Chapter 1

I was so very tired. My belly ached and my mouth felt like sandpaper. It was christmas today and I had been stupid enough to ask for a gift. Uncle Vernon screamed at me for being an ungrateful brat and locked me in my cupboard without food or water. I cried as I smelled the feast out of my reach. One day they would let me out of my cupboard, and I would would never go back in again!

Johnny Westmore was having a birthday party at school(after classes were done of course). To make the event memorable Mr. and Mrs. Westmore hired a magician to amuse us kids. I was mesmerized by the flames and rabbits, the cards and hats, but the last trick was the grandest of all. The magician put Mrs. Haggerty, my teacher, under hypnosis. With a few words and a snap of the fingers she was crowing like a rooster. Seeing the stern woman bob her head back and forth looking for grain was unbelievable, I suddenly imagined Dudley in her place, oinking like a pig.

Magician's POV
After the show I saw a whole troupe of parents dragging their kids along to thank me for my services.
"Can you tell me how you made Mrs. Haggerty cluck like that?" said a child's voice. I looked around but could see no one. "Down here!" said the child. Low and behold, there was a mite of a child, all alone with glowing green eyes like a cat.
"I'm afraid that a magician never reveals his tricks. Otherwise everyone would know magic, and who would go to see me?"
"But I don't want to know all your tricks just the last one."
"That's the trickiest one and it takes time to learn, I'm afraid it's impossible."
"I get it," said the boy, lowering his head and putting his hands in his pockets. He turned away to leave. Suddenly I felt a flush of guilt and blocked his way.
"I guess I can make an exception for a young magician."
"Really!" yelled the boy. I reached deep into my bag, slipping my arm into a torn seam to make it look like my arm went deeper than possible and pulled out a book, The Hypnotist's Field Guide.
"Take it, its not like I need it anymore."
"Thank you very much." The boy ran off waving goodbye. Only then did I notice his worn shoes and oversized clothes.

I tapped against the walls of my cupboard as I read. It sounded so promising, but I needed people to test it on, people whose behavior needed some rearranging. The solution was obvious.
I snuck into Dudley's room with a flashlight, and slowly ran it over his eyes.
"Uhhhhhh," moaned Dudley as he started to wake up.
"Shhhh," I whispered, "You're safe and warm and as I count from ten to one you will picture yourself climbing down a staircase."
It took ten minutes to lower Dudley's will to the point of listening to a despised, non-authority figure. Each word was calculated to keep him calm and not go against his sensibilities. Anything that Dudley truly didn't want would break him free of my influence.
"You want a friend who you know is dependable. One who will never judge or abandon you because you didn't put enough fear into them. Let me be your friend, like a brother to you. Now you've been so great at relaxing yourself. Next time we do this I'm sure it will get easier. When I count from one through ten you will get up from your trance and then fall right asleep, remembering nothing. One... two..."
I left and went to the kitchen where I dropped a plate. As Vernon attacked me I got him. Then I went to the master bedroom and repeated the process with Petunia.
The next morning I watched the confusion on the Dursleys' faces when they realized how relaxed they felt, like a cruel burden that had finally been released. It was the first day I ate a breakfast with the rest of my family and it was also the first day of a new life.

A/N: So should I keep writing?