Somewhere, Just Unseen

Part One: Existing and Living are Two Different Things

It was dawn, the sun rose slowly, teasing, letting its light fall inch by inch over dark and sleepy London. Most of the city wouldn't be awake for hours yet, but some of the people who had to be up at the crack of dawn or earlier were bustling to and fro, getting ready for another day in their ordinary lives. As the sun touched the city it caused the most energetic and cheery of inhabitants to awaken: the birds.

In a secluded wooded area of Hyde Park birds of many species and types gathered, flying together in splashes of the most vivid reds to the palest yellows, looking like a tornado of autumn leaves drifting on wind currents. They were never in the same place twice, twisting and tumbling with a graceful ease through a series of intricate dances as varied as the dancers themselves. A lot of the birds were sleeping, some just chattering gaily to one another, delighting in the freedom of their simple lives; staying here for now, but maybe later they would go scavenge for food, or maybe even fly down to as far as Worcester if the winds were right. For them there were no concerns other than finding enough food, or maybe the occasional lethal accident with a gun. They knew nothing of being caged, and at that moment Harry Dursley wished nothing more than to be one of them.

Harry stared out his window watching the birds flittering from ash to oak, camouflaging themselves in among the dark green boughs of the spruce and pine. Most would call him strange for spending his last days of summer bird watching, but Harry didn't care for their opinions, for someone who never left his room he felt he had the right to cherish what little joys he had. The boy sighed turning his attention from his closed and locked window to the rest of his small and cluttered room. Wearily he bent down and began the long process of cleaning his destroyed possessions. His parents had been in earlier, trying to explain to him just why he couldn't go to Stonewall Elementary with Dudley, his fat brother whom he hated with a passion. The rest of the kids in the neighbourhood either loved him or were too afraid to speak out because even when he listened at his window as Dudley's classmates walked by even when they did talk to Dudley it was with a sickening amount of flattery that was almost enough to make Harry puke.

After listening for hours of how his mother couldn't lose him and his father listing all the hazards of being an ordinary kid, and going to an ordinary school, he had snapped.

FLASHBACK:

Harry had just finished his dinner (carefully cut chicken and peas) which had been personally brought in by his mother, apparently they didn't trust him to be able to make it down the stairs to the kitchen without gravely injuring himself, let alone cutting his own food. A knock came at his door and a call of "honey it's me" was heard from the other side of the door. Harry rolled his eyes and glanced disparagingly at the door, who else could it be? Pointedly ignoring the plea he set his food down on his hardwood ivory desk, before striding across his room to his bed. He went on his hands and knees and began to rummage beneath it. Moving onto his stomach to get a better view, his eyes flickered from a deck of scattered cards, to an old phone, which had long since stopped working, and…Eww! What was that stench! He absently poked a largish green slop of something that might have once been a brussel sprout, with the end of one of his doctor recommended health books. After all, Harry thought wryly, they have a lot of similarities. They're both disgusting, nauseating and something that once you had seen, you never wanted the misfortune of looking at again. Ignoring his mother's calls, which were getting more frantic by the minute, ( What? Did she forget that she has the keys to my door? I couldn't open it even if I wanted to! Some jailer she is!)he dug beneath a pile of old, worn clothes before his reaching hand found what he'd been looking for. His violin. The only thing he enjoyed in his life anymore besides bird watching.

"Son, it's me. Let us in, we have to talk." Came an unmistakable voice from the hallway. Harry jumped in shock. (Owww…) Cursing quite fluently for a ten year old. Harry crawled out from under his bed and gingerly rubbed his head where it had painfully collided with the baseboard of his bed. Slowly getting to his feet he quickly spun to stare at his bedroom door, green eyes wide with astonishment. It was his father.

Dropping his violin case in shock, and wincing as he heard it crash to the floor (he was pretty sure he had heard something snap in there). Harry stood there numb and unmoving, his thoughts running around in circles. It was his dad, the man who gave him life and then took it away in a single moment. The humorous man he hadn't seen in five years ever since he and mom had separated. He had been almost too young to remember. When he had last heard from him, his dad was still in America, where his doctors had told him the weather would be warmer and more ideal for his waning health.

