Harry Potter was always nervous when Uncle Vernon sent him into the town to get groceries. He would frequently get lost for hours, and the freaky stuff would have to get him home, where a beating would await him for using the freaky stuff in the first place. This visit to the market was no exception. The little boy looked around at the taller people surrounding him, and tried his best to blend in with them, whimpering in fear. He had not been able to fully see where he was going, however, and he ended up bumping into someone and falling on his butt.
Rias Gremory had come to Englad via portal on one of her assignments as a devil. Her mission had been completed, and she had decided to explore a little bit, and take in the sights. She had just been doing a little grocery shopping, when she felt something bump into her, causing her to blink. The redhead turned to see a tiny, dark-haired boy staring up at her, eyes wide, and very green.
Harry looked up at the red haired young woman who was looking down at him, and he began to whimper a bit, just knowing she was bound to hit him for bumping into her leg and gaining her attention. after all, Vernon had often beat it into him that he was supposed to go unnoticed by strangers as much as possible, and to not draw attention to himself. As a result, he began to stutter out an apology, but couldn't form the words properly due to fear.
Rias tilted her head at the little boy's reaction, then closed her eyes and giggled. "Well hello there!" She said as she knelt down to the child's level. Harry whimpered, and made a move to stand and run...but he agitated an injury from earlier that day. Vernon had broken his foot earlier that day, so he had been having a hard time moving. The pain that shot through his foot caused him to yelp in pain fall forward...into a pair of waiting arms. Blinking in confusion, he looked up to see the redheaded woman had caught him in her arms, and was currently looking at him in concern. "Are you all right?" She asked. "What caused you to fall?" Harry looked down, both out of fear, and from being shy.
"U-Um...I..." Rias shook her head and picked him up. Harry clutched tightly to the small grocery bag he was carrying.
"Where are your parents?" She asked.
"D-Dead..." Harry replied, looking down sadly. "I'm with my aunt and uncle..." Rias looked at him sympathetically.
"Well then where are your aunt and uncle, dear?" She asked.
"A-At home..." Rias's eyes widened.
"They sent a three year old here by himself?!" She exclaimed, stunned. Harry looked down.
"I'm five..."
"That's no better! Somebody should have a word with your guardians!" Rias snapped. She took a deep breath, and smiled. "Where do you live, young one?"
Harry hesitated. She was not going to let him go should he try and ask her...
"N-Number Four Privet Drive..." He replied shyly. He was not looking forward to returning home...He was supposed to clear out the attic. The attic scared him. It was dark and crowded. Like his cupboard...He hated his cupboard...
Rias smiled. "All right. I have nothing better to do. I'll take you home." Harry's shoulders sagged. This was not going to end well for him if Uncle Vernon saw him coming up to the door with a stranger holding him... But he was afraid of what would happen if he said no.
"O-Okay..." He replied softly.
An hour later they arrived at Number 4 Privet Drive. As soon as Rias set foot on the pathway, she was immediately stopped for a moment, before it passed, but she knew what caused it. The only questions were, one, who would be dumb enough to use them in this day and age, two, they could only be this weak if there was no real love in this place, and three, if they were this weak, then that means they had already been corrupted beyond repair, she would have to be careful...So, stepping up to the front door, she knocked a few times with her left hand, her right arm still carrying Harry.
The door was thrown open, and a shockingly obese man, who looked like a walrus without tusks, stepped out. Rias stared in disbelief at just how fat this man was, then shook her head. "Good afternoon." The devil said politely. "I was just returning this child home." She gestured to Harry. Vernon's eyes practically bulged out of his sockets, and his face turned purple. This did not go unnoticed by Rias, and she raised a brow. "...Is there a problem?" She asked. Vernon shook his head.
"No, no, not at all." He said, a clear edge in his tone. Rias nodded.
"I couldn't help but notice that his foot is broken, and he's heavily bruised and scraped. May I ask what happened?"
"He fell down some stairs..." With that, Vernon curtly grabbed Harry and slammed the door in Rias's face.
