Warnings: Abusive!Dursleys, noncon!, manipulative!Dumbledore, smart!Harry

Crime and Punishment

By the end of the week, Ly was feeling exponentially better, so much so, in fact, that he had taken to walking around the shed. At first, his muscles were so weak that he could barely make it once around the perimeter, but the more he practiced, the stronger he became.

One afternoon, after Harry came in to give him some lunch, Ly decided to go outside. The shed, while it contained a number of mildly interesting first aid supplies, mysterious vials of odd-smelling medicines, some of which he recognized from what Harry had given him, and even some sort of inexplicable automatic toilet—well, more like a chamber pot—was not really enough to keep him entertained and he longed to feel the sun again.

Ly slipped out the door of the shed and found himself in a pristine backyard surrounded by a white picket fence. He wandered over to the garden, which he knew Harry took care of (as he came into the shed several times a day with gardening tools). This is the most orderly garden I've ever seen, he thought to himself. Harry must be a real perfectionist.

Ly then walked to the front yard. He studied Harry's house. Number four…on…hmm, what street is this? He wondered as he looked around for a street sign. Ah, Privet Drive. All the houses here look alike. He meandered out the gate and down the block, gazing around curiously. Eventually, though, he started to feel tired, so he headed back to Number Four. As he neared the fence, however, he heard a shout behind him. Turning around, he saw a group of teenagers who looked to be around Harry's age coming toward him.

"Hey kid," smirked a large, fat, blonde boy. "You new around here? I don't recognize you…"

"I…I'm Lysander," Ly stammered, suddenly feeling panicky.

"Well, we just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood," the blonde boy chuckled maliciously.

Before Ly knew what was happening, Ly found his arms pinned behind him. One of the older boys laughed as he tried to wriggle free. "Help!" Ly cried desperately.

"Kid, you'd better shut up now," a tall skinny dark-haired boy stated as the blonde backhanded him across the face. "We don't tolerate insolence around here…"

"Please…" Ly whimpered, his cheek smarting from the blow.

"Hey 'Duddikins'," called a different, familiar, and very welcome voice from somewhere behind him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size for once? Oh wait, I forgot, there aren't any other kids your own size, you're too fat."

With a growl, the blonde kid (Duddikins?) turned toward Harry. "Why you little…"

"Little what?" questioned Harry sarcastically. "At least 'little' is an adjective that can be applied to me. I can't imagine anyone calling you 'little' anything. Well, unless it's your father, perhaps…"

The blonde boy's face turned an interesting shade of puce. "Get him!" he ordered imperiously, waddling in Harry's direction as fast as he could. Ly fell to his knees as he was suddenly released. He looked up to see Harry darting away from the house, the gang in pursuit. Ly shakily got to his feet and examined the damage. His knees were skinned from when he fell and his arms were bruised where the older boy had held him. The inside of his cheek was bleeding, too, as he'd bit it when the blonde had slapped him.

Well, it could've been a lot worse, Ly thought as he limped back to the shed. Thank goodness Harry showed up. I hope he's okay…

**********

Harry, meanwhile, was using every resource at his disposal to outrun Dudley's gang. He leapt over fences, cut through alleyways and generally made it close to impossible to catch him. But he was tiring quickly, an unfortunate side effect of the starvation rations he received every summer. Sensing this, Harry decided to head back to the house and hope that Ly was back in the shed so he wouldn't get caught again. He cut down an alley, ran through the park, jumped a few fences and was soon back in the Dursleys' yard. He attempted to slow his rapid breathing as he crept back to the living room, which he'd been cleaning when he'd heard Ly's cry for help.

**********

Several hours later, Harry was in his room when he heard his uncle come home. Harry cringed as he realized that Dudley was with him. He knew it was not going to be a pleasant night—it never was on the days when he prevented Dudley's gang from beating someone up. It had been a few weeks since the last time he'd had to step in, since the kids he'd trained had thankfully gotten good enough to avoid most confrontations, but that only meant that his punishment would hurt worse.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he heard his uncle lumbering up the stairs. The door slammed open.

"BOY!" Vernon shouted at him, his face purple. "Get your shirt off, you worthless piece of trash!"

Harry sighed mentally as he started to pull the ratty T-shirt over his head. Apparently he wasn't moving fast enough, however, because he suddenly found himself on the floor, his cheek throbbing from a collision with his uncle's fist. He sat up and finished taking off the shirt without complaint, his expression blank and emotionless.

"Against the wall!" His uncle was fumbling with the belt he was wearing. Harry noted the large decorative silver belt buckle with trepidation, though he showed no outward sign of unease. This was going to hurt.

Facing the wall, leaning on his hands, which were spread a shoulder's-width apart in front of him, he closed his eyes and felt himself tense involuntarily as he waited for the all-too-familiar WHOOSH of the belt flying through the air.

Think of Ly, he admonished himself. It's better that you get this than that he get hurt. And anyway—

There was a whoosh and a crack, and Harry's back exploded in pain. Harry bit his lower lip hard to keep from vocalizing his pain. His uncle had started with the belt buckle. He wouldn't be able to move when this was over with.

Crack!

Harry tasted blood as he bit through his lip.

Crack!

Crack!

Harry lost count of how many times his uncle had whipped him as his body screamed in protest. It wasn't long before his legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

Crack!

Crack!

Harry still refused to make a sound, although his vision was beginning to grey. Think of Ly and Matt and Lissa and Johnny and all the kids who would be getting beaten up if you didn't go through this. It's worth it…for them and as penance for Sirius and Dumbledore and Cedric and Mum and Dad, he told himself desperately. Anything to avoid thinking of the pain.

He didn't even notice when his uncle left because he hurt so much. Eventually, he collapsed completely and sweet unconsciousness overtook him.