Disclaimer: I wish I owned more than the computer on which I am using, but I don't. Harry Potter belongs to JKR and the respective media houses.

Harry awoke with a start. He opened his eyes to the familiar yet long-since left behind scene of his cupboard at the Dursleys. He felt around in the dark for his old glasses until he remembered he was a wizard. He did a quick oculus reparo on his eyes and then did a quick tempus and found the time to be early morning on September 1st, 1991. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs in his brain before he took a few calming breaths. He reflected on everything he knew and decided to put together a mental list of things to do. His list of immediate goals was short, but the impact of accomplishing them would set him up for success. His list included the following:

Reestablish his mindscape and occlumental barriers

Heal his body and correct imperfections

Secure virtual freedom from abuse by re-establishing and altering the "pecking order"

Board the Hogwarts Express

Begin making alliances to further his needs and goals in the long term

Harry sat in his cupboard clearing his mind through meditation. He laughed as he remembered how ineffective teachers in the mind arts had kept him from mastering the concept until well into his second century. He had stumbled upon an ancient temple in the Himalayas while tracking a particular nasty cult of dark wizards that had terrorizing the local yetis. A sudden blizzard had set in and Harry had found himself holed up in what he thought was a small cave behind a small fissure in the sheer face of the cliff. After setting up a fire, he had stripped down to his skivvies and rummaged through his pack for a change of clothing. Sure, he could have used magic to clean dry and refresh his soiled, soaked garments, but Harry still preferred to do some things the muggle way. While waiting on his clothes to dry, Harry had procured his favorite travel teapot and was set to brew. He simply used the snow around him to fill the pot and waited for it to steam.

He had then fished out one his MRE meals and began fixing a bite to fill his food-deprived stomach with much-needed sustenance. Apparently his activities had gained the interest of a local Shimbala Master, and since Harry had inadvertently set up at the entrance to Shangri-La, the master had set out to meet their uninvited guest and ascertain his purpose. After a lengthy conversation, Harry had become a guest of the master, and spent time learning the ways of Shimbala. That had taught him the key to unlocking his mindscape, and Harry had become a virtual savant of the mind arts from that day forward. The key was not in clearing the mind of all thoughts and feelings, but to embrace them and organize them. The first few times were difficult and exhausting, but eventually Harry had to only spend a few moments every day in his mindscape to maintain the construct and keep his mind protected.

Harry easily began sorting his mind and layering it with his signature traps and barriers. The entire process took him roughly one half-hour. He was checking over his core when he noticed some discrepancies between the sight before him now and the one he was used to viewing. The core was almost four times the size of what it should have been at his age, and while it used to be a nice bright blue, the color had shifted to a deep green. He spent time looking for the presence of any foreign entities, believing that banishing Snake-Face from his mind would be a good idea. Upon inspection, he found no sign of the vile darkness that would have signified Tom, so he looked deeper and found a set of memories that were not his own. He quickly reviewed and sorted the memories according to the categories he felt the information could best be used and then once he was satisfied with the job, he began re-routed the conduits leading from his core to the rest of his body. He noticed the old channels had been shallow and occluded, mired down by what he only could assume were blocks. He simply bypassed the bottlenecks and began widening the new pathways until they were as close to what he wanted them to be as he could accomplish at eleven years of age.

The by-product of fixing his conduits was that his body used the excess magical energy to correct and heal his body to the standards of a highly trained athlete at his age. Harry grew until his height was on par with being on the tallest end of the margin for his age, with his bone density increasing to slightly less than carbon 20 steel, but somehow remaining buoyant enough to allow him to swim without sinking. The scars from the numerous injuries he had accrued had all but faded into non-existence. His muscles and endurance levels increased to a level that he was capable of being on par with most adult wizards in strength and his physical stamina would be on par with athletes at highest competitive levels. He was no super-human, but he would be very difficult to defeat in combat, and his abilities would only continue to increase as he further developed.

After he had finished his enhancements, Harry felt he was ready for the next phase of his plan: confronting his tormentors and teaching them the true meaning of being a victim. He was not evil, and had no desire to do any lasting damage, but he would defend himself against their usual tactics. More than likely, he surmised, that would include a bit of a demonstration as to why it was no longer a good idea to attempt physical violence or abuse, and said demonstration would most likely have to include physical violence to emphasize his point, Harry was indeed prepared for things to get a bit messy before he made his final point: mutual dislike and a desire to live and let live.

