Chapter 1
Harry had woken up during the early morning hours of the holiday, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of his cupboard quickly. A quiet scuttle came from above his head, and he watched the spiders dance together, forming a web in that funny way they always did. The first spider, the smaller one with a soft brown colouring and a fluffier skin, worked from the middle of the web and stretched outwards. Harry dubbed this one “Tiny.” It was small like him, decorating its home with its own personality. He liked that one, he decided. The other spider, the bigger one with a more leather-like skin, was helping Tiny by tidying up loose ends. It felt rather caring, and Harry liked this one, too. It was named “Tinier.” He giggled at that name but was quick to quiet with a glance at the crack along the door. After a few seconds of waiting, he returned to the show, tired enough to stay still, but too awake to sleep anymore.
For a couple of hours, he did only that. Aunt Petunia came to let him out for the bathroom and to wash off before guiding him in making breakfast. With how short he was, he needed a step stool to help cook. He popped toast out of the toaster and smeared jam onto it, making it as even as possible. It was clumsily done, but with a nod from his aunt, he set it aside. Breakfast was finished in no time, and he was set to the side, waiting for them to be done eating before he ate. He sat on a kitchen stool, looking around the room for any differences compared to yesterday. The only thing he noticed was that today was the end of the month. He had only just started school with Dudley, and he wasn’t the best at reading yet - especially from so far away. He shrugged and looked away.
The day was filled with minor chores. Harry picked up the toys that Dudley left around when he went out to play with his friends and picked them up when Dudley played with them again. He cleaned his cupboard the best he could and started dinner after he replaced his bedsheet. Dinner was served, with whining from his cousin about how unfair it was that he had to wait to go out. Petunia cooed and comforted her son and Vernon grunted about leaving out the candy for the neighborhood kids to grab.
That’s when he remembered just what day it was. Never mind that it was Halloween, it was the day his parents died. Aunt always spoke about how drunk they were and said some no-no words to describe how they acted when they were alive. Harry looked back at the calendar, a distant blur of paper hanging on the wall, and looked at all of the crossed-off days and the one blank day. Today, he could have been getting candy with his mom and dad. He could have had pumpkin pie with his family. He could have been the one getting dressed up…
Aunt Petunia helped get Dudley dressed in his costume - a ninja from a cartoon that he often watched on the telly - before leading him out to meet with his friends and their parents. Dursley gave a kiss to his wife and watched her go before grabbing the bowl of candy from outside and bringing it back in. Harry stood silently by his cupboard door, waiting for his Uncle to tell him what to do, pretending as though he wasn’t upset. He hid his hurt about the day the best way he could - by falling back into the person that his new family wanted him to be. He watched as Vernon settled on the couch with the candy beside him, flicking the telly on and switching to a horror channel. After a few minutes, Vernon glared at Harry.
“Well? Get to work, boy, there’s still cleaning to do until your Aunt gets back.”
With that, Harry went to the kitchen and looked around. The dishes were cleaned, and the floor was swept. His cupboard was cleaned today. He wasn’t to touch the upstairs until he was older, and if everything was done downstairs, then he had nothing to do. With a frown, Harry came back to the living room, waiting by the entrance for his Uncle to notice him.
“What is it now, boy?” Vernon sighed, looking at him with a tired expression.
“Everything is clean, Uncle Vernon.” He said.
“Then get to your room. I have no use for you now.”
Harry nodded and walked away. His stomach grumbled, but he ignored it, knowing that he wouldn’t get another meal in one day. He opened the cupboard and crawled in, closing the door behind him. He sat on the mattress, the thread-bare blanket pooled at the end of it. His eyes were still getting used to the dark when heavy footsteps walked toward his room. He stiffened and looked at the door with wide eyes.
He had done everything, right? If Uncle said he had no more use, then he didn’t need to do anything more. He just wanted to sit on his bed. Harry whimpered, ever so quietly, as the steps stop right outside his door. Then, a click is heard, and the steps went away. He was locked inside.
Harry slowly relaxed his body, but the wariness didn’t go away. He laid back on his bed, and moved the blanket over him, beginning to feel the cold seep into his room. The fireplace was only so close, and the night was coming to an end in a few hours. There wasn’t a reason to feed the fire more.
His eyes flicked away from the door crack and back to above him. Tiny and Tinier were still, resting. When he breathed out, they moved. He whispered an apology, not meaning to wake them. They didn’t seem to care, merely starting up their dance again. The web was nearly finished, only a few gaps left. Harry ignored the pangs of his stomach and the pangs of his heart, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to fix it. As the hours dragged on, his eyes became heavier and heavier. After a while of struggling to keep his eyes open, he gave up and closed his eyes one last time for the night, letting himself succumb to the arms of Hypnos.
He opened his eyes again not a moment later to the sound of a scuttle happening on the underside of the stairs. He needed only a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room to see Tiny and Tinier moving together. He smiled at the sight of them, looking over their web. That smile lessened when he saw how little progress there was. It was almost as if they were starting over again. Perhaps they had decided their last web wasn’t enough for them?
A couple of hours later and he was making toast again, spreading jam onto the solid bread. He showed the finished pieces to his Aunt, and she nodded in approval. He helped with the rest of the banana and apple slices, putting them on a plate to be shared. Once the table was made, he stood in the kitchen, waiting for them to finish. He looked at the calendar on the wall and blinked when he saw that it was the same day as yesterday. Aunt Petunia must’ve forgotten to mark the day off.
Today, he worked on the same chores he did yesterday. He swept the floors and washed the dishes. He switched his bedsheet and wiped the counters. He began to prepare the food for dinner when he frowned. Halloween-themed desert two days in a row? He looked back at his Aunt, who was pulling out a pan from the oven. She was busy, and it didn’t seem that she minded. Maybe he shouldn’t ask.
Dinner was served, and he waited once more in the kitchen. His stomach grumbled earlier than yesterday, but seeing how he barely ate then and didn’t eat at all today, it made sense. He listened to his Aunt’s cooing with half a mind, until that reassurance sounded awfully similar to the words she comforted Dudley with yesterday. Harry frowned and listened with more intent, hearing the grumbles from his Uncle. What was going on for today to be so similar? Maybe yesterday was a dream? A scarily accurate dream…
Dudley was dressed and out the door, bag in hand to carry his candy. Vernon and Petunia shared a quick peck, and Vernon grabbed the candy just like in his dream. Everything was the same as what he remembered, even down to the footsteps locking his door once he was in his cupboard.
Harry laid down with his blanket over him and gazed up at the spiders. They were already moving this time, working efficiently to fix up the last few gaps. He looked away, and down to his hands, and pinched himself. Today was real if the pain is anything to go by. He got settled in his bed and went back to watching Tiny and Tinier. They looked back, and he knew they were just as curious about him as he was of them.
He went to sleep sooner than before, hoping to not wake up on the same day.
And he woke up again to the scuttle of spiders moving above his head.