All the Little Things

Part 1

Chapter 1

Harry stared into the darkness at Ron from his spot on his cot; the back of his head still sore from the strike his Aunt Petunia had landed with the frying pan on his birthday. Thankfully the bump was quite small compared to all the other occasions; the impact hadn't actually broken the skin this time, and it was healing rather nicely. His shoulder throbbed from Uncle Vernon wrenching his arm around every time he had been let out of his room to use the loo. He did his best to forget about how horrible his last week at the Dursleys' had gone, he could worry about them next summer. No point dampening his mood now that he was finally out of that hellhole.

Today had been a long day and one he would not forget anytime soon. His best friend and the aforementioned teen's twin older brothers had rescued him from the Dursleys, with a flying car no less, and now he would be spending the rest of the summer holidays with the Weasleys at the Burrow. He loved Ron's home, he couldn't really judge since it was the only magical home he'd ever been in but it was a brilliant experience. had practically force fed him until he thought he would burst and was very kind, if not a bit strange with all his never-ending inquiries about Muggles.

Harry chuckled quietly, careful not to wake Ron who was sleeping in the adjacent bed; the soft snores coming from his friend were rather welcomed when compared to Uncle Vernon's and Dudley's house rattling rumbles. He wasn't sure how he'd ever be able to pay the Weasley family back for taking him in; they didn't know what they had rescued him from and he really didn't want them to know. The worried glances he'd gotten all day from Fred and George had been bad enough and Harry was glad that hadn't taken their pronouncement that he had been starved seriously.

A frown settled briefly over his youthful face, his scar crinkling along with his forehead. There was no way the Wizarding world could find out that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was abused by Muggles of all things. He'd be turned into a laughing stock. It was ridiculous, he could defeat Voldemort; a wizard so powerful and evil that people flinched at the mere mention of his name, not only as a toddler but he'd actually done so again, just two months ago. Yet he couldn't defend himself from three Muggles who beat, starved and all around abused him. No, no one would ever find out.


Molly Weasley released a deep sigh of relief as she sat at the large wooden table, enjoying her late night tea. Her husband Arthur had been called away for another late night raid and would surely not return till the break of dawn. She tried not to let the loneliness get to her; she had a house full of children after all. Her thoughts settled on the boy her children had brought to her home, yes she was still a little upset with the twins for taking the car all the way to Surrey.

If Ronald wanted to see his friend so badly, all he'd have to do was ask for goodness sake. Not run off in the middle of the night to whisk the poor boy from his bed. She was horror-struck at the thought that they had likely brought Harry to the Burrow without actually getting permission from his guardians. She would have to contact the boy's guardians and apologize but she had no idea where they lived and they were Muggles as well. She could write to Dumbledore, surely he would know how to contact Harry's relatives.

She was in the middle of trying to find some parchment, ink and a quill when the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs caused her to pause in her search. She knew it was the twins but it was rare for them to come down this late. "Fred, George?" She called out quietly.

"Hi Mum." Fred answered rather glumly.

"We need to talk to you, please?" George asked seriously.

Molly frowned at her boys' strange behavior; they had been acting strangely all day. She doubted it was from the scolding they'd received this morning as it was an almost daily occurrence with those two. Something must be really wrong for them to seek her out like this.

"Why don't we talk in the kitchen and I'll make you boys a cuppa or two." She smiled warmly and herded the duo back into the kitchen, waving her wand casually to set the kettle over the stove. "What's been bothering you two?" She asked as she joined them at the table.

"It's about Harry, Mum." Fred started, he seemed to be struggling to control his emotions and it was obvious to his mother that he was angry.

"We were actually serious when we said they were starving him." George explained with a pained look.

Molly held herself back from interrupting them; the twins were usually so tight lipped, and so if they had finally decided to speak with her seriously, she was going to hear them out. She nodded and motioned for them to continue.

Fred took a deep breath to steady himself. "We think that they might have hurt Harry. His family, I mean." It hadn't come out as steady has he had hoped.

"That's a very serious thing to say Fred, what made you two think like this?" Molly puffed up a bit, if there was one thing in this world that truly disgusted her it was the abuse of children.

"His windows had bars on them, his door was locked from the outside and there was a cat flap on it… probably for passing food in…" George trailed off at his mother's horrified expression.

"There was almost nothing in his room and the bed looked shabbier than anything we'd ever have." Fred added quickly before George continued.

"We had to break his stuff out of cupboard under the stairs; they even locked up his wand, Mum, but…" George hesitated briefly looking at his twin.

