Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my own errors and plot and ideas
3rd Person P.O.V
It was just another ordinary day in an ordinary town called Little Winging, the birds were twittering away, the clouds lazily passing by, the sound of the sprinkler system sounding from every other house, maintaining the greenness in all of the yards. It was early in the morning that day, and too early for one boy named Harry Potter. Now this boy, this boy has had it hard in his short eight years of life. From the time he was able to reach the stovetop, he was forced to cook for the people he lived with. An aunt with a horse like face, and a neck as long as a giraffe's, an uncle as large as a walrus and half dozen neck roles, and a cousin so spoiled rotten that he had two bedrooms, one big enough to house a full sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and a television stand with a outstandingly large 50 inch television set and a gaming station. The other a small guest bedroom that was home to all of the broken knick-knacks this boy had destroyed over the course of eight years.
It was at 5:30 A.M. that found Harry waking up to begin his day of taking care of his "family".
1st person P.O.V
As I slowly opened my weary eyes, I saw nothing but the dark abyss that made up the cupboard under the stairs. I could feel the dull throbbing sensation in my ribs from where Vernon Dursley, my "Uncle" struck me with his merciless fist. Probably just another fractured bone, just add it to the collection I have gathered over the years. I could hear the lumbering footsteps of Vernon's feet coming down the stairs under which I had lived in for the past eight or so years. With each step dust would make its presence known. I probably would have been scared, but over the years I had gotten used to the heavy thuds that I found so intimidating and terrifying years ago. I am treated like a slave, but I feel that that word does no justice to what I have to do each and every day, ill or not. Vernon finally made it down the stairs and I could hear him approach the door to the prison I have been confined to for as long as I was able to remember, and with the way things are for me, I remember each and every second I spend in this place that makes hell seem like a paradise. He stopped in front of the door and unlocked the many locks he installed to ensure I couldn't escape.
With the locks gone, he opened the door, which opened with a creek that never failed to get on my nerves. As the door slowly swung open, I looked up into the cold tired eyes that belonged to what I have come to call him Satan himself. With a gruff voice he commanded, "Boy get up and make us breakfast. You are not to eat until your aunt and cousin have woken up and have had their fill. I also want you to fetch the newspaper and make me a cup of tea. Now before I bring out the belt!"
"Yes Uncle Vernon, right away sir." I said in a tone without emotion that I have come to master in my short miserable life. As I was fetching the newspaper for my oaf of an uncle, I began to dabble in some rather dark thoughts. I was debating on whether or not I should put some poison in with their breakfast this morning. As quickly as that thought came into mind, I dismissed it, there would be traces of the poison and it could lead to me going to jail. Then again, there is no proof of me actually living here. There are no family pictures and there is no picture of just me alone. Hell, there isn't even a trace that I exist in this house of horror.
As I was debating on it, I made Vernon his tea and started on fixing breakfast. As I was cooking, I was very tempted to spit in their food but decided against it for it would surely end up with me being used as Vernon's personal punching bag. I came to my conclusion after I ate the scraps of toast that they left me. I was not going to kill them. Not just yet anyways, I still need them. I could start going to the library after I make the lunch. All I would have to do is complete my list of chores faster.
Despite my body being skinny and a canvas for scars, I was most definitely one of the brightest kids at the school I went to. I had an eidetic memory so of course I remembered everything that I have read in primary school. I could give you the definition to a word, word for word. As if I was reading out of the dictionary itself. In a way that is true, I picture the page and all of the words that were on the page. It didn't show in my school work or my grades because if I did better than ickle diddykins then I would have a date with a 'friend' called The Belt. It did me a lot of good to be honest. Everyone always underestimates me. I mean, who would suspect the kid who wears scraps of clothing and is bullied by everyone in the school(the teachers not knowing of my predicament of course) and does poorly in class to be a genius and a master deceiver? However, going back to my thoughts on travelling to the library everyday, it would do me a lot of good. Not only would I not be at the Dursley's, I would also be in the sacred halls of knowledge!
With this in mind, I started on my chores, which consisted of the dishes, sweeping, mopping, and wiping down the counters and table, dust the living area and vacuum the halls and clean the bathrooms. Then I had to go to each of their bedrooms, gather up their laundry and wash them. After doing that I had to straighten their rooms and put any broken toys that was in Dudley's bedroom and put it in his other room. Once I completed those I had to go outside and care for the garden, cut the lawns and water the grass, and finally pull the weeds. It took a long, hard six hours but it was finally done, and just in time for me to make lunch. As I was making lunch, my aunt Petunia came into the kitchen and got a glass from the cupboard. As she walked to the refrigerator to get a glass of tea like she usually does, I asked her in a timid voice, "Aunt Petunia, I was wondering if I could possibly go to the library? I have already finished all of my chores for the day and I could be out of your hair for at least three hours. "
She turned to me with cold calculating eyes that held so much malice it made me flinch internally and she sniffed, "I suppose that would be fine, having you out of the house would be a godsend. Hurry up with lunch and get the hell out of here you good for nothing brat before I change my mind. If this is going to be a daily thing I want you to add cleaning out the gutters and cleaning the garage to your daily chores. I also want you to clean out the attic tomorrow. If you see a box up there with the name 'Lily', open it. It was your whore of a mother's, you can have everything that is in there. She also has a few guitars up there too, as well as an amp. You can have those as well. You can keep them up there for now. While I loathed your good for nothing mother, I understand your lack of possessions and it is pitiable. Just don't let Vernon find out I have those up there and I doubt Dudley even knows we have an attic. Besides, I can't let you have a lot of free time, a freak like you doesn't deserve to have a lot of free time."
