Harry Potter was a lonely ten year old. He had dead parents since he was one year old as the result of a car crash of which only he survived. He was constantly bullied by his cousin and his 'gang', who all had made a game out of it called 'Harry Hunting.'

He also knew the definition of abuse and its effects firsthand, seeing as he was currently a victim of it. His Uncle Vernon would constantly man-handle him and given his malnourished state, Harry could do nothing but allow it for now. Aunt Petunia was just as bad in a different form. While she would not hit Harry, words can hurt just as much as Vernon's belt. She would constantly belittle and insult him with cruel words and make horrible comments about his parents. However Harry would never allow these words to truly hurt them.

Because despite all of the hate and despair, for all he had endured, he had something they couldn't take from him: hope. He would look at the stars in the sky and ask God the same thing every night before he slept: "Let me survive so that I may help others like me live. Lend me strength so that I may instill the hope in my heart into the hearts of others. Let me bring light to those trapped in the darkness."

This was Harry's prayer, his mantra, his promise. He would leave this hell one day and shine the light in his soul into the darkness of fear and uncertainty. But until then, he would allow the Dursleys to do as they wished.

Harry would always be punished for going better than Dudley in school, but he continued to do his best. As time went on, Harry's pain tolerance rose to such a degree that he would take beatings from Vernon, Dudley, and Dudley's gang without so much as a grunt of discomfort escaping his mouth.

But one day, Vernon came home drunk after losing a big business deal for Grunnings. He blamed Harry for it and yelled loudly and excessively but was aggravated further by Harry's lack of any visible reaction. Vernon then decided that it was finally time to get rid of the freak. That Dumbledore freak was probably bluffing.

So Vernon grabbed Harry and quite literally shoved the poor boy into the back seat of his car and then got some leftover gasoline for the lawnmower, a book of matches, a rope, and a cinder block before getting into the driver seat and taking off for a long street near the forest.

When Vernon got far enough away from Surrey, he forced Harry to tie the rope around his legs and then around the cinder block. Vernon then poured what little gas he had over Harry's body and proceeded to set the boy ablaze. Upon hearing Harry's screams, Vernon, satisfied, drove back home, trusting that the boy would burn to death.

And he did. Harry Potter died that day, and in his place, the Burned Man rose.

With the rope burned away, the boy walked back to Surrey to find the fire station. Walked, not ran. The pain was agonizing, but the fiery light within burned brighter than the fire that ate at his body.

Eventually, the boy found his way to the fire station and upon seeing the burning child, the firefighters on duty quickly managed to put out the fire and proceeded to call the hospital while carefully loading the poor child into their ambulance.

The entire ride, the child had laid still saying nothing, leading the firefighters in the ambulance with him to believe that the fire had destroyed his vocal cords. When they made it to the hospital and the boy was fully wrapped in bandages and sedated, the police arrived and asked the firefighters what happened, only to hear a deep gravelly voice say "I was baptized in holy fire."

Everyone in the room looked at the boy, shocked that he was even awake. The nurse started saying mostly to herself "He should be sedated, I gave him a sedative."

The child responded "I can not rest, so I will not rest. Vernon Dursley left me to burn and die. Look in the cupboard under the stairs in his house at Number 4 Privet Drive, and you will see all that is necessary for your case."

With that one of the officers left the room to make a call to the station. But back in the room, the other officer asked "What's your name?"

The boy responded with holy fire in his eyes "Joshua Graham."

In the coming weeks, Joshua was called into court to testify against the Dursleys, who were arrested for child abuse, child neglect, attempted murder, and insurance fraud. The last one was a surprise to Joshua, but as it turns out, the Dursleys were being paid by a fund from Joshua's deceased parents for his care. By that point, the story of the burning child had made the news and was being closely followed by people all over England. Joshua's real name was kept out of the papers for his protection. That was also why the Dursley's trial was being conducted behind closed doors.

When asked for his name, Joshua replied "Harry Potter, but I prefer the name Joshua Graham." When asked why the preference, Joshua simply stated "My burning was a baptism and as such, a new name was appropriate."

Joshua detailed all of the abuse he suffered from the Dursleys hands, all the while his voice never wavered or broke, and when the trial was over and the Dursley were sent to jail (or in Dudley's case, Juvenile Hall), Joshua left the courthouse through the front doors and was swarmed by the media.

One reporter asked "What is your name?"

"Joshua Graham."

Another asked "Is there any way to heal your burns?"

"No. And even if there was, I wouldn't bother with it."

They all looked confused and the first reporter asked "Why not?"

"Because my burns are a mark of my baptism. I will wear my bandages and my burns beneath them with pride, for I know God is with me. He has let me survive so that I may help others to live. He has lent me strength so that I may instill the hope in my heart into the hearts of others. He has let me bring light to those trapped in the darkness."

At their stunned silence, he said to them "God be with you." And walked to the car waiting to take him to the orphanage.

