A/N
So this chapter goes a little dark at the end, it's not too graphic but it certainly isn't pleasant. I wouldn't be writing it if it wasn't important for the characters though, and the way I want them to grow. Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 1 – Living with the Dursleys
Life at the Dursley's hadn't always been so bad, though neither Potter boy could remember it. When Petunia Dursley found two babies on her doorstep as she went out to fetch the milk the morning of November 1st 1981, she screamed loud enough to being her husband running down the stairs at a fair pace. This was especially impressive as Vernon had never been, and never would be, a small man. They brought the babies inside, laying them together on the soft armchair Vernon favoured, while Petunia and Vernon sat together on the couch and read the letter that had accompanied the babies.
The letter claimed that Petunia's estranged sister and her sister's husband had been killed by an evil wizard, some sort of 'Dark Lord', that had been terrorising her sister's world for years. As the last living relatives of the boys, Petunia and her family were required to take them in. Though not exactly rich, the Dursleys were well off enough that they could feasibly raise these two children. Though things would be tight, the two Potter boys could share the crib that had once belonged to their son, Dudley, which could be set up in the spare room. Though both Vernon and Petunia resented the lack of choice given to them by this Albus Dumbledore, Petunia wasn't cruel enough to send the last of her own family away; especially as they were still only babies. Whatever freakishness had infested her sister could be avoided if only they were raised in a good, proper household.
For the first six or seven months, everything seemed to be alright. There was no sign of magic from either boy, and they were quiet enough that they didn't require too much time or attention. Vernon put in extra hours at work, getting him closer and closer to the promotion he desired, and Petunia took care of all three boys at home. Everything changed over the course of one afternoon.
It was just after lunch time, and Petunia had settled Dudley in front of the TV with a cookie to watch his favourite afternoon cartoons. As she turned to leave, Petunia heard the happy gurgling laugh that only young children can produce. The black-haired baby, Harry, was floating a cookie out of the open jar she had left on the table, into the hands of the other, the auburn-haired child, Jon. Petunia shrieked in fright and snatched the cookie out of the air. Jon began to cry, upset at being denied the cookie that had so almost been in his grasp. Jon reached out and pulled the cookie from Petunia's hands and into his own chubby little outstretched ones. Petunia hesitated a moment, as if unsure what to do, her fear and hatred of all things abnormal coiling up inside her. Her face hardened, turning cold in a way that would become much more common over the coming years. Taking both children by their arms, she dragged them out into the hall and threw them into the cupboard that sat under the stairs.
Vernon arrived home some hours later, tired but satisfied after a long day's work. He pushed open the door, already open for his getting home as he expected, only to see his wife stride out of the living room and grab his arm, pulling him into the kitchen with a fearful glance at the cupboard under the stairs as they passed it by. "Petunia, dear, what's wrong? You look pale. Is Dudders okay?"
"Vernon," She said, looking directly into his eyes. "They were floating cookies, they're unnatural just like my sister." Vernon took in a shuddering gasp, his face slowly becoming more coloured.
"Where are they now, Pet?"
"I put them in the cupboard under the stairs, I didn't know what else to do with them. I couldn't bare to have them near me or Dudders, they might hurt him." Petunia said, grasping Vernon's arm as if the very idea of her son being near the Potter children caused her physical pain.
Vernon frowned, his dislike for anything abnormal and fear for his family coming to the forefront. "We can keep them in there, for the night. If we punish them for their freakishness we might be able to stamp it out of them." To Vernon, this seemed a fair punishment and he hoped that would be the last of it. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Years passed, with more and more incidents of accidental magic. Every time it happened, both boys were thrown in the cupboard under the stairs and kept there overnight. This became so frequent that rather than replace their crib with a bed in the spare room, a mattress and blanket were put in the cupboard and that became where the boys slept. Though after this became more regular, a new punishment had to be devised for the two children.
This new punishment came in the form of chores, the kind of chores that no child that age should be tasked with. Both boys were taught how to cook, to clean, and to take care of the garden. What started as assisting their Aunt Petunia with each task soon became their task alone, as all menial duties around the household were left to two five-year-old boys. What the Dursley's missed due to this lack of supervision was the slowly evolving dynamic between the Potter children.
While Harry would make the toast and lay out the preservatives, Jon would handle the unwieldy frying pan on the hot stove to make the bacon and sausages that were part of any Dursley breakfast. Harry would pull the weeds and prune the flowers, while Jon pushed around the lawnmower under the beating sun. And when one of them would make a mistake, when a plate was dropped or a flower uprooted, or when either of them would use their abnormal abilities, Jon would take the blame. It wasn't that Harry set out to put the blame on Jon. In fact, the first time he knocked over a vase when dusting he was so paralysed with fear of his gigantic red-faced uncle that he was unable to speak or move at all. When Jon stepped forward and quietly claimed that he knocked over the vase, Harry was too shocked to correct him. As his uncle bellowed and screamed in Jon's face, grabbed him by the arm and hurled him into the cupboard, Harry could do nothing but follow.
Just as life in the Dursley house seemed to settle down, things changed once again. Having turned five that year, Jon and Harry now had to attend primary school with Dudley. This was a blessing, though not as great a blessing as it had initially seemed. Out of the Dursley house, Harry and Jon were able to hear their names for the first time. Finally, someone referred to them as something other than boy, or freak. They had a chance to speak to other children and other adults, to learn and grow outside of the toxic environment they had been raised in thus far. As most good things in the lives of the Potter children, it didn't last. The first child that spoke to them at school, Lisa Crawford, was attacked by Dudley and the small gang of bullies he had collected. By the end of that week, Lisa had been pulled out of school and everyone knew not to talk to either of the Potter children. Dudley and his group of friends escaped punishment, due to Vernon's close friendship with the Headmaster whom he played golf with most Saturdays.
