The Locket

Chapter 1

Pressing his hand to the window, the boy wiped the condensation off. It was one of those summers that was so hot, even the windows were sweating. The lawns that were once the pride and joy of Privet Drive lay parched and yellow. The flowers that were still alive lilted sadly in their neat little rows. The miserable silence that choked the air was suddenly broken by a voice. Barely flinching, Harry recognized the familiar screech of his Aunt.

"Boy! Get in here this instant!" Sighing, he turned away from the window and went to answer her squawking command. Entering the kitchen, Harry noticed fairly quickly that something was off. The room was, quite honestly, a mess. Pots and pans lay scattered unevenly across the room and every drawer was completely emptied. Gingerly, he stepped over the wreckage caused by whatever tornado had clearly swept the room. Then, he saw her. In the center of it all, was Petunia Dursley. She was on her hands and knees, frantically upturning various items. Her eyes were bloodshot and she kept running her fingers through her hair nervously. Realizing that she hadn't seen him yet, Harry shot a hopeful glance at the doorway and wondered if there was still enough time for him to escape. Petunia turned her head slightly though, and it was too late. He would have no such luck today it seemed. Narrowing her eyes, she stood up.

"You took it!" A vicious edge lined her voice and hatred dripped off of every word.

"I didn't take it. I don't even know what was stolen!" Harry took one look at Petunia's expression and came to the conclusion that it didn't matter whether he had taken whatever was lost. She would blame him for it regardless. He didn't get to defend himself. And that was that. Harry quietly resolved to keep his mouth shut. If he spoke, the punishment would undoubtedly only get worse. He just needed to stay calm. Calm. Think happy thoughts. He would remain submissive to her unfair justice. It was the only way. If he lashed out he wouldn't get to return to Hogwarts, the one place that actually felt like home. Hogwarts was his home. He was going into his third year and he couldn't let a stupid mistake mess everything up. Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his mouth.

"Don't play dumb Potter! You know exactly what I'm talking about. Where is it?!" Her eyes burned into his skull with a growing animosity. Desperately, she began searching again. Whatever had been taken, it was clearly important to her.

"Did you take it?" She asked Harry again. Biting his tongue, Harry gently shook his head.

"Liar." Her tone was cold. Things were about to get ruthless. Harry gulped as she lunged at him. Grabbing him by the shirt collar Petunia pulled him towards her, knocking Harry's glasses askew. Although she appeared frail, Petunia was much stronger than she looked.

"You don't know what you've started. We both know you can't use magic. You'll get kicked out of your precious little school. I know you stole it and I know you'll crack eventually. You're a weak and pathetic little freak. Just like your mother." Laughing wickedly Petunia dropped Harry. Falling to the floor, Harry rubbed his neck and patted around for his glasses.Thankfully, they weren't broken.

"I want you to scrub every inch of this place until it's spotless. I want every speck of dust gone." Petunia grinned.

"I don't understand how that's any different from every other day of my life." Harry mumbled.

"You'll start now." Petunia's wrath had begun. She would make him work until his bones ached. Making Harry's life even more miserable than it already was became her sole purpose. It was a lofty goal. Petunia was determined to succeed though.

Harry worked all day. Every day. Cooking, vacuuming, watering every inch of dead grass on the lawn, dusting, and everything else imaginable. It was so much worse than usual. She had him on overload. His muscles begged him to quit. He struggled to keep his eyes open. It couldn't go on forever. Could it?

As time went by, she became more desperate for him to give it back to her. Her military disposition was starting to fade and panic began to set in.

"Please. I know you have it. Harry please. Give it back. Where have you hidden it?" She had long given up hiding her worry.

"What have I taken?" Harry pleaded with her. She was insane, he told her. He hadn't taken anything.

It went on all summer. Nothing changed though. Finally, the day Harry was to leave for Hogwarts arrived. He was not going to let Petunia trap him. He would make it to Hogwarts.

Harry packed his bags quietly. There was no way he was getting out easy. He knew that. Any other year the Dursley's practically celebrated Harry's depart. This year however, as long as Aunt Petunia was convinced he had taken whatever she was looking for, it would be a struggle. That morning he woke up at 3 am. As quietly as possible, he hauled his trunk around the corner and unlatched the window. Shoving everything outside, he peered over his shoulder to make sure no one else had gotten up. Tiptoeing towards the door he carefully unlocked each of the many bolts on the front door. He had made it! Stepping outside, he suddenly fell flat on his face. An alarm went off and he realized it must have been a tripwire. Hearing the blood pounding in his ears he regained his senses, grabbed his stuff, and began running.

"No! Get back here! Now!!! You stupid, insolent, rotten, boy! You arrogant thief! You don't know what you done..." He could faintly hear Petunia's mad caterwauling screams slowly fading into the distance.

Harry had made it to the bus stop. He sat in the early morning dusk on a bench smiling with satisfaction. Leaning back, he arched his back and let out a yawn. Gently, he pulled a small, silver, oval shaped object out of his pocket. Turning it over in his hand, he thoughtfully ran his finger over it. It appeared to be a locket of sorts. Harry opened it, revealing a milky, clear liquid, with little blue streaks swimming in it. Harry knew exactly what it was and why Petunia kept it hidden. It was Lily Potter's Pensieve. Her memories. Snapping the little oval shaped locket shut, Harry looked up. The bus had arrived.

Thank you so much for reading!!! I have this published on Fanfiction.net too and I decided to upload it here as well. Hopefully I'll have a new story up soon. If you enjoyed please vote and comment! :)