As much as Harriet had wanted to open her mother's chest and explore it some more, she knew that she couldn't. Making it bigger would make a loud noise and Harriet didn't want Aunt Petunia to investigate why there was a big thumping sound in her cupboard. Instead, Harriet waited for the house to clear out.
She laid there, in the dark, and waited. Excitement made her heart beat faster and she had never felt more alive than at that moment. Harriet had never thought she'd ever touch anything of her mum's before and now that she has she couldn't wait to see what else she'd find. Harriet curled up on her mattress and anticipated eagerly for the next moment for her to explore to arrive. Aunt Petunia was sure to leave, she usually did so for a few hours every day. Harriet knew that there were different places that Aunt Petunia liked to go, the hairdresser every other week and then to some arts and craft store where she'd learn how to make some of the ugliest knitted things for Dudley. Harriet was glad that Aunt Petunia never made her anything- Dudley looked miserable whenever Aunt Petunia would give him another scarf of badly knitted hat that always fell into his face. Aunt Petunia was a sociable person far above anything else, and Harriet couldn't wait for the second when she'd leave.
Somewhere, in that dark cupboard, Harriet fell soundly asleep. After staying up all night and the added exhaustion of crying and being nearly beaten to death had worn her out. Although Harriet would have objected to passing out, as she wanted to wait for the very second that Aunt Petunia would leave, she didn't have a choice as her body caved into its demands and forced her to pass out. It was good that she did in the end, as Aunt Petunia didn't leave until way into the middle of the afternoon. It was also during this time that Harriet began to recover some of her spent magic. She was nearly drained dry as it had tried to keep her alive. It still accelerated her healing, but at least Harriet was out of the danger zone.
And so it was mid-afternoon, although you couldn't tell time in the cupboard, when Harriet awoke feeling better than before. Sore, but not quite as painful as it had been earlier, Harriet's mind didn't quite click until she was fully awake. Then she quickly sat up and stared at the trunk. Even in the dark, the metal gleamed. She scrambled over to it and just like before she lifted the latch. It moved again, hoping up and enlarging before her very eyes as Harriet scrambled backward to avoid being hit by it. It landed with a thump, and Harriet was suddenly aware of the noise. She waited with bated breath, and after a few minutes with no noise outside, Harriet figured that nobody was home.
Cautiously she lifted the lid and peered inside, but even in the darkness, she couldn't make it out. She reached up to flip on the light when she recalled that the bulb had burned out the night prior. Dismayed, Harriet sighed to herself. Her only light source was out now. But… an idea came to her head. She knew that Dudley had a broken lamp in his extra bedroom. Perhaps the bulb was still working. Harriet reached into her safe spot and withdrew her folded paper (some old report card of Dudley's). And from there she spent her time trying to wriggle the latch off as she maneuvered the paper around. After a few minutes, Harriet managed to unlock the door and she peered around the corner. Double checking to make sure that nobody was around, Harriet softly crept up the stairs until she came to Dudley's second bedroom. Opening the door as quietly as she could she scrutinize the cluttered mess. There were broken skateboards, a few smashed tellies, an old radio that looked more like a jumble of wires than anything else. It was a mess, but Harriet didn't really pay much attention as she found her target. An old lamp, painted sky blue for Dudley, sat on an old rickety side table. Harriet picked her way over and lifted off the lampshade, and there it was. It was easy to unscrew it, softly run back to her cupboard and replace the bulb. It was bright, brighter than the other one, that was for sure. And it didn't flicker! Harriet didn't stop to celebrate yet, as she went back upstairs and replaced the lamp bulb with the older one. Making sure she didn't leave a trace of herself behind, Harriet crept back downstairs where she took the opportunity to raid the kitchen again. She found a few bits and pieces in the garbage before she drank from the tap again.
Once again uncomfortably full, but knowing it wouldn't last very long, Harriet pulled her cupboard door shut and she was back into the safest place that she knew. Her cupboard was where the Dursley's never dared to enter. It was her sanctuary. A fortress and a prison at the same time. It was small and cramped and filled with spiders but they didn't bite and she didn't mind. And now that the light was brighter, Harriet began to finally see what her cupboard looked like. Yes, it was small. It had always been small. But now she noticed that there were a lot of little nooks and crannies. The way that the stairs had been built had made little spaces. They were filled with spider webs, of course, so Harriet didn't touch them. But it was strange to see what her cupboard actually looked like.
