One shots/Ideas

July 31st 1988, a small boy sat in a cupboard under the stairs, he was drawing a picture of a birthday cake with candles. The child was using a broken crayon to illustrate. When the large and small clock arms reached twelve the boy smiled and pretended to blow out the drawn candles. "Happy Birthday Harry," he whispered to himself. He'd just turned 8, although if anyone looked at him they wouldn't believe that a boy of his stature was older than 4. He was short, skinny and sickly looking apart from the bed of messy chestnut hair that covered his head. The child went to sleep after celebrating his birthday and wished for a better tomorrow. 

That morning his aunt woke him with a banging on the cupboard door, "hurry up! Wake up you lazy freak!" She called out. The child lifted his head from the worn out pillow and reached out for his old, broken and incorrect-prescription glasses. Harry dragged himself out of his cupboard and headed to the bathroom first, so that he can do his business. Once done, the child headed into the kitchen to find his aunt had began breakfast. "Alright, take over!" She hissed and shoved a whisk into the small arms. Harry bit his lip and nodded. 

He used a small stool to reach the counter top and resumed his aunt's work. She'd begun an omelette mixture with a few vegetables and a lot of sausage. Harry finished mixing before he moved the stool to the stove and turned on the fire under a large pan. The child then poured some oil into the pan and waited for it to heat up a little. While that was happening, Harry started preparing coffee and poured orange juice for his cousin. Harry was lucky that no one other than his aunt was awake at the moment. The woman had made it a habit to wake Harry up early on his birthday and smother him with chores. Luckily, the extra half hour usually helped him prepare a better breakfast. 

The day went on as usual, with Harry being stuck doing chores while his cousin got to play with friends outside. Petunia was busy knitting while watching some reality TV show. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and uncle Vernon was home. The man used every opportunity to berate Harry for his existence and insulted the child's parents. He also criticised Harry's work and insulted his intelligence. By now the child was not only used to it, but a strong part of him actually believed these things that came from the whale-man's mouth. If anyone witnessed this, they'd be horrified but the Dursley's had formed the perfect image of their family and smeared Harry's along the way. So, neighbours also treated the poor child unfairly. 

By the end of the day, after the family had had their dinner, Harry was sent to his cupboard early. The child went, feeling relieved to be free from his family. That was until an hour or so later when the cupboard door opened, revealing an irate Vernon. "Come out boy!" He hissed. Harry obeyed but was confused as this had never happened before. The uncle lead the boy to the living room. "You know, I think I want to start a new birthday tradition for you. It's your birthday today isn't it?" The man asked with a sadistic and terrifying smirk. 

Harry gulped but knew better than to ignore the question. "Yes uncle," he replied. 

"I thought so and I shall gift you accordingly," the man said. "Take off your shirt and turn around. Hold on to the armrest and don't you dare move your hands back." The request was odd but Harry was trained to obey. So, the child took off his oversized top, that used to belong to Dudley. He then turned to face the chair in front of him and braced himself on the armrest. 

The child heard some rustling from behind as if someone was unbuckling a belt. Harry's eyes widened as he understood his uncle's motive. He'd been spanked harshly before, however, it was never with an object let alone a belt. The first strike was like a searing lash. It went across Harry's back and made the boy yelp out in pain and jump. "Stay still boy!" Growled Vernon. Harry's eyes watered immediately and he wished for this to be over. He braced himself again and just begged that his uncle would go fast. Another strike hit and Harry bit his lower lip hard enough to make it bleed. The third landed close to his butt and the sting was excruciating. 

Vernon wasn't careful nor merciful. The man continued his onslaught until eight strikes were marking the boy's back. The man smirked in satisfaction at the angry red marks, some of which were pouring blood. "There, that should remind you of your place. Now put that shirt back on and get back into the cupboard," he growled. Harry's legs wobbled as he dazedly took his shirt and pulled it on, hissing at the stinging pain which made Vernon smile deviously. The child went back into the cupboard and the door was shut in his face and locked once more. Harry collapsed on the worn out mattress and finally allowed himself to sob. Tears streamed down his face as cries escaped from his mouth. 

"Please, please someone make it stop. Someone please help me!" He cried. The child continued wailing and beginning for either someone to rescue him or for an early death. Something a child of his age should never wish for. Suddenly, a pain spread across his forehead causing Harry to fall on his back, with no concern for his injuries. The child hissed and squirmed as the pain from his scar overwhelmed him. Just as the child felt the pain, a strange green light was emulating from the scar, lighting up the room. If the Dursley's were awake they would've punished the boy harsher for the display.

As the pain continued, flashes of memories and images that were previously undiscovered, were all unravelling for the boy. Information was being force fed into the child's mind. The process continued for what felt like hours but was 20 minutes at most. When things finally settled down, Harry passed out completely.

