A/N: I OWN NOTHING
A/N: Just wanted to give credit to Robert Munsch, because I used the words from his book "I'll love you forever"
A/N: I know it's taking awhile but don't worry James will eventually make his appearance, I don't know which chapte,r but he will, please be patient, for those of you who are wanting to see him.
A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I just love getting them, so please continue.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Fred and George waited until Vernon went to bed. It would have been very easy for them to go to Harry's cupboard grab him, and than apparate away, but it was too risky. If Vernon saw the door flinging open once more, he'd for sure think that it was Harry, who was up to all the mischief. And then he'd be in even more trouble then he already was in. No Fred and George wanted a relatively clean escape. So they waited.
"Oh I wish I could do something to him. Just one go. C'mon Fred plllleeeeaaassseee." George begged his brother.
Fred just looked at George, frustration written all over his face. "NO!" He was always the more responsible of the two. Sure both him and George were troublemakers, and he had gotten into billions of scrapes himself, but he always knew when to draw the line, and now was the time. "Getting Harry and taking him back safely to our place, is our main concern at this point in time, NOTHING ELSE." He emphasized the last words, hoping that it penetrated into his brother's thick skull.
"Fine." Mumbled George, he perked his ear up when he heard a very distinct rumble coming from upstairs. "I hear snoring. You want to know what would be good with that…"
His sentence was interrupted when Fred cut him off savagely. "For the last time NO!" He glared at George; they needed to be fully alert, and not wasting time on any unnecessary drivel. "I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon. Let's go."
They made their way from the front of the foyer to the cupboard under the stairs. The unknown rested darkly upon their shoulders, but they forced their feet to move quietly and slowly. They were still under their invisibility cloaks and all sounds were muffled, but it only seemed appropriate in their situation to tread quietly where they walked.
George got to the door first and muttered the incantation of Alohamora. The door locks gave way instantaneously, revealing only darkness.
"I can't see anything." George complained.
"Are you a wizard or what?" Fred reprimanded from behind him.
In truth Fred knew what George was getting at. His brother was scared, scared of what they would find if they did make the room brighter. For the smell alone that drifted to their noses, made them want to retch. The odour contained a mixture of blood, vomit, urine, and human excrements. In one word the room smelled like death.
"It's now or never." George trembled. He didn't want to see what was inside not for any amount of galleons that could be offered to him.
"Lumo." The tip of his unlit wand now held a bright light that allowed the room to glow, showing all of the secrets it had hidden from the world.
They looked around the grotesque cupboard. Once they saw what was on the inside the wanted the darkness back.
"Oh God." George groaned, becoming weak in his knees, almost ready to topple over, he was able to pull himself up and gain control, and that was saying something when compared to Fred.
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Fred said, after observing what met his eyes, and ran out of the cupboard, and into the Dursley's living room, he threw off the invisibility cloak, and vomited right in Petunia's prized winning Hibiscus plant.
Fred returned several minutes later, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
The smell did not prepare the Weasley twins for what they saw, and that was a major shock to them. When they looked around the cupboard first, all they saw were insects, and bugs, that inhabited the tiny space.
When they took another look they were able to see a bed pushed into the left hand corner, further down from view. It could not even be called a bed. It was more like a cot. The cot was rusty and unsteady. The mattress had holes in it, and springs were popping out at various places, jabbing at the body lying on top of it.
The twins wanted nothing to do but run away from the horrors. They were in too deep over their heads. They should have gotten an order member to help them.
The body that was lying on the cot was of course Harry's, but not the Harry that they were used to seeing. This Harry was unconscious. He was half naked, and there were lash marks covering every inch of exposed skin on his chest, arms, and legs. The twins could now confirm that the lashings that they heard previously that night had come from a belt. Handprints were embedded on Harry's face. His neck as well contained handprints, but there were fingernail scratches running up and down his throat. One of his hands was tied to the so – called bed, and the other one looked like a blue and purple rubber glove.
Fred and George glanced down at the lower half of Harry's body, not wanting to see anymore, they just couldn't peel their eyes from the horror that their "Brother" had endured. He wasn't their blood brother, but every member of the Weasley family had always considered Harry a brother, or son, except in Ginny's case, that was totally different, but he was still part of the family.
