[May 4th 1984]

"Happy Birthday John!"

The small boy looked up from his morning meal to see his two best friends looking down at him, large smiles on their faces. For as long as he could remember these two other children would always be there for him and protect him and now here they were for the third year in a row, wishing him a happy birthday.

"Thank you." John nodded with a smile of his own as his two friends sat down to eat their morning meals. The taller and more adventurous of the pair of boys was another boy named Virtue who was the same age as his redheaded friend and who, with his crazy brown hair and dark brown eyes was everyone's best friend.

Then there was his second friend named Audrey Whitaker who as a five year old had stumbled upon John and Virtue in the orphanage nursery and had instantly become like a mother to them and now as she sat with them, it was obvious that she loved the two boys before her with all her heart and despite being older and overprotective, shyly clung to them no matter what.

As he sat, ate and joked with his friends about whatever small children joke about, the young boy knew that he would never forget about them for as long as he lived.

[May 9th 1984]

"Really? You're adopting me!?"

Little John Alexander simply could not believe his luck as he stared up at the beautiful young women before him. He'd been hoping that she would be the one to choose him and now all his hopes had become reality.

"Yes, obviously the decision wasn't difficult." She smiled down at him and the young boy practically glowed with pride.

"Now Miriam, Are you sure he's the one you want. John is very-"

"Perfect." The young woman finished with a laugh and smiled as the Headmistress of the orphanage nodded and pulled from a filing cabinet a rather thick stack of paperwork.

John, now with the guidance of Miriam, sat in one of the chairs in front of the dark oak desk as the two adults talked and filled out paperwork and as he listened to the pair of them, John couldn't help but feel that this was the best day of his life. Miriam was a young, twenty-one year old nurse who with her blond hair and sky blue eyes could attract any sort of man and who, with all her kind heart and bouncing personality could make any child bubble over the top with laughter.

As he drifted mentally away from the office, John's thoughts shifted to his two best friends and as he thought of Virtue and how his friend had always supported him in whatever happened in their lives, a small sensation of guilt suddenly spread throughout his entire body. Then he thought of Audrey, who with her eight-year-old mother-like antics would protect "her boys" no matter what and as he thought this, John knew that all would be fine and his mind eased as his guilt began to fade..

He smiled to himself as he now became lost in his thoughts. He would really miss his friends and teachers at the Orphanage for they were all beautiful and kind people but to him, this was a chance for the better for the first time in s long time, John Alexander truly felt that he was a very lucky child.

[December 24, 1984]

"Now, you'll be good won't you Johnny?"

The young boy nodded at his mother as she helped him slip on his brand new Christmas sweater. "Aren't I always good?" He asked in a mock puzzled voice and after a moment of silence she nodded and the pair of them both laughed.

It was true that young John was always a very good boy but his mother still always reminded him and then they'd laugh at how silly it all was. "So, I get to meet my future daddy today?" John then asked after a moment of silence and his mother nodded.

"You'll just love him Johnny, he's perfect!" She said as she now took her son by the hand and led him out into the living room, where he seated himself on the old faded brown leather couch.

"What's his name mummy." He asked as he stretched his arms and legs and as she first helped the young boy with his shoes then made sure they had everything they needed, her smile widened.

"His name is Vecton O'Lyall." She told him then looking at her watch, she informed him that it was time to go and with a nod, he got to his feet and danced after her as she began to sing his favorite Christmas song.

[May 21, 1985]

John sat slumped over in the far corner of his bedroom as the screams that eched from the living room reached ear shattering levels.

They were at it again except this time, things seemed to get almost violent-sounding as thuds and crashes could be heard from the room where his parents were currently held up.

John breathed in deeply as a few tears fell down his cheeks. He'd tried to have faith that things would turn around, he really had but now as he sat here in his room, he knew that things would only get worse.

After their wedding on February 14th, Miriam and Vecton seemed to be the most perfect couple until the honeymoon was over and as April arrived, their short marriage had begun to fall apart. With Vecton beginning to keep his whistle just a little to wet with the lips of another and Miriam learning of and becoming addicted to the strongest of mind-numbers, there was little if anything left of this family.

[July, 23 1985]

"Mummy?"

"What John? The once beautiful and happy woman looked up from the bottle she now held and her son was not anymore surprised to see how different she was with her matted and wild hair, dimmed eyes and hollowed pasty complexion.

"I- I wanna go back to- to- th- the orphanage." The small boy stammered. He'd thought quite a bit about wanting to go back and now with everything going so horribly wrong, he felt that this was the best choice. At his words, the boy's mother flared up in anger causing him to take a few steps back.