This immunity to true consequences allowed Dudley and his gang to indulge in a new bit of playground fun, which came to be known as Potter Hunting. Potter Hunting, as the name implied, involved chasing the two Potter children around the playground and, if they were unfortunate enough to be caught, hitting and kicking them until Dudley had had his fun or the bell rang to signal the end of break time.
As it became obvious that the playground was far from safe, the small school library became a sanctuary for Jon and Harry. They enjoyed reading all the books available, and were able to avoid their cousin. The librarian was a kindly old lady, who seemed to realise the boys were hiding from 'that ghastly Dursley boy and his gang of hooligans', so made sure no one bothered them when they spent their break and lunch time in the library.
Despite the best efforts of Dudley and his gang, school was going well. The first-year class had a spelling test at the end of last week, and both Potter boys had gotten full marks. Arriving home, neither boy was as careful with their tests as they should have been, and after failing the test himself earlier that day, Dudley went through their each of their bags to find them. "Mum! Dad!" He yelled, "The freaks took tests too!" Dudley ran through to the living room where his parents were watching the news, and passed the tests to his father.
"Good lad Dudders," Vernon said, favouring his son with a proud smile, which fell away as he looked over the tests. "Cheats! How dare you cheat on a test at your school? Dudders didn't manage this, there's no way two little freaks like you could!" Vernon thundered towards the Potter boys, grabbing each by their arm, and throwing them into the cupboard under the stairs. "You can stay in there, and forget about dinner! Cheats don't get food."
Though neither of them would ever perform that well on a test at primary school again, both boys decided that they would keep learning, to spite the Dursleys if nothing else.
Time went on, and as the daily routine of chores and school became as commonplace as sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs, a new punishment had to be found.
It was the 5th of November 1987, and Vernon Dursley was sitting in a bar getting drunk. Earlier that day, Vernon had been passed up for a promotion at work; one he felt he greatly deserved. There was something about this time of year, Vernon decided, that was especially unlucky for him and his family. "Those stinkin' Potter brats…" He muttered to himself. Things had gotten harder ever since this time, six years ago. What Vernon didn't consider is that going from manager of the Grunnings' local factory to a sales representative for Grunnings was significantly simpler than climbing the ranks of the highly competitive sales team. No, Vernon decided, it was definitely the fault of the two children he had so graciously taken in.
Vernon gulped down what was left of his drink, and stumbled out to his car despite driving as intoxicated as he was being highly illegal. He made his way home with surprising success, and as he burst through the door, both Potter children had a sudden feeling of impending doom. The bolt that kept their cupboard door closed until the morning slid back, and Vernon wrenched the door back grabbing the first body part he saw. This so happened to be Harry's right leg. Vernon pulled Harry out of the cupboard and into the living room, throwing him against the side of the couch. "Ruin my career will you!" He yelled, slurring his words so they were barely understandable, "I'll teach you to mess with my life!" Vernon's hands went to his belt, unbuckling it and pulling the length of leather from around his substantial waist. Before Vernon could do any more than raise his hand, he was sent tumbling to the ground by a force colliding with his shoulder.
Behind where he had been standing, Vernon could see a shocked Jon Potter looking at his outstretched hand with absolute disbelief. In a murderous rage, Vernon leveraged himself back to his feet with a roar, and grabbed Jon around the neck. "You dare use that freakishness to assault me?! I'll teach you! I'll show you!" Vernon threw Jon to the ground and pulled his oversized shirt over his head. With Jon's bare back in front of him, Vernon reared back and lashed Jon with all the power of his massive frame. Jon's scream of agony tore through the house, finally summoning Petunia and Dudley downstairs. As Vernon continued to lash Jon across his back, Petunia and Dudley stared with a sort of horrified indifference; as if they both knew on some level this was wrong but couldn't bring themselves to truly care. To them, it wasn't as if this was being done to an actual human person.
Unnoticed by all, Harry huddled in the corner of the living room and tried to cover his ears to block out the agonised screams of his brother. Despite his desperation to block out the sound, Harry found himself incapable of closing his eyes, fixed as they were on his brother's contorted face.
Jon, lying more on his side now than on his front, was finally granted a reprieve after what felt like hours. As Vernon staggered back, gasping for breath after such an exertion, Jon was able to pull his legs to his chest and wrap his arms around his head. The belt had felt like liquid fire licking at his back, and even now the pain was almost too much to bare. Having caught his breath, Vernon grabbed Jon's arm and hauled him up, half carrying and half dragging Jon back to the cupboard before throwing him in. Harry moved to follow, flinching as that brought Vernon's eye upon him. "In boy!" Vernon snarled, gesturing with the belt for Harry to follow his brother into the cupboard. Keeping his head down, Harry did as he was told and the door was slammed behind him, the bolt sliding into his place with a thud.
Jon moaned quietly, as Harry gently moved him so he was lying on his front, his head in Harrys lap. Harry's eyes filled with tears again as he looked at his brother's bloody back. "Why?" Harry whispered, "It was gonna be me." Harry let out a quiet sob, leaning his head back against the wall behind him.
"Because," Came the whispered reply, "You're my brother, I'll always protect you."