Chapter One - A Falling Star
Tears. Stinging his eyes. Rolling in steady streams down his cheeks. Pain. Running rampant through his body. Extending far into his dreams. Hurt. Shining in the face of one so young. One who never should have had to experience such misery.
Harry squinted, as though attempting to see through the immense darkness that surrounded him, made only more difficult by the fact that his glasses were long gone, shattered into a dozen pieces and scattered haphazardly about the floor of his tiny cupboard, where he currently lay groaning with the pain that each and every movement inflicted upon his battered body. He attempted to move into a more comfortable position, only to be met with intense pain, as one of his many broken ribs was jostled. He found that he could not contain the small cry of pain that escaped from his lips.
He had returned to the Dursley's from his fourth year at Hogwarts less than two weeks ago, and things had never been worse. His treatment had begun a downward spiral almost the moment he had arrived home. He was put to work immediately and was severely punished if a task was not completed to the impossible standards that the Dursleys put forth.
FLASHBACK
His most recent task had ended in an utter disaster. Uncle Vernon had brought home a huge satellite dish for Dudley's fifteenth birthday (one gift out of forty-six) and had ordered Harry to go onto the roof and hook it up. Worst still, he had only been given an hour to have it completely set up and ready to go so that Dudley wouldn't miss his favorite show. All of this, and to top it off, Harry had no clue as to how to install a satellite dish; he didn't even know the first thing about it. But with the threat of severe punishment from his uncle, he found that he had no other choice in the matter.
Harry went into the garage and reemerged carrying a rather rickety old ladder, which was badly splintered and decaying from lack of use. It also wasn't nearly tall enough to get him up the two stories and onto the roof. In the end, he was forced to scale the wall of the house using the drain pipe as his only footing and drag the dish up by the cord, nearly dropping it on more than one occasion.
For the first and only time, he was thankful that the Dursleys hadn't fed him in almost five days. Had he weighed even a pound more, he decided as the pipe creaked loudly with his careful movements, it would have already broken and his punishment from the Dursleys for destroying their property would have been far worse than starvation.
Harry finally reached the top and struggled to pull both himself and the dish onto the roof; the injuries from his latest beating causing his straining muscles immense pain, plus the fact that he had no energy left because of the lack of food.
He got to work immediately trying to attach the brightly colored wires according to the tiny (black and white) diagram on the bottom of the satellite dish, and hopelessly trying to attach the dish to the stand; noting dejectedly that they weren't even the same shape or size. That, he could only assume, was part of some sick joke of his uncles.
Eventually, though, Harry was able to wedge it tightly between two roof shingles, although he was certain that he hadn't plugged the wires in properly, and to his extreme disappointment, was confirmed by his uncle's angry bellows.
"Time's up boy, and it's not working! Get down here NOW!"
"Coming Uncle Vernon", Harry replied in a timid voice. He knew he was going to get a beating for this. He looked over the edge of the roof and starred down at his overly large uncle. He looked mad, and Harry shivered from the thought of the punishment he knew was coming.
"Hurry up, boy!" Harry pulled quickly away from the edge and made towards the wall where he'd come up at, when his foot caught one of the wires. He was caught off-guard by this, and the next thing he knew the wire had pulled out, and both he and the satellite dish were tumbling off the roof.
Harry hit the concrete driveway with a loud sickening thud; the satellite dish crashing down a second later, less that a few inches from his head.
Harry's Uncle nearly popped a vein trying to subdue his anger while outside. He was furious, though, there was no question about that.
"That dish cost more than you'll ever be worth, boy!" Vernon ranted in a deadly whisper. The last thing he needed was to attract the neighbors to his nephew's extreme incompetence. "You'll pay dearly for this, boy"; he continued raving at Harry's motionless body. In one swift move, Vernon had hauled Harry off the ground by the collar of his oversized t-shirt. Harry gave a small yelp of pain and tried to pull away from his uncle's vice-like grip. "You're not going anywhere", Vernon whispered viciously into Harry's ear as he dragged him toward the house.
Vernon swung open the door, and there was a loud bang as it slammed into the wall. He threw Harry onto the floor, and Harry couldn't help but let out a small cry of pain.
