Chapter 4-Academic Achievement Rewarded?

A petite figure flew through the door with crimson hair waving behind her like a flag as she held a paper high above her head. Twirling, leaping, and prancing, the young girl danced through the air in pure joy, staying airborne for seconds longer than humanly possible. Large numbers were marked on it in red. “Tuney! Tuney! I got a hundred ten percent on the project! Ms. Roberts loved it! Everyone clapped after I gave my presentation!” the girl gleefully spun in place. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the advice you gave me! You’re the best sister in the whole wide world!”

“Lilette! Really?” Petunia asked. Lily enthusiastically nodded. “I’m so proud of you! I knew you could do it!” The two sisters grinned and embraced. “I’d help you anytime, you remember that Lily Marie!” Both sisters spun in a circle, and childishly enjoyed the bliss of a job well done.

x-x-x-x-x

“Mummy! I got a seventy-five percent on the spelling test!” a rotund, blond boy cried as he waddled inside out of the cold, flinging the door wide open, nearly cracking the wall with the force of the door. He was barely recognizable underneath the many layers of jumpers and coats. Rosy pink cheeks stuck out between his floppy woolen hat and scarf.

“Oh, good job Dudders! I’m so proud of you! Dudley, you make me so proud!” His mother enclosed him in a hug as she teared up. She began to unwrap her son out of the icy clothing. A tiny click of the door distracted her. “Oh. You.” Her nephew stood in front of her with a hopeful look. He had a few oversized jackets on with holes in them and a ratty hat askew on his head, partially covering his jet-black birds’ nest of hair. Standing still was impossible, he was shivering from the cold.

Harry’s hope started to wane as he anxiously said, “Aunt Petunia, I got a ninety-eight percent on the test!” Click-clack went Petunia’s heels as she escorted her son to the living room. Dismally he trudged over to the hallway cupboard. Glancing to the living room, he saw a crackling fire and Aunt Petunia giving his cousin a large mug of marshmallows, presumably with hot chocolate underneath.

Quivering, but not entirely from the cold, he opened the door to the cupboard, entered, and pulled the latch from the inside. He contorted his small frame into an upright position in the crowded cupboard and muffled his childish sobs of despair. Petunia showed no sign of recognition as she promised her son his favorite dessert and a new toy.