Chapter 1 – A Difficult Life

Being unappreciated, Harry comes with a decision that will affect his future. Would fate give him the easy way out or is fate still playing with our young hero.

Disclaimer – Not mine as it belongs to the great and powerful JK Rowling.

AN: Thanks to my beta, this was much better then anything I could hope for. Any mistakes you find are on mine and not my beta. Thank you.

A young boy stood in front of a small bridge. The child was short for his age but no one had ever really cared enough to ask why. The only things that made him stand out were his piercing green eyes, in which his aunt still saw her sister; dark black, messy hair that reminded people of his father; and a jagged scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead that reminded everybody else of the end of something horrible.

The kid was none other than Harry James Potter of Number Four Privet Drive. Only being seven years old, he stood to a smoldering 4 feet and 3 inches. Wearing only the cast off of his 'perfect' cousin, he continued to hold up his pants with one hand, while trying to fix how his glasses were positioned.

Tears were shining on his cheeks as cars drove past him, ignoring him just like everybody else. The tears mixed with a little of the blood from the numerous cuts and scrapes that could be seen over his small face. Blood was spattered all over his left arm. His glasses were half broken and almost falling off his face, but he seemed determined for something else to care about it. A closer look would show that the young Potter was limping towards the side of the bridge. As he stepped a little closer to the edge, a car zoomed passed him almost knocking him over.

Harry took a small breath before looking over the bridge and onto the river that had been filled by the rain earlier. Tears continued to fall down on his face as he looked towards the sky.

"Mum?"

Thunder crackled in the background as silent tears poured down Harry's face.

"Dad?"

Another small clap of thunder cracked in the sky.

"Can I come home?" He said in a small voice, as though he was scared of what the answer might be. He understood that his parents' lives had been taken away early, and he wanted to be with them once again, even if it meant death.

His Aunt and Uncle had told him that his family was taken away by a drunk driver. He didn't care. He wanted to be loved at least once in his feeble life; to be a part of a family.

The small boy looked around and nodded his head, his decision apparently made. He started to climb on top of the railing, and closed his eyes to think about the incidents that had led him to come to this bridge.

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– Flash Black –

Harry Potter was sitting on one of the swings in the park near his house. He had a smile that many people would love to have; a smile that made him seem young and care free. He was enjoying his time in the park but knew that he needed to go home soon.

Many parents tried to keep their children away from the 'menace' of Privet Drive, but Harry didn't care. His aunt told everybody that would listen that he was a nuisance and destined to become a criminal; even if she wouldn't go so far as to come straight out and proclaim that he was dangerous. How could a child be destined to become a criminal? He wouldn't know but it allowed him to have the park for free and away from people gawking at him life a piece from a museum.

It started to sprinkle and he knew that he should be headed home before he got soaked and his uncle punished him for dripping water onto his clean floor. Never mind the fact that Harry was the one that kept it so clean. He shook his head, clearing it of the small day dream of him spending time with his loving family, and decided to head on to his relative's house.

He jumped off the swing and bumped into scrawny, rat-faced kid who still managed to be a lot larger than Harry, knocking both of them to the ground.

The bigger kid turned his fierce gaze towards the smaller one, until he realized who it was. A small, menacing smile, formed on his lips.

Harry eyes widen in recognition as he realized that the other boy was Dudley's best friend and fellow 'Harry-Hunting' aficionado, Piers Polkiss.

Piers pushed Harry off of him, rising to his feet. He then stood over him, towering over him with his fist clench. His smile only grew as the rain started to fall harder.

"Please, Piers," begged Harry softly. "I need to go home. You can beat me up tomorrow. "

Piers turned his attention from Harry for a moment, towards the entrance to the park. With a sinking feeling, Harry realized that he must be looking around for the other members of a 'Harry-Hunting Party' so they could have some fun with their victim. One by one, Piers' friends started to arrive around the bend, and the larger boy looked down once again. Without further warning, he landed a hard kick on Harry's ribs.

The rest of the kids walked towards the o talking loudly but stopped short when they saw who their friends were kicking. Smiles grew on each of their faces before they rushed towards the attraction.

"Piers," yelled Dudley. "Now, hold on a minute. He is my cousin and that means that I get first dibs at him."

"Well," stated Piers. "I get first go at him since he tried to attack me."

The group turned their attention towards Harry and found him shaking in tears and clutching his ribs, not even trying to escape.

"You mean little ol' Potter tried to attack you," asked another, laughing.

"Well, not really. He jumped off that girly swing and fell. I happened to be standing where he jumped and he hit me. I think I need to teach him a lesson about not bein' more careful about runnin' into his betters."

Harry turned his attention to his cousin, silently asking for help with his eyes. Dudley shook his head and was the first person to throw a clenched fist towards Harry's head. This signaled the rest to follow along, and they started to pound his scrawny frame.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, Harry Potter lost consciousness on the hard ground.

