Warning: child abuse, some gore. Just saying that its going to be a bit depressing.

Chapter 10: Shock

Draco was worried. No, he was more than worried. He was terrified. Hedwig had sent the note to Harry over three hours ago and the time for their meeting was less than five minutes away. He paced in front of the Room of Requirement, a find made by his father when he had been less than pleased with the answers a certain spell book was giving him. Every few seconds, he would glance up, hoping to see the mop of dark hair coming towards him. Every time, however, he was disappointment and went back to his quick pace.

Finally, a minute before curfew, a body dressed in black robes slipped around the corner, making its way towards the Room of Requirement. Draco shot upwards, freezing in the middle of the hall as he watched the young man come closer. He sniffed the air, recognizing the scent right away. It didn't help his nerves unfortunately. In fact, the knowledge that Harry was coming only made the young Malfoy more jumpy.

"You wanted to talk to me, Draco?" the small Gryffindor asked, stopping in front of the much larger Slytherin.

"Um, yes! Yes, I did," Draco murmured as he inspected his mate.

"Well?" Harry asked, crossing his hands over his chest.

"I um, just wanted to be sure that you were okay," Draco said. "You know, after Potions-"

"-I'm fine, really," Harry interrupted. "Just a bad reaction to something in it, I suppose."

'You have no idea,' Draco sighed inwardly.

"I'm sorry, Draco, but I really need to go. I don't want Filch to catch me," Harry explained as he turned away.

"Wait!"

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulder, making the smaller boy flinch. Recoiling, Draco took a tentative step back, fearing that he'd hurt his mate. Quickly recovering from the habit, Harry glanced back over his shoulder at the blond.

"Yes?"

"I um- we can go into the Room of Requirement. Filch won't catch us there."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. With a happy nod, Draco quickly took the required amount of steps and the door suddenly opened. Harry's eyes widened as he followed the Slytherin inside.

Lucius and Severus were waiting when the two boys entered. Tensing, Harry made a move to leave, but Draco gently grabbed him and steered him over towards the empty armchair across from Lucius. Giving in, the small Gryffindor let himself be pushed into the chair, shyly glancing up at the older Malfoy.

"Welcome Harry," Lucius said, smiling.

He gave the boy a quick once over. Harry was small, much smaller than he should have been. His body seemed to drown in the robes he was wearing, a size that was usually worn by a second or third year, not a sixteen-year-old. In his lap, a pair of lithe, but tiny hands clung together nervously. His hair, which should have been a lustrous black, was slightly dulled from lack of care. It was his eyes as they anxiously shifted from Lucius to Severus and back again that gave the older Malfoy a glimpse into what had happened to the boy.

"Hello, sir," Harry quietly replied.

Draco stood just behind his mate's chair, nodding once to his father.

"Do you know why I am here?" Lucius asked.

Harry glanced back at Draco before turning back to look at the older blond.

"Draco said that you came to help him find his mate."

"Exactly," Lucius said. "He told me that you and Granger have been helping."

Blushing, Harry seemed to sink a little into the chair. He nodded quickly.

"Don't be worried. I am not angry with you at all," Lucius laughed. "In fact, you and Granger have been exceedingly helpful to us in our search and I want to thank you for that."

"Then why isn't Hermione here?" Harry asked.

"Well, there is a reason for that," Lucius started slowly.

"Which is?"

"What we discuss in this meeting can not be revealed yet to the outside world. It would be a danger to all of us," Severus explained.

"So vague. You sound like Dumbledore," Harry snarled. "Just get to the point. I hate stepping around the issue."

"With your history, I'm not surprised," Lucius chuckled.

"Draco has told you that he is a Veela, right Potter?" Severus sneered.

"Yes Professor, he has."

"Good," Lucius cut in.

The aristocratic man sat back in his chair, relaxing a bit.

