Chapter 1- A Snake and an Invisible Man
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Private Drive were proud to say that they were very normal. They believed that if you were to look up the world 'normal' in the dictionary, that their normal family picture would be there. They were the very last people that would be involved in anything not normal, such as magic or any other strange and abnormal things.
Vernon Dursley was a huge, muscular man with hardly any neck with a large mustache. Petunia Dursley was thin and blonde, and had twice the neck that most considered normal, a neck she used to look over fences to spy on neighbors. And Dudley Dursley was their only son, who, in Vernon and Petunia's opinion, could do no wrong.
This small family of three had everything, even a dark and dirty secret, and their greatest fear is that someone would discover it. They didn't think they would be able to bear it if anyone found their dirty secret: The Potters. Lily Potter was Petunia Dursley's younger half-sister, but they hadn't met in many years simply because Petunia liked to pretend that Lily didn't exist. And all because the Potters were abnormal.
The Dursleys knew that the Potters had two young twin boys: Haiden and Harry. But they'd never met them. Haiden and Harry were their normal reason for keeping the Potters away. They didn't want Dudley to mix with abnormal children like them.
So it was a nightmare come true when Petunia opened the front door one morning to put out the milk bottles to find two one year old babies bundled in their blanket with a letter sat neatly between them.
~Birth~
Eight years have passed since Harry and his older twin brother were left on their Aunt and Uncle's front door. Eight years since Petunia and Vernon were forced to take the Potter twins in. And seven years since Petunia and Vernon started to favor Haiden over Harry, for reasons Harry did not know. All Harry knew was that because he was not one of the favorites like Haiden and Dudley, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon did not care for what happened to Harry.
As a factor of that, young nine year old Harry Potter found himself with his brother holding his arms behind his back while his cousin Dudley punched him. This seemed to happen everyday. Haiden, Dudley and even sometimes their friends would hunt down Harry and beat him up for no other reason than they could and he was different. And Harry Potter was different from all the other boys. Harry didn't care for playing outside because he would rather sit inside and read. Harry wasn't loud and rambunctious like the other boys his age. However, his smarts weren't the only thing that made him different, he also seemed to make things happen that shouldn't be possible.
Over the years, Harry had learned that not sticking out and blending into the background was the best for not being seen by his Aunt and Uncle. He also learned that nothing seemed to help him not be seen by his brother. Harry had also learned not to trust anyone that offered to help him or told him that he could trust them. He had told three people about his abuse at home and they didn't do anything, they even acted as if they had forgotten.
The first person he told was his teacher. She had seemed to notice how his cousin and brother were treating him. She also took note of how the other kids seemed to follow their lead and had sat him down after class. Harry had trusted her, had opened up and told her all that was happening at home. Had told her about the fact that his Aunt and Uncle favored Dudley and Haiden while he was forced to cook and clean. He told her about the fact that his bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs, how the only meals he had at home was stale bread and one cup of water. How he was only allowed to use the bathroom once in the morning and once at night, and how he was locked in his cupboard without food and water and had to go in his cupboard when he had to use the restroom. And how Dudley and Haiden were encouraged to beat him.
After Harry had told her everything, his teacher had started taking him to the headmistress when a strange man with a long white beard, sparkly blue eyes, and strange clothing appeared in front of them with a small 'pop'. Without a word, the strange man pulled out what looked like a polished stick, waved it around, before disappearing again with another small 'pop'. After the man had left, Harry's teacher blinked before acting like she had forgotten everything that Harry had just informed her and had sent him home.
The second person Harry had trusted enough to open up to about his abuse was the school nurse. The school nurse had noticed how small and tiny Harry was and had called Harry into his office to talk to him about it. Harry had opened up to him, only to have that strange man with the polish stick arrive. He waved the stick and then left. The school nurse had conveniently forgotten everything.
Harry's last attempt to open up to a human had been with a Constable. Harry had been trying to run away from Haiden, Dudley, and their 'gang' during a game that has been dubbed 'Harry Hunting'. Harry had run straight into the Constable's back who questioned him about what he was doing. So Harry told him everything. The strange man and his polished stick appeared. The end result: Harry was sent away to play his game with a warning to watch where he was going and three cracked ribs, a broken nose, busted lip, and being thrown into his cupboard and starved for a week after dripping blood on his Aunt's clean floor.
After that, Harry swore never to open up to a human ever again.
