10 Years Later
Harry Potter opened his eyes to face reality, and as soon as he did he wanted to go back to sleep. It was his eleventh birthday. Most children would be excited for such an occasion, but not Harry. It was also his twin Charles' birthday and everyone forgot about Harry. His parents would always throw Charles a large birthday party and shower him in presents, while Harry sat in a corner or at a table, ignored.
He slowly got out of bed and got dressed. When he was done, he went downstairs for breakfast. His parents and brother were already at the table. Harry sat down just in time to grab the last piece of bacon.
"Hey, that was mine!" whined Charles.
"Give it to your brother, it's his birthday." said Lily.
'It's my birthday to' thought Harry 'but I guess they wouldn't remember.'
"Boy, you better be on your best behavior at Charles' party." James said, "You better not embarrass this family."
Harry sighed, "Yes sir." He was not looking forward to the party. There were always people from all over Britain there, many of them huge fans of Charles. It would be a long day.
The ballroom of Potter Manor was filled with witches and wizards. There was a huge mound of presents in the corner and large table filled with food with a large chocolate cake in the center. Harry sat in the corner, watching everyone around him. No one talked to him or acknowledged him, but maybe that was a good thing. His parents hated it when someone paid attention to him over Charles and they gave unpleasant punishments. Harry heard footsteps and looked to see who was approaching him. It was Sirius Black, or Uncle Padfoot, as he liked to be called, and Remus Lupin, or Uncle Moony.
"Hey kid." said Sirius, smiling, while handing him a package, "Where are your parents and brother?" Harry pointed to the other side of the room, where they were talking to the Minister of Magic. "Thanks, happy birthday." he said as he walked away. Harry sighed. Sirius payed more attention to him than his parents did, but he still obviously prefered to be around Charles.
Harry turned his attention to Remus. "Hey, Uncle Moony." Harry said, trying to give a believable smile.
"What's wrong Harry?" asked Remus. Harry knew Remus had some idea of why he was upset. Remus knew that Harry was neglected to some extent, but he never did anything about it. Harry didn't really blame him though. No one else has ever made an attempt to help him with it.
Harry's birthday was the one of the few times he felt really upset about how his parents treated him. It wasn't on purpose, it was just harder on his birthday. Usually he wasn't to upset about it. He told himself many times that he doesn't need his parents, and is fine without him, and he was, but sometimes he wondered how things would be if Charles was never declared The-Boy-Who-Lived.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Harry said, hoping his uncle would let it go.
Remus smiled and handed Harry a small package wrapped in shiny green paper. "Happy Birthday, Harry. It's not much but I hope you like it."
Harry took the present and opened it carefully. Inside was a small wooden box with a golden latch. "What is it?" Harry asked.
"Well, when you open the box, the charm inside it will activate until you shut it. The charm will make the ceiling of whatever room you're in replicate the sky. You'll like it at night, I know how much you like the stars." And it was true. The night sky always fascinated Harry. He would sometimes just look at the stars for hours.
"Thank you, Uncle Moony." Harry said gratefully. He couldn't wait to try it out in his room.
"Your welcome Harry, I'm glad you like it." Remus said cheerfully.
"Hey Moony! Come say Happy Birthday to Charles!" James yelled from across the room. Remus gave Harry an apologetic look as he was dragged away by Charles.
Harry took his two presents and went to his room. That party was getting really loud and he needed to step away for a little bit.
Harry's room was large and messy. There was a claw-footed, mahogany desk in the corner with ink, quills, books, and parchment all over it. In the middle of the room was a large, four poster bed. Harry sat down and opened the gift Sirius gave him. Inside was a rare book on alchemy. He smiled. Sirius obviously knew him well.
When Harry and Charles were eight, Dumbledore insisted that he should train Charles so he is prepared to fight Voldemort. Harry asked to be trained to, but his parents said no, saying he was just a squib and would never be as good or as powerful as his brother. Harry, who was upset and angered by that statement, vowed to himself that he would one day prove to them that he is as good as Charles. Ever since Harry has spent a lot of time in the Potter library, reading and practicing magic. He could now do a lot of wandless magic and when he got the chance, he could steal Charles' practice wand and try a few more complicated spells. Harry was very smart and could understand things that most kids his age can't .
Harry opened the box with the sky charm inside. The ceiling now looked like the clear night sky and Harry could see constellations and planets clearly. He put his new book on his shelf and went back to the ballroom, where the party was. More people seemed to be there than there were when he left earlier. He saw his his parents and brother talking to a large family with red hair and freckles that Harry identified as the Weasleys. Charles was talking to Ron Weasley, who was the youngest boy and the first and only kid their age Harry and Charles have ever met. Ron only really wanted to be around Charles and joined him in antagonizing Harry.
Harry slowly walked towards his family. He was starving and they were right by the food table. As he walked past, Ron made an attempt to trip him, but missed, tripping an old woman on accident. The woman fell into Charles, who then fell on top of the cake.
"Charles! Are you okay? What happened?" screeched Lily as she helped Charles up.
"It was Harry," Charles yelled, "he pushed me!"
James and Lily glared venomously at Harry. They were obviously very angry and their expressions promised a punishment. Suddenly, Harry was not looking forward to the end of the party.
"How could you be so rude to your brother!" snarled James.
"It wasn't my fault! Ron tripped someone and she fell on Charles!" Harry tried to explain.
"Don't you DARE blame your brothers best friend, it was your fault!" screamed Lily.
"And you will pay for it." James added, stepping towards Harry.
Harry braced himself for the pain that would surely come. He was not physically abused too often, just when they were really angry. They mainly just neglected and insulted him.
James kicked him swiftly in the ribs a few times and threw him to the ground. With a few more kicks and punches, James stopped. " Don't you ever do anything like that again, you disgraceful squib!" James said harshly, walking away with Lily and Charles.
Harry picked himself up off the floor and limped to his room. He seemed to have a few broken ribs, cuts and bruises on his face, and broken leg. When he got to his room, looked through a book of healing spells and found some he could do without a wand. It took a little while, but he managed to heal all of his injuries. He then crawled into bed. 'It's been a long day' thought Harry as he drifted off to sleep.