Once the door was closed, Vernon turned to Harry, shaking with anger.
"I TOLD YOU...NOT TO TALK...TO STRANGERS, BOY!" He roared. Harry whimpered.
"I'm sorry Uncle Ver-..."
"SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Vernon threw Harry across the room. He let out a soft cry as he slammed into the wall and collapsed to the floor.
Outside, Rias could hear the commotion, and sighed, her fears confirmed by what she had felt, and hoping that, against logic, she had been wrong, She sighed, "I am going to have Akeno watch this place for me, I am sure she would love to 'punish' that walrus later..." she said, knowing only too well how sadistic Akeno could be to those who had earned her ire, "And I will have to make sure that Akeno knows to contact me before things get bad..." she said as she took out a pen, a little pad, wrote a quick note, summoned her familiar, and sent it off to get Akeno.
Vernon tossed Harry towards the stairs. "Now get up there and start cleaning that attic, boy! And I want it absolutely spotless, or else you won't be getting any meals for a month!" Harry nodded, bravely fighting back the urge to cry, then ran up the stairs as best he could, a feat made very difficult by his broken leg.
2 hours later...
Harry sighed in relief as the last bit of attic was finally cleaned. Maybe now, he could finally-
Wait...
Harry approached something on the ground he had missed. It looked like a small square piece of paper. Curious, he flipped it over. His eyes widened, and the little boy teared up and felt a pain in his chest. A pain of longing.
It was a picture of a smiling young woman with red hair, however, due to the dust and grime covering the picture, it was hard to make any other features, such as eye colour, and facial structure.
Even though it was the first time he had seen her, Harry knew. He knew that this was his mother.
The little boy whimpered and clutched the picture close to his little chest. He wished his mother were here for him...She would have protected him and loved him...
Suddenly, the attic door was thrown open. Vernon stormed up the stairs.
"You'd best be done in there, boy, or-" Vernon froze when he saw what Harry was holding.
Harry screamed and tried to bolt around Venon. Sadly, with his broken foot, he didn't succeed, and ended up taking a punch to the gut that sent him flying into the wall of the attic, before Vernon picked up Harry, and threw him down the stairs where he hit the landing at the bottom. Harry knew nothing but pain, but, thankfully, the picture was still ok...mostly. Unbeknownst to both Vernon and Harry, a long black haired young woman with a dreamy look on her face was watching them through a window, using her black leathery wings to keep herself aloft so she could watch through a window. When she saw what the fat walrus did however, her dreamy look turned to one that promised pain to who ever saw it. She then summoned and sent her familiar off to find Rias. She would know what her familiar appearing would mean.
Meanwhile...
Rias sat waiting anxiously in the club room for a sign that she was needed. It came in the form of Akeno's familiar. The very instant Rias saw it, she knew that it was time for her to step in.
Back at the Dursleys...
Vernon was raining blows down on Harry nonstop. Harry saw in his eyes that he was truly out for blood this time. Every blow drew a spurt of blood and cracked more and more bones. It hurt more than any beating he had ever experienced, and Harry had never been more terrified in his young life. He was doing everything he could to protect the photo as much as he could, even if the frame was being smashed and destroyed, as long as the priceless picture remained.
"SNOOPING AROUND WHERE YOU DON'T BELONG! YOU WORTHLESS BRAT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! YOU'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT TROUBLE SINCE THE DAY WE TOOK YOU IN FROM THE GOODNESS OF OUR HEARTS!"
Harry was tearing up at this point. Vernon's fist raised above his tiny head, and he heard a terrible cracking sound in his head. He felt weak...his vision swimming...
The last thing he heard before everything went black was the sound of the door being blasted to bits.
Rias blasted the door open, distracting Vernon, who still stood on the stairs, his fist inches from Harry's skull, and a second from finishing the job he had started. "You will not touch that child again!" she shouted, glaring at Vernon while she subconsciously activated her powers of destruction.
