Harry Potter. That was the name of the child who was fascinated by books, and by extension, the knowledge they provided. He was currently plowing through a thick book about the basics of chemistry. Strange, for a six-year-old boy to be reading a high-leveled book like that. He was interested in science, more so than the other subjects that he came across in the library.
How did this boy become so interested in knowledge in the first place? After finding directions to the library, Harry had frequented the library. It was his safe place, away from his relatives and the disgusted looks they sent his way when he appeared in their line of sight. Of course, he had longed for their approval, but their hatred was so clear he felt that if he tried anything that made him better than his cousin, he would be locked in his cupboard with the occasional meal if they remembered him.
Since he and his cousin had started primary school, he had been assigned chores that slowly piled up as the year went by. His aunt had insisted that he do his fair share of work. Harry winced as he remembered her screeching that he should be grateful that they had been gracious enough to provide him shelter and food. He was really lucky that he was ignored as long as he finished his chores and didn't do anything "freakish."
The boy hadn't the slightest idea of why his relatives called him a freak. He had yet to do anything that stepped outside their definition of "normal," but their hatred was still directed at him. He was locked in the cupboard under the stairs and given scraps while two rooms were reserved for Dudley and he got to eat as much as he wanted. He knew that he would solve this mystery eventually, but for now, he'd have to leave it be. He liked the system they had and was not suicidal enough to ask his aunt.
Harry reluctantly returned the books and said goodbye to the librarian. He never checked out anything, who knows what irreversible damage Dudley would cause should he discover the books. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and quickly walked towards number four Privet Drive, unaware of what was about to happen.
A/N: Hi hi, guess I'm back on this site haha- I was kind of reluctant to return since my old fics were so bad but here I am. I've also posted this on ao3. The first two chapters are really short bc I wrote them a year or so ago and had no motivation to write lol. Anyways, have fun reading i guess