AN: Next chapter up. This shows when Catherine first notices her magic working. Hope you guys enjoy. Reviews and comments are appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

"speaking"

'thinking'

-March 29, 1985-

"Brat! Get you lazy self in here!" Petunia yelled. The minute Catherine walked into the kitchen, she dragged her to the stove. "Make yourself useful and make breakfast. God knows you've freeloaded off of us enough. It's time you pull your weight."

Catherine could only stare at her Aunt. Anyone with half a brain could tell that a 4 year old wouldn't be able to reach the stove without help. Of course, she could have gotten a stool, but just last week, her Aunt had told her not to touch any furniture with her Freakish hands. "How do I do that, Aunt Petunia?" she asked.

"Well, you've got hands haven't you? I want enough food to feed both your Uncle and my Diddykins." Petunia sniffed out.

"What I meant, Aunt Petunia, was how am I supposed to reach the stove." Catherine said slowly as if she were talking to a fellow 4 year old. Sometimes, her relatives were just too slow.

Suddenly, she felt pain across her check. "How dare you talk to me that way you no good Freak! You're just like my Freak of a sister: lazy and stupid. Just finish with the food by the time I get back. You should know how to make it by now; you've been eating it everyday anyways." Petunia bit out before going upstairs to wake up her son.

Catherine rolled her eyes at her Aunt's retreating back. "Like you've ever given me a decent meal in my life." she muttered. Which was actually not the truth. Her Aunt had actually given her a good meal before; it was just that one time when her AUnt had thought she was a stranger's child. Funny how she can treat a stranger better than she treats family.

Catherine Potter's life was not good. Ever since she could remember, she has lived with her not so friendly relatives. Her first memory was when she was 2 years old and had been roughly thrown into her "room" for crying too much. Her Aunt and Uncle hadn't started to hit her until when she was 4 when they started giving her chores to do. Her cousin, Dudley, mimicked his parents' attitude. It sickened her that they looked proud when he bullied her.

Anyone could tell you that children in abusive homes tend to grow up faster to survive better. Then, these children fall into two categories: the ones whose will remains strong to survive and the ones who become complacent and used to the abuse. Catherine was determined to be in the first category. She would not lose her will to live. She would get away somehow. But, her mental growth rate was way too fast even for someone with an abusive background. Unbeknownst to her, it was all due to the cursed scar that she received the day Voldemort attacked the Potters. The magical backlash had somehow caused her brain to develop faster than normal. At the age of 4, she literally had the brain of a 9 year old.

Sometimes, Catherine wondered what her parents were like. Were they really the drunk Freaks that her Aunt and Uncle always said they were? She highly doubted that. After all, the only people they hated more than her were her parents so it goes without saying that they would do anything to put them in a bad light.

Catherine busied herself in the kitchen. She had finally decided to get the stool, despite her Aunt's wishes not to touch any furniture. Cooking was harder than it seemed. She couldn't move the frying pan with the ease that her Aunt could. Her body just wasn't strong enough yet to support the weight. As she tried to lift the pan up, too much weight was shifted and she fell off the stool. The eggs in the pan flipped out and landed all over her, burning her face and making her hit her head on the ground in the process.

It was to this scene that Petunia walked into. The minute she saw the Freak spill the eggs, she shrieked like a Banshee; not for fear Catherine's well being, but for the wasted eggs.

Catherine found herself jerked off the floor and slapped in the face. Upon close examination, Petunia found blood on the floor. That was the worst thing that could happen! A big injury meant that they would actually have to take the Brat to the hospital! By this time, Vernon and Dudley were heading downstairs to eat breakfast. Vernon had the day off and decided to spend it bonding with his son. Bonding meant lazing about the whole day and insulting the Freak.

When Vernon saw the mess in the kitchen, he immediately turned red with anger and looked for the Freak that was sure to have caused the mess. He saw his beloved wife shaking the Freak over and over again and felt some satisfaction that she was taking care of the Brat. When Petunia shrieked of a head injury, he paled. The no good Brat was going to make him to spend money! With a growl, he pulled the Brat into the car and drove to the hospital, leaving Petunia at the house to take care of his son.

He needed a good explanation for the injuries on the Freak. He didn't want Child Services banging on the door. It would cause bad gossip. It wouldn't matter if the other Freaks took care of the mess, the neighbors would still talk. No, things had to stay as normal as possible.

At the hospital, the nurse rushed Catherine to the emergency room when she saw the state the child was in. Head injuries were nothing to laugh about after all; people have become vegetables with similar injuries. An hour later, the doctor walked up to Vernon, who was sitting in the waiting room muttering about lazy Brats.

"Are you the guardian of the girl that was brought in with the head injury?"