~Birth~
It was after his daily beating and Harry was slowly limping around the outside of his house to the back yard, dragging three book bags while keeping an eye and ear out for his brother and cousin, just encase they decided to come back to beat him some more. He wiped the blood from the fresh cut on his forehead out of his eye. He let out a pain filled hiss when he put too much pressure on his swollen ankle.
When Harry had finally managed to limp all the way to a shaded spot in the backyard that he had dubbed his 'Homework' spot. He dropped the book bags onto the ground before carefully lowering himself to the ground. After taking a few moments to fight through his pain he pulled his cousin's book bag in his lap before pulling out the Maths book.
Harry had only gotten through five of the problems when a hiss floated up from the ground beside him. He glanced down to see a beautiful black and silver snake looking up at him. Harry smiled and gently pet the snake. This snake was his one true friend. Someone who always seemed to be there for him.
"Hello, Tom, how are you today?" Harry asked the snake before turning his attention back to his cousin's homework.
"I'm fine Harry, I see you're not though." Tom hissed.
"It is nothing that I am not used to." Harry muttered as he wrote the correct answer on one of Dudley's math problems. Harry heard Tom hiss out in anger. Harry sighed and rested his hand on the ground next to Tom to let him slither up his arm. "Do not be mad, Tom, everything is alright. It is nothing that I cannot handle."
"That's just it, Harry, you're only nine years old, you shouldn't have to be used to getting beaten everyday. You shouldn't have to be used to wondering if you'll get to eat tonight or not. You shouldn't have to be used to being starved for something you can't help, for something that was out of your control." Tom hissed and Harry paused in answering question before continuing to answer the questions.
"You are right, I should not be used to this. However, as it stands, this is my life and there is nothing that can change that fact." Harry said forcing himself not to tear up. He had learned long ago that crying got him nowhere but in more pain.
"What if I were to tell you there may be a way for you to change your life." Tom told Harry who laughed and shook his head.
"Yeah, okay, I would love to see that." Harry said with a slight anger to his voice.
"I can show you how to change your life, if that's what you want." Tom promised and Harry stopped working on Dudley's homework, and even though Harry knew that he should say no that if he said yes than he would just be getting his hopes up just like all the other times. Harry bent his head so that his bangs were covering his eyes.
"You are not lying to me, are you Tom? There is a way for me to change my life?" Harry asked darkly.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Tom asked.
"No, but I feel there is something about you that you are not telling me." Harry said looking at Tom who was looking shocked. "The other snakes I talk to do not talk the same way you do. The other snakes speak brokenly, even the ones that have spent their whole lives living near humans, but you speak just like a human. Why is that?" Harry asked.
"I should've known you would've caught on eventually." Tom said as he slithered back down Harry's body to the ground. "I do wish to tell you that I didn't mean to deceive you for so long, but I noticed your mistrust in not only adults but humans as well." As Tom spoke, a fog rose from his body and began to form a figure of a tall slightly see-through man with short, black hair and dark red-brown eyes. "I would appreciate it if you allow me the chance to explain." Harry looked away from the figure to look back at the Maths homework in thought.
"I suppose I could hear your explanation." Harry muttered glancing back at the figure who smiled gratefully at him.
"I didn't lie to you when I told you my name, that's still Tom Riddle, but for years now I've been known by another name: Lord Voldemort. Only those who I trust with my life know my real name." Tom informed. "May I sit next to you."
"If you want." Harry said with little emotion in his voice. Tom slowly sat down next to Harry, watching him closely and looking ready to jump up at any moment, should Harry decide to bolt.
"I've been watching you and your brother for as long as you've both been here. I possessed this snake to get close to you when you began to show signs of being able to talk and understand snakes like me. I needed a way to get close to you." Tom continued to explain.
"Why did you want to get close to me?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Because we're a lot a like." Tom said. Harry narrowed his eyes in thought.
"How?" Harry asked.
"I also grew up with no parents in an orphanage that treated me worse than dirt because I was different. I could do things that they couldn't. I could make things disappear. I could make things shrink. I could transport myself. And I could talk to snakes." Tom could see Harry remembering all the times he had done something that should not have been possible.
There was a time at the zoo when the exhibit window for a Boa Constrictor had mysteriously vanished after he had been pushed to the ground by Haiden. Then there was the time when he shrunk a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) that Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into. The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fit a hand puppet. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had decided that it must have shrunk in the wash and Harry hadn't been punished. On the other hand, he had gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley, Haiden, and their 'gang' had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's Headmistress telling them that Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do was jump behind the big rubbish bin outside the kitchen doors.
