Fate's Gambit (Completed)

Chapter 1

Number four Privet Drive, Little Whining appeared a perfectly normal home. Appearances though can be deceptive. A small malnourished boy, with unruly raven hair hiding a lightning bolt scar, was lying unnaturally still on his thin mattress. The fact that the mattress was in a cupboard under the stairs of a four bedroom house was anything but normal. Taking into account that the cupboard door locked from the outside, this would have children's welfare services the world over screaming for protective intervention to remove this child from his prison.

When the welfare officers then discovered the reason that he was lying in such an awkward position, he was to try and ease the pain from his broken arm and cracked ribs that were a present from his obese uncle, the place would be swarming with police. Said uncle would soon be allocated new sleeping quarters, locked and hopefully with a large gentleman called bubba as a cell mate.

Unfortunately the sadistic uncle had his abuse down to a fine art and saved his special beatings for the school holidays, no one was going to see the young lad for weeks yet.

He'd lain there, silent and unmoving for hours. His vicious uncle had administered this latest punishment for some fictitious wrong doing on his part. He was thrown into his cupboard before the obese guardian then sat down to have his dinner. The house had been quiet for a while now as everyone apart from him was asleep. The pain refused to let him close his eye and sleep though, his uncle having shut the left one earlier with his fist. He heard the local church clock chime midnight and tears flooded down his cheeks, even someone standing with their ear against the outside of his cupboard door wouldn't have heard the whispered lament.

"Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Harry, Happy Birthday to me."

-oOoOo-

Fate has been called a cruel bitch and worse on many occasions, and she would be the first to admit that in most of these incidents it was more than warranted. Something about this child reached out to her and demanded she take some action. She was well aware of the trials and tribulations this child would face in later life. If he didn't get some support system of people who would show him love soon, then the child wasn't going to make it. Fate knew the consequences if this lad didn't fulfil his destiny, she couldn't believe the stupidity of some mortals who would place the prophesised child in an environment where he was shown only hatred and intolerance.

She was going to have to perform some manipulations where the boy would meet his most faithful friends a few years early, fate was going to be granting extra powers but, as always, there was a price to pay. Things would have to be taken away to balance the books so to speak, life was all about balance and at the moment it was teetering on the brink. This child who was the champion of the light needed to be shown love before the flickering flame within him died forever, or darkness would rule for a millennium.

He would receive the first of three tonight, to wait any longer was sheer folly. With the decision made, fate took a back seat to observe how things would unfold.

-oOoOo-

The boy in the cupboard had finished his lone song but could now hear the sweetest singing imaginable. This sound was so strange it could almost be considered magical, it appeared to generate a feeling within him that was totally alien. It was called hope!

It got louder and louder until he was sure the hungry hippo would be thundering down the stairs at any moment to put the blame on him, which of course would mean another obligatory beating.