Vernon had been diagnosed with lung cancer after almost 25 years of smoking, since the age of 16. It had almost been too late, but after a long fight and finally surgery to remove the tumor, he had slowly recovered; although they had been told that his health might not ever make a full recovery.

He had left immediately for America. His parents had deemed it for the best if they were legally separated, and he had been told gently that he would most likely never see his dad again. It was hard on his mom, she and his dad had a loving marriage and his disease and its ramifications had hit her hard. But if it had been devastating to Petunia it had been devastating to Dudley, but not for the reasons you would think.

After Vernon left his job as the manager of Grunning's Drills the family had quickly ran out of money, his mother had to go out and find a job and after weeks of searching and with much distaste she had taken up a job as waitress at Abe's Drunkery which was located down King Way a busy metropolis part of London. Needless to say people looked down on Petunia in disgust, her reputation was ruined forever. Not to mention that her job paid less than half of what they needed to live on. Once parents' who were pushing their kids on Dudley hoping that by befriending Vernon's son they would further themselves with his connections and money, were now warning their children to mix with the riff raff lest they turn out like him. Dudley had violently declared he had no father anymore and would throw a tantrum every time his father walked in the room. Vernon gave up after a while and left for America, they, Dudley and Petunia that is, would go to visit him for weeks at end while he was left in his room with only a nurse to watch over him and make sure he didn't try to escape, or so he imagined.

That was why he had been so surprised to hear his father's rough voice come from the other side of his impenetrable door.

Harry darted to the door and fumbled for the knob and then pulled at it, hoping against hope that his mother had the sense to unlock it on this occasion. Twisting the knob, and opening it hurriedly, and raised his green eyes to meet his dad's dark grey.

Harry gasped and stepped forward slightly, but made no other move towards him, they stood there, staring at each other. An awkward quiet ensued, broken only by his mother's soft murmuring. Tentatively, Harry broke the silence, " Dad? What are you doing here? I thought the doctors said it would be best if you didn't come back, something about the humidity in the climate. Isn't that why you left?" As he spoke his voice steadily rose in pitch leaving an accusing note to linger in the air. His dad visibly winced and opened his mouth but his mom cut in before he could say anything.

"He came back because I asked him to," his mother was nervously wringing her hands in her dishcloth, "it's about what we were talking about earlier. I thought it was best if I let your father talk to you." At the end his mother was looking down at the ground and his father didn't meet his eyes. Harry felt his heart drop. " Due to your condition the Doctors and I thought it best that you continued the way you are, and your dad agrees." He felt his dread rise at her words.

"What are you trying to say?" Harry whispered softly his face both confused and knowing. His father finally met his gaze and said coldly.

"She means you're not going to Stonewall, Harry."

The blunt worded statement hit him hard. He flinched, and turned disbelieving eyes between his parents. " What! But mom you promised me that when I was ten I could go! That's what you were tutoring me for, you promised me that I could leave the house!-"

"Only if your health was better," said his mom determinedly, " and it's not. Harry don't you know how fragile your health is! Do you remember the last time, I was sure you weren't going to make it! You nearly died! I couldn't stand to lose you, not after-" her voice trailed into a whisper, "not after Ilea." So this was about Ilene. His mother's sister, and his Aunt who had contracted a disease that the doctors had never heard of before and had slowly gotten sicker and paler until finally two years ago to this day she had died. In a way Harry was relieved, she had looked tormented and weak, getting dizzy more often than not and nearly causing her own death by falling down the stairs numerous times. Her room was still there, just as she had left it; his mom didn't have the strength to clean it out and his father was gone by then. Her death coupled with his dad's cancer and his own weak immune system were bad enough alone, but with his recent lethal duel with the flu which had nearly drained him to his death…His mother wasn't taking any chances.

