Chapter one: The monster under the stairs
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A/N: Full A/N at the bottom, I love reviews, especially ones telling me my story needs work and giving exposition. I own nothing.
Please Read and Review!
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Dudley Dursley was a happy boy. His life was perfect. His father was an upstanding citizen, loving father and husband to a wonderful wife and able to provide for his family's every desire! His mother was a gracious house wife, took care of every need in the house, and entertained guests with a smile on her face and a warmth that was as wonderful to bask in as it was genuine.
He had a duty to his parents to not muck around, he did his best at school, not good or bad, just average, he excelled at sports, and was easily one of the most popular boys in the school. Now he was preparing to go to the academy his father went to.
Going to this school was the reason his father got the job he did and gave him the credibility to go on to get a degree in business in Oxford by the sheer connection value alone! Dudley was decidedly nervous and couldn't sleep well. It was very unlike him as the boy had the habit of sleeping like a log.
Dudley had inherited most of his physical strength and appearance from his father, but his ears were distinctly his mother's and he had her superior hearing. Using this he could hear all the things happening downstairs and was alarmed when he thought he heard the snap of leather on flesh.
There was a hissing sound like a snake. It wasn't his mother's voice. It wasn't his father's. Dudley stat up in his bed. What was in their house?
"Petunia needed that for the bake sale tomorrow! You useless animal! Now get back in there and try not to waste anymore ingredients but I'm not holding my breath…you'll just muck it up like you always do!"
That was his father's voice. It was harsher and colder that Dudley had ever heard from him, even when he had accidently launched his pet turtle through a house window. Don't ask.
What was worse was he could hear the sound of leather striking skin with a sickening snap. There was a soft hiss of pain and more snaps.
'What the blazes was going on?' Dudley thought to himself. 'This doesn't make any sense!'
Dudley…he was a good boy…he obeyed his father and mother… they could be stern when cross but were always fair… Dudley closed his eyes and tried covering his ears to the sound of his father beating the poor bastard trying to rationalize this as best he could. It sounded like his father was beating some sort of strange monster and forcing it to make sweets for him. Normally this would have been funny as his father was a large man and had a sweet tooth but the sickening snaps of the leather on the flesh of whatever this creature was had chilled him to the bone.
Dudley waited until the sound of the beating stopped.
"Remember to clean up the blood. If I find even one speck of your vile fluid on my floors you will be beat until you cannot walk!"
Dudley was kept awake by the soft sounds of sobs and what sounded like someone working in a kitchen. Horror kept him in bed and when sleep finally did come it was filled with nightmares.
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Dudley didn't get much sleep that night and when he finally woke in the morning to his sweet mother's soft knocking on his door he was tired and blearily. He felt so tired…
"Sweetums… You are going to be late for school." His mother said softly. Dudley winced. It was a school day. Fiddlesticks.
"I'm sorry mum…I will get up!" Dudley said getting up to start his day but was haunted by what he witnessed last night.
Was it a dream? How? Dudley read somewhere that the brain tries to comprehend bad things that happen through the day by dreaming to try to make sense of it all. If they're particularly bad they have nightmares.
'That must be it.' Dudley thought weakly as he took a shower. 'I must have had a nightmare. My father didn't beat someone black and blue last night. My father isn't a cruel man. It was just a dream.'
Dudley was shaken though, and he was tired. He felt as tired as the time him and Piers stayed up all night playing Alien Hunter X on his PlayStation but without the giddy silliness that comes from the joy of just being with his friends.
As Dudley walked down the stairs he thought he heard a shuffling sound. Dudley froze. There wasn't supposed to be a shuffling sound. Upstairs was empty. Downstairs was his mother and his father went off to work. Dudley quickly relaxed as he realized he must have made the noise, he could almost hear his father's jolly joyful laugh as he jested with him 'What's the matter ole boy? Your jumping at your own shadow!'
A chill ran down his spine once again however as he passed the door to the closet under the stairs. It felt like someone was watching him… He approached the door slowly and checked the knob. It was still locked like it always was. His mother had told him that the door was locked because she kept harsh chemicals in there used for cleaning when he was younger, Dudley understood and hadn't bothered with the door. It was always locked… Dudley was scared. Dudley had the sinking suspicion that this was not normal. Before he could think anymore on the subject he was called to breakfast by his mother.
He slowly backed away from the door. Something wasn't right here…
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"Yer looking right tired Big D." Piers said matter-of-factly during lunch. "Stayed up las' night playing Alien Hunter 2?"
Dudley shook his head. Dudley knew he was going to get the game for his birthday in a week though. The school cafeteria was a roar of talking and it wasn't doing any favors for Dudley's headache. Piers was with him today as was Georgie, Manfred, and Carl. All his best mates round the table. Dudley however was apprehensive.
"Piers…do you have a door that stays locked in your house?" Dudley asked.
