It was cold, very, very even excruciatingly….cold. That was however not bothering Harry Potter the most. The fact that he was freezing, lying lifelessly out in the rain in the backyard of number 4 Privet Drive once again, wasn't bothering him, what was bothering him was the simple fact that his godfather Sirius Black was injured severely in the fight in the Department of Mysteries and may not ever wake up again because of his own stupid mistake.
Because of his own stupid mistake he is once again very likely to loose, yet another of the handful of people in the world, whom loved him.
So the wet mud he was lying in wasn't bothering him, the bruises on his body weren't given a second thought, the fact that he was sleeping outside in the rain yet again was the farthest thing from his mind.
Harry closed his eyes and let the water wash over him, Harry pleaded with whoever was controlling life and death in his world, whether it had been a dementor, God or Merlin himself, Harry prayed for them to close the gates for Sirius' soul so he'd stay among the living.
Harry woke early the next morning, very early in fact the sun was just rising as he woke. Giving a groan he stretched out slightly testing the extent of his injuries before he got up.
"Ughhh. Ok Potter not that leg."
He slowly made it to a standing position however he leaned heavily on the tree beside him. Opening his eyes properly, he looked around the garden which looked pretty ordinary. Slowly and silently Harry made his way into the house, and then proceeded to his bedroom.
He carefully took off his still wet clothes, before putting on a fresh change of clothes he checked the damage to his body in the mirror.
He had a large bruise on his cheek and bruises all down his right side where he'd been kicked while he was on the ground, he was pretty sure he had bruised the bones in his leg.
Quickly dressing he made his way silently down the stairs to cook breakfast; he really didn't want anymore trouble. Cooking was good for Harry, he knew how to cook very well and it occupied his mind. He was more than happy to cook, just as long as he didn't dwell on who would be eating the meal he was preparing.
He cooked the meal quickly and then proceeded to place it all in the oven after serving himself some food. He ate quickly, barely registering the taste, and then he proceeded to place his plate and glass in the dishwasher before heading upstairs for a quick shower.
Looking at Harry Potter he had changed a lot, he'd grown a fair bit taller so he was rather tall for his age. His eyes stood out as much as ever and his hair never did settle.
He had a faint shadow on his jaw line but it was not bothering him enough to start shaving. His had inherited his father's broad shoulders and strong features while having Lilly's long eyelashes and slightly tanned skin tone. He was still thin for his age but nowhere near as under weight as he had been.
Not to mention due to the beatings that had gotten worse over the years he had learnt some few defensive skills, they weren't great by any means. But at least now he worked ways to shield parts of his body.
After a quick shower he proceeded down stairs to find the Dursley's eating, he didn't give them a glance he just went outside to start the chores he would no doubt be ordered to do.
First off he decided to start with the front garden, given that it was still early if he got this out of the way first he wouldn't have the neighbours to stare at him while he worked.
He started out pulling weeds quietly, then mowed the lawn and then watered the plants. It was only nearing the middle of June Harry definitely was not looking forward to the lengthy summer ahead of him.
Harry was finished in garden in just over an hour in fact as he was walking into the front door as Vernon Dursley was just walking out to no doubt go to work. He eyed Harry up and down before walking straight past him.
Harry proceeded into the house to find that Dudley had resumed his daily seat in front of the television once again. Petunia had her head out the kitchen window, no doubt trying to overhear the conversation going on next door.
Harry just continued up to his room, he grabbed a bag pushed some of his school books into it along with a notepad and pen before descending down the stairs and heading out the front door once again.
It was just another lousy day.
Something that Harry had gotten quiet good at was thinking about nothing. After trying to get the image of Sirius out of his mind that appeared every time he thought of anything he just tried not to think and he was doing remarkably well.
When Harry Potter was trying not to think, which entailed thinking he made obvious observations like the following
Oh that dog is fluffy
That mailbox is red
The sky is looking a bit grey today….
That distracted him well enough. Harry finally made it to the park and settled for sitting under a tree. He had come to realize that a black haired tall teenager who sits under a tree writing and reading all day doesn't get bothered, so it suited him fine.
