The small boy had never been in so much pain before. He grew to fear every time the cupboard door was opened. He had no idea if he would get another beating the next time it opened. Sometimes he was let out to use the bathroom, or it was opened to give him food or water, but otherwise, he stayed inside fearing what would happen the next time the door opened.

Harry James Potter had just turned five-years-old not too long ago. His fifth birthday was the last day he'd been allowed outside of the cupboard. Before that, his aunt and uncle usually just ignored him. The only time they talked to him was to bark at him to do his chores, other than that, he ignored them, and they ignored him. It had been quite the depressing life for a small boy who craved love, but he would take that over the life he'd been living lately.

He didn't even understand what had gone wrong. The day before his fifth birthday, he and his cousin Dudley were playing outside together, which was a rare moment for them. Dudley who was just a month older usually liked to beat up his cousin. Sometimes though, the two boys played together without incident. The day before his fifth birthday had been one of those moments.

For as long as Harry could remember, he did strange things but usually it was out of his control. It only happened when he was feeling angry or scared. That day however, he managed to levitate a truck on his own. It didn't fly very high, and no one had seen but Dudley. Not even his aunt had seen it, but during his dark days in the cupboard, Harry began to wonder if it was because of that which caused the daily beatings. Perhaps Dudley had told.

All he knew was that he woke up on his fifth birthday to find several gifts on the table. At first, he thought they were for Dudley. His aunt and uncle very rarely gave him gifts. If they did, it was something old and broken, but never wrapped. So it was a great surprise to see his name written on one of the tags. He couldn't read too many words, but after a year in Reception, he'd learned to read some words, such as his name.

It was only his aunt and cousin in the kitchen; Uncle Vernon had left for work before he'd been allowed out of the cupboard. Dudley was busy pouting because he wanted the gifts himself. Dudley wasn't used to seeing his cousin be given gifts. Harry, however, was ecstatic. Once Aunt Petunia told him it was okay to open them, he began ripping through them excitedly.

Harry didn't understand what was wrong as he opened each one. There was nothing in the boxes after he'd taken the gift wrappings off. He looked at his aunt with confusion after he'd opened the last empty box.

"Did you really think I'd give you gifts?" Aunt Petunia snarled.

Harry didn't respond, and before he could, she walked over and slapped him hard across the face. He stared at her in shock. While he'd been threatened many times that he would get hit, he'd never actually been slapped hard before. The worst he'd been given was a few light swats on his bottom. He began to cry, not understanding what was happening.

Aunt Petunia picked him up, and then sat down in the chair. For a moment, he thought she was going to hold him on her lap as she often did with Dudley. However, the next thing he knew, he was laying over her legs on his stomach and she was pulling down his pajama pants and underwear. She began slapping his bottom very hard. Harry began to cry even harder than before. It hurt so much! For a small bony woman, she certainly could hit hard. It felt like it went on forever.

She shoved him to the floor once it was over.

"Now get in the cupboard and stay in there!" She shouted.

Harry shakily pulled his pants back up and then made his way out of the kitchen sobbing hard. It hurt so much, and he didn't get why it happened. He entered the cupboard under the stairs and fell onto the small nest of blankets sobbing. It wasn't long after that before the cupboard door was slammed shut and he heard it being locked.

He wasn't sure how much time went by before the cupboard door was opened. He peered up at his aunt with watery green eyes. She was smiling at him; she had her blond hair brushed back. He wasn't sure what the smile was about. She never smiled at him.

"Come on out Harry," she said in a soft voice she usually reserved for Dudley.

Harry felt excited. Perhaps she felt terrible for spanking him so hard. His face broke out into a real grin, and he crawled out excitedly as she held her arms out to him. The moment he stood up, she grabbed him. For a moment, he thought she was going to hug him. However, she had him bent over, and his pants were down again. She began smacking him really hard on the bottom once again. For the second time in his life, Harry was spanked very hard. His bottom still hurt from the last spanking. As soon as she was done, she shoved him down.

"Get back in the cupboard!" She yelled.

Harry was weeping hard as he crawled back inside the cupboard. The door was slammed shut behind him again. What was happening? Why was she hitting him so much? He curled up in a ball. He didn't even bother to pull his pants up that time. It hurt too much.

When the cupboard was opened up again later, he stared up at his aunt fearfully it hadn't been that long ago since she'd hit him. He couldn't take another spanking.

"Go use the bathroom if you need it and then get back in the cupboard!" She told him angrily.

