Disclaimer: This story is 100% alternate universe and most, if not all, of the characters in this story are out of character as well. Also I don't own anything by J.K. Rowling and I am not trying to steal her characters, plots, or moments within the books that she has written. This is my own story and I also claim to not copy off of anyone else's work either in the process.
Chapter 2: The Only Friend I Have
Evening of October 31st, 1981 - After Voldemort's Attack At Potter Manor:
A small team of wizards from the Ministry of Magic consisting of Kinglsey Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, and Albus Dumbledore, had finally appeared at Potter Manor, but were unfortunately too late. The house was dark and the door was busted open, but that was only the surface of damage present.
"It is as I feared." The oldest wizard in the group sighed as he stared at the destroyed house. "I've failed them."
"I told you to let me cast the wards, Dumbledore!" A shorter wizard grunted who apparently had a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You always forget the minor details!"
"I'll hear none of that, Alastor." The tall man rebuttled. "Dumbledore did everything he could to protect the Potters. You-Know-Who's forces were simply too great to handle."
"Hmmph." Alastor Moody grunted. "You never think Albus does anything wrong, Kingsley! Your sense of loyalty to the old man has clouded your judgement once again!"
"Be silent!" Albus Dumbledore spoke loudly. "We must go inside and inspect the damage. We need to see if anyone is alive, and there may be some kind of clue as to where the other Death Eaters have gone."
The group of three ceased speaking and proceeded to move through the door. The lower floor of the manor had several walls blown through, furniture had been scorched and others were ripped, but that was the least disturbing of the carnage present.
"Bones." Kingsley indicated as he looked down at the floor and looked over the pile of human remains. "Why are there bones?"
"I do not know .. " Dumbledore began as he looked around in shock. " .. but it may have something to do with these black stains on the floor."
The group continued inside and noticed that there were indeed several areas of black stains all across the floors, and there were splattered black dots all over the walls near the back.
"What kind of spell would leave a trace like this?"
"It wasn't a spell." Alastor Moody stated as he waved his staff over the biggest stain. After nothing was revealed, the man kneeled and tried to sniff the remains. "A creature left these trails. Something big."
"A creature? I've never seen anything leave a trail quite like this before. Could it have been a dementor?"
"Don't be daft. Dementors don't leave marks like these!"
"Then what, Alastor, could do this?"
"Gentlemen, please focus." Dumbledore spoke again. "Continue to search for anything we can find."
The other two men simply nodded and searched throughout the bottom level of the house. After a more detailed inspection, the black stains seemed to have trailed from the basement of the house.
"I'll check it." Alastor volunteered as he grunted down to the basement. "You two look elsewhere."
Kingsley took to the opposite direction of the basement and moved his way into the kitchen, while Dumbledore headed to the living room area. Unfortunately it looked like both of those rooms only had some minor damage and some of the walls were busted. The two remaining men decided to head up the stairs after not finding much else, but faint trails of more black stains.
"Keep your wand close, my friend. Voldemort could have left some nasty surprises on his way out."
"I don't think we have to worry about that, Dumbledore. Look there." Kingsley indicated at final steps of the top of the stairs. More bones were scattered at the landing along with a sickly white wand that both men recognized instantly. Dumbledore reached the wand first and picked it up for the both of them to see.
"So .. it appears that You-Know-Who has died."
"It would seem so. However, we should check the remaining rooms first." Dumbledore said as he held on to the wand.
After inspecting the loo, the master bedroom, and the hallway closet, it appeared as if nothing had occurred. The last room however was young Harry's room. The door was already ajar, so the pair entered without any difficulty at all. As their eyes looked around at the surroundings, it was hard to ignore the disturbing scene that was right in front of them.
"My god."
"Whatever this is, Kingsley, God had nothing to do with it."
Extremely Early on the Morning of November 1st, 1981 - Little Whinging, Surrey:
The streets of Diagon Alley, and the nearby roads that connected to the Ministry of Magic had all kinds of wizarding folk jumping for joy. Word had travelled fast that The Dark Lord had perished at Potter Manor, and the celebrations were numerous. There was other news as well. The only thing that survived the attack was James and Lily Potter's son Harry.
Knowing that Voldemort's forces may still come after Harry, Dumbledore had taken the boy from the house and requested his half giant friend Hagrid for help. Minutes later, Dumbledore could hear the sounds of a motorcycle in the air speed on in the clouds. A moment later, the tall man known as Hagrid descended his flying bike and landed with a not too quiet thud on the ground.
"Professor Dumbledore, Sir." The half giant greeted to the old wizard.
"Hello there, Hagrid." Dumbledore responded whilst carrying little baby Harry Potter in his arms.
"Is that him?"
"Yes indeed."
