Chapter Text
Growing up, Harry noticed strange things happening around him. As a toddler, he'd hiccup and something on the shelf would go flying across the room. And when he'd cry alone in the cupboard under the stairs, the clouds around 4 Privet Drive would cloud up and storm on the house. And once when he tripped and scraped his knee, a shockwave came from his body that levelled a couple small tress. After all these events and the many more that occurred around him, he'd be punished by his aunt and uncle.
Harry never understood what was happening nor why it was all happening to him. And he certainly didn't understand why he'd get in trouble for it when he didn't do anything. Or at least didn't mean to. He grew up confused, scared, and alone. Everyone avoided him like the plague. They whispered cruel rumors about him behind his back. They'd taunt and pick on him. With time Harry just accepted that he would always be an outcast and that he would never be thought of as family by his only living relatives.
Harry stayed quiet and kept himself in a little bubble of isolation to prevent himself from causing another incident. But Dudley's eleventh birthday came around and he was forced to participate and go to the zoo. For once he was excited because he got to go out and see animals who wouldn't judge him, even if that meant he'd be belittled the whole time by his "family".
And Harry didn't expect to cause any trouble. He's gone such a long time being good for the Dursleys, he wouldn't mess it up this time. But then everything went wrong and it all started with a couple of words with a Brazilian boa. He was amazed and confused as to how he could talk with a snake, but he was also delighted to have a conversation with someone who didn't wish he would just disappear.
Dudley stormed up and pounded against the window in excitement from the massive constrictor moving about finally. And Harry, just for a brief moment, mused that it would be hilarious if his cousin were to fall into the enclosure. Unexpectedly after that thought passed his mind, it's exactly what happened. The glass vanished and Dudley fell into the water feature in the vivarium. Harry's eyes widened in horror, he just created a big problem for the Dursleys, which became even worse when the glass trapped Dudley in the enclosure. Luckily the snake escaped beforehand, otherwise, Harry didn't know what would happen to him if Dudley were to be eaten by the boa.
When they got home after that fiasco, he was locked away in the cupboard and ignored for weeks, barely even receiving food or water. Harry prayed. Prayed like he never had before. And prayed to every god or deity his young mind could think of. He didn't even truly believe in any of them but he was desperate. He prayed and hoped that someone would come to get him out of there. Or that the Dursleys would disappear. Anything. He prayed to be anywhere but there.
But nothing happened. His punishment continued until he became weak enough that the Dursleys were forced to bring him to the emergency room after he grew unresponsive. They lied and told the doctors that he had been refusing to eat in a particularly bad tantrum, and got to the point that he almost starved himself to death.
The doctors patronized him and forced him to apologize for worrying his "family", and made him promise to not be so selfish again. They discharged him after barely helping him get better and that was it. Any hope that Harry had for getting help died. The doctors, people who save people's lives for a living, didn't do anything for him.
His eleventh birthday passed, spent in the cupboard under the stairs, alone in the dark. Life continued like this and the treatment grew worse as he got older. So finally on his fifteenth birthday, Harry ran away. He couldn't handle the pain anymore, he'd rather live on the streets than stay another day in that cursed house.
Harry managed to get a job at a convenience store after fibbing about his age. He didn't know how the manager believed him as he looked incredibly immature after being starved his whole life. Maybe the manager saw how desperate Harry was, or maybe he just didn't care about him being too young to work overnight. Whatever it was, he was grateful.
He worked day and night, constant twelve-hour shifts, trying to make as much money as possible. He stayed in a cheap motel that definitely had a bed bug infestation, but he didn't care about the bugs because it beat sleeping in an alley somewhere.
Harry worked diligently to save up his money over the next couple of years. And shortly after he turned seventeen, he bought a train ticket to move up to Cambridge. He packed all his things out of the rundown motel and made his way to King's Cross train station. It was bustling with activity and he felt the excitement coarse through him to be able to move finally.
As he walked along the tracks, a passerby bumped into him hard by accident, sending him fumbling back. He tripped over his own feet trying to recover and he was sent into a brick column. He expected to feel the hard surface but instead, he fell through, a whirr of black passed by him, and then he was landing on solid ground.
