A/N: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in a Nutshell. At least for the first few chapters that is. Nothing really belongs to me, as this is only a fanfiction. Everything belongs to JKR. Enjoy-CCG
Chapter Two
The Boy Under the Stairs.
Green light blared brightly in the small confinement. There was a loud gasp
followed by heavy breathing, a click before the cupboard lit up, revealing a
small boy with unruly black hair, piercing green eyes and clothes three times
his size. He reached out for his glasses in the usual spot. He was blind
without them.
There was a hard knock at the door and a shrill voice after it.
"Get up, now!"
The boy stretched and moved to leave the small room when he heard a thundering
sound above him. He knew it was his cousin, barreling down the steps. As the
dark haired boy poked his head out of the cupboard his cousin shoved his fat
fist in his face, pushing him back into his compartment. He rose again with a
sigh and continued.
When he entered the kitchen, his uncle sat at the table, reading a newspaper,
and his aunt had covered his cousin's eyes and slowly walked him over to a
horde of neatly wrapped gifts.
The small child made his way over to the stove. He worked quietly and listened
to his relative banter.
"Well Dudders, what do you think?" Petunia Dursley asked her son, who, aside
from his blond hair, was the spitting image of his father.
"How many are there?" He asked in a whiny, spoiled tone of voice.
"Thirty-six, I've counted them myself." Vernon, his father, answered.
"Thirty-six? But last year I had thirty-seven!"
Harry looked up from his task and stared at his cousin with shock and disgust.
Shaking his head, he moved to serve his family. As the Dursleys started to
eat, Harry sat down as well and worked on the small amount of food he had
served for himself. His aunt looked at him and then at her husband.
"Ms. Figg can't take him; she broke her leg tripping over one of her cats."
"Well, we'll find someone else to take him in." Vernon replied.
"Nobody'll take him; he's too much of a nuisance."
Harry hated it when they talked about him like he wasn't there.
"Well, he can't come with us!" Vernon stated.
"No mum! He'll ruin my party!" Dudley whined.
"I can stay here by myself." Harry cut in. He didn't want to be anywhere with
Dudley and his annoying friend Piers. His comment was ignored.
"Vernon, he'll have to come with us."
Harry stared out the window of the four-door sedan and watched the cars go by.
He was sitting next to Dudley, who occupied the middle seat, and most of
Harry's side as well. Dudley's friend Piers had taken the other window seat.
Harry listened as he uncle ranted about motorcycles and their riders.
"I had a dream about a motorcycle once." Harry said. "It was flying."
"Motorcycles don't fly!" His uncle shouted.
Harry kept quiet for the rest of the day. It was, so far, a good day for him.
At the zoo, the animals fascinated him. There were creatures he had never seen
before and he saw life forms in the same predicament as he, Harry, was in
himself: in a cage being unfairly treated. He also relished in the fact that
this was the first time the Dursley's had taken him anywhere that was fun. He
had even gotten a lemon ice bar. Granted it was leftover from Dudley wanting
an ice cream instead, but it was given to him and not to the trash.
They walked into the reptile house and stopped in front of a long snake
sleeping on a rock. Dudley growled and pressed his face against the glass.
Piers followed his example and then banged on the glass.
"Wake up, you stupid snake." Dudley barked. Harry turned to his cousin.
"He's asleep." Piers laughed and pulled Dudley away. Harry sighed and turned
back to the reptile.
"Sorry 'bout him. He doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after
day, watching people press they're ugly face at you." The snake lifted its
head. Harry straightened up. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes." The snake replied.
"Where are you from?" Harry asked.
"Nowhere, I was bred in captivity." The snake answered. "But I would like to
go away one day, perhaps to find my family."
"I never knew my parent either."
His cousin pushed Harry to the side. He hit the floor with a thud; he
turned his angry eyes towards the culprit. Dudley had come back and was
currently pressing his whole body against the snake's window and in the blink
of an eye the glass was gone. Dudley panicked and began to splash around in
the snake's pond. He whimpered as the snake slithered out of his cage. It
stopped in front of Harry. "Thank you, now I can go to Brazil." Harry nodded
and watched cautiously as the snake passed him. He turned back to his cousin
when he heard a scream. Dudley was banging on the glass window, which had
reappeared, while his aunt screamed in agony for her little boy, as if he was
dying. Harry chuckled lightly; it was an amusing sight. His uncle's glare
stopped his laughter. He was in trouble, again, for something he didn't do.
The car ride was anything but fun for Harry. Dudley, who had been whining
until he was released from the snake's cage, was now animatedly talking with
Piers about how great it was and how sad it was to see Harry's best friend,
the snake, escape. Or as they like to laugh, that the snake ran away from
Harry because not even animals want to be friends with him. Harry would have
responded if not for his uncle's death glares that he kept getting from the
review mirror. Yeah, he was in deep trouble.
When they arrived back at number four privet drive, his aunt quickly ushered
Dudley and Piers into the house. Harry got out and was grabbed and dragged
into the house by his uncle. Vernon pushed Harry against the cupboard door.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, you always ask me if I know something and to not doing anything
abnormal, and I never have any idea of what you're talking about!" Harry
shouted back. "All I know is that one minute the glass was there and then it
was going! It was like magic."
"There's no such thing as magic." His uncle hissed again and tossed him into
the cupboard.
Harry sighed and turned on the light. There may be no such things as magic,
but there was such a thing as a guardian angel. He lifted up a loose
floorboard and removed five small folded notes. He opened one 'Happy 10th
birthday, Harry!' It had come with a piece of candy attached to it, which he
had eaten right away. He smiled a bit; these notes are what he lived for. Not
for the candy, but for the thought that someone out there cared for him. That
one day he would escape this hellhole and be free.
Harry spent numerous of hours coming up with stories about the mystery person
who sent him the notes. Who they were and why they couldn't save Harry from
his retched family at the moment. He replaced the notes back in their hidden
place and shut off the light. It was going to be a long rest of the day.
The next day, Harry walked into the dining room and cocked his head to the
side. Dudley was wearing the goofiest get up he had ever seen in his short
ten, almost eleven, years of life. Before he could comment on the stupid
uniform, a horrible smell reached his nose. It came from the kitchen. Harry
followed the smell, where his aunt was at the sink poking at something, like
it was a dead animal, with her wooden stirring spoon.
"What is that?" Harry asked.
"Your uniform." His aunt replied. "You're going to the state school where you
belong."
"Is that Dudley's old uniform? If I wear those to the school it'll look like a
magician made a mistake and shrunk me instead." He watched his aunt's face
become distorted.
"Boy!" His uncle bellowed. "Go get the mail."
"Make Dudley do it." Harry rebutted.
"Dudley, poke him with your stick." Vernon said.
Harry wondered about the mental state of Dudley's school board member, who
gave children sticks for school. He rubbed lightly at the welt he knew was
forming on his upper right arm. When he reached the door he bent down to pick
up the post. He flipped through it and when he reached the last letter he felt
his eyes widen and his jaw dropped.
To Mr. Harry James Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
