yer a wizard Harry, and yer a witch Harper.
Harry and I woke up to another day in paradise, the Dursley home. We were rudely awoken by Dudley stomping his way down the staircase above our room as he usually does, with the sole purpose being to annoy us.
Harry tugged on the string to turn on the light and put on his glasses. I sat up, slowly stretching and yawning. Our room under the stairs, if you can even call it that, was very cramped and there was only space for the mattress the two of us slept on. We had some shelves in there for a few belongings, but other than that, we had nothing.
"Wake up, cousins! We're going to the zoo!" Dudley shouted, stomping up and down again, causing dust to on fall on our heads.
Harry opened the door and attempted to leave when Dudley ran by laughing and pushed him back inside. I groaned loudly as Harry landed on my legs, and Dudley kept laughing hysterically.
"Such an arsewipe," I muttered to Harry, causing him to laugh.
We walked into the kitchen where I was grossly reminded that it was our cousin's birthday by our Aunt Petunia rubbing noses with him.
"Why don't you two just cook the breakfast and try not to burn anything," Petunia said in a much sterner voice than she had just used to greet her son.
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," we both said in unison, starting to work on the breakfast. Harry worked on the bacon while I made the eggs. We made a great team, honestly.
"I want everything to be perfect for my Dudley's special day!" Petunia continued, guiding Dudley away with his eyes covered.
"Hurry up!" Uncle Vernon shouted at us as we began plating the meal. "Bring my coffee, boy!" Vernon demanded. It's like we were their slaves.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," we responded together. It was something we were quite good at, talking at the same time. Maybe it's because we were twins or maybe it's because we were so close, both figuratively and literally sleeping under the stairs together.
"Ooh! Aren't they wonderful, darling?" Petunia asked, uncovering Dudley's eyes to showcase the pile of presents they had bought him while Harry and I didn't get so much as a room.
"How many are there?!" Dudley demanded as Harry and I brought breakfast over.
"36. Counted them myself," Vernon answered, grinning cheekily.
"36?! But last year—last year I had 37!" Dudley screamed, causing Harry and I to flinch.
"Yes, well, some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year's," Vernon said nervously, trying to calm down his spoiled brat of a son. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't care how big they are!" Dudley continued screaming in his father's face. If Harry or I so much as disagreed with them we were in a hell of a lot of trouble, but Dudley was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Rubbish really.
"Oh, now, now, now, this is what we're going to do," Petunia said, crouching down in front of him, "is that when we go out, we're going to buy you two new presents. How's that, pumpkin?"
Harry and I gave each other a look, silently communicating that this was the most ridiculous thing we'd ever seen. We'd both kill for just one birthday present really.
Once Dudley finally calmed down, Harry and I ate breakfast at the counter while the other three ate the breakfast we made together at the table.
Once we finished, Harry and I got ready for the exciting day where we got to do whatever Dudley wanted.
"This will be a lovely day at the zoo," Petunia said as she got into the car. "I'm really looking forward to it."
Once she and Dudley were in the car, Vernon turned to the two of us. "I'm warning you both now," he said sternly, "Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week." Harry and I had tried fighting our aunt and uncle for years, but at this point, we were tired. That wouldn't be the first time we didn't get fed for a week. "Get in," he commanded.
Harry and I looked at each other before rolling our eyes and making our way into the car. Once we arrived at the zoo, we went into the reptile house.
"Make it move!" Dudley shouted, annoyed that the snake we were looking at was just sitting there. I sighed loudly and Petunia gave me a stern look.
"Move!" Vernon shouted at the snake, tapping on the glass. I was sure you weren't supposed to do that.
"Move!" Dudley yelled even louder, banging faster and harder than his dad did.
"He's asleep!" Harry yelled back. I was glad. The snake could use some defending for just minding its own business.
"He's boring," Dudley huffed, walking away. I followed as Petunia and Vernon walked after him, and Harry stayed behind to watch the snake. I was looking at different reptiles, avoiding Dudley at all costs, when he started screaming again.
"Mum! Dad! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" Dudley shouted, shoving Harry to the ground. I quickly ran over and helped him up, glaring at Dudley as he pressed against the glass.
