Harry woke up and smiled. It was his fifth birthday, meaning he was finally as old as Dudley. He got himself dressed and ran out to prepare breakfast.

Harry's eyes watered as he accidentally burnt his hand on the pan he was cooking bacon in. He had finished making breakfast and setting the table when Uncle Vernon came in, a struggling Dudley in his beefy arms.

"Go to your cupboard, boy!" snarled Uncle Vernon.

"But sir, it's my birthday and I was hoping that maybe I could eat today?"

Vernon put Dudley down in his high chair that he was now way too big to use. He advanced on Harry, lifting him up by his neck. He slammed him against the wall then dropped him on the floor. Harry whimpered in pain as Uncle Vernon proceeded to kick him. Harry had long since learned not to cry out in pain, even as he felt his small ribs break.

"Actually, seeing as it is your birthday, I wanted to try something new"

Harry dragged himself gingerly into a sitting position and looked hopefully up at his uncle.

Uncle Vernon went to the kitchen and pulled open a draw, having been working in the kitchen from the time he could stand Harry knew that this was where Aunt Petunia kept her knives. This could not be good.

Vernon pulled out a large, rusty carving knife. Harry could recall Aunt Petunia telling Uncle Vernon to throw that knife out, Vernon had insisted that he had a use for it, and that she'd find out when the time was right.

Uncle Vernon came over to the now convulsively shaking Harry. He grabbed his nephew's ankle, hoisting him upside down into the air. He shook Harry so that his seven-sizes-too-large shirt fell off his tiny frame.

Vernon carried Harry by his ankle to the sink and dropped him in, headfirst. He adjusted Harry into a more painful position. Harry tried not to move his unnaturally thin body, for fear of what his uncle might do if he did.

Vernon sneered and dragged the rusty blade across his nephew's trembling back, watching gleefully as bright, crimson blood glided over the bruised skin and down the drain.

Harry tried to muffle his scream, he felt the silent tears making tracks down his blood stained face.

Vernon dragged the blade across Harry's back numerous times over, until Harry was sobbing and pleading for mercy, Dudley was clapping in the background.

Uncle Vernon threw his nephew to the ground, spraying blood over the normally pristine floor.

"Now, boy. Go to your cupboard and make sure not to drip on the floor. You have half an hour until I want you back out and cleaning up this mess"

"Yes, sir" mumbled Harry, pulling himself slowly up off the ground and making his way slowly to his cupboard, dizzy with blood loss.

He closed the small cupboard door and collapsed onto the thin mattress on the floor, instantly drenching it.

He slowly moved, pulling the thin sheet out from under his body with trembling hands. He ripped off strips of fabric and tied them clumsily around himself.

He fell back onto the bed and blacked out.

LINE BREAK! I'M A LINE BREAK THAT YOU'RE READING FOR NO APPARENT REASON APART FROM THE FACT THAT I'M HERE! LINE BREAK!

"Draco, your father wants you in his office. Now." Narcissa Malfoy called into the bedroom of her five year old son.

"Yes, Mother" Draco called back, standing up and stowing his coloring book and crayons in his bookshelf.

Draco walked down the hallway, furiously rubbing at the many scars already present on his pale arms, wishing they would go away. His father had always told him that scars were a sign of weakness, and Draco didn't want to be weak.

Draco arrived at his destination and knocked on the door, thoroughly wishing that he could disappear. Lucius Malfoy flung the door open, it hit Draco in the nose and sent him flying into the wall.

"Come here you no good little-"

"I'm here father" said Draco, extracting himself from between the door and the wall and feeling the back of his head. His fingers came away sticky with blood.

Draco came in and Lucius slammed the door shut.

"I heard that you talked to a filthy Muggle yesterday when you went out with your mother"

"Yes father, but she wasn't filthy at all, she was actually really nice!"

"Sectumsempra!" Lucius flicked his wand carelessly at his son, drawing brilliantly crimson blood from the boy's scarred arm, "You are never to say anything like that ever again, do you hear me? Muggles are filth! If I ever hear that you've been talking to filthy Muggles again you'll wish you were never born!"

"Yes father"

"Very good" Lucius flicked his wand again, drawing more blood and causing his son to fall to his knees, "Now. What was the name of the filthy Muggle you talked to?"

"H-Hermione Granger, but please father, don't hurt her. I know I was bad and bad people need to be punished, but Hermione never did anything wrong so you can hurt me all you want but please leave her alone!"

"Very well. Crucio!" Lucius had never used this spell before and had great pleasure in watching Draco writhe around on the floor, whimpering all the while but not uttering a word against his father, after all, he'd been bad so it was only fair that he be punished accordingly. This was something Lucius had long since drilled into Draco's head.

Eventually Lucius got bored of watching his son writhe on the floor and took the spell off. He picked his son up and thrust him into the table. Draco's head hit the corner of the table and blood started to pour down his face and into his eyes.

Draco started to cry. Lucius kicked him with his pointy toed shoes (specially made to cause maximum damage to their target), drawing even more blood from Draco's side.

"You're a disgrace to the name of Malfoy and I'm ashamed to call you my son!" Draco tried to stem his tears, Lucius kicked him again, "Stop crying boy! You're a Malfoy and Malfoys do not cry!" Lucius accentuated his every word with a sharp kick to Draco's side.

"I'm sorry, father" gulped Draco.

"Good. You may leave" Draco got unsteadily to his feet and left, once he was out of sight of his father he ran. He ran down the hallway and past his room, falling on his face too many times to count. He ran the entire way down to the kitchens, where he knew he would find the house elves.

"Dobby? Magy? Dorry? Finy?" he continued to call out the names of the house elves he knew.

A small elf, Finy, peeked his head around a bench, spotting Draco and hurrying over.

"Oh dear, Master Lucius has been at it again!" squeaked the elf.

"Finy, can you help me?"

"Finy is sorry but Master Lucius told Finy and the other elves that they is not to be helping Master Draco or they is to be punished most badly"

Draco began to shake violently as sobs racked his small frame and he collapsed onto the ground.

AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME! AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME! AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME! AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME! AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME! AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME!

Hi guys! I just wanted to thank you for reading this far, you guys are all amazing! I hope you liked it as it is my first time writing anything like this. (Not my first Fan Fiction though). I would love it if you could review and I promise to reply to all your reviews as soon as possible. Thank you! Bye!