Internally cheering at the fact that I will be going to the library every day and groaning at the work that has been added to my To Do list as well as excited at the idea of finally having something that belonged to my mother. It shouldn't take that long, possibly an extra hour for the gutter, we don't have trees around the house so that is a plus, and for the first day cleaning the garage, that could possibly take two, maybe three hours. As for the attic, maybe I could start going there to escape the Dursley's. I was also a bit shocked, this was by far the nicest thing any member of the Dursley family has been to me, I then asked, "What am I supposed to do if there is rubbish in the garage? For that matter, what is rubbish and what isn't?" I decided against asking her about my mother, this probably annoyed her enough and I didn't want her changing her mind.
Growling in anger, she said. "Never you mind that, I will clean it out tomorrow and when I have done then I will show you how I want that garage to look. Got that you imbecile?"
"Yes Aunt Petunia" I said in fear I didn't actually feel, can't have them figuring out I don't fear them any more now can I?
After I finished making lunch and cleaned off the dishes I used, I was off to my first ever library trip! I was so excited, I was finally do something worthwhile. Something meaningful. Something that was going to be beneficial for my future. I mean, other kids and or adults would think I am exaggerating but in reality, I am not. After I read enough I will just leave the Dursley's. If I can go from being chased around by the other kids at school and end up on the roof mid sprint then maybe I can do some other things. Like that time I shrunk Dudley's dreadful hand me down sweater, or that time I regrew my hair overnight! What if I can change my appearance at will! Then maybe I could just change my appearance and still go to school under a new identity! Yes, that is what I will do if I can really do these types of things. Like in the old fairy tales, maybe I am a wizard!
What an entertaining idea that is. Me, a wizard. Ha! Maybe a few of my screws are loose up there up in my noggin. Ah well, what is wrong with a little bit of madness eh? What with Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley constantly slapping, punching, and kicking me and all the items that they had either thrown or straight up broke over me. They left quite a few scars actually. Another reason I haven't any friends, with Dudley and his pitiful gang of bullies targeting me as their personal punching bag. But perhaps I may be a wizard, I mean I have done a lot of things that should not be possible. Was my mom capable of doing these things too? What about my dad? Petunia and Vernon said my parents died in a car accident when I was a baby, that was how I got that funny looking scar on my forehead.
I wonder how many scars I have. Probably too many to count. On my back I know for a fact that there are at least twenty. I got those from the belt my 'loving' uncle bought just for my beatings. It is just like any other leather belt but it was slightly modified. He put a few small nails into the holes on the belt as well as some every few centimeters going across the belt. He bent the tips so that they were either looking like a hook or at a 90 degree angle. This caused every single lashing to rip the skin open and get caught so he could rip it out just to repeat the action. Sometimes he would slowly pull it off to my side. This resulted in the skin being peeled to whichever side he was pulling towards. He wasn't always so accurate with it and sometimes when the belt hit my back it would wrap around my side and get caught around my chest. Those hurt pretty bad. Even after three years of having this happen I still felt a bit of pain every time he used it. But I have never cried, and every time I was thrown into the cupboard under the stairs I didn't let myself scream out in pain. But this leads to another one of those odd things happening. Every single night after I got a belt whipping, I would wake up and a number of them would have been healed completely leaving slightly thick but long jagged scars crisscrossing all over my back and sides with the occasional pair on my chest. The rest would have scabbed over and the pain was less noticeable. But for the broken bones or fractures they would heal but I would end up sore for a few days.
They will get what's coming to the sooner or later. All of them. Perhaps I should kill my relatives. Lot of good they have done me. Cause, you know, who doesn't love beatings and verbal abuse right?
Third Person
He didn't know it then, but soon his relatives would be gone forever, very soon. While all this was going on in our young hero's head, he had walked the distance from his relatives' home all the way to the local library, which was about eight and a half kilometers away. As young Harry was walking and mentally debating on how he should kill the Dursley's, he almost failed to notice he was being followed. What ever was following Harry may or may not have the intent to hurt him or to help him. Let's get back to him now he has just arrived at the Library. What will it be like for him? Will he find what he has deemed his goal? Will he acquire the power in which knowledge provides? Well why the hell are you asking me? I am just the narrator! Name is Ruben by the by. Well that is what the writer has named me, oddball that one is. On with the show ^^. Oi I resent that Ruben! Hi, writer here, I would just like to say that he is not really giving me credit. I mean, how dare he class me in something like that? I am way worse. Anyways, get back to the story, i'm done with my mini fourth wall break. Is this a fourth wall break? Bah, not the point, get back to the story ^^
Harry's P.O.V.
As I was walking to the library, I felt someone watching me. I don't quite know how I knew this but I just did. Who ever it was would have to wait, because I was NOT going to have my trip to the library ruined before I even got there, plus I was at the stairs so if they meant harm then they would have to wait to do anything until I left the library, which would be in about four hours. Putting that thought out of my mind, I entered the library and was in awe. This library was loads better than the one at school! The one at school was contained in a single room while this one had three different floors!
