Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The next morning Harry came down to the kitchen holding his socks and shoes, otherwise dressed for running, at 7 am. Vernon was upstairs showering, Petunia was at the stove cooking breakfast, and Dudley, presumably, was still sleeping.

'Big surprise,' Harry though wryly as he pulled on his footwear. Dudley was great at the three things parents dreaded most in their children: sleeping to all hours of the day, eating enough for an army, and watching TV and playing computer. Of course, Vernon and Petunia didn't seem to care much, but they weren't exactly what you'd call great parents either.

Petunia didn't turn around, although it was obvious she heard him moving, as he noticed her shoulders tense up slightly. 'All these years and I still affect her that way...' he mused. 'Funny. Oh well, her loss.' He finished tying his running shoes and turned to speak to his aunt.

"If it isn't too much trouble, could I possibly have some breakfast before I leave?"

Tensed wasn't the word. Petunia's shoulders were clear up around her ears. She spoke without turning around.

"Thought you'd just come down and demand food, hmm?"

"No, I just--"

"Well you can have it, but it isn't completely done, and you are in charge of cleaning up after yourself, is that clear?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." Harry said, biting back a sigh. She could be SO annoying, and when he hadn't even done anything.

He sat down to a breakfast of runny eggs, slightly pink sausage, and toast, which fortunately was done. He choked it down as fast as he could, then stood and walked over to the sink. He rinsed off his plate, silverware, and glass, placed them in the dishwasher to be washed, and headed outside, before remembering the conversation of the night before.

"Aunt Petunia, did Uncle Vernon leave the money and membership card anywhere around here?"

"Don't address me that way!" she snapped at him. He stared at her, surprised. He had always called her Aunt.

"Ok..." he answered, puzzled.

"Just- just call me Petunia. And call your uncle Vernon. Don't worry about the titles and everything." She hardly looked at him as she mentioned this.

"Um, sure, I guess..." Harry wasn't quite sure what to think. She'd never been like this before. "Well, did Un- I mean, Vernon leave that stuff around here?"

"It's on the counter, over by the phone." She turned back to her morning paper and her own perfectly done food, proceeding to ignore him. He picked up the money--he counted it- there should be enough for some trunks--and looked at the membership card. Good, it wasn't expired. Dudley would never even notice he didn't have it at his disposal.

At the front door, Harry picked up the mail from the slot, and as a gesture of good will, he carried it into the kitchen. He sorted through it as he walked, but finding nothing for him, he placed it on the table within easy reaching distance of her. Then he left for the pool.

Out on the lawn, he did a few exercises, stretching his legs out one by one, in preparation his long run ahead of him. Finished stretching, he stood up, and began to jog, very slowly. He was incredibly out of shape, and was soon tired out. He slowed his pace to the slowest run possible, but kept running until he made it to the pool. He leaned against the sign, gasping for breath. He walked the rest of the way to the swimwear store to warm down.

It was 8:30 by the time he walked through the door of the store. He looked around, a bit overwhelmed by all the selection. There were suits that looked like girl's suits--but they were embarrassingly skimpy. Not ever being allowed to go to pool parties as a child, he wasn't accustomed to seeing these things- and he was sure wizards never wore them. He wasn't sure there were even underwear in the wizarding world as skimpy as this. 'Oh well,' he shrugged. He headed for the men's side of the store, which, thankfully, was a lot better covered.

20 minutes later he walked out, happy with his choice of navy blue trunks with red trim in some places. He walked quickly the few blocks to the nearby pool. At the front counter, he showed his membership card and walked to the mens room, where he quickly changed into his swim trunks, giving his other clothes to the attendant for safekeeping. Then he headed to the pool.

Thirty laps later, Harry jumped out of the pool--well, oozed, actually, he was so tired- and slouched over to the towel he had also bought earlier. He collapsed on it, face down, and fell asleep.

