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It was early in the morning, and Petunia Dursley was having a lie-in. She was very tired from the day before for many reasons. For one, a couple of days ago was halloween, and she took her son Dudley trick or treating. He got very big bags of candy and it was hard for her to get him to sleep with all the sugar in his body. But the real reason she was not getting up early was all of the strange things that happened the day before.
The last day was very weird. There were many people dressed like freaks on the street, many owls were spotted in daylight, and the weirdest thing of all was that Vernon, her husband, asked her about her sister and her nephew. It seems that a stranger brought up their names on the streets.
Petunia recognized these strange things happening apparently across the entire country. The weird clothing, the owls, and her sister’s name. They all belonged to that freakish world of her sister. The world she wanted nothing to do with. The world which stole her sister, her best friend, and took her to learn freakish things.
That’s why Petunia was staying in bed until late, and she would have done it if it wasn’t for Vernon, who was calling her.
“Petunia!” called Vernon. “There’s something at the doorstep with a letter with your name on it!”
This was very weird for Petunia. Who would send her a package with a letter? A package. It should be a package right? What else would be at her doorstep with a letter for her other than a package?
Petunia very lazily got off her bed, put on her dressing gown, and started her way downstairs. She stopped when she heard a shout from her son’s room, so she returned back upstairs. The package could wait. Her son was more important.
When she arrived at Dudley's room, she noticed he had his bag of halloween candy. The only thing was that it was empty. “more!” demanded Dudley. Petunia wanted her son to be the happiest boy in the world. That’s why she and Vernon gave him everything he wanted. So Petunia promised Dudley that they’ll buy him more candy later, and she gave him an extra bag of candy she collected just in case.
Petunia went back down the stairs, and to the kitchen. She didn’t remember why she wanted to come down in the first place, so she started cooking breakfast. She remembered her task when Vernon called her once more. “Petunia, I’ll be leaving for work.” Vernon called from the door. “Remember to come collect the thing that is here at the door. You’ll know what to do with him. Bye darling.”
Petunia suddenly remembered that she had to collect something from the doorstep. Why would Vernon say ‘the thing’ instead of the package? Did he say ‘him’? She must’ve misunderstood. Why would someone leave a living thing with a letter? could it possibly be an owl? Petunia remembered that in her sister’s freakish world they sent letters with owls, so maybe that was it. It was an owl waiting for her to come out to collect a letter, but why should her sister send her a letter? ‘No, it cannot be Lily’, Petunia thought. When Lily wanted to send her mail she sent it the normal way, not with an owl.
Petunia approached the doorstep with caution. Whoever sent the letter must have a reason. The only ties she had to that world was her sister, so it could be important, but it could also be a joke. Lily’s husband loved jokes, so it could be one of those. Thinking all of this made Petunia jump in surprise when she opened the door and found not an owl, but a basket with a tiny baby inside, covered in a tiny blanket.
Petunia was startled. Who would leave a baby on her doorstep? How long has he been here? How is he still sleeping with all this noise? Petunia didn’t know what to do. She supposed she should read the letter, but she couldn’t move.
When the shock finally passed, she approached with caution and grabbed the letter. It had the Hogwarts logo stamp on it. The logo of the school that took her sister away. On the other side of the letter it read:
Mrs. Petunia Dursley
Main Bedroom
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
Petunia didn’t know what to do. Should she bring the baby in and then read the letter? Or should she read the letter and then decide what to do with him? She thought for a moment, and decided she would read the letter first to see what they wanted her to do with the baby. Petunia opened the letter.
Dear Mrs. Dursley,
I am writing to you with great sadness and regret to inform you that your sister, Lily Potter, and her husband, James Potter, have been killed by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. They died bravely, trying to protect their son, Harry, who is the only survivor of this terrible attack.
Harry is now an orphan, and I have come to ask you a very important favor. As the only living relative he has left, I urge you to take him in and raise him as your own. I know this may seem like a daunting task, but it is the best thing for Harry’s safety and well-being.
You may not know this, but Harry is a very special boy. He has inherited his parents’ magical abilities, and he is destined to play a vital role in the fight against Lord Voldemort. He is also in great danger, as Voldemort will not rest until he finds and kills him.
That is why I have placed a powerful enchantment on your house, which will protect Harry from any harm as long as he lives with you. The charm is activated by your blood relation to Lily. As long as you treat Harry as a member of your family, he will be safe under your roof.
I understand that you may have some resentment towards Lily and the magical world, but I beg you to put aside your differences and accept Harry with love and kindness. He has already suffered so much, and he needs a family more than ever. He is a good boy, who looks a lot like his father, but has his mother’s eyes.
Do it for your sister’s son, who lost his mother at a very young age. Do it for Lily, who left her son alone in this cruel world for his own good. Do it for the woman who saved the world from falling in the hands of Voldemort. Do it for your sister, who loved you even after you insulted and hurt her many times. Do it for them.
If you ever need something, don’t hesitate to write me a letter. You know how to find me. In the meantime, please take good care of him and yourself.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
While reading the letter, Petunia’s eyes started to fill. Sure, she wasn’t on very good terms with her sister, but she still thought she would be able to make things up between them sooner or later, but that is no longer possible. Petunia missed her sister. She didn’t notice before because she knew they could always make up, but now that was not possible, and Petunia missed her sister.
