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Chapter 2: Life with the Dursleys
A small boy and a smaller girl were huddled together on a tiny mattress in a cupboard under the stairs of Number Four Privet Drive. They were young yet they both knew they were very different from everyone else. Their aunt and uncle had told them so.
It was the last day of July and the whole of the country was dealing with sweltering heat, yet the two children held on tightly to each other even though that action only made them hotter. The need for physical contact could only be given to them by each other since their aunt and uncle refused to touch them in anyway other than to punish them. In the world outside the cupboard they could never act the way they did when they were alone, to show each other the love they both desperately needed.
As these children laid together attempting to fall asleep the boy, became suddenly alert with a thought he had to share with his companion before being overcome with sleep.
"Did I remember to tell you what today was?" the boy asked in little more than a whisper.
"No," the little girl responded, shaking her head against his chest for good measure.
"I turned six today," the boy proudly shared.
The little girl stiffened next to him. Information about them was not regularly shared by the Dursleys. The fact that neither of them knew when their birthday was prior to this occasion was proof of this.
The little girl knew what birthdays were supposed to be like. The person turning a year older was to have a cake and lots of presents, like their cousin Dudley always got every year. The fact that her brother's birthday came and nearly went without even a "Happy Birthday" was further evidence of how different the Potter children were then everyone else.
The little girl desperately wished she could give her brother everything their cousin Dudley got a little over a month ago when he turned six. But the little girl knew there was nothing she could give him that was as amazing as all that.
Instead, the four year old girl hugged her brother tighter and kissed his cheek.
"Happy Birthday, big brother," the little girl said loudly. She did not care if the Dursleys heard her wish her brother a happy birthday. It was the only gift she could give him.
~*~
Harry Potter was extremely excited. Today was the first time his sister, Alex, went to school with him. While Harry and his cousin Dudley were in the same class, his sister was younger than them so she went to a different class.
All day long Harry could barely contain his excitement. Throughout the day Harry frequently attempted to find his sister, in the lunch room, when they went outside for recess, and when his class was moving through the hallways. Yet, Harry was never fortunate to see a glimpse of his sister.
Life outside Number Four was completely different then the world they knew inside the Dursley home. Harry had quickly learned that when he went to school he was just like everyone else. The teachers never called him a freak and most of the students, other than Dudley and his friends, tended to treat Harry kindly. Harry couldn't wait for his sister to experience that as well. He wanted her to be treated the same way he was.
When Aunt Petunia picked them all up from school, it was the first time that Harry had an opportunity to see his sister all day. Instead of seeing the excited and joyful face he expected, what Harry saw nearly broke his heart. His sister looked as though she was near tears. Harry wasn't sure what happened, but he was determined to find out.
The car ride home was extremely painful for Harry. He was dying to ask Alex questions, but he knew better than to openly talk to her in front of the Dursleys. So once they entered their cupboard, Harry rounded on his sister.
"What happened?" Harry intently asked.
The smaller girl just sniffed as if the dam holding her tears was about to break.
"You can tell me, Alex," Harry prompted. "Please, let me know what is wrong."
"Oh it was horrible," the little girl said in a shaky voice, her face hidden in her auburn hair. "I can't believe Aunt Petunia did it!"
"What did she do?" Harry asked the confusion was evident in his tone. What did Aunt Petunia have to do with the first day at school?
"Aunt Petunia told the school that my name is Alex!" Alexa said with a hiss. "She did not tell them my full name Alexa Potter, but Alex Potter. The teacher didn't believe me when I told her that my name wasn't Alex but Alexa. She told me the school records are never wrong."
"Oh," Harry dumbly replied. He was unsure how to respond to this news.
"All the other girls made fun of me, calling me a boy all day long." Alexa was now crying. "They kept telling me, that since I had a boy name I must really be a boy."
"You're not a boy." Harry said definitively. "They had no right to say something like that."
"Well they did," was Alexa's meek response.
Harry sighed; he never experienced something like this with school before. Harry knew his sister's name was Alexa; it was what Mr. Donaldson called her and he worked for the government, he had to be right.
