Authour Note: I found this story sitting on my laptop and decided I would upload it and see what people thought. So if you would like to Rate and Review, I would appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…
Always Find Your Way Back Home
Harry Potter, the boy who lived, had been kidnapped… Two years ago. No one had heard from him, seen of him and everyone presumed him dead, even his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They were now in there seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry meaning Harry been missing since the summer before his fifth year. The school had decided to host a ball a few weeks into the start of every term in order to raise spirits. New first years would repeatedly ask if Harry was alive and the older years had to smile and say yes, just so that there hearts weren't broken as they walked through the school doors. The sorting hat would mention Harry in it's speeches, allowing the first insight into the dangerous world that these young children had entered and Professor Dumbledore would make his usual announcements and then mention how long Harry had been gone for. This part of the speech brought a few lumps to peoples throats and a few tears to eyes, including the professors who had known and taught Harry and Sirius who had been cleared off all charges and was now residing in Hogwarts… All except one person who knew the truth about Harry… Professor Severus Snape.
The room was small, dark and dingy but Harry had grown accustomed to this after 2 years. He had gained a permanent cold from the damp and having to sleep on the floor for so long but he could deal with that. His wrists were cut and chaffed from being tied together so tightly and his mouth had small marks growing either side of it from the gag.
He had presumed it was morning as the previous silence had been broken by people walking around outside the room. He used his elbows to push himself up and into the corner of the room… Sooner or later, a death eater would come, take him to the bathroom, force him to eat some crappy breakfast, torture him, try to break him, dinner, bathroom and then back to his room for the night…This was a routine that Harry had become accustomed to and he knew it of by heart.
He watched the door and sure enough, it opened, but this time… Harry had a plan. For the last year or so, he had been learning to use the art of magic through only his mind and it was the thing that had knocked him out on several occasions, but today, he thought he was strong enough. He focused on the Death Eater and in his mind he said Expelliarmus. The death eater was close and the spell sent him flying into the wall. He stood up and muttered the incantation to undo the ropes binding him. His final spell in this room, using his mind was Accio Wand. His wand came flying to his hand from it's hiding place and he grabbed it, happiness flooding through him… Now he had to get out and escape.
The fight to get out was challenging but he had made it and the triumph rushed through Harry's body. He couldn't quite believe he had managed it. He had laughed in the face of the Dark Lord again. However, he had to apparate to Hogwarts and then get in, and that was going to be a problem. The past 2 years and the fight had weakened him. He wasn't sure if he would be able to perform a full apparition. He sighed and continued to walk, just so he was far away from the house he had been held in. About 15 minutes later, he stopped and looked around. He took his wand out of his pocket and thought of Hogwarts. He needed desperately to get there. He closed his eyes and within seconds, he felt the familiar feelings of travelling extremely fast. The moment it stopped, he opened his eyes and felt himself up and down. He had apparated and he was looking up at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A wave of emotion came over him. He never thought he would see this place again. The next biggest question was… how was he going to get in?
The apparition had weakened him more. He stumbled to the where the Forbidden Forest was and he found a path into the school that he was sure, wasn't actually there the last time he was here. As he stumbled over tree roots, he found himself in the middle of the forest and he knew where he had to go to get out, but his body was slowly starting to give up and he kept falling into trees and logs. He stopped to sit and then he saw something coming towards him. Focusing, he saw that it was a centaur. It spoke to him, "Halt, who goes there?". He froze and looked again, it was Firenze. Harry stood and walked towards him but stopped when he saw that Firenze was ready to shoot at him. He stood back and shook his head, "It's me Firenze, It's Harry Potter". The centaur lowered his weapon and craned his neck to look closer. It was at this point Harry realised that the physical injuries he had gained had made him unrecognizable and he hoped that they would heal. The centaur walked closer and nodded, letting Harry know he had registered that he was who he said he was, "Mr Potter, how are you here? You are presumed dead. You have been gone for 2 years". Harry gulped and started walking to the forest clearing, the presence of another person somehow giving him strength. People thought he was dead. Did that mean they gave up looking for him?
As they reached the clearing of the forest, Harry looked towards the castle. The sight was grand and in this moment, he thought it was the best site he had ever seen in his life. Firenze chuckled beside him and sighed, "The centaurs aren't going to have an easy sleep tonight, we must go deep into the forest". Harry raised an eyebrow and looked down to the friendly creature. The centaur smiled, "The High Spirit's ball is tonight. It was to improve the spirits when you went missing. I have never been in the castle since they started, but apparently it looks extremely grand". The words rang in Harry's ear. They had to have balls and parties to improve there moods. Harry nodded and started walking towards the school, flashing a smile back at Firenze.
