July 31, 1989
It was late at night when a small bespectacled kid sat in the cupboard under the stairs. See it was the black-haired kid's birthday, and like every other birthday his relatives had ignored it. Oh, but this birthday was different, yes, Harry Potter had a plan. He had waited all day long until after his family had finished eating their dinner. While his Uncle Vernon had contently patted his belly after a delicious meal. Young Harry had went up and tentatively asked him why he had not received cakes or presents like Dudley, his cousin, did on his birthday. Oh, but this proved to be a horrible idea, as his uncle had called him an "ungrateful little snot" and taken to beating his hindquarters with his leather belt, and tossed him into his room under the stairs.
It was this Harry, at now nine years of age, who cried to himself, wondering why it was he was so unloved. It was with a tear-stained face and a heavy heart that he finally fell asleep.
The next day was not an unusual one he awoke to the dulcet sounds of his Aunt Petunia beating his door shouting at him to get up. Funny thing about Aunt Petunia, she looked so different from the rest of the family. See she was incredibly skinny, while her husband and son could pass as human looking walruses. He was to prepare breakfast for the family, after which was his healthy dose of chores. His chores ranged anywhere from weeding the garden to cleaning the house, after which he would go to the local library to stay out off the house for as long as possible.
It wasn't that Harry was overly fond of books and reading but libraries were one of the few places that his cousin wouldn't follow him into and thus granted him a respite from his bullying antics. That's not to say he didn't read at all, no, he learned everything he could for when he was older. Now he wasn't one of those people who learned everything they could just so they could be a know-it-all but he was a firm believer in learning useful things. It started when he was six, he had just badly prepared breakfast for his relatives and his uncle had spanked him for burning the toast and bacon. So he had learned how to cook from a book. He had gradually gotten better and had made his relatives somewhat happy, or at least as happy as he could make them.
A/N: yes, I know not a real thrilling first chapter but I wanted to get it out since I plan on skipping ahead in Ch. 2 but I wanted to get Harry and his family introduced. Also I'm an American so I would appreciate some help with the Briticisms in the future.