Authors Note: Hi. I used to post a lot of fanfics about a year or two ago (none of which are actually finished, which I am very sorry about please don't hate me), but haven't posted anything lately because I kind of hated everything I wrote and lost motivation.
BUT my love for writing and J.K. Rowling's characters is as strong as ever, and I want to give this writing thing another try. So here's another (mediocre) attempt at a Snape mentors Harry fic.
I hope you enjoy. Please review, fav and all that jazz if you like it if you like
PS: English is not my native language so there will be errors in my grammar, and I hope you will forgive me. Feel free to correct me, I'd love to get better in English.
Disclaimer: none of these characters are mine, they belong to J. .
Summary: On the run and severely hurt with nowhere to stay, Harry's summer looks to be going downhill. Then Snape, of all people, find Harry and is forced to take him in, making his summer ten times worse. In addition to spending the summer with the dungeon bat, Harry discovers strange things within his magic... Can the two stubborn wizards put their differences aside and help each other?
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Harry had seen Vernon angry before. He'd seen how Vernon's veins popped, how his whole face turned purple, and the way his eyes went all wide and livid. Harry had seen Vernon shout and stomp around, the ground shaking underneath his walrus-feet, stabbing his finger in Harry's face and occasionally slap Harry about. Vernon was a simple-minded man who conformed to shouting and violence when he was angry.
This time, however, was different. This time, Vernon's face was dark and grim, his fists balling, his jaw clenched, his whole body shaking in rage. This time his eyes were narrow as he scowled at the scrawny boy in front of him, his left eye occasionally twitching. This time Vernon wasn't just angry, he was on the brink of losing his mind.
Harry wanted to defend himself. He wanted to say how he never meant to perform magic at all, but the words were stuck in his throat. His magic had never acted in such a way before, and to be honest the whole situation freaked him out almost as much as it freaked out the Durlseys.
"I've had enough of you. You and that freakishness of yours. You are a threat to this household! To my family!" Vernon tilted his head to one side, contemplating Harry similar to how a predator contemplated its prey. Shudders and whimpers came from the corner of the room, where Dudley sat wrapped in a blanket being strangled by Petunia, who was hurriedly whispering words of comfort into the ear of her son, stroking his hair with quick movements.
Again, Harry tried to explain himself, saying how he never meant to frighten anyone. As he said this, he tried to approach Dudley and Petunia, hoping to calm them. To make them understand. Harry quickly backed away, however, when Petunia started shrieking.
"Get him away! Don't let him near our boy!" Vernon quickly stomped towards Harry, more determined than Harry had ever seen him.
"Don't you dare go near my family, you filthy, worthless freak!" As Vernon was towering over him, Harry tried to explain himself one last time. Surely they couldn't actually believe that he was dangerous?
"Please, uncle Vernon. I never meant to-"
SLAP. Stumbling backwards completely dumbstruck, Harry backed away from his uncle. But he was backed against the wall, with no means of escape as Vernon grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him up against the wall.
"This has gone on for far too long! I should've done this a long time ago!"
Harry coughed as he struggled to breathe, trying in vain to get out of his uncle's deathly grip.
"The snake, the letters, the owls, the giant, the pigtail, the flying car, the cake, and now this! We've had enough of you!" For each incident Vernon listed, he pushed Harry, hitting the back of his head repeatedly against the wall. As if the dizziness and pain wasn't enough, lack of oxygen made the edges of his vision blurry, and his eyes widened in fear as he desperately flailed his arms around. It felt as if an eternity had passed when Vernon, with a frustrated growl, let go of Harry, who ended up falling to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Harry rolled over onto his stomach and tried to crawl away, only to be kicked back down again by a big foot stomping on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Something cracked, and Harry couldn't help but scream in pain. His whole vision blurred as Vernon continued his stomping. At that moment, all Harry knew was pain, but soon the pain overwhelmed him and everything turned black.
