Title: Fragments
By: darkFox920
Summary: The Boy-Who-Lived could not be more different. But, in the eyes of a fragmented mind, the world is nearly identical.
Disclaimer: I do not own part of the characters, locations, or books relating to the Harry Potter series. Special thanks to J.K. Rowling for letting us play in her amazing world!
-=Chapter 1=-
Today was slow, exhausting and beyond contempt. It was like this every day. The slow ticking of the clock seemed even more reluctant to continue its lullaby as the day continued. As luring as it was, Harry knew he had to stay awake. Not only was it expected of him, but angering his teacher would only cause problems at home. Crossing his Aunt and Uncle created to a string of consequences. While the days were painfully slow, the Dursley's were another issue.
While living at Number 4 Privet Drive with the Dursley's, Harry learned a lot about them. Not that the Dursley's were interesting, the Dursley's were normal. At least, the Dursley's were as normal as they could be. You could never make them admit it, but the Dursley's had something abnormal living in the house. Harry had heard both his Aunt and Uncle use the word "freak" several times. It did not take long for Harry to discover they were talking about him.
Early in his life, Dudley learned from his parents and began to taunt Harry. His behavior continued to get worse as Dudley grew older and more confident. During this time is when Harry's "freakishness" started to show, but apparently, he was a freak since birth.
Last year on Dudley's fifth birthday, Aunt Marge visited Number 4 Privet Drive. She visits Privet Drive every year and does not miss any chance she may get to torture Harry, who in turn decided that Aunt Marge was by far the most unpleasant and arrogant woman he had ever met. Since she is Uncle Vernon's sister, this came as no surprise to Harry. Like the rest of the Dursley family, there are many weird things about Aunt Marge, but one of her oddest traits is her obsession with Bulldogs. One of her favorites, named Ripper, was a disgusting beast. A constant stream of drool hung from its jowls and had to weigh as much as Harry. Aunt Marge and her drooling companion visit every year for Dudley's birthday, and last year was no different.
Before Aunt Marge arrived, Uncle Vernon had a quick discussion with Harry. "I am warning you boy. Any funny business and you find yourself without food for a week!" That is all Uncle Vernon had said, and no extra words were needed.
When Aunt Marge had arrived, she smothered Dudley with kisses. Greetings were exchanged between the Dursley's, and Harry was given several looks of disapproval. Other than Aunt Marge, Dudley had invited two of his friends, Piers Polkiss and Malcolm Fisher to the party. Piers was a scrawny kid and had the face of a rat. He couldn't count to ten and consistently followed Dudley around. Malcolm was even dumber than Piers. It made sense because Malcolm had a slight head and large eyes, leaving no room for a brain. The three regularly teased Harry, and no adult seemed to do anything about it.
After everyone had arrived, it was time for the games.
Traditionally the four kids played "Harry-Hunting," a game where Dudley and his friends chased Harry until they got bored. Harry had never been caught, but he didn't want to know what would happen if he did. Thankfully, Harry wouldn't be running now. Today, they would play Musical Statues.
Since the adults were not playing, the game was between Dudley, Piers, Malcolm and Harry. The competition was dumb, and after a couple of years of running this was the time Harry could win this. No, he was going to win this. Then Ripper was added to the equation.
The game began as soon as the music started. Harry had never danced before that day, and admittedly he had looked quite ridiculous. The dancing continued until the music stopped. When it was clear that no one was moving, the music started again. This continued for a few rounds, and everyone began to notice.
When the music stopped again, everyone froze except for Harry, who had ended up on the ground. Ripper began to tow Harry away from the game violently.
Losing the game was disappointing, but the howling of laughter was far worse. The sound made Harry want to curl into a ball and be absorbed by the earth. When Ripper finally let go, tears were already tumbling down Harry's cheeks. Uncle Vernon had then shoved Harry into the cupboard for the rest of the party for "causing problems." The memory was both painful and embarrassing, but it was nothing compared to what came later.
When it was time for cake, everyone had gathered around the table to sing the song. Harry was not invited to sing or to eat cake, but that did not matter. The events that had taken place less than an hour ago would create a mental scar and would define a weak moment in Harry's life. Weakness was a sin, and weakness only created more problems.
Back in the kitchen, happy cheering and laughter quickly turned into cries of shock and anger. This lasted for around ten minutes before Harry was dragged out of the cupboard.
"What have you done! You ruined my son's birthday party and after you failed to do that you tried to kill Marge's dog with your freakishness!" Uncle Vernon stopped to catch his breath before adding "I warned boy, and now I am telling you, you will be getting no meals for a week!"
The meals were not a problem; the Dursley's often forgot to lock the cupboard, and Harry could steal from the fridge. But the dog being hurt was new information.
"The beast deserved it, honestly," Harry tried to explain. Uncle Vernon started blankly at Harry for a second trying to process what the four-year-old just said before he began to shake and his face turned a solid red color.
After being thrown back into the cupboard, the week continued as Uncle Vernon had promised. The Dursley's did not give any meals to Harry, so it was up to the young boy to feed himself. Even with midnight snacks, Harry did become noticeably thinner by the end of the week.
Two weeks after the incident with Ripper, Dudley either gained enough confidence to taunt Harry again or the fat boy had just forgotten. Dudley always seemed to forget, which was no surprise considering how dumb the boy was.