"Alright." Harry said slowly while giving Tom a hard stare. "Let us say I believe you. How will this knowledge change my life?"
"Before I'm able to answer that question, there's one very important question that I must ask you: Do you believe in magic." Harry's eyes flew from Tom to the back door as if expecting his Aunt or Uncle to appear and beat him.
"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always tell me that there is no such thing as magic." Harry muttered looking and sounding his age for once. Reminding Tom that even though Harry spoke and acted like a mature adult, that he was still very much a child that needed protection.
"Do you believe that?" Tom asked Harry who looked away in thought. Tom stayed silent and let Harry think and decide for himself, knowing that he had never been allowed that opportunity.
"If magic is not real," Harry started slowly after a few minutes, "then how was I able to make the impossible possible? So, yes, I do believe in magic."
"That's good, because you and your brother are wizards." Tom told him and Harry sat in silence as he thought about all the time he had done the impossible in a new light.
"That makes everything make much more sense." Harry muttered before looking at Tom from the corner of his eye. "And you are a wizard as well, are you not?"
"Yes, I was." Tom said and watched Harry look him up and down.
"And now you are a ghost." Harry noted.
"Technically yes, I'm a ghost but that doesn't mean I'm dead." Tom said and could tell he had confused Harry. "It's very confusing. I'm not alive, yet at the same time I'm not dead. You see, Harry, there's a war going on in the Wizarding World between the Dark side, my side, and the Light side, Dumbledore's side."
"Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"That old man that always shows up when you try to tell people about the abuse here." Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously at that. "Eight years ago, I went to your parents, for the third time, to get them to leave Dumbledore's side and join my side to try and protect them from Dumbledore's manipulations. Your father declined and tried to kill me, so I killed him. Your mother was smarter and actually listened to me and would have most likely switched sides had that old fool not appeared. We fought and your mother, while protecting both you and your brother, was a casualty in that fight. It's a slight blur after that, so I don't truly know what happened, but what I do know is that a wave of magic coming from the crib that held both you and your brother separated me from my body and destroyed the house." Tom stopped speaking at the far away look on Harry's face, it looked almost as if Harry were trying to remember that night.
"What happened to Dumbledore?" Harry asked confusing Tom. "You said the wave of magic separated you from your body, but what did it do to Dumbledore?"
"I don't know." Tom said shaking his head. "I just remember agonizing pain as my soul was ripped from my body and then days or weeks, maybe even months, later waking up in front of this house and being drawn to it, to you." The two sat in silence as Tom allowed Harry to take everything in and process it how ever he needed to.
"If you are not technically dead, does that mean you can be revived?" Harry asked.
"That's the hope, yes." Tom confessed.
"So you need my help?" Harry asked and Tom sighed.
"I honestly don't know what I need from you, if I need anything from you. All I know is that I'm drawn to you by some force and that I'm the reason you and your brother are here." Tom explained.
"Because kill our father and may have killed our mother while fighting Dumbledore." Harry said.
"Not only that, but because Dumbledore wanted to 'protect' your brother from my Death Eaters." Harry looked confused at that. "My followers." Tom explained. "My Death Eaters are looking for your brother after he was named the boy-who-lived. Dumbledore claimed to the whole Wizarding World that it was your brother that defeated me when my Killing Curse rebounded off of him and back on to me, effectively 'killing' me. It was then that Dumbledore placed both you and your brother here to be protected by the Blood Wards."
"Blood Wards?" Harry asked.
"Blood Wards are protective barriers that protect the people that share the same blood and live in the same house. However, they can only be activated by love." Tom explained.
"Then only Haiden is being protected by these Blood Wards. Why am I here when I would be safer else where?" Harry asked.
"You're here because Haiden is your twin brother. Dumbledore couldn't just leave Haiden here to be protected and have you living at an orphanage or in another house away from him, it would cause too many questions."
"I see." Harry said. "Moreover, how is any of this knowledge going to change my life?"
"Because now that you know you have magic and have been accidentally using it, you can be taught how to properly use your magic. If you're willing to allow me, I can teach you how to properly use your magic." Tom told him.
"You can still use magic in that form?" Harry asked and Tom shook his head.
"But just because I can't use magic in this form doesn't mean I can't teach you." Tom told him. "Do you wish to learn how to control your magic and become my apprentice?" Harry took a few minutes to think over the question, Tom hoped that Harry would take him up on his offer. Something was telling him that Harry would be a powerful force and he would rather be on Harry's safe side than against him.
