Chapter Text
“In your cupboard, boy!”
Harry flinched as he was nearly thrown into the small room, hitting hard against the floor. His cheek stung from where his uncle had slapped him, and he rubbed it as he watched his uncle shut and lock the cupboard door. He closed his eyes as he waited for them to adjust to the dark, shuffling backward to the old mattress he called a bed. Sitting down, he blinked, and pulled his few ratty blankets around him as he sat still, silent as a mouse.
Slowly, he reached up to adjust his glasses, thankful they hadn’t broken upon the impact with the floor. He reached for the only things that were really his - the two rabbit plushies that sat at the end of the bed. One was gray, with a black eye and a purple eye embroidered with a white star, and wore a blue shirt with silver buttons, a white and blue striped bow around its neck, and an eyepatch. The other had white fur and red eyes, and wore a light gray vest with white buttons, a black jacket with three gold buttons on either side, and a small black tie. Harry had named them Ciel and Sebastian respectively, though he didn't know why, the names just felt right.
He hadn’t bought the bunnies, or been gifted them - rather, they were technically Dudley’s, though he didn’t care for them. He had gotten them for his birthday, but had thrown them out when Ciel’s eyepatch had ripped, despite them being limited editions. They were Funtom toys, and recreations of the original Bitter Rabbits at that, but his cousin didn’t care. Nevermind the fact that clothes could be swapped out and there were replacement clothes for sale.
Harry had found them in the dumpster that night and rescued them, washing them up and sewing Ciel a new eyepatch with spare fabric he had found. It had a ribbon to tie it shut, one that wouldn't fray like the original did, and a small blue gem on the highest corner. He had become quite good at sewing, given it had become one of his chores to sew up any of his relatives’ clothes that had rips. The two rabbits were one of his only sources of comfort, and he kept them well hidden in the shadows of the cupboard under the stairs.
Slowly, he laid down with the soft stuffed animals in his arms, and pulled his blankets over him. He could still hear his relatives up in the house, so he couldn’t sneak out to get food just yet, and decided to take a small nap. He held the bunnies tight and pressed his face to them, making as little noise as possible so his relatives would forget him. If they forgot he exited, which they seemed to do often, they wouldn’t be angry at him or punishing him.
As he drifted to sleep, a familiar tune ran through his head.
London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London bridge is falling down, my fair lady…
The next day, the Dursleys wouldn’t be home until late, and had forgotten Harry in his cupboard. Harry was excited for this, because it meant he could go wherever he wanted and eat whatever he wanted, as long as it wasn’t from the fridge where his aunt would notice. Unknown to the Dursleys, he had started offering to help others around the neighborhood with small things, and had been saving up the money he’d gotten from it. He had wanted to see if he could buy another one of the Bitter Rabbit dolls, this one dressed in a blue dress and ribbons. He’d name her Elizabeth.
Harry knew that as long as he could get them into the cupboard, he didn’t need to worry about his relatives finding them. His aunt and uncle couldn't be bothered to check the cupboard under the stairs, preferring to pretend Harry didn’t exist, or couldn't understand them. His cousin wouldn’t want any of the girls, and not really the boys either, he didn’t like the clothes and said they were too fancy, if he even knew what that meant. Harry liked how they looked, liked the carefully stitched outfits and the way each different doll had their own personality.
Something about the dolls pulled at him, something that made him pause, almost as if he remembered them from somewhere. The clothes seemed familiar, not from commercials, but from someone who had worn the outfits, someone he had forgotten. He wondered to himself about it when he was alone, wondering what it meant, and who the people could be. The dolls had originally been made so long ago, it was impossible for him to have known anyone they could have been based on, but still…
Sometimes, he had weird dreams, ones that left him confused and disoriented when he woke up. In these dreams, there was a man with black hair and a black suit, and a girl his age with blonde hair in pigtails. Sometimes there were others, like the blond teen with the german name, or the girl with dark red hair and glasses, or the man with an american accent. He didn’t know who any of them were, but something about them seemed familiar, important in a way he couldn’t place. It tugged at the back of his mind, but he had never been able to find anything about them, though that didn’t mean much with how little free time he had.
Once he got to the store, he pushed the door open gently, making the little bell above it ring. The man behind the counter looked up at him, giving him a calculated look.
“Where’s your parents, kid?”
“Oh! I’m, um, with my aunt. She said I could come and get something?”
Harry gave his best innocent kid expression and the man sighed.
“Alright, kid. Is there anything in specific you looking for?”
“Uhm, do you know where the one bunny is, the one with blue dress and ribbons on her ears? I think she’s cute…”
The man smiled and stepped out from behind the counter, walking off into the store, before returning with the doll and setting it on the counter. Harry pulled out the money he had gathered and set it on the counter as well.
"Is-Is this enough?"
The man behind the counter checked it over.
"This is actually a little over, kid. There anything else you want?"
Harry glanced around before he saw a chocolate bar on the stand next to the counter, bunny themed like a lot of the brand. He gently grabbed it, placing it next to the doll, and the man behind the counter took the money and bagged the stuff.
He handed the bag to Harry, who thanked him and left, before hurrying back to Number Four before the Dursleys got back. Once home, he put the bag in a little hidden area between the wall and his mattress, hidden by a broken cabinet. Then he started his chores, which he continued until the sky started to get dark, and he went back to the cupboard. He stayed up until he heard his relatives get home, but pretended to sleep when they came to check on him, waiting until they went to sleep themselves.
Then he carefully sat up and pulled the bag from its hiding place, taking out the rabbit doll. Smiling, he held her against his chest, pressing his cheek against the soft fabric and rubbing against it. It made him feel just a little bit better, and comforted him, making him think of something just out of reach of his mind.
Suddenly, he felt something under one of his arms, and dug around to find it. It was a small cardboard card that had come with Elizabeth. He held it closer to read it.
Watch out for this fierce bunny! She’s sweet and cute, and likes sweets, fancy dresses, and parties. But don’t underestimate her! She’s not afraid to stand up for herself and others, and is a skilled sword fighter!
’Yeah, that sounds about right for Lizzy.’
Harry set down the card, not even realizing the weird thought was out of the ordinary, and drifted off to sleep.