"Don't think I feel sorry for you, you clumsy freak. You deserve every bit of it for trying to sabotage Dudley's birthday." Vernon slammed the door shut and Harry cringed. He curled up into a ball and lay shivering in fear at Vernon's feet. "HOW DARE YOU ACT SO UNGRATEFUL, YOU FREAK!" Vernon shouted as his foot collided with Harry's side. Harry yelped in pain at the crack he felt in his chest and tried to get up. If he could just make it to his wand... he didn't care if he got expelled at this point.
He was only halfway standing when Vernon's foot collided once again with his side. Another loud crack and Harry tumbled over into the wall. It was at that point Harry realized that his head was bleeding badly. The blood had dripped into his eyes and was burning them.
Vernon grabbed Harry by the neck and yanked him over to the small door of the cupboard under the stairs. He unlocked the door and flung it open.
"Don't think this is over, boy!" It was that threat that would have Harry worrying clear into the morning. Vernon threw Harry into the cupboard and was about to lock him in, when he noticed Harry's blood soaked glasses lying cracked at his feet. A malicious grin spread across Vernon's face as he slowly pressed his foot down on them. The cracking sounds seemed to echo in Harry's ears, along with his uncle's voice, "you won't be needing these anymore."
Vernon kicked the shards of glass and twisted metal into the cupboard and slammed shut the door: locking it and leaving without another word.
END FLASHBACK
It had all happened last evening, but to Harry and his worrying mind, it had seemed like days. He had spent the whole night in a half-asleep state, fearing that at any moment his uncle would return and stay true to his threat.
He was now glad of the decision he had made to send Hedwig to stay in the owlry at Hogwarts. She had been reluctant to go, but when his uncle had beaten him for the first time, he knew that eventually she would not be safe here. In the end she had given him a final affectionate nip and disappeared into the distance.
Morning was just dawning, and Harry could only tell because of the small bit of light that had filtered beneath the tiny door of his cupboard. It reflected on the shattered remains of his glasses and Harry couldn't help but let a single tear drift silently down his cheek.
Then he heard it. His uncles voice coming from above him. Harry's whole body tensed as he heard a loud click. The entire cupboard seemed to quake with fear as his uncle lumbered down the stairs. Dust and dirt drifted on Harry from the ceiling of his cupboard. Then another click, quieter this time, and from the lock on the door of his cupboard.
The door swung open in one harsh move and Harry had to shut his eyes to block out the intense light that was so different from the endless darkness that had surrounded him during the night.
"Good morning, freak", his uncle greeted him in a fake attempt at being civilized. Harry slowly opened his eyes and gazed up at his uncle. Even without his glasses, there was no doubt about what he saw. His eyes grew wide with terror as he found himself starring down the barrel of a shotgun. "I've finally thought of a way to get rid of your freakish habits...by getting rid of the freak itself." Uncle Vernon laughed maliciously as he watched Harry throw himself out of the cupboard and struggle to reach the door of the house.
It all happened so quickly. As Harry reached for the handle of the door, a loud bang erupted behind him, and the next thing he knew there was a searing pain in his left shoulder, which burned as though it were on fire. His entire arm felt as though it had been torn from his body. His uncles merciless laugh continued to sound and Harry screamed out in pain and terror.
In less than a second, Harry's survival instincts had kicked in and with speed he never even knew he had, especially with his injuries, he tore open the door and raced away from number 4 Privet Drive. His uncle ran to the door and aimed his shotgun down the street toward Harry. He fired again, the bang echoing down the deserted street, but Harry had reached the end of the street and darted around the corner just in time to avoid the second bullet.
Harry continued to run in a dead sort of sprint until he had rounded the fifth corner, it being only a short alleyway, which ended in a tall wooden fence. He stopped about a foot from the fence and starred at it almost blindly, before collapsing to the ground. He lay there, curled into a small ball and panting heavily with blood slowly oozing out of the large hole in the back of his shoulder, for nearly ten minutes before the darkness began to overtake him. His eyes slowly fluttered shut and with a strange popping sound, he disappeared.
