Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to JK Rowling. I'm not making any money from this. Please read and review. Flames will be used to heat my house.

From Every End There Is A Beginning

Aunt Petunia slapped Harry across the face.

"Have you been reading your Bible?" she snapped.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry said obediantly.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"Quote me something from Confessions," she said.

"O Lord, thou had made us for thee, and our heart is restless until it rests in thee," Harry said.

"Good boy. Now go and weed the garden," she said.

"Can I have something to eat first?" Harry asked, even thought he knew full well what the answer would be.

"No," his aunt snapped. "No go outside and do what I told you to do. Idle hands are the devil's playthings."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

Harry went outside and began to weed the garden. He didn't know why it was so important to read the Bible every day. He didn't dare say that to his aunt though. He would get a whipping if he did.

When Harry was through with weeding the garden he went inside and presented himself to his aunt. She gestured for him to sit down. She was putting supper on the table.

Harry took a seat at the table beside his uncle and didn't say a word. Aunt Petunia believed that talking before praying at the table was sacreligious and would anger God.

Aunt Petunia sat down and began to pray. Uncle Vernon and Harry joined in.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily and bread and forgive us our trespasses. Amen," they said in chorus.

Aunt Petunia dished food onto everyone's plates.

"How was your day at the office dear?" she asked Uncle Vernon.

"Quite busy dear. The Lord blessed me with lots of business today. Of course He never gives me more than I can handle," Uncle Vernon boasted.

Aunt Petunia smiled.

"He always provides," she said.

The sound of the mail slot creaking open broke the momentary silence.

Uncle Vernon stood up and went to collect the mail from the slot.

He scanned a postcard and then handed it to Aunt Petunia.

"It's from Marge," he said. "She's on Holiday in America. Very interesting."

Uncle Vernon set the bills aside for later. He thought it was a sin to read bills at the table. Harry briefly wondered why it wasn't a sin to read the other mail there, especially during a meal. He kept quiet and kept eating his supper.

Suddenly his uncle's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Boy! What is the meaning of this!"

Harry looked up from his food. A letter was thrown into his lap. Hepicked it up. It was made of a curiously heavy paper, almost a parchment. The writing was a fancy, emerald green script. Harry read it.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attached is a list of the school supplies you will need and directions to King's Cross Platform 9 and 3/4. You will get on the Hogwarts train from there.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva Mcgonigle

Harry looked up, puzzled, at his Uncle. Aunt Petunia snatched the letter from Harry's hand and scanned it.

"Witchcraft!" she shouted.

Her face was ashen. She looked as though she might faint at any moment.

"We swore when we took you in that we'd put a stop to all this!" Uncle Vernon roared.

He grabbed Harry by hair and pulled him from his chair.

"Ow, stop it!" Harry cried.

Uncle Vernon dragged Harry down the hallway and pushed him into his cupboard. Harry heard the deadbolt lock behind him. From the cupboard he could hear his aunt and uncle talking. They sounded frantic.

"I told you we shouldn't have taken him in," Uncle Vernon said. "He's an abomination from the Devil."

"Just like my sister," Aunt Petunia said.

"Well thank the Heavenly Father that she's dead. Now we just need to do something about the boy," Uncle Vernon said.

"But the Ten Commandments say 'Thou shalt not kill'," Aunt Petunia said.

"The Bible also does say thou shall not suffer a witch to live," Uncle Vernon reminded her.

"Either way, it's a sin to keep him here," Aunt Petunia said.

"Yes, you're right dear. We can't keep him here. This is a house of God," Uncle Vernon said.

"But what will we do?" Aunt Petunia mused.

"We'll take him to an orphanage," Uncle Vernon supplied. "If he wants to divert from the ways of God by being a sinner like your sister then it won't be our fault or under our roof."

"Yes," Aunt Petunia agreed.

Harry swallowed the lump that was in his throat. How could they talk about just dumping him off somewhere? Weren't Christians supposed to love everyone? Even their enemies? He spent a dark night in the cupboard, wondering how he was going to survive. His aunt and uncle's house was all he'd ever known. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Harry finally drifted off to sleep.

He was awakened mid-morning by a sharp punch to his side.

"Up! Get up devil spawn!" Aunt Petunia screeched.

Harry rose sleepily and stood there in front of her in just his shorts.

"Put some clothes on!" Aunt Petunia snapped.

She promptly turned her back to him and marched down the hallway.

Harry pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt. He heard his aunt and uncle speaking in hushed voices in the kitchen.

"I don't want anyone questioning us at the orphanage. What if we just dropped him off somewhere? No one will ever know," Uncle Vernon said.

