This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Word Count: 1564

Title: Harry's Unfortunate Events

Note: AU! A Series of Unfortunate Events, Muggle

Warnings: Child abuse, attempted murder, stalking

Beta: Daughteroftheonetrueking, Aya Deyfair

Hogwarts

Yearly:

Prompt 973 [Trait] Humble

366: [136] Heebie-Jeebies

Seasonally:

Days of the year: February 11th - National Inventors Day: Write about a (or a series of) 'trial and error'.

Tarot Cards: Wheel of Fortune: (theme) Luck

Water: (word) Ripple

Playlist: 00's: Bad Day by Daniel Powter

Slytherin: Tom Riddle

Star Chart: Prompt: Trait: Dramatic

Religious Events: February 26th - Lent (Christian): Write about giving something up.

History Of Winter: Prompt: Write about being reborn or having a new start

Harry Potter was eleven-years-old when the bank proprietor, Mr. Albus Dumbledore, approached him while he was sitting by the ocean. He almost didn't notice, too preoccupied tossing a pebble as far as he could, mesmerized by the ripples it caused. He didn't know then the grief that the proprietor was about to cause in his life.

"I'm afraid I need to inform you of a very unfortunate event," he said, and Harry's emerald green eyes surveyed him with a mild curiosity. He could sense something was very off. Dumbledore's eyes wouldn't quite meet his.

"It's about your mother and father," he said. "They died in a fire that broke out at the house at Godric's Hollow." Harry certainly heard the sadness in the man's voice, he also had a sense of distance. No matter how much he seemed to care, he would never truly know how he was feeling. In a whirlwind of moments, Harry found himself in the back of Mr. Dumbledore's car.

When Harry was sitting in the back of the car, he was wondering what would happen to him next and where he would live. The total shock he was feeling almost numbed the pain.

"I'm taking you back to the house to gather up what you can that survived, and then I'm taking you to live with a cousin, Tom Riddle," Dumbledore explained while he drove.

"I don't know a man called Tom Riddle," Harry muttered.

"I'm sure he will be a perfectly suitable guardian, and he lives just a couple of blocks away." Harry didn't bother to explain to Dumbledore that wasn't what was meant by "closest relative".

After a few minutes, they arrived at the remains of the Potter's fine house. Getting out, Harry broke down as he approached the wreckage of his home and took a few moments to compose himself. The fire had destroyed practically everything, and he wondered idly what Tom Riddle was like, and a fleeting thought about why the man had no wife.

Harry had always been brought up humble, so although he had a vast fortune, he was well behaved and mild tempered, that was, until you said something about his parents, or something he felt strongly about.

"Harry Potter," Tom Riddle said when he opened the door. Harry nodded.

"Riddle," Harry replied politely.

"I think we will be just swell, don't you?" he replied, speaking to Harry, but he noticed that just as his arm went around Harry, his eyes were on Dumbledore instead.

"I'll be around, Harry. Just call me if you need me, help will always be given to those who ask for it," Dumbledore said. Harry wanted to ask him to take him somewhere—anywhere—else, but missed his chance. Tom Riddle slammed the door shut in Dumbledore's face.

Harry's eyes looked around the large, eerie mansion he hoped to call home, and as he saw the smile vanish from Riddle's mouth, so did the last illusions of Harry's happily ever after.

Tom Riddle turned out to be exactly what Harry thought he was, a fraud. Harry felt his stomach rumble, and pulled the tattered sheet over himself, curling into a ball. When the first rays of morning light came into the damp attic, he woke to the pounding on the door, and heard the lock click open.

"Time to make me breakfast," Riddle said, disappearing downstairs like a ghost. While Harry stood by the stove, his eyes flicked over to Riddle, and the book he was holding in his hands. A Layman's Guide To Inheritance Law. Harry was wearing a tatty green shirt. In fact, if he remembered correctly it was the same one he wore when he arrived. It wasn't like Riddle thought he was worth spending any money on, so the few shirts Harry owned had all been worn through.

Harry was puzzled as to his initial reason for taking Harry in, but now it seemed a little more clear. His inheritance. That's what Riddle was after. That's what he wanted.

