Vernon's eyes darted nervously from side to side. He glanced toward the cupboard under the stairs, swallowed convulsively, then looked up at the staircase leading to the second floor.
"Uh… um…" he drawled. "Let's go upstairs!"
It seemed to Vernon that he'd come up with a brilliant move. He planned to show them his son's room, passing it off as Harry Potter's bedroom. What he hadn't accounted for was the utterly appalling way he'd raised his own child.
Petunia's hand, which had been clamped over the boy's mouth, loosened and dropped. Dudley wriggled free from Mrs. Dursley's grip and shouted indignantly,
"Dad, but that's my bedroom and my playroom! And there's the guest room where Aunt Marge stays, and your bedroom too. The freak lives in the cupboard!"
The eyes of all the uninvited guests went wide. Such blunt candor was the last thing the representatives of Child Protective Services, the police, and the foundation had expected to hear. Even Richie was stunned. It was one thing to see someone living in a cupboard in a movie, with two empty rooms right next door. It was quite another to discover that such a thing was happening in real life.
"O-o-oh!" Richard drawled. "This is much worse than the neighbors described. Officer, would you mind taking a look at the cupboard?"
"Of course."
The constable headed toward the storage closet. Vernon's bulk loomed in his path. Mr. Dursley spread his arms wide and said nervously,
"Oh, that's just a child—don't listen to him. He's lying out of spite."
"But it's true!" Dudley screeched hysterically, stamping his feet.
Petunia tried to grab her son, but he slipped out of her grasp.
"Dudley, shut up!" hissed the furious Mrs. Dursley.
"Mr. Dursley, step aside, or I will be forced to regard your actions as resistance to a representative of the law," the police officer said calmly.
Vernon had no choice. He turned even paler and stepped aside.
The constable, Madam Taylor, and Mr. Connor approached the cupboard under the stairs and flung the door open. All three froze like statues. Their enormous eyes betrayed sheer disbelief.
"My God!" exclaimed the woman from Child Protective Services in shock. "You really did house a child in a cupboard! You monsters!"
Harry watched the unfolding events with mounting anxiety. He had never seen his aunt and uncle so frightened. Even Dudley grasped that something truly awful was happening, and he fell silent.
Vernon let out a heavy sigh and moved closer to Harry. He said to the boy,
"Uh… Harry, about that cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking about it for a long time, and we decided you've already grown too big to live there anymore. We thought it would be better if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."
Madam Taylor shot Vernon a disapproving look and said sharply,
"Mr. Dursley, that won't help you now. We are opening a case for improper guardianship. From this point on, your and your wife's fate will be decided by a judge."
"Please…" Mr. Dursley groaned softly. "We'll fix everything. Don't judge us by how the boy lived. We honestly thought it would be better for him. He… uh-h… he's afraid of large spaces."
"Don't make up nonsense!" Madam Taylor snapped. "I've seen this sort of treatment of foster children more than once in my career."
The elderly woman walked over to Harry, crouched down in front of him, and asked gently,
"Harry, tell me—did your aunt and uncle ever hit you?"
"Um… no, ma'am," Potter mumbled.
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Taylor pressed. "Don't be afraid. They won't hurt you anymore. You can tell me everything."
"No, really, no, ma'am," Potter said, shaking his head.
"Perhaps your uncle touched you in inappropriate places? Sat you on his lap?" the CPS representative continued.
Petunia muttered something quietly and rolled her eyes back. It looked as though she'd stopped breathing altogether. The woman was on the verge of fainting.
Vernon's eyes bulged. He was so terrified that he held his breath.
"No, ma'am," Potter replied. Gathering his courage, he added, "I was only beaten by Dudley and his friends."
"I told you—your son has absolutely dreadful manners!" Madam Taylor declared, turning to Petunia. "Everything is perfectly clear. You should be stripped of your parental rights, and both children must be immediately placed in foster care."
"I don't want to go to an orphanage!" Dudley wailed, finally realizing just how serious things were.
Petunia leaned against the wall and, by some incredible effort of will, remained conscious, though she was ready to collapse at any moment.
"My baby… Harry… how could this happen?!" she sobbed hysterically.
Harry, too, was shocked and terrified by the prospect that had just opened before him. He stepped in front of Aunt Petunia protectively and said,
"Ma'am, please, don't send me to an orphanage. My aunt and uncle aren't really that bad. I go to school, I eat, I have clothes. I'm fine. Really, really! Please—don't."
Only the journalist remained on the sidelines. She stood quietly off to the side, recording everything on her voice recorder. At the same time, she scribbled furiously in a notebook. Her eyes burned with enthusiasm, and anyone looking into them could clearly read a single word: !!!SENSATION!!!
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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