My Guardian Angel

My Guardian Angel

It was an almost normal day in the life of one Harry James Potter. He wasn't being yelled at as much as normally, he wasn't slapped for making the potatoes too watery, but instead sent outside to weed the garden. It wasn't so bad, really. Well, if you didn't count the sun burning down on his already sunburnt skin. That was torture. Apart from that little fact, he was okay, if Harry said so himself. If a little thirsty.

He had just turned ten a few days ago and as usual didn't get any presents from his relatives; only more chores to do. He was always getting chores to do around the house, while his cousin Dudley sat on the couch in the living room and watched the television. Harry himself wasn't allowed to. He was never allowed to do anything really. Which was almost fine with him – the only problem was that he wasn't allowed to shower for more than five minutes and only with cold water. He didn't like being smelly and dirty, but alas, he couldn't help it. He wasn't worth the money, his relatives said.

He had an aunt and an uncle, for your information. His aunt's name was Petunia Dursley, she was a thin woman with an almost horse-like face, and his uncle's name was Vernon Dursley. He was an obese man, with moustache and he could get purple really quickly if Harry annoyed him. And Harry annoyed him often. It wasn't Harry's fault, though. The Dursleys just despised him, called him a freak as often as they could, told him that he wasn't worth anything, gave him Dudley's hand-me-downs, made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs and generally made his life difficult.

It would make any young boy believe what they told him, if not for the letters that he kept hidden in his cupboard. He didn't really know who it was that sent the letters, but the sender always told him to be patient, that he would get out of there soon enough. And Harry was inclined to believe him, although it took a while. Now, he had something to hope for, and that made his life with the Dursleys more bearable.

He had gotten another letter on his birthday, carefully brought to him by a red-and-gold bird that Harry didn't know if it existed at all. It was a strange bird. It had black, beady eyes, and a long red tail, a black beak and its song made him calm down and be able to face his fears with more courage.

The letter said something about being only one more year and he would be gone. Harry couldn't wait for that to happen. It really was getting more and more difficult to live with the Dursleys. His Guardian Angel, as he called him in his mind, always seemed to know what was happening in the house and he sometimes sent him some really weird stuff to drink. But it always made him feel better, especially if he was bruised or had a broken bone – it was almost like magic! But Harry didn't dare believe that, it couldn't be true! His uncle clearly told him that there was no such thing as magic.

Sometimes he was angry with the one sending him letters. If he knew what was going on in the house, why didn't he come and get him? But his Guardian Angel always said that he couldn't, even though he would like nothing more. But it wasn't until he was eleven that something of importance happened. On the day of his eleventh birthday, he was sent to check the mail under the orders of his uncle Vernon. There were a few bills, a postcard from Aunt Marge, and a letter for Harry. It was in the familiar envelope made of parchment and his name was written with the familiar green ink. He didn't recognize the handwriting though.

He was unfortunate enough to walk in the dining room with the letter still in his hand as he handed over the mail to his uncle. It wasn't until his cousin shrieked, "Dad! The freak's got a letter!" that Harry realized that he made a mistake by not hiding the letter he still held in his hands. It was gone in the next few seconds. The seal with the four animals was broken and the letter read over by uncle Vernon, who paled as he shrieked for aunt Petunia to come. They both glared at the letter for a few moments and then ordered the two boys to get out of the room.