The next morning the child woke up groggily, barely able to open his eyes. Harry groaned as he forced himself to sit up, the sensation from the whipping sent spikes of pain across his back making him groan. Suddenly Harry's eyes widened as his mind woke up completely and sharpened. The child began to slowly process the memories he'd received from the night before. All those memories that belonged to some man...wizard, by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle who's also known as Voldemort. The wizard was pure evil from what Harry could understand. The man had no concept of compassion, empathy or love. He...he was the reason Harry had no parents. 

As soon as that thought crossed the child's mind a knock on his cupboard startled him. Oh right, the Dursleys. The people Harry was sent to because his parents lost their lives trying to protect him. The young wizard felt anger deep in the pit of his stomach as he got up and followed his aunt once again to the kitchen, as he did every morning. The pain from the whipping he'd received the night prior made the anger worse. This woman was meant to be his aunt, the woman that would protect him and care for him. He was her sister's child. Harry was sure if the the roles were reversed, Lily would treat Dudley as her own if not care for him more to make up for the lack of mother. But Petunia wasn't Lily nor will she ever be. 

For the next few hours, Harry's mind was occupied processing all he'd learned. He no longer accepted his life with the Dursleys and knew he'd have to change things. He also decided that, although Tom was pure evil, the man's memories contained invaluable knowledge on the Wizarding world as well as magic and Harry was a smart child, he could use all that to his advantage. The young wizard used the opportunity of being at school for the week, to devise an appropriate plan for his promising future. 

First, Harry had to hone his magic because although Tom's knowledge gave him a lot of information on how to control the magic, the physical aspect had to be practiced. Harry was still a child and his magic unrefined. So, the child opted to begin testing his magic during school when alone in the library or during his stay in the cupboard. He had to be very careful in order to avoid any of his family discovering his progress. The practice mostly consisted of meditation and concentration on magic in order to summon it at will. 

It took two months for Harry to successfully call his magic at will. By then, Harry was able to levitate objects with ease, although they weren't too heavy. And he was able to control fluids as well as create small fires, like lighting a candle or match. Once all that was done, the child moved on to more difficult practices. He wished to be able to influence people as Tom was able to influence some of his orphanage peers. The young Voldemort wasn't able to exactly compel people but he was able to force the truth out of them and sometimes influence their behaviours or create fear in their hearts. Harry wished to use that on the Dursleys. 

The child would prefer to use a Notice-me-not on himself but that was far too advanced at the moment for him so, the compulsion aspect took precedent since Tom was able to use it even as an untrained wizard. Harry first tried using this on his school mates. He would ask them forcefully and confidently to play with him. It was very hard at the beginning. Not only were most children uninterested because of Dudley's influence but Harry wasn't particularly strong either. They usually ignored him and walked away. 

The compulsion took another five months to master. By then, Harry had also began to work on Occlumency since he saw how valuable and important of an art it was, in Tom's memories. The child also tried to train his magic harder by levitating heavier objects, manipulating elements and fixing objects. He'd successfully repaired two toy soldiers and soon he'd fix his glasses. Harry was smart enough to know that fixing such an important detail would capture the Dursleys' attention and he'd been lucky thus far that they were all too stupid to notice his change in behaviour.

Once compulsion was mastered Harry began working on influencing Dudley first since he was the weakest of the family. Harry took the opportunity during a 'Harry Hunt' one day. It was a Saturday and Dudley was keen on tormenting his cousin with the help of Piers and some other children. Harry was fast and able to outrun them. He snuck into an alley and hid behind a large garbage bin. The young wizard knew that Dudley was the only one on his tail which made this the perfect opportunity. 

Harry looked at a small piece of rope on the ground and willed it to move like a snake. The rope danced as commanded and Harry smirked. He grabbed the piece and waited for Dudley to round the corner. "Hey freak! Don't think you can hide for long!" Dudley's scratchy voice filled the alley. Harry moved out of his hiding spot and the bigger child spotted him. "Oh, finally decided to play?" The chubby boy approached slowly, trying to appear intimidating, Harry almost felt sorry for his cousin, he had no idea what Harry was capable of now. 

"I'm going to play Dudley, but I'm going to play by my rules," said Harry. As soon as Dudley was close enough, Harry threw the piece of rope at him and willed the rope to tie up the child's hands and legs together. Dudley fell to the ground with a thud, the boy gazed in shock at his smaller cousin, unsure of what happened exactly. Harry's countenance showed his glee, a rather sadistic in its kind. The wizard approached his cousin's helpless form and kneeled beside it so they'd be face to face. "My dear Dudley. I don't blame you for your parents' sins but unfortunately, you'll have to be collateral damage." 

Harry proceeded to compel his cousin to not only fear him but to also ignore him and be unable to tell his parents any of this. Dudley's face was filled with fear and his lips wobbled. The view made Harry rather satisfied and the wizard couldn't deny that if Vernon or Petunia made the same face, he'd be elated. 

It wasn't long before Harry got exactly what he wanted. He was clever to start influencing Petunia slowly. Day by day and bit by bit until she was unable to refuse any of his commands. She was a perfect doll for Harry, who was no longer responsible for any housework and got fed plenty. Vernon was a little trickier since he wasn't home often and influencing him took a lot longer. However, by Harry's 9th birthday, he finally had the perfect family. Alright, perhaps they weren't really family as much as puppets that served him. 

