Disclaimer: I own nothing about Harry Potter except Ellie Potter and any other diverging plots or characters.
Some say monsters are born, others say monsters are created. Albus Dumbledore's decision to leave Ellie Potter with Petunia may create a situation that is irreparable.
Ellie Potter wasn't your typical normal 8 year old girl. Her family made sure to remind her each and every day that she was a freak, dumped onto their doorstep, and only being allowed to live there out of the goodness of their hearts. The only thing she could say in her defense was that in her opinion, she looked like a normal girl. She had jet black hair that occasionally frizzled and got out of hand unless she battled her hair with a brush and green eyes that according to some of the kids at primary were quite freakish and just a slightly toned skin color from being outside gardening and avoiding the Dursleys. However, the only problem she had now was with how the Dursleys treated her.
'Alot of good they've done for me,' Ellie thought bitterly, as she began to prepare for the inevitable feast of a breakfast that the Dursley family (the two "men" in particular) would eat. Cooking bacon, eggs, toast, and sausages as well as setting the table with orange juice, tea, and coffee was a tall task for anyone that had the misfortune to have to prepare breakfast for the whales and Aunt. It had taken her quite a few slaps to truly be able to cook well. At least that's what she assumed when she stopped being hit due to poor preparation of breakfast. She was allowed an apple or banana if she did well and if she didn't, she wasn't given anything for breakfast.
Ellie was quite sure the other kids at primary school didn't sleep in a dark, dingy, and small cupboard. The mattress, or cot more accurately was a tiny, small piece that was uncomfortable to sleep on and not even hers in the first place. While she was quite confident in her assumptions, she didn't want to stand out anymore or bring more attention to herself than necessary. After all, it was hard enough trying to avoid Dudley at school and near impossible to avoid the rumors he had already spread about her. She didn't let what the other kids thought show at school but it was hard to not be hurt that no one seemed to believe her at first.
While the words and the accompanying hurt would gradually fade, the emotional hurt that Ellie truly had no one was a source of raw hurt. Seeing Aunt Petunia and even Vernon love Dudley unconditionally, even through his obscene temper tantrums and childish sobs filled her with envy and pain that she couldn't properly identify. She didn't know if she wanted them to love her or at least have someone care about her. The only thing that made her feel better was that she always thought her parents had loved her, even if Aunt Petunia had told her that they were both irresponsible drunks who had died in a car crash which gave her the scar on her forehead.
The scar was oddly shaped. A thin scratch that seemed to look like a lightning bolt sat beneath her mop of black hair and just above her green eyes. She wasn't sure how she got it the night of the car crash, but the only thing that she seemed to remember was an eerie green light and even that image, she couldn't be certain was real or not. Still life at the Dursleys was unpleasant but she quickly got used to making breakfast, going to primary and then going home and avoiding Dudley to the best of her ability. In between cooking in the mornings, weeding the garden, and cleaning up the house, Ellie thought school was her favorite activity. It allowed her to be away from the Dursleys and learning was something she enjoyed.
Dudley's pudgy red face when angered that he did worse than her on their math test was something to be seen. Ellie got to see it every week up until a month ago when Uncle Vernon finally became indignant on his son's behalf. Vernon in truth scared her more than anything else. He seldom raised a hand to her, it was mostly Aunt Petunia slapping her or grabbing her, but when Vernon grabbed the belt or hit her, he hit hard. Ellie winced, rubbing her bottom gingerly, remembering the argument she had gotten into when Vernon accused her of cheating.
"How could you possibly do better than Dudley," Uncle Vernon growled, his face rapidly changing color. In his hands were a belt and Dudley's test. "You're an idiot girl, nothing like my Dudley. A hardworking boy who has always been special," Vernon said. "I don't know how you cheated but if I catch you again, you'll be getting the belt." He warned her, his tone and his disdain provoking something she had always kept within her.
"Of course I didn't cheat!" Ellie protested hotly, "Just because Dudley is an idiot, doesn't mean I have to be as well. The reason why he doesn't get better marks is because he doesn't pay attention in class!" Instinctively she knew she had crossed the line way before Vernon's face became his infamous shade of red. She didn't get to back away very far before Vernon had grabbed her and hit her with the belt several times while Dudley sat on the steps, watching her with a dumb smile on his face. All she knew was that from then on, she hated Vernon and thanks to that incident she stopped trying to outdo Dudley.
The other teachers had noticed her drop in marks but made nothing of it except Mrs. Jennings, who had asked her after class one day after everyone else had left. It was difficult to lie to an adult that truly cared for her but when faced with the choice of lying to an adult or risking another potential beating, she chose the easier option. It hadn't been truly difficult for her to pretend like she didn't understand the new things she was being taught and while Mrs. Jennings hadn't been satisfied fully, she hadn't asked again. The only thing Ellie noticed was that Mrs. Jennings seemed to check her arms and legs periodically for marks and while Ellie felt happy that someone cared she didn't have the heart to try to explain the situation with the Dursleys. It made her ashamed to say the least but school at least was an outlet for her, even if she couldn't beat Dudley anymore.
Freak. The word echoed through her mind periodically. She didn't understand what made her so different from the others. Often times unexplainable things happened around her but miracles or other amazing things often happened in real life that science couldn't explain. She remembered the time Aunt Petunia had been so frustrated with the bundle of hair that was impossible to keep flat so Aunt Petunia opted to cut it short. Ellie for the life of her had cried and thrown the biggest fuss she had ever at the time but to no avail. Her hair had been cut to just above her ears in a horrendous haircut that she had hated so much, that when she had cried herself to sleep that night she had wished that her hair was never cut.
Waking up to having her hair back to its proper length and style had surprised her and made her beam as she walked into the kitchen. So happy in-fact, that she didn't notice the choked gasp from Aunt Petunia and the red hue creep up on her face and neck. Aunt Petunia had been beyond furious and locked her in her cupboard for the entire day and didn't seem inclined to let her out anytime soon even with her stomach grumbling in protest. Other times that she couldn't explain included her ending up on the top of her school after running away from Dudley and his gang of friends, Pier and Thomas. She remembered the day that the Dursleys had been called into school to pick her up and the looks that her Uncle and Aunt had shot her as they apologized for her in the headmaster's office that afternoon. Ultimately she had been let off of punishment at school as long as she promised to never do so again.
Ellie had other days of 'freakishness' or incidents such as Mrs. Prue's hair changing to blue and orange during the school year. Oddly enough both incidents were attributed to her even though she swore she didn't do anything besides laugh at the idea of Mrs. Prue having those hair colors. No one seemed able to prove that it was her but it was assigned to her anyways. Most of all though, she wished she had something to relate with or a person that could understand her like the people on the television had when she caught glimpses of the soap operas Aunt Petunia liked to watch.
Fortunately for her, a letter would change everything for her near her 11th birthday.
Author's Note: This is one of my first works I'll ever be publishing, I can't promise consistent updates but I guarantee that I'll be doing my best between work, school and life. This story will eventually have romance, I just can't decide on who I want that to be! Feel free to leave suggestions/ideas to my writing in the comments below. I'll make sure to read them and decide what potential pairing or critique I'd put in. This story will eventually feature darker themes with proper warnings in said chapters.