"I know the truth Alex," Harry began. "You need to ignore those other children."
"I don't want to be called Alex anymore." The little girl said stubbornly. "That is a boy's name!"
"Fine," Harry replied, not eager to make his sister angry. "What if I call you Lexi?"
"Lexi," the red haired girl tried the name. "I like that."
"Fine," Harry said. "From this day forth, you shall be called Lexi Potter."
As Lexi laughed at Harry's actions, he just smiled. Getting his sister to laugh was Harry's goal.
~*~
Petunia Dursley walked around her kitchen, examining the spotless floor. There was no way that little freak could possibly clean her kitchen so well. The little freak had to use her unnaturalness to receive these perfect results.
"Tell me girl, how did you do it?" Petunia asked with a snarl.
"I don't know what you mean Aunt Petunia," the meek voice replied.
"How did you cheat?" Petunia yelled, the rage evident in her tone.
"Cheat?" The small girl asked, unable to meet Petunia's glaze.
"The floor, how did you get it so clean?" Petunia continued as if she were speaking to an invalid.
A small smile came to the little girl's face. "I cleaned it Aunt Petunia, just like you told me too. See?" The redheaded girl continued, gesturing to the floor, the pride evident in her tone. "There isn't even a spot of dirt left."
Petunia was working herself into a real rage. "You used your abnormalities to clean it, didn't you?"
"No, Aunt Petunia," the little girl's pride was replaced with something that more closely resembled fear. "I just did as you told me."
Petunia raised her hand and smacked the girl across her face. How dare that little freak lie to her! The little girl began to silently sob, and Petunia nearly smacked her again for making such a racket.
"Go to the cupboard. No meals, no school and you will stay there until I let you out." Petunia eyed the girl wearily before marching her to the cupboard, overseeing her walking into the cupboard and locking her in.
"Just like her mother in more than looks," Petunia muttered to herself, as she walked away. "The girl is a red haired devil, a freak to the core."
Petunia never noticed the green eyed boy at the top of the stairs, who heard her every word.
~*~
The hour was late yet; two young children were still very much awake. One had just finished all of his chores for the day, and was preparing for bed. While the other child was finally allowed a reprieve from the isolation she was in all day.
The small room their shared was a storage cupboard under the staircase of the Dursley household. Even though they were much too large to be sharing such a small space, the Dursleys never once made any indication that they would ever have a room of their own in this household.
The older of the two pulled a lump out of his knapsack and handed it to the smaller girl who took the package gingerly. Moving the napkin her prize was wrapped in the little girl discover a merger meal of two small rolls and warm cheese.
"I'm sorry this was all I could sneak away." The larger boy said, but the little girl didn't seem to mind. Her wide, grateful eyes had told him all he needed to know, yet she still hugged him as tight as she could.
"Oh thank you Harry!" She said into his chest as she continued to hold onto him with all she was worth.
"There is no need to thank me," Harry replied. "I know you would have done the same for me if I were in your position."
The little girl nodded her head in agreement as she began to dig into her meal. "Harry, this is so good!" The green eyed girl whispered, just before stuffing more of her roll in her mouth.
Harry looked at his sister carefully. She always seemed to get the short end of the stick when the Dursleys were concerned. She was always given the harder or more disgusting chores, even though Harry was older and stronger. He had never understood why that was but after hearing his aunt, Harry finally started to understand.
"Lexi," Harry began, immediately her bright green eyes were focused on him. "I heard Aunt Petunia say something after you were punished." Immediately Harry regretted mentioning her punishment as tears began to well up in his sister's eyes. Yet, Harry pushed on; he knew Lexi would want to know what he did.
"Aunt Petunia said you look like our Mum."
Lexi's eyes grew wide when Harry said that. "I do?" She asked in a small voice.
"According to Aunt Petunia you do." Harry said, wishing he could confirm her question. Their parents were always a bit of a mystery since the Dursleys never talked of them. Both Harry and Lexi wanted to know as much as they could about whom they came from, now at least they had an idea about how one of them looked like.
