A/N: Hey there peeps! So here's chapter two. I'm still undecided on what to do with the Dursley adults, but I have an idea. If anyone wants to contribute, PM me or leave me a review (I mean, leave a review even if you don't have any ideas…I kinda love reviews) (a whole lot lol)
hmm, anyway. Chapter 2. Lots of Min and Harry and ooh maybe if you squint towards the end you'll get a treat…you should all feel extremely privileged I got my Pottermore email last night and I did this instead of staying on there all day! I'm FlameElm169 if anyone is interested! Feel free to bug me there!
Gosh, having trouble finishing a thought here.
Right, oh, I remember. Tha gaol agam ort is Gaelic (Scottish, not Irish – Min wouldn't like that) for I love you. My other stories have quite a bit of Gaelic in it, not sure if it will work here, but we'll see how we go. Let me know if you want more or less (than the one phrase in here? Geez Em, you're ridiculous!) Anyway. Clearly, I should go before you all think I am more insane than most of you know I am!
Peace out!
Oh, Disclaimer is on Chapter 1 I think, if not – I don't own anything here. Except maybe the chains that were attached to Harry…and who would want to own them?...I mean really?
Minerva sat for a moment looking at the little feet poking out from under the bed. She had failed Lily. In that moment all her anger, at Albus, at Petunia, at Voldemort came bubbling up to the surface and with a cry that chilled the whole neighbourhood she whirled around to Petunia casting a spell, only intercepted at the last minute by Albus, who was looking bereft.
"Move Albus." She growled, her brilliant emerald eyes darkening as she glowered at the Dursley family.
"Min, calm down, we'll take him. The blood wards won't work here anymore anyway." Minerva hadn't moved and her wand was still pointed at Petunia's head over Albus' shoulder. Realising this suddenly Albus took a step forward and blocked her wand, his heart breaking as she broke down. "Tabby, I will deal with these people," he said, the usual twinkle in his eyes long faded at the treatment of the most important wizard in the wizarding world, but more importantly the most important wizard in his best friend's life. "Tabby," he said, turning her tear stained face to his, looking straight in her eyes. "Take him to Poppy." He said with a nod, trying to break her out of her almost catatonic state
"Lily," she said lamely. Albus drew her into a hug and whispered that it would be alright in her ear. She laughed humourlessly and glared at the Dursley's. "Harry won't think so." She said, turning back to the cupboard, kneeling down and peering under the bed.
"He was dangero, eek." Vernon dared to say, only to be shocked into silence when Albus whirled on him, touching his wand to the bottom of Vernon's excessively large chin.
"If you utter a single word more, it will be your last." He said dangerously, shocking even Dudley into silence at the sheer power contained in his voice.
Minerva meanwhile was trying to coax Harry out of the cupboard.
"Harry, Harry sweetheart, its okay, I'm not going to hurt you." She said gently, her heart shattering into even smaller pieces as he shuffled further under the bed. Whispering the incantation, she unlocked the bindings on his little feet, wanting to rub the bruised flesh but knowing no-body would have that privilege for a very long time. "Harry, you're feet are free baby, it's going to be okay. I'm here to take you home." She said gently, lying down on the filthy floor in the space, trying to get a better look at her grandchild.
She finally spied where his head was and shuffled up further towards that end of the space. He was facing away, but she could see that he still had James' hair. She almost laughed a little at the fact that it was sticking up at all angles, just like James'. Lily would have liked that. Having a little brain wave, she switched into her Animagus form and crawled gently under the bed, her little nose curling at the putrid smell in under here. She meowed a little and laid her front paws on Harry's back, jumping back with a hiss as he cried out in pain. She could feel her anger building again at the implication that Harry was hurt. She was going to kill those pathetic excuses for humans.
She crawled around the other side of Harry and wailed forlornly as she spied Harry's face, her superior night vision helping in the darkness. Harry's eyes were damaged. The beautiful green eyes that he had inherited from Lily were white and cloudy and she realised that he couldn't see. It took every single ounce of her learned control not to transform and blow the house apart in her anger.
'Harry, it's about Harry, they'll pay.' She said to herself like a mantra. 'It's about Harry'
She mewled a little and ran her body along Harry's fingers he stilled for a moment, and then twitched his fingers a little, as her tail tickled his little fingers. As she rubbed her head against his hands, he became bolder, eventually removing one arm from his protective self-hug and using it to pet Minerva. She licked his hand a little and her heart soared as he giggled a little, before immediately biting it back. Her soul felt a little lighter, knowing that he could still laugh after all of this, even if it was only a little bit. She licked his face and went back into the hallways, switching back to her human form, crawling as close to Harry as she could.
