Sorry to disappoint some of you readers, but this is not a Lily/James/Dumbledore bashing fic. Yes, my plan is for Harry to eventually take over the wizarding world, and yes Lily, James, and Dumbledore will stand in his way, but that doesn't mean that I will bash on them. I believe that all characters, even villains, need to be complex, they can't just be one-dimensional. Additionally, Lily and James had a good reason of sticking Harry with the Dursleys as you will find out in this chapter. Does that mean Harry will forgive them? No. But that doesn't mean that Lily and James are stuck up freaks who only care about the BWL. And for that matter, Charles (Harry's twin) is not going to be a stuck up arrogant fool. He will be a powerful wizard, and I am not sure whether he will take Harry's side or not in the later parts of the story. And if you haven't figured it out by the title yet, "a snake in the lion's den", Harry will be in Gryffindor.

And thanks Teufel1987 for the help. I originally modeled Harry's elementary school after my own elementary school, which of course has a baseball field and not a cricket field.

Also, don't expect such frequent updates. Since it was Veteran's Day Weekend and I had no school today (Yes, I'm still in high school), I decided to throw another one out there. I try to keep one chapter ahead, and seeing as I have finished chapter four, I'm posting chapter 3.

Okay, I am standing by with the plot that I have written, so if any of you have a problem with it, I suggest you leave. However, I have reread my work, and most of your concerns were valid, so I changed up this chapter.

Now, here is a quote from "Kuro" who did not write it with his real name (if he has one).

"So you are not bashing because you do not want to have your characters to have depth but your excuse for them leaving Harry with the Dursley's was he was a squib.

Congratulations on making characters with no depth and wasting everyones time with a author note that you failed to follow."

OK, I really should not be gracing this review with a response, but since I am particularly angry about it, I will write back.

Now, he says "You are not bashing because you do not want to have your characters to have depth", a semantically incorrect statement as I do want most of my charachters to have depth.

Additionally, he writes "Congratulations on making characters with no depth and wasting everyones time with a author note that you failed to follow". Now, I fail to see how excusing Lily and James for leaving Harry with the Dursleys takes away from character depth. Kuro, if you want to explain that to me in another review, then go right ahead. In addition, Harry is not excusing the Potters either. I understand that it is hard to understand that from what I wrote, but I explicitly said that he was pretending.

Here's my rant on flames. If you would like to leave a flame review, go ahead. Just at least put some thought into it and make sure you can back up what you are writing. Your review means nothing to me if it doesn't have anything to back it up. And I don't consider any of the reviews on my story "flames" except for Kuro's.

Next, Lily and James are going to be better than they are in standard Wrong BWL stories, but that doesn't mean I think they're completely innocent in this. I was going to put it in chapter 4, but I guess I should add it in here that they pretty much forgot about Harry after he was sent to the Dursleys. No one's perfect, and Lily and James surely are not going to be. Harry will hate them for what they did to him.

And -Addictive Label, I guess I'm really sorry about your parents, and I think that maybe since I've had a relatively good home life, I might not be able to know what Harry would do as well as you would. That being said, the thing is that Harry has an ultimate plan to screw over the Potters eventually. I had planned to show Harry's thoughts about the incident in the next chapter, but I guess that it would make more sense to put it in this chapter.

-emerald777, I honestly did not think about Dumbledore looking into the Dursleys' minds. I don't really have an explanation for that, let's just say Dumbledore was short sighted.

-hero of all, i didn't really understand what your point was in the second part of that review, but as for the first, to you and emerald777, Harry played his part perfectly, and Dumbledore will not suspect him just as Dumbledore did not suspect canon Harry.

Chapter 3

The quiet and usually subdued residents of Number 5 Privet Drive, right across the street from Number 4 Privet Drive, had always noticed weird things going on in that house. It started when those horrid residents, the Dursleys, moved in across the street and they had to put up with the whining baby noises coming from their pampered son. But one night, as Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil, the residents of the aforementioned house across from Number 4 Privet Drive, were taking a walk outside, they noticed a most curious looking baby laid down on the front porch of that house. The baby's eyes were pure green, and its body seemed to have more wisdom than its years, but that was not what was so curious about it. It was curious because it had a small lightning shaped scar on its forehead, and it was wrapped in a luxurious silk blanket. Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil debated on whether they should take the kid in, as they knew that the Dursleys would not be good parents and that Mrs. O'Neil could not have children. But they eventually decided against it, for they did not even know who the child was.