They both had the same almond shaped, striking green eyes, although Lexi's were just a shade lighter than Harry's. The difference was only noticeable when they were standing right next to each other. The main differences in their appearances were due to the shape of the faces and the color of their hair. Harry had a square shaped jaw, with shaggy unruly black hair. His sister on the other hand had a heart shaped face and long manageable auburn hair.
Even though they were a year apart, they were both on the short side for their ages. Frequently there were comments about the two of them being as thin as a sheet of paper. One of the aids at school had even suggested if she didn't keep her eyes on them when they were outside at recess, she was afraid the wind would blow them away. Yet since their cousin Dudley was a large as a small whale, it was also said by the staff at their school, that they must just have been made small.
"I look like mum," Lexi said more to herself than to Harry. A dreamy look crossed her face for a few moments before it suddenly became a look of realization. "Harry, that's why Aunt Petunia hates me isn't it?"
Harry had come to that realization himself, but he didn't want his sister to have a negative image of something that connected her to their mother. This was one of the times he thought Lexi was too smart for her own good.
"Yeah, Lexi," Harry reluctantly confirmed, joining his sister on the small mattress on the floor that they shared.
"I wish I looked like you." The little girl said with a sad tone to her voice.
Harry would never say it out loud but he wished she looked more like him too. If only to prevent her from being singled out by their aunt's rage.
~*~
Harry Potter sat up with a start, dust falling on his head. The staircase above his head was rattling which meant only one thing, his Uncle Vernon was up. Moving slowly as to not disturb his younger sister, Harry stood up to start the day.
Every morning Harry awoke early and prepared breakfast for his Uncle Vernon. This morning unfortunately Harry woke up late. From past experience Harry knew that waking up late was never a good thing for him. Most likely Uncle Vernon would punish Harry for making him wait.
Slipping on clean clothing eight year old Harry Potter exited the cupboard he shared with his sister and entered the kitchen prepared to face his fate.
Surprisingly to Harry, his uncle was not the person who woke up but his cousin Dudley. It was no surprise why he thought his cousin's pounding down the stairs was the same as his uncle's heavy steps. Dudley resembled a beached whale more and more every day.
"Where's the food?" The whale yelled as soon as he entered the room.
"It's coming." Harry said shortly. "Why are you up?"
"None of your business freak." Dudley said with a sneer on his face, as he concentrated on the paper in front of him.
Glancing over Dudley's shoulder on his way to the icebox, Harry recognized that Dudley was still working on their math homework from the day before. Luckily for Harry, he was usually able to complete enough of his homework to receive a passing grade before actually leaving school. Otherwise he would probably never have his homework done before lights out.
As Harry cooked the fry-up, thankful that it was Dudley that had woke him up, and not his uncle, Harry could not help but chuckle to himself about the look of concentration that played across his cousin's face. Apparently, deep thought was extremely painful for the small whale.
Just as Harry was finishing the breakfast he was cooking he heard his Aunt Petunia's light steps on the stairs, followed by the squeak of the opening of the cupboard door.
"Girl, get out here." Petunia's shrill voice carried through the kitchen. "This is your one chance to use the bathroom this morning."
The scream that followed pierced right though Harry's spine.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Petunia yelled.
Forgetting the breakfast Harry rushed out into the hall with Dudley to see what his aunt was screaming at. Harry nearly fell to the floor in shock at the sight before him. His sister Lexi had hair that resembled his. Her long beautiful locks of auburn hair, that they had just learned was just like their mother's was gone. Instead her hair was jet black, and curly.
"What is it?" Lexi asked desperately looking around to see what was wrong. Harry suddenly realized she had not seen a mirror and had no idea about her changed appearance.
"Your hair," was all Harry got out before his aunt turned around to face him and Dudley.
"Dudders, go to the kitchen." Aunt Petunia began in a sickly sweet voice. "Mummy has to deal with the freaks."
