I had two reviews for the first chapter! I'm so happy, I didn't think I'd get any until at least 5,000 words. I'm not a big reviewer myself you see? I'm more of a read and then drop person no matter how much I like the story. Anyways…I think I'm going to create a new chapter early. I won't be in an area with wifi later on this week.

Chapter 3

Harry's eyes snapped open in the dark room. He lay on his side and gazed at the wall for a few moments before swinging his legs off the side of the bed. He stood up and stretched and looked out the dark window. He slowly shook himself and walked out of his room and went into the bathroom. He had about an hour and a half or so until the Dursley's woke up and demanded their breakfast. He had enough time to go to the library, but he had to be quick about it. He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face.

He crept down the hallway, knowing exactly where to step to avoid the floor creaking. He approached the steps with caution, it was still dark after all and he didn't want to fall. Luckily, he made it down the steps without any mishaps. As Harry walked out of the house he couldn't help but wish that this would be the last time.

Privet Drive was a very normal neighborhood, with very normal people working very average jobs and having very average children with subpar intelligence. Harry walked along the sidewalk quickly and frowned. This place was disgusting.

"I hate this place. It's so bloody creepy! I can actually picture these people all being a bunch of nutters and serial killers. They all try to be so normal." He thought as his pace quickened. "It would be better if they really were then I wouldn't be the weird one.The freak."

He let out a snort. He'd probably fit in a lot better then. Not that he was a serial killer of course or crazy. "Well I have been called crazy…" He didn't continue that train of thought.

The library wasn't very far, just a few blocks from the Dursley's house. It was a very average size library to go along with the average area. It did have a decent collection of books though and that's the only thing Harry was there for. As he walked through the doors he skimmed through the list, well, the book again.

"Okay," harry thought, "I'll need books on home repairs, electronics, car maintenance and Spanish." He shook his head at the last. Aunt Petunia wanted Harry to write Dudley's summer school report for him. It was for a Spanish class Dudley was failing. If he passed the report he passed summer school and could continue on to the next year like the rest of the kids in his age group. Harry glowered.

"The bloody idiot can't do anything for himself. I've been doing his work for ages, but did he really have to take Spanish? " he muttered to himself.

Harry frowned and then sighed. "I'd better get started."

It took harry only thirty minutes to find acceptable books to learn from. He sat down and browsed through them and the list quickly. He figured that if he finished the biggest projects in the first five days or so he should have time to complete Dudley's report. It had to be perfect, an A, or Dudley would fail. And if Dudley failed then Harry would get hurt. Pain was to be avoided when possible. He stood and checked out his books.

Glancing on the clock on his way out Harry simultaneously relaxed and quickened his pace. He had another 30 minutes until Aunt Petunia woke and it would only take him fifteen minutes to walk back to the house. That gave him enough time to start breakfast and finish by the time the all of the Dursley's made it downstairs to eat. Hopefully, he would have enough time to eat a sandwich without getting caught. They always withheld food from him later on if they saw him eating in the morning. He would have been absolutely starving if he had not eaten on the train from Hogwarts. Still, it had been about twelve or so hours since then.

The sun rose steadily as he approached the house. He made it back inside without any of the neighbors spotting him. A few of them leave for work around this time and if they had seen him the Dursley's would soon know. The neighbors were nervous with him around. He was a menace after all.

He went upstairs to his room and slid the books under his bed. He didn't want Dudley or his aunt to see them. Dudley would probably destroy them and aunt Petunia would be pissed because Harry had left the house and she had not known. Surprisingly, it was uncle Vernon who did not mind Harry keeping books. He knew the boy would need them to learn how to do the things they asked of him.

As Harry went back downstairs he stopped at his aunt's and uncle's bedroom door and listened.

"Good she's still asleep.I don't have to hear her harping at me yet." He thought. He continued on his way to the kitchen.

When harry entered the kitchen his movements became more precise and he zoned out. He had been cooking for his relatives for years and his body knew exactly what was expected of it. He allowed himself to think as he prepared the food.

"They must really have it out for me this summer but, I don't understand. That list, book, whatever, is supposed to last for only ten days.What are they going to make me do for the rest of the summer I suppose that I could be given my regular chorelist, but I doubt that. I think I'm missing something." Harry frowned and turned the bacon.

"I'm going to be up day and night trying to finish that chore list. I'll be absolutely exhausted once I'm done. Maybe that's the point?Wear me down now and then keep me weak?" He continued to ponder his relative's motives as he set the table and poured the juice. He laid out a full spread: bacon, eggs, toast, jelly, marmalade, biscuits and ham. He made himself a peanut butter sandwich and finished only moments before aunt Petunia walked into the kitchen.

