7:21 a.m., Sunday.
Harry felt a familiar warmth around him, but when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing. He was surrounded by a heavy darkness and he could hear breathing, but he couldn't locate the source. He blinked rapidly, trying to get accustomed to the dark, to maybe see his surroundings. It was no use, he couldn't see anything. He was beginning to feel trapped, a small wave of panic washed over him. He'd never felt this before except for the first time the Dursleys had locked him up in the cupboard under the stairs. He'd been very young then, probably about 3...he couldn't even remember what he'd done to make Uncle Vernon mad, but he was furious. Harry remembered being frightened as his angry uncle loomed over him and grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip, dragging him to the cupboard and throwing him inside, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Harry had cried in the darkness. He'd cried his throat raw and fallen asleep wheezing, his nose stuffy.
Harry shivered; this wasn't the same feeling, though. Then, he'd been cold and crying and he'd felt alone and vulnerable and scared. Somehow, it wasn't so scary and he didn't feel so alone. In fact he felt as if someone was protecting him...in this black, empty world...there was someone there. He knew it, but he couldn't see them, he could feel them - this person on the border of his consciousness.
/Harry?/ He looked around, bewildered. The voice sounded so near, yet so far. It seemed familiar...
/Who..?/
/Harry. You have to wake up./ He was dreaming? He must be...otherwise this voice wouldn't be telling him to wake up.
"Harry.." There it was again. This time he could hear the shifting of cloth too.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. At first, all he could see was a black and green blur, but he could still feel that same warmth. He could feel someone's arms gently rubbing his back. He could hear that voice soothing him. For a minute, he wasn't fully sure where he was, then the past few events came back to him. Voldemort, Severus, the quidditch match, Hagrid..."Wh..?"
"Here." Suddenly, everything jumped into focus as his glasses were placed on his face. Severus was leaning next to him, one arm still around him, stroking his back soothingly. "You had some sort of nightmare didn't you." Severus frowned at him.
Harry nodded slowly. "I was...remembering when I was three."
"I see. If you'd get off my arm I could get us something to eat, you know. You still don't look well."
Harry took a moment to glare at the other boy. Even now he's so insensitive! Harry sat up and searched amongst the blankets for Fuu Fuu until he finally found the bunny and pulled it into his arms. The other boy was already walking across the floor to his closet, searching for his robes.
"Is there anything in particular that you want?" Severus asked as he pulled some clean robes over his head and smoothed out the wrinkles.
"No." Harry sulked and lay back down, purposefully facing away from the other boy.
"Hm. I'll just have to guess then. You will eat if I have to force it down your throat. You're not well and you should eat." Even now Severus sounded cold.
Harry pulled Fuu Fuu tighter to him and muttered, "I don't care.".
He waited until the door had shut to cry. He needed to cry, not because he was sad...although admittedly, he was sad. He was angry too. His life never ended up like it should. His parents were dead, he was raised by his uncaring aunt and uncle, he was friendless for most of his life, and now he was the target of Voldemort and stuck in a child's body. He didn't want Severus to see him cry. He simply wouldn't understand him even if it did matter to him. In a few minutes Harry returned to sleep once more.
7:30 a.m., Sunday,
The Kitchens,
"What is it that Harry likes to eat?" Severus mused as he entered the kitchens. He had seen Harry eat enough times to probably have a good idea what the other boy would like, but in his current mood, who knew? Well, he did warn the other boy. "I need some poached eggs, toast, bacon, and kipper."
The house elves quickly went to work getting the food together. In only a few minutes they handed him a tray full of breakfast foods. "Uh...would someone help me carry this to my chambers?"
"Dobby will, sir!" One particularly cheerful house elf came up and took the tray, grinning widely. "Is Harry Potter still asleep sir? Dobby would like much to see him!"
Severus was mildly annoyed by the cheerful elf, but allowed it to tag along. By the time they'd returned to his chambers, he felt like strangling the creature. Nothing should EVER be that happy. He opened the door and the elf dashed in, setting the tray carefully on the table and hopping onto the bed and onto Harry, successfully waking the other boy. Severus shut the door quickly to keep Harry's scream contained.
"D...Dobby!" Harry was holding his chest, gasping for breath while the elf had fallen on its back, stunned. "Er..I'm sorry, Dobby!" Harry looked worried and tried to help the elf to sit up. "Are you okay?" He shot a glare at Severus that told him 'why didn't you wake me up first?'. Severus merely grinned.
"Dobby is okay, Harry Potter!" The elf finally replied when it returned to its senses. "Dobby brought Harry food!"
