Chapter - 11 : A New Dawn at Privet Drive

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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""Why aren't you eating, boy?" Vernon frowned. "I won't have you wasting the food we worked so hard to put on the table."

Harry shrugged noncommittally. "Just thinking, is all," he said.

"Think on your own time. Eat."

Instead of doing as ordered, Harry pushed his plate away and fixed his uncle with a quietly curious stare. "Why do you hate me?"

"Because you're a disobedient, ungrateful waste of space," the man said without even taking a moment to think about it. "And because you don't seem to want to eat the meal your aunt and I provided for you, don't expect to eat again for the next three days."

Harry didn't even blink at the threat, it didn't even seem as if he'd registered anything after Vernon's first sentence. "No," he said thoughtfully. "I don't think that's why."

"Your opinion is the last thing I want to hear right now." Vernon braced his hands against the edge of the table and pushed as if he intended to shove himself away from the table, no doubt so that he could snatch Harry up and drag him to his cupboard, however, the move didn't quite have the desired outcome. Instead of pushing his chair away from the table, the force of Vernon's shove sent the dinner table screeching across the linoleum. Petunia too attempted to stand as did Dudley, but they both found themselves in the same predicament as Vernon; they'd been inexplicably stuck to their chairs while the chairs themselves seemed to have been bolted to the floor.

"What did you do?" Petunia hissed. "What is this?"

"Magic," Harry said nonchalantly, as if he weren't talking about anything more interesting than that evening's weather forecast. "It took me awhile to understand what all of those weird things I was able to do were. It didn't take much longer to recall all of the times I'd done something odd, all of the times I accidentally exhibited magic and how violently you reacted each time I did, and realize that that was why you hated me. Not because I was smarter than Dudley or more likely to make it past thirty without suffering from some sort of heart failure than him, but because I could do magic. Which meant you knew I had this ability all along."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Petunia said, but the way her skin had taken on a sickly pallor and her throat bobbed with anxiety gave her away. "There's no such thing as magic."

"Of course you don't," Harry snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Maybe this will jog your memory." He focused his gaze on Dudley, a small half smile quirked his lips as his eyes darkened with concentration. Between one blink and the next, Dudley went from a horribly rotund eight year old boy, to a slightly less disgusting, shiny pink pig.

Petunia let out a terrible scream and pitched herself forward, but to no avail, her invisible bonds held strong.

"You horrible boy!" She burst into tears the moment she realized how futile struggling was. "What have you done to my Dudders? Fix him! Turn him back."

"That couldn't have been me," Harry said faux innocently. "Remember, Aunt Petunia, magic isn't real."

Pig Dudley began squealing and thrashing about in his seat in a blind panic, meanwhile, Petunia continued to sob while Vernon hurled curses and threat at his nephew.

The perpetrator of the chaos only sighed in exasperation and held a finger up to his lips. "Sssshh, you're giving me a headache." Immediately, and outside of their own volition, Petunia, Vernon, and Pig Dudley fell silent. "Much better. Now, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, it's time we had a talk.

"I've been living in your…care for seven years now and it has been an incredibly miserable experience. Believe it or not, I, as an eight year old boy, don't find cleaning your messes and cooking your meals a fun way to pass the time and living in the cupboard under the stairs has long since lost its appeal, if it ever had one. So I've decided I'll no longer be cooking for you, I won't be cleaning up after you, and tonight I'll be moving my things up into the guest bedroom, which will now be my bedroom. Effective immediately. Any objections?"

The moment Vernon and Petunia found themselves able to speak again, they wasted no time in listing every objection they'd managed to come up with in the two minutes they'd been silenced. Harry wasn't able to catch most of what they were saying as they were shouting over each other and many of their sentences were interspersed with some very colorful curse words, but he managed to get the basic gist of what they were saying and so, once again rescinded their right to speak.

"You really like the thought of knocking the stuffing out of me, don't you, Uncle Vernon?" Harry observed as he propped his chin on his hand. "Let's forget, for a moment, that you've never once laid a hand on me, and focus on the fact, if you even consider hurting me, I can and will destroy you without breaking any kind of sweat. Raise a hand to me and both you and Dudley will find yourselves being shipped to the nearest butcher to be made into bacon. I'd throw Aunt Petunia into the mix but all she'd really be good for is some leather hide with how little meat she has on her bones." Petunia bristled at the appraising once over he gave her. "Honestly, I think I'm being reasonable here. Do your own cooking, do your own cleaning, and get over the fact that a cupboard under the stairs isn't a suitable bedroom and you won't be turned into a bacon. Perfectly reasonable."

Harry slid from his seat and headed for the doorway. "All of this," he waved a hand in their general direction, "should wear off in an hour or so…maybe closer to two. I'll leave you to think things over. Just remember, comply or bacon; I know you'll make the right choice." aren't you eating, boy?" Vernon frowned. "I won't have you wasting the food we worked so hard to put on the table."

