Where He Belongs
By: Amanda Lily Potter
A/N: I know I should be working on Harry Potter and the New Beginning, but this is an idea that I couldn't get out of my head. This came from a dream and I really liked it so I wrote it out before I forgot it.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. So if you think I do, I will personally pay for the hospital bill for you.
ON WITH THE STORY!!!
Chapter 1: Owls, Pain, and Visitors oh my!
It was midnight on July 31st. Everyone on Privit Drive was asleep, everyone that is except one Harry James Potter.
Harry was sitting by his bedroom window, waiting for his owl Hedwig to return from her hunt. Professor Dumbeldore had written earlier that summer saying that Harry was forbidden to write to any of his friends and the same went for his friends writing to him.
Today was Harry's 16th birthday, the worse one yet in his opinion. His uncle had taken to locking him in his room, starving him, threatening to put him back in the cupboard under the stairs, and to keep him away from Hogwarts. Harry could live with all that, if it weren't for the fact that his godfather, Sirius Black, died at the end of his last school year.
While watching the window, he saw a dot with wings coming towards him. He backed up and opened up his window. When the object landed he was most surprised at what it was.
It was a black raven with a letter in its beak. After it dropped the letter, the raven flew out the open window. Before he could decide whether or not to open it, the letter unraveled itself and a male's voice began to speak:
"Hello Potter, have a nice summer. Ha Ha Ha!"
He was just able to see that the envelope was a forest green, with a silver snake for a seal when his world erupted in pain, and he saw no more.
When he awoke all he felt was pain, and lots of it. he was in so much pain he didn't feel a wet cloth being pressed on his forehead, or the two people softly whispering to each other from the left of him.
"How long has he been like this?"
"I'm not sure…Fletcher, who was on guard duty, informed me of screaming coming from his room."
"Will he be alright?"
"I believe so, it depends. Do you recognize this?"
The other person didn't have the chance to respond has Harry made a groan as he tried to move.
"Harry, stop moving, you're only going to make the pain worse."
At the sound of a voice, he attempted to shift over, but he ran out of bed and would have fallen off if it weren't for…
"Professor Snape?"
His voice was slurred from the pain and exhaustion, but the Potions Master understood him all the same. After laying him back down on the bed, Severus Snape turned to the other person in the room while placing the cloth back on Harry's forehead.
"Well Poppy, do I recognize what?"
To answer his question, the Medi Witch lifted up the green envelope. She was stopped from whatever it was she was going to say by a gasp coming from the man beside her.
"That is one of The Dark Lord's own personal inventions. He sends them to his minions who do not show up for the meetings or if they disappoint him. It causes lots of pain, and it lasts for about a week. He might have made it longer for Mr. Potter," Severus explained, re-soaking the cloth and placing it on the boy's head again. "HE must have found out where the boy spends his summers, he is no longer safe here," he finished, looking at the boy withering on the bed in pain.
"Where can he stay then? I can't watch him, I'm going to a couple sessions at St. Mungo's. McGonagall is in America visiting relatives, and all the other professors are unreachable. I guess we'll just have to take him up to Dumbeldore himself," said Madame Pomfrey deep in thought.
"First we can take him to my house, I have potions that help ease the pain. We can figure out what to do after the pain stops," with that he wrapped Harry up in the thin sheet, and scooped him up into his arms.
"Severus, what if you get called? We very well can't have two of you in this much pain," Poppy looked skeptical.
"One of the house elves shall watch him during those times. Let's go, he needs those potions," he swept out of the room, with his load in his arms, Poppy following behind him.
It was only when they were halfway down the stairs that he felt the boy's head slump against his shoulder. Looking down he realized the boy had fallen asleep, or passed out from the pain it was hard to tell.
They were almost out the door when the Dursley's came out to see what all the noise was.
"What are you FREAKS doing in my house? Put the boy down and leave!" by this time Vernon had grabbed a shotgun and had it pointed it at Snape.
"Leave? Of course. Leave the boy here? Definitely not. You have been taking poor care of the child, and now, with his current state, he needs somebody to take proper care of him," Severus replied coldly, before storming out of the house with Madame Pomfrey following behind him.
They walked away from Number 4 Privit Drive and the wards surrounding the house. They walked for a good half hour before they stopped and Poppy pulled an old tin can out of her pocket.
"Remember, Harry has to touch the can as well," She ordered while Severus took hold of one of Harry's hands and touched the can with their joined hands.
When they stopped spinning they saw a cottage sitting on the top of a hill.