"No time to laze about now boy. Get started! And don't forget to clean up the kitchen when we are done. If you get an acceptable amount of work done today I'll let you eat a piece of fruit for lunch." She sneered as she sat down to eat the breakfast Harry had cooked.

Harry nodded. He was going to do something on his list that didn't require him to know much. So, painting the house it was. He headed outside to the shed and grabbed the paint and brushes and tarps. He didn't want to get any color on aunt Petunia's flowers after all. She'd probably take away his food privileges if he did and he already didn't get enough to eat here as is.

Harry spent the next two hours painting the outside of the house. He then went inside to clean up the breakfast dishes. He didn't see Dudley or uncle Vernon so he figured they went back up to their rooms. He didn't know what they were doing, but he didn't really care so it was fine. Harry went back outside and continued painting the house.

About halfway through uncle Vernon walked outside and found Harry. He went up to the boy and gripped his arm.

"We'll be gone for a few hours boy," he whispered harshly in Harry's ear, "I expect you to be finished and dinner to be on the table when we get back." His hand tightened on Harry's arm until it hurt and then he let go and walked into the house to gather his family for their outing.

Harry's arm throbbed from Vernon's rough handling and he knew his arm would bruise. Nonetheless, he continued painting. Vernon would hurt him worse if he did not finish painting the house. He said nothing as his relatives got into the car and drove away. When he was sure they were gone Harry went into the house and quickly ate an apple. He went back outside and continued painting and didn't stop until he was finished.

The painting took longer than he thought and Harry knew that if he didn't start dinner soon then the Dursley's would get back before it was done. He went into the house and quickly washed up in the bathroom and then back downstairs to start dinner. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn, it was easy enough to cook. It was the chicken that took the longest and Harry barely had enough time to place everything on the table before the Dursley's pulled into the driveway.

Harry heard the front door open and quickly stuffed a few pieces of bread in his baggy pockets. He hadn't had enough time to eat and he had a feeling that the Dursley's weren't feeling very giving.

"Get up to your room boy! You'll ruin my Dudders appetite with your freakishness pervading the room." Petunia said as they all hurried into the kitchen eager to eat the meal that Harry had cooked.

Harry quickly left the room. He closed the door to his room and sighed. He flopped down on the bed and grimaced as his arms protested. He didn't realize how much work it was to paint a house. He reached down and fished the bread that he had nicked from the kitchen out of his pocket. He tore each of them into pieces and ate them slowly as he started up at the ceiling. He finished his bread all too soon and with a deep breath and a lot of effort Harry got off the bed to retrieve his books.

He picked up an arm full of Dudley's broken gadgets and the book on repairing electronic devices and got to work. It was all too soon that Harry realized he would not be able to fix everything that Dudley had broken. Some of the things were way too damaged and he had neither the equipment nor skill to do it. He swallowed hard and knew what he had to do.

"I have to tell aunt Petunia. She's not going to like this." Harry took a deep breath, calmed himself and moved to the floor and surrounded himself with all of Dudley's junk. He would do what he could tonight and then tell aunt Petunia.

Hours later, Harry did not know how many, he finished repairing all that he could. The moment he set down the last gadget aunt Petunia walked into his room with a sandwich, a bottle of water and an orange.

"Here boy." She said she turned around as if to leave the room.

"Aunt Petunia-," Harry hesitated and the woman turned around and frowned at him with narrowed eyes, "I couldn't fix all of Dudley's things. Most of them were broken in places that I can't fix and others can only be repaired with certain tools."

His aunt scowled at him and then smiled. Harry couldn't help, but flinch

"That's fine. Move all of the working things into Dudley's room and throw the others out," She said Harry let out an inaudible relieved sigh, "I'll just take it out of your food." She snatched the apple off of the bed and left the room slamming the door behind her.

Harry closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist. He took in a sharp breath and then visibly calmed. He turned to the sandwich and water she had left and ate.

"I'm lucky she didn't take the sandwich too." Harry thought bitterly. He climbed on his bed, burrowed under the covers and practiced his occulmency until he fell asleep.

This pattern of peculiar and exhausting chores, little food and late nights went on for the next nine days.

Holy hell this was a long chapter! Boring I know, but its important. Harry seems like he doesn't think very much and is kind of detached but you'll see why soon. Next chapter will be more interesting.