Dudley, too shocked to argue, simply nodded his head and ran to the kitchen. Although Harry would bet Dudley was pressed against the door trying to listen to what was happening in the hall.
"Who did this?" Aunt Petunia began again. "Which one of you freaks caused this to happen?"
Harry and Lexi looked at each other with confusion. Why did Aunt Petunia always insist they were to blame when something weird happened?
When no one answered her, Aunt Petunia rounded on Harry. "Are you to blame?"
Being directly asked Harry had no choice but to respond. Harry knew from experience that his silence would only result in being punished.
"No, Aunt Petunia," Harry said as respectfully as he could muster. He wished he could take the blame for the condition of Lexi's hair, however, since he had no idea what caused the change, he couldn't risk lying to the Dursleys if there was a reasonable explanation.
His aunt continued to stare at him as if determining whether or not to believe him. After what seemed like hours his Aunt Petunia finally announced;
"Return to the kitchen. If breakfast is burned so help me you will regret it."
Harry did as he was told, but not before looking over at his sister and sending her a look of remorse. Their wish had been answered, but it wasn't going to end well for Lexi.
~*~
The first week of school was normally a joyous occasion for the Potter children. Going to school gave them an escape from the cruel treatment of their relatives. However, this year was different.
Due to the kitchen incident of the day before, and the hair disaster of the morning, only Harry was allowed to attend past the first day. The physical punishments she could handle, the alone time in the dark cupboard she could take too. But not allowing her to attend school? As far as Lexi was concerned that was just criminal.
Lexi knew that she and her brother were very different in their approach to school. Harry just did enough to pass; if he did better than their cousin Dudley (which wasn't too hard to do) Harry would be punished.
Lexi on the other hand did as well as she could. She knew her aunt and uncle didn't care what she did or how well she did it. But her school work gave her a chance to be really good at something and be recognized for doing well at it. Even if Harry was the only one who cared.
Yet, here she was, on the second day of school sitting in Aunt Petunia's car waiting to pick up Dudley and her brother, instead of being at school, learning like them.
While sitting in the back seat, Lexi eyed the reflection of her appearance in the window. Lexi had no idea what happened to her hair. Hair just didn't change color at will. However, her hair looked just like Harry's now. Literally, just like Harry's.
After her aunt took the boys to school, she returned home and attacked her hair with a pair of scissors. Aunt Petunia drilled it into her head exactly what she was to say if anyone questioned why her hair had changed.
"No, my hair has been turning darker for months now. Couldn't you see the roots? I'd just rather my hair all be one color, so I cut it. Boy was my Aunt Petunia angry with me for doing so all by myself!"
Aunt Petunia always had an answer ready for everything. She hated be stared and gossiped about, even though she did that to other people all of the time. Having a reasonable excuse for everything allowed her to save face on the gossip circles.
Sometime Aunt Petunia was so fake, it made Lexi feel as though she were about to vomit.
The front car door suddenly swung open. Dudley had arrived, that meant it was merely a matter of moments before Harry would be there too. It was the moment of truth for Lexi. Was Harry going to hate her for doing something so freakish? For living up to what the Dursleys claimed they were? Just as she thought that the car door next to her swung open and her brother was there.
Lexi scooted over to the other side of the backseat to let Harry enter the car. He placed his large backpack on the floor of the car before looking at her with only pity in his eyes. He knew how much she loved her long hair.
At school she was always made fun of since her Aunt Petunia made her wear Harry's and Dudley's hand me downs, and it certainly didn't help that she was enrolled as Alex Potter. The other girls at school usually called her a boy. Now that she had a boy hair cut as well they were going to be merciless.
"It's not that bad," Lexi leaned over and whispered to Harry. She was just as strong as he was, she didn't need his pity.
Harry nodded in agreement before leaning in to whisper to her in turn. "I was able to get the work you missed from your teacher." He then gestured to his enlarged book bag as if to prove his statement.
Lexi just grinned at him in return. No matter how bad the Dursleys tired to hurt them it wouldn't matter. They were Potters. They would survive and grow stronger for it.
