Chapter 2: Stockholm Syndrome

Lisa hummed quietly to herself as she stretched out and began her daily walk from her doll bed at the foot of Harry’s cot to the sleeping face of the boy himself. It had become a ritual of theirs to compete in who could get up the earliest and wake the other. Harry usually won by scooping up little Lisa to put her into his pocket in the morning. Today was different, he had woken her up by shifting in his sleep and knocking her out of bed.

The tiny girl grinned mischievously as she walked up her protector and friend’s gigantic face. She grabbed a goose down feather from her belt and began to tickle his nose. The giant doof would pay for disturbing her beauty sleep.

Harry stirred, and with him, Lisa’s entire world. Over the course of nearly five years as Harry’s doll, Lisa had figured out how to keep her feet in such situations and where to stand to avoid dangerous flailing body parts. She still got the occasional bruise or broken bone, but Harry’s mysterious powers were quite effective at healing her injuries before she even had a chance to sniffle.

“Hmmmm? Lisa?” Harry mumbled, hand reaching blindly for his friend and toy. When his fingers knocked her over, to her usual huffing protest, and softly gripped her body, Harry yawned loudly and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Yep, it’s me, giant doof, time to get up for breakfast.” Lisa spoke the word with a bite of distaste for what she had quickly learned that meant for Harry. Her parents could be mean sometimes, but Harry’s aunt and uncle were just plain evil.

“Thanks, Lisa, you’re the best.” Harry smiled and kissed her face. She frowned at the now all too familiar sensation of having her face covered in saliva, but gave no protest, she had grown to sort of enjoy Harry’s kisses, probably more for what they represented, than anything else.

Harry yawned again and placed Lisa on a shelf which served as a sort of vanity room for her, with stacks of clothes and personal care products Harry had shrunken for her with his powers. She dressed in a simple smock and jeans then began to brush her hair while Harry dressed for his day as well. It saddened Lisa greatly that she could have basically anything she wanted, courtesy of Harry shrinking and stealing it for her, but he was not allowed to wear anything but oversized cast-off rags.

“You ready, Lisa?” Harry asked, once he had finished. She nodded her head making her ringlets bounce. Harry scooped her up once more and carefully deposited her in one of his pockets before exiting his cupboard to begin work on the Dursleys’ breakfast.

That day began mostly as usual, though there was more excitement among the Dursleys on account of it being Dudley’s eleventh birthday. When the ungrateful lump had the nerve to complain about having only twenty-five presents, including a new play station and mountain bike, Lisa was astonished and angry. She had known Dudley as long as Harry and found the boy repulsive, but had never guessed just how depraved, selfish, and spoiled he was. Even she would not have predicted such a ridiculous tantrum, or that the Dursley’s would immediately agree to purchase two more gifts for him.

Harry, as always, fed Lisa little bits of everything from his plate for breakfast, and though his portion was meager, he still was able to feed her quite well without decreasing his own meal by a noticeable fraction.

Harry and Lisa were excited. Because this year, Dudley and his friend were going to the zoo for his birthday, which meant Harry and Lisa went to Miss Figg’s. Though the old cat lady was rather dull, she also had bad eyesight and never seemed to notice anything strange about Harry’s tendency to talk to his doll when he played with her, so Harry and Lisa were mostly free to play as they wished there. Even when Miss Figg’s cats decided they wanted to play, they seemed oddly intelligent and gentle with Lisa, though it didn’t stop the girl from being nervous.

As breakfast finished and Harry began clearing the table, The phone began ringing and Vernon answered gruffly.

“Yes, what is it? No, you can’t be serious!?” Vernon shouted, suddenly angry. “What could possibly be so important, you… We had plans today! Well, thank you for nothing, goodbye!” Vernon hung up the phone, still grumbling under his breath. “Lousy, no good spinster… honestly who just breaks their hip like that? Serves her right for keeping all those mangy animals… no respect for others' plans, none at all, that woman…”

“I suppose the boy will have to come with us then,” Petunia sighed. Dudley immediately began throwing a tantrum, but ultimately failed to get his own way for once in his life. Harry was cautiously optimistic that the trip to the zoo might be an enjoyable one. Even Vernon's threats that Harry engage in “no funny business at all” didn't dampen his spirits much. After a car ride in Harry's pocket, squished between his and Dudley's bum, Lisa was considerably less enthused.

The zoo was an exciting place filled with all kinds of animals large, small, and everywhere in between. Lisa enjoyed the experience as well, feeling almost like she was at the zoo as a normal kid again and not just Harry's doll. Her view, peeking out of Harry's pocket, was a whole new perspective on the familiar setting, however.

Harry managed to wander away from the Dursleys and found himself at the reptile house. Inside, he found all manner of lizards and snakes. He was fascinated by watching one get fed.

“Better be careful, Lisa,” Harry joked jovially, drawing her attention to the struggling mouse being swallowed whole. “That mouse is just about your size.”

Lisa chuckled nervously, not really seeing the humor in the idea of being eaten alive or being as small as a mouse. Even if she had become comfortable at her new size, she still wished Harry could figure out how to turn her back. She had mostly given up on that though, as Harry's magic seemed rather random and unpredictable at times, the only thing he seemed able to do on cue was shrink things. Plus, she knew Harry needed to really wish for something to make his magic work, and Lisa held no illusions Harry would ever truly wish to make her big again. From his perspective she wasn't really a person, just a toy or pet at best.

