There Were Cats.
I wake up, I feel sick.
I feel… like my brain has been bouncing around my skull and no-
…My head hurt…
…My vision was blurry and my hearing shot…
…I was being wrapped in bandages?… they were replacing the ones that were wet with blood and sweat. I have bandages?
I could hear tape…
… A cup was being brought to my mouth, along with pills. My bandages were checked, before I was wrapped in…-
-…rm thick blankets…-
-as being rocked to sleep, there was humming…
…I hear someone speak, as they gently close the door to my room…
“Get well soon Harry…”
-
I wake with a splitting headache, I can see light from under the door, so it was must be later in the day.
Do I remember yesterday right? Did Uncle Vernon…
It was hard to imagine before yesterday, yeah their mean to me yeah their cruel but they’ve never…
I would have thought that uncle Vernon was all bark, no bite. Now, I don’t know. I slowly move my body, it stings reaching over to get my glasses, I feel another layer of tape, which I don’t remember adding around the nose piece. It must have gotten damaged in the…
I put them on and I look down at myself, peaking underneath my clothes. Most of my body is covered in thin but well wrapped bandages. Seems I got mostly bruises, but there are some places that feel damp. Some of the bandages look newer than the others, it must not have been a dream, someone must have come in and replaced my bandages… someone must have wrapped my bandages. I must have been out for a while before the… dream? I can barely remember being wrapped in bandages the second time, let alone the first.
I can’t imagine anyone in this house doing that for me.
Dudley? No, he has never been nice to me.
Uncle Vernon? No.
Aunt Petunia? She was my mum’s sister, maybe she… I have seen Dudley have way more bandages than necessary for a skinned knee, but she loves Dudley… but she also doesn’t like taking me to doctors, especially after the time my knees went green.
At least her babying did some good. I’ve seen Dudley’s entire leg wrapped up after what was a normal skinned knee, so she’s had a lot of practice.
My heads continue to throb, I wonder if I can sneak out and get the pain killers from Aunt Petunias medicine cabinet?
My head starts to painfully unbearably, but I see a nearly empty bottle of pain killers, and a full bottle of water left out for me.
I greedily take both as my body too, starts to ache.
While I wait for them to kick in I look at my ceiling, While I hate it when I cannot leave, when I come here of my own free will.
I feel almost free. They rarely come in here if I’m not, so I sometimes hide small things in the rafters of the stairs, small things like
a book I borrowed from the library at school,
rock candy,
and once just a cool rock.
They don’t stay their long, they would be taken from me if they did, but I remember every single thing I’ve put up there over the years.
I know their out there so maybe they forgot about me?
Or maybe they are just letting me rest, after what he… did to me, it’s what a kind person would have done.
Like the people from the story books I sometimes read. “Come out here now!” Uncle Vernon screams at me from the front door.
Nevermind.
They were outside by the front door, they were going out, they were leaving likely without me, and that meant.
Aunt Petunia said, “Mrs Figg will be baby-sitting you while we go shopping.”
I hate Miss Figg, she ignores me even more than my teachers and the Dursleys and all her cats do the same.
I was irritated with having to go too miss Figg’s, but I wanted to thank her for patching me up.
I decided that I didn’t care if she didn’t actually take care of me, thinking that she did, even if it wasn’t true. I wanted to thank her for something I believe she could’ve done for me.
“Petunia th-,”
She glares at me, cutting me off “don’t. embarrass. us.” She said with as much disdain and venom as yesterday, if not more while Uncle Vernon glares at me from the car. While Miss Figgs who I didn’t notice standing there, was by her fence blankly looking towards the road.
Yesterday didn’t happen.
As they didn’t really talk to me after that, while we waited for Dudley to grab his bag by the open door, it seems to be the case.
Dudley after a few minutes came pounding down the stairs with the rhythm and volume of a hammer.
“MUM!” Dudley shouted quite obnoxiously. Both my Uncle and Aunt looked at him with caring eyes and faces.
“I don’t wanna go shopping now, I want to play with Miss Figgs cats.” He looked quite genuine, but there was likely an ulterior motive, likely extra rounds of Harry Hunting, home edition. Or maybe he upgraded to bullying defenceless cats of a spacey woman.
Aunt and Uncle decided at that moment to speak at the same time yet neither of them stopped.
Aunt Petunia said, “Duddyims what about your new computer parts and man-“
Vernon stated quite clearly “Dudley we cannot just leave you with...”
Dudley interrupted him “But I wanna!” People were looking over now, it hasn’t progressed into a full tantrum yet, but it could. Uncle looked worriedly around and sighed, Dudley attacked him in his pride his most sensitive spot, looking at Aunt Petunia, who had a similar post sighing face.
“Okay sweetie, just be careful we will be back in a few hours okay?” Both looked quite put off, but they didn’t seem too very upset.
“Miss Figgs you wouldn’t mind looking after both of them would you?” Vernon looking annoyed at our next-door cat lady.
“That’s fine.” She looked a bit confused but didn’t seem upset that she had to look after one more child.
-
Dudley waved them off as we went inside the house. I did to if reluctantly.
The house was made for cats, there were so many scratching posts and mouse toys they practically covered the floors. It looked like a city, except for cats.
I sat down on the fur covered couch and readied myself for hours of boredom, with the added bonus of my cousin being here to share in it.
