July 15, 1991
Harry sighed as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He could tell it was still early in the morning since he couldn’t hear the telly from the other room. ‘I guess I should still get up before they get mad at me for sleeping in’ he thought to himself and sighed. He opened the door to his room, or rather known as the cupboard underneath the stairs, and made his way into the kitchen to start getting breakfast ready.
Only a few minutes later he could hear the extremely heavy footsteps from his uncle coming down the stairs and he sighed. ‘There goes my peace and quiet’ he thought to himself. “Boy, you better be making extra food today! I refuse to be buying food at the zoo, it costs too much!” complained his uncle. Harry didn’t respond but silently thought to himself ‘I’d be shocked if he could put back more food.’ Harry threw more eggs into the pan, got out a second packet of bacon from the fridge, and added more flour to the pancake batter he was preparing.
Just as he was almost finished making breakfast, he heard his cousin Dudley come barreling down the stairs followed by his mother. “Mummy!” Dudley yelled towards his mother “Harry isn’t done breakfast yet! I’m starving!” he complained. Petunia followed her son into the kitchen and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder “it’s alright duddeykins go sit down I will bring you what is ready” she told her son in an attempt to calm him down. Petunia walked over to Harry and smacked the back of his head “you should know to wake up early enough by now! Now duddey has to wait for you because you decided to have a lie in you lazy freak!” she told her nephew. Harry took a step back “y-yes aunt Petunia, it won’t happen again” he said quietly while trying to flip the pancakes faster. Petunia sat down next to Dudley and her husband then joined them at the table where Harry then brought all the food over to them and went back into the kitchen to grab his allotted slice of toast. Before he could grab it from the pantry Vernon turned to him and glared at him “only half today brat. You made Dudley wait to eat” he told Harry. Harry simply nodded and took half of the stale bread and toasted it.
He was walking back to his cupboard to eat when the mail fell from the door flap and landed face up right next to his little feet. His brows furrowed in confusion and bent down to pick up the letter addressed to him:
“Mr. H. J. Potter
The cupboard under the stairs
Number 4 Privet Drive
Little Whining, Surrey”
Harry shoved the letter up his baggy shirt and grabbed the rest of the mail to put onto the counter in the kitchen for his aunt and uncle to go through. While he turned to leave Dudley stuck his leg out from his chair to trip Harry. Harry normally was used to him doing this and knew to move out of the way, but he was too caught up in who would write him a letter that he didn’t notice this time and tripped face-first into the floor. Dudley started laughing and clapping when suddenly, he saw the letter fall out onto the floor and quickly stood up to grab it. “Daddy! Harrys got a letter! Harrys got a letter!” he exclaimed. Vernon stood up and grabbed the letter from Dudley and then glared at the freak on the floor. “Not anymore he doesn’t!” he said turning to his wife to show her.
Petunia’s face dropped as she knew exactly where this came from. Her sister had received one right before her 11th birthday. Harry stood up “that’s mine! Give it back!” he shouted without even thinking of the repercussions. Vernon grabbed the back of Harry’s shirt and backhanded him. “You will not speak to us that way boy! That’s it! I’ve had enough of you today; you’re not coming with us to the zoo you brat!” Tears started streaming down Harry’s face and he sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have done that, but they had no right to take my mail, he thought. Vernon locked him in his cupboard and harry just decided to lay down in the dark and stare up at the ceiling. His face still stung from where his uncle hit him, but he figured he would get over it.
He listened to the whispered voices coming from the kitchen for another hour before they left. He knew they would be gone for the whole day so he just decided to rest up while he could because he knew once they came back, he would have to make up for what he did by doing chores.
A while later, Harry wasn’t sure exactly how long, but he heard the front door opening and his aunt, uncle, and Dudley enter the house. Petunia screeched and harry heard his uncle mutter “damn it” under his breath. “Those damn freaks!” he shouted. “We need to get away before they come. Pet, Dudley, go pack a bag to go on a little trip for a while” he told his wife and son “I think it’s time we go on a holiday” he said through gritted teeth. He stomped over to the cupboard and threw open the door grabbing the skinny arm of the boy and pulling him out. “YOU!” he began “you have caused my family so many problems since you got here! Grab your things we’re leaving,” he told Harry. Harry went to turn back into the cupboard to grab the few hand-me-downs he had from Dudley and the few broken army men that he kept when he saw the foyer to the house.
He gasped as he saw what must have been 100 letters all addressed to him by the door. He noticed they all had the same seal as the one before. ‘Someone must really want me to read what’s in that letter’ he thought to himself. Before he even had the chance to grab one, Vernon grabbed his arm and led him out the front door and into the car. Soon after Petunia and a crying Dudley followed them to the car. “But I don’t want to go mummy! Why do I have to go! I’m hungry!” Dudley was shouting. Neither Petunia nor Vernon addressed their son as they were both in a hurry to get out of there. Duddley got in the car next to Harry and punched his shoulder hard “you ruin everything!” Dudley told him before crying himself to sleep on the long drive.
Harry just sighed. He was happy to at least be out of the cupboard and get some sunshine, but he was still upset because he wanted to know what was in that letter that was so bloody important.
Chapter 3