The next morning Harry was in for a rude awakening.
His entire body was sore and he hurt in places he never had before. He even had some irritating itches where some blood had dried onto his skin. His bones were stiff from being curled in a ball all night in his cramped room.
Still grasped in his hands, was his bear, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little bit better knowing that his bear would always be there for him. Gazing at his bear, Harry's mind fully awakened from its haziness and he realized that if he didn't hide his bear, he would be caught with it.
No matter how much Harry disliked being away from his bear, he knew he would regret it if it was taken away. So begrudgingly, Harry achingly got up onto his knees and gave his bear a quick squeeze of a hug before burrowing him into his pathetic pile of clothes.
He was able to easily lie back down knowing that his bear would be safe in his absence, and he relinquished in the extra few moments of peace he had in his exhaustion.
But nothing good ever lasts forever.
The lock on his door starting to jingle and Harry was raised from his peaceful stupor. His aunt was standing in front of him and she did not look impressed in the early hours.
"Get up," she commanded.
Harry did exactly as he was told and cried out with every movement he encountered along the way.
Once standing, his aunt motioned for him to step out and follow her. She made her way daintily through the hallway, with Harry following close behind, towards another door not too far away.
She opened it in front of him and let him pass through, "You have ten minutes, now clean up yourself."
He stepped into the washroom that seemed exclusively large compared to his tiny bedroom and jumped when the door closed behind him. He listened as Petunia's footsteps got quieter and quieter as she left him there.
Ignoring the pain that flared in his body with every movement, Harry got to work. His clothes peeled away in a not so silent way that made Harry nauseous. Dropping them on the ground he recognized the reddish brown color of dried blood in some areas. He left them on the tile floor where he could easily mop up any mess rather than the mat where stains would stick.
Harry didn't worry about his eyes catching his reflection in the mirror, he was still short enough that only his face was visible in the mirror over the sink.
He held onto the edge of the bathtub while he painfully swung each leg over the edge. He pulled the curtain shut above him being sure to close it completely to prevent any water from escaping.
The water dial was a spin one, where it spun from off, to cold water, to warm water. It was also a tight one, so it didn't go round very easily. But Harry didn't have any difficulties with it as he never had to turn it very far-he only ever gets to use cold water.
The feel of the cool water on his beck was both pleasant and unpleasant. Showers were rather soothing, with the water just streaming over oneself. But the cold water got into all his injuries, pushing up against his bruises or cleaning out his cuts. And looking down, Harry could see that it was washing some blood away too.
He stared at his feet for a couple seconds to watch the red drip down his body and down the drain. Then realizing he was still on a timer he got to work.
An orange bottle to his left advertised a grapefruit smelling shower gel which Harry poured a generous quantity of into his hand. He scrubbed all over his body, cleaning dirt from the day before and instilling a feeling of being clean. There were bubbles dripping down his body and he continued the routine of cleaning; his hands sought out a bottle of shampoo which washed away some strange things from within his bushy hair. Next was his face which he scrubbed with a little bit of the liquid soap and hissed out loud when it met with a small cut.
With that, he was completely clean. Now Harry could just relax in the spray of cold water. Closing his eyes he put his face under the spray and imagined it washing away his tears and fears.
For Harry, all good things come to an end. It seemed that in no time, his ten minutes were finished and Aunt Petunia was banging on his door once more.
With a reluctant sigh he turned off the water and opened the curtains. Harry grabbed a small towel from the hanger next to the bath and dried himself off as much as possible before stepping out.
He stepped over to the door and opened it enough for his aunt to pass him a clean set of his clothes before shutting the door once more.
He pulled on his fresh pair of clothes that used to belong to Dudley and towel dried his hair as much as possible.
Leaning over the counter top, he went and he brushed his teeth as quickly as possible, but still scrubbing around every tooth. He rinsed his mouth three times with water from the sink, swishing it around then spitting it out.
When he went to turn the tap off and cease the flow of water his eyes caught an unpleasant sight. Above the sink was a mirror, which Harry was tall enough to see only his head in. And what he saw he did not like.
His dark hair was a matted bush from his recent shower, and his green eyes glimmered as usual. But along his cheek he had a ridged gash from when his uncle had back handed him the night before.
It was not a pretty sight. It ran along from beside his ear to the chubbiest part of his cheek in a horizontal line. It had already scabbed over, but it had swelled up the tiniest bit in comparison to his other cheek. His fingers lightly trailed over it in horror as he realized that it would grace his face for the next while.
Harry didn't have much time to ponder over it as more banging on the door pulled him out of his reverie. There wasn't much of a mess but Harry still had to clean up his dirty clothes and towel so he could place them in the laundry hamper.
Once done, he hurriedly stepped out into the hallway and nearly bumped into his aunt. She was still standing outside of the washroom and had one hand raised to knock on the door. When it had opened and she caught sight of him, she merely spun and expected him to follow as she led him to the kitchen.
"You can start on breakfast." Were the few words she said to him.
At the command he eagerly jumped to work, pulling out two pans and many ingredients. He started with Petunia's meal, knowing that she was probably the only one awake at this hour.