~*~
Vernon Dursley was rightfully proud of his son Dudley. Every day he was looking and acting just like his dear old dad. Dudley was a right intelligent boy who knew exactly what he wanted in life and how he was going to get it. Why just the other day Dudley demanded another new toy he saw on the telly.
When he started crying for the toy, it was near closing time for the store. Pet was sure there wasn't enough time to get to the kid's store before it closed. But boy was Dudley insistent she tried. Sure enough, Dudley was correct, the store was open just long enough and he was able to get the toy he wanted.
To Vernon this was clear proof that Dudley was a sure minded boy who would do well later on in life working in a career similar to Vernon's. In the sales world it was important to know what you want and how to get it in order to properly make a sale. It was quite obvious that Dudley got his old man's business sense and had a clear future ahead of him.
Those freaks though, there was nothing Vernon could stand about those freaks that were related to Petunia. They were disgusting, stupid and unnatural. No matter how hard he and Petunia attempted to stop the freakishness that surrounded those two, freaky things always happened anyways.
When the boy first went to school, his teacher had called Vernon at work in a panic. It seemed that the freak did not like something his kind teacher was told him and somehow turned her hair bright blue. The teacher wanted to know how the boy performed the trick and how to reverse it. That brat did it on purpose to make him look like a fool. Vernon knew he couldn't actually tell anyone about the freak's unnaturalness.
The girl was worse than the boy. Not only had she changed her own hair color permanently one day but she had a tendency to violently react to other children at school which caused her unnaturalness to show. One day one of Dudley's little friends had tried to play with the girl even though Dudley warned him not to. According to Dudley his friend Piers flew in the air nearly 20 yards without being pushed or moved in anyway. Luckily only Dudley saw exactly what happened that day, so Vernon wasn't disturbed at work on that occasion.
No matter what Vernon did those freaks still found ways to display their unnaturalness; it didn't matter how many times he attempted to knock the freakiness out of the brats, they still found ways to display it. The one thing Vernon could do was stop them from attending that crack pot school their parents went to. Perhaps Vernon would be able to save them from the unnatural fate their parents suffered from.
~*~
"Oh my precious Dudders!" Aunt Petunia cried as she began to give her son a large amount of hugs and kisses.
Lexi Potter had to refrain herself from gagging at the sight of her enormous cousin being at risk of being smothered by her small aunt. However the ever ridiculous sight was before her. All Dudley did was receive a "C" on a book report. Her cousin was average. That's it. He wasn't exceptional.
Lexi had seen her brother sneak into the cupboard as soon as they returned home from school. She knew Harry had to have received a higher mark then Dudley on the assignment, and must be hiding the returned paper to only share with her later tonight.
While the Dursleys had no interest in how she and Harry did at school, they cared how the other did. She always shared her grades, successes, and failures with Harry and he did the same with her. That's what family does.
Luckily she and Harry would soon be assigned their daily chores so, they would not be forced to watch the display of Aunt Petunia gushing over her average son.
~*~
Later that night in the cupboard under the stairs, Lexi still couldn't get over the display that was made for Dudley's "C" paper. She knew due to Harry's dodgy behavior all afternoon that Harry had received a higher mark than Dudley. At least Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were so wrapped up in Dudley's success they completely forgot about Harry and her.
At last count Dudley had been showered with seven presents for his miraculous performance as well given as much sweets as a pig could ever eat. The thing that had stayed with Lexi the most was that Aunt Petunia kept telling Dudley that they gave him things because they loved and were proud of him.
That just made Lexi's blood boil, and reminder her that no one ever gave her or Harry anything special for doing well on anything. Gaining control of her emotions Lexi finally turned and faced her brother. She would not want him to think she was angry at him when she was really mad at the Dursleys.
Harry was already sitting on their mattress with his book report in his hands, not meeting her gaze. As she sat down next to him she could see the "A" displayed on the page.
"Congratulations," Lexi said indicating the book report. "What did you teacher say?"
