TITLE: Of Keys and Strange Neighbours

RATING: T

GENRE: General (I do not know, again)

WARNING: throwing a child out

Of Keys and Strange Neighbours

Arabella

My fingers trembled as I picked the key up.

The key to my new home.

It was shining silver, though I knew that it wasn't true silver. Mother had taught me how to identify true precious metals.

I looked up at the house.

It was far too big for just me. I felt so tiny as I looked at it.

I looked at my family. "Please," I begged unashamedly, tears beginning to fill my eyes. "Please, don't let me go."

They didn't speak, they just pushed me in there.

Over time, I grew used to my new home. My family and I rarely contacted each other - I felt bitter, they felt ashamed.

When I was forty-nine, nearing fifty, a family called the Dursleys moved in close by.

And boy, were they a rude bunch.

Petunia

The house we'd bought was big and spacious. I peered at every nook and cranny, making sure that our new home was completely clean.

Dudley wailed from the other room, and I rushed off to help him.

There was an old woman named Arabella Figg close by. She had greying hair, a wrinkled face, and light blue eyes.

The neighbors told me that she'd moved in decades ago.

She was strange. She was constantly staring at me in a way that I didn't like. Something was off about her.

Arabella

The Dursleys hung out in their garden every morning. There was a woman, a man - presumably her husband - and a little fat baby with blonde hair.

I watched them through my window.

It was boring, now that I was old. I couldn't do the things I could in my youth, though at least I had my cats.

Vernon

There was something I hated about the lady nearby - Arabella Figg. I felt like there was something I hadn't noticed.

She watched us every morning. It was creepy.

Arabella

I was curious when Harry Potter was brought to my home.

The Dursleys asked me if I could babysit.

Out of shock, I said yes.

I hobbled back into my house, now with little Harry. His bright green eyes were apparently his mother's - not that I would know. I'd never met Lily Evans Potter in my life.

I smiled at him, trying to look kind. "Cake, Harry?"

Written for Hogwarts, Assignment 2, Task #6: Le Pigeon Aux Petit Pois (Pablo Picasso) - write a fic including more than one point of view. Also written for Auction - Day 2, Auction 3 - Arabella Figg and Shiny Collecting - 14. key

WC: 380