Chapter One
A persistent pecking at his window is what woke harry potter.
"Uhhggg…" he groaned into his threadbare pillow. He decided to ignore the annoying owl that dared to interrupt the first dreamless sleep he's had in weeks.
Peck! Peck! Peck!
"Grrr…"He growled as he reluctantly got up off of his ragged mattress that lay on the dusty floor of #4 Privet Dr. Now, most of the wizarding world happily believes that he is spoiled and pampered at a loving relative's house, because in their mind he should be or it was what they were told. Sadly, that couldn't be farther than the truth.
Looking at the alarm clock that he had managed to save from drowning in all of Dudley's rubbish, surprisingly it was unharmed, probably because Dudley has no need to even look at an alarm clock let alone use it; he wasn't at all surprised to find that it was 5:00am. He had two full hours before he needed to get up and start his chores and the Dursley's breakfast.
As he looked around his room, or more like prison, he chuckled dryly, 'I would love to see Snape and Malfoy's reaction to how I really live' He thought.
Peck! Peck! Peck!
His attention was brought back to the window as a pretty Tawny owl, looking annoyed and ruffled by now, tapped the glass again.
"Calm down, Girl" he whispered, trying to lessen the chance of being bit out irritation. Hopefully it was a girl; otherwise he might've just made the owl more pissed. Thankfully, she seemed to have calmed down since she saw he was finally going to relieve her of her burden. Carefully, he took the letter from the owls' leg and gently patted her feathers. He gave her some of Hedwig's owl treats for the journey.
"Probably O.W.L results" he said aloud, once he saw the official ministry seal on it. Padding back to his bed, he sat upon it gently. The thoughtless action of walking across the room had hurt like hell, so he wanted to be careful not to aggravate or open ay of his only recently healed wounds. These were healed by magic, even though it was still summer. Throughout the years, even before Hogwarts, he had to learn wandless healing. He needed it, because he would probably have died early on without it. It started off as a subconscious thing, when he was around 4. That was really when the 'punishments' started. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia both were furious when they noticed that he was always perfectly fine the next morning after a beating. They called him a freak, that he was unnatural. Though they didn't try to stop it, because they knew that Harry would die without it, and if Harry died they died. After all, the wizarding world wouldn't take their savior being murdered well, would they?
Opening the letter, he internally resigned to the fact that he would most likely only receive a few O. W. L's. Especially since most of his exams had been interrupted or he couldn't concentrate because of the drama Umbitch brought, along with Occlumency and Snape. Also, if he were to get more than a few O.W.L's somebody would notice and that is never good, so it is all for the best.
Harry potter was not a stupid boy, as everyone believes. He was far from it, actually. He was extremely intelligent; some might even say he was a prodigy. He just knew how to hide it. He hid it so well, that sometimes even he forgets it. At first, Harry hadn't thought to hide it. In his eleven year old mind this was something to be proud of, something that proved his relatives wrong. He wasn't a freak or worthless. He was so often thinking they were right, you would too if you lived with over 10 years of uninterrupted abuse. He never had anyone to tell him the Dursley's' were wrong, no one stood up for him, or befriended him; he was alone with his relatives and their hateful words and actions. So, it was almost inevitable that he start to believe them.
His intelligence reminded him that he could do things right, he could prove his worth; people would love him and want him if he was smart. He knew that it had to be hidden after his first week at Hogwarts.
:::Flashback:::
Harry still couldn't believe it! He was a wizard! Magic was real! And he was famous! He didn't really know how to feel about that. Everything still baffles him, he was famous because his parents were murdered but somehow he had survived. How macabre. He didn't think that he wanted to be famous for that; nobody should want to be famous at the cost of their family. That's not something worth celebrating.
He was currently walking down to Gryffindor common room. It was only 10:30pm, and Harry wanted to talk to his new friends, Ron and Hermione. It is a new experience for him, having friends, Ron and Hermione are the first friends he has ever had. Dudley has a habit that he obviously doesn't want to break, of bullying anyone who so much as looks in my direction with some form of negative feelings or facial expression; so most people had enough self-preservation in them to stay far away from Harry. Some kids even joined in on the bullying. As he neared the portrait of The Fat Lady, he heard Hermione's voice.
"Let's go over the plan, Ron." She said, or rather, whispered. That makes sense seeing as they're discussing something obviously private in a hidden alcove. Well, they seem to think it is hidden, but Harry being able to see and hear them perfectly fine shows that they made a mistake somewhere in their plan.
"So far, Dumbledore's plan has worked. Harry is absolutely clueless. He has already started to become wary and prejudice towards the Slytherins, all thanks to you, Hagrid, and Malfoy." The more she said the more horrified and heartbroken Harry became.
"Now, all we really have to do is watch him, become his best friends," there she stopped to give out a small mocking laugh, "and tell Dumbledore everything he does, how he does it, and when he does It." She finished with a tone of smug satisfaction that Harry didn't like at all. He wondered why they would do this. Should eleven year olds be this heartless and cruel?
Harry knew all about what someone would do to get what they want; he had just hoped that the information was going to stay unneeded, at least for a while. He was extremely sad that his first and only friends were the cause, after only a week. Harry wondered what they thought they could gain from this, though. He had mountains of questions, some of which Ron's response answered.
"When did Dumbledore say the money from the Potter vault would come? Oh, and Ginny says that she can't wait until next year, so she can meet her 'future husband'," Ron said 'future husband' with so much distain it was tangible.
Husband! What the fuck? He was 12, he shouldn't nor should anyone be thinking of his future marriage! Especially to the weaslet! That's never going to happen. And they're getting paid for this? Harry had had enough. Going into the boys' dorms, after sneaking past Ron and Hermione, he had only one thought:
'I will never depend on another person, ever again. I'll be damned if anyone thinks they can use me.'
:::End Flashback:::
From then on Harry had studied and learned everything and anything that he could get his hands on, without anyone the wiser. Even throughout the adventures of the 'Golden Trio', he hadn't broken from the visage of a normal, mediocre wizard that happened to be blessed with random bouts of amazing magic at just the right moments to save his and others lives. He is fairly sure that his power now rivals Albus Dumbledore's.
His O.W.L results were sort of shocking. After years of dumbing himself down in the public and on his tests, it had become a habit. At least, he had thought it had become a habit. He had meant to only get two or three outstanding's, just enough to be able to continue on the career path he had chosen, healing, and stay under the radar of the order. 'How do you ACCIDENTALLY do awesome on a test without even noticing?' He thought.
O.W.L Results
Grades:
O-Outstanding E- Exceeds Expectations A- Acceptable P-Poor D-Dreadful T-Troll_
Harry James Potter has received:
v Astronomy O
v Care of Magical Creatures O
v Defense Against the Dark Arts O
v Divination A
v Herbology E
v History of Magic O
v Potions O
v Transfiguration O
Harry was pissed, and let out a few choice words. He hopes to god no one finds this noticeable.