"We think that Harry might have actually lived in that cupboard." Fred forced out through his clenched jaw.

"WHAT!" Molly lost what little composure she had left. "Th..that's..." She spluttered unable to find the words. "How?" It was the only thing she could bring herself to say.

"There were pictures drawn onto the walls," Fred answered.

"And a small cot and some ratty blankets," George added quickly.

"There was a bit of writing above the door, it looked to be really old and in a kid's handwriting… It read… It read…" Fred couldn't keep going and rested his forehead on the table.

"It read 'Harry's Room'." George continued on from where his twin left off, rubbing the tears welling up in his eyes and looked pleadingly at his mother. "He can't go back there Mum, we have to do something."

"And it wasn't him doing that magic Dad heard about either!" Fred added quickly.

"What do you mean?" Molly asked suspiciously.

"A House Elf appeared in his house, the damn thing nearly got him expelled!" George growled out.

"It's been stealing his mail," Fred explained and George quickly followed.

"He never got Ron's letters!"

"And it told him he wasn't to go back to school because he'd be in danger at Hogwarts." Fred snorted a little.

Molly let out a shaky breath and dried her eyes from the tears that had started to spill. She rose from her seat and went to hug her sons tightly. "Thank you for telling me, we'll get this sorted. I promise. We'll take him in ourselves if that's what it takes. You two go back to bed and we'll talk to Harry about this in the morning. I love you."

Fred and George hugged their mother tightly and nodded in agreement. "Night mum, love you too." They replied in unison before heading back to their room.

Molly's hands shook with vexation and sorrow while tears blurred her vision. How could they have missed the signs, it was all there. Last year, he'd been alone at the train station and he was so small for a boy his age, nearly the same size as Ginny. That large purple faced man she had briefly spoken to at Kings Cross; she had thought he was just uncomfortable meeting a Witch but clearly that wasn't just the case. There was the way Harry had flinched slightly when she had hugged him, the fear in his eyes when she had scolded her boys this morning. How could they have done this to him; they were his family for goodness sake!

She doubted she would get any sleep tonight; she would wait for Arthur to get home and tell him what the twins had found out. She knew they weren't lying, they'd been too broken up over it and though her boys liked to cause trouble, this was not something they would even think of joking about. She would write to Dumbledore right away, something had to be done.


It was just past midnight when Molly sent Errol out with a handwritten letter to Dumbledore and no matter how hard she tried her stomach kept knotting up in anguish. She had just finished cleaning up the kitchen, again, when Arthur came in quietly.

"Molly? What's wrong, love?" Arthur's surprise was obvious; his wife was used to his late nights and only ever waited for him when something was bothering her. His thoughts went straight to twins; he loved his sons dearly but wished they'd give their mother a break sometimes. "What did they do this time?" He asked wearily but frowned deeply at seeing the tears in Molly's usually fierce eyes.

"Oh Arthur, it's horrible!" Molly threw herself into her husband's arms and sobbed.

"Shush dear, it'll be alright." Arthur tried as best he could to sooth his distraught wife while gently guiding her to sit at the table. "What's happened?"

After a few steadying breaths Molly recounted what the twins had told her as well as her own observations. "I can't believe I didn't notice." Molly repeated while holding back another sob. "He's good at hiding it and you know what that means." She continued as her husband grimly agreed with her; for the boy to become accustomed to hiding the abuse, it would have had to have gone on for some time. He hadn't actually said anything yet, but that was proof of how enraged he was. "Why hasn't he told anyone? You'd think he would have at least told Ron…"

"I don't know dear but we'll find out." Arthur's jaw was set firmly, his face had turned red and his hands were balled up so tightly his knuckles had turned white. "I'll go see Madam Bones first thing in the morning and we'll get this sorted. I'll take the day off once I've spoken to her and we'll spend the day with Harry."

With the matter settled for the night, Molly and Arthur made their way up to their room quietly. However neither noticed Percy sneak out of the bathroom and back to his room with a somber look upon his face.


Harry woke up feeling better rested than he ever had since leaving Hogwarts. He smiled at Ron who was still deeply asleep, limbs all tangled up in his blankets and drooling slightly. The smells that were drifting into the room from the kitchen downstairs were wonderful and caused his stomach to growl. Harry got up, dressed quietly and made his way to breakfast, he smiled brightly at the thought that he hadn't had to cook this morning and he was sure Mrs. Weasley would have a fit if he even mentioned trying such a thing during his stay with them.

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley." He called out and winced at the clattering sound of something being dropped and breaking.