As the child grew up across the street from the O'Neils, they learnt that they had made a bad decision. Harry Potter was the sweetest boy on the neighborhood; he was kind, polite, and nice, unlike that other ruffian of the Dursleys, Dudley. But the O'Neils were very observant and although Harry Potter had no visible signs of abuse, they could not miss the fearful glances that he shot at the Dursleys every time they entered the car. Oh he knew that Dudley had a gang of bullies that would antagonize Harry, but Vernon and Petunia Dursley were grown adults. They should have known better. And occasionally, very infrequently, they would hear a small scream that was soon stifled coming from inside the house of Number 4 Privet Drive. And they always saw Harry working on chores in the house, though unusually never saw Dudley.

Every time Harry showed signs of abuse, they resolved that they would do something about it if it got worse, but they always made excuses for doing something about it in the present. When Harry turned seven, Mrs. O'Neil almost freaked out after hearing another one of Harry's screams that was quickly stifled. This time, they promised themselves that they would do something if it got any worse. And yet, surprisingly, it never did. That year, the Dursleys stopped making him do chores all together and let him do whatever he wanted to. He also seemed to grow a backbone, and was no longer bullied by Dudley's gang. All in all, Harry was on the fast track to recovery. And yet, when Harry stared at the O'Neils on occasion, when they were out for a walk or in their car, they felt his searching gaze. They had, of course, recognized the change in eye color, but they had dismissed it as the doctors had, as heterochromia. But every time Harry stared at them, they felt like their minds were open books and that they were being read. And every time, they would feel a sense of guilt for not doing anything to help Harry.

But they watched as Harry gained weight, grew tall, and looked like a thirteen year old rather than an eleven year old. They wished that Harry was their son and that they had made the right decision all those years ago. But they didn't, and they would always have to pay the price for that.

It was a cold Saturday morning as Mr. O'Neil stretched as he got out of bed. Just because he did not work on Saturdays did not excuse him from his daily morning routine. At the middle-old age of 55, Mr. O'Neil was still active, and he woke up at six in the morning every day to keep active. He made a cup of coffee and walked outside to get the newspaper when he saw a most curious sight. A large owl, probably a barn owl of some sort, swooped down and delivered a letter to the Dursleys through the mail flap. He wondered why the hell an owl was delivering a letter, but decided not to worry about it, as it probably pertained to Mr. Potter. Compared to the stories he had usually heard about the boy, an owl delivering a letter was probably a daily occurrence. He chuckled to himself as he thought what the possible contents of the owl delivered letter were. Just because some considered him old didn't mean he had a sense of whimsy, as he thought about the letter being some sort of invitation to a magical school full of witches and wizards. Of course, he was right, but he did not know that. He picked up the newspaper and walked inside, paying no mind of the crazy owl.


An hour later, Harry stretched and got out of bed, excited as it was a Saturday and he could freely practice his magic in his room. He had grown in skill and ability as he discovered that his power was not limited to causing others pain and wind teleportation. In fact, he realized that his magic had very few limits as he could pretty much do whatever he wanted to with it. He could turn objects into other objects, create fire, create electric charge, and his personal favorite, fly. It was extremely hard at first as although he could levitate objects, he could not levitate his feet without his feet inverting and causing him to fall. Eventually, however, he figured out that he had to levitate his own head which would pull up the rest of his body without inverting it. This proved to be immensely challenging as Harry could not see his head and could not visualize what he was levitating. Eventually, when Harry was first able to levitate and was able to repeat it, with practice, flying became natural to him, and he constantly visited the fenced field behind the cricket field to practice his flying and other magical abilities.

