Title: The past catches up with us all.

Main Character: Harry Potter

Summary: It has been 20 years since the final battle, and the years have not been kind to Harry Potter. He has left behind the past that haunts him, or at least tried to. In this story you will find out that you can hide from your demons but never really escape them.

AN: This chapter is going to be very disturbing and I warn you that it will contain images of child abuse and really strong adult subjects. I will put a big break like 3 or 4 lines so you can tell when the bad stuff stops. It's not necessary for you to read the stuff but it might help you understand some stuff about Harry. On the time between postings I am going to try my best to never let it go that long again. I was having some creative challenges and decided to let my beta/co-author Kris finish the chapter. Well real life or RL as we like to call it reared its busy impatient head and said that she wouldn't have time to do it. So I am letting my friend and oddly enough Kris's Sister Katie helps me as well since Kris is so busy with RL. I am hopefully going for 1-2 chapters per week maybe more depending on how my muse acts. One more note on this chapter. The first part is all being relived from Harry's memories. After he showed Katherine them he is forcing himself to relive them as well. There is some commentary in them think of them as sort of an added note on the story like a voice-over

Ok enough of my blabbering on with the chapter.

Chapter Eleven: A trip down Pivet/Memory drive.

Harry had shown her the worst memories of his life well some of them at least. The fact that some of them were also the earliest memories of his life was pretty damn pathetic. He had to show them to her for some reason and while showing them to her he knew he would be reliving them himself. He stopped the spell so that he would not accidentally hurt her mind and then gave her a glance that imparted the sacrifice he had performed for her he collapsed on to the ground under the weight of the memories he was forcing himself to relive. He laid on the floor curled up in the fetal position and he cried his eyes out.

Memories:

Harry is only Four years old and its lunch time. He is very hungry and so he grabs a cookie off a plate that was meant for his cousin Dudley. Dudley sees him and he starts crying his head off about how Harry is stealing all his cookies even though Harry only took the smallest cookie. Aunt Petunia was drawn by the ruckus and when she found out what happened she smacked Harry's hand and then proceed to give him a thorough whipping then through him in the cupboard under the stairs without food or water for 2 whole days.

Harry is now a little bit older and Dudley has a tricycle that Harry desperately wants to ride. However he knows that if he even so much as touches it while Dudley is using it or when Dudley is around he will be viciously beaten. He was reminded of that lesson just the other day when he had taken a small broken crayon from the huge container of crayons that Dudley had. His Aunt had found out and she had once again beaten him this time his uncle had found out as well and he laid into Harry with his meaty fists. Sadly this was not the first time that his Uncle Vernon had hit him with his hands or even his fists. The first time Vernon ever hit Harry with just his hand had been almost 8 months ago when he had accidentally spilled some milk on Vernon's morning paper. Vernon had yelled "You careless little freak I have told you to be careful with your milk" Then he back handed Harry across the face with his open palm.

The first time his brutish uncle Vernon Dursley had ever hit Harry with a closed fist was a few short weeks after the milk incident. One of four year old Harry's many tasks during the day was to pick up any toy's that Dudley had played with and to return them to Dudley's room. It was of course understood that Harry was to spend as little time as possible in Dudley's room and was to touch nothing in there. Yet Harry being a typical curious and fun loving four year old wanted to play with a toy dinosaur that Dudley had half squashed. Vernon caught him sitting on the carpet in Dudley's room playing with the toy. Vernon decided to teach Harry a lesson and he beat him black and blue with his gigantic fists. Vernon left bruises that took a month to finally fade.

Sadly these instances were not rare fits of temper but rather the normal things. Let us look now at a few more memories of a slightly older Harry.

Harry was hurrying through the house trying to get to the front door so he could help his aunt with the groceries. He managed to reach the door before she opened it but he was in such a hurry to open the locked door that it just suddenly sprang open as if by magic. Petunia was leaning on the door with the key in the lock and when it sprang open she fell forward landing on her face. Harry being 6 or 7 now knew better then to laugh at his aunt. His uncle was following and had seen the whole thing and he stormed up to Harry his huge face blotchy and a vivid shade of reddish purple.

"What is the meaning of this BOY you better explain yourself right now. Why did you open the door and make your aunt fall on her face. BOY I WANT AN EXPLINATION NOW!" Vernon bellowed balling up a fist.

Harry being an honest boy answered the best he could. "I don't know Uncle Vernon I was just getting ready to unlock the door and it sprang open like magic or something" Oh know he had done it this time he had used the forbidden word.

"WHAT HAVE WE TOLD YOU BOY THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC" Vernon bellowed even louder then before and this time he beat Harry so severely that he not only gave him two black eyes but he also came within inches of breaking his arm. Then he threw him in the small closet without food for a whole seven days.

This was the pattern on Pivot Drive until one faithful week when Harry turned eleven…

The memories finally stopped or Harry blanked out he did not know which. All he knew is that the images in his mind had stopped and he felt someone softly stroking his forehead with a soft gentle hand and murming words of comfort. For a moment he thought he was back in the Burrow or Grimwauld Place and Molly Weasley was comforting him after another one of his numerous nightmares. He smiled at the memories of her and softly murmured "thank you Mrs. Weasley".

Once Katherine had seen Harry go down to the floor she had immediately knelt beside him and tried to calm him down. Once it was obvious whatever internal trauma he was forcing himself to relive were over she softly ran her hand over his brow the same way her dad had done to her when she had had a terrifying nightmare. Suddenly Harry said something and she leaned close to hear what he had said. It sounded like Thank you Mrs. Weasley. She wondered who this mysterious Mrs. Weasley was. It certainly didn't sound like his Aunt and plus he had indicated her last name was Dursley.

Whoever she was it was obvious that she had at sometime in the past soothed Harry when something bad had happened and for that she was grateful.

Kat kept stroking his forehead and telling him everything was alright. His eyes suddenly focused on her and he blinked a few times as if trying to reconcile what he was seeing with what he had expected to see. He shook his head and then rubbed at his eyes to get rid of the last remaining tear drops.

Harry was floating in his own mind, trapped in a pit of dark images and memories. It was almost like being back in the presence of a demontor but this time he was reliving memories from his time with the Dursleys. He suddenly heard a voice that sounded like Molly Weasley comforting him. He smiled and the memories eased and he was able to open his eyes. He expected to see the motherly face of red haired Molly Weasley but instead he saw a face with greenish brownish eyes and black hair. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and the face stayed the same. Suddenly he remembered where he was and who he was with. He instantly felt the blood rushing to his face making him break out in a blush as he come to realize that he had broke down in front of this beautiful girl who he had known for just this evening.

AN2: Ok folks this is probably going to be the first of many violent chapters. This story has the highest rating for a reason. Next chapter will be a full explanation of what happened 1-5 year and MAYBE summer after 5th year. I am debating whether or not to wait for the 6th book or make up my own summer at the 5th year. I will probably just make it up. So that means you will have a new chapter by Friday Saturday morning. Thanks for bearing with me folks.