"Is a wonder he survived. You-Know-Who doesn't .. er .. keep many victims alive."
"That's very true my friend, but it appears young Harry survived the attack on the house."
Just as he was about to continue talking to his big friend, Dumbledore was able to see his older friend and colleague Minerva McGonagall apparate from thin air and make her way over.
"Professor Dumbledore." She began. "Please tell me you have the boy."
"I do." He said confidently. "Little Harry here hasn't woken up since we left Godric's Hollow."
"And what of You-Know-Who?"
"He appears to be gone." Dumbledore said without much enthusiasm. He pulled out Voldemort's wand so she could see. "We found his wand and his possible bones at the house."
"Bones?" The woman asked as she examined the Dark Lord's wand.
"I will explain later, Minerva."
"Good." The old woman sighed as she released in a large amount of worry and stored Voldemort's wand away. "Where are we taking him, Headmaster?"
"The boy's only remaining family resides not too far away from here, so I am heading there now to drop him off. I asked Hagrid to come along in case we run into any kind of trouble along the way." Dumbledore responded as he, Hagrid, and his colleague began to walk down the road.
"His relatives?" McGonagall questioned while her eyes grew. "You couldn't possibly mean .."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"No! I forbid it, Dumbledore! This was not what Lily wanted for her son, and we need to respect her wishes." The old woman angrily objected to her elder co-worker.
"They are the only family Harry has left, Minerva. We need to bring him there to be safe."
"You do know what these people are like, don't you? They are the worst sort of muggles I have ever seen!"
"But it's the best .."
"There won't be a single person in our world who won't know who he is, Albus! He needs to be raised around other witches and wizards!"
The small group of three eventually arrived at their destination, 4 Privet Drive, and stopped right outside the front door.
"What he needs, Minerva, is to be hidden away from all of that. Until he is ready."
The old man bent down and placed the sleeping boy on the doormat. He carefully made sure that young Harry was wrapped tightly in his blanket before stepping away from the mat.
"Good luck, Harry Potter."
As he turned back around, Dumbledore could see that Hagrid was weeping and trying to hide his sniffles.
"There there, Hagrid. It's not goodbye forever." The giant man nodded and attempted his best to get the tears out of his beard. McGonagall looked sad as well, but if she had been crying earlier the old wizard hadn't noticed.
"Well I'll jus' .. um .. I'll jus' head back ter 'Ogwarts." Hagrid mentioned as he got back on his bike and rode away into the air. As the remaining pair watched the giant man fly off, Minerva turned to her colleague.
"What about his scar, Albus?"
"What about it?"
"Did you notice the color? I've never seen anything like it. It's an unusual shade of black." He nodded. "Do you think it has something to do with what you found at the house?"
Dumbledore nodded once more but said nothing. The two professors then apparated away into the night, and the muggles in the area were none the wiser.
Morning of November 1st, 1981 - Little Whinging, Surrey:
Sometime after young Harry Potter was dropped on the doorstep of his relatives, he was discovered by his Aunt Petunia during her morning ritual of enjoying the morning sunshine before the day could officially begin. She may have despised a lot of things in her life, but fresh air and sunshine was not amongst them.
Finding this child, however, soured her entire day in just a few short seconds.
The older woman was irritated at the thought of having to raise another kid, whilst she was already nursing her little baby boy. Why should she have to raise this brat that someone obviously didn't want? It was no concern of hers! And why was it on her doorstep specifically? The woman had no answers, and was getting more irritated by the second.
"Petunia!" The woman's husband shouted from the kitchen. "Where's my breakfast?!"
"Coming dear!" She responded. "I'll fix you something up in just a minute!" She then grabbed the child and slammed the door behind her.
Petunia had no choice but to bring the little brat inside. What would her neighbors think? Leaving a child outside her home would cause a stir amongst the community, and she couldn't have that happen. It was her responsibility to appear as normal as possible. No one would have any kind of gossip on her, and she would have everything on them in hindsight. No, it wouldn't do to appear anything less than normal. Much less being .. one of "those" types. Freakish heathens.
Petunia made her way into the kitchen and placed the child on the counter top. It wasn't going anywhere, and she could leave it there while she attended to her husband's needs. As the woman gathered eggs, and bacon, and toast, Vernon, her husband, walked into the room and immediately turned his attitude from irritated to hatred.
"WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE?!" The obese thing known as "Vernon" shouted. His screaming woke up the baby, but he didn't give any semblance of care.
"It was left on our porch this morning!" Petunia responded. "I couldn't leave it outside with all the neighbors around! What was I supposed to do?"
"There is a perfectly good orphanage about five miles away from here, and they could always use another starving mouth to feed! I won't have this bloody thing in my house! I want it out!"
