Number 4, Privet Drive.
"Good luck, Harry." Dumbledore uttered these words before disapparating on the spot.
Once Dumbledore had vanished, the lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead pulsed with a faint red glow.
---
"Wake up, you lazy lump!" Aunt Petunia shrieked, banging on the door of Harry's cupboard.
Hearing Aunt Petunia's incessant nagging, Harry calmly closed the diary he'd been reading and slowly got out of bed.
He knew perfectly well that no one ever bothered to inspect his "bedroom," but he stubbornly insisted on hiding his diary away, unwilling for anyone to lay eyes on it.
He dressed quickly and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
As he passed the dining table, Dudley suddenly gave him a hefty whack on the back. Harry feigned a stumble, eliciting a chorus of derisive laughter.
"Do you know what day it is, Harry? Piers's mum even called to ask if you were going to the zoo," Aunt Petunia's face looked as though she'd swallowed a particularly large, unappetizing fly.
"I understand, and that's precisely why I won't be going to the zoo," Harry replied, placing the fried eggs and bacon on the dining table.
He instinctively picked up the smallest portion and walked to the window, eating his meal while gazing out at the street.
Uncle Vernon insisted this display would show the neighbours just how generously they provided for Harry, even giving him meat.
Meanwhile, Dudley was throwing a colossal fit in the dining room, upset that his birthday haul this year was two presents short of last year's.
Ordinarily, when Dudley descended into such a tantrum, he'd make a right mess of everything around him, so Harry usually waited for the storm to pass before reappearing. But today, Harry took the initiative.
"Cousin Dudley, Aunt Marge's gift is under the table; you haven't counted that yet. And I overheard Aunt Petunia saying she has two more presents for you, waiting until you get back from the zoo."
Dudley pondered this, counting on his fingers for a moment, before flopping back into his chair and tearing open a gift bag. "Oh, alright then."
Aunt Petunia gave him a quick kiss, then scurried off to make a phone call.
Seizing the agreeable atmosphere, Harry cleared his throat.
"Uncle Vernon, I got a recommendation letter from my primary school headmaster. He thinks my grades are good enough for Smeltings Academy."
"Liar! Don't think for a second I don't know what mischief you've been up to at school!" Uncle Vernon grumbled, not even looking up.
Harry countered, "I haven't done anything wrong at school; Dudley can vouch for me."
Vernon snapped his head around to glare at Dudley.
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Dudley, seeing Harry hold up one finger, grudgingly nodded at Vernon.
"Even if that letter's genuine, we're under no obligation to send you to some fancy school. You'll have to earn your own tuition."
Aunt Petunia returned from her phone call just then.
"Then how am I supposed to explain this to the Muggle Child Welfare Services? I wouldn't want to lie," Harry turned to face his aunt.
"We don't mistreat you!" Petunia's face suddenly flushed a deep crimson.
"Blast it all, I'll send you to secondary school, but you'll clean the house and the lawn before term starts!"
Uncle Vernon couldn't stomach the idea of the Child Welfare Services showing up; the neighbours would have a field day with the gossip. So, he conceded.
Watching Harry's retreating back, Vernon began to grumble, "Look at the boy's size! He's nearly as tall as Dudley! We feed him so well, and he still threatens us!"
Harry leaned back on the sofa, and soon Dudley sauntered over.
He pulled a pound coin from his trousers pocket and handed it to Dudley.
"You're loaded, aren't you? Did you swindle that out of Jessica again?" Dudley accepted the money with a satisfied smirk.
"It was a gift from her. If you were as handsome as me, you could manage it too."
Seeing Dudley clench his fist, Harry swiftly darted out of the house.
Ever since their last skirmish indoors, which Aunt Petunia had discovered and resulted in a week of confinement, he'd sworn off such foolishness.
Harry headed straight for the church; he'd taken Jessica's money and promised to meet her there.
Upon entering the church, the beaming Jessica Harry had envisioned was nowhere to be found. Instead, a butler in a crisp suit approached him.
"We won't pursue the matter of you using Miss Jessica to obtain that recommendation letter, but Miss Jessica will be attending Downe House School in the future. You and she are simply not from the same world. This little game of romance must come to an end."
As Harry exited the church, he watched the butler climb into a BMW.
Though he'd promised the butler he wouldn't bother Jessica again, the two crisp fifty-pound notes in his pocket were his reward.
But he hadn't cared for the butler's tone, so, with a flick of his "mind magic," he punctured the car's tyre.
---
July 24th.
Petunia had taken Dudley to London to buy his school uniform, but she'd flat-out refused Harry's request to accompany them, stating she'd bring his uniform back for him.
Harry was left to lie idly on the lawn, utterly bored.
Suddenly, an owl swooped down beside him, a thick envelope tied to its leg:
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard Under the Stairs (or second bedroom)
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
The envelope bore no stamp. Harry initially thought it was a prank.
He squinted, scanning his surroundings, but saw no one waiting to witness his amusement. The owl remained patiently by his side.
Just in case, Harry used his "mind magic" to carefully untie the letter from the owl's leg and opened it.
After reading the letter, Harry smirked. He cautiously asked the owl, "Will you take my reply back to your master?"
Seeing the owl nod, Harry quickly scribbled a brief response. He only handed it over once he'd walked outside the neighbourhood with the owl.
The owl soared away, and Harry, with a cold chuckle, hailed a Muggle taxi and followed it.
"Dare to play such a trick on me, I'd like to see who you are."
"Sir, that's just a mountain ahead. Should we keep following?" the driver inquired.
Harry watched the owl fly towards the mountain, rapidly trying to recall which of his classmates lived in that direction.
The driver asked again, and only then did Harry tell him to turn back.
That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room in a maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, and a stiff straw hat.
Aunt Petunia, meanwhile, had brought Harry a school uniform that was barely suitable, a fact that didn't surprise Harry in the least.
---
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore was perusing Harry's reply:
Dear Mr. Unknown Dumbledore,
I've heard that Doctor Griffin at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is quite adept at treating delusions. I believe that might be a more suitable residence for you and Professor McGonagall than this so-called "Hogwarts." Wishing you a swift recovery.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. The contents of this letter were rather unexpected.
After much consideration, he penned a letter to Hagrid, deciding to personally collect Harry himself.
---
On the morning of July 31st, Harry had just woken up.
Suddenly, Aunt Petunia's ear-splitting shriek and Uncle Vernon's bellowing roar echoed from downstairs.
Harry suspected a robbery.
Though he was thoroughly fed up with his aunt and uncle, he had no desire to be shipped off to an orphanage. So, Harry prepared to head downstairs, intending to give the presumed robber a rather startling surprise with his "mind magic."
He cautiously crept to the landing. "Now's my chance!" Harry thought, focusing his will and sending a teacup hurtling towards the intruder's face.
Any ordinary Muggle burglar would have surely been terrified senseless by a flying teacup. But the person in the living room merely waved a hand, and the teacup flew right back to where it came from.
Without a moment to spare, Harry tried to manipulate another teacup.
But with a sigh, Harry found he'd lost control of the teacup. Then, he felt himself pulled by some unseen force and found himself seated on the sofa.
"Harry, relax. I'm an old man; I can't be put through such bother."
The newcomer, holding a wooden stick, gave a gentle flick, and the front door behind him closed. It was only then that Harry realized the situation was far from what he'd imagined.
---