Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, people. I never had the chance for the obvious reason: roomies. Anyways, here is the long awaited chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, because my wrist is killing me, but I'm typing this anyways. Love me!
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Vernon Dursley walked slowly into Harry's bedroom, stopping only when he reached the foot of Harry's bed. "What are you doing?" he asked innocently.
Harry was slightly flabbergasted that his uncle was standing in his room, when normally he wouldn't step into it. "Um, I'm just listening to the radio. Why, is it too loud? I can turn it down." he said, reaching over for the volume knob. He glanced at the mirror sitting beside the lamp on the table.
"No, no, it's fine." Vernon sat on the edge of the boy's bed and turned to face him. "I was just wondering how things are with you? Do you enjoy it here?"
"Oh." said Harry, fully not expecting this response from his uncle. "Well, I do. I'm really getting along with aunt Petunia now, more than ever before. Dudley and I are at least civil to each other, and you and I seem to be getting along better." This came out more as a question than anything else. He honestly hadn't been speaking much with his uncle. But when they did talk, he was always kind to him.
"That's good, Harry. I was really hoping you were enjoying yourself here. That you felt safe in our hands." He moved closer to his nephew, only Harry didn't seem to notice. "I wanted you to be surprised."
Harry looked at his uncle expectantly. What surprise was he talking about? Vernon twisted his body, acting like he was looking at the doorway behind him. Harry looked in that direction too, wondering what his uncle was so interested in. He wasn't prepared when his uncle swung back around, slapping him full force in the face.
Harry careened backwards, falling off the bed and hitting his head on the table all at the same time. Slightly dazed, he looked up at his uncle, who sat calmly on his bed, in confusion. He hadn't been expecting this at all. "What…uncle, what are you doing?" he asked, slowly scooting away from his uncle, who was now standing in front of him. He saw the absolute pleasure in his uncle's eyes, and knew exactly what was going on. He'd been tricked; his uncle hadn't changed at all. He had to get out now. The mirror.
He looked up at the beside table and made a dash for it. But his uncle was quicker. He grabbed Harry by his hair and threw him backwards. He stumbled and hit the floor. When he looked up, he noticed his uncle was now between him and the mirror. If he didn't get to it soon, his uncle was going to beat him. Using the wall as leverage, he picked himself up off the floor and glared at his uncle.
"You're going to regret this!" he spat.
"Oh really? And why's that?" he asked, stepping closer to his nephew.
"Are you dense? My godfather will curse you into the next century when he finds out about this. You can't possibly think you can hurt me, and me not tell, do you?" The thought that his uncle was considering killing him filtered through to his brain, and it showed on his face. He faltered.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on taking you out or anything. Although the thought has crossed my mind." he took another step towards Harry, who tried to back away only to hit the wall behind him. "Well, trapped, aren't we?" he asked, sadistically. "Here's my idea, I knock you into the middle of next week and you keep your mouth shut or…"
Harry glared daggers at his uncle. "And I'll kick your ass on Thursday, you fat piece of shit!" he screamed and launched himself at his uncle for all he was worth. The impact caused his uncle to fall backwards, with Harry on top of him. He kneed his uncle straight in the balls. Tensing in pain, Vernon threw Harry off of him. He grasped his private area and writhed around on the floor. Harry, who had somehow rolled under his bed, crawled back out and over to the bedside table. In his rush, he knocked the lamp onto the ground, which shattered as soon as it struck the floor.
The noise caught Vernon's attention and he shakily got up from the floor. He noticed that Harry was clinging tightly to a little mirror. He had a bad feeling about this.
Harry was about to whisper the words to get him out of there when the door opened. Petunia walked in holding Dudley's Smelting's stick. "Just thought I'd lend a hand." she said, standing beside Vernon.
Vernon stood stock still, surveying his wife. So he had been wrong about her. She did still hate the boy as much as he did. This was a pleasant surprise.
Harry looked on the verge of tears. He had trusted her. "What are you doing? I thought you cared about me?"
"Oh, Harry, I'm afraid you were mistaken." She raised the stick high in front of her. Harry thought she was going to throw it at him. Only she swung it backwards, without looking, and hit Vernon full in the nose. He fell into the wall, blood pouring steadily from his nose.
"Come on!" yelled Petunia, grabbing Harry's hand and yanking him out of the room. They ran down the stairs and out the front door. She unlocked the passenger door of her car and opened it. Turning around she put her arms around her nephew in a tight hug. "I do care." she breathed.
Harry was still shaken from the events that had just transpired in his bedroom. He slowly put his arms around her as well. She cared. The thought seemed to echo in his mind. It was odd, he hadn't ever expected anything like this from any Dursley, let alone his aunt. He felt loved.
"There's no time, get in." she said, pushing him into the seat. She slammed the door and ran to the driver's side. Just as she pulled on the door handle, she felt a fierce pain in her back, right before she passed out.