Now, she worried constantly to the point where she wouldn't let him leave his room for anything. She was always asking him if he was all right and if anything had happened. And it had gotten worse lately, the closer it had got to his eleventh birthday the worse she got.

One night Harry hadn't been able to sleep and he had just lain there deep in thought. Why was he always so sick? The doctors came by every few weeks for checkups and another dosage of medicine. They were never late, always arriving exactly two weeks from when they had last given him a shot. He felt sick. He wasn't going to take this any longer, he wasn't going to consent to be a prisoner for another seven years!

Harry heard footsteps in the hall, they were moving towards his bedroom. Harry quietened his breathing and managed to fake sleep well enough that the midnight intruder had no idea he was awake. Everything was silent, Harry could hear the other's breathing as loudly as if he were right beside them. No one spoke, than after another minute of silence Harry heard a soft sigh and the visitor he couldn't identify left, shutting the door quietly behind them. Harry listened until he could no longer hear her footsteps, she was back in her room. Harry tried to think of why someone would be sneaking into his room in the middle of the night but gave up, he was tired… The next day he woke up and remembered nothing at all of the night before, it had been erased from his memory.

"You have to let me go mom! I do get sicker than the other kids and the doctors may agree that what you're doing is right but I don't! You're keeping me locked up like an animal in the zoo! Something to look at and keep healthy, but you ignore the ugly chains and see only what you want to see. I've never even seen the outside of my own house! I have no friends, no life, what am I going to do when you can't hold me back anymore? I won't be able to get a job and you can't hold on to me forever. I'm not Ilene, I'm sorry but I'm not her. I'm me and you're going to have to accept that sooner or later! So whether you accept it or not I'll be going to the school I choose and you'll let me, not because it's the right thing to do but because it's something I want for myself, I want to be around other kids, and I'm sorry if you don't think I care enough." Harry finished off his rant at barely more than a whisper. His mother started sobbing silently like the world had ended his dad just stood there looking shocked, but his eyes were shining with something knowing, triumph was evident on his weathered face. Seeking encouragement from his dad and finding nothing he could recognise, Harry took a deep breath and asked the five words that meant the most to him at that moment:

"So can I go mom?" My mother raised her head, wiping her eyes on her ebony black hair. In her moment of grief her Japanese roots shone clearly through her strong English features in the shape and darkening of her blue eyes. Sniffling a couple of times, her face softened for a second causing Harry's hope to rise irrationally high. It was shot down at her reply though.

"No," she whispered softly, " I won't take the risk." Than she was gone leaving her new hand knitted dishcloth, which she had been so proud of, to float haphazardly to the floor as her hurried footsteps echoed down the deathly silent hall.

End Flashback:

Harry growled in helpless frustration, tugging absent-mindedly at his unnatural white locks as he reviewed the reasons he shouldn't just go ahead and tear into his room again. He knew she was right about his health, there was nothing he could do about that even now his prolonged absence from bed was causing him dizziness and a dull throbbing on his forehead, but it was the way he was born. Ever since he could remember it was always "you can't do that Harry, you might get sick," or" you should listen to what the doctors suggest, they know best about diseases and sickness after all!" No one knew how he felt, the doctors and his parents had never had to grow up locked in one room for their whole life knowing they were different, that they were freakish. He had watched the videos that his mother had brought in (nothing bad mind you, she wouldn't let her impressionable young son watch anything too horrible, and nowhere on any of his cassettes did people look anything like him.

His mother was the kind of parent that would go out and petition the removal of Pokemon because she thought it was too violent for her children. So far she had only brought him home two videos that he would willingly watch and that his mom had decided weren't too bad and his mom would allow him to see. They were Benji (he liked it because of how it showed the outdoors, and some animals) and an anime called Fruits Basket, one of most ridiculously funny books he had ever read. But even that had been taken away once he expressed interest in how exactly the people managed to turn into animals and if he could do it to. Dudley, happening to hear this tidbit had laughed scornfully. "Haven't you ever heard of magic? I would have thought you of all people…" But by then Petunia had managed to cross the room and enter hearing range. She had gone beserk, quickly ordering Dudley up to his room, and when he protested she threatened to take his games away, something he had never heard her say before. Dudley not liking being embarrassed in front of Harry, but dreading the loss of his video games more, quickly scampered up to his room shooting Harry a nasty glare in the process.