"Oh...that's...nice.." Harry said slowly, trying desperately not to let the disappointment show in his voice. He really didn't feel like eating now.
"Yes, you should eat." Severus spoke up from his chair at the table. He already had some food piled on his plate.
With a sigh, Harry forced himself out of the bed and walked over to the table, closely followed by Dobby. Dobby helped him into his seat before bidding him a good day and running out. Harry turned to the food and chose what he felt he could stand to eat, ignoring Severus' gaze. He wasn't about to acknowledge the other boy who was forcing him to wake up and eat when he didn't feel like it.
"You shouldn't ignore someone for such a stupid reason."
Harry set his jaw and glared at Severus. "It doesn't matter."
Severus shrugged and took a bite of toast before replying. "It's for your own good."
Harry slumped in his chair and grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like thank you before eating his own toast. He'd have to remember this next time Severus tried to get him expelled from Hogwarts once things were back to normal. He'd probably deny it and go back to being a git. Harry was actually beginning to become attached to this boy although he'd much rather not admit any such thing.
(TBC. Now to answer questions – first, to Tidmag: yes, I agree, the chapters are short (too short for my own liking, really.). The only reason for this is because I'm actually working on about ten other projects as well and when I sit down to right a chapter for this particular story my mind only goes so far before it stops and begins thinking up of something for another story. I had wanted to make this chapter longer, but it ended in such a way that I felt it would be rather awkward to start it up again. Now to Sherylyn: I've never actually been much of a Neville fan to be honest and the thought of writing about him never came to mind before I'd had the idea of killing his parents. As I was writing Black Letter, I thought a lot about Neville's personality and I had to do a bit of guess work too. After I had finished, I came to see Neville in a new light and I've found that I actually like him. Maybe it would be a nice thing to write about all characters that are easily dismissed at first to get to know them better and perhaps find that they're not so boring after all? As for what happened to Harry, he's just a little sick and he's having some difficulty with some inner feelings about several different things. I guess you could say everything is beginning to catch up to him and he's beginning to worry how things will be after he returns to normal. And finally, to luvharrypotter: yes, I'll keep wirting…er..I mean writing. ^.^;; there's still a few days left! And then you have the sequel to worry about…and I've already started on that. )
Harry felt a familiar warmth around him, but when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing. He was surrounded by a heavy darkness and he could hear breathing, but he couldn't locate the source. He blinked rapidly, trying to get accustomed to the dark, to maybe see his surroundings. It was no use, he couldn't see anything. He was beginning to feel trapped, a small wave of panic washed over him. He'd never felt this before except for the first time the Dursleys had locked him up in the cupboard under the stairs. He'd been very young then, probably about 3...he couldn't even remember what he'd done to make Uncle Vernon mad, but he was furious. Harry remembered being frightened as his angry uncle loomed over him and grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip, dragging him to the cupboard and throwing him inside, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Harry had cried in the darkness. He'd cried his throat raw and fallen asleep wheezing, his nose stuffy.
Harry shivered; this wasn't the same feeling, though. Then, he'd been cold and crying and he'd felt alone and vulnerable and scared. Somehow, it wasn't so scary and he didn't feel so alone. In fact he felt as if someone was protecting him...in this black, empty world...there was someone there. He knew it, but he couldn't see them, he could feel them - this person on the border of his consciousness.
/Harry?/ He looked around, bewildered. The voice sounded so near, yet so far. It seemed familiar...
/Who..?/
/Harry. You have to wake up./ He was dreaming? He must be...otherwise this voice wouldn't be telling him to wake up.
"Harry.." There it was again. This time he could hear the shifting of cloth too.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. At first, all he could see was a black and green blur, but he could still feel that same warmth. He could feel someone's arms gently rubbing his back. He could hear that voice soothing him. For a minute, he wasn't fully sure where he was, then the past few events came back to him. Voldemort, Severus, the quidditch match, Hagrid..."Wh..?"
"Here." Suddenly, everything jumped into focus as his glasses were placed on his face. Severus was leaning next to him, one arm still around him, stroking his back soothingly. "You had some sort of nightmare didn't you." Severus frowned at him.
Harry nodded slowly. "I was...remembering when I was three."
"I see. If you'd get off my arm I could get us something to eat, you know. You still don't look well."
Harry took a moment to glare at the other boy. Even now he's so insensitive! Harry sat up and searched amongst the blankets for Fuu Fuu until he finally found the bunny and pulled it into his arms. The other boy was already walking across the floor to his closet, searching for his robes.