Early on in his life, Harry decided that his Aunt and Uncle didn't understand. He was different, in which way he did not know and never once had he brought it up to his guardians. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wanted nothing more than to be the perfect definition of normal, reminding the Dursley's that he was different would only anger them.
"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter, there is no sleeping in my classroom!" Mrs. Hensburry screeched. Mrs. Hensburry was a short woman and seemed to have a carrot for a nose. She also had eyebrows that appeared to drift towards her forehead when she smiled. Finally, her voice was an angry sound and only made Harry want to return to his thoughts. She was a horrendous woman. Ever since the first day of primary school, Harry hated Mrs. Hensburry, and Mrs. Hensburry hated Harry. Today seemed to be another one of her worst days. "The amount of disrespect you show and your classmates and I will not go unpunished" she decided with an ugly grin.
The rest of the class began to laugh as Mrs. Hensburry seemed to stare into Harry's soul. Eventually, the class quieted down.
"And what will my punishment be Mrs. Hensburry?" Harry asked. Mrs. Hensburry triumphant face turned into one of shock that Harry did not argue or fight against the punishment.
"You will be having your recess in here and do a special assignment for me" Mrs. Hensburry decided. Harry nodded and struggled to pay attention for the rest of class.
When the bell finally rang, Harry received his assignment. Write two paragraphs on why it is important not to sleep during class. The rest of the students lined up and were lead outside by Mrs. Hensburry.
A couple of short minutes after the class left for recess the door opened again, and an unknown person walked inside. The man was carrying flowers, presumably for Mrs. Hensburry. He had looked around the classroom before his eyes landed on Harry.
"Where did Mrs. Hensburry go?" the stranger asked. He took long pauses between each word as if Harry didn't know how to speak English.
Harry shrugged and chose not to respond. The faster he could finish this assignment the sooner he could get to recess. The stranger would only slow him down. The man seemed to get the hint and waited by the door for Mrs. Hensburry.
When Mrs. Hensburry got back, she seemed to forget that Harry was present.
"Arnold! What are you doing here?" Mrs. Hensburry asked. Even though the question was asked out of surprise, Harry could tell that his teacher was not pleased with Arnold.
"I was thinking last night, you know, about us." Mrs. Hensburry was married? Whatever Mrs. Hensburry and Arnold were, the idea of them being together made Harry want to puke.
"Arnold, know what you did, and why I signed those papers." This time, her voice did not sound like a vulture, but it was full of disappointment. Finally, Mrs. Hensburry finally remembered that Harry was in the room.
"Mr. Potter, you are dismissed," she said. Not wanting to be in the classroom a second longer, Harry put the paper on her desk and slipped out of the classroom.
When Harry stepped outside, a wave of freedom seemed to consume him. As inspiring as the crisp autumn air was, the people outside are no different from when they are inside. Since he was young, he had come to the conclusion the people are and always will be simple.
With this in mind, Harry ignored the rest of the students and decided to sit on a swing. The swings were the best part of being outside, but trying to use the swings was frustrating, so the Harry resorted to just sitting instead.
Was that love? If that was love, love seemed to hurt. Why did so many people fall in love? Why do other people who love look so happy? But would that make Arnold and Mrs. Hensburry not in love? These questions continued to swim in Harry's mind, and all of them seemed like they did not have answers. Why should anyone love another? That was the question that hurt the most. Love only hurt, and never would Harry be hurt. Being hurt was a weakness, and weakness was a sin, but that did not answer the question.
"Hey, Potter!" came an all too familiar voice. Dudley was standing in front of him. Behind Dudley, his friend Piers Polkiss was standing on his toes as if trying to be intimidating.
"What do you want, Dudley?" Harry asked. Dudley never talked to Harry during recess, and Harry-Hunting was only played after school. Maybe Dudley wanted to be friends? It was a long shot, but that did not suppress the hope that Harry had.
"I want to use the swings, and you are in my way," the large boy said. So Dudley did not want to be friends. Well, there goes that dream.
"There are other swings, use one of those!" Dudley would not fit on the swings, but Harry kept his mouth shut. Dudley seemed rather put off by Harry's answer but quickly came up with another reason to steal Harry's swing.
"Well… I want this one, so get off!" Dudley demanded. No one ever told Dudley to do something, and Harry could tell that the large boy was getting quite mad.
"Don't worry Dudley, I will get him off for you," Piers said while puffing out his chest. Suddenly, Harry was pushed with a surprising amount of force causing Harry to fall off the swing. Looking up, Harry realized that Piers was quite proud of what he had just done. "That will teach you not to mess with us, freak."
Harry felt his muscles tense as the two boys laughed. Pushing himself off the ground and found himself staring straight at Piers.
One moment, Piers was laughing, the next he was soaring across the school yard. His body landed with a thump a couple of yards away.
The weird thing is, Harry never touched Piers.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading the first chapter of Fragments. This was exciting to write, and I have so much more to show you! The next chapter should be posted within a month or two. As of now, I only have the time to write on weekends, so I appreciate your patience. I promise chapters will be uploaded as soon as possible.
Author's Note 2: I have nothing against Bulldogs. I have a friend who has a Bulldog. They are pretty cool! But I wanted to develop Harry's younger life a bit more, and Aunt Marge and Ripper was a good option.
Author's Note 3: I am also looking for a beta reader, so if you are interested, please PM me!
PLEASE REVIEW!
Next Chapter: Daily life is about to go through a huge change at the Dursley's, and then Harry's world gets a lot bigger ;)