Author's Note: Standard fanfic disclaimer that wouldn't last ten seconds in a court of law: these aren't my characters. Based on characters and situations from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, as well as from assorted TV shows, movies, and possibly other books. I'm just borrowing them for, uh, er, typing practice. Yeah, that's it, typing practice. I will return them (relatively) unharmed and suitably bandaged to their original owners. (Well, most of them. There will be some character deaths in later chapters.) No financial profit was made from the writing or posting of this story, behind improving my typing speed and my plotting ability. Like Publicola's "Wait, What?" (which I recommend highly) this will be a series of one-shots. I am adopting an abandoned story, and each chapter will be a separate and independent sequel to chapter one. Some will be happy, some will be sad.
Diverse Destinies
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by Susan M. M.
based on the abandoned story "Freedom" by Nymph0, in 2005, up for adoption
Diverse Destinies: Chapter 1, Freedom
written by Nymph0, edited by Susan M. M.
September, 1986, Little Whinging, Surrey
Beep beep beep.
Harry awoke with a fright. He turned off the alarm quickly, worried his aunt or uncle would hear it. Four a.m. His relatives wouldn't be happy to be woken at this hour.
The green-eyed boy listened for any signs of his family waking up. Only after hearing none did he relax. Harry quickly got off his mattress. He had no bed, just an old crib mattress on the floor of the cupboard under the stairs. He had long since outgrown it. He put on the clothes that he'd laid out for himself earlier that night. Quickly getting dressed, he took his bag from the corner of the cupboard. Checking to make sure he had everything, Harry opened his cupboard quietly, and snuck out, making sure to avoid the creaking floorboard.
Harry had been preparing for this night for many weeks now. He'd saved every little piece of food he could spare, pocketed every penny he could find, whilst attempting to act as normally as possible. If his aunt or uncle ever found out that he was trying to run away, they would surely kill him immediately, not caring about the consequences at all.
Harry's walk to the front door seemed to last for ages, although it took less than a minute. After reaching his final destination, Harry paused and looked around.
The house looked as clean as it always did: the furniture was spotless, everything was neatly in its place, and the floors were shining.
This had been Harry's home for as long as he could remember. Five years ago, or so he had been told, his parents had been killed in a car crash. Vernon and Petunia Dursley had taken him in, even though, as they often told him, he was a burden and a nuisance. He took the food from their son Dudley's mouth, they told him, and they expected him to repay them for their generosity in not sending him to an orphanage where he belonged by doing chores. He was just a burden placed on their doorstep five years ago. They never lied to the little boy: they never told him they loved him. And they didn't. He had taken their treatment for granted. He had long since forgotten being loved and cherished by his parents. He knew his life was uncomfortable; he knew his aunt and uncle treated him cruelly. And until he had started school, he had not known there was anything wrong with that.
Finally snapping out of his thoughts, Harry turned back to face the front door. With a last sigh, Harry raised his hand to touch the lock. Small for his age, he had to rise on his tiptoes to be able to reach the lock. With a triumphant smile, Harry turned the lock and finally opened the front door.
Instantly, the green-eyed boy felt the cool autumn air on his face and neck. It was warm enough to wear a simple long-sleeved sweatshirt but already too cold to be wearing a simple t-shirt.
As quietly as he could, he shut the door behind him. Without glancing back, Harry began walking away from his prison. He couldn't believe it; he was finally free! No more chores, no more abuse, no more Dursleys. He was free to do whatever he wanted.
Harry walked for what felt like hours. He had planned to run, but as dark as it was, he didn't dare. He was afraid that if he stopped, something or someone would force him to return. And Harry didn't think he could bear that. He'd thought about this many times before. He was only six years old, but he wasn't stupid like his cousin Dudley. He knew that he might not live for very long if he left his relatives' house. However, after many sleepless nights he finally realised that anywhere was better than the Dursley's. Back there, he was constantly reminded of his worthlessness, of his freakishness.
After an hour and a half, Harry noticed that the sky was beginning to lighten. He was far away from his neighbourhood, or thought that he was, so when he saw a park he decided to stop. He still had time before early joggers would come to this park for a run, so he looked for a secluded area where he could rest unnoticed.
After wandering around for a few moments, he noticed the perfect spot. It was surrounded by bushes and was deep into the park. Harry thought that it was highly unlikely that someone would notice him there so he used his backpack as a pillow and laid down for a much-needed sleep.
He was asleep before his head hit the 'pillow'.
SCENE BREAK
"Lily, he's here! Take Harry and run. I'll hold him off."
"You think you are a match for me? What a fool. Move aside and I'll spare you a painful death."
"Never! Expelliarmus!"
"I've had enough of you! Avada Kedavra!"
"Step aside, silly girl."
"No, not my baby! Not Harry! Kill me, kill me instead."
"Avada Kedavra!"
Harry awoke, startled by the sudden transition from nightmare to wakefulness. He could still see the green light coming towards the woman. It was the same colour as her eyes. The same color as his eyes.
He'd had this same dream once a week for about two months now. Every time it seemed just as weird as the last. He could never remember what happened. Only the green light and the woman's scream. Harry felt scared for the woman. He knew it was just a dream, but why did it seem so real? He wished he could remember the faces of the unknown couple; maybe then he could somehow help them. He wasn't sure why he wanted to help them or thought that he could, he just had a vague feeling that he ought to help them.
Nevertheless, in the back of Harry's mind he knew the truth. He did not know how he knew, he just did, and it was like a sixth sense. They were dead and there was nothing he could do.
Coming out of his thoughts, Harry saw that it was bright outside. He wondered if it was morning or afternoon. Then Harry heard his stomach make a rumbling. He was hungry, so he took an apple from his backpack. Digging his teeth into the precious fruit, Harry concentrated on savouring the flavour. Slowly, his recent dream slipped away from his consciousness. Now Harry had to think about things that were more important. Like what he was going to do now. His food and money would not last long, a week at the most. Therefore, he needed a way to come up with more money. Surely if his aunt and uncle thought he was old enough to do so many chores, other people would think he was big enough to hire for odd jobs. Harry knew that his life from now on was going to be a struggle for survival. It would be a battle of wills, and he was not going down without a fight.
Adopter's Note
Obviously, Harry cannot survive on his own at this age. And Little Whinging is too suburban for him to have mean streets to live on. (For that matter, I'm not sure Guilford, Surrey's county seat, has mean streets.) Someone will find him and either take him in or turn him over to Child Protective Services. The question is: who? A kindly Squib bobby? Mrs. Figg? A Doctor in a big blue box? Rupert Giles? The Weasleys? Mr. and Mrs. Finch-Fletchley? Remus Lupin? Lee Stetson and Amanda King? Kwai Chang Caine? Why, all of them, of course. Each chapter will be independent of the others. All will be AU, and some will be crossovers. Updates will be irregular and unscheduled.