Though he'd never been hit before, he had been locked in the cupboard with no meals often enough. He was used to being locked up, and only being let out to use the bathroom. Was it because he was five, a whole hand, that he was getting spanked now? He remembered hearing his aunt tell his uncle they couldn't hit him because he was too young. Was it because he was a big boy now? Did turning five mean he had to get spanked a lot?

After that, Harry began fearing when the door would be opened. There were times when Aunt Petunia seemed to be a completely different person. Those were usually the times when he was getting hit. When she gave him food or water, she was her usual harsh self. When she opened the door to spank him, she seemed furious, almost like a mad woman. Harry began to learn how to tell when he would get beaten or not.

He felt very sad. He had no one to help him. He hadn't seen his Uncle Vernon in a long time, not since the night before his birthday at dinner. Not that the man would help him anyway, he hated him as much as his aunt did. No one liked Harry. Uncle Vernon always yelled at him. Lately, he was only allowed out when his uncle wasn't home. Harry began to wonder if this was a good thing. If it was Uncle Vernon hurting him, it would hurt so much more. He did wonder why it was that only Aunt Petunia who hit him though.

One day, Harry was curled up in a ball sobbing. He'd been given another spanking not too long ago. He looked up in fear as it opened. What if it was another one? It seemed like the beatings were happening more frequently and they were hurting more. He thought he should have been out of tears by now, but he wasn't. As the door opened, Harry moved closer to the wall even though he knew his aunt could just grab him and pull him out of the cupboard.

He was surprised to see it was Dudley, who he hadn't seen since the morning of his birthday.

"Mummy is in the shower," Dudley whispered. "Go."

"Go?" Harry asked with confusion.

"Leave. Go to Mrs. Figg, the weird cat lady. She's waiting," Dudley said.

Harry didn't move. He was so confused about what was going on. Mrs. Figg was waiting for him? Why would she be waiting for him, and why was Dudley letting him out of the cupboard?

"Mrs. Figg?" Harry finally asked as he moved closer to the door. Was this a trick of Dudley's or Aunt Petunias? She's tricked him before after all.

"I-I told her," Dudley said as he looked over his shoulder looking scared. "She babysat me last night when mummy and daddy left. She told me to let you out when I could. Go to her house. She is waiting for you."

Dudley hated him though. This had to be a trick. The moment he left the cupboard, he was going to be given another spanking. The two boys very rarely got along, and Dudley usually enjoyed seeing him get yelled at, so he didn't understand why he would tell Mrs. Figg or why he would help him?

"Why did you tell her?" Harry asked Dudley not moving.

"'Cause it's scary," Dudley whispered. "Mummy goes weird. She is nice but then she just goes really angry and then starts saying and doing weird stuff. She threw something at the wall this morning, and then opened the cupboard and spanked you. I dunno why she is so angry and scary but she is. I'm scared every day when daddy leaves. Go, Harry!"

"It's not a trick?" Harry asked.

"No, I promise," Dudley whispered. "Go, Harry, I'll shut and lock the cupboard after you leave. She might do it again. She was still very angry before she had a shower."

Harry crawled out of the cupboard and then glanced around fearfully. Aunt Petunia wasn't around. The front door was slightly open.

"Go!" Dudley told him. "Run to Mrs. Figgs."

Harry began making his way to the door. Dudley shut the cupboard door as he said he would and locked it. Harry was very shocked by the fact that his cousin was helping him. He paused by the front door as he watched him.

"Go!" Dudley repeated. "Hurry Harry, hurry!"

Harry opened the door and stepped out into the hot sunlight. He blinked a few times, not used to the bright light. As he stood on the step, he heard the door shut behind him. He still wasn't sure if it was a trick or not, but he decided to listen to Dudley. He knew where Mrs. Figg lived. He'd been there more than once. Only a month ago he'd been there when Dudley had a birthday outing. Without looking back, he broke into a run.

Petunia slammed the cupboards feeling rage. She'd been going through different emotions for the past week. Ever since she'd seen the boy levitating that truck, she'd felt furious. All sense went out the window whenever she thought of it. She would see red, and then grab the boy and beat him senselessly. When it was over, she would feel horrible for hitting him so hard and so much. Yet, all that would go away when she thought about what he'd been doing.

She knew it was wrong, and she knew there was something wrong with her. She hadn't felt right for many years. She'd felt somewhat normal after marrying Vernon, and having a child of her own. She'd been away from Lily and that world, and she could forget about it.

