An: Yeah, this story now has over 1000 hits! Does happy dance…wait a second…that means I should have over 1000 reviews…PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE. Reviews are good! Lol.

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Chapter 8-Troubles

"Boy, get in here now."

Harry sighed as he walked into the living room. Uncle Vernon was standing next to the couch with a bucket of water in his hand and displeased look on his fat face.

"What?" Harry asked

"Don't use that tone with me." Uncle Vernon said as he placed the bucket on the floor next to the couch.

"Okay, what can I help you with uncle Vernon? Is that better?" Harry asked monotonously

Vernon narrowed his eyes at Harry before turning towards the couch and pointing to the couch. "What is that, boy?"

"What is what?" Harry asked

Uncle Vernon walked over to Harry and grabbed him by the hair, making Harry gasp in pain. Vernon led Harry towards the couch, still holding onto Harry's head and pointed to one of the cushions that had a large stain and said, "That, what is that?"

"It looks like a stain." Harry said through gritted teeth

"And why is there a stain on my couch?" Vernon asked calmly, tightening his grip on Harry's hair

"I don't know. I didn't make it. It wasn't my job to clean…oh." Harry stopped speaking, mentally kicking himself. Aunt Petunia asked him to clean up a mess in the living room earlier in the day. Harry needed a smoke so he went to the park and figured he'd clean the mess when he got back. Only, he forgot.

"Didn't your aunt tell you to clean this up?" Vernon snarled

"Yes." Harry said hesitantly

"Then why didn't you?"

"I-I forgot."

"You forgot. You forgot." Vernon said and he let go of Harry's hair and walked towards the window, mumbling to himself about incompetence. Harry stood up straight and rubbed his sore head.

Vernon's face was red when he turned back toward Harry, frowning and glaring at Harry. He stormed towards his nephew and grabbed him by the hair again, repeatedly slapping him in the face with his other hand, "I'LL TEACH YOU TO FORGET DOING SOMETHING YOU'RE TOLD TO DO!"

When he finally released Harry he shouted, "I WANT THIS MESS CLEANED UP RIGHT NOW AND THEN I WANT YOU IN YOUR ROOM FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT! NO DINNER! AM I CLEAR BOY?"

"Yes, uncle Vernon." Harry whispered, looking toward the floor.

Vernon stormed out of the room and headed into the kitchen for dinner, leaving Harry alone in the empty living room. Harry walked over to the couch and picked up the sponge from the bucket of soapy water on the floor.

As he rung out the extra water in the sponge and moved towards the couch. With tears welling up in his eyes Harry whispered, "I hate Mondays."

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"Hey. Mind if I sit down?"

"I guess not. You look like shit by the way."

"I know. My stomach looks worse than my face though. Trust me. I've got a cracked rib." Ben said as he sat down next to Harry on the rock. They were sitting on the same rock near the pond where they had talked a few days earlier.

Ben looking like "shit" was an understatement. He looked like he lost a fight with a lawn-mower or was attacked by a vicious guard dog. Ben had a black eye and a small bandage over his right eyebrow. The side of his face was covered in numerous bruises and his lip was swollen looking with a cut that looked painful in its shade of deep purple.

Ben looked at Harry and gave him a sad smile as Harry lit up a cigarette.

"So, where have you been, Harry? I haven't seen you at all this week. I went to hang out with everyone on Wednesday, but you weren't there."

"I was busy. I haven't had much time to hang out." Harry replied

"So…how have you been?" Ben asked

"Just peachy." Harry said sarcastically, smoke escaping his mouth. Harry offered Ben a cigarette.

"Not thanks, I stopped, remember."

"I forgot. I've been doing that a lot lately." Harry said dryly as he put the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket.

Ben took a wobbly breath and swallowed. He looked as though he was trying to build up the courage to ask Harry something. They sat silently for a moment before Ben let out a deep sigh and began to speak in a quiet voice.

"Look Harry, about what happened a few days ago; I just want you to know that I didn't agree with it. Brock never should have made you do that and I tried to get him to change his mind. I tried to stop him."

"Bull shit." Harry spat, glaring at Ben. "You didn't even tell me what the fuck going to on. You haven't done shit for me."

"I tried to talk Brock out of it."

"Well thanks for nothing because Brock still went through with it. It would have been nice if someone told me what they were getting me into for fucks sake!" Harry said, throwing his cigarette butt to the ground.

"I'm sorry-"

"Save it, I don't even care anymore. You haven't done crap for me, Ben. Don't try and act like you've helped me in some great way. If you really had the balls to stop Brock you would have told your dad. He's a fucking cop for Christ's sake. But you didn't tell him because you were coving your own ass, you don't give a shit about me, don't try and act like you do."

"What?" Ben said in a hurt tone. "No Harry, it wasn't as simple as that-"

"Oh don't even give me that. You could have easily told someone what was going on. You were looking out for yourself. You didn't want your father knowing you were smoking pot or anything like that. You were saving yourself, not me. Don't try and act like a hero, I know more about heroes than any one and trust me, you're no fucking hero. So what if Brock knocked you around a bit, big deal, it didn't change shit. You're as bad as them so don't try and act like my friend because I don't give a fuck about you guys either." Harry said angrily as he got up from the rock and started to walk away.

Ben sighed and got up, talking off after Harry. He grabbed Harry by the arm, "Wait a minute-"

Harry turned around, pulling out of his grip, "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Sorry, I just wanted to get your attention." Ben said, slightly confused by the outburst.

"Well, what?"

