Fan Fiction ❯ Harry And Kathy And The Sorceror's Stone ❯ An Owl And A Letter ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer-How could I, a girl with less than dollar, possibly own a great story such as Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone? Don't have an answer, do you?

An Owl And a Letter

"Wake up!" the gruff voice of Petunia Dursely commanded. She lifted her broom and pounded on the hatch of the attic. It was opened by work of a drawstring from the outside, and by a hook-and-latch on the inside.

Twins Kathy and Harry Potter woke up at the same time, both being light sleepers. Both reached for their glasses.

"Wake up, cousins!" an eager boy's voice yelled, jumping on the floor below them. "It's my birthday!"

Kathy groaned and glared at the hatch. Dudley was surely the most annoying cousin anyone could ever have.

Harry pulled the latch and let the door fall down. Kathy pushed the stairs attached to the hatch down into a ladder and led the way down to the kitchen.

"How's my favorite birthday boy?" Petunia giggled, rubbing noses with Dudley. Harry groaned and Kathy scoffed under her breath.

"Who's the only birthday boy?" Kathy muttered sarcastically to her brother.

"How many presents do I have?" Dudley asked like the spoiled brat he is.

"37," said the very fat, very red, very ugly Vernon, Dudley's father.

"37?!" Dudley yelped in anger and dismay. "But last year, there were 38! I WANT…"

"Oh, shut up!" Kathy yelled at her cousin. "We're going to the zoo for your 38th present, okay?"

"Kathy!" Petunia snapped. "Don't tell your cousin what to do! Just for that, you can wash and dry the dishes for the rest of the week! Now start breakfast!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry said in the voice of an obedient servant, ignoring the look of disgust Kathy flashed him. He grabbed his twin's wrist and yanked her over to the stove, glaring at her. "What are you doing?" he hissed at her.

"Shut up, Harry," Kathy spat back. "We have rights, and I'm not about to give in and lose them!"

"We'll lose them anyway if you talk back!"

"Where's my coffee?!" Vernon demanded.

"Coming, Uncle Vernon!" Harry said, heading for the coffee can.

"You, girl, get me my toast!" Petunia snapped her fingers at Kathy.

"I have a name," Kathy muttered.

"What was that?!"

"I HAVE A NAME!" Kathy yelled. "It's not 'Girl' or 'You' or 'Get me my breakfast'! It's Katherine! K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E! You can call me 'Kat', 'Kath', 'Kathy', or 'Katherine'! Nothing else!"

Kathy was on the rampage now. "You have no right to treat me and Harry like this! We're not your servants. We're not your slaves. WE'RE NOT YOUR KIDS!!!!"

"Kathy, no!" Harry yelled.

SLAP!

"I've had quite enough!" Petunia yelled. "You two are living on our charity, and you WILL be grateful!"

"Ow! Damn it, that hurt!" Kathy growled. "If I had magic powers, I'd…!"

Suddenly, the color drained from Petunia's face

"Shut up! Shut up!" Dudley screeched, hiding his face in his mother's skirt. "Make her stop!"

"It's okay, pumpkin. Mommy's here," Petunia soothed.

Vernon's already pink face turned scarlet. He pushed back his chair, scraping it against the tiles, and grabbed Kathy by the hair. "You stupid little 6!tc#!" he roared. He yanked on her hair. "You will never, ever, say that word again!" He took to the stairs, dragging her by her dark brown curls.

He yanked open the attic hatch and practically forced her up the stairs. "You'll stay up there for a week! You can come down for the lavatory only! Your brother will bring you your food! Don't let me see your face for the next 7 days!"

Then he slammed the hatch up, and tied the drawstring to a hook on the ceiling he had devised for the same such punishment.

A few minutes later, Kathy heard the car start, and saw that outside the port window the family had left.

Kathy grinned and reached under her sleeping bag. In a plastic bag were containers of Reeses that she had snatched from her cousin when he wasn't looking. Poor simpleton, he never knew that she stole from him! When he first discovered his candy missing, he had yelled that 'the evil spirits are coming' and fainted. Kathy had a good laugh with Harry when their relatives had rushed him off to the hospital, and had split a bag of Skittles upstairs. Kathy was a stealthy snake and a sly fox if there ever was one.