If he didn’t beat me up while Miss Figgs went to get more cat food.
One cat in particular went past me and swiped at my legs making me flinch, it was the first-time a cat had acknowledged my existence while I’ve staid here and it gets me with its claws.
Typical.
Then the cat has the gal to go up to Dudley get on his lap and start purring like Dudley’s computer.
Dudley looked down it and then started to stroke it very gently. Miss Figg actually had the nerve to show the first emotion besides spaciness, as that was happening.
She was shocked for a second but quickly went back to being spacey.
She said, “Mr B never dislikes anyone, but I’ve also never seen get to like someone so quickly…” She quickly went back to being spacey.
Dudley looked as annoyed as usual, if relaxed while stroking the stupid cat on his lap, as he watched his parent’s car leave the street, likely so he could start his daily Harry torture, maybe he even had the foresight to invite his friends over for a short visit to make it extra fun for himself.
But instead, as soon as the car was out of sight, he suddenly looked forlorn, and worriedly he slowly walked apprehensively yet certain after putting the cat off him, up to Miss Figgs, he gently tugged on her casual flower dress, while she was pouring a practical mountain of cat food, into the rows of cat bowls in the entrance of the kitchen.
Noticing Dudley, she looked down at him with her usual ditzy smile, she asked. “Dudley do you want something.” As a few of the cats rubbed against both of them causing quite a mess on Dudley’s long pants. While the cats that were rubbing on Miss Figg got more fur on them… somehow…
Dudley gulped and said very quietly. But in a way that made it felt practised.
“…Can you call the police?... my daddy hit Harry a lot last night, and he got really hurt.”
What?
Miss Figgs seemed to have the same reaction.
She just looked at Dudley for a moment, looked at me, then looked at Dudley once again. Almost taking a running start to what I assume was the phone.
“Wait there, I’ll be right back!” So, we were left alone together. In cat city.
To say I don’t know what to say is an understatement, I have never known Dudley to do anything selfless, or really to rock the boat in any way that wasn’t expected of him, but this was something else. I wasn’t sure what the police could even do about this, but with how Miss Figgs reacted It can’t be good for my Aunt and Uncle.
He obviously doesn’t know what to say either, and we silently agree to say nothing to each other as we look at the floor together. It was probably the first time I’ve ever had something in common with my cousin, it was weirdly comforting with what has happened in the last day or so, though I don’t hold my breath that this will ever happen again.
Except, the cats decided at that moment to swarm us.
They started jumping and climbing over our shoulders and heads to the point where their hair was getting in our noses and mouths, as well as making it very hard to stand, we both retreated to the bathroom.
Both of us were huffing against the door happy to have gotten away from the furred menaces.
Dudley looked at me accusingly and started to raise his voice in apparent anger. “Did you do that you fr- .“ He saw what I assumed was a coating of fur over my features and decided to stop. I guess even a broken clock can be right twice a day, but it happened in a weirdly short time frame.
-
Time passed, I suspect it was only a few minutes, but it felt like forever.
I asked despite my better judgement. I asked “Why?”
Dudley responded, “I don’t know.”
He asked, “Do you know?”
I responded, “know what?”
Dudley responded, somewhat strangely after a pause. “I don’t know.”
-
We were eventually found by Miss Figgs, she was mad that we were hiding in the bathroom, but oddly, after she saw the mess caused by the cats, and us explaining that the cats basically attacked us, she thought that the cats making us run away was a valid excuse, to our confusion.
she only told us. “The cats know more than we do sometimes.” In the tone that adults use when explaining why they know better than kids, but with cats.
She looked slightly worried about something though, while we were sitting down having tea, after having been cleaned, with her expert lint brush work, for the cat hair. she hadn’t really asked a question about what Dudley said to her. Or much of anything.
The cats were constantly asking for affection, , even despite them attacking us moments earlier and the fact they ignored me every other time I’ve come over.
We were all happy to give it to them, rather than think or talk about what was going to happen.
Of course, Mr B scared all the other cats away to get some more one on one with Dudley.
And as he was patting Mr B, he was stuffing food in his mouth.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. The cats were cute though and a great reason to avoid the apprehension in the air, so none of us were really complaining, even Dudley.
Dudley…
Why does he even care that his dad beat me up? It’s not like he hasn’t done it before. Is this just a roundabout way of his to get me in trouble?
She after what feels like hours said, “I cannot keep you here when your guardians get home, they might call the police and I don’t know what they might do… I’m not extremely knowledgeable with your laws.” She hadn’t called the police? What had she been doing? Is she an alien? Aunt Petunia told us that aliens don’t like police.
She continued, “You will need to wait there until the person I contacted comes, they will come get you Harry, okay?” She looked concerned and worried. Not ditzy or even a bit weird since Dudley said what he did, it was like her entire persona was an act and unlike usual I had a decent time here.
It was unusual.
She sighed again and looked towards a random photo on the wall. “The woman I called is much more knowledgeable on these matters and will know what to do in this situation.” The photo was not of a woman.
it was a cat.
“Do not tell them someone is coming to get Harry under any circumstances. If someone doesn’t come in the next hour, you are to sneak to my house and we will call the police and we will reap the consequences. Are we clear?” she did not seem to take no for an answer.
“Yes.” Dudley oddly enough was the one to respond first. “I’ll make sure he gets to you.”
It was then that the Dursley car pulled into the drive way.
-