Then she'd found the boy on her front step, and the rage and jealousy from childhood had returned. She locked it away though. She'd tried to see him an innocent little boy. She would never love or even like him, but she would give him a home. She'd refrained from hitting him hard, and she'd never allowed Vernon to hurt him either. And then she'd seen him levitate that truck, and all those memories came flooding back. All the ones of Lily doing magic, and that awful Snape boy, and her rejection letter from Hogwarts. All the built-up rage she'd been holding back over the years returned, and for the past week, she'd been taking it out on the little boy who resided in the cupboard.

She was shaking as she thought her late sister, and she had to do her best to refrain from opening the cupboard door to hit Harry again. She'd already beaten him that morning. She'd hit him so many times the day before. After a long shower, she'd tried to calm down. Usually, all she had to do was look at Dudley, and it would go away, but it wasn't working that day or the day before for some reason.

She knew she had to stop soon. The boys would return to school in a few weeks, and she couldn't send him to school when he was all battered up. Vernon was also asking questions about why he was locked up for so long. She hadn't told him about the magic incident. She also worried he wouldn't understand. While Vernon often said the boy needed a good beating, she didn't think he would agree with what she'd been doing to him. She had a feeling he meant one good beating, and not daily ones, or many times in one day.

Though perhaps Vernon would be proud of her. He hated the boy after all. Maybe he'd be happy that she was finally beating him. It wasn't as if she was truly beating him anyway. It was just spankings. She didn't hit him anywhere else but his bottom, except the one time. The morning of his birthday she'd slapped his face, but otherwise, she always just spanked him.

Besides, it was his fault anyway she reasoned. He knew they hated when he did the freaky stuff by accident. He'd levitated that truck on purpose, and outside! She was perfectly justified in punishing him for that. He knew better.

Most of the time when she went through her rages, she didn't even see him as Harry. She didn't see him as Lily, or even James who he looked so much the same as. It was usually that Snape boy she thought of as she spanked him. She remembered the first time she'd done it. He'd been crying so hard that he'd been gasping, and she'd felt guilty, so she'd stopped. But then she would forget all about the guilt when she thought of everything, and she'd do it again. Harry would always start to scream, and then cry really loud which would bring her out of it. Remembering his cries was what kept her from going back for the most part.

At the moment, she was trying to remember that, but all she could think about was the time when that Snape boy had hit her with that branch. She began to breathe quickly before turning on her heel. She headed to the cupboard furiously and opened the door. She fully expected for him to peer up at her with that terrified, teary-eyed expression. However, when she looked in the cupboard, he wasn't there.

Petunia spent the day feeling stressed about where Harry could have gone. When questioning her son about it, Dudley had just shrugged and continued to watch the telly. She couldn't figure out her nephew could have gotten out of a locked cupboard. She searched the house calling for him, but he wasn't there. After lunch, she'd left with Dudley to look for him. He was nowhere to be found.

She ran into the crazy cat lady Mrs. Figg, who glared at her for some reason. When Petunia asked her if she'd seen Harry around, she made some kind of comment about her being a bad parent! As if. The woman was alone with just cats, and yet she was making a judgment about her parenting. How dare she! Petunia believed she was getting crazier since her husband had died a few years ago. She had no idea what she was talking about though.

"Oh go get another cat!" Petunia snapped before moving on.

Harry was nowhere around though. When she went home, she searched the house again. Perhaps she'd missed him in a closet or under a bed, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. When he came back, he was going to get it worse than before! She thought furiously. If he thought he was getting it bad now, he had no idea how bad it would get. She likely could get Vernon in on it.

At dinner that night, she served her family wondering how she could break the news to Vernon.

"The boy still being punished?" Vernon asked once she took her seat. "Just what exactly did he do?"

She didn't understand why he kept asking about it. Usually, when she told Vernon that Harry was locked up, he would nod and move on. This time, he kept asking what Harry had done and why he was locked up.

"He did the unnaturalness outside," Petunia finally responded. "Why have you been so concerned about him anyway?"

Vernon snorted.

"I'm not. I just wanted to know why it was such a big secret this time. He can stay in there for another week then. Just make sure you feed him. We don't want to send him back to school too skinny. Last year his teacher kept asking questions."

Petunia nodded. She figured she had some time to come up with a story or to find Harry. Vernon wouldn't ask where he was again.

"Harry is gone," Dudley said, however. "He ran away."

Petunia glanced at Dudley with alarm. She should have talked to him about it first. She'd forgotten that Dudley might speak up. She tried to think of something quickly. She began to laugh.

"Don't be silly Diddy. He's in the cupboard where he is supposed to be," Petunia said in a high pitched voice.

"Uh-uh. I let him out," Dudley said. "I didn't like the spankings."

Vernon who had been eating set his fork down and looked at her.

"What is he talking about Petunia?"

