Harry's alarm promptly woke him up the next morning with more than enough time to get dressed before getting breakfast. He had learned the night before to not be late for meals and throw off anyone's schedule.

He sauntered directly behind a group of younger boys who'd be at the orphanage longer than he, and listened in on their conversation.

"I did not cheat!" Called a blonde haired boy.

"Then how else did you win? You don't have that kind of skill!" Replied a brown haired boy who playfully shoved the other while everyone laughed.

"Maybe I've gotten better." The blonde boy blushed.

"Or maybe it was just luck." Inputted another one as everyone laughed again.

Harry opted to ignore the boys who were speaking about some game Harry couldn't care less for. He brought a smile upon his face by remembering the night before.

Oh, how he had almost been caught.

The eggs placed carefully on the chair.

The chaos that would certainly erupt today.

Revenge would be sweet. Harry thought, you make a fool of me, and I'll make a fool of you.

His excitement could hardly be contained and it was all Harry could do to not start skipping down the hallway.

When the boys and Harry approached the opening to the dining room, Harry cut in front of them.

He wanted to get a good seat for the show. As well, he wouldn't be noticed entering the room as the group of children behind him would overtake anyone's attention.

Harry swerved around the table heading to an empty chair he had already set his eyes upon. It was the same seat as the day before. The one he had been seated on when Jonathan had yelled at him. And similar to the previous day, the chairs around him quickly filled up.

The older boys all took notice of Harry. The young boy was like dead meat in a shark tank sitting in the midst of the boys.

Harry didn't show any emotion on his face.

If he was scared of the boys, they wouldn't know it,

But he could tell the boys were unnerved by his presence. He knew they were whispering about him, as they weren't very subtle and snatches of conversation he heard only confirmed his suspicions.

The chair… The boy…

Their referrals to him were unspecific, but there was no one else in the room that had caught their attention.

But frankly, Harry didn't care and simply ignored them, he was too excited for the show.

If he didn't fear being caught, he would've been jumping around in his seat.

He was paying attention so intently to the door for when Jonathan walked in that he yelped when a plate was set down in front of him.

The scent of scrambled eggs, toast and turkey bacon filled his nose and his mouth watered. His stomach growled and he startled himself when his hand involuntarily reached out for his fork. He would probably get punished if he started eating before Jonathan arrived.

I'm sure once he sits down he won't pay too much attention to your eating Harry.

With his mind made up, he lifted his fork to his lips and bit into the delicious food. He received some dirty looks from everyone around the table who had been there long enough to know the rules.

If Harry are fast enough he could be done before anyone even started. Too suspicious, he thought. Anyone would know that he would've eaten quickly intentionally. But eating early could be played off as misunderstood. So he settled into eating normally whatever he could.

"Good Morning boys." Marked the arrival of Harry's prey.

"Good morning Jonathan." Replied everyone except for Harry.

"I gather you all slept well." There were murmurs of agreement from around the table.

Harry watched as Jonathan's eyes scanned the table, doing a quick once-over and headcount. He appeared satisfied with the presence of all his charges and he made his way to the head of the table.

This was the moment Harry had been waiting for. The moment Jonathan would sit down and find the little surprise.

The anticipation grew, but nothing was suspenseful to anyone else. Only Harry knew what was coming.

And when the chair was pulled back from the table Harry's eyes greedily watched everything take place.

Jonathan twisted his body around the front of the chair so that he was facing the table. He swiped down with his hands to flatten his shirt and tie to prevent wrinkling. His back was bending forward as his bottom reared out and-

"Johnathan?" Called a voice from the doorway.

Harry couldn't help but grimace as Jonathan paused in his movements and raised himself back to his full height.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"It seems someone was messing around last night." Harry's breath caught, had she actually seen him? "It appears someone had a late night snack from the cupboard." Harry brushed her off, he hadn't taken anything from the cupboard. Although another boy at the table had, so that must mean there was something worthwhile in there. A tasty snack for a later date. Harry filed that thought away for later use.

"I will get to the bottom of it. For now, I wish to enjoy a nice breakfast."

Immediately, upon the conclusion of his words he continued his descent into his chair.

Harry almost didn't see the moment he hit the chair, but even if he didn't, he wouldn't've needed to.

A look of astonishment filled his face, leaving his eyes bulging and mouth gaping. The large hands sat unmoving at his sides. Slowly steam boiled underneath his skin and red rose from his chin to his forehead. He was at the stage in his anger where he would probably kill someone if they stepped close enough to him. Despite being half a table away, Harry could've sworn he saw the man's hand twitch forward to where his utensils lay- I'd stab someone with my fork if they did that to me.

Harry was unnerved by his truthful thought of violence. In reality he didn't think he could hurt a fly let alone inflict scarring damage to someone, but his mind spoke the truth.

"Who is responsible for this?" Jonathan bellowed out.

