"Draco, come on!" Ten-year-old Harry said hurridly while shaking the blonde boy that he had honestly come to consider as his brother. "Wake up!"

"Hmmhm" Draco groaned and tried to brush him away but then his eyes snapped open and he jerked upright, knowing that it was of dire consenquence if he didn't get up when expectd.

"OUCH!" He yelped loudly even though he had covered his mouth with his hands while his head contacted with one of the low stairs above him.

"Ugh, I hate this cupboard" Draco moaned but quickly dressed and rushed to help Harry get breakfast ready and finish cleaning the house they'd been working extra hard on since three days ago for they were having a guest today.

"If she's anything like Vernon...I hate her" Draco added. "Have you even seen a picture of your Aunt Marge?"

"No" Harry shook his head.

"She's hidious" Draco pulled a face. "Like a prune that got stung by a million bees and is allergic to shellfish."

"Ha! She's that bad?" Harry laughed hysterically while Draco moved his hands to animate Marge's appearance while pulling faces.

"Fine, don't believe me" Draco smirked, holding back his own chuckles. "But I speak the truth."

"Okay" Harry hid his smile and they finished their tasks in time to answer the door for the large woman and while Draco certainly overexagerated quite a bit...she was still a sight for sore eyes.

"And who are you?" Marge barked as she spotted Draco and Harry taking her bags and opening the door.

"These are the boys I told you about" Vernon explained while coming inside behind her.

"Oh, those rats" Marge rolled her eyes. "Are you sure they're related? The blonde one looks nothing like the other."

"Hmph" Draco said but had to bite back a comment as he was almost collapsing under the weight of her one bag.

"It's hard to tell" Vernon sighed. "Come in Marge, get out of the weather."

"I'm fine Vernon" Marge waved her hand dismissingly. "Ripper!" She called and the dreaded bulldog ran in, sniffing at Harry and then Draco. "I'd like a spot of brandy though, if you don't mind Vernon."

"Of course" He said and led her into the kitchen where Petunia and Dudley were waiting. "Behave" He growled to the boys as he slumbered past.

"Gladly" Harry replied but not within earshot as he helped Draco with the bags. "Come on, let's get rid of these and then hide outside."

"Agreed" Draco said with a scowl set on his pale face. "The blonde one..." He muttered and used a whiney voice as he pretended to be Marge and Harry had to catch himself before he started laughing again.

The boys dumped Marge's bags into the spare room that was all prepared for her (although Draco was a little rougher than he should have been with the bag). Afterwards, they made their way sneakily outside and marvelled at the sunlight and fresh air. They had previously been instructed not to leave the yard but they didn't mind too much as they were nowhere near those inside.

"Today isn't too bad" Draco commented as he jumped lightly and grabbed hold of a tree banch to swing on while Harry climbed onto the branch opposite it and used it to hang upside-down.

"For now, but we can't stay out here all night" Harry sighed.

"Hmph" Draco frowned but looked up and stared at Harry's lightning-bolt scar for a moment. "I wonder how you got that" He pointed to the mark on his forehead.

"Oh" Harry touched it lightly with his hand. "I dunno, I suppose it was when my parents were supposingly killed in that car crash."

"Yeah" Draco said, still believing that what they'd been told of how their parents had died was a lie.

"Argh!" The blonde yelped as something nipped as his ankles and he looked over to see the bulldog was snapping at him. Draco took no chances and pratically flew up the tree and onto the branch he had previously been swinging on...until that dog had appeared.

"You could have warned me!" He scowled at Harry who was laughing a little in amusement.

"I didn't see him, it's getting dark" Harry said but wasn't too truthful as he'd heard something in the nearby bushes but had considered it to be no threat for Dudley would have been much louder.

"Get away, you rotten fleabag!" Draco said angrily to the dog but he just jumped towards the tree, trying to catch either of the boys which only suceeded in making them climb higher out of reach.

--

And that's where they stayed for over an hour until Petunia came outside in search of them.

