Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or any songs written by the Mountain Goats.

A Cold Way Of Getting Warm

Prologue

The day I turned my back on all you people,

I felt an itching in my thumbs.

The salt air like a broadcast from the distant, dark beyond,

When my transformation comes.

-In Corolla, The Mountain Goats

"Filth!" The loud and shrill voice screeched as a chair was thrown across the room. "A mudblood's child! Nothing more than that! A disgrace to walk at all! Filth!"

"I-I-I'm s-sorry," Harry, a small four year old, croaked, as he took refuge in his hiding place under a table.

"You are a mistake!" The woman with the shrill voice stated, her eyes gleaming with a madness Harry had never seen.

He positioned his hands in a defensive posture over his face. "I'm sorry! P-please stop!"

"Stop!" The woman with the shrill voice laughed. "We've only just begun, boy!"

"Please!" His wide eyes gazed in a petrified stare at the woman. Her angrily tangled black hair stuck up in every which way. Her mad eyes were ringed by dark purple circles, clashing horribly with her pasty face. She had cracked fingernails and torn clothes, and she stood with a slight hump formed at the base of her shoulder blades.

The sight scared him.

He backed away under the table so it blocked the bad woman's head and only left her ratty legs in his line of vision. He hopelessly whimpered again. "Please."

"'Oh please stop! I'm sorry, please stop!'" Her sick voice mimicked, the tone jumping up octaves sounding baby-like. "Ha!" She cackled her voice returning to normal. "The mudblood's child is begging me! Here he is, on he's knees, asking for my mercy! Beg some more, you little bastard! Beg like your dear, dead mommy!"

He wasn't sure what she was talking about. What was a mudblood? Why was the person so angry with him? What did she know about his mom? Why would his mom beg?

Why would she say his mommy is dead?

Just wanting the loud and scary voice to stop he stuttered, "P-please. Don't hurt me."

For some reason this made the bad lady before him laugh even harder, if the cruel sounds coming from her mouth could be considered that. "Aw, the little half-blood doesn't want to come out and play?"

He hadn't ever played much, at least not with other people, but the lady certainly didn't sound like she wanted to play. "Leave me alone," His quiet voice muttered. He wanted to get out.

"You little piece of shit!" The woman screamed, and he watched under the table as she threw another chair against the wall. "How dare you command me! How dare you speak orders in my presence!"

The little boy shivered, his green eyes darting around for an exit. Only the room was awfully big. Even though he was fast, he didn't think he would be able to run all the way to the end of it without the scary lady catching him. He didn't even know if the door would be open, even though he couldn't think of why it would be locked. It only locked from the inside, not the other way around. Harry was positive of this…or at least he thought he was, but he didn't want to take the risk. He didn't come in this room much, because this was, after all, Uncle Sirius' house, and it wasn't so much that he couldn't explore the entire house, as it was more that he never had the time to wander around, since Sirius was always keeping him busy with toys and brooms and stories.

He missed Sirius. Why wasn't he here? Why was this lady here instead? How did she get into Uncle Sirius' house? Wasn't Sirius suppose to protect him from mean ladies like her?

Questions swarmed his head. It was the most questions he ever had in his life! He was so confused, and his head was hurting, and he was really scared, so it didn't help him one bit when the bad woman shrieked, "Did you here me little brat!? You will answer when I talk to you!"

He was so confused. She yelled at him when he talked and she yelled when he was silent. What was he suppose to do?

"I'm sorry!" He yelled out, his throat tight and his nose clogged. "Please just leave me alone!" His eyes shut and his hands clutched his black hair.

There was silence while the lady didn't respond, and he was thankful for that. It gave him time to think. He tired to visualize the room and think if there were any windows he could sneak out of, or perhaps he would try the door after all. He cracked one eye open in caution, but the other one quickly snapped open in fear as he saw the feet of the lady approaching him.

I need to get out, Harry thought frantically as he rocked back and forth with part of his thumb in-between his teeth. I need to get out. I need to get out. I. Need. To. Get. Out!

The feet were so close now that the toes of her ripped shoes were under the table's shadow.

Please, please, please, please. Go away. Please just go!

He could see the woman's arms hanging by her sides. One of her hands, with the ugly and miss-shaped fingernails, clutched a stick. Harry's eyes widened even more. The bad woman had a wand. Why hadn't Harry noticed it before? He didn't know a lot about magic, but he knew a lot of bad things could happen because of it…and this lady looked liked the kind of person to make those bad things happen. He didn't know how bad those particular things would be because his parents were very carful to not talk about bad things like that in front of him.

But sometimes Harry would be very sneaky and quietly tip-toe out of his room at night and listen around the kitchen corner as his parents talked about their jobs as those auro-thingies. There, he could sometimes here about the awful spells and curses that existed.

