Author note: This is my first story so any feedback is greatly appreciated. Warning, slight child abuse descriptions this chapter. Hopefully that will be the only bit in this story other than slight referrals down the road. Other than that, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight or any of the characters.

Chapter 1

It was Friday night, it was quiet. 2:35am and everyone in the neighborhood was sleeping. All except one. Harry Potter lay on his cot in his tiny cupboard with nothing but a small blanket littered with holes and a small stuffed dog that was missing one eye and part of a leg.

His life up to this point had been nothing like the fairy tales he heard about at school where the princess is saved by the prince and grand balls were a weekly occurrence. His life wasn't even like the other children there who always had clean, new clothes and looked like they had three square meals a day. He would have settled for one square meal a day. No, Harry wasn't like most children. He was special. And up to this point in his life, special never meant anything good. Special meant daily chores that would make a maid whither. Special meant leftovers for meals, if there were any. And worse yet, special meant being the punching bag for his so called family.

The boy that lay on the cot under the cupboard was 10 years old and already had more homemaking skills than your average housewife. He could cook better than most chefs due to the fact that the beatings were substantially less brutal when the food tasted good. That led to him learning better recipes and using fresher ingredients so as to keep the family happy. They had the best garden in a two kilometer radius as that was the only way for him to be left alone during the summer. He planted as many vegetables as he could so as to always have a fresh supply in the kitchen and to have some for himself if leftovers were not available.

His family were a cruel bunch. Petunia Dursley, a horse faced woman who gave him his chore list everyday, was his mother's sister. Upon his parents deaths, she and her family had grudgingly taken him in. She made sure to give him enough chores each day that he couldn't possibly finish. On top of that, she would try and spoil anything that he completed just so he would have to complete it all over again. If he ever hurt himself, she would slap him around a bit, throw some iodine on it and tell him to get back to it. She was a vile woman.

Her son, Dudley or Dudders as she so loved to call him, was his cousin. He was almost as bad and as they got older he got much, much worse. Any chance he got, he would torment Harry by beating him up, chasing him with anything he could turn into a weapon or stealing his food. He was also twice the size of Harry even though they were the same height. He ate enough for two adults put together at every meal and all his clothes protested when he put them on. He was a whale of a child.

Vernon Dursley was the last in the family. His cruelty knew no bounds when it came to Harry. Each day he came home to unfinished chores, which was most days, he'd take his belt to Harry to teach him a lesson. On days that were particularly bad at Grunnings, he'd come home stinking of whiskey and would take a cigar to Harry's stomach and back and blame him for all of his misfortune. He was also a giant version of his son, just as rotund and every bit as nasty. The apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree.

On this particular day, things had reached a new level. Vernon had suffered a pay cut due to downsizing at the drill company. He had come home drunk and belligerent and his car was parked halfway on the lawn. Harry had tried to hide when he saw him arrive however there are only so many places to hide in a house. Vernon had to decide to take his pay back from Harry's pain. Vernon found him under the table and dragged him to his cupboard. He threw him in and began taking off his belt. All the while he was muttering under his breath about ungrateful nephews and how someone was going to pay. He pelted him with his belt over and over again, not aiming for anything but just wanting to hear him scream. And scream he did, not understanding what he had done to deserve such treatment from his family. Then he took out the cigars and began burning holes into Harry's back, creating a cruel design of jagged and blistered constellation imitations that crisscrossed the ones that already littered his back and stomach. Somewhere after the third hole, Harry had passed out from the unimaginable pain. When Vernon finally tired himself out, he stomped upstairs to pass out in his bed after locking Harry in his small cupboard.

Alone, in pain and scared beyond belief, Harry awoke to the silence of Number 4 Privet Drive. Not knowing what else to do, he tried to get comfortable between the seared skin and bruised pelts. Tears silently ran down his face at the cruelty and pain that life had dealt him.

5 Years Later

Harry was in his garden picking some vegetables for the dinner he would not get the pleasure of eating that night. About 4 years ago he had realized that he was not your average child. For one thing the snakes in the garden started speaking to him and he definitely understood them. Secondly, his cuts and burns from his uncle started healing at an exponential rate. He still had scars from them all but he didn't have deal with the pain as long anymore. Unfortunately, this infuriated his uncle and screamed at him for being a freak and gave him the beating of his life that left him with a broken arm and a fractured ankle.

Wiping his brow from the heat of the summer, he paused in picking the tomatoes for tonight's lasagna to greet the newest members of the garden.

"Good morning Josssephina", he said to the black racer and her four babies.

"Good morning sssweet boy, what ailsss you thisss day?" she said as she slithered around his torso in the equivalent of a snake hug.

"Planning my essscape from thisss place." he intoned with a slightly evil smirk on his face. "I dissscovered a new talent today while doing my choresss thiss morning. I can disssappear and reappear at will."

"That isss a truly remarkable gift sssweet one." She said as she shifted around him to the ground, herding her children toward the shade of the plants. "Where will you go? I will misssss you greatly sssweet child."

"Sssomewhere away from here Josssephina. I'm not meant to be here taking thisss torment." he said as picked some more tomatoes, putting them into his basket along with the basil, onions and garlic.

"Pleassse be careful my sssweet and take care of yourssself." she slithered near him to impart one last hug if this was to be the last time she would see him.

"I will Josssephina, may your children grow up big and ssstrong like you." he said as he stood up and headed back inside to prepare for hopefully, his last dinner at his wretched family's house.

Author note: reviews equal more chapters faster, feedback appreciated. Thanks