The orphanage, called simply Wool's Orphanage, was a very depressing looking place and had equally depressed orphans. Joshua was sent there by his own request, and the orphanage happily took him in thinking it would get them more funding. But Joshua was not there to get adopted, he was there to bring hope. He would not allow himself to be adopted until the good kids had been adopted first.

He would protect the good children and bring them joy and hope as best as he could. As for the bad kids, he would strike them only when the other kids were being threatened.

Joshua would receive many offers for families who wanted to adopt him, and every time he would politely decline and explain that he was making his own family in Wool's Orphanage, and that he couldn't do that anywhere else.

Eventually the caretakers grew tired of Joshua declining all of the offers, thinking it made them look bad and had told him at dinner that if he kept it up, he would never get a family while all the students were watching. He replied "I don't need a new family. I am making my own family right here, and I refuse to abandon them as I was."

Suffice to say, almost every kid, young and old, looked at Joshua with hope, and at that moment, Joshua knew he was fulfilling his promise: light in the darkness.

From that point forward, Joshua was happy, and so was everyone else at Wool's Orphanage, even the caretakers. But eventually an unexpected letter arrived. A letter that would challenge Joshua's promise. A letter for Hogwarts.

Pomona Sprout was a little worried. Usually Minerva introduced the muggleborn students, but unfortunately, Minerva had her hands full, so it fell to Pomona to introduce this Joshua Graham boy to magic. She looked at the seemingly rundown orphanage in front of her and hoped that the boy she was meeting was treated well here. So imagine her surprise when she found the inside of the orphanage practically bustling with life. The kids looked happy and healthy and were playing games or working on what looked like homework. One of the children asked her "Who are you?"

Pomona replied "Oh, my name is Professor Sprout, and I'm here to talk to one of the children to attend a school for the gifted in Scotland."

Another child looked joyfully curious and asked who she was here for.

Pomona said "Joshua Graham."

At that moment, the entire room quieted down and all the children looked at her before simultaneously erupting in laughter. "Good luck." an older girl said. "Joshua never leaves the orphanage unless he has to. He even denied a bunch of offers for adoption so he wouldn't have to go."

Pomona was shocked! An orphan who didn't want to be adopted? She expressed her shock when she said "Why would he refuse adoption?"

A younger girl responded "He said it's because he wants to stay with the family he made here."

Pomona went from shocked to happy. Now she really needed to meet this boy. "Where can I find this wonderful young man?"

The head matron, Ms. Wendy came in and said "I can show you to his room if you'd like."

"I would appreciate that." And with that, they were off to Joshua's room.

As they walked, Pomona explained that she was here to offer Joshua a place in a special boarding school in Scotland. And Ms. Wendy replied that he wouldn't be going unless he could return on weekends at the very least. Pomona politely asked why he would insist on staying here. So Ms. Wendy told Professor Sprout the tale of Joshua Graham, the Burned Man. Pomona was absolutely HORRIFIED at the story of an abused little boy being burned alive, but she was happy to know that he was happy in the end regardless. When they arrived at Joshua's room, Ms. Wendy told Pomona not to stare. Pomona was slightly confused, but agreed.

When she opened the door and walked in, Pomona first saw a Holy Bible sitting on a bedside table with a small cross necklace resting on top. She then noticed the boy sitting on a chair with him facing the window. But before she could speak, a deep, gravelly voice said "Hello."

The boy then stood up and turned around and faced the Hogwarts professor, and then Pomona realized what Ms. Wendy meant by don't stare. The boy was covered head to toe in bandages and gauze under his clothes, which consisted of a white shirt, black vest, jeans, and brown shoes. She then replied to his greeting with "Hello, my name is Professor Sprout. I'm a teacher at a boarding school in Scotland for gifted children and I've come here to deliver your acceptance letter."

"And by gifted, you mean magic, correct?"

Pomona's jaw dropped with surprise before she asked "How-how did you know about magic?"

"How else do you explain this?" And with a wave of his hand, he proceeded to levitate the Bible into his hand and levitate the necklace over his head with practiced ease and near perfection. "So then, you said the school is in Scotland? That will pose a problem for me as I will need to return here frequently, preferably on the weekends. Can you provide a form of transportation for me?"

Pomona gathered her wits and answered "It might be unusual, but I'm certain that something can be set up for you. However, we will need to gather your school supplies."

"What about money?"

"The school has a trust fund for students in your situation. So long as you maintain passing grades, your schooling and supplies will be paid for."

"Very well then. Then let us get the school supplies while you are here. However, I should say now that returning to the orphanage is non-negotiable. If I am not allowed to return, then I will not be attending."

Pomona looked at the young man in front of her and smiled saying that she would be more than happy to accommodate his request.

And with that, Joshua Graham, the Burned Man, would change Wizarding Britain forever.

Okay so while I am obviously taking inspiration from Fallout New Vegas for this story, it is NOT a crossover. I just really like the character of Joshua Graham and the world of Harry Potter and said "eh, why not?" This is just an idea I wanted to get out there, so please tell me what you think.

Please keep all criticism constructive and have a wonderful day.