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(Enchanted Melodies) Chapter 2: The Incident
🕑 Added 2023-02-13 15:32:51 +0000 UTCChapter 2: The Incident
13th March 1990, Privet Drive, Surrey
Harry entered the math classroom with gusto and sat on his usual table. They were doing fractions now, and ten minutes in, he was bored out of his mind. It was so easy, so simple, so logical. It was something that Harry had been using instinctively in his head. Even now that he was still in class, he didn’t even need to think before answering Mrs. Robinson’s questions. He even found a small mistake, probably a typo, in one of his schoolbooks when he skimmed it.
That should be impossible. There’s a difference being a natural about something and actually knowing the mathematical rules of something he never studied before. It was another sign of his weirdness, and it freaked the young boy out.
The raven-haired boy looked out of the window, contemplating his situation. He didn’t need this at all, another sign that Harry Potter wasn’t normal. It was starting to happen more often, using words that he had never heard, knowing things that he hadn’t learnt. It was like something was coming, and it was closing during every second.
Well, Harry had a good lid on his emotions. He looked the calm person on the outside, even if he was inwardly very nervous. It was a skill that Harry developed instinctively. Living in a home that utterly dismissed your existence would do that to a person, but even then, it was too intensive, to normal, for him to be so detached from his emotions like this. His aunt even called him a sociopath behind his back. He read about it in the library, and he felt that it was a wrong diagnosis. Harry felt his emotions, understood them, he simply didn’t know how to express them properly. And it’s not like living with loathsome people like the Dursleys would ever make him a mentally healthy person anyway.
It's not like Harry ever pretended to not be messed up. Oh, he was, but compared to the whiny, entitled, arrogant, violent, spoilt boy that Dudley was growing up to be, he was a far more adjusted person. Honestly, it baffled the young man on how Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn’t notice how much they were mistreating their child by giving him exactly whatever he wanted. Honestly, Harry had never seen them ever refuse him anything, and that was just wrong. It wouldn’t be too surprising for the obese boy to end up caught committing a crime, if he ever survives to that age considering the probable heart condition he would most likely develop.
It's not like Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were any better. Vernon Dursley was a bootlicker that acts like he’s in line to the Throne of England. His wife had her head in the cloud and ignores everything that she doesn’t like – which happens to mostly be her nephew – and pretends to be some sort of noble lady from the Middle Ages.
Alright, Harry had his issues with the both of them, but he still appreciates what they have done for him. He had no illusions that the Dursleys’ financial situation was very fragile before Uncle Vernon’s promotion. Harry’s unexpected addition to the household, and the expenses that come with him, made Vernon work like a bull to stay afloat. Of course, he ended up being rewarded years later for his dedication with a big promotion, but he could have easily just sent him to the orphanage, no matter what rumors might appear in the neighborhood, and Harry appreciated this. It was why he tried his best not to make things more difficult for his relatives.
Harry’s contemplation was broken by Mrs. Robinson asking him a question, “Mr. Potter, are you paying attention?”
“Of course, Mrs. Robinson,” the boy answered back, lying through his teeth.
“Then can you tell me what’s the answer of this problem, young man.”
Harry immediately looked at the board and saw the basic problem, “The fraction can be simplified to two seventh.”
It was ridiculously easy, as was the most of mathematics that he had ever seen. It always came to him easier than anything else. It was a shame that the school library didn’t have any schoolbooks past his year. It was a primary school, after all. And the public library was too far away to go regularly. So far, Harry spent most of the time bored out of his mind in class. So, it was easier to lose himself in his own thoughts, than pay attention to his painfully slow lessons.
Speaking of the teacher, she pursed her lips is dissatisfaction and continued her lecture, ignoring Harry’s answer completely. Mrs. Robinson was a friend of Aunt Petunia and thus has learnt to dislike Harry on principle. The young boy didn’t know what his aunt told her, but she’s always trying to get him in trouble.
Harry returned back to his thoughts, ignoring the rest of the lesson, until the bell ran, signaling that it was lunch time.
Since the green-eyed boy didn’t have time to pack himself any lunch and didn’t want to pay from his hard-earned money to eat food as horrible as the one in the cafeteria, he chose not to eat at all. He wasn’t hungry anyway, distracted by what could be happening to him.
The so-called ‘freakishness’ alone was a problem. It was random, it was odd, and Harry could easily hurt anyone with it. Harry didn’t really mind the idea of hurting someone who deserved it, but if anyone knew about it, they could end up destroying whatever potential future he might have. It would rob him of his greatest payback on the Dursleys, living well.
For all their dismissal of him, grumbling over his uselessness, Harry knew that he was worth far more than they could imagine. He would make something of himself, if only to spite them. He had the potential to build something great, something that would dwarf their meaningless lives, and he would ignore them as they did him. After all, the best revenge for someone who wronged you is to simply live well. The Dursleys wanted to bring him down, but they failed. What better way is it to have revenge than to watch them from afar, having made himself a great life, while they wallow in their petty lives – which will probably be short considering Vernon’s health – like the idiotic garden beauty competition the housewives had.