Petunia sighed. She felt annoyed but at herself. Dudley was five, and he couldn't help himself, but she didn't understand why he was lying. As if he would let Harry out of the cupboard!

"I didn't want to tell you," she replied. "He can't be very far. At some point this morning, Harry ran away. He got out of the cupboard somehow and ran off. I must have forgotten to lock it. We were looking for him today. I just didn't want to stress you out about it."

"I let him out," Dudley insisted. "Didn't like the spankings. It got scary."

"Petunia?" Vernon asked.

"Dudley, what do you mean you let him out?" Petunia asked her son, ignoring her husband for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Didn't want a spanking," Dudley replied. "It was too scary mummy. I didn't like it at all. You are very angry."

"Diddy, I wouldn't spank you," Petunia told her son with shock. As if she could ever hurt her Dudders!

"What does he mean by spankings?" Vernon asked. "Petunia, why are you lying to me? We've always promised to be honest. If he had to be spanked because of the unnaturalness, I don't care; so I don't know why you lied all week. Have I ever questioned why you punish the boy? I've told you I'm not against spankings, especially when it comes to him."

"I don't know," Petunia finally said. "I have been spanking him all week. He managed to make a truck fly the night before his birthday. The morning of his birthday, I slapped his face and then spanked him. I waited a few hours and then I spanked him again. I've been doing it all week. There were a couple days where he got spanked several times during the day. Yesterday I did it five times."

Vernon stared at her. She waited for him to smile or congratulate her on the beatings. After all, her husband likely would be furious that he'd done it outside. Vernon would probably want to punish him severely now. Maybe he was staring at her with that odd look because he wished he could have been in on it too.

"Five times in one day?" Vernon asked instead. "Was that necessary? Does he at least understand yet he shouldn't be doing that stuff, especially outside?"

"I haven't told him why he is getting spanked," Petunia answered and then she turned to Dudley. "I'm sorry if it scared you, Diddy. I didn't mean to scare you. I will never spank you if that's what you were worried about sweetums."

"Not worried about that mummy," Dudley answered. "Just don't like how angry you are. It looked scary and you hit him so hard and for a very long time and he kept screaming. It scared me so much mummy and I don't like seeing him hurt that bad. You don't look like my mummy when you do that. I helped him leave."

"He needed to be punished, Diddy. It was very naughty of you to do that," Petunia told him. "It's early bedtime today."

Dudley began to pout. She glanced over at Vernon again who was still staring at her. She didn't like the look he was giving her. He almost looked angry with her. Was it because she was punishing Dudley or because he'd wanted to punish Harry as well?

"So let me get this straight…" Vernon said slowly. "You hit him all week, but you didn't tell him why? And it scared Dudley?"

"I didn't realize it scared Dudley," Petunia answered wondering if that's why he was upset. Clearly, he was upset about something. "I can tell you're upset about something Vernon. Out with it, you just said we needed to be honest."

"Later," Vernon said as he glanced at Dudley.

"But-" Petunia began, but Vernon shook his head.

"Later Petunia," he said in a cold voice.

Petunia stared down at her plate. Why was Vernon so angry with her? She just picked at her meal. She suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore.

"So what are you so angry about?" Petunia asked as she joined Vernon in the living-room later.

She'd just put Dudley to bed, and Vernon was watching some American comedy on the telly.

"Where do I begin?" He responded.

"If you wanted in on beating him, we can find him and do it more," she told him. "He can't have gone that far. He's five-years-old. He'll need to be punished for leaving after all."

Vernon stared at her.

"Are you serious right now Petunia?" He asked.

"Then explain to me why you're so angry? I didn't mean to scare Diddy. If you're blaming me for him letting Harry out-"

"You beat him five times in one day," Vernon interrupted. "Five bloody times Petunia!"

"Wait a minute," Petunia said slowly as she stared at her husband in shock.

Was he actually upset about Harry's beatings? Vernon hated Harry! He was always yelling at the boy, he threatened to hit him all the time, and he even often said that all he needed was a good beating. So why was he so furious with her for doing just that? She pointed all this out to Vernon who was glaring at her. It was so odd for the man who she'd loved for so long to look at her that way.

"So I don't understand why you're so angry," she finished.

"Of course I ruddy hate the damn boy. I never wanted him here. When I said he needed a good beating, I meant one beating for doing that freaky stuff. I didn't mean for every single bloody day and five times! You didn't even tell him why you were doing it! The child is dumb as it is. He's just going to think he was getting beaten for the hell of it!" Vernon snarled. "And now he is out there somewhere. Who knows who has him and if he is telling them things. Why would you beat him five times in one day!"

