*TW ABUSE*
CH7: Exhausted (Part 2)
That afternoon Harry received the answer he had been waiting for, it wasn't good news, he had been suspicious when he had received a letter in return rather than a parcel.
Apparently, Harry wasn't able to order dreamless sleep potion, the ministry classed it as a controlled substance due to its highly addictive properties and it was only available on prescription from MediWizards and healers.
The letter had resulted in a broken mirror as Harry took his anger out on his wardrobe door.
He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, he had barely slept since arriving at the Dursley's, he'd been holding out thinking his order was on the way but now he didn't know what he was going to do.
...
After clearing up the glass from the mirror, Harry continued with his chores for the day. He still had a rather long list and only an hour and a half before Vernon returned home to inspect and decide if Harry had done enough for the day to deserve food.
The bathroom was next on the list so he collected the cleaning supplies he would need and proceeded to the bathroom. He always hated cleaning the bathroom, it always took such a long time and he found it disgusting cleaning up after the Dursleys in that particular area.
Harry we very methodical when it came to the way he worked when doing chores for the Dursleys. He broke everything down into small, manageable tasks, concentrating on each to keep himself distracted in the process.
He started by returning everything out of place to where it belonged, he opened the bathroom cabinet to put back the toothpaste, when he saw his Aunt's pills. They were prescription sleeping pills for muggles.
He stilled, his mind running through the idea forming in his head. Maybe if he took the pills, they would put him in a deep enough sleep to stop the nightmares?
There was no way to know but to test it out and Harry was reaching a point where he would soon collapse from exhaustion so he snook some pills out of the bottle and hid them in his bedroom to take that night.
Harry was desperate and if there was even a slim chance that they would work... he would give it a try.
Harry then continued with his chores as normal until his uncle got home to carry out his daily inspection; where he would declare Harry a lazy and ungrateful nuisance and that he would not eat that night.
Harry prepared the dinner afterwards as usual, being extremely careful around the open flames, he was barely walking straight and everything around him was so blurry. He cleared up as quickly as possible retreated upstairs to test out his plan.
He was extremely nervous; he had no idea how the pills would affect him. He was also terrified that his Aunt or Uncle would discover he had stolen from them. He decided he had no choice but to try.
The pills seemed to work at first, he quickly fell into a very deep sleep. Although that may have been a result of Harry finally allowing himself to fall to sleep.
It seemed that exhaustion helped slightly with stopping the nightmares, he managed to sleep for a whole 7 hours until swirling shadows filled his mind and the graveyard scene he'd been dreading started to form.
Cedric appeared before him and Harry tried to run towards him, but again he couldn't move fast enough. It felt like he was running through thick mud, straining with everything he had to move faster towards his friend.
A shape appeared at the edge of his vision, but instead of Wormtail, this time the newly resurrected Voldemort stood and addressed Harry.
'Kill him Harry'
He saw Cedric turning towards him with betrayal written over his face.
'Is that why you brought us here Harry, to kill me?' Cedric asked.
No Harry tried to say but nothing came out. Harry tried to move towards Cedric faster but he felt his body stiffen and his feet were stuck like they were set in concrete.
'I said kill him Harry' Voldemort said with a laugh.
Harry felt like he had lost control, like his body didn't belong to him and he watched in horror as his own arm lifted, wand in hand and pointed in the direction of Cedric.
'Avada Kedavra' Harry's body spoke.
The green flash filled his vision like it so often had in Harry's dreams only this time it came from his own wand and not Wormtail's.
Harry felt his body loosen and he fell to the floor, but his eyes remain fixed on Cedric's body, Harry let out a heart wrenching cry.
'It was you who killed him Harry' Voldemort mocked.
Harry made to point his wand in Voldemort's direction, but a simple flick of Voldemort's wand saw Harry's fly off into the grass.
'I'll Kill you if it's the last thing I do' Screamed Harry as the vision faded back to black.
...
Harry jolted awake as he felt a sudden pressure on his chest.
He opened his eyes to see his Uncles large form standing over him.
I'm in my bedroom not the graveyard. Harry said to himself in his head, he needed to come to his senses quick.
'You're going to kill me are you boy' Uncle Vernon snarled.
Harry looked at him in confusion until he remembered how his dream had ended.
I'm in my bedroom not the graveyard.
'N… No Uncle Vernon I'm sorry I had a bad dream'.
'I told you about making a racket you ungrateful brat, waking your Aunt Petunia up in the middle of the night in a state of panic. No wonder those freaks drop you here the first chance they get'
Harry felt Vernon grab his arm and pull him off the bed onto the floor. From there Vernon kicked him repeatedly in the stomach. Harry desperately tried to breathe through the repeated blows, turning side to side to try and avoid his Uncles next strike.
This seemed to just make his Uncle angrier, and the kicks turned to punches as Vernon straddled him, giving no chance of squirming away.
Vernon kept up his attack until Harry became so weak that he had stopped struggling.
'This is your final warning brat' Uncle Vernon spat as he stood and leered over Harry's bruised and broken body. With one final kick, Vernon left Harrys room without a look back and slammed the door. Harry heard the lock sliding into place.
It took Harry a long time before he allowed himself to untense his body from the repeated attack, sure that Uncle Vernon had gone for at least the rest of the night. He tried to assess his injuries without moving, concentrating on different areas of his body and the levels of pain he was feeling.
He was sure he had broken ribs, possibly a broken arm from where he had tried to protect himself from his Uncle's kicks, and many bruises and cuts.
Harry felt numb, had that really just happened? What was he going to do? He couldn't move due to his injuries, so he remained lying on the floor, unable to even feel the cold as he zoned out of his miserable life. Harry again found himself imagining his alternative life, one where he was not in paid, both physically and mentally, one where he felt loved.
Harry spent the night on the floor lying in his own blood, staring at the ceiling, the occasional tear escaping down his cheek. He felt completely dead inside, he had completely given up on life.
That was when Harry broke.