6 years later

Harry Potter wasn't normal, at least that's what his aunt and uncle had told him. He was a 'freak' as they had stated. He had long gotten used to how his 'family' treated him; listen to the rules, and you don't get hurt. The rules had never made any sense to Harry, but he had learnt to accept it. One, no questions. Two, do all the chores and you get at least one meal a day. And finally three, be normal. There were of course many other conditions with living with the Dursleys but Harry had to figure that out himself, such as- don't get a higher grade in school than Dudley or you'll be beaten, and don't show any temper or you'll cease to exist.

The only reason Harry had even bothered to follow these absurd rules was because he had found out what happens if you don't. When harry had been about four, uncle Vernon had told him to mow the lawn. Of course being merely a toddler, he had objected. He still shivered to this day of what happened next... At the end he had ended up crawling to his cupboard with a broken spine and a blood stained body. He had learned to obey whatever his uncle had told him from then on. The only person, or well animal that had thought he wasn't a useless piece of garbage was Nagini.

She was a Reticulated Python, and was quite friendly. He had first found her in some bushes while he was running away from Dudley and his gang. She had told him that her name was Nagini and what species she was. Harry had guessed that this was another trait of being a 'freak'- talking to snakes. He had decided to keep quiet about her since he was almost certain that if uncle Vernon or aunt Petunia found out, they would kill her as well as him. So he kept most of his ability's a secret. Apart from Nagini, there was the librarian. She was an aged woman nearing her seventies, but that didn't stop her kind heart. She had let Harry take out almost any book he liked after she saw his aptitude for learning. Those books were probably the only thing keeping him sane from what went on with the Dursleys. Harry owed everything he learned to these books. He had read the whole children section by the age of five, and had long moved on to the adults by now. One thing that had captivated him was a book about wizards. He spent afternoons sitting at the tables reading on and on about magic, wands, and silly incantations to conjure things up.

But he had long stopped doing that. Harry Potter now knew the difference between life, and books. He had laughed to himself while scanning a certain story about a a prince and princess. The princess had been locked in a tall tower by a witch and had been freed by the prince to live a happily ever after. He had once hoped as well to be freed from the hell he was living in, but had long given up in believing in silly fairy tales. Life wasn't as easy as books and he had learned to deal with it. Nobody was coming to rescue him.

...

Harry Potter was going to be turning seven in a few minutes. Not that anybody knew. He was lying, facing the ceiling of his cupboard with Nagini curled up beside him. She had wished him a happy birthday but was now fast asleep, as well as everyone else in the house and neighborhood. He slowly opened the cupboard door, wincing as it creaked loudly on it's hinges. He wasn't supposed to be out until a week later. Food wasn't an option either. Harry took a small glance at the clock on a wall in the living room. It read 5:o1. His heart took a jolt, he had turned seven. True, it wasn't really a special age to look up to, but it was still one more year closer to eighteen. Yes, he had a long way to go, but he would endure it, then when he's be of age, he could leave this hell hole. He didn't bother try to sing happy birthday to himself, as he knew it would wake his aunt and uncle. It had happened last time anyway, and he didn't dare try and recall the consequences. Harry sighed and tried to doze off but it wasn't easy.

He wondered if this was how the rest of his life was going to be; alone, wishing himself a happy birthday, staying in his locked cupboard with nothing to do... Harry felt himself getting angrier. He had multiple solutions at the tips of his fingers... but he didn't dare use them. For one, he could set Nagini loose on his aunt and uncle, but he wouldn't do that. Not that killing was against his morals, he actually though that it was a pretty straight forward solution to most problems. It was just that it would be pretty hard to cover up. Nagini had told him that she was deadly, so they would certainly die, but he wanted to stay clean of any criminal record. Another one could probably be to run away... but that would be suicide. He thought about it; he was young, and perfect kidnap material. Then again, he would be taking Nagini with him, so he would be protected. He would think about it in the morning, right now he need to get some sleep.