Petunia stopped making breakfast and was going to take the child out to the orphanage, but she noticed something tucked inside of the child's blanket for the first time. It was a letter that was addressed to her. Her husband was able to notice it immediately.
"What's this then? Do these people know you?" He grabbed the letter and turned it over looking for any kind of clue as to who wrote it.
"How should I know? I don't know anyone desperate to leave their baby on our doorstep." She pondered a moment before realizing who's kid this could be.
"It could be that Audrey girl's child. She was always a little whore. Her mother always tried to hide her daughter's promiscuous activities, but we all knew."
"Hmmph." Vernon huffed as he tore open the letter. "Let's see who is so desperate to leave their child here."
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley pore over the letter with rapid haste, but they regretted their actions immediately. The child belonged to the one person that Petunia had hoped she would never see again. Her bitch of a sister, Lily, was the one who left her son here. It was her perfect, prissy, freakish redhead sister's fault.
The letter was addressed from someone named "Dumbledore" but neither one of them knew who that was. Apparently this child's name was Harry Potter, and he was to remain in their care until he turned seventeen and could legally be considered as an adult. The couple did notice that they would be paid a monthly allowance to use on the kid, but that didn't matter to them. Who cares about money if you have to deal with a freakish bastard baby?
"So it's your freaky sister's little brat?!" Vernon shouted as he grabbed the baby and walked to the backyard. "Forget the orphanage. This thing is going in the trash!"
Petunia began to walk with her husband towards the back door when her son Dudley began to cry. As much as she wanted to see little Harry be cast away, she knew where her place was. The woman then left, but she agreed with her husband that the bastard child had to go.
As Vernon opened the back door and made his way to the nearby trash cans, a strange sound erupted from the child. Something of anger, and pain, and worst of all, darkness.
"What's this then?" The man exclaimed. "Are you crying freak?! I'll make your cries last no longer."
Before Vernon could throw little Harry away, the boy's eyes changed, black veins erupted on his skin, and a black tendril climbed up the older man's hand. Mr. Dursley screamed out in fear and pain, but before he could fight back against the goo traveling into his body, the black substance threw itself into the man's mouth. And then .. everything turned dark.
Evening of October 2nd, 1982 - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
The winter winds were starting to blow near the giant castle this time of year in Scotland. The freezing rain and sleet were not far behind, but the village of Hogsmeade was not subject to the cold weather yet. The wizards and witches around the magical area seemed to be enjoying their time before the seasons had changed for the worse, and the lasting peace that stemmed from almost one year ago was plentiful.
But all was not well inside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Headmaster Dumbledore had received a disturbing report from his good friend, and subsequently, his most important ally from the Auror Department in the Ministry of Magic, Alastor Moody, about the status of young Harry Potter. The news was odd, strange, and downright out of the ordinary.
"You are sure of this, Alastor?" Dumbledore asked. "The aurors are indeed correct in their reports?"
"Aye, Dumbledore. The muggles have barely left the house over the course of the past year."
"Any idea why?" The old wizard stated as he left his chair and paced back and forth.
"What makes you so interested, Headmaster?" The Auror asked. "You never bothered to ask about the boy since you left him."
Albus Dumbledore knew that his friend was correct, but he would never admit it aloud. Harry was supposed to be safe, despite him knowing that his muggle relatives were less than friendly. It was for the greater good. That is what he believed, and that is what he preached to all.
"The boy has been marked by Voldemort, my old friend. We need him to be safe and secure."
"Aye. Constant vigilance and all that .. " He paused and looked directly at the old wizard and said. " .. but you never answered my question old man. You only stated what is true."
Dumbledore sighed. The Headmaster had no desire to continue this conversation any longer, but he knew that Alastor would continue to pry until he gained the information he needed.
"I believed Harry was safe with the Dursleys. They are the only family he has."
"Bullocks. You know they're the worst sort of people against our kind." Moody snorted. "I don't know what your game is Dumbledore, but I'm going to be keeping my eye on you from now on."
With the conversation abruptly ended, Alastor Moody left the Headmaster's office and made his way back to the Ministry of Magic. Albus Dumbledore knew that his Auror colleague was serious, but there was nothing the crazed man could do in the end. It was Harry's destiny to defeat Voldemort for good, and fate is not something to be trifled with.
Morning of July 31st, 1986 - 4 Privet Drive:
"I had another dream." A little boy said as he rose from his bed and headed towards the bathroom. "It felt real."
"WE KNOW. IT WAS ABOUT THAT WOMAN." A deep dark voice responded back.
"Yeah." The little boy said. He knew that the voice was already aware of his dreams but it was always better to say it out loud. He had learned that the voice was always better to talk to in the open instead of in his head. It felt creepier that way.
"I think she was my mum."
