Harry Potter's Pen Pal

Chapter One

 Harry? It's been a while since you've written. Is everything okay?

Yeah, sorry, Tom. The barrier wouldn't open at King's Cross. We're flying to Hogwarts in Mr. Weasley's Anglia.

We?

Oh, sorry! Me and Ron.

'Ron and I.'

Right. Sorry I didn't write last night; Mrs. Weasley made a huge dinner, and she gets insulted if I don't eat enough. I spent the night holding my stomach because she made me eat too much.

Why wouldn't you eat enough?

No reason.

Harry.

Okay, so sometimes my relatives don't feed me! Happy?

Why would I be happy that your relatives starve you, Harry?

...

Do they abuse you... in other ways?

Do you count me having to do every chore abuse?

Surely they do some of the chores! What about your cousin!

Dearest Duddykins is not allowed to lower himself to servant level. Duddykins must play with his friends and not spend time around the freak.

THEY CALL YOU A FREAK?!

Sometimes, not all the time! Most of the time they call me 'Potter.'

Your hand was shaking a bit there, Harry. What's wrong with the name 'Potter?' The Potters weren't that bad. Henry Potter, your great-grandfather, was in Slytherin, my house, a few years before me.

You're a Slytherin?

Yes. Is that a problem?

No, you've been really nice to me. It's just that most of the other Slytherins have been rude. Probably because I'm the most famous Gryffindor since Albus Dumbledore.

You sound like you don't like Albus Dumbledore....

I told him my relatives hate me, that they starve me and punish me if I do a chore wrong ⎯ and I always do it wrong, apparently ⎯ and he told me I was overreacting and refused to let me stay at Hogwarts over the summer!

Oh, Dumbledore's rather famous for that. I asked him the same thing at the end of every school year, and he said the same thing.

Why wouldn't you want to go home for the summer, Tom?

Because Hogwarts WAS my home -- far more than that orphanage was.

Oh wow. That's way worse than the Dursleys.

I'm not sure about that. Although I suppose they did ONE thing that was worse.

What did they do?...

Tom?...

They assumed I had a devil in me and forced me to go through several trials to get it 'removed.' They did it again after every school year. I even showed Dumbledore PROOF of this, and he refused to let me stay at school.

I seriously hate Dumbledore. He's horrible.

I completely agree.

And I thought I was the only one abused by Muggles.

I'm sure many other Muggleborns and halfbloods are hurt by their parents, Harry.

I'm going to assume 'Muggleborn' means 'a magical child who has two Muggle parents.' I didn't know anything at all until my eleventh birthday.