Harry was ten years old, and both he and Dudley were somewhat well-known at school. Their secret underground store had turned into something of a 'hang out spot' at school – for those that were Friends of Bob, of course.

After a flurry of success selling their gadgets and gizmos, Harry had decided to expand the underground area. He knew that he could have probably used his powers to extend the building, but he didn't really like doing difficult things like that if he could help it.

As a result, he had asked some of the older boys with help in the matter. One of them, a chap named Terry, had enlisted the help of his older brother who worked in construction. Though sceptical at first, Terry's brother turned out to be a real help, and in no time, they had an extension to their underground fortress.

Mrs Anderson peeked out of the window of the teacher's lounge, watching the brawny construction workers carry large sheets of metal toward the far end of the playground.

"What do you think they're doing over there?"

Ms Walker peered over her glasses at the scene. "Something to do with the sewer system, I would think."

"Ah, yes. That makes sense."

The two teachers went back to their coffee, occasionally stealing a glance at the fit young men. Goodness gracious...

Terry, Greg, and William were some of the few Year 6 students who knew of Harry and Dudley's secret fortress.

To enter the fortress, you had to know what to look for. In the far corner of the playground, behind the large oak tree, there was what looked like a discarded old jump-rope on the floor. Pulling this rope would lift the wooden trap door, cleverly hidden by leaves and sticks, revealing an angled tunnel that ended with a thick steel door. Upon reaching the door and knocking thrice, a snake would poke it's head out of the letterbox, look you up and down, and hiss. If you hissed back in the correct manner, the door would open, and you would be allowed entry.

The main chamber of the fortress was undoubtedly the coolest. Greg though it looked like Mos Eisley Cantina, from Star Wars. It reminded William of his grandmother's house (she was a bit of an odd fish).

There was a round bar in the centre of the room that was stocked with all sorts of different alcohols, snake sheds and venom, and magic herbs which actually looked just like regular kitchen herbs – all of which were stored in what looked like reused pasta sauce jars.

Under the bar's glass countertop were two slightly odd-looking guns; a katana; a few Roman coins; a collection of medieval cannonballs; a selection of Transformers toys made of real metal which moved on their own if adults weren't nearby; an Action Man figure that was strangely warm and looked like it breathed; and several figures of snakes carved out of wood, stone, and somehow, polished dirt.

On one of the walls was a corkboard with a menu of things not on display:

-Special weapons, £50-500

-Cool clothes, £15-250

-Special glasses, £50-250

-Magic rock, £25

-Pet spider, £10

-Parseltongue lessons, £1000

Terry had asked Harry what was magical about the rock, and he had replied that it made you feel scared. He didn't much want to try that, so he had bought a pet spider. Harry had told him that it didn't have any special powers, but it used to be his roommate and it was special in that way. Terry didn't know what that meant, but he liked spiders, and was happy with his purchase.

The main chamber was the store, which was cool in its own way, but to the right was a much more traditionally comfortable area. It looked a lot like a hobbit hole crossed with a dwarf dwelling, in Greg's opinion. Though it shared the same metal walls as the main chamber, these were a warm coppery colour, and there were bits of carved stone here and there as well. The roof was intricately carved stone with metal decorations here and there, and the floor had thick rugs all over. There were a few couches and squishy armchairs, a large wooden table with all sorts of different foods, and a fireplace which had no chimney but somehow didn't need one. Very cosy indeed.

The older children had all sorts of theories about Harry's background. Maggie, a bit of an odd Year 4, thought he was a genie. Some of the others thought that Harry was an alien, which made him laugh when he overhead. Terry was convinced Harry was a superhero, while Greg thought he was a mage. William sort of thought he was the antichrist, but a cool version. There were all sorts of debates.

"Right, but I saw him yawn and he had fangs! And his jaw moved like it was liquid!"

"Sooo, he could be an alien then…"

"No, I think he's a shapeshifter. It could be one of his superpowers."

The theories on Dudley's background were similarly odd. Some thought Dudley came from a mafia family, while others thought he was a spy.

"His dad suddenly had a lot of money a few years ago… Really suspicious. I think he must be the top dog."

"Yeah but Dudley Durlsey doesn't sound very Italian, does it?"

"I saw him selling things out of a coat, like in the cartoons. Except the stuff that he was selling was really high-end stuff – some Rolex watches, some credit cards… I swear he had a bunch of really posh switchblades once!"

One Year 5 girl thought that Harry was the spy and Dudley was his handler. Dudley wasn't pleased with that one. Terry's brother said Dudley was "a real lad, very fun, great future ahead of him". Dudley thought Terry's brother was great.

Petunia was in the sitting room, sulking somewhat over a cup of tea. Brownie was next to her, wrapped around a mug of water that she had warmed. The boys were outside playing some make-believe game in which they owned an underground club – they had been playing an awful lot of that lately.

Petunia knew that the day was coming that Harry would get his letter. She was glad in a way that he had such obvious magic, as he would be spared the misfortune she had in her youth. Then again, he may not have minded if he didn't have magic… In fact, he would probably have been quite alright working in a reptile store.

Brownie had children that she had to say goodbye to recently, but she had a snake's point of view about the whole thing.

"Brownie, how did it feel when you had to say goodbye to the children?"

"I was glad that so many hatched and I look forward to seeing them grow larger. They can only grow strong when alone."

"Yes, but didn't it feel a bit sad?"

"No. I would be sad if they died, but not sad that they're living."

So, Petunia turned to her book club. She told everyone that Harry was off to a prestigious boarding school where he would have his quirks and eccentricities accepted. Timothy, who lived somewhere on Magnolia Road, thought she meant Eton, and sagely agreed that a lot of odd characters went there. Janice from Number Eighteen had a son who went away to university, and she suggested making things special for Harry before he left and ensuring that he knew that he could come visit for holidays.

She agreed that this was a good idea but didn't know how she would deal with Dudley. Poor Dudders would be so upset when Harry went off to school. Not to mention, he might become put out that he doesn't have magic. A tricky situation indeed.

Aunt Petunia was being a bit weird, but Harry couldn't pinpoint why. She was doing all sorts of nice things for him, giving him extra desserts, not yelling about him eating crickets indoors, even buying frozen mice for him at the pet store. Harry wasn't sure what it was all about, until he saw one of his snake drawings pinned to the fridge one day.

"Of course, she must want to know more about snakes, but she's too embarrassed to ask!"