Chapter two.
Here we are getting into the bad parts of the story. I should preface this with the explanation I spoke of in the last chapter. I don't really like the stories where Harry had everything handed to him by Death, where he's immediately as powerful as a god and can turn into any animal. Stories where he has eighty lordships and such- it's just… I don't know. There's no struggle, no growth. There's no sort of readable plot because Harry is so strong that nobody else matters. There are some outliers, where growth and plot do progress, but they are few and far between.
I'm taking a different approach.
By all definitions, Death would be a god of Magic, the embodiment of the end. In the prologue, I explained how Death cannot meddle in the mortal world directly, only by changing small behaviors and guiding individuals into certain situations. There is no gift from Death here, Harry is a baby with no memory of the future that came to pass in his previous life. There is no greater power that Harry lucks himself into. Power is born if suffering, and for Harry to have a potential to rival both Voldemort and Dumbledore, he must suffer greatly.
We can explain more later, but for now, let's continue.
—0—
"Up!"
The door rattled as Petunia slammed her knuckles into the wooden surface.
"Get up!"
The child's green eyes slowly opened within the musty old broom cupboard. Vernon's boxers still lay on their chest from the previous night's punishment.
With a wince, the child pushed themselves to their feet and limped out of the small cupboard door, only to be shoved back roughly as Dudley ran by.
Petunia shuffled about, a smile upon her face as she arranged presents for Dudley's tenth birthday.
"Freak, about time you got up." Vernon grumbled as he read over the newspaper. "Fetch me some toast."
The child nodded and silently brought the man his extra toast, while Petunia followed seed over Dudley's hair.
"Such a handsome boy! Such a brilliant boy! Oh Vernon, our little Dudders is ten! I'm so proud I think I might-"
"Calm down Petunia, wouldn't want to cause a scene." Vernon chuckled, opening a letter. "Oh dear…"
"What. What do you mean, oh dear?" Petunia blinked.
"It seems that Mrs. Figg has broken her hip. She won't be able to watch the freak today… he'll have to come with us to the zoo."
Dudley's face turned red. "No! I don't want the freak to come!"
Petunia looked at Vernon. "Isn't there any other way?"
The man frowned and shook his head. "I don't trust the freak to behave while alone… dammit! I should've just left you on the stoop you freak!"
The child stumbled back as Vernon lashed out angrily, slapping them across the face hard enough to make their ears ring.
"You and your freakishness, a huge stain upon our perfect family!"
Vernon pushed the child to the floor and stomped on their shoulder, resulting in a sickening crunch as the child opened their mouth in a silent whine of pain.
The beating continued for a few minutes, with the child curled up to protect themselves as Vernon kicked, stomped, and smacked with a fire poker.
Finally, the torment ended. The child was left panting on the floor, bruised and bloody, while Vernon panted in his chair.
"Petunia… wash the freak off, then doll it up. We'll say it's a foster daughter."
Petunia nodded and walked over to the broken child, prodding them with her foot. "Come on, up! To the hose with you!"
They painfully stood and dragged themselves out to the backyard, where Petunia rinsed them off with icy hose water. As soon as the blood was all washed up, she had them limp back into the house and up the stairs to her room.
Vernon nodded as he helped Dudley open his presents. "Thirty seven this year! A big haul for a big man!"
Dudley puffed up proudly as his father chuckled, passing him another wrapped gift.
—0—
The child winced as the brush tore through their hair. Petunia sneered as she felt them tense.
"What, can't handle a bit of order, Freak?"
The child remained silent as Petunia pulled their hair into a bun. Without much warning, the woman stuffed a red wig over the bun and began pinning it into place.
"There… now you look just like my white if a sister. Let's see if we can patch up that eyesore of a face you have."
The child continued to remain silent as Petunia flitted about the room. The woman took out several types of makeup, applying each in turn. In the end, it felt as though they couldn't breathe through the blanket of chemicals upon their face.
"That'll do nicely, why don't you take a look?"
The child looked in the mirror that Petunia provided. The reflection was so foreign that they couldn't even recognize anything about themselves. The reflection just… wasn't them.
"Like looking into the past… oh but we must give you a better name… Ella. That will do nicely. Ella Dursley. Let's find you some clothing!"