"Miss Farris said I did an excellent job." Harry said, sadness laced his voice as the paper began to crumple in his hands.
"Don't Harry!" Lexi attempted to stop him from destroying his hard work, but it was useless. Harry had begun ripping up his book report.
"Why not Lexi," Harry challenged her. "Why does it matter? No one cares and I actually dodged a bullet by the Dursleys being distracted by precious Dudley." Harry spat out the last two words.
"I care," Lexi said quietly. "I care a lot. You worked so hard on the book report Harry; it's horrible that you destroyed all that hard work."
Harry studied her for a moment before replying. "Thank you Lexi, but I need to be more careful. What if Uncle Vernon wanted to compare our scores? He would have been furious that I beat Dudley."
"I didn't think of that Harry," Lexi admitted. "You have it worse than me. The Dursleys never care what I do but with you being in Dudley's grade, it must be so hard!"
Harry made a noncommittal grunt. It was almost as though he refused to acknowledge what she had said.
Lexi didn't know what to say or do. So instead she just hugged Harry. After a few minutes of just sitting there Lexi remembered what Aunt Petunia had told Dudley and knew it was what Harry needed to hear.
"You did a good job Harry." Lexi hesitantly began, "I'm proud of you and I love you."
Harry's grip around her shoulders tightened as she said those words. After a few more minutes Harry finally pulled away, but not before sharing something of his own.
"Lexi, I'm always proud of you and remember that I always love you."
The mere mention of those words warmed Lexi up with tremendous joy. Silently she vowed to herself to always let Harry know that she loved him and was proud of everything he did.
~*~
Petunia surveyed the brats standing in front of her. They were wearing new clothing and were properly washed for a change. Three times a year they went through this, and every time that they did she was always fearful that the brats would slip up and get them in trouble.
Granted as they got older it was easier to control them. The freaks were properly afraid of what could happen to them if she or Vernon were angered by their performance. When they were younger she would promise them treats or gifts for a good interview. Surprisingly they never caught on that even if they were picture perfect they were never going to actually get that toy car or doll.
But now, they were nine and eight years old respectively. They knew exactly what kind of power Petunia and Vernon had over them, and how miserable their lived would be if they screwed up.
"Mr. Donaldson will see you now," the young receptionist said with a smile on her face.
Schooling her face into a cheerful expression Petunia thanked the girl before leading the brats into the office.
"Alexa, Harry, my have the two of you grown!" Mr. Donaldson said with excitement in his voice when he saw the freaks. Boy did they had him fooled.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Donaldson." The brats said in a freakish unison.
"Mrs. Dursley," the man said finally addressing her.
Petunia just nodded her head in acknowledgment. If he wasn't going to show her proper respect, why would she show him any?
"Alright," he said. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"
The freaks nodded in agreement, while Mr. Donaldson opened a folder. A folder which Petunia knew held important information about the lives of her family and the brats.
"Alex, congratulations on your recent report card," the man began. "Your teacher comments that you have the highest marks in your grade. That is an amazing accomplishment."
Petunia filed that information away to remember at a later date. She couldn't help but wonder how the little freak was managing to use her unnaturalness to cheat at school.
Glancing at her watch, Petunia realized she had at least another thirty to forty minutes of praising the freaks before Mr. Donaldson would permit them to leave for another four months. At least the freaks continued good behavior would ensure the government checks for taking in the brats would continue to come.
~*~
For most children Christmas was a happy time of year. However, Harry and Lexi Potter never had that great of a Christmas. Many children, including their cousin Dudley received many presents from Father Christmas and their relatives. However, neither of the Potter children ever received any gifts.
At first their Aunt Petunia told them that Father Christmas didn't give presents to freaks since they were unnatural. Yet, everyone who knew them always acted like they should have been given something. Teachers, doctors, and even Mr. Donaldson thought that they should have gotten something. But they never did, and Harry was too embarrassed to ever admit that he and Lexi never got gifts since they were freaks.