Remembering, Harry sighed and picked up his violin off the floor. Gently taking it out Harry pulled it right side up on his lap and examined the strings. They were fine. Harry frowned he could have sworn he had heard at least one snap, Oh well, unusual things happened to him all the time, like when Dudley had stretched out his foot when Harry couldn't see it over the top of the pile of dirty dishes he was carrying from the upstairs rooms as one of his chores and Harry had took a nasty tumble down the stairs. Weird thing was he hadn't even felt the stairs as he hit them on the way down. His mom had been hysterical though and had rushed him to the hospital so fast he didn't even get to view his one time out of the house, so Harry could only assume that he had been pretty messed up.

All he could remember was being half carried and half dragged into the hospital still mumbling that he was all right. After that it became too hazy for him to recall anything, he assumed that he had passed out. All he could remember after that vaguely was when his Aunt Petunia had shouted out at the lazing off duty doctors and nursed to get someone named Dr. Sen. After that everything drew a blank and to this day he wondered why he had thought of his mother as his aunt, he could only assume it was either from the pain or the drugs they pumped into him while he was sleeping. Which was weird because he didn't recall feeling anything at all at the time other than confused frustration and as far as he knew he had thought of it before the Doctor got to him. Anyway he had spent his last week of Spring Break staring up at the ceiling of his hospital room, and when he finally got to go home, he was confined to bed for another two weeks on Doctor's orders. That was the last time he saw his old Elementary, after that his mom thought him too clumsy not to injure himself if he was left to his own devices. He was sick of it.

Sighing at what he couldn't change in his life, Harry adeptly pulled out the cherry wood bow and expertly put it to the strings. He pulled it onto his lap and rested his chin on top, peacefully shutting his eyes to the world he knew and entered another one, one where he could do anything he wanted and it would be right. Relaxing into the music, he leaned backwards until his back was flat against the wall.

His bed was in the corner farthest from the door with the TV and V.C.R crammed into one of the corners next to the door and across from his bed. He had an ebony bookcase, and a short willow dresser next to his bed where he put all his clothes and knickknacks. His room was done in soft shades of blue, with his carpet a creamy tan and his room had a well lived in look, well it better he had lived in it since he could remember. His floor was normally covered in tapes and books of varying condition, most had been read so much they were falling apart, that he knew that he should have picked them up more often, and it was only because of him trashing his room that they had been picked up at all. No, soon his room would be back to its original state of an organized mess.

Harry continued to just lay back and listen to the music. "If only life was like music," he mused, "everyone would be free." Finishing the jaunty tune "If we believe", he decided to go for something a little more to his mood. Putting the bow down with renewed concentration Harry played the saddest song he knew; The Everborn Lament also known as Darkfire Chronica. He had written the tragic song himself; actually it was like he had always known it, one time he had just put bow to instrument and he had played the melody perfectly without the knowledge of how it went. It was about a kingdom of the clouds, a paradise that had been lost due to the arrogance of the people themselves. They had thought that they could do anything, even mock the gods and they had been shown just how immortal they truly were. The sad part was that it really had been paradise and it would be lost forever, no other human could see its splendour.

Letting the last note ring in the air for a moment before he started to pack his violin away. He smiled, he always felt somehow lighter after he played the violin and that's what he needed, especially now. Putting his case temporarily on top of his bed stand he sat down to think. What would he do now? It was clear his parents' wouldn't be budging on that matter. As Harry saw it he had two plausible choices, he could deal with it, or he could find some way to convince his mother that leaving the house was better for him than being alone all the time. "Ha, like that'll ever happen. While I'm at it why don't I just run away?" Hey….maybe that isn't just a bad cliché. Harry moved to his window and tugged at it thoughtfully, it was locked tight. He sighed, "well there went that idea…" CREAK- Harry jumped at the noise. That sounded like…Harry laughed. Why use the window when his mom had forgotten to lock the door?

