Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR CANON CHARACTERS! I own the children at the orphanage and Jennifer McDenver.
A/N: Harry was beaten more in the fanfiction then he was in the books. I don't think Harry was really physically abused in the books, just neglected more. Though I think Vernon probably did hit him once and a while. He just wasn't beaten the way he was often in this fic.
It was a very cold night, the winds whipped around a four-year-old boy who tried to keep himself warm in a small raggy blanket. He lay on stone steps and stared at the road, tears fell down his cheeks but he didn't make a sound. He closed his eyes and wished he was back in his cupboard. At least it had been warm in there.
It had been a very fun school day. Halloween was coming up quickly and the children were preparing for it. Harry was only happy when he was at school. He was allowed to play when he wanted to. He was allowed to play with toys! He enjoyed playing with the blocks the most because he could make castles. Lately, he had been at the craft center making Halloween decorations.
"Tomorrow, we are going to wear our costumes to school, so don't forget!" The teacher announced to the class at the end of the day.
Harry felt excitement go through him. He didn't have a Halloween costume himself… no his aunt and uncle would never allow such a thing, but the teacher had spare costumes. He had picked out a wizard costume; it even had a wand he could use. The rest of the children were chattering around him excitedly. His cousin Dudley was telling everyone that he was going to be a spooky ghost.
At the end of the day, Harry's aunt came and picked him and Dudley up from school. Dudley began to poke Harry, but he ignored him.
"Mrs. Dursley, I wanted to talk to you about your nephew. I sent a letter home with you last week, did you get it? No? Well, Harry is showing signs of depression. At times he'll play with the other boys and girls, other times he won't. I often notice this when the other parents are around. I think it has to do with his parents death. I'd like to arrange a meeting with the school counselor to talk to him. He's also showing other odd signs… sometimes he cleans the bathrooms as if his life depends on it. He will sometimes hit himself if he thinks he hasn't cleaned something properly… have you seen these signs at home? No? Hmm, well we'll arrange that meeting with the counselor then. I'm really concerned about him. Now about the bruises-"
"Yes, the boys fight a lot, as I've told you several times. Harry is also very clumsy. His broken nose and arm was from falling down the stairs. They've healed all right now as you can see. He's happy to be out of the cast."
"And he doesn't eat lunch…and I'm concerned about Dudley, he is overweight."
"Yes, well Harry is picky. The doctor has him on vitamins because he doesn't eat enough," his aunt seemed to ignore the comment about Dudley.
"He's severely underweight Mrs. Dursley. The school nurse weighed him and she said he doesn't weigh as much as he should at his age. We've provided a list of foods he should eat."
"Well I'll see what I can do, but Harry is like my sister. She was picky as well."
The conversation between his aunt and teacher went on. Harry didn't like when the teacher talked about him with his aunt, it meant he was going to get a beating. When Uncle Vernon got home later that night, he lost it after speaking with Aunt Petunia. Harry was cleaning the kitchen table for dinner when his uncle stormed in.
After being beaten brutally, Harry was shoved in his cupboard with no meals. Harry had tried to stop his nose from bleeding. His stomach hurt, he couldn't move his fingers. His bottom and the back of his legs hurt from a long spanking. He hurt in many other places as well, he'd never been beaten so much before. Harry had fallen asleep only to be woken later.
"Get in the car! I'm finished with you! I knew we shouldn't have sent you to school. You are the stupidest child alive! You are worthless. Now you are causing problems at school. Since you can't stop being ungrateful for all we've done for you, I am getting rid of you. You are going to live at the orphanage!"
Harry stared at his uncle, he went to change out of his pajama's that were far too large for him, being Dudley's once but his uncle stopped him.
"You're taking what you are wearing! Nothing else!"
One long car ride later, Harry was standing outside a large red building with weeds growing up the sides. His uncle told him to take off his pajama's then threw him his raggy blanket.
"This is the blanket you came with; you can take it with you! Those pajama's are Dudders, you've been taking his clothes far too long!"
Shivering in only his underwear, Harry wrapped the blanket around him. The blanket had once been a nice knitted blanket, one his mother had made him. Harry didn't remember this however; he had been still a baby when his uncle had wrecked it. It was now full of holes, juice stains, and the thread was coming loose.
"Listen here, boy! You tell anyone where you came from, I will come after you! You don't tell them anything about me, your aunt or your cousin! You got it!"
Harry nodded, apparently this wasn't good enough. A moment later, Harry was lying on the ground holding his nose, which was already broken.
"I SAID DO YOU GOT IT!?"
"Yes," Harry whimpered.
Harry curled into a tighter ball under the blanket, and tried not to think about it. He wasn't ever going to see his nice teacher again. He wasn't going to be a wizard either. He wished he wasn't in so much pain so that he could sleep.