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"Well, this has got to be the most boring vacation I've ever had." said Ron, sitting beside his twin brothers on the couch. They had just got done doing their chores and were now bored out of their minds. "You know, we haven't played wizards chess in a while, why not do that?" asked George.
"Because, what am I supposed to do while you two are playing that game?" asked Fred.
"Watch." said George sarcastically.
"Shut up." replied Fred.
"Why don't you guys go play some Quidditch?" asked Charlie, standing in the doorway to the living room.
"We can all play." suggested Bill.
The three youngest brothers seemed to contemplate this idea before they all shook their heads in affirmation. "Sounds good to me."
"It's too bad Harry isn't here to join in the game." said Ron. He missed his friend dearly.
"Oh, don't worry Ron. He'll be here on Christmas Day. Mom worked it out with the social worker, Indra, or whatever her name is, and with Harry's aunt. It's supposed to be a surprise, so don't mention it in your letters, alright?"
"Yes!" he yelled. His vacation wasn't going to be as crappy after all.
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Harry watched as his aunt ran around the car and started to open her door. He noticed her eyes get very large, as if in pain, before she fell to the ground. Where his aunt once stood, now towered the form of his uncle. Harry screamed and started fumbling frantically at the door handle. He finally wrapped his hand around it and pulled. The door swung open and he jumped from the car, running as fast as he could down the driveway. But before he could even reach the mailbox, he was thrown to the ground when his uncle tackled him. His body scraped against the harsh concrete.
Vernon held Harry down on the pavement, looking around suspiciously for any witnesses. There were none. He leaned down to Harry's ear. "You're screwed now, boy." he hissed. He grabbed Harry's hair, forcing his face up, before slamming it into the concrete again, rendering him unconscious.
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Harry woke some hours later to find that he was lying face down on his bed. He tried to move; only he couldn't. He looked up and saw the reason for his immobility. His wrists were tied to the headboard and upon further investigation, realized his feet were also tied to the footboard. 'Shit.' This wasn't good.
There wasn't much slack in the ropes. He could only move his wrists about two inches in either direction. The same went for his feet. Even though he was extremely small for his age, slipping free of the ropes wasn't an option.
Fear started to creep into his mind. If he was tied down, he would be at his uncle's mercy. Fighting back clearly wasn't in the cards. If only they would have been quicker. He could be at the Weasley's right now, instead of tied down to his damn bed. But, where was his aunt? He only hoped she was okay, if she wasn't, as soon as he was untied, uncle dearest would pay, dearly.
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"Why are you doing this?" she tried to reason with her husband, but he was beyond all hope. He was running on complete and blind hatred. "He's just a boy!" she screamed. "You can't do this, they'll kill you for this, and you know it!" Her husband had just gone into agonizing detail on everything he had planned for his nephew. She couldn't bear the thought of what was about to happen to him. Vernon Dursley had to be stopped. He was clearly mad. Only problem was that there was no one to help him. The social worker wouldn't be back, his friends wouldn't be coming to get him until Christmas Day. That was two days from now. In two days, Harry Potter could be out of time.
"I'll be long gone before they even get here. I've got a week to play, and I intend to. You, my dear wife, will stay safely locked in the closet, and be sure to listen for his screams." he said, placing tape over her mouth. "Do have fun." he jeered at her, then shut the closet door in their bedroom and locked it.
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Vernon Dursley walked downstairs to the kitchen. He had to get something ready for his first lesson. The boy simply had to learn. One couldn't sit idly by and be lazy in his household. Oh no, the boy had to learn. After about ten minutes, he determined it was ready and walked back upstairs. He opened his nephew's door and entered the dark room.
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Harry blinked repeatedly as the room was briefly illuminated by the hall light before the door was shut again. He turned his head and saw his uncle enter the room. He noticed his uncle was holding something red in his hands before he had shut the door. Vernon drew steadily nearer to his nephew and set the red object on the bedside table before taking something silver out of his pocket. Harry knew what they were immediately. He started struggling fiercely in his bonds, drawing blood as the ropes cut against his skin.
"No!" he screamed, as his uncle sat on the bed. He placed the scissors on his face. The cold metal seemed to chill his entire body, for he was suddenly shivering. Vernon didn't say a word, he only drew the scissors down to Harry's lower back, and then he stopped. He picked up the hem of Harry's t-shirt and started cutting the cloth up to his neck. There, he once again stopped, and pulled the two pieces apart, exposing Harry's back. Once again he let the cold metal of the scissors touch Harry's back, causing him to shiver even more violently than before.
Harry watched as his uncle reached over and picked up the object he had laid on the table just moments before. He picked it up and brought it over towards the boy tied to the bed. For one brief moment, Harry caught a glimpse of the object his uncle was holding as it was silhouetted by the moonlight, and he started to struggle again against the ropes which held him in place.
