3. Denial of Too Many Letters
LordPanther14
The Definition of Insanity
- Location
- Land of the Free
Write-in: Open your own envelope and read it. It's probably better than Harry's, anyway
Harry had managed to open his letter without anything happening but he was a freak. Still if Harry had gotten a letter that meant whatever he was raptly trying to read had to be ten times better in my letter. Maybe even a hundred times better. I firmed my resolve even with images of flaming death going through my head at the chance of a letter bomb going off.
I held the letter as far away from me as I could as I tore off the side of the envelope and let out a sigh of relief when nothing exploded. Looking around the table I saw that no one had seen my courage, everyone else firmly wrapped up in their own thing. I scowled at them for not recognizing my bravery as I finally opened up my own letter to look it over and was completely confused by everything I was seeing.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards
Dear Mr Dursley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Behind that was a bunch of pages listing books with strange titles and school supplies that half of them he didn't even know what they were. Was this some kind of joke? He just had to ask somebody that might know what was going on.
"Mom, what's a Hogwarts?"
Mom started to answer, "It's a school that..."
Mom's attention was no longer on the TV and Dad eye's had left his paper as they looked me with faces that were rapidly draining of blood as they realized just what Harry and I had just received. I wish they would explain to me so I could properly know why I should be horrified too. Mom let out a scream as Dad knocked the table spilling his tea on his paper and his breakfast. Mom was rushing over to my side and tore the letter from my hands and then proceeded to tear it to shreds as I watched open mouthed in shock. Meanwhile Harry had attempted to bolt but before he'd even gotten out of the dining room, Dad had grabbed him by the arm and ripped the offending letter out of his hand. Harry was only able to cling to a scrap of it as Dad was cursing and pushing Harry into his cupboard under the stairs.
Mom was looking over the envelopes to the two of us as Harry could be heard kicking at his door, his muffled voice clearly angry as he demanded for explanations that it really didn't look like my parents were going to give.
"Dudley, go up to your room. You're not in trouble, just go up there while we talk this over."
Mystified but knowing there were times when I could get away with throwing a fit and this was definitely not one of them I made my way up the stairs, making extra sure to stomp so that everyone in the house would hear me go up and then making my way back down as quietly as I could manage so that I could overhear them.
"He is our son. He is not a freak."
My blood went cold to hear my mom talk like that.
"You told me this could happen with Harry no matter how we tried to drive the weird out of him but you didn't tell me that Harry would infect our own son! If I'd known I never would have agreed to any of this. Did you see the address on Harry's letter? Do you suppose they're spying on us? Have been in the house?"
Dad was quietly shouting and his face was turning purple as he stared at the torn up remains of the letters. I was nearly hyperventilating at that. Had Harry infected me with something? Was Hogwarts some kind of freak hospital?
"No, they wouldn't do that and Harry didn't. Dudley is perfect and he's not a freak. This is some kind of mistake or trick and I refuse to play along with them."
Mom didn't sound sure of her words at all and that might have been the first time I'd ever heard Mom even put in a single word in my cousin's defense. Peeking around a banister I took a good look at her and it looked like her whole world had been rocked and she wasn't sure of anything.
"This will be the end of it. Nothing more will happen after these letters and we can just pretend like they never happened."
Only it wasn't the end of it. Tomorrow two more letters showed up for Harry and I not that we got to see them, after yesterday Harry was no longer allowed to get the mail. Dad punched the wall when they showed up and he promptly made a fire and tossed them into it. After the fourth day in a row of letters showing up Harry even tried to sneak out of his room in the morning to try intercept the post before they got to the house only to step on Dad sleeping in front of the door.
Mom made me promise not to touch the letters again and if I got one or saw Harry had one to tell her immediately. They were vigilant around the two of us and they watched us like hawks. It was weird for me because I'd always felt love from my parents but suddenly I could tell that both Mom and Dad were suspicious of me. As if maybe their perfect child had been replaced by someone else that looked just like their son. It made me kind of scared because I was sure that I hadn't been replaced at all.
After that it wasn't just one letter for each of us but whoever was sending them, which Mom and Dad continued to refuse to reveal anything to the two of us, appeared to be getting annoyed because now they were sending dozens of letters to each of us. Mom went to the grocery store and found all of her eggs replaced with balled up letters addressed to Harry and I.
They were starting to show up at all hours of the day and neither Harry or I were allowed to leave the house anymore. Harry was even moved into the toy room to see if that made a difference and the only thing that changed was the address on the envelopes right after reflected the upgrade in his living arrangements. Understandably this freaked out Mom and Dad even more and they were nearing the end of their rope after a couple of weeks but it was finally nearing the last day on the letters when whoever was sending them was expecting some kind of response. Mom and Dad believed that if they could just hold out past the 31st, also Harry's Birthday, that this nightmare would finally stop. The senders would get the hint that the Dursley's wanted nothing to do with them and they could return to their normal routines.
The final day, came and we were sitting patiently at the table, waiting for Dad to give the all clear from the front door but no letters arrived this day. For an hour Dad and Mom looked extremely pleased with themselves that they had won and everything would become decent and normal again and then letters poured out of the fireplace, hundreds of them, maybe even thousands and they didn't just pile up in the living room but began flying through the air, filling up the whole house. Mom and Dad were screaming as Harry was trying to jump up and catch as many of the letters as he could.
Dudley realized now was his chance to do something.
[] Help Harry keep a letter
[] Every boy for themselves
[] Help Mom and Dad
[] Just sit and laugh at it all
[] Escape this mad house
[] Write-in
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