"Yes, the name's Vernon Dursley. How's the girl?" Vernon asked, trying with all his might to call Catherine girl instead of Brat or Freak. The Freak had better not cost him too much money or she was going to get it when they get home.

Mistaking the question for concern for the girl, the doctor smiled a little. "Is she your daughter?" the doctor asked.

"No, she's my niece. Always getting into trouble she is. Just like her mother."

"Well, she came in with burns on her face that have been treated. She also needed stitches on the back of her head."

"How much is this going to cost, Doc?" Vernon questioned.

"Well, we can go over costs later. But, right now, I have to ask you how she got the injured. Standard procedure, you understand right?"

"Of course. Well, the girl wanted to cook breakfast for my family. You see, we took her in after her drunk parents fell in with the bad crowd and got themselves killed. The girl wanted to thank us and ended up hurting herself." Vernon lied.

"Shame what happened to her parents. Some people just can't control themselves. But, its good of you to take her in instead of putting her into an orphanage." the doctor said.

"She's family. She might be a lazy trouble maker, but we're hoping to change her."

A few more questions and a few more lies later, Vernon took a still unconscious Catherine home.

When Catherine woke up, she wished she hadn't. Because of the trouble that she caused, she wasn't allowed any food for the rest of the week, and she still had to make breakfast each morning. Life became worse because after the fist hospital trip, it was like a switch was turned on in the household. The Dursleys became more physical when they voiced their displeasure because now they had a doctor who believed that Catherine was a trouble maker and didn't question the injuries.

-December 26, 1985-

Catherine performed her first bought of accidental magic today. Normally, children as young as 2 start performing accidental magic when their emotions run high. But, when living with the Dursleys, one tended to have to reign in one's emotions when even being alive was considered a sin. In other words, it took a lot for something to really bother Catherine enough for her to become emotionally distraught.

And it was. For all the years that she lived in Number 4 Privet Dive, she had never received any gifts from anybody. But that year, the nice lady next door who always talked to Catherine when she worked in the garden had given her a gift in secret. To Catherine, it didn't matter if the gift was firewood; she would still love it. Like any other child her age, she loved the idea of getting presents. Her Aunt had always told her that she was too naughty for Santa to give her anything so every Christmas, she went giftless.

She was excited when on the 26th, Mrs. Fields slipped her a box of chocolates and apologized for being a day late. Catherine waved off the apology and repeatedly thanked her. She was so happy to het anything at all. But Dudley had to go and ruin everything. She didn't get into her room fast enough and the baby whale saw her gift. He immediately wailed to his parents. When Vernon came and saw her present, he growled at her. He didn't think that anyone would actually get the Brat anything so she must have taken Dudley's gift.

"I'll teach you to steal my Dudders' gift you lazy Freak! Come here!" he yelled as he grabbed her. What happened next was the most painful beating in her life.

Catherine was in so much pain and wished that it would stop. Then, her magic reacted to her fear and did something that only she noticed. As Vernon came in for another punch, she felt a tingling sensation in her fingers and watched as a toy car that was inches away move towards her Uncle by itself. As he took a step forward, the toy jerked in front of his foot and made him trip. Because of his immense weight, the fall caused Vernon to break his jaw and howl in pain.

As Catherine laid on her mattress in pain, her relatives rushed her Uncle to the hospital, no doubt telling the hospital staff that the injuries were all her fault. She felt the tingling sensation again and felt the pain begin to ebb away. She slowly fell asleep wondering what it was that helped her.

Miles away at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore looked up briefly from his paperwork at one of the many trinkets in his office. But this wasn't just any trinket; this was one of many trinkets that monitored Number 4 Privet Drive. Dumbledore identified it as one that sounded when magic was used within a mile of the house. He waved it off as normal, albeit powerful, accidental magic.

Catherine woke up the next morning hungry. She waited and waited, but her Aunt never came to get her up to make breakfast. When minutes turned into hours, Catherine knew that it was going to be one of those days when they didn't let her out at all. SHe just wished that they would give her toilet breaks this time.

To get her mind off of the hunger, Catherine began to think about what happened the day before. She noticed that her body didn't hurt as much as it usually did after her Uncle hit her. Since her "room" didn't have any lights, she couldn't check her body to see what happened. She remembered the tingling she felt in her body when the toy moved and before she fell asleep. Was that what helped her?

She tried to imagine the feeling again as she laid on her matress. When the feeling came back, she looked excitedly to see if anything special happened, only to realize that she couldn't see in the dark. 'I wish there was light in here' she thought bitterly. And lo and behold, a small but bright light started to form at her fingertips. With a start, Catherine moved her hand and the light died away. After a few more experimentations, she realized that whatever power it was reacted to her wishes. When she wished for food or her parents to come save her and nothing happened, she knew that the power wasn't omnipotent. But, she was content for now as she wished the door open so that she could get some food.