"I am also a Veela, as Draco's father. Unfortunately, unlike most, I am in a similar position as Draco. My mate has been unknown to me for reasons that I don't know. When I first came of age, I knew that they were still in existence, but over time, the feeling went away and I have been without them ever since. Draco's situation you already are aware of."

"That is sad sir."

"Yes it is. So when I came of age, my father had me marry Draco's mother Narcissa in order to produce an heir. She gained complete control over me through a series of spells and potions and forced me to take the Mark. It wasn't until after your and Draco's second year that I regained control over my own life. Since then, I had turned away from the dark, but at the same time, I have no joined the light. I am neutral, through and through."

Harry smiled a little. "That is nice to hear. I wish I could do that."

"Why is that?" Severus asked.

"The expectations would be gone," Harry explained. "I've lived my entire life under one expectation or another. When I was young, I didn't know I was famous, but the Dursleys made me think I had to be something I wasn't. Then, when I started school, it was the clear opposite."

Lucius and Draco exchanged a look and a silent message.

"Harry," Severus said slowly. "Did you know anything about the Wizarding World before Hagrid came to get you?"

"No."

"I thought as much," Lucius sighed.

"What did you know of your parents?" Severus continued.

"That they had died. My aunt said it was a car crash, but then again, anything not Muggle was not okay with them," Harry snarled. "Do we have to talk about this? I don't like the way this is going."

"We will have to discuss it at some point," Draco said, laying a comforting hand on his mate's shoulder.

"Why?" the Gryffindor asked.

"Because you're my mate, Harry."

Harry whipped around to stare at Draco. His eyes widened when he saw that the Veela was being serious. Glancing back at Lucius and Severus, he noticed the same looks on their faces. He gripped the back of the armchair tightly and started to shake his head.

"No. No. You're wrong," he murmured, eyes staring off into the distance.

"I know this seems really out there, but you need to trust me," Draco said.

Harry continued to mouth the words silently. Concerned, Severus knelt down in front of Harry and reaching up, gently grabbed the boy's chin. He slowly turned the boy's face to look at him.

"Harry?" he asked, recognizing the blank stare of shock.

Sighing, Severus said, "He's retreated into his mind. This is going to take me a minute, but I think I'll be able to get him out."

"If you're sure," Draco replied, concerned.

Severus nodded.

"Legilimens."

Lucius and Draco watched anxiously as their family friend descended into Harry's mind. Draco was fidgeting and his father was too distracted to correct him.

A few minutes later, Severus returned from Harry's mind, a little shaken.

"He is wearing a very strong physical and mental glamor," he said slowly.

"A mental glamour? I've never heard of that," Lucius said, frowning.

"It's not something that many people are aware of. It works the same as a physical glamor, covering up someone's appearance, but in this case, it works on memories. Essentially, it is like a mental block. There are some horrible side effects though," Severus explained.

"Which are?" Draco prompted.

"Frequent nightmares, inability to fall asleep during the day, and sometimes even insomnia. As well, the blocked memories surface as soon as the sun goes down," Severus murmured.

Shocked, Draco glanced down at his little mate. He whined pitifully, his fingers digging into Harry's shoulder.

"Is there any way to get rid of it?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, but it'll take a lot of work. As far as I can tell, Harry has had it since shortly after coming to Hogwarts. He cast it himself as well, a feat for a first year," Severus said.

"But there's another complication, isn't there?" Lucius murmured.

Severus nodded slowly. "Because it was cast by someone so young, the organization is very messy. That's probably why he hasn't been able to focus in classes. His mental state would have been under extreme stress even if the glamor had been orderly."

"So it's like a maze with a lot of dead ends and such?" Draco asked.

"You would think that, but no. It's more like a landfill with lots of things piled up on top of each other."

"A landfill?"

"Muggle thing. This will take me a while to do so we might want to give him a Dreamless Sleep Potion. That way his mental barriers will be weaker and he won't awaken in the middle of my work."

