Harry Potter's Real Dad

Harry laid out the drop cloths on the floor in front of the fireplace and on the furniture nearby. Aunt Petunia had taught him how to clean the fireplace when he was four years old—that was two years ago, and since it was now being used every night during the cold winter months, he had to clean it on a weekly basis. And he was not to get a single speck of soot on anything but himself.

When Aunt Petunia had first told him what to do, he had been a bit frightened at first at the idea. He was terrified he would get stuck in the tight-fitting chimney. But he quickly discovered he was plenty small enough, and Aunt Petunia said she made sure to limit his meals even now so he could remain small enough to crawl up the chimney.

She called him her personal "little chimney sweep," and she said it in a way she spoke to Dudley most of the time, and Harry craved to please her just to hear his own term of endearment that he had finally earned from his aunt.

So, once again, Harry made sure everything was clean and that all his cleaning tools were ready. He grabbed the brush and scraper first and pushed his step ladder into the fireplace. He took off his glasses and set them down next to the fireplace. Climbing to the top step, he reached up and pulled himself up through the throat of the chimney, grabbing on to the dampers and pulling himself onto the smoke shelf. When he was four, he needed Aunt Petunia's help getting into the chimney, but he prided himself on being able to get in on his own now.

Once he was on the smoke shelf, he gave it a good scrub. He couldn't see anything save for the light at the top of the chimney, but he could feel everything very well, and he could tell when most of the soot had broken off. He coughed into his elbow after briefly.

Now, to shimmy up the flue.

The first few times he did this, he had bloodied himself up. Now, he had a good strategy that only left him with scraped hands, elbows, and knees. He had to be careful not to tuck his knees too close to his body or arch his back too much or else he might get stuck. He was getting bigger, and he had asked Aunt Petunia what he should do if he did get stuck, and she had warned him that if he ever did get stuck, she would leave him there. So he vowed to do his best to never let himself get stuck in the flue.

Harry began crawling his way up the chimney, using his brush as he went along, only using the scraper on the hard bits of soot that did not dislodge with his brush. Soot and grime fell over him, falling to the shelf below. Harry only paused for a few seconds to cough harshly, a slight wheeze emitting from his throat. It took a long time to slowly make his way to the top, where his bag was waiting for him. He pushed his tools out of the chimney and grabbed the bag.

Then, he let himself fall.

When Aunt Petunia had first instructed him to drop back down, he did so straight as a pencil, and crashed to the hard smoke shelf and injured his leg in the process. It took him even longer to crawl back out that time. But the second time he did it, something amazing happened. His falling slowed down just as he was about to hit the shelf, and he landed lightly on his feet.

It was freakish stuff, but he decided not to tell Aunt Petunia about it. If he was going to stay in his Aunt's good books and be her little chimney sweep, he would have to keep this bit of freakish nature to himself. Besides, it worked to his advantage.

Harry felt his fall slowing down and he landed light as a feather on his feet on the shelf. He used his hands to grab all the soot that had fallen to the shelf (and all over him) and shoved it in the bag. He held the bag in one hand and began his long climb back up. Once a sweep got over the throat and to the shelf, there was only one way out—up.

Finally, Harry made it to the top of the chimney, and he crawled out, coughing soot everywhere. He carefully stepped along the roof over to the ladder Aunt Petunia set out for him before she left for her hair appointment with Dudley. Harry threw the bag to the grass below, then threw his tools down. He carefully stepped down the ladder.

Once he was on the ground, he dusted himself off as much as he could.