"Get down from there!" She hissed angrily but neither boy moved as the dog was still trying to bite their ankles. "Ripper" She said but shrieked when the dog jumped up at her.

"Ripper!" Marge's voice called out and the dulldog took off running back into the house and the boys finally climbed down from the tree.

"He was trying to bite us" Draco complained when Petunia grabbed both of them by their ears and dragged them inside.

"There are two of you and one of him" Petunia scowled and pointed to a sink full of filthy dishes and other kitchen items. "Clean it up."

"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry sighed and the boys got to work; Harry washed while Draco dried.

"And how is Dudders in school?" Marge was asking Vernon and Petunia while the boys washed away, trying to ignore the conversation but didn't dare talk to each other, so they listened in but tried not to appear too obvious about it.

"Good, my Dudders is making a lot of friends!" Petunia said proudly while Draco rolled his eyes for it was about the only good comment one could say about the overfed bully.

"And those lot?" Marge jabbed a finger in the direction of Draco and Harry but didn't look at either of them.

"Trouble as always" Vernon replied, shaking his head. "Nothing but trouble."

"Hey-" Draco went to say but Harry stepped on his foot, sucessfully shutting him up. "Ow" He mumbled. "Thanks, I forgot" Draco sighed since he was still not acustomed to keeping quiet...even after all these years in the Dursley household.

"A burden to all around them I see" Marge nodded, giving Draco a short glance as she could have sworn he'd said something. "Failing every class I presume? No friends? Unreliable as well, no doubt."

"Yes" Petunia nodded although it wasn't really true. Their grades were average but they couldn't make friends because Dudley scared them all off. He also purposfully tried to make them late or blame them for things they didn't do, just to get them in trouble.

"And they're not even related?" Marge raised an eyebrow. "Keeping them out of charity are you, Vernon?" She turned to her brother in strong disaproval and astonishment.

"Well..." Vernone struggled to come up with a reasonable reply.

"Harry is the son of my sister and Draco is a child they cared for at times; it is very confusing" Petunia replied a bit reluctantly. "But they are to stay together."

"Well they should be at an orphanage, together" Marge said, her tone raising. "If anyone dumped them on my doorstep, that'd be lucky to even end up there! I hope you're not giving them too much, they're to earn their way if they're to stay here out of your rediculous charity."

"We only give them what they really need" Petunia said.

"If we're lucky" Draco hissed to Harry.

"What was that, boy?" Marge turned around to stare at him as though she had been waiting for him to speak.

"Nothing" Draco replied too quickly.

"A liar too; how do you put up with them?" Marge asked Vernon but her attention stayed on Draco. "Do you have something to say, ungreatful boy? Go on then, say it!"

"I...I was just telling Harry that he missed a spot" Draco invented quickly, pointing at the plate Harry was scrubbing. Harry nodded hurridly to agree with Draco's words and Marge seemed to acccpt it, barely.

"Thanks" Harry frowned sarcastically at Draco, who merely shrugged in reply before taking the plate and proceeding to dry it in utter silence.

"I wouldn't fuss over it" Marge continued. "I'm sure they got it from their parents..they were probably all part of some drug cult, no doubt."

All adults and Dudley turned their attention to the kitchen but the boys were gone; having dissappeared behind the counter to retrive the plate that Draco had dropped angrily to Marge's words. Harry had also dropped the cup he'd been washing and it had hit the sink, splashing water over both him and Draco as well as the floor.

"What are you doing?" Petunia snapped as she hurried over. "Clean this up, now!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry mumbled while Draco didn't trust himself to speak and said nothing.

"And when you're done, get off to bed!" Vernon added even more angrily.

"Hush" Marge told him but said nothing more while the boys cleaned.

"Hold it!" Marge said as the boys finished their task and tried to leave the kitchen quickly but halted at her voice. "These people were kind or stupid enough to take both of you brats in, you should show some more respect!" She snapped.