He looked around dazed, watching people step aside from him. A small circle formed around him, they mumbled and muttered to themselves as they stared. Harry shook his head as he tried to collect himself. He noticed the people were dressed rather strangely compared to most of the people he saw in London. They were dressed in robes and other fancy garbs, most confusingly some had owls in cages or perched on them along with other strange creatures.
Kids were running around, talking excitedly as they rushed to board a massive steam engine train. A group of them Harry's age were walking past and stopped to see what the commotion was. He felt incredibly out of place being stared at by them, as they were in some neatly pressed school uniforms that looked like they belonged to a high-end independent school. Meanwhile, Harry was dressed in dirty and ripped slacks, his shirt had stains on it, and his hair was all sorts of unruly.
"Is that a muggle?" Harry looked to the redhead that spoke up, not understanding what a muggle was.
"He certainly looks like one. How did he get here?" A girl with wild curly hair spoke up, looking as confused as Harry felt.
Harry realized he was still splayed out on the ground and quickly scrambled up, brushing his pants off self-consciously. His head was spinning as he looked around, he wasn't at King's Cross anymore. Where was he now? He didn't recognize the scenery at all, and he certainly didn't recognize the train.
"Excuse me, can someone please tell me where I am?" He spoke up softly, looking around himself nervously. He could feel his social anxiety bubbling up inside his chess, living under the stairs isolated for fifteen years didn't exactly build up strong social skills.
"Somewhere you don't belong." Some posh-looking blonde sneered at him, nose curling in disgust. "What's a dirty muggle doing on the platform?"
Harry swallowed, shrinking back a little. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, squaring his shoulders. He was used to being talked to like that, and after running away he made himself promise that he would start standing up for himself. He looked the boy in the eyes and shrugged, mustering up some fake confidence.
"There's no need to be rude, I'm only asking where I am. If you're so bothered by my presence, maybe you should get your head out of your arse and help me find my way back to King's Cross." He spoke calmly, trying to hide the small tremor in his hands.
Everyone went silent for a moment, staring at Harry in disbelief. Then the ginger boy broke out into loud laughter, clutching his stomach. "Oh, man! I like this one! Can we keep him 'Mione?"
"Ron!" The girl next to him hissed and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.
The blonde seemed to have recovered from his shock, walking up right into Harry's face, very obviously seething in anger. "What did you say to me?"
Harry steeled himself, glaring back at him. "I said. Get your head out of your arse, and show me how to get back if I'm such a nuisance to you." He spoke slowly, tilting his head. "Did you catch it that time?"
"Oh you little-" He pulled out what Harry assumed to be a weapon and held it against Harry's throat, poking it into his Adam's apple. "How dare you speak to me like that, I'll make you pay you stupid little muggle."
Harry looked down, then back to the boy. He felt very confused, he was expecting a knife but was humorously surprised by seeing a stick. "What exactly are you going to do with a stick?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was laughing internally.
"Oh, I'll show you-" He started to say something but was stopped by the girl from earlier who grabbed his wrist, pushing him aside roughly.
"Malfoy! Don't you dare! Hurting a muggle is incredibly illegal even for you!" She shouted angrily before turning to face Harry. "Ignore him. I'm sorry about his behavior, luckily you won't be able to remember this after the officials get here."
"What do you mean, 'won't remember'?" He asked, still also wondering how exactly that Malfoy person would have hurt him with his stick.
"Well-… you don't need to concern yourself with it. Everything will be handled shortly-" Her eyes wandered up to his forehead and she stopped speaking. Harry could practically hear her thinking, eyes flitting across his forehead.
He sighed and fixed his hair to hide his scar again. "I know, it's a hideous thing. Normally I hide it to avoid questions and stares, but I suppose my fall earlier caused my hair to move.'' He muttered, feeling self-conscious again. His scar was constantly a subject of bullying when he was younger.
'Mione, as the boy, Ron, called her earlier, quickly reached up and moved his hair again. "Wait… is it possible that-..." She swallowed. "No that can't be right, he's-"
"'Mione, what's going on?" Ron approached and looked over her shoulder before seeing his scar. "Bloody hell… is that?"
"I think so. Excuse me, what's your name?" She asked him with widened eyes.
"Oh uhm, Harry?" She looked even more on edge and appeared to be waiting for him to finish his last name as well. "Harry Potter?" He finished nervously, suddenly her hands flew back like they were burned. She stared up at Ron with the widest eyes he's ever seen in his life. And he seemed just as shocked. Harry glanced behind him and even the blonde, Malfoy, looked stunned.
