DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling
This is my first attempt to write a full-length fanfiction. Reviews desired.
Chapter 1
Little Whinging was a very normal place, a small village south of London. There were residential streets surrounding the town centre, which contained a few shops to cater to the resident's daily needs. The streets circling the place were lined with ordinary English houses, all streets looked the same. One street named Wisteria walk was different in the sense that it contained a children's playground. It was a picture-perfect English village, so ordinary that nobody would take a second notice at anything.
It was on the playground of Wisteria walk that something was odd. A little boy was lying on one of the empty benches of the park, crouched in a foetal position. The boy had something odd about him. He was dressed oddly, in old clothes and shoes, plus they were too large for his size. He was thin, with a mass of untidy black hair on his head and bright green eyes. His name was Harry Potter, he was a six year old child who found out crying alone gave him a sort of relive from his life.
Harry did not understand much at his age, but his cousin Dudley was the main reason to make him feel miserable. There were other children in the primary school too, but he understood that he was the most miserable, though it was not his fault. He could understand the differences by now.
He and Dudley lived with two adults. They were Dudley's "mummy and daddy" but Harry's "aunt and uncle". Harry did not have his own parents because they were dead. He had no memories of them, Aunt Petunia had told him that when he was fifteen months old, a "bad man" had broken into their house and killed them, thus Harry had to live with them. Yet, the differences did not end there.
Dudley was called by a lot of pet names, he himself was called "boy" or "freak". Dudley was fed with food, Harry had to finish other's leftovers and denied food if he did anything wrong. Anything wrong resulted in Petunia screeching at him, while Vernon would simply grab him with large hands, drag him to a cupboard and lock him there. Vernon and Petunia were blind to anything "wrong" done by Dudley.
Dudley was bought clothes, Harry had hand-me-downs. When Harry was taken for shopping, he had to carry bags and nobody ever asked him to make a choice. Dudley slept in a room with a bed, Harry in the same cupboard he was locked in, on a carpet. Dudley was presented with big toys and taken out for special treats on a few days, Harry was left behind with Mrs Figg, a cat-obsessed old lady who lived on opposite street. Dudley did nothing at home, while Harry had to help his aunt with the chores.
He had to continually hear the words "things cost money, boy" and Dudley never heard these words, though Harry was sure that Dudley cost much more money than him. Plus, he was beaten regularly by Dudley and his gang, they were much bigger than him. To top it all, Vernon had a sister named Marge, who visited them a few times and made it clear that she hated Harry.
Harry put up with all this because he was smart enough for his age and knew that street children lived a harder life. He had no memories of his parents, there were no photos of them in the house and his relatives refused to talk about them, but he himself recalled a flash of green light and flying in the air as flashbacks from his life. He at least had a roof over his head and a house was a better choice in the freezing winter, was supplied with clothes and food and went to school, learning to read and write. His marks were ignored by his uncle and aunt, but he felt better at school.
Harry had recently found out that sneaking to the park, before the other children would come in at regular hours, made him feel better. He had to return home and help his aunt, she would never bother to know where he was as long as he turned up for doing chores. He would even drowse off in the summer heat for a few minutes that happened even today.
Yet, today was different. Harry had fallen into a doze, but suddenly he had a strange sensation, as if someone was watching him. His immediate thought was Dudley and his gang, but he looked around quickly, they were not there. He, however, found out the person who was staring at him.
The person who seemed to be observing Harry had something odd around himself. Harry could immediately sense something wrong and could even pinpoint it. The park was frequented by two kinds of people, children and their parents, usually the mother. If some tramps sought refuge there, there was a clear local law that they could stay only during the night. So, this person seemed out of place.
It was a man, he seemed to be in his early thirties. The skin was pale, he had short raven-coloured hair with French-cut beard and he was clad in a loose black shirt, with baggy grey trousers and a silver wristwatch in his left wrist. The black eyes that were staring at Harry seemed like cold, long tunnels but there was a smile in the lips that tried to light up the entire face.
The man parted his lips and a smooth, silky voice came out "You are Harry Potter, right? What are you doing at this park, all alone? Hope you are not running away from your aunt's house."
Harry nodded meekly, but raised his eyebrows "How do you know my name and where I live, sir?"
The man lifted his eyebrows and spoke in an amused voice "It's a secret. I am asking you, can you take me to the nearest candy store? I don't know if there is one, I am new here."
Harry knew a candy store in the town centre, he got his own candies only when Dudley got bored with a purchased one. He glanced at the tiny watch (thrown away by Dudley) in his wrist and checked the time, still plenty of time to go back and help Petunia with tea.
He guided the man to the store, pointed the window and was about to walk away, when the man stopped him "Hey, I asked you because I wanted to buy you one. Come with me, little kid."
Inside, the sales attendant was surprised to see Harry with an unknown man, but the man simply ignored the woman and spoke to Harry "Choose any one, I will buy it for you." Harry was surprised at all this, but chose a pack of Brighton rock. The man really paid the bill, but Harry noted that the man was muttering something in a low voice and the attendant had a glazed look for a few seconds.
The man took Harry by the hand, walked him out of the shop and spoke again "Harry, let's go back to the park. You can eat it here or at home, but don't show it to anyone else, or they may ask questions."
Harry had no hesitation walking with this unknown man. He looked up at the man and smiled, saying "Thank you so much, Mr.. Mr?"
"Ah, I have not told you my name. It is, um, Mr Eileenson Prince. Call me uncle Prince."
Harry smiled again and said "Thank you, uncle Prince."
"You're welcome, Harry. Can I ask you just one thing in return of the candy? It's simple, don't tell anybody about me, understood?"
They walked back to the park, Harry already had some sweet in his mouth. Mr Prince sat down in a bench, Harry tried to sit beside him, but something happened. Prince suddenly cupped Harry's face in his hands, looked straight into the green eyes and muttered "Legilimens."
The effect on Harry was something the kid had never seen before. Everything vanished before his eyes and images began to flash through his mind like a mail train, numerous images from his own life with the Dursleys. He stood still and almost felt like fainting, when everything again came back.
He was lying on a bench in the park, with Prince sitting beside him and the candy still in his hands. He looked at the man with a puzzled expression, the man simply raised his eyebrows and spoke with a smile "What happened, kid? It's hot today, but don't fall asleep outside like this. What time is it? Your aunt wants you back at home, no?"
Harry glanced at his watch and said "Okay, I will get back in time. Are you going anywhere from here?"
"I have my own work. I promise you, you may meet me in this park later. Now, shoo! Go back."
He ruffled Harry's hair, patted his cheek and kissed the forehead, then again urged him to go.
Harry smiled again, walked out of the park and at the bend of the road, turned back to wave at Prince, but the man had vanished. He stood puzzled for a few seconds, then felt the candy still in his pocket- it was not a dream. He almost ran back home, having experienced something he has never got before.