Harry awoke pretty late considering his late night pondering. He could see light seeping in through a crack in the cupboard door. No no no! Breakfast had most certainly passed and he wasn't there to wash the dishes, put away the plates, or make the breakfast itself. He ducked his head and slowly walked out of the cupboard with dread and panic running though his veins. He came face to face with a very angry looking aunt Petunia. "Took you're time, didn't you boy?" she hissed. She sounded very much like Nagini. "Im sorry I-" slap - Harry didn't have time to finish what he was saying. His right cheek started burning. "I had to cook breakfast you freak!" his aunt shrieked. Harry knew better to try and talk again... so he just stood and listened with his head down. "Thought you could live here without doing anything?!"His aunt continued, and Harry didn't even bother to bring up the shocking amount of chores he had been forced to do since he was three. "We took you in, only because our generosity!"

Harry couldn't control him self, he let out a snort. Aunt Petunia stopped dead in her tracks, while Harry paled considerably. "And what dare say... is so funny?" she said in barley a whisper. "no-nothing" Harry said back. Even though he tried to sound remorseful, he knew he was dead. The thought of running away seemed suddenly very appealing. "It seems your uncle will have to... sort you out" she said, and walked away. Harry knew that when his uncle came back, he wouldn't be alive for much longer. He scrambled to the cupboard and swung the door open with more force that was necessary. He didn't have much in the name of possessions, but he valued the few books that were from the library. Now, with no intent on returning them, he grabbed the books from underneath his pillow and shoved them into a rucksack. With nothing else that really belonged to him, he picked up Nagini, who was now now wide awake, and sprinted for the front door. He ran out the door and down the sidewalk, not really knowing where he would head.

He passed a silver car and almost tripped. His uncle was going back home, and all hope of not being spotted vanished when he turned his head to see him, and his eyes widened. His uncle abruptly stopped the car and fumbled out. "Where do you think your going boy?!" He roared running after him. Harry had only one option. He ran for it, tripping several times out of fear, scraping his hands against the gravel. Harry didn't know the neighborhood that well because of all his time locked in the cupboard. But he did have the upper hand here. Harry was smaller, lighter, and faster. It gave Harry hope and energy; he ran faster and could see his uncle huffing and slowing down. "WE DIDN'T NEED YOU ANYWAY YOU STUPID FREAK!" He yelled signalling defeat.

Harry ran from his sight and took refuge in some bushes. Night was falling and he would have had to stop soon anyways. He sat down, leaning on a tree and set Nagini down. "Why did you run massster?" she hissed. Nagini had taken to calling Harry 'master' no matter how much he said no. At the end he convinced himself that it was normal for snakes. Harry picked up his bag to drop it suddenly wincing in pain. "Oh yea" he said, remembering his hand injury. Well, no reading tonight he thought to himself. "It will heal sssoon" Nagini said. "Yea, I just wish it would now" Harry said. The minute he uttered those words, his wounds started to close as if on command. "What?!" Harry exclaimed looking at his hand, blinking twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He glanced at Nagini who just gave him a knowing look and curled up in a ball to sleep.

"Nagini! wh-what happened?!"

"You healed your ssself" she answered as if stating the obvious.

"What? No! I know that! I mean how..."

She sighed, and continued; "Your magic healed you"

"m-magic?..."

"I sssuposse it iss the right time to tell you"

"Tell me what?.."

"Massster... your a wizard"

Harry gave Nagini a blank look of disbelief.

"When a wizarding child reaches the age of ssseven, their magic isss unlocked"

"Im a wizard" Harry echoed mostly to himself. Nagini had apparently turned in for the night and was now fast asleep. "Im a wizard" he repeated looking at his now completely healed hand. Harry wasn't planning to go to sleep any time soon. He had just found out he could do magic, and he would make the most of it. I wonder if I can levitate things... Harry thought. He pointed to his bag and said, "Levitate!". Nothing happened. How did I do it before? he pondered. Well... I didn't really look at my hand and say 'heal'. I had more.. wanted it to heal. Harry looked at his bag and simply willed it to levitate. To his surprise, it slowly lifted off the ground. Harry sat, gaping at it for a few moments. "It-it floated..." He said, even with nodybody around to hear him.

Harry realized that there wasn't any end to magic. He would do whatever he wanted! The realization slowly hit him. "I-i can do whatever I want" he said. Harry looked up at the sky and saw that the moon had come up. It's getting late... Harry thought to himself. So he leaned against the tree closed his eyes, and fell fast into a dreamless sleep.

Hey! I know the chapter was pretty short, but it seemed like a good place to end it. I would love it if you guys could drop a comment in the reviews!