Disclaimer: JKR owns all things Harry Potter…I just swim in her pool : )
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the reviews. It really makes my day.
It was a dreary day in Little Whining, Surrey. It was a boring neighborhood, much like any others, with British people scurrying off on their merry way to work, while others still, sent their young ones to primary school, or anxiously awaited the next letter home from secondary school. On a non-descript drive, in a very ordinary neighborhood lived a family who very much seemed to be as normal as any other. Yet, this family, who lived on Privet Drive in the boring house on #4, held a secret. They were the Dursleys, and they were the guardians of a not-so-ordinary boy named Harry Potter.
Harry was small, agile and very intelligent, though he never showed it, because when he did, his Uncle Vernon would beat him with the strap, and lock him in the cupboard under the stairs, effectively starving him for a few days. His Aunt Petunia nee Evans was his mother's sister, and even though she never spoke much of Harry's mum, Harry got the distinct impression that Aunt Petunia did not like her very much, as Aunt Petunia never stopped her brute of a husband or whale of a cousin Dudley, who was Harry's age but was already spoiled rotten and a bully at heart, from pounding on Harry whenever they had a chance. His mum and dad had died when he was but a baby, and Harry had been left on the doorstep on All Saints Day, 1981.
While Aunt Petunia never actually struck her nephew, she did turn a blind eye, which was just as bad, if not worse. Harry was distinctly malnourished and impoverished. He had no friends and very few possessions. What few he did have were broken or worn things, which Dudley had either misplaced or threw out in the rubbish bins. Harry had a knack for working with his hands, so he had pieced together various gadgets and toys to keep him company. He hid them away whenever he was not enjoying his luxurious accommodations at Chateau Dursley. When it came to clothing, Harry was clad in his cousin's old hand-me-down rags that were always about ten sizes too big. He drew the line at wearing Dudley's cast-off boxers, so he was always wearing tattered oversized non-descript shirts, baggy jeans or slacks with holes and rips and trainers that were taped with duct tape as the soles would fall apart from the shoe without its application. His hair was unruly mess off raven locks that refused to lie down. His hair was never long, but it refused to stay short. His Aunt had tried to cut his hair once, and she horribly bollixed the job. Dudley was pointing and laughing at him for the rest of the day, but in the morning, his hair had returned to its original unkempt state, as if nothing had happened.
Uncle Vernon had beat him with an audio visual cable for being some sort of "freak," and banished him from the house for the day forcing him to do the gardening, wash the cars and paint the siding, and of course it was blazing hot outside, so he was practically dying of thirst. He snuck a few drinks from the garden hose while washing the car, but he wanted to avoid any further reasons for his uncle to punish him, so he trudged on with his chores, breaking only to fix meals, which he was never allowed to eat for himself. This was the life of six year-old Harry James Potter.
Harry was brilliant at school, but had to pretend he was not, since Dudley was practically a walking vegetable, and whenever Harry got better marks than Dudley, Uncle Vernon and Dudley would take to him with a cricket bat. He often wondered how come none of his teachers had noticed the disparity between Dudley and himself, or how people trained to recognize and report such obvious signs of negligence and abuse were just ignorant or unobservant. The teachers mainly ignored the strange boy, and never bothered to put a halt to the endless bouts of hazing and cruelty that Harry was forced to endure from his peers. The few people who even tried to talk to Harry, were quickly deterred from doing so by his own cousin and his gang. Until one day, when Harry Potter had finally had enough.
Harry was sitting by himself as usual, when he smelled a peculiar fragrance. It was lilac, freesia and a hint of vanilla. He looked over and saw a bushy haired mess with her nose buried in a thick book. The new girl was sitting at his table. He remembered that her name was Hermione Granger. She was wickedly brilliant, and always trying to learn. She was also rather bossy and a bit of a know-it-all, yet Harry found her chocolate colored eyes expressed not only a keen mind, but a sense of loneliness with which he could easily identify. Harry was nervously thinking of a way to warn her of her impending doom, as anyone caught around Potter suffered the wrath of Dudley and his goons, but he was too late. One Dudley's lackeys exclaimed with a nefarious glee, "Oi! Potter seems to have picked himself up a little bookworm for a girlfriend!" Harry almost groaned as the young girl flushed with embarrassment and began shifting in her seat. Dudley and his mates approached the table as Dudley spoke out, "Is that so, Potter? Do you fancy little Miss Mousy, here? She's been here less than a day and already figured out where she belongs." Everyone laughed at Dudley's comments as one of his lackeys snatched the girl's book. She leapt to her feet yelled in frustration, "Oi! Give that back, you inbred cretin, or you'll be sorry! I'll tell the teacher and she'll call your mums!" A few of Dudley's other lackeys snickered, each grabbing a hold of the girl's shoulders. She struggled to evade their grasp, but they overpowered her rather quickly. Dudley reached over and took the book from his lackey and began, "What do we have here? Let's take odds on what Miss Mousy likes to read about, shall we? I've ten quid on some kind of frilly romance novels."