The lower half of Harry's body wasn't any better than the top. He was wearing nothing but a ratty pair of boxer shorts. The boxer shorts and Harry's legs, and surrounding areas of the bed were covered in his own personal waste. Urine and feces covered every inch of the poor boy's lower body, and yet he remained oblivious to all that was around him, lost in the unknown.
The marks and waste on Harry's body would be the easiest to clean up; it was the damage that had happened to his body that would be the most challenging. From the look of Harry he could have been the poster child for a third world country. His flesh clung to his skeleton, and there was no excess fat on any part of his body. Harry's face was sunken and shallow; there were blue bags under his eyes. His arms and legs were spindly, and looked like they could snap just like a stick.
For a minute the twins thought that he was dead, but the shallow rising of Harry's chest, told them otherwise, he was alive, but barely.
"I'm just going to go upstairs for a quick minute. " George said getting over his initial shock at seeing Harry's dilapidated body.
"NO WE GET HARRY AND GO." Fred half whispered and screamed at his brother. "Revenge will come later, that I can defiantly promise."
His eyes glazed over at the thought of Vernon Dursley trembling at wizard's feet.
"He'll be fine for another minute." George yelled straight back.
"Look at him. He's barely breathing as is. I don't know how much longer he can hold on in his position."
"I'M GOING, AND IF YOU SO MUCH AS TRY TO STOP ME FRED WEASLEY, SO HELP ME, I WON'T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR MY ACTIONS." George pointed his wand at Fred as if he was going to annihilate him into yesteryear.
"Fine, go, but make it fast." Fred knew that it was impossible to stop George from doing what he wanted when he got like this. It did not happen very often, but when it did, everybody would be wise to take cover.
As George made his way up the stairs Fred stayed with Harry in the cupboard. He could not let Harry stay in this mess, so with a couple of scourgify charms; both the cupboard and Harry were clean. A pine forest fresh scent filled his nostrils.
Fred then conjured up some cotton pyjamas, to keep Harry warm. And a sad smile filled his face as he saw Harry burrow deep into the newfound warmth.
He would have moved Harry from the cupboard, but decided it was best if George was there to help him. He did not know the extent to Harry's internal injuries, and did not want to cause further harm, by moving him himself.
He conjured a chair from the living room and magically expanded the cupboard so that both the chair and him can fit comfortably inside. He sat by Harry, not daring to touch the injured boy, and that is when he heard it.
A small pleading voice like the sound of a child was muffled by sleep and fear. "Help me, Hermione. Please help me." A single tear fell from Harry's face as he scrunched himself further into the mattress, his face furrowed with pain. The boy said no more as he fell back into nothingness.
"She is Harry, we all are." Fred said soothingly, wanting to erase the expression that was written upon Harry's face.
Fred got an idea, he did not know how it had occurred but he knew that it would help Harry feel comforted.
He reached across to Harry's good hand that was tied to the bed and just rubbed it gently. He started singing a song that just popped into his head, he never heard it before, but in a sense it felt like he had. It was a children's song, and he guessed Harry must have had it sung to him when he was a child, and he felt protected and loved.
"I'll love you forever,
"I'll love you for always,
As long as I'm living,
My baby you'll be."
Fred sang it the way a father would sing to his infant, soft and lovingly, over and over.
Harry heard this in his stupor, because a small smile crept into his sleeping face, and for once a feeling of happiness overshadowed that of fear.
While Fred was comforting Harry upstairs George made his way to the Dursley's master bedroom, enraged beyond belief.
He could still remember the last time he felt this angry, someone had made a rather nasty comment about how his family was poor. He got so angry that that person was nothing but a piece of dragon dung by the time he got through transfiguring him. He smiled smugly to himself. People underestimated the Weasley family so much, but they never knew. Never knew the powers in which this family held.
He did not even realize that he made it to the master bedroom, but he did. He opened the door with a loud "BANG". He wanted his presence to be known.
"Wha…uhgn." Vernon jumped up from the bed still in sleep.
