Prologue

A four year old Harry Potter was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. He had cooked a packet of bacon and sausages already. The boy scurried across the kitchen and picked three eggs from the fridge.

Harry cracked the first two eggs into the pan and as he went to crack the third.

"Well what are you waiting for, you ungrateful cur!"

Harry felt the intimidating presence of his uncle standing right behind him beadily watching him cook. Immediately his hands started to shake, but he carried on regardless, cracking the last egg on the sides of the pan. Because of the way the hand that held it was shaking, the contents of said egg slipped over the side of the pan and onto the floor causing Harry to inwardly grimace. He was in big trouble now.

"Dirty, nasty, ungrateful little brat!"

Small flecks of spittle hit Harry's face as Uncle Vernon shouted.

The pan containing the breakfast Harry had been cooking left the stove and its contents were deposited over Harry's small malnourished form. Firm hands grasped the small boy's frame lifting him into the air. Harry offered no resistance, and even if he had his cause would have been hopeless.

The air was suddenly thick with the foul smell of burning cloth and flesh. The terrible anguished screams of a child in pure agony rent the air as Uncle Vernon held his nephew in a seated position upon the still red hot hob.

HPHPHPHPHP

Two boys were due to start at Kirnot Gardens Primary School for the first time today. Mrs Williams waited in her office for the parents to arrive with her two new reception pupils. On the dot of nine o clock a silver family car arrived containing what she considered the most unlikely looking family.

In the front of the car sat two adults. One was a large man, possessed of very little neck. Sitting next to him was presumably his wife. She was very tall, thin and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck. According to Mrs Williams' notes these would be Vernon and Petunia Dursley and the two children in the back of car, one very large and the other rather scrawny would be Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter, nephew and resident of the Dursley household.

Mrs Williams watched, through her office window, as Vernon and Petunia got out of their car.

"Duddy darling, we're here now. All ready for your first day at school popkins." Petunia crooned, opening the back door in order to coax a very large child out of the car.

"Shan't! Not going. You can't make me Mummy, I'll kick my bunny rabbit again." The child stropped.

"Out you come Duddikins. Mummy will buy you lots of sweeties for when you get home." There was no firmness, or hint at reasonable discipline, and that disgusted Mrs Williams. It was blatantly obvious who held the reigns in the Dursley family and that person was Dudley. Finally Petunia coaxed the humungous child out of the car with yet more bribery.

Mrs Williams was shocked. She was used to all sorts being a teacher, but never in her thirty years of teaching had she come across a brat as obviously spoilt as this one. Spoilt children were nothing new to Mrs Williams, but there was something odd, and rather disturbing, about this family. In her experience were one child was spoilt rotten other children in the house were normally equally spoilt. Judging by the scene in front of her though this was definitely not the case here. The disparity in the way the two children were being treated was painful to the eye.

Vernon Dursley had opened the other back door at near enough the same moment that Petunia had opened the child called Dudley's door. There was no coaxing and bribing going on at that side of the car though.

Mrs Williams could just make out a very small looking boy who was shaking and crying in the back seat before he was manhandled from the car. The boy had literally been pulled from the car by his shirt collar. No thought for the boy's obvious distress had been shown, he had simply been removed as if he were an inanimate object. The words that came from Vernon's mouth filled Mrs Williams's heart with sadness and indignant anger.

"OUT! Disgusting pathetic waste of a life as you are boy… You will not do anything to spoil Dudley's first day at school…" The threat was left hanging and the little boy just gave a frightened nod. Harry didn't seem to need it to be completed, he was clearly terrified.

Whatever the child had done, there was no reason to ever speak to anyone in that manner. Least of all a four year old. Could that child really be four years old? Mrs Williams thought. He didn't look it.

The family made their way towards the front doors, although it took them a while to get there. Petunia had stopped many times to bribe Dudley with sweets. Harry, looked to be in some pain. For every time the boy took a step he winced and the tears continued to fall. As the family reached the steps to the front door Harry actually cried out as he climbed the first step. Mrs Williams's mouth dropped in shock when instead of comforting the child, or even attempting to find out what was wrong, Vernon Dursley struck the boy. Not gently either hard enough to assuredly leave a bruise. It was at this moment that Mrs Williams decided she was very glad she hadn't waited at the gates for this pair as if she had she would probably not have witnessed these actions.

As much as any teacher hated to see a child abused or neglected. She was now in a position, especially with the CCTV the school had installed, to do something about it. To get at least one, if not both, of these children away from the Dursleys and into a safe environment.

Rather than going straight to meet the two boys in the reception area Mrs Williams wrote a quick note of what she had seen and took the tape from the CCTV recorder, leaving them in an envelope on her desk. When she saw Mr and Mrs Dursley get back into the car she made her way out to meet her two new pupils.

Mrs Williams opened the door to the reception area to see the smaller of the two boys hyperventilating. Immediately she rushed to Maggie, the receptionist's, aid to assist her as she tried to calm the boy down.

HPHPHPHP

Harry watched nervously as Uncle Vernon went to the front desk to speak to the receptionist. The school's receptionist was a tall women with a rather severe face but despite that she had a kind smile, especially when she noted the way Harry was shaking and that he was struggling not to cry.

"It is best if you leave now. Vernon, Petunia. We are used to settling new children here, and we find it is only more stressful for the child if the parent lingers for long." The receptionist stated eyeing both boys with her kindly smile.

Aunt Petunia gave Dudley a big hug and a kiss before she and Uncle Vernon left. Harry didn't get one though, not that he expected one. After all horrid little brats like him didn't deserve cuddles, or any kind of affection for that matter.

The receptionist took Dudley's hand and went to take Harry's too. Harry heart rate started to rise and he struggled to keep his breath steady. He couldn't touch her. He wasn't allowed to touch an adult. He'd make them dirty and then she would have to wash herself. Then he'd get punished, again. Harry didn't want to be hit. Not when his bottom was hurting so badly from this morning's punishment, and then getting hit when he cried out on the steps. So instead of taking the hand she offered backed away not letting his eyes of the women who was trying to take his hand. His hasty backward steps made Harry trip over the overly long trousers he was wearing and he went sprawling landing on his sore bottom. That really really hurt!

Harry started to breathe really fast because it hurt so badly. He wasn't allowed to cry out though. The lady would tell Uncle Vernon and then he'd get hit again. The thought of that made Harry breathe even faster and before long dark spots started to appear in front of his eyes. Panic was coursing through Harry's small frame and made the world start to go black. He slipped out of consciousness mere moments later. The last thing he heard before he went under was a whispered and panicked conversation.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I tried to take his hand, he shied away from me and fell. Then he started hyperventilating."

"Come on Harry, calm down. Try to breathe slower."

"Maggie call an Ambulance and Social Services. Something is seriously wrong here this is far more than pre first day nerves. I think we may have a severe case of abuse here."