To Live is the Rarest Thing

Chapter 1

To live is the rarest thing. Most people exist, that is all. – Oscar Wilde

Chapter 1

Mrs Figg was ill and Harry couldn’t be happier. Not because he hated Mrs Figg, because he didn’t even if she was a little weird with her cat obsession, and even if her house smelled like cat pee whenever Harry had to spend a day there. No, Harry was happy because for the first time in pretty much his whole life he got to go to a waterpark with his family.

Well, family being a very strong word for Harry’s relatives because the people Harry lived with really didn’t treat him like he was family. More like he was an unwelcome burden they were forced to put up with. Once, Harry heard a fairy tale about a girl who was forced to clean all day by her wicked stepmother and Harry had felt an unbelievable kinship with this character. Though Harry didn’t have any parents, step or otherwise. He only had his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley, his cousin who despite being only a few months older was easily twice Harry’s size.

Dudley always used his size to his advantage whenever he decided to beat Harry up, which was at least a few times a week. Harry was fast, though, and about half the time he got away before his cousin could lay a hand on him. The other half of the time…well, Harry had his fair share of bruises and cuts and broken bones to speak for themselves. Dudley was the reason Harry got to go to the waterpark. Dear Dudders almost had to stay behind a grade in their primary school, but Aunt Petunia got him a tutor and after much whining, complaining and a few temper tantrums, Dudley did the minimal amount of work and got barely high enough grades to pass after all. And as a reward, Dudley got to go to this luxury waterpark that had opened just the previous month in Surrey, half an hour away from where they lived in Little Whinging. And because Dudley refused to postpone his trip, and because there was no one who could watch Harry for the day, Harry got to come along for the first time in his life.

And even though Harry wasn’t a very strong swimmer he was looking forward to spending a day outdoors while hopefully having a little bit of fun without being beaten up by his cousin. Harry had only had a few swimming lessons as they were provided by their school, to learn the very basics like treading water and being able to swim from one end of the pool to the other end. But that was about it, as parents were expected to pay for further lessons for their children and while Dudley had received such lessons, Harry had been told, like usual, that his aunt and uncle refused to spend their hard-earned money on a waste of space like himself.

The car ride was a loud affair, with Uncle Vernon loudly complaining about pretty much every other driver on the road, and Dudley talking non-stop with his friend Piers about which waterslides they were going to take first and why. Apparently there were many and all had their pros and cons. Harry had no clue but listened quietly and figured he’d be lucky if he could manage to take one slide without Dudley interfering.

Aunt Petunia gave Harry a very pinched look when she had to pay ten pounds for his entry into the park and Harry wisely pretended not to notice. They got changed in some cubicles, and Harry had one all to himself as he pulled off his oversized jeans and shirt to reveal his oversized swimming trunks. All of them were Dudley’s hand-me-downs, naturally, and Harry was ever so grateful the string in the waist of his swimming trunks allowed him to pull it tightly so it would at least stay put on his scrawny body.

After Uncle Vernon gave him a few harsh warnings about not causing any trouble and basically leaving them alone for the day, Harry was allowed to roam the waterpark by himself. He was already ten years old, if only just, so hardly a little child who needed constant supervision.