Metanoia • Harry Potter • Book I

Chapter 2

Word Count: 2527

Keziah's eyes flew open and she jolted up. Protect who? She suddenly felt incredibly disorientated and uncomfortable. This wasn't her room, she realised as she looked around at the darkroom. It was quite small and full of broken toys. The wallpaper was old and peeling. Keziah wondered if she was kidnapped, especially when she realized she was sleeping on a thin mattress with a thin blanket. 

Across the room, Keziah saw somebody else sleeping too. She silently slipped out of the covers and crept up to the window. She pushed back the curtains and was immediately incredibly confused. What kidnapper held their captives in such a perfect neighbourhood? Perhaps that was why her captor hid her here. Nobody would think to look in such a pristine place, Keziah decided triumphantly. The sun was quietly rising above the houses and her eyes caught onto a signpost. "Privet Drive". 

Keziah's eyes widened and she gasped sharply. She realised she was three feet shorter than she usually was. She dropped down to where the mattress was and felt around for a mirror. Thankfully, she quickly found a small handheld one. When Keziah looked in it, it was like she'd stepped back in time, but with deliberate mistakes. Her deep auburn hair was cut just below her jawline and unbelievably frizzy. Her hazel eyes were darker and wider. Her face was babyish again, a smattering of freckles covering her flushed cheeks

The mirror dropped from Keziah's hand and cracked at her feet. The noise snapped her out of her daze and she quickly grabbed the broken mirror and hid it in a bin of ripped up comic books. Keziah tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. She knew where she was but that was impossible. How could Keziah be in-? She couldn't even think it. 

Before Keziah could fully get her thoughts to calm down so she could properly come up with a conclusion, a sharp rapping interrupted the silence and a shrill voice rang through. Petunia Dursley, Keziah guessed.

"Up! Get up!" she screeched. Keziah heard her walk away and she saw a boy sit up sleepily from his mattress. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes while Keziah tried to shove down her panic. She waited for him to notice her, to scream that she wasn't supposed to be there but funnily enough, Keziah suspected that wouldn't happen. The dream, or vision, she'd had was still burned into her subconscious.

Footsteps approached the door again and Petunia was screeching again. "Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," the boy mumbled.

"What about the girl?" she snapped

"I'm awake," Keziah called hesitantly. Her mind was still reeling. Somehow she'd been thrown into her favourite book series by a trio of creepy ladies posing as her Bubbie.

"Well get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon and set the table. Don't you dare mess anything up! I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

The boy groaned and mimed throwing up at her before grinning. Keziah grinned back awkwardly, guessing it was some sort of inside joke they shared. She couldn't bear to even think his name. Not yet. She quickly got up from her bed and pulled on a pair of socks. So did the boy.

They quickly made their way down the stairs to the kitchen where Petunia was waiting with a scowl.

"What took so long?" she hissed. Keziah ducked her head meekly and grabbed a tablecloth from the cupboard. She wondered how she knew where everything was since it seemed like her body was working on autopilot. Keziah carefully set the table for five, making sure nothing was out of place. Yet Petunia still looked dissatisfied but didn't say anything as a large boy entered the kitchen.

He looked incredibly like the pigs on her Feter's farm. His thick blond hair was squashed weirdly on his head, swooping above a pair of watery blue eyes that stared hungrily at the mountain of wrapped gifts. Keziah had seen fewer toys at Hamleys during Christmas. As she stared at him, Keziah realised all the descriptions in the books were quite accurate. Behind him was Vernon Dursley.