Harry woke up before his alarm. The sky was still grey, curtains cracked just enough to let in the early light. Hedwig was perched on the windowsill, feathers puffed up and eyes half-lidded. No cage. Just the ledge. That still felt strange.
He reached out and scratched behind her head. She leaned into it, blinking at him, clearly she approved.
He still couldn't make sense of it. Not just Hedwig being cage-free... everything. The bed was soft, full-sized, no springs jabbing him in the back. His trunk stood by the wall, untouched. No padlocks. No angry note about staying out of sight.
It was still a shock to Harry that people could change that much in a year.
Last summer, after his first year at Hogwarts, he'd stepped off the train half-ready to run. He'd already braced himself for the usual, Dudley's smug face, Aunt Petunia's pinched nose, Vernon's voice rattling the windows before Harry even made it through the front door.
But Vernon... smiled.
Yes. Smiled.
Not in a nice way, exactly. But not the usual vein-bulging grimace, either. More like the kind of smile someone gives when they're pretending not to have seen a crime but definitely saw everything.
"We've moved your things," he said, almost cheerfully. "You're in Dudley's second room now. The one with the blue wallpaper."
Harry had stood there for a full minute, hand still on the trunk, waiting for the punchline. When none came, he followed the man up, still half-sure he'd hallucinated it.
A middle-sized bedroom.
Clean, too. Bed made. Window cracked. Wardrobe that wasn't full of broken Hoover parts.
He stood in the centre of it waiting for it to vanish.
It didn't.
Later that evening, he'd gone downstairs expecting his usual long list of chores and half a grapefruit for dinner. Instead, Petunia handed him a plate. "You can sit, dear. Food's nearly ready."
With actual food. Full meal. Warm. She even said "eat" without even a scowl. Sat down across from him like he wasn't some infestation.
And smiled.
Harry had to grab the counter to steady himself.
He barely touched the food. He'd spent most of the meal waiting for the house to burst into flames or Vernon to stand up and scream "only joking!" and drag him back to the cupboard.
But nothing happened.
They ate in near silence. Petunia sipped tea. Vernon grunted about the neighbour's hedges. Dudley came in, muttered something about telly, and didn't throw anything.
The whole thing felt off. Like he'd stepped sideways into a different world.
Professor Rosier had once said something about alternate realities in class, briefly, before going off on a tangent about some wizard who married a Manticore for research purposes and lost both his legs and his pension. Harry hadn't caught much of it, but he remembered the point, sometimes, things didn't line up. Sometimes, they bent.
So maybe this was one of those times. A weird bend. One of those little cracks in the universe where everything slipped sideways and nobody noticed.
Still, he didn't trust it.
He'd kept his wand under the pillow all summer. Just in case.
And nope. Still nothing happened.
He still did chores, sure, but not like before, no scrubbing the patio with a toothbrush or ironing Dudley's socks while standing on one leg. Just the usual, wash the dishes, mow the lawn, feed the bird. Simple, bearable stuff. He even got an allowance. A proper one, not some leftover pennies Petunia scraped off the windowsill.
He was allowed out too. Walks, the corner shop, even the library. That was new. The first time he stepped into the Little Whinging Public Library, he half-expected someone to throw him out just for breathing near the encyclopaedias. But nobody did. He spent hours in the back corner with a stack of books and a biscuit smuggled from the kitchen.
Harry triple-checked the date on the calendar. Made sure the street signs still matched. Even pinched himself once or twice. Everything was the same. And something had definitely happened.
It was all so bizarre, he ended up writing to Ron, Hermione, and Neville more than once asking if anything weird was happening to them. Nothing dramatic, just polite little "Are your relatives acting... sane?" sort of notes. Hedwig flew out with his letters freely. Vernon scowled every time she passed, but never shouted. Never slammed the door. Not even when she dropped owl pellets on the clean carpet.
When no letters came back, the "alternate reality" theory started to feel less funny. But that turned out to be a whole other ordeal, didn't it?
That summer passed without any shouting, threats, or cupboard doors. He had a bed, books, and breakfast. Nothing to complain about, except that the friends he thought were true had never written back. Until he learned the reason.
Dobby.