Harry would, for the time being, exist under the Dursleys' roof, but they were to leave him be and he would return the favor. His only expectations from them were to provide him with meals and better living accommodations. Aside from that, he would be free to come and go as he pleased and he would not challenge their sense of propriety and order by exposing them to any displays of magical prowess. He would complete certain tasks which he agreed upon to be his daily chores, but no longer would he be the proverbial whipping boy, nor resident slave. Any attempts to deviate from the new parameters Harry planned on establishing would be met with extreme resistance and severe penalties on the part of the aggressors. Moving forward, as long as they agreed to treat him with a minimum civility when dealing with him, they had nothing about which to worry. All in all, Harry felt after a tiny amount of persuasion, his new rules would be more than reasonable. Of course no plan fully survives firat contact with the enemy, so Harry was fully aware that it may take some not-so-small feat of convincing to accomplish that goal.

Suddenly, Harry felt the pangs of hunger stir, and he carefully applied his "stealth package" which was a combination of silencing charms, odor-blockers, magic and heat signature suppressors and disillusionment charms. He cast a silent unlocking charm on the door to the cupboard and then silenced the frame and hinges of the doorway before silently opening the door to his "cell," and creeping down the narrow hall to the kitchen area. Harry then quickly fixed himself a few sandwiches, a glass of milk and some fresh fruits and nuts. He needed the vitamins and minerals to help replenish the nutrients he had lost during enhancing himself earlier. He then, in a feat that would make Ron "the Garbage-Chute" Weasley jealous, devoured his hastily prepared meal. Another quick tempus revealed that Harry had ten minutes remaining before Aunt Petunia would come downstairs to let him out and begin his daily routine of servitude and abuse. He smiled to himself as he envisioned the looks on their faces once his lessons about the new order of things would sink into their tiny brains. He was nearly beside himself with excitement as he quietly banished the evidence of his "transgressions" and after a quick cleaning charm and a series of levitations, all his dishes were replaced to their assigned storage spaces. Harry then crept upstairs to the wc and handled his morning business before returning to his "cell" and awaiting his imminent release from nightly lock-down.

True to form, Petunia came down the stairs and warily eyed the cupboard to which her nephew had been relegated. She reached in her handbag and after some jingling and digging about produced the key to the lock and prepared to open the door. She could not quite place it, but somehow something seemed a bit off than normal to her, as if there had been a subtle change in the very fabric of existence within the household. As a heretofore undeclared squib, Petunia was even more sensitive to shifts in magic than an average muggle, so naturally she would notice but be unable to identify the source nor the actual changes, yet she could sense them, nevertheless.

She had not felt such power since the last time Lilly had come home and brought that handsome boy with her. Secretly, Petunia still masturbated to the face of what had been her future brother-in-law, as Vernon had not been practicing his bedroom activities with her since Dudley had been born and Petunia Dursley nee Evans was a woman with needs too, thank you very much! She quickly suppressed the unbidden thoughts and associated memories that would have her seeking release later that morning after Vernon had left for work, and unlocked the door to the cupboard. She straightened her bathrobe, and prepared to speak when she found she could not.

Inside the cupboard was something she was completely unprepared to handle: the image of Harry Potter within was far from the boy who had been so easily tossed back inside the previous night. This Harry was almost a carbon copy of his father, but the eerie part of the sight before her was that the boy was staring back at her with those eyes. Everyone always thought she had the loveliest eyes, how Petunia hated those verdant orbs! Petunia had dark brown almost charcoal black eyes, and no one ever complimented her on their beauty like they always seemed to do for her sister. Even from beyond the grave, Petunia just couldn't compete with darling Lily, and that fact incensed her mercilessly. Petunia froze in place as her brain tried to process just how much the boy could resemble the object of her deepest fantasies and the object of her deepest inadequacies had combined into one living being, and how in a cruel twist of fate, Petunia was forced with each passing day to face the anomaly each time she looked at the freak. Her mouth opened and closed rapidly as her pulse quickened and her skin flushed in embarrassed anger. Slowly she shook her head as the boy in question chuckled aloud before saying, "Why Aunt Petunia, dearest, that is nearly the best impression of a trout caught on the riverbank that I have ever seen! Good job on you! I never knew you had such acting prowess! You should try to get yourself on the tellie, perhaps Graham Norton could invite a few others to the show and you could really make a killing! Tell you what, since I discovered you, I will be your agent. The standard fifteen percent management fee work for you?"