She wondered if Vernon was worried he would be blamed for the beatings. She loved her husband, and she would stick up for him if she had to. He hadn't been the one hitting Harry, and they could always say the boy was making it up anyway. Would anyone actually look at his bottom to see how bruised it was? Not likely. So again, she pointed this all out to him.

"It's not only that Petunia," Vernon said with a sigh. "And your damn right I won't be getting blamed for it."

"Then spit it out, Vernon. Why are you so opposed to it if it's not about Dudley or that you didn't get a shot in? Just two weeks ago you yelled at the boy all day!"

"You spanked him five times in one day Petunia," Vernon said. "We promised we wouldn't be those kind of people. We said we would squash the magic out of him, but that we wouldn't beat him unless we had to. You didn't mention any of it to me, and then you spanked him every day for a week. You told me that you were past your anger issues."

"I was," Petunia whispered.

There were a few times when they'd first met when she would have bursts of anger about Lily, Lily's husband, how her parents seemed to favour Lily, and of course that awful Snape boy! Vernon had liked her a lot, but he'd told her she needed to get her anger under control, which was rich coming from a man who shouted at everyone.

According to him, her violent outbursts were worse than him shouting at people. She'd slapped him a few times which had angered him, but she was a small woman so it can't have hurt him that much. He'd told her that just because she was a woman, she didn't have the right to hit him. She'd disagreed only because she didn't think a small woman like her could hurt him, but she'd stopped just to please him.

"It was seeing him levitate that truck that brought it all back," she admitted in a low voice. "All of it. I just can't stand that freaky stuff, Vernon. It ruined my life. It's like something came over me, and I would think about it, and then take it out on him. I know I always told you that you couldn't be rough with him. It can't have hurt him that much, I don't have that much strength."

"It was quite hard those times you did it to me," Vernon responded. "And you are twice his size. From how Dudley described it, you were hitting him as hard as you could and for a while. I've told you before that your size doesn't mean anything Petunia. Petunia I can't stand that freaky nature either, but we talked about it when we took him in. We said we wouldn't beat him unless we had to. That was something you told me all the time. You can't justify five bloody times in one day. You were taking your anger out on your sister on him, just as you did with me when we first met, and that's why you've been doing it. The boy doesn't even know he has done something wrong. You should have hit him for doing it once, but not the way you've been doing it."

Petunia wasn't sure what to say. She was surprised at how calm he was. Normally when Vernon was angry, he shouted. He'd never shouted at her though. They'd had minor arguments in the past, but that was it. This time, he was furious with her which was odd considering how much he hated the boy. She still couldn't figure out why he was so upset about it. When she asked him why Vernon shook his head.

"You went too far Petunia," he answered. "He's a little boy, and as much as I hate him, he- he didn't deserve what you did," he made a face saying that as if it pained him to say it. "And it makes me wonder if that is the reason for why it was such a big secret. You didn't want to tell me the truth about him. If it weren't for Dudders, I still wouldn't know."

She opened her mouth to say something, but there was a loud knocking on the door. She and Vernon stared at each other. Had someone found Harry? She got up and headed to the front door. She opened it expecting to see a neighbour returning her nephew. He was going to get it for running away. However, standing on their front step was a stern-looking elderly woman and an ancient looking man who had long white hair and a long white beard. They were both wearing strange looking clothes. And without having to ask, she knew who they were. They were from Lily's world.

"Good evening Petunia," the man said to her. "We've corresponded in the past, but we are finally meeting face to face. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is Minerva McGonagall," he added as he glanced at the woman beside him. "We are here to discuss the abuse of Harry James Potter while he resided here."

A/N: I tried my best not to make Vernon seem out of character in this. While he doesn't see anything wrong with hitting Harry, he is horrified by the fact that Petunia was beating him so much every day. He doesn't love Harry or anything, he just thinks what his wife did was wrong, especially since she didn't even explain to Harry why he got spanked. He just thinks one good beating should have sufficed, and then days locked in the cupboard not having him get spanked every time Petunia opened the cupboard. He has also seen her rage issues, and it goes beyond what he does when he yells at everyone. I've always seen Vernon as the main abuser in stories like this, but I've always believed it would be Petunia because of the past. I didn't want it to be just random beatings either like some stories but because Petunia isn't right. There is more to it than just anger issues and jealousy (which is a good part of it) but Petunia just doesn't realize it yet. The magic just kind of brought something on that she's been fighting for years.

And about Mrs. Figg. I've been googling, but I can't find much about her husband but she had to have been married at some point. In this story I'm just going with that she is widowed.