The Dursley family thought of themselves as the picture-perfect family. There was a husband who worked all day to provide for his family, a wife who stayed at home to cook and clean, and a son whose only job was to have fun without bringing shame to the family name. The only problem in the perfect little family lives in the tiny cupboard under the stairs by the name of Harry Potter.
Vernon Dursley, a grotesquely overweight, walrus of a man, felt that the only way to fix this blemish of the family is with a heavy hand. That is the reason why he looms over his nephew with his thickest belt, one he had bought just for this occasion. Ever since Harry's unwanted appearance on his relatives' doorstep he quickly learned two lessons; 1: His presence is and will always be a burden to those around him and 2: that nothing in life was free. From the time Harry was 4 he was forced to earn his place in the house. He cooked and cleaned the entire house for his relatives. If he did a good job in return he was allowed to sleep in the small cupboard under the stairs and given a meal every so often.
Due to the constant abuse, the small ravenette suffered from his entire life; he didn't see anything wrong with his treatment. When the child finally turned 11 he was shocked to find out not only was magic real, but he is also a wizard. While avoiding questions of his home life, Harry managed to survive a rough first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He discovered the mirror of Erised and the Sorcerer's Stone while facing off against the supposedly most evil wizard in all of Great Britain along with making a supposed school rival/bully just because he didn't accept the boy's hand in friendship.
When Harry awoke alone in the Infirmary Dumbledore was quick to inform him of his brave doings, stating how he had once again saved the Wizarding kind.
More than a little confused, Harry accepts the praise while shyly asking to stay at Hogwarts for the summer holiday instead of returning to his relatives.
With the same grandfatherly smile and twinkling eyes he's had since their meeting, the headmaster is quick to crush the little boy's dream of escaping his family for a few more months with a simple, "Of course not, silly child. You need the protection of your mother's blood wards."
This fact floors Harry. Any knowledge about his parents --now that he knows they're not drunks that died in a car crash-- is very important to him.
"My mother?" he finally gasps out.
"Yes, my dear boy." The Headmaster takes a seat at the foot of Harry's bed without an invite, before continuing his explanation. "Your mother's blood is what protected you the night Voldemort took their life. Due to your aunt carrying the same blood, the protection is transferred to her and her home."
"What kind of protection?" It certainly doesn't protect me from them.
"The wards don't allow any magical being with the intent to cause you harm to enter your home, my boy."
Flash forward a year later Harry is moved into Dudley's second bedroom. After his acceptance letter to Hogwarts was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs his relatives didn't want to give the freaks any reason to visit their perfect house. That said it doesn't mean they have stopped their abuse of Harry. If anything Uncle Vernon's temper has gotten worse with his nephew's acceptance and continued attendance to his freaky new boarding school.
"Boy get down here!" his uncle roars from the living room.
"Coming, sir." The moment Harry enters the room a sharp pain explodes across his face, knocking the boy over.
"I said I wanted the house spotless for the guess I have coming over this evening." Harry was 100% sure that he never said that and his Uncle was once again looking for an excuse to punish him, the boy just wanted to get his beating over with.
"I'm sorry, Uncle--" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence before familiar pain once again knocked him on his butt.
"You ungrateful, useless, waste of space!" his uncle roared while landing punch after kick. "I should've drowned you the moment you became freakish. Should've let you freeze right there on the doorstep." Once he was done with his mini-rant Vernon waddled his way to the kitchen most likely to get a snack and some water after exerting himself.
Harry only moves once he is certain his uncle wouldn't get his second wind and come back. Slowly standing the small Gryffindor makes his way around the room straightening up as he waits for the pain to subside a bit before getting the broom, a bucket of water with cleaner, and a scrub brush.
Later that day Harry had finished cleaning the whole downstairs area up to his aunt's standards before starting on the elaborate dinner Uncle Vernon had requested. Soon assorted vegetables are diced to perfection (Not too thick not too thin) and the perfectly seasoned roast is put in the oven (Harry still has some scars for when he put too much garlic). Ingredients for hor d'oeuvres and desert are set out on the table to be prepared by Aunt Petunia so she can make sure Harry isn't sneaking any sweets, not that he would.
A knock is heard at the door just as Harry quickly and quietly makes his way to his bedroom where he'll hide out until he's meant to help put out dessert. Harry is hoping that he did everything precisely so that he may get the leftovers when the last of the guest leave.