At the fenced field, Harry made friends with a few of the snakes, and in return they taught him more about the magical world. At first, he had assumed that there were just a few wizards and witches in the world, who were isolated from the rest. However, he quickly learned of an entire magical society conveniently hidden from the rest of the world. Apparently, he would be inducted into that world at some point, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not find the entrance to the magical world immediately. He would just have to wait until someone showed him how to get in there. Apart from that, the snakes had little knowledge of what the boundaries of magic were, but Harry was exploring more.

Harry's magic had developed in other ways too. On the day of his ninth birthday, he stared at Uncle Vernon and suddenly got information on what he was thinking. He realized that he could find out what others were thinking using a form of magic that he denoted as mind magic, and realized that if he could get into others minds so quickly, others could get into his mind similarly. Somehow, he instinctually knew that meditation would block mind reading, so he meditated for two hours daily. His meditation was similar to his soul absorbance, and it worked in the same way. Soon, Harry found that his memory was improving. His already heightened memory was getting to a level of almost eidetic memory, where after looking at a long paragraph for only five seconds, he could recite the entire thing from his memory.

Harry put his thoughts aside as he went to go check the mail. Although he never got any mail, he usually read the newspaper that the Dursleys received daily, not that they read it. They got it just to appear educated, which meant a lot to them. He sifted through the mail when he saw a very curious letter. It seemed to be written on a piece of old parchment, like the type that was used in the 1700's, and it was addressed to him. He turned it over and read

Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey

Oddly enough, there was no stamp, meaning it was either hand delivered or was delivered in some way other than the post. He turned it back to the front and noted a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

He quickly tore the seal and opened the letter, intrigued as to what it might contain. He pulled out another old-looking piece of parchment and read

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress

He looked back inside the envelope and found another old-looking piece of parchment with a list of magical-looking ingredients. Well, this had to be it! This had to be his induction to the magical world. Though it was odd that the witches and wizards knew his address, even if they got the cupboard under the stairs wrong; although he did live there for a majority of his life. But, maybe he could use that to his advantage. He packed up all of his stuff and moved it back into the cupboard under the stairs. That way, the people who were supposed to induct him into the world would see that he grew up in such terrible conditions, and might kill the Dursleys, and would probably take him away from there.

Though it did say "we await your owl" and he had no clue what an owl referred to. Was an owl used to send messages, or was an owl what wizards called messages? Or was an owl something else entirely? Regardless, he had no clue how to reply back, as they had sent no return address. Shrugging aside his worry, as he was sure he would be inducted into the world soon, he excitedly reviewed all of the magic that he knew.


**********THAT MORNING IN DUMBLEDORE's OFFICE**********

"Lily, James, I'm glad you came. I have something urgent that I need to discuss with you," Dumbledore said.

"OK," Lily said. "What is it?"

"I think it would be best to show you," Dumbledore said. "I was looking through the list of Hogwarts invitees, you know, to make sure Charles was there."

"Of course," James said.

"Right. Well, in the process, I found something shocking that I think you need to see for yourself," he said.

"Charles didn't make it to Hogwarts?" Lily shrieked.

"No, no, Charles made it, Charles is fine. No, you will need to see this to believe it," Dumbledore said as he brought out the list of Hogwarts invitees. As Lily glanced down at the underlined name, she gasped in surprise. She saw "Harry Potter" underlined on the page.

A slow expression of dawning faded onto Lily's face as she remembered who Harry Potter was. It had been so hard to repress those memories of giving up her child, but now everything came back like a flood. She realized that she had never once gone to visit him, to see how he was doing at the Dursleys. Well who could blame her, she had Charles Potter, the boy who lived, as her son. But any normal parent would at least visit their abandoned son. She hoped he had a good home life, but did he? Then, she realized that all her anger could be traced back to one person: Albus Dumbledore. "YOU SAID HE WAS A SQUIB" she yelled.

"Calm down Lily. Yes, I did say he was a squib, but that's what my tests said." Dumbledore said.

Her next realization was that a wizard among the Dursleys would be in a bad position. "Oh Merlin. We sent our wizarding child to go live with the Dursleys! His first signs of accidental magic would have made them attack him. Please tell me it's not that bad." she pleaded.