You could tell by the way every kid in the room flinched backwards what they truly thought about Jonathan. And all of them could remember a time when Jonathan was angry. But seeing him like this, nobody had ever seen Jonathan this mad.

"I will repeat myself just this once, who did this?" His loud voice seemed to shake the room and Harry could swear he heard the chandelier jingling.

Harry downplayed his smile, controlling his emotions so that his mouth was in frown. His eyes were wide as though he were surprised as well. But his green eyes were the window to his soul and they betrayed him. If anyone had been looking at him they would see his gleeful eyes and know what he had done.

No one answered Jonathan's request as nobody in the room had a death wish for themselves, although Harry was tempted to come forward as he knew no one would bother him afterwards. But he didn't, he had already suffered at the hands of Jonathan and would prefer not to do so again. He didn't mind letting Jonathan find his own culprit and them being blamed instead of Harry.

Harry already disliked many of the people surrounding him, he couldn't care less if they got beaten up or killed in his place. All he cared about was surviving in the world he lived in.

The world that was created for him was terrible for him, it had ripped away all the people who loved him, all the things he had loved and instead fed him pain. If that were what every life is life, Harry didn't want to fall prey to it. No. Harry wanted to rule that world of cruelty. The world where he would dish out beatings and make other people suffer. Harry would never cry or suffer at the hands of another. It was his time to rise.

So when Jonathan set his eyes on an older boy who was foolishly trying to contain a giggle, Harry did nothing as Jonathan focused on him.

"Everybody, get out. Andrew, you stay in your chair." The bite of a snake is harmless until it releases its venom, which is the same as Jonathan. His words are his bite as they puncture the silence and what comes after is his venom.

"Get out now!" He bellowed once more as nobody had moved.

Everyone was too shocked at what had occurred and were too fearful of having his rage pointed at them to move even a muscle. But when he voiced his command once more, they all sprung into motion, Harry included. Their lack of movement had angered him more and the longer they stayed the angrier he got. All at once a symphony of chairs scratching the floor as they scrambled from their chairs.

The children of all ages were nearly pushing one another over as they all but ran out the door. Harry was lost in the crowd as he marched through the halls and up the stairs. They all had the same thoughts of finding safety in their rooms, so they all herded in the same direction.

It was only then when the dining room was out of sight and Harry knew he was in the safe that he let his smile cover his face. The smirk rose up on the right side and his green eyes glinted mischievously, for a moment before disappearing once more.

One by one the crowd dispersed as doors came into view and their occupants branched from the crowd to find their shelter. Harry could take note of where each boy turned away. He took careful note of which doors the elder boys who had played the prank on him the other night opened and went into.

It even seemed as though some of them shared rooms with one another. They'd been here the longest together and had grown to trust one another enough to share living space with. Perfect, Harry thought.

xXx

Upon entering his room, Harry shut the door behind himself as quickly as possible. Although he had been the cause of Andrew's punishment, he couldn't bring himself to listen to it. Harry had already heard enough yelling and crying in his life and every time he heard a belt whoosh through the air he flinched. They reminded him of all the times Uncle Vernon had hit him with a belt and the pain of it that had lasted for days.

He had no more pity for the weak, only those who were strong would survive. And Harry was strong. He thought he could adapt to any environment he was shoved into. He thought he was able to adapt to every sort of torture the adults and children could throw his way.

And he would.

I'll hurt them before they have any chance to hurt me. He thought. It is my turn to be the one with power.

A knock on the door interrupted his internal decision making. The elder lady who had almost caught him sneaking around the other night was there. She didn't pay any mind at the cautious way Harry stood in the doorway, preventing her from entering.

"You must be Harry." She spoke softly to him, "I'm Pauline, I keep the house clean and I cooked the wonderful food that you experienced during your dining here."

I certainly did experience the meals, just not the food, Harry reminded himself of being kicked out the night before. It appeared to Harry that although she had been at the house the entire time he had been, she had no idea what last night's dinner had encompassed for him. But she certainly knew about what transpired at breakfast that morning.

"Normally, most kids here get a better welcoming than you did but things happen and I haven't had the time to introduce myself yet." She paused a moment, thinking over her next words, "I'm here to inform you about the schedule that you will be following. Of course you know about the meals, but there's more."

In reality, nothing could ever be quite as simple as show up for meals then do whatever you please, so Harry was prepared knowing that he would have to do more. She motioned for Harry to step out of the doorway so that she could step into the room and talk with him face to face. But Harry wouldn't let her in that easily, this was his space and he wanted it private.

With a sigh she continued with what she had been prepared to tell him, "After breakfast, make sure your clothes are neat and you've cleaned up, then head over to the classroom- just because you're somewhere new doesn't mean you get to drop your studies. It usually runs till our 12 o'clock lunch and after that is chores till dinner. At both lunch and dinner you will be rotating with the other kids to help me set up, cook and clean up. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Harry agreed.

