Compulsion, Harry Potter

Summary

The Dursleys quite thoroughly abused young Harry, both verbally and sometimes physically. One day, eight-year-old Harry can't take it anymore, when he finds out his parents weren't drunks who died in a car crash. For the first time, Harry gets angry, and stands up for himself. Petunia and Vernon are incensed that this child has the nerve to back talk, and Vernon tries to hit him, causing Harry's temper to explode. In a wave of wild, uncontrolled magic, Harry orders the Dursleys to stop their abuse, and to ignore him. Compulsion magic forces the Dursleys to forget that Harry exists. From then on, Dursleys go on with their lives without ever noticing Harry, the room that he lives in and the disappearance of food from the refrigerator. Harry delves into the world of magic unnoticed, and, at the age of 11, arrives at Hogwarts far more magically developed and knowledgeable than anyone could've ever guessed.

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I've probably had this story idea for at least a year and a half now! I've written the first chapter for this story at least three times, but to heck with it all. I figured short chapters with frequent updates is better than long chapters twice a year, haha. Writing longer chapters often makes me doubt myself, so this is my compromise. Hope you enjoy this!

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Prologue

It was a fair August day – the sun shone merrily as the tips of the trees in the Forbidden Forest turned autumn gold and scarlet. A cool breeze blew into the window of the Headmaster's office, tickling Albus Dumbledore's beard and ruffling the scarlet feathers of a sleeping Fawkes. As he twirled his beard in his fingers while reading some official-looking documents, two knocks came on the door.

"Minerva, come in," the headmaster said, without looking up. A woman with her hair in a tight grey bun walked in.

"One of these days, I will figure out how you do that," the witch said, exasperated. It always mystified her how the headmaster always knew who was knocking. But Albus was fond of mystery, so it was likely she would never know.

"Do sit," Albus said, conjuring a squashy purple armchair with a swish of his wand. Minerva eyed it – this was normally the point where she would transfigure his odd armchairs into her favored rigid, straight back chairs, but she was already exhausted and so, sank into Albus's creation with a sigh.

"All the incoming first years have been enrolled," she said, with a bit of relief tinging her voice.

"Good good. No trouble with the muggleborns?"

"No, not this year, although there was one particularly inquisitive girl who asked me questions for nearly three hours," McGonagall replied.

"A likely future Ravenclaw then," the headmaster remarked.

"Perhaps," she said, inclining her head slightly.

"Harry Potter will be entering his first year," Albus said, twirling a finger around his beard, "What was his reply letter like?"

"Polite and brief; very similar to all the others. I inquired back whether he would need someone to take him to Diagon Alley, since he lives with those muggles, but he said he had been there before." At this, the headmaster's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The boy had traveled to Diagon Alley before? How unexpected!

"Well, I suppose I did not give the Dursleys enough credit! I thought they would inform him of only the imperative information surrounding the wizarding world and his situation, given their aversion to the magical."

"I thought Muggles could not see the Leaky Cauldron?" the deputy headmistress asked, perplexed.

"Petunia must have gone with Lily to Diagon Alley all those years back," Dumbledore mused, "Muggles who know the truth are not affected by the Muggle-repelling enchantments. Petunia must have finally turned around, for her to take Harry to Diagon Alley."

"Indeed, I misjudged them as well," McGonagall said, "They seemed, for lack of a better word, horrid, when I watched them in my animagus form that day, but I suppose first impressions are not always correct."

"This is good news indeed – Harry deserves a supportive family," Albus said, eyes twinkling, "And it also solves the problem of Harry's missing vault key. I had thought I misplaced it, but it looks like Harry must've had the goblins summon the key back."

The discussions turned to other students, and the headmistress returned to her work soon after, leaving Albus alone in his study.

Alone, the headmaster mused on the surprising detail in Harry Potter's reply letter. Albus had not expected the Dursleys to take Harry to Diagon Alley – it was a true change of character for the family, who had seemed so frightened of magic. He had expected Harry to be cared for, to be safe at Privet Drive, but had also expected him to have very little knowledge of the wizarding world. A trip to Diagon Alley spoke of a family who put aside their prejudice for the sake of their child. It heartened Albus to think that love could do so much.

Little did the headmaster know how wrong his assumption was...