"But what if he finds his way back here?" Aunt Petunia asked.

"We'll take him somewhere far away and leave him there. It will be between just us and the Lord," Uncle Vernon said.

Harry felt his heart drop into his stomach as he heard his aunt agree. A few minutes later Aunt Petunia came down the hallway.

"Get in the car," she said.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"To do the lord's work," she said.

Harry went outside and got into the family car. He briefly thought about running away but knew that he had nowhere to go. His aunt and uncle would catch up with him in a heartbeat and haul him off to wherever they thought was suitable. Harry buckled his seatbelt. His aunt and uncle got into the car.

They drove until they reached the edge of the city. There was nothing but barren fields. Harry could not see any houses and a feeling of dread rose in his stomach. Uncle Vernon stopped the car and walked around to Harry's opened it and made a gesture for Harry to get out.

Harry climbed out of his seat and stood there. As quick as a flash, Uncle Vernon ran around to the driver's side, jumped in, and gunned the accelorator. The car sped off and made a quick U-turn onto the road.

"Wait!" Harry screamed. "Wait!"

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him but the car was gone, leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake. Harry collapsed onto the dirt and began to cry. He was alone, all alone. He didn't know what to do. It was surely a long walk to the nearest house and he was feeling weak from lack of food. Harry whimpered.

A sharp CRACK sounded behind him and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around to see a large man in a hairy brown coat. Harry scrambled backwards as the man came towards him. He had to be over seven feet tall.

"S'all righ. Don' be scared Harry. I'm 'ere to help ya," the man said as he advanced again.

"What are you? Some sort of demon? How do you know my name?" Harry asked.

He was trembling. His aunt had read stories about demons from the Bible to him many times. Harry had always thought that was a load of rubbish until now. Maybe everything in the Bible really was true, just like Aunt Petunia said. Maybe demons really did come to torture humans who had sinned. Maybe this was because of sins he'd committed. Harry desparately fought the panic that was rising in him.

"My name's Hagrid, keeper of keyes and grounds at Hogwarts. I'm here to take you to school," he said kindly.

"School? What kind of school?" Harry asked.

Now he was more curious than afraid.

"Why the bes' school there is!" Hagrid said, beaming.

"But my aunt and uncle said it was evil. I got a letter from a school and they called me the spawn of the devil. That's why they brought me here," Harry said.

"What a load of Hogwash. Honestly... Muggles and their religions," Hagrid muttered.

He extended a hand. Harry hesitated a moment before allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"We'd best be off. We're a bit behind schedule," Hagrid said. "Less you'd rather stay of course."

"No, I don't have any place to go," Harry said.

Hagrid smiled at him sympathetically.

"Don't worry 'bout that. The school'll take good care of ya," he said.

He pulled out a silver pocket watch.

"Hang onta this," he said.

"But why?" asked Harry.

"Ya'll find out," Hagrid said.

Harry put a hand on the watch. Suddenly a jerking sensation came from behind his navel and everything began to spin. Harry thought he'd be sick. It was all over in a flash as they landed in a beautiful room full of books and strange silver instruments. Hagrid was standing but Harry was lying on the floor. A man with a silver beard stood up from his desk and helped Harry to his feet.

"Welcome, Harry. I am Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of this school," he said in a friendly voice.

Harry smiled at the headmaster who was dressed rather oddly. He was wearing a tall, pointy hat with stars all over it and long robes in a violent purple colour.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You are at Hogwarts, Harry."

"How do you know my name? How does he know my name?" Harry asked pointing to Hagrid.

"We knew your parents," Dumbledore said.

"Never met two nicer people in me whole life," Hagrid interjected.

Harry was puzzled.

"But Aunt Petunia said that they were evil. They were devil-spawn just like I am - bad people," Harry said.

"Hogwash!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Your aunt an' uncle have filled your head wi' garbage!"

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.

"Now Hagrid, it's not nice to speak ill of people's families."

"Sorry," Hagrid said.

"That's quite all right," Dumbledore said.

He turned to Harry.

"Come Harry, I will show you to your quarters," he said.

Dumbledore sat at the head table of teachers, watching three people at the Gryffindor table. Harry was talking with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Dumbledore was pleased that Harry had managed to ingerate himself into wizarding society so well in the two years since he had been taken to Hogwarts.

His aunt and uncle refused to have anything to do with him. Harry had not visted them since they had dropped him off in the field. There was no love lost of course.

Harry had become a normal boy. He had left most of their forced religous teachings behind since they clashed with the magic that he wanted to learn.

Harry had truly become his father's son. Dumbledore smiled as an old quote came to mind: "From every end there is a beginning."

THE END