After a few minutes of trying on dresses, Petunia smiled. "I think this one will do just fine."
The unneeded corset around the child's waist made it even harder to breathe. The skirt and shirt, while quite small on any other, was a bit baggy on the child's gaunt frame.
"That will do nicely… yes… come on now Ella. Let's go join Vernon and Dudders in the car!"
—0—
The zoo was abuzz with excited children and the sounds of animals. Tired parents struggled to keep up with their families as the kids raced from exhibit to exhibit.
A group of four people stood around a single exhibit that displayed a large boa constrictor. The eldest among them, a large walrus of a man, rapped his knuckles against the glass of the enclosure.
"Move!"
"It's sleeping…" a beautiful girl with red hair muttered. The rest of the family rolled their eyes and moved on, while the child remained in front of the enclosure.
"Sorry, they don't know what it's like…"
The snake twitched its eyes upwards to meet the brilliant green eyes of the child.
"You're a lot like me in a way, only put out for a show…"
The boa raised its head and flicked out its tongue as it listened to the child.
"Wait- can you… hear me?"
The snake nodded and gave a wink.
"Wow… sorry. I've just never talked to a snake before. I've never really talked to anyone-"
"MUM! DAD! LOOK AT WHAT THE SNAKE IS DOING!"
The child was pushed aside as Dudley ran over and jumped to look at the snake. The child winced in pain as they hit the ground, before looking up and glaring at the boy.
The glass of the enclosure disappeared, causing Dudley to fall through and land in the exhibits pool of water. Dudley shook silently as the snake looked him up and down, before slithering out of the enclosure. It looked at the child on the ground and nodded.
"Thankssssss…"
"Uh… anytime?"
The boa constrictor slithered away, muttering something about the Amazon as people screamed and fled. The child's attention was brought back to Dudley, who was screaming, trapped back inside the enclosure behind a panel of glass that magically reappeared.
Vernon looked down on the child, a hot fury on his face that made the child cower.
After Dudley was saved, the family quickly piled back into their car and drove home. Vernon parked in their driveway and helped Petunia and Dudley to the door. The child moved to join them but was stopped.
"No… you're coming with me, freak."
"Vernon?" Petunia blinked.
"I'm getting this thing fixed. If it wants to act out towards our son, then I have to act."
Petunia nodded and slowly walked inside, glancing back at the child for a moment.
Vernon was already tossing them into the passenger seat, climbing back in the driver's seat and starting the car.
They drove for a long time, so long that the child felt like they would fall asleep.
"No, you're going to stay awake."
The child, still in their makeup and dress, nodded. "W-where are we going?"
Vernon scowled. "I've done my best to get that freakishness out of you. But it still decides to stick. I'm taking you to a specialist now, a doctor."
The child's eyes widened. "Wh- a doctor?"
"You heard me. They're gonna fix that ugly freakishness of yours. Gonna tear you apart and put you back together, your own freakishness won't even recognize you!"
The child shook in fear. "Y-you're mad…"
Finally, they arrived at their destination, a large white building with a metal fence in the back.
Inside, the child saw men and women sitting in seats, mumbling nonsense and picking at their skin.
"What is this place?" The child shook.
"Hello!" A creepy looking man in a lab coat smiled. "Welcome to Soothing Gardens discount medical facility, off of the government funding list for eight years running!"
Vernon nodded. "Vernon Dursley, here's the freakish child I brought to be fixed."
The man knelt down and looked across the face of the child. "I rarely get visitors this young… I assume that you want the full package?"
Vernon nodded. "You might need to alter a bit more than their attitude, it's a boy under all that filth."
The man nodded. "Luckily I'm pretty skilled with a scalpel. Do they have a name?"
"They were born and named 'Harry'. Petunia and I preferred it to be a girl, since it handles the house work. Call it Ella."
"Come fetch them in three months, the alterations and shock should all be done by then."
Vernon nodded and glared one last time at the child. "Hopefully you'll learn your lesson when I return, you freak."
And with that, the child was left at the horrific muggle hospital as Vernon strolled out, peace finally coming to his mind.
—0—
Like I said, the worst is yet to come. Harry is about to go through some of the worst experiences one can have in life.
After all, what else could raise his potential to that of a god?
Anyways, until next time.
Adios