The Dursleys had a strict ritual they performed for Christmas. Dudley would receive hundreds of gifts and open those presents under the Christmas tree in the front room while his Uncle Vernon recorded it using a camcorder. Then they would have a large Christmas brunch followed a little later by a larger Christmas dinner.
Harry and his sister Lexi not only did not receive any Christmas gifts but they also were not able to partake in the Christmas meals. Frankly, Christmas for the Potter children was not a joyous day, but a day that reminded them that they were not the same as the Dursley family. They were second class citizens in the Dursley household.
During Harry's first year at school he came up with a plan. If the Dursleys exchanged Christmas presents with Dudley, why couldn't he give something to Lexi?
The weeks leading up to Christmas, as Aunt Petunia was preparing the Dursley household with Christmas presents, Harry was creating the perfect gift for his sister. Harry knew it was very simple, but he didn't have any money to buy her something special.
Harry's gift was a picture drawn by him of Lexi and he, sitting together in the park, with too figures off in the distance that was supposed to be their parents. He created a frame of colored tissue paper around it and wrapped it with left over scraps of wrapping paper that he found in Aunt Petunia's room.
Yet, when Lexi woke up on Christmas morning to find a gift for her, the joy she showed caused Harry to radiate with pleasure. It didn't matter that the gift he had given her wasn't worth any money like Dudley's new toys. The gift Harry had given his sister was worth far more than everything Dudley had been given.
Ever since that Christmas, Harry and Lexi made things for each other for Christmas and exchanged them Christmas morning. Every year it was increasingly difficult to hide their gifts from one another due to the fact that they shared a living space. But this year Harry felt his gift would be the best.
Harry, who was now nine years old, for the first time was able to buy his sister a gift. Every once in a while Harry was able to find some coins either on the floor at school or in the couch cushions at the Dursleys and Harry had saved up all the money he was able to find. With it he purchased a hair barrette for Lexi. She never had one before and Harry knew she secretly wanted one, so she could be just like all the other girls in her grade.
On Christmas morning Harry was not to be disappointed, when Lexi opened the gift the smile that appeared on her face and the bone crushing hug she caught him in was all the thanks he needed. He had been his sister's hero, and made her Christmas just a little bit more memorable.
~*~
A shrill scream rang through Privet Drive, and Lexi knew nothing good was going to come from it. Her Aunt Petunia had found the vase she accidently broke earlier that day. She didn't mean to break it. Lexi had accidently slipped as she was waxing the hardwood floor, and crashed into the vase causing it to fall to the ground a break.
"Which one of you freaks did this?" Aunt Petunia's angry voice carried through the door of the cupboard.
Lexi subconsciously rubbed the severely bruised arm, from when she was 'punished' the day before for not properly cutting the vegetables for the stew Aunt Petunia was making. The newly nine year old girl did not know how she was going to hide any additional bruises she would receive for this offense.
"I did," a strong male voice called out. "I'm sorry Aunt-"
But the voice was cut off with the sound of an audible smack. Tears freely fell down Lexi's face as she understood what was happening outside of the cupboard. Her big brother Harry took the fall for her. He knew she broke the vase and didn't want to see her punished for it, so he claimed he did it.
Lexi loved her brother more than anyone else in the world. She would do anything in her power for him, as he would do for her. She just wished she wasn't such a screw up and that he was forever taking the blame for her mistakes.
The door to the cupboard was flung open so quickly Lexi barely had time to hide the homework she was working on. Harry was forcefully pushed into the cupboard before the door was slammed behind him. Red hand marks were clearly visible on one side of his body in the dim light of the cupboard.
Without meaning to Lexi began to sob. She was the one who should be hurt, not her wonderful, amazing brother. Harry gingerly opened his arms to her and Lexi carefully clung to his body. She did want to hurt him any worse where he was already injured.
As she continued to cry, Harry comfortingly began to stroke his finger through her short hair. Her brother always knew how to make her feel better.