"Vernon, perhaps there is a school that would better straighten them out? Use the cane on them, it would do them good" Marge turned back as though the boys no longer existed so they took that chance to hurry out of the room and went to their cupboard.

"I. Hate. That. Prune" Draco said slowly but venomously.

"I know, how dare she...we're to respect them? Urgh!" Harry growled as well, slumping on the camp bed and Draco soon joined him as there wasn't much else to do and they were starting to become rather cramped in their small space.

"How long is she staying again?" Draco wondered as he buried his face in his hands to conceal his misery and calm himself in order to swallow his temptation of running out there and giving them a piece of his mind on various subjects.

"A few days" Harry sighed in response. "It will be like forever!"

But it didn't. Those few days passed by and everything seemed okay until one Saturday night when Vernon came home from work in a very foul mood. He slammed the front door, barely uttered a word to his wife and son before turning to see Draco and Harry still cooking dinner. Or at least Harry was doing most of it and Draco set the table or checked on smaller tasks for cooking wasn't one of his talents; he just didn't have the skill or patience for it.

"Did they do all their chores?" Vernon asked with an eager growl, as though looking for something -or someone- to vent his frustrations on and they were always his easy targets, no matter how unjustified.

"All except the gardening" Petunia replied. "It started to rain I believe they said."

"Rain?" Vernon growled. "I have a window in my office you know boys; that was no rain! You will get out there and finally finish that rose garden the moment you're done here!"

Draco and Harry glanced up in annoyance and surprise but said nothing for each could tell that making Vernon increasingly angry was going to do more harm than good and while they hadn't had a solid meal in a few days, they knew it would be pushing it to ask for something now.

And so after dinner was served and Harry had dragged Draco away from it, they gathered their equipment and headed outside to where the budding rose bushes were. They understood that they hadn't had the time to do it lately but did they really have to be sent out in the dark and cold? Plus it seemed that it was going to rain again.

"We're not going to get it done in time" Harry said, examining the situation.

"I can hardly see" Draco added, although his eyes were starting to adjust...that happened when you spent years in a cupboard.

"Come on, let's get this over with" Harry said and started working while Draco pulled out weeds, or at least he attempted to.

The rain began to fall heavier but the task was still far from done and neither boy dared to enter the house until they were finished for they'd just be sent right back out again.

"This is s-so un-fair" Draco said while trying hard not to shudder from the cold water pelting against his skin and down his back while they were surrounded by the chilly night air.

"I kn-ow" Harry replied. "Ouch!" He yelped as he pricked a finger on a thorn. "Could this week get any worst?"

But it did. Once they had spent two hours in the ice-cold rain, they hurried back to the house for warmth but forgot that they were dripping wet and muddy. Petunia shrieked when she saw them on her carpet and Vernon lost his temper altogether. He grabbed both boys by their hair and shoved them into the cupboard under the stairs, shutting the door behind them and locking it.

"Getting mud and slime all over Petunia's new carpet!" He roared through the air vent as the boys shivered on their beds helplessly. "You're staying in here until supper tomorrow, and don't you dare come out because you're bolted. This ought to teach you rats!" He scowled and walked off, although they would have suffered much more if they hadn't been so soaked and filthy.

"C-cold" Harry gulped and Draco shifted closer, using him for warmth.

"I don't w-want to wet the bed with m-mud" Draco said so resisted the thin blankets but ten minutes later they couldn't take it anymore and climbed into their bed, huddling together for warmth and comfort, wrapping the blankets around themselves as they did.

--

It was many hours before the rest of the house grew dark and quiet as the Dursleys went to bed. An hour later and Draco got out of bed as his shivering had subsided and he was relatively dry now.

"What are you doing?" Harry hissed as Draco pulled a pin, a fork and a bent screwdriver from a middle shelf in the cupboard and began to fiddle with the lock on the door.

"I figured this out ages ago, for emergencies" Draco replied and finally grinned the first half-smile in days as the lock clicked quietly and he snuck out.

"Draco!" Harry whispered worriedly but found himself following him.