Amazed, I walked over to the librarian's desk to ask her where I could find all of the books about things like survival and weapons. As I approached the reference desk, I heard the front door open but thought nothing of it, people go to the library all the time. The librarian was currently reading a book called The Odyssey by Homer so she didn't notice me standing there for a good two minutes until I cleared my throat. Startled, she let out a strange sound that was a cross between a screech and a groan. Looking up to see who dared disturb her she wore a puzzled expression, for she didn't see anyone standing there. That is until I cleared my throat again and she looked down and looked at me.
She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties and had brown hair with grey slowly making it's presence dominant. I gave her a year, maybe two until most of her hair was grey leaving only a few strands brown. Her eyes were hidden behind rectangular glasses but they appeared to be a warm grey. Maintaining my blank mask, which was slightly difficult, for I was desperately holding back an amused grin, I asked in a voice devoid of emotion, well, maybe I should just make this my normal voice, I did always use this voice when I spoke to anyone, "Ma'am I sincerely apologise for disturbing you, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind directing me to or assist me with finding books with information on survival and weapons. These two topics have always peaked my curiosity."
She blinked owlishly and stared at me. Use to receiving looks similar to this, I simply challenged her with my own look. For some strange reason, she gasped slightly and slowly nodded her head. That was weird, I wonder why she gasped. Must be the scar that runs the length of my jaw and the one that interprets it, starting from my right eyebrow and down across my nose and to the beginning of the one that runs the across my jaw. Incidentally the one that connects to my jaw also connects to one resembling claw marks. I got these from my other 'loving' aunt's dog, Ripper. Dudley set him loose on me, he knew that Ripper hated me because everyone taught him that "Harry is a bad guy", and this resulted in Ripper attacking me every chance he got. That is how I got the scar resembling claw marks, I got the other two from Vernon when he was drunk and showed just how much he didn't like me. That was a painful night. He also broke my arm that night as well before Petunia told him to stop or they would lose their slave. She just gave me a needle and thread and told me to stitch up my wounds, even though my arm was broken. I give myself props on that one, I did a pretty good job patching myself up.
She got up and led me up to the second floor and through a maze of towering bookcases with dozens of shelves with hundreds of books filling them, until we stopped and showed me where the books were. Incidentally, they were located on the same bookcase but on different shelves. I thanked her before she went back to her book and I started picking out books on survival and weapons. I also picked up a few on medical topics such as how to make splints and bandages for obvious reasons.
As I was seeing if there were any other books I should pick out, I felt a tap on my shoulder, at first I thought I imagined it because it was so light so I ignored it. That was until I turned around in search of more books, and instead of seeing a bookshelf I saw a girl with bushy brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and slightly big front teeth and her kanines seemed a bit sharper than most. I almost dropped my books and let out a soft yelp and fell down onto my butt.
I must have scared her somehow because she let out a somewhat loud shriek and leapt back, her chest heaving. I looked into her eyes and they held a frightened gleam but also saw curiosity in there too. In the commotion I ended up dropping all of my books anyways so I got up and started to pick them all up, my marred face probably holding a pink tinge from my embarrassment. After picking up my fourth book the girl scrambled forward to help me pick up the books, apologising profusely for causing such a fright for us both.
"No, no. I apologise miss, I should not have reacted the way I did and I did feel a tap on my shoulder but dismissed it. I also apologise for ignoring your attempt to capture my attention, I did not mean to Miss…" I was surprised with myself, I am usually aware of my surroundings, due to having to constantly worry about cornering myself but I didn't notice her. No one has ever snuck up on me, ever. I was also surprised I wasn't using the voice I deemed as my 'normal' voice. Odd. She didn't look familiar either, I have never seen this young lady before… did she just move here?
"Granger. Hermione Granger. But it is not you who should be apologising, it is I who should be apologising. I had disturbed you and I know I shouldn't have but you see I was curious because not a lot of people come to the library and I have never seen someone my age enter a library and I haven't many friends and I thought we could maybe possibly be friends?"
Hermione's P.O.V.
I said goodbye to my mom and dad as they left the house, off to work. They were both Dentists, being the daughter of a dentist also meant that I had a good set of pearly white teeth. It also meant that I had already had braces too. I had them taken off a few days ago and it was a good feeling to be rid of those monstrosities. Having buck teeth was bad enough but having braces as well was even worse. I had been teased at school back in the first grade for my abnormally large front teeth but when I had gotten my braces in the third grade it got worse. Every day I was bullied by all of the girls in my grade and every day I went home crying. Eventually I was taken out of public school and home schooled.
Being bullied all those years developed my love for reading, for they left me alone when I was with teachers and or in the library. Before I was taken out of school I had read all of the books in the library which only made my position worse, I was branded a book worm. I didn't see the problem in that because I believed knowledge was power and in the future it would help me and my family's gift. Mom and dad got me a membership at the local library here in Surrey, in fact we only lived a few kilometers away, it was within walking distance! Everyday after mom and dad left I would head down to the library and find a good book or two and read.
I put on my blue jumpers and walked outside, locked the door with the house key, and started my short journey to the library. As I was walking, I noticed a boy close to my age walking ahead of me. His pant's appeared to be at least three sizes larger than his small frame and the shirt he wore seemed fit for a kid who was on the large side. The state of the clothes weren't good either, they had mud stains and grass stains as well as a number of holes. If he was trying to play the role of a homeless person then he certainly achieved it I thought. I couldn't see his shoes but I would imagine that his shoes would not be in any better condition.
