Love In Disguise

Chapter 1: Waking Up

     The room was large and bright, as the sun shining through the window to my left occupied half of the lemon-colored wall. To the right was a woman sobbing on her bony hands concealing her face while blond curls fell to her trembling shoulders. Pudgy hands reached out to the woman's directions, this startled me, who was laying on the warm confines of my basket. If the child from the other room didn't cry for her she would have stayed there kneeling still.

     "Yes, dear mothers coming" her shrill voice surprised me more than the other infants' loud cries reverberating throughout the house. Pale and murky green eyes briefly looked at mine before disappearing to the door behind her.

     Where am I? I asked no one, strange babbles came out when I tried to speak, like a childs What's mom gonna think if she can't find me anywhere, oh no.

     Did I turn into a child? But then I should still be at school. I don't know this place. I started panicking, then came the woman earlier as if sensing my inner turmoil.

     Then she held me closer to her chest and silently cried "why didn't you stay with me?... Lily"

     The apologies she kept spouting to Lily personally almost made me feel sorry for the blonde woman, not until obscenities were directed at Lily's husband. The conversation the woman had with herself for the whole afternoon was all I needed to know that the skinny woman holding me was actually my Aunt and not my mother. A minute later a door slammed open on the other side of the door, the woman gently put me down and hushed me to sleep, before drifting off to dreamland I heard something crack, that and along with a man hissing.

     Ah, this is going to be a dangerous place

     I was five then and was already getting used to the abuse, when I figured out where and what my identity in this place was. Me and Aunt Petunia were cleaning the backyard while her husband and Dudley, her spoiled son, went out to play whatever the son's rotten head had conjured.

     "Do you not want to know about your parents, Harry?" Her tone was calm, in contrast to how she usually spoke whenever this mother of mine was mentioned.

     Without second thought, I answered, "Of course I am."

     "Then why do you never ask?"

     "Because you don't like her aunty", I state innocently although being aware that I was not.

     She smiled at me with such sweetness that it seemed like the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard "With how I always acted of course you'll think that".

     Taking my small hands into hers, she sighed and said, "But trust me Harry, she's the loveliest, bravest, and kindest girl I know."

     "Then aunty, why do you say those things about my mother?" I knew for a fact that this Aunty was the kindest ally I had in this place but I couldn't fathom why Aunt Petunia hates mother so much.

     She ceased to grin, and her eyes fixed on something so far away that it was impossible to see it. "I adore her, I truly do... till she abandoned me for a realm I cannot reach.

     "When we were youngsters, strange things frequently occurred around us. One night, we got lost in the woods while the night was growing darker to the point that we could hardly see anything except tree silhouettes. We both continued yearning for a light, and then something that was little yet gave off a dazzling gleam appeared in front of us. Then there was that, we both once floated to the ceiling because we were both bored and looking for something to do".

     "It was confusing, but the point was it was magical, and we didn't bother questioning those moments," she murmured wistfully, laying her chin on her hands. "It was when she was 11 that those uncommon happenings were explained; when a letter arrived at our mailbox, it was an invitation to a school, they said that she was magic, and the blood of a witch runs in her veins; ever since then she would only return back in summers, our time together was already so short, with her gone for almost a year," her grin was replaced with disdain. "As a result, our time together steadily decreased".

     I watched as her emotions shifted from love to hatred to melancholy, but something else was going through my mind at that time. Unusual occurrences, a letter at the age of eleven, and a magical school.

     I hoped it was not what I thought it was. "Aunty, what is my mother's name?"

     "Lily Potter"

     No way.

     "How about my father?"

     "I believe it was, James? Yeah, James Potter," she glanced down at me, puzzled, "have I not given you your parents' names? "

     I'm afraid you did not. I felt like my brain was looking at turbulent water with how I was seeing everything.

     "What about the school? What was it called?" I eventually inquired.

    "Hogwarts" the next thing I knew I was in my bed under the stairs. When I woke up I searched for the mirror in the cupboard I stayed in, although I've lived in this place for over five years I wasn't so interested in my looks, for god's sake, I can't even look at that thing down there. Only now did I bother checking my appearance, there I saw green eyes instead of black, it was so clear you'd think they were emerald gems, a mess of black curls in place of my original silky straight hair, I looked at my chest and they were flat and I think they would remain that way unlike before and the scar that confirmed my identity.

     "Harry dear, are you alright?" Aunt Petunia whispered through the door, it was noon then and I hurriedly opened the door only to see her in bruises.

     Now I'm 9 and we're still in this hell. Aunt Petunia urged both me and Dudley to go to our rooms and hide, for uncle Vernon came home drunk, outside I could hear glasses breaking. Is Aunt Petunia alright? What if shards of glasses already made their way to her skin? NO, stop please. Then the fighting ceased, I wanted to go out and see if she's alright but I'm too much of a coward for that. The next morning I saw her she had bruises underneath her eyes.

     This was not how it was supposed to be, she was supposed to hate me because of this anomaly running in my blood, a loving mother to her son and husband, this was supposed to be a perfect family, I was the stain. So why? Why doesn't she mistreat me like it was said in the book? Why does her husband paint her skin in black and blue when they were supposed to be a perfect husband and wife.

     She turned her attention from the breakfast she was making and to me with that motherly smile she was supposed to be giving to Dudley "Harry, can you prepare the table for me"

     I place porcelain plates and utensils in the table while she layed breakfast in the table, then she shoved a plate of bacons and sausage in my plate with egg "go to your cupboard" was what she said, I took a look at theirs and found that she put extra sausage and bacons in my plate.