"You BASTARD! You will pay for what you've done to Harry, and to Wizards in general." George spoke venomously.
Vernon's eyes became round and murderous, as he finally understood what was going on. Anger pulsated through his blood; he pumped his stomach, to make himself look more threatening.
"So the freak has sent in reinforcements, now has he? He will pay later for this. Mark my words." He told the younger boy that dared to stand in his bedroom. "Now leave this house, or you will just make Harry's punishment a lot more worse that even you're kind can not imagine." Vernon spoke the words carefully wanting to see fear spark in the brown eyes of the intruder.
The boy looked young, about the same age as Harry, and Vernon knew that he had the advantage over him. A tingle swept through his body, as he thought of what he could do to this boy, who could use no magic. He waited for the boy to respond, to his threat.
"Thank you, but I'm quite comfortable where I am right now." George said sweetly, to the oversized man. And that's when he pulled out his wand.
Vernon laughed; he could not suppress it, " You can't." he continued to laugh. "You're not old enough. I know you're not allowed to use magic until you reach a certain age, or otherwise you'll be expelled from that school of yours." He said gleefully.
"Oh right. How could I be so stupid?" George slowly lowered his wand.
Vernon gave another laugh, this one out of triumph.
"Although," George continued bringing his wand back at arms length, "Do not let my appearance fool you. I may look younger than my age true, and have had to show I.D. many times when wanting to go to the Hog's Head for a firewhiskey, but I assure you muggle, that I am of age. I can do magic freely, and without any reason for fear of expulsion." George spoke in an almost graceful way; he liked watching how Vernon turned a shade of green with every word that he spoke.
"You can't." Now it was Vernon's turn to be afraid.
"No?" George questioned him. "Watch me." He spat.
He raised his wand once more. Vernon trembled with trepidation. He knew once he was alone he would finish Harry off, just like he promised to do.
As if George could read his mind he spoke. "No, I don't think the Boy – Who – Lived, will ever be returning here. Now where was I. Oh yes, this shall be sweet. CRUCIO." George cried.
Vernon screamed and his body was convulsing on the bed. It was pain beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life. It felt like his whole body was on fire, and sharp little knives were poking at his skin. All his organs seemed to have closed up, he felt like he could not breathe, even though he knew he was screaming, his heart seemed to have stopped, even though he knew it was pumping, and his blood no longer brought warmth, even though he knew it was running. He wanted it to stop, and when it hardly even started it ended.
George left the curse on Vernon for only a second before releasing him. "Hurts doesn't it?" George asked in mock concern, a mad gleam in his eye.
Vernon was trembling from head to foot, small gasps of breath caught in his throat. He shivered once more when he saw the boy raise his wand again.
"Now you know what real pain is. Let's see it again, shall we. CRUCIO!" George yelled for the second time that night.
Again the man was covered with the same pain. And then from far away he saw another person enter the bedroom. He hoped it would be his saviour.
Fred rushed up the stairs, when he heard the scream of Harry's uncle. He knew what those screams were and meant. He hated that muggle with a passion, but nobody deserved the cruciatus, not even Voldemort himself.
He stole silently into the bedroom and with a loud yell he roared," FINITE INCANTATUM."
Vernon felt the pain vanish again. Relief quickly swept through him. He could not make out much more, because of the stars that were circling around his spinning head.
"Help me." Vernon begged his saviour.
"I show no mercy. Especially where it concerns you." Fred spat at him angrily.
"Then why did you help me?" Vernon panted in between long deep breaths.
"It wasn't for you. I just didn't want to see my brother here get in trouble. Now what I will do to you will not be as kind as what my brother here has done." Fred said menacingly. "I will leave you to Harry's protector's. And they will not show you the generosity that I have recently displayed. No for they don't like it when someone hurts the wizarding world's protector. Enjoy the time that you have left." Fred said as he made his way towards George who stood stunned in the middle of the room.
George never thought his brother would go against him. But he guessed that it was better that he did. If Fred had not come into the room he probably would have continued until the man fell down dead, even though he knew it was not possible not with the wand that he was using.
"Let's go." Fred said harshly.
George winced, Fred never talked to him this way, unless he was really angry, and right now he was furious.