"IT'S POSSIBLE." The little boy nodded as he sniffled a little and wiped his eyes.
"YOU'RE SAD."
"No." He said as he tried to dry his eyes and brush off the truth. "I'm not sad."
"DON'T LIE, HARRY."
Harry didn't say anything while he went to brush his teeth and tried his best to comb his hair. No matter how hard he tried, the small boy always seemed to have his hair in a massive mess that was on the verge of being unacceptable and also enough yet. After brushing his hair, Harry realized he hadn't taken a shower in a few days, so doing all that hair taming was just a giant waste of time.
"Hey I .. I'm gonna .. take a shower now." Harry stated with some caution in his voice.
"FINE." The voice responded.
As soon as the word was uttered, Harry could feel a slightly painful presence leave his forehead and a black goo spread from the scar on just under his hair, and climb down his neck, past his arm, and hit the edge of his fingers all the way on to the sink counter. The entire thing was always a little weird to see since it was never normal for some kind of goo to leave your body.
"I won't be long. I promise." The boy said as he turned the shower on and set it to a high temperature.
"FINE." The voice said again. "I WILL FEED." It then slithered away under the door and vanished from sight.
Harry didn't respond and instead climbed inside the shower. Ever since he could remember, the voice had been there in his head. The boy was only five years old and he had been talking to some sort of thing in his head that would leave his body every once in a while.
But why would the thing even leave Harry's head at all? There had been an incident once in the shower where something bad had happened. Harry had turned the heat on hot, but as soon as he did a high pitched screeching erupted from inside his head. The voice told him that heat was extremely deadly, so it couldn't reside inside his skull whenever Harry took a shower. The same thing happened if Harry happened to be listening to music in his ears. The voice didn't like music.
Despite these hindrances that the goo like thing had, Harry could live with it because that creature was his only friend unfortunately. At least he thought it was his friend.
Harry had learned quickly that the other kids in school didn't like him. He was always "Harry Potter: the freak of nature". Why? Well the answer was simple. The kids had all seen Harry do some strange things around them. For thing, the boy always seemed to be talking out loud, and sometimes it was to a scary voice that no one could see where it was coming from.
Another thing that freaked out the kids was that Harry's eyes had changed to pure white with some black like veins around the pupils sometimes. The teachers had been told numerous times about Harry's freakishness (a term the kids used), but these claims were always dismissed. Why would a boy of only five years old have something like that happen? It was preposterous.
Harry had been in the shower for 15 min before he was alerted it was breakfast time by his Aunt Petunia. She was always nice to him. Well maybe the word "nice" was not exactly true. She was strange. It wasn't just her either. Harry's cousin Dudley, and his Uncle Vernon had always acted strange ever since he had been left on their doorstep a few years ago.
The Dursleys were an odd family around the neighborhood community. They never left the house unless it was to take the kids to school, or to get groceries for the kitchen. They never spoke to anyone else either and hadn't done so in almost five years. The Dursleys used to be such social neighbors, but their lack of appearances and seemingly uninterested attitudes about everything made everyone else in the neighborhood wary.
It was if their personalities had changed literally overnight.
Vernon had left his full time position at an office firm downtown and instead worked a remote position at home, while his wife had stopped going into work altogether and became a full time housewife. It was quite a shock to hear of their career changes, but they seemed to be doing at least somewhat okay for themselves since the Dursleys could at least afford food, gas and keep the roof over their heads.
Harry left the shower and put his pajamas back on from the night before. There was no reason to get ready yet because it was his birthday! And if he wanted to strut around the house in his pajamas then no one was going to stop him.
The boy ran downstairs and took in the sight before him in the kitchen. A large platter of waffles, hash browns, fruit salad, and a large pitcher of orange juice were laid out on the table. There was no one at the table however. No the only other things at the table besides the food were a moderate amount of presents all for him.
This wasn't new for Harry because he didn't see his relatives that much at all. Uncle Vernon would normally spend his time working in the basement, while Aunt Petunia would do activities like sewing or crafting in her bedroom. Dudley usually spent his time outside with his friends, but it was for only a few hours. The rest of the time he would spend an inordinate amount of time stuck inside his bedroom doing whatever he wanted.
Before Harry could walk over to the kitchen and eat, he turned away and focused on the door to the basement. It was the only place in the house that he couldn't access. The boy was told not to go down there by his Uncle many times, but his curiosity always got the better of him. Why was the voice allowed to go down there when Harry couldn't? And why did the voice even go down there anyway?
The boy wanted to go and grab the basement door and run down the stairs, but at that moment he felt something weird. It was as if his body was being told to not approach the door, when in actuality he wanted to do the opposite. This feeling was not new to Harry. He would feel it whenever the need to go to the basement came up. It was always so strange.