I continued to watch him from afar to see where he was going. I could hardly believe it! He was going to the library! Another kid my age was entering a library! I wonder why he is at the library? Could we maybe be friends? Does he like to read too? I just wanted to squeal in excitement! The idea of making my first friend was thrilling, I have never had a friend before. Then all of that excitement turned into doubt anxiety. 'What if he doesn't want to be friends? What if he starts making fun of me? What if he is a bully?' All of these 'What if' scenarios started playing out in my head as I started walking up the stairs with a slight feeling of dread.
As I entered the library, I saw the boy walk up to Mary, one of the librarians, and stood there for a few minutes before gaining the librarian's attention with a soft clearing of his throat. I was too far away to hear what he asked her and I hadn't caught a glimpse of his face yet. Not that I would be able to see his face…. I was hiding behind a bookcase peeking around the corner. I saw the librarian nod her head and lead the boy up to the second floor. I followed them from a distance trying not to make a sound or draw attention to myself calling upon my 'gift' to assist me with my being stealth and when they stopped in between two book cases she said a few more words to him before she walked away, probably back down to the first floor. I saw him gather book after book and with each book he picked up I took a few steps closer to him until I was only about a pace and a half away from him. I reached out and with my trembling hand and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, yanking my hand back immediately. I waited for him to turn around but I must not have tapped him hard enough. Before I could reach out to tap him on the shoulder to gain his attention he turned around and I nearly had a heart attack.
The boy yelped and fell back on his butt whilst dropping what must have been thirty books. This act alone scared the life out of me and I leapt back and let out a somewhat quiet shriek. It wasn't loud enough to incur the wrath of Mary the Librarian but a shriek none of the less. I looked into the boys eyes and felt a bit of fear. He looked rather intimidating, and that is saying something considering my 'gift', he also had a very powerful and I guess I would say grey aura about him. He had three sets of scars on his face as well as jade green eyes. His hair was jet black and covered his forehead and looked like a comb would never be able to tame it. His face colored a bit and started to pick up his books.
Then I came to my senses and I started to apologise profusely. I then went about helping him collect his books and I looked at the titles and was curious as to why he was looking at books of this variety. Still a stuttering mess, the boy interrupted me with such a soft melodic voice that slightly entranced me. His voice didn't seem to match his face. His voice was a bit deeper than other boy's his age and I could tell that he would have a deep gravelly voice when he was older. A deep melodic gravelly voice.
"No, no. I apologise miss, I should not have reacted the way I did and I did feel a tap on my shoulder but dismissed it. I also apologise for ignoring your attempt to capture my attention, I did not mean to Miss…"
The boy had surprised me with his apology and what seemed to me like a soft and gentle manner. He seemed to have good manners and he hadn't been mean to me or yelled at me like I expected him to when I startled him. Realising that he was asking me for my name I responded.
"Granger. Hermione Granger. But it is not you who should be apologising, it is I who should be apologising. I had disturbed you and I know I shouldn't have but you see I was curious because not a lot of people come to the library and I have never seen someone my age enter a library and I haven't many friends and I thought we could maybe possibly be friends?"
When he didn't respond I began to get nervous and the anxiety started to kick in. I was sure I had made a complete fool of myself and I felt like I was about to cry. My face started to lose it's color and my lip started to tremble a bit. I was shaking and I didn't notice his facial expressions. Had I been paying closer attention I would have noticed his face go from disbelief, fear, hope, doubt, and confused. Near tears, I pushed the rest of the books he had picked into his hands and turned and started to rush off. Silent tears began to fall down my face, how could I have been so foolish? Who would have wanted to be friends with a bookworm like me? Before I could turn the corner to find a place to hide and cry without someone finding me, I felt a hand close around my wrist, stopping me in my place.
Harry's P.O.V.
I stood there trying to process what she just said, it was all rushed and to be completely honest, I believe I didn't hear her right. Okay, I believe she said her name was Hermione Granger. There aren't any girls at school with this name. I haven't seen her there either. She was curious because not a lot of people come to the library. How could that be?! The library is such a wonderful place! There are books upon books that would make anyone light headed! How could there not be a line of people leading into these sacred halls?! She doesn't have a lot of friends? How? Anyone who goes to the library should have a friend! Did she ask me to be friends? I've never had one of those before! Dudley and his gang always beat up anyone who tried to make friends with me. He would even get people to trick me into thinking they wanted to be friends, only for them all to laugh and beat me up. What if Dudley put her up to this? What if she really wants to be friends? What if i muck this up?
As I was thinking about this situation I failed to notice her face loose it's color nor did I notice her lower lip began to tremble and her body begin to shake. I was brought back to reality when she thrust some of the books that I dropped into my arms and try to run off. I was shocked for a split second and watched in slow motion as she turned on her back foot and slowly run off. As she was nearing the end of the row of bookcases that surrounded us, things got even slower as I dropped the books that were in my arms(I will never do this again to such precious objects, but this was probably the only friend I would ever be able to make so this alone makes my dropping the books perfectly understandable) and did something that I wouldn't be able to explain.
Hermione was a good 10 to 20 feet ahead of me and I knew that if she turned around that corner I would most likely lose sight of her when I ran that distance. I was desperate to not let her get away and I hoped I would get there fast enough with every fiber of my being and one second I was standing where I dropped my books and the next second I am right behind her. I didn't care how I got there without running as fast as I did, I would worry about that later. My hand shot out and lightly grasped her wrist faster than I thought possible and stopped her from running away.