Hours later Harry feels every agonizing second never knowing if something would go wrong and his uncle would come up to beat him within an inch of his life.
It has been a while since he's gotten a full fledge punishment, before starting Hogwarts. Now that Harry is out of the house for most of the year his relatives have left him to his own devices.
Soon his aunt finally shows up to escort him to the kitchen where he grabs the stunning chocolate cake while Petunia gets out the coffee and good mugs. The moment he enters the sitting room he can tell this is an important business meeting due to the numerous papers spread in front of his uncle and another man smartly dressed, both seated at the desk in the corner of the room. The man's wife is seated on the couch supposedly speaking with his aunt while the men talk business.
"Awe!" she coos the moment she spots the boy. "You didn't mention you have such an adorable son."
"This is my nephew," his uncle announces like the idea of Harry being his offspring couldn't possibly be less appealing. "I took him in after his parents died in a car accident after he turned 1."
"That's very noble of you Mr. Dursley. Taking in an orphan with nowhere else to go. Very high-minded of you indeed," the man sounded just as snooty as Harry's uncle aspired to be.
" I just couldn't leave him in the cold like some kind of monster..." Uncle Vernon continues on with the rant of his good deeds since taking Harry in while said boy tunes out the conversation. Instead, he focuses on bringing the cake to the table so that Aunty Petunia could serve it.
Just as Harry is approaching the table he stumbles over one of Dudley's toy soldiers. How did he miss that when cleaning is a mystery. All Harry knows is that the cake goes crashing to the ground with him right on top of it.
"Goodness! Are you alright sweetheart?" The woman explains while rushing to his side.
No, no, no. Harry was certainly not okay nor will he be okay once the guess leaves, especially with how doting the woman seemed to be.
"Maybe you should go get cleaned. There's cake all over," she helps him up and ushers him out of the room. His aunt is also there but her touch is no where near gentle as she takes his other arm and lifts him back on his feet. "We should be taking our leave anyway, right dear?"
"Yes of course. We wouldn't want to leave our children with your mother for too long." The man helps his wife with their coats all the while saying their goodbyes. Harry watches from the top of the stairs with a mixture of terror and despair. He knows what's to come to him the moment the couple left.
"BOY!" and that's Harry's cue to run and hide. That tone of voice always meant endless pain and countless injuries he had to hide from the neighbors for a while.
"C-coming," before the child could make it down the last step he is grabbed and dragged to the very sitting room that he had just exited.
"Do you know what you just did, freak?" the walrus of a man ask in a deadly calm tone of voice. "Do you know how much money you've just cost me by your little stunt?" His uncle pulls him to the middle of the room away from the mess Harry knows he'll have to clean tonight if he wants to even humor the thought of eating again this week.
Sudden pain in the back of his head throws Harry out of his thoughts and back into reality where his uncle had just smacked him. He knows that soon that would be the least of his injuries.
"You listen when I'm talking to you. You are an ungrateful, undeserving, waste of OXYGEN!" he punctures his words with a kick to the ribs that has Harry sprawling to the floor. "You should have died like your freakish parents or when that madman attacked you last year." The boy freezes not fully comprehending what his uncle just said until his collar is pulled into his meaty fist and he's forced to make eye contact with his abuser.
"You seem shocked," he shakes the boy to ensure that he's paying attention. "You didn't think that that old fool wouldn't write to us about your idiotic escapades during that school year." He sends his nephew a hard backslap across the face sending him to the ground once more. "I know all about this supposedly Most Evil Wizard in all of Great Britain being after you. But you know what, freak? I would give you to him the second he dares to darken this doorway. You deserve his and everyone else's hatred of you for existing." The words are spoken with so much venom and certainty that Harry suddenly feels numb. He's known his entire life how much his relatives have hated him, but to directly hear how little they value his life tears the last shred of hope he has of considering this a home.
Harry tunes out the rest of his beating. He allows the numb feeling to overcome him as hits, punches and more cruel words wash over his malnourished frame. Once the first crack of Vernon's belt hits his already bruised and battered form, Harry knows that he's in for a long night, not noticing that the house's wards are crumbling down, and with them the only thing keeping him from dying at the hands of his relatives.