Suddenly, the glass disappeared, and Dudley fell into the snake enclosure, splashing into the water. Harry and I exchanged a look of shock before we began trying not to laugh.
The snake quickly slithered out of the enclosure, hissing at Harry in almost a thankful way, and Harry hissed back politely as well. The snake continued to slither away, causing those around to scream and run.
Dudley then tried to leave the enclosure, but when he went to, the glass barrier was back, leaving him trapped inside.
"Mum! Mummy!" Dudley screamed, pounding on the glass. Petunia screamed louder than anyone as she rushed over and saw her poor son trapped. "Help me, mummy!"
"My darling boy!" Petunia screeched, pressing against the glass as well. "How did you get in there?!"
Harry and I couldn't help but laugh at him, giggling uncontrollably as they continued to panic. However, both of our smiles faded when Vernon turned to look at us. We were in for it now.
"It's alright sweetheart. We'll get you out of these terribly cold clothes," Petunia said, comforting her hyperventilating son as she wrapped him in a blanket as we walked inside the home. It was a rather abrupt end to our trip to the zoo.
While she was preoccupied with him, Vernon slammed the door before grabbing Harry and me by the hair.
"What happened?!" he demanded, his grip tightening. Harry and I both hissed at the pain.
"I swear, I don't know!" Harry yelled back, his face grimacing. Vernon got closer to him and practically growled in his face before turning to me.
"I don't know!" I yelled as well, causing him to get even angrier.
"One minute the glass was there and the next it was gone! It was like magic!" Harry explained as Vernon kept inching closer, pressing us against the wall. Vernon scoffed before shoving us into our room under the stairs, aggressively shutting and locking the door behind us.
"There's no such thing as magic!" Vernon growled before stomping away.
"Obviously," I scoffed and Harry just nodded. He never took getting in trouble well.
"I seriously don't know what happened," Harry sighed.
"Me neither," I shrugged.
"And it was weird, it was like the snake could understand me when I was talking to it."
"Understand you?"
"Yes, it nodded at me and shook its head at my questions. Didn't you hear it say thanks when it left the cage?"
"No, Harry," I said, "it just hissed. Are you feeling okay?" I pressed the back of my hand to his forehead.
"Yes, just forget it," Harry sighed, swatting my hand away. He was now deep in thought, so I leaned back against the wall and pulled out the book I'd been reading.
After a few days, we were finally let out of the cupboard under the stairs, probably because the Dursleys got tired of making their own food and doing their own dishes. Lazy asses.
Harry returned to the kitchen after collecting the mail from the front room, and to my surprise, he handed me a letter. I looked down at it.
Miss H. Potter,
The Cupboard under the Stairs,
4, Privet Drive,
Little Whinging,
Surrey
It really was for me. I looked up and noticed Harry got one too.
"Dad, look, Harry and Harper have got letters!!" Dudley shouted as he ripped the envelopes out of our hands.
"Hey, give it back! It's mine!" Harry shouted.
"That's mine!" I shouted too, standing up as Dudley handed them over to Vernon, and Petunia came over from by the stove to investigate.
"Yours?" Vernon laughed, "Who'd be writing to you two?" I glared at him. He really thought it was funny he kept us secluded from the world.
Suddenly, Vernon's face went awfully pale as he looked to his wife after reading the letter. She adorned the same worried expression as him before they both looked over to us. They quickly confiscated our letters, ripping them to shreds before throwing them away and sending us to our room.
We sat in there, bored, as usual, and I tried to read to pass the time.
"No more mail through this letterbox," Vernon grumbled to himself as the sound of a drill could be heard.
"What on earth is he doing?" I whispered to Harry, but he looked just as confused as I did. He opened the door slowly and quietly and peered out before closing it.
"He's drilling a bit of wood over the mail slot," Harry explained to me. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
"How are we related to this lot," I sighed, turning the page of my book. "Mental, all of them."
The next few days went by as usual, except more and more letters kept turning up for Harry and I. We had been brainstorming who they could be from, and we were hoping for a long-lost relative to take us away from this place. We found Vernon burning the letters in the fireplace on more than one occasion. He would turn to us before grinning maniacally and throwing another one in.
"Fine day, Sunday," Vernon said, grinning cheekily. "In my opinion, best day of the week. Why is that Dudley?"