"What?" Harry asked, wishing someone would speak up about why everyone on the whole platform was now suddenly staring at him like he had three heads and a tail. "Why is everyone staring at me like that?" He whispered to Ron and Mione.
"You're the Harry Potter, mate! You're a big deal!" Ron said excitedly, seemingly unable to control his body as he bounced around.
"I am? I don't know, I'm pretty normal. Just an hour ago I was moving to Cambridge and that's the most exciting thing I've done in my life." He scratched the back of his neck.
"Did they say he's Harry Potter?" Someone from the crowd spoke up, and that broke the silence around them. Suddenly the crowd was swarming around him, yelling out his name in excitement. They shouted questions as they tried to get closer, jostling Harry around.
Harry felt incredibly overwhelmed, panic flooding ice cold through his body. He looked around, and surprisingly Malfoy was just staring at him in stunned silence. Those ice-blue eyes never left him. But his attention was pulled away from the blonde as someone grabbed his arm.
"Harry Potter! Is it true, is it truly you?! I can't tell you how much of an honor this is! And a surprise, I mean really, it's not every day you find the long-lost Boy Who Lived!"
Harry swallowed and awkwardly smiled. "Oh, uh, thanks." He whispered, trying hard not to shut down. Hermione's excitement mellowed as she noticed how pale Harry had become. She cleared her throat and offered out her arm.
"Here, take my arm and hold on tight." She said softly, Ron taking her other arm excitedly. Harry hesitantly did so, regretting it when he suddenly felt like his body was being ripped in half as he was drugged around in a blur, there was no longer any solid ground under him as he screamed out in horror.
When they landed back on the ground, Harry collapsed and threw up. He stared at his hands as he panted and heaved roughly, eyes wide with fear. "What… what just happened?!" His arms shook and he collapsed onto his back, arm over his forehead.
"You've never apparated before?" 'Mione asked in a soft voice, sitting down next to Harry. He finally lifted his head and looked around, noticing they were in a quiet open field now.
"I don't even know what that means…" He sat up slowly and rubbed his face, taking a deep breath.
"It's a quick form of transportation in the Wizarding World. Sorry, I know the first time is rough." She rubbed his back soothingly. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
"And I'm Ron, Ron Weasley! It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry! Where have y-" Hermione nudged him and shot him a glare, telling him to shut up with her eyes. He looked confused for a second but shrugged, settling down next to Hermione.
"It's nice to meet you both as well… Can you guys explain everything that's just gone on, I have to say I'm painfully lost right now. And confused… and kind of scared, honestly."
"You were just on Platform ¾, that's where Ron and I were boarding the Hogwarts Express when we noticed you. You came in through the King's Cross entrance, and from the looks of it, accidentally. I honestly don't know where I apparated us as I just wanted somewhere quiet so you can catch your breath. You seemed freaked out back there." Hermione spoke calmly, looking out over the landscape.
Harry stayed silent for a while, still not understanding anything. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "What's a 'hog-warts'? It sounds like a disease."
"You don't know about Hogwarts?!" Ron seemed astounded. "It's only one of the most well-known Wizarding schools out there!"
"I haven't heard of a 'Wizarding' school, is it like an independent school?" Ron was about to speak up again, even more upset looking, but Hermione nudged him again.
"Sort of- Harry, what all do you know about wizards and witches? Or even magic?" Hermione asked calmly.
"Well… my cousin Dudley had a magician come for one of his birthday parties. It was pretty neat but of course, it was just sleight of hand, a trick of the eye. Magic isn't real, my uncle Vernon told me that all the time. And there was an old 'witch' in my town but she just created herbal mixtures to help with stomach aches and other small things." Harry shrugged.
"I see. So, you really don't know anything about the Wizarding world." Harry shook his head slowly. "Harry, you're a wizard. Your mum and dad were Lily and James Potter, they both attended Hogwarts. And you are famous…- were you told about your parents' death?" Hermione sounded more cautious, Harry got the feeling that she didn't know if it was appropriate to ask. She likely didn't know if this was a touchy subject for him.
