There's No Such Thing As Magic -- the life of Vernon Dursley

chapter two

  Thump.

     The sound of something hitting the floor fluttered my eyes open. At first I thought father must have broken another glass. He was probably blindly stumbling through the darkness of our small kitchen; the alcohol in his blood swaying his legs through the room. Ellenore and I used to joke that my family went through more glasses than the entirety of France. But as the sound replayed in my mind, I realized it didn't sound like a glass. It didn't even sound like one of mums prized flowers vases. I listened to it again carefully. 

Thump, my mind replayed over and over. 

    I could hear the oh so careful way soft flesh hit the ground. The gentle breaking of a bone- maybe two. Fear and panic shot through my body like hot flashes. Someone really messed up this time. I tried to stand- maybe checking downstairs would make it better. Maybe it really was a vase after all. As I stood, bile rose in my throat. I didn't think that the sound was caused by a dainty piece of china. My mind was groggy, and my doughy body didn't make things any better. I rolled out of bed and ran downstairs, the stairs thunking underneath me. 

    My heart leaped into my throat and my vision started to get hazy. Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion for me. Father lay in a great heap on the floor, curled up into a ball. He was shaking gently. The smell of old beer and wine clung to him like a spider clings to their prey.

    Next to him lay a frail women with papery skin that seemed to stretch around her thin body. Mum was hardly breathing as a small trickle of red liquid pooled next to her forehead. Shards of amber-green glass clung to her dress and skin; and my feet themselves had collected a sticky residue of beer. 

"Did you... do that to her?" My voice came out shaky and scared. 

   Round eyes glossed over by months spent at the bar looked up to meet mine. "It w-was an accident.. I didn't mean to.." His hands gently unfolded themselves and started to pick up the glass. I noticed his bloodied fingers and shards stuck inside the cuts.

"You can't accidentally fucking smash my mothers head in!" I started to walk over to him. 

    "Don't use tone with me! I can do whatever the hell I want!" He raised a hand threateningly above his head and I froze, not wanting to become like mum. I practiced breathing skills slowly. In and out. This was a serious situation. If I was going to find out whatever happened, I needed to have a civil conversation with this man. My father was like an animal- and I happened to be his handler. 

"W-what do we do?" I stumbled over my words, the urgency catching up to my lips. 

     He rubbed his graying hair in distress, streaks of red now coating it like dye. "I don't know! I've never done this before... God fucking dammit!" He groaned, rubbing his eyes and the sight of my mom struggling on the floor. "I think we take her to a hospital or something." And then father did something that he rarely ever did. He cried. Slippery tears made his way down his face; the mountain of a man breaking down in great shakes.  

I grabbed the phone and called the closest hospital I knew. 

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     Crimlon's Hospital was a small, run down building. The edges seemed almost worn with time. The ambulance had taken mum in its clutches, the siren wailing with urgency.  The case agent- her name was Martha- pulled me aside. She told me that mum had suffered a brain injury. She would be fine; just would be in recovery for a long time. Time seemed to slow down, and her smile faded as she had to pull me away from my shaking mother. 

    Father and I sat down in beaten faux leather chair. It made a creaking sound each time we awkwardly moved, the seat sticky with sweat. Father looked nervous, he glanced around every few seconds like the authorities would come any second and snatch him away without a goodbye from his wife. I don't think I would mind it that much if that was the case.

  We each sat nervously in our seats. Father rocked ever so slightly and smiled as we flitted our eyes around. Every time our gazes met, I feel like throwing up. Don't you realize that you're the reason we're here?  I sucked on my chocolate candy, letting it melt in my mouth. Too many emotions flushed through my mind at once. It was hard to keep track. 

   Eventually, a nurse came out. She was round and stout, with a mop of brown curls on her head. She looked beaten up from the days work, her pink scrubs seemed faded too. "Mr. Dursley? Can I  pull you to the side real quick?" My blood boiled at the casualty of her voice. For her, this was just another report on a patient. Another day at work. For me, this was my life on the line. My only connection to a loving family could be gone with the faintest mistake. All our hope lay in these doctors. 

  Father stood up, looking shaken and pale. He followed the nurse into a side room. All I could see was the silhouettes of two barely moving people. 

   After what seemed like an hour, the nurse and father came out again. There were softer splotches of skin on his face, where tears had drained his face of color. He gingerly sat down next to me and I looked expectantly up at him. He solemnly nodded, and the color drained out of my face, matching his. 

  Too many thoughts, feelings and emotions swarmed inside of me like a beehive. My one connection gone. My love and hope to the world was passed. I hated that. I hated father for hurting her, I hated mum for fucking dying. I hated the case worker for smiling too much and I hated the nurse for looking so bored. I was one of mum's china vases, and I was slowly cracking. Cracking and cracking until I broke. 

"Vern? Buddy?" 

And then my vision faded to black. 

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A/N: Hey, everyone! First of all, thank you so so much for all the love and support I'm getting on the first chapter of this book!! Im glad y'all like it so far! I hope you like this chapter just as much<3 Im sorry this one is more on the darker side! I also wanna say that ive decided to keep the chapters in the book shorter than a normal fan fiction would be. Writing so much about dark topics for so long can be quit draining XD anyways, please tell me what you think of this! stay safe<33

- Ghost