"Cause there's no post on Sundays?" Harry guessed, having already known the answer.
"Right you are, Harry!" Vernon grinned. "No post on Sundays. Ha!" I rolled my eyes for probably the millionth time at this man, sinking my head into the palm of my hand as I sat on the couch. "No blasted letters today! No sir! Not one single bloody letter! Not one! No sir! Not one blasted, miserable—"
Before he could finish, he was cut off as dozens of letters began flying into the room through the fireplace.
"Ah! Make it stop!" Dudley shouted. Harry and I looked at each other with wide eyes and grins and we both ran forward to try and grab a letter. We were desperate at this point to know who had written us so many times because it must've been important.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Vernon shouted, but Harry and I marveled at the sight.
"Please tell me what's happening!" Dudley shouted, jumping into his mom's arms as Petunia continued to scream. Harry had jumped onto the coffee table to grab a letter and I followed suit, jumping up to try and get one.
Once we each got one, the two of us ran out of the living room with an angry Vernon following us, demanding we give him our letters.
I tried to open the door to our room, but Vernon grabbed Harry and me by our collars, pulling us back and reaching for the letters we were holding.
"They're our letters!" I shouted, desperately trying to escape his grip as more and more letters flew into the house.
"Let go of us!" Harry shouted, squirming as well. I wish Harry and I were stronger, but we were rather skinny and lanky compared to the Dursley family, so, per usual, they won.
They managed to get us into the car and the five of us drove to a house in the middle of the lake, having to take a boat for half the trip. Harry and I couldn't believe what was happening, and we were more curious than ever about what was in those letters and who they were from. Especially because of the extreme lengths they were going to.
Harry and I laid on the hard floor in our sleeping bags on our stomachs, drawing in the dirt on the floor as the thunder and lightning shook the house.
Harry and I had drawn a cake that said happy birthday with candles on top. We smiled at each other once we finished.
Once Dudley's watch hit midnight, Harry said turned to me and said, "Happy birthday, Harper."
"Happy Birthday, Harry," I said, smiling at him.
"Make a wish," Harry smiled back.
I closed my eyes and made a wish and Harry did the same before we pretended to blow out the candles, knowing this would be the closest thing to a birthday celebration we got.
We agreed life was much more bearable with each other in it and we don't know what we'd do without each other. That was what we decided our gift to each other would be since we couldn't afford to get anything or use anything around the house to give to each other without being scolded. And it was the best gift we could've had really: each other.
Suddenly a loud bang was heard from outside the house, and Harry and I jerked our heads up in surprise towards the front door. The banging continued, waking up Dudley.
All of us got off the floor and backed away in fear as Dudley's parents came down the stairs, Vernon holding a gun. Harry pulled me behind the side of the fireplace next to him as the door was broken down and the biggest man I've ever seen stepped inside. He had long hair and lots of facial hair, and the Dursley family screamed in fear.
"Sorry about that," the man said before picking up the door and putting it back.
"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" Vernon yelled, cocking his gun. "You are breaking and entering!"
"Dry up, Dursley, you great prune," the man said in a much ruder tone than before as he bent the tip of the gun up. Vernon still shot the gun, but it went through the ceiling instead. Harry and I exchanged a glance of both fear and amusement.
"Mind, I haven't seen you since you was a baby Harry, but you're a bit more along than I would've expected, particularly around the middle," the man said in a much friendlier tone as he looked Dudley up and down. Who is this man and how did he know Harry as a baby?
"I-I'm not Harry," Dudley stuttered out. Harry went to step out, but I grabbed his arms with my eyes widened. He gave me a reassuring look, so I dropped his wrist and he stepped out from behind the fireplace.
"I-I am," Harry stuttered out.
"Oh well of course you are!" the man said excitedly, "Where's that sister of yours?" Harry turned to me and motioned for me to step out, and I did, looking up nervously at the tall man. He smiled at me.
"Look at ya, Harper. You're both all grown up," he said, smiling. I had no idea how he knew my name. "Got something for ya guys. Afraid I may have sat on it at some point, but I imagine it'll taste fine just the same." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white box wrapped in string. Harry took it and began unwrapping it while I helped.
