Chapter 1 – The Dursleys

The sunlight shone through the bedroom of Number 4. Privet Drive illuminating the bedroom and casting shadows upon the very little possessions that the boy-who-lived could call his own. Hedwig nested on her perch observing her master as he thrashed about his sorry excuse for a bed. Harry had been plagued with nightmares since the night of Albus Dumbledore's death and nothing seemed to help ease his mind. Voldemort had been ruthlessly torturing him through his scar each and every night since he got back from Hogwarts. As the clock on the bedside table read 07.28, Harry was awoken by a screech from Hedwig.

"ugh, what is it girl? Have I been dreaming again?"

Harry arose from his bed and walked over to Hedwig to ruffle her feathers. She nipped him back affectionately. Harry absent-mindedly petted her while he tried to recall the nightmare he just had. Voldemort had been seated high upon a throne, stroking and fondling his wand while Nagini lay draped across his shoulders. He kept on taunting Harry about being useless and asking him how he could possibly hope to defeat him when the great Albus Dumbledore was now dead. Suddenly there was a huge crash followed by an enormous grunt and then very laboured footsteps past Harry's bedroom door and to the toilet along the hall. Harry groaned realising that his uncle Vernon had awoken from his slumber meaning that in the next few minutes he was going to be summoned to make breakfast.

"BOY, GET UP NOW" Screamed Vernon from the hall while banging loudly upon Harry's bedroom door.

"Yes, I'm up Uncle Vernon. I'll be down in a minute" said Harry timidly.

"YOU'LL BE DOWN RIGHT NOW AND I'LL HAVE NO MORE OF YOUR CHEEK OR YOU KNOW FINE WELL WHAT WILL HAPPEN" retorted Vernon.

Harry shuddered at the thought. All his life he had been punished by Vernon for anything from burning the toast to merely existing. For the past 3 weeks since Harry had been back at Privet Drive, Vernon had mercilessly beaten him several times. Harry had a swollen lip, a bruised eye and he was pretty sure that he had a perforated ear drum. On top of all that, he had bruises covering almost every inch of his torso and legs. Vernon was smart though, he beat Harry with a sense of control making sure that he didn't break any bones or hurt him beyond repair as the last thing he wanted was a trip to the hospital followed by a visit from child services. Petunia and Dudley had remained indifferent through the years while they observed Harry being beaten by a great oaf of a man.

Harry painstakingly walked over to his bedroom door and gingerly walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. Petunia was just taking the milk in from the doorstep and for a fleeting moment, Harry thought he saw a flicker of sympathy cross Petunia's face as she observed his movements. He shook the thought from his head, he must have been mistaken. She was almost as bad as Vernon. Vernon and Dudley provided the Physical torture but Petunia's indifference to Harry's predicaments had provided the psychological torture. The only reason Harry surmised for still holding himself together was the thought of being rescued very soon by his friends; the only true family he had ever known.

Petunia brushed past him gently and Harry felt her grip his shoulder and she gave him a reassuring smile. This unnerved Harry even more. What the hell was her game now. As he crossed the threshold of the kitchen he heard Dudley move from his bedroom and slam the bathroom door. Vernon was sitting at the kitchen table looking over a map. Petunia looked puzzled at this latest endeavour of Vernon's but did not voice her opinion.

Harry walked over to the fridge and pulled out the things needed for a fry up and then set to work at the cooker. As Harry worked there was a constant muttering from Vernon about where to go, what would be the best route, where to stop for petrol and how to avoid as much traffic as possible. This would not have concerned Harry under the usual circumstances but the way that Vernon was poring over the map with an uneasy paranoia, set him on his guard.

Dudley waddled into the kitchen and over to Harry where he promptly smacked him in the back of the head so hard that his glasses flew off and into the frying pan where the sausages and bacon were sizzling away. Dudley then laughed hysterically and Vernon let out a chuckle.

"Good one Dudley, you even made his glasses come off" Vernon appraised.

Dudley sat at the table next to his father. When Petunia was sure that they weren't looking at her she got out a pair of tongs and gently picked up Harry's glasses and then took them to the sink to give them a wash. Harry could only watch in blurry amazement at his aunt's actions. She then walked over to Harry and softly placed them on his head. He looked at her in utter confusion and with a barely perceptible nod muttered "later" to him and accompanied this with a rare smile.

Ten minutes later, Harry plated up the breakfast he had made for the Dursleys. Vernon of course had a gigantic plate but Dudley's was even bigger than this. Petunia had a small portion as usual. She was never one to eat much but could not help but appease her son and husband in their eating habits. As Harry sat down with his own meagre portion, Vernon looked up at him with vengeance in his eyes. He truly looked evil.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing boy? I did not permit you to make food for yourself"

Vernon spat.