Manic little menace turned up and almost wrecked the whole thing too. Cake splattered on guests. Warnings about doom. One smashed pudding and a house-elf in a pillowcase later, and Harry thought for sure the jig was up.
But Vernon didn't lock him up.
He didn't even shout, really, just muttered about voices and farts, and told Harry to "keep his magic under control."
That was it.
This summer went by much better. It was unnerving. But manageable. His friends had written at least.
Then last night, Vernon dropped the bomb.
"Aunt Marge is coming."
Harry nearly dropped his fork.
Now, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor, trying to work out the best plan of survival. Because Aunt Marge wasn't just unpleasant. She was a human sandpaper sheet. Loud. Rude. Obsessed with pedigree and dog breeding and the belief that Harry was a walking disease.
She once gave Dudley a new toy helicopter and told Harry, "Maybe if you were better behaved, you'd deserve socks."
He rubbed a hand down his face.
Vernon hadn't said when she was arriving. Could be today. Could be tomorrow. But the minute she walked through the door, it'd be like the Dursleys remembered who they used to be.
Harry looked at Hedwig, who blinked at him.
"Yeah," he said. "It's going to be one of those weeks."
But it didn't become one of those weeks.
Aunt Marge showed up mid-morning, suitcase in tow and mouth already running. She stomped through the front door with a wheeze and a, "Boy. Take my suitcase. And this time, don't fold my clothes like a baboon with broken fingers or I swear to god—"
She didn't get to finish.
Dudley stepped forward, almost knocking Harry sideways, and grabbed the suitcase with both hands.
"I'll get it, Aunt Marge."
Harry blinked.
Marge stared like someone had just slapped her with a haddock.
"Dudley, honey, what are you doing?" she asked, voice somewhere between confused and insulted. "Let that thing do it."
Dudley didn't stop walking. "He's got homework. I'm not busy."
She looked at Vernon, expecting backup, but Vernon cleared his throat and turned toward the kitchen. "Dinner's nearly ready. Why don't you freshen up?"
That was odd.
Harry stayed quiet, still standing by the door. Marge gave him a glare on her way up the stairs, but it was weaker than usual. Like she didn't know quite where she stood anymore.
At dinner, she tried.
They sat around the table, plates full, Petunia's roast on display. Marge stabbed at her peas and said, too loudly, "Course, I always said your lot were strange. Funny blood. Makes for strange children."
Harry didn't say a word. Just kept eating.
Petunia looked up from her mash. "Do mind your manners, Marge."
That got a double-take. From everyone.
Marge blinked. "I'm only saying. No shame in it. Some families just come from... muddier stock."
Harry's fork paused mid-air.
Vernon set his wine glass down too hard.
"I think that's enough."
The table went still.
Marge frowned. "I'm only telling the truth. That boy's father was a drunk, wasn't he? Left the mother to do everything—"
The table shook.
Vernon's hand slammed down next to his plate. "That's enough, Marge."
She gawked at him.
Harry looked up, properly now. Vernon's face was red. Not the usual rage-red, but something else. His knuckles were white where they pressed the tablecloth.
"I won't have you insulting people who aren't here to defend themselves."
Marge opened her mouth, then closed it.
Petunia cleared her throat. "James Potter was a war hero. And my sister was... an excellent woman."
She said it tight, like the words cost her, but she said it. Then Harry noticed a shift. If before he hadn't understood why his aunt and the others were acting kind, now he saw real anger in Petunia's eyes. It was as if she had always wanted to say those words but never could, until something within her finally shifted.
Dudley looked from one adult to the next, then turned to Marge.
"Don't talk about Harry's parents like that."
That silenced the whole table.
Marge turned to him, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"
Dudley didn't repeat himself. Just kept eating.
Vernon coughed. "Well, that's settled, isn't it? Pass the potatoes, Pet."
They ate in silence for a while after that.
Marge didn't bring it up again. Didn't look at Harry much either. She spent most of the meal frowning at her wine.
After pudding, Harry carried his plate to the sink. Petunia didn't say a word. Just gave him a nod and turned back to scraping crumbs into the bin.
Back upstairs, Harry sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
He wasn't sure what had just happened. It didn't feel like a victory, too strange for that, but something had definitely changed.
He reached over, cracked the window open, and let the air in. A dog howled outside.
Hedwig hooted softly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I don't know either."
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