Harry shrugged noncommittally. "Just thinking, is all," he said.

"Think on your own time. Eat."

Instead of doing as ordered, Harry pushed his plate away and fixed his uncle with a quietly curious stare. "Why do you hate me?"

"Because you're a disobedient, ungrateful waste of space," the man said without even taking a moment to think about it. "And because you don't seem to want to eat the meal your aunt and I provided for you, don't expect to eat again for the next three days."

Harry didn't even blink at the threat, it didn't even seem as if he'd registered anything after Vernon's first sentence. "No," he said thoughtfully. "I don't think that's why."

"Your opinion is the last thing I want to hear right now." Vernon braced his hands against the edge of the table and pushed as if he intended to shove himself away from the table, no doubt so that he could snatch Harry up and drag him to his cupboard, however, the move didn't quite have the desired outcome. Instead of pushing his chair away from the table, the force of Vernon's shove sent the dinner table screeching across the linoleum. Petunia too attempted to stand as did Dudley, but they both found themselves in the same predicament as Vernon; they'd been inexplicably stuck to their chairs while the chairs themselves seemed to have been bolted to the floor.

"What did you do?" Petunia hissed. "What is this?"

"Magic," Harry said nonchalantly, as if he weren't talking about anything more interesting than that evening's weather forecast. "It took me awhile to understand what all of those weird things I was able to do were. It didn't take much longer to recall all of the times I'd done something odd, all of the times I accidentally exhibited magic and how violently you reacted each time I did, and realize that that was why you hated me. Not because I was smarter than Dudley or more likely to make it past thirty without suffering from some sort of heart failure than him, but because I could do magic. Which meant you knew I had this ability all along."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Petunia said, but the way her skin had taken on a sickly pallor and her throat bobbed with anxiety gave her away. "There's no such thing as magic."

"Of course you don't," Harry snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Maybe this will jog your memory." He focused his gaze on Dudley, a small half smile quirked his lips as his eyes darkened with concentration. Between one blink and the next, Dudley went from a horribly rotund eight year old boy, to a slightly less disgusting, shiny pink pig.

Petunia let out a terrible scream and pitched herself forward, but to no avail, her invisible bonds held strong.

"You horrible boy!" She burst into tears the moment she realized how futile struggling was. "What have you done to my Dudders? Fix him! Turn him back."

"That couldn't have been me," Harry said faux innocently. "Remember, Aunt Petunia, magic isn't real."

Pig Dudley began squealing and thrashing about in his seat in a blind panic, meanwhile, Petunia continued to sob while Vernon hurled curses and threat at his nephew.

The perpetrator of the chaos only sighed in exasperation and held a finger up to his lips. "Sssshh, you're giving me a headache." Immediately, and outside of their own volition, Petunia, Vernon, and Pig Dudley fell silent. "Much better. Now, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, it's time we had a talk.

"I've been living in your…care for seven years now and it has been an incredibly miserable experience. Believe it or not, I, as an eight year old boy, don't find cleaning your messes and cooking your meals a fun way to pass the time and living in the cupboard under the stairs has long since lost its appeal, if it ever had one. So I've decided I'll no longer be cooking for you, I won't be cleaning up after you, and tonight I'll be moving my things up into the guest bedroom, which will now be my bedroom. Effective immediately. Any objections?"

The moment Vernon and Petunia found themselves able to speak again, they wasted no time in listing every objection they'd managed to come up with in the two minutes they'd been silenced. Harry wasn't able to catch most of what they were saying as they were shouting over each other and many of their sentences were interspersed with some very colorful curse words, but he managed to get the basic gist of what they were saying and so, once again rescinded their right to speak.

"You really like the thought of knocking the stuffing out of me, don't you, Uncle Vernon?" Harry observed as he propped his chin on his hand. "Let's forget, for a moment, that you've never once laid a hand on me, and focus on the fact, if you even consider hurting me, I can and will destroy you without breaking any kind of sweat. Raise a hand to me and both you and Dudley will find yourselves being shipped to the nearest butcher to be made into bacon. I'd throw Aunt Petunia into the mix but all she'd really be good for is some leather hide with how little meat she has on her bones." Petunia bristled at the appraising once over he gave her. "Honestly, I think I'm being reasonable here. Do your own cooking, do your own cleaning, and get over the fact that a cupboard under the stairs isn't a suitable bedroom and you won't be turned into a bacon. Perfectly reasonable."

Harry slid from his seat and headed for the doorway. "All of this," he waved a hand in their general direction, "should wear off in an hour or so…maybe closer to two. I'll leave you to think things over. Just remember, comply or bacon; I know you'll make the right choice."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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