Elizabeth Lily Potter: The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 8: The Hut on the Rock

Something was changing. It started when Harry and I moved into our new bedroom, I knew that for sure. But, I wasn't sure how to stop the nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I knew it had something to do with the strange letters. Those letters with their bright green handwriting, strange parchment paper, and unusual wax seal. Why wouldn't Uncle Vernon let us read them?...

The letters kept coming. They just didn't stop! The mailman could barely hold in his laughter when he had to deliver a sack full of letters addressed to

Ms. Elizabeth and Mr. Harry Potter
The Smallest Bedroom
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey

Uncle Vernon had barely been able to hide his fury, laughing along with the postman. As soon as the door closed however, he ran all of the letters through the shredder, then burned them to ashes. The whole time, he was shouting at Harry and I and even made us watch. In an attempt to stop the letters from arriving, he then went and nailed the mail slot shut. That didn't do him any good though.

Everyday, more and more letters arrived in even more unusual ways. Aunt Petunia opened her shed to take out some gardening tools, and letters were in neat stacks everywhere. Uncle Vernon unfolded his newspaper, and three more fell onto his lap. I cracked open some eggs for breakfast, and the whole dozen had letters crumpled up inside! Aunt Petunia saw and took the eggs away before I could read the letters though.

Finally though, something happened that drove Uncle Vernon to the breaking point. It was Sunday morning. He was the happiest I'd seen him in weeks. And I knew exactly why, since he bragged so much about it.

"No post on Sundays! Not one single bloody letter today! That's ri-"

He never got to finish that sentence. Letters started shooting out of the fireplace like bullets from a gun. It was complete and utter mayhem. Uncle Vernon had turned purple, Dudley hightailed it out of the living room, and Aunt Petunia simply put her feet up on the chair (something that she never did), covered her face in her hands, and screamed.

I looked at Harry, and a malicious smile crossed his face. We both jumped up trying to grab a letter. I somehow was able to, and we raced upstairs. I heard Uncle Vernon shout, "OH NO, YOU DON'T!"

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us. But just as I had been about to step on the first stair, I felt his hands grab me around the waist and throw me backwards. I honestly don't think he meant to throw me so hard. I could tell by the panicked look on his face that he was desperate. He wasn't even angry at me, just petrified.

Still, it didn't matter to me; I saw stars and felt lightheaded. That is, until Uncle Vernon's shouts brought me back to reality.

"EVERYONE, PACK NOW! GET A SUITCASE AND PACK ONLY THE ESSENTIALS! I WANT ALL OF YOU DOWN HERE IN FIVE MINUTES!"

With that, everyone marched upstairs, pushing Harry aside. As soon as they were gone, Harry rushed down to help me up.

He knelt beside me, as white as a sheet, as he asked me, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Answer me, Elizabeth!"

With my vision now clear, I answered him honestly. "Calm down, Harry! Yes, I'm fine! Now, help me up, would you? My elbows are getting rug burn from being on the carpet for so long!"

He laughed and grabbed my arm, helping me stand. He made sure that I could hold myself up (which I knew that I could do, but he was still worried) before we went upstairs together.

While we had been cleaning our bedroom, we had found a big old rucksack filled with holes (which I had patched up). Not knowing for how long we were going to leave, or if it was going to be permanent, Harry and I tried to pack as much as possible.

In order to fit more in the bag, we put on a couple more layers of clothes. Soon, I had on my shoes, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts under my pants, two t-shirts and a thin jacket. Harry had the same.

Then, we actually started packing. We were about halfway through when we were interrupted by the sound of Uncle Vernon yelling at Dudley. By "the essentials" he had obviously thought that his father had meant video games, his computer and  his television! Harry and I both cracked up until we realized that we needed to hurry, or we'd be the next ones getting yelled at.

Soon, we had packed the rest of our clothes, an extra pair of trainers each, the two lockets and baby blankets, and the stuffed stag and doe (Harry had begged, and I couldn't resist his puppy eyes). Then, we walked downstairs. But, just before entering the living room where the Dursleys were waiting, I waved Harry over and made a quick detour into the kitchen. Thankfully, we weren't spotted.

Not wanting to take something that would be missed, and not wanting to make noise either, I quickly grabbed two bottles of water and some pieces of King's Hawaiian bread (A/N: Does anyone know if they even have these in England? Also, if you don't know what this is, just Google it). After we were done, we joined the rest of our family standing at the door. Uncle Vernon took our bag and tossed it into the car trunk, before shouting at us to climb into the van. We did as he told us and he sped off.

And that's how we ended up here. After driving all around Surrey, going from place to place, looking for God knows what, Uncle Vernon somehow decided that this was the best place to go, even though we had stayed in a perfectly decent hotel the night before (although I suppose that since over a hundred letters were waiting for Harry and I at the reception area in the morning, he probably wasn't too happy with the place). But now we were here: a hut on a rock in the middle of sea during a storm.

Perfect vacation spot, I grumbled to myself.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were upstairs in the only bedroom, while Dudley was on the couch, struggling to keep warm despite being under the pile of moth eaten blankets.

Harry and I were sitting on the floor, hugging each other for warmth under the thin sheet that we had brought with us. Even after putting on more clothes, we were still freezing. On the boat ride here, we had gotten soaked by the sea spray and the sheets of rain.

Although it was wet inside the hut too, at least the wind wasn't hitting us and we weren't getting soaked. Only a few drops of water could make their way through the cracks in the floor, walls, and ceiling.

We sat in silence, eating our bread while being careful not to make a sound. We hadn't eaten since breakfast that day at Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon had brought food, but Dudley had stolen our bananas and Cheetos for himself.

Harry said Thank you to me, so quietly that I barely heard him over the roar of the wind.

"You're welcome, baby brother," I whispered back. He yawned and lay down, and I did the same, hugging him to keep the two of us warm.

"Hey Harry, guess what?"

"Huh?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Tomorrow's our birthday! Did you know that?"

"Oh, yeah. Well Ha-ha-happy birthday, Liz." He said, stifling a yawn as his eyes closed.

"Happy birthday to you too, Harry James Potter."