Chapter 7 - A wizard

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"Harry, please come into the sitting room, we need to talk to you!"

Harry had been lying in his cupboard, watching a spider climbing up and down the wall when his aunt had suddenly opened his door. This was unusual, very unusual. Normally, they would leave him alone when he had cleaned the kitchen after they had supper. Perhaps he had missed something?
He clambered out of his cupboard and followed his aunt into the living room, a room he was normally only allowed to enter when he was doing chores.

"Dudley, dear, would you mind going to your room playing some computer games? Your father and I need to talk to the boy."

"No I want to stay!"

"Duddy, sweetheart, I'm sorry but we need to talk to him alone. I promise it won't be long!"

"NO!"

"Dudley please... look, this won't be very interesting at all, and I'm sure it will be more fun playing some games than listening to something we have to tell the freak. And I'm sure we can find a little reward if you do as you are told!" Vernon winked at his son. „I think I have heart something about Megalomaniac 2 being released next week."

"Hm... ok, but you promise I get the game?"

"Of course Dudley dear!"

"Ok, well... but I need some of the ice-cream if I go into my room, too!"

"That's all right dear, wait a moment, I'll bring you something! Poor dear, must be starving!"

Harry stayed in the corner next to the door while his aunt was busy serving Dudley. He was always a bit wary when he was alone in a room with Uncle Vernon. Aunt Petunia wasn't the most friendly woman, but Uncle Vernon was much, much worse, especially when it come to strange and freaky things. Harry was reasonably sure that his relatives didn't want to speak with him about his craziness, since it had been a long time - over a month! - since he last had an encounter with the demon. Dr Green wasn't likely to have told his aunt something untoward, too, since he had been rather pleased with Harry behaving so well when he had visited him a few day ago. He had finished all his chores in time, so there was really only one thing his Aunt and Uncle could possibly want to talk to him about:

That strange letter that had arrived in the morning.

Harry hadn't even noticed that the letter was addressed to him until his Uncle had spilled his coffee over the newspaper moments after Harry had given him the post and had squeaked something about "the freak having been gotten a letter!"
Harry, and surprisingly even Dudley, had been shoved out of the kitchen and he had only been able to make out Vernon saying „It must be from THEM!" Before the door was closed. Dudley had tried to listen through the closed door, but Harry knew better than to do so himself. If his Uncle would catch him, he would surely get a beating and his aunt would complain to Dr Green that he was so difficult to deal with. Apart form that, he wasn't really interested in who might have send him a letter anyway. It was probably just wrongly addressed anyway. He had never gotten a letter. And this had been a weird letter, the envelope being made of thick, yellow paper... and who was „them" Uncle Vernon had talked about? But it really didn't matter, did it? His Aunt and Uncle would deal with it. He only hoped that he wouldn't be in trouble for receiving such a strange letter.

But apparently, he was. Otherwise, he wouldn't be standing in the living room right now.

Fortunately, his Aunt came back rather soon. She sat down next to Vernon and motioned him to take a seat on the second sofa. Harry wasn't sure what to do. He had never, NEVER sat on any of the sofas. Clearly this was a trap! They wanted him to do something he wasn't allowed to do in order to tell on him to Dr Green! Then, he would have to stay in the fucking hospital AGAIN and would probably get even MORE medicine! He hated this! Everything! He hated the hospital and the medicine and Dr Green for forcing him to take it and his relatives for making him going to the Doctor in the first place... it wasn't fair!

"No!"

"What 'no', boy?" His Uncle asked, dangerously low.

"I won't sit on the sofa! You'll just want to trick me and getting me back to hospital!"

"What are you talking about, boy?! Just sit down as your aunt told you to and stop acting like a paranoid!"

"No! You will tell me on and then I have to go back to hospital because I misbehaved and I'm not allowed to misbehave and then they will lock me up again and make me taking even more medicine! I'm not sitting on the sofa you can't make me!"

