Double Double Toil and Trouble // Two // [ON HOLD]

Chapter Three

Privet Drive was lined with several nearly-identical houses, all two stories, built with brown bricks, and topped with black-shingled roofs, and the Dursleys lived the fourth one on the left. Their silver four-door car was sitting in the driveway, so Mum had to parallel park next to the curb.

We all stood upon the welcome mat, waiting for someone to open the door that Mum had just knocked on. There were footsteps and a click of the lock and suddenly our Aunt Petunia was standing before us, an obviously fake smile on her horse-like face. She was wearing a pink dress with white floral patterns on it, and her blonde hair was curled. She pulled Mum in for a hug. I looked up at Dad for any sort of reaction, but he just smiled awkwardly. Mum knew how to get him wrapped around her finger.

Petunia didn't hug him, not that I was expecting her to, but instead they kissed each other's cheek in a formal manner.

"Wow. And just saying a few words could change this whole situation." I thought, knowing Harry could hear me.

We had a special power called Legilimency, which allowed us to speak to each other through our minds.

"Don't you dare." He thought back.

"Don't worry, I won't."

He was silent, probably contemplating whether or not I was lying.

"But I would."

I quickly added. He slyly elbowed my arm as to not attract any unwanted attention for the adults.

Petunia bent down and hugged Harry and I after greeting Dad. I don't know if it looked that way, but it felt very forced. You could tell she was only doing it because Mum was watching her. We smiled to make it look more believable. "How are my little niece and nephew doing?" She asked as she pulled away. "We're fine." We replied in sinc.

Walking into the dining room, we found Uncle Vernon setting the table with fancy plates and silverware. Our uncle was quite a beefy man, and had hardly any neck. He reminded me of a walrus, but with a large mustache. He wore a navy blue suit with a black tie, his thin, grey hair combed neatly on his bowling ball-shaped head. He looked up at us and smiled, his crooked, yellow teeth coming into view. Harry and I stepped to the side a bit while he shook Dad's hand and kissed Mum's cheek. When he looked down at us, he merely gripped our shoulders as if to say he was glad to see us.

"Where's little Dudley?" Mum asked, peering into the lounge to see if he might've been there.

"Little?"

"Hush."

"He's upstairs combing his hair. He'll be down shortly." Petunia said, glancing briefly at Harry and his wildly untamed hair.

"Stay Calm." I thought to him.

"Me? You should be worried about Dad."

I looked up and Dad was still smiling, but his eyes said something along the lines of 'Touch one hair on his head, and I'm gonna fly out of here on a broomstick and never look back.' He was always protective of Harry's jet black mop, saying it was his hereditary treasure.

We all sat together in the lounge while we waited for the food to finish cooking. Vernon and Petunia were on the sofa, Mum and Dad were on the loveseat, and Harry got to the last free seat, the armchair, before I could. There was no way I was sitting next to Vernon, so I squeezed myself in between Mum and Dad on the loveseat. Luckily, I was small for my age.

Not long after the grownups started making small talk, heavy footsteps were heard from the hallway, and our large cousin, Dudley, entered the room. He was obviously dressed by Petunia, wearing khakis, a black button down shirt, and a white bow tie. I didn't say anything about it, but I noticed his belt struggling around his waist.