A Slight Mishap
Summary: Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The rights to him go exclusively to J K Rowling who is not, I am sure, struggling to pay for petrol.... wouldn't that be nice?
A/N: Yes, I have done it again. It has been months, and I can make all the apologies in the world, but it would not change the fact that I have been extraordinarily busy. However, I have managed to finish this chapter, finally. After this I'll work a little bit on I'm Still Here and Seeing is Believing; I've promised myself that I will not put the new one-shot I want to show up until I have done at least a chapter on each of my stories. Actually, I'm thinking of completely redoing Seeing is Believing... have to think about it....
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Twenty-One; Live the Past to Free the Future
It wasn't that long after the New Year before Hogwarts found herself welcoming her students back into the school. They all arrived off the train, chattering happily and feeling much more relaxed after the Christmas break. At the stairs they all parted into House groups and went their separate ways.
For the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins nothing would have changed and nothing would be out of the ordinary. For the Gryffindors, however...
Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were the first to arrive at Gryffindor Tower. When they first went through the portrait and into the common room beyond there was nothing at all out of the ordinary. In fact, the common room was quite empty and they were secure in the fact that all was as it should be.
Until a piercing scream sounded from the direction of the boys' dormitory.
They had barely a second to process the fact that a girl's scream had come from the boys' staircase before they were racing up the stairs, hearts pounding, wondering what had happened now. They burst through the door to their own dormitory...
And stopped dead.
A taller Harry Potter than the one they had left was sitting in the middle of the dormitory, and he looked up at them innocently as they entered. Everything about him radiated an aura of having done nothing wrong.
"Er... hi, Harry," Seamus said.
"Hello!" Harry said cheerfully. He remembered these two, but to him he hadn't seen them in a long time, and all he remembered was their names. Proudly he held up eight fingers. "I'm eight!"
"Great, Harry," Dean said with a weak smile, trying to calm his racing heart. "Did you just hear someone scream?"
Harry cocked his head to one side, the very picture of innocence. But he never got a chance to answer them.
"Harry James Potter!"
Dean, Seamus and Harry started at the sound of the yell that was coming from the bathroom. But while Dean and Seamus had absolutely no idea what was going on, Harry shifted uncomfortably before getting to his feet and ducking behind Dean.
Hermione Granger stalked out of the bathroom... at least, the two sixth years thought she was Hermione Granger. The bushy brown hair was a dead give-away. The rest of her, however, had undergone even more changes than Harry had.
"Harry... when did Hermione turn into an alien?" Seamus asked uneasily.
"Very funny," Hermione growled. It was her voice alright. Her now yellow eyes were narrowed dangerously. She crossed two tentacle-like arms over her chest and glared at Harry. "What did you do?"
"Magic!" Harry piped up, hiding safely behind Dean.
Hermione growled again and steam actually poured out of her ears. Ron, thankfully still normal, chose that moment to walk through the door.
"Hey, Hermione, could you..." he begun, and then he trailed off, staring at his best friend. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"
"Take a guess," Hermione huffed.
"Harry..." Ron moaned, running a hand through his red hair and turning to look at the little boy. "Did you do this?"
Harry just smiled at him.
Dean and Seamus exchanged a look and then turned back to Hermione, getting a good look at her. Her skin was now bright, electric blue, her yellow eyes were shaped like a cat's, and she no longer had arms and hands since they were replaced by two blue tentacles. Not only that, but whenever she opened her mouth they caught sight of two rows of very sharp teeth.
If Hermione had been scary before it was nothing to how frightening she looked now. The two boys began to ponder the nearest escape route.
Hermione's ire, however, was not focused on them, but at the little boy hiding behind Dean's legs. Suddenly there was a popping sound and Hermione was back to normal, causing her to sigh in relief. Her irritation, however, had not abated.
"What's going on?" Dean asked Ron.
"Harry has been practicing magic," Ron sighed.
"With pranks?" Seamus asked.
"Lots of pranks," Ron corrected, grimacing. "I woke up yesterday morning as a badger."
Dean and Seamus blinked.
"A badger?" they chorused.
"A badger," Ron confirmed. He glared down at Harry too. "And that's not even the worst of it..."