"Then just stay were you are or sit on the floor, boy, but we will have this conversation and you will listening, otherwise we WILL tell you on!"

"Fine!" Harry huffed, sitting down onto the floor. What the hell was going on?

"Look, you have seen this, ehm, letter that arrived in the morning. Have you?" His aunt asked, not really sure whether or not the boy had noticed it at all. After all, he was in a state of half-awareness most of the time, and you could never be sure whether he had actually noticed something or not.

"Yeah... funny letter. But I don't know who send it! I didn't mean to!" It was always better to claim innocence and apologise in advance.

"I KNOW you don't have to do something with sending the letter! Will you just LISTEN, boy!?"

"' sorry"

"Right, that letter - well, it was from a school. A school for... for people like you. They want you to attend the school."

"Do you mean this letter was from some asylum that has a school?"

"No you stupid freak - well, you could say they are mad, but not in the usual way..." Vernon looked thoughtful (an expression that Harry hadn't seen on his Uncle's face very often).

"Vernon no, not now - Harry, no, there are people who are - different. But they aren't... mentally ill. They have a special school. And they want you to attend it. You have to write them a reply that you will, but that they have to send someone to explain everything to you and to buy your supplies!"

"But... I haven't attended school for ages!"

"Yes I KNOW, boy, but this is a special school and you have to go. You will stay there all year since it is a boarding school and only stay here during summer. Do you really think we want to put up with you any more than necessary?!"

"So it IS some kind of home for mentally ill, isn't it?! Dr Green has told me that there are things like this, were people like me have to stay forever and that you might decided sending me to one of these things! But I won't go, you can't make me!"

"BOY listen to your Aunt! This is NOT an asylum, even so that would be an appropriate place for you to stay, also! And you WILL go to this stupid school whether you want to or not, I will not put up with you and your madness any more!"

"So what IS it if it isn't an asylum? And why am I allowed to go there when I haven't been allowed to go to a normal school for years?!"

"I have told you already, it's a school for people like you. People who are different. Your parents also attended that school. There is a... a special race of people who are different from normal people. WE are normal people but YOU are different! And therefore you have to go to this school. They teach all kind of weird stuff...m...mma...magic. It's a school for magic. You will learn how to do all these crazy things... don't ask me more about this, one of the teachers will come and explain everything! They came to Lily, too... but they must think we knew how to do everything, otherwise they would have send a teacher handing over the letter in the first place..." Petunia mumbled on, speaking more to herself than to the boy who was sitting across from her with a glazed expression on his face.

Harry had stopped listening shortly after his Aunt had mentioned his parents.
He had had parents?
Well, of course he knew, somehow, that everyone had parents. But his relatives had never mentioned his mother or father, he had never seen a picture, he wasn't allowed to ask questions, he didn't remember them and didn't know anything about his... his parents. So somehow ,they had never seemed real. And now he should go to the same school his parents had?

"Do you listen, boy!?" There was no reaction, the child just sat there with a faraway expression on his face. "BOY!"

"Hu?" Harry felt confused, dazed... perhaps he had another one of these „pychtic episodes" Dr Green had talked about? He knew that he was to tell Dr Green immediately when he noticed anything strange going on in his head. So perhaps he should ask his aunt whether he could phone him tomorrow?

"BOY, I won't put up with your disregard for your caregivers any longer! YOU WILL GO TO THAT... THAT 'SCHOOL', NO ARGUMENTS! And now you will write a letter to these freaks!"

"But... what kind of school is this?"

"HAVEN'T YOU LISTEN TO YOUR AUNT?! It's a school for... for ma-freaks! Freaks who are useless members of society like your parents were, who don't care about destroying the life of normal people by dropping the child of some strangers of f on one's doorstep, completely selfish freaky people!"

"I have told you, boy, it is a school for magic. And no arguments, you will do as you are told!"

"Magic..?" And to his relatives shock, Harry began to cry.

