Odd day: Tuesday – Day Two Continued

Dudley had stayed with his cousin the entire day, doing and healing what he could. He managed to bring food- a meager half loaf of bread, some cheese, and a bottle of water- and shoved them under the bed until Harry awoke. He didn't notice the two horrified animals, who regained consciousness at the motion.

Harry didn't awaken until the rumbling of a car pulling in the driveway signified Vernon's return. As though he'd been conditioned to the sound- and he very well might have- even through the black of unconsciousness, the noise reached in and jerked him awake with a gasp of fear and shock and pain.

Dudley gently helped Harry onto the nest of stained sheets in the corner, and Severus and Lucius could only guess that the sensory memories attached to the rickety bed were too much, and they could only agree.

They heard the car door slam shut, and Harry flinched. Dudley took a moment to run his fingers soothingly through Harry's blood-matted hair. "Listen Har, I got you some food- it's under the bed, sorry- and I'll try and keep him from you for the rest of the day… and hopefully the night. As you know, I can't promise anything about tomorrow…" This time, it was the front door that slammed shut with a bellowed cry of "DUDLEY!" that caused not just Harry to flinch.

Dudley spoke faster, "I might be able to visit you tonight, but I'll have to leave by midnight, as you know. Again, Har, I'm so… so very sorry. I'm trying to free you, honestly, I'll do everything I can to-" Stomping up the stairs, and Dudley stood up quickly, adjusting his clothes. "Love you, Har." He whispered, then turned and made for the door.

He opened it and, from the space under the bed, Lucius and Severus caught sight of the Beast's leering, disgusting face before the door was firmly shut and the locks slammed firmly in place.

"Well, Dudley? Did you enjoy your day with the freak?" They heard through the door.

"Yes father. Thank you very much, although I think I may have used him a bit harshly…" A pause, then, "I shall have to visit him tonight, father. After all, you said he was mine for the day, not when the sun set."

Uncle Vernon's bellowing laughter faded as he praised his son, told of how proud he was, and Harry whimpered and rolled into a tight ball as his relatives receded.

Lucius and Severus slinked out from under the bed and made their way to the trembling child. It seemed as though his wandless magic had done what it could, stemming the flow of blood and even completely closing some of the smaller wounds- though these were few and far in between.

Cursing the spell that stuck him in this useless form, Severus curled around Harry's head and began licking and soothing him with small, rough licks to his face.

A scathing, sarcastic comment was on the tip of Lucius' tongue- er, mind- but the soft, breathy sigh-giggle that escaped the broken child's bloodied lips was quick to silence him; and instead he put himself to the task of licking clean some wounds and curling against Harry's back to offer warmth and comfort.

Harry hummed a little and some of his muscles unclenched, and the two animals mentally congratulated themselves on this small victory.

Finally, after an hour or so of their ministrations, Harry sighed and completely uncurled, although he made sure to keep his two furred companions close.

Harry turned and looked into the black cat's onyx eyes. After a moment of silent staring, Harry hmm-ed and smiled. "I can't very well keep calling you cat and fox, and your eyes really remind me of Severus Snape; he's a professor at my school." He missed both his companions' shocked gazes. "So… I think I'll call you Sevvy, since I doubt very much I'd get away with it with my life intact at Hogwarts, calling the feared and esteemed Potions Master something as undignified as Sevvy." Harry giggled before coughing violently, masking Lucius' amused, muffled bark of laughter and 'Sevvy's' answering warning hiss.

Harry, after a couple minutes of trying to muffled the sounds in his bloody sheets so as to not alert his ever-alert Uncle, finally recovered enough to smile softly again at the newly-named cat. Harry wiped a bit of blood away that was trickling out of his mouth from the violent hacking coughs.

"You should be honored, being named after such a man." Harry smiled slightly, if a little pained. "He's very brave and honorable, saving my life again and again, every year, while Dumbledick didn't lift a finger. He's snarky and sarcastic, with a wickedly dark sense of humor. I seem to be the only bloody Gryffindor who gets his humor," Harry mused to himself. "But that might have something to do with the fact that I'm more Slytherin than Gryffindork… should've never argued with that bloody hat." Harry whispered softly. "Things would have been so very different…"

Lucius and Severus froze for an endless moment, completely and utterly shocked. Though, Severus mused, he really shouldn't be surprised, given how the boy was raised… and how well he hid it.

Lucius crawled