"He has to eat Vernon, we can't keep starving him like we have" rebutted Petunia.

"It's not like it matters anyway. No one would care if he starved to death" remarked Vernon.

The fork that Harry had over his plate set into his food and Harry tried to eat as fast as he possibly could before Vernon decided to make him stop. Dudley was chewing away, his three chins bobbing up and down with glee. Harry looked up at Vernon to see that he had started eating and that he was safe for now.

"I'll tell you one thing boy, I can't wait till we will be rid of you. I've had enough of your attitude. I've tried so hard to beat the freakishness out of you and make you have some respect for everything we have done for you over the years" Vernon snarled.

Harry looked up, anger in his eyes. He seemed to radiate power at that very moment.

"Everything you have done for me? You must be joking. I've had to cook all the time for you since I was four years old. I've had Dudley's hand me downs my whole life. I've been treated like a punching bag by both you and your son. You have nearly beaten me to death more than once and have never sought medical attention for me. I've kept quiet my entire life and haven't even told my friends about the extent of the damage you have and continue to inflict upon me. The only reason for that is while I couldn't care less about you, I do care a little bit about Aunt Petunia and Dudley because they are the only blood family I have left" Harry Exacerbated.

By this point, everyone at the table was standing up. Petunia had a very worried look in her eyes. Dudley was looking at Harry with some form of begrudging respect. Harry was standing at his full height, his eyes were glowing. He seemed to have a power to him that the Dursleys had never seen before. Vernon however was red in the face and looking at Harry with venom. Vernon took a few steps around the table faster than Harry ever thought he could possibly move and dragged him by the hair into the hall.

"THIS IS THE LAST FUCKING TIME YOU WILL EVER SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT YOU HEAR. ONE MORE WORD OUT OF YOU AND I'LL KILL YOU YOU LITTLE BASTARD. I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU" roared Vernon.

Harry could hear Petunia screaming at Vernon to let him go. He could even see Dudley waddling over at a rather brisk pace. He was wondering if Dudley was going to help Vernon in whatever he was about to inflict upon him. Harry was starting to get scared. He knew he shouldn't have said anything. Time had showed him just how cruel Vernon's punishments could be. He couldn't even understand what made him speak up. He just lost control.

Vernon took Harry to the middle of the hall and pulled him upright by his long scraggy hair. Harry saw the first punch swing into his face. This was promptly followed another and a third. Harry knew he was bleeding heavily from his face. He could hear both Petunia and Dudley pleading with Vernon to stop. This surprised him greatly but he didn't have much time to ponder this latest developmental peculiarity because Vernon had kicked out at his left shin knocking Harry to the ground and smacking his head off the wall in the process. Vernon then kicked out at Harry several times in the stomach, the chest, the face, the legs... He didn't care at that point about where he was inflicting damage upon his nephew only that he had to suffer for his insubordination and he would make sure that he did.

Harry was in pure agony, this was the harshest and longest punishment that Vernon had ever inflicted upon him. He painstakingly opened his eyes and observed Dudley cuddling into Petunia and holding on for dear life. What surprised him however was that Petunia was still pleading with Vernon to stop beating Harry and she had tears running down her face. This was the first time that Harry had ever seen her show any care for him whatsoever. He was going to wait out this beating and as soon as he was well enough he was going to ask his Aunt Petunia about her actions this morning. But as Vernon kicked Harry in the chest again he knew that his vicious uncle had shattered one of his ribs and as his breathing became laboured, he was starting to wonder if he would even survive his current ordeal.

Vernon was showing no signs of letting up on Harry. Petunia had stood by watching this for long enough. She knew that this time Vernon would not stop and no matter how she had treated Harry in the past, he was still her nephew, her only connection left to her sister, Lily. Even more than this Vernon was scaring her and his son but she couldn't think of what to do. She was petrified of Vernon and always had been. She knew that she wouldn't be able to overpower him and she knew that it was past the point of being able to reason with him.

There was blood all over the floor and spattered up the walls, all of it Harry's. If Vernon continued much longer, Harry would most definitely die. At that moment, Dudley roared at his father and rushed over to punch his father in the face. Vernon merely stopped for a couple of seconds to kick Dudley on to floor next to Harry and continued to kick out not caring whether the person he was kicking was his own son or nephew.

