Harry learned at kindergarten much more than Dudley, but without grades, Vernon didn't mind their relative achievements. He didn't even notice.
This was bound to change once the children reached their first year in school. Vernon became incited as soon as the children got their first formal grading. It was for neat and intelligible writing, but that didn't matter to Vernon. "There's no way the Freak could get better grades than Dudley! He must be cheating in some freakish way and I'm going to punish him for that!"
Vernon, despite his girth, was still quite quick, especially in comparison to a six-year-old child. He grabbed Harry before the child had any chance to distance himself and lifted his arm to give the boy some beating, a well-deserved one – in his mind.
Discover moreRead E-BooksWatch Sci-Fi FilmsRead Sci-Fi BooksRelieve PainDiscover Sci-FiHarry had no intention of letting himself get a beating. His magic lashed at the big bully and made both his arms and his hands ache as if they were pierced with thick needles. Vernon proved quite resilient to pain, for a short while. He manage to hit Harry twice before his arms became too painful to continue. "Go to your room and stay there! No dinner for you today!" he ordered.
Harry still suffered some pain from the beating and he was sure he would have bruises for a few more days. Well, he'd make sure that Vernon would suffer pain for a few days longer. Besides, no Dursley would eat dinner until he was allowed to.
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Harry lay on his bed, willing his magic to remove the pain. He'd suffered worse, but not recently. That didn't mean that he liked the pain.
Vernon was also in bed. His arms, his hands and even his legs ached as if a car passed over them, maybe even several times. His mind tried to tell him that leashing at the boy was dangerous and would cause pain, but he just couldn't let that little freak surpass his Dudley in any way.
Discover moreFan fiction booksFan fiction appWriting forum accessEbook subscription serviceAuthor tools kitHad he thought of it more seriously, he would have found that he didn't really care for Dudley either. He only wanted to make Dudley his own copy, to be able to say, "He's almost an exact copy of me, when younger."
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Not that he really cared about the school grades. Vernon had done quite well, as he saw it, with less-than-average grades, and he thought that it wasn't normal to study more than strictly necessary to pass. He still couldn't allow the freak to do better than his own child.
Petunia was finishing making dinner, but she was sure that nobody would be able to eat it unless Harry was allowed to eat it too. The way she saw it, Vernon was playing with fire and wasn't learning even when burned repeatedly. At such times, she found it very difficult to remember why she ever agreed to marry Vernon.
Only Dudley didn't bother thinking about the freak. He didn't really mind what grades he got and couldn't understand why his father got himself so furious about them. He still liked seeing the freak punished, especially when he didn't have to suffer for it. But once it was over, he paid it no thought again, like most other experiences he'd had.
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As ordered, Harry stayed in his room when Dudley and Vernon descended for dinner. He could hear that Vernon was barely able to descend the stairs due to the pains in his legs. Dudley didn't even notice, as expected.
Petunia served her men and fiddled a bit with her portion, not yet sitting at the table, while Dudley and Vernon filled their mouths with food. A moment later, both spat everything out and reached for a glass of water. It only helped slightly.
"Mum, it hurts," Dudley whined.
"What did you put in there?" Vernon asked in a threatening tone.
Petunia shrugged. "The same as last time I made this dish. Why? What do you find wrong?"
"It's like you put a ton of hot pepper in there!"
"Don't you want to let the boy test it? Usually, when he tests, everything is fine," Petunia suggested.
"Yes! Call him at once! He should suffer this too."
Petunia turned around, barely withholding a smirk. "Boy! Come here to test the food!" she called.
Harry took his time to come down, faking he hurt much more than the beating caused. Petunia motioned him to the chair between her and Dudley and put a nice portion in front of him.
Harry took a forkful and grimaced as he put it in his mouth. It was actually delicious. He ate it slowly, savouring the taste, but grimacing as if it was too hot.
He took a sip of water before taking another forkful. By the time he finished most of the dish, he gave his opinion. "I think it's very good, but the seasoning needed some time to blend in. At first, it was very spicy and hot but then it became really tasty. I think that, like with other dishes, one has to wait a bit before starting to eat it."
Petunia, who also began eating shortly after Harry, agreed. "It tastes even better than last week, but you probably stuffed too much and too soon in your mouth to let the spices blend into it. Try it now! I'm sure you'll love it."
Vernon looked quite sceptical, but the first forkful convinced him. Dudley waited for his father to chew first, before he dared try it too. By then, Harry's presence was reaccepted, at least for that day.
