The Granger Twins

Act 2

By July 31, which just so happened to be Harry's birthday, Selena and Hermione had finished all of their homework and sent and received lots of letters to and from the wizarding world. But unfortunately, none of them had been from Harry. It was concerning really, it almost felt like the letters disappeared. They would send one with Hazel, but she would come back without one whilst slightly shaking her head. Selena sent him a card, along with Hermione's, his presents, and a mini cake to cheer him up. Judging by the brief encounter they had with his piblings* he either couldn't write to them or didn't know what to say.

Selena decided to take a nap, hoping this time it wasn't another nightmare.  At the very end of last term, Selena and Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. Selena and Harry had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Selena kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes--

Selena was walking down the street to pick up the standard baking ingredients from the market (flour, salt, sugars, eggs, yeast, vanilla extract, etc) with the promise to come home soon. She was passing Harry's house when she saw him. Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge - and the hedge was staring back . Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.

Harry jumped to his feet just and Selena shrank into the shadows as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.

"I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.

The huge eyes blinked and vanished.

"What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.

"I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.

"Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week." She had to stifle a laugh at this.

"Today's your birthday ," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"

"Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," said Harry coolly.

Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.

"Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.

"I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.

Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.

"You c-can't - Dad told you you're not to do m-magic - he said he'll chuck you out of the house - and you haven't got anywhere else to go - you haven't got any friends to take you--"

"Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. " Hocus pocus - squiggly wiggly - "

"MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!"

She saw that Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic, but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the soapy frying pan. Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn't eat again until he'd finished.

Selena decided to leave an empty envelope as see what happened. She placed it on the opposite side of the hedge and something appeared next to it. The little creature next to the hedge had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. It grabbed the envelope and disappeared. Selena knew instantly that this was what had been watching Harry out of the garden hedge that morning.