"What's the matter NOW, boy?"

"There is not such a thing like magic! It's not real! You just want to send me to an asylum without me knowing it! I don't want to, Aunt, please, I don't want to! I promise I will behave and not acting strange any more and I will take all medicine you want to but please don't send me to an asylum!"

"BOY! It's NOT an asylum but a school for freaky wi- wizards like you and you WILL go!"

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no please no..."

"Boy, listen! Magic is real. Your mother was a witch and your father was a wizard. And apparently you are a wizard, too. You HAVE to attend this school in order to learn how to control it. You can't be exposed to normal people without having this - this stuff under control! You might hurt people with it!"

"No no no no no no no no no no no no..." Apparently, explanations weren't working. Harry had started to rock backwards and forwards and seemed to loose hold on sanity - well, the remainders of sanity he still had - rather quickly. If she didn't want to bring the boy to hospital this very evening, she had to do something, Petunia decided.

"Harry! Listen boy! HARRY! - Vernon, just slap him! We need to stop this!"

Who was Vernon not to whack the freak when he got a chance to do so? It even seemed to help, the boy was looking slightly confused at his uncle, then he turned to his aunt and asked

"What?"

"Boy, Harry, you have to listen and you will not acting like a lunatic any more! You are a wizard and you have to go to this blasted school! And in order to do so, you have to write a letter to these... these people! Someone will come and explain everything. I don't know any more about all of this, so don't ask questions but just write this letter!" And she handed him a pen and some paper she had brought to the living room earlier.

"But... but there is no magic! This is all just in my head, isn't it? Are you real? How do I know that you are real? Perhaps everything is just some weird dream! Dr Green has told me to tell him immediately when strange things are happening... I must phone him. But when this is a dream - can I phone him? I have to ask my Aunt. Are you my Aunt? Or are you only a hallucination? I don't know I don't know oh please help, I don't know!"

"You will NOT phone Dr Green! He mustn't be told anything of these... occurrence! There is a law that normal people aren't allowed to know anything about this - this world, this magic! You mustn't tell him, do you understand!?"

"But this isn't real... this can't be real. There must be something wrong. Oh please I don't know... this isn't right. Please stop it stop it... STOP IT IT HURTS!"

"Damn it... Vernon, would you please fetch his emergency kit? I don't think there is much use speaking with him now..."

About half a year ago, Dr Green had provided Aunt Petunia with medication Harry was to take in emergencies when Dr Green wasn't available, but it wasn't bad enough that he had to be brought to hospital. Well, it was evening so the Doctor wasn't available, but there was no way she could bring Harry to him now, anyway. After all, she had just told the boy that magic was real and that he was a wizard, so the Doctor might decide that SHE needed to stay on a closed ward!
Petunia almost snorted, as if she would ever be anything but normal! The boy, on the other hand, was not only a freak like her sister had been but mentally ill as well. You couldn't be more abnormal, could you?
She had almost been relieved when Vernon had shown her the letter. Of course, she HAD been quite sure that it would come some time before the boy turned eleven, but she couldn't help having been a bit worried that his craziness, his other freakishness, had somehow overrode the magic. After all, the boy hadn't had any bout of this „accidental magic" for years! She hadn't been sure whether or not it was possible for someone to loose his magic because of such a thing like a mental illness... she had never really known anything about this world, so how could she be sure that the boy would still be accepted in that... that school?

But apparently, he was. And that was all that mattered right now. It didn't matter whether or not the boy HAD magic, because as soon as one of these wizard from the school turned up, her family was finally free of the devil little urchin! THEY could look after this crazy child, then, they would have to care for him and put up with all this self-harming and other incidents.
Of course, she had to tell Dr Green a story about why the boy was away suddenly, but this shouldn't be a problem. The Doctor had mentioned sending the boy into permanent care on a lot of occasions, especially during the past year, so he wouldn't be too surprised when she had finally done so. The wizards could provide her with some believable records, the least they could do to make up for the past ten years!