"Pauline is fine and after dinner you are free to do as you please."

"Thanks for telling me." Harry nearly shut the door in her face as she didn't immediately step away, but when she realized the door was closing she hastily got away.

A glance at the time showed that the disruption at breakfast had made him arrive earlier to his room than what he should expect on a daily basis, so he figured he had time before he needed to head to class. So for the next half hour he thought about all the ways he could raise himself upon the other children.

xXx

After leaving his room Harry was greeted with whispers in the hallways.

It seemed the other children had the same idea as him when it came to waiting in the bedrooms till it were class time. This resulted in nearly everyone leaving at around the same time and being crowded in the halls again. They all gave Harry quick glances which they hoped he wouldn't notice as he pulled his giant door closed behind him to dwarf his body.

He did notice and he could feel the weight of their stares pinning him down as he started walking. The instinct to dash through them all was overwhelming and Harry fought to keep it down, instead taking careful slow steps across the threshold.

Every step he took towards the other kids loudened their whispers and Harry couldn't help but listen in.

"Andrew isn't coming to class today…" Said the taller one.

"If it were someone else, I would laugh at the way his face scrunches up every time he sits down." The shorter one snickered.

"Ha, I'm sure he'd laugh at you."

"Yeah… but Donald, I wonder who did it though."

Donald paused for a minute, his eyes briefly meeting with Harry's, "I bet you it was the new kid. No one has ever touched Jonathan and then he shows up just last night. Then he gets kicked out of dinner- I'm telling you it's got to be him Brandon."

"He was even eating breakfast this morning before hardly anyone had even sat down. No one does that." Brandon quietly exclaimed.

They paused in their conversation as Harry was finally passing by them. Harry wasn't able to help himself as his mouth turned upwards in a smirk. The smile reached his eyes and they glinted when he rolled them towards the boys.

"Good morning." He spoke smoothly as he passed, not bothering to stop.

The two were flabbergasted and didn't come up with a response. It wasn't till Harry neared the stairs that he heard the two start their whispering once more.

At the bottom of the stairs Harry was faced with the decision of where he should turn to in order to get to the class. He recognized one direction as leading towards the front door so arced himself around the handrail and headed down the other.

He stepped out from the turn and immediately stepped back. Some girls stood gossiping together. Their heads inclined towards one another in a show of secretivity. Their uniforms seemed finer pressed than the ones of the opposite gender. Black stockings ran across their legs and folded neatly into their black flats with a grey patterned quilt. Their torsos were covered in a similar fashion to Harry and with their backs turned to him, he was able to eavesdrop.

"The boys are all scared of him."

"And Pauline said she saw someone she'd never met before in the kitchen last night. It had to of been him, he's the only person which Pauling wouldn't know." Said another.

"Corri, Terra, just stay away from him, he's trouble."

"I think he doesn't have a heart." Spoke Corri.

"Did you see the way he was smiling when we were walking away from breakfast? It's like he was happy that Andrew got in trouble." Agreed Terra.

"The both of you, shut up, don't get involved with him, I have a really bad feeling about him." The unknown girl said frightened, before the three of them started moving.

It seemed that Harry had already struck fear into the hearts of all the children at the institute. He couldn't help but be happy at what had been the outcome of his late night decision. It would be far easier than he had hoped for him to control everyone that he now lived with. Gone was the boy who let Dudley and his friends push him around, Harry was ready to push back.

The footsteps of the boys climbing down the stairs alerted him that his hiding place wasn't going to be very safe anymore. Taking long strides he followed the three girls for he hoped they were going to the classroom. He didn't want to appear lost and have to submit to asking for help and appear weak. He would easily find his way around the building without aid.

The backs of their skirts brushed momentarily up against corners whenever they turned from the hallway. Harry made sure to keep far enough back from them to be out of their suspicions and still have them in his view.

A large door appeared at the end of the hall after one final turn, with a metal slab labelling it the 'School Room.' Reaching it, Harry put his hand on the knob feeling the coolness of the metal run goosebumps up his arms. Without hesitating, he swung the door open and stepped inside. Any second thoughts or feelings of cold feet were pushed back. He was too confident in this new life to suddenly back out now.

He observed the room quickly, eyes scanning over everything before deciding on an appropriate place to sit. With logical attention he chose the seat that would put him in view of his victim.

Harry was as prepared for class as he'd ever be, and Harry thought of everything he could accomplish while in his room. Every step that he would need to do in order to ensure his new plan would worked needed to be perfect and he easily found the holes and gaps which could mess him up.

Everything would go according to plan. His scheme would work out and the curiosity in his fellow housemates would be quenched, being replaced with the horror that a monster was in their midst. Harry wanted their terror to be so great that they wouldn't be able to sleep that night- or any night for that matter.