We stood like that for a few seconds, and a quiet sniffling was coming from her. She was trembling and I had a feeling she was on the verge of tears. I laid my other hand on her shoulder and turned her so she could face me. One look at her face erased any and all doubts I had that she wasn't genuinely asking me to be her friend. It also made me feel kind of funny. I didn't pity her, not in the least but I don't know. I couldn't place that feeling. All I knew was I would never want to leave her side. I had a feeling that we could be good friends. Best friends forever. As cliche as that sounded, I felt like I could trust her with my secrets and I could trust her to never betray me. I asked her "Did….. Did you really want to be…. Friends?"
I internally winced, I sounded so weak and vulnerable. I probably sounded like a little kid. It slightly embarrassed me. If any of the Dursleys heard me right now they would laugh at me and make fun of me. If any of the kids at school heard me like this I would have been bullied even more. I desperately hoped that she wouldn't tell anyone how weak and vulnerable I sounded…
"I… I re… really do…" Hermione said. She sounded very much like myself, perhaps even a bit more desperate than I did. She was still crying but not as bad a few moments ago. There was also the occasional sniffle and a hiccup. She had also stopped shaking but there would be that odd shudder every now and then.
I looked into her chocolate brown eyes and could see a bit of pain laced with hope. I recon if I saw my eyes right now they would probably be reflecting the same. "I would love to be friends… Although I don't know if I would be a very good one…" I said trailing off. I didn't want to get her bullied too. Dudley and his goons wouldn't care if she was a girl, they beat up anyone who wanted to be friends with me. Or anyone who didn't agree with them. Continuing where I left off, "I have never had a friend before…. My cousin and his friends and pretty much everyone at school make sure I don't have any friends…. I am told that someone like me doesn't deserve friends. That a freak like me shouldn't even exist…. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble with Dudley and his goons but I would very much like to be friends as well."
While I was talking, I couldn't stop fidgeting and hoping against hope that she would still want to be friends, even though she would be risking Dudley and his gang. I wasn't looking at her face but if I had been I would have seen her face lighting up like a child would on christmas morning and I would have seen a bright, beaming smile that would have been blinding. After I finished talking and warning her, she let out a small squeal of delight and she yanked me into a tight hug. I stiffened a bit and didn't quite know how to respond so I just stood there and let her hug me. All the while she was talking non-stop and I couldn't quite make out what she was saying.
When she pulled back and held me an arm's length away, she asked me a question that made me groan internally. "What is your name?"
How could I have been so stupid? I meet a person who wants to be friends with me and I don't even tell them my name! How could I have been so stupid? I was about to tell her my name was Harry Potter but I stopped. Did I want to be known by this name? Harry Potter was a boy who was bullied and beaten up. Harry Potter was the boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs. I don't want to be Harry Potter anymore. My father's name was James. I remember because I overheard Vernon and Petunia talk about my parents a few years ago. I also heard the names Severus Snape and I heard Petunia exclaim "Don't speak his name! It brings back the memories of when me and Lily were Evans' and knew nothing of that world!" I didn't understand what they were arguing about, but I learned that my moms' name use to be Lily Evans and my father's name was James.
I replied "James. James Evans." I was going to honor them both.
No one's P.O.V.
Harry Potter, now known as James Evans, and Hermione Granger began to talk a little bit about each other, James being vague on his life but listening intently to Hermione talk about herself. He learned that she was also bullied and and ridiculed at school before she was taken out and home schooled. He also learned that her parents were dentists and had their own practice. She spoke of her love of books and that only made their friendship even stronger. They both had eidetic memory, so that alone was amazing. They both loved books and knew of the pain of being alone. The both promised each other that they would never let them know that feeling ever again and that made their friendship one of the strongest of their generation. They immediately trusted each other which was an odd thing for them both. When they realized the time, they decided to go to the library again the next day and meet up. While both of them went to the library to check out books that day and instead of checking out books, they each gained their first friend. What neither of them had noticed, was an invisible person standing by one of the bookcases watching them both. Was it a potential friend or foe?
Harry's P.O.V.(Future P.O.V. will be referred to as James instead of Harry)
I looked at the time and my blood ran slightly cold. The time read 6:39 P.M. A feeling of dread started to take it's place in the pit of my stomach, it's icy tendrils leaching onto my heart. That was there for only a few seconds because I remembered why it was so late. I had been acquainting myself with my first friend. I would hold no regrets over this, Dursley's and beatings be damned. I looked to Hermione and couldn't help but smile, she was curled up on a chair and was reading a book. It saddened me but I had to get back to my prison and I wanted to make sure she got home safely and if she got into trouble I would take the blame. I was already going to get it bad so taking the blame to ensure she didn't get punished wouldn't matter to them. Clearing my throat, "Hermione, I think it would be best if we went home, it is getting late and I don't want you to get into trouble with your parents."
This had the desired effect because Hermione slammed the book close, wincing once she realised she was being a bit rough with the book in her hands, and quickly put the book back where she had got it from. She turned to me and asked me in a timid voice, "Can you walk me home? I know it is silly but it is rather dark out and it kind of frightens me…"
I could understand this, it was rather dark out and a few years ago I would have been scared but considering everything I had faced obliterated any kind of fear I had towards the dark and unknown. I would even appreciate it if werewolves or vampires were real and they came and took me away from the Dursley's. Anything was better than them. "Of course, I would be delighted to walk you home Hermione."