Moving forward, Harry 'convinced' his aunt to drive him to London and take him to Diagon Alley. The child was careful to conceal his identity since he knew from his aunt that he'd be famous for defeating Voldemort. It bothered him plenty that his mother was discredited for her heroism but he'd deal with the person responsible in time. Of course, that person would be the same one who deemed it appropriate to keep Harry's vault key to themselves. The child was not amused. 

At Gringotts he was able to prove his identity through a blood examination and by confirmation from his aunt. The wizard didn't really require buying any books since Voldemort's memories practically gave him more than a life time worth of knowledge, however, Harry was more interested in things that Tom hadn't explored. After all, the Dark Lord although intelligent, creative and talented, had chosen to concentrate his efforts on learning the dark arts mostly. 

Harry was more interested in Potions and Herbology. Not for healing purposes but because poison had always fascinated him. Also, those two magical subjects were underestimated by many.  Harry wished to prove to the world that he could be just as dangerous with the help of a few herbs and a few potions. 

By the summer of Harry's eleventh birthday, things at No. 4 Private Drive had changed drastically. Harry's room had changed to the second floor, which was Dudley's second bedroom. The wizard had all new furniture and wardrobe as soon as he got access to his Gringotts account. He was doing better at school too and training his magic. His aunt was afraid of him as well as Dudley but his uncle was always in a daze thanks to the compulsion. Vernon was himself at work but as soon as he set foot in Harry's vicinity he'd become a docile doll.

From what Harry read, he’d be receiving his Hogwarts letter soon. The boy had mostly planned out his stay at the school. If he were truly honest, Tom Riddle was a complete idiot. The man had tried to rule through pain, fear and while excluding a prominent faction of wizards. His rule wouldn’t have lasted a decade. All the history book and even movies, proved that oppressors never lasted. Hitler was a great example as well as many other dictator type kings in Europe and Asia. Tom Riddle was repeating these men’s mistakes. 

However, if you ruled through inclusion, friendship and peace, people won’t try and overrule you as much. Oh, there’d definitely be a few individuals who’d wish for freedom or something under that guise but they’d be few. That was how Harry planned to rule. He’d already won people’s sympathy and gratitude through his mother’s sacrifice but he’ll soon be able to garner more appreciation. 

Dumbledore was a fantastic example of this. The man was too old to be in any position of power yet people’s admiration kept him there. The man had also excluded an entire faction which Harry won’t repeat. Therefore, Harry first planned to gain the Slytherins to his side. Although Slytherins admired cunning and ambition, they were also misunderstood and rather thrown to the side by anyone other than their group. If ‘the boy who lived’ befriended them, then they would have a much better chance at expanding their circles. 

In order to do that, Harry knew he had to win over some of Tom’s most loyal. Lucius Malfoy and Rookwood were the best for this scenario. Although, there was one other person that captured Harry’s attention in Tom’s memories. He’d also be a valuable asset to gain Slytherin. Severus Snape. Harry wasn’t sure what it was but seeing the man kneeling before Tom and begging him to spare Lily’s life, eyes trying to hide his desperation. It was…delicious. There was no other word to describe it. 

Harry had never felt such a greedy desire before this. All the boy wanted was to have Severus Snape, kneeling at his feet. Eyes wide and gazing at him with that desperation, paying attention to Harry and Harry alone. The boy’s stomach fluttered at the thought of having a meeting in the future, with him at the head of the table, surrounded by his most trusted and Severus kneeling by his chair eyes droopy, perhaps a nice, thick collar caging his pearly white neck. 

Yes, Harry was certainly no longer the innocent child that Dumbledore hoped he’d be. From the headmaster’s letter to his aunt, the man wanted him to be oblivious to the Wizarding world, ‘I don’t wish him to be burdened,’ were the words used. Such lies. Harry would show him, he’d show them all that it wasn’t right to mess with him. He’d be the most powerful Wizarding conqueror in history. Tom and Grindelwald would be kneeling before him. 

Right after Dudley’s insufferable birthday, Harry finally received his long awaited letter. He smirked triumphantly as his cousin handed it to him. Vernon was eating breakfast Dazedly, while Petunia and Dudley shook at the sight of the letter. “H-Harry, who’s sending you a letter?” The other child asked. Petunia inhaled sharply as she noticed the seal, she backed away slowly.

“Oh D, it’s my new school. You’re going to Smeltings, I am going to Hogwarts but of course you cannot tell that to people. You may tell them I went overseas,” Harry replied absentmindedly as he opened the letter. The paper had fewer items than expected. Either Dumbledore was an evil bastard who’s trying to  control Harry, or Hogwarts’ education had declined massively. Probably due to the DADA getting curse by Tom. Harry knew he’d have to fix that but he wanted to meet a worthwhile Professor for it.   He couldn’t wait to start his school year and meet the new generation that were to be his soldiers of the future.