Josh wiggled around on his bed, hoping to fall back asleep before he was truly conscious. He was lying curled up on his side. He shifted himself, trying to find a familiar way to lie, but he couldn't get comfortable. He opened his eyes. All dark, not even a bit of light. Weird, normally I can see everything in my room, even in the dark. Frustrated, he sat up. SMACK His head collided with something hard. "Augh!" he yelled. What the hell was that? What could possibly be above my bed! Head in considerable pain and eyes watering, he put his hands up to feel what it was.
It was hard, but not smooth, and it was big. It felt like some sort of wooden surface. Josh deeply questioned what exactly it was, and what it was doing here. Just then he heard something crashing around on what he imagined was the roof. THUMP THUMP THUMP A terrifying feeling of dread seeped through him. His heart quickened. The hell is that! Then it got closer and louder. Josh reached out beside him for his phone to use as a flashlight, but his hand hit wall. Then heard a boy yelling. Josh sat there for a second, confused. It sounded like… Dudley Dursley?Wha-what? What's going on here? Where am I? Josh then realized where he was and why Dudley Dursley was thundering about above him. He was inside a cupboard, under the stairs.
Suddenly his veins were ice. This was impossible. For a seemingly infinite second he went through flashbacks of reading and watching Harry Potter. It was fiction. Fiction meant all made up. He went to push on where the door to the hallway was, but it wouldn't open. Of course, it's locked. Aunt Petunia will open it in a second though. Josh heard steps approaching. Someone banged on the door to the cupboard and screeched "Up, get up. Now!" Then there was a click. She must have unlocked it. There was now more thundering above him.
"Wake up Potter, we're going to the zoo!" Josh pushed open the door and went to get out of the cupboard. He heard some giggling and then was pushed back in. His head hit the wall behind him and started hurting again. He thought angry thoughts about Dudley, then it hit him. He was somehow Harry Potter. He felt his hair, it felt the same as it had last night. But last night, he was in his bed. In Abbotsford, in his own bed. Josh's bed, not Harry's. How is this happening? Okay Josh, think… Maybe it's a dream? No, feels too real. This could not be a dream. I've had real seeming dreams before, but nothing like this… Am, am I Harry? Do I have his body, or mine? Josh felt his chest, arms and legs. Okay, definitley mine… I still have my body. Do I appear as myself to others? Josh decided there was only one way to find out. He got up again and walked down the hall. He paused before the door to the kitchen. Is this insane? Maybe I've finally entirely lost my mind? This seems like where it would retreat to… Okay, if they look surprised a random teenage boy has just walked into their kitchen, they see me, if they have no reaction, they see Harry. Josh opened the door, and walked in.
There was no reaction. Aunt Petunia spoke to him, "Why don't you just cook the breakfast and try not to burn anything." Josh knew what to say, he'd seen the movie so many times he knew most of the lines by heart. It just came naturally.
"Yes Aunt Petunia." Josh was startled. Could he only say thing Harry says? "Um…" he began weakly.
"What do you want?" Aunt Petunia hissed at him.
"Oh, nothing, sorry." Josh said quietly . He picked up the spatula and went to tend to the bacon. Aunt Petunia's attention went back to Dudley.
"I want everything to be perfect for my Dudley's special day!" she cooed.
"Hurry up! Bring my coffee boy!" Uncle Vernon yelled at Josh from the table.
"Yes Uncle Vernon." Josh put the bacon down and grabbed the coffee pot. From across the room, Dudley was fussing about not getting enough presents. Josh glared at him as he filled Uncle Vernon's coffee mug up. Josh then had some time to think as everyone ate. He noticed his plate had much less on it than everyone else's. Okay, so I'm playing Harry's role in this world, okay, I can live with this… I get to go to Hogwarts, I get friends like Ron and Hermione, I get to do magic! Okay… I think, I think I'm okay with this… I have no idea how this happened, but I'm okay with it. I even have a major advantage! I've read all the books and seen all the movies, I know what will happen! Josh pretended to be Harry until they got into the car. Uncle Vernon threatened him as he got in, and the whole way there, he thought about it. Harry sets a snake on Dudley here, what if I don't? Can I alter the reality of this place? No, it might rip the very plane…I should keep to the story… I know the story… If something happens, I knew it was going to, no surprises. This is like a video game… But I don't think I have any more lives. I'm gonna live like Harry… When they arrived at the zoo, all Josh could think about was talking to the snake. Except, there were no snakes… Confused and dissapointed, he leaned on a cage. "How can this zoo not have any snakes?" He looked over at what was in the cage. It was a bear. A massive brown bear, just staring at him. Josh blinked, and jumped back. The bear got up, and walked over to him. Joshed leaned closer, and then was sent flying. THUD Josh was sprawled on the ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw Dudley looking at the bear. He must have pushed him. How did I not see that one coming! And what the hell. A bear? It's supposed to be a snake! Damn Dudley… Josh glared at his 'cousin' and wished the bear would just eat him. And then, the bars on the cage vanished. Just poof, gone. This caused Josh to double take. This is supposed to be a glass wall, with a snake! Not a few bars and a bear! Dudley fell face first into the bear's cage. He got up sputtering, and the look on his face was worth it not being a snake.
The bear paid no attention to Dudley and simply walked out of the cage, turned to Josh, and said in a big booming voice, "Thanks."
Again the words just came to him, "Anytime…" The bear turned around and kept on walking, oblivious to the people screaming. Wow, I can talk to bears…I wonder what that's called… I can't be a Parselmouth… An…Ursamouth? No, that's stupid… Whatever, guess I'll find out later… Josh looked back at the cage, and saw Dudley banging on the bars that had magically returned. Josh laughed. He looked over to the side and saw Uncle Vernon looking over at him menacingly while Aunt Petunia fretted over Dudley.
On the way home no one said a word, except for Dudley complaining about dirt on his pants. Josh knew it was only to keep up the appearance all was well to the neighbors and any passerbys. Just as Josh suspected, the second they were in the house Uncle Vernon exploded. He grabbed Josh's hair to hold him there and yelled in his face "What. Happened!"
"I swear I don't know! One minute the bars were there, then they were gone, it was like magic!" Josh found himself explaining, again without meaning to. Uncle Vernon growled and pulled open the cupboard door, shoved Josh inside it, and then slammed it shut. "There's no such thing as magic!" he bellowed, as he locked it.
Josh had all night to do some serious thinking. He decided to let everything play out as it should, tampering with almost nothing, some things of course, would be way too much fun not to do. And he decided that if some random things were not the same, like the bears, to just go with it. He thought about everyone back in the real world, and if it was really real. Josh thought about all the people he knew, and if they existed. All the memories he had, and if they were just figments of his imagination. He decided to just stick with his original plan, let everything happen. He decided to not dwell on it anymore too.