The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 1 - Year 2 Begins

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from Delilah and Harry's room.

"Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"

"She's bored," Harry explained yet again. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night —"

"Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, and Delilah was tempted to answer 'yes,' as he had a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out."

He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.

Harry continued to try and argue, but Dudley belched loudly so his words were drowned. Delilah sighed. It would have been useless anyway.

"I want more bacon," Dudley announced.

"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance.... I don't like the sound of that school food...."

Delilah gagged behind her hand. Harry and Delilah had to stifle their laughter.

"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"

Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned first to Delilah, who glared at him, and then to Harry.

"Pass the frying pan."

"You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry stupidly in an irritable tone and Delilah groaned. He never learned.

The effect of this simple sentence was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.

"I meant 'please'!" Harry said, a bit too late. "I didn't mean —"

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered their uncle, spraying spit all over the table, "ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"

"But I —"

Delilah rubbed her temples as Aunt Petunia rushed over to attempt to get Dudley back on his feet, which would take a while.

"HOW DARE YOU THREAT DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding his fist on the table.

"I just —"

Delilah started to clear the table, unfazed by the tirade.

"I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITIES UNDER THIS ROOF!"

Uncle Vernon's face was by now a deep purple.

"All right," Harry agreed, still looking upset, "all right..."

Uncle Vernon sat back down and Delilah finished clearing the table and sat down next to Harry and set her hand on his knee.

Ever since they had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating them like bombs that might go off at any moment, because Delilah and Harry Potter weren't normal kids. As a matter of fact, they were as not normal as it was possible to be.

Both Harry and Delilah were wizards — wizards fresh from their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have them back for the holidays, it was nothing to how they felt.