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Title: Life Lessons
Author: Evandar
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Genre: Gen/Angst
Warnings: Heavily implied child abuse, conspiracy theory
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am making no profit from this story.
Summary: Harry learned five things living with the Dursleys. He learned just one with wizards.
Author's Notes: Written for my GenPrompt Bingo table for the prompt 'Five Things'.
The first thing Harry learned about living with his aunt and uncle was that he was a freak. Freaks did the chores and slept in the cupboard and didn’t get pudding, even though Dudley – who was not a freak – sometimes ate so much that he was sick.
The second thing Harry learned was that he wasn’t allowed to ask questions. The things he knew about himself – his glasses prescription; the way his parents died – he collected like scraps from conversations held above his head. A question would get him a smack on the back of his head and another chore on his list but the Dursleys couldn’t stop him from hearing them, nor did they care as long as he kept his mouth shut.
The third thing he learned was that he was defenceless. The Dursleys would never stick up for him – not ever, not even if he was good. Dudley, who they adored, they would defend until the end of the earth when teachers came to them with complaints about bad behaviour and low grades. Their Duddikins was special; Harry was a freak. Freaks got their cupboard and their chores, they didn’t need anything else. Even the teachers seemed to agree with the Dursleys after a while. They stopped letting Harry stay in the classroom during break times and stopped asking him in quiet moments if he was alright – that he could come to them if he needed anything.
All of which led to the fourth point. That grown-ups were liars and that Harry was expendable. They didn’t like looking at him, the few times the bruises showed – their eyes slid right over him as if he wasn’t there – so he stayed out of the way so they didn’t have to pretend to care if he caught their attention. He learned minor things: how to lie, how to steal, how to make sure he never got better grades than Dudley – which was hard, because Dudley was stupid and Harry wasn’t - and sometimes, when he sat in his cupboard and snacked on food nicked from the school bins, he thought that this must be what growing up was like.
The fifth thing he learned at the Dursleys was that it wasn’t their fault. Okay, so maybe it was a little, but they certainly hadn’t asked for him to be dumped on their doorstep. Confundus Charms, Obliviate, Notice-Me-Not – the more magic he learned, the more he recognised the signs of it in his childhood and the more he let his anger fester. He learned more minor things: that House Elves were wonderful, that teachers liked it if he laughed and pretended he was a happy idiot, and that the most Slytherin thing he could have done was become a Gryffindor. He was still expendable, but he was used to that. Besides, by the look of what happened to Quirrell and the Flamels, everyone else was too.
The first thing he learned about living with wizards was not to trust them.
Author: Evandar
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Genre: Gen/Angst
Warnings: Heavily implied child abuse, conspiracy theory
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am making no profit from this story.
Summary: Harry learned five things living with the Dursleys. He learned just one with wizards.
Author's Notes: Written for my GenPrompt Bingo table for the prompt 'Five Things'.
The first thing Harry learned about living with his aunt and uncle was that he was a freak. Freaks did the chores and slept in the cupboard and didn’t get pudding, even though Dudley – who was not a freak – sometimes ate so much that he was sick.
The second thing Harry learned was that he wasn’t allowed to ask questions. The things he knew about himself – his glasses prescription; the way his parents died – he collected like scraps from conversations held above his head. A question would get him a smack on the back of his head and another chore on his list but the Dursleys couldn’t stop him from hearing them, nor did they care as long as he kept his mouth shut.
The third thing he learned was that he was defenceless. The Dursleys would never stick up for him – not ever, not even if he was good. Dudley, who they adored, they would defend until the end of the earth when teachers came to them with complaints about bad behaviour and low grades. Their Duddikins was special; Harry was a freak. Freaks got their cupboard and their chores, they didn’t need anything else. Even the teachers seemed to agree with the Dursleys after a while. They stopped letting Harry stay in the classroom during break times and stopped asking him in quiet moments if he was alright – that he could come to them if he needed anything.
All of which led to the fourth point. That grown-ups were liars and that Harry was expendable. They didn’t like looking at him, the few times the bruises showed – their eyes slid right over him as if he wasn’t there – so he stayed out of the way so they didn’t have to pretend to care if he caught their attention. He learned minor things: how to lie, how to steal, how to make sure he never got better grades than Dudley – which was hard, because Dudley was stupid and Harry wasn’t - and sometimes, when he sat in his cupboard and snacked on food nicked from the school bins, he thought that this must be what growing up was like.
The fifth thing he learned at the Dursleys was that it wasn’t their fault. Okay, so maybe it was a little, but they certainly hadn’t asked for him to be dumped on their doorstep. Confundus Charms, Obliviate, Notice-Me-Not – the more magic he learned, the more he recognised the signs of it in his childhood and the more he let his anger fester. He learned more minor things: that House Elves were wonderful, that teachers liked it if he laughed and pretended he was a happy idiot, and that the most Slytherin thing he could have done was become a Gryffindor. He was still expendable, but he was used to that. Besides, by the look of what happened to Quirrell and the Flamels, everyone else was too.
The first thing he learned about living with wizards was not to trust them.