"Here is it, Petunia dear!" Vernon had returned, and without bothering to explain anything to the boy (he probably wouldn't listen anyway, since he had started mumbling to himself one again) Petunia shoved one of the stronger sedatives into her nephews mouth.

"Drink, boy!" A glass of water was pressed in his face and he obeyed instinctively.

"Go to your cupboard! Now!" That was easy. He knew that his cupboard was safe, he wished he could stay there forever. He could just forget the strange things his Aunt had said, and tomorrow everything would be ok again.

Petunia was relieved when Harry did as he was told without putting up a fight.

Well, she just had to write the letter herself, then. Two letters, to be precise, since she didn't know whether there would come one of there disgusting birds to fetch the reply or whether the responses to Hogwarts letter were somehow able to make it to THEM via the royal post, a feat no letter she had wrote the wizards during the past years had achieved.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

I'm Petunia Dursley, Harry Potter's Aunt, and would like to inform you that he will accept your invitation.

However, since we are not familiar with the wizarding world, we would appreciate if you could send someone over in order to tell Harry everything he needs to know and to buy his school supplies.

There are additional information I feel obliged to explain to you, too.

Faithfully, Petunia Dursley

When Harry woke up, he knew something was off. It wasn't normal that he woke up on his own rather then being shook awake by his Aunt. Something must have happened.

He lay still, listening to the sounds from outside his cupboard, trying to figure out what might had happened. What day was today? What was the last thing he remembered? Why did he feel so confused? Perhaps he had to take extra medicine again? It sometimes happened that his Aunt decided that he had to take extra. Dr Green had explained it to him, it was to make sure that he didn't get worse and that he wouldn't have to come to hospital again. It was rather kind of his Aunt to make sure he didn't have to stay in hospital too often, wasn't it?
Ok, but why had nobody woken him? Even when he had taken extra medicine in the past, it had never been an excuse not to make breakfast for the family. Yesterday... what happened yesterday? His Aunt and Uncle had talked to him... something about a letter. There had been a letter, hadn't there? Something strange... something that had frightened him... but he couldn't recall what it has been!

He decided to stop worrying for now in favour of getting up and finding out whether or not he was in trouble.

"Ah. Are you finally up, boy?" His Aunt snapped when he entered the kitchen.

There was no sign of his Uncle or his cousin being still in the house (and it wasn't likely that they were quietly sitting in some corner also), so it must be really late. "Mh, yes Aunt Petunia."

"Eat your toast. And hurry up, we have still to discuss a few things! And don't forget to take your medicine, boy!" Uh oh... this wasn't good. But at least he was allowed to eat breakfast. It couldn't be so bad then, could it? Obediently, he swallowed the pills lying next to his plate.

"So, boy," his Aunt said when he had barely swallowed the last piece of toast, „you will behave when we have this discussion! I won't tolerate anything like yesterday again! Do you understand!?"

"Yes Aunt Petunia. I'm sorry."

"Hmpf. As I have told you, you will attend a boarding school from September onwards. There will be no arguments! It has already been decided that you go to this school, there is no need for you to put up a fight, it didn't matter whether you want to or not, you WILL go! All right?"

"Mh - yes Aunt Petunia." It was all right to go to a school, wasn't it? Sure he, hadn't been attending one for quite some time, but he had always known that he couldn't stay in his cupboard forever. And apparently, he didn't have to go to the same school as Dudley did any more, so perhaps he wouldn't be bullied again. Well, of course, he was still a crazy freak, so it was possible that it didn't make any difference...

"Well, ok. I have already send your reply that you will attend, there should be someone visiting you in a few days time. The wi- person will explain everything you need to know and will accompany you to buy your school supplies." She had put one of the letters on the doormat (the one of the backdoor, of course. She couldn't risk any of the neighbours seeing a letter - or even an OWL! - at the frontdoor) so that any owl would be able to pick it up, and when she had looked early in the morning, it had indeed be gone! To be sure, she had make Vernon taking the second letter to the mailbox, too. Surely one of these two would reach the wizards.