The aroma of a single over easy egg with two pieces of toast covered in low fat margin filled his nose and he was reminded of the night before. Harry vowed to himself that he would never succumb to his hunger the way he had the night before and would simply ignore the growls.
However that was easier said than done. As he cooked and added different ingredients, new scents would tease his nose and combined with the beauty of the food, it made his mouth water.
Harry licked all around his teeth tasting toothpaste, hoping to rid himself of the idea of sneaking a piece. He was never more grateful to serve Petunia's breakfast than he was at that moment since the temptation would be out of his vision.
Harry suffered through the same experience when Uncle Vernon came down the stairs expecting his own omelet. Vernon was a bit easier to cook for as his eyes were always on Harry's back so he wouldn't dare sneak any.
Dudley came down not long after, looking as though he had just climbed out of the most marvelous dream.
He plopped himself down into his seat at the table while he awaited some eggs and bacon.
Vernon crossed the table and gave him a small peck on his cheek, "Well, I'm off. I will pick you up from school this afternoon."
He picked up his suitcase on his way out of the room and have Harry a pointed look. There was the sound of a click signaling his exit.
That left Harry alone with Petunia and Dudley, and it wasn't long before Dudley's complaining began.
"Mummy! Mummy! Where's my breakfast!?"
"Oh darling it's coming, why don't you watch the tellie in the meantime?"
Petunia's consolation only lasted temporarily and once again Dudley was complaining.
"Mummy! I'm hungry!"
Every shout of Dudley's rang in Harry's ears and it was not a pleasant experience. As a result, Harry had never moved as fast as he did in that moment to sit a plate down in front of Dudley.
The sound of slurping and chewing started up behind Harry as his back was turned while he started cleaning up. He scrubbed vigorously at the dishes and set them in a drying rack.
He scampered out of Petunia's way as she started to pack a lunch for Dudley.
In no time Dudley's breakfast was consumed and his lunch made. The two boys headed towards the door to tie up their shoes and step outside.
They waited a moment while Petunia locked the door behind them.
They walked down the street towards their bus stop together, with Harry trailing slightly behind the pair.
They didn't have to wait long before the bus curved around the corner and its door opened in front of them.
Aunt Petunia embraced Dudley like she did every morning and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. "Bye my Duddykins, I will see you after school."
Dudley scampered up the stairs in front of Harry and he plopped down at the back of the bus with his friends.
Harry sat in the middle of the bus and could easily observe Dudley wiping his cheek and calling out 'gross' to his friends and the way he resentfully waved out the window towards his mum who was exaggeratedly waving.
A pang of sadness hit Harry deep in his heart when he thought about the way nobody would ever walk him to his bus stop, or kiss him goodbye.
It was a lonely world for Harry and these thoughts covered him with a haze that lasted through class and first recess.
He had successfully ignored all questions about the scratch on his cheek that day and he was raised from his stupor when his teacher sat down in the empty desk across from him. No one ever sat near him, Dudley had told them all he was a freak and now they avoided him like the plague.
"Harry why aren't you eating your snack?"
Harry's young mind has to come up a quick cover up as last time he told his teacher the truth, strange people had visited his home and Vernon was not impressed.
"I don't have it with me." Harry answered cryptically.
"Well why don't you go get it so that you may eat it? Snack time is snack time." Mrs. K had asked him the same couple of questions repetitively every day since he had first showed up snackless.
"My snack isn't here at school with me."
Mrs. K silently contemplated for a moment before answering, "Harry you need to remember to bring a snack with you. You won't be able to focus if you're hungry." His stomach growled embarrassingly loud as though to confirm her statement.
She stepped over to her desk momentarily before arriving back in front of him, "Here, you can eat one of my chewy bars."
"No." Harry denied her.
Harry had already decided that he would not accept any food from this lady, he could not risk being in debt to her.
"Harry-"
"No. I refuse. Now would you please leave me be?"
Looking mildly alarmed at his attitude, she straightened up to her full height and returned to her desk. It didn't escape Harry's notice that she had left the food on his desk, and Harry quickly pocketed it for later.
His teacher continued to give him strange looks, and a similar conversation occurred between the two at lunch time.
When it became apparent that Harry had won, he settled himself into silence while he watched everyone else eat and waited for the bell.
It didn't disappoint, and moments later Harry was out of the class and hurrying to the washroom.
He locked himself in a stall and sat himself on the toilet. With shaky hands he pulled out the granola bar and ripped open the packaging. Bite by bite he fit the bar into his mouth and chewed. He hardly breathed until the entire thing was finished.
He threw the wrapper in the toilet and flushed it to remove any evidence that he was there. He went out to the sink to wash his hands and even stuck his head under the tap to have a sip of water.
After blow drying his hands dry, Harry prepared himself to brave the cold autumn weather that was outside.
Before changing his mind, he marched outside in his oversized threadbare sweater and sweat pants, and tight shoes.
He hurried his way over to a small tree at the edge of the playground to avoid his cousin Dudley and his friends. He wasn't in the mood to be shoved around that day.