Harry couldn't believe when Dudley came to his aid and was even more surprised when Vernon retaliated against his own precious Duddykins. Harry honestly wanted to help Dudley but he couldn't move, he was in utter agony and he knew that he had lost far too much blood.

Dudley was in a bad way but he was doing better than Harry. He knew that if Vernon continued his tirade then his cousin would soon be dead. He decided at that moment that no matter the history between them, he would protect him as best he could, even if that meant he would surely die too. He crawled over to Harry and placed his body over him making sure that every kick from his father landed on himself and not on Harry. He was in deep physical pain but his instinct at that very moment was to protect the boy that he grew up with.

Petunia stood frozen but watched in shock as her son tried to help Harry. She felt anger and fear in her like never before as Vernon knocked her son to the ground and started to vent his anger upon him too, She then shed a tear or two in pure amazement as Dudley, despite being in pain and adding his blood to Harry's on the floor and walls crawled over to him and shielded him from more harm. She had to put a stop to this but she was scared that she would join her boy, no her boys, on the floor. Harry is as much a son to you as Dudley she reminded herself. The fear in her however was too strong and she could only watch as Vernon stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

Harry underneath Dudley could hear his cousin crying out in pain with every kick but could also hear Dudley muttering under his breath. He was shocked at his cousin's sudden protectiveness over him and surprised that he acted upon his new found beliefs. Suddenly Vernon stopped and Harry thought that it was all over. He knew he was severely hurt and may not survive but found himself hoping that Dudley would and that his Aunt Petunia was unharmed.

"Harry?" Dudley spat as blood came out of his mouth. "Harry? Its ok, you'll be alright Harry. I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore" Dudley whimpered.

"Dudley, it's ok, get out of his way. I don't want you to get hurt too. You and Aunt Petunia get far away from here you hear, and never look back" replied Harry.

Dudley nodded his head. He didn't want to leave but he loved his mother more than he did Harry and didn't want to see her hurt. It was with severe resignation that he went to stand up.

Petunia heard the timid conversation between her son and her nephew and could only cry even more at their willingness to protect one another and at Harry's request to see them leave relatively unharmed.

Vernon also heard this stupid little heartfelt conversation. He surmised that this was all the little freaks doing. He had had enough of that little bastard and his freaky powers. He would put a stop to it once and for all. Dudley had never shown any hint of care towards the boy till now so Vernon could only assume that the freak was controlling his Dudley. He didn't mean to inflict so much damage upon Dudley but if he won't move out of his way then that will be his lesson for the future. NO! He wasn't going to let his son get in the way. He was going to show the little freak that he was in charge once and for all. With any luck, this may be exactly what it will take to make all the boy's powers finally disappear.

Petunia watched as Vernon seemed to have an internal conversation with himself and hoped that he had finally came to his senses and would stop beating upon her boys. She then let out a choked sob as she saw Vernon reach for his belt, undo it and pull it free of his trousers.

Harry thought that it was over, but he couldn't have been more wrong. As Dudley moved off of him gingerly, he could hear Vernon undoing his belt and pulling it free. He knew this was it. He has survived being killed so many times. Had fought odds no one could ever dream of and yet his life was to be ended by the man who was supposed to protect him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end to come. He heard a yelp from Dudley as Vernon grabbed him by his shirt collar and threw him into the opposite wall. He then felt Vernon's rough hands jerk his head back and wrap the belt around his neck. He felt himself being picked up off the ground as Vernon strangled him He struggled for breath but knew it was folly. He resigned himself to death. In that moment, he wished for death.

Dudley could only watch in horror as his cousin was being asphyxiated in front of his very eyes. He heard a vase smash. He turned to look at the bottom of the hall where he knew his mother kept a heavy crystal vase on top of a wooden sideboard to find it on the floor in tatters. He couldn't understand how this could have happened. He then remembered that Harry had done things accidentally before when he used his magic without knowing. He silently wished that Harry would be able to summon up enough magic now and put a stop to his father.

Harry was on the verge of the blackness that would take him from this world. He said a silent sorry to his friends and family that he was leaving behind and hoped they would be able to carry on the fight against Voldemort and his death eaters without him.

Suddenly, Harry dropped to the ground, the strength behind the belt no longer there to hold him up. He looked up at the monster, his uncle Vernon, and saw him clutching at his neck. Blood was spewing everywhere, Vernon's eyes were dancing around in a panic. Vernon pointed at Harry, moved to take a step forward and collapsed on top of Harry's legs. Vernon lay on the ground, copious amount of blood pooling around his neck. His jagged laboured breaths filled the air and then stopped. Vernon lay still. He could no longer be of harm to anyone.