Author's Notes: Have I mentioned I have a terrible habit of starting stories and taking forever to update all the ones I already have? Oops. Warning for child abuse and neglect in this. Also fairly AU.

The sun burnt the back of Harry Potter's neck as he lugged the torn cardboard box full of Dudley's old (and broken) toys to the car. Sweat ran into his eyes, his mouth felt like he'd bitten into a sock, and every time he moved his left arm, another painful twinge went through it. Still this was the last of his chores for the day, and he was more than slightly relieved as he thumped the lid of the boot down and Uncle Vernon hefted his ponderous bulk into the driver's seat.

"Be good while we're gone, boy," the man hissed through his mustache, eyes promising swift retribution if Harry dared step a toe out of line. "The door's still unlocked, so you can get out of sight before anyone sees you. Don't eat anything besides your meal, Petunia's already set it out for you. We'll know."

Harry nodded and mumbled a desultory "Yes, sir" that seemed to please his uncle, although his aunt gave a sniff. Dudley sneered unpleasantly through the back window, and then the Dursleys were off, donating Dudley's old toys to a charity a few streets down (it looked good for the neighbours, and Aunt Petunia was all about appearances), and then off to dinner and a movie.

Harry, on the other hand, he discovered as he let himself in through the kitchen door, was only allowed a piece of toast and half a cup of stale water. After working all day in the blazing sun. His shoulders slumped a bit as he ate the meagre repast as slowly as he could. His stomach felt hollow. He'd not gotten any food yesterday because he breathed wrong in Uncle Vernon's vicinity while he was angry. And it's not like the past month had been replete with proper meals either. Not to mention how all of his Hogwarts friends had apparently abandoned him.

Sensing how Uncle Vernon would feel about overt displays of freakishness, Harry had let Hedwig out while still on the train, telling her to go to the Burrow where Ron and his family lived. He'd explained, slightly red-faced, to Ron and Hermione that the Dursleys weren't fond of magic, and he didn't know if he'd be able to properly take care of her over the summer. They'd accepted it, but it unfortunately left Harry without a way to contact anyone should he need help.

Living with the Dursleys was exhausting, painful, and all of a sudden, Harry had had more than enough. Why should he stay here, in the midst of people who didn't want him, had never wanted him, regularly used him for slave labour, used him as a punching bag, and verbally assaulted him on every occasion they could? He'd thought it was normal before Hogwarts. But it wasn't. It couldn't be. Ron and Hermione treated him well enough. The Headmaster virtually doted on him. The only person who could even hold a candle to how he was treated at home was Snape and even he didn't tend to throw Harry down a flight of stairs for missing a speck of dust on the mantel.

Mind made up, Harry marched over to the cupboard under the stairs and tugged on the padlock, managing to break the creaky old thing straight in half. Lucky that the trunk came with built-in shrinking charms, he thought as he pulled out his knapsack, invisibility cloak, and wand. Not that he could use the blasted thing outside of school, but he still had felt painfully vulnerable without it in his pocket.

As he shrunk his trunk and placed it into a zippered side-pocket, he glanced inside the cupboard and saw the crayoned inscription, still at the top. "Harrys Room." What a laugh, Harry thought sourly, hefting his pack up on the shoulder that hurt the least and closing the door. He fit the padlock back on as well as he could. By the time he was done, it didn't really look broken, but one good heave would send it crumbling into pieces again. Good enough.

His next stop was the kitchen, where he raided the fridge and cupboards with glee. A packet of crisps there, a bag of cookies here. Several water bottles also went into the bottom of his knapsack, the ones that Aunt Petunia liked to keep around for Dudley's friends (not that they ever drank them). He grabbed as much as he thought he could comfortably fit and carry, padding it out with some of his old clothes and a few newer tee shirts he borrowed from Dudley's closet. Dudley's pants wouldn't fit him, but he changed into a new pair anyway, rolling up the legs and securing the waist with a heavy-duty belt. He had no intentions of ever returning, so Harry felt free to search through the house, almost looting it with a clear conscience.

Although even Harry's heart pounded with utter terror when he found the box up at the top of his uncle's and aunt's closet, with the emergency money. They didn't know he knew about it, and his throat tightened as he lifted up the lid. He'd always been told what a burden he was, that he had to earn his keep to be clothed and fed, but there were several thousand pounds staring up at him, and anger roared to life in his stomach.

Then he scooped up a hefty roll and shoved it into his pocket. They could stand the loss.

Now that Harry was properly attired (with even Dudley's old windbreaker tied around his waist for warmth), he stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do. Other than make all evidence of his rummages as inconspicuous as possible. They would know of course, particularly when he wasn't there, but still, it was always best to keep them confused for as long as possible.

Headlights streaked across the living room wall and Harry went white. He hadn't realised how fast time had flown by, but the Dursleys were already home. Bolting through the kitchen and out the side door, he closed it as quietly as possible, peeking around the corner of the house to see his uncle's unmistakable bulk levering itself out of the car. The sound of their voices floated to him on the slight evening breeze, and Harry felt his arms prickle up with cold. There was no turning back now.

As silently as he could, he darted across the back lawn, pulled himself over the fence, and started out on his new life.