He reached the entrance hall after 20 minutes, every ounce of his energy going towards taking the next step, he had to make a decision. He either went to the Great Hall or he went to the hospital ward. He decided that, as much as he wanted to prove he was alive, he couldn't go on much more and he needed to be tended to. He climbed the stairs, falling to his hands and knees as he reached the top and crawled to the Hospital Wing. He was rather glad that there was an event as the corridors of the school were empty. When Harry got to the hospital wing, he used the wall to stand himself up and pushed weakly on the door.
Madam Pomfrey was sat in her office as the door to the hospital wing opened. She assumed that one of the students had hurt themselves dancing and cut themselves. She stood and walked into the main ward but was surprised to see an extremely dirty and injured boy stood in front of her. She walked closer and then she stopped, shock coursing through her system. It was Harry Potter. As she approached him, he fell to the ground with a thud. She used her wand to levitate him onto a bed and performed all the medical observations she needed before running out of the wing and down to the Great hall.
When she got their, she knew who to look for. She ran between the crowds and the dancers looking desperately for Professor Dumbledore. As she continued her search, she found Professor McGonagall and asked where she could find the headmaster. Together, they found him in the trophy room. Madam Pomfrey approached him and took a deep breath, "Albus, I have good news". Dumbledore placed his glass down on the nearest table and stared down into her eyes, a quizzical look glazing his face. She continued, "Harry Potter is alive and is currently in the hospital wing". Together, Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall and Dumbledore marched to the hospital wing.
A few weeks past and Harry had only just awoken in the hospital wing. He pushed himself up and reached for the bedside cabinet. However, his hand dropped and he found it wasn't there. He opened his eyes groggily and, through blurred vision, looked to find they had indeed moved it. Suddenly, a pain spread through him like no other. It caused him to jolt and he grabbed his head, squeezing and praying it would stop. After a couple of minutes it did and then he realized why they had moved the cabinet. If he had have done that whilst passed out, he would have smacked his head onto it. He took a deep breath, his blood pumping and he held his head until he heard movement around him. He looked up and saw the blurry form of Madam Pomfrey stood next to him, holding out what he presumed were his glasses. He took them and put them on his face, his vision instantly improved. Before he had a chance to speak or ask anything, the busy nurse had gone and was hurrying down the ward.
Within an 3 hours, he had been visited by a number of people. First had been Sirius who was obviously concerned about his God son. He had brought Lupin, Tonks and Mad Eye Moody along with him. They had talked for a short while and when they had decided there time was up, they didn't leave. Instead, they moved over to the other side of the ward. Next up was Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ginny. Mrs Weasley spent most of the time fussing and the others complaining about it. When they finished, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill and Charlie joined Sirius and Lupin and the other 3 left through the main doors, a sulky expression etched on their faces. Next was Hermione and Ron and after their time was up, they to were asked to go back to lessons. Then the main party arrived and the reason for Sirius, Lupin and everyone else to stay became apparent. The ministry were going to ask him about what had happened.
Although he had expected it, Harry thought they would have the waited a couple of days. He didn't want to relive his experiences just yet and he didn't want to talk about them with all these people in the room. As the Minister walked towards him he gulped and looked to the end of the ward, all of the people who were waiting were also coming towards him, taking seats as close as they could. He really didn't like this one bit and when the Minister asked him what happened he shook his head, "You expect me to speak about my ordeal in front of all these people". Harry then looked to Dumbledore and sighed, "Professor, I'm not comfortable with this". The eyes behind the headmaster's eyes glistened and he smiled a friendly smile. He nodded and spook clearly to Harry, "Isn't it wise to speak of it now to more people, so less people ask you to recount it later?". Harry sighed, why did he always speak such wise words of wisdom. He nodded and looked around. He told of his 2 year ordeal and the physical, emotional and painful torture he had to have everyday. The Minister listened intently and then asked for names. Knowing that Voldermort would never allow for a death eater to kill him, Harry agreed, "Avery, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Crabbe, Dolohov, Goyle, Greyback, Bellatrix, Yaxley and Lucius Malfoy". The Minister recoiled slightly on the mention on certain names but when he heard Lucius, he stood back and shook his head, "No, no not Lucius". Harry mirrored the head shake and sighed, "I knew you wouldn't believe me, but I swear," and he looked towards Dumbledore, "He was there. He spent a good part of the two years doing the torture". Another friendly smile was enough to convince Harry that at least Dumbledore believed him. Within 5 minutes, ordered had been sent for the capture and arrest of all the people listed and the Minister had left the room, followed by his delegation and everyone else. Harry sighed and lent back into his pillow, glad to finally be left alone.