"Ok."

"Good. Do you have any questions?"

"Um, why do I have to go to this school?"

"I have told you this already, boy! It's a special school for people like you and you HAVE to attend it because otherwise you will be a danger to decent people! And before you ask, no, it is NOT an asylum but a school for people with magic. Don't ask question and don't you DARE to behave like a madman again!"

"Uhm, but there is no magic. Uncle Vernon has said so..."

"Yes there IS magic! Just because normal people don't like to talk about it it doesn't mean that there isn't such a freaky thing! And don't ask questions, I don't know anything about it! Someone will come and explain everything, but I won't have you talking about such shameful, indecent stuff in my house! Now start your chores, boy! No arguments!"

And Harry did as he was told. What was there to do otherwise?
He tried not to think too much about the things his Aunt had said. It didn't matter, did it? Nothing mattered. He just had to behave himself and everything would be all right, wouldn't it? No matter what kind of school this was, it couldn't be worse than being locked in a hospital, tied to a bed and forced to take medicine that made you ill, could it?

He had forced to stay in hospital three more times since the time they had put the tube in his nose. Well, the last time he had only been there for a few days, but it had been horrible nevertheless. Each time, they had given him different medicine. He had to take three different types of pills every day now and got injections every week. He didn't feel very different, though. To be true, he hadn't felt any differences since the first time he had been released from hospital. He had even grown used to the side effects of the drugs and it had been a long time since he had last been aware that feeling numb and rigid and only being able to move like some doll and having his eyes or mouth become cramped wasn't normal at all. It had also been quite some time since he had been really happy. Or sad, for the matter. Sometimes he got angry. But never for long, and never angry enough to throw a tantrum. This would be much to strenuous. And pointless. When the demon inside his head became angry, it was worse, though. Normally, his Aunt gave him some extra pills when the demon was angry, or even when he was delighted (normally it was when he had been able to hurt Harry again). He got to sleep pretty soon after he had taken the pills, so it didn't matter to him.

Five days later, there still hadn't been a reply. Petunia was worried. What should she do when the wizards hadn't gotten her letter? There simply HAD to be away to get rid of the boy! She had counted on him being away when he was old enough to go that... that school! There was no way she and her family could put up with him full-time for additional seven years!
Perhaps they would contact her when the boy didn't appear when term has started?

She needn't have worried.

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It was July 31st and Harry had just started his morning chores (weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, sweeping the terrace) when he heard something that sounded like someone was breaking the frontdoor (which was exactly what had happened, by the way), followed by a high-pitched scream from his Aunt and the bellowing of his Uncle. He stayed in the backyard, though, because he had long since learned that curiosity was one of the major sins. And of course, he couldn't very well go into the house when there might be a stranger who might see him, the freak. After a few minutes of shouting and more screaming (it sounded like Dudley had joined his parents and something had happened to him, at least if Harry had understood the screeching of his Aunt correctly) Aunt Petunia came to the backdoor and called Harry in-
He gulped. Whatever had happened, he was quite sure he didn't want to be involved. Angry relatives were never a good sign, and if something had happened to Dudley, he was in for it! (It didn't matter that he hadn't been present during the entire thing. It was usually enough that he... well, existed, as far as his Uncle was concerned). Disobedience, though, was no alternative, since it had first been driven out by the Dursley's and later by Dr Green and the staff in hospital, and Harry went into the house.

And stopped dead just after he had crossed the threshold. There was standing a giant in the Dursley's living room!

The giant, though, had seen Harry entering the room and beamed at him, apparently unaware of the fact that the boy was shocked beyond words because of him.

"Well, hello Harry! I'm so glad to finally meet you!" When the boy continued to stare at him, mouth slightly open, he became a little unsure, but decided that the boy must simply be shy. "Well, ehm, yeah, my name is Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. And Professor Dumbledore send me to answer your questions and to take you shopping!"