As Harry tried to ignore the door, he gained a headache in the process. It was confusing to say the least. But none of that mattered now. It was his birthday, and he was going to eat
As Harry grabbed a handful of food from the table and placed it on his plate, the goo returned from the basement and slid up Harry's arm. The thing lodged itself back into Harry's scar and turned the scar back into the sickly black color that it had been before. It was a weird feeling for sure, but Harry was so used to it over the years that it was essentially a second nature by now.
"Look!" Harry said to the voice in his head as he chewed his food with his mouth open. "There's all these presents for me!"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY."
"Thanks!" Harry said with a smile. He always loved getting presents.
"HOW OLD ARE YOU?"
"I'm six!" The boy shouted. "I'm six today!"
"GOOD." Venom stated.
"How was your food?"
"DELICIOUS." The voice answered with a sinister tone of glee. "HOW'S YOURS?"
"Mmm. Good. Waffles are my favorite. I always look forward to these on my birthday."
"WE KNOW."
"If you already know, then why do you ask?" Harry replied with a sigh while he rolled his eyes.
"WE LIKE TO ASK."
Harry scoffed at the answer and returned to eating his breakfast. It took a little bit of time for him to finish, but he was finally able to eventually. Now that his breakfast was over, Harry turned his attention to his presents and began opening them at a rapid pace.
"You know .." Harry began as he kept tearing open his gifts ".. I've known you for years, but I don't know your name."
"WE CANNOT REVEAL WHAT HAS NOT BEEN ASKED."
"Okay then. So what's your name?"
"VENOM."
"Really?! Wicked!" Harry shouted. "Why are you called that?"
"IT IS THE NAME WE WERE GIVEN. WE ARE NOT KNOWN BY ANYTHING ELSE."
"Okay then, Venom!" Harry said as he finished opening his gifts. Even though there were many gifts to play with, Harry had one very important question for his friend.
"Are we friends, Venom?"
"FRIENDS?"
"Yeah! Friends!"
"WHAT ARE FRIENDS? ARE THEY SNACKS?"
"No no no." Harry said as he laughed. "Friends hang out with one another and have good times, and we are there for one another when we need it!"
Venom didn't respond right away. The creature had never heard of such things between humans. Having a friend was a new concept for him, and it may prove to be useful in his bond with Harry.
"WE ARE FRIENDS WITH HARRY POTTER."
"Will we be friends forever?"
"YOU ARE A PERFECT MATCH FOR US. WE WILL ALWAYS BE BONDED."
"So .. is that your way of saying Yes?"
"YES."
Harry smiled at this answer. He already had a suspicion that Venom was already his friend, but he had to ask anyway. With his gifts opened, and his breakfast finished, Harry grabbed all the presents he could carry and brought them back to his room. Today was going to be a great day. He just knew it.
Morning of July 31st, 1988 - 4 Privet Drive:
"It's my birthday again." Harry said aloud on the morning of his eighth birthday. There was not any joy or enthusiasm in his tone, but in its place was an attitude that was rather angry and frustrated.
The boy had gone to bed in a fit last night after he had tried to find the Dursleys during the entire weekend, but failed. The family had not been seen for a few weeks now, and even though Harry didn't exactly care if they were around or not, it was still frustrating to know that they were gone but no one else seemed to have noticed.
"I bet they won't even be here." The boy muttered as he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
After getting in the shower and trying to get his anger under control, Harry got out and dressed himself for his big day. The child would have normally been confused about the lack of an appearance from Venom this morning, but the monster had to eat last night and had probably been out all night trying to get something.
The boy walked down the hall on the top floor and slumped down the stairs, but as he approached the bottom step, the sounds of slithering and slinking approached his ears. His friend had come back.
"HELLO." The goo stated as Harry came into view.
Harry didn't say anything in response, but he did make his way over to the kitchen. The boy was no stranger to making his own food, he had done it for the last few years on his own, but to do it on his birthday for the last few years was a little disheartening. Where were the Dursleys? Why hadn't they joined him for breakfast?
As Harry started to gather some ingredients together to make a meal, the monster made its way over. With ease, Venom grabbed on to the child's foot and climbed up to the open scar on the boy's head. Harry barely even noticed. The feeling of getting Venom in his head literally and mentally was so natural it felt like a second nature.
"You get enough to eat?" Harry asked nonchalantly.
"YES. THE HUNGER IS GONE." Venom responded. Harry nodded and continued to make his breakfast for his 8th birthday in silence.
"YOU'RE FEELING SAD."
"Yes."
"WHY?" Harry sighed.
"I'm wondering where my Aunt, Uncle and cousin are. I haven't seen them in days." The boy sighed again. "Maybe they left. I don't know anymore."
"THEY DIDN'T SEEM NICE. YOU'RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THEM."
