Am I Meant to Be Loved?
Chapter 4

"I'm not going to kill you, what gave you that idea?" Severus' voice was almost a murmur from his own confusion.

"Uncle Ver-Vernon said that I-I wa-was lucky they d-didnt d-drown me wh-when I was f-found. T-Then they tr-tra-tried to d-drown m-me. I d-don't wa-nt to die!" Harry cried, stumbling over his words as tears began to fall down his face.

"I'm just giving you a bath. You don't even have to get your head wet, except with a wet clothe. Now undress as I see if the temperature is right," Severus said as he leaned down to test the water. Harry tenderly undressed and stood there, shivering slightly. All of the bruises, cuts, scars, sores, welts, and burns showed. The bones showed like a skeleton and it was easy to see that a few were broken. What caught Severus' attention the fastest was the bruises around the child's neck. Then he noticed that very little of the pale skin showed.

"Who did that?" He asked quietly, as if in disbelief.

"You can't tell anyone he'll kill me," Harry whispered in a pleading voice.

"It was your uncle wasn't it? Well, get in and you can wash yourself, just get yourself clean," he said as he hoped that the bruises were just dirt, though he knew they weren't. As Harry washed himself, he was proved right, they weren't dirt. "Keep cleaning while I get you some food," he said, then added as an afterthought, "and you are eating it," when he saw the food on the table.

Harry kept cleaning as he savored the warmth of the water. Then the man came back; he put a plate of food on the table and threw the cold food away. Then he gave Harry new clothes that fit. He had never had clothes that fit before. He was place on a chair at the table.

"Eat. My name is Severus. I will take you back to the Dursleys and ask questions of them. You will not be left in their care if they admit to hitting you." Severus explained. Harry nodded as he ate the food. He had a little bit of everything. "This is a portkey; it will take us to your house." He said, holding up an old can. Harry nodded and touched it when Severus told him to and almost fell as he landed.

The two walked up to the door. Harry hid behind Severus so he didn't have to face his relatives without something between them and him. When the door was opened, the large form of his uncle stood there.

"We don't want anything." He growled. He tried to shut the door, but Severus put his foot in the way.

"I'm here to return your nephew, Harry Potter." He said. The obese man's eyes darted to the ground.

"Well, where is he?" He snarled. Severus stepped aside and Harry was revealed. He tried to wish himself to go away, to disappear. One large hand reached out and grabbed a small shoulder, and drug the scared boy into his office.

The dark-haired boy knew his shoulder was broken. He curled up in a tight ball to protect himself. He was in a world of agony and could hardly tell the difference between a bruise and a broken bone. For his small bones were breaking, many at a time. He felt at the beginning of this torture, his fat uncle step on his hand, crushing it. The kicking stopped and the punches were about to start as his broken body was placed on the desk. He was faintly aware of the letter opener being taken out before a fist sent him into darkness.

Severus didn't like when the door was shut in his face and stood there in shocked silence for a few minutes. He knocked on the door and rang the bell, but still no one answered. After five minutes were up, he took out his wand and blew the door in. He went strait for the stairs. When he reached the top, he opened the first door. Guest bedroom. Then he went to the next, locked.

"Alohomora." He said and the door opened. He almost vomited with what he saw. Blood was on the floor, on the walls. In the middle was a desk and on the desk, was the limp body of Harry. Over him was his uncle, a knifish thing in one hand, his own fist for the other. Punch, cut, punch, and cut. That was that was happening.

"Stupefy!" He bellowed. He ran over to the body and checked for any signs of life. He almost gave up when one breath was issued.

Severus almost jumped in surprise. Then he quickly stopped the bleeding and cleaned himself off. The child had only been alone for about seven minutes at the most and he was all ready clinging to life by a thread. He hardly even looked like a human being, or anything, any more. He quickly conjured a stretcher and took the young child down the stairs, careful that he wasn't shaken up. He took some powder and, after lighting the fire, threw a bit in.

"Albus Dumbledore." He shouted. The old wizard's head appeared in the fire.

"Severus, is this the muggle's fireplace?" He asked.

"Send Poppy over. If she doesn't get here quickly, the child will die. I've already used up the most that I know about healing, but any second could be his last, goodbye Albus, it's 4 Privet Drive." With that, he turned his back to the fire and glided over to the stretcher. He leaned down and picked the boy up. "Don't give up. I promise you that you uncle will never hit you again," he whispered to the unconscious boy. It was hard to look at the limp body and wonder if the green eyes would ever be seen again, for the child looked dead. In less then three minutes, Poppy was there. She transfigured the chair into a tall, comfortable bed. Severus placed the child down. "I only slowed the bleeding and cleaned him off," he said before sitting in the chair again. She quickly went to work.

"That child had about half of his bones broken, including his neck. He is lucky to be alive. The bruises will have to heal on their own. The cuts over this eye and the deep cuts will turn into scars. I can't take away scars. The cuts that I could heal are gone, but most were too deep. His organs were injured, I healed that, and there will be discomfort for a while. His back was broken and as of right now, he is paralyzed from the waist down, including stiffness in some areas. He is also extremely malnourished, making his bones weak and the healing take longer." She finished. Then she looked at Severus, a hurt in her eyes. "Who could do something so horrible to a little kid?" She asked.

He was about to reply when a thump sounded. Then there was a fat man at the top of the stairs, "Vernon Dursley, uncle of Harry Potter. There he is Poppy. The boy's very own uncle." He sneered. Vernon growled.

"I didn't do anything to the brat that he didn't deserve! He should have died along with his parents! We never wanted him!" The large man thundered. There was a whimper and everyone turned to that the four-year-old boy was awake and staring at his uncle in fear.

"Go...back...to...your...room...now!" Poppy said slowly. She was furious at the time. But Vernon Dursley was not one to back down. "Nothing that child could have done could make him deserve any of this. You have done one of the things that I despise most." She said. Her wand was all ready drawn.

Severus leaned down and picked the boy up. He could feel the small hands close around his shirt.

"I can't move. Why can't I move?" He asked, panic in his voice.

"I'll tell you later. Don't you worry about anything just yet. Poppy, we should go. We don't want to get into too much trouble. Now use the Memory Charm." He left right after he heard obliviate. Then they were all gone.

AN: Sorry for the wait, I'm not very good at updating during the summer.

Thanks to:
bmc

Kira6

Lady Lily3: I hate to sound cliche, but you'll have to find out in the following chappies

nicky475

leggylover03

Rasgara

Bonnie S: I appreciate your sympathy

moonlightwitch

DebsTheSnapeFanNow

FroBoy

thedarklordsonlyheir

Heart Of The Wizard: Thank you for your sympathy, and this time there isn't a cliffy, is that better?

escptheshdw835

Sweet-single

opal: uh, i dunno

Dragonero

Bluie Twilight Star

Sliver of Melody

Sala

Curalium Lacrimo

deb (2): uh, not even snape knows he's the dad, if he even is the dad, this isn't going to be a superpower thing, he's just going to be a regular boy (or as regular as Harry Potter can be)

RemusLupinRocks

d: Very true

HecateDeMort

applesollie

XxX-PhoenixGirl-XxX: Thank your for your sympathy

athenakitty: uh, dunno yet

Shadowed Rains: I'm weird, don't mind me