Chapter Two

Hey again! Once again I claim nothing from J.K. Rowling or Warner Brothers. But I do claim Faith and the "idea branch" of this story. Thanks!

"Harry?" Faith whispered.

"What?" he replied sleepily.

"Happy Birthday"

"It's already midnight? I must have fallen asleep. Sorry"

"It's fine. You need the sleep anyway. You have to do my chores tomorrow. I'm sorry I can't. If I could get up without collapsing I would help," she said, almost in tears.

"Shh. It's fine. I'll just get up early. Besides, you need the rest any way." Just hours before Uncle Vernon had pushed Faith down the stairs. At the bottom she didn't wake up for over an hour. For that she got beaten for not getting her chores finished. And didn't get any dinner. Just like she hadn't gotten breakfast, lunch or dinner for the past two weeks. All the strain on her body had made her extremely sick. So sick that if she stood she collapsed before she could take a step.

Uncle Vernon had told Harry after throwing Faith in the cupboard that if he didn't finish his own chores plus his sister's then Faith would be kicked out. "He could to," Harry thought. No one knew about Faith outside of the family. She had no birth record on file, she had never seen the doctor, and she had never been outside the perimeters of Number 4 Privet Drive since she was three days old. If someone found her on the streets no one would be able to trace her back to the Dursley's.

Next Day

"Boy! Get in here! Do you call this clean? Do you?"

Harry lowered his eyes and bowed his head. Now was not the time to be headstrong. His sister's life was on the line.

Aunt Petunia glared at him, grabbed his arm and slapped him on the cheek. "Answer me! DO YOU CALL THIS CLEAN?"

"No mam" he replied weakly.

"Then get to work" his aunt hissed.

He nodded and fell to his knees, tears silently falling. This would set him back at least an hour! If he didn't get finished…. "No! Don't think about that!" he thought viscously, wiping away his tears. He had already cleaned the kitchen floor. But Dudley had come in with muddy shoes and made sure that he stepped in every square inch of the floor, just to get his cousin in trouble.

He glanced at the door of the cupboard and got to work.

Several hours later he finished. Right on time too. His uncle's car was just pulling into the drive. He hurried to the cupboard and opened the door. Hi saw his sister had reagranged the bed to that he had the comfortable side with the most covers. He took his five sizes to big shoes and placed them on the bottom shelf with the rest of his things. "Faith?"

"Hmm? What do you want Harry?"

"I was just wondering if you were ok."

"I'm mostly ok I guess. Why?"

"I worry about you. You're my little sis. If something happens to you I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"Don't worry about me Harry. It's not worth it. You should worry about how you'll get out of here when that time finally comes."

"I won't leave without you Fai."

"Yes you will Rie. Yes you will. And I'll be glad that you don't have to suffer like this anymore."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have my ways."

Hey all! Sorry it's so short. And just so you all know, I'm probably not going to get all my updates posted this soon. I've just had a lot of free time on my hands lately. But I'll probably get a few more chapters in the next few weeks. And when it comes to Christmas break… I'll probably have a chapter or two out per day. Please review! No flames but constructive criticism is always helpful. Thanks!

-bueberry