"Oh! Good morning dearie." Molly cleaned her hands off on her apron and pulled out her wand to mend the cup she had dropped. "Did you sleep alright? You're the first one up; the others should be coming down soon." She smiled at Harry while studying him carefully. He seemed alright at first glance but the more you looked the more the tiny details became more obvious. Harry was much too skinny and not the kind of skinny boys looked before they shot up either. His hands and fingernails were in an awful state, the same kind of wear and tear she got from long hours of house and ward work and he was very pale as well.

Harry felt himself tense up as he felt Mrs. Weasley studying him, had he done something wrong? In his anxiety he reached up to scratch his head but winced when he grazed the bump that had yet to fully heal.

"Is something wrong Harry?" Molly asked in her best worried-mother tone, hoping not to frighten the poor boy. She hadn't missed the flash of pain across his face when he'd reached for the back of his head and she felt her heart ache.

"It's nothing really…" Harry said coolly, trying to deflect her question.

"Now Harry dear, don't be silly. If you're hurt I can take a look at it if you'd like. You know, between Fred and George I've tended to quite a few scrapes and bruises, even a few broken bones." She tried to chuckle gently. Maybe this would be a good time to try and get him to open to her.

"No thank you, I'm fine really." Harry shifted uncomfortably and couldn't bring himself to look into his friend's mother's face. She seemed so kind and he didn't want to ruin that.

"Harry please, I'll not have someone suffering under my roof if I can help. Head injuries can turn for the worse very quickly if they're not tended to properly. May I at least have a look?" Molly pressed him as gently as she could while making clear that she would not let the matter go.

"I… Yeah, I guess… But its nothing really just got a small bump that's all." Harry did his best to sound like he didn't actually care but he was starting to panic.

"Thank you, Harry. Now have a seat. I'll bring you something to drink and we'll take a look at that bump." She beamed down at him and patted his shoulder but had to fight back a worried frown when the boy winced at this action as well.

Harry sat down quietly and sipped on the juice Mrs. Weasley had handed him. He flinched a little as he felt her poke the bump a little but he was more afraid of what she would say, especially since he couldn't see her face.

Molly studied the back of Harry's head carefully; she spotted the bump easily. It was too high to have been from a fall, it was more like someone had tried to cuff him across the top of his head. It had already healed quite a bit; she guessed it was at the very least a week old judging from the sick greenish tinge of the bruise. Thankfully nothing seemed broken but depending on what had caused the injury she feared his skull could very well have been fractured. Molly felt her eyes tear up before she finally broke and hugged Harry with all the love and comfort she could muster causing the boy to splutter in surprise.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked as he tried to shift in the hug he had been suddenly encased in, what in the blazes was going on?

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." She sniffled a little.

Was Ron's mum crying? What for? Harry was quickly feeling uncomfortable and began to panic a bit. He wasn't good with this sort of thing, crying in general was a foreign concept to him. He hadn't done it himself since he'd been a toddler, the Dursleys didn't tolerate any crying from him unlike Dudley's crocodile tears.

"Mrs. Weasley, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Harry asked tentatively.

Molly wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the boy who was looking at her in concern. Of course, he'd be more concerned with her wellbeing than his own.

"I'm fine Harry, it's for you that I'm upset." She said plainly, sitting down next to him.

"Wha-? But why?" He asked suddenly afraid again.

"Harry, Fred and George spoke to me last night. About what they noticed at your relatives' house when they came to get you." Molly put a calming hand on his arm when she noticed Harry had gone rather stiff. "Don't be upset with them dear, they care about you. We all do Harry. Whatever is going on, you can tell us."

"N-no. Nothing's going on, I don't know what you mean, Mrs. Weasley." Harry blurted out quickly while he was scrambling for excuses in his head. He'd sworn to himself just last night that this wouldn't - couldn't - happen.

"Harry please. Don't be afraid, you don't have to be afraid anymore. Those Muggles won't ever be able to hurt you again. I promise Harry, we'll take care of you." Molly gently coaxed Harry into another hug, she ignored his stiff posture and the wide disbelieving look in his eyes and did her best to convey all the support and love she could in this single gesture. A few minutes passed and Molly let out a small smile as she felt Harry relax, slowly reaching out and hugging her back before she finally felt him shake and her shirt dampening with tears.

TBC


Beta work by the wonderful "Hayashi Yuuki", Thank you

AN: Here's chapter one, hope you all enjoyed. I'll be trying to keep this on a weekly update schedule but since it's a WIP, one never knows. Thank you to those who faved, followed and reviewed.