A woman in her late thirties stepped out of the McDenver Orphanage. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the small boy wrapped in an old blanket, shivering. She hurried over to him; the boy's face was covered in bruises and blood.
"Oh you poor dear," she murmured.
She forgot about her plans for the day and kneeled beside him. She reached out to pick him up. The boy woke up startled and moved away from her. The blanket fell away as he back up. He was only in a pair of underwear, his ribs were very prominent, and he was covered in bruises from head to toe.
"It's okay," she said, "I won't hurt you, I promise."
He kept backing away, as he did, he fell down the steps. She hurried after him; he had already started to cry. Before he could run again, she grabbed a hold of him and lifted him up. He struggled against her, but he was so small that it wasn't much of a fight. If she could estimate his age, she'd think he was three. He was much too small to be any older.
"It's okay; I'm going to take you in the warm. Were you here all night? Where did you come from?" she asked.
"I wanted to be a wizard," he said and then started sobbing against her shoulder. "I wanted to be a wizard!"
"A wizard? For Halloween?" she asked.
She carried him inside, down a long hallway and into her office. She placed him in a chair, where he rested his head against the arm and continued to sob. She moved over to a box that was full of clothes. She looked through the old raggy clothes for some that was his size. She found an old red sweater and a black pair of pants that had a hole in the knee.
"Here, let me put some clothes on you," she said turning to the sobbing boy.
"I wanted to be a wizard!" he screamed. "I want to go home! I want my cupboard! I want to go to school! I want to be a wizard!"
"You have a home? Where is your home?" she asked as she pulled a sweater over his head.
He let out a scream when she touched his right hand. She looked down his hand to see that it was covered with dry blood, and a couple of his fingers looked broken.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie," she said. "Where else does it hurt?"
"Every where," he said. "I wanna go to school."
"I know. Can you answer some questions for me? I need to know how you got here," she said. "If it helps you, my name is Jennifer McDenver. You can call me Ms. Jen. Now, can you tell me your name?"
As she said all of this, she managed to get the small boy dressed. She knew she was going to have to get him to the hospital, but she wanted him to feel comfortable with her first. Tears were still streaming down his grimy face. His nose looked as if it were broken as well.
"Listen, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital. You have a lot of injuries, but I need some information," she said.
The little boy shook his head. This wasn't the first child who had been abandoned at the orphanage. She guessed that the boy's parents had beaten him and then dropping him off. It would explain why he hadn't been wearing clothes. She wanted to meet these people. Why didn't they give him clothes for the night?
"I promise that I won't let anything happen to you, but you have to help me. You have to answer my questions."
"Don't wanna go to hospital," he answered.
"You have broken bones, young man. The doctors will help you feel better," she answered.
"Can't go," he said.
"Can you at least tell me your name?" she asked.
"Harry James Potter," he said. "It's going to be Halloween in a week. We've been making crafts! I was going to be a wizard today."
Jennifer was hit with an idea. She told Harry that she'd be right back and hurried from the room. She went into the children's play room and started to rifle through their play clothes. She hoped the little boy would stay where he was. She was lucky that it was breakfast; the children would be eating at that moment. She didn't want any of the attendants asking her questions yet.
She returned to her office, Harry was sitting in a corner, his arms were around his legs and he was sobbing. She hurried over to him and whispered his name.
"Look what I have!"
She had found an old witches hat and a black cape. She'd also found a wooden stick that would work as a wand. His eyes brightened when he saw it. She put the hat on his head and handed him the stick.
"Now if you stand up, I can put the cape on you," she said.
"I'm a wizard!" he said happily.
"Yes you are!" she said giving a big smile. "A very powerful wizard too I think. Do you feel braver as a wizard?"
He nodded, "I can play pretend here?"
"Of course you can!"
After he was in his wizard's costume, she scooped him up and put him back in the chair. She got down on her knees and stared into his beautiful green eyes.
"Now Harry, can you tell me where you came from?"
He shook his head.
"Okay, when did you come here last night? Did someone drop you off?"
"It was all dark out. I was cold and scared. I heard noises all night. I left my toy doggy and I wanted him," he said. "I wanted my cupboard."
"Your cupboard?" she asked glad to be getting through to him now.
"Yes I was only allowed to bring my pajama's but then I had to take them off to give them back," he answered. "So I had my blankey and I slept outside all night."
"Did you sleep in a cupboard?" she asked
Surely he didn't but he nodded. She asked him more questions about his home life. He told her what she wanted to know but wouldn't reveal who his parents were. It seemed as if he was trying to shield them. She had enough information for the time being. She needed to get him to the hospital. She was surprised he had survived the night in his state. It had been a very cold night.
