A/N: Newly revised.
Warnings: So far not much, but I'll put 'em up for the hell of it. Slash, femmeslash, Sirius, and HANDCUFFS! Oh, and a teeny tiny bit of language.
Disclaimer: Hmm. If I were J.K.R, then this stack of papers would be some of my Harry Potter plot notes. -Peeks at papers, holding her breath.- Science Notes. Hmph.
For a few long minutes after Harry's dramatic exit (complete with angry, confusing messages, slamming doors, and a bewildered Dark-Lord-to-be), there was complete silence. This silence was broken by a sighing Dumbledore.
"I had hoped that Harry had gotten past this silly dislike of his family."
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked sharply.
"Every year since Harry has come to Hogwarts, he has requested that he be allowed to remain at the school over the summer, stating that his family hates him. I have, of course, declined every time. I'm sure that it is some adolescent thing, and he really is safer there."
"How can you say that? They put bars on his window for Merlin's sake!" This cry came from the twins, and Dumbledore quickly focused on them.
"Pardon?"
"When we went to rescue him right before his second year, there were bars on his window, and he was locked in." George answered.
"Locked in?"
"There were about five locks on his door, all locked, and only his Uncle had the keys. There was also a little cat flap on the door, and he said that that was what they fed him his meals through."
"WHAT?"
Sirius' angry shout reverberated throughout the silent house.
"THEY FED HIM HIS MEALS THROUGH A CAT FLAP!" He turned his furious gaze to Dumbledore, demanding an explanation. Dumbledore, however, seemed to be confused.
"Why didn't you boys tell anyone?"
"We told Mum!"
Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Weasley, and she flushed under the scrutiny.
"I thought it was one of the boys' tricks, attempting to get me to go easy on them. I completely forgot about it." She looked flustered, but not guilt-ridden. This was surprising, as there was once a time when she would break down into guilty sobs because she had forgotten to pack a pair of Harry's socks. Dumbledore nodded once, then turned to look at Ron and Hermione.
"Did either of you notice anything lending itself to neglect or abuse?"
Hermione answered first, looking to be on the verge of tears.
"I-I noticed that he was uncomfortable with being touched, an-and he was always s-so thin when he came back from his relatives house every year. H-He always s-says how much his relatives h-hate him, b-but I thought h-he was just kidding around. How could I not realize what it all meant! I was so stupid!" She dissolved into tears.
Ron moved forward, as if he were going to attempt to comfort her, but Ginny got there first, throwing a rather territorial glare at Ron as she went.
"It's okay 'Mione, we all should have noticed something. But it isn't your fault. You know how Harry is. He could be bleeding to death, and succeed in making a person that he was perfectly alright."
Hermione made a slight choking sound that could be considered a laugh, wiped her eyes on her sleeve, and flashed Ginny a watery smile. Dumbledore, however, frowned.
"And you Mr. Weasley?"
Ron shrugged.
"On our first trip to Hogwarts, he mentioned something about wearing his cousin's hand-me-downs, and a cupboard under the stairs, but I didn't think much about it."
"Cupboard under the stairs?"
Ron shrugged again, but both twins frowned.
"When we went to rescue Harry," Fred began slowly.
"-we picked the locks on his door," George continued.
"-and we had to get his stuff from a small cupboard under the stairs."
"When we opened it-"
"-there was, along with some old shoes and a truly hideous umbrella, a-"
"-ratty,"
"-old,"
"-cot!" they finished together, eyes widening synonymously at the implications.
And during the stunned silence that followed, the gravity of the situation crashed down on all of them.
"So," Sirius began, voice deceptively calm, "You sent my godson to live with muggles. Muggles. That. Made. Him. Sleep. In. A. Bloody. CUPBOARD!"
The others in the room were suddenly very glad that they weren't Dumbledore.
TRHPTRHPTRHP
Harry woke slowly, his body unwilling to rouse itself from the first nightmare-free sleep he'd had since before the Third Task. When he did finally manage to open his eyes, it was to discover that he slumped against a wall, and was using somebody's shoulder as a pillow. How odd.
He sat up straighter, turned his head, and found himself staring at a peacefully sleeping Tom Riddle.
With a jerk, memories of last night came flooding in. Tom, handcuffs, Dumbledore, Sirius, Ginny, Voldemort's plan, parseltongue, Ron, the trial, the Order, his relatives, and, finally, himself, in a fit of anger, ruining all the work he had put towards keeping his family life a secret. A groan escaped him. Oh shit.
He glanced at Tom again, and found himself staring into groggy blue eyes. In the moment before full consciousness hit, the Slytherin looked almost… cute. Then Tom sat up, slammed on his indifferent mask, and the look was gone.
"We should go back."
Harry scowled.
"I don't want to."
"Stop acting like a petulant child Potter. I don't much fancy the thought of surrounding myself with muggle-loving Gryffindors, but if we don't go back soon, they'll come looking for us."
Harry flushed, partially out of embarrassment, partially out of anger.
"Muggle-lovers?"
"Yes. You have some incomprehensible fondness for those who are beneath you."
"What! There's nothing wrong with muggleborns! And what happened to, 'I don't hate muggles'!"
Tom sneered.
"Really Potter. I thought you had half a brain. I never said anything against muggleborns. A magical practitioner is a magical practitioner. It's the muggles that are worthless and lowly. I never said that I didn't hate them, merely that I didn't believe they deserved to die."
Harry jumped to his feet, trembling with anger, and Tom rose also. They stood nose-to-nose, both ready for a long argument, neither willing to back down.
TRHPTRHPTRHP
Nagini flicked her tail in excitement . Yes! She could taste her snake-children in the air. They had been here! Recently! Together! This would be easier than she had anticipated. She tasted the air again, identifying other two-legger scents. They were mainly routine, though she could faintly taste traces of lemon and… Goats?
She shook her flat head and concentrated on what the magic in the air tasted like. There were her snake-children, both extremely powerful, but untamed for the most part. A far more controlled power was in the air also, once again reminding Nagini of lemons and goats. It was rather irritating actually, and she thought that she might just bite the lemony-goat-man if she got the chance.
The thought cheered her slightly, and she returned her attention to the magic. A powerful hiding charm was prominent, very large, probably concealing a house. If she had been capable, she would have rolled her eyes. Foolish humans, thinking that their silly spells could keep her out.
Having found out all she needed, Nagini slithered across the darkened square.
A/N: Okay, a few things I'd like to address. In here, Nagini says that Harry and Tom are extremely powerful, and I'd like to say that it will be a long time before they are ready to fight, and it'll take a lot of work. Also, if you caught it, I'm building undertones of a split between Ron and Harry. Molly will also be taking her sons side. I'm doing this because I don't like Ron, and hate writing him, but it would be rather unrealistic and, I must admit, clichéd, to have ONLY Ron against Harry.
This isn't just because I don't like Ron however. It's because I need Harry to progress as a character, and be a little more jaded to certain realities of the world. I don't want to make this journey too easy for him. J.K.R did this by killing Sirius, I'm doing it by having Harry feel the sting of betrayal. It won't be instantaneous though. Harry's going to fight for his friendship straight to the end.
Sorry about this long rant-thing, but I'm trying to head off any questions, and prevent you guys from going running, now that I'm in such tricky cliché territory.
Anyway, review please!
