For such a small chapter, I didn't expect such a sizeable reaction to posting the Prologue, nearly 50 alerts for just over 500 words. I am impressed, to say the least, and so I was able to get the next chapter of AoM out far faster than I intended. Spring Break is a very excellent week to write in, when not boggled down with everything else I need to get done.

So, anyway, a request, if/when people review, if you'd please mention whether you prefer the 'behind the scenes' editorial at the end of the chapters or not, as I feel its something a bit on the special side, but if they are unwanted I can certainly not distract from the actual plot or spoil something for those who can't help but read them, even when they know they ought not to...

In any regard, please enjoy the new edition of Chapter one... ~F

Chapter One

Piter De Vries

Harry Potter had never counted his birthday as anything overly special, as his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never gave him anything worthwhile, not even acknowledgment that it even was his birthday, and his cousin Dudley only used it as an extra excuse to beat him up with the help of his friends.

This particular day, his eighth birthday, Harry felt lucky to just have been able to escape the house without being stopped for a battery of repetitive and extremely boring chores, and was now at a playground over a few streets on Magnolia Road. Harry liked to come here often, unless Dudley was on one of his great 'Harry-Hunting' sprees. Thankfully Dudley was away with Uncle Vernon visiting his Aunt Marge today and Harry mercifully hadn't been invited (or, in reality, forced,) to go with them, which was perfectly fine with him.

Harry was sitting on his favorite swing, watching the other children as they were laughing and running around the playground and grassy areas of the park. He wished he could join in, but all the other children were far too aware of the hatred Dudley's gang had for 'that strange Potter boy,' and therefore they were very keen to stay away from him completely. Harry was pondering what Aunt Petunia would do if he came home too early for her liking, when suddenly someone sat down in the swing next to him and said something very strange in an airy, melodic voice.

"Mae govannen, Kentano. Amin sii' sinome a' lle ie' tella."

Harry blinked, not reacting until he realized that the voice was, in fact, addressing him. Finally turning to see who spoke to him, Harry replied hesitantly, "Err… what?"

A boy with black, shoulder-length, wavy hair and striking blue eyes sat there looking at Harry with a huge grin splitting his face. Harry guessed the boy was about his own age, but it was hard to guess as he was a foot or so shorter. Whatever the boy had said though, it hadn't sounded like any language Harry was familiar with. And yet, there was something extremely familiar about the boy, even though Harry knew that there was no chance that they had ever met before.

"Mae govannen," the boy repeated, slower. "It means 'Hello.'"

"Oh," Harry said, still unsure what on earth it was the boy had been speaking or what the rest of whatever he had said meant. "Err, hello, then…" he shifted on the swing awkwardly, "Err… who are you? I haven't seen you around here before."

"Well, wouldn't expect that you'd ever seen me before, seeing as how I only just moved here to stay with my dear Aunt Figgie." The boy responded, still smiling widely at Harry.

"Aunt… who?" Harry said, still very puzzled. The boy was speaking very fast, excitement clear in his bright face, and that made it hard to understand him.

"My Aunt, Arabella Figg. She lives over on Magnolia Crescent; I've called her Aunt Figgie since I could talk and the name just kinda stuck." The boy shrugged. "Since my parents died I'll be staying with her from now on."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Harry whispered apologetically, not recalling if Mrs. Figg had ever mentioned having relatives Harry's age from the many times he had stayed with her over the years, and, before he could stop himself, added "My parents are dead too."

He didn't know why the words had slipped out, but it felt appropriate to talk to this boy about his parents because they were somewhat similar. He didn't know why, but it just felt right. "I never really knew them, though, and I live with my Aunt and Uncle now."

The boy jerked his head mutely, commiserating with a grimace. "At least we still have people to take care of us, right?" he said, the smile returning, smaller than before.

"Right, if you call it caring," Harry retorted sullenly, before catching himself again. Why was he telling the boy all this? Uncle Vernon would lock him in his cupboard for months if he found out Harry had complained about their living situation in any fashion. But there was just something different about this kid, something very compelling that made Harry want to blurt out everything, to confide every secret he could with him. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I ever got your name," he said to stop himself from revealing anything more.

