Harriet Potter: A Different Beginning
AU, What if Harry was born a girl instead? What if her treatment was a lot harsher at the Dursleys? How would she cope? Inspired by SlyGoddess's 'A Butterfly Effect'
Chapter 1 How it Began
The residents of Privet drive prided themselves on being normal and conforming with the identicalness of each other. Should anyone make even a small attempt at being different it would be talked about by the infamous gossips that were the women of Privet Drive, they forced everyone to be compliant lest they wished to be snubbed and talked about behind their back by the neighbours, not that they weren't already. Unsurprisingly this had led to a great resentment between the neighbours and a constant desire to make each other look bad to make their lives more interesting.
It was here that our story began, behind locked doors each member of the neighbourhood held secrets that they were so fearful of it getting out that they would do anything to stop that happening, none more so than the Dursleys. It was in this house that their greatest fear lived; a small 10 year old black haired girl with piercing green eyes, this said girl was currently locked in the cupboard under the stairs silently weeping. Now while many would be shocked at this said treatment and assume this was the reason for her crying, but no the reason for her crying was a much darker one.
Now most 10 year olds normally exhibit small tendencies of rebellion to their parents' wishes every now and then, Harriet Potter was no different apart from the fact that it was to her aunt and uncle. Now what you must understand is that her aunt and uncle were left with her on their doorstep one day after the aunt's, Petunia, sister died, now while many would be upset by said news and promise to look after that child as it were their own, Petunia however hated her sister and resented the fact that she had been left her child, add to that a letter saying she had to look after her and it's safe to say this child would not grow up happy. This was inevitably the case as Harriet was taught to never ask questions and do as the Dursleys wanted, this worked out fine for the Dursleys at the start as she was raised like this and never thought differently, however as she grew older she started thinking for herself more and began wondering why she was treated differently from others as she observed their interactions, she observed mainly due to the fact that she had barely any social skills and also because Dudley, Petunia and her Uncle Vernon's son, chased away any potential friends away. As any normal person would she started asking questions, breaking one of the main rules of the Dursley household, NEVER ask questions. It was this that made Vernon furious with her and led to him beating her and locking her in the cupboard previously mentioned.
Tears streaked down her cheeks as she sniffled, trying to keep quiet lest she earn her uncles ire, she had realised her place once more, 'I'm a Freak, that's what he called me. That's why they treats me like this, I'm less than them' she thought bitterly as she once again considered running away 'No, that would never work I wouldn't be able to live out there, I would be forced to come back which would make my life even worse'. It was this way that she fell asleep that night; crying and trying to think of a solution that evaded her grasp.