Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

Chapter 1

SLAM! The sound of the cupboard's small door signaled the beginning of an enforced, day-long fast for one Harry Potter by the people he lived with (he has no family).

The first report cards from the school both he and his cousin, Dudley Dursley, had attended were dropped through the mail slot a mere minute ago. The straight-A's that Harry had earned were a source of great pride for himself, he had finally proven that he could be normal! Not some freeloading, good-for-nothing freak! He had heard Petunia and Vernon telling Dudley how he would get 10 more birthday presents for every A he got, so it must be a very good thing!

His excitement was only slightly lessened after Vernon had snatched the precious piece of paper from his hands and stared at the card with a suspicious frown on his face. Only once he noted the beginnings of anger on Vernon's face that manifested themselves once he had begun comparing Dudley's report card with his own did Harry begin to worry that he may be in trouble. Dudley never got into trouble, he was the perfect and normal child that he was always told to emulate. Dudley was never wrong.

The anger could only be directed at Harry, and whatever freakishness had managed to show up by way of his report card. His worried thoughts were confirmed almost immediately as Vernon's face turned red and shouted," Into the cupboard with you, BOY! I should have known that a freak like you would cheat! This family will have NONE OF IT! Not in this house! Maybe a day without food will teach you the value of honesty!"

Thus, the latest hope of normalcy was crushed, and Harry Potter was consigned to the solitude of his spidery, dark, damp cupboard, with only the rumblings of his own stomach to keep him company. Harry didn't even understand why he was punished, but he was. He knew that he didn't cheat. He wasn't even sure how to cheat. All he knew is that he had done what Dudley was supposed to, and had gotten worse than nothing for it. He was punished.

He had been hoping for one extra present on his birthday in reward for his grades, and if he had gotten another coat hanger similar to the one from his third birthday, he might have had enough wire to fashion a small toy. He already had a half-completed stickman that he had named Spike, due to the small injuries caused by the wire that he had related to Aunt Marge's dog which had teethed using his hands once and gave similar results. Aunt Marge had berated him for infecting her beautiful, gentle puppy with the diseases that he, as a freak, must carry when she had caught her dog chewin on his hand. Her visit was ended prematurely when she rushed off to a veterinary clinic for the 'necessary' shots, which had earned him a day without breakfast.

Harry now realized he could never please his relatives, no matter how 'normal' he acted. He could never hope for acceptance from them, never hope for love, and never hope for a home from them. His existence would be a sad and lonely one, a half-starved one. He couldn't bring himself to think he could get anything more, when he had never gotten anything more.

However, he realized that instead of trying to gain their acceptance, their love, even a smidgen of their kindness that seemed extinct, he could work for himself. His own feelings of triumph, of pride, of satisfaction. Feelings that had been engendered by his report card, and by the completion of a goal he had set himself. He resolved to continue setting himself goals of learning, and that he did not need the Dursley's, he did not need their love, acceptance, or home. His only need was to please himself. He would get those A's for himself.

The only problem was that he did not want to be punished again for continuing to 'cheat' against his uncle's warning. He wouldn't want to deprive himself of food again once the report card for the second semester came in the mail. The only way, he concluded, to continue learning and doing what he wanted, is if the teacher was unaware he was doing so, and couldn't report it to his relatives. He would have to set his own goals to complete for earning an 'A'. Harry would school himself.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps, which seemed to be coming to his humble abode. He knew it wasn't Vernon, since his uncle would still be in a temper from Harry's 'cheating', and his footsteps would be easily heard while he was half-way across the house. It had to be Aunt Petunia, who was so skinny that he wondered if she was trying to make up for the obesity of the two males in her family.

The only possible alternative would be his cousin Dudley coming to fetch him, but he never came to the cupboard door, it was always his parents as Dudley could not be troubled to do such a menial task as fetching the house's tenant beneath the stairs. Sure enough, the footsteps' owner proved to be Petunia, as her shrill voice yelled," Boy! Come into the living room, we need to talk to about your recent behavior."

AN:

This is my first story intended for an audience other than a teacher or class in school, so I am a bit nervous about how it will do. I already have plans for where this story is going to go, and I will get more chapters out quickly. The first chapter's purpose is to introduce a studious, secretive, and independent Harry, which is an important deviation from the JKR Harry and is one of two major reasons Harry will be different in this story than from canon. I intend to try and keep this story close to the canon and see how a couple changes would affect Harry's time at Hogwarts and the fight against the Dark Lord.

Thanks for reading, and please review, I will read it!