Tears. Stinging his eyes. Rolling in steady streams down his cheeks. Pain. Running rampant through his body. Extending far into his dreams. Hurt. Shining in the face of one so young. One who never should have had to experience such misery.
Harry squinted, as though attempting to see through the immense darkness that surrounded him, made only more difficult by the fact that his glasses were long gone, shattered into a dozen pieces and scattered haphazardly about the floor of his tiny cupboard, where he currently lay groaning with the pain that each and every movement inflicted upon his battered body. He attempted to move into a more comfortable position, only to be met with intense pain, as one of his many broken ribs was jostled. He found that he could not contain the small cry of pain that escaped from his lips.
He had returned to the Dursley's from his fourth year at Hogwarts less than two weeks ago, and things had never been worse. His treatment had begun a downward spiral almost the moment he had arrived home. He was put to work immediately and was severely punished if a task was not completed to the impossible standards that the Dursleys put forth.
FLASHBACK
His most recent task had ended in an utter disaster. Uncle Vernon had brought home a huge satellite dish for Dudley's fifteenth birthday (one gift out of forty-six) and had ordered Harry to go onto the roof and hook it up. Worst still, he had only been given an hour to have it completely set up and ready to go so that Dudley wouldn't miss his favorite show. All of this, and to top it off, Harry had no clue as to how to install a satellite dish; he didn't even know the first thing about it. But with the threat of severe punishment from his uncle, he found that he had no other choice in the matter.
Harry went into the garage and reemerged carrying a rather rickety old ladder, which was badly splintered and decaying from lack of use. It also wasn't nearly tall enough to get him up the two stories and onto the roof. In the end, he was forced to scale the wall of the house using the drain pipe as his only footing and drag the dish up by the cord, nearly dropping it on more than one occasion.
For the first and only time, he was thankful that the Dursleys hadn't fed him in almost five days. Had he weighed even a pound more, he decided as the pipe creaked loudly with his careful movements, it would have already broken and his punishment from the Dursleys for destroying their property would have been far worse than starvation.
Harry finally reached the top and struggled to pull both himself and the dish onto the roof; the injuries from his latest beating causing his straining muscles immense pain, plus the fact that he had no energy left because of the lack of food.
He got to work immediately trying to attach the brightly colored wires according to the tiny (black and white) diagram on the bottom of the satellite dish, and hopelessly trying to attach the dish to the stand; noting dejectedly that they weren't even the same shape or size. That, he could only assume, was part of some sick joke of his uncles.
Eventually, though, Harry was able to wedge it tightly between two roof shingles, although he was certain that he hadn't plugged the wires in properly, and to his extreme disappointment, was confirmed by his uncle's angry bellows.
"Time's up boy, and it's not working! Get down here NOW!"
"Coming Uncle Vernon", Harry replied in a timid voice. He knew he was going to get a beating for this. He looked over the edge of the roof and starred down at his overly large uncle. He looked mad, and Harry shivered from the thought of the punishment he knew was coming.
"Hurry up, boy!" Harry pulled quickly away from the edge and made towards the wall where he'd come up at, when his foot caught one of the wires. He was caught off-guard by this, and the next thing he knew the wire had pulled out, and both he and the satellite dish were tumbling off the roof.
Harry hit the concrete driveway with a loud sickening thud; the satellite dish crashing down a second later, less that a few inches from his head.
Harry's Uncle nearly popped a vein trying to subdue his anger while outside. He was furious, though, there was no question about that.
"That dish cost more than you'll ever be worth, boy!" Vernon ranted in a deadly whisper. The last thing he needed was to attract the neighbors to his nephew's extreme incompetence. "You'll pay dearly for this, boy"; he continued raving at Harry's motionless body. In one swift move, Vernon had hauled Harry off the ground by the collar of his oversized t-shirt. Harry gave a small yelp of pain and tried to pull away from his uncle's vice-like grip. "You're not going anywhere", Vernon whispered viciously into Harry's ear as he dragged him toward the house.
Vernon swung open the door, and there was a loud bang as it slammed into the wall. He threw Harry onto the floor, and Harry couldn't help but let out a small cry of pain.
