Chapter Text
The Dursley's, ever the cowards they are, blame every mistake they make on one unfortunate child. This child, Harry Potter, was unfortunate enough to be in the same place and time as Dudley's stink bomb. There was a scream from the kitchen before Vernon came storming out with Petunia in tow.
"That is it! I am done with you, boy! You and your trickery!" Vernon yelled, leaning close enough Harry could smell what he had for breakfast over the stink bomb. Harry leaned back causing Vernon to grab him by his arm and started to pull him upstairs.
"YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THIS HOUSE AGAIN!" He all but screamed, essentially throwing Harry into his bedroom. The door slammed shut and Harry heard multiple locks being fixed, as well as the nearby cabinet being pushed in front of his door.
Inside his mind, Harry screamed. Every time he feels like everything is going to be alright it gets turned upside down by something that isn't even his fault. He might even still be trapped in here when its time to leave for Hogwarts in a month.
'I might as well go to sleep if they're not going to let me out' he thought, laying down on his bed before he heard stomping up the stairs.
"Oh, Harry!" Dudley was on his way to gloat, again. This time Harry couldn't even see the stupid look on his fat face.
"Did you hear? We're going to go out to dinner... WITHOUT YOU! Hahahahaha" Harry openly rolled his eyes, obviously they are going without him. When do they ever take his anyways?
"DUDLEY?" Petunia's screeching voice echoed up the stairs. Dudley responded before stomping back down the stairs like the elephant he is. Finally some peace and quiet. At least, peace and quiet everywhere but inside his own mind. Thinking about it again he remembers what Vernon said. "You and your trickery
'I'm never going back am I?' Harry's thoughts kept spiraling, reflecting on how he hasn't received any letters from his friends, and on how he's probably never going to learn magic again.
Time passed slowly and Harry was having a hard time holding onto his sanity. His idiot relatives kept blaming more things on him even when he was locked in his room! Vernon even installed bars on his window with barbed wire on the windowsill. And to top it all off, they had taken to only feeding him once a day because "You keep using that cursed wand to steal food and I will not have it!"
Day by day Harry could feel himself getting weaker. Being too exhausted to get up to grab the food left on the floor. When he stood up to fast one time he fell and couldn't get up for most of the day. And when Petunia came with the food she called for Vernon when she saw his appearance.
Vernon came pounding in, yelling about this and that, but Harry was too out of it to tell. Everything faded into a blur as his mind conjured up images of the two most important people he never got to know. How wonderful it would be to live with his parents, maybe even have younger siblings, and they would all be practicing quidditch together.
When Harry came too he was still on the ground, this time with aching pains spread throughout his body. What a day, to be starved is one thing, beaten is another. All Harry could think was pain, excruciating pain at times, spinning through his mind like a bad record.
It hadn't even been two and a half weeks but Harry was already going through it. He was up to two meals a day now.
'I guess Dudley's finally filled up' He thought while eating lunch. Harry could see a couple bruises on his arms that he couldn't even remember getting. There were dark blues mixed with deep purples. It might've even looked pretty if it didn't hurt so bad.
It wouldn't even be as bad if they weren't hurting him for things he didn't even do. He isn't even allowed to do magic outside of school for Merlin's sake! But noo, blame everything on the only one in the house that doesn't actually do anything wrong.
More days pass and Harry feels sadder with each one. Ron and Hermione promised to write to him often, but he hasn't even received once letter since the year ended. Ron could've just forgotten, the dunderhead he is, but Hermione would've remembered. She wouldn't have forgotten, so why hasn't Harry gotten anything?
Even worse he wouldn't even get to see them at Hogwarts. Vernon had come in many times to let him know that there was no way Harry was going to Hogwarts anymore. And as the day he was supposed to board the train grew closer, Harry grew more hopeless. If he hadn't even gotten a single letter the hole break, then he doubted anyone was even going to notice he wasn't on the train till they were at Hogwarts.
Wasn't that a thought? Harry being so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things that even his closest friends couldn't be bother to write a simple letter? That they wouldn't even notice he wasn't there until it was too late, and then where will Harry be? Alone, that's where he'd be.
Harry glanced at the beat up clock he had on his nightstand. Luckily it had the date as well as the time. Today was the day his life was ruined. Vernon had come in, put bars on the inside of Harry's window, and had a rope balled up on the corner of Harry's bed.
"I will not risk you getting out and using your cursed witchcraft on any other innocent people!" Vernon exclaimed proudly before grabbing the rope and roughly knotting it around one of Harry's ankles before using a shackle on the other end to hold it to the bed post. Vernon took one more nasty glared at Harry before he left the room.
The click of all the locks echoed throughout the house as Harry had an even harder time staying present. It would be so much better to just imagine a better life, a better world, a better family. And so he did, allowing his eyesight to blur as his mind brought up views of people he couldn't see clearly, but he knew who they were.
"Oh, Harry, you're doing so well my boy" murmured a voice that wasn't there. Reassurances whispered by figures he never knew, voices he never heard, but love he felt all the same. Oh how it felt to be loved.