Harriet finally allowed herself to draw her attention towards the trunk. Its lid was open, revealing the hastily thrown letter and hair clip. Gently she picked them up and slid the hair clip back into her knotted hair. Folding the letter carefully, she placed it onto the ground as she delved into the other contents of the trunk. The first thing that Harriet pulled out was clothes. They were big, far too big for her. They were adult sized, and they were… dresses? Harriet didn't understand them very much. There were big jackets that fell all the way to the floor. On the breast was a sown patch of a fancy 'H' and red and gold stripes around it. After investigating it, Harriet figured that it must have gone out of style since she's never seen anybody wear them before. Underneath a few pairs of the strange jacket were a few neatly folded dress shirts, a few skirts, a jumper, and a few golden and red ties. They were all very large, even when holding them up to herself, Harriet could possibly make the jumper into a dress.
The once neatly folded clothes were now a jumbled mess on the floor of her cupboard. Harriet peered into the trunk. It was empty now. She ran her fingers across the bottom and sighed. She was glad that she had found her mum's stuff. Happy even. But she had hoped that there had been a little bit more. Harriet was about to turn away when something caught her eye. It was a golden latch attached to the upper back wall of the trunk. Curiously, Harriet reached out to touch it. It didn't do anything, and Harriet leaned forwards to get a better look at it. Was it something stuck to the wall? Harriet hesitantly pulled and to her absolute astonishment she saw the whole back wall of the trunk come forwards!
Harriet leaned back with wide eyes. She held her breath as she continued to draw the golden handle towards her. Slowly the back of the trunk pulled out and down until it became the floor of the box and Harriet watched as what looked like a drawer of books crammed together filled the space where it was once empty. They were colorful and had weird titles that Harriet didn't understand. Tilting her head, Harriet read one out loud, slowly sounding out the unfamiliar words. "Cur-sis and Jin-x-es for The Nov-ice by Pat-er-ick Flem-ing," Harriet spoke. What kind of curses was this book about? Was this just a book full of the words that Dudley and his friends whispered to each other and giggled? The kind that Aunt Petunia said was foul language and nobody should speak them in her house? There must be a ton of curse words then because if they filled up an entire book about them.
Harriet's heart began to hammer into her chest as she saw another golden handle. Questions began to run through her head as she grasped it and yanked it forward. How could there be so many books hidden in the back of the trunk? There couldn't be that much space in it. And how did it get to be this big? It was smaller! Harriet had never seen anything like this before. The next hidden compartment was filled with thinly sliced woodcut planks that were crisscrossed into x marks. And inside of each of the spaces in between each of the x marks were little vials. Harriet didn't look closer, she reached up and pulled the next golden handle.
The next compartment was filled with the strange paper that was rolled up and small bottles filled with black stuff and bird feathers. Harriet wasn't sure what this was either and moved on to see the section that this trunk had to offer. It was there that she hit the jackpot. Inside were a few miscellaneous items, like a comb and a bag of what Aunt Petunia referred to as her facial powder. There were a few stray pieces of paper, a few bobby pins, a stack of letters that were tied together by a green ribbon, a couple of old pens, a small velvet pouch, and a beaten-up blue leather book. On the front of it was stamped the word, 'Lily' and this is what caught Harriet's eye.
She pulled it out and flipped it open. Inside of the beaten up and dogeared pages were slightly messy but readable writing. It was clearly readable to Harriet, and she read the paragraph that it opened to.
'Sev said that he'd never do that. But I know that he's changed since he's been sorted. He's even been hanging around that Malfoy, the prissy haired prat who told Slughorn that I cheated! Me! Cheated! Thankfully Slughorn didn't take him up on his accusation because he had been talking with me during Potions the entire time and I couldn't have cheated then. Sev was hanging around Malfoy, I know he was because he's picked up that nose-up posture that makes me feel inferior. Sev is so easily influenced, but he acts like he isn't. And I get so worried about him being alone with all the rest of the snakes. Makes me wonder if one day I'll get on the Hogwarts Express and see him no longer as a friend but as one of them. And that day scares me.'
Harriet read it again and it wasn't until after she finished studying it that the light clicked on upstairs. This! This was her mum's diary! Her heart fluttered as she immediately flipped to the beginning of the leather book and started at the beginning. The handwriting was less legible now, but Harriet had all the time in the world to dwell on the words until they made sense in her head.