"Maybe I would have been better off staying at home..." Seamus said weakly.
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said firmly, crossing her arms. "These pranks are going to come to a stop right now before he gets into trouble in class."
Harry looked up at her, feeling a little bit uneasy about the tone of her voice. She sounded very mad, even though the magic had been harmless. And he had to practice, right? Why was she so mad?
"You're right," said Ron, causing Harry's head to whip around so he could stare at the red-head. His guardians were ganging up on him. "Those pranks weren't very funny, Harry."
Well, he could easily have guessed that Ron and Hermione obviously didn't think they were funny judging by the way they got so cross with him, but he always turned them back and he never hurt them. He was just having a bit of fun.
"They are very bad," Hermione continued, bending down slightly so he could get the full effect of her glare. "You are being a very bad boy."
"We aren't nice to bad boys."
Cringing slightly Harry looked up at Ron again, but there was a hard look on the red-head's face. There would be no support there.
"You're a horrible, bad person... go to your cupboard and think about what you've done!"
He wasn't a bad person, was he?
Hermione and Ron were still talking, probably telling him off, but Harry wasn't listening anymore. He clutched, trembling slightly, to Dean's leg.
"...If this keeps up we won't take you to classes anymore," Hermione said, suddenly catching his attention.
"You'll have to sit up here all day," Ron said, crossing his arms.
Harry nodded jerkily. He didn't want to sit up in the dormitory all by himself all day...
"You'll always be alone..."
Harry could feel his eyes filling with tears and he quickly ducked his head and tried to blink them away.
"Harry, we don't mean to be so hard on you," Hermione said with a sigh, crouching down to look at him properly. She had seen the tears in his eyes and had assumed, wrongly, that he was just feeling sorry for himself. "But there are other ways you can practice magic, you know."
"Hermione... maybe you ought to leave him with us for a little while," Dean said suddenly, causing her to look up at him in surprise.
She wasn't the only one. Ron was quite shocked, too, and Seamus was surveying his friend as though he didn't know him anymore.
"Well, you've been dealing with him all break, and I'm sure there's some things you need to finish before classes on Monday," Dean reminded her.
She stood, looking uncertain. She had wanted to look over some of her essays, and she was sure Ron hadn't even started his homework, but... she didn't really want to leave Harry, especially with the mood he was currently in.
"What do you want to do, Harry?" she asked.
Harry looked up at her and clutched at Dean's trouser leg even tighter.
"I'll stay here," he said in a small voice.
Hermione was quite taken-aback. For a moment she hesitated, sure that there was some underlying problem, but the sound of Ron rummaging around in his trunk drew her attention instead.
"Alright," she sighed. "Only because I have to make sure Ron finishes his homework. Will you be okay, Harry?"
Silently Harry nodded as Ron grabbed his books and some parchment.
"We'll see you later then, Harry," said Ron, already leaving the room.
Hermione wavered uncertainly.
"Go on," Dean said.
"Bye, Harry," said Hermione reluctantly. And then she, too, was gone.
"Why?" Seamus groaned as soon as they were gone.
Dean ignored him, instead looking down at Harry. He alone had noticed the small boy trembling, and he was quite sure that something was quite wrong. He was also aware, however, that the boy would never open up to him.
"Where do you want to go, Harry?" he asked.
Harry stared up at him with big green eyes.
"I want to go to Mama Molly," he said quietly.
"Then we'll take you to her," said Dean with a nod, not in the least bit surprised. Looked like a trip to the hospital wing was in order.
HPHGRWHPHGRW
Unfortunately it appeared that today was Mrs Weasley's day off, and instead Dean and Seamus were forced to trek halfway across the castle in order to get to the rooms she and her husband were staying in. Gathering up his courage, Dean knocked on the portrait door, holding one of Harry's hands firmly in his own. Seamus lurked somewhere behind them.
It wasn't long before the portrait opened and there, standing in front of them, was Ron's mother. She had a pleasant face and hair as red as her children's. Dean had never actually met her, despite having dated Ginny briefly at the beginning of the year.
"Er... hi," he said nervously; he rather hoped that Mrs Weasley didn't know that he was the one that had dated her daughter. "Harry wanted to come visit, so..."
