Myriad: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and her characters belong to JK Rowling.

…

For as long as he could remember little Harry lived with his Aunt and Uncle. He had finally learned his name this year at his first year of primary school. Sadly, though the brief time away from the place he called home was cut short and he was now stuck home for the summer. Currently the five going on six-year-old was in the bathroom on his hands and knees scrubbing the grout with a small brush to make sure it stayed a pure white. The bucket of chemicals sat innocently next to him as he rhythmically dipped the brush into the mix and scrubbed at the mortar.

He was focused on the task and attempting to do his best, so he didn't anger his Aunt Petunia or his Uncle Vernon. He didn't want to go without a meal which was their favorite form of punishment if his chores weren't completed properly; if it wasn't that, then he was locked is his cupboard. He learned early on to do exactly as they said and he would be treated a little more fairly. Finishing his chores and abiding by their rules set about him getting something somewhat decent to eat.

He turned his thoughts away and moved to the next tile pulling the bucket with him and set about cleaning the grout around that one when he froze as he heard thundering steps heading up the stairs and an angry shout of, "BOY!" He winced the previous thoughts of food leaving his mind as his uncle slammed the bathroom door open and in the process sent the innocent bucket flying at his nephew who sat on the floor looking towards him with wide eyes.

Within that moment several things happened at once, the bucket of chemicals landed on the child drenching him, knocking his glasses askew and causing the small boy to suddenly scream in agony. The large man at the door turned pale at the sight and rushed at the screaming child. Though the man didn't care for the little rat, in his mind. He would never have physically caused him harm. Yes, he would punish him with his belt occasionally when needed but it never caused lasting damage.

Another set of steps was heard rushing up the stairs and a thin blonde woman made her appearance at the door staring at the sight in shock, "Vernon! What did you do!?"

"P-petunia, it was an accident I swear!"

"Hurry throw him in the shower we need to wash it off him and see what damage was done! We can't have child services coming here and ruining everything."

The couple hurriedly scooped up the sniveling child and shoved him into the shower blasting him with the water. He stood there shivering the too big of clothes clinging to him. He slowly opened his burning eyes and stood in fear of one thing. Instead of the blurry figures he expected to see without his glasses he was met with total darkness. There was a gasp he recognized as his aunt, "Vernon his eyes."

"Good gods, what have I done."

"We need to get him to the hospital. Nothing we can do about it besides that. It was an accident we'll think of something."

The boy normally silent especially when his realities were present whimpered before finally stealing the nerve to find his voice, "Aunt petunia why is it black? Are the lights off? I can't see?"

"Stop asking stupid questions boy and come with me."

He felt her bony hand grab his arm and pull him with her. He felt someone begin to yank of the wet clothes clinging to him and felt the soft downy feeling of a towel wrapped around him. That was then replaced of another soft fabric that after he stopped struggling with a sharp pinch from his aunt he realized was a shirt and then trousers that were being placed on him. Socks and then what he assumed were his ratty trainers were placed on him before he felt someone lift him up. He realized suddenly that it was his aunt and held back his surprise. This was the most attention he had ever received from them that wasn't yelling or demands for him to do something, or a quick lesson on how to properly do a chore for the first time.

He heard the creak of the front door and then was placed on a hard leather seat before a strap was placed around him and he found out he was in his Uncle's car. He nervously fiddled his thumbs trying to keep the fear at bay as the world around him stayed dark. He didn't understand why he wasn't seeing anything. He didn't dare ask anything else though because he knew his aunt wouldn't answer them. What felt like ages in the vehicle soon slowed to a stop. Soon enough he heard the door slam and then his door opened, and the seatbelt was tearing off of him and his aunt pulled him from the car holding a firm grip on his arm.

He followed her guiding him and soon enough he heard the gasp of another voice he had never heard before, "Oh my, come with me hurry this is an emergency we'll get him checked in, in the back. Let me get you a nurse so we can find one of the doctors."