After a minute of rather awkward silence, Harry bolted from the room.

Well, that hadn't gone as he had thought it would.
Dumbledore had asked him to fetch little Harry because it seemed that his aunt didn't know enough about magic to manage all the shopping and explaining a few days previously, and they had decided that it would be nice to visit little Harry on his 11st birthday. He had even baked a cake! And while he could understand that the muggles were angry with him for destroying their door, surely that wasn't an excuse for shouting insults at him! Well, Dumbledore MIGHT have thought about the fright it would give people like the Dursley's when suddenly there was a half-giant standing in there hall, but he wouldn't have send him if the Dursley's weren't very understanding and tolerant people, would he?
And now the boy - Harry - was nothing like he had expected but small and pale and thin and apparently too frightened to stay in close proximity with him! The boy was a Gryffindor and NO Gryffindor had EVER been afraid of him! Somehow, this couldn't be right.

Well, since Harry didn't seem to want to talk to him, he had to clear this up with his Aunt. After all, she knew everything about the boy and about magic and Lily and, well, everything. "So, ehm, should I take the boy shopping now? Or would you rather accompany us? Or do you think I should answer his questions first? By the way, what does he need to know? I'm sure being Lily's sister you have been able to answer most of hist questions far better than I could!" He chuckled.

"You mean... The boy didn't know about anything! I don't care what you do with him but don't you dare to involve me or my family in this... freakishness! We have put up with the boy for TEN years, now it is YOUR responsibility to take care of him! Just answer his questions and take him shopping so that he can go to that blasted school!" Petunia was rather appalled that these wizards had dared to send the most freakish and obviously abnormal person they could find in order to retrieve her nephew. What would the neighbours think, having a giant in the house?! And then this- this person had the guts to hurt her son! Only because Vernon had shouted some insults at him after he had not only destroyed the door but talked about this freaky stuff in front of their SON! What did he think, contaminating Dudley with these sorts of things?! She knew it, she had known it all along, these wizards were just evil!

"Uhm, what do you mean, he didn't know about anything? You have told him everything about his parents and how they died and that he's famous and so on, have you?"

"Of course not!" Snapped Petunia, "we don't talk about this... this abnormality in this house!"

"Harry... Harry knows about NOTHING? But... but this isn't possible! Surely he must have noticed by now... and he is famous, he is a hero! How can he not know that he is a hero?!"

"We have put up with the little urchin because this Dumbledore-man forced us to do so! But you cannot expect us to tell the boy about his unnaturalness, and his blasted parents! This is a normal, decent house, and there neither was nor will be any talk about this freakishness!"

"But... how have you explained his scar? And his accidental magic? And him being famous? He MUST know something!"

"He knows he is a wizard because we told him a few days ago, after this... this letter came! But he doesn't know anything else! He is perfectly aware, though, that he is not to speak about his parents or anything freakishness in this house! As for your questions, he thinks he got the scar in the car-crash his parents were killed in. He didn't know he is famous because he isn't with normal, decent people! Only you freaks considered him famous but you'll notice soon enough that he isn't worth it! Oh, and he hasn't done any freaky things and even if he did, he knows better than to ask stupid questions!
Now, there is something you should know: We never volunteered to take care of the boy! But this insolent Dumbledore-man..."

"Don't you DARE to insult Dumbledore! He is the greatest, bestest wizard that has ever lived!"

"Hmpf, then you can tell this great man that we won't take care of the freak any longer just because he thinks he can force us to do so by threatening our family! So either he removes the boy from this house or we will dump him in an orphanage! Oh, and you can tell him that we need some records to give his doctor because I won't allow my family being investigated by social service only because the freak disappeared!"

"Doctor?" Hagrid asked, blankly.

"Yes, Doctor. Isn't our fault he's a freak and even worse, mad! Had to pay lot of money to this bloody hospital!"

