Though he knew that his home life was far from what most people would call…happy, a 9 year old Harry Potter also knew, from harsh experience, that things could have been a lot worse.

Especially considering the circumstances of his cousin's disappearance.

Back in England, whenever something bad or strange happened, his relatives would acusse him of being the one responsbile, which resulted in punishments that ran from tiring, mundane, or painful.

Having his cousin suddenly disappear after they had just moved in to their house? That easily trumped strangers enthusiastically greeting him, or somehow finding himself on the roof of the school while running away from his cousin's gang.

The punishment he received from the former had resulted in a severe beating, 1 week locked in his closet, and an increased chore load that had resulted in another beating since he couldn't finish them all in time. The latter for some reason had been cause for worse, resulting in 3 beatings, reduced rations, and 3 weeks in his closet.

When Dudley had failed to return home with his distraught aunt and uncle, he had been quickly locked in his room, and had steeled himself for the 'Thrashing of a life time'.

But by the next day, not only had he been let out with only a mild warning by his aunt, but his uncle had barely mustered the energy to glare at him before heading out the door to his new job.

And over the course of the next few days, things only got weirder.

His aunt began to assign him less and less chores until his only responsibility was to keep her garden free of weeds.

He now got food that, while no where near approaching the quantity of his missing cousin, was still greater in volume and quality than had previously been assigned to him.

His uncle barely acknowledged his existence, even during the occasions when things at his new job didn't go the way he wanted them.

And perhaps the strangest of all, their reactions to the few times where he actually felt compelled to tell them about the occurences of his daily life.

In England, if he had ever dared to question his aunt about something he didn't understand, or say something that went against what the Dursleys considered to be normal, he would have been shouted at, hit, or locked up. Sometimes a combination of all 3.

Such was not the case now.

Hearing children laughing or whispering in the woods despite there being nothing there when he went to check? Grunts of dismissal or flat out ignored.

Seeing a pair of blue lights in a storm drain turn to yellow before disappearing complelty? A sudden case of deafness and blindness.

Even the time a red balloon found itself tied to his uncles car? A mild grumble about pranking teenagers.

Yes his life had improved since his cousin's disappearance.

But that still didn't mean he felt totally at ease with his new situation.

For he could almost feel that someone was watching him.

And that that someone, or something on the days when he felt his imagination run away with him, was looking at him in the way Dudley used to look at a new toy.

And considering the life span of the toys that drew his spoiled cousin's attention, this was not a reassuring feeling.

…

Though this was not the first time it had come across mortals that possessed qualities that set them apart from their fellow humans, although calling that travelling group of parasites human was perhaps stretching the term, this was the first time it had come across someone that put it in mind of a 2 for 1 deal.

Albeit in ways that greatly differed from the time it had managed to snag multiple meals in one go.

For while the soul that controlled the scrawny bag of bones possessed the ability to perform what humans called magic, it was not the sole occupant the dwelled within the body that could barely be called snack.

With its curisoity piqued, it had taken to observing the underfed boy during the small breaks it allowed itself after finding another child to fill its larder.

And what it had discovered was enough to amuse the being that normally took on the appearance of a clown.

For while not completely incapable of influencing its host, for a thin but nevertheless present strand ensured that it had some connection to the outside world, the soul fragment lacked the ability to do more than inspire the beginings of emotions that humans generally viewed as negative.

But that wasn't what amused the clown shaped being.

No, what amused it was that unlike the older sibling of his second meal, who interestingly enough remained resistant to its ability to inspire apathy in those who had been close to its chosen meal, this boy was displaying undeniable signs of satisfaction with his relative's disappearance. Which was particularly amusing to it since the boy was even more immune to its memory/emotion supressing abilities than Georgie's brother.

Which is why it had taken great delight in extending its fun by playing with the boy before making a more….personal introduction.

Using the voices of it's dead victims, peering at him from the shadows of storm drains, and finally, leaving it's unoffical calling card on the door of the walrus's automobile.

It could only imagine what fun it would have once the boy had a face to blame for the increasingly odd occurences in his life.

And as Pennywise had proven countless times since Derry had been established, it always enjoyed playing with its food before eating it.

…..

Hey everyone. Sorry for the wait. Other stories/events in my life have prevented me from devoting to much time towards this story. Not to mention the fact that I'm always thinking of ways in which t end this story XD.

But anyway, wanted my second chapter out BEFORE IT Chapter 2 came out, so this is the result.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Til next time.