Ten minutes later Harry was not so sure of his brilliant idea. Sure getting out of his room would be easy but sneaking past his parents? And no matter what he did couldn't decide on what he should bring to wear, and when he did where would he go? He had no friends, no close relatives, so what was he going to do? No. He was not going to back down. Maybe if his parents found him missing they would see how much their actions were upsetting him, and would give him more freedom and space. Harry walked over to his drawer and pulled out a navy blue t- shirt and a pair of slacks, and then proceeded to pull out random articles of clothing, only pausing to make sure he had the same number of shirts as pants. He also grabbed a bottle of water off his bookcase already full and stuffed it and the remainders of his supper into his bulging knapsack. Then picking up his backpack and putting it on his bed he pulled on a red sweater, after all it was autumn out and it got pretty nippy after dark.

Taking a last glance around his room Harry took a deep breath, stepped from through his doorway, flipped off his light switch and gently closed the door behind him.

Harry crept down the hallway of the large two-story dwelling, he could faintly hear voice coming from the bedroom across the hall. 'Good, the downstairs is clear.' He thought and began his slow descent down the spiralling staircase. Since the stairs were cushioned they absorbed his weight well and there was virtually no sound. Once he reached the bottom he did some mental calculations, there were two doors. If his room were at the back door of the house the front door would be…ah! In the kitchen Harry went through left door hoping it was the kitchen. Paneled floors...yes, stove, refrigerator? Check. Yes he was definitely in the kitchen. Harry looked around the kitchen curiously, he had never seen it before. His eyes quickly found the front door and he was beginning to move towards it when he heard a soft snuffling sound. He froze. He had heard that sound before in movies when burglars snuck into a house at night, it always meant trouble. For them. Turning around as non- threateningly as he could Harry's eyes saw what he had figured all along. Standing in the doorway was the biggest, ugliest bulldog he had ever seen in his life.

Dog and boy stared at each other for a minute, both seemingly to shocked by the others appearance to do anything more than stare. Then the dog started to growl, its mouth opened and drool that had started to gather to fall down between its lips causing it to swallow pulling its lips back into a soundless snarl. Those. Were. The biggest. Sharpest. Teeth. He had ever seen. The dog dropped slowly into a striking crouch and Harry knew it was going to attack first and eat him later. Harry flung himself to the floor, just as the pittbull decided to pounce. Harry landed in a heap, while the dog went sliding over the marble tiles, missing its target completely and smashing headfirst into the mahogany cupboards with a loud crash. While the dog gathered its wits, Harry was thinking madly of something that would save him from becoming dog food. 'What do dogs like? Toys, food...Food!' Pulling off his backpack he frantically began digging through it. 'Where the hell did I put that roast chicken? What was I thinking ? Well it certainatly wasn't being attacked by a rabid dog in my own home, I mean who would buy a bloodthirsty monster?'

GROWL. CRASH. Harry screamed as the dog came at him again, he rolled into a ball, while he threw his whole bag at the charging nightmare. It missed its target completely. There was a crash nearby and Harry curled into a tighter ball, covering his head with his hands. The dog would tear him apart in close quarters with jaws like that. Harry waited, and waited, the teeth and claws he had been expecting hadn't come. After another minute Harry cautiously moved his hands so he could see through a crack.

Darkness and what could possibly be the missing bulldog. Wait a minute, hadn't the light been on a second ago? Harry completely removed his arms and looked upon a scene of destruction.