Harry shrugged. It wasn't that his relatives were just okay at best, but it was more of an issue of being lonely. The boy was just a little worried about them, and that was understandably normal given the circumstances. Harry finished his breakfast just minutes later and then threw the dishes in the sink. He didn't bother trying to clean it up.
As Harry left the kitchen, he once again turned his head to the basement door. The young child may only be eight, as of today, but he could not deny that something was definitely wrong with the basement. With each attempt that he would try to head to the door, Venom would block him, or try to persuade him to leave. It was strange for sure, but the thought of inspecting it further always seemed to erase itself from his subconscious.
Someday he would see what was down there, but today was not that day.
The boy ran up to his room and started to dig for something suitable to wear for the day. After giving up time and time again, Harry decided to just take the lazy way out.
"Venom?"
"YES?"
"I don't feel like changing clothes. Can you make something for me?"
"YES."
In the matter of seconds, the goo wrapped itself around the boy's arms, legs and torso, and the slime took the form of a black t-shirt with black jeans and of course black tennis shoes. Of course Venom would create clothes that resemble his own skin, which was somewhat funny to Harry.
"Thanks! These look great."
"WE KNOW." Harry snorted. Venom could have a bit of an ego sometimes.
"Okay then. Let's go play outside. I'm tired of being inside this house."
The boy and his slimy friend then took their leave and ran out the door. The pair weren't seen for the remainder of the day, not that it bothered anyone or anything in the neighborhood or elsewhere.
12:01 AM on July 31st, 1991 - 4 Privet Drive:
Harry was sleeping soundly in his bed when he was awoken by a loud thumping on the door on his eleventh birthday. The thumping sounded like knocking but it was far too loud to be. Harry was scared from the sounds that were happening from downstairs, so he dared not leave the bed.
"Venom!" Harry whispered while being scared. "There's someone at the door!"
"WE WILL GO SEE." Venom muttered as he slithered up to the window to see who was there. There was no way he was going to let his perfect host be harmed.
The black goo may not have entirely understood everything about humans, but it did seem entirely odd that a giant man with a huge beard, patched jacket and pants, and who appeared to be almost ten feet tall, standing at the door with his fist pounding on it.
"Who is it?! Is it burglars?!" At this point, Harry was almost completely covered in his blankets in order to hide.
"UNKNOWN."
"Well?! What can you tell me about him?!"
"HE'S BIG."
"What?" Harry asked as he threw off the blankets and ran over to the window. After checking out what Venom had said, the boy made the split decision to see what the big person wanted. The child fled his room and almost leaped downstairs to the front door. He could only hope that this wasn't a bad idea.
"WE WILL PROTECT YOU." Venom confirmed as he caught up to Harry and slithered under his pajamas to hide on the boy's back. The goo felt cold against Harry's skin. The boy then nodded and opened the door cautiously.
"Ello 'Arry." The big man stated with a deep voice. He seemed to have a lot of black hair and was wearing a dirty jacket and pants with a strange pink umbrella in his left hand.
"How .. how do you know my name?"
"'Oi I remember yer' ever since I seen yer' as a mere baby." The big man responded. "I'm a friend of your parents. Can I come in?"
Harry was extremely hesitant to let this man inside. First of all, he was a stranger and Harry knew that letting anyone he didn't know into the house was not a good idea. Secondly, he was big and looked a little intimidating. It must have been from the fact that you couldn't see he his chin, and that his eyes were somewhat small. And thirdly, he was knocking on the door in the early morning, so it did seem extremely strange.
Just as he was about to turn the bigger man away, Venom started to talk to Harry.
"HE'S SAFE." Venom informed Harry inside of the boy's mind.
"Are you sure?"
"LET HIM IN."
Harry began to walk away and he indicated to Hagrid that he could come in. Hagrid, although confused by Harry's behavior, decided to follow his wishes. The boy led the giant man over to the living room couch so that he could see Hagrid quite clearly from the small chair he was sitting in.
"So who are you, again?" The small child asked.
" .. hm .. grid." The man said as he attempted to clear his throat. "Sorry. Name's Rubeus 'Agrid. Keeper of keys and grounds at ol' 'Ogwarts."
Harry wasn't quite sure on what this "Hogwarts" place was, but he decided to keep quiet. It would serve no purpose to speak now and miss something vital that Hagrid would say.
"Er .. So .. 'ol 'Ogwarts is er school of witchcraft and wizardry. 'An you 'Arry are a wizard."
"You mean like magic?" Harry asked confused. "I can do .. magic?"
"Of course. Magic is in yer blood, 'Arry. Didn't you ever wonder where yer Mum and Dad learn it all?" The big man asked the little boy with confusion.
"What is he talking about?" Harry thought as he asked his "friend".