"I'm Piter, Piter De Vries," the boy said, smiling and extending his hand to Harry.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, taking it and giving it a few firm shakes. Vaguely he recalled that the name was Dutch in origin, from something one of his primary school teachers had mentioned, but when his hand came in contact with Piter's, Harry felt a strange warm tingle crawl up his arm and throughout his body, immediately putting him further at ease. Was it just him or did Piter's smile broaden when Harry said his own name? Almost as if he already knew him... but Harry shook his head; that was impossible.

"Oh, I've heard of you;" Piter confirmed, recognizing his confusion. "Aunt Figgie told me that you may be dropping by every so often when your relatives go out for special occasions."

'So that was how he already knew my name,' Harry thought, nodding. It made sense. "Yeah, my Aunt and Uncle don't like to have me around to 'ruin' their outings," Harry explained, still spilling more than he felt expressly comfortable with. "Whenever they can, they drop me at Mrs. Figg's for an afternoon, sometimes longer."

"Well, Harry Potter, would you do me the honor of being my first friend in this new place?"

Harry almost fell out of his swing at the idea; who would want to be friends with him? "Err… I'd love to, but you might want to pick a safer friend. My cousin, Dudley, and his gang of friends like to beat up anyone who they find around me..." Harry said, trailing off to a murmur, not saying the rest loud enough to be heard, not wanting to say it, although he knew Piter would eventually find out.

"What was that last bit?" Piter pressed, concerned at Harry's sullen muttering.

Sighing, Harry turned away and quietly repeated "…because I'm a freak." He didn't want to see the other boy's reaction.

He was shocked when the smaller boy turned him back around roughly, "Well, I've only got two things to say to that: Firstly, I don't give a pebble what your cousin or his little prats he must have for friends think; I will be friends with you regardless, because I want to. You're nice and I like you, and no one has power to stop me from doing as I please. And second, I severely doubt you are any more of a freak than I could possibly be." Piter boldly announced, getting up and walking around to stand directly in front of Harry while giving him a mischievous grin. "If they try to give us any grief, they will sorely regret it."

Harry felt slight doubtful that Piter truly could back up what he said about Dudley regretting anything, but knowing that somebody didn't care a whit about what other people thought about Harry or his strangeness still felt very good. He looked up and gave Piter a shy smile, which was returned more boldly by his new, and indeed first, friend.

"So," said Harry, "what do you want to do?"

Piter rubbed his chin thoughtfully, leaning in closer to Harry. "Well, we could always play… TAG!" He suddenly yelled, tapping a very startled Harry on the nose and running off in the other direction, laughing delightedly. Harry bolted after him, stumbling slightly as he rocketed out of the swing, but slowly catching up to Piter, enjoying the advantage of his longer legs. The two boys continued back and forth like this for almost an hour until, exhausted, they collapsed together on a grassy spot, both clutching their sides and laughing uncontrollably.

"That… was… great!" Piter wheezed between sniggers.

"Yeah… it was." Harry agreed, panting. He was aching all over from the constant chasing and his legs were on fire, but he could not remember ever having such a good time.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I really like doing stuff with you. Do you want to play again tomorrow?"

Harry thought for a moment. He really liked Piter, and he would want nothing more than to meet with him again, but he doubted that he would be able to get out of the house again so easily.

Gloomily, Harry answered "I'm not sure if I can manage to get away again tomorrow."

"Well, if you can't get away, why don't I come and just get you?" Piter asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"That'd be awesome, but I'm not sure…"

"It's settled then!" Piter interrupted, clapping his hands together with finality. "I'll come and check on you every week to arrange what we can do and when with your relatives. I mean, how bad can they be?" Harry wasn't sure he liked the sound of that plan, but Piter wouldn't hear of anything else, so he went along with it. He still conveniently forgot to tell Piter where he lived thought, just in case.

The next day Harry was vacuuming the sitting room after breakfast when there was a loud knocking on the front door. Uncle Vernon went to the door himself for once, and opened it to find a very brightly smiling Piter standing on his doorstep.

