Thanks for checking out my story! It's more of a prologue, to show how Kathy's life goes on at Privet Drive. BIG thanks needed to my wonderful beta reader thosedarndursleys. Thanks so much. :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Straight on Till Morning

"I refuse."

Amelia Hartfield let out the smallest sigh of frustration. She had to maintain her patience. She had to maintain her patience. She had to maintain her patience. It was practically part of her job description. She'd been expected to instill information in children without losing her good wits when she'd applied for a teaching position at this school and she was going to instill some literature in Katherine Potter's head if it was the last thing she did.

"Peter Pan is a wonderful novel, Kathy. I read it when I was your age and I absolutely loved it!"

The young, red-headed girl shot her a look. "You teach about books, Ms. Hartfield. Liking them is your job. It's not mine."

Gently pushing the brown-covered novel towards the reluctant student, Ms. Hartfield replied, "You're a smart girl, Kathy, and I think you'll do great things in life –"

"That's what every teacher has said to every student ever."

" – and to do them, you need to pass this class so you can pass this grade." She held up the book. "And right now, reading this book is the only way you can pass. We don't want to disappoint your Aunt and Uncle, do we?"

Kathy scowled deeply. "They'll be disappointed anyway, no matter what I do."

Ms. Hartfield swallowed tightly. Kathy always spoke of her guardians this way – as if they couldn't care less about her existence. Amelia wasn't sure if this was true, but certainly didn't have the license to find out. She reached out to pat the girl on the arm reassuringly, but Kathy yanked her arm away, still scowling.

Ms. Hartfield gazed at her sadly for a few moments before standing up, leaving the book lying on the desk. "Katherine, I wasn't just 'saying things' when I told you that I believed in you. I truly do." She gave her one last, kind smile before grabbing her purse and exiting the room.

Unable to blink, Katherine stared at the abandoned novel.

No one had ever bothered to believe in her before.

"You're reading."

"No, really?"

"Why are you reading? You hate reading."

"Because my teacher told me to."

"You never listen to your teachers."

"Well, I did this time."

"Why?"

Kathy set down her book, ears burning, and glared at her brother from where he sat across from her in the living room. Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley were all out to dinner and they had the house to themselves. "Because. Just be quiet. I'm trying to concentrate."

There was silence between the two for a long moment before Harry, unable to resist, asked, "What book is it?"

Calmer, Kathy replied quietly, "Peter Pan."

"Never heard of it. What's it about?"

Kathy set down the novel once more, her expression thoughtful. She wasn't too far into it, but she supposed she knew enough to form a basic plot. "There's this boy, named Peter. He lives on this beautiful island called Neverland. There are no adults there, just a big group of kids called the Lost Boys. There's fairies, too, and Indians and mermaids. Even pirates. But I guess Peter gets lonely one day because he flies to England – "

"Flies?"

"Yeah, he can do that kind of thing. Neverland is very magical."

"How's it magical?"

Kathy shrugged. She'd never really considered that. "I don't know. I guess the author just wanted it to be that way." She shook her head to get her thoughts back on track. "Anyway, he goes to England and he meets these three kids – two boys and a girl. He shows them how to fly and takes them to Neverland, where they do all kinds of things together."

Harry was very quiet for a moment. Kathy thought there was almost a longing look in his eyes. "It sounds wonderful." Another pause, then, "I wish I could just fly away to somewhere like Neverland."

Kathy sighed and pulled the book back up to her face. "Yeah. Me too."

"We just returned from parent-teacher conferences, Kathy."

Kathy simply kept her eyes locked on her hands, sitting folded in her lap. Her Uncle and Aunt sat across from her on the couch, and though her gaze was elsewhere, Kathy could feel their angry stares burning angrily into her head. Harry was in the cupboard, as usual, and Dudley was more than likely right outside the door, listening to the show.

"Dudley is performing excellently, of course," Vernon said proudly. Kathy looked up in disbelief and saw him and Aunt Petunia exchange satisfied looks.

"Excellently?" Kathy spluttered. "Maybe if your idea of an excellent performance is a report card full of F's. Dudley's an idiot! He never does his homework. If he does, then it's because he's managed to bully some kid into doing it for him."

Petunia's expression was one of complete outrage. "Dudley has A's in all his classes. His teachers say he is a model student! You and your brother should be learning from him."

Kathy couldn't believe it. The oaf was cheating his way through school without getting caught! Any time she'd tried to cheat she'd been caught red-handed and suffered the punishment at school and at home. She felt tears burning in her eyes.

"What are you crying for, girl? Your own stupidity? It's not Dudley's fault that you inherited so little intelligence from your drunkard father-"

"Don't you say anything about my father, you fat, lazy bastard!"

Petunia gasped in shock, grabbing the edge of the couch, while Vernon rose steadily from his seat, face slowly turning red. Kathy stood up quickly, fear beginning to settle in her stomach. She backed up from her Uncle, her tears finally let loose from her eyes. She shook her head and let out a small sound of surprise when her back hit the well. Petunia, knowing what was coming, quickly exited the room. Kathy could hear her ushering Dudley away.

Vernon advanced on her, a hand raised. Kathy closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to stop him."

Harry glanced up from where he was pressing ice on one of Kathy's bruises. "I should have known he would get mad."

"It's fine," she replied. "There was nothing you could have done."

Harry nodded, but Kathy could tell that it still bothered him. That was Harry – always trying to be his best for her, always trying to help her. Always looking out for her. Kathy wished she could say that same for herself, but knew she wasn't as good of sister as Harry was a brother. She could treat his wounds when he was the one getting the beatings, could sit with him at lunch during school. But she was never quite as gentle with the ice, never quite as willing to start the conversation.

"What did you say to him this time?" Harry asked, yanking Kathy from her thoughts.

Kathy smiled lightly. "I called him a fat, lazy bastard."

Harry sighed and looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. "Kathy! You practically asked for it."

Kathy shrugged. "He insulted Dad. He called him stupid, and a drunk."

Pressing a little harder on the ice, Harry replied, his voice soft, "I know. It makes me angry, too."

A small grin returned to Kathy's face as she recalled her brother's inability to control his fire-hot temper. "Everything makes you angry, Harry." Her brother simply rolled his eyes in response.

Of course, Harry was also extremely kind, even if he was easily set off. He was nice to almost everyone, except Dudley and his gang. They were the exceptions.

Pulling the ice off the final bruise, Harry set the watery pack down on the floor. "All done." He smiled softly. "Feel better in the morning."

Kathy gave her best effort at a smile back. "I'll try. Goodnight."

"Night."

They settled down, cramped into their small sides of the bed. Kathy hugged her book closer to herself, wishing she could see the night sky. "The first star on the right," she whispered, "and straight on till morning."

She wished she with all her heart that she could go to Neverland. Little did she know, Neverland was closer than she thought.

How'd you like it? The Neverland thing will probably be a recurring thing. I just really love the Peter Pan story.

Reviews are loved! Constructive Crit. is adored!

:)