Bad Karma,

or, what goes around, comes around....

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number six, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very
much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold
with such nonsense.

 Mr. Dursley was the assistant director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a very big, beefy man. Mrs. Amalia Dursley was thin and blonde and kind of reminded her husband of Alice in 'the Vicar of Dibley' both by looks and intelligence.

Mr. Dursley didn't mind at all. His wife was a good cook, had an inherited fortune, kept the house clean and proper and best of all, took his words as gospel. Which was a welcomed difference, as most of the women in britain for some strange reason looked at him like he'd just crawled up from underneath a rock.

The Dursleys had a son called Vernon and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. That opinion was shared by Mr. Dursley's parents, Vernon senior, and Petunia.

The Dursleys was a tight knit family. Vernon and Petunia still lived in the same house their son Dudley had grown up in. Just a few houses away from Dudley's and Amalia's house. Amalia had been vary of living so close to her mother in law, and sometimes felt like Petunia was a bit too involved in their personal affairs. But this was how Dudley wanted his life to be. And what Dudley wanted, Dudley got. He was such a wonderful man, after all. And who knew better than his mother exactly how Dudley wanted things?

So when Petunia and Vernon invited themselves to breakfast with the explanation that Petunia would teach Amalia how to make the waffles exactly how Dudley wanted them. Amalia just nodded and was thankful Petunia wasn't there to redecorate their living room again.

The adults was currently sitting down for breakfast, all beaming proudly as Vernon the boy, (Mostly called Vernie) showed off his newly acquired school uniform. Vernie was to attend Smeltings, the school both his father and grandfather had attended. The uniform was the same as in his fathers days, maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, and a flat straw hat. The only difference was the lack of a knobbly stick, something that both Vernon and Dudley blamed on that liberal good for nothing government.

Vernie didn't particularly care about that. There was other ways to hurt your fellow students, if you were creative. And Vernie could be very creative when he put his mind to it.

When Vernie grew tired of his grand father's "A spitting image of his father!" and his grandmother's cooing, "Such a handsome young man!", he discretely accepted the five pound note his father handed him and gave Petunia a hug. He then sat down at the breakfast table and started to inhale food in a pace that Privet Drive hadn't seen since Dudley teenage days.

When Amalia had voiced her concerns for Vernie's health, Petunia had reassured her that it was just baby fat and that there was nothing wrong with a healthy appetite. Besides, If things got worse, he could always go on a diet when he got older. Why spoil his mood now?

So Amalia just smiled at her son and gave him another serving of bacon before she went after the mail since Dudley preferred to read it while he was drinking his morning coffee.

Halfly listening to Vernon's story about his Smelting days and how much better everything was in those days, she picked up the mail. Bill, Special offer, Advertisement, Letter for Vernie, Bill, advertisement... Wait! Letter for Vernie?! Yes, An old fashioned envelope, rather thick with the address written in green ink. And such a strange address!

Vernon Dursley
The Messiest Bedroom
6 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey

Amalia quickly went back to the kitchen. "Look at the funny letter Vernie's got. The paper is strange, the address makes no sense and who in their right mind uses green ink nowadays? Is it from one of your little friends, Vernie?" she asked and gave her son his letter.

Vernie eagerly tore the letter open, not noticing his grand parent's pale faces or his fathers whimper. His face frowned in concentration, since reading was something that took great effort, and slowly began to read:
 

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL
(Order of Merlin, Second Class, Grand Sorc.,Supreme Mugwump, International Animagus Guild)

Dear Mr. Dursley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Severus Snape,
Deputy Headmaster

Amalia laughed nervously, "Surely, it's some kind of joke." As always, when in doubt, she turned to her husband. "Dudley?"

Only this time, no one of the Dursleys seemed to be able to answer her. Dudley was hiding under the table, shivering and whimpering. Vernon's face shifted between deadly pale and tomato red. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack. And Petunia had fainted.

Amalia blinked and turned to her son, "It's some kind of joke, right?"

Vernie looked from the letter, to his whimpering father and fainted grandmother, to Amalia, unable to answer her.