A highly unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach woke Harry up. He couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was, but was soon distracted by all the other limbs attached to his body that was screaming in pain. Groaning, he opened his eyes, but whether he had open or closed eyes had little to say anyway as he was enveloped in darkness. Harry lifted his arms and felt around him blindly, looking for something to hold onto. The mere movement of lifting his arms caused a searing pain to strike up his side and in his wrist. Hissing, he slowly rolled over onto his stomach and clumsily managed to stand up, panting.
Harry tried to breathe evenly, but each breath only came out as raspy and panicky. Lightheaded and with weak legs, his knees buckled and he soon he found himself on the floor again, this time remaining there for a good ten minutes. He was trying to ignore the pain by focusing on getting his breath under control, along with the panic. Only a few seconds later, he quickly turned to his side and vomited, wrinkling his nose at the smell. Nauseous and coughing, Harry cringed and turned away from the smell, groaned and lied back down. Everything hurt. Flashes of his last memories before blacking out caused Harry to twitch involuntarily. He couldn't remember every detail, it had all happened so quickly, but he had a good idea of why he felt as if his body was breaking into a million pieces. Vernon had been violent before, but this…
Groaning, he pushed himself up, and leaned on the nearest wall for support. Now that he'd calmed down, he easily recognized where he was. He'd spent most of his childhood in this very same darkness, after all.
He followed the wall of the cupboard for a few seconds, before finding the doorknob. To say that he was surprised to find the door locked would've been a lie, but he couldn't help but groan as he wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now. He couldn't break through the door, not in his state, and he'd never really learned how to pick locks either. He promised himself that if he ever got out of there, he would learn to do so.
As his mind reeled, looking for an answer, he felt as if he was missing something. Something painfully obvious that would easily get him out of this tricky situation. Squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to concentrate, something that proved hard for Harry's hazy and sluggish brain, Harry suddenly heard a small voice in the back of his mind.
Wand.
Reaching into his back pocket, remembering that this had been the last place he'd put it, he laughed in relief as his hand found the piece of wood. A laugh which soon turned into an ugly cough. Wincing, he drew out his wand, but hesitated for a moment. He knew he was not allowed to do magic outside of school, especially after that whole cake incident that he was blamed for (though he couldn't find it in him to be angry with Dobby). To be expelled from Hogwarts, his home, was out of the question. But if he didn't use his magic, what other choice did he have? To wait here and hope for someone to come find him? No. He'd spent more than enough of his childhood doing that in this very same cupboard. In fact, he'd learnt a long time ago that in the end he would always have to take care of himself.
Sighing at his dilemma, he tiredly squeezed his eyes shut and bitterly wished that the Dursleys hadn't locked the door.
The exact same moment as this thought formed in Harry's mind, he felt a rush of…something run through his body. A mixture of something warm and tingling, spreading and whirling inside him.
The sound of a click, and Harry froze, immediately recognizing the sound of the lock opening. His mind reeled as he tried to understand what had just happened, but then quickly decided to store that for later as he could barely manage to stand upright at the moment.
Opening the door opened and stumbling out, Harry prepared to make a run for it (or at least attempt to do so) should he see his uncle. He quickly looked around, and found himself dumbstruck.
The Dursley residence was empty. Not just the 'lacking of people' kind of empty, but the 'lacking of people, furniture, pictures, drapes, carpets and all signs of someone ever residing here' kind of empty. Just how long had Harry been unconscious? What day was it? The Dursleys had completely abandoned the place. And me, Harry realised quickly, like a brick falling from the sky. He leaned against the wall for support, feeling dizzy again. It wasn't that he would miss them, not at all. But had they really hated him so much that they were willing to leave everything, their house, their town, their lives, and start everything afresh, just to get away from him? Had Harry been so horrible to put up with that he deserved to be locked in the cupboard and left behind to starve?
