Chapter Four
Harry lay in his cupboard, his back aching from bending down to clean the kitchen floor, his hands stinging from the cleaners he had been using. He had a black eye from the beating his uncle had given him the day before. He hadn't been allowed any food today, and his stomach was complaining loudly. Harry knew that if he fell asleep, he could forget his hunger for a while, but sleep also meant that he would be subject to nightmares. Flashes of green light, a woman screaming and crying. Harry hated it when other people were sad. Being sad was awful.
Harry was sad a lot. He was so tired of being left on his own in the dark, so tired of being hated by his relatives. All he wanted was for someone to love him, to hold him close and protect him. As he started to drift off to sleep, Harry thought that he felt someone stroking his hair. He unconsciously moved into the loving and tender touch. As he entered the realm of dreams, he heard a soft, slightly squeaky voice singing a lullaby.
Petal looked down at her young master as he slept. He looked so peaceful and so careworn at the same time. Brushing his hair out of his face, Petal carefully sent a trickle of elf magic to her master, healing the nasty bruise on his face. She then covered him with his old baby blanket, and left a small pile of food next to his face, so he would see it when he woke up. Standing, she expertly apparated away to the old alley she had been in when she first felt her master. She would wait. Watch and wait.