Disinterested immediately, Uncle Vernon turned away and called out "Dudley, one of your little friends is here for you."

"Actually sir, I'm here to see Harry Potter." Piter replied, and Uncle Vernon whipped back around, looking at him dumbfounded.

"You're joking, right?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Nope!" Piter replied simply, grinning like a fool as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"BOY!" Vernon half yelled. Harry had already been watching the exchange from behind a nearby corner, so he simply stepped into view.

"How many times have I told you not to tell people where we live?" Vernon said in a stern whisper, glowering down at Harry.

"Sir, Harry never actually told me where he lived; I kinda figured it out by myself." Piter interjected matter-of-factly, as well as overhearing every word that Uncle Vernon had said.

Uncle Vernon, still eyeing Harry suspiciously, turned back to Piter. "Well, now that you found where he lives, what do you want?" he questioned coldly.

"I wanted to know if Harry could come out to play," Piter said cheerfully, looking Vernon right in the eye. "We met at the park yesterday, you see, and I was hoping we could set up times for us to meet over the week. Harry said he had chores to do and wasn't sure when he could meet me at the park over on Magnolia Road, so I decided to come and see when Harry would be available," he added quickly with a wide grin, practically bouncing in full blown excitement.

Dudley finally appeared to see why his father had called him, coming through the door from the kitchen and stopping next to his father, directly in front of Harry, blocking his view outside. "Who the blooming hell are you?" he sneered.

Piter, who looked like he was expecting this reaction, stuck out his hand swiftly and said to Dudley "I'm Piter De Vries, Harry's friend. You must be his cousin, Dudley."

Dudley looked as shocked as if Piter had sprouted a second head and, ignoring the offered hand, said flatly "Why'd you want to be friends with that freak? You got a death wish or something?"

"Why not, I don't think that he could be any worse than some people." Piter said curtly, looking pointedly at Dudley for a moment, and then, turning back to Uncle Vernon, he ignored Dudley from then on. "So, what days and times can I expect to be able to play with Harry, sir, so that I can tell my Aunt when to expect me home late?"

Vernon studied the boy for a moment, and, shooting a fierce glace back at Harry, started to name off days, giving a very rough estimation of the times that Harry might possibly be free those days. The nearest one was conveniently almost a week away. Piter appeared slightly disappointed at first, but hid it well under a bright, optimistic exterior.

"Alright then, I guess I'll show up next week to play with Harry then, sir." Piter said, while shooting a conspiratorial grin at Harry.

Uncle Vernon merely grunted and shut the door loudly as Piter turned to walk away. Harry knew what was coming next as his Uncle turned and scowled furiously at him. He had the same look that Harry had seen whenever he did anything that seemed just innocent enough to be strange and strange enough to appear innocent.

As Harry had thought, he spent the entire week in his cupboard and only had one meal every other day, if you could call burnt toast and half a glass of water a meal. All because he had let himself be followed home by a complete stranger. To the Dursleys, anyone who would willingly associate with Harry could never be anything more than a stranger.

Harry swore up and down to Uncle Vernon that he saw Piter leave the park in the complete opposite direction as him, and reasoned that his friend must have doubled back and followed him home so that he would know where Harry lived. Personally Harry wondered more about how Piter seemed to just know that he had loads of chores to do, as Harry had never, even remotely, hinted at it himself.

However, true to his word for once when concerning Harry, Uncle Vernon let him go out three times a week to play with Piter in the afternoons after his chores. The two friends did everything they could imagine and more, from roaming the streets to just sitting on the lawn of Mrs. Figg's house and chatting the day away. But, just as Harry's life couldn't be any better, the inevitable problem finally erupted when Dudley caught Harry and Piter in the park with his entire gang.

"Hey, look Big D!" sneered Piers Polkiss, Dudley's right hand thug and 'best friend'.

"It's Potter," Malcolm, one of the largest boy, added with a grin.

"Who's he with?" asked Dennis, the other giant, next to Dudley himself.

"Oi! Potty, who's your boyfriend?" jeered Gordon, the final member of the gang.