–..–
Harry didn't try to hide his bruises when he went to school the next day. His teacher noticed, as expected, and asked him about them. Harry hid nothing. He knew that the way his uncle acted towards him was illegal. He even heard Vernon talking about those criminal parents who beat their children and got jailed. Somehow, he didn't think Vernon would be jailed for acting this way towards him.
About an hour later, Harry was called out of class to talk to a policewoman who seemed quite nice. As far as Harry could know, nothing else happened. The teacher seemed to forget about the incident by the next morning and Vernon never complained of the police asking him anything, so that was probably forgotten too. Luckily, within two days, Harry's bruises were also healed.
Harry still wondered why people seemed to forget when something happened to him. Was somebody intervening? If so, could he instruct his magic to prevent that? He had no clear answers, but he would make sure to think some more about that.
–..–
For some time, Vernon was upset each time Harry got better grades than Dudley, which meant each and every time they got graded. It didn't matter much, though. Vernon didn't dare punish Harry for that, finally learning his lesson, hopefully. He only made Dudley understand that there were other things which mattered much more than grades, although he didn't name any. Still, that was good enough for Dudley.
Vernon did try one other route – burdening Harry with more chores, hoping that the physical work would exhaust the freak and prevent him from gaining such high grades. Petunia didn't cooperate with this. Aside from being unfair, she feared that burdening Harry too much might make his magic retaliate. She only made sure that Harry seemed occupied whenever Vernon was at home.
–..–
Aside from learning and grades, the school had some more interesting stuff for Harry. He liked the sports lessons and was even contemplating joining a football team in a year or two, when he reached the minimum physical requirements. He also liked the company. Most children were quite agreeable and he made quite a few friends among them. He was even surprised to find that he had almost as many girls among his friends as he had boys, not that it mattered any. Dudley only befriended a few of the thickest boys.
And then, the most important find, once he mastered reading well enough, was the school's library and shortly after – the public library. He could immerse himself in some story and forget reality for a while. Even the non-fiction books interested him. Reading about science, art, or the life story of some famous people was just as fascinating. Luckily, the librarian wouldn't let him stay there for too long, or he might have lost quite a few meals.
Spending time in the library helped Harry become an even better pupil and receive better grades. Fortunately, these didn't bring him any punishment, since Vernon no longer paid any attention to his grades, nor to Dudley's.
–..–
Harry joined the school's junior football team a year later. He liked to play, run along the field and hit the ball. He seemed to do well in whichever position he tried. This didn't affect his grades, though. He kept his position as one of the top five students, not that it mattered much to him.
"Why don't you try to be the best student in our year?" one asked him.
Harry shrugged. "Why would I? The relatives with whom I stay don't care for my grades and won't push me into any advanced studies, even if I'm found eligible. I only get such high grades because I like knowing as much as possible about these subjects. You know I also read a lot about other matters that we don't even get grades for."
In a way, it was a lie. Harry had already found that his aunt wanted him to get good grades, but she didn't try to push him. He also knew, due to his aunt, that he would probably go to a different school after he reached eleven. She couldn't tell him much about that school, but he expected that knowing as much as possible in advance couldn't hurt.
"But the top students are sent to special summer camps and other places," his friend insisted.
Harry chuckled humourlessly. "The parents or the guardians still need to pay for that, and my relatives wouldn't pay even a penny for that. I'd rather learn some more interesting stuff than try harder for grades that will give me nothing."
His friend nodded in understanding with a sad expression.
–..–
Without Dudley's interference, Harry turned quite popular. He had some friends with whom he could play in the schoolyard, others with whom he could read at the library and some with whom he could do homework. He knew that Uncle Vernon used to talk badly of him, but his friends' parents always accepted him gladly and treated him as a welcome guest. Harry thought it was also thanks to Aunt Petunia insisting on giving him decent clothes. He was sure these people would have been much less welcoming was he still wearing the rags he'd once worn.
–..–
While school life turned out alright after the first few incidents, some other things stayed as before. Vernon wouldn't agree to take Harry anywhere, certainly not where it would cost him money. He barely agreed that Harry needed to get his medical checks and inoculations, just like Dudley. "If he stays vulnerable to some diseases, Dudley may also catch them, or even you or I. We need to keep him healthy for as long as he stays with us, mainly for our benefit," Petunia told him. Vernon grudgingly agreed.