Harry solemnly tugged his hand out of Dean's grasp and went to Mrs Weasley. To the woman's surprise, however, he put his arms around her and gave her a hug.
He was shaking slightly. This concerned her, so she looked up at the two boys that had brought Harry with them and gave them a smile.
"Thank you," she said.
With hasty farewells the two boys dashed away. Mrs Weasley looked down at the top of Harry's black mop and sighed slightly.
"Come on in, Harry, dear," she said, ushering the little boy into her temporary living quarters.
She sat down on the sofa so he could sit beside her, and was incredibly surprised when he climbed onto her lap and curled up, laying his head on her shoulder.
Even as a two-year-old and a four-year-old he hadn't shown so much affection. He had certainly never initiated a hug, and he would never get so close to someone unless they invited him to. Molly wanted to think that this was a good thing, but she knew, instinctively, that Harry seeking out comfort like this meant that something was very wrong.
"Harry?" she asked softly, running a hand through his hair; he seemed to like that because he relaxed slightly. "Are you okay?"
She felt Harry nod against her shoulder, so she fell silent, waiting. The best thing to do with Harry was wait for him to come to her. If she pushed he would never tell her.
Finally she felt him raise his head, and she looked down at him.
"Molly, am I a bad person?" he asked quietly.
Molly stared at him, wide-eyed. Her first instinct was to scoff and dismiss the notion entirely. But she could feel him trembling still, and his eyes were very bright. He was quite serious about the question and she would have to be very careful in how she answered it.
"Why do you ask?" she asked slowly.
Harry bit his lip and laid his head on her shoulder again; he didn't want to answer.
"There are different sorts of bad people in the world, Harry," Molly said after a long moment of silence. "I told you about the bad wizards who like to hurt people; and there a non-magic people that like to hurt others, too."
Harry tightened his grip as the image of a very tall man, his face purpling in rage, came into his mind.
"There are some that don't hurt people, but they steal or lie or cheat, and they can be bad people as well," Molly continued. "And there are those that are just plain bullies. Do you still think you are a bad person?"
"I played pranks on Ron and 'Mione," Harry mumbled. "Am I a bully?"
"Gracious no!" Molly so, startling Harry. She forced herself to calm down and smile at him. "My twins love to play pranks on other people, but I wouldn't call them bullies."
"But am I a bad person?" Harry persisted.
Molly paused. He wouldn't let this go, and she needed to know where he could have heard such a thing. She was almost certain Ron and Hermione wouldn't have outright called him a bad person... then again, if they had told him he had been bad...
"Did Ron or Hermione call you a bad person?" she asked.
"They told me I was being a bad boy," Harry said uncertainly. "Because I kept playing tricks on them. And they said..."
He trailed off.
"They said?" Molly prompted.
"Don't leave me alone," Harry whispered with a soft sob.
Molly's breath caught.
"Harry?" she asked cautiously.
"I don't want to be alone," Harry said, tears slipping down his cheeks. "They always left me alone... please don't..."
They. Who were they? Molly had a pretty good guess as to the answer, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions.
"Did Ron and Hermione say they might have to punish you?" she asked, and he nodded. "What did they say they would do?"
"Leave me in the dorm all day," Harry said quietly.
As far as punishments could go that was a fairly tame one. Harry would have free run of the dormitory with Black and all his books and toys, with no supervision... but it seemed Harry, somewhere along the line, had grown scared of being alone, and just the thought of the promised punishment was enough to terrify him.
And yet they still had not gotten to the root of the problem, she was sure of it. Why was Harry so scared of being alone? Perhaps if he had been younger she could pass it off as separation anxiety, but something was very wrong right now.
And, if she had to be honest, there had been something not right about Harry the whole time he had been de-aged. Perhaps now she would be able to find out what that something was.
"Harry... do you remember the Dursleys?" she asked.
She felt Harry stiffen in her arms, and it was all the answer she needed. Yes, in some part of his young mind, he did remember them.
Suddenly she remembered something.
"Who told you magic and people who use magic are bad?" – "Uncle Vernon."
"Uncle Vernon says I'm bad when things happen."
He had been utterly terrified of magic, not because he thought it was a bad thing, but because his uncle had made him believe it was bad.
