Chapter Text
When Harry was six years old (and a half), he discovered something fascinating. If he wished Very Hard, sometimes so hard he thought he would pass out, he could make Strange Things happen.
Sometimes these Strange Things were very simple. Uncle Vernon wanted the remote for the telly and insisted Harry had hidden the remote. Harry wished Very Hard that Uncle Vernon could find the remote and, as Uncle Vernon approached Harry, the remote was crushed under the large man’s foot. Now, Harry knew that Dudley had hidden the remote. And Harry knew for certain that the telly remote was not on the floor a few moments ago. Uncle Vernon seemed to know this too, or perhaps a version of this, and he was very upset.
Uncle Vernon refused to touch the remote and went out quickly to buy a new one.
Sometimes these Strange Things were awfully complicated. Dudley liked to chase Harry around, which wouldn’t normally be a problem as Harry was very fast. But Dudley had many friends and sometimes these friends were faster than Harry. If Harry wished Very Hard (so hard that his face would turn red and his cheeks would heat up), he could escape Cousin Dudley and his gang of friends. Sometimes Harry would end up on the roof. Sometimes Harry would be in a tree. It did not work all of the time (which was partially why it was in the awfully complicated category), but it worked often enough to upset Dudley and complain to Aunt Petunia.
Aunt Petunia did not like Strange Things.
Harry was sentenced to stay in his cupboard under the stairs for disappearing into a tree. When Uncle Vernon came home, he was very upset too. Uncle Vernon very much did not like Strange Things. Harry did not like to say the word often, as it was a word Dudley said a lot and made everyone upset, but it was true to say that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia hated Strange Things.
As he sat in the cupboard under the stairs, Harry realised that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon must hate him, too. Because Harry, himself, was a Strange Thing.
Now, Harry knew that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did not need to keep him in the house. He had heard many times from Uncle Vernon that the man was ‘this close’ to placing him in an orphanage. Aunt Petunia would then talk loudly (in front of his cupboard) about ‘how awful and cruel’ orphanages were and perhaps they would give Harry another chance.
Harry would listen to Aunt Petunia whine and Uncle Vernon grumble and he would tremble, hiding amongst the spiders in the cupboard under the stairs. Orphanages sounded very evil to Harry. Aunt Petunia almost seemed pleased about the idea sometimes, which frightened Harry greatly. Aunt Petunia was very rarely pleased about anything other than the mean things the neighbours said about one another.
This time, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had a roaring fight. Uncle Vernon said that disappearing into a tree was ‘the last straw’. Aunt Petunia whispered quietly, scared, about a ‘letter’ and was very upset that they could not do more. Harry did not know what that meant, but he did know that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were going to send him away. Harry did not know if that meant to an Orphanage, but the thought frightened him so deeply that he wished Very Hard that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would forget that Harry existed.
It did not seem to work, which did not surprise Harry as most Strange Things only came true in a physical sort of way. If Harry wished he could disappear, this oft meant he would zip up into a high space away from his pursuers instead of truly disappearing. If Harry wished Aunt Petunia had never cut his hair, his hair would grow back instead of going back in time. Harry had experimented with many Strange Things and often the easiest answer would come true, even if Harry did not know what the easiest answer was at the time.
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon did not forget that Harry existed, for they continued arguing late into the night about whether to send him away or not. Little Harry continued wishing Very Hard and he fell asleep on his cot in the cupboard under the stairs, where he dreamt of becoming invisible.
When Harry awoke, it was very early in the morning, so early that the house was awash in blue from the very beginning of a sunrise. Aunt Petunia had forgotten to unlock the bolt on his door and Harry needed to go to the bathroom. Harry was stuck – he did not know if it was worse to go to the bathroom in the cupboard or unlocking the door from the inside. Harry realised that Aunt Petunia most likely just forgot, so he wished Very Hard that the door would unbolt and it did. The more Harry practiced, the better he got.
Harry put on his glasses and very quietly tiptoed into the bathroom and was very surprised by what he saw. Instead of black hair and green eyes, Harry saw a Very Boring boy staring back at him in the mirror. Harry looked at the boy curiously, tilting his head this way and that. The boy mimicked his actions and Harry jumped as he realised that the boy was him.
Harry was not sure what precisely was so boring about the boy in the mirror. Perhaps it was the fuzzy appearance of the boy, or the way his shoulders hunched. Or perhaps it was the way his large glasses reflected light and hid his eyes. Harry took off his glasses to see if his eyes had changed and jumped again in surprise as Harry once more became Harry. He experimented with his glasses, taking them on and off again many times. Like an illusion, Harry turned Very Boring with his glasses on and back to Regular Harry with his glasses off.
Harry knew that Regular Harry was very strange looking indeed. His teachers often commented on the colour of his eyes or tutted about the wildness of his hair. Sometimes they complained that he was very skinny, but a conversation with a grumpy Uncle Vernon often had them forgetting.
But with his glasses on, he became Boring Harry.