This was her chance. As a seven-year-old, spawn of the devil himself, Harriet knew that this was her chance to finally know who her mum was. Was she really a drunk her entire life? A fridged bitch, as Aunt Petunia had always put it. Was she a snob? Or did she have a lazy eye? This was Harriet's only chance to know about the mysterious woman who had perhaps, maybe, once upon a time, might have loved her.
And so, Harriet didn't hesitate before diving into her mum's diary and her hopes held high as she read.
July 12th, 1971
Dear journal (which is NOT a diary, like Tunie says),
Today has been, what dad says, 'quite a day.' It took mum and dad to finally realize that I was a bit more than just weird. Yeah, they knew all about the strange occurrences, and whatever Tunie runs off to tell them about. They never believe her because how could I do all those strange things? Well, Sev and I know all about the magic stuff and Tunie knows because I told her. But mum and dad never knew until finally, I got my letter.
I am going to say this right now but I AM GOING TO HOGWARTS AND IM SO HAPPY! And Sev got his by owl! Although his dad almost found out but that's another story.
A woman wearing a robe (which Sev tells me is the highest form of fashion but I don't believe him because he sometimes makes jokes and I don't catch on because they are 'wizard' jokes) and a fancy old hat came by and gave my mum the letter. And then mum gathered everybody and the lady who said she was a teacher at hogwarts and then she did magic! REAL LIFE MAGIC! Super cool stuff! She made our table float and then she turned it into a cow! It even shat on the floor.
Mum and dad believed it then. Tunie was so happy for me and she was bouncing around as the teacher explained mum and dad about the wizarding things that they had to know. Like where to get my school books and stuff like that. Then Tunie asked the teacher if there was a spot open at school for her, and the old lady didn't really have the 'correct answer' as dad put it and just said that she'd see. Tunie was sad but she knew she'd come with me to magic school.
On another note- that's how I got you, Mr. Journal (not a diary). Dad was, I guess, feeling guilty about never believing me or Tunie about my magic and so he took us to a book store and told us to get something special. Sev had once mentioned that it was super important for witches and wizards to write down their 'memoairs' or whatever and so I figured it was time for me to start mine! Tunie got a really fancy cookbook, she said that there were some bees knees recipes for chocolate cake she wanted to try out. She then told me that getting a diary was stupid and I should have gotten a book about magic.
I told her to shove it because I liked it a lot. And it isn't a diary, it's a journal.
Next week Ms. Prince said she'd take my parents to the wizard shopping district to get our school stuff. I cannot wait. Besides Sev told me he'd only been twice and he's told me all about getting wands and how amazing everything is. I think he only wants me to go so he could get me a box of those jelly beans that he won't talk too much about. The only thing he says about it is that 'it will be a surprise' and 'I can't wait for you to try a red one' whatever that means, the wanker.
Anyways, Tunie wants me to go practice more magic in the backyard and now mum and dad wanna see it so bye for now Journal.
Harriet… Harriet had to pause. There was quite a lot of things that she didn't understand about this at all. She didn't really know much about what all of this referred to, it felt like she had to have some sort of background to know what this all meant. But there was something that felt stuck inside of her head. It was the part where her mum wrote that 'strange occurrences' happened around her and 'magic stuff.'
Harriet could easily count all of the times something weird happened around her. She knew that they were weird because when the Dursley's found out they always beat her and locked her away for a really long time. They always blamed her too. Like that one time when Dudley had put his gum into Harriet's hair and Aunt Petunia had shaved it all off because she didn't want to deal with it. It was back the next day, unruly as ever. Harriet vaguely recalled being shut into the cupboard for so long that she black out. Or that one time her school teacher had yelled at her and then her hair was blue all of a sudden. Or when Dudley had smeared mud on the floor that she had just moped and then the mud was gone and Dudley had found it in his bed that night. Or when Aunt Petunia had yelled at her for not reminding her that they were out of orange juice when Dudley had wanted some and then Dudley had a glass of orange juice. Aunt Petunia threw it out before Dudley had taken a sip and-
Magic stuff.
Rarely ever mentioned around her, and forbidden in the Dursley home. Magic, the 'M' word that Aunt Petunia would never allow being mentioned in her home. Dudley had tried it once, he had watched a show on the telly about a magician and asked his mum to get him one of those kits so he could pull a rabbit out of a hat. It was one of the only times that Aunt Petunia had ever told Dudley no. Harriet remembered it from when Dudley had thrown his worst fit and for weeks he'd always stomp extra loud on the stairs.