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He shook his head, trying to clear it, and knew that he was in trouble. Around him, the rain was falling at full blast. Still groggy, Harry stumbled to his feet and started to run at his full speed back to his aunt's place.

Lighting shot across the sky an instant before thunder crashed the scene like a bellowing drum in the night sky. Harry was getting scared but knew the longer he was out, the worse it would be when he got back. He didn't care about the pain that he has right now, he needed to arrive before his uncle returned home.

"I need to get home," thought Harry. "I need to get home fast!"

Lightning surged in the sky and blinded Harry enough that he skidded to a stop. He lost his vision for a second but started to blink rapidly to clear the searing afterimage. A smaller clap of thunder shook him out of his daze.

His vision now cleared, he realized that aunt's house loomed right in front of him. He couldn't have gotten home that quickly. The park was almost half a kilometer away and he just started heading home. He couldn't have run that fast with the injuries that he had received. He decided to not question his good fortune any longer before making his trek towards the front door. He placed his ear against the wood and heard sound of something that instantly scared him witless.

"Where is that damn boy," Vernon growled loudly, almost shouting.

"I don't know," stated a calmer Petunia.

"Once he gets home, he is going to get a serious whipping."

His uncle literally growled, reminding Harry of a bear or other large predatory beast. He knew that he was in trouble and he knew that the longer he let his uncle stew, the worse it was going to be.

Harry squared his shoulders and knocked on the door. As the door opened, he noticed in the light that his uncle was drinking his scotch in his favorite chair. He cringed knowing that his uncle is half-way pissed (drunk) and he is in serious danger.

Harry looked up and noticed his aunt with a sneer.

"And tell me, why are you late this evening?"

"Aunt Petunia, I fell and um …"

At this moment, his aunt looked towards the ground and saw that blood for falling onto her perfect floor. She looked towards Harry and back to the ground, then back to Harry before giving a well known screeched that could be heard though half the neighborhood.

"Vernon," screeched Petunia. "He is dripping blood on my floor. Get him to stop."

"What," shouted Vernon his face showcasing his favorite shade of purple. "You freak! Come in here now and stop that infernal bleeding."

As Harry walked closer to his Uncle, he winced as Vernon pulled out his belt and started to roll it on his fist. He closed his eyes knowing what is going to happened.

"How dare you," stated Vernon as he landed a fist onto Harry's face cracking the glasses. "You drag in here late and then cause damage to your aunt's floor?"

"Uncle," begged Harry, tears rolling down his cheeks as he cried. "Please, I will clean it up."

"Oh, you dare talk back at me!"

At that moment, the 'perfect' and 'knowledgeable' son came waltzing into the house. He turned his attention towards the scene beeen Harry and his father, and then back to his mother. He shrugged and walked towards her ignoring his freak of a cousin. Dudley tugged on her apron.

"Mom, I am hungry."

"Of course, my Dudley-kin, let me get you a little snack before that thing starts on dinner."

Vernon smiled at his son and wife as they walked past him into the kitchen. He gave his son a wink before turning his anger back on Harry.

"What do you have to say about yourself, boy?"

Wisely, Harry only whimpered, tears still falling down his face. Vernon grabbed Harry's throat and slammed him onto the wall. Harry's eyes widened in fear as he was choked. Reflexively, he kicked his heels backwards, which was easy to do since they were dangling off the ground. He weakly tried to shake his head; desperate to twist it out of his uncle's massive hand, but it was to no avail. His struggles were interrupted when a burst of light engulf the room.

Vernon tossed Harry back to the ground before placing a hard kick into Harry's cracked ribs.

"You freak! I do not want your freakiness around my house."

Vernon gave him another punch to the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

"You think you can do whatever you please?"

Vernon kicked Harry in the leg, causing him to wince.

"You think you can be a freak and do this?"

Vernon picked Harry back up and tossed him to the ground. As Harry landed on his leg, he felt the sickening sensation of the bone snapping. Somehow, he held in the scream that struggled to tear from his throat, though he couldn't stop from whimpering pathetically.

"You think …"

Vernon shook his head before grabbing the broken leg and twisting at an unnatural angle. This time, there was nothing that Harry could do and he screamed in agony.

"You think you can scream!"

Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar and tossed him to the door. Harry wavered before looking towards his uncle. Harry just stood there not understanding the situation before Vernon opened the door and literally kicked Harry out the door, causing him to fall on the steps and hit his head on the sidewalk.

"You're not welcome here, anymore, freak!"

The door slammed as Harry looked around his surroundings, while blood was ran down off his face.

"How come," thought Harry. "That with all that noise, no one came out to help?"

He shook his head and tried to stand up. The pain was excruciating but Harry didn't care. He needed to leave and get away. He knew that this is not where he wanted to be. The rain stopped as Harry looked at the sky before knowing what to do.

-End Flash-Back-