"Harry sweetie, roll over for me. I'm here to protect you and I won't let anyone hurt you anymore," she said, gently, laying a cautious and gentle hand on the little boy's hand. He twitched a little, but the interaction with the tabby cat had relaxed him enough for her to hold his hand, running her thumb over his tiny fingers. She was glad that Albus had taken the Dursley's into the kitchen, knowing that Harry wouldn't cope if they were there too. "Come here baby." She whispered, rolling him gently smiling a little as he let her, wincing only when his back came into contact with the hard floor. Becoming frustrated, she wandlessly lifted the bed and moved to his side, pulling him onto her knee and cradling him in her arms. With tears running down her face as she tried to control her emotions she rocked him back and forth whispering that it would all be okay now.
She carefully stood, shaking her head at how light he was, even for a five year old. Muttering heart felt comforts and promises she conjured a vase in the hallway into a fluffy cat that looked awfully like herself, if she does say so herself, and pressed it into his arms, smiling sadly as he clutched it to his chest.
"We're going to go home now baby." She whispered, turning on the spot and apparating to the boundaries of Hogwarts, calling a house elf to save time. "Pippy?" there was a little pop and Harry tensed in her arms, his senses in overdrive as he clutched to the little cat in his arms and Minerva's robes. "Pippy, take us to the Hospital wing please." She said with no nonsense. Seconds later, she was calling out to Poppy, who bustled out of her office, paling as she recognised the hair on top of the very small child residing in her friend's arms.
"Minerva? Is that?" When Minerva nodded, Poppy motioned for Minerva to follow her into a private room, where Min placed Harry on the bed awkwardly when he refused to let go of her robes, but never making a noise.
"Harry its okay." She said gently stroking his filthy forehead. "Poppy is my friend and she is going to make you feel better." She whispered. Harry didn't let go of Minerva's robes, but he did still long enough for Poppy to cast a diagnostic' spell over him, clicking her tongue angrily as she perused the read outs.
"Bastards." She whispered reading one particular point. "Min I need to get his shirt off." She said quietly, a friendly hand on Minerva's shoulder. Minerva nodded and smoothed Harry's forehead again.
"Baby I need to take you shirt off." Harry didn't respond and Minerva wondered if he could talk at all. "Here it goes Harry." She said gently as Poppy banished the shirt, levitating it to another corner of the room before destroying it.
"Abominable," she said before turning back to Harry.
Her eyes watered as she saw the marks on Harry's back the bruising indicating that he had been beaten recently, but it looked to be the only time it had happened. She explained this to her friend, and she could see her trying to reign in her rage even as she stroked her grandson's head gently. If there was one thing Poppy knew, it was to never get on Minerva McGonagall's bad side. This was not going to end well for whoever had done this to young Harry. For all her years, more than she would ever admit to, she knew that the boy had to be clean before she dealt with anything.
"Min, he needs a bath before I can do anything." She said gently conjuring a small bath next to the bed. She touched Harry gently, pulling back immediately as he stiffened and shook immediately, his head shaking as he pushed further into Minerva's shoulder.
"Easy little one, easy." She said hugging him gently, "I'm here." She rocked him gently. She had no more room for emotions. She was completely overwhelmed by the volume of feelings she had right now and she knew she had to bury them so she could cope with taking care of Harry. She picked him up gently, letting Poppy remove the rest of his clothed before kneeling in front of the bath, thanking her active lifestyle for keeping her fit enough to do this, even at her age. "Harry, we've got to put you in the bath baby. I've got you though."
"Maybe the feet first." Poppy said trying to remember everything she had ever read or heard about abused wizarding children even as she helped her friend.
Harry shook a little as his feet touched the water, but as Minerva whispered to him and Poppy eased his feet into the water, he relaxed a little. The only this they couldn't do once he was in was prize the soft toy off him, so with a grimace from Minerva, who hated getting her paws wet, they bathed him and if anything he looked happier than Minerva had seen him since before his parents died.
"We need to get you out now sweetie." Poppy said gently, smiling at Minerva as Harry let go of Minerva's robes so that she could wrap a towel around him. She remembered that when Lily had bathed him she would sit and rock him for a little bit as he dried, so she did just that, resting on the bed as she rocked him back and forth, humming a lullaby her mother had sung to her when she was a little girl. Pretty soon, Harry's eyelids started to droop and Minerva slowed the rocking down a little so he wasn't bumped awake by her movements.
"Tha gaol agam ort baby." She said kissing his forehead gently as he slept. Prising his still closed fists from her robes, she stood by as she watched Poppy work on the boy. Creeping to the edge of the room she waited for Poppy to finish her treatments as she took some deep breaths trying to control herself. "How bad is it?" she said as Poppy finished and came to stand next to her, placing a friendly arm on hers.
"It's not as bad as I thought it was when I first saw him." Poppy said positively. "Obviously, the biggest issue if his eyes. I have never seen that before, but I have heard about it once, but I'll get to that in a minute. He's malnourished, he's not healthy, I think that was the first bath he'd had in months and I don't think he's eaten much in the same amount of time." She said, waiting for Minerva to add anything.
"I haven't seen him for four months." Minerva said quietly, a tear rolling down her face as she thought of how she could have prevented all of this. Poppy squeezed her friend's hand, wanting to hug her, but knowing that since Lily died the only person that could manage to get away with it was Albus.
"This is not your fault Min." she said gently, wiping a few stray tears from Minerva's face. "They did this, not you." It didn't help much, but Minerva realised that all her anger needed to be directed at the Dursley's. She nodded once and took a deep breath.
"Thanks." She said before indicating that she was ready to hear the rest.
"Okay, the beating that he took, looked to be a one off and it only looked angry because of the lack of treatment. Once I'd repaired the skin, it calmed considerably. That could have been a whole lot worse. But as I said before the biggest problem is his eyes and I shall have to go and talk to some of my colleagues at St Mungo's." Minerva nodded as she let her eyes wander over her boy.
"Was he, did that bastard," she couldn't quite finish the sentence but Poppy understood and shook her head, thankful that the man wasn't that bad or else she knew for a fact that there would be no stopping Minerva from killing him.
"No." she said with a smile.
"Small mercies." Minerva said dryly, her eyes still on Harry. Poppy smiled and patted Minerva's hand.
"Go and lie with him." She said. "The more he trusts and accepts your presence, the easier it will be to get him back." Minerva didn't move for a moment.
"What if he's blind." She whispered. Poppy pulled her into a hug, astonishing both herself and Minerva at the boldness of the move.
"I will go and talk to them now. That way we'll have more of an idea of what we are up against." She said letting Minerva go and looking into her eyes. "There are wards on his bed, when he wakes, I will know, so you're not alone okay?" Minerva nodded and Poppy left to go back to her office, stopping when she heard her name.
"Poppy?" Minerva said quietly, not looking at her friend as she stopped. "Thank-you." She whispered, making Poppy smile.
"Anything for you Min." Poppy said gently leaving Minerva to her thoughts.
Minerva looked over Harry as he lay sleeping. She knew that Poppy had given him a dreamless sleep potion so he wouldn't wake for quite a while. Making a decision, she enlarged the bed a little and lay down next to him. She gathered him into her arms and rolled him onto her stomach, hugging him close as he his head lay on her chest. She laid one hand on his chest so she could check; however unnecessarily she knew it was; that he was still breathing, while the other hand ran through his hair.
Still for the first time since she found him she let her emotions overcome her, harsh, choking sobs coming from her throat as she wept for Harry and Lily and James and her family and anything else that she had blocked herself from dealing with. She was shocked momentarily as a hand started coming through her uncharacteristically loosely tied hair and she looked up, straight into Albus' tearful eyes.
Before anyone could say anything, Harry unconsciously moved in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her chest, whimpering a little, making her smile even through her tears.
"I've got you baby." She whispered shakily as a few stray hiccups shook her frame. She looked back up at Albus who was also trying to control his emotions.
"How is he?" Albus said cautiously, knowing as soon as he saw Harry he was partially responsible.
"Poppy said the biggest problem is his eyes." Minerva said, too exhausted to be angry with him, especially knowing how terrible he felt. It would keep for another day.
"What's wrong with his eyes?" Albus frowned and Minerva realised that the most Albus had seen of the boy were his ankles. She explained all of Harry's injuries to Albus, finishing with his eyes. She had never seen him look so broken and she knew she wouldn't be angry with him for long. "I'm so sorry Tabby." He said, slumping in the chair next to the bed.
Minerva watched as a single tear rolled down his face, disappearing into his beard and something fluttered in her chest.
Something she thought she had dealt with many years ago.
She faltered slightly before she extended the hand that was running through Harry's hair to Albus' knee, resting it gently on his leg, refusing to meet his eyes, until her took it and intertwined their fingers, running a calloused thumb over the back of her hand.
Harry was still asleep when Poppy finished talking to her colleagues at St Mungo's and as she walked through the door to Harry's room to check on him, she couldn't help the wide smile that appeared on her face. Min was holding Harry on her chest, an arm wrapped protectively around him, even as the other hand was being held tightly by their esteemed Headmaster. Tiptoeing back out of the room and pushing the door not quite closed she went back to her normal duties, happy that the students wouldn't return for a few weeks.