Sweet Care
By: Velvetsky21
Summery: AU. A seven year old Harry Potter have to take care of someone…
Chapter 1 – His amazing place
He was walking in a long corridor. The corridor was of large old stone blocks all around him. Walls. Floor. Roof. The stone were cold against his bar feet. As was the strange breeze that swiped by him, making his long nightshirt move.
He looked around there was no light but he had no problem with that. He knows how to move around in these long corridors. He had been here before, always walking, never meeting anyone but strange objects like moving paintings, weird staircases and secret hidings.
This enormous residence had other wonders like the towers that gave you the feeling that they could reach the moon. Dungeons that make you lost if you forget to count the turns. Secret rooms that no one will ever find you. And the most amazing thing of all was the classrooms. This place was a school. He didn't know for what, but he could guess…
Suddenly the little boy awakens. He's panting as if had run from the amazing place. That is what he calls it. His own amazing place was the only place his cousin Dudley could not destroy, because he didn't know that it existed.
He stretches his arms over his head touching the under side of the stair above him. He tried to get his sleepy body awake. He still sleepy he started to prepare to get out of the cupboard.
To find his clothes he had to feel his way around. The lamp had broken just a week ago, but the Dursley's had yet to replace it. After a while he felt his socks and then his pants. Soon he stepped out of the cupboard dressed.
He went to the kitchen moving silently. The Dursley's was not woken up easily but he liked the silence. When the Dursley's awakens there wouldn't be as nice in the house. He started to prepare a sandwich. Without noticing he began humming a familiar tone from his amazing place.
The Dursley didn't wake up until hours later. You could hear them moving out of bed by the squeaking sound of their beds. That made Harry aware that he should begin to make breakfast. He closed the picture book, hiding it behind a self. Then he moved to the kitchen again and started cooking.
"Dudley here is your cake. Happy birthday!" Aunt Petunia said, giving Dudley the oversized plate with chocolate cake that had the text "Happy 8th birthday" on it.
Harry watched as Dudley tried to eat his cake and open his packages with his sticky hands at the same time. He was a bit sickened by his cousin. Harry wanted to leave the room but he knew that would bring the attention to him. So he stood still looking somewhere above Dudley's head.
His uncle was saying strange stuff about how good Dudley was. Harry could not see it. He rarely these day could understand his relative. For every year the understanding between Harry and the Dursley's seemed too lessened. But he had to act like he did. He didn't like to be confined in the cupboard.
"Boy," Vernon said with a dark voice. "Have you told you teachers that you will have the week of?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then clean up this mess and wait outside."
The mess was Dudley's, why was he the one cleaning but he didn't say it. Just as he didn't say anything about it raining outside. Uncle Vernon didn't like it when he did it. Harry clutched his fist and did what he was told.
Harry was seated in the back seat of the car, look as the scenery changed. The he looked at his uncle, and hesitated. Uncle Vernon was looking straight forward. He had not said a word since leaving the house.
"Uncle, where are we going?" Harry asked after gathering some nerve.
"Be quiet, boy," he snapped.
"But, why…"
"Boy!"
The angry tone made Harry frightened. Had he done something wrong again? Had he done something weird that he didn't noticed. He didn't ask. After a while he becomes aware of the unfamiliar surroundings. Gray buildings. Dark cars parked on the street. When had the rain stop falling? A heavy feeling started to compel him to be as still and unnoticed as possible. This place was something that said that he should avoid it. But they kept on driving as did the feeling.
Just a few minutes later they drove in between to building to a small alley. Uncle Vernon ordered him out of the car as he steps out. Then Vernon takes a small bag out of the trunk of the car. Together they walk further in the alley almost to end, to a door of metal with old scratches on it. Uncle Vernon must have managed to find a doorbell, Harry didn't hear ring, but a man soon opened the door.
"Mr. Dudley, come in," the dark haired man invited and showed them in.
They met by grey stone stairs, they seemed dangers to Harry. Right now he wanted back to the Dursley's house. After three stairs there was another metal door. Behind the door there was a long hallway, with several doors in dark wood. The walls were in a dark red colour. Harry felt lost by all this strangeness. From time to time glancing up on uncle Vernon for support but his eyes was always forward.
"This way."
The man lead them to a door near the end of the hallway just before the hallway turned right. He knocks and walked in. Harry and Uncle Vernon followed. They meet with an old man. He has white hair, sharp blue eyes and he was crippled. It was the first things Harry noticed about the man. The old man seemed to dislike him, Harry thought, as the man looked at him as Petunia did when he walked in with dirty shoes.
"Is this the boy?" the old man sad with a smooth voice.
"Yes, sir."
"Isn't he a bit… young?" again the man showed his despise.
Uncle Vernon answered. "He won't cause trouble."
Harry began to understand why he was here… to take care of this old man. The man looked at uncle Vernon with more contempt then Harry and just seemed to notice that he was there.
"You are…? Who? The child's father? I did not know that you gave away boys these days." Then the man began to mutter to himself.
"I'm not his father. Just a relative."
Vernon didn't disagree with giving him away, Harry realised.
"Sir, this child will be your helper. When he can't just call and we will send someone who can."
"I don't need a helper! What I need is to strangle my snake to son…"
The other man appeared to have heard this before for he began to show Vernon around while Harry stayed, hearing the man talking about various ways to torture his snake to son. Then they came back. Uncle Vernon without the small bag, Harry realises.
"Harry child, I'm sure your uncle has explained how things are, so…" the man said and kneeled. "Just listen to Mr. Malfoy and you will not have any problems. Just be careful about his things. He will yell a lot if something happens to them. I will be back tomorrow to explain your assignments. So just settle in today. Your room is across the bathroom over there. See you tomorrow."
And so he left with uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon did not say a word of explanation. He looked at Mr. Malfoy and they watch intently each other. This was not good.