Ben sighed, "Listen, please don't be mad at me. I tried to stop it. I really did. It's not always as easy as it seems. Just please; don't be mad at me for what Brock got you into. I'm not the one who-"

"Just shut up, alright. God, I'm sick of hearing about it. Look, I've got to go." Harry cut him off. "I've got to get home; I'm going away for the week, I'm staying with me godfather. See you around."

Harry said as he stalked away. Ben watched Harry leave, wondering if Harry was really going to be okay.

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When Harry arrived back at the Dursleys, Sirius' motorcycle was already in the driveway. Harry walked into the house to find Sirius sitting in the kitchen with his aunt, glaring at one another. If Harry's uncle was home when Harry came in late he'd have hell to pay later. Luckily uncle Vernon wasn't home to yell at him for leaving his dear aunt alone with a freak like Sirius.

"Hey, kiddo." Sirius said with a smile. "Ready to go?"

"I'll just go get my stuff." Harry said and headed upstairs.

Harry walked into his tiny bedroom and pulled out a small black duffle bag and started cramming it with clothes (and a few packs of cigarettes). He hadn't actually gotten around to packing yet. He had a few more important things on his mind than what type of shirt he should pack for Saturday.

It hadn't been a good week for Harry to say the least. After Sunday, Harry had to deal with Dudley using him for a punching bag almost daily, aunt Petunia yelling at him for not cleaning the kitchen the right way and uncle Vernon punishing him for mowing the backyard incorrectly. Harry's back was still feeling the punishment several days later.

He opened the top drawer to his dresser and pulled out a pair of pants. As he pulled them out the contents from its pocket fell to the floor.

'Shit.' Harry thought to himself, looking at the bag of pot on the ground. 'I forgot about that.'

The pot, along with a large amount of cigarettes and a good deal of money, had been Harry's compensation for the job he had done for Brock.

"Harry? Ready?" Sirius shouted from downstairs.

"Yeah. Coming." Harry shouted back. He bent down and picked up the pot and threw it into the duffle. He'd deal with it later, but for now, he had to get going. He zipped up the bag and headed downstairs.

Sirius was standing next to the front door. "Got everything?"

Harry nodded and he and Sirius walked out to the driveway and climbed onto the motorcycle. This was going to be a long week.

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When they arrived at Sirius' house, Harry went upstairs and put his things in his bedroom and started to unpack. He carefully hid the items he didn't want Sirius to see amongst the clothing in the dresser. When he finished unpacking he threw the duffle bag to the floor and laid down on the bed.

He closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the peaceful breeze coming into the room through the open window. Harry sighed quietly and kicked his shoes off revealing a pair of socks that had a hole in the right toe. The bed was so comfortable; Harry felt like he could stay there for hours. He hadn't slept that well in the past few days. Harry yawned and listened to the soft breeze outside his window, drifting off to the calming noise.

Harry didn't know where he was going, but he followed as Brock led the way amongst the trees. Harry had never been in this part of the park before. It was all new to him.

The trees in this part of the park were different from the ones he was use to. These ones seemed older, more decrepit, like maybe they had been in a fire a long time ago and were only recently starting to recover. The branches on these trees were much barer and the colors weren't as vibrant.

They walked for a little longer before they came to a clear opening. Park next to a tree was a black car with tinted windows. Harry looked up at Brock and asked, "Where are we?"

"Harry?"

Harry jolted up and rubbed his eyes with his palms. He looked around the room and took a deep breath. It was just a dream.

"Harry?" Sirius' said from behind the door, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." Harry croaked, calming himself down. Sirius opened the door and walked into the room.

Are you okay?" Sirius asked

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just dozed off."

"So, you're all settled in then?"

"Yeah." Harry replied

"Are you sure that you're feeling alright?" Sirius asked. "You look sort of pale."

"I'm fine." Harry replied

"You sure? You look-"

"I'm fine." Harry snapped, defensively. Sirius raised an eyebrow and Harry looked away.

"Right…" Sirius said. "So, I was thinking, how about we order something in for dinner tonight? Does that sound good?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's fine." Harry said. "What ever you want to do is fine with me."

Sirius nodded and turned to leave the room. He stopped at the door and turned back toward Harry, "You're sure that you're feeling alright? You've been really quiet since you got here."

"I'm fine. Really. Just a little tired from the trip. Actually, I think I'll just go to bed early. I'm not really hungry." Harry said

"You sure? You're really not hungry? Not even a little?" Sirius asked

"Nah, I'm just going to get some sleep." Harry said

Sirius looked concerned but thought that it was best to just let Harry be for a little while. "Well, if that's what you really want to do then that's fine. I guess I'll see you in the morning then. Night, Harry." Sirius said, closing the door behind him as he left the room.

Harry wasn't really going to sleep. Even if he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes he saw bad images replay in his mind. They sent chills down his back just thinking about it.

'I need to relax." Harry thought to himself. He walked over to the door to his bedroom and locked it, quietly. Harry then walked to his dresser and took out a new pack of cigarettes and opened it. He went to the window, opened it wider and sat on the edge. He lit up a cigarette and rested his head against the window frame, watching the smoke escape through the window, wishing the thoughts in his mind would flow out the window just like the smoke.

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AN: Okay, that was chapter 8. I hope everyone liked it.

The bit at the beginning with Vernon, I decided to put that in to get better sense of Harry's life, I hope that it didn't come across as just a random bit I put in.

We are going to learn more about Sirius' life in the next few chapters probably. He'll keep trying to get through to Harry and every time he gets close Harry will get more distant and push him away, maybe even get angry at Sirius. I'm not too sure yet. We'll also find out about what happened to Harry through his dreams (Or should I say nightmares?).

Anyway, please review. No flames. If anyone has any suggestions for something that Harry could get really mad at Sirius for please let me know. That would be a great help for later on.