Surprising Evil

Although he knew both Ron and his brothers would get in trouble for it, Harry couldn't help but chuckle when he spotted the front page of Uncle Vernon's paper.

Uncle Vernon had grunted at Harry's amusement, sounding much like a bear, which he also looked like with his large stature and bushy mustache.

When he saw the front page though, he was anything but amused.

"A car appearing out of no where? HARRY! You are not to be doing these peculiar things in public," he roared, obviously appalled at his nephew's behavior. Of course, he always was.

Dudley, his cousin, had attempted to laugh, but because of how overweight he had become it was a difficult task and he only ended up making a weird gasping sound and falling from his chair, causing the whole kitchen to shake.

While Uncle Vernon and his Aunt Petunia, a tall blonde with twice the amount of neck needed, busied themselves with frantically trying to upright Dudley, Harry snatched the paper and began to read the front page.

A picture of the yellow Volkswagen, its doors open and completely empty, graced the front page along side a story which told of an accident that seemingly appeared out of no where, along four young boys who hopped in the vehicle and disappeared.

Harry tried not to picture Mrs. Weasley's face or her shrill screams that his friends were sure to be witnessing at this very moment. He also tried his best to refrain from thinking of the trouble Arthur Weasley, their father, would be at his work at the Ministry of Magic.

This was all soon pushed out his mind as his uncle pounded one stern fist on the table and shouted, "Go to your room, boy!"

He wasn't entirely sure why he was being sent to his room, perhaps for the car incident or causing Dudley to fall over, but whatever for, he was only glad that he was not being sent to his cupboard.

Before he'd received his first letter from Hogwarts, or rather Uncle Vernon received and shredded the letter, he'd lived in a cupboard under the stairs. He'd gotten used to it, but it was nice to be away from the dust and spiders he'd grown accustomed to while sleeping there.

As he climbed the stairs he decided to write a letter to Ron, asking if he was in very much trouble with his mother. Hermoine seemed like a likely candidate for a letter as well, after all he could only imagine how worried she'd be after seeing the front page.

Climbing over the last step he walked into his room, fairly empty except for the closet, half filled with clothes all much too big, the bed with an extremely lumpy mattress and flimsy blanket, and his Hogwarts supplies scattered amongst the floor and the small wooden desk beside the window. The room had once been cluttered with Dudley's broken things, but much to his amazement, the Dudley's had cleared that out while he had been at Hogwarts the year before.

In the previous years he hadn't been allowed to keep his supplies in his room, but thanks to Sirius, his convicted murderer of a godfather (mind you, he was innocent,) he had managed to convince his aunt and uncle that it would be best for him to keep them in his room.

He pulled two pieces of parchment from the open trunk beside the desk and sat down on the hard plastic chair Uncle Vernon had thrust upon him as a birthday gift (he'd received much better presents from his friends, however. Ron had given him the newest Quidditch book, titled "Quidditch and the Way the Broom Soars." Hermoine had sent a months worth of owl feed, knowing he had trouble acquiring it at the Dursely's. Sirius had only been able to send a card, but inside was a promise of a happy life with Sirius as his guardian in the near future.) It had shocked him, the Durseley's were never so generous.

The chair was cracked on the seat, and one leg was dangerously close to falling off, though. Harry guessed they wanted him to break his neck while sitting on it.

He pushed aside a Potions and Divination book, picking up the eagle quill he'd received one Christmas from Ron, dipping it into a nearby bottle of black ink, and began to write.

Ron,

I just saw the front page of the muggle newspaper. I imagine you and your brothers are in awful trouble.

You will be coming to Diagon Alley at the end August still, right?

Write back soon, Harry

He folded up the parchment, looking beside him at the Hedwig's empty cage.

"I suppose I'll just have to wait until she returns."

He grabbed the second piece of parchment, and pausing for a moment, began to write a second letter.

Hermoine,

Just wanted to drop you a line and ask how your holidays are going? Where are you again? Rome?

You may or may not have heard of the accident displayed on the front page of the muggle newspaper.

So that any suspicions may be put to rest, it was Ron, Fred, George, and I. We're all fine.

Well, I am. Of course, Mrs. Weasley isn't my mum.

Are you coming to Diagon Alley again with us at the end of August?

Send your reply back with Hedwig, Harry.

He folded that parchment up as well and glanced out the window, sighing despairingly at the identical houses that made up his neighborhood.

"I'll be back at Hogwarts soon enough," he thought to himself.