Soon enough he heard his aunt talking with another woman who was asking her all kinds of questions about him that he had lost track of. He sat there silently in confusion as his aunt prattled away a ton of information that he didn't hear before. Soon enough they were joined by a man's voice and the other woman took her leave, "Hello Mrs. Dursley I presume and young Harry."

"Yes Doctor," his aunt's voice was surprisingly teary, "it was an accident I swear. I was cleaning the bathroom and him and my son were playing like normal and well he had tripped and fell into the bucket of cleaners. I washed him off and well I tried my best to get it out of his eyes and look what happened. I don't know what to do." She let out a pitiful wail.

Harry knew better than to correct her story so when he heard the man, which he now knew was a doctor close in front of him, "Hello Harry, I'm Doctor Richard. Now is what your aunt saying true. You can be honest with me." He heard her sniffling in the background and slowly nodded his head, "Now that's a good lad. Is it ok if I look at your eyes? Do they still hurt?"

"N-no sir. They still burn a little but not too bad sir. Y-you can look but why can't I see sir?"

"That is what I need to find out." A large hand gently ruffled his hair and he heard some shuffling around and the sound of a few metal items clinking together, "Now I am going to be shining some lights in your eyes if you see anything please let me know."

Harry gave a quick nod and his hair was ruffled once again by the large gentle hand. He heard a click of a button and then Doctor Richard let out a sigh, "From what I can see, I am sorry to say this, but his eyes have experienced several chemical burns. Even once they heal I do not think he will be regaining his sight back." He heard the shuffling as the doctor moved away from him and the sounds of drawers opening, "Now because of this. There are several things that must be done. I am going to write down some numbers for you to contact that will help your family and young Harry here get back on his feet. He is going to need a lot of help. Are you capable of providing that?"

"I think we might be able to manage or find a way to. He is the last thing I have of my sister."

Harry was a bit surprised at how genuine his Aunt truly sounded at that statement. There was a bit of silence around them for a few minutes before Doctor Richard broke it once more, "Well get these people will help you with his disability and will help him learn how to get around. A lot of things are going to be different for your family now. Young Harry is going to need a lot of support."

Soon after that his aunt began to lead him out of the room and they stopped for a few minutes, so she could talk to the lady at the desk to check him out who seemed very kind and gave him a lemon flavored lolly. Soon enough he was buckled in once more in the car the ride like before was silent but suddenly his aunt started talking, "Harry, I want to tell you I am sorry. Today I realized Vernon and I were wrong. There is a lot when we get home we are going to have to talk about. I let jealousy rule me and well with what happened, Lily would probably hate me. She probably already hates me for how I treated you, her son."

She was silent after that and little Harry didn't know how to respond. He didn't really understand everything that was going on other than he will never be able to see. His world was going to stay black forever. Silent tears leaked from his eyes. He was scared, not of the dark, but the fact he couldn't see anything anymore. He wouldn't see the blue sky, his aunt's flowers, his uncles face changing all the different colors when he was angry. His cousin shoveling so much food in his mouth that he would resemble a pig, he wouldn't see any of that.

Soon the car came to a stop and Petunia helped him once more out of the car. Soon he found himself being gently lowered onto the plush seat of the couch before the steps of his aunt got fainter. He heard from the other room the sound of his aunt and uncle talking loudly though he couldn't make out what was being said. Soon enough his cousin's wailing joined the mix when things suddenly went hush. He sat there for what seemed like forever in the dark, he hugged himself and curled into a ball trying to hold back tears.

His thoughts were soon interrupted at the sound of a smug voice, "Mum and Da say you can't see anything anymore, is that true?"

He moved his face in the direction he heard Dudley's voice from, "Yeah its true."

Things were silent for a few moments before Dudley let out a whistle, "Wow you really can't. Mum told me we had to play nice now. Do you want this?" A soft item was pushed into his hands, "I know you can't see him but it's the bear I got from the vending machine today. I don't want it so you can have it."

Harry clung what he now knew was a bear tightly to his chest. In the span of a day things seemed like they were slowly getting better but at such a cost. He didn't know if he wanted to pay that price for kindness but it looked as though he had.