First of all there was glass everywhere, presumably from the broken chandelier , which had fallen and landed directly on top of the poor crushed animal, his bag was hanging off the side. Not that Harry was sympathetic or anything though, he felt the same as anyone would after their would be murderer got hit by a bus. "Better him than me," Harry murmured . Glancing around Harry winced at how thoroughly demolished the kitchen was. He looked at the sight of the now splintered mahogany cupboard where the insane dog had bashed a hole in the centre with merely its head. Harry stared, somehow he wasn't that surprised. Harry shuddered at the thought of that body on top of him crushing him to the ground. If this was how the rest of the world was like, he didn't blame his mom for locking him in his room…Now that he thought of it where were his parents? It was impossible not to hear all the racket yet they hadn't come down. Harry paused and listened for any sounds indicating that his parents had heard the crashing and were coming down to investigate. Nothing. No sound at all.

Harry moved towards the stairs intent on going back up when a blur of white along the brown of the countertop caught his eye. Unable to resist Harry went over and picked it up. It was a note. More specifically it was for a "Vernon and Petunia Dursley" the note read:

Sept 29, 2190 Era of Human Enhancement

I must say first that it took you long enough to contact me after your last report, you're not backing out are you? You say your son is increasingly frustrated with being confined? It is in his best interest. People who survive S.M Phenoxes as babies generally don't turn out normally. Your son has already shown signs that his genetic D.N.A has been altered by our tests. It is obvious to us that his premature white hair and small stature are a side effect. He might start to show other side effects including no aging of body, enhanced eyesight and mental capabilities. There is also a slight chance he might regain some semblance of his former powers including slight telekinetic ability. You must keep up the alibi that his immune system is failing, he cannot know the truth. His sister was terminated because she found out about our plan, this experiment Darkfire Genesis had better yield better results than D.L Genetics otherwise we'll all be out of jobs. He seems to be doing fine, and has not shown any sign of knowing from your weekly reports. Keep him in the dark, he must not know about himself or the others. They must be kept in homes isolated from the rest of the world. We are after all trying to find out how the past affects them as compared to the present environment, it took a lot of money and lives to wipe out those monstrosities that called themselves 'wizards', yet in the end we prevailed as science will always and continue to do. The ones we are using are as harmless as those animals could be, merely children by their standards. Don't worry you're in no danger as long as you continue to bring him in regularly to Doctor Sen to get his M.P.M.S shots, which not only insulate all of his natural magical ability but they also have the unique side effects of causing extreme weakness of the immune system and loss of memory, as you will already know. Don' t let him near anything that may stimulate his memory, Sen is relatively new to this so we leave him in your capable hands.

Your money will be paid when the experiment is complete. Our representatives are going to check on him in two weeks, be ready.

Signed,

Robert Jennings

Head scientist of the Genetic Experimentation and Research Facilities.

Harry let the note drop from his right hand and watched it fall to the floor absently. He knew he should be shocked, scared, especially angry that all his life he had been manipulated but he felt numb. He couldn't bring himself to feel any emotions about this realization, not even pain that his parents thought of him only as an experiment, for what purpose was yet unknown. Also according to this note he was a wizard, whatever that was. At least now he knew why his mother hated the mention of magic so much, there had been a war between the two peoples and naturally one came out on top. Unfortunately for him, it seemed as if it was his side that had lost.

He was a prisoner. He had always felt confined but never had he suspected it was literal. His parents-no they weren't his parents they were just some well-paid and extremely talented actors, he hadn't suspected a thing.

Harry turned at the sound of heavy footsteps making there way down the stairs, Harry glanced around, desperately looking for a place to hide but there was nothing, it suddenly came to him that he was an escaped prisoner, and that this whole house had been specifically designed with that thought in mind.

The kitchen door slammed open loudly, the doorframe rattling weakly from the power behind the thrust. Harry stared at Vernon helplessly as he watched the shock on his captors face slowly turn to fear and than descend to murderous rage as he took in the scene, his face purpling when he noticed the dead dog. Harry almost thought he could get away with saying it had been a burglar and he had just heard the noise and couldn't help but come down and investigate. But then Harry felt his heart drop as he watched Vernon's gaze drop from the scene of destruction to the floor right at Harry's feet. The note. He had forgotten to conceal the goddamn note! Fearfully Harry stepped back, intending to slowly inch his way to the door and grab his bag on the getaway.