Harry shrugged. "My aunt told me they were killed in a car accident." He spoke calmly, looking down. Their deaths used to be a hard topic for him, because it was a constant reminder of a life he missed. He used to wonder how different things would've been if they had been alive, he'd pray for them to somehow come back. But he grew up and realized that nothing would change and he came to terms that they were gone.
Hermione blinked and looked to Ron, who looked back at her with a more mellow expression. She shook her head. "That's… not how it happened." Harry looked at her. "What do you mean?" Hermione shifted. "Harry, they were killed by another wizard. He was dark, corrupted, and evil. He had gone to your parents and he performed this… unforgivable curse that killed them. He went to kill you as well and it failed, that's how you got that scar on your forehead."
Harry reached up and touched the raised skin on his head, mouth open is dismay. "I don't understand. I mean, I really don't understand anything you've just said. I think I do… to an extent. But it's just so much all at once."
Hermione nodded and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I understand completely Harry. I remember my same reaction to finding out I was a witch. You see, I was raised like a muggle-" Harry interrupted. "Okay yeah, about that- I've heard that term and I have no clue what it means." "Ah, a muggle is someone who possesses no magic in them. They're just an average everyday person, much like you saw walking in London." Harry nodded in understanding.
"Like I was saying. It's very life-altering finding out you are a witch or a wizard after living your life as a muggle. Both my parents were muggles, with normal muggle jobs, I attended a muggle state school, and I played with other muggles. But as I grew up, my parents and I noticed that these strange… occurrences kept happening around me. Unexplainable things. And then someone from the Ministry of Magic came and explained that I was a muggle-born witch, or a half-blood as we are properly called. That's actually what you are, your mother was a muggle-born witch while your father was a pureblood."
Harry's head was reeling with the information, but suddenly things were starting to make sense. He related to Hermione's experience and he now felt normal for all of those weird things that happened to him growing up. He felt relieved to know that he wasn't the only one. "You really seem to know quite about me. It's a bit off-putting to find someone who knows more about me than myself."
"Well, Harry! You're practically a celebrity in the Wizarding World." Ron exclaimed. "Everyone knows about you. You're the Boy-Who-Lived, the only known wizard to survive the killing curse. You're propheted to save the Wizarding World!"
"So this killing curse- it's what was used to kill my parents?" Both Ron and Hermione nodded. "But I survived it. And that means that I'm destined to save wizards and witches." More nods. "And I'm a wizard too." If this topic wasn't so serious, he'd be laughing as the two of them started looking like bobble heads.
"You were supposed to start at Hogwarts in Ron and myselfs' first year. It was all the talk around the school. But you never showed." Hermione hummed. "Everyone was confused, even the teachers. And Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, for once didn't have an answer. A year went by and everyone grew worried, there were searches being conducted all over. But according to the ministry, you were nowhere to be found. Eventually, people speculated that maybe you had died, or maybe you hadn't actually survived the killing curse in the first place. And since no one could locate you, we all mourned."
"Well I guess it's evident now that I'm not dead. I had been in Surrey the whole time with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. Didn't move out to London until I was sixteen. Not sure why I wasn't able to be found, it wasn't like I was trying to hide. I would've loved to have been found and taken to this magical school instead." Harry shifted, picking at the tall grass around him. "I used to pray that someone would've gotten me out of there."
A melancholic atmosphere settled around Harry as he realized this whole time there was a whole world out there that was looking for him, that wanted him there, that mourned him. He felt a sharp pain settle into his heart. "This whole time… there were people wanting me to show up." He flopped back down into the grass, looking up at the sky. "That's just not fair."
Hermione and Ron watched him quietly. Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and Harry shot up and stood, looking at where the sound came from in shock. Standing there was an elderly man, dressed in elegant robes and sporting a most impressive beard. The man stared at him for a long moment.
"Harry Potter." He sounded breathless. "So it's true, you've returned." He approached and clasped a hand on Harry's shoulder, looking over his face. He suddenly pulled him into a strong hug, Harry froze and looked at Hermione and Ron in confusion who both stood up briskly.
"Headmaster, we were going to come find you right away. Harry just needed a moment to collect himself, I'm sorry that we didn't come to you fi-" Hermione was interrupted by the headmaster raising his hand up a bit.
"Not to worry Miss Granger, I am not upset. I'm just happy to have known he ended up with good friends." He looked down at Harry. "Come on my dear boy, let's get you to Hogwarts. I'll explain more once we've gotten you settled."