Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

Imprisonment

Harry Potter was unusual.

He was considered unusual because he was different. Unlike the rest of his family, he didn't carry a single drop of magical blood in his veins. He was what most witches and wizards would call a squib – a child born from magical parents, but without the capability to use magic.

He was a disgrace.

He knew his parents were ashamed of the fact that he was a squib even though they tried their best to hide their disappointment. They said that his ability to use magic didn't matter to them; however, their actions spoke otherwise.

They were disappointed.

He knew they were disappointed because it was the only logical explanation to his predicament. If they didn't hate him, then why else would they have abandoned him at the Dursleys?

They said it was for his safety, but then, why didn't they leave his brother too? If he was in danger, then wouldn't Deon – a wizard – be in even greater danger? If it was for his safety to stay at the Dursleys, then why didn't they leave Deon here for his safety too?!?

Harry's eyes clouded with tears as he huddled closer to himself in a small corner of the dirty cupboard. Didn't they know what the Dursleys were like? Didn't they know that they hated him? Didn't they know that they were abusive – both physically and emotionally? Did anyone care?

Of course they didn't. If they cared about him, then they wouldn't have left him there in the first place.

Closing his eyes, Harry quietly cried himself to sleep as he dreamed of happier times and places. A place where he could call home, and a time when his family had loved him …

He remembered and he cried…because he knew it was all he had left…

…Memories.

Lily was staring into space…again.

James barely reigned in a tired sigh as he looked helplessly at his wife. What was he supposed to do? What was the best thing to do? Had he really done the right thing by sending Harry to live with the Dursleys? At first, when he heard that Harry would be safe and protected there, he had agreed wholeheartedly. But now, looking at the despondent state his wife was in, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Sighing, he turned his head towards his former professor and offered him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Albus; Lily's hasn't been feeling very well lately. Was there something that you needed?"

"No," Dumbledore answered tiredly, his eyes shining with a deep sense of sadness and regret. "I just wanted to see how you three were holding up." Taking a small sip from his cup of tea, he quietly added, "James, you know that I have your family's best interest in mind. Please believe me when I say that sending young Harry to live with the Dursleys is the best thing we can do. He'll be safe there, and he'll be able to live a normal life – one untainted by the war. As long as Harry's presence at the Dursleys' home remains a secret, he'll be safe from Voldemort."

James raked his hand through his hair. "Isn't there any way we can visit Harry or send someone – possibly Sirius – to check on him? It's been five months since we've heard anything about him! What if he's not happy there? What if he doesn't fit in? What if the Dursleys don't like him? What if…"

"James," Dumbledore interrupted, holding up his hand in an attempt to stop James' onslaught of questions. "I've thought a lot about Harry too, but it's just too risky to send someone to check on Harry. If the people we send to check on Harry are followed, then it'll endanger both Harry and the Dursleys. So, the best thing we can do right now is focus our attention on ending the war, because if we can stop Voldemort, then it'll be safe to bring Harry home again."

"But why can't we bring Harry home now? We're protected by the Fidelius Charm, aren't we? And Sirius would never betray us!" James argued. "Harry would be perfectly safe here."

Dumbledore sighed as he patiently answered, "You have to understand, James, that there is no fool-proof spell in this world. There is a possibility that Voldemort will find the counter-spell to the Fidelius Charm, and when that happens, Harry will be killed. Whereas Deon can be trained to defend himself, Harry will be defenseless against the Death Eaters. If anything happens, Harry will be the first to perish because Voldemort despises all muggles, and in his eyes, a squib is no better than a muggle. By bringing Harry home, you will be placing him in grave danger."

James resignedly nodded his head as he sagged against his chair. Dumbledore was right. What was he thinking?

"Don't loose heart, my boy." Dumbledore gently consoled. "Harry will come back to us someday. When Voldemort is destroyed, Harry will return home. But, for now, trust Lily's family to take care of him."

James closed his eyes and numbly nodded his head.

This wasn't permanent.

Someday, Harry will come home.

"BOY! BOY! Wake up!" Vernon Dursley roared loudly, pounding his beefy hand repeatedly against the door.

When Harry failed to answered, he was immediately hauled out of his cupboard and flung half-way down the hall. Biting back a cry of pain, he quickly stumbled to his feet and backed away from his uncle. Gathering his courage, he quietly demanded, "What do you want?"