"Stop being such a drama queen," said a voice in Harry's head, disdainfully. "They probably knew you'd find your way out." Harry nodded to himself, though a part of him was still unsure of whether the Durlseys cared either way.
His face contorted to one of resignation. The Durlseys had never tried to hide their hatred towards him before, so he should really have seen this one coming. At least he wouldn't have to stay with the Dursleys anymore.
With clenched teeth, Harry managed to drag one foot in front of the other and make his way upstairs to his room, finding motivation in that this would, hopefully, be the last time he walked through this hateful place. This thought brought a small smile to his lips as he opened the door to his room, or Dudley's old second bedroom that he had been generous enough to sacrifice. Looking around the room, he sighed in relief as he saw that the Durlseys had not touched his stuff. They'd probably left this room for Harry to pack out of, not wanting to be contaminated by his freakish germs. Sneering, he walked over to his trunk to start packing. That was when he noticed, though, that his cage, Hedwig's cage, was empty. His face fell, and Harry quickly (or as quickly as he could without hurting himself) walked to the window. The dark sky was cloud free and starry, but there was no Hedwig to be seen.
"The Durlseys hated Hedwig," Harry thought to himself. "They would never take her with them. They most likely just let her out so that if she got hungry, she wouldn't start screeching and drawing attention from the neighbours."
"Or," said another voice in the back of his mind. "They hurt her, or maybe even killed her, just to get to you."
"No!" Harry said firmly, a hint of panic in his voice, not realising he was thinking aloud. "If they did that, they'd wouldn't have taken her with them. They'd left her for me to see. No, she's alive," Harry concluded finally, though a part of him was still doubtful and worried.
His mind still on Hedwig, Harry started packing his stuff into his trunk, working on auto-pilot. Several times, Harry had to stop for a moment and breathe so that he would not collapse again.
Luckily, though, he didn't have many belongings to pack, and soon found himself standing in the middle of an empty room (except for the bed, desk and closet, of course, since Harry had yet to learn the shrinking spell. Another thing he promised himself he would learn once he got out), his trunk at his side and ready to go. He groaned, however, as he realised that his sweater smelled slightly of vomit, and he could've changed if he had not packed the sweaters at the bottom of the trunk. Shaking his head, he hid his wand up his sleeve and put a few coins in his back pocket (1 galleon and 2 sickles to be exact, the only money he had on him at the moment as he had yet to go to the bank). Checking to see that he had everything, and finding that he did, Harry headed out of the bedroom, down the stairs and through the front door with some difficulty, as his trunk, though not completely full, was still heavy and difficult to carry, his body already exhausted. He exited the house and walked away from privet drive 4, not looking behind for a single second.
The air outside was completely still, no breeze could be felt. Like a stagnant pool, it had the smell of something festering and rotting. Or maybe that smell was just Harry.
The light from the lampposts illuminated the streets, but otherwise there was almost complete darkness. The panic gripping his heart was increasing for each minute he walked aimlessly through the streets of Surrey.
Feeling stupid for not even planning where to go before leaving the Dursleys, Harry sat down on a bench to rest his shaky legs. At the Dursleys, he'd had shelter at least. He could've stayed for a few more hours and recovered before leaving. But he hadn't been thinking. He'd only known that he wanted to get out of that hateful place as quickly as possible. And to be honest, he would probably do the same again. He couldn't stand staying there a minute longer. No, he needed to get to London. The train would leave the 1st of September, and Harry had to be on it. But how on earth was he supposed to get to London?
Flying was out of the question, as he was sure, considering his state, that it would end with him falling to his death. He didn't have any muggle money to pay for transport, either. He could always hitchhike with someone, but then again there wasn't many people headed for London at this time of night, and Harry wasn't sure how much further he would be able to walk.
With Hedwig gone, there was no way for him to contact Ron and Hermione either. Worry seeped into his mind once again, and he was so deep in thought that he almost didn't notice how the bushes on the other side of the street rustled and moved. Frowning, Harry slowly stood up with wand in hand, eyeing the bush curiously. It was only when the bush started growling dangerously and he saw a big pair of yellow eyes, that Harry reacted instinctively and whipped out his wand.
