The Slytherin Queen

Vernon's Tea Cup

!ABUSE WARNING!

When we arrived home, Harry and I received our longest punishment yet. While Harry got to stay in the safety of his cupboard, I was forced to remain locked in the attic when I wasn't doing Harry and I's chores. I also hadn't had any food in days.

Usually, that would be fine because I've been without food for a couple days, but now I'm coming up on a week, and Selena was beginning to notice something was wrong.

Another minor issue with going without food for so long is the body starts to use fat as an energy source. The problem? I had no fat. I was skin and bones. Therefore chores were getting harder and harder to complete in the heat.

I overheard Aunt Petunia remind Vernon that we could die if we didn't get food soon, but Vernon told her we would be fine. I doubted we would be getting food anytime soon, and I wouldn't put it past Vernon to starve us to death.

As I climbed down the ladder to do my chores, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me into Dudley's spare room. I was shoved to the ground and barely had time to get into a fetal position before kicks were delivered to my petite body. I didn't need to see the abuser's face to know it was my Uncle. The abuse had been going on for years, so I was never shocked when it happened.

Aunt Petunia didn't know of the abuse; if she did, she never tried to stop it. Dudley never did anything to stop it, and on the rare occasion, Vernon used me to train Dudley. Whatever that meant. I knew for a fact Harry didn't know. As far as he was concerned, our abuse was always verbal and never physical. And that's exactly how I wanted it to stay.

I felt a sickening crack as Vernon delivered another harsh blow to my ribs. I gasped in pain. I refused to cry, though.

I didn't want to give Vernon the satisfaction of knowing he hurt me. After the abuse started, I quickly became accustomed to the pain. With one final kick, Vernon told me to get out of his sight.

Getting up was the problem, though. My chest ached when I breathed, and a stabbing pain ripped through my body as I tried to stand. After many failed attempts to get to my feet, I grabbed hold of Dudley's bookcase filled with broken toys. Unfortunately, the shelf tipped, and most of the items fell on or around me.

After getting to my feet, I slid Dudley's broken toys under the bed, not wanting to clean them up. I laughed slightly, seeing some of the damaged objects. I had broken over half of them when Dudley either wouldn't let me play or when I was mad at him. Granted, it usually ended with me being punished but seeing him throw a tantrum and Vernon, and Petunia panic made me happy.

I walked down the stairs wincing. I went to the list of chores on the fridge and groaned. Of course, I had the more challenging chores. I remember asking Vernon as a child why I had all the difficult chores. He gave me some sexist answer about how women were meant to serve men.

Looking back, he never actually answered the question. Of course, my younger self didn't really understand, but now I did, and it made my blood boil.

I walked to the living to start Harry's chores. First, I had to dust Vernon's prize teacup collection. Usually, Harry was the one to clean them because I was clumsy, but Harry was currently locked in a cupboard, so the job fell onto me. I was vaguely aware of the rest of the Dursleys lounging in the room doing various things, such as Dudley playing video games, Vernon reading the newspaper, and Petunia spying on the neighbors through the window.

I had only been dusting for a few minutes when I started working on Vernon's favorite tea cup. It had been passed down through his family for generations and one day would be Dudley's. Suddenly, Dudley let out a screech behind me, causing me to jump and the teacup to slip from my hands. I watched in horror as it fell to the floor and shattered into hundreds of porcelain shards.

A sharp intake could be heard around the room. I slowly turned toward the family in shock. Everyone had mixed reactions: shock, fear, and rage. I wasn't usually scared of Vernon Dursley, but right now, I feared for my life. I'd never seen him look so angry, not even when I went missing for two weeks.

"You're dead, Potter!" Vernon roared. I took that as my cue to run.