But it was not meant to be. Vernon let out a wordless roar and lunged for Harry, he tried to get away but it was too late. Vernon grabbed him by his hair throwing him to the floor roughly, Harry winced as he slid along the floor his skin picking up deep gashes from shattered glass littering on the floor. His father towered over him his eyes bulging and his face slightly red then something happened that terrified Harry to the core. Vernon visibly calmed down so much that he looked almost as if nothing had changed and he was just talking to Harry in his room, then he smiled. He laughed as he saw Harry struggling to his feet but didn't try to stop him, Harry couldn't have escaped in any case. Grabbing Harry by his arm he flung him to the nearest wall, which was just over ten feet away. Yanking him up, Vernon pushed Harry up against the wall. Harry gasped, he felt the pain course through him for the first time in seven years. Trying to calm his erratic breathing and squash his fear was a futile gesture, so Harry accepted it, accepted that he was about to smashed into smithereens by the man he considered his father all his life. So with nothing to lose Harry raised his head and met his abusers eyes with all the weary resignation of a soldier sent up the ladder. He knew he was dead but he refused to lose this battle of minds, his pride wouldn't allow, neither would his subconscious for some reason. And as he met his father's cold, mocking eyes he knew, he knew with certainty that he hated this man more than anyone else in the world, that this man hated him enough to degrade him and abuse him, treat him like an experiment. As Harry hung loose in the grip of a madman looking for vengeance Harry knew, he knew he had faced more than this man could ever do to him and he had won…. Harry remembered ….

Crash! Harry was flung to the floor once again this time colliding with the kitchen table and stopping right beside the broken body of the dog he had murdered earlier, now that he could see him close up he knew the couldn't have died from anything less than the gaping wound in its neck where a particularly long and sharp piece of glass was embedded….

Vernon advanced once more still smiling insanely, Harry tried to move, stand up, if he had to die he wished it to be a noble one standing tall against an enemy that was superior to him…He tried and he failed, collapsing to the ground Harry lay there too tired to fight anymore, his eyes were closing. Vernon chuckled as he noticed this his eyes glaring cruelly down at his victim. "Oh no you don't. I've waited far too long for this moment for you to not even be aware of what I'm going to do to you." And with that he delivered heavy kick to Harry's ribs, causing his eyes to snap wide open as he gave a sharp inhalation at the pain, and tears of helplessness and frustrating caused his eyes to shine eerily in the dark kitchen. He raised glowing green eyes and it was Vernon's turn to gasp and step back hastily, causing him to almost trip on a stray table leg. A pity.

"Why?" Harry whispered, it was almost imperceptible the tinge of sorrow that rang clear in his soft lilting voice. "We were family." Vernon snarled not smiling at all now.

"Family! With a freak like you! I was disappointed when after the wars were over you turned up, and alive! And to add insult to injury they expected us to perform in their little experiment. I pitied the poor people who got stuck with freaks like you to look after, what with what your kind did to ours. They were no better than mad animals at the end you know, the rest of them. They knew they were beat, so they decided they had to get at us and they did, oh they did, blew up half of England in the process casting their dead magic. Of course we won in the end but our children were tainted forever. All the people who had been around the land during the time of the explosion gained freakish abilities, as did their children. We couldn't have another war, no , so we did what we had to do. We went on holy mission to purge the world of that evil, we killed all the animals that even hinted at it. Entire cities were contaminated. Finally we managed to wipe them all out, but it took us twenty years! My Dudley was among the dead, Petunia's baby. She was so grief stricken that when the scientists came knocking she took you in gladly. She was relieved you'd gotten mind wiped. She could start anew with you, she figured if you never knew you had the power you couldn't use it. I told her to get rid of you, we could tell them you died and still get our money but she wouldn't hear of it. She was felt sorry for you, she thought she had to do it so she could be forgiven, so you could be redeemed. She divorced me immediately, and the doctors agreed with her. They thought they could use you vile black-blooded wizards to see if their theories would work, if others could be saved from your freakishness. You were no danger to them as long as you never knew. But I knew she was wrong, I knew that eventually you would figure it sooner or later, you would get discontent with living locked up all the time as Petunia worried over you constantly and you did. I knew I could get rid of you and not get blamed as long as they thought you knew the truth, I was planning to set you up but now I don't have to. You did it yourself!" He laughed. Harry's face went white his breathing quickened he was going to die.

