Summary: As a six year old, Harry never experienced much love and acceptance in his life. Ten years later things haven't changed much, even though he now attends Hogwarts. Will Harry ever find his place in the world with Voldemort breathing down his neck and the Dursleys attacking him whenever possible? Rated PG-13 for slight child abuse and mild language. H/Hr, R/L

Disclaimer: Alas, any characters you recognize (probably all of them) belong to JKR. However, I might end up

creating a character or two and those will belong to me! Yay!
Wanted: Love

Prologue: The Early Years

Harry shot up in bed to his aunt rapping on the door to his cupboard loudly.

"Wake up!" she shrieked through the door, "Wake up now! If you miss the bus to school again Vernon will wring your neck!"

Harry heard the door unlock and he turned on the light. Groaning he reached to put on his glasses but frowned slightly as he remembered they were broken. So, blind as a bat, he reached around looking for the tape he had snatched from the kitchen a week ago for future repairs. Finding it under his bed, if you could call it that, he pulled off a lengthy piece and wrapped it around the center of the two pieces then put them on. The ridge of his nose itched where the tape rubbed against the skin and the right lens was cracked but it would have to do. He had learned over the past five years to not ask his aunt and uncle for anything unless he absolutely, positively couldn't live without out it. Harry seriously doubted that they would care enough to listen anyway, his uncle being the one who broke them. He sighed as he recollected the events that had led up to his glasses breaking.

Flashback to day before

Harry was sitting under the great Elm tree doing his science homework as his classmates played on the jungle gym during recess. He didn't mind so much, though. True, he had never had a friend in his life but he was growing used to the fact that he would be alone for the rest of his life. Besides, why would he want to be friends with anyone who avoided him because of his cousin? Although Harry often reassured himself with this he couldn't help but feel lonely sometimes. Sighing, he put his science book down and stared at his classmates longingly. Instantly he knew this was a mistake. He could sense someone standing behind him and turned around to face his cousin and his cousin's rather large friends.

"What cha doing, Harry?" Dudley asked him nastily.

"Nothing. . .just homework." said Harry going back to his book.

"Yeah, right. We saw you. How many times to I have to tell you?" asked Dudley.

Harry knew where this was going and decided it was better to make a run for it. As quickly as he could; forgetting about his science book completely, he jumped up and started sprinting to the entrance to the school. Even though he was fast, Dudley and his gang were right on his tail. Knowing that he wouldn't make it to the safety of the classroom in time Harry decided to try to find somewhere else to hide in the meantime. Spotting some garbage cans a few feet from him he started running towards them. Less than a foot from them, Harry closed his eyes and gave a giant leap. Feeling his feet hit the ground he cautiously opened his eyes and was beyond shocked to find himself on the school roof.(AN: Hey, it's never stated when this happens in the book!)

Hearing shouting below him, Harry turned his gaze downward and saw Dudley and his friends looking at him wide eyed and angry. They were yelling at him and making violent gestures in the air. Without any thought besides the fact that he had escaped a pounding, Harry started laughing. It was a rare occasion when something caused him to laugh and he was amazed how wonderful it felt.

End Flashback

The good feeling wasn't to last, however. A few minutes later, he had realized that he was trapped with no means of getting down. He wasn't the only one to notice though, unfortunately. Dudley's slow brain finally caught up to Harry's, and with a quick word to his friends he had gone to get the headmistress. He had been given detention for a month and had to call home to his aunt and uncle to inform them.

The yelling and screaming that had ensued Harry's arrival at his home that evening hadn't been anything less than horrific. His uncle had immediately blamed him for trying to escape punishment by coming home late. Harry had tried to explain that he had been in detention and hadn't gotten out much more than fifteen minutes ago. Vernon refused to listen to any of it though. Grabbing him by the scruff of his clothes, Vernon had thrown Harry into his cupboard and continued the argument through the door. Eventually, the yelling had subsided and Harry was left to himself. An hour later, however, he was back and in a reckless state. It turned out that Harry's science book had been found outside in the rain and was now completely destroyed. So, consequentially, his guardian had to pay for it.