Lucius nodded and Severus summoned a potion from his personal stores. Tipping Harry's head back, he held the boy's mouth open belong enough to feed it to him. As the liquid slid into his stomach, the Gryffindor coughed a little, but managed to keep all of it down.

The three Slytherins watched as Harry's eyes slowly drifted closed and he settled against the back of the chair, asleep. Draco lifted him up as the Room of Requirement summoned their next need: a soft bed. The bedding was red and silver, an odd combination, but no one mentioned it aloud. Setting his mate under the covers, Draco pulled a chair over to sit next to Severus as he started to work.

"Legilimens."

Harry's mind was a mess, just as Severus had seen the first time. Piles upon piles of pictures, objects, and other assorted things were littered around the black surface of his brain. Just from where he was standing, Severus could make out a few of the moving images of the photos. Almost all of them were either happy memories or recent ones. The connection factor however was that they were all from his time at Hogwarts. Severus easily recognized the castle's walls, classrooms, and landscape in the backgrounds.

Walking over to the first pile, Severus started to pull out as many things as he could. In the first layer that he went though, he found a miniature version of the Philosopher's Stone, several pictures of Harry and his friends from First Year, and even a snitch. However, it didn't take long for Severus to discover the horrors that lived below the surface.

It took only half an hour of digging through happiness to find the less than charming side of Harry's life. Dark tendrils of shadows burst out through the hole he'd made in the glamor, engulfing him. Severus let out a cry as he was pulled into the memories

He blinked a few times, trying to clear the darkness form his vision. No matter how many times he tired, it stayed. Grumbling to himself, he tried to shift his body. He was kneeling on a hard floor, wood he supposed. The air around him was heavy and humid and he could feel that he was trapped in a narrow space.

Suddenly, his arm bumped something with skin and he leapt back only to run into a wall. Hissing at his stupidity, he snuck towards the other person and reached out. His hand made contact, but the other person didn't stir. Frowning, Severus lifted his hand to the thick hair that he had brushed when he'd hit the person the first time.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The other person didn't reply, but, by estimating the person's size, Severus could guess it was a child no more than probably three or four years of age.

Light flooded the small space as a tiny door was flung open and the child was pulled out of the cupboard. A giant man lifted the tiny child up and bore down on him, their faces inches from each other.

"Listen to me, freak. Be good and don't you dare screw anything up. No burning the food, no noise, nothing! Got it?" the fat man snarled.

The black-haired boy nodded fiercely and the fat man threw him down onto the floor before he stormed away. Severus crawled forward just in time to see the boy get up and dust himself off a little. His eyes widened as he slipped out of the cupboard under the stairs, staring at the boy.

Tired green eyes flicked towards the door behind Severus as the young Harry silently closed the cupboard door. Severus opened his mouth to speak, but didn't when Harry sighed and turned away. Following the young boy into the kitchen, Severus watched as he took a stool from the pantry and set it up in front of the stove. Clambering up onto it, Harry climbed up onto the counter and opened one of the cabinet doors. Retrieving a pot and a saucepan, he set them carefully on the stove before climbing down.

"Harry?" Severus asked the boy as he jogged past.

Running back to the pantry, the tiny child got a package of noodles and a jar of spaghetti sauce. He carefully closed the pantry door and carried the food back to the stove. Setting the box and jar on the counter, Harry climbed back up onto his stool and started to fill the pot with water in the sink next to the stove.

Slowly, Severus reached out and laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. Harry didn't even stir, continuing about his work. Frowning, Severus withdrew his hand and sat back against the table to watch. It seemed to him that he could feel Harry, but that Harry –or anyone else in the memory probably- couldn't.

The small child was halfway done with the noodles when the fat man came lumbering into the room. He threw the boy a glare before he pushed the child against the pot. The boy recoiled when his hand touched the side of the pot, holding the slightly burned appendage against his body.