A week later, Madam Pomfrey deemed it OK for Harry to leave the hospital. He left the ward his arm in plaster and a few cuts and bruises on his face and torso. He knew the first lesson was in progress and he decided that, he would at least try and catch up on some of his work. He headed into the grounds and down to Hagrid's hut. He saw the Care of Magical Creatures class gathered around the tall form of Hagrid. He hurried himself down and slowly joined the group. Hagrid beamed down at him and acknowledged his presence before continuing, "OK, so as you all know, this week is review week and a chance to practise for the upcoming examinations". He grabbed a pile of parchments and handed a large multiple paged document to each student including Harry before continuing his speech, "Each teacher will hand you a document like this and it will have to be completed by the end of the week. The pages are labelled with each days work and it is recommended that you do them on that day, even if you do not have the lesson. This is because you will fall severely behind otherwise". He finished and asked if anyone had a question. No one did so he sent them to find a place to work and start on the first days work. Harry joined the table with Hermione and Ron, but was shocked to see Fred and George there as well. "I could have sworn you finished school" he asked. They laughed and smiled, "Technically, but we said we would do our NEWT's 2 years too late". Everyone laughed but as soon as Hagrid walked off, Harry felt eyes digging onto him. He tried to ignore them but when he turned, he saw Draco Malfoy staring at him. He tried to ignore it, but it made him angry and he shut his book, picking it up and walking back towards the castle. Returning to lessons was a lot harder then he thought it would be.
After Care of Magical Creatures, Harry's class had Defence Against the Dark Arts. A big part of him didn't want too go as it was another lesson with the Slytherins, but he knew at some point, he would have to face them again. He walked slowly but still managed to get there early. When he arrived, two people were in the room… Lupin and Sirius. He approached them and smiled, "Look, about the lesson today" he began, but Lupin cut him of, "We won't allow people to ask questions" he said reassuringly. Harry shook his head, "I don't mind people asking. It's like Dumbledore said at the hospital wing". Sirius tried to protest but gave up as Harry walked away taking his seat on the 3rd row from the front.
As suspected, Harry was asked a lot of questions, but he only gave the same answer as he had in the hospital wing. He didn't think any more detail was needed and he didn't want to freak people out. When he was asked who had done it, he lingered a moment on both Snape and Malfoy's name before finally saying Lucius Malfoy. Draco's anger rose and he left the class.
After Care of Magical Creatures, the same classes went to Potions, the lesson Harry had dreaded the most. He hadn't seen Snape since he had got back and he had to do a review lesson with him. As he entered, he kept his eyes on floor and made his way to an empty seat. However, Snape found him and approached, "Potter, I see you climbed back into our mist". Harry looked to him and shook his head, "No thanks to you", he muttered, making sure no one else heard. Snape moved between the students handing out review sheets as he did. Harry stared dumbfounded at his, he had no clue what any of it meant. Snape walked back to him, "Something up Potter, don't want to make you feel worse". Harry stared deep in his eyes, seeing the venom Snape was staring at him with. He shook his head and stood, "I'm leaving your class now".
As Harry got outside, he ran straight into Lupin and Sirius, "We knew you wouldn't stay in Snape's lesson". Harry nodded and continued to walk, "He was there wasn't he?" Sirius called from behind him. Harry stood still and thought, "It's none of your business". Lupin smirked and sighed, "We both knew it. Why didn't you tell someone? He would be in Azkaban now". Harry turned and walked back towards them, he was annoyed… This had nothing to do with them. "This had nothing to do with you. It happened to me and what I decide is how it goes!". Sirius shook his head, "If you don't do anything about it, we will". The anger Harry already felt was rising, "Don't you dare. If you do, I swear… I won't talk to either of you again". With that, Harry stormed off, he couldn't stand being around either of these professors right now.
When all classes were finished, Ron and Hermione found Harry sat by the lake. He had been crying and his eyes were red and puffy. "What's up mate?" Ron asked, concern apparent in his voice as he took a seat. Harry shook his head, "It's just Sirius and Lupin. We had a falling out". Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Really? What over?". Another sigh escaped Harry's lips as he explained about Snape being involved. He had hoped that they would understand, but they didn't and lectured him about how he should tell Cornelius Fudge. He shook his head and walked away, the anger from earlier returning.