That night, Vernon had taken all his anger out on Harry, punching him several times (once on the face and four times on various other parts of the body), and then beating him with the metal end of a belt, before throwing him back in the cupboard and locking the door. Harry's body still ached from the beating and so it was with the utmost carefulness that he pulled on his only other shirt as the one he was wearing now was covered in blood and had to be washed. Just as he finished putting on his shoes, they didn't have shoe laces so he didn't have to bother tying them, aunt Petunia was back at the cupboard entrance.

This time she threw open the door, "Still not out of bed yet? You lazy prat! Come on."

With that she grabbed Harry by his ear and dragged him into the kitchen where half a banana sat on the table. Plopping down into the chair, Harry quickly ate his breakfast than hurried as quickly as he could upstairs to brush his teeth, which he always found less than satisfying as he had Dudley's old one. As he headed back downstairs, he grabbed his ratty old book bag off the banister and was about to toss it over his shoulder when he remember how sore it was and just dragged it along the ground. Opening the door, Harry noticed that it was still raining heavily.

"And where do you think you're going?" asked Petunia impatiently.

Harry thought for a moment. Where else would he be going on a Wednesday morning with his book bag?

"School?" he asked.

"Indeed! You think we're stupid enough to let you go looking like that?" asked Petunia.

Harry just stood there; he was used to his relatives insulting the way he looked but he didn't see what he could do to make himself look any better so he just waited for her to tell him.

"You really are hopeless! Come on!" she said dragging him back into the kitchen and pushed him into a vacant chair.

She went to the sink and wet a wash cloth as sat still and quiet. Of course, he must look a wreck after last night. As she started to wipe his face, rather roughly, Vernon came in and glared at him.

"You, boy. What happened to you?" he asked.

Obviously, everyone in the room knew what happened to him but Harry understood the question as he had been asked many times before.

"Dudley beat me up for getting away from him yesterday." Harry said dryly.

Vernon and Petunia had a rather close friendship with Harry and Dudley's headmistress and knew that she wouldn't punish Dudley for it. As long as Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were careful to not physically hurt Harry in any way that a large six year old boy couldn't do, at least anywhere visible, then they wouldn't get any grief about it. She, herself, had also never been too fond of Harry as he often got into trouble for things he could rarely explain and after yesterday's episode. . .Harry just hoped that she wouldn't encourage Dudley to beat him up.

"Good. Now get to school!" he barked as Petunia finished cleaning him.

Harry jumped out of the chair and just reached the door when he realized that he didn't have anything for lunch. He was very close to going back into the kitchen and sneaking something but decided it wasn't worth the risk. This wasn't the first time he had to go without a meal and certainly wouldn't be the last. If he could put up with the beatings, he could manage to get by without a few meals.

That in mind Harry started out towards school. It was a good mile and a half away and as neither his aunt nor uncle had given him money for the bus he supposed he would have to walk. The rain was pouring in heavy sheets as Harry took the first step off the porch. Dudley came bounding out of the house behind him a few seconds later and pushed him into the muddy grass. He was carrying a large navy blue umbrella that barely managed to cover his many rolls of fat. Unluckily for Harry, he landed on his back and unwillingly let a soft moan of pain emit past his lips.

Dudley smirked at him, "Oh, did I hurt poor little Potter?" Harry glared at him as Dudley continued to taunt him. Five minutes later, his uncle came out of the house.

"What are you still doing here, Dudley?" he asked.

"Harry was distracting me and I missed the bus!" Dudley lied.

Vernon glowered at Harry for a second than turned back to his son, "Alright, Dudders, hop in the car, I'll drop you off on the way to work."

Harry knew better than to ask for a ride as well and remained where he was. "As for you," said his uncle turning back to him, "You better get a move on it if you want to make it to school before lunch."

Dudley and his father laughed as they climbed into the car and pulled out of the drive way. As they passed by Harry, Dudley stuck his tongue out at him and his father purposely drove through a puddle of water that Harry barely had time to cover his face before it hit him. Covered in mud, and completely drenched, Harry stood up and started to make his way to school. He didn't understand why he always put up with his "family." Even though he was only six, he still knew how to take better care of himself than most adults. After all, his aunt and uncle had always made him do all the work around the house. By the age of four he had known how to do laundry, vacuum, wash dishes, cook breakfast, and weed the garden.

