My Father's Shadow
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is the creation of the great authoress J.K. Rowling
Chapter Six
Spare the Rod
****Flashback****
His uncle advanced on him, fire poker in hand, an evil grin plastered across his face. Harry, from his sprawled position on the bedroom floor, noticed with diluted horror that it was hot.
"Get up boy," Vernon growled and Harry scrambled to become uprightk, a hard task with broken ribs and a sprained ankle.
His terrified eyes remained on the floor. Harry well knew the punishment for meeting his superior's eyes. He tried to hold himself still but he was shaky.
"Strip," commanded Vernon. Harry complied with trepidation. "Come here boy." Harry obeyed and Vernon motioned to his lap where Harry lay down on, his head near the floor so that his rump was sticking up and the blood was rushing to his head. He could feel Vernon's hard-on beneath his pants.
Vernon ran his hands up and down Harry's naked form. "Yes, this is where you belong," he whispered. Then he brought his hand down with such force that it left Harry's butt stinging. He repeated this for what seemed like hours, Harry never knew where the hand would fall next. Then Vernon picked up the hot poker and slammed it down onto his uncovered rump.
Harry couldn't contain the scream that escaped him. Vernon kept the poker there until the heat had run out of it and onto Harry's skin. Vernon tied his pain-writhed form down to the bed and released him two days later.
Later when Harry looked at the burn in the mirror he was horrified to see the word 'mine' etched onto his skin. He was marked.
He was almost seven at the time.
****End Flashback****
Harry woke from the dream sweating profusely. Unfortunately he had to deal with the sticky substance dripping into his eyes as it was still the dead of night and the bonds had yet to be removed.
But Harry was used to discomfort and so he blocked it out and used the time to think.
He had thought he could relax at Hogwarts. The school had been his home for years and he had allowed himself to let down his guard. A fatal mistake.
Yet the mistake had come much earlier than that. Before Hogwarts he had never allowed himself to trust. Even as a child he had not looked at every adult he met with childlike idolatry. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were not exactly poster family material.
When he was taken to Hogwarts he had had a hard time of it at first. The staff had seemed to want him to entrust everything to them. His friends had counted on him and expected him to rely on them. Then he had come to expect it of himself. It was a harsh reality check when he went back to the Dursley's for the summer.
Harry wouldn't make much of a perpetual optimist, but he always tried to look for the better sides of things. It was hard to find a bright side to this though. His secret–his shame–had been revealed to those he had come to depend on. They would hate him if he told them the truth. Hell, they'd probably think him mentally damaged and send him to St. Mungo's.
He groaned. Yet again he was angry that they had bound his magic. It had been pounding inside of him since the moment he awoke. Not being able to move was worse though...it brought back so many memories, most of which he'd tried to forget.
Someone- Harry assumed Madame Pomfrey- had semi-healed him. Most of his skin was irritated from the healing they had received and his ribs were on fire through his bandaging. His leg and arm were in a cast which really didn't matter as he couldn't move anyway. His teeth felt funny–as if they were whole instead of chipped.
At least, thought Harry, they don't know about that
He had found the bright side at last.
***
The headmaster had regained consciousness by the next day and, as Madame Pomfrey was not readily apparent, had commandeered Severus to be his lookout as he escaped from the Hospital Wing.
When the hospital matron came into the wing three minutes later she scolded Severus and made several grumpy noises but realized she couldn't do much. He was the headmaster after all, and the potion had increased his level of health dramatically during the night. She figured that he'd be back later to see Harry and she could check-up on him and berate him then.
***
Much later on Severus and a very berated Albus joined an awake but very crabby Harry. The reason for his irritation was immediately told.
"I need to go to the bathroom and Madame Pomfrey won't remove the restraints," he said with an angry glare.
"If I let you loose will you willingly allow us to put the restraints back on?" Severus queried.
A shadow crossed over the pale boy's face but he agreed...albeit reluctantly. Severus waved his hand and the cloth disappeared. Then he seemed lost.
"Um...how am I going to get there?" he asked looking at his casted leg.
Severus sighed and scooped the small figure up in his arms, putting him down right outside the bathroom door. Harry hobbled inside and allowed Severus to carry him back when he was done.
"Please sir," he pleaded with teary eyes. "I can't even walk by myself, don't put them back on."
Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably in the visitor's chair he was sitting on. He obviously agreed with Harry but he was going to let Severus make the final decision.
Severus' mind raced. On one hand he could leave the boy free–he really couldn't go anywhere–and perhaps look like a nice guy. On the other hand, he could put them back on and learn some information, but still look like the greasy bastard.
"Will you tell us what happened if I leave the restraints off?"
Harry looked away. He would be the greasy bastard then. He snapped his fingers and the cloth once again enclosed Harry's limbs. Harry fell back in resignation and closed his eyes to stop the crystalline tears from falling.
"Harry," Dumbledore said. "Talk to us. We aren't trying to punish you, we just need to know what happened."
"Why?" came his whispered response.
Dumbledore looked startled. "So we can stop this from happening again of course."
"I deserve it," he muttered, eyes still closed, barely audible.
Dumbledore looked stricken and Severus took in a sharp breath. Harry still had his eyes closed but several tears had leaked out of their watery prison.
"Harry look at me."
Harry's eyes snapped open and he regarded the headmaster with a forlorn expression.
"No one deserves this Harry. No one."
Dumbledore gave that statement a moment to sink in. Then, "Now, who did this Harry?"
"No one sir. I deserved it because I was stupid and fell down the stairs."
Albus sighed. "You have multiple cuts and lacerations, broken bones, and words carved into your body. A fall down the stairs could not possibly do that kind of damage."
"So I got in a fist fight too. I'm a foolish child who causes anger everywhere I go."
Severus decided this would be a good time to step in. "Mr. Potter, now is the time to be truthful if you ever want those restraints off."
Harry gulped. He had no intention of telling the truth. Never. They couldn't keep him here forever.
"Stop calling me Potter, it's not my name," Harry grumbled in an attempt to stall, but Snape wasn't having it.
"Very well, Mr. Snape. As I was saying, I will not release you until you tell us what happened."
Harry blinked. He certainly wasn't expecting Snape to call him that. He wasn't sure he liked it. It was a sensitive issue and it came a little to close to the heart for him. He really hadn't had time to deal with that particular issue yet.
"This isn't a very good way to earn my trust."
"I don't require your trust Mr. Snape, merely your obedience."
Harry shot him a sneer worthy of the Snape name and looked away again. Dumbledore shot the Potions Master a disapproving glance which Severus promptly ignored.
"Come now Harry," said Albus. "We're here to help you."
Harry shifted his gaze to land on Dumbledore. He seemed incensed.
"You want to know what the problem is? You are! No one asked you to care! I don't, why should you? Can't you just mind your own FUCKING business you old, senile bastard. At least my uncle didn't FUCKING pester me."
"Your uncle," cut in Severus. "What has he got to do with anything?"
"Nothing," Harry said quickly, too quickly.
"Don't make me use Veritaserum."
"You can try. I'm immune."
Severus stared at him in shock. Then he stalked over to the cabinet, got a bottle of the truth potion, and forced a dosage into Harry.
"What is your name?"
"Peter Pan."
"How old are you?"
"Too old for you."
"Where are you right now?"
"In never never land, ever been there?"
"DAMN YOU!" spat Snape. "How did this happen?"
Dumbledore cut in. "Some of Tom's powers were transferred to Harry all those years ago. One of those powers is a resistance to controlling substances.
Harry looked smug and couldn't resist.
"Told you so."
****
Severus had a plan in mind. It was organizing itself as he hurried to the Floo in Dumbledore's office. The boy had mentioned his uncle, hadn't he?
He stepped into the fire.
"Dursley Residence."
Maybe this would lead him to some answers.
****
Madame Pomfrey had reluctantly agreed to take the cast off Harry's leg–provided he take it easy for a while. He was wiggling his toes as much as his bonds would allow when SEverus came for him.
"Ah, I see you are out of that cast then hm? Come with me."
Much to Madame Pomfrey's rage, Severus half-carried, half-dragged Harry to an empty classroom.
"Wait here," he ordered abruptly and left.
Harry quickly looked around for escape routs but Severus had locked the door behind him and the rest of the room was bare of even a window.
The next time the door opened a rather dazed Vernon Dursley was pushed through. He seemed to get his bearings a minute later and his eyes locked on the small form of his nephew. Vernon Dursley saw red.
************
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