Like A Flower Blooming

Chapter 2

I was in a store, that was my first guess. It was full of clothes, glasses, hair accessories and etcetera. My hair was straight and white when I looked down. I went down to the first section and chose red, curly hair and green eyes in the screen. I wanted to feel like myself through this whole experience. 

I found a suitcase in the next one and chose a purple one, the one that seemed the most intact. The others were falling apart. I reminded myself that Harry had nothing in the beginning. I went towards the glasses and choose ones like Harry. It’s the 90’s, I reminded myself. 20 years ago. 

Luckily, 20 years ago, they had jeans and I pulled three pairs, a ton of T-shirts, a few leather jackets, sweaters, 2 dresses, 2 sneakers, dress shoes, a winter jacket, winter hat, gloves, PJ’s, jewelry, other accessories and some other clothes into the suitcase, surprised it all fit in. I got a backpack and stuffed in five drawing pads, coloring pencils, markers, paint brushes, paint, a few canvases, books and a diary to keep my adventures in. 

I grabbed an extra pair of glasses, remembering that Harry broke them a lot and stepped into the Finished circle. I opened my eyes and found myself in the dark. 

“ Wake up!” I heard a shrill voice. “ Now!” 

I rubbed my eyes and groped around for the light switch. I found it and pulled it. I felt above for what felt like a shelf and found my glasses. Putting them on, I noticed that one lens was cracked.

I was in a tiny cupboard. At the end was my backpack and suitcase. I was lying on a thin mattress with a pillow and a thin blanket. There were drawers above me where boxes of stuff were stacked. 

I pulled out a T-shirt and jeans from the suitcase. I tied my hair back and tied my sneakers. I opened up the door and walked into the hallway. It was flowery like an old-fashioned English home. 

There were a few pictures and when I looked at them, I saw a fat boy with light brown hair smiling at the camera. A black-haired lady stood next to him and another man with gray hair and a mustache. Dudley, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

I walked through the door, remembering that it led to the kitchen. Aunt Petunia pointed at the stove with a frown and I walked over, seeing bacon in a pan. I remembered the “family” tradition where I had to serve them all breakfast. I got a spatula from the cabinet and lifted up the pan. I piled three on Uncle Vernon’s plate, one on Aunt Petunia, three on Dudley’s and 2 for me. 

I looked into the part that was the living room and gasped. You couldn’t see the floor because of all the presents that were lying there. There were tons! I knew instantly that Dudley was a spoiled brat.

Dudley walked in and smiled as he saw the presents. Then he whirled on his dad and shouted,” How many are there?”

“ Thirty-six. Counted them myself,” Uncle Vernon said proudly. 

“ Thirty-six! Last year, I had thirty-seven!” he yelled. I could see a Dudley tantrum coming and quickly wolfed up my bacon so that when the table was flipped I was already done with breakfast. Aunt Petunia came to the rescue.

“ When we’re out, we’ll buy you two new presents. How about that?” she said, hurriedly. I heard the doorbell ring and Dudley brightened up. I guessed he didn’t want to be seen crying in front of one of his best friends. 

Instead of taking me in the car to the zoo like they’d done in the book, I stayed home which was fine with me. I had to do some sketching. I sat down in my cupboard and started drawing the dusty steps and the cobweb in the corner. 

After drawing those, I drew the threadbare blanket and colored it in a filmy, worn-out blue. I colored in the steps and made the cobweb a silvery color. I snuck out and raided the pantry, getting some candy, granola bars and other food that won’t be noticed for a safety supply. 

I hid them in my backpack and heard the front door open. 

“ Potter!” yelled Uncle Vernon. 

“ Coming,” I yelled back. I walked out to face him. His blonde hair was still down flat. Maybe he used gel? Dudley scowled at me and I raised an eyebrow at him. 

“ What?” I asked.

“ I didn’t burn the house down, obviously,” I said with extreme sarcasm in my voice. Uncle Vernon’s eyes flashed dangerously but I stood my ground. 

“ Cupboard! NOW!” he yelled. I walked over to my cupboard and slammed the door shut behind me. I wish my parents were alive, I thought as I heard the lock click. I flipped open my sketch pad, got out my coloring pencils and a mirror. I wanted a picture of myself to show Emily and to prove to my family that I had been Ari Potter. 

I started on the head and made the point of the chin. I made the large green eyes and the small nose. I made my eyebrows brown and drew the ugly lightning scar with my side bangs over it. 

I snapped my sketch book shut and stared into space. I leaned back and closed my eyes. When was I going to get out of this prison?

The months went by really quickly considering I spent them in a cupboard. When I was finally let out, summer vacation had started and I was extremely bored. I spent what I could outside or at the library, reading a book in the corner. There were some very interesting ones which I liked a lot. 

The letter came a few days before my 11th birthday. I heard the mail come in and went into the hallway to get it like every morning. I looked through the mail, hoping for my letter like every morning and there it was: Ms. A. Potter, The Cupboard Under The Stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. 

I shoved it into my jacket pocket to open it later and went inside to give the rest of the mail to Uncle Vernon. I sat back down and kept on eating my eggs. Sadly, Dudley was sitting next to me. 

“ Dad, Ari’s got something in her jacket,” he tattle-tailed, pulling out the letter before I knew it.

“ Hey! Give that back! It’s mine!” I complained as I lunged for it. 

He threw it to his dad who said,” Who’d be writing to YOU?” Chuckling, he read the address and turned it over. He went from skin color to pale to green to purple then back to skin color. 

“ P-Petunia!” he gasped. She read the back where there was some kind of seal. 

“ V-Vernon!” she gasped, doing the stoplight colors like Uncle Vernon had just done.

“ Can I see it?” said Dudley, impatiently.

“ Give me my letter!” I shouted, standing up. 

“ Get out! Dudley, go to your room. Arianna, your cupboard!” he yelled. 

“ Give me my letter!” I shouted again. He pushed me out to the room and into the hallway.