~*~
Harry was running as fast as his legs would carry him. His cousin Dudley and his gang of friends were chasing him as usual. Their favorite game was to go Potter Hunting. They were looking for Lexi, yet Harry would not give them the satisfaction of finding her. She was a younger girl who wasn't as strong as they were. It just proved what bullies they were that Lexi was the preferred Potter target.
"Hey bone heads!" Harry cried out. Sure enough Dudley and his friends stopped going towards the bushes Harry knew Lexi was hiding in and turned to face him.
"Has anyone told you lately what gits the lot of you are?" Harry stood there and watched them consider the insult for a few moments before the gist of Harry's message sunk in.
"Get him," Dudley yelled as his gang of friends began chasing after Harry.
The safest way to stop a Potter Hunt was to run past a staff member at the school. This was school recess; everyone was outside enjoying the nice day. Unfortunately that meant there were a lot of students out and about but not that many teachers and staff members. There were just too many clusters of students to find someone who would scare off the gang chasing him.
As Harry continued to duck and dive between groups of students he managed to keep an eye on Dudley and his friends to make sure they were still behind him. It would do no good to lose them only to have them seek out Lexi instead.
Making a fool hardy decision Harry navigated his path to run closer to the school. There were fewer students around the school and logistically it may be easier for Dudley to catch him, but it was also more likely for them to run across a teacher than anywhere else.
As Harry reached the corner of the school he realized he was trapped. He had reached an alley that was only accessible from one side. He had reached a dead end and there was no one to distract Dudley's gang from their prey.
The clonking footsteps of Dudley and his friends continued to grow louder as they became closer to Harry's position. At that moment Harry closed his eyes and wished that he was somewhere else, out of the reach of his cousin Dudley.
A tight squeezing sensation over came Harry and when he opened his eyes he realized his wish had come true. He was no longer on the ground near Dudley's gang. Instead he was on the roof of the school overlooking the spot that he was just standing at.
On the ground below him Harry saw Dudley and his gang circling the area Harry should have been. Obviously confused that Harry wasn't where he should be the gang eventually broke up looking for Harry in different directions.
Harry had avoided being beat up, the only problem was Harry didn't know how he got up there or how he was going to get down.
~*~
The door to the cupboard finally opened and Lexi entered their room. Harry had been in the cupboard since he arrived home. When one of the teachers finally noticed Harry on the roof, they immediately called the custodian to get a ladder to get him down. Unfortunately the headmaster of his primary school also contacted his relatives.
In the worst twist of fate possible his aunt was not at home when the school attempted to contact her. This meant the headmaster had to call his Uncle Vernon at work. The worst time to disturb Vernon Dursley about the Potters was while he was at work.
Needless to say Uncle Vernon was not amused at being disrupted and he immediately picked Harry up from school and locked him in the cupboard. That was over eight hours ago.
"Oh Harry!" Lexi cried as she flung herself on her brother. "What happened?"
Harry sighed, "I don't know."
Lexi pulled herself off his chest so she could look him in the eyes. "How could you not know?"
"I just don't," Harry reluctantly admitted. "One minute I was standing on the ground wishing I was out if reach of Dudley. The next I was on the roof."
Lexi just continued to stare at Harry. Harry wasn't sure how to respond to this. This was proof he was the freak his aunt and uncle claimed he was. Maybe Lexi would want to keep her distance from him and his freakishness.
"My hair," Lexi suddenly said, distracting Harry from his gloomy thoughts. "We don't know how my hair suddenly turned dark. Just like we don't know how you got on the roof of the school. I guess weird thing just seem to happen around us Potters."
Harry let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Of course she wouldn't be repulsed by him. Lexi was his sister. She would always be there for him no matter what, just like he was there for her.
"I love you Harry," Lexi said. "And remember, Potters always stick together."
With that Lexi kissed him on the check and began to get ready for bed. The final thought kept running through Harry's head, Potters always stick together.
~*~
A/N: Thank you for reading my second chapter! Once again I have to give major credit to my amazing beta and friend Zephy. Without her my work would be riddled with grammar errors. The next chapter should be out soon!
Next Chapter: The Letter and the Plan