Magic. Something that was only recently introduced to Harriet. The first time she could recall hearing about it was when a teacher had told them a story from a book about a wizard and a man with a sword from a rock. Harriet understood the gist of the word, it meant things that happened without an explanation of them happening. Harriet's mum could do that. She did impossible things, and a teacher had turned a table into a cow.
With how the Dursley's always reacted when something odd happened to them by pointing their fingers at her, then that meant-
That meant that Harriet had magic.
But… didn't that also mean that the Durlsey's also knew that she had magic too? Why didn't they ever tell her? Maybe Harriet could have stopped it from happening if she had known. But instead, they didn't tell her and she always gets punished for doing it. Harriet figured out right then and there that she wouldn't use magic near the Dursley's ever again. She'd only use it in her cupboard… And if Dudley was being a jerk again, maybe Harriet would magic up some spiders and put them in his hair. Again. But this time it would be on purpose.
She glanced down and turned the next page. Mind settled, and eager to learn more about magic and her mother.
July 13th, 1971
Tunie tried to make a cake from her new cookbook. She put it in too long or something because we smelled smoke and Tunie runs from the living room and she starts to cry as she pulls out the burning cake.
She runs out of the house before anybody could really talk to her. I help my mum clean up the mess and when dad returns with Tunie she asks me why I used my magic to ruin her cake. I told her I didn't and then Tunie told me to stop lying because it wouldn't have burned. She followed the recipe, and recipes don't lie. I told her that I didn't do anything at all and then she called me a liar and ran upstairs into our bedroom and slammed the door shut.
I tried to clean more and then I saw the look my mum and dad gave each other. They believed Tunie, I know they do. I said I needed a breath of fresh air and took my journal outside and I went to the swings and I don't know what to do.
I didn't do anything to Tunie's cake! I know! But nobody believes me!
I'm mad! And I feel hurt! But I think is the worst is how I feel alone. I wish Sev was with me right now. But his dad is home and he can't leave his house early when his dad is home.
July 19th, 1971
Today was the day! Ms. Prince took us to Diagon Alley to get our books. Sev was so excited and Tunie was too! Mum and dad didn't really react but they did say some choice words when we went into a dirty old pub that they couldn't see. Tunie couldn't either, but once Sev and I lead them to the doors they were able to see it too! After going through the pub Ms. Prince opened up a hole in a wall and there it was! It was so amazing! Turns out robes are a fashion thing, although I think they are stupid. Everybody was wearing them, and there were so many people. Things were flying through the air, birds going every direction along with books and papers.
Ms. Prince took us to the bank and there mum and dad opened up an account for me. I could tell they were uncomfortable because the goblins weren't really nice but dad did try to quip a few jokes. We got enough money for school books and robes and Tunie really wanted to see the book store. But Ms. Prince said that we should get our school robes first and I thought it would take all day but I forgot that people use magic! The nice lady measured me and Sev and within minutes some robes were made. It was so cool.
After that, we got our wands. It took me like five minutes to find mine. The crazy man who did the shop told me that I got a ten and one fourth inch wand, made out of willow and it was swishy. It is indeed swishy, as I waved it around. It took Sev nearly twenty minutes to find his wand but I didn't get to hear what it was made out of.
Anyways, we went to the bookshop after that and I got all of my books and Tunie got a book too but she hid it from me. Sev got a book to help him in potions, and he said he'd teach me if I wanted. It's called 'Ingredients and Why They Do What They Do' and I took a peek at it and it looked interesting enough.
After that, we got all our potions ingredients and cauldrons and Tunie kept asking for one until mum said that she could share mine until I went to school in September. I got other things too like a scale set that is supposed to measure how much stuff I have (although why couldn't they just use teaspoons for that) and a telescope that Sev says we get to see stars with. Ms. Prince let us get a small treat at the end, and Sev got those beans and I picked up a few sugar quills because they look beautiful. I don't want to eat them, just stare at them they are so pretty.
Tunie wanted a chocolate frog but when she opened the package it hopped out and got away! Instead, she got a card about some wizard named Uric the Oddball and it said he wore a jellyfish as a hat. It was cool because the guy in the picture moved! He left after a bit and Tunie was mad that he went away. I don't think I ever saw him come back.
Anyways, I cannot wait for school to start! I think it will be so cool to learn how to be a witch.