With that being said, we walked down the stairs, and before we left we bid the librarian present a goodbye and continued on our way. As I was holding the door open for my new friend, I had let it go and I started walking away. However, the door stopped abruptly and a sound similar to that of a door hitting someone caused me to turn around to apologise but saw nobody there. Odd. I felt the presence of someone other than Hermione and myself in a ten foot radius. I turned around and caught up with Hermione, very aware that we were being watched and followed. I kept this to myself because I didn't want to scare her any more than she already was.
We made small talk all the way to her house where we found what must have been her parents standing in front of the door looking worried and upset. Hermione bowed her head in guilt as her parents began to berate her for being two hours late. However before they could say anything that would bring tears to her eyes I intervened. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger it is not Hermione's fault she is late, the blame for this would fall to me. You see, today your daughter and I met at the local library and not soon after we became friends. I would not stop talking to her and before I knew it it was dark out. Had I stopped and checked the time she would not have been late returning home. For this, I sincerely apologise, if you would allow my friendship with Hermione to continue I will make sure she returns to your home at the time you have set her curfew."
Hermione looked at me with a questioning look on her face, probably wondering why I was lying for her, and her parents seemed to notice my presence for the first time. I heard Hermione's parents let out a gasp, probably because of the scars that marred my complexion, they sounded just like Hermione and the librarian when they first saw my face. I internally winced and hoped it didn't show through. After being stared at for a few seconds, Mr. Granger cleared his throat and said in a jesting manner "It is quite alright, our Hermione doesn't have that many friends and it is good to know that she has a friend willing to take the blame for her being late. I don't believe we caught your name, you don't mind me asking do you?"
I was shocked. I thought her parents would disapprove of our friendship because he caught on that I was lying for her. What shocked me even more was the fact he called me out on it in a friendly, joking manner. There was no malice or hate in his tone, like most adults who spoke to me. Realizing he asked me for my name, I said in what must have been a shocked voice, "James. James Evans sir. It is a pleasure to meet both you and your wife. I am also lucky enough to have met your daughter, and from a problem we both have, we helped the other solve it. But alas, I musn't be here long, my relatives are most likely having a fit right now. I must be going but I sincerely hope that I will have the honor of greeting both you and your wife again."
With that I shook hands with Hermione's dad and kissed both Hermione's and her mother's knuckles and turned on my back foot and I was gone. Had I been looking at the effects of my departure, I would have noticed Mr. Granger nodding in approval, Mrs. Granger smiling warmly, and Hermione blushing but smiling as well.
As I was walking, I still felt someone following me but I was starting to get irritated because I could see no one behind me. Before I knew it, I was in front of Number 4 Privet Drive and I could tell that I was going to get it bad tonight. Sighing resignedly, I opened the front door only to see Vernon standing there, his face an ugly purple color and a vein throbbing on his forehead. He yanked me inside and slammed the door shut. He pushed me into the living room where I could see that the drapes have been closed and the television set turned on loud, most likely to cover up the sound of me getting beaten.
Before I could turn around to face Vernon the Human Walrus, I felt a blow to the back of my head, knocking me off my feet and sending me into the small table that was in the room. My head collided with the corner and I was definitely not lucky. You see, the problem with the table, was it was made out of glass, well, it has glass ends. It was an odd looking one but I had the misfortune of hitting the table too hard, shattering the glass and having a shard slice into my right eye as well as a few shards to slice open my left cheek and my forehead. Yep, those were definitely going to turn into scars by tomorrow. But I could tell that I would not be able to see out of my right eye again.
Suppressing the scream that so desperately wanted to tear apart my lungs, I tried to crawl away from vernon only to have him kick me in the stomach not so gently and felt him step on my hand and slowly increase the weight until he had all of his weight bearing down on my hand, effectively breaking all of the bones in it. I was not able to hold in the scream of agony this time and had I been looking at Vernon I would have seen his look of satisfaction. "Serves you right you freak! WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU? PETUNIA HAD TO MAKE DINNER TONIGHT BECAUSE YOUR WORTHLESS ASS WASN'T HERE! NOW BECAUSE OF THAT YOU AR-"
Vernon suddenly stopped yelling and I heard an odd choking sound. Then a few things followed after that. His weight lifted off my hand and I yanked it into my body, cradling it. Next I heard Petunia let out a scream of fear. Opening my left eye, I saw Vernon lying on the ground, blood coming out of his neck in sprays and I looked up to see who had saved me. I couldn't see anyone there, that is until I heard another round of gurgles and choking sounds and felt blood spatter on my cheek and onto the shirt I was wearing. Turning onto my back, I saw my savior. Actually saviors. While I saw what appeared to be Mrs. Granger standing over Petunia's dying body with a look in her eyes that I knew to be blood lust. I say saviors because while I had been staring at Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger kneeled down by my side and helped me to my feet. Something was different about the both of them though. They seemed to be a bit more pale and had longer, sharper nails. I looked to Mr. Granger to thank him for helping me up when I got a good look as to what was different about them. Upon closer inspection, his teeth were elongated, his canines to be exact. His eyes also seemed more animalistic but still held the intelligence a human possessed.