"Don't think I feel sorry for you, you clumsy freak. You deserve every bit of it for trying to sabotage Dudley's birthday." Vernon slammed the door shut and Harry cringed. He curled up into a ball and lay shivering in fear at Vernon's feet. "HOW DARE YOU ACT SO UNGRATEFUL, YOU FREAK!" Vernon shouted as his foot collided with Harry's side. Harry yelped in pain at the crack he felt in his chest and tried to get up. If he could just make it to his wand... he didn't care if he got expelled at this point.
He was only halfway standing when Vernon's foot collided once again with his side. Another loud crack and Harry tumbled over into the wall. It was at that point Harry realized that his head was bleeding badly. The blood had dripped into his eyes and was burning them.
Vernon grabbed Harry by the neck and yanked him over to the small door of the cupboard under the stairs. He unlocked the door and flung it open.
"Don't think this is over, boy!" It was that threat that would have Harry worrying clear into the morning. Vernon threw Harry into the cupboard and was about to lock him in, when he noticed Harry's blood soaked glasses lying cracked at his feet. A malicious grin spread across Vernon's face as he slowly pressed his foot down on them. The cracking sounds seemed to echo in Harry's ears, along with his uncle's voice, "you won't be needing these anymore."
Vernon kicked the shards of glass and twisted metal into the cupboard and slammed shut the door: locking it and leaving without another word.
END FLASHBACK
It had all happened last evening, but to Harry and his worrying mind, it had seemed like days. He had spent the whole night in a half-asleep state, fearing that at any moment his uncle would return and stay true to his threat.
He was now glad of the decision he had made to send Hedwig to stay in the owlry at Hogwarts. She had been reluctant to go, but when his uncle had beaten him for the first time, he knew that eventually she would not be safe here. In the end she had given him a final affectionate nip and disappeared into the distance.
Morning was just dawning, and Harry could only tell because of the small bit of light that had filtered beneath the tiny door of his cupboard. It reflected on the shattered remains of his glasses and Harry couldn't help but let a single tear drift silently down his cheek.
Then he heard it. His uncles voice coming from above him. Harry's whole body tensed as he heard a loud click. The entire cupboard seemed to quake with fear as his uncle lumbered down the stairs. Dust and dirt drifted on Harry from the ceiling of his cupboard. Then another click, quieter this time, and from the lock on the door of his cupboard.
The door swung open in one harsh move and Harry had to shut his eyes to block out the intense light that was so different from the endless darkness that had surrounded him during the night.
"Good morning, freak", his uncle greeted him in a fake attempt at being civilized. Harry slowly opened his eyes and gazed up at his uncle. Even without his glasses, there was no doubt about what he saw. His eyes grew wide with terror as he found himself starring down the barrel of a shotgun. "I've finally thought of a way to get rid of your freakish habits...by getting rid of the freak itself." Uncle Vernon laughed maliciously as he watched Harry throw himself out of the cupboard and struggle to reach the door of the house.
It all happened so quickly. As Harry reached for the handle of the door, a loud bang erupted behind him, and the next thing he knew there was a searing pain in his left shoulder, which burned as though it were on fire. His entire arm felt as though it had been torn from his body. His uncles merciless laugh continued to sound and Harry screamed out in pain and terror.
In less than a second, Harry's survival instincts had kicked in and with speed he never even knew he had, especially with his injuries, he tore open the door and raced away from number 4 Privet Drive. His uncle ran to the door and aimed his shotgun down the street toward Harry. He fired again, the bang echoing down the deserted street, but Harry had reached the end of the street and darted around the corner just in time to avoid the second bullet.
Harry continued to run in a dead sort of sprint until he had rounded the fifth corner, it being only a short alleyway, which ended in a tall wooden fence. He stopped about a foot from the fence and starred at it almost blindly, before collapsing to the ground. He lay there, curled into a small ball and panting heavily with blood slowly oozing out of the large hole in the back of his shoulder, for nearly ten minutes before the darkness began to overtake him. His eyes slowly fluttered shut and with a strange popping sound, he disappeared.