He had always dreamed of being free of the life his guardians had given him. And after the episode he had gone through during the past twenty four hours he didn't see any reason he shouldn't run away. He didn't need anyone and no one needed him. He wouldn't be missed. So why shouldn't he?

As these thoughts rolled through Harry's mind he could come up with a million reasons why he shouldn't. Many having to do with his age, but Harry really didn't care anymore. Anything had to be better than living with the Dursleys. With that thought in mind he stopped in the park and sat on a bench, rain still pouring down on him.

Where should he go? He didn't have any other relatives he could live with, no money, and no means of transportation, other than that of his own two feet. Harry sighed; he didn't know why he brought his hopes up with these impossible dreams. Still, he couldn't seem to get the thought of how good it would feel to be Dursley free for the rest of his life. No more chores, no more missed meals or ratty hand-me-downs, and greatest of all, no more beatings. Weighing the pluses and minuses on an invisible scale there was no contest. The pluses by far out weighed the minuses. It was worth the risk.

"No backing out of it this time, Harry." Harry told himself. Smiling, Harry jumped off the bench but slipped in a puddle of mud and hit his head on the bench, knocking him out.

He was having the strangest dream. He was flying through the night sky with an enormous man on a. . .motorcycle? He could have sworn that he had had this dream before but at the moment he didn't care. All he wanted to do was enjoy the feeling of the cool wind on his face and the almost purring sound coming from the engine. Just as he was really getting into the dream, however, he felt himself being pulled back into reality.

Reluctantly, Harry let himself be pulled away from the wonderful feeling the dream had given him. Strangely, he no longer felt the rain beating down on him. How long had he been out? Slowly he opened his eyes and saw a tall figure looming over him. Squinting through he water covered glasses he could make it out that it was a man.

"You alright there, sonny?" he asked kindly.

Harry wiped his glasses off on his still soaking shirt, it didn't dry them off but made visibility a lot more clear.

"Who are you?" Harry asked. Looking around, he could see that it was still raining and that he wasn't being hit by it because the man was holding an umbrella over him.

"Officer Harold Tyson. Might I ask why you were sleeping out here in the rain?" the man asked.

Harry's heart sank, a police man. This definitely wasn't good.

"Oh, . . .I missed my bus to school and. . .and my aunt and uncle were already gone so. . .well. . .I had to get to school." said Harry, quickly making up a lie. If he let anyone know why he really was out in the rain, particularly a police man; his uncle would murder him.

"Shouldn't you have just stayed home then? It isn't safe your little kids like you to be out by themselves, especially on days like this." said Harold.

"I. . .had a big test." said Harry.

"A test? What grade are you in? You can't be any older than four." said Harold in surprise.

"I'm six!" said Harry indignantly.

"Okay, okay. Tell you what, . . .why don't I take you home and you can just make up the test some other day." said Harold. Harry was about to say that he couldn't go back home, his aunt would kill him, but caught himself just in time.

Instead, Harry shook his head, "I can get there myself."

Harold looked at him funny, "You're kidding right?"

Harry glared at him, "I can take care of myself!" Harold looked taken back and didn't know what to say. Taking advantage of this, Harry started to run away but Harold grabbed his hand.

"Whoa, there, little man. Calm down. Adults are here for a reason you know. We're here to help you kids." he said smiling. Harry glared at him and thought his statement absurd. After all, what adults had ever taken care of him?

"I can take care of myself!" he shouted, stomping on Harold's foot and running off. Harold chased after him but Harry jumped into the bushes and hid there until he was sure the coast was clear.

Carefully, Harry got out of the bushes and got back on the sidewalk. Sighing in the relief of having gotten away from the police officer he started walking to no where in particular. He didn't get very far, however.

"Harry Potter!" Harry turned around and saw Mrs. Figg standing a few feet behind him with an umbrella in one hand and a bag of groceries in the other. She looked rather cross and Harry froze under her gaze. Sighing and muttering something about 'kids these days', she walked up to Harry until he was under her umbrella.

"Goodness, child, what are you doing out here on a day like this? Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked.

"Missed the bus." lied Harry. Great, he had just gotten out of what, undoubtedly, would have been a lot of trouble and now he was in possibly even more than before.