Petunia responded in a quieted hiss, "Listen here you damned freak! I don't know what you are on about or how you have done whatever you have done last night, but you had best undo it before Vernon comes down for brekkie, if you know what is good for you! You know we don't tolerate this…freakishness underneath this roof!"

Harry had stepped out form the cupboard and ducked under the initial swipe of his Aunt's backhand, simultaneously grasping her wrist and spinning her away from him so her arm was pinned behind her back as he snarled, "Sorry Auntie, wrong response! There will be no more of that funny business under this roof! The next time any of you tries to harm someone physically whether it be any of you lot or myself, I will take the time to show you in much further detail the errors of our ways! The days of free labor and a built-in whipping boy are long since over, not that they should have happened in the first place!"

He emphasized the last sentence by further lifting the angle of her forearm until her wrist was pinned nearly between her shoulder blades. He then used the pain of the position to manipulate his aunt until she was in front of the sofa in the sitting room. Once there, he simultaneously released her wrist, shoved her forward and left her falling face first into the couch with a parting kick to her bony arse. She landed with a thud and groaned in pain before trying to get back up and confront Harry. Harry simply waved his hand and she found herself propelled bodily back into the sofa. This time, however she was facing him, so she landed more or less in a seated position, though she did crack her head against the wall behind her, bringing a whimper of pain and tears to her squinty eyes. Harry also had sent a sticking charm and a body bind at her timed to impact just as she righted herself, so she was effectively forced to sit still in her place on the sofa before him. She tried to cry out for Vernon, but Harry had silently cast a muffling charm in anticipation of just such a response so the shouts were useless and Harry told her as much.

"Sorry Petunia dearest, but my fat whale of an uncle will not hear you at the moment. I will deal with him promptly once he shows his ugly head, but for now sit down and listen to what I am about to say, you pathetic cow! How my mother could have been related to such a disgusting and vile creature such as yourself is beyond me! My parents are dead, Aunt Petunia. I am the sole living heir to their legacy. I was a baby! I had no choice in the matter, and yet instead of taking me in and treating me as one of your own like most families would have done, you chose to allow your whale of a husband and your sprog to bully me, belittle me and deprive me of not only love and affection, but of common decency!" The room was pulsing with energy as Harry's aura manifested itself about him during his rant. The magazines, pillows and various knick-knacks were sent about the room swirling in a whirlwind of energies, the air crisp with the scent of ozone and glowing mildly as it became increasingly palpable.

He took a deep breath and using his occlumency, he calmed his emotions, allowing things to settle down again. He took another deep breath and continued "Do you have any idea how hard it is to be as highly intelligent as I happen to be and have to purposefully put the incorrect information on all of my assignments and exams so that I could comply with Vernon's ridiculous requirement that I not out-perform Dudley academically? Dudley is not stupid by any means, but he has no desire to study nor to excel in that arena, therefore he coasts by barely receiving passing marks for his lack of effort! He and his little merry band of hooligans, by extension, have made it their mission in life to ensure not only am I seen as a bad egg in class, but they gang up upon and bully anyone who they see trying to befriend me or offer me the slightest bit of comfort? All I ever wanted in life was for just once to have one of you show me some sort of affection or approval, yet it always seemed that my very existence was blight upon the lot of you. Now that I know the reason why, I find myself disgusted and thoroughly sickened by the pettiness and spite in your pathetic excuse for a heart. My father was a great wizard, and my mum was considered the brightest witch to attend her school since Lady Ravenclaw herself helped found it. They were both considered to be elite amongst their peers and would probably have changed the entire wizarding world if not for a thrice-damned vision from a flaky bint being overheard by the wrong sort and though the eavesdropper was caught and apprehended before completely finishing the task, promptly found his way to the ears of his master.

