Stonewall

Part 2- Elephant Skin

A/N : So...  There isn't much dialogue at the moment which makes the story read a lil bit odd but when Harry meets people at school, it will get better. Hopefully either this chapter or next Harry actually goes to Stonewall. Anywho... Enjoy!

Part 2:

The 'Zoo Incident' as the Dursley's liked to call it, earned Harry his longest punishment while staying with the Dursleys. As soon as Aunt Petunia had ushered away, 'Diddikins', Uncle Vernon turned on Harry. The boy zoned out as his Uncle started berating him on his crime. Nagini. He thought. He pictured her thick coils and stunning scales. 'Yes,' He decided. He had made the right choice, in freeing and naming her. And.. he had talked to her, and her back. This was proof. Not all of the proof he needed, but a start. He had a connection with snakes, they could communicate, were friends. Harry nodded, this was good. 

He was quickly brought back to reality after receiving a hard punch to the face, slamming him backwards into the wall. His uncle's red face was invading the boys, spit splattered Harry as Vernon screamed at him before finally dragging him to his cupboard and locking the door. Harry sat panting, crouched against the wall. Blood dripped from his nose and he could feel his face swelling. How dare his parents abandon him here? After weeks of being locked in the dark with minimal food and drink, Harry Potter was allowed out. 

Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss, Dudley's friend, was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny and constantly teased him about it. 

During the day, Harry studied for the boarding test, something that would let him stay at his school at night, instead of returning to Number 4, Privet Drive, after school. He had not informed his family about this plan but considering the hatred between them was mutual,  he didn't see much of an issue with him moving out.

Harry had always done well in school, and he passed the test with no issues. He packed his scarce belongings into an old sack he had found and set them next to the blanket he slept on, in preparation for next Thursday, September 1st. He woke up excited, happy to break the news to the Dursleys that he would not be returning until next summer. 

As Harry expected, His Aunt and Uncle were thrilled with this idea, but convinced that he had cheated on the test, stating he wasn't smart enough. 'Stupid boy, never was as smart as Duddy, were you?' Harry's Uncle side-eyed him as he spoke. 'Petunia, you ought to take Dudders to buy his new uniform, hate for them to run out, we want plenty of spare changes for our little tyke. 

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.

 As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in to prepare breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. "What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. "Your new school uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." "Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished. "Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. Still, it was his best chance of freedom...

Harry held up the 'uniform' to pack. Two of Dudley's old T-shirts had been sacrificed, they were 3 sizes too big on Harry's thin body, and one of them had a nasty tear along the back. There was an old jacket with a rip in it and two pairs of pants littered with holes and stained on the knees. Uncle Vernon had donated an ugly mustard belt to the cause. 'This was only for a bit' Harry thought. Once he got to school, he could find some second-hand uniform shop, find something decent. The boy stared for a moment before starting to fix his outfit. 

He ripped a strip of fabric off of each of the shirts; they were too large and he would wear them tucked in anyway. Out of these he fashioned a make-shift tie, something Uncle Vernon refused to gift him, despite it being mandatory. He managed to sew the tear on the shirt together, with bits of thread. Harry washed the pants until they were a faded gray, but stain free. He stuck bits of fabric over the holes and fastened them with old pins. From the outside, it looked normal, and it wasn't overly uncomfortable. He would have to roll up the cuffs to make them fit, but otherwise they were good. Harry pinned up the rip in the jacket and added a button onto it so he could properly do it up. The belt he painted black with shoe-polish; Something he was rather proud of, he might add.  The boy stepped back and observed his work, comparing his uniform to the one in a brochure he found on the side of the road. Harry's was oversized, faded, baggy, ripped beyond repair, and looked nothing like the picture. 

'Like old elephant skin.' 

Harry Potter cried himself to sleep.

A/N : So not the most cheerful and rather boring all the uniform talk, but it's just building up the story. Also it shows Harry is still a boy, not quite like how Tom Riddle becomes.. Yet. Well I hope u are enjoying so far!!

Cheers- Rogfforg