin had to lay on the floor listening under the door as Dudley had his ear to the keyhole.

"Look at the address, how could they possibly know where he sleeps," Petunia asked in a quivering voice.

"Those weirdos are probably following us and spying," Vernon said in a conspiratorial voice

"Should we write back and say we don't want.."

"No, we ignore it. When they don't get an answer... yeah that is for the best."

"But.."

"I will not have one of those in my house!"

With the finality in her uncle's voice and the shoes coming closer Jasmin understood it was time to leave if she didn't want to get caught listening. She quickly made her way to her cupboard. Her mind was racing, who wanted to write her? Why was it addressed to her cupboard? Lastly what were "those" her uncle had talked about. Both her aunt and uncle had been upset by this letter, she needed to be careful or she would have to pay for this.
Her uncle was right, nobody liked her, nobody wanted anything to do with her so why would anybody write her a letter, if she didn't know how humorless her aunt and uncle were she would have thought it was them pranking her.

Later that afternoon Jasmin got a second big surprise. Her uncle knocked on her cupboard door. "Hello, uncle Vernon, could I see the letter please?" she asked in the most polite tone she could.

"No it was addressed to you by mistake." said Uncle Vernon shortly "I have burned it. "

Jasmin's heart sunk, she didn't expect to be allowed the letter but non the less hearing it had been burned saddened her.

"Err.. yes Jasmin" Uncle Vernon was smiling but it looked forced and like it pained him very much.
"About this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom. "

"Really? but why now?" Jasmin couldn't believe her ears.

"Don't ask questions" he snapped "Take this stuff upstairs!"

It didn't take long for Jasmin to take her things up to her new bedroom, she didn't really own anything except some hand-me-down clothes from Dudley. She sat down on the bed and looked around, it was full of Dudley's broken toys, some of them almost completely new, he had gotten 39 birthday presents, how many of them were not broken she wondered. She could hear Dudley wailing from downstairs that he wanted his room back but for once he did not get what he wanted. This was really a strange day, if Jasmin hadn't known better she would have thought some magic was involved.

"If magic was real, I would have flown away, maybe on that flying motorcycle from my dream." Jasmin told herself.

The strange happenings didn't stop there, the next day a new letter had arrived this time addressed to her but instead of her cupboard it said "The smallest bedroom"
Of course, she was not allowed this letter either.

Letters just kept coming more for each day, she had tried to snatch one when her Uncle didn't look but he had seen and pushed her before she got to it, she had landed badly and twisted her ankle, after that she didn't try again. She thought maybe she could get the letter directly from the mailman before everyone woke, this had ended disastrously, she crept to the door but had ended up falling over her Uncle sleeping at the door in a sleeping bag, he had yelled at her from half an hour, she had been able to flee before the belt was brandished.

Her uncle had become madder and madder each day and one day it looked like he had snapped, he forced everyone to pack, and off they went in his car, he didn't even tell Aunt Petunia where they were going. They had arrived at a hotel and the owner had come up to them the next morning with a bag full of letters all addressed to the room they were staying in. After many hours of driving, going zig-zagging around they ended up at a beach and rented a small boat, and rowed to a small shack on a rock out in the water.

"No bloody letters will find ur here," Uncle Vernon said with glee.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had taken a bed in a small bedroom in the shack, Dudley got the sofa and Jasmin got the floor. It was really cold.

Jasmin had found a ragged thing piece of fabric she thought might have been a blanket, it didn't do much for warmth, she could not sleep, it was a storm outside, heavy rain and really violent waves made her afraid that the rood would fall in, maybe it would be warmer to be buried under the roof but she was still not keen on the idea.

Jasmin had been looking at Dudley's watch for the last hour, it was not only minutes till her 11th birthday, she drew a birthday cake in the dusty floor and made ready to blow on it when the door suddenly.

BOOM

The whole shack groaned and shivered, Jasmin jumped up and made a dash to hide behind the sofa. Someone or something was outside, but that knock if it was a knock was too powerful to be coming from a person.

BOOM

Jasmin looked up and saw how the hinges were bending. Whatever it was it would very soon be inside...