October 31st, 1981
James Potter was scared, not just for himself, but for his wife and son, and that made him frustrated.
"I know, I know. I want our boy to be safe as you do, but are you really sure ritual magic was the right way to go?"
Lily Potter was scared, not just for herself, but for her husband and son, and that made her angry.
"I've done the Arithmancy James, I know what I've done, and it's the best way to keep him safe! This way if we die, he'll be the safest baby on the planet."
Harry Potter was a baby, and his parents were shouting, and that frightened and confused him. So he cried. He cried until they stopped shouting. Cried until the cuddled him and made sounds of reassurance. Cried until his parents forgot their argument for love of their only son.
And on that night, Harry cried when he was left alone, forevermore.
~nnU
November 2nd, 1986
James Potter's Journal, October 17th, 1974
We did it! We finally managed the spells to become animagi! Sirius became a big, shaggy black dog, Peter became a rat, and I became a stag, with great big antlers. Sirius thought we should have "code names", and started calling me Prongs! Peter, Remus and I thought of Padfoot for Sirius. Remus is now Moony (because of his furry little problem) while Peter is stuck with Wormtail.
It was Harry's third time reading through his father's journal, it always comforted him, this last piece of his parents.
It also helped explain all the weird things that had started happening, the pots being hot while not on the stove, chairs moving without him touching them. Oh, and appearing on the roof his neighbours house, 3 stories up.
Harry's parents were wizards, and he was their son. Which meant he was probably a wizard too. He wondered if he would go to the wizarding school 'Hogwarts' when he got older.
It seemed unlikely, Aunt Petunia would hit him whenever he brought up magic or his parents. That, and he was beaten or yelled at whenever he asked for something of his own.
The journal was the only thing he had that was truly his own, but Harry had grown used that over the years.
"Boy! Get out here boy! You should've started breakfast by now!"
The thunderous voice and banging on his cupboard of his uncle Vernon snapped Harry from his reverie. Quickly tucking the diary into his back pocket, he clambered hurriedly from the small space under the stairs.
"Get on with you boy!" Vernon said as he whacked the underfed boy across the back of the head and shoved him towards the kitchen.
"I-Im sorry… I just overslept... I'll g-get started now." Said Harry with a stutter as he wobbled towards the kitchen. 'I have a bad feeling about today' thought Harry as he looked upon the annoyed and disapproving faces of his aunt and cousin.
"Mummy! Why hasn't the freak made my breakfast yet! I'm hungry!" screeched Dudley, Harry's cousin, from across the kitchen table.
"Because he's a useless waste of money, that boy", his aunt Petunia said, not looking up from the paper she was reading. "And hurry up brat, the garden needs work today!"
'Oh yes, today is going to be a bad one' Harry thought as he began to prepare breakfast, 'a bad one indeed.'
~nnU
It was after lunch that Harry's premonition came true. He was weeding the garden, half listening to aunt Petunia's running commentary on how useless and how much of a failure he was. He was growing angrier by the second 'If I'm so useless, why do you make me do all the chores? If I'm such a failure, why don't you do it yourself!?'
Letting out a deep half growl half sigh, Harry turned to go and retrieve a trowel, only to have it come flying out of the garden shed and smack into his hand.
"That's it! I've had enough freakishness outta you boy! Time to see if I can beat it out of you this time!"
Harry turned to see his uncle Vernon, purple with rage as he strode across the yard, massive hands outstretched as if to choke the boy. Harry tried to take a step back but only manage to trip on the raised edge of the garden. He scrambled about as Vernon drew closer, plants and dirt going everywhere in is panicked escape attempt. One which failed as his uncle reached him and wrapped one meaty hand around his throat and pushing him against the fence, the other coming up and smacking Harry across the face.
Harry choked, scrabbled, and clawed, fear filling his mind. His vision filled with stars with each blow, his head cracking backwards. He was scared, he couldn't breathe, blood ran down his lips and chin from his nose, he was going to die.
With a twisting lurch that made the world spin, everything changed, and Harry found himself able to breathe again. Confused at what had just happened, Harry turned his head and stared up at the giants that were his aunt and uncle, who were doing remarkable impressions of fish.
Harry turned and ran, slipping between and under the fence slats. 'What was that!? How did I get so small!?' He ran for what seemed like hours, wanting nothing more than to get as far away as from his murderous relatives possible.
It was getting dark when Harry finally stopped running, strolling into an alley between buildings. He was cold, scared, and so very alone. He just wanted to curl into a ball and cry, and so, he climbed onto some flat packed cardboard boxes on one side of the alley, curled up and began to weep. 'Why me…?' was Harry's last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.
~nnU
A/N Shout out to White Squirrel and their work 'The Accidental Animagus' as my inspiration for this.