Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts
Synopsis: This is a failed attempt at a 2014 NaNoWriMo entry, as a result there was no outline when it was written and was written pretty much on the fly. I will go back and try to make it more consistent, but will keep the general theme and direction of the story.
The original concept of this story was to show an alternate history for the fourth year with just the first few chapters showing the type of life Harry had been living in for the last nine and a half years. However, this is where the story failed. The history of Harry's early life took control of this story and came to a crashing end as Harry and Hermione get on the Hogwarts Express.
This will be a smart / powerful Harry Potter. It starts out showing how abused he was in his early life and how with the help of the Goblins and Greek Diem-goddess he starts to overcome his poor life.
If you don't like a powerful / 'I'm related to everyone important' type of story, please don't read.
If you want to review, fine, if not, fine. I'm writing this for me, not you.
Author Notes 2: This is a work of Fan Fiction. No copyright infringement is intended. Most of the items in this story belong to J. K. Rowling et al. This will be an Alternate Universe (AU) story – it has to be if it does not always match with cannon. Some of the people in the story will act Out-of-Character (OC). This notice will be for all chapters.
Chapter 1 – You're a Wizard Harry.
Harry Potter was an unloved, abused boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the better part of ten years in the Dursley's home at Number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey.
From the night he had been left on their doorstep he had been hated, belittled, and punished. It really was somewhat of a miracle that he was still alive. The Dursley's never called him by his proper name. To them he was always 'freak' or 'boy'. It wasn't until they were forced to take him to school that he found out his name was really 'Harry'.
Dudley Dursley made sure Harry was picked on at school. Year after year he made sure no one ever got close to Harry or talk to him. He took it upon himself to make sure he and his gang of friends would beat Harry up every chance they got. It was during one of these sessions of 'Harry hunting' that they almost went too far.
Dudley and his gang were busy chasing Harry all around the school as usual during the noon recess. They had recently added a mousy little boy name Piers Polkiss to their gang. He was one of the few children in the school that was as fast as Harry. It was his job to keep an eye on him and let the bigger students know where he was at so they could beat him up.
This day, Harry found himself trapped by the garbage bins behind the lunch kitchen. "We've got you now boy!" Piers yelled out, "Come on Big 'D' let's teach that little shrimp of a cousin of yours a thing or two."
Harry felt a sense of panic and dread, since he knew his cousin was still mad at him for getting a better score on their first test of the first year they had gone to school, and still held it against him. Even his aunt and uncle would 'punish' him for any excuse. Dudley felt he still needed to teach the 'freak' a lesson. Yes, Harry was sure if Dudley got his hands on him, he would not fair very well from the beating he would get.
Wishing with all his might, Harry focused on the roof of the school. 'They wouldn't be able to get me there.' he thought to himself.
Just as he heard Dudley and the other boys come around the corner of the building, Harry closed his eyes hoping for some way to escape his cousin. What he felt next, however, was the thick; man-child size fingers of his cousin grabbing his shirt, yanking him away from his hiding place.
The beating Harry received that day was worse than anything his uncle or aunt had ever given him. Young children just don't know how much damage they can do with a kick to the stomach, or by stomping on someone's arms, legs or face. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was Dudley leaning down and saying "If you ever tell anyone who did this to you, you won't live to see another day." The coldness in his cousin's voice told him that he wasn't kidding. If Harry told anyone who had done this to him – he would die at the hands of his cousin.
The school officials and teachers were somewhat appalled on finding the little Potter child outside behind the kitchen later that day when he didn't return to class. The local Constable was called along with Emergency Services. The body of the broken little boy was taken to The Royal Surrey County Hospital where he went through several surgeries to set the breaks in his arms and legs, the cracks in his ribs, and the facial damage to one of his eye sockets. When the local Constable came to talk to Harry, he said nothing. Nothing at all.
From that day on, Harry was mute. He didn't want there to be any chance that he said anything that would let Dudley kill him.
All that changed a few weeks before his Eleventh birthday.
He had just finished setting the food on the table for the Dursley's lunch when they all heard the mail flap in the door open and close.
"Go get the mail boy!" Vernon spat out as he put another piece of roast in his mouth, and the juices dripped down his three chins.
Without saying a word, Harry mechanically left the stove where he was cleaning up and went to the front door to collect the mail.
'Bill, bill, advert, letter from Aunt Marge from Majorca, letter to me... what?'
Harry slowly set the other mail down and opened the letter written on the funny thick parchment.
To: Harry Potter
Cupboard under the Stairs
Little Whining, Surrey
After opening the letter he found:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF
WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwamp, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find
enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later
than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"Boy! Where's that mail? We haven't got all day you know."
Harry looked up from his letter and realized that they knew. At lease his aunt and uncle had known from the first day he came here. Hiding his Hogwarts' letter in his cousin's worn, oversized shirt, he quickly picked up the rest of the mail and walked into the kitchen, and set the rest of the mail in front of Vernon.
Passing on through the kitchen, he was able to pick up a stub of a pencil and a scrap of paper and headed out the back door.
"That's right boy, go and weed the garden, and then come back in here to clean up this mess after your betters have had a chance to eat." His aunt Petunia stated, glaring at Harry as he headed outside.
Sitting in the garden, he took out the paper and pencil and wrote a quick note in his sloppy script.
Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,
Is this a joke?
I have never heard of Hogwarts and according to my aunt and uncle, there is no such thing as magic.
I don't know how I'm to get this letter to you. I don't have an owl – don't they normally just come out at night?
If this is not a joke, I'm sure I'll need some help convincing my aunt and uncle that I can go to Hogwarts. Will you help me?
I hope you get this letter and that I see you soon.
Respectfully,
Harry
Cupboard under the Stairs
Little Whining, Surrey
He finished the letter and looked around to see if there were any owls to be seen. To his surprise, sitting in one of the trees in the backyard was a small brown owl looking at him with wide yellow eyes. 'Will you take this letter to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall?' he thought to himself. Surprisingly, the owl flew off its branch and grabbed the note out of Harry's hand in its mouth and flew away.
'Probably thought I had a piece of meat in my hand. Well, we'll see if this is a joke or not.' Harry spent the next hour or so pulling weeds from the garden, his Hogwarts letter stored safely in the over-sized shirt of his cousin Dudley.
End of chapter 1