"Er --"
Uncle Vernon nodded curtly behind Aunt Marge's back.
"Yes," said Harry. Then, feeling he might as well do the thing properly,
he added, "all the time."
"Excellent," said Aunt Marge. "I won't have this namby-pamby,
wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A good
thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have
you been beaten often?"
"Oh, yeah," said Harry, "loads of times."
Aunt Marge narrowed her eyes.
"I still don't like your tone, boy," she said. "If you can speak of your
beatings in that casual way, they clearly aren't hitting you hard
enough. Petunia, I'd write if I were you. Make it clear that you approve
the use of extreme force in this boy's case."
Perhaps Uncle Vernon was worried that Harry might forget their bargain;
in any case, he changed the subject abruptly.
"Heard the news this morning, Marge? What about that escaped prisoner,
eh?"
As Aunt Marge started to make herself at home, Harry caught himself
thinking almost longingly of life at number four without her. Uncle
Vernon and Aunt Petunia usually encouraged Harry to stay out of their
way, which Harry was only too happy to do. Aunt Marge, on the other
hand, wanted Harry under her eye at all times, so that she could boom
out suggestions for his improvement. She delighted in comparing Harry
with Dudley, and took huge pleasure in buying Dudley expensive presents
while glaring at Harry, as though daring him to ask why he hadn't got a
present too. She also kept throwing out dark hints about what made Harry
such an unsatisfactory person.
"You mustn't blame yourself for the way the boy's turned out, Vernon,"
she said over lunch on the third day. "If there's something rotten on
the inside, there's nothing anyone can do about it."
Harry tried to concentrate on his food, but his hands shook and his face
was starting to burn with anger. Remember the form, he told himself
Think about Hogsmeade. Don't say anything. Don't rise
Aunt Marge reached for her glass of wine.
"It's one of the basic rules of breeding," she said. "You see it all the
time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the bitch, there'll be