Two hours later, he woke up. It was nearly noon, but he wasn't hungry. The pool was starting to get busier. People were swimming, laughing, and having fun. He was glad he had gotten his chair when he had. There weren't any left now. He jumped up, winced a little from his sore muscles, and jumped back in the pool to do another thirty laps.

Half an hour later, he climbed out again, not quite as tired as he had been when he started. As he laid down again on his chair, he looked at his arms- the backs of them were a lot tanner than the front. 'What in the world...?' he thought. Then he remembered--his nap. Of course he would have tanned. Well, he was ready for a nap again- but this time he would take it on his back so the front of him would tan instead.

Around four he was ready to go home. The sun was still quite hot, but the crowds had grown huge and it wasn't easy to find swimming space anymore. He stood up and picked his towel off of his chair. It was immediately taken by another person. He headed for the changing rooms.

He was home by dinnertime. The scent of Chinese food was in the air- the Dursleys must have ordered take-out. He hoped there was some left.

"I'm home," he called as he came in, not really expecting a reply. There was none, other than the unmistakable sounds of cutlery and plates in the other room. He walked into the kitchen, where, he found, the Dursleys were not yet eating, but just dishing up their food. He got a plate from the cupboard and sat down at his place. The Dursleys said nothing to him, asking about his day or otherwise. They did talk rather loudly to one another though.

"Those crazy people, I just can't figure out where they think they're coming from," Vernon was sputtering with disgust, spraying bits of food over the table. Harry helped himself to some chow mein, broccoli beef, and sweet and sour chicken.

"They just haven't figured out that what they're doing is very obviously not normal!" Petunia huffed back at him. Harry had no idea who or what they were talking about. He spooned out some fried rice.

"They're just stupid, that's all," Dudley threw in his two cents worth.

"Too right, they are," Vernon growled. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let them swindle me out of my hard-earned money."

"Just be firm with them and don't let them get away with it. Let them know who's boss," Petunia suggested. "People like them are just cowards. If you let them know you know what they're doing, they'll back off."

"They'd better," was Vernon's only answer. Harry still had less than half an idea what was going on here. He spoke up.

"Um, I mean, Vernon- who's doing what to you?" He was rewarded for his curiosity with a withering look, but he refused to back down.

"Some swindlers at work. They're a new company we agreed to try out for delivering our products to our customers. They demand payment in advance. We thought it was a bit odd, but we agreed. Come to find out, they haven't been delivering anything, just reaping the benefits, and our customers are spitting nails about it."

"Erm... wow." Harry wasn't quite sure what to say. For all their shortcomings, the Dursleys never lied or cheated, and they earned their money the hard way. It didn't seem fair for them to get cheated out of it like this. Out of nowhere, he asked, "Who's the head of it?" Vernon looked caught off guard.

"Some chap named Mari- no May- no, Mason."

"Mason?" Dudley inquired. "I remember him. He was that guy that Harry scared off a few years ago with that owl flying at his wife's head, remember?"

"You don't suppose...?" Petunia said anxiously. Vernon looked thoughtful.

"Could be. You know, I've never seen the fellow. Mason is a pretty common name, but it's the same business and all. I'll check into it. Atta boy Dudley. You know how crooks think, eh?" He seemed to have forgotten that Harry was the one who asked the question in the first place. On the other hand, the whole family was being almost--civil to him. That was a switch. Harry wondered what had brought this on. Maybe they were just mad about this Mason guy. He put the thought out of his head and finished his dinner.

"Thank for dinner. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed now." Vernon looked up and said, "All right then," and continued eating his supper.

As Harry climbed into bed, feeling refreshed after his shower, he thought about his rather uneventful day. He was pretty sure that the running/swimming thing would get him into fine shape and get him quite tan as well, if today was any indication on the matter. Maybe he could get an evening job so he'd have a little money to spend too. Then his summer would be complete. He'd ask around in town a little bit about it tomorrow.