On occasions Dumbledore would pop in and Riddle would act like the perfect gentleman. As the doorbell rang, Riddle looked through the peephole, and seeing Harry busy scrubbing the floor like nothing changed, he yanked him up by the shirt, stretching it out even more. He opened the door for Dumbledore, putting on a large smile and exchanging pleasantries.

"When will I be receiving the money?" Riddle asked on one such occasion. Harry looked up, eyes darting between the two men. He knew Riddle wanted money, but hadn't expected it to be so blatant.

"What money?" Dumbledore asked, peering over his half-moon spectacles at Riddle.

"The money for taking him in," Riddle replied, jerking his head in Harry's direction.

"I'm afraid you won't be receiving any money. It is being kept for Harry until he is old enough to inherit it himself."

"So, I'm getting nothing?"

"There will be a small monthly payment once you are his legal guardian, but that will only happen after the court appearance." Harry saw a look flashing over Riddle's face, and had a sinking feeling something unfortunate was about to happen.

When the door rang again later that day, Harry wasn't pulled up from his spot on the floor, and a severe looking man with long blond hair gave him the heebie-jeebies.

"Ignore him," Riddle said to the man. "He is a little...yeah." The man peered at Harry over his long nose.

"The orphan you spoke of?"

Riddle nodded, and it was like he was being inspected for a zoo exhibit. The man, Harry later learned was called Lucius Malfoy, was walking around him with a large walking stick. After Harry finished cleaning, he was sent upstairs. He managed to dawdle on the stairs long enough to overhear the men talking downstairs.

"Yes, kill him, and make it look like an accident," he heard Riddle say.

"Surely, Master, there—" Malfoy was cut short, Harry wasn't sure why. "I—well, of course."

As soon as he had a free moment he phoned Dumbledore, and the proprietor seemed to take the threats against Harry's life rather seriously. He was taken out of Riddle's care as soon as they could manage, and Harry found himself in the back of the car as they drove towards the countryside. Harry watched the towering buildings of the city disappear into the distance, and be replaced by fields.

"This is The Burrow," Dumbledore said. Harry could see chickens running around the yard, and although the house itself looked small and cramped, something inside him was almost hopeful.

"It looks almost like it's held together by Magic," Harry whispered in awe, pressing his nose against the glass of the car window.

"There is no such thing as magic," Dumbledore said, but something mysterious was reflected in those pale blue eyes that observed Harry over his half-moon spectacles.

"Bloody hell, you're Harry Potter," a redheaded boy said as soon as he knocked on the door.

"Yes, pleased to meet you," Harry greeted, holding out his hand to shake the strangers. The boy must have been just as old as he was.

"I'm Ron Weasley," the boy replied, wiping a smudge of dirt off his nose. A plump woman came into the parlor and embraced him.

"Dear boy, I am so sorry to hear about your parents," she said with a sniff. Harry felt her kindness as she continued to hug him.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley." Harry smiled timidly, but didn't slip out of her arms.

It didn't take Harry any time at all to fall in love with the Burrow and all its strange quirks. He particularly enjoyed finally having a friend. He and Ron soon became inseparable. Time passed, and while Harry knew that Riddle hadn't been caught, he had no reason to worry. Yet worry he did, every night he would have awful nightmares of the Riddle house and of the man who remained there.

Harry woke up in a fright, and heard a scream coming from Ginny's room. Ginny was Ron's youngest sibling and only sister. Harry rushed towards the room to find the door open, and his eyes caught the movement of a shadow in the dark before it vanished. The hedges were set alight, and Harry knew it was no accident. Letting out a small sigh, Harry knew he had to leave the Burrow, this family wouldn't be safe, and he couldn't allow anyone to harm them, not to get to him.

Mr. Weasley had put out the fire, and when Ron appeared in their bedroom again, Harry was packing his belongings.

"Where are you going, mate?"

"I need to leave. Riddle won't stop, you will all be in danger."

"Oh come on, you don't even know it was him," Ron insisted, trying to get between Harry and his packing.

"It was him, Ron," Harry said with a sigh.

"Promise to write to me then, okay?" Ron replied, surprising him.

Harry nodded, hugging his friend, and felt a tear escape his cheek. He could only hope that one day it would be safe for him to return to the Burrow, that Riddle would be caught and good would prevail over evil. Alas, but that is a story for another time, for now, this chapter ends with a sad goodbye between best friends, with a small, but optimistic hope for a better future out there.