The question seemed to knock Piers off his train of thought. "No…well maybe…You're asking a funny question Big D, dunno what ta tell ya."
"Father keeps 'is study locked up." Manfred piped up between bites of his sausage. "S'got 'is 'relaxation stuff' in it. 'is liquor and whatnot."
"Mum doesn't like closed off spaces. So, nothing locked in my place." Carl said.
"Dad only keeps the safe to his gun store locked in my house…" Georgie contemplated before shrugging and downing his carton of chocolate milk.
Dudley considered his friends answers. "Mum and Dad got something locked up in the closet under the stairs. I've never seen the inside."
"Well wha'd yer Mum tell ya was in 'er?" Piers asked looking confused.
"Just some cleaning supplies she didn't want us getting into." Dudley said.
"Thas prob'ly it then." Piers concluded. "Wha'd ya think was in 'er? Entrance to Narnia?"
"It's probably also the liquor cabinet." Manfred said looking a bit excited. "We break in think we can have some?"
Manfred was always looking for things that would make him seem more 'adult' like trying his grandpa's snuff or nicking his father's cigarettes. No wonder Manfred's father kept the liquor in a locked room.
"Come off it, Manfred." Georgie said. "Your not getting any cause your ten and it's illegal to give liquor to a child."
"I am not a child!" Manfred exclaimed. "I'll have you know that I turn eleven in two months! Thas practically an adult!"
The conversation dissolved from there, but the relief Dudley felt was palpable. Last night had just been a horribly realistic dream.
Once again everything was perfect.
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Dudley scowled at the ceiling. Sleep far from him and the ceiling mocked.
As soon as he had come home he had gone to sleep only to be woken three hours later by his mother for dinner and a reminder to do his school work. Dudley had planned to go to sleep immediately after this but the food, great dinner conversation, and metal gymnastics that were his homework had made his mind far too awake for his liking. Now here he was three hours later and not any closer to sleep than he was an hour ago. Lucky tomorrow wasn't a school day but still…
This was already the height of inconvenience but there was a more pressing matter.
Dudley really, really needed to pee.
He was also parched as the Sahara…
One was easily done but the other would bring him unavoidably close to the locked closet. His mind had been put at rest…he thought… but the unknown and the fact the closet still gave him the willies was a key factor in his search for water. Dudley decided to follow his father's example and go after it like a man.
After a brief relief in the bathroom he contemplated going to bed but the scratch at his throat and the dryness in his mouth told him he would get no rest like this so with a moment's apprehension he descended quietly down the stairs.
He surprised himself with his unusual amount of stealth tonight. Normally the floor boards creaked but not wanting to wake his parents, his father was an important business man and his mother a hard-working home maker that both needed their rest after all! Dudley crossed the hallway in silence before he felt the urge to stop at the closet.
It was slightly ajar.
Just hanging their open and unlocked.
If Dudley was a man of greater fortitude, he would just close the door quietly and get himself a glass of water and head to bed.
That was what he should have done.
However, he was a ten-year-old boy that was scared, alone and in the dark.
Dudley opened the door slowly half expecting some sort of animal or demon or whatever to come shooting out but what he saw was even more chilling than any monster.
It was a bed.
It was a small bed, like one meant for a child, his Aunt Marge had larger beds for their dogs. In fact, it might just be a bed for a dog. There was a stack of his old school books on the side of the bed stacked neatly and a small box holding a few pages of paper and pencils. Dudley's mind was whirling trying to explain what this was.
It could have just been a storage room. His parents might have just been holding on to the dog bed for Aunt Marge and the box of books could have just been for lack of storage space. The box with pencils and paper however were the host damning however. He turned on a light and began reading the sloppy cramped writing on the page.
The first few lines appeared to be a practice from his old school books as he recognized the formula from last year's arithmetic lessons. But the rest was a diary of some sort.
Dudley was trembling. This…this was real… his parents had someone captive in their house. They had tried to kill this person last night by beating them half to death. His parents were monsters…
Dudley however dropped the page when he heard a harsh guttural sound coming from behind him.
It sounded like a snake.
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Headmaster Dumbledore had a lot on his plate. Professor McGonagall had come in, in a worried panic thinking she must have misplaced a Hogwarts letter and a subsequent panic led her to the record book. The book held the names of all the magical children in Wizarding Briton and had all the names of the new first years. What worried Dumbledore was the exclusion of a very specific name.
'Harry James Potter' was not on the list.
Dumbledore suspected the worst and called his man for 'worst'. He would be there in the Dursley's house in a matter of moments.
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Dudley was terrified.
The voice behind him… it didn't sound human. A harsh oppressive dread came upon him. It was like the thing behind him was…wrong. Wrong in every way. It shouldn't exist.
The front door knocked startling him and the oppressive dread vanished as he heard his parents get up.