"NOT SURE, BUT HE'S NOT LYING." Venom responded back inside the boy's head.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"I CAN SENSE HEART BEATS. HIS IS NORMAL." Harry internally nodded and returned to the conversation.
"I have no idea what you're talking about .. uh .. Hagrid."
"Yer joking' right? Yuh dunno what 'Ogwarts is?" The boy shook his head. Venom was just as confused as his host, but kept quiet.
"Well blimey 'Arry! 'Avent yer' ever wondered where yer' Mum and Dad learn it all?"
"Learned what?" Hagrid merely shook his head with some confusion and disappointment.
"Well magic 'o course! Yer Mum 'an Dad learned magic at 'Ogwarts!"
"And .. so .. you want me to come to Hogwarts? Is that why you're here?"
"Aye." Hagrid proudly stated. "'Ogwarts school is the best place to learn 'an develop yer magic, 'Arry."
"Let me ask ye somethin', 'Arry." Hagrid said as he continued on. "You ever make anything happen? Anythin' at all when ye was angry er scared?"
"Like what?"
"Well .. er .. did somethin' odd happen when ye was younger? Think back, 'Arry. It could 'ave been anythin'."
Harry knew what he wanted to say, but it would only cause more questions and concerns that this man didn't need to know. Venom was his only friend after all. And if he had told Hagrid about Venom, what was stopping him from taking the creature for himself? No. Harry would not let that happen. It was better to play dumb rather than say anything revealing.
"DON'T TELL HIM ABOUT US."
"I won't, don't worry. I'm not going to let him take you away."
"GOOD."
"No. I don't recall anything unusual." Harry said as he ended the conversation in his head. "Are you sure you have the right person? I've never seen or done any magic in my life."
"Hmm. 'Ell that doesn't matter, 'Arry. I've come to take ye to get yer supplies for school, and ye can see magic up close. What do ye say? Will ye come with me?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders and went along with the man out the door, but before they departed farther along, Hagrid seemed a little worried that the Dursleys didn't hear him knocking on the door. Were they asleep? Harry however didn't know where his relatives were, but he couldn't spill that information to Hagrid. So in order to keep up appearances, he let Venom take over.
"ThEy ArE hEaVy sLEePeRs. DoN't WoRrY aBoUt ThEm."
Hagrid seemed to be satisfied with that answer, but didn't buy it entirely. After grabbing Harry's hand, and leading him over to a bike that seemed to be the color of night, the two hopped on and sailed into the evening sky.
Evening of August 2nd, 1991 - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
"Ah, Hagrid! Wonderful to see you again." Headmaster Dumbledore said calmly as his humongous friend stepped into his office.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir."
"I wanted to ask you something, Hagrid, about your trip with Mr. Potter. What was the boy like?"
"Well er .. he was quiet .. 'an he seemed to 'ave fun on the trip." Hagrid stated. "But .. er .. he didn't have any sort er reaction to the magic around him."
"Hmm. Very good. I'm glad you were able to get along. What do you mean about a lack of interaction, though?"
"Well young 'Arry didn't seem to 'ave any reaction to his wand. It was a perfect match, but there weren't any accidental magic outbursts. It 'as as if the boy 'as fully in control."
"I see. Did anything else happen?"
"Well his er wand also maybe did somethin' weird. I could have sworn his wand was brown, but then moments later is was black. I never seen anythin' like it before."
"Hmm." Dumbledore pondered as he kept this information in his mind for further pondering. Could this have something to do with the black residue he found at Godric's Hollow all those years ago?
"I'm sure it was nothing, my old friend. Please continue with your story."
"Er .. well I also caught Harry talkin' to himself a few times. I dunno what he was sayin', but I know he told himself to be quiet." Hagrid reported. "He also looked a bit distracted when we walked pas' the Quidditch store, but thas' nuthin' out of the normal."
"I had a feeling the boy would love Quidditch." The old wizard chuckled. "He even may be in love with the sport like his father was."
"That be a good guess, Professor Dumbledore sir."
"I do have one final question, Hagrid. Did you inform Harry about being 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'?"
"Aye, sir. He deserves to know, but also I think he doesn't. It's something a child shouldn't have to learn."
"Alas it is how things need to be, Hagrid. The boy needs to be aware of how things work here, and that does include tell him about who he really is. It is the only way to make sure You-Know-Who never returns."
Hagrid merely nodded and said nothing. Albus Dumbledore then thanked his friend and sent the giant man on his way. The boy seemed to be stranger and stranger with each report he was given from the Aurors, and now Hagrid. The biggest concern centered on the lack of accidental magic. Was he fully in control of his abilities? Or was it possible that young Harry was a squib? The Headmaster shuddered a little at that thought. If the boy was indeed a squib, this would prove to be disastrous for the inevitable return of Voldemort. The boy was the chosen one, and he had to have magic, otherwise everyone was doomed.
