Elizabeth Lily Potter: The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 5: The Letter

A week after what was dubbed "the Kitchen Incident," things were still normal, but it felt weird, like the calm before a storm. Harry agreed with me, after I expressed my concern last night before bed. But compared to the shower that fell last week, this felt like a hurricane.

The next morning, Harry and I got up to prepare breakfast, just like always. While the Dursleys were eating, Uncle Vernon asked Harry to get the mail. He left and returned with more than usual. Handing most of the letters to our uncle, I saw that he had one left in his hand.

I'd never seen anything like that in my life! The paper was old and yellow, like the stuff that they would use back in the Middle Ages. I could even see a wax seal on it, with a letter "H" in the middle, surrounded by a badger, a snake, a lion, and an eagle. Flipping the envelope over, I saw the address label, which nearly took my breath away:

Ms. Elizabeth and Mr. Harry Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey

How did they know about the cupboard? I wondered. Harry stood next to me, about to break the letter's seal, when Dudley suddenly shouted.

"Mum, Dad, Harry's got a letter!"

I cringed inside, partly because we were caught, and partly because why couldn't he say my name? Why Harry's name?!

Uncle Vernon stood up and snatched the letter before either of us could react. I sighed in relief, glad that he didn't hit either Harry or I.

"Who'd be writing to you freaks?" He spat out. Looking at the seal though, his snarl quickly disappeared as his jaw practically dropped to the floor.

"P-p-p-Petunia!" He stuttered. "L-l-look at the l-l-letter!" Our Aunt paled tremendously, looking as white as her perfect French manicure. Dudley quickly became annoyed with the fact that he wasn't the center of attention anymore, and tried to grab the letter.

This woke Uncle Vernon up again and he practically ran out of the room, with the whole family on his tail. He went into the living room and, before we could stop him, threw the letter into the fireplace.

"Nooo!" Harry yelled. "That's not fair! It's our letter!"

"Harry, be quiet!" I whispered in his ear, as I saw my brother struggle with his temper.

"No, Elizabeth!" He looked at me with fire in his eyes before turning back to our uncle. "You can't do that to us! It's not your letter! How could you burn it?!"

The flames in the fireplace jumped up right when Harry lost control of his temper. Uncle Vernon had to back away from the fireplace quickly to avoid being burnt by the flames, which grew as if someone had poured gasoline on them.

Uncle Vernon glared at Harry and shouted "Shut up!! As long as you live under my roof, you live under my rules!" He stood up and, before I could jump in front of my brother, slapped Harry across the cheek. Hard.

I could feel Harry flinch and his body turn rigid. I grabbed Harry's wrist and held it tightly, not enough to hurt him, but just to hold him back. That, and the red handprint on his cheek, convinced him to stay quiet and hold his tongue. Looking at me out of the corner of his eye, I saw a resigned look on his face. Both the fire in his eyes, and the one in the fireplace, died down as Harry calmed himself.

"Now," our Uncle continued with a voice of fake calm, masking both anger and (to my great surprise) terror, "let's continue on with our day, hmm? Elizabeth and Harry, get back to cleaning. Diddykins, why don't you go outside? The ice cream van should be coming by soon," Dudley ran out of the house at that. "Now, Aunt Petunia and I need to have a little conversation. Run along!"

He turned on his heel and, with a hand on his wife's back, they walked into the kitchen and quickly shut the door.

Once our Aunt and Uncle left the room, I rushed to face Harry, holding both of his hands as I stood in front of him. "Are you okay?" I begged, eyes searching his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He muttered, looking away from me.

"Why did you talk back, Harry?! You know that we can't do that!"

He faced me again and I saw the hurt and sincerity in his eyes. "I'm sorry Elizabeth. I couldn't control myself. I just felt so angry!"

I felt his grip on my hands tighten as he tried to clench his fists. Pulling him into a big hug, I said to him, "It's okay, Harry. I forgive you. You just need to learn to control your emotions, okay?"

I moved back so I could see his face. As he nodded, I held his hand again. "Come on now. Let's take care of your cheek."

I led him upstairs into the bathroom, working with a doctor-like efficiency as I washed his cheek with soap and warm water, to reduce the redness. Then, I had Harry hold a cold, wet towel to his face to reduce the swelling.

I sighed to myself as I work, wondering why this should even be necessary in the first place. No child should ever be that good at hiding and caring for injuries.