"Before I kill you I want you to know exactly why you're going to die. That's why I had to drug Petunia, I knew she would instantly recognise the Memoros Especia, especially since she had a hand in creating it. You've brainwashed her for so long I don't know if she can be saved but at least she can rest in peace now knowing she didn't cause your death, and I won't be suspected, after all why would the family dog attack a family member? No one will know until it's too late. The rebels won't be able to save you." Now he took out a vile of some putrid orange liquid, presumably the memory restoration potion, it looked familiar….

Harry had no more time left to muse, Vernon stepped up to him and holding both of Harry's arms down he forced the liquid into his mouth. Smiling grimly Vernon covered Harry's nose so he had no choice but to swallow or choke. Neither appealed to him. Choking the rotten potion down took a lot of energy Harry didn't have and he would have choked if Vernon hadn't sat him up, a look of utmost delight sketched onto his face. He didn't want Harry to die before he saw him suffer.

Once he had got it all down, Vernon let him fall to the floor where he lay shaking with tremors and convulsions, choking up what little he had left in his stomach from lunch. He felt both chilled and fevered and it felt as if a thousand tiny knives were stabbing his brain at once. All at once everything stopped and it was too much for Harry to handle, he fell to the floor shaking with dry heaving. When Harry thought it was finally over, it truly began. He could do nothing to stop its coming and for the first time in ten years Harry Potter remembered. He screamed in anguish, and Vernon laughed.

Petunia woke with a start. She felt dread rising in her, she knew something was happening ever since Vernon had given her that first cup of tea. She had meant to talk to her son, to make him understand that he couldn't leave, it wasn't her choice in the matter. In fact she had petitioned the Dr. Jennings for over two weeks and his answer had always been that the boy was too dangerous and the moment he was allowed to leave they would withdraw their cure for his abnormality and she couldn't let that happen, not again. Oh she knew that Harry wasn't her son, 'but he might as well be she thought because I love him just as much as I loved Dudley, her angel who had been murdered by his own father after he first showed signs of the Contamination. She wouldn't let her sister's son be murdered the same way, as a result she never left him alone with Vernon for she knew all too well how much he wanted the boy dead.

Sweating heavily, Petunia pushed her sweat soaked hair from her face, and sat up straight and listened. Nothing, but then that was how the house was designed, they would leave late during the night to report to Sen for the week and her son wouldn't hear them come back, she knew that if he did her plan was doomed, he was even more curious than her sister and look where that had gotten her. The attention of a deranged psychopath, and she was in the grave before her nineteenth birthday. She missed Lily so…

But Petunia knew that now wasn't the time for past reminiscing, she had to get downstairs and fast, she feared that Harry's life depended on it. Slipping on her bathrobe Petunia silently exited her room and made her way downstairs on entering a scene she had seen many times in her nightmares. Staring horrified at Harry's broken and beaten body lying amongst the broken glass shards of what had once been a fully functioning chandelier Petunia finally realized the truth she tried to ignore for years. Vernon had finally lost it, and two they would need a miracle if they had any chance of getting out of here alive.

Cliffhanger! I shouldn't start another story but I couldn't resist. I appreciate both reviews and helpful criticism. Flames go to my recycling bin. Hope to update in at least two weeks, I don't have much free time on my hands.