"Hurry up! They'll be here soon," the fat man growled at the terrified child.

Turning back to the food, Harry quickly set to starting the sauce. Severus watched in horror as the boy made the entire dinner by himself. He seemed experienced at it too, never burning himself apart from the time his uncle had pushed him.

When it was done, the boy retrieved five plates and set the table. In a whirl, the woman that Severus quickly recognized at Petunia Evans came into the kitchen and grabbed Harry by the back of the collar.

"Into your cupboard and don't you dare make a sound," she barked, throwing the boy towards the doorway.

Scrambling up, Harry left the kitchen, Severus following. He watched the boy as he silently got into the cupboard and closed the door. Petunia was not far behind, sliding the bolt into the latch.

'They locked him in? Shit,' Severus thought as the doorbell rang.

Petunia traipsed to the door and opened it with a wide smile.

"Mr. and Mrs. Francis, it is lovely to see you again," she said sweetly as a man and his wife stepped inside.

"Hello Mrs. Dursley," the other woman replied.

"Smells good. What is for dinner?" Mr. Francis asked, sniffing the air.

"Ah, it is my special spaghetti," Petunia laughed as Severus's eyes widened further. "It is nothing fancy, I will tell you, but it is the best."

"Sounds wonderful," Mrs. Francis said.

"Mummy, I'm hungry," a fat boy called as he descended the stairs.

"Dinner will be soon, Dudley," Petunia replied.

Severus watched them from the hallway as the family of three and their two guests ate dinner. Not a sound came from the locked cupboard throughout the Francis' visit, a fact that bit into Severus's core. Clearly, Harry was used to it if a child of his age could be this quiet for this long.

Finally, the Francis' left. The moment that the car could be heard leaving the driveway, the fat man, who Severus assumed to be Harry's uncle, Vernon, lumbered to the cupboard and threw it open. Harry looked up, his green eyes void of emotion. A giant hand reached in and grabbed him, dragging the small child from the cupboard.

"Come on boy," Vernon sneered. "Time for your medicine."

Severus's frown became more deep set as he followed the nephew and uncle through the house. Coming to Vernon's study, he just managed to get inside before the fat man closed the door. Harry was standing in the middle of the room, quickly pulling off the dirty flannel shirt that he wore. Vernon went over to the desk and unlocked one of the drawers. Pulling out an old leather belt, he tested the strength of it and smiled. Severus could see the dried blood that crusted the metal buckle and the length of the leather.

"Stay still and don't make a sound," Vernon smirked at his nephew.

Harry tried to relax as his uncle came up behind him, raising the belt. The buckle slammed onto his back, cutting the already scarred skin. Setting his jaw, Harry fought down a scream as the belt came down on him again and again. Holding a hand up to his mouth, Severus watched sadly as the boy was beat.

"Freak! Why won't you die yet? You've been with us for seven years, seven years too long!" his uncle hissed.

'Seven years? He's eight?' Severus wondered. Harry certaintly didn't look eight. He appeared to be about half his age, his height barely up to Severus's elbow. As he looked closer, however, Severus could see that the boy was starting to lose some of the baby fat around his face, although he wasn't sure if that was due to the malnutrition the boy was experiencing or him aging.

When it was over, Vernon locked the belt away and gave the boy of disgusted glance.

"Clean it up," he snarled as he left the room.

The small child collapsed as soon as the door closed. Coughing softly, he pushed himself up on shaking arms and grabbed his shirt. Pulling it on, he carefully set the fabric across his back before going to get a towel from the kitchen.

Severus stared at nothing as the memory faded away. The shear horror of it had silenced him, he who had an answer for everything.

Just as he started to collect himself, another memory roared to life, followed by another, and another and another, each as gruesome as the last. By the time that Severus got through the first pile of memories, the first eleven years, he had been reduced to tears.

A/N: So Sev is the first to know. Want more? Review please! I greatly appreciate them.