A/N Hey, I know I really shouldn't be posting any other stories than the ones I have but I couldn't resist. The fourth chapter of Two Months to Live will be posted soon; I am already halfway through the fifth so look out for those. After She Wakes is on hold for a while, I have major writer's block. So sit back and enjoy, until Two Months to Live is updated.

Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter; JK Rowling does. (Lucky thing!)

The Storm

Coral Candy

Even in the small cupboard under the stairs, Harry Potter could still see the lightning light up the house through the small slits around the edge of the door. Even with his back turned and his eyes tightly closed he could see it. He tried desperately to imagine being somewhere else, somewhere nice, but Harry hadn't been to many nice places and didn't know where to imagine he was.

The thunder came next, and being right by the kitchen and by the back door didn't help muffle the rumble. He shivered lightly and drew the thin blanket around himself tightly. He thought about running to the bathroom, it was further away and didn't have a window, it would be better than staying there. He then remembered to his dismay that his Aunt Petunia had locked him in there on her way to bed.

No one knew he was afraid of storms, it was a common fear for a four year old boy, it was quite a common fear for a fourteen year old, yet nobody knew. Nobody, in Harry's opinion, cared. Nobody had ever asked him what he was afraid of.

He squeezed his eyes shut as a particularly loud clap of thunder rang about Harry's ears. He could feel tears pricking the back of them but refused to let them out. He'd never cried through a storm before, but then again he'd always been able to escape from it. It had only been recently that his Aunt had locked the door of a night.

He thought of his cousin, who at the moment was probably curled up, taking up most of the room in his parent's bed. He wished he had parents, who could cuddle him when he was afraid, he didn't though and he didn't know why. He'd been told something about a car crash, but Harry was too young to know what that was.

The thunder was getting louder every time it sounded and the young boy was becoming increasingly worried that it was coming to his house. To come and get him, Uncle Vernon had told him that someone would get him if he was naughty. He racked his brains trying to remember a time when he had been bad. There had been a few, but he'd always been punished.

His knuckles were white from gripping the blanket so hard in his tiny hands. His whole body was trembling with fear, and he'd turned a dull white colour. He was bordering on panic as the storm got louder once again. He thought about screaming for someone to come and get him when he heard the voices of his guardians.

"Quickly now Petunia, into the car." He heard his uncle say. Into the car? Were they going somewhere? Without him? In the middle of a storm?

"Hold his head Vernon!" Petunia snapped.

"Where are we going?" he heard a sleepy voice ask, he recognized it immediately as his cousin's.

"On a trip. We're going somewhere away from this horrible storm." Petunia reassured her son.

Harry sat up as she said this; they were getting away from the storm. He quickly fumbled about the cupboard trying to find his socks and shoes when he heard the front door slam and the car engine start. This made Harry's panic sky rocket and he was sure his heart stopped beating. He began to pound on the door with tiny balled up fists, screaming for help until his voice grew sore. No one came back for him, he had been left here. He knew the storm must be bad if the Dursley's had left. Once his energy gave out he collapsed on the floor in a small heap. His body taking numerous bruises as he did so.

He knew his Aunt and Uncle weren't fond of him, but surely they didn't hate him enough to leave him in a locked cupboard during a storm. He reassured himself that his Aunt would come back for him; she didn't hate him, once when he had fallen out of the tree she had even hugged him and comforted him. He remembered it to be the greatest feeling in the world; he had felt loved at that point. He curled up on his side and cried his eyes out, his knuckles had been bloodied in the attempts to escape and his throat was sore. Holding on to the blanket as if it was his lifeline he tried to drown out the ever growing louder claps with his sobs. His whole body shook with his crying.

The light at the door suddenly became a lot brighter; he could see it even with his emerald eyes shut tightly. He felt a pair of hands lift him up, and his body stiffened immediately. He heard a calming voice telling him it was alright and gently rubbing his back as they rocked back and forth with him in their tight embrace. Harry relaxed after a while and snuggled down into the pair of inviting arms, burying his head in the soft material of their clothes.

The person picked him up and climbed back out of the terrifying cupboard. He didn't dare open his eyes in fear that it was all a dream, and that he woke to find himself back in the clutches of the storm.

"Harry?" a gentle voice asked. He shook his head and buried his head further into their top.

"Come on, you need to get your seat belt on." The voice said, trying desperately to pry the tightening arms around their neck off and into the seat belt.

"Come on Petunia, do hurry up, we're already a good half hour behind the rest of Surrey!"

Harry reluctantly opened his eyes to see his Aunt smiling kindly down at him; he timidly smiled back at her and allowed her to strap him into his seat. She dropped a kiss on to his brow and gave his hand a squeeze before climbing back into her own seat.

"I don't understand why we couldn't just come back for the boy when the storm was over." Uncle Vernon muttered.

"Vernon! We made a promise to look after him and we will do so until he is a legal adult!"

Harry smiled inwardly, glancing over at his snoring cousin, chocolate mousse running down his chin. He did have an aunt who loved him.

End

A/N Well I'm thinking about making this a multi-chapter fic, with different points of view, like Hermione's then Ron's etc…

Tell me what you think. Any type of feedback is welcomed, as long as they aren't flames!

This will be a last priority fic, so I'll need lots of reviews to keep me motivated. (HINT HINT)

Laura