Disclaimer: Abuse worse than in the books, but after the first two chapters it will only be mentioned. I try to gloss over the abuse in the first two chapters too so that they aren't too graphic.

The tears streamed down the small boy's cheeks as he stared at his uncle. He tried so hard to be a good boy, but he was never good enough. He always had to get a spanking anyway. He even tried to do extra just so that his family would be proud of him.

Harry James Potter could never be a good boy though. He'd lived with his uncle and aunt for nearly four years, and during those years, he'd been a naughty boy. He was so bad that he needed spankings all the time. He was so bad; it was why he no longer lived with his parents. At one time, he'd live with loving parents, but because he was such a terrible child, they'd eventually had to give him up the Halloween when he was a year old.

Though they hadn't wanted to, his aunt and uncle had taken him in despite the fact that they had a son, Dudley, of their own. Uncle Vernon reminded Harry of this almost daily. When no one else had wanted him, they'd taken him in. Apparently, his parents had tried to take him to an orphanage, but Aunt Petunia hadn't wanted them to. She was a good woman, and she'd thought that she could get through to him.

"It's why you get spanked!" Uncle Vernon shouted at him once. "Until you learn to be a good boy, you'll get hit daily! You're lucky that all you get is a spanking. Don't you want to go back to your parents someday? Don't you want us to love you? Learn to behave, and this won't happen! Someday maybe we'll even let you wear your own clothes."

As far as he could remember, he'd always had to wear Dudley's old clothes. They were both five, but Dudley was much bigger than Harry was. Anytime Dudley grew out of clothes; they were given to Harry. Unfortunately, he was so much smaller that he normally drowned in the clothing he was given.

That morning, he thought he could be a very good boy. It was Aunt Petunia's birthday, and so he thought he could do something extra nice for her. He got up a little bit earlier than she usually would and decided to make her breakfast. So he pulled down the cereal box, and poured her a bowl before adding milk, and then he began pouring her a glass of orange juice.

He was in the middle of this when his uncle stormed into the kitchen. Harry froze and stared at Uncle Vernon who glared at him.

"Just what the ruddy hell do you think you're doing?" Uncle Vernon demanded.

"Making Aunt Petunia breakfast," Harry replied. "It's her birthday."

His focus was on his uncle, and not on the carton of orange juice which he was pouring into the glass. As soon as he realized this, it was far too late. The glass was already over-flowing. He set the carton down and stared at the mess in horror. Aunt Petunia wasn't going to like this.

"You really are an ungrateful brat aren't you?" Uncle Vernon asked. "It's Petunia's birthday, and you are pulling this? Now there is a mess for her to clean up!"

"I'll clean it," Harry replied quickly. "I promise. It was an accident!"

"Everything is always an accident with you!" Uncle Vernon said as he advanced on Harry. "Either you're foolish, or you continue to deliberately ruin everything. Now you've ruined your aunts birthday!"

SMACK!

Uncle Vernon slapped his face. Harry fell off the chair he had been standing on. He began to cry.

"I'm sorry Uncle Vernon! I am so sorry! Please don't spank me! I'll try to clean it, I promise!" Harry pleaded.

Uncle Vernon stopped as if he was actually listening. Harry sat up and wiped his cheeks. He wanted his aunts birthday to be fun as well. He'd wanted to surprise them so much! Unfortunately, he was a bad boy again. He just wanted to be a good boy. He thought today he'd finally be a very good boy, but as usual, he wasn't.

"I'll clean it," Harry Promised. "I just want her to have breakfast ready. Please. I'm sorry for being a bad boy. I'll try to be a good boy."

"You can't be a good boy," Uncle Vernon said. "It's just not possible."

"My teacher said I was a good boy," Harry said. "She said I am a good boy all the time. I'll try today, I promise."

"It's too late," Uncle Vernon responded. "Just go to your cupboard. I'll deal with you later. It's best your aunt doesn't see you today. I want her to have a good birthday for once. She hasn't for four years. Not since you've been here!"

"I'm sorry," Harry said as he stood up. "I'm trying Uncle Vernon. I really am."

"You've been nothing but a burden on us," Uncle Vernon said. "It's been nothing but hell. We thought we were doing the right thing. Now we understand why your parents gave up on you. You were bad even as a baby."

Harry knew all this. His parents had loved him so much, but his lousy behaviour hurt them too much. Now he was doing the same to his aunt and uncle. He was nothing but a burden on anyone who took care of him.

"Go to your cupboard," Uncle Vernon repeated. "You're not getting off that easily, so expect a beating later. I just want you gone before your aunt comes down. She will be soon. She doesn't need to see how you tried to ruin her day. We're going out later. You can clean the house while we are out. If it's not clean enough, your spanking will be even worse."

Harry nodded, and then headed to his cupboard. He lived in a cupboard under the stairs. He was such a bad boy; he didn't even get a bedroom even though there were four. One was for guests, another was a toy room for Dudley, Dudley had his own room, and his aunt and uncle had the biggest one. Sometimes his aunt and uncle did say he could have a room too, only if he learned to be a good boy.

As he entered his cupboard though, he knew that would never be a reality. He was just too terrible of a child. He couldn't even behave on his aunts birthday. He knew he had to stop trying. He knew the best thing he could was to leave. As soon as his aunt, uncle, and cousin left, he was going to run away. It was the best birthday present he could ever give her. He knew that for once, they would leave the cupboard unlocked. He was supposed to clean after all.

Harry wiped the tears away. Yes, when his aunt and uncle came home, they would be so happy. He had some paper and crayons in his cupboard. Harry turned the light on, and then began writing a goodbye note to his aunt and uncle. At least he tried to. He didn't know too many words. He just hoped they would understand what he was trying to say.

All he knew was that he'd never be a burden on these good people again.