She wasn’t sure what to do. In the letter it said that her home would be the safest place for Harry, but she wasn’t sure they wanted to take care of another toddler. Toddlers are very hard to deal with and with one was enough but two?
She needed to talk with Vernon, but meanwhile she had to take the boy inside the house. Petunia wouldn’t let the boy alone outside until Vernon returned from work, so she grabbed the basket and turned towards the door, but the moment she picked the basket up, the toddler woke up. He looked around and spotted Petunia. “Mum?” the boy asked. “I’m not your mum,” Petunia countered, and the boy began to cry.
Petunia brought the boy inside. “What do you want, boy?” Petunia asked. “I want my mummy,” Harry answered. “She isn’t here” Petunia said with a tone of desperation in her voice. Harry immediately continued crying.
Petunia didn’t want to hear the crying, so she grabbed some yoghurt from the fridge, gave it to the boy, and started to look for a place where she wouldn’t hear him crying.
She looked around the house, and spotted the cupboard under the stairs. They had never used the cupboard under the stairs, so it was empty. It would be the perfect spot to leave baby Harry for the moment, so she opened the door, placed the basket with the crying baby inside, and locked the door.
Petunia returned to the kitchen to continue with the breakfast, but she couldn’t focus thanks to the letter and the crying boy on the cupboard under the stairs, so she went to the living room to wait for Dudley to come down for breakfast – if that was going to happen thanks to the sweets he spent all morning eating.
When Vernon returned to 4 Privet Drive, he was met by a tired Petunia. She looked up at him, and gave him a small smile.
“We need to talk about what arrived on our doorstep in the morning,” said Petunia.
“You seriously aren’t considering taking care of the baby right?” answered Vernon.
“We have to do it Vernon. It is the safest place for him” countered Petunia.
“But why our house? There are many orphanages who could take him in and protect him” asked Vernon.
“No Vernon you don’t understand,” Said Petunia. “The boy is the only thing left from my sister, and a murderer is after him. The only way he can be 100% safe is by keeping him here with us”.
“But how do you…” started Vernon, but he didn’t finish because Petunia shoved the letter to his face.
Vernon read the letter and frowned. “So that… freak, placed something on our home, that only works because you are his mother’s sister?”
“Ii makes the same sense to me as to you, but I will not let the only thing that is left from my sister be killed.”
“But I thought you hated her,” Vernon started, But Petunia interrupted.
“Yes Vernon but she is MY SISTER! Or at least was my sister. Now she is dead, and the only thing I have left to remember her is her son, and I won't let that madman murder him, so if the only place where he can be safe is here, he will stay here”.
“Ok, ok. But what will we do with his m-m-magic? The letter said he has that thing, and I don’t want that thing in my house.”
“I thought about that, and I think we can stop it. If we repeatedly tell him that there’s no such thing as m-m-magic, and if he does that thing, we will punish him. I think that way we can stop it.”
“Are you sure Petunia? And where do you suggest he sleeps? We can’t give him Dudley’s second bedroom, and the visitors bedroom is for when we have visitors, so what do you suggest?”
Petunia started to think, and then remembered where she left the boy that morning, so she said: “I think we don’t need to decide now. I left him on the cupboard under the stairs now, and we can make it his bedroom for now until we decide.”
“That’s a good idea, Petunia. And if he misbehaves we can lock him in!”
“Yeah…” Petunia wasn’t so sure she wanted her nephew to be locked in, but what could she do? They would need to lock him in if he misbehaves, so if he is a good boy he will not be locked in.
“Oh and we can make him do chores when he grows up! That way we can make the boy useful. He can make us breakfast, wash our clothes and weed the garden!”
Petunia noticed that the only way Vernon would accept to take care of the boy was if he could be useful, so she nodded. “Well that’s settled then. I need to get him some food, we don’t want him to die of hunger.”
“What if we give him the food that’s left from our meals? That way you won’t need to cook more for him!”
Petunia accepted. Vernon had accepted taking in the boy and that was a very big favour, so she won’t push him. Also, Petunia cooked a lot as it was, and she didn’t want to make extra food for him every day, so she accepted.
She unlocked the cupboard door, and saw a sleeping toddler. It looked like he got tired of crying and went to sleep.
She left the door open, and went back to the kitchen where she ate dinner with Vernon. When they finished, she entered the cupboard, woke up Harry and gave the toddler the food. He eyed it with curiosity and then started to eat. “More!” he demanded, but Petunia ignored him and left the cupboard.
The next day, Vernon bought Harry a Mattress, a pillow, blankets, and some second hand clothes so he could sleep and dress up.
For ten long years, Harry Potter lived a miserable life with the Dursleys. They treated him like a burden, a freak, and a nuisance. They made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, wear Dudley’s old and oversized clothes, and do all the chores around the house. They never celebrated his birthday, gave him any presents, or showed him any affection. They lied to him about his parents, telling him they died in a car crash, and hid all the letters that arrived for him from Hogwarts. They constantly yelled at him, scolded him, and punished him for things he didn’t do. They tried to suppress his magic, fearing that he would expose their normal and respectable life to the world. They hated him for being different, for being special, for being a wizard.