Prologue
Harry was not normal. Perhaps that’s why the Dursleys hated him so much. He still has nightmares about them, despite the fact he hadn’t seen them in years and was hundreds of miles away.
He was eight when he left. Vernon was particularly angry that Harry had snuck out of his cupboard to get a slice of bread after being starved for almost a week. The hits caused his bones to break and his skin to bruise. He remembers praying for it to stop, begging for him to be free. The next thing he knew his uncle was slammed against the wall, unable to move. It was as if a huge amount of pressure was forcing him into the wall, cracks spread across the paint, and the wall was breaking from the force. Harry ran. He took his chance and ran far away. He remembered the address of his mother’s old house from the bank statement his aunt got in the mail. He managed to sneak on trains and buses until he reached the condemned house in Seaforde, Northern Ireland.
He made sure no one knew he existed, in case a good samaritan decided to call social services. It wasn’t a great life, but it was sure as hell better than being a slave and punching bag to the Dursleys. Life on his own caused him to notice things. For instance, how his white hair which his aunt constantly tried to dye black was quite beautiful. How the birthmarks on his back made shapes that he couldn’t understand. How the mark on his forehead looked like a lightning bolt. How he had his mother's green eyes. Most importantly, his powers were very cool.
He could make objects float to him if he concentrated and make himself unnoticeable to others (as if he was a blur in the corner of their eyes). He could sometimes see colours around some people, like an alive aura. He had one too but he didn’t know what it meant. His favourite power was his ability to talk to snakes. That’s how he found Seraphina.
He was nine and walking in the woods mid-winter when he felt something slither up his leg. Cold. So cold. A voice came from a large green snake that moved up his body and into his jumper. He remembers running back home and hugging the snake in front of the fire until it was better. She told how she was a pet to some spoiled brat who forgot to feed her and that she escaped from her cage to look for food. Harry let her eat the rats that scurried around the house and she claimed him as her hatchling.
He was happy. Cold, starving and living in a condemned house but happy.