BANG. Whatever creature had hidden in the bushes jumped at the sound, as did Harry, and disappeared, while Harry's attention was drawn to the most strange-looking bus that seemingly had appeared out of nowhere. It screeched as it abruptly stopped in front of Harry, the doors opening with another BANG. Out came a gangly man that couldn't be more than 6 years older than Harry, leaning on the bus doors, not even looking up as he pulled out a card from his back pocket, and started reading the card aloud;
"Welcome to the Knight bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor for this evening." Sighing, Stan put the card back in his pocket and looked around for the first time, taking in the obvious muggle neighbourhood. He then looked at Harry with narrow eyes.
"Whatchu doing?" Stan asked, taking in Harry's appearance. Harry, who's hazy mind was reeling, held his arms around his waist tightly.
"I-I'm lost," lied Harry, eyes blinking rapidly. "How much for a ticket?" Stan looked him up and down, before moving aside and letting Harry in.
"11 sickles for the ticket, but for 13 sickles you can get a hot chocolate, and for 15 sickles you get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush. Look, you can choose which colour." Harry, ignoring the variety of toothbrushes that Stan was holding, gave the man 11 sickles. Harry was too nauseous and sweaty for a water bottle and hot chocolate to be tempting. Stan looked slightly disappointed, but said nothing and gave Harry his ticket, who nodded his thanks and quickly sat down on the nearest seat, his weak legs shaking.
"Where are you off to, then?" asked Stan, leaning against the window. Licking his dry lips, Harry swallowed.
"London," said Harry quickly, his voice still croaky.
"You hear that, Ern? London," he threw over his shoulder to the bus driver, before chuckling to himself. Harry, too tired to care to understand why that was funny, turned his lips upwards in what could perhaps resemble the ghost of a smile, before leaning his head back in his seat.
"You sure you okay, mate?" asked Stan, seeming genuinely concerned. Harry nodded quickly, and Stan was about to continue when the bus said BANG and was on it's way again, travelling down the street with a speed Harry was quite sure was not safe nor legal. Houses, cars and people passed in a blur. The bus driver didn't even care to drive on the road, as he took all kinds of detours through gardens and the sidewalk. Gripping the seat tightly, he tried to ignore his nausea.
Turning his attention to the inside of the bus instead, as looking outside only made him dizzy, he noticed that Stan was reading a newspaper. On the front was a picture of a ragged man with messy hair, chained hands, sallow skin, yellow teeth and intense eyes that seemed to follow Harry. Something was strangely familiar about him, though he could not place him.
"Who is that man? On the front page?" he asked Stan before he could stop himself, barely able to tear his gaze off him. Stan turned to the front page and stared at Harry unbelievingly.
"Who is… Who is- That is Sirius Black, that is! Don't tell me you never heard of Sirius Black?" Harry looked at the man, Sirius, and shook his head. Stan leaned forward as if to tell Harry a big secret.
"He's a murderer. Got himself locked up in Azkaban for it. A big follower of…you-know-who." Stan paused and glanced around the bus nervously, as if Voldemort was to pop up out of nowhere. "Reckon you've heard of him." Harry nodded and looked at the picture of Sirius again.
"I've seen him, though," he realised slowly. "On the muggle television!"
"Well of course he's on the muggle television, he's an escaped prisoner. Everybody should be on guard even muggles, no especially muggles. He killed 13 with one spell! Imagine that!" Stan shuddered and Harry couldn't help but to do the same.
"But… how did he escape?"
"Well that's it, isn't it? Nobody knows. He's the first one that's done it!" Feeling even more nauseas than before, Harry looked out of the window again, wondering where Sirius Black was now.
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That's it for chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed! All reviews are very very very appreciated.
Chapter 2 is coming soon!
