AN: I know it's been quite a while, but I had some real life stuff going on. However, I've been working on my writing, albeit slowly. Hopefully I'll be able to push forward through this section, as I have more written for the Part 2. (I can never write in order, sadly.)

Also, this is short, and it may be updated, but I'll be sure to note it in a future chapter if it does happen. I don't like the quality of this chapter, but I can't seem to find my proper rhythm.

Anyway, hope this will work for you guys for now. Sorry again for my flakiness. 3EosRetrograde

Several weeks passed after the Dursley's outing, and Harry sat at the table, his feet dangling uselessly above the air. His aunt had given him bread and cheese again, but for some reason, had also given him a strip of leftover bacon from that morning. It wasn't so unusual, he supposed, that she gave him leftover food—no, it was more of a surprise that Dudley had left anything, as he usually resembled the vacuum Petunia used on the floor.

Harry hadn't mentioned making Mrs. Figg cry, and the event indeed had seemed a little fuzzy. He just knew she had cried in front of him, and he had felt guilty, so it must be his fault. He was a bad boy, after all. His aunt and uncle told him so often,so it must be true.

The only good thing about the encounter, though Harry wouldn't know it for some time, was that Mrs. Figg had slyly suggested Harry's Aunt Petunia send him to preschool. "In order to get the troubled child out of your hair, Mrs. Dursley," Mrs. Figg had said, her eyes seemingly earnest. "I can't always look after the boy, what with my appointments for my health. Petunia originally had protested this, thinking it a waste, but had slowly changed her mind in the past two weeks.

But Harry didn't know this, and so, when his Aunt spoke to him, he jumped, quite startled indeed.

"Boy—Harry," his aunt started then stopped, saying his name. The boy looked at her confused. He looked around for this Harry, not sure of where the other boy may be. His aunt Petunia snapped at him, obviously thinking him stupid, instead of the fact that she'd never called by his name before.

"Boy, Harry's your name, you idiot! It's what they will call you at school. Vernon and I decided you should go, as you're not quite as smart as my Diddle-duddykins. I daresay you'll need all the extra help you can get."

And so he was enrolled. However during the open house, he'd been locked in his cupboard, as his uncle had left bruises from his most recent belting—this time because young Harry had somehow broken a dish in the kitchen while he was dusting off the telly.

Harry's first day of preschool was wonderful. Living in the confines of Privet Drive meant that he hadn't a lot of exposure to other types of people. The residents of Privet Drive wire much like his aunt and uncle—pale, older people, and his cousin resembled them as well.

So when he arrived to his classroom, on the first day, he was amazed and frightened at the same time. There were quite a few children. One little girl rode in a strange chair, while a boy had skin the color of hot cocoa. There was also a girl with an odd smile—a small gap between her teeth. Her hair was pulled into hastily done pigtails, and her clothes, while still better than Harry's were, not nearly as nice as everyone else's. When he shyly asked why (even as a four year old, he was noticing such things) he had been told she came from the local orphanage. Harry cried at this. Aunt and uncle always threatened to send him to such a place if he didn't behave. Uncle said it was a terrible place, full of monsters and barred windows and doors.

He was confused when he introduced himself to the little girl, who was named Annette, and found out that while crowded, there were no monsters or bars, but there were mean older kids sometimes, and rooms that the bad children had to spend the night in, if they were especially naughty. Harry could quite understand mean kids—after all, he lived with Dudley. The little girl with the gap between her teeth was nice as well, even if she asked strange questions about his clothing, and why he was so thin.

The other children thought he was strange and so they didn't go quite near him the first day, which made him a bit sad. He thought his aunt was right and that he was too stupid for anyone to want to be near him.

Even despite his depressing thoughts, Harry quite enjoyed his class. He wasn't near Dudley or the rest of the Dursleys, and he found out he was allowed to ask questions. It was so wonderful, that he nearly cried when they told him he had to leave, until they told him that he could return the next day. Then his smile was as bright as the sun after a long winter, and the teacher wondered how such a sweet boy could ever be considered a troublemaker by his aunt. The teacher thought about it much for the next few days, before dismissing it. Perhaps it was because Harry and his cousin were so different in personality that the woman automatically assumed something was wrong. Yes, that must be it, the woman thought, and no more was thought about Harry's predicament from that point on.