Disclaimer: If I owned either story I wouldn't have a disclaimer here now would I?
"It is the will of the Author that separates good stories from bad. For without the will to write, a story will remain an unshared idea."
Warning: Will be slash. Of the male/male variety. Eventually. After several more chapters. Maybe.
Safety: Chapter 1 – Comfort
After they had introduced themselves Shmi had gotten up and left the room for a while. Sitting there in silence gave Harry time to think. And panic. What if she was calling his uncle? Or the police? He would be in big trouble. Harry sat there wondering what would happen to him and small shakes started running through his body. He wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from fear. Perhaps both and that was what was making him so tired.
Harry had just about worked himself into a panic attack by the time Shmi came back. Now dressed in some dry clothes and with a towel in her arms. Seeing his shivering form she hurried over to him and had him wrapped in the large fluffy towel before he could even blink.
"There now." She crooned to him. "Let's get you dried off and warmed up." She moved her hands in a fast rubbing motion over his arms and back, taking the moisture away and giving his limbs some warmth back. Harry felt horrible and guilty. How could he have thought that a kind beautiful woman like Shmi would get him in trouble? He sniffed lightly as his shivers slowly calmed until they only occurred once in a while.
Both of them startled when the kettle on the stove started whistling, prompting Shmi to shuffle over to it and remove it from the heat. Harry watched as she deftly pulled two mugs out of a cabinet. One she added some type of powder to and the other she added a tea bag to before pouring warm water into them both. She opened a drawer and pulled out a spoon which she then used to stir the mug that she had put the powder into. Harry pulled the towel closer as what little warmth Shmi had given him with her rubbings quickly fled to be replaced by a chill.
"Drink up." Shmi placed one of the mugs in front of Harry before sitting next to him with her own mug firmly in her hands. Harry slowly untangled his arms from the towel and cautiously, so as not to spill anything, brought the mug closer to himself.
The smell and color of the drink were something that Harry was familiar with, since during the winter he would make several cups of it a day for Dudley. It was something the other boy had really seemed to enjoy and Harry mourned the fact that he had never been allowed to try any of it himself.
"Hot chocolate?" Harry looked over at Shmi with a puzzled look on his face. Questioning whether he was actually allowed to drink something that he had been told was reserved for 'good little boys, and not dirty freaks like himself.'
"I'm glad that you know what it is at least." Shmi took a sip from her mug and let out a delighted sigh before continuing in an even softer voice. "I know it's unusual for someone like us to have such a luxury like that. But my master is kind to me and allows me small things. Like this home and everything in it. That chocolate was a gift from Pi-Lippa." At the word gift, Harry move the cup back to where Shmi had placed it and set his hands in his lap.
"You should drink that before it gets cold. It won't help warm you up if it isn't warm." Shmi took another sip of her tea while sending a puzzled look at Harry over the rim of the mug. "Do you not like hot chocolate? I can get you something else. Maybe some tea or I might have some milk left." Harry shook his head rather violently.
"I've never had hot chocolate. But it was a gift to you and I shouldn't take your gift from you." Harry once again pulled the towel tightly around him and slouched down into the seat. "Dudley got a book one time for a present, but he didn't want it and just threw it into the garbage. So I took it. I had never had anything of my own. But Dudley found out and said that I had taken his book from him even though he hadn't wanted it." Harry sent a longing look at the mug sitting in front of him on the table.
"What happened Harry?" Shmi asked, removing one of her hands from where it was wrapped around her mug and placing it on his shoulder as he shuddered at the memories. Her hand was warmer than normal, Harry noted, from being held against the warm mug. And Harry was starting to get cold again. Not as cold as he was before he had the towel, but the towel was wet now and cooling off quickly. Harry was glad that he was wrapped up in the towel so that Shmi couldn't see how badly his hands were shaking. They had cooled quickly from what little heat that he had managed to steal from the mug.
Shmi set her cup down and stood up slowly, reaching out to tug the towel from Harry's small form. Harry stared up at her hoping that she wouldn't notice the tremors that were running through his hands. Was she upset because he didn't answer? Harry could hear the rain outside and knew that if she threw him out he would have to find cover quickly so as not to completely freeze.
"I'm going to go see if I can find something dry for you to change into." She announced turning to head back through the door that she had disappeared into earlier. "Think of the chocolate as a gift. From me to you. It's all yours. You can drink it if you want. Or not. It's yours to do with as you wish." With that she walked out of the room, leaving Harry alone again. Only this time there was something to bring comfort to the boy while she was gone.