Vernon screamed in terror as he felt himself get blown across the room by a powerful force. Rias snarled, and stepped forward to finish the job...only for a hand to clasp onto her shoulder. The female devil turned to see Akeno looking at her sadly.
"No, Rias. You take care of the little boy." She glared darkly at Vernon. "I'LL take care of the Walrus..." Rias hesitated, then nodded.
"You're right...Make him suffer..."
~~~song start: Two Steps From Hell - 72 Virgins (Halloween)~~~
"Of course. Do I ever do anything but?" Akeno calmly approached Vernon and grabbed him by the shirt, then dragged him into the basement, her face alight with the excitement she felt at making a filthy human scream... "Don't worry. This will only hurt...a lot." She said cheerfully, too cheerfully...Vernon struggled to escape her grip. His fate would forever be unknown...well, except for the screams and cries for mercy and for help and the desperate pleas to stop before ending in a cold...dead...silence...
~~~song end~~~
Rias sighed, then approached Harry's side. She placed a hand on his wrist to check his pulse, and her heart dropped when she felt that it was rapidly declining...he was dying. She had to do something...
Quickly, she summoned one of her pawns, and held it to the little boy's chest. The demonic energy of the pawn swirled around the boy but barely covered him. 'He must have incredible power inside him...' she thought as she realised that one Pawn would not cut it for him. She summoned more of her pawns, trying to add more then one. Each combination was rejected, till she tried 6 pawns, and finally they sank into his chest, bathing him in demonic red light. He gasped for breath before he slowly opened his eyes half way, still weak from just being brought back from the dead, letting Rias sigh in relief that he would be ok.
~~~song start: Two Steps From Hell - Gore's Theme~~~
Harry shot up with wide eyes. His little head snapped around, and he curled up in a tight ball, hugging his knees. He was hyperventilating. Rias's eyes widened, and she reached out to touch him.
The moment her hand made contact with his back, the little boy screamed. Rias raised a hand to her mouth and teared up as he began crying loudly, curled up in the fetal position, She could have sworn that she heard him saying "Mommy... I want... my mommy..." in between sobs.
Rias immediatly scooped him up in a hug and placed his head on her chest. "It's okay." Rias told Harry in a soothing voice as she rubbed his back. "It's okay, dear...He won't hurt you anymore..." Her words had little effect on the terrified, miserable child. But she didn't let that hinder her. She remained calm and patient. Right now, all the little boy needed was a shoulder to cry on, and she was more than happy to offer him that.
Harry was absolutely frantic, and had no idea where he was at first...but as his tears subsided, he realized he was comfy, and relaxed, and...tired...so tired...
Harry looked up through blurred vision, thoroughly exhausted by the day's events. He saw a pretty woman with red hair looking down at him. He lost the strength to continue looking up before he got a good look at her, but he knew what had happened. He had died, and his mother was now holding him. Harry placed his head back on the woman's chest and snuggled up closely. "Mommy..." The little boy whispered.
Rias gasped at the boy's words, and looked down, mouth open to ask him what he meant,..only to see he was unconscious. He had called her mommy... The devil looked at the little boy...and then she smiled warmly.
"Mommy, hmm?" She said. "Well then...Mommy it is, I guess." The redhead kissed the top of the little boy's head...then her gaze fell upon something else.
The picture of Harry's mother.
Rias picked up the picture, and realized what had really happened. Harry was exhausted, and saw a redheaded woman holding him, so he had subconsciously called her mommy.
The devil was almost disappointed that he wasn't directly speaking to her, but she smiled regardless.
Whether he had meant to call her that or not, the fact was the child desperately needed a mother figure in his life. And for such a cute, sweet little boy, that was a role she was more than happy to accept.
The door to the basement opened, and Akeno stepped out, covered in blood, wearing a warm smile.
"He'll never hurt the little boy again." She told her best friend.
"I'm glad..." Rias replied. Then, she turned to her fellow devil with a warm smile. "Now...say hello to the newest member of our family." She gestured to Harry.
