"

Disclaimer:

I do not own the characters of Harry Potter, these belong to that wonderful author JK Rowling and the various publishing companies used to publish her works. I am however borrowing them, no not to make money but for fun and fun only.

Summary:

When Harry Potter is found alive and well after defeating Voldemort and missing for ten years he finds he has a battle far greater than Voldemort. His own past and a godfather who very much wishes to include him in his family, the question is, will Harry allow him?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Prologue:

Privet Drive, 1984:

The young boy sat calmly in the space that was allotted him as his room trying hard not to hate the tall hateful woman he was required to call aunt Petunia. She hated him and no matter what he did she would never love him and would always hurt him. He was clever, far more clever than a four year ought to be, but he refused to show her or the spineless man who was her husband uncle Vernon. He could stop her from treating him badly, and when he said something about her treatment of him she did stop, yet it was not enough. Petunia would just treat him badly when Vernon was not around.

Now the boy was in his space, he did not call it a room, these people would never give him that though they had four bedrooms. No he slept in a cupboard under the stairs and was not allowed upstairs, in fact there was little he was allowed and if not for Vernon insisting that he got dinner he was sure Petunia would starve him. Vernon did not believe in taking food as punishment, he thought it criminal but Petunia did not care. At least tonight the boy was not hit or beat by Petunia though she said some hateful things to him as always about his parents. She was so wrong about them, he knew she lied and he hated her for it, they had been good people and had been murdered he was sure of it and he had survived.

The boy dared not turn on the light and really he did not need it, the little light that came into the room gave him enough light to see around the small space. There was room against the wall for his camp bed, then two feet to the door. He kept his few things on a shelf but he kept his secrets under a loose floorboard, even though no-one came into the cupboard he was not taking chances. He had secrets and he was not going to give those out, he could read and write and he even knew how to cook though he acted too stupid to do so. That was the reason his aunt had screamed at him today, he had burned the bacon yet again and he looked up at her with puzzled green eyes, knowing he infuriated her but not caring.

"You are useless boy, you cannot even do a simple task!" Petunia screamed at him, "do you understand what I am telling you? How many times to I have to show you this?"

"I clean good!" The boy said grinning at her in a stupid sort of way, "I clean for you?"

"No, get out, I do not want to see you the rest of the day!"

The boy had got out and stayed away from her, he was not allowed outside and if he was not seen he could get away with watching the telly. Dudley hardly bothered him, after all why would he bother something as stupid as his cousin? It was not fun trying to explain insults to someone who did not understand them. The boy got to see several cartoons before he was drug to the kitchen to help make dinner, which was a disaster, the boy just could not learn though Vernon could see he was trying. Something was wrong with the boy's head he thought and the boy used that to his advantage. By acting far stupider than he was he was mostly left alone until his aunt forgot how hard it was to teach him anything and tried again, then the boy had fun (mentally) driving her spare. It was his revenge for her lying about his parents.

"Pet the boy can't do it." Vernon said, "he is just well, there is something not right up there in his head."

"He has to learn to earn his keep!" Petunia said.

"He is retarded." Dudley said proud of his new word, "can I have a new Star Wars toy?"

"Of course my darling Dudley." Petunia said, then to the boy "go to your room you hopeless boy."

The boy did not need telling twice and he went to his cupboard, knowing he would be left alone for the night he smiled knowing that despite the cold outside and here in his cupboard soon he would be warm. For he had a secret, he knew magic was real as one day he was put outside and he found a cat hiding in the bushes, it was a little orange thing and he wished he could be a cat too. To his delight he had turned to a cat and now, weeks later he had formed a plan to get away from this dreary house and find a place where he would be loved and cared for and not hit or kicked or hurt. That very night a black cat with green eyes snuck out of the Dursleys' home and ran as fast as his little feet would take him. He found a truck and hid on it curling up falling asleep to the purr of the engine.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Birmingham England 1986:

Young Harry Potter was thriving, never had he been so happy or wanted as he was now. He had been found when he was four, scared and starving and taken to an orphanage. He would have stayed there but for the fact that when he was five it was found he could read as he was found reading to one of the babies who could not sleep instead of being in bed. The caretaker who found him and realized he was a smart child and had him tested and found he was quite a bright child. That was why he was moved from the orphanage to the foster home he was at now, it was part school, all home and for the first time he was really cared for. Mrs. Johnson was a sweet kind woman who took good care of the ten or so charges who lived in this large town home turned foster home.

Harry was a small boy even for his age, but this was not due to the fact he was not fed well, he always had a healthy appetite and ate well and was always allowed to have what he wanted. Instead of a cupboard under the stairs he had a room with a nice soft bed and warm blankets. Instead of boredom he was allowed to read and study to his heart's content. His life was so different than what it had been, at first he feared he would be found, and he wished with all his heart he would never be found, he liked it here. He was never hurt or beaten and he thrived here as he was nurtured in body, mind and soul and allowed to be a child as much as possible. It was clear he was not normal but here he was taught it was okay to be different and it was okay to want to learn and grow, however he did keep a secret even from these kind people, he was not sure how they would take magic and how he could turn to a cat every now and then.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Mrs. Johnson's Foster Home 1991:

Young Harry Potter was looking forward to going to the advanced high school nearby. He had his uniform and books already and looked forward being with students very much like him. He had grown and was a slender average height boy for his age and he had grown in his skills and was able to turn to a cat at will. He had told no-one of his gift, he was sure no-one would understand it. Still he was very happy and did not know of another world, a world that normally would have been waiting for him to come back. There would be no owl coming to him, no letter inviting him to another school, one of magic and he could not miss that which he did not know about right? So Harry Potter instead of going to Hogwarts went instead to the Academy of the Gifted in Birmingham and thrived there for the next few years unaware of the magical world so close yet so far away.