"Who in blazes would be knocking on our door at this hour?!" his father roared stumbling down the stairs but froze when he saw Dudley in front of the open door of the downstairs cupboard. "Dudley? What…what are you doing awake?"
Dudley was just numb, in shock. His father… he loved his father. How could he do this and still be the father he knew and loved?
The knocking on the door reappeared. His father hurried quickly down with his mother following.
His mother wouldn't look at him.
She knew.
Dudley wanted this all to be a bad dream. He wanted it all to just go away!
His father finally answered the door and in the doorway was the most angry and miserable man Dudley felt he would ever see.
He had long greasy black hair, a hooked nose and stood emanating an aura of sheer loathing. His goatee became more noticeable as his lip curled in distaste.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursely." The man greeted voice smooth and dangerous as silk on a dagger. "May I come in?"
Dudley's thoughts immediately put together that this man…he must be a vampire! As if reading his mind, the man seemed to become more irritated as his father just stood there thunderstruck.
The man simply walked in without permission, disproving Dudley's vampire theory and wandered into the darkened living room. The sound of something scurrying echoed and the oppressive feeling of dread returned as something black as tar whizzed by him, pushing him aside and slammed the stair closet door shut.
The man turned to his parents then walked over to the door in question. This seemed to snap his father into action.
"You! Get out of my house! You aren't supposed to be in our world!" His father bellowed face turning purple with rage.
"I assure you I don't plan to be here any longer than I have too. This place reeks of…simpletons…" the man said icily turning to the door and pulling out what looked like a black stick from his robes.
Dudley's mind put it together. This man…he was a wizard.
"Alohomora." The man said, and the door's lock undid themselves and the door opened. The oppressive feeling returned following the sound of a guttural hiss.
Dudley tried to look in the closet to see what was going on, but his mother was suddenly beside him and covering his eyes, but he could still hear them arguing.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" His father roared. "YOUR LITTLE STICKS DON'T SCARE ME YOU FREAK-"
"Silencio. Petrificus Totalus."
The was the sound of wind moving and his father was now quiet leaving the man room to speak. His mother was trembling.
She's crying, Dudley realized.
"Petunia," the man said apparently knowing his mum's name. "Did you hate your sister that much?"
Dudley could feel the shudder that his mother felt and dearly wished she would let him go so he could protect her. That's what boys were supposed to do! He would-
The last thing Dudley heard was 'Obliviate.'
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Severus grimaced as he finished obliviating the damn muggles. Now on to more pressing matters. The child in the closet hissed at him. Severus tried not to do this with children but since it was possible that he couldn't speak English it might be necessary. Looking into bewildered green eyes he protected the thoughts of safe, protection, follow. The boy's oppressive aura noticeably decreased.
The boy cocked his head to the side hissing in confusion. Well there went that plan…
Suddenly the boy spoke normally. "Are…you going to hurt me?"
He looked like he was concentrating hard to keep his voice in English and he had a whispering guttural accent. It sounded like he was playing an archetypical supervillain.
"No." Severus said mildly. "You speak Parseltongue?"
The boy hissed in response before apparently cursing and made his voice English again.
"Yes?" the boy said weakly.
"You understand my language well?" Snape asked. When the boy tried to speak he held up a hand. "Just nod for now. No need to strain yourself."
The boy nodded.
"Good. I will be taking you to a place called Hogwarts Castle. We will get you medical attention and food. Grab anything that you want from here and we will be off."
The boy's eyes widened before skittering back into his closet and grabbing a pile of muggle books. Library books, hidden under his bedding. They seemed to contain a few classics as well as some modern ones. All children's books. Memories of the boy's mother flooded through Severus's mind. Lily loved Alice in Wonderland and the Narnia books… this whole ordeal was weighing too heavily on him. I didn't allow himself to think, just work.
"Ready?" Severus asked. The boy nodded. "Then take my hand, I will use magic to transport us. It feels uncomfortable, but it will be the fastest way. We have a lot to do tonight."
The boy looked hesitant but reached out and touched his hand. A searing pain filled his mind and he nearly splinched himself Apperating to Hogsmeade. Angrily he shoved the boy away when he got there. His palm, no his entire palm was scorched with second degree burns wherever the child's hand touched him. He looked up to glare at the boy but was reminded what happened with the boy crouching, crying and in a position to protect his head.
Severus was still angry, but his gaze softened. Having prepared for the worst he had a small medical kit he used to patch up his burns quickly. The boy however was clutching his arm and looking down. To Severus's alarm the arm was bleeding. He must have splinched him… Severus walked over to the boy and was rather hurt when the boy moved away from him in fear.
"I am going to try and make it feel better." Severus said slowly approaching. He tried to remove the boy's hand from his wound but was met with a burning sensation once more this time Severus let go in time to receive a burn not unlike the kind he would get touching a hot cauldron. "Very well. We shall go up to the castle and you can get treated there."