"Is there anything in particular that you want?" Severus asked as he pulled some clean robes over his head and smoothed out the wrinkles.
"No." Harry sulked and lay back down, purposefully facing away from the other boy.
"Hm. I'll just have to guess then. You will eat if I have to force it down your throat. You're not well and you should eat." Even now Severus sounded cold.
Harry pulled Fuu Fuu tighter to him and muttered, "I don't care.".
He waited until the door had shut to cry. He needed to cry, not because he was sad...although admittedly, he was sad. He was angry too. His life never ended up like it should. His parents were dead, he was raised by his uncaring aunt and uncle, he was friendless for most of his life, and now he was the target of Voldemort and stuck in a child's body. He didn't want Severus to see him cry. He simply wouldn't understand him even if it did matter to him. In a few minutes Harry returned to sleep once more.
7:30 a.m., Sunday,
The Kitchens,
"What is it that Harry likes to eat?" Severus mused as he entered the kitchens. He had seen Harry eat enough times to probably have a good idea what the other boy would like, but in his current mood, who knew? Well, he did warn the other boy. "I need some poached eggs, toast, bacon, and kipper."
The house elves quickly went to work getting the food together. In only a few minutes they handed him a tray full of breakfast foods. "Uh...would someone help me carry this to my chambers?"
"Dobby will, sir!" One particularly cheerful house elf came up and took the tray, grinning widely. "Is Harry Potter still asleep sir? Dobby would like much to see him!"
Severus was mildly annoyed by the cheerful elf, but allowed it to tag along. By the time they'd returned to his chambers, he felt like strangling the creature. Nothing should EVER be that happy. He opened the door and the elf dashed in, setting the tray carefully on the table and hopping onto the bed and onto Harry, successfully waking the other boy. Severus shut the door quickly to keep Harry's scream contained.
"D...Dobby!" Harry was holding his chest, gasping for breath while the elf had fallen on its back, stunned. "Er..I'm sorry, Dobby!" Harry looked worried and tried to help the elf to sit up. "Are you okay?" He shot a glare at Severus that told him 'why didn't you wake me up first?'. Severus merely grinned.
"Dobby is okay, Harry Potter!" The elf finally replied when it returned to its senses. "Dobby brought Harry food!"
"Oh...that's...nice.." Harry said slowly, trying desperately not to let the disappointment show in his voice. He really didn't feel like eating now.
"Yes, you should eat." Severus spoke up from his chair at the table. He already had some food piled on his plate.
With a sigh, Harry forced himself out of the bed and walked over to the table, closely followed by Dobby. Dobby helped him into his seat before bidding him a good day and running out. Harry turned to the food and chose what he felt he could stand to eat, ignoring Severus' gaze. He wasn't about to acknowledge the other boy who was forcing him to wake up and eat when he didn't feel like it.
"You shouldn't ignore someone for such a stupid reason."
Harry set his jaw and glared at Severus. "It doesn't matter."
Severus shrugged and took a bite of toast before replying. "It's for your own good."
Harry slumped in his chair and grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like thank you before eating his own toast. He'd have to remember this next time Severus tried to get him expelled from Hogwarts once things were back to normal. He'd probably deny it and go back to being a git. Harry was actually beginning to become attached to this boy although he'd much rather not admit any such thing.
(TBC. Now to answer questions – first, to Tidmag: yes, I agree, the chapters are short (too short for my own liking, really.). The only reason for this is because I'm actually working on about ten other projects as well and when I sit down to right a chapter for this particular story my mind only goes so far before it stops and begins thinking up of something for another story. I had wanted to make this chapter longer, but it ended in such a way that I felt it would be rather awkward to start it up again. Now to Sherylyn: I've never actually been much of a Neville fan to be honest and the thought of writing about him never came to mind before I'd had the idea of killing his parents. As I was writing Black Letter, I thought a lot about Neville's personality and I had to do a bit of guess work too. After I had finished, I came to see Neville in a new light and I've found that I actually like him. Maybe it would be a nice thing to write about all characters that are easily dismissed at first to get to know them better and perhaps find that they're not so boring after all? As for what happened to Harry, he's just a little sick and he's having some difficulty with some inner feelings about several different things. I guess you could say everything is beginning to catch up to him and he's beginning to worry how things will be after he returns to normal. And finally, to luvharrypotter: yes, I'll keep wirting…er..I mean writing. ^.^;; there's still a few days left! And then you have the sequel to worry about…and I've already started on that. )