"I…" He started.
Fred spun around glaring at his twin. "Do you know the kind of damage that you have just caused? An unforgivable curse, I can't believe you. You of all people should know better. What's going to happen when the order comes, and sees the muggle? They'll know that he was under the cruciatus curse, and when he describes you, it will be Azkaban."
"First, Dumbledore won't let me go to Azkaban, I'm too much part of the order, and they need us. Second, they won't have any proof. He may be able to describe me, but don't forget about the ton – tongue toffee incident, I can say that's the only time he's ever seen me, and that he's just trying to put the blame on somebody. Plus there's no proof."
"Your wand." Fred retorted back. "They have Priori Incantantum."
"I can deny it." George said lazily.
"You didn't."
"I did."
"Oh." Fred said. But was not too amazed at what George did. He would have probably done it himself if he remembered to grab it before they left to rescue Harry.
What George had done was grab a fake wand off of the shelves of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. This wand was meant as a toy for kids, but it still held magical powers, and with a wizard that was strong enough, it could perform any magic that the wizard casted. The twins were able to come up with away that the wand would lose all memory, so if a priori Incantantum was applied to the wand; there would be no way of knowing which spells or if any were used.
"But it was still wrong."
"It didn't hurt him. Not like a real cruciatus would. Don't you remember, that the impostor Mad-Eye Moody, told us that for any of the unforgivables to work then the person has to feel real hatred, and want to do harm, they want to feel power and cause pain. I just did it for revenge, that's it. In no way did I mean to hurt Dursley more then he deserved, so what he was really feeling was not the full effect of the cruciatus, but a minor one.
"Ok, let's just forget it and call it a truce." Fred said trying to drop the subject completely.
"Sounds good to me." George replied more jovially.
They descended down the stairs and headed for the cupboard.
George untied Harry's wrist from the bed, but when it came time to moving him they were both stumped.
"I can't see how we're going to do this." George whispered.
"Neither do I. To be truthful, I never thought his injuries would be this bad."
"Should we try a stupefy."
"No that won't work, he'll be stunned, but the injuries that are going on in his insides will not stop working." Fred rubbed his hair in his hands out of frustration. He never felt so lost. It was like working out a puzzle, and then the piece fell into place.
"I know what we're going to do." He pointed his wand at Harry and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Harry's body flew into the air, but it did not move. Both boys simultaneously sighed in relief, as this part of the plan worked.
George conjured up a stretcher and Fred lowered Harry's body unto it.
From his pocket George took out a small rubber duck, he placed Harry's good hand on top of it, closing his thin hand tightly around the object. Fred and George, as well, touched a part of the rubber duck.
"It's almost time." Fred looked at his watch. "3 minutes to go. I've changed the portkey to take us to Hogsmeade, instead of our place, that way we can get Harry to Hogwarts, where Madame Pomfrey can examine Harry."
"Sounds good to me. What about Ron, Ginny, and Hermione? They're going to be so worried."
"Well I figured Albus will tell them, he'll find out about what happened to Harry, and then we'll just ask him to check up on them, or send somebody to. 1 more minute."
"I forgot to do something." George grumbled as he released the rubber duck.
He made his way to the outside of the cupboard. He did not want anyone getting in or out of the house, except for them, and the members of the order who would be sent to Privet Drive to clean up Vernon's mess.
"Sealaro." The house seaedl itself shut, and George took his place by his brother and Harry.
"Ok, this is it."
They both felt a pull around their navels. The portkey had worked. They were spinning through the air, as fast as the wind. This euphoria only lasted a split second, and by the time they knew it, it was over, they came to an abrupt stop, almost making them topple over. Harry, however, was lying just like he did when they left Privet Drive. He was oblivious to all that was around them.
The twins covered themselves up in the invisibility cloaks. Fred split his in half, with his wand, so that there were two, one for himself and one for Harry. He extended the cloaks, making up for the lost halves. They both hadn't thought of Harry when grabbing only two. They thought that either Harry would move, or if worse came to worse they could carry him under the cloak, they never thought that Harry would be unmovable.
"This way." Fred murmured.
