Warning: This chapter contains descriptions about abuse. If you do not like to read about these topics, then don't read. Wow, that was simple.
Chapter 6- Discovering Secrets
Ron made his way up the many stairs of the Burrow thinking about the conversation he just had with Draco. Where were all of Harry's things? Why did he runaway in the middle of the night? And most importantly, were the bruises on his face an indication of more serious injuries hidden beneath the hideously large and worn out clothing? He felt pretty confident that whatever was wrong with Harry, it had nothing to do with the death eaters or Voldemort. Deep down Ron knew that the Dursleys had inflicted their irrational hatred upon him.
He walked past Ginny's room in which Bill was softly snoring. He continued to climb the stairs and passed by the bathroom where he could here the water running in the shower. Finally reaching his bedroom, he opened the door and walked over to his wardrobe. After shuffling through various hand-me-downs, he found a pair of old pajamas that looked small enough to fit Harry.
It didn't seem right that the boy had hardly grown since their first year. Ron had grown considerably over the summer and now towered over the twins. His mother had broken down and bought him a few new pieces of clothing when she could no longer magically alter his existing clothes. Draco had shot up a few inches as well, but his height was nothing compared to Ron's.
Ron made his way back to the bathroom, and knocked on the door. "Harry?'
There was no response so he tried again. "Harry?"
Ron shrugged his shoulders figuring that he must not have heard him over the drone of the shower. He turned the knob and pushed open the door. They had lived together as dorm mates at Hogwarts for five years now so he thought nothing of fact that he might be intruding upon the boy's privacy. What he saw when he opened the door made his blood run cold.
"Harry!" Ron dropped the pajamas and hurried over to the small boy dreading what he may discover.
He found Harry on the floor of the shower curled into a tight little ball, the hot water still pouring down upon his back. He had his thin arms around his knees and was rocking himself gently back and forth. Silent tears were streaming down his face. His green eyes seemed unable to focus on anything in front of him.
Ron turned off the water and kneeled down next to his best friend.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Ron was scared and could barely get the words out due to the thick lump in the back of his throat. He was deeply disturbed by the sight before him. His eyes began to water with sympathy for what his best friend must have gone through. Harry ignored him and continued to rock himself back and forth.
A wash cloth was laid beside the boy. It appeared as though Harry had attempted to scrub his skin raw. His arms and legs were an angry red. Beneath all the redness were layers and layers of bruises. Some were dark purple and seemed fresh. Others were a funny yellow which indicated that whatever had happened to Harry was not an isolated incident. His back matched his arms and legs, only its condition was much worse. In addition to the many bruises, Harry had several large welts in criss-crossing patterns over the entire length of this back. Ron realized that this must have occurred while being beaten with a belt.
'Oh, gods! What did they do to you?' Ron thought to himself. He was furious with the Dursleys. How could they do this to a member of their own family? A child no less! He was also furious with himself for not realizing that this was going on. He should have insisted that the order went to retrieve him at the beginning of the summer. Why didn't anyone check up on him? Did they really think that idle threats they made at Kings Crossing were going to have any affect on them?
He hastily wiped a tear from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. He knew that he had to get his emotions under control if he was going to be of any help to Harry. He reached out and put his hand softly on Harry's shoulder to get his attention.
"Harry? What happened?" tried Ron again.
"Don't touch me!" Harry yelled angrily as he tried to scoot away from his friend.
"Shhh…Its okay. It's me, Ron. I am not going to hurt you," Ron reassured him.
"But I am still so dirty," Harry muttered under his breath. He picked up the wash cloth and attempted to scrub his legs in a haphazard fashion.
Ron wondered what he meant by that comment. He wasn't sure he understood. He gently took the wash cloth from him. "You are only going to hurt yourself even more. Harry, how did you get these bruises?"
Harry looked away and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Ron became very aware that Harry was still naked and he was probably feeling really vulnerable right now. His friend still hadn't responded to his questions about his injuries, and probably wasn't going to any time soon.
"Would you like to get dressed? I brought you some pajamas."
Harry nodded, but made no attempt at getting up. Ron grabbed a large towel from the rack and stretched it out in front of Harry so he wouldn't be as embarrassed about his nakedness.
Harry tried to grab the towel with one hand as he tiredly pushed himself off of the floor of the shower. His movements were slow and awkward. His face was grimacing in pain from the effort.
"Here, let me help you," said Ron. He gently pulled Harry into kneeling position and wrapped the towel around him. He then wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and pulled him up until he was standing. He could feel his friend stiffen and begin to tremble from being touched. Seeing that Harry could stand on his own, he grabbed another towel and gently patted at the rest of his skin. "I am just going to dry you off so you can get into your pajamas. I am not going to hurt you"
Ron had to keep him from gasping in shock as he noticed that Harry's ribs were visibly sticking out from his chest and that his stomach looked smaller. He was positive now that the Dursleys had continued to starve the poor boy, and that he was probably suffering from malnutrition. One side of his chest was a deep shade of purple. Ron wondered whether or not he could have some fractured bones in addition to his other injuries. The bruising that he saw earlier on his neck was much more apparent. The red and purple marks on his skin looked suspiciously like hand prints. Did someone try to strangle him?
After drying Harry off, he handed Harry his glasses, which he found on the bathroom counter, and proceeded to help him into the pajama bottoms. Now that he was semi-clothed, Ron was unable to resist comforting his best friend any longer. Filled with emotion he pulled Harry into a loose hug and said, "Oh, Harry, I am so sorry that this happened. It's going to be alright. I am going to take care of you. You will never have to go back that awful place again."
Harry flinched and didn't return to his embrace. His eyes appeared to be glazed over and he was very unresponsive. Ron pulled back not wanting to hurt him any further. He walked over to the cabinet over the sink and pulled out a jar of healing balm.
"I am going to put some of this on the welts on your back. It will help you feel better until we can get someone to heal you properly," said Ron.
Harry continued to stare at the ground and made no indication that he had heard anything that Ron had said. Ron went about applying the balm to his friend's back and noticed that he had cringed slightly. He wondered whether the small action was from pain or from being touched. After doing everything he could, he carefully helped Harry into the pajama shirt.
"Can you tell me what happened now?" he tried again. Ron wasn't really expecting an answer. He wasn't even sure that the boy was listening to him. He had been so quiet since he entered the bathroom.
"Please, I just want to go to sleep," Harry replied.
"Okay, let's get you to bed."
He kicked aside the wet, dirty rags that Harry had worn to the Burrow. Ron slowly led him up to his room and pulled back the covers on the guest bed. Harry crawled in and allowed Ron to cover him with the blankets. Seeing that he was getting no where with finding out what happened, he decided to try questioning him again in the morning. Right now he just needed some sleep. His injuries didn't seem life threatening so they could wait to be healed until tomorrow.
The red haired boy made his way back downstairs. Upon hearing his older brother snoring away in his sister's room, he decided to wait until morning to inform Bill that Harry had arrived. He had seen how hard his brother had been working lately, and he didn't want to disturb him. He would ask his brother what he should do about getting Harry some medical help as well.