"I'm afraid it is, Lily," Dumbledore said sadly. He handed her a copy of the letter sent to Harry. As she saw "the cupboard under the stairs" she lost it. She yelled angrily, she bawled with large tears coming from her eyes, and slowly she accepted it. James did not sit idly by either, as he was also actively yelling at Albus. Finally Albus calmed James down and both calmed Lily down.

"Now, I realize that we have made a terrible mistake," Dumbledore said. "But it does not do well to dwell on the past, and we must focus on what we can do to fix this terrible injustice to Harry. But let's start by visiting him immediately. Merlin knows Petunia and Vernon probably kept the letter from him."

"Yes," Lily said.

"Shall we," Dumbledore said, getting up and extending a hand to Lily and James each. They grabbed on as Dumbledore apparated them into Privet Drive.


Dumbledore knew exactly where Privet Drive was even after all those years. It was, after all, the place where Lily grew up and he managed to remember the small street after visiting it to drop Harry off to the Dursleys. He calmly walked over to the house and sharply knocked three times on the door.

Vernon opened the door saying "Why the ruddy hell are you opening the door this early in the morning," before stopping and seeing who it was. He gulped in fear at the sight of three angry wizards glaring at him. "Aren't you two supposed to be dead?" he asked to Lily and James.

"ALBUS, YOU TOLD THEM WE WERE DEAD" Lily yelled.

"Well it was the only way to get them to take Harry in," Dumbledore defended.

"Honey, calm down, the neighbors can hear you." James said.

"Wait a minute, if you aren't dead then why the hell were we stuck with the freak," Vernon said.

"We thought he was a squib, but it turned out that he isn't," Lily said.

"And what the ruddy hell's a squib?" Vernon asked.

"A non-magical," James explained "Who was born to magical parents."

"He is too a freak," Vernon said. "He's making us slaves to his freakish nature in our own home. We should have kicked him out a long time ago. The lousy good-for-nothing trollop does nothing."

Harry had come out of the cupboard and heard the conversation going on between Vernon and the three wizards. They seemed to be talking about him. He quickly walked over, eager to find out more.

"Harry? Is that you?" Lily said as Harry walked into the entry hall. She rushed over to him and embraced him in a hug. "Harry! Oh, at least those terrible relatives of ours didn't do any lasting damage."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Harry, it's me, Lily. Your mother." Lily exclaimed. "Oh, you're so cute."

"You're alive?" Harry said shocked and a bit angry. He had lived his entire life under the assumption that his parents were dead and suddenly they just pop in here and try to rescue him from the Dursleys. He had to rescue himself from the Dursleys and where were they then? Where were they in all the hard parts of his life that they could just pop in when he had it set and dislodge everything. His hardened thoughts were interrupted by Lily, or his mother's soft voice.

"Yes Harry. I'm alive and I am going to take you out of this place." Lily said.

"Then why did you leave me with the Dursleys? Why did you abandon me?" Harry said with a perfectly innocent face and puppy-dog eyes. He had decided to learn the reason why his parents had abandoned him and then figure out what to do with them.

"Eh erm," The old wizard accompanying them spoke up, embarrassed. "That's actually my fault. You see, Harry, magic is real. And you are magical."

"Woah, really," Harry said excitedly. Wait, he needed to convince them that he did not know that he was magical. "No, but I'm just a freak. I can't be magical."

Vernon interrupted "He's lying. He knows he's magical; you know you're magical, you little freak. Tell them how you tortured us."

Harry broke out into soft sobs at this point, deciding to follow through with his original plan and treat his parents as he would any strangers. His plan was to show the magicals that the Dursleys attacked him. "Torture? You tortured me for all my life, and you have the nerve to say that I tortured you." he cried. He looked up at Lily, James, and Albus's collective disgusted expression. They were buying all of it.

"Harry, did the Dursleys ever beat you?" James asked slowly.

Harry shakily nodded, playing his role perfectly, as he lifted his shirt to show the still visible scars on his chest of Vernon's beatings. James, Lily, and Albus gasped at Harry's horrible treatment.

"You're a dead man, Dursley," James said.

Petunia chose that moment to calmly walk down the stairs. When she saw Lily and James downstairs, she froze. "L-lily, are you alive?" she said questioningly.

