Prologue

Harry was hiding behind a brick wall, waiting for Dudley and his gang to get bored and do something else. His breath came in ragged gasps and he prayed that the gang didn't hear him – he was out of places to hide.

He heard some scuffling near him and quickly held his breath

"Oy Dudley! I think I hear something! Over here, quick!" It was Piers Polkiss, Dudley's best friend and the person who held the targets down whilst Dudley punched them.

He was in trouble now. Harry knew that the only option he had was to try and get into a fight with Piers before Dudley came. Even if he didn't win he'd get away a lot better than if Dudley got there first.

"Piers! You're a rat faced git who couldn't punch to save your life!" Harry yelled. "I bet you that I could beat you up if you didn't have your friends around to save you." That did the trick. Piers was looking murderous, and Harry knew that his goal was a success. Piers was the weakest and second stupidest person in the group.

The perfect person to pick a fight with.

The stupidest was Dudley, who Harry suspected had an I.Q of about 85. But that didn't stop Dudley from making rules about fights. One of those rules was a fight had to be one on one. Another was if one person went limp the fight was over.

It meant that Harry would go home able to breathe properly, which he was happy to do.

"Get over here guys! The freak's picked a fight with me. Told me that I couldn't punch to save my life!" Dudley's gang laughed and jeered at Harry. They had all seen Dudley beat him into the ground and they assumed that the same was going to happen again. "Were do you think I should show im' that he's wrong? I think I should break his nose, that aughta show him that I can punch." Piers had said all of this while cracking his knuckles, and Dudley and his gang loved it. They were about to get a fight after all.

Harry was confident that he could win. The punches that Piers had thrown at him before had all been weak and badly aimed. Harry was fast and had been in so many fights with Dudley to avoid beatings that he could both take and give a punch out; something he was sure Piers could not.

If anything Piers looked slightly nervous. Excellent. "You okay there Piers? You look slightly pale. I think you should see a doctor, maybe he can get your blood pumping before a fight. You could get one of those things they give to people with heart problems, you know a pace maker?" Piers mother had died recently from a heart attack, and Harry felt it was justice to rub it in. Dudley and his gang 'oohed' and told Piers to get him for it.

Piers decided to agree, and promptly charged at Harry, swinging wildly and missing most of his punches. The rest were blocked.

Harry got a punch in against Piers and then another one into his face, before he jumped on top and started punching as hard as he could.

Harry was suddenly lifted off of Piers and held in the air by what seemed to be nothing. A gruff voice spoke in his ear and growled "I think that's enough. Don't you boy?" Harry turned his face around and noticed a man whose face was covered in scars and had a body which looked like he had been born in a gym.

Harry nodded his agreement and turned to look at the girl next to the man. She had a pretty heart shaped face with straight black hair which ran a few inches past her shoulders. Her amused black eyes staring at him made Harry blush and wish he was on the ground again without the invisible restraints.

He suddenly was, and noticed the shocked look on the man's gruff, scarred face before commenting "cool scars," and walking towards Private Drive.

His experience with shocking people was that it was a good idea to pretend he intended it, and then to walk away.

It didn't keep them away like it usually did, and he started running when he saw the man and the girl catching up to him. The man stretched out his hand and muttered something too quiet for Harry to hear.

Again he was lifted into the air and restrained whilst the man and girl caught up to him. "We want to have a little chat with you Harry," it was the girl who spoke this time, and she spoke with the tone of voice which suggested she hadn't quite hit puberty. "Right now," Those words had a slightly sophisticated sound to it, and Harry realized that he was being entranced. Not good.

Abruptly he felt slightly drained but saw only a girl and a man. He didn't see a beautiful girl and a terrifying man.

Dudley had waddled up to them by this time, and was interested in impressing the girl next to him. His father had told him many times that an important aspect of being a successful business man was having a beautiful wife. "Yeah Potter! We wanna have a little chat with you," Dudley said this whilst looking menacing and cracking his knuckles. It was obvious that Dudley was enraptured with the beautiful girl, and was pointedly looking away from the man.

The girl looked slightly annoyed and slid up to Dudley, before whispering to him "why don't you meet me in a few minutes? My father and I wish to have a private conversation with Harry." Dudley looked at her and walked away with an expression on his face that looked like he had done the greatest thing in the world.

Harry merely raised an amused eyebrow. He would be damned if he was going to start this conversation. If they wanted to talk then they could talk.

"So… what was it that caused that little altercation Harry?" It was the girl who spoke again. Harry got the impression that it was the girl who was in charge of the man. "I would be so grateful if you would deem us worthy to hear it. I'm sure it's an epic tale." At this Harry raised his other eyebrow. She was talking at me as if I was in the Victorian era.

Harry suddenly wanted to tell them and he knew that if he did he had already lost. Instead he asked "How old are you?" That question would be able to give Harry the answers that he needed. But he needed to look impressive enough to do so, and to do that Harry willed himself onto the ground and made a gesture at them. "And what on earth are you? I know that you're not human in the sense that me and those idiots over there know. So please tell me I would be fascinated to know.

"I also know that there is such a thing as magic, which is exactly what leads me to the conclusion that you aren't human," Harry felt that it was only fair that if he was getting answers they should get some as well. "At least, not fully human…" The last few words were muttered.

The girl laughed, and Harry once again fought the enrapture that he knew would be coming. "Harry," she purred "I am only eleven years old… did you wish I was older?"

That had certainly caught him off guard. Eleven year old girls did not purr. The older ones that he met at the park did, but they were always clinging onto some boy with almost no clothes on.

But why did she seem older then eleven. He knew she was. That statement of her age was true. He had always known when someone was lying to him. Looking deep into someone's eyes gave him a sense of what they were thinking, or, depending on how intelligent they were, whether they were telling the truth.

"Not particularly. Dudley does though." It was true. At that moment Dudley was staring at her chest in disappointment. Beautiful wives had big breasts as Dudley's father had told him. So did Dudley. Unfortunately for Dudley he didn't understand what puberty did. "You're not human though are you?"

"No. No I'm not. I'm half Veela." The last was said so haughtily that Harry wondered if she was some kind of aristocrat. "And I" she said handing him a piece of official looking paper, "am your future wife." She looked at his confused face and said "maybe we should get better acquainted." She grabbed his arm before saying "Dom, meet us at our house. Activate."

A strange feeling of being hooked forward, slammed into the girl and then suddenly standing in a vineyard had left him very disorientated, and the feeling of adrenaline still pumping from his fight with Piers suddenly vanished, leaving him dizzy. Shit. His vision had started to turn white, and then he fell forward onto the ground.