"Baked it myself, words and all," the man said proudly. Harry opened the lid to reveal a cake with pink icing and green letters that said, Happy Birthday Harry and Harper. My eyes widened in shock. How did he know it was our birthday? And how did he know we were here?
"Thank you," Harry and I replied, smiling at him.
"It's not every day a young man and woman turn 11, now is it, eh?" the man replied. While I still had so many questions, the man seemed very friendly and sweet. Something about him was very lovable.
With that, the man sat down on the couch and fired flames out of the umbrella he was holding, lighting the fireplace. Harry and I looked at each other to confirm we both saw that before turning back to him with wide eyes.
"Excuse me, but, who are you?" Harry asked, setting down the cake and stepping closer to him.
"Rubeus Hagrid," the man answered, "Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Of course, you'll know all about Hogwarts."
"Sorry, no," Harry replied and I shook my head no as well. Hagrid looked at us in disbelief.
"No? Blimey, Harry, Harper, don't you ever wonder where your mum and dad learned it all?" Hagrid asked us.
"Learned what?" Harry and I said at the same time.
"You're a wizard, Harry," Hagrid said, "and you're a witch, Harper."
Harry and I exchanged a confused look. "We're what?" we said together.
"A wizard, and a witch, and thumping good ones, I'd wager. Once you've trained up a little," Hagrid responded.
"No, you've made a mistake," I said. This had to be some cruel joke.
"I...can't be a-a wizard," Harry stuttered out. "I mean I'm...Harry. Just Harry."
"Well, Just Harry, did you ever make anything happen, anything you couldn't explain when you were angry or scared?" Hagrid asked. Harry and I exchanged a look of realization.
He stood up and handed each of us one of the letters we'd been dying to get our hands on. We both opened them quickly and read them.
Dear Miss Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry and I exchanged excited looks. This wasn't something either of us had dreamed of, but it quickly became all I wanted.
"They will not be going. I tell you!" Vernon spoke for the first time in a while, trotting over to us. "We swore when we took them in, we'd put a stop to all this rubbish."
"You knew?" I said, angrily glaring at him.
"You knew all along and you never told us?" Harry asked, glancing between our aunt and uncle.
"Of course, we knew. How could you not be?" Petunia practically whispered with a tone of disgust. "My perfect sister being who she was. Oh, my mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter. We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful? I was the only one to see her for what she was: a freak!"
I clenched my fists and felt my jaw tighten in anger. Who does she think she is talking about our mother like that?
"And then she met that Potter, and then she had you two, and I knew you would be the same, just as strange, just as...abnormal," Petunia continued, both her and Vernon grimacing in disgust. "And then please, she went and got herself blown up, and we got landed with you two.
"Don't you dare talk about our mom like that," I seethed.
"Blown up? You told us our parents died in a car crash!" Harry exclaimed.
"A car crash?!" Hagrid said, shocked from behind us. "A car crash kill Lily and James Potter? It's an outrage! It's a scandal!"
"They will not be going!" Vernon said sternly.
"Oh?" Hagrid said, slightly amused, "And I suppose a great muggle like yourself is gonna stop him, are you?"
"Muggle?" Harry and I asked, confused and turning towards him.
"Non-magic folk," Hagrid clarified. "These two have their names down ever since they were born! They're going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and he'll be under the finest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen: Albus Dumbledore." Harry and I exchanged a look of excitement. Going to school to become a magical witch and getting away from this lot? Nothing could be better.
"I'll not pay to have some crockpot old fool teach them magic tricks!" Vernon yelled back.
"Never," Hagrid said threateningly, holding up the umbrella in his face, "insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me." Hagrid turned to see Dudley eating the cake he had brought for Harry and me and swiftly flicked his umbrella, causing a pig tail to sprout out of his arse.
The three Dursleys began screaming and freaking out as Harry and I looked at each other and laughed.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about that. Strictly speaking, I'm not allowed to do magic," Hagrid said to us. Harry and I both nodded. That might've been the funniest thing we've ever seen. Definitely worth it.
"Ooh, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off," Hagrid said after checking the time. He went over and threw the door back down with a thud. "Unless you'd rather stay, of course." He glanced between the two of us.
Harry and I looked at each other before quickly agreeing to trust this man. He seemed to know more about us than we did, and almost anywhere was better than here.