She ate two containers and hid the rest. Harry should have some, too. They'd put a little meat on his bones, and he wouldn't look so scrawny.

She went over to the port window and looked out at the street.

Then screamed.

Staring her in the face, with a sealed envelope tied with red ribbon in its beak, was a snowy owl!

It cocked its head at her questioningly, then tapped the port window with its wing.

Kathy blinked. Stupefied, she unhooked the window hatches and opened it up.

The snowy owl hopped in, and she slid back. The owl hopped after her, and she kept sliding back, until she ran into the far wall of the room.

The owl blinked at her, then dropped the letter at her feet.

Moving slowly so as not the provoke it, Kathy picked up the letter and, with trembling fingers, opened the envelope and read it.

Dear Katherine and Harold Potter,

Kathy snickered at them addressing Harry by his full name, reminded herself to call him that next time she teased him, and read on.

Dear Katherine and Harold Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been approved to enter the esteemed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You shall be escorted by a chosen messenger to London Train Station and shall be picked up by the 9 ¾ train at precisely 11 o'clock on September 1st. We look forward to seeing you this semester.

Sincerely,

The Ministry of Magic

Kathy blinked, then read it over again. What was this? 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'? '9 ¾ train'? 'Ministry of Magic'? Was this someone's idea of a joke? She looked at the owl. It blinked at her. It didn't look anematronic, nor did she know anyone who trained owls. It blinked again, then pushed its inquisitive little beak under a pillow and unearthed a pack of Gummy Worms. It cocked its head pleadingly. Kathy opened the package and held a green and red Gummy Worm out to it. It snatched it away and gulped it down. That proved it wasn't anematronic. Robots didn't eat.

"That means someone's a good practical joker," she mused, "or you're the real thing."

The owl blinked at her, then turned, hopped away, and flew out the port window.

Kathy was sitting up in her sleeping bag, reading 'Afternoon of the Elves', when the attic hatch suddenly opened.

"Hey, Harry," she said, putting down the book. She frowned. "What's wrong?"

Harry's face was drawn and extremely pale He moved robotically as he sat next to her. "I can talk to snakes."

"You can what?!"

"I can talk to snakes."

"Harry, did anyone ever tell you you're crazy?" But she was reaching under her pillow, where she had put the letter.

"I swear to God, I can talk to snakes. We were at the Reptile Pen at the zoo, and Dudley was trying to wake up the snake. It wouldn't, so Dudley went away. I stayed near it, and all of a sudden, I'm talking to it. I was telling it about this house, and Petunia and Vernon and Dudley, and you. Then Dudley notices it's awake and, of course, the pig pushes me aside and starts pounding on the cage."

"Uh-huh?" Kathy was spellbound.

"I get this huge headache right here…" He rubbed the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead…"and suddenly the glass window is gone. Dudley falls through and lands in the moat. So, while Vernon and Petunia fawn over him, the snake escapes. Then it turns to me and says 'Thankssssss' and slithers out of the room." He smirked. "You still think I'm crazy, right?"

"Nope. 'Cause the weirdest thing happened to me, too." Kathy pulled out the letter and showed it to him. "This was delivered via snowy owl."

Harry read the letter, then read it again.

"OH. MY. GOD."

"I know," Katherine said. "What should we do about it?"

"Should we tell Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia?"

"God, Harry, you really are crazy! What do you think they'll do when they see this letter? Send us off with kisses and confetti?"

Harry laughed at the mental picture. "You've got a point, Kath."

"Of course I do," Kathy said teasingly. "I think we should wait and see what happens. If we get anymore, we'll just have to leave on our own accord. Now, here." Kathy reached under her sleeping bag and handed Harry a package of Reeses. "Eat. You're practically a twig!"

That's Chapter 2!

REVIEW!!

Heehee, I made a rhyme!