He pressed his back up against the tree to block the wind and huddled close.
He stayed like that for the next 45 minutes of recess, until the bell rang. When it did he rushed inside to the warmth of the school.
His class took a seat on a carpet where they sat together to learn their numbers. They were concentrated and had no breaks until their Afternoon snack came around.
His teacher never once approached Harry this time, simply stared at him from afar.
After snack time, when the school day was nearing the end, something strange happened.
"In light of some new circumstances, I will be watching over the class for the rest of the day." Said an elder woman as she entered the class. "My name is Ms. Bell and while your teacher is away we will be doing some coloring work."
The class could easily take part in this task and it continued till the end of the day. But before the bell could ring, Mrs. K appeared at their door, beckoning Harry to her.
Harry followed his teacher to the school's main office and sat politely in room with a big table surrounded by lots of chairs.
His principle stepped into the room, dressed in a nice pair of dress pants and a button down.
He took a seat across from Harry, "Hello Harry, do you know why you are here?"
"How do you mean?"
His face became troubled with Harry's four words that lacked a complete answer. He motioned to Mrs. K to close the door and the room settled uncomfortably.
"Mrs. K noticed that you didn't have a snack or lunch today, could you tell me why not?"
"I forgot them." Was Harry's simple answer, although he knew that his aunt had purposefully 'forgotten.'
His principle looked slightly doubtful at this and continued to pester, "You forgot them both?"
Harry wouldn't be fooled into saying anything cruel about his family, he was too smart for it. "Indeed. Don't students usually carry their lunch and snack in the same package?"
He had obvious logic, and his principle noticed it. Harry had said enough words, but no useful information. His principle seemed to realize this too.
"How did you get that cut?"
He changed his tactics, and this resulted in a blunt question that Harry couldn't lie to.
He remained silent while his principle stared expectantly at him for a few minutes.
But Harry's will would not give and he kept his mouth shut. He would not tell anyone of the treatment he was given at the Dursley's house, they were his only family.
"How did you get that cut?" His principle repeated.
Yet Harry still remained silent.
When it seemed an eternity had passed, but was merely a few minutes, his principal rose to his feet and left the room, Mrs. K following.
Minutes later the door opened once more.
"Hello Harry, I am Maddison Cartwright, you can just call me Maddy." She didn't wait for a reply, merely folded herself neatly into a chair without wrinkling her finely pressed suit. "We are in a bit of a predicament at the moment, and it involves you greatly. Would you answer a few simple questions for me?"
Harry neither denied nor confirmed her command-like question, instead she continued.
"Who do you live with?"
"My Aunt, Uncle and cousin."
"What do they do for a living?"
To Harry these seemed like easy and obvious questions, he didn't see any harm in answering them, they couldn't lead to anything bad.
"Uncle Vernon owns a drill company, he makes all these deals with other businesses and earns a whole bunch of money."
"What about your aunt?"
"Aunt Petunia stays at home, Vernon makes enough money that they can love and take care of Dudley." but not me. Harry silently added to his sentence.
"What else does Petunia do at home?"
"I don't know." And it wasn't a lie, Harry did all the housework, so what would Petunia have left to do.
"What do you think of your family?"
Harry took longer to answer this question, he didn't want to say anything bad about them. This might just be a test and if he said anything wrong he might get another beating.
He thought his words over and over, and determined they were ok, "Vernon is a big man and he always seems to get the job done. Aunt Petunia is a polite woman, her behavior is impeccable. And Dudley...well Dudley is Dudley I suppose. He's always on his best behavior and everyone loves him. I guess that's why he gets to eat whatever he pleases."
Harry was proud of his big word use but Maddy seemed to ponder his response for a moment before asking another question, "What do you like to eat?"
Again, it seemed she had gone back to her easy questions.
"Whatever my Aunt or Uncle decides to give me."
That seemed to be enough for Maddy, as she got to her feet, "Thank you Harry, I believe that will be all at the moment. I will be in contact soon."
She seemed to wrench the door open and didn't pause while Mrs. K or Harry's principal stepped out of her way.
Harry couldn't help but think that he'd said something wrong. He started to feel anxious because if he did, he would surely be in trouble with his family that evening.
But Harry's thoughts were sidetracked by the smell of cheese, dough and grease. Mrs. K and his principal arrived in the room with a medium pizza which they placed in the middle of them on the table.
They opened the box and each grabbed a slice, it took a moment for Harry to realize that they were also offering him some. His small hand hesitantly reached out, glancing between the two for approval.
When the pizza slice was pulled towards himself, he hunched over it slightly scared someone would take it from him, and avidly chewed at it.
He was so hungry that he ate two entire slices and neither adult reprimanded him for it.
For the first time in a long while Harry was full.
When the two adults were done their own slices, they smiled at Harry and left him there.
Out of boredom, Harry counted to 100 and from 100 to zero. Then he stared at the clock for a while. He even tried to scratch a picture in the table with no progress.
Harry couldn't tell you exactly how long he sat there for, but minutes turned to hours. The only window in the room showed that outside was beginning to get darker and Harry was itching to get out of his chair.
