A/n: I can't believe I took so long to update this. I blame the little plot bunnies. For some reason, they all involved Tom/Harry………in leather pants. I also had a cool idea………, which is an original HP fic idea, and it's currently at its beta. *Grins and waves at Ty*

I also have no idea about the British school system. I keep getting lost once A levels are mentioned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter since I doubt that James was really in love with Sirius (though they are in love………) or that Harry was really shaych. I do not own Heralds of Valdemar series since if I did Kris never would have died and in Arrow's Flight, it would have been Kris with Dirk instead of Talia.

Warning: Child Abuse, slash (shaych), other things, but really just the same stuff as in previous chapters.

~~Change in Location~~

:mind speech:

dreams/memories

thoughts

"speech"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was in his cupboard, with his knees curled up to his chest. He was waiting for his Uncle to punish him, though he didn't know what he had done wrong. Harry didn't see why he couldn't go to school if Dudley could go to school. He just wanted to learn and to make a friend. After all, the only other five year olds he knew were Dudley and his group of little bullies, and they weren't the type to make friends with someone weaker then themselves.

Harry paled as he heard footsteps echoing closer to him.

They grew louder and louder with each footfall, until they were just outside of his room. He whimpered as the door opened. Though the whimper was only faintly audible, Vernon heard it. "So, you are trying to get out of your chores by wanting to go to school? Did you not know school was only for those who have a chance to succeed in life? Only those who better, nicer, and of higher standing than you can go to school."

Vernon stared down at the boy before kicking him in the chest. Harry gasped and tried to curl himself into a ball, but couldn't. Soon the reason became obvious. Harry had been shackled to the bed, and there wasn't enough chain length for him to sit anyway but with his knees to his chest and his back to the wall.

Harry never cried out as the blows landed, having learned that the punishment didn't last as long if he didn't react. The blows were not hard enough to leave marks on his face and lower arms, but his chest and back were soon covered with bruises. Harry sighed in relief as soon as Vernon left, and wished that his parents were still alive. They would have loved him, even if no one else would have. Parents always love their children, no matter what. He fell asleep, chained to an up-right position.

Harry slept fitfully through the night, until Vernon decided to silence him. Harry had woken up to a slap across the face, and this time he started to struggle against Vernon. For some reason during the night, the chains that had held Harry in an upright position had come undone, and he could protect himself.

Harry had been shocked to discover the unlocked chains, and he had managed to get himself out of the cupboard and into the living room where someone passing by would have been able to see Harry be hit, especially since it was now daylight.

Harry felt hands touching him; even though they were gentle, he flinched away. Vernon had done that several times, pretending to be gentle to him before slapping him or punching him. He cowered away from the hands but soon noticed that a voice was gently whispering through his mind that he was now safe and that no one would hurt him.

Harry soon eased back into his dream/memory, but this time it wasn't as personal. He was watching the dream from a distance, with a bright presence next to him. It took him a bit to figure out that the presence was Mareth and that it was the reason that Harry wasn't relieving the memories totally.

The kyree growled as the memories started back again. Mareth seemed sickened by the treatment that Harry was going through and couldn't seem to fathom why someone from the same pack would treat someone that badly.

Harry quickly hid behind the couch and watched in relative safety as Vernon went off to work and Aunt Petunia came down the stairs and started making breakfast for Dudley. She then took him to school and then went back to bed for another hour.

As soon as she woke again, she handed Harry a list of chores and supervised him as he washed dishes and did the laundry and polished things and vacuumed things. Harry worked quickly for a six-year-old, but it wasn't quick enough for Aunt Petunia. She encouraged Harry to work faster by slapping him or hitting him every now and then and making scathing remarks when he mentioned that he couldn't see anything, that everything was blurry.

Harry finished working just in time to sit down at the table and eat the scraps of food off Dudley's plate. He listened as Vernon growled and said that Harry would have to go to school by law.

Harry looked up with bright eyes, but soon he became downcast when he heard Vernon order Dudley to make sure Harry didn't contaminant anyone and that the boy would be wearing Dudley's old uniform to school.

Petunia looked over at Harry and spoke, "I guess I have to take him to the doctor than to have his medical records and the other things that Dudley-diddums needed to enter kindergarten."

For some reason the dream faded out then and Harry woke fully to realize that Nightsong was holding a cup of broth to his lips.

~~~~~~~ Vale K'Valdemar~~~~~

Darien stared at the twin herald trainees who had just entered his Vale. They had said that they were searching for information about strangers and if a Companion on a search had gone by.

Darien knew that he had one stranger who had been found by Keisha, but he also knew that no Companion had gone by yet.

With a slight groan, Darien stood up, motioned the Herald-trainees to follow, and proceeded to Keisha's healing hut. In there was a strange man who had suddenly appeared near the Heartstone, and Keisha had insisted that the man was a good man.

Darien stopped in front of the hut and entered it to see Keisha asking the man several questions and the man staring blankly in reply.

"Here, let me help," Darien said and then suited words to action. He quickly cast a translation spell and then motioned Keisha to re-question the man.

"Who are you? Where are you from? How did you get here?" she questioned and was then shocked by his answers.

"I am Severus Snape, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am from England, and I have not a clue as to how I arrived here. All I know was that I saw something happening to my step-nephew and that he would need my help, so I went to his guardians' residence. I arrived to find the person who had betrayed my stepbrother and his wife and hence causing their deaths at the house. I followed him up the steps and had just grabbed him when something seemed to pull me and I woke up here," the man explained quickly.

Darien stared at the man in shock while the twins shared a look and started to question the man themselves. Their questions ranged from what was his step-nephew's age to his nephew's description and seemed satisfied at the answer, though the way the man answered was a bit of a shock.

The man had pulled out a piece of wood, mumbled a few words in a strange language, and conjured up a tree dimensional picture of his step-nephew.

The young teen had jet-black hair, vibrant emerald green eyes, and a scar in the shape of a lighting bolt on his forehead.

When the man was done with his impromptu show of magic, Keisha shooed the trainees and Darien out and then handed the man a tea with some herbs designed to put someone to sleep in it.

It took a bit for the drug to take effect, but when it did, she went into a trance, healed some of the man's injuries, and removed a tattoo on the man's left arm that was slowly poisoning the man to death.