Harriet was about to start reading the next entry when the front door slammed shut. Harriet jumped in surprise. She hadn't even heard the car enter the driveway. Harriet shoved the journal under her mattress and quickly closed the trunk as quietly as she possibly could. The click of the footsteps meant that it was Aunt Petunia who was home, not Uncle Vernon. She didn't usually check on Harriet until she needed her, but Uncle Vernon would like to bang on the cupboard as he walked by. Hiding the trunk, and turning off her new bright light, Harriet fell back onto her mattress and waiting in the dark.
Although her mum's story had abruptly been ended at that moment, it still replayed within Harriet's head. Questions came with every thought. Who was this Sev that her mum mentioned? Where is this Diagon Alley that her mum wrote about? And the most important question that went through Harriet's head was, could she go to Hogwarts too?
When Aunt Petunia finally checked on Harriet, she quickly sent the girl to work in the kitchen. Keeping a careful eye on her to make sure she didn't eat any food while she wasn't looking, Aunt Petunia didn't notice nor did she care that her niece had changed since the day before. The change wasn't noticeable. Harriet was always told to be quiet and never to speak around them. And so her silence wasn't something new. But it was her attention that was placed elsewhere. Harriet was always careful about the food, and so today was the first time in her seven-year-old life that she was able to think about something else besides how to please the Dursleys. No, her mind was with the small leather book under her mattress. And when she could get her hands on it again.
The desire to know more about this new world enveloped her every waking thought. And all she had was a trunk that was clearly magical and her mother's journal to help guide Harriet through it all.
(Once again today was a day of massive change in Harriet's life. It is to be said once again that 75,257 universes were made because of the choices that Harriet actively partook of today. There were fewer universes created this particular day because there was a lesser chance of death. However, Harriet did perish in only a few universes but there was not quite such a strong possibility for her to die on this particular day.
The majoring difference between the universes was if she was able to locate the other compartments of the trunk. A majority did, but a few did not. Those particular Harriets never discovered the magic world until their 11th birthday. A few other universes would later lead on until Harriet did find the compartment, but many years down the road. All in all, it is considered a good thing for Harriet that the sooner that she found out her heritage, the better and more prepared she is for the inevitable conclusion for her story.
A few other universes were created because of a few different things happened. Aunt Petunia didn't slam the door and therefore caught her niece with her cupboard filled with magical items. From there Harriet found out about her mum and how she was a witch from Aunt Petunia's screaming rambles as Petunia dragged the trunk from Harriet's room. She also found out that Aunt Petunia was getting paid each month to take her in and to 'stamp it out of her' from her 'magical guardian.' Harriet didn't really pay much more attention as Aunt Petunia had thrown the trunk outside. Then Petunia went inside the garage, grabbed Vernon's spare can of petrol and then set the trunk and all of its contents on fire. Harriet screamed and tried to stop her, but Petunia was not having it. The police were called and arrested Petunia. Harriet was interviewed by social services, or whatever the British equivalent of it was, and was found to be abused. Petunia and Vernon were scheduled to go on trial and then to prison but something odd had happened.
Quite literally, everybody forgot. The police forgot all about the report of a woman slapping around a child with a dangerous bonfire burning in the background. Social services were never called, Petunia and Vernon were found in their home the next morning never remembering that they were almost sent to prison for the rest of their miserable lives. Dudley wasn't sent to his Aunt Marge (who was also convicted of child abuse later on) and continued to be his annoying little bratty self.
And Harriet… well. In some universes, she didn't remember at all. She fell in line with the manipulations of an old goat. She did her duty and in the end, becoming the pig that was easily slaughtered for some tasty bacon. Her fortune was given to a greedy family, her life was ripped into shreds from the night her parents were killed. Harriet never found happiness once in that lifetime.
But in some universes… Harriet remembered. She could recall the trunk being set on fire. Her mother's journal that she had barely touched sitting on top and being the first to turn into ash. She recollected the words that her aunt spoke to her. That she was being paid to abuse her, to beat the magic out of her, and that her mum was a witch.
She remembered the name of Albus Dumbledore and she let her anger fester her until it changed her entirely.
It was not the first time that Harriet Potter swore that she would destroy Albus Dumbledore. Nor would it be the last. But it was the first time in Harriet's many universes that she had done so when she was seven years old. And as everybody knows- seven-year-olds are extremely dangerous.)