"Grab a drink bottle for water and I'll get some food. If we're stuck until tomorrow we may as well stock up" Draco told his brother and Harry nodded. They took only what would go unnoticed and then hurried back to their cupboard. Draco checked that they had left no footprints or marks behind and was relieved to find that they hadn't.

So the following day the boys lived on their crackers and cheese while being careful with their water use. It felt like a miracle when they heard Dudley mocking them through the air vent about going bowling for a few hours and leaving them behind.

Once the car had pulled out of the driveway, Draco used his unlocking trick again (he had relocked it the previous night to avoid suspicion) and the boys rushed to the bathroom with a change of clean clothes. They showered and dressed at warp speed. Draco seemed very pleased to be able to wash his hair and brush his teeth while Harry was just happy to be mud-free.

Afterwards they watched a bit of TV for it was a luxury they never had and then made their way back to the cupboard in time for the Dursley's arrival back home.

"I hate it here, Harry" Draco said as they listened to Dudley laughing in the living room about some stupid TV show he was watching. Vernon and Petunia were heard talking about drills in the other room as well while the two boys were left out and once again forgotten.

"Me too" Harry sighed, making his chipped, toy knight on a black horse walk across a shelf as though it was going into battle. Draco had his knees on the bed just as harry did and was playing with a red dragon although it was missing a tail. They were bored and had been entertaining themselves with their broken toys for hours now, but it never really amused them anymore; it was simply just a way to pass the time. When they were a lot younger they'd risk making the dragon roar and the knight would fall off his horse dramatically, but now they knew better and remained quiet, dull and non-existant.

Draco dropped his dragon and it fell to the floor, sliding under their bed so he crouched down to retrieve it, only to pull out a sheet of paper with numbers and crosses marked on it.

"What's that?" Harry examined it. "Oh, weren't you using that to count how long it will be until we get out of here?"

"Yeah" Draco nodded. "I figured we'd be able to at about eighteen. We're almost eleven...which leaves about nine years of hell left" He nodded. "Although it made me feel worst so I abandoned it a few months ago."

"Nine years" Harry shook his head. "We're not going to fit in here much longer, it's too cramped as it is" He looked around the cupboard for there really was very little space for them both. "If it was just one of us we'd last another year maybe but with the two of us? The bed is going to collapse and the shelves will fall on us!"

"Maybe they'll crush us while we're sleeping" Draco said hopefully.

"Think they'll give us our own room? I mean, Dudley has two rooms!" Harry frowned.

"Not likely" Draco rolled his eyes and picked up the dragon toy. "He doesn't use that second room anyway, it's just full of his ruined junk."

"Maybe we could pray?" Harry shrugged and Draco slowly looked at him as though he'd told him to cuddle Dudley and tell Vernon they loved him.

"You've finally lost it" Draco shook his head. "I didn't know you believed in God."

"I don't" Harry replied while ignoring the first comment.

"What's the whole point of praying if you don't think anyone will hear you?" Draco rolled his eyes and placed his dragon back on its shelf, now abandoning it.

"I dunno, I'm out of other options" Harry replied. "I heard that the last thing people do when they're out of options and hope, is to pray. Maybe someone will hear us?"

"That someone is in the kitchen and will lock us in for longer if he overhears us" Draco crossed his arms. "No thanks, my sanity suits me."

"Hardly" Harry rolled his eyes but ignored his brother and crouched on his knees to place his hands on the bed in a praying stance. He whispered too quietly for Draco to hear but out of respect for his brother, the blonde remained quiet and controlled his urge to snigger at how stupid he thought Harry looked as he prayed in a space he could barely fit in.

As the two boys lay in their bed that night, something seemed a bit different. For while Harry was asleep, Draco lay awake and thought that perhaps he should of prayed as well. He didn't believe in the rubbish but Harry certainly looked calmer and better after doing it so maybe it might work. But he was fooling himself; what were their chances of escaping Privit Drive before they were eighteen? Little did the boys know, it would be as soon as their next birthday...