Your Future's, My past (A Harry Potter Fan Fic)

Chapter 3

"But I wanna read!" George whined, pouting.

"Well tuff luck, I'm reading." Hermione said smugly

Hermione didn't notice George pull out his want but Moody sure did "Expelliarmus!" He cried before George could even react.

"Jeez Mad-eye, I was only going to summon the book..." George muttered slumping back into his seat.

"Can I please read now," Hermione asked slightly annoyed.

"Go ahead, But I'm next."

THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE.

The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.

Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.

"See dad! He deserved that Ton-tongue toffee!" Fred yelled.

"Yeah!" Sirius shouted just to be part of the argument.

This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.

"No your not," Tonks said, grinning.

Dudley thought this was very funny.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice."

"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it -- it might be sick."

The room burst laughing. "Tongue like your Dad's pup! Bloody brilliant!" Sirius yelled trying to get back on his seat which he had fallen off just seconds before.

Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.

One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn 't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats,

Dumbledore chuckled "She's always falling over the poor things."

and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.

"Surley he doesn't enjoy dressing like that!" Mcgonagall scoffed looking disgusted at their choice of muggle uniforms.

As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.

"What's this." he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.

"Your new school uniform," she said.

Harry looked in the bowl again.

"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."