"I will gladly accept your offer of becoming your apprentice and learning to control my magic." Harry told Tom who let out a breath of relief. "Is this how it is done in the Wizarding world?" Tom looked confused so Harry elaborated. "Is this how one becomes a wizard? By becoming the apprentice of another wizard?"
"This hasn't been the official way of learning magic for years. Long ago, it was common for a young, untrained wizards to leave their family and follow an older, and wiser, trained wizard and learn from them. Some of the older Dark Wizard families still do this, at least until the wizard or witch becomes eleven, it's at that time they are sent to a magical school. There are several different magical schools scattered around the world, but you and your brother will be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry located in Scotland. All magical children in Britain go to Hogwarts unless their parents decide other wise. Fare warning, Hogwarts is Albus's domain, seeing as he is the Headmaster."
"What is Hogwarts like?" Harry asked soaking in all the new information he was receiving.
"Hogwarts is actually quite a wonderful place, and if we can get rid of Albus and his manipulating ways, we can return it back to that wonderful place. For the longest time, when I went there, I considered it my home, that is until Albus tainted it." Tom realized he had begun to rant and cleared his throat, though he had no need to do so in this form, it was just a way to by some time to get his thoughts back on track. "At Hogwarts the students are split into four different Houses, which will become like your family."
"Great, sounds awesome, I do not want to go." Harry said.
"You misunderstood me, Harry. When I say they become like your family, I don't mean like your relatives, I mean like a true family. You'll create bonds with your Housemates and grow to care for them and help each other when needed, like a true family. And sometimes you may even find your soul mate within your Housemates." Tom said trying to ease Harry's worry.
"I see." Harry said looking away in thought, Tom knew from his time watching young Harry grow that Harry never knew the love a family. He, himself, had been the very same when he started Hogwarts. "And what are the names of these House?" Harry asked. It always fascinated him how Harry spoke, as if his mind and soul belonged to someone older who had spent their whole life in royalty.
"The Houses are named Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. The Houses were named after the four founders of Hogwarts: Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor. The Slytherin House values ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness. Their House colors are emerald-green and silver, and their mascot is a Snake. Ravenclaw House values wit, wisdom, intelligence, and creativity. Their House colors are royal blue and bronze, and their mascot is an Eagle. The Hufflepuff House values hard work, loyalty, and fair play above all else. Their House colors are canary yellow and black, and their mascot is a Badger. And the Gryffindor House values courage, chivalry, and stupidity. Their House colors are maroon and gold, and their mascot is a Lion." Tom informed him.
"And what House was yours?" Harry asked.
"Slytherin." Tom said.
"So, according to everything you have told me, young wizards and witches that have just turned the age of eleven go to a Wizarding School to be taught how to control their magic. So, one is to assume that only wizards and witches are allowed to go to a magical school?" Harry asked.
"Yes, but, Harry, you should know that there are different statuses of Wizard Blood." Tom told him.
"That makes sense. What are these differences?" Harry asked, his homework long forgotten.
"A true wizard must know and understand all the Blood Statuses." Tom said and Harry nodded quickly pulling out a different notebook from his backpack and opened it to a clean page, pencil ready to take notes.
"The first, and top, of the blood statuses are the Pure-Blood Wizards. A Pure-Blood is a wizard, or witch, that was born from two magical parents. Most Pure-Blood families marry other Pure-Blood families to keep their blood pure, one such family is the Malfoy family, you will meet the youngest Malfoy at Hogwarts. However, there are some Pure-Blood families that don't care about Pure-Blood statuses like the Weasely family.
"The second are the Half-Bloods which, most of the time, are wizards that are born from one magical parent and one non-magical parent, but that is not always the case. In yours and your brother's case, you two are technically Pure-Bloods since you were both born from two magical parents. However, since your mother is considered to be a Muggleborn, you two are considered to be Half-Blood in the eyes of the Wizarding Society.
"The next are the Muggleborns. These are wizards, or witches, that are born from two non-magical parents. This isn't an uncommon occurrence. After Muggleborns are the Squibs. A Squib is someone non-magical that's born form two magical parents, this, too, isn't an uncommon occurrence. At Hogwarts there's a Squib by the name of Flinch, he's the caretaker." Tom said watching Harry quickly take note of everything he was saying. Tom couldn't seem to take his eyes off the elegant cursive writing that didn't seem to belong to the young boy. When Tom had been able to finally take his eyes off the writing he noticed Harry watching him, waiting for him to continue. Tom knew that if he had still been living, he would have blushed. He cleared his throat again.