Lisa was wrenched out of her thoughts by whiplash as without warning, Harry suddenly ran over to the largest tank in the exhibit. It held a huge Boa constrictor that was currently relaxing in a torporous state that Lisa envied.

Lisa was about to tell Harry off for not warning her, but she saw Dudley and his friend, Piers Polkiss enter the building and dropped down into Harry's pocket to hide from view. Her heart nearly stopped as Harry was shoved to the ground by a snickering Dudley, avoided squashing Lisa flat by sheer luck. He frantically reached into his pocket, sighing in relief when he felt Lisa was still whole and squirming with life.

“Come on,” Dudley shouted, banging on the glass of the constrictor's enclosure. “Move!” Harry merely rolled his eyes, waved goodbye to the snake and left the reptile house. He snuck his way to a secluded corner of the zoo and looked around cursorily before sighing, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a spluttering and disoriented Lisa by the leg. He had to stifle giggles at how silly she loooked dangling from his fingers before he set her down gently in his palm. She took a second to unruffle her clothes and hair and regain enough composure to glare at Harry.

“What?” Harry asked, still attempting to stifle his giggles. Lisa fumed in frustration, stamping her foot ineffectually. Ultimately saying nothing she just sat with her back to harry and pouted. He sighed and shrugged and was reaching to replace Lisa in his pocket when he turned to see a woman. She was staring directly at him with wide eyes. She was in her late teens or early twenties with hair died blue and had shaved the sides of her head. She also had a ring through her lip.

“Oh my god!” She suddenly said, her eyes becoming big and round. “This is amazing, you have a real-life tiny person! I just can't—” She cut herself off and took a steadying breath. “I'm sorry, I'm just… I need to know where you found it. Is it a him or a her? I have so many questions.”

At first the woman's demeanor and her style of dress was tremendously intimidating, but the more she gushed, the more harry thought she was just like him, enthusiastic about the idea of a living person turned into a doll. Harry decided to take the shrunken girl back out of his pocket. The woman stopped talking crouching over Harry's open palm in awe.

“Her name's Lisa. I accidentally shrunk her with these weird magic powers I have,” Harry stated, blushing at how ridiculous it sounded. Lisa waved nervously at the giant female.

“This is unreal...” the woman said, eyes wide and intent on Lisa who fidgeted under the intense gaze. “Do you think I could hold her?” Lisa was about to shout no, when she felt Harry tip his had, spilling her in the surprisingly soft hands of the older girl. She shook like a leaf as the woman plucked grabbed her around the waste with thumb and forefinger, lifting Lisa up to her face to examine even more closely.

Lisa squealed and kicked her feet ineffectually when the woman began poking, prodding and tugging at her. She bit her lip as Lisa hung in various positions until there was no part of the girl's tiny form that had gone unexamined.

“That's so kick-ass,” The woman said returning the traumatized little girl to Harry, who promptly smiled and dropped her into the pocket of his pants. The woman paused for a long moment, thinking something over before she began again. “If, say, there was someone who wanted to be a doll like Lisa… I mean you said you did this to her with some kind of mystical power… Could you, would you consider, maybe… Could you shrink her for me?” The woman blushed as she finished, her boot playing with some piece of rock or dirt.

Lisa was trying to tell Harry not to listen to this weirdo. She had violated Lisa, without Harry there, who knew what the woman would do to whatever unfortunate person, she wanted shrunk and in her possession. Harry either didn't hear her or didn't understand what she was saying, though.

“Sure,” Harry replied brightly. “So long as they're okay with it, I don't see why not.” Harry smiled at the woman who breathed a sigh of relief.

“I'm Vicky,” the woman replied, much more calm and sure of herself. She pulled a pen and notepad from her bag and turned back to Harry expectantly. “Give me your phone number and I'll give you a ring, once I've convinced her this craziness is for real.”

“I don't really know our phone number,” Harry replied awkwardly. “And Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn't like it if someone was asking for me on the phone...”

“Hmm… Yeah, I am a bit old for you,” Vicky stated with a smug look and an odd waggle to her eyebrows. Harry rolled his eyes and thought for a moment.

“What if we just arrange to meet somewhere before summer hols end?” Harry suggested.

“Hmm, that could work. Do you think you could get back here?” Vicky asked, tapping her chin. “Say… the first Friday in August?”

Harry nodded jubilantly, before shaking Vicky’s hand and bouncing off, happy to have made a friend. Vicky watched as the magical little boy skipped off, She couldn’t wait to tell her girlfriend that their fantasies could be made real. It would take some serious work to convince her, that this was for real and not just some bullshit, but she knew Helen would eventually be too tempted to ignore even the slimmest chance that shrinking could actually be real. Vicky was itching with anticipation that so many of the games they had played over the years could become their real life, it was beyond belief.

Harry barely noticed Dudley and Piers attempting to bully him on the ride back home, he was too happy about making a real person-sized friend. Rachel wanted to tell Harry off for promising to shrink some unsuspecting person. There was something she didn’t trust about Vicky. But even once they were alone in his cupboard, she didn’t have the heart to say anything, Harry was just so happy to have made another friend.