The next morning, Harry awoke alone. He knew he wasn't late but was curious why no one else was in bed. He got up, dressed and walked down to the Great Hall. However, he was stopped as most of the school were gathered at the entrance hall steps. He looked over the crowd and saw why… Ministry officials were leading a black cloaked figure out of the building. On closer inspection, he saw it was Severus Snape. He pushed his way through the crowd, finding himself face to face with Fudge, "What the hell is going on?" he asked. The minister laughed, "We were informed that Severus was involved in the kidnap. We have to take him to Azkaban". Harry's jaw dropped, Lupin and Sirius had betrayed his trust. He shook his head, "No, I told them I didn't want him arrested. He was doing it for revenge. If they" and he paused to point at his betrayers, "hadn't have bullied him so much when they were students here, maybe the situation would be different". Harry took a deep breath, he thought he hated Snape with a passion, thought he would do anything to see the back of him, but what he was doing right now seemed so right. He sighed before continuing, "Let him go. I'm not pressing charges. If I don't press charges, you can't arrest him". The minister nodded and Snape was released. With one look at the freed professor, Harry walked into the Great Hall.
Professor Dumbledore watched as Harry walked towards him, the same old twinkle in his eye. "You must think I'm a fool" Harry said, dropping onto one of the benches. Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, "On the contrary, I think you are a brave and wise young man. Not everyone would have the man they dislike the most, freed from a horrid fate". Harry nodded and stared back at the entrance hall. The crowd was dispersing, but Lupin and Sirius remained where they were.
Anger had built inside Harry has he walked back up the hall and into the entrance. He was not happy to have been betrayed. As he reached the two professors he saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George and Neville out of the corner of his eye. He focused on walking towards Sirius and shook his head, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch one of you". Sirius's jaw dropped, "Because we only said something because you weren't man enough to". It felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Why would Sirius think that. He nodded and sighed, "I was man enough. I listed the culprit's within half hour of waking up. I relived my ordeal. I didn't say something because you are the reason he was involved". Fred and George walked closer, eyebrows raised, "What's that Harry?", Fred asked confusion in his tone. Harry nodded, "If you two and dad hadn't bullied him, he would have been fine. He would have some respect for me. He would have treated me like all the students at this school. He was and is bitter". Shock was etched onto the faces of Harry's friends, but Harry didn't care, "I'm done with both of you. Never talk to me again", and he left the group, his destination… the dungeon.
Fred was first to speak once he was sure Harry had left the scene, "I didn't think you guys would sink that low. The Weasley's get bullied on a daily basis because of who we are and because of the family we belong to. All this time you have been acting like our friends, but we don't tolerate bullying…EVER". George nodded and sighed before adding, "I guess all we can say to you is we are done with you too. Sorry it had to be this way but, we are choosing Harry". Ron and Hermione moved closer to Sirius. "Everyone makes mistakes and this happened years ago, we are choosing these two", Hermione said, strong determination on her face. Ginny, who had previously been stood with Neville moved closer to Hermione and nodded, showing she was with them. Neville shook his head and moved closer to Fred, "The day I got here, everyone bullied me and spoke about me. I have had enough of the abuse and I'm making a stand for it this time, I can't be friends with bullies", Neville stated and placed his hands to his hips. Harry's side all turned and walked away, heading in the same direction as Harry had gone.
When Harry got outside the potion masters office, he took a deep breath and knocked gently. He heard a shuffle and the door opened. Snape nodded at him and allowed Harry entrance. He wasn't sure what to do or say so he took a seat. Snape sat opposite him and sighed, "Thank you Harry. You put a stop to my horrid fate. I'm grateful". Harry nodded, still not sure what to say. The professor laughed, "You seem uncomfortable. I guess this isn't a side of me you have ever seen. For that, I am sorry". Harry nodded and cleared his throat, "It's not your fault. You were bullied a lot and now you have the control and power to do someone thing about it. I was a optimum target because it was my father who treated you so. If it helps, I have just cut ties with Sirius and Remus. They are nothing to me". As Harry finished, there was another knock on the door. Snape again allowed entry and Fred, George and Neville all walked in. Harry raised an eyebrow at them, "Why are you here? Where are Ron and Hermione?". Fred shook his head, "They choose Sirius and Lupin. We choose you and Snape". Snape walked back to his seat, "Even after all the trouble I gave you, you choose me. Even you Neville". Neville's eyes widened, "You used my first name". Snape gave a small laugh, "Yes, when I feel in the wrong I tend to be polite. I can call you Longbottom if you want". Neville shook his head and then turned to Harry, "We choose you because we have all been at the hands of bullying and we know how Snape must feel".