Hermione simply replied, "I highly doubt your infantile brain could even begin to comprehend what I am reading. I rather strongly believe that you would find yourself hard pressed to attempt Dr. Seuss much less Dr. Stephen Hawkins."
Dudley flushed in anger and scowled, "Are you saying I'm thick, mousy?"
Hermione responded, "No, of course not. How could anyone dare to challenge the towering intellect we see before us?" People were simply stunned at the scene playing out before them. Dudley was the king of their year. No one had ever had the stones to stand up to him, and yet here was a mousy little bookworm dressing him down like she was some kind of adult. That was unheard of in this school. The even more shocking part of this drama was the fact that Dudley was actually letting her. People who have said far less had received his wrath in the past, and yet the new girl was handing him his just desserts in front of the entire lot of students.
Dudley was turning a nice shade of purple as he screamed back, "Oh really? Well, I'm rather excited that you feel that way. I think it's time for us to play a little game, mousy. I am really going to enjoy this. My friends here are going to hold you still for me, and I'm going to let everyone here see your knickers! Then I'm going to take them from you and you'll have to spend the whole day like that!" Hermione was in trouble and her bravado was shattered as she was desperately trying to win free of her captors' grasp. Harry, who had been quietly trying to let the new girl handle the situation, since he had felt if he had spoken up that Dudley would have attacked her in worse manner than if he had stayed silent, felt his rage flare as he had never before experienced. His emerald green eyes were almost glowing as he stood with his fists clenched and feet apart. The air around him crackled with energy, and his body trembled with fury. He cried out, "LEAVE HER BE! IF ANY OF YOU TOUCHES HER, YOU WILL SUFFER BY MY HAND!"
Dudley was completely stunned at his normally meek and timid cousin's statement. He stood there staring at Harry dumbly, while Hermione had managed to finally win her freedom as both of her captors had been distracted by Harry's outburst. She quietly backed away from the scene, after having slipped her book from Dudley's meaty hands.
Dudley shook his head in disbelief, "What did you just say to me? Are you gone around the twist there Potter? Do you recall what happened the last time?"
Harry snorted, "That was a different situation entirely, dear cousin. Then, we were in kindergarten, but if it helps, I can guarantee you are still a blooming fat bastard, who gets his jollies by hurting others. You are waste of flesh and you make me ashamed of myself to have to claim you as my relation. I will not repeat myself again, Dudley. You and your lot leave off her or I will bring you a fury that would make the depths of hell look like a holiday trip! I, for one, can no longer stand by idly and watch you be cruel to our classmates. You may be larger than me, but I have something that you don't, Dudley? Do you know what that might be? I am quick. You cannot hit me if you cannot catch me." Dudley bellowed in rage, "You freak! I am going to pound you into wet spot!" Dudley charged at Harry, intent on throttling his much smaller cousin. Harry simply watched in place as Dudley barreled down on him. Harry simply shifted his weight slightly and Dudley crashed behind after just barely failing to encounter the anticipated resistance that his impact with Harry would have created. Dudley had run face first into the bench, and was now squealing like some kind of a pig. He was bent down and cradling his nose, blood flowing from his nose and into his hands. The crowd gasped as the shock of the class wimp, defeating the class bully without even throwing a single blow.
Hermione had run to get the teacher and they arrived on the scene just in time to see Dudley attack Harry. Harry had not thrown a single blow, but he had achieved a victory over his cousin for the first time. Hermione raced over and pounced upon a very startled Harry, wrapping him in a fierce hug and a kiss on his cheek. "Oh, Harry! Are you alright? Thank you for standing up for me. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
Harry just stood rooted in shock. No one had ever hugged or kissed him before! He blushed and stammered, "Well, I am Harry Potter. Pleased to make you acquaintance. I apologize for my whale of a cousin. He would have not been as quick to attack if you hadn't decided to sit here…with me. I hope you know I understand if you do not want to sit with me again."
Hermione simply responded, "I shan't have my best friend's cousin try to shoo me away, now should I?"
Harry's face lit up, "You want to be my friend? Are you certain, Hermione?"
Hermione grinned and shook her head ecstatically, "I am more than certain, Harry! We bookish types must band together, and I daresay we do make a rather fetching team. So we are now best friends and we will remain as such, no matter what happens. I, Hermione Jane Granger, swear that Harry Potter…what's your second name?" Hermione asked and Harry told her, "Harry James Potter will be my best friend from now until the next life! Be it so!" she shouted as she spun about dancing merrily about the room.
Harry just laughed at her antics, "So be it!" Unbeknownst to either Harry or Hermione, this moment created a new journey along a before unseen path for Harry Potter, who one soon will see, is anything but ordinary."
AN: So what do you think so far? Next up: what will the Dursleys do? How will this affect Harmony?
SHarry James Potter
Hermione Jane Granger
