2.

Up at the school Hermione and Ron were in the library, studying.  Surprisingly it was Hermione who banged her book shut first, earning a glare from Madam Pince.

"Let's go out and see if Harry wants company walking Fang."

Ron grinned, not even making sarcastic comments in fear of changing her mind and jumped up, gathering their things together at light speed and grabbing Hermione to drag her from the stuffy library.

They walked across the grounds, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Mione, is that Snuffles?  Didn't know he was back."

"Neither did I.  Wonder if Harry saw him – he seems to be going from Hagrid's hut."

"Well, we can ask Harry what he had to say."

However when they got near to the hut they began to feel…ominous.

"Something's wrong."

"You feel it?"

"Yeah…something bad happened."

"Let's go 'round the back way; we can check on the pumpkins anyway."

They walked around the little house in silence.  The pumpkins were fine, Hermione absently noted.

They got to the back door and found Fang still tied up there.  When he saw the two friends he began to whine and scratch at the door.  Ron untied the dog incase they needed him and cautiously opened the door, making sure to keep Hermione behind him.  He looked in and choked at what he saw.

Harry lay there on his back in a pool of blood and semen, arms still tied together, jeans and underwear still off, now covered in dried semen in a pattern that indicated someone had wiped their hands on it.  A blob of what could only be spittle ran down his face and dripped on the floor steadily.  He was still gagged.

The tear tracks over his face were apparent, and although his chest moved slightly, he was obviously unconscious.  His shirt, torn and dirtied – barely a rag anymore – was crumpled up around his chest, and the bruises where Sirius had held him were purpling and yellowing at the edges.  He had a black eye and scratches over his face and torso.  His nose was broken and bloodied and his hair matted together with a combination of everything that covered him.  The smell was stomach churning; a mixture of blood, sex and dog.

Hermione was screaming and Ron would have were he not voiceless.  Fang sat at their feet and whined guiltily as though feeling it reprehensible not to have saved his master's young friend even though he had been tied up and as helpless to stop it as Harry had been.

"Mione!  MIONE!"

Hermione stopped screaming as Ron gently shook her, and focused her attention on her other friend.

"Go get Madam Pomfrey – send her down here and then get Dumbledore…"

He looked at Harry.

"I guess you'd better get Snape as well."

Hermione looked at him, obviously torn between staying and helping hands-on and doing as asked.  Ron pressed Fang's lead into her hand.

"Go fast and take Fang incase the person is still out there.  Go now – it's the best you can do for him – I'll help Harry here best I can and you go bring proper help."

Hermione took one last glance at Harry, gagged, and then bolted, tears in her eyes, up to the school, running so fast that Fang had a time trying to keep up.

She reached the school doors and stopped for a moment to let go of Fang, who wasn't allowed in further than the entrance hall by order of Hagrid, and to decide which direction to go in first.  It was then that Snape appeared, making her mind up for hern.  He took one look at the girl and knew something was up.

"Miss Granger, what happened?"

She looked up, obviously startled, and then broke down.

"It…it's Harry…he went to…to Hagrid's…to…to…to…"

"To feed Hagrid's mutt, yes he told me.  What happened?"

"We were studying in the library, me and Ron, but I just…I don't know, but anyway, so went to see…to see if we could…could help him and he…he…he…"

She stopped talking in order to get control over her breathing and crying.

"Someone…attacked him.  I need to get Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore and…"

Snape looked devastated.

"Hermione…"

That got her attention – despite being her best friend's boyfriend he never called her by her first name.

"…Attacked how, exactly?  What state is he in?"

Hermione winced.

"Sir, I think…I think he might have been…"

She trailed off for a moment, sobbing, and then finally finished in a soft, whispery voice.

"He was beaten and raped."

Snape looked stricken, then determined if still upset.

"Get Poppy and Albus.  Tell them I'm already on my way there.  Tell them what happened and tell them I don't have any potions on me."

And then he sprinted out of the castle towards Hagrid's hut, leaving Hermione standing stock still for a moment before registering what he had said and bolting off through the castle again.

*

Ron stared after Hermione for a second and then turned his attention back to Harry.  Nothing had changed, however much he wanted it to have.

He went over, despite his desire to bolt with Hermione and forget all about what he could see, and took the cloth out of Harry's mouth.  He had to tug gently to get it away from the dry skin in Harry's mouth, and winced when it made a strange ripping noise on finally coming out.  He saw his friend take a shuddering breath and then breathe more easily through his mouth without waking, the blood on his nose no longer bubbling with every strained breath.

He untied the knot around Harry's wrist and brought the limp arms down carefully to Harry's sides, rotating them slightly to make sure he didn't accidentally pull Harry's muscles and make him even worse off.

He didn't think he could dress Harry again, but he didn't want the world and his wife to see the obvious signs of Harry's rape, so he pulled the comforter off Hagrid's bed and gently threw it over him.  Then he grabbed a cushion and lifted Harry's head.  He felt a bump and when he lifted one hand away was horrified to find it covered in blood.

He put the pillow under his friend's head and then heard heavy footsteps approaching.  He noticed Harry's proximity to the door and realised that were someone to throw the door open they would hit Harry round the head, so he opened it a little and saw Snape pelting towards him, full speed, looking like a bat with all the sweeping of his black robes.  For all that he personally disliked the man, Ron knew that for some reason with Harry he had found love, and would be devastated to see Harry like this.  He was only glad that he would be spared the full picture of Harry's degradation.

Snape slipped in through the gap of the door and on his first sight of Harry, he chocked back a sob.

Were it not for the blood and dirt he would have thought Harry was sleeping peacefully.  He knelt beside his love, as uncaring of the mess on the floor surrounding him as Ron had been, and gently put out a shaking hand to stroke Harry's matted hair.  Harry snuffled a little, and then sighed in his sleep-like state – not a peaceful sigh, but not a bad sigh either – neutral.  Snape turned to Ron.

"What did you see – do you know who did this?"

Ron cast his mind back, and for some reason he kept picturing a big black dog.  He thought at first it was just because of Fang, but then he remembered seeing Snuffles pelting away from the hut and gasped, eyes widened and face paler even than before.

"What!  Who, Mister Weasley?"

"I…we were walking up and we…we saw Snuffles.  He was running away from here and we thought he'd just been talking to Harry…"

Thunderclouds couldn't have matched the fury in Snape' eyes.  He cast a glance around the room, taking in the strips of soiled material and jeans and underwear and blood.

"He was definitely…?"

"Yes."

Not wanting to, but unable to think of anything else he could do to confirm it, he pulled the comforter back and his heart sank as he saw the mess of dried blood and semen and cuts and bruises.  He pulled it back up and then moved to beside his partner's head.  He gently took hold of one of Harry's arms and noticed the bondage marks.

"What…he was tied?" he asked, gently stroking just above mark with his thumb.

"His wrists – his arms were twisted above his head and he had that…"

He gestured to the half dry, half damp gag material, still wadded a little way away, with his foot.

"He had that stuffed in his mouth."

Snape noticed for the first time the red, raw marks at the side of Harry's mouth.

"I took them off and pulled the comforter over him – put the pillow under his head.  He has a bump there, too."

He showed Snape his bloody hands.  Snape nodded, held Ron's eyes and said, "Thank you, Mister Weasley."

Then his gaze returned to Harry.  He didn't notice the single tear running down his face.  Ron did, but didn't mention it.

*