Said master then targeted my family, seeing us as a threat to his ambitions to both rule over the rest of the magical population and then enslave the non-magical population. Despite taking extreme precautions to ensure our safety, this maniac eventually located our safe haven and took upon himself to finish us for good. Somehow despite being a fully trained police officer, the bastard got the jump on my dad and took him out first. My mum tried to do whatever she could to purchase our escape during that confrontation, but due to illegal anti-portkey and apparition charms, was unable to get very far, so she kissed her infant son on the forehead and after a loud crash followed by sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall to my room, the door blasted inward. Despite the maniac having dispatched her husband and lover not but moments prior, my mum stood confidently before her opponent and despite orders for her to stand aside, she kept herself bodily between me and him. He finally eradicated her, and then came for me. That act of love and sacrifice apparently granted me protection from the man responsible, so when he sent a curse so vile that casting it was an automatic death sentence upon apprehension, a curse which he undoubtedly cast a myriad of occasions prior, he turned to leave, believing his handiwork accomplished, only to have the bloody thing rebound and destroy him instead of me. Next thing I know, Bob's your uncle and here I was, forced to live with virtual strangers who never wanted me and denigrated me to the role of a slave, never even caring enough to explain why. How could you? If the reverse had happened and Dudley had been orphaned and sent to my mum, I fairly certain he never would have been treated anywhere close to how I have been by you! In fact, mum probably would have flayed and castrated anyone who even thought of intending him harm, just like she would have done for me. Why do you hate me so? What did I ever do to you, besides be born and forced to live with you by circumstances so far beyond my control?" Harry uttered the last question in an almost breathless whisper, again centering himself mentally before awaiting a response.

Petunia listened to the boy describe his family's and his situation leading to his inevitable appearance on her doorstep and she felt ashamed. She never actively abused the boy, unlike her husband and son, but she never did much to stop them either. He was right, by George! What kind of mother was she to allow an innocent child to be exposed to such cruelty and simply stand by, occasionally even mocking the boy as he silently cried in response to the beatings and the bullying? Petunia began to visibly pale and shake as silent sobs racked her body, guilt washing over her like a stink in the air. She sniffed as she answered, "Oh Harry, how could I have been so wrong? I let my jealousy of my sister and my fear of rejection by Vernon cloud my better judgement. I knew what we were doing was wrong, yet I did nothing to dissuade it, even at times relishing in the hope that you would never see that world. Vernon seemed to think that if we were harsh enough that we could scare and or beat the magic out of you and save you from being what he deemed "another freak." I admit to going along with the plan, but after the first time he took it too far, I should have done something about it! I know it may not mean much but I am so sorry, Harry! Can you please forgive me? I really would like to find a way to make it up somehow, if at all possible. I promise to do everything I can to protect you and show you that despite my abysmal behavior to date, that I deep down inside did want to love you, and maybe someday, you and I can at least have some kind of relationship?"

Harry was not expecting his aunt's heartfelt confession, and despite everything found himself inclined to grant her the forgiveness, a small part of him long-since forgotten clinging to the childhood desire for love and affection from his family. Harry choked down his emotions and clamped down on his barriers to keep himself in control, his eye on the snitch, as it were. He replied, "Aunt Petunia, I do not know how to respond other than to tell you that I will time to process your request and promise to consider it in light of our little chat today, but I cannot honestly give you an answer now, because of the very nature of my experience under your care so far." He paused and looked around before seeing the barely awakened form of his corpulent uncle lumbering downstairs in his usual pre-breakfast haze. He almost smirked as he saw the man enter the kitchen and do a double-take as he finally noticed the lack of activity, and the absence of his usual spread. "BOY! WHERE IN THE DEVIL IS MY BLOODY BREAKFAST AND WHY IS THERE NO PAPER? YOU BETTER START PRAYING TO WHOMEVER WILL LISTEN AND BE THANKFUL I HAVE TO DROP YOU AT THE TRAIN STATION OR I WOULD GLADLY TAKE THE DAY OFF TO REMIND YOU OF YOUR DUTIES!" Vernon had turned an interesting shade of purple and the vein in his forehead had begun to pulse as spittle flew from the corners of his mouth whilst he shouted.