Realizing I hadn't thanked either of them yet, I cleared my throat, effectively gaining Mrs. Granger's attention who had still been standing and glaring at the corpse that used to be my aunt. She looked at me and the glare she had immediately softened into a small smile but it soon changed to one of concern. As I opened my mouth to thank the both of them, I heard Dudley screaming and it was suddenly cut short followed by the sound of him choking on his own blood. Looking at the stairs from which the scream originated from, I saw Hermione walk down the stairs, her hand bloody and I was able to see a few drops of blood on her face. She looked up and saw me and started to smile, revealing her sharp canines but before it turned into a full blown smile, it turned into a look of horror. It must have been the shard of glass sticking out of my eye.
Motioning for her to come closer, I turned to her parents, a look of gratitude could clearly be seen on my face. When Hermione was standing next to her parents I cleared my throat again and continued on with what I was going to say before Dudley so rudely interrupted me. "Thank you all so much. I can't even begin to show you how much this has meant to me. For as long as I could remember it was always like this. Always being 'punished' for things as trivial as missing a speck of dirt on the countertop or disappearing mid-sprint and reappearing onto a roof. For things I had no control over. I will always be in your debt. If you need help around your house do not be afraid to ask me."
While I was speaking to them, I had walked up to the mirror that was hanging up on the wall and observed the shard of glass that was stuck in my eye. This is going to hurt I thought. When I had finished talking, I reached up to my right eye, grasped what I was able to with shaky hands, wincing in pain as each small movement of grabbing the glass felt like pure agony. With a sigh, I yanked it out. Hissing in pain, I turned around and produced a glare that made Hermione and her parents pale even more than when I pulled out the piece of glass. However my glare was directed at the now dead Vernon. I walked up, forgetting that the Grangers were watching me, and bent down over his corpse. Taking that same piece of glass, after wiping it of my blood, and plunged it into his right eye. I yanked it out and stabbed it right back in repeatedly. "An eye for an eye Vernon. That is how the saying goes."
After saying that, I sat down against the cupboard door. I was feeling light headed. I had completely forgotten the Grangers were there, for they were staring silently at me looking worried. I had other things to worry about. I had to stop the bleeding, and stitch it up. This definitely was going to hurt. Sighing yet again, I stood up, leaning heavily on the wall. I opened the cupboard door to grab the needle and string I had in there for injuries that bled this heavily. Grabbing them, I walked back over to the mirror and set them down on the mantle over which it hung. I walked to the bathroom upstairs for rubbing alcohol, grabbing said item, I continued on my way back downstairs. Standing and looking at my reflection, I opened the bottle and took off my shirt so I could tear it up into strips. Before I was able to do that however, I heard a gasp and I suddenly remembered the Grangers were still here.
I felt so ashamed. They had seen my scars. They saw how weak I was, and still am. I was so caught up in my thoughts of shame that I failed to notice Mrs. Granger walk up silently behind me. I stiffened as I felt a hand grasp my shoulder, gently turning me around. I did so but my head still hung in shame. Mrs. Granger pulled me into her and wrapped me up in a tight hug, rubbing my back gently. Feeling another two bodies surround my own and two sets of arms wrap around me, I couldn't hold it in anymore. For the first time I could remember I cried.
"That's it James, let it all go. You aren't stuck with them anymore. You will never again get a beating and you will never have to deal with them again. You are going to live with us now James. Come, lie down on the couch, rest your head on my lap." Mrs. Granger said.
Getting one last squeeze from the Grangers, I complied with her request. With my head in her lap, she gently opened up my swollen eye and looked at the damage. I already knew my eye was useless now but it was odd to only be able to see out of one eye. I saw her worried face look up and ask her husband, "Michael, bring me the rubbing alcohol and the needle and thread James put on the mantle. Hermione, please pull up a chair and comfort James while I patch up his eye, it is going to cause him severe pain."
"Yes Emma, darling. Here they are, hang in there James, you will soon be out of here." Michael said.
"Yes mom, James everything is going to alright soon, is there anything you want to bring to our house?" Hermione asked.
"Thank you, all of you. In the attic there are things that belonged to my mother and hopefully my father. If there is nothing with the name James written on a box then that is fine. The box with my mother's belongings are labeled "Lily". There are also her guitars and amp. Other than that, I just need to clean out the cupboard under the stairs, I need to clean it and get rid of my bedding in there, I don't want my blood being found here. The cupboard has a few padlocks on it so getting in will be a bit hard." I said. I couldn't believe it. I was finally free. I was finally able to leave this hellish nightmare known as The Dursleys! It was my dream come true! Something caught my attention though. Mr. Granger, who I learned to be named Michael, pulled out a long, thin, smooth stick from his sleeve and said "Accio Lily's and James Senior and James Jr.'s belonging. Suddenly, I heard the drywall from what I assumed to be near the attic break and a few boxes and my mother's guitars and amp named Lily and James flew down and landed neatly in front of Michael. He frowned, and seemed to be expecting something else to happen. He turned to me with a curious expression with a hint of suspicion combined in with it. Clearing his voice, he asked me "James, do you perhaps go by a different name? That spell was supposed to summon the items belonging to the names I stated. The only way for your belongings to not appear, was if you are going by a different name."
I paled instantly as I got the meaning, I had better not lie to him. Closing my good eye and with a look of defeat etched into my marred face, I said "Ye.. Yes sir….. I introduced myself as James Evans in honor of my father and mother, they died when I was a baby. Petunia and Vernon told me they died in a car accident and sadly I was the only survivor. I got out with only a scar on my forehead while they died. My birth name is Harry James Potter… I am sorry I lied to you all, but to me Harry Potter died with his parents in the car accident and now James Evans stands before you…"
The Grangers gasped and looked at each other, they seemed to be communicating somehow. They all looked back at me and said, "It is alright James, we understand. But they lied to you about your parents. Yes they did die, but from other… causes. We will explain it to you later, let us hurry up and patch you up and gather your things and destroy the little evidence of you ever living here."