Honestly, out of the loathsome relatives Harry has, he dislikes his aunt the most. Petunia Dursley had never even tried to like him, let alone love him. The worst that ever happened was how useless she truly was to the world. She did absolutely nothing with her time outside cooking, gossiping with the neighbors and taking care of Dudley, who is eleven years old, and could learn to have some independence at the very least. Now, considering that Vernon is unlikely to live past fifty, it would be very likely for Petunia to find herself widowed with no career prospects or actual work experience. The Dursleys tended to blow their money on luxurious items they did not need, like the honestly uselessly expensive gifts they give Dudley, or the constant renovation to their house. That’s not even mentioning buying a new car almost every year.
Yeah, things didn’t look good for them if their income dropped suddenly. It was somewhat worrying for Harry to imagine what would happen to him if Vernon got fired or something. He wouldn’t dismiss the idea of Dudley just eating him out of hunger.
Instead of staying inside, Harry chose to take a walk outside to clear his head. This was his last year of primary school and Harry will have to go elsewhere to continue his education. He didn’t even know where he would be going. Vernon kept bragging about Dudley being accepted in Smeltings, his old private school. It was so pretentious, it stopped being funny. Who the hell gives teenagers walking canes anyway? As for Harry, for some reason, the Dursleys didn’t apply him for any school. However, the young boy believes that he would probably end up going to a generic public school, which isn’t all that surprising.
Although when Harry had asked his aunt about it, she looked oddly stricken and told him that they had already arranged something for him, which didn’t really reassure the young boy too much.
Harry’s musing was again interrupted by the sickeningly familiar voice of his cousin, “Well, if it isn’t the freak?”
The green-eyed boy raised an eyebrow, “What a clever name, Dudley, did you come up with it by yourself?”
As expected, the sarcasm went over the boy’s head. Dear lord, Dudley was a different kind of stupid. Honestly, Harry wouldn’t be surprised if Vernon and Petunia were somehow related to cause this much stupidity to be contained in a single body.
The boy in question was standing next to his little gang, Malcolm, Piers, Dennis and Gordon. These five menaces barely did anything with their time other than harassing and terrorizing the children they happen to encounter. They usually did their best trying to antagonize Harry, but the young boy was always close to a teacher, who stopped them from doing anything.
Speaking of the teacher, Harry looked towards the school entrance, and saw them to be suspiciously missing. Dudley followed his gaze and laughed, “There aren’t any teachers to bail you out, freak.”
Damn, this wouldn’t have happened if Harry wasn’t distracted by his weirdness. He should have noticed that there were no teachers and go back to the cafeteria. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded. Damn, give him an intellectual debate and he would win with his eyes closed, but physical activity just wasn’t his thing. Against five bigger boys, Harry didn’t really have a chance at coming out of it unscathed.
Harry didn’t know how to fight with fists, but he did know how to fight with words. He observed his five instigators. He needed to buy some time either for a teacher to find him, or to plan his escape.
He gave his confused attackers a smirk, “I have to say, Malcom, I’m surprised that you’re still going to school here. I heard you were moving out because your parents are getting a divorce. Something about your father sleeping with Dennis’ mother.”
The boy blinked at him, “What are you talking about?”
“Well, it’s just a rumor I heard. The word is he disliked you so much that he left his wife because of it. Maybe he just likes Dennis better.”
Harry wasn’t exactly lying. He had heard his aunt gossip about the scandal. However, they had no idea who the woman in question was. He just wanted to fan the flames for a bit. He definitely ever expected that his Aunt Petunia’s nonsensical gossip would be useful for anything.
Harry was proven right when Malcom ran at his friend and started hitting him. A fight had started out between the two of them, and Gordon went to stop them. The green-eyed boy tried to run away, only to be restrained by his furious cousin and Piers.
It seems that even with three of them being distracted, his escape plan wasn’t successful. Dudley grinned at his cousin, “I’m not going to let you run, freak.”
At least he only needed to deal with two, with the rest being distracted in their little spat. Harry observed his opponents and saw that Piers was slightly limping on his right leg, meaning that his left one was injured somehow. Harry looked around and saw nothing more than sand. Oh, Harry had no idea how to fight, but he had learned the most painful places to hit someone from a book.
Dudley lunged towards Harry who ducked and grabbed a fistful of sad. Harry then threw his sand in his cousin’s eyes and had enough to even hurt Piers. Unfortunately, Piers was still holding him tight, even if he had been blinded by the sand. But Harry kicked his injured leg and the boy let him go while screaming. He stepped out into the blind fist of Dudley who hit him in the stomach. Harry retaliated by a much weaker strike of his own who didn’t seem to do any damage. After another punch, Harry fell down. He couldn’t breathe, everything was going black. Until finally, the familiar feeling of his ‘freakishness’ came back, and Dudley was propelled away from him. Although the boy still managed to hit Harry in the head before being banished away.
Harry got up after Dudley was away, only to feel like his head was exploding. Had Dudley really hit him that hard? These were the last thoughts he had before he fell unconscious.