Harry once again reached out and brought the cup off the table and to his chest, looking down into the still slightly steaming liquid. A gift. Someone had given a freak like him a gift. His family had always said that freaks didn't deserve gifts. He stared into the cup in wonder, the smell of chocolate wafting up to tease his senses. A ripple on the surface of the drink confused him for a moment, before he realized that he was crying again. He didn't want to drink the chocolate. It was his first gift. But if he didn't drink it there would be no point to it. He wiped the tears from his face and brought the cup up to his mouth, inhaling a large whiff of the mild flavor before slowly tipping it back and taking a small amount into his mouth.
The complex flavor of the chocolate seemed to explode on his taste buds. A blend of sweet with a little bit of bitter. A smooth flavor that made Harry want to quickly chug the rest of the mug like he had seen Dudley do often. But Harry knew that something this exquisite was not something that should be devoured quickly. It was something to be savored and rolled across the tongue to taste the full flavor.
It seemed that swallowing the beverage was just as nice and rich as tasting it. The liquid seemed to warm his throat, even though Harry hadn't thought that his throat had been cold, as it traveled down to his stomach, where Harry could swear he felt the warmth of it spreading outwards trying to warm him to his toes. Feeling almost instantly warmer Harry relaxed back into the chair, cradling his mug and taking long slow sips of what could only be described as liquid comfort. Feeling calmer than he ever had before Harry glanced around taking in the home that Shmi had selflessly invited him into.
There was the table that he was currently sitting at, with its chairs. General kitchen supplies, like a stove and refrigerator, although they looked far fancier than anything the Dursleys would ever own. Two closed doors sat on the opposite wall from the front door. One being the room that Shmi had disappeared into twice now. And a bookcase in the corner that looked as if the objects on the shelves were just waiting for someone to pass by so that the things closest to the edge could fall on the unsuspecting victim. There very top shelf was filled with books while the rest of the shelves had electrical things that Harry had never seen anything like before. On one of the higher shelves Harry thought he could see something that was leather, but he couldn't be sure. It was these gadgets that also occupied the chair directly across from Harry as well as a few boxes in the corner that, from what Harry could see from the one that didn't have a lid, were filled with more electronics.
Looking closer at some of the gadgets on the shelves he realized that they were all in different states of deconstruction. A lot of them had wires sticking from them, others looked to have pieces missing and only a few actually appeared like they might be fully put together. But Harry really didn't know anything about electronics so perhaps they were supposed to have wires sticking out. There were a few pictures scattered on the walls, all of them depicting landscapes of different varieties.
Catching a flash of movement out of the corner of him eye, Harry turned to see Shmi standing against the door frame with a bundle of cloth in her arms, amusement sparkling in her doe brown eyes.
"Does it meet your approval?" Shmi strode over and returned to the seat she had vacated not too long again. The cream bundle, that Harry could now tell was a thick shirt, was set on the table. "The chocolate." Shmi replied with a laugh at Harry's puzzled look, "And my home. Do they pass your inspection?"
"They're amazing!" Harry relied with no small amount of awe in his voice. "I know why Dudley likes hot chocolate so much. Though I can't understand why he doesn't savor it like it should be." Harry took another mouth full of his drink, closing his eyes in bliss. Swallowing he opened his eyes and looked directly into Shmi's eyes and declared with no hesitation "Your home is brilliant. Nothing at all like the Dursley's." His eyes flashed to the bookcase before returning to Shmi's. "Aunt Petunia always has me clean everything up. The only thing they have out are pictures. I don't like it. It doesn't feel like a home." At that statement Shmi froze, her eyes wide with bewilderment.
"Your owner is your Aunt?" Shmi sounded as if the were about to cry, as she eyed Harry's clothes that could only be the old castoffs of someone that was much larger than him. "Your own family didn't set you free?" The mere thought that someones family could keep one of their own as a slave broke Shmi's heart. She felt as though the hope that she had in people wasn't just breaking into pieces but shattering into fragments that were too small to ever be put back together. The shards digging deeper into her heart every time she looked at Harry's innocent face. If she ever had a child, she would do anything in her power to gain their freedom. To save them from the only life she could remember. Already she could feel the conviction welling inside of her compelling her to help Harry gain his freedom.
Her thoughts were broken when Harry questioned her meaning of being owned and freed, as he stared into his now empty cup with a look that only a child could manage. A look of someone who had had something special and it was now gone. Something that most others would not see as something important. The look of a child that had just finished off the first sweet they had ever had.
Perhaps Shmi had been wrong and Harry wasn't a slave. She had just assumed by his clothes and the callouses that she felt on his small hands. His hands were those of someone who had done manual labor for years. But surely he was too young to have been working for years. He couldn't be more than four or five. It was then that Shmi realized that perhaps he was older than that, and that he had not had an adequate diet so far to grow to an appropriate size for his age.
