Disclaimer: The first… 4 paragraphs belong entirely to Jo Rowling (a few words missing, true…), as well as Harry Potter & co. The rest of the stuff belongs to me. As I might have mentioned, this is very, very AU.
Author: zimagesto
Chapter OneHarry was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard.
It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his stomach in bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight in one hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his essay, "Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless discuss."
The quill paused at the top of a likely-looking paragraph. Harry Pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight closer to the book, and read:
"Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty seven times in various disguises."
Harry snorted to himself. He already liked Wendelin, she had quite the humor, that one. Alas, she had the type of humor Severus had –he was writing that essay for him, by the way-, a humor that he quite appreciated. That sarcasm and irony, that way of looking at the stupid people critically…
"Mommy, daddy, I want to be like Sev when I grow up" Harry laughed to himself and decided he could use some fresh air. After all, the blanket-tent tended to be quite… suffocating.
He turned the flash-light off and threw the blanket off himself and climbed out of bed, listening to Dudley's infernal music as he did so. His one year older brother was absolutely impossible. Harry despised him, nearly as much as he despised his parents, Vernon and Petunia. He didn't have too much against people, mind you, but his parents and brother were… horrible.
"Do you think he'll finally fail this year, hmm, Hedwig?" Harry asked the owl that was eating a rat on his windowsill with a mischievous smile. She just looked at him with a look that said 'well, of course. This time, not even a tone of gold can save him'. "You're right… the days when dad paid for his passing are over. Director Newman is getting quite pissed at whomever wants to fail him and doesn't because of some Dursley money."
The owl hooted softly as Harry walked towards the window and implicitly towards her and as he took a deep breath of fresh air.
"I wish I could turn on the lights without dad figuring out that I'm up" Harry said towards her. "But, you know how it is, right?"
He looked towards his right and saw his reflection in the mirror and smiled. He really liked the way he looked, seeming to be more than 16 in age. His raven-black pointy hair stuck up in all direction, making him look as if he'd just ran about a mile or so all the time. His very green eyes were sparkling with deviousness and power.
He had a medium height and he was lean, but muscular. The exercises he did always paid off. And he was by far the best-looking and most fit person in the house. After all, his brother, Dudley was about one tone fatter than him and he looked as if he could eat a whole cow at a meal, even now, after he started taking boxing lessons. His mom, Petunia, was skinny and tall and had a long horse-like neck and horse-like face. And dad… well, he was solid, but had no muscles to make him look the least bit better.
"I really should change my name, don't you think, Hedwig?" he addressed the owl with a smirk. "Change it to Harry Potter. Officially. Not just for the Order… I always did like aunt Lily and uncle James and the name seems to suit me. I also have my aunt's eyes, did you know, Hedwig? And surprisingly, my uncle's hair, although we don't share the same bloodline! I should be their son!"
Hedwig just hooted at him and he rolled his eyes.
"I know I'm not" he said. "Well, back to Severus's essay. I wonder what he wants with it, I somehow doubt he wants just to amuse me. Oh, and I have a letter for you. Give it to Sirius, will you please?"
Hedwig stared after him as he walked to the desk, picked up an envelope and threw it towards her. She didn't realize what happened until the envelope hit her in the head.
"Sorry" Harry laughed as she hooted at him furiously. "Didn't know you weren't going to catch it. Oh, well, I'm going to sleep, 'k? Night, night"
Hedwig hooted angrily as Harry went to the bed, took his things off it and hid them under a loose floorboard under his bed. A loose floorboard he'd made himself one day.
"Get going!" he said towards his owl as she stared at him. "I need him to pick me up tomorrow and… you know how it is, don't you?"
The owl seemed to sigh as she spread her wings and flew away.
"Bloody bird" Harry said, though a smile was on his face. "Shouldn't have made her deliver so many letters today"
He hopped into bed and let his thoughts drift of to his favorite Professor, Severus Snape. Ever since he'd been accepted in the Order of Hogwarts –whatever a Hogwart was supposed to be…- Severus had always been around him, helping him with one thing or another. And what a day it had been, when his Aunt Lily and Uncle James had asked him if he wanted to join the Order!
The two had come to Dursley house for a short visit, to see everybody and well… Lily had taken him apart for a short while and she'd asked him the big question, the one that had changed his life forever.
"It's the time when you change school cycles, Harry. The perfect time to decide what you want to do with your life" she'd said.
"I'm only eleven!" Harry'd complained.
"I know" Lily'd smiled. "But I can feel you Harry… You are not like your parents or brother. You are a fighter. And you have a lot of potential. I want you to think my proposal over and over again, don't rush into a decision. Your Uncle and I are working for an Order, for Hogwarts. Our job is to make sure that everything in this world goes right. It's a very difficult and dangerous job and we deal with horrors that most people don't know… And should never know they exist until, maybe, far in the future, they will be prepared enough to see the truth"
"Are you fighting demons?" the eleven year-old Harry Dursley had asked and Lily had smiled sadly.
"Not quite… but things that are nearly as bad as they are. You can join us. Mind you, for the first few years you won't be doing much, but as you grow in age and skill, you could become a true warrior"
"Yeah! That'd be great!" Harry had grinned.
"The downside is, you can never tell anyone" Lily said. "Not your friends, not your parents, not even your brother. You will be schooled inside the Order… The Order's Founders have been very careful to arrange for everything to go well. Choose wisely, Harry. It's not only excitement, it's also danger… grave danger and many of us have died young while others have been scarred for life by what they've seen"
"I already made my decision" Harry'd replied. "I hate the world I live in. I hate my brother beating the hell out of me so much. Even if I die young, I want to be with you, Auntie"
Lily'd smiled sadly.
"What a decision it is for a child to make…" she'd whispered.
Harry stared at the ceiling. He'd never regretted and never, ever would regret he was in Hogwarts. The Order Headquarters were his second home and the others who were there and who grew up with him had quickly become his friends. And as for his parents and brothers… well… they would never know. Not what he was doing, not that he became a wizard.
Of course, it was only at the age of fifteen that he'd learnt that his aunt and uncle had performed tones of tests on him, some that he'd registered as games, others that they'd done to check his mind when he was at a very tender age, check his loyalty and courage and intelligence. The question had simply been the end of things. He didn't mind, though, to know he'd been heavily observed and measured as a kid. He knew that it had been done for every person in that Order.
And tomorrow, he'd take a ride to the HQs with Sirius, his Uncle's best friend. Home sweet home… and God, how he envied those with parents in the Order! They could stay there all the time, whereas Harry had to pretend he was being schooled. At least Lily and James had somehow managed to convince his parents to let them pay for their nephew's education and to send him to a 'very good private school'.