"But what IS a dotor?"

"What is...? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A DOCTOR IS?"

"Eh, no... perhaps it is something mugglish?"

"MUGGLISH? You freak you, how dare you? A doctor- well, it's a doctor. Medicine! Hospital!"

"Hospital?" This was a word Hagrid could make sense of. "You mean he is ill?"

"Yes. Quite so. And we need records! So can you arrange that, you oa- ... can you?"

"So it's something... eh, something like a healer? This dotor-thing?"

"What the damn is a healer? The boy is ill. Therefore he has to go to a doctor. But we need records, so can you arrange this?"

"Yes, of course... I'll tell Dumbledore. Yes. But he isn't seriously ill, isn't he? He looks healthy!"

"HEALTHY?" Vernon had finally regained the ability to speak, "he is bloody insane! Has spend most of the time locked away in hospital! Complete lunatic, a danger to normal people! Would have killed himself long ago if he hadn't been locked up and taken all kind of drugs!"

"Vernon is right. You'd better tell your lot, the boy is not only a freak but completely mad! Don't know what's the matter with him but he has to take his medicine or he might kill himself or other! I just hope you have a room you can lock him in at that school!"

"Lock him up? But why should he be locked up? This is cruel! I'm sure he is perfectly all right once he is amongst people who understand him, who are like him, who have the same abilities! Dumbledore should never have left him with people like you, no... he will be furious... lock him up and call him ill just because he can do magic!" Hagrid muttered, more to himself than to the Dursley's.

"You don't understand, you oaf! He IS ill, crazy, mad, insane! And you better take care of him and give him his medicine otherwise he won't survive a week in your bloody school! Not that we care, though..."

"No, no, this isn't going to happen. Harry will be perfectly all right! I will speak to Professor Dumbledore and make sure he knows how the boy is treated here! Just wait, I bet he will come here right away once I have told him how do you treat the boy-who-lived! Oh, he won't be pleased, no... Know, where is he?"

"His cupboard, probably!"

"His CUPBOARD?"

"Well, yeah, the boy likes it. He chooses to sleep there! As I have told you, he's mad!"

This was actually almost true. After his second stay on the psychiatric ward, and after Dr Green had become more persistent that they might need help with the boy, Vernon and Petunia had decided to give him Dudley's second bedroom. After all, you couldn't know whether the psychiatrist might decided to call social service in order to „help" the family. And it wouldn't look good when the boy was discovered living in the cupboard under the stairs, even if most people would surely understand that Dudley simply NEEDED both bedrooms, having so many toys!
However, Harry had refused to move to the bedroom. They had made him sleep there for a few nights, but every time he had crept back in his cupboard in the middle of the night. When they had locked him in, he had started to scream and howl, and while it didn't bother the Dursley's that their nephew was distressed, it simply wasn't possible to sleep with the boy making such a racket! And, of course, it was possible the next-door-neighbours might hear him!

"I WILL tell Dumbledore! Just wait, he won't be pleased, not at all! How DARE you to treat Harry like this... how DARE you...!"

"Just take the boy and hurry up! And don't forget to tell this Dumbledore that the he needs his medicine and constant supervision, I won't have you blaming us if something happens to the boy! And the records, we need records!"

"Yeah, well, every muggleborn get records... make sure you'll get them, too. Now, I take the boy shopping... he has to come back, though, in the evening. Dumbledore said so... has to stay here because it's safer this way. Can't leave before school starts. I make sure he has his ticket... mh, is there anything else?"

"I don't think so, the sooner you go the better! When you bring him back, just drop him off at the corner of Magnolia Crescent... he knows how to get back from there! I will not allow you to enter this house again! Having another freak in the house..." Petunia shuddered

"Oh, all right..." Hagrid might not have been the brightest man - or half-giant - on earth, but even he was aware that he stood out quite a bit, especially amongst muggles where no elves, goblins or other creatures were present to distract from his size.