"No, uncle Vernon, don't!" he tried to pull away as the red hot oven burner was placed against his back. He bucked, trying to rid it from his back, but his uncle only forced it down harder on him. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the scream that escaped his lips, or the tears that fell down his cheeks.
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From behind the closet door, Petunia wept.
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A/N: Hi, I'm evil, I know. Even more so now. I'm sorry, I know it's shorter than they have been, but this is really hard to write. I almost cried writing this. Have any of you seen the video to Martina McBride's Concrete Angel. If not, go watch it at CMT.com. It's so freaking sad. It's where I got my motivation, kind of. Plus I know of a real life story about the scene that I just wrote, with a few differences. Well, please review!
JaimeyKay: Well, what do you think? Are you gonna kill me? I'm evil, bad, wrong, sinful, etc… I know. Did you think Petunia was mean for a moment there? Nope, she's gonna be a good person. I don't know about Dudley yet. Update is here! I hate Harry/Ginny. They just don't go together, if you ask me. Maybe it's because in the last book, she's like 11, and I just haven't gotten used to an older version of her yet. I don't think he could handle a relationship either. It would be way too difficult for him. I think he'll be much more mature in the next book. I mean, after all he's been through, how could he not be? Poor kid. I think Hermione reciprocates the feelings that Ron shows her. I think they'll get together, but Harry will stay single, but who knows. I know about the love triangle thing. Life isn't perfect here people. It's a bitch actually. No, no, no. Hermione and Neville? That's interesting, but I think not. Keep pretending, hon. Look at me, I'm intimidated! *laughing*. Here it is, and I hope you liked it!
Saya-Sato: Sorry for the cliffie, again! I hope you still think this Harry-abuse is well done. Writer's block charm???? Hmmm…let me think on it. I don't be thinking so, but try writing something else just to get your mind off of what you were writing. Maybe that will help.
Gabriella: Dear me, that sounds freaky. With other dead people too? I'd be crapping my pants. Vernon is going to be evil to poor Harry! Thanks!
Somebody Else's Problem Charm: Death threats, I just love those. HA! Cliffies are what I'm best at, kind of. I've never read any of ruskbyte's stories, but now I'm gonna go see what you're talking about. Why does your mother hate fanfic.net???? How could she? They robbed your backpack? Sick jerks. Well, I'm glad you saved your pants and your ten dollars! Gondor needs no pants??
Lei Dumbledore: Yes, the roomies were out. How did you guess??? Good to make money! Now that's bullshit! I can't believe they cut a four foot long slash in your chair and then tried to throw it off as an accident. That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard. Sorry, I felt your pain and voiced it! Or typed it, rather. *laughs* Cool, I gave you chills. Did this give you chills? I hope so. Glad you liked it! You're hilarious. (Walks away whistling as if it never happened)
To Whom It May Concern: Glad it's one of your favorite stories!
Mysia: It's quite easy to do. I'm mean! No, glad you liked it. Here's the update!!!!!! Enjoy!
Psychochic: yeah, we update at the same time. I already told you that in the review I left you, but oh well. Vernon is going to be evil, as I've already shown. He'll flip, but maybe not in the way you're thinking. I'm very pleased to hear you've enjoyed reading my story tremendously! As I with yours! Yeah, update yourself!
Qserenity2000: I hope I updated soon enough! Way to clap. Glad you like.
Inigma: I hope you didn't die! I know I'm evil. Sorry you haven't anything good to read. Check out some of the stories in my favorite stories list for some good reading, if you wanna. Here's the update!
Hermione Eveningfall: Yes, sick Harry galore! It's coming, just wait. Whoa, calm down bouncy butt. Another evil cliffie. Sorry. Liking the dances again. HA!
MixedUpAgain: That's okay. I hope you feel better now. Medicine sucks, mind you, so I feel your pain. Glad you liked the Cedric scene. I actually forgot to put it in and I wanted to so bad, so I stuck it in a flashback. Yes, I'm being obvious on what's gonna happen. But soon the obvious won't be so obvious anymore. I'm weird, I know.
Iniysa: Sorry to be mean! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Amy Potter 13: The suspense is killing you? Well calm down. Here's the next chapter for you.
Aenea: Dependency issues? Well, here's the next chapter.
Cerridwen: many reviews, cool! You cried? How sweet. Oh, and I'm talented. These are the kinds of reviews I like to read. Yep, Petunia's nice. Go her.
Weird: Sorry your computer isn't working. I'm bad, I realize this. Hee-Hee. Glad you liked the chapter.
Christy: I can't wait to see what they do either. Probably kick some butt. I need to start thinking on that, huh?
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Lifestyles of the rich and famous. I like that song. Just blabbing. *laughs hysterically*