Elizabeth Lily Potter: The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 6: The Big Move

After about an hour talking in the kitchen in hushed voices, I heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia leave. I nudged Harry to start cleaning twice as fast. I moved over next to him and did the same. We heard the voice of Aunt Petunia calling us downstairs into the living room.

Dudley, who came back with his ice cream long ago, jumped up and raced down the stairs, wanting to get a front row seat to whatever punishment we were about to receive. At least he isn't throwing toys at us while we clean his bedroom, I thought to myself. Standing up, we made our way downstairs. I was in front, with Harry following close behind.

As we entered the living room, Uncle Vernon nodded and cleared his threat.

"So, umm," he began, obviously annoyed and uncomfortable with whatever he was about to say. "Petunia and I have decided that the cupboard is getting a little too small for you two."

I could hardly believe my ears! Is this good or bad? Are we getting kicked out, or are we getting an actual bedroom?! What's going to happen now?

My silent questions were answered by Uncle Vernon's next sentence: "Harry and Elizabeth, you will both move into Dudley's second bedroom."

I gripped Harry's hand and, in an attempt to hide my overwhelming joy, nodded and replied "yes, sir." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry, who moved to stand next to me, nod as well.

However, this moment was quickly interrupted by Dudley's insane tantrum. Throwing himself onto the floor in fake sobs, he screamed and beat his fat fists in the ground, yelling "I. DON'T. WANT. THEM. IN. MY. BEDROOM!!! IT'S MINE!!! MINE!!!"

It took several minutes to calm Dudley down, but this progressed much faster once he realized that his parents were serious and that he couldn't and wouldn't change their minds. Finally, after throwing his new computer out the window in frustration, Dudley gave up.

This entire time, the Dursleys had Harry and I sitting in the living room, waiting.

"Why do you think they're moving us now?" Harry asked quietly.

"I don't know, Harry."

"I know it has something to do with that letter that came for us."

"I'm sure of that. I bet you, it's because of the address on the envelope!"

"What do you mean, Elizabeth?"

"Didn't you notice? The letters said: 'The Cupboard under the Stairs!' Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are terrified that someone knows about how they treat us! They're trying to make themselves seem better by giving us Dudley's second bedroom."

Harry nodded and put his head on my shoulder, agreeing with my reasoning. Just then, Aunt Petunia appeared on the staircase. She called us over and dropped a cardboard box at her feet.

"Go into the cupboard," she commanded, "and place all of your belongings into this box. When you are done, you may move into your new room. You are not required to clean the house anymore today."

She said all this with the lack of emotion and brisk efficiency of a professor before turning around and walking upstairs again to comfort her sniffling son.

Harry sat in the cupboard while I was at the door. There isn't much to put in there, I thought to myself. We'll probably only need one trip to get everything upstairs.

And I was right.

Harry passed me two small, soft blankets. One was light pink, with little flowers around the edges: sunflowers, roses, daisies, and lilies. The other was a pale blue, bordered by animals: dogs, wolves, and rats, with stags and does, always side by side. I didn't understand why those specific animals were chosen in the first place, but it wasn't a big deal. These were the baby blankets that Harry and I were wrapped in when we were left at the Dursleys. I folded them and gently placed them in the bottom of the box.

Next, being careful not to cut himself, Harry handed me the little broken mirror that we share. This was followed by the two ragged sheets we slept with (the baby blankets were too small and were pretty much the only nice, clean things we own), an old patched-up teddy bear that used to belong to Dudley (he threw it out his bedroom window a few years ago, and I found it while gardening), the few pairs of clothes we owned (Dudley's hand-me-downs, of course) and a couple books. Dudley would often stand on top of the stairs and drop books on our heads as we left the cupboard, or he'd just throw it at our heads as we walked past. Since he didn't like to read, he'd never asked for them back. A part of me wished that Dudley would drop more books on us. I was dying to read the Narnia books, but Aunt Petunia refused to let any of us read books about magic. I wasn't not sure why, but obviously I never asked.

Placing these last few items, and hiding The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Giving Tree, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler underneath the blankets and sheets, the cupboard was now almost empty. Harry passed me his cot, and I leaned it against the wall. All that was left were two lockets.

Both were made of shiny gold in the shape of a heart, with rubies and diamonds outlining the pendant. Elizabeth Lily Potter was engraved on the front of mine in the most beautiful loopy handwriting. The back said Love, your Mother and Father. On the inside were two photographs; one of me on my own, sitting in a beautiful pink and white lace dress with a smile on my face and my thumb in my mouth. The other picture was of my mom, my dad, and I. We were lying down together, one parent on each side. Mom was kissing my left cheek while Dad was kissing my right. Lying down in the middle, I was laughing at the camera, as happy as can be.

I closed mine, and looked up to see Harry staring at his own. From the outside, his was identical to mine, except for the words Harry James Potter written in that same swirly handwriting. I didn't know what pictures were in his locket, even though I was sure that they were just as cute as mine. We'd never looked at the inside of each other's lockets. Despite being as close as two siblings can ever be, we both respected the fact that each can have their own personal belongings.

"Harry," I whispered to get his attention. He snapped out of it and closed his locket before handing it to me. He understood why: if Uncle Vernon saw them, he'd almost certainly sell them to the nearest pawn shop to make a quick buck. I carefully wrapped each locket in their respective baby blanket. I stood up and gestured to Harry to do the same. He closed the cupboard door and, after picking up his cot, followed me upstairs. We walked to the first bedroom on the right and, with a nod and a smile, I turned the knob and we walked into our new bedroom...

Hi everyone!!! I'm SOOO sorry that I haven't updated these past two days. Yesterday was Christmas and the day before was Christmas Eve, so I was INSANELY busy!! I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas! I promise that I'll make it up to you guys! As a bonus, here's an extra long chapter! Hopefully, I'll be able to write three chapters today! Fingers crossed! Love you all!