Harry had no doubt done a fair amount of accidental magic – and, perhaps, not-so-accidental after what she had seen Harry do the last few months – while he was at his relatives. Perhaps they were now coming to the reason why Harry was showing such spectacular magic as a young boy, magic he had not been able to do when he was older.
Or maybe he had been able to do it, he just didn't know it because he had locked it away so tightly when he was little and just forgotten about it. For the sixteen-year-old Harry that magic had been quite lost. For the sixteen-turned-two-year-old that magic was finally surfacing once more.
"Did your Uncle Vernon call you a bad person?" she asked thoughtfully.
From the way he froze she knew she had hit the nail on the head.
"Lots," he whispered.
Molly's heart went out to the young boy even as she was forced to contain her fury lest she scare him. She had never liked those Dursleys, and this was just the icing on the cake.
"Did they punish you a lot?" she asked.
Harry hesitated, and then nodded.
"How?" Molly persisted.
"They... locked me in my cupboard," he said haltingly.
For a moment all was silent. Had she heard right? She could have sworn he had just said his cupboard... not bedroom, but cupboard.
"Cupboard?" she asked as calmly as possible.
"The cupboard under the stairs," Harry said, looking up at her. From the blank look on his face she could see he thought there was nothing wrong with what he was saying.
The cupboard under the stairs. They had made him stay in the cupboard under the stairs. All alone, in the dark, locked in with no way out...
Molly wasn't sure whether to burst into tears for him or to floo to the Dursleys and teach them the meaning of pain.
"How long would they lock you in?" she asked. Her voice was shaking slightly, she could hear it, but she hoped that Harry had not noticed.
Harry shrugged. "Long time," he answered.
"How long?" she asked. "Minutes? Hours?"
"Hours," Harry said firmly. "Days."
Days?! Not even Dumbledore would be able to save them from her wand now...
"What about food?" she asked. "Didn't they let you out to eat?"
"Sometimes," said Harry cautiously.
She was about to get up and storm out of there, either to Dumbledore's office or to the Dursleys, whichever came first, but there was still one more question she had to ask. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask it, but she had to know the answer, had to know that she was, hopefully, very wrong.
"Did they ever... hurt you?" she asked.
Harry shook his head violently.
But she knew, from the way his whole body tensed, from the way his eyes filled with tears, from sudden shudder that ran through him, that he was lying.
Coming Next: Chapter Twenty-Two; Lies That Come Undone – Even as an eight year old Harry keeps his secrets, but now the truth is ready to finally come out. How will everyone react and, more importantly, how will Harry deal with it?
A/N: Righty-o. There's a nice little bit of angst. Now I'm going to have to change my genre, I think. Not sure what the second genre will be now, though. One bit of angst doesn't make an angsty story.... well, I'll think about it. The next chapter will be, hopefully, the culmination of everything I have been leading up to the characters finding out; Harry's magic, his relatives and whatnot. I'm still not sure how I'll do it, or what I'm going to do; the definition of "hurt", for example, is still up for grabs. And the few chapters afterward will be... well, you'll have to wait and find out. There are still a few things I want to do with eight-year-old Harry before I turn him back -whistles innocently-
Thank You to...
tatewaki2000, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, snapes wife to be, cyiusblack, imokit, athenakitty, annv, Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets, charming2drew, foosel97, klutzyphoenix, PrinceSev, Meeh-san, Ybs, CrayonsPink, phoenixgirl23, bkwrmgrl87, Draeconin, HarryismyHeroicsavior, CatWriter, Griffin Raven
Alright, first things first. I sincerely apologise to all those who I didn't reply to; I can't remember who you were, but I know there were some that I didn't get to reply to; the reviews that were in my inbox (mostly the last three reviewers on that list) being some of them... I think. I'm afraid I just lost complete track of who I had replied to, and who I hadn't.
One thing I must say to Griffin Raven, before I forget, is thank you for reading my page and commenting on my ideas; Wolf Child is one that will definitely be seen in the future. And thanks for the book ideas!!!!
I promise I will be a little bit better for the reviews for this story and will answer each and every one of them. Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, and also to everyone who has waited patiently as I, yet again, waited for a ridiculous amount of time before getting my story up.