"I know where we are, but thanks for the reminder." George hissed at him. They were in walkie – talkie mode again.
Harry, who couldn't talk, was rigged with a tracking device on his cloak, in order to keep the twins aware of his position, and to make sure that he did not float away from them (his stretcher was charmed to float by itself, so the twins would not have to point their wands or carry it themselves). The tracking device was linked to Fred's watch. Right now it was glowing a brilliant blue, which meant he was close. If it glowed yellow it would mean that the stretcher was wandering away, and if the watch glowed orange it would mean that Harry was way off course from them. If he did wander too far the hands on the watch would point Fred in the direction Harry was going, in order to get him back on track.
Right now they were in the middle of an open field in Hogsmeade. It was late and nothing could be seen, except for a faint outline of a house. The house was known as the shrieking shack. The shack was supposedly hunted, but in the their fifth year they learned the truth, it was all because of Remus, a close friend to Harry and the Weasley's. They would use the shrieking shack as their entrance into Hogwart's; this would help to overcome the wards that Dumbledore had set up around the ancient school.
They blindly walked and stumbled towards the house, they did not want to use any magic, unless necessary, so they could not use the Lumos spell.
"I can't see anything." Fred hissed at George, as he stumbled for the millionth time over a loose stone in the pathway.
"I can make out the outline of a fence, we should be there in two minutes." George was in the lead and had a clearer view of what was going on in the front. "OOPS. I was wrong." He moaned as he clutched his stomach, make that one minute." He crashed into the fence, reaching it earlier than he thought, in the dark his perception was way off track.
They hopped over the rotting wood that once looked like it was made of gold, and towards the shack, they went.
Inside the Shrieking Shack was mouldy, the walls looked like they were ready to give way, and the floors were sagging in places, making the rooms in which they passed slope at different angles. The smell that the house permeated was almost comparable to the smell that greeted the twins when they entered the cupboard. This time it was only a faint hint of the smell, and it lacked some of the mixture, so it was not as nauseating to the senses.
The door that would lead them to Hogwarts stood opposite of the stairwell. Fred opened the door and examined the entrance. He could not sense any danger it seemed fairly safe.
"I'm gonna go first. I'll let you take Harry when I know everything's safe and the hump back witches entrance isn't barricaded. If it is then we'll have to wait here and go though Honeyduke's passage tomorrow, but what Harry told me last year nobody seems to know about it."
"That's fine. We'll stay here like good little boys."
Fred just rolled his eyes, he knew George was ready to start some trouble, it had been a stressful day, and one of the ways the Weasley twins reduced their stress was to cause mayhem, on an unsuspecting victim.
"Wouldn't it be grand if we just happened to bump into Filch in the halls. We can finally get him back for always accusing us of starting things."
"George, he had every right to accuse us, everything came from us." He laughed. "I'm gonna go wait and don't go anywhere until I say it's clear." Before he left Fred passed George his watch, so that he could guard over Harry now.
Fred left through the door, seconds turned to minutes, and the moon was going down. George had not realized how late it was, Vernon took so long going to bed and the events that happened afterwards took so much time that a new day was going to start, in just a few hours.
"George, George, can you hear me? I'm not sure the radius these talkie – walkies have."
"They're called walkie – talkies, Fred. And yeah I can hear you. Is everything good, can I come with Harry now?"
"Yea things are good, I'm still in the tunnel because the reception will diminish within the boundaries of Hogwarts, but everything's already been tested. We're not barricaded in, come bring Harry."
George guided Harry through the passage, it took a lot longer than was normal because of the invisibility cloaks, but at last they made it through to Hogwarts.
Fred was there to greet them, and he helped pull George to his feet. They took off their invisibility cloaks, so they could now talk.
They examined Harry; he still looked the same, just more at rest. They made it to the steps that entered into the infirmary, and that's when they heard it, one could not forget the voice of the school's most feared teacher, and he was also in the Order of the Phoenix.
The twins turned around slowly trying to cover Harry, but it was no use. The stretcher was too long and too wide.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A sinister smile spread across the pale face. The dark greasy hair and the rising of the sun that shone on this man, made him look even more menacing then the twins ever thought he could be.