"Right, now, there is something very important you need to know. Most Pure-Blood families that still believe in Pure-Blood statuses look down on both the Squibs and the Muggleborns, or Mudbloods. This is an insult that literally mean 'Dirty Blood'." Tom continued.
"You keep saying 'Muggleborn', what is a Muggle?" Harry asked.
"A Muggle is what we call someone that's non-magical." Tom told him. "Now that the history lesson is over, would you like to learn magic?"
"I believe I do." Harry said.
"Right, first, close your eyes and clear your mind." Harry closed his eyes and focused on clearing his mind. It was harder than he thought, but after a few minutes he was able to clear it. "Take deep, even breaths, and focus only on your breathing. In through your nose and out through your mouth, match your breathing to your heart beat." Harry followed the instructions and soon found himself in a trance like state. When Tom spoke to him again, his voice sounded far away. "Good, very good. Now, if you can hear my voice, focus on my voice." Harry did as he was told and even though he was still in his trance like state, he focused on Tom's voice allowing it to become louder and stronger.
"Now Harry, I need you to search deep within yourself and try to find your magical core." Harry allowed himself to float in his trance like state searching for anything that could be his magical core. He had no idea what he was looking for but when he found a silver and green ball of something he couldn't name that was pulsing with power he knew he had found his magical core. He reached out to touch it when it reached out and wrapped around him, warming him. "Wonderful Harry! Now, in your mind I want you to form your magical core into a thin, flat sheet and cover it over any part of your body that hurts and imagine it healing you.
Harry willed his magical core to form a flat sheet in his hand and was amazed when his magical core actually formed into the flat sheet. Using his free hand, Harry pulled a thin piece of his magical core off the sheet and was amazed to see a nearly see-through sheet dangling from between his fingers. He carefully put the sheet on his forehead that was pulsing in pain and a second later the pain was gone. Harry smirked and began to pill off sheets of his magical core and placed them on every part of his body that hurt.
"Good," Tom's voice cut through his trance like state one all of his pain was gone, "now, gently let go of your magical core and come back." Harry watched, kind of sad, when his magical core left his body and back into the void. He then allowed himself to leave his trance like state and when he opened his eyes and suddenly felt more tired than he had ever been. "Good job Harry, you just learned how to heal yourself."
"Why do I feel so tired?" Harry asked and was shocked when his voice came out slurred.
"That's how it always is when you first use your magic." Tom informed him.
"But I was not tired after I used my magic before." Harry said confused.
"That's because you never technically used your magic before, Harry. Your magic reacted to your emotions and lashed out. What you just did, right now, was take control of your magic and bend it to your will and make it do exactly what you wanted it to. That, Harry, is what being a wizard is all about. But don't worry, the more you use your magic, the less tired you will be." Tom told him.
"I see. That is good to know." Harry slurred out causing Tom to chuckle.
"Go get some sleep." Tom said.
"Sleep, yes, that sounds like an excellent idea." Harry said standing up after packing up all the homework and notebooks, he went to make his way back to his relative's house when something popped into his mind. "What do I call you now?"
"What?" Tom asked confused.
"Well, you informed me that you only allow certain people to call you by your true name, and see as everyone believes you are dead I do not think that calling you 'Lord Voldemort' would be a good idea. So, I will ask you again, what do I call you now?" Harry asked and Tom looked away from him in thought.
"Master." Tom said looking Harry in the eye. "You may call me Master."
"Very well. Master, I bid you goodnight." Harry said before finally making his way, stumbling, to his relatives house. Once inside, he walked over to his cupboard and fell onto his cot. He tiredly reached over and closed the door before falling into a deep and restful sleep. As he slept he dreamt of a young man with long silver hair and ice white eyes with slits for pupils. The second the young man noticed Harry looking at him, he smiled widely showing sharp teeth.
"There you are, my love." The young man said and moved to get closer to Harry, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. The young man growled low and dangerous, and even though Harry knew he should have been frightened of not only the young man but also of his animalistic growl, he felt no fear. Harry took a few steps towards the barrier and rested his hand on it and was happy when the young man did the same. "So close and yet so far. But do not worry, my dear, I will find you. And after I find you, I will protect you from any and all things that wish harm to you. Please, my dear, my love, wait for me, I know I am on the path that will lead me to you." Harry could do nothing but nod.