With this grim thought in mind, the old wizard began drafting plans for the future for the boy.
11:05 AM on September 1st, 1991 - Hogwarts Express:
"I still say we shouldn't have acted weird when Hagrid was showing us Diagon Alley." Harry said to himself quietly inside a compartment of the Hogwarts Express.
The train was making its way to the fabled school he had heard so much about from Hagrid, and the boy's expectations to be high. The giant man had mentioned the school for what seemed like every five minutes during their time in Diagon Alley, and Harry was getting a little annoyed by the end of their visit.
This morning however, Harry discovered that Hagrid was not very balanced when it comes to common sense. The man had told harry to take his supplies, and his snowy white owl Hedwig, of which they had bought in Diagon Alley, to Platform 9 and 3/4.
"Stay to your ticket, Harry. It's very important. Stay to your ticket!"
The problem was that Platform 9 and 3/4 didn't exist. At least in the boy's mind it didn't. Where in the world was he supposed to find a platform like that? Luckily the answer presented itself just a few moments later.
Harry was extremely thankful that he didn't have a very hard time trying to find the platform, because he heard a family of redheads making their way to a solid wall that seemed impenetrable. An older boy with short red curly hair, and an attitude that screamed pompousness, launched himself and his cart of items straight at the brick wall, and to Harry's astonishment, the boy didn't crash. After watching the rest of the older boys head on through, Harry headed over to the woman and her two remaining children, a boy and a girl, to ask how to get on the platform.
"Oh not to worry dear .." the older woman replied " .. all you have to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. If you're nervous, you can always do it with a bit of a run."
Harry nodded and tried to hold in his nervousness, but it seemed to be radiating off of him. Thankfully the boy had an inside support system that no one had, and that made him relaxed in just a few short moments.
"PASS ON THROUGH. THE WOMAN IS TELLING THE TRUTH." Venom said in Harry's head. The boy nodded a little, as if he was responding to the woman, and ran through the wall, but before he started, he thought heard the little girl wish him good luck.
"Did she say something, Venom?"
"NO. KEEP MOVING, HARRY."
Harry continued on and then stuffed his luggage on the train as soon as he could. Harry wanted to get away from all of these other kids and try to have some time to himself. Well almost to himself. The boy had a lot of questions regarding something he and his friend did in Diagon Alley.
"IT WAS NECESSARY. HAGRID WAS SUSPICIOUS OF US, SO WE NEEDED TO CREATE MORE SUSPICION." The creature said as it dislodged itself from Harry's head and showed itself to his host. Venom knew that he had to make his point, and to do so would require some face to face interaction.
"But why? I don't want him to find out about you! I don't want anyone to find out!" Harry said a little louder than he had intended. "You're my only friend! I can't lose you!"
"WE CANNOT LOSE OUR HOST, HARRY. THERE COULD BE OTHERS WHO KNOW ABOUT US, AND WE NEED TO GET RID OF THEM." Venom stated with his teeth grinning broadly for the boy to see.
If anyone had come in and witnessed what was happening, they could possibly assume a creature was about to eat Harry. But thankfully Harry was used to seeing his friend's teeth. They were fearsome, yes, but it was nothing more than normality at this point.
"That seems wrong. We don't need to get rid of anyone. I'm sure if we keep to ourselves, we can play it off as if nothing is happening." Harry said as he tried to remain calm. Venom's words seemed to make him uncomfortable, and unfortunately, the creature knew.
"NO. LISTEN TO US. THERE ARE OTHERS WHO MAY WANT US FOR THEMSELVES." Venom stated. "THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO GET RID OF THEM."
Harry pondered over what his friend had said. The more Venom seemed to explain its thoughts, the more sense it made. At least it did to him.
"Yeah. Yeah that makes sense. Why should we have to share?" Harry said with some anger in his voice. "I see your point. I won't let them have you! You're mine! You're my friend!"
"YES." Venom said while internally feeling happy about steering Harry towards his thinking. "WE WILL FIND THEM. THEN WE WILL GET RID OF THEM."
"Sounds like a plan." Harry said with a big smile on his face.
Just as he had finished his conversation with Venom, Harry heard the sound of footsteps approaching his compartment and urged the black creature to hide. Thankfully Venom decided to modify the boy's clothes into something more a black form of a sleek shirt and pants. Whomever was going to come inside the compartment was not going to see someone who didn't look the part of the chosen one.
The door slid open and a familiar red head boy's head popped inside.
"Excuse me. Do you mind if I come in? Everywhere else is full."
"Not at all." Harry smiled with a wide expression. "So .. who are you?"