Harry found this Strange Thing to be fascinating. However, it was time to start the morning chores and Harry did not have much time before Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon stirred. He put his glasses back on and quickly used the bathroom.
Once Harry had washed the windows, swept the kitchen floor, started a load of laundry, and dusted the picture frames in the lounge, Harry sat at the kitchen table and waited for Aunt Petunia.
Harry was a little worried how Aunt Petunia would react. Aunt Petunia had only been speaking with Uncle Vernon yesterday about how tired she was of Strange Things.
When Aunt Petunia bustled into the kitchen, she stopped and stared at Harry for a moment. Harry felt himself sinking into the chair, very scared of her reaction, but then Aunt Petunia’s eyes seemed to glaze over and she continued on her way to the fridge.
Aunt Petunia pulled out eggs, bacon, bread and butter.
“Scrambled eggs for breakfast,” Aunt Petunia stated rudely. Harry couldn’t remember a time when Aunt Petunia said good morning or good night to Harry, as she did to Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley.
Harry nodded meekly, keeping himself as small and unnoticeable as possible, and began breakfast preparations.
Once breakfast was ready and keeping warm in the oven, Harry washed and dried the dishes. Uncle Vernon came in first, the large man tottering into the room with loud footsteps. He passed right by Harry without a second glance and sat at the table. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon began to discuss the day’s events, Uncle Vernon grumbling about his schedule and Aunt Petunia complaining about the new neighbour four doors down.
Cousin Dudley walked in next, barely fitting through the doorframe for he was so wide, and passed by Harry as well. Harry placed a glass of juice in front of Dudley, a coffee before Uncle Vernon, and a cup of tea with milk and sugar before Aunt Petunia.
No one spoke to him, nor did anyone even look at him. Harry would consider this a victory normally, but he was surprised no one had yet mentioned nor gotten upset by the newest Strange Thing.
Once breakfast was served, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley’s plates towering with food, Harry retreated from the kitchen. He allowed himself a secret smile, lips twisting and eyes glittering as he awaited his teacher’s reaction as school.
As Harry had predicted (and hoped), no one noticed Boring Harry. In fact, it was becoming easier and easier to simply disappear. Cousin Dudley and his gang of mean friends forgot Harry existed and chased another little boy around the playground. This little boy, though, had a Very Serious mum and dad and they complained to the headmaster. Dudley had to stop chasing children around the playground, even though Uncle Vernon complained at home that the little boy and his parents were sissies.
The teacher still called Harry’s name in the morning roll, but she never asked him questions anymore or complained about his bad handwriting. During one hair-raising experiment, Harry ate an orange in the library right next to the sign declaring in block letters: NO FOOD OR DRINKS. The librarian looked at him for a moment with her mouth open, as if to speak, but then she turned to a gaggle of teenagers giggling in the children’s section and told them off for making such a racket.
Harry found that if he kept his mouth closed and did not call attention to himself, he was very easy to forget. During one fieldtrip, Harry was forgotten at the zoo. He waited for a while, but no one seemed to remember to come pick him up and he very narrowly missed being locked in the zoo as it was being closed. Harry was a little annoyed by that, as he had to walk home, but after a few hours of walking and wishing Very Hard that he was going in the right direction, he arrived at Number Four Privet Drive. It was very late, perhaps nearing midnight, but none of the lights at home were on and the car was in the driveway. Harry wished that the door would unlock and after hearing the click of the bolt moving, Harry slipped through the door.
He could count three loud snores and realised that no one remembered Boring Harry.
Instead of feeling upset or sad, Harry felt a large surge of happiness swell in his chest. If Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon couldn’t remember that Harry lived in their house, or even that he was missing, they wouldn’t be able to send him away.
As the years passed by, Harry became very good at being Not Seen. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon forgot to speak to him often and as long as he kept the chores up and plates of food on the tables during meals, Harry could snack as he wished and come and go as necessary.
Harry was proud to note that he was the most independent child in school. Most children needed to ask their mum and dad’s permission to do everything. Harry didn’t need to ask anyone anything – ever – at all. Harry didn’t get toys or books, but when Dudley broke something and tossed it away, Harry could pull it into his cupboard as a dog might sneak a stolen sock into their kennel and the household would forget that it ever existed.
Sometimes Harry wished that people would recognise or remember him. He was very careful to not wish this Very Hard, as Harry did not want to lose the gift of his invisibility. Harry dreamt sometimes that he had a happy family, as most children at school did, who would take him to the beach, or to the park, or give him gifts on his birthday and Easter and Christmas and sometimes even ‘just because’. Harry dreamt of having a mum, a dad, and maybe even a little sister or brother.
But Harry was resigned to the fact that his was not going to happen as it surely would have by now. Harry was ten years old (and nearing eleven rapidly) when Harry decided that he would make a family of his own. One day, he would find someone special (though nothing like Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon) and would have a large, loving family. Harry promised himself that his family would have lots of hugs and kisses and no one would ever need to wish to become invisible.