The boy grimaced but nodded meekly. Severus frowned. This was not how a child of the notorious James Potter should act. This was more like a mirror of himself back in elementary school before he met Lilly…
"Follow me." Severus said, and they walked up the gates of the castle. Thankfully most of the people were either asleep or at the local drinking establishments with only the random hag loitering around.
Severus called the carriage and was surprised when the boy could see the Thestrals as well before grimacing and remembering who the boy was. He was the reason his Lilly wasn't around anymore… she had died to protect him, and he had swore in his anguish to live to protect him. My, how he had failed…
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Freak stared at the Horsies the entire way up to the Big Castle praying that this wasn't all a dream. Vampire Man was quiet since Freak had burned him. Freak didn't like the ability, but it did help when Fat Man was hurting Freak's throat. Of course, Fat Man would only beat Freak harder with a weapon afterwards… he didn't allow himself to hope.
This was all just a dream.
Freak would wake up in his cupboard and the beatings would greet him. Oh, but what a dream! To be free! To share! To want! These were the things Freak dreamed of and as soon as Freak saw Hogwarts castle for the first time he know he was in love. His castle in the sky. A home. A home where there were smiling faces and great big feasts like the ones he made for the Fat Man and Petunia and Dudley. All just for him. It would be a dream come true. Freak didn't know what he would dream of after that. The carriage stopped, and the Vampire Man took him into the castle and Freak swore he had died and gone to heaven…
Wait…did that make Vampire Man the Devil? But then how did he get…never mind. Freak was just going to enjoy this dream for as long as it would last…
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Dumbledore anxiously awaited Severus's return. He didn't know whether he should wait in his office or the hospital wing… if the boy needed to go to Saint Mungo's then Severus would have sent a message of some kind… When Severus walked in, or rather glided, as his students tended to imply followed by a very confused looking boy Dumbledore sighed in relief.
"Severus! No issues I presume?" Dumbledore asked frowning inwardly as Severus's lip curled.
"You mean other than the child abuse and subsequent obliviating?" Severus asked dangerously. "What in the bloody blazes happened?"
"Severus not in front of Harry." Dumbledore warned.
There was a hissing sound and Dumbledore froze. Did that…? Looking to Severus for an explanation Severus merely grimaced.
"He understands English but has trouble speaking it. Just ask yes or no questions." Severus said weakly. "I need a bottle of firewhiskey."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I'll take over from here."
Dumbledore was suddenly the picture of a kindly grandfather with twinkling blue eyes. The boy's hiss grew louder as Severus began to leave.
"He won't hurt you. Try to calm down and answer the questions he asks you. I will send some food for you on my way out."
The poor boy made a guttural spitting noise, but Severus waved it off. An oppressive aura filled the room with a sense of dread. Dumbledore found this alarming but held his ground.
Everything in the boy's body language and magical presence told Dumbledore three things.
One: This boy was magically powerful.
Two: This boy was influenced by some strange connection to Voldemort.
Three: This boy had been physically abused and was now scared of him.
Dumbledore was now really wishing Severus hadn't have left but attempted to make light conversation.
"Lemon drop?"
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A/N: Things I'd like to talk about in an orderly fashion!
-What's going on with Harry?
-Snape's reaction, OOC?
-Dudley the perfect child? Likeable?
-Dumbledore in this fic, Villain or Tired Old Man?
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This Harry is the logical extreme of all the things that make Harry, Harry. It is what he could have been and what he was never supposed to be all rolled into one. If you have read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction or just read the books a lot with a smidgeon of reading articles on the Pottermore website than you probably picked up what exactly he is in this story… But for those of you who haven't picked up on it know that it will be revealed more in depth later on. If you have any questions about specifics such as what happened to Snape in Hogsmeade then ask it in a review and I will answer it here or there.
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Snape is a very hard character to write in the best of circumstances, so I went with a 'worried then stunned' Snape model. He is still a sadistic bastard with a heart of gold, he just was going through a lot that night.
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In this Fic Dudley Dursely never knew Harry Potter existed. This was done for reasons explained later on but lets suffice to say that without Harry there Dudley actually grew up a rather decent young chap. I always wondered what he would think of the situations if he wasn't brainwashed into thinking child abuse was normal, so I went with that.
Was he likeable though? Kind of for me but if you didn't like him he won't be making an appearance for a while! If you did like him…well…shit! Fine! I'll write him again much later on in the story.
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Lots of people hate Dumbledore and a lot of it has to do with some very basic lack of safety procedures and also his manipulative streak. While that may be…this Dumbledore isn't inherently evil. He is just a tired old man trying to do his best, suffers from depression and PTSD and is really banking on Harry being the chosen one so he can finally move on.
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Thank you for reading! Please Read and Review!