"I came here after ten years to see this happening to my son. I don't care if we're related, Petunia, you're going to die." Lily coldly said.

"Now, now, Lily," Dumbledore said, trying to fix things. "Let's not be too rash."

"Fine. You can spend the rest of your life in fucking prison." she yelled.

At this point, Dudley came down the stairs saying "I'm hungry, what's for breakfast."

"Harry, who is he?" James asked.

"H-he's Dudley, their son." Harry said, perfectly shakily. It was a bit hard to do because of his anger at them, but he remembered his self-taught meditation, and concentrating on acting the role of a scared abused child.

"Harry, has Dudley ever bullied you?" Lily asked, picking up on his purposefully placed clues.

"N-n-no," Harry said with a scared tone obviously lying.

"Harry, you can tell us the truth. None of these freaks are ever going to hurt you again," James said, comfortingly.

"Yes," Harry said. "He constantly beats me up at school, with his gang of bullies," he said again shakingly.

"Your entire family has antagonized my precious son. You're all going to get your just desserts," Lily said.

"No, you don't understand," Petunia pleaded. "He's evil. Pure evil. He keeps using his freakish powers."

"You mean accidental magic," Lily said. "That's not freakish, that's a sign of power. And family or not, I will be pressing charges against you and your fat oaf of a husband for child abuse and against your idiotic son for assault. Harry, pack your things and let's go."

At this point, Harry realized that he was screwed. He couldn't be seen as having nice things or his cover would be blown. Seeing as his parents could probably afford to pay for new stuff for him as they were very well dressed, and luckily, he was wearing one of his rattiest pajamas and shirts, he mumbled, staying in character "I don't have anything. Everything is Dudley's old stuff, and I don't want it."

"Really. Not even a single toy or a single article of clothing." James said, staring at the Dursleys with undisguised hate. "Come on, Harry, we're never going to this place again. We can get them sent straight to prison for life."

"Do you really mean it?" Harry said with wide eyes. This was exactly what he wanted to happen.

"Of course, Harry," James said. "You're our son, and even if you were a squib, I wouldn't ever let you go back to those filthy creatures." They walked outside the Dursley house.

"Wait, you were explaining something about me having magic, right. Is that true or is that a joke? Because I got some letter from this school." Harry said simply, because he had learnt that the cleverer you sound, the more people dislike you.

"Harry," Dumbledore said. "You do have magic. You see, the thing is that I tested both you and your brother-" Dumbledore said before he got cut off.

"I have a brother!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes, Harry. But back to the main point. I tested both you and your brother of your magic levels, and the report said that you had no magic." Dumbledore said.

"So I don't have magic," Harry said, feigning sorrow, for he knew that he did have magic.

"No. You got a letter from Hogwarts, which automatically sends a letter out to any wizard or witch with more power than a squib, so you are magical." Dumbledore said.

"I'm - I'm magical," Harry said wondrously. "But I can't be. I'm just Harry,"

Dumbledore looked down at the boy with pride. Here Harry was, an abused child just like Tom, but he had no delusions of grandeur, and couldn't believe that he was special. Harry would go far indeed. "Well Harry, would you like a demonstration of magic?" Dumbledore asked benignly.

"Of course," Harry said.

"Such bravery. You would make a fine Gryffindor," Dumbledore said. He grabbed Harry's hand with one hand and grabbed James's hand, who was holding onto Lily, with the other. He apparated all four of them into his office at Hogwarts.

"Woah, that was so cool," Harry said. He mentally said "Not" as he could easily do this since he was seven. Although there was an incredibly uncomfortable sensation as if squeezing through a tube that Harry felt when traveling this way that he had never felt when wind-teleporting.

"See, Harry, that was magic. When you go to Hogwarts this fall, you will learn all sorts of magic," Dumbledore said. "But back to your concern that you do not have magic, Harry, have you ever done something that you cannot explain?"

Harry, being a novice to the wizarding world, assumed that all wizards and witches knew how to fly, for he had done it so easily and all wizarding children should be able to do it, and that he would be scoffed at if he didn't. So, he decided to tell them that. Of course, he had to lead into it first. "Well, there's this one thing," Harry said evasively, knowing he was baiting Dumbledore.