To make sure the muggles didn't' realize exactly what he was reading he just covered the front of the book with a white paper slip and he was perfectly ok. Sometimes people might see the sketches and look at him rather oddly, but since when had odd looks bothered Harry Potter?
So Harry spent most of today reading up and eventually he started his History of Magic essay. It was getting rather late and Harry was very much aware that if he wasn't home before Vernon he'd get into a lot of trouble. He slowly made his way home; it was surprising how quickly a day could go past. He walked though the front door and took his books up to his room before descending down the stairs.
"Harry."
Harry looked up somewhat surprised, was that Aunt Petunia's voice?
"Harry."
Harry walked into the kitchen to find his Aunt looking through what appeared to be a recipe book
"Yes Aunt Petunia?"
"What will you be making for dinner?"
Harry shrugged and replied "Whatever you buy the ingredients for."
She nodded and turned back a few pages before turning the book to face him and asked "Would you make this?"
Harry took a look at the recipe then gave a brief nod. Petunia smiled stepping back and exclaimed "Excellent, wash your hands will you Harry."
Harry just nodded obediently and watched as his Aunt left the kitchen before turning and washing his hands in the kitchen sink, he then read through the recipe once before he began gathering the ingredients.
Harry started cutting up ingredients while listening to the news that was on the TV when Petunia walked back into the kitchen stood beside him. Harry moved instinctively out of the way letting her get whatever she needed but she stood there, then looked at him and asked "What can I do?"
Harry frowned and replied with the first phrase that came to mind "What do you mean?"
"I want you to teach me to cook. I want to help."
Harry blinked, he mustn't have heard right "You want to help me cook?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Petunia looked down for a second before looking up sharply and asked "Do I need a reason?"
Harry took a defensive step back and replied "I guess not, ok. Well you could put 1 ½ cups of milk into that saucepan for me."
Petunia nodded before turning to do the said job.
Harry had never been more confused in his life, not once had his aunt given a second thought to what she asked him to do, never. What was she up to?
Shrugging it off they proceeded to cook, Harry giving her a task which she'd complete then he'd give her another.
Dinner was served and Vernon walked through the front door promptly before sitting himself in his chair and eating, he ignored Harry like always, well at least he know he hadn't stepped into a complete parallel universe….
Harry washed the dishes without a word and went to lie in his bed.
That was another thing Harry hadn't done in a long time was sleep, when he did sleep he woke after what felt like minutes.
The week was rather uneventful, but it was however the following Saturday that Harry's life changed.
Petunia seemed intent on helping Harry make dinner every night except the weekends; she would not talk to him at breakfast or even acknowledge him when Vernon was around.
It was a Saturday and Harry was making Dinner when Petunia came and helped yet again because Vernon was out, the food was made and they all ate but there was still no sign of Vernon.
Harry knew what this meant instinctively, Vernon was out drinking and when Vernon drank he only got worse.
So it was no surprise to Harry when Vernon stumped into his room at 2am yelling in fits of rage, what was the surprise however the baseball bat he was holding was.
This was definitely bad, Harry moved as quickly as he could but Vernon had swung hitting him in the back he let out a groan but kept running, since Vernon had moved out of the doorway Harry quickly ran through it and proceeded to the stairs but was knocked from behind making him stumble and fall down the stairs instead.
Harry got up as quickly as he was able ignoring the pain and made it into the hall but Vernon was coming right after him, he swung the bat directly at Harry's side effectively knocking him to the ground then he pulled back and swung again in the same spot. Harry let out a scream of pain.
Everything was going blurry, he needed to get out. Harry heard Petunia screaming, which effectively distracted Vernon for the second. So Harry ran, he ran for the front door, then ran through it and kept running.
He could tell his leg was broken, he knew this was the worst it had been, he was still weak from the last time Vernon had gotten to him and his breathing was awful because he'd gotten sick after sleeping outside in the rain that night. Harry Potter could feel himself collapsing, he stopped his vision blurred then sat on the ground before falling back in a heap letting the darkness take his consciousness and his pain.
It was a very, very bad day for Skylla Lawson