"Why? What have I done to you!?"

"It- it's not- it's not you- it's father- he-"

"What has he done to you besides work his ass off to support this family and you!" She sneered now thrusting her hand away from the bottle and pointing at him. "You have done nothing for him or me but sit about sucking off our earnings with no gratitude. You know, your father warned me about this- said I was making a mistake taking in an orphan and you know what? He was right!"

"Then can I go back?" John now quietly braved words after a few moments of silence and suddenly he was on the floor from the forceful slap to his face. To him, it honestly didn't hurt much for in the time he and his father had been living under the same roof, he'd felt ten times worse and was still alive to tell the tale.

"Hell no! I took you in and now you're mine! You hear me! Mine! I'm not going to put those poor people back through having to be around you because you are MINE!" She said and with that and a nod, the small red head got quickly to his feet, turned on his heel and raced away to his room.

That was the day his Mummy became the Mother.

[June 20, 1987]

He couldn't breath, he couldn't move and short were his thoughts as the small boy curled in on himself in a futile attempt to warm his naked freezing body.

How long had it been since he'd been placed in the large empty freezer in the basement? Most likely only about five minutes but already he could feel his strength slipping away with his consciousness.

He would die here in this box.

Suddenly he was somewhere else, in a different time, a different place but there was still pain and he was on the floor...

There was still lots of pain...

Pain and fire!

Suddenly John Alexander sat bolt upright and looked around frantically only to see that he was back in the present, in his bed, covered in sweat and to his utter despair urine. tears filled his eyes and as he pulled his knees to his chest and began to cry, the door to his and his brother's room creaked open and before he knew it, Petunia walked in, a tired yawn escaping her lips.

She was just opening her mouth to tell him one thing or another when suddenly the horrid smell filled her nostrils and she sighed in pure annoyance. "Look what you've done, you've gone and pissed yourself again." She said and all Xander could do is whimper. He knew she was right and he knew that she looked down on him and thought him a horrid, disgusting cockroach. Even if she never said anything. The point is that Xander knew he was just as worthless here as he was before.

"I'm sorry..." the small boy began as he wiped at his tears. He wanted to say that he knew what she thought. He wanted to admit that he too thought of himself as a worthless freak but then he'd sound like he was trying to get sympathy and that being the last thing he wanted, he fell into a silence and then remained quiet.

"Whatever, now get up so I can help you clean up." She finally said and though she still had that hint of annoyance in her voice, the young Potter was surprised when the woman didn't grab or thrash him, he simply could not believe that he wasn't already on the floor. "What are you are waiting for? Come on now, get up." The woman said and suddenly with a nod, the boy jumped out of and away from the bed as if it were suddenly molten lava.

"I- I- I'm sorry, I really am." Xander whimpered as the woman walked over and began gathering up his sheets and as if she hadn't heard his apology, Aunt Petunia then looked at him and quietly instructed him to go take a shower and with another nod and another final whimper, the small red head made his way quickly out of the room and into the bathroom.

Nights like this one were not unusual to Xander for ever since the day he'd arrived at his relatives, it'd been very difficult for him to adjust and wetting the bed or waking up to his own shrill cries were just another part of his routine that made him the pitiful sensitive child that he was.

As he started the water, turned it to the right temperature and began to undress, Xander shook his head as he found himself remembering how he'd acted the first time they had made him enter this bathroom and take a shower. He'd been so scared of the water because of the "Games" his father used to make him play that he'd had a complete meltdown and had thrown himself to floor, screaming as if the games were heing played all over agson, at that exact moment.

As he now shook his head clear of his thoughts felt the water and gave a small smile when it was perfect, the young boy made sure he had a towel at the ready and with that, stepped into the tub and under the warm, well presurred tap.

He knew that when he got out of the shower, that there would be clean clothes waiting for him on the counter. He knew that each time he soiled himself and had to come and shower, that his aunt would bring him his clean pajamas and would take the others to be washed the next day.

His aunt was in his opinion, a saint because even though she and her husband made he and his brother do all the chores, used food as a reward or punishment most of the time and let their son pick on them all he wanted, at least they weren't being grabbed by the ear and thrown through a mirror or window, or at least they were never fed laundry soap or made to drink gross toilet water...

Xander shook his head, as he turned off the water and opened the shower curtain to see that once again his aunt had left his clothes without him noticing and at this, a small smile found it's way to the small boy's lips. His new family wasn't perfect. No, in fact they were far from it and to most they might seem borderline abusive but not to the youngest Potter. Because he knew- He knew what real abuse was like and to him this was paradise.