"Just a small one, then," she chuckled. "A bit more than that... and a
bit more... that's the ticket."
Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie. Aunt Petunia was sipping
coffee with her little finger sticking out. Harry really wanted to
disappear into his bedroom, but he met Uncle Vernon's angry little eyes
and knew he would have to sit it out.
"Aah," said Aunt Marge, smacking her lips and putting the empty brandy
glass back down. "Excellent nosh, Petunia. It's normally just a fry-up
for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after...." She burped
richly and patted her great tweed stomach. "Pardon me. But I do like to
see a healthy-sized boy," she went on, winking at Dudley. "You'll be a
proper-sized man, Dudders, like your father. Yes, I'll have a spot more
brandy, Vernon...."
"Now, this one here --"
She jerked her head at Harry, who felt his stomach clench. The Handbook,
he thought quickly.
"This one's got a mean, runty look about him. You get that with dogs. I
had Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little thing it was-
Weak. Underbred."
Harry was trying to remember page twelve of his book: A Charm to Cure
Reluctant Reversers. "It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the
other day.
Bad blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your family,
Petunia" she patted Aunt Petunia's bony hand with her shovellike one
"but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families. Then
she ran off with a wastrel and here's the result right in front of us."
Harry was staring at his plate, a funny ringing in his ears. Grasp your
broom firmly by the tail, he thought. But he couldn't remember what came
next. Aunt Marge's voice seemed to be boring into him like one of Uncle
Vernon's drills.
"This Potter, 5) said Aunt Marge loudly, seizing the brandy bottle and
splashing more into her glass and over the tablecloth, "you never told
me what he did?"
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were looking extremely tense. Dudley had
even looked up from his pie to gape at his parents.
"He -- didn't work," said Uncle Vernon, with half a glance at Harry.
"Unemployed."
"As I expected!" said Aunt Marge, taking a huge swig of brandy and