"What is it, Harry," Dumbledore asked.

"I think it would be better if I showed you," he said. He decided to only levitate instead of full on fly full-speed, as he was indoors, so he slowly lifted off the ground and levitated.

To say that Dumbledore was shocked would be an incredible understatement. Here was a boy who was beaten and abused, who knew nothing of the world of magic, and he had already accomplished something no other had done before him. Seeing their shocked faces, Harry quickly descended, saying "Is something wrong? Am I a freak here too?"

James was the first to recover. He patted Harry on the back, saying "That's my boy. Potters are always fliers, and if they don't have a broom, they find a way."

"He did that with accidental magic?" Lily questioned.

"Well it was hardly accidental," Harry said.

"You see, Harry, all wizards and witches use wands to perform magic. All wandless magic is deemed accidental, as it is uncontrollable and subject to emotions. The fact that you can control your magic into levitation without a wand is astounding. For example, I bet when you were frightened, you sometimes did magic." Dumbledore said.

Harry decided to hold off on showing any more of his magic until he figured out on what was normal and what wasn't. "Well, a bit, sir, but I don't think that I can do it again." he said.

"I see. And how long have you been able to fly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Since I was seven," Harry said.

"And you never used your powers to get a better life from the Dursleys?" Dumbledore asked. "I'm sure that your flight would intimidate them."

"No sir, never," Harry said. "I would never use my powers for evil."

"Very good, Harry." Dumbledore said, inwardly thinking that the new Potter would make an excellent servant for the light. "Now back to why you were sent to the Dursleys. Harry, you must understand that we did what we had to do."

"I understand sir," Harry said.

"Oh, I don't think you do," Dumbledore said. "You see, my tests showed that you were a squib, and you have to understand that squibs live a terrible life in the magical world. They are uneducated in muggle customs yet unable to perform for magical jobs, and they are constantly mocked for their ineptitude. That is why we decided to send you to the Dursleys. They were supposed to raise you like a son, but they failed in that duty," Dumbledore explained.

"I understand sir," Harry repeated. He was waging an internal battle in his head at the moment. Sure, the Potters did have a good reason to abandon him to the Dursleys, but that didn't mean they shouldn't have done a background check to make sure that they were good people. No, the Potters had failed him, a perfectly young and innocent child, and for that they would pay. The question was how? He would have to get for information from the Potter household before figuring out how to make them pay for their misdeeds. And that involved pretending that he forgave them.

"But you are a wizard, which means that we have made a terrible mistake. And for that, I am truly sorry. Harry, can you find it in your heart to forgive me," Dumbledore said.

"Of course, sir. You did rescue me from the Dursleys after all." Harry said simple-mindedly. It would only take a bit of intelligence to realize that Dumbledore's saving Harry from the Dursleys was nullified by Dumbledore's putting Harry there in the first place.

"Excellent Harry. It takes a strong man to forgive another's misdoings, and I believe that we are going to get along famously. Now, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts, the school which you got the letter from. Your parents, though you probably already know, are James and Lily Potter, and they will take care of you, much better than the Dursleys." Dumbledore said.

"Thank you sir," Harry said. "I'm so glad to be away from the Dursleys."

"How are we going to press charges, Albus," James asked. "We can't take them to wizarding court, and I don't know the schematics of muggle law-enforcement."

"Relax, James," Albus said. "I'll just confund a judge, slip them in a trial, and have them all sentenced to jail for life. It will be very quick and easy."

"Good idea," Lily said. "Well, Harry, do you want to go to your new home?"

"Yeah," Harry exclaimed like a small child.

"Okay, we are going to be using another form of wizarding travel, called a floo. Just follow me and you'll be fine," Lily said.

"Okay," Harry said. He followed Lily who was stepping into a fireplace. She picked up a piece of powder from the tray and demonstrated how to use a floo. With a loud "Potter Manor," she was off.

Harry soon followed her, doing exactly what she did, and soon found himself inside the largest home he had ever seen.