At that question, Vernon's face immediately turned a dark shade of purple. "What do I want?" he hissed, barely restraining himself from lunging at his freakish nephew and strangling him to death. "What do I want?" he repeated, gaining volume. "Don't you dare ask me that question when it was your freakish parents who dumped you on us!"

Harry's eyes immediately clouded with tears as he glared hatefully at his uncle. "Then just kick me out!" No one cares anyway.

"You ungrateful brat!" roared Vernon, raising his hand and soundly slapping his nephew across the cheek, leaving a large welt in its wake.

Harry immediately reeled back in pain, shocked. He had hit him – again. Cradling his bruised cheek in his hands, Harry quickly turned and fled. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he raced for the door. Fumbling with the lock, he immediately screamed when he was suddenly lifted off the ground by the collar of his neck.

Pain instantly shot through his body when was unceremoniously slammed head-first against the wall. Blood trickled down his forehead as his vision flickered unstably in and out of view. Lying helplessly on the ground, he silently wondered if he was going to die. Surprisingly, he found that he didn't really care anymore.

After all, it's just one less squib in this world…

Finally, unable to cope with the pain, he blacked out.

When Harry awoke again, he found himself back in his cupboard. Struggling into a sitting position, he immediately hissed in displeasure when his body groaned in protest. It felt like he had been run over by the knight bus – repeatedly.

Ignoring the sharp throb of pain in his head, he slowly crawled towards the door and pushed. Surprisingly, the door immediately swung open.

Uncle Vernon either forgot to lock the door or he was simply too lazy to do it.

After a moment, Harry concluded that it was mot likely the latter because Uncle Vernon probably thought that he would be unconscious for several days again (since it took him nearly three days to regain consciousness last time).

Pushing the depressing thought out of his mind, Harry quickly, but quietly slipped out of the cupboard and stepped into the hall. Looking around to make sure that no one was awake, he was pleased to note that the Dursleys were probably sound asleep (by the sound of their snores).

Deciding not to waste his precious time, Harry hurriedly stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed his cousin's backpack off the counter. Emptying the content onto the ground, he quickly opened the fridge and stuffed as much food as he could into the pack. Once he was satisfied that he had taken as much food as he could, he quickly zipped up the pack and hefted it over his shoulders.

Taking a step into the dark hall, he immediately froze when he heard a set of feet rushing down the stairs. Recognizing the sound of the light footfalls, Harry hurriedly turned and bolted for the door.

Petunia Dursley was awake.

He had barely unlocked the door when the hall lights suddenly flicked on. His aunt immediately spotted him. Realizing what he was trying to do, she quickly rushed forward and screamed.

Ignoring the incessant pounding in the back of his head, he quickly flung open the door, slipped out of the house, and slammed the door in his aunt's face. A second later, the door was flung open again.

Half-way across the street, he heard his aunt scream for him to come back. However, for once, he completely ignored her command and ran faster.

He was never coming back again.

He wasn't quite sure where he was going, or how long he had been running. All he knew was that he had to get as far away from the Dursleys as possible. It didn't really matter where he went, as long as it was away from Privet Drive. The last thing he wanted was to go back there. If given the choice, he would rather die first!

There was no way he would…

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

Harry quickly skidded to a halt and backpedaled. What…? His bright, green eyes immediately widened with apprehension when he realized he was surrounded. Were they wizards sent by his parents to return him to the Dursleys? His heart immediately twisted painfully at the thought of his family. The family that abandoned him…

"Look at what we have here, boys. It's the famous Potter brat!"

Harry immediately jumped, reflexively flinching when one of the darkly-dressed wizards suddenly broke the tense silence with a scathing remark. "Wrong one, Bella. This one's the squib."

Harry's jaw clenched.

"Well, since he's not the right one, Master won't mind if I killed him then." Bella grinned maliciously, pointing her wand at the young boy. "It's a pity; I thought we had found the right one for sure…Crucio!"

Harry immediately screamed as his tiny body convulsed in pain. It felt as if his body was literally being torn apart from the inside out. Not even the Dursleys caused him that much pain…

"That's enough."

The pain stopped.

"What do you want, Anita?" Bella snapped angrily, glaring at the woman standing near the back of the group. "This isn't the brat that the Dark Lord's looking for. He won't mind if we have some fun with this squib before resuming our mission." Curling her lips in sick fascination, she quickly turned back to Harry and shouted, "Crucio!"

Harry immediately screamed as the same pain tore though his body again. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he simultaneously screamed and pleaded for them to stop – to stop whatever they were doing to him.