Harry found the scene so comical that he could not hold back the laughter he felt in response to his uncle's antics. Vernon, upon hearing Harry openly guffaw at his diatribe, stormed into the sitting room, charging at Harry like a bull, seemingly intent on shaking the humor from his young nephew. Harry simply waved his hand, much as he had with his aunt earlier and Vernon was sent flying, impacting the wall on the other side of the room with enough force to both crack the drywall and shake loose a few pictures and artwork, sending them, along with himself crashing to the ground with a loud crash, followed by groans of pain.

Harry bitterly laughed before he addressed the walrus in a bathrobe. "Uncle Vernon, I believe you are under the mistaken impression that I intend to allow you to treat me the same way you have always done, but I have a new bulletin for you: Harry Potter is done taking shite from the likes of you! You are a pathetic waste of flesh, with a small mind and probably an even smaller penis! I already discussed things with your lovely wife here earlier and have decided…NO MORE! You want to try to hurt me, I will rebuff you in increasingly embarrassing and painful methods until we can agree on the correct way to treat your wife's nephew for the short duration I will remain underneath this roof. If you insist upon resisting the changes around here, I can assure you the pain you will suffer will be of your own architecture and design. You have been warned. Unlike your wife, we share absolutely no bond, you and I. I feel no obligation to include you in my life any further than today than I absolutely must, and I do not like you any more than you seem to care for me. Having said as such, whilst I am residing here, three things will happen moving forward or you will not like the consequences.

First, you will never again be allowed to place your hands upon me or use another object you happen to be holding to inflict damage. Should you fail to refrain from doing so, you will find your actions met with an equal if not greater opposing force.

Second, chores will be evenly distributed in the future. I will do my part as it is only fair and I happen to enjoy cooking and gardening, so I will continue to take responsibility for those tasks and those tasks alone. No more ever-growing lists of chores. You want something aside from those two tasks completed, I expect the task to be a request and reserve the right to decline participation without fear of reprimand.

Finally, I will not be neglected anymore. If I achieve success academically then I achieve success. I will receive three meals a day, same as the rest of you. I will receive new clothing that fits and expect presents on special occasions, such as Christmas or birthdays. If Dudley and his friends try to hurt me and I fight back, I will not be punished unless I cause more severe injury without provocation.

In exchange, I will avoid the use, mention or invitation of others to do so whilst under this roof, unless an emergency comes, such as a surprise visit or attack by Death Eaters. Are we clear? I can assure you, should you not comply, you will find the alternative to be very…unpleasant and unfortunate for you."

Vernon had been bound in place, much as his wife during the freak's ultimatums. He struggled mightily against the invisible restraint, but found his efforts to be to no avail. He listened to the last of the freak's demands before responding, "Fine! No more beatings and such, as long as you keep up your end. You don't like my terms, then there is the door. You will not be welcome under my roof if you cannot be normal and behave! No silly hocus pocus! I won't have it!"

Harry grinned and waved his hand again, the large man's pain going away as he was righted to his feet by an unknown force. The boy smiled and responded, "See now? That wasn't so difficult now was it? I think this chat went rather well. I apologize in advance, however as I fear Dudley may have a much harder go of it learning the new lay of the land as it were. His lessons may include some rather painful and humiliating circumstances before he learns to leave me be, and encourage his friends to follow suit."

Vernon turned a tad red as he visibly strained to bite back his natural response, "Well, we'll just have to have a nice long chat, he and I now won't we?" He said the last with a fake smile, one he usually reserved for people he was trying to brown-nose for his own personal gain.

Harry sighed under his breath as he answered, "Please do, because my discussions with him may end with him experiencing any number of excruciatingly traumatic and painful experiences, and I would rather avoid that sort of unpleasantness if at all possible."

Without another word, Harry turned and walked to the kitchen, preparing a much lighter breakfast than usual, a radio humming in the background as he danced about cooking waffles, bacon and sliced fruit, with fresh squeezed orange juice. He then created a small portion of an egg scramble with light cheese and onions and plated the meal before his uncle who looked like he was about to complain before simply tucking in and despite his best efforts to look angry, rather enjoyed the meal. Upon finishing the meal, Vernon rose and went upstairs to get ready for the commute to London.

Harry was rather pleased himself. He couldn't wait for the next phase in his plan. He was for the first time in nearly three centuries going to do something he had not done. Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts, and the world would never be the same!