A/N: This story is a companion piece to All Those Empty Spaces, which should probably be read before beginning this one. While All Those Empty Spaces tells the story of Petunia's fortieth birthday in hiding, this story encompasses the entire year the Dursley family spent in the wizarding safehouse. The chapters are short-ish because it was originally posted as part of a challenge that called for short chapters, so even though it'll ultimately be 100 chapters once completely posted, it's not actually that long of a story. Lol. Enjoy!

Mrs Dursley,

The note is addressed only to her because Vernon didn't want any involvement with magical parchment or magical baskets and because Dudley balked at the idea of learning to write with a quill. Petunia's not thrilled with it either, but looks at things more practically - they need food, and this is the only way to get it.

Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle had planned to stay here with them, but the house is so small, and she and Vernon had protested vehemently. So the Dursley family had been left to themselves, and the witch and wizard had gone to Ms Jones' home. Mr Diggle had said something about Death Eaters knowing what side he was on and that he didn't think it safe to go to his own home. Of course, Petunia and Vernon had disapproved - it seemed obvious what two from that lot would get up to when left alone for any length of time, and they suspected that the likelihood of an actual Death Eater attack on their ridiculous little guardian was really quite small.

Now Petunia almost wishes they hadn't made their protectors leave. The house is tiny, yes, but it's also eerily silent, dark and gloomy. The sounds of the world going on around them filter in through the heavily covered windows. Muggle sounds, her mind whispers. She tries to remember a time when she didn't think of herself as a Muggle, but can't.

As we discussed, this basket will return to me every
Thursday at 11 p.m., and I will send it back at the same
time Friday night. Please write any correspondence only
on the parchment I gave you, with the quills I gave you,
as it will keep anyone else from being able to read it.
Also, again, please do not discuss your location or anyone
else's or any information that may be used against us
should the letter be intercepted, just in case. I cannot
stress the importance of this enough.

Petunia rolls her eyes. She's not an idiot, and she resents being treated like an imbecile simply because she can't do magic, as if she's not completely aware of what sort of danger her family is in and how much their safety depends on their ability to remain hidden.

I wanted to give you an update on things, as well. Harry
made it to the previously discussed location. Unfortunately,
the trip was not without casualties. We lost Mad-Eye
Moody (I don't know that you ever met him, but
he was a brave man and an asset to the Order) and Harry's
owl. But Harry is safe, and that's what's most important
right now.

Please let me know if you need anything. Tapping the
handle of the basket three times with the quill will send it
back early, but please only do so in the event of a true
emergency - I can't guarantee that no one else will be
present to see its arrival if I don't know to expect it.

~Hestia Jones