"Right, Harry - where is the boy - HARRY?"

"In his cupboard! - Harry, you will come out this instant or you will be very sorry!"

###

Harry had tried not to listen to the conversation held between his Aunt, Uncle and this- was it a man? He had never before seen a human being this large, so perhaps it wasn't a human at all? Or was it just some kind of hallucination? He didn't normally have visual hallucination, but Dr Green had told him that it might happen. Perhaps he needed to take more medicine? Should he ask his Aunt to give him one of his extra Pills? He just wanted it all to stop. Why couldn't he be normal? He just wanted to be normal and healthy like everybody else! How many times had he tried to be normal, but it had never worked! His Aunt and Uncle still called him a freak and the demon in his head would still hurt him, even when he really, really tried to protect himself from this... thing. This was, actually, the reason he liked staying in his cupboard. He felt rather safe here. After the... incident that had landed him on the closed ward for the first time, his Aunt had put a thick layer of polystyrene onto the wall, so the demon couldn't hurt him as badly as it had this day. Of course, it was even more cramped now, put this was ok, as long as he was safe from this cruel being.

And now, rather than to becoming less freakish, he seemed to become even more crazy. A giant talking to his Aunt and asking him strange questions? This couldn't be. Surely this was a hallucination.

Just when he had arrived at that conclusion, he heard the voice of the hallucination-giant call his name. No no no no no... he didn't want to end up in hospital again, he didn't want to! They would make good on their threat to lock him up forever now! It mustn't happen, no, he couldn't bear it... if he just pretended not to see or hear the giant? Perhaps nobody would notice that he had become even more insane... he just had to act as if nothing was wrong. There wasn't a giant, giants weren't real, and he just had to pretend! He could pretend, he knew it, he was very good in pretending everything was all right! They wouldn't have led him leave the hospital if he hadn't been, after all. Once he had learned what things he wasn't to tell Dr Green, at least if he didn't want to be locked up even longer or get even more medicine, he had become really good in hiding and avoiding and pretending!
But now his Aunt was calling him, too. - She was, wasn't she? He didn't imagine hearing her voice, did he? Deciding that the best course of action would be to find out (since he could always act as if he had just came out of his cupboard in order to go to the loo if he noticed that he had indeed imagined his Aunt calling him) he got up and opened the door.

Oh no. The giant was still there. He was standing in the living room and looked expectantly at Harry. Oh no no no. He just wanted to be left alone for gods sake!

"Ah, Harry! Now, can we go?"

Go? He wouldn't go anywhere with this giant! His Aunt, he had to look at his Aunt. Pretending not to see the giant, yes...

"Well, boy, you will go with him and buy everything you need for this... this school! Behave yourself and NO FUNNY BUSINESS! He will drop you off at Magnolia Crescent in the evening and you are to come here right away! Have I made myself clear?!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia. I..., um, I need to go with him- Uncle Vernon?"

"NO YOU STUPID BOY! You will go with - what's your name?"

"Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid - Harry, you will come with me and we will go to Diagon Alley and buy all your Hogwarts stuff! It will be a great fun, you'll see!" The giant - Hagrid - was beaming at Harry.

"Yes, ehm, 'Hagrid', you will go with Mr Hagrid. I expect you back at 6, otherwise there will be... consequence." And with that, his Aunt turned around and left for the kitchen.

Through all of this, Vernon had remained in the living room, hidden behind Hagrid's large form. When the giant moved towards the frontdoor, though (stooped down and going sidewards, as the Dursley's hall was clearly not made for the use of a half-giant), Harry came face to face with his Uncle - who didn't seem to be pleased in the least. "Now, boy, get out of here, NOW! And don't you dare to bring funny stuff with you! I won't have things like this in my house!" And with a last, menacing glance at Hagrid, who had successfully reached the door, he left, too.

Leaving Harry alone, still unsure whether or not this was actually happening.