Numb

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒| 𝐶𝑜𝑜𝑙, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.

My eyes fluttered open to see my brother sitting up in his bed, obviously awoken by the same horrid sound as me. "Get up, you two! It's morning, and you need to make breakfast!" The sound of my aunts voice shrilled.

I sighed, throwing my comforter off me and swifly changing out of my pajamas. "Merlin, I hate these people." Harry huffed. "The feelings are mutual, Harry." I grumbled, walking down the stairs. "I'll do the eggs and bacon. You do the coffee?" I inquired as we entered the kitchen. "Sure."

I got a pan out, putting it on the stove, and cracked two eggs inside. Harry started the coffee machine and was standing in front of it waiting, watching the tiny drips of coffee hit the bottom of the pot. We were in a comfortable silence, which, mind you, isn't very common because of all the shouting, until we heard the phone ring.

"Vernon Dursley speaking." My uncle answered the phone. "HELLO?" A voice on the line said. A voice Harry and I knew all too well. "HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I- WANT- TO- TALK- TO- THE- POTTERS!" Ron was yelling so loudly that Unlce Vernon held the receiver a foot away from his ear, an expression on his face mingled with fury and alarm.

"WHO IS THIS? WHO ARE YOU?" He roared in the direction of the mouthpiece. "RON WEASLEY!" We heard the disembodied voice bellow. "I'M A FRIEND OF HARRY AND EMORY FROM SCHOOL -" He was interrupted by the fuming voice of Uncle Vernon.

"THERE ARE NO POTTERS HERE!" He thundered. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!" He dropped the receiver back onto the telephone as if it would explode at a second warning.

"Ah, shit." I mumbled under my breath as Vernon stepped towards Harry and I, pointing his chubby finger in our faces. "HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE- PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" He barked, spraying both of us with spit. "We're sorr-" Harry tried to apologize.

"ENOUGH! GO TO YOUR ROOM AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL YOU BOTH ARE NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS!" He snapped, pointing at the stairs. I had enough. "US? YOU WANT US TO ACT LIKE 'NORMAL' HUMAN BEINGS? HOW ABOUT YOU GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ARSE AND SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR BLOODY LIFE?!" I fumed.

Uncle Vernon was looking at me with his mouth open. "She doesn't mean that. We'll go upstairs now." Harry stammered, pushing his hands on my back and shoving me up the stairs. He pushed me the rest of the way there and shut the door gently because he knew Aunt Petunia hated it when we slammed the doors.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Harry hissed at me as I sat down on my bed, frustrated. "What? Don't tell me he didn't need to hear that, Harry. He, Petunia, and that oaf are just pricks here to make our lives worse." I rolled my eyes. "Yes, but you know you can't say that, Emory. They'll punish us even more now."

I scoffed. "Like there's anything worse than having to wash the skid marks off of Dudleys boxers? I'll take my chances." Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever, just don't do something like that again, okay?" Turning around on my bed so I was facing the wall, I responded, "Sure."

~

It had been a few weeks since the fight, and now Harry and I were finally 13. Vernon informed us a few days ago that we would be expecting a visit from Aunt Marge. We never met her, but seeing as how our aunt and uncle were excited, we assumed that she would be just like them, if not worse.
Merlin, were we right.

It was dinner time, and Harry and I had just finished carrying Marge's five suitcases upstairs to the guest bedroom. Three of which included presents for Dudley. "Can this prick be any more spoiled?" I huffed. "Tell me about it." Harry retorted. We finished putting the suitcases upstairs and sat down at the dinner table.

Marge looked at us with her puny green eyes. "Still here, are you?' She scoffed. "Unfortunately." I mumbled, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Harry. "What was that?" She questioned. "Nothing." Harry gave me a glance. "It's damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you two. Wouldn't have done it myself. Both of you would've gone straight to an orphanage if you were dumped on my doorstep."

Harry and I forced a smile. "Don't you two smirk at me!" She boomed. " I can see you haven't improved since I last saw you. I hope school will knock some manners into you. Where is it they go again, Vernon?" she turned to our uncle. "St. Brutus's," He responded promptly. "It's a first-rate institution for hopeless cases."
"I see," said Aunt Marge. "Do they use the cane at St. Brutus's?" She sneered at us.

"Er-" Uncle Vernon nodded at us from behind Marge's back. "Yes." Harry said. "All the time." I finished his sentence. "Excellent," said Aunt Marge. "I won't have this namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A good thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases of a hundred. Have you two been beaten often?" I looked at Harry.

"Oh yeah," He said. "Loads of times." I added. Aunt Marge narrowed her eyes at us. "I don't like your tone, girl." She said before turning to speak to Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon looked at us and pointed to the stairs. "Come on, Harry." I grabbed his arm and walked with him upstairs. I opened our door and floped on my bed.

"This house is a load of bullocks,"

I huffed, throwing herself down face first onto the lumpy mattress. My mind swirled with frustration at having to endure another second with these cruel Muggles. How I longed to escape this prison and never look back. Harry sat gently beside me, placing a comforting hand on my back. "I know, Em, I hate it too. But we'll be back at Hogwarts before you know it." I lifted my head slightly and nodded, hoping my brother was right. As long as we had each other, maybe we could survive this miserable place just a little while longer.