"And Petunia let you walk to school? Who knows what could have happened. And look at you. You're soaked to the bone. Come on, deary, let's get you back to my house and dry you off." said Mrs. Figg.

"I'm fine." said Harry through clenched teeth. He was tired of people thinking that he couldn't take care of himself when he was perfectly capable of living on his own.

"Of course you're not! Now come on, we'll have some cake and cocoa, than we'll take you back to your aunt." said Mrs. Figg. Harry inwardly groaned at the thought of having cake and cocoa. More likely than naught, the cake would be months old and have cat hair in it and the cocoa would be more solid than the cake.

However, Mrs. Figg knew where Harry lived and if he ran away from her, she would go report it to his aunt and he would be in even more trouble, if he got caught. So, seeing no other way out of it, Harry went back to Mrs. Figg's house. She dropped her groceries off in the kitchen than brought Harry a towel.

Amazingly, the cake was rather good, a store bought brand that she had just purchased. Even the cocoa was good, all liquid. After he was finished, Mrs. Figg told him to go watch some TV while his clothes dried. Sooner, than Harry would have liked, his clothes finished drying and it was time to go back to his aunt and uncle's house. Quickly racking his brain for a way to get out of returning, Harry could come up with no good excuses.

"Mrs. Figg, I can get home myself." said Harry as he saw her pulling on her shoes.

"Nonsense, wouldn't want you getting lost, would we?" she asked and Harry glared at her indignantly. How stupid did she think he was? It was a five minute walk from her house to his uncle's.

"I won't get lost." said Harry, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Of course you won't. I'm coming with you." said Mrs. Figg. Harry groaned. For an old person she was rather persistent.

Five minutes later, Harry had still yet to change Mrs. Figg's mind and decided that there would always be more chances for him to run away. As they headed out the door, he noticed that the rain had stopped and birds were all over the place, pulling worms out of the ground.

By the time that he reached his house Harry was in fairly high spirits. Mrs. Figg walked Harry to the beginning of Privet Drive before remembering something, she wouldn't tell Harry what, and rushed back to her house. He smiled a bit as he walked up the steps to number 4 Privet Drive. It all crashed, however, as he entered the home.

Uncle Vernon attacked him as soon as he entered the door, "Boy! Where have you been?" Harry's face instantly lost it's smile and he cowered in the corner underneath his uncle's intense glare.

"Sc. . .school." Harry said, knowing he was only digging himself down deeper.

"School? That's a good one! Dudley tells me you weren't there today! And don't bother trying to deny it! Your school called up to see why you were there!" spat Vernon, apparently in disgust that they would care enough to call. Harry's face drained all color and he just waited for what he knew was coming.

"For five years Petunia and I have fed you, clothed you, put a roof over your head and you don't appreciate any of it! You have it coming to you this time, boy!" yelled uncle Vernon as he picked Harry up by the back of his shirt and threw him down the hall where he crashed, head first, into a table with the telephone on it.

Harry's head started to develop a nasty headache but he didn't bother getting up, knowing that he would only be thrown down again.

"What's the matter?" Vernon asked in a creepy 'nice' voice, "Aren't you even going to stand up to me anymore?"

In response, Harry curled up into a tight ball to try and protect his head.

"Is that the way you want it, than? Fine!" said Vernon, kicking Harry in back of his neck.

Harry breathed in sharply and his body automatically reacted by bending his head back, exposing his face. Vernon picked him up by the hair, smirked evilly at him, and then punched him hard across the face, sending him flying back to the floor. As he landed on the floor, Harry's head rebounded off the wall.

With his mind and vision blurring, Harry could vaguely remember Vernon kicking him several times and then he felt something cold and hard hitting him over and over again, although, he never knew what it was as his mind gave into the pain and brought him into the darkness.

Author's Note: Poor Harry, no six year old should have to go through that! Oh well, I suppose it had to happen for the story to happen and if you're reading this than I guess you're at least semi interested in it. Any who, this is my second Harry Potter fic! Whoo hoo! The next chapter is going to be several years in the future, okay? I just wanted to give you guys an idea of what Harry's life was like before Hogwarts. Okay, well, my head's bursting with ideas so I guess I gotta go write the next chapter! See ya soon!