The Black Phoenix

An escape

《°•¤•°》

"Up! Get up! Now!" the shrill voice of Petunia Dursley demanded. The emerald green eyes of her 7 year old nephew snapped open. Harry had been lying awake for hours now, too lazy to get up. It had been one of those nights again. Most people have inconsequential, unusual, silly dreams. Not Harry Potter. In Harry's dreams he was tortured by memories. Harry spent hours upon hours puzzling over these memories. He had a rather unusual gift, Eidetic memory. The ability to recall things with precision, no matter how inconsequential.

Harry shuddered. Tonight, it had been the night his parents had died . He had woken up with a sticky layer of sweat covering him. He had always known that his parents hadn't died in a car crash like Aunt Petunia claimed.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It was all so confusing. Who was that man? Why had he killed his parents? Was his mum even dead or merely unconscious? Where was his father when all this had happened?

The same questions went through his head every night.

He sighed and opened the door of his cupboard. He would have to be careful today. The Dursleys were probably still rather vexed due to the incident that happened yesterday. He had performed what his parents had called...'accidental magic'.

Harry paused at the doorway and let all the emotion on his face slip away. He had been doing it for years. He had done it so many times, it had practically become second nature to Harry. The last time he had a smile on his face... it hadn't ended well for Harry.

"Where's the breakfast, boy?" Uncle Vernon roared. "Took you long enough".

"I'll get it ready, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, using the same toneless voice he always used when he spoke with the Dursleys.

To tell the truth Harry had always liked to cook. That didn't mean Harry wanted to cook for the Dursleys. If Harry thought he could get away with it, he would probably burn all the food on purpose. But Harry knew that he wouldn't get away with it and properly cooked food equaled a more agreeable Uncle Vernon. A more agreeable Uncle Vernon also meant less time locked up in the cupboard and not starving.

He had cooked bacon like this a thousand times. He could probably do it in his sleep. The bacon smelled mouthwatering. Harry didn't get to eat dinner the night before since Uncle Vernon had thrown him into his cupboard rather violently and locked the door. Harry nursed a large bump on his head. Harry's headache and hunger from yesterday was returning rapidly. It was mixed with pure fury. It wasn't a good combination and Harry knew it. Yet, it was completely justified. Harry tried to rein in his annoyance before he did something he would regret.

"No breakfast for you", Uncle Vernon grumbled without meeting his eyes. A Freak like you doesn't deserve everything your Aunt and I do for you. We should have dumped you in an orphanage instead of wasting our generosity on you".

Harry's anger was multiplying faster than he could squash it.

"Now, into your cupboard with you" Uncle Vernon barked.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, putting on an act of submission as well as he could in his absolute fury, his eyes trained on the floor.

"This really is first-rate acting" Harry thought, discreetly looking up and seeing the pleased look on Uncle Vernon.

Harry left the room as quickly as he could without running and walked into his cupboard.

He laid down. He knew that Dursleys wouldn't be able to keep in here for too long. They would need him to do their work, anyway. It was guaranteed that he would be allowed to leave in a few hours. There wasn't much to do until then except sleep.

Harry closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

《°•¤•°》

" Tafy, in the event that James and I die, you are to be Harry's personal elf, you understand?" the person Harry had come to know was his mother said.

"Yes, Mistress Lily. Tafy understands" the strange creature said looking grave". The creature was wearing some sort of silver and red uniform with a Crest on it.

"You will take care of Harry, okay Tafy? No matter what, he is to be safe" His mum said sounding strangled.

"Now go!" Quickly" Lily said frantically, looking desperate.

Harry could hear a pounding noise coming from the stairs, as if someone was coming up, fast.

Tafy disappeared with a soft pop as soon as the door opened to a tall dark-haired pale man who had eyes the color of darkness, who was grinning evilly.

《°•¤•°》

Harry woke with a start. He was covered in sweat once again. What was that strange creature? Why had his mum asked it to protect him? Why hadn't it kept it's promise of keeping him safe?

That had been the first time Harry saw that memory. It had been fuzzed and not at all as clear as his other dreams. Which was concerning, especially since he could remember everything since he was born with clarity. What was so different about this memory? Why didn't he remember this particular memory when he was sorting through his memories of his parents. Everything about his parents was confusing apparently. Thinking about it was just giving him more questions and was really not helping right now.

His hunger was gnawing at his stomach. It had been several hours since his last meal. Then the thought struck him. He could use his magic to open his cupboard. He knew he couldn't conjure food, otherwise he would have never gone hungry. Harry chewed his lip thoughtfully. His parents did magic with wands. He didn't have a wand. But, all his accidental magic was done without a wand. But then again, it seemed to happen only when he was feeling some sort of a strong emotion. He grinned. He still had lots of leftover anger, hunger and a headache of epic proportions.

He gingerly touched the bump on his head while channeling his anger, frustration, outrage and feelings of injustice all into the lock. The rusty old lock didn't stand a chance. But, unfortunately for Harry the lock didn't go quietly. Something that Harry had missed in his excitement.

The door swung open as if daring him to go through. Just as Harry was taking his first step of his new-found freedom, a towering, glowering, purple faced Uncle Vernon burst through the living room doorway.

Uncle Vernon's contempt filled eyes drifted toward the now busted lock. Harry could practically hear the cogs turning as he came to the only possible answer.

Uncle Vernon's eyes gleamed as he approached. "You thought you could use your freakish unnatural ways to escape did you, boy?"

Harry stood stone-still, saying nothing, knowing it would only insense the man further. His previous glowing excitement has melted back to his cold expressionless mask.

"Well, now you get to see what happens to freaks like you," Uncle Vernon said, coming even closer.

Harry refused to be scared.

As quickly as blink, Uncle Vernon's hand was latched in his hair. Harry tried desperately to run, but his efforts were futile.

Then it started. First, Uncle Vernon started with his hands. Then, Harry heard the sound of a belt being unlatched. The belt was much, much worse. Repeated hits over where his skin was already bruised. Harry could feel Uncle Vernon paused after each hit to get the maximum sting. The Dursleys had hit him before, that was for sure. But, it had never gotten worse than a few kicks and punches from Dudley or a hit over the head with a frying pan from Aunt Petunia.

His body, his mind and his very soul were calling for help. For somebody to save him. To be somewhere else.

Harry heard a loud crack, only this time it wasn't from the belt. Harry looked up only to see that everything was blurring and disappearing.

The last thing Harry saw before he blacked out was that he was now standing in front of a very large, grand old looking manor.

Note:

I don't own the cover art.

Thank you for reading! The next chapter will hopefully be out in another 3 days. Stay safe!