Harry opened his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the small dark room he had appeared in. The room was cramped and cold, but also familiar. Harry frowned to himself, he was supposed to be dead. Right? Where was he? Is this the afterlife? It couldn't be, could it? Maybe the whole thing was a dream. Nothing more than a bad nightmare. Hope filled Harry at the thought that it was a dream and the possibility of Sirius still being alive. Except...no...Sirius was still dead and Harry was left with a bad taste in his mouth.
Curling into a fetal position on the bed, Harry felt sick to his stomach at the thought of Sirius' death. It was his fault Sirius was dead and yet it seemed he was still alive. But how? Hadn't he cut his wrist and lost a lot of blood. He thought so but he didn't feel like he had just died, so where was he?
Taking in his surroundings with curiosity and fervor. He finally understood where he woke up.
The Cupboard.
Harry let out a broken gasp and sat up on the edge of the bed. Hyperventilating, panic gripped Harry as he clawed at his chest. No...it couldn't be. The cupboard Harry had grown up in as a child. Why was he here? Why here of all places?
He couldn't handle being here again. Aunt Petunia's screeches, Vernon's grubby hands that hurt when on the receiving side of a punch, and Dudley's degrading comments of how worthless he was, was too much to deal with again. He couldn't handle the dreadful memories that came with the Dursley's and his past involving them.
He tried to calm his breathing before it turned into a full on panic attack. The cramped room didn't help him any. Finally controlling his breathing, Harry closed his eyes and laid back on the small bed. As he got his breath back, he heard footsteps coming closer to his cupboard door. The creaking floor broads portrayed that it was Aunt Petunia coming to wake him up, to start breakfast for the other occupants of the house.
"You better be up to start breakfast for my special Duddykins birthday!" Harry heard Petunia's shrill voice from the other side of the door.
"Uh...Yes, of course, Aunt Petunia" Harry replied distantly.
Reaching for a pair of Dudley's old clothes, Harry dressed quickly and prepared himself for today's events. Opening the cupboard door slowly, he peeked out and saw that the house was exactly as he remembered it to be when he was a kid.
"Oh, bloody hell" Harry muttered, feeling his heart race and breath quicken.
"What are you doing boy! Get a move on!" Vernon's command threw Harry into motion.
Harry scrambled into the kitchen and started breakfast like he remembered doing in the past. Harry couldn't help that his mind wondered while he cooked. He was in the past! Surely that meant this was all a dream. Yet, everything felt so real.
After serving the Dursley's breakfast, Harry fled to the bathroom and locked the door. Sitting on the lid of the toilet, he rocked back and forth with his head nestled between his heads.
He was losing his mind. He was back in his childhood house living in the cupboard under the stairs. He was a kid again! That must mean he was about to turn eleven and attend Hogwarts. The knocking on the door shook Harry from his thought.
"Come on boy! You are going with us to the Zoo! Don't make trouble! If you do, I will lock you in the cupboard till Christmas! NOW HURRY UP" Vernon's threats sent Harry in a flurry of motion.
Of course, Harry finally realized that today is the day I release the Boa Constrictor from the Zoo! Maybe he could make it so that today won't go so terrible. He reached for the doorknob and joined the rest of the Dursley's in the car preparing for one of the worst days of his life.
Despite his best efforts, the snake still escaped and he was still blamed for the incident and sent to his cupboard. But it didn't matter he just had to hold on until he got his letter for Hogwarts. With that thought, Harry made a mental list of things he needed to do. First was to get to Hogwarts and speak to Dumbledore. The second was to get Sirius out of Azkaban no matter what it took. The rest he would figure out later.
Harry waited for the day his letter would come and send his plans into motion. He dozed off with tears in his eyes to the thought of seeing his godfather again.