With that, I braced myself, grabbing Hermione's hand and squeezed, but not to hard as Emma poured a bit of rubbing alcohol into my eye. My world exploded into pain but I kept the scream in by biting onto my lip. She then gently dabbed it with a cleaner piece of fabric that Michael tore from the curtain. She then said to me, "We can do a spell to close the wound on your eye but I am afraid we will have to stitch together the rest of the cuts on your face. Sadly, we can't heal your eye enough to enable you to see out of it again. However, I can have Michael go to place located in London called Diagon Alley and he can get you something that will let you see again, but even better than before. The only catch on this, is we would have to remove the eye. What do you want us to do sweetie?"
The idea of being able to see again immediately decided for me, and it would be better from what Emma just said! "Take out the eye. It is useless and won't do me any good."
Nodding her head, she looked to Michael who just finished with destroying the evidence of me ever living here and cleaning out the cupboard. She asked him, "Dear, we will be removing his eye and we are going to get a magical replacement. Could you pop down to Diagon Alley and get a magical eye that is state of the art and top of the line enchantments? I want James here to have the best replacement. We can cover it, what with the millions of galleons in our vault. Thank you dear."
She looked at me then said "We are going to have to put you to sleep and numb the area around your right eye before we remove it. I will tell you now, the new eye is going to look a bit big compared to your other eye and it is going to hurt for a few days. I will be keeping you asleep for a few days as well as give you some things to undo some of the damage done to your body. From being stuck in a cupboard for who knows how long and not getting a lot to eat has stunted your growth. By the time you wake up in a few days time the damage from that will be gone and corrected. Sadly, I will not be able to get rid of the scars, they have already healed and it is too late to heal them. I'm sorry sweetie. Is there anything you want to know or say before you are put to sleep for a few days?"
Thinking about what I wanted to know immediately, only one thing came to my mind. Trying not to sound rude, I asked them "I have one question, what exactly are you? I don't mean to be rude or anything but aside from me thinking I was the only one who did things like that, I have never seen anyone like you."
Emma smiled and I felt Hermione tighten her grip on my hand and when I looked at her she seemed really scared. Emma said, "That is a bit difficult to answer. You see, we are a rare type of werewolf. While they are cursed and are forced into changing at full moons and have to deal with the, shall we say beast within them. While they look quite ugly when they transform looking like a deformed bear/wolf, we only look like a much bigger human. We grow a thick full coat and have increased strength and senses. We reach a height around nine feet tall and are quite fast. There are more to us than that but I will explain it in more detail in a few days after you wake up. If you are having a bit of a hard time picturing what we look like when we have changed, you may ask us to show you when you wake up. That's another difference between us and normal werewolves. We aren't forced to change and we don't have a beast in us. We can also do partial transformations, as you can see right now. Now, I am going to put you under, we will all be there when you wake back up sweetie, Good night."
With that, my world went dark.
Authors note
Alright ladies and gentleman! First chapter has been completed, and if it does not meet the standards some are looking for I sincerely apologise. This is my first fanfiction and while this chapter is complete, I will not be posting it until i have edited it of all mistakes. I am using Google Docs because when i was working on it in Microsoft Word, the software decided to stop being compatible with my laptop. If i was using Word, I would already have completed fixing all the mistakes but for some reason, Google Docs does not like to automatically correct my 'I's. Moving on, I delved into the wonderful community of Fanfiction almost 4 years ago when i was 12. Since then I have most likely read over 5000 fanfictions ranging from PG to M. I like the pairing of Harry and Hermione as well as Harry and Tonks. This will be a Harry/Hermione fic but they won't start a relationship until they are in 4th year. Sirius will be free and he will not die. Harry is going to be Dark as well as the Grangers and Sirius. Dumbledore and Weasley bashing as well as Malfoy and Voldemort bashing. Having a Horcrux inside of Harry is still undecided or the use of Horcruxes for that matter. I don't know where i am going with this but we will find out together ^^ Also please no negativity, only constructive criticism and please no vulgar language. I will only be using that type of language when the situation Harry is in danger or similar situations. I don't really like cursing, I don't see the point in it but i will only use it for the effect it seems to have. However, I may or may not write lemons, and if i do i may use more vulgar language but it won't be overpowering the material with all caps. As always, if you do not like what i have written or am writing, depends on when i am working on something, please don't continue reading it or post negative comments. I am a quiet guy who likes to stay out of conflict so please, if you don't like what i am writing you are within your rights to stop reading the material. You are also within your rights to comment what you wish but please save us both the head ache and stop reading it. That is what I do, I don't criticize other writers because I have just started, but I have stopped reading a fanfiction because I either don't like it, it is too short, or there are a bunch of grammatical and spelling mistakes. That is just me though. I count anything under 75 thousand words short and if there are over half the amount of chapters as there are words, for example 50 chapters and the amount of words are 51 thousand. I just can't bring myself to read it. So for this fanfic and future ones there will be at least 5-10 thousand words per chapter, I like long fanfictions. Until next time friends Edited 16Feb2017 at 11:05 p.m.
Shadowphin22 signing off
