Year one

Acceptance

Prologue

I don't like my birthday. Shocking, yes? That one as young as me hates the day I was born on.

Granted, it's not the act that I am alive, it's the point about how I am invisible. Lucius Malfoy, in all his magical glory, cannot even begin to accomplish the greatness I have achieved without a wand. I think it's funny, tremendously funny, that it's not at all by my own doing.

My father, whose name rests behind my own, doesn't remember that he has two sons. Dear old mum is not that different. Granted, I guess it's a good thing she actually remembers that I do need food three times a day, but other than that, it's like I'm a bothersome mosquito that no one can swat or shoo away.

For once though, I want to be invisible. Unlike every wizarding child in Britain, I don't want to go to Hogwarts. The life there would be pointless for me; always in my brother's shadow, never getting credit, stuck in the life of a looked over rock because I share the last name of the most famous boy in the magic world.

Michael Potter, the boy-who-lived. He's only that because the other people of the wizarding world were the ones-who-died. Does anyone think about the people who fought Voldemort before all of this happened and were murdered in the process? The ones who gave up their lives for muggles, goblins, house elves, children, and centaurs just to stall the man who wanted them dead? What about the rare pure-blood who kept muggleborns hidden in their homes, away from prying eyes? No one hears about their stories anymore.

Such a sad and fickle thing that they've turned up to be as invisible as me.

Another fickle thing is magic. Something that I am incredibly good at. Just three weeks ago, I accomplished something that my parents, as of now, are unaware of. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I beat a record by several years.

Three weeks ago, I became an animagus. It was the night of my magic inheritance, or the first part, anyway. The second will be on my seventeenth birthday. It was that night when I had a dream of running through the woods and woke up as an animal. It wasn't hard to turn back human, but the simple way that it just happened seemed to keep me stuck in the form a while. Plus, having tried to stand up, I was very dizzy when my body tried to move up onto four legs instead of the regular two.

Landing on my face was probably the most embarrassing moment of all.

Remus is the only one who knows, in fact, I transformed for him and the look on his face was absolutely priceless. After reassuring him that no, I didn't use underage magic and that I didn't make the potion that would normally grant a wizard his ability to transform in the first place. He seemed a bit miffed, if you know what I mean. He did however; inform me that I was a rather dashing black wolf with green eyes and a puff of white above my right eye.

Even as an animagus I can't get rid of that blasted scar on my forehead.

Gah, it'll probably follow me no matter what until I find a way to get rid of it. Hopefully it won't take as long as it took Michael to say his first word (the guy's a complete flobberworm, I swear).

It seems as if the guests are arriving and I'll be called down to greet Remus, my godfather, I doubt it, as he always comes up to me instead. Perhaps he, like he always does, brought me a book I haven't read before. That man is a genius after all.

Harry James Potter

July 31st 1991

Godric's Hollow, Wales

Yes, I realize I should be updating Oh the Places You'll go but I can't find the chapter outline for it. The second and third chapter are written, but not edited. Which is a serious problem because my beta is on vacation.

In canada.

I would edit it myself, but, as most writers know, they really don't catch mistakes in their own writing, and that is so obnoxiously trueful for me that it's pathetic.

I wish the lot of you a very happy summer break (or winter break, wherever you are in the world)

Happy reading!