"Let me handle this, Harry," whispered Piter, and before Harry could hold him back or tell him to run, he stepped toward the five menacing bullies.

"I'm going to tell you this once, and only once you lot. Sod off if you know what's good for you, or you will learn to regret your words." Piter stated with unsurpassed confidence.

Amidst all the responding taunts and insults, Dudley stepped forward, towering over Piter by at least a foot. "De Vries, you'd better stay away from that freak if you know what's good for you," he threatened, but Piter didn't back down. If anything, this statement seemed to only embolden the small, ebony haired boy further.

"I think," he stated flatly, "that you have no clue who or what you are messing with, therefore, I will do as I wish, and I see fit to be friends with Harry, and you cannot and indeed will not stop me."

"Have it your way, then," Dudley sneered, and the others all cracked their knuckles, preparing for what could only be an easy beat down.

Piter surprised all of them, Harry most of all, when he struck first; he punched Dudley with all his might in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He followed up by kneeing the larger boy in the face and finally sweeping Dudley's legs out from under him, laying Harry's cousin flat on the ground, moaning in pain and sporting a bloody nose.

The other four boys looked shocked, but for only a moment before springing in to avenge their fallen leader. Somehow, Piter moved completely out of their way, seeming to disappear and reappear behind them to sucker-punch Malcolm right in the kidney while simultaneously kicking out at Piers, catching him hard in the groin. Dennis tried to throw a punch at Piter but found his fist caught in the smaller boy's hand, which was violently turned by Piter, using the bully's momentum against him to flip him over onto his back.

Gordon managed to grab Piter around the waist, pinning his arms at his side, but before anyone could start to lay into him, Piter threw his entire body weight backward, overbalancing the stocky boy and landing full force on top on him. In seconds Piter was back on his feet and in a clear fighting pose, staring down all the older boys, silently daring them to make another move against him.

"Five on one, I don't think it's very fair, do you?" Piter sneered at the bullies, "Maybe you should get a few more, so it might be a challenge for me."

When Dudley and his friends finally got to their feet, Harry thought that they would try again, but apparently they had decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valor, and fled. Sighing slightly, Piter turned to look at Harry, and grinned at the look of absolute shock on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"You just took on five kids twice as big as you and won," Harry said stupidly.

"Your point?" Piter retorted, suppressing a fit of laughter. "You honestly think just 'cause I'm small means I don't know how to fight when needed?"

Harry had no answer for him, as at that they both burst out laughing until their sides threatened to split open.

Mae govannen : Greetings, hello

amin sii' sinome a' lle ie' tella : I have returned to you at last

Potential Spoilers Ahead, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

So, I felt that keeping this chapter more or less consistent with the original was important, as it was a slice of life for Harry in the beginning of the chapter, along with the introduction of 'Piter,' cough cough... Fay, cough cough... and the establishment of how close their friendship was, which apves the way for how they together interact with the rest of the future characters.

I did however, stretch out a bit on Harry's initial perspective, and point out more of the oddities that he personally saw in his new friend, as I had several comment before that Harry seemed far too accepting of all the strangeness about his best friend, which I can understand, and so I plan to establish small plot line that investigates that, cumulating in a bit more understanding of the persona that weaves about the little OC/not exactly an OC, that I've injected into the story.

Also I tried, probably failed but it was likely better than the original, to keep them closer to the age that they ought to be portraying, although description words outside of direct thought or dialogue will return to the same standard I always use, in a guilty pleasure, the fight with Dudley was more or less identical, as it was satisfying to write the horrid child getting put in his place by one smaller than him and his gang, and sets more event in motion far later on down the line.

ALSO, if you are one of those special people that is familiar with the original, and therefore knows generally where the story is going, and want to point out something that may have been odd in your mind or otherwise you wanted to see happen, either PM me directly, review that chapter where the idea was in the original, or leave it here in a review, I do read them, and respond to far more than I ought to at times. If I find merit in the change or addition that you suggest, it may well find its way into the story. Just going to throw that out there, and leave you with it for a time. Until the next chapter my readers.

~F