"I don't care what Voldemort wants. If it wasn't Orochimaru-sama's wish, I wouldn't even be here." Anita snorted, causing many of the Death Eaters to flinch when she addressed the Dark Lord by his name.

Bella scowled. "What do you want with a squib?"

Anita frowned. "Unlike you, I don't make it a habit to question my master's decision. My job is to simply complete my mission, and for this mission, Orochimaru-sama explicitly ordered me to bring back someone from the Potter family. Thus, as long as the boy is a Potter, he's coming with me."

"If you can, you're welcome to try to take him from me." Bella sneered.

Anita's eyes narrowed. She immediately dropped into a defensive position and pulled out her kunai. If the woman was looking for a fight, then she would make sure that she would never be able to challenge her again.

"There's no need to fight between us." a third voice drawled, breaking the tense silence. "We're allies, aren't we?" When he didn't receive a response, he quickly barked, "Put away your wand, Bella."

Bella's jaw clenched, but she reluctantly obeyed.

"Go ahead and take the boy. Just make sure your master keeps up his end of the bargain. The Dark Lord is generous, but he will not forgive those who betray him."

Anita sneered. "Don't try to threaten me, Lucius. Orochimaru-sama will do as he pleases! He bows to no one." Frowning darkly, she quickly picked up Harry's limp body and slung him over her shoulder. "However, for the sake of this alliance, I'll excuse your insolence this time. We'll continue this discussion the next time the portal opens."

"When will that be?" Lucius asked, narrowing his eyes in barely restrained anger. "Another thirty years?"

"The seal separating our worlds is gradually weakening. In another century or so, our worlds will become one. However, before that happens, all we can depend on is the portal. The portal is an unstable bridge between our worlds. Sometimes it's open; other times, it's not. However, like I said, the seal is weakening. At the very most, I'll be able to return in ten years."

Bella grunted. She didn't understand why her master even bothered making an alliance with Orochimaru – a man none of them had ever seen face to face. Wouldn't it have been easier if they just did everything by themselves? They didn't need an alliance to advance to their noble cause!

"Then, we'll be expecting you in ten years." Lucius coldly intoned. Then, in a softer voice, he quietly added, "Don't forget your end of the bargain."

"As long as you don't forget yours." retorted Anita. Then, without another word, she quickly turned and left. "Sayonara…"

Fools…

Harry's head pounded as he tried to make sense of what he had just learned. They had talked for a long time, but all he managed to piece together was the fact that the Dark Lord (the one he had heard his parents talk about) was allied with some mysterious guy named Orochimaru. There was also something about worlds and portals, but his young four-year-old mind couldn't wrap around the concept.

"You're lucky, boy."

Harry's eyes opened. They were in the park.

"I don't know what a squib is, but from what I've gathered, it's not something you're proud of, right?" Anita smirked. "But that's going to change. Once Orochimaru-sama's experiment succeeds, he'll make you into something powerful. You'll gain the strength of an animal!"

Harry's eyes widened with fear. What was she planning to do with him? Was she going to try to turn him into an animal? He immediately began to struggle in her grasps; however, he quickly discovered that she had an iron grip on his body.

Anita grinned maliciously. "Orochimaru-sama's experimented with all kinds of people's bodies. None of them came out the way he envision it. They were all trash! But maybe – just maybe – your dormant magical blood will be able to make the experiment a success!" Laughing happily, she murmured quietly, "You should feel honored, boy. You may become Orochimaru-sama's first successful attempt to imbue animal characteristics into a human!"

Harry didn't quite understand every word she said, but he had enough sense to realize that the experiment would be dangerous. Tears immediately surfaced again as he considered his situation. Why did all the bad things have to happen to him? First, he was abandoned by his parents. Next, he was abused by his relatives. Then, he was tortured by a woman named Bella. Now, they were going to use him as an experiment.

His shoulders shook violently as silent tears streamed down his pale cheeks. If it hadn't been for his parents (who had abandoned him), then he wouldn't have been abused by his relatives. And if he didn't have a brother – if Deon didn't exist – then maybe his parents would have loved him…and if his parents had loved him, then maybe (just maybe) he could have been happy too.

In that moment, torn between physical pain and internal sorrow, he came to the conclusion that he had been trying to avoid ever since he had been abandoned on the Dursley's front porch.

He hated them. He hated all of them – each and every last one.

Wizards were scum…

…and his family was the worst of them all.

TBC