In a cupboard under the stairs, two children sat on an old ragged mattress. The boy had black hair that stuck up in all directions, bright emerald eyes, was dressed in drab clothes much too big for him, and wearing round glasses that were in very poor shape. He also had a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Despite his scrawny gutter-rat appearance, the boy's face glowed with natural curiosity and kindness. His twin sister sitting opposite him looked nearly identical except for subtle differences in her expression, hazel eyes rather than green, longer hair, and a naturally thinner body. They were nine years old and their names were Harry and Heather Potter.

Heather was currently tracing every indention in the wall. She had done it many times before. As her fingers moved over the rough bumps, she created a connect-the-dots picture in her mind.

"Harry, what's the color of the walls?" She asked, turning towards him. It was a game they had made up. Every time she asked, his answer would change and the cupboard under the stairs would become more and more extravagant.

"They're pure gold, Heather. Like the sun. They're so bright!" Harry went on to describe how beautifully decorated the room was. Heather smiled. She was glad she could no longer see what it really looked like. It was easier to pretend that way.

She heard thumps from upstairs and then the sound of the shower running. Uncle Vernon was not a morning person no matter how many times he'd gotten up early for work and they knew better than to draw his attention. She signaled Harry and his mouth shut with an audible clack. An hour from now their aunt would 'wake' them up to fix breakfast. If they were quiet, they wouldn't have anything to worry about.

Heather remembered the day Harry had been very ill and their uncle was woken up by the sound of him dry retching and moaning. He had beaten Harry viciously with his belt and then ordered both of them to complete a long list of difficult chores. Heather had begged for Harry, promising that she would do his chores for him. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to finish all of the chores by the time he got home and she had paid very dearly for it. Even worse, to her at least, Harry lost his hearing when their relatives refused to take him to the hospital.

That had been two years ago. She had gotten used to being blind, although she still had occasional nightmares. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't want anyone to know that she was blind and Harry was deaf because they would ask questions. She wasn't sure who they were, but she and Harry obeyed and hid their disabilities. It wasn't too difficult. The connection they shared helped. They had discovered that they could communicate with each other mentally. Since Heather couldn't see the board or read any books, this came in handy. She was well practiced at doing things as normally as possible. With the Dursleys, she had to be. They wouldn't excuse her from cooking just because she couldn't see the stove. In fact, they took pleasure in using their disabilities against them. They always made her paint the shed and then re-do it when she missed a spot. They would separate her from Harry and give him instructions while his back was turned, knowing he couldn't hear so that they could punish him for disobeying. As much as they both loathed the Dursleys, they had learned a lot from them. Harry and Heather didn't trust or depend on anyone but each other. They wished they could, but they knew that they couldn't depend on adults and other kids just didn't understand them. Even if Dudley didn't scare everyone off, Harry and Heather had earned a reputation as 'freaks'.

Although they had no friends and the Dursleys worked them like slaves, they still found ways to enjoy some happiness. They often collected things that the Dursleys threw away: newspapers, magazines, and some old toys of Dudley's. Harry even had a tattered book called The Hobbit, which he read aloud to her. At school, they would sneak into the library during recess and Harry would read to her quietly in a corner. Heather suspected the librarian knew about it, but she never interfered. It was a good thing they spent so much time there because it was the one place Dudley would never set foot in. Their cousin and his lousy gang often chased them and beat on them. After a strange incident where they had ended up on the roof, they mutually agreed to spend all of their recesses inside.

Strange things seemed to always happen around them. Harry's hair had grown back overnight after a disastrous haircut, Dudley's birthday cake once exploded in his face when he had taunted Heather, and all four tires of the Dursleys' car had deflated when they mentioned visiting Aunt Marge. Every time something even a little bit out of the ordinary happened, Harry and Heather were blamed. Heather and Harry both agreed that the Dursleys were hiding something from them and they swore to find out what it was.