Harry had learned that he could hear things like that after his daddy, James, had come home with a little limp, and he had said that he slipped and hurt his knee and that it was nothing to worry about. But Harry knew better than that, and that night he just happened to slip out of his bed and listen in on his parent's conversation. He learned his father had the knee dislocated when he feel down a flight of stairs in a fight against a few wizards who had done one thing or another. His daddy hadn't talked about the fight much, saying he was tired and had to head off to St. Mungo's to get his knee fixed. But ever since then, Harry had learned about a lot of curses and cuts his daddy had witnessed thanks to that very convenient kitchen corner. Especially one called the crucio-curse-thing that apparently was really, really painful.

Harry gulped as he stared at the mean lady's shoes. What if she knew about that curse? What if she wanted to use it on him?

Leave me alone! Please! He screamed in his head, to scared to produce even the smallest whimper.

"Aw does the itsy-bitsy-boy think he's safe under there?" The baby-voice was back.

In a flash, the table that had previously given him a sense of safety was lifted and thrown to the side. He winced as it slammed into the wall with a loud wham!

Stop it! I never did anything to you, leave me alone! PLEASE!

"Never did anything to me!?" She screamed and Harry scurried backwards, grimacing. He hadn't realized he had said that last part out loud.

"It doesn't matter," She whispered, glaring at Harry. "Because I've done something to you." She smiled. "I've killed your precious mother. I've killed your uncle. I've killed your," she paused, before smiling like she knew a trick was about to be played. "I've killed your 'father'."

She was lying. She had to be lying. She didn't even know who his parents were. She didn't know him. She couldn't have killed them. She couldn't have!

"I've killed them. I've killed them all!" She taunted, seeing Harry's distressed face.

She was lying. Of course she was. His parents were out, working a double shift. And Sirius wasn't dead, no, he probably fell asleep! That's why he wasn't here right now! He was probably snoozing away in some other room, not even aware of what was going on. Or maybe he went out and forgot Harry was here. Harry was very quiet after all.

"And do you know how each of them went? They went begging. Begging for their lives! Begging for your life." She snorted. "As if your life is worth anything!" She spat on the floor.

Why was she saying those things? Why was she here? What had Harry ever done to her? WHAT!?

"And you will be joining them soon you half-blood fifth!" She pointed her wand at the trembling boy before her and spoke in a harsh whisper. "You shall never be worthy. You were only a mistake. He will reward me greatly for ending your existence."

Harry's eyes watered. He didn't even want to try to understand what she was talking about. He just wanted her to stop. He wanted her to go!

"Leave," He said softly, very uncomfortable.

She snickered taking a step forward. "You'd be wise to keep your mouth shut. Do you know who you are talking to?" She waited but Harry kept his mouth tightly closed as he hugged his knees. "My name is Bellatrix Lestrange. Do you know who I am?"

Eyes still wide and watery, he shook his head, which caused the lady to laugh. She seemed to laugh at a lot of things.

"I am a Deatheater," She grinned. "I am the most loyal servant to the Dark Lord! Do you know who he is?"

Harry had heard of him before. He seemed to be a popular subject of conversation with Harry's parents. Him, and the Deatheaters. In fact, much to Harry's pleasure, he knew the name of this man which he was pretty sure was Voldemort, even though that didn't sound like much of a name to him. But Harry knew that the Deatheaters and Voldemort were 'always stirring up trouble' as his daddy had told him once. They were 'the wrong sorts of people' and 'the kind of magical folk you didn't want to get involved with.'

Thinking of that, Harry decided to shake his head again. If he didn't know who Voldemort was, than he couldn't get involved. Right?

This answer seemed to please the lady, Bellatrix. She continued, "It is because of him, it is because of the Deatheaters, it is because of me that your life is now ruined."

Harry swallowed the thick and bitter lump in his throat, backing up into the wall and wishing he could disappear through the thick brick. He'd rather be anywhere than here right now. Anywhere.

"Before you go, let's give you a little taste of the real world." Her teeth glistened in the light like a lion reveling her fangs as she closed in on her prey. "Crucio!"

Pain shot through Harry's nerves. Hot, burning, raw pain. His brain felt like it was being twisted and his eyes felt like they were being pulled out and his spine felt like a prickly thorn poking his intestines and ripping through his skin and everything hurt and everything was on fire and everyth-

It stopped.

He panted, noticing how scratchy his throat was all of the sudden. He felt shaky, and he found his muscles felt life-less as he couldn't find the strength to sit up. But despite the soreness, he felt relived that the pain was gone.

But that didn't stop the anger he hadn't even known he was capable of feeling of pumping through his veins. Rage had consumed every last bit of terror he had. Now, he glared at the woman before him with pure hatred. If he lived through this, he would get revenge on those eating-death people. He would get revenge on her.

But that was if he stayed alive.

"Say good-bye," She gleefully whispered as her eyes twinkled with insanity.

And with those parting words Harry's vision was engulfed in a blinding green light.

A/N: Good? Bad? What do you think?