"Being owned means that you're a slave. You are nothing more than a possession that your master can do what ever they like with. Most consider you to be worth less than the dirt that they walk on. It's a hard life. And it's when you become someone in the rest of the universes eyes that you gain your freedom." Shmi looked up at that ceiling with a deploring smile on her face. "It is the wish that every slave has, regardless of how their master treats them."
"What do slaves do?" Was Harry's reply, although the words were a bit shaky from the shudders that had once again returned to his small body. No doubt from the damp clothing that were still hanging loosely from him.
"It depends on their master." Shmi stood up and grabbed Harry's hand tugging him gently to his feet, and herding the small boy towards the unknown door after grabbing the shirt from the table. Upon opening the door Harry was greeted with the sight of a small bathroom. There was a small single person standing shower straight back with towel rack on the back of the door. A fluffy towel draped over it. Next to the shower was a toilet and to Harry's immediate right was a sink with a small mirror faced cabinet above it and a pair of doors underneath it. Everything in it designed to be practical and take up as little space as possible. Shmi placed the shirt on what little counter space there was by the sink before taking two steps and turning the shower on, adjusting the knobs to a comfortable temperature. "Cleaning and cooking are the most common chores for slaves. Some masters will have the slave run errands for them. It depends on the master, some are rather kind, like Pi-Lippa. And some do not see their slaves as being living creatures. Go ahead and take your clothes off sweetie. We'll get you warmed up in a shower before you catch your death."
"What do you do?" Harry systematically removed his clothes. Holding each article of clothing in his arms so that no part of the clothing would touch the floor. Despite his best efforts to prevent it some water dripped off the cuffs of the jeans. Harry stared at the water on the floor in almost a trance, before he quickly dropped the clothes and threw his arms over his head as he made himself as small as possible in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry!" He babbled. "I didn't mean to get water on the floor! I'll clean it up!"
Shmi was utterly stunned. To have had such a sever reaction because of some silly water on the ground? Harry looked as if he was going to be punished for it. But if he really was a slave, Shmi knew that some masters would punish their slaves for less than that. Simply because she could not see any injuries did not mean that his master was kind. Slowly, so as not to startle the child, Shmi crouched in front of him, placing her hands on his rather bony knees, rubbing them gently with her thumbs.
"It's just some water Harry. Nothing was hurt." She removed her hands from his knees, turning her body slightly to see the pile of damp clothes on the floor, right where the drops had fallen. She snatched a hand out to the clothes, grabbing them and flicking her wrist to clean up any water that might have been under them before pulling them into her arms. "See." She shifted slightly so that Harry could see where the clothes had been when he looked up. "There's no water on the floor." She smiled slyly. "I think it must have been a simple trick of the light." Harry was still curled up on himself, in a position that would protect any important parts of him from harm if he were attacked. Though she saw a glimpse of green through his bangs as Harry's eyes darted between the spot where the clothes had been, the clothes themselves currently resting in Shmi's arms, and Shmi herself.
"A trick of the light?" Harry was still moving cautiously as he uncurled himself and they both stood fully. Shmi gave the largest smile Harry and ever seen and nodded her head once.
"Nothing but a trick of the light." She repeated. "Now can you bathe yourself? Or would you like some help?" Shmi kept shooting glances between Harry and the shower wondering once again exactly how old the boy was. He seemed a bit too intelligent to be the age that she had previously thought he was.
"I can take a bath all by myself. Unlike Dudley. He always throws a fit when ever Aunt Petunia tries to leave." Harry scrunched up his nose in what Shmi thought was the most adorable expression she would probably ever see. Shmi gave a small laugh, which caused Harry to smile, his face almost seeming to explode with joy. She then moved around Harry, giving Harry a gentle push toward the shower as she passed him, his old clothes still held in one of her arms.
"That's because he's not as grown up as you Harry." Standing in the doorway she grabbed the knob, preparing to close the door and give the boy some privacy. She doubted that he knew it but she could see the stress was catching up to him. And she very much doubted that he would allow himself to cry when someone else was there. "Go ahead and use what ever you want. And once you're all clean and warm put that on," she inclined her head toward the shirt, "and come back out. I'll make something more filling while your showering." She paused in the doorway. "As for what I do, Pi-Lippa has been teaching me how to fix things. Like circuit boards and droids." And with that she closed the door, leaving Harry with nothing but his thoughts.
He seemed to be alone with his thoughts a lot today. Perhaps he was meant to think a lot today. Harry cautiously climbed into the shower, trying to make sure he didn't slip on the floor, almost falling into the wall when he jumped slightly as the warm water hit his tingling flesh. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around this. Shmi was a slave, and what she told him about slaves it sounded as if he was one as well. If that were the case why had he never herd about slaves before? Surely if the Dursley's had a slave it would be because it was a sign of prestige to own one. Harry rubbed his hands through his hair making sure it was fully wet as he realized that he wanted very much to stay with Shmi. He didn't want to go back to the Dursleys. He wanted Shmi!
Harry could feel water forming in his eyes, though he would later claim that it was due to soap or something getting in them. Although that would have been a better excuse if he had been using some soap. Harry grabbed the bar from the small shelf in the shower, sniffing it lightly before running it over his body and hair. The soap smelled nice, although it rather reminded him of the pouring rain he had been in not too long ago, it also reminded him of Shmi. Tears were streaming down his face, indistinguishable from the water. By the time he had rinsed himself off there were no signs of his tears.
Harry figured out how to turn off the shower after looking at the knobs for a few seconds, though not before he turned off the cold water entirely and was hit full in the face with almost scalding water. He gave a cry of shock quickly turning the knobs to stop the flow of water. Once the water was off Harry stood there dripping wet, his skin slightly pink from the hot water, as he wondered how hard it would be to convince Shmi to let him stay here. To not let the Dursley's know where he was. Harry still wasn't sure what being a slave meant, but Shmi had mentioned that it was every slaves wish to be free. And Harry desperately wanted to be free of the Dursley's. Hopefully Shmi would be willing to help him get free from the Dursley's.
He slowly opened the door and stepped out of the shower, eying the towel that hung off the back of the door. Would he be allowed to use it? The Dursely's never let him dry off with a towel, he just had to get into his clothes wet. But Shmi had said that he could use anything. He reached out a hand, grabbing the towel and rubbing it between his hand. It was very soft, and it would probably feel very nice to curl up in it. To let it take the water that was starting to cool off his body.
What would he do? He had already decided that no matter what he would not being going back to the Durlsey's. They wouldn't report him missing. They would probably throw a party because he was gone. But would Shmi be willing to take him in? Would her master allow it? Perhaps Shmi's master would be willing to take Harry as well. Harry had decided that he didn't care if he was free or what kind of master he had, as long as he could stay with Shmi.
Harry took the towel and wrapped it around his small shoulders. The towel could easily wrap all the way around him twice! And he loved it. Loved the feel of the soft fabric on his face. Loved the way he instantly felt better about everything. Harry and dressed himself off in a hurried manner, as he very much wanted to talk to Shmi about what would happen to him.
The shirt was long on him, looking more like a dress. He wrapped it as tightly as he could around himself before tying the sash as tight as he could get it. It was a feat made more difficult by the sleeves that were constantly trying to slip over his hands. He looked again at the towel that he now had no idea what to do with. He couldn't just leave it on the floor or counter or Aunt Petunia would have his head. It was as he was hanging it back up on the back of the shower door that he realized his Aunt wouldn't know about the towel. He wasn't at the Dursley's, and if he played his cards right he wouldn't ever be going back there.
Shmi looked up from the stove where she had been making some stew as Harry padded into the room. Looking a million times better though still tired, as apparent by the way he was currently trying to hide his yawn.
"Dinner won't be done for a while." She stirred the food one more time before placing a lid over it and turning down the heat. "How would you feel about taking a nap before then?" She herself was feeling rather tired after a long day of work. Pi-Lippa didn't push her that hard, but it didn't mean that it wasn't hard work. A couple of droids had malfunctioned and she was tasked with taking them apart and seeing if anything could be done about them. She had managed to get one of them done today, but the other one was turning out to be more difficult in finding the faulty piece.
Not to mention Pi-Lippa's health was on the decline and Shmi didn't know how much longer her elderly master would live. It was emotionally taxing to see her master in such a state of decline, knowing there was nothing she could do except make Pi-Lippa more comfortable.
Shmi set a timer to go off when the stew was done and went into the other door, that Harry could only assume led to her bedroom. She had left the door open and Harry could see her climb into the bed that rested on the opposite wall. She watched as she quickly settled down, her breathing evening out into sleep, and Harry longed to join her in the bed, to cuddle with her and feel her arms wrap around him and keep him safe from the Dursley's. But freaks weren't allowed beds. They didn't deserve them. With a saddened heart and one last glance at Shmi, Harry laid down on the floor along the wall between the the bedroom door and the bathroom.
Shmi nestled down quickly, expecting Harry to come join her in the bed. She waited a bit, perhaps Harry just needed some time to think before he fell asleep. Or perhaps he was just gathering his courage to enter the room. With that thought Shmi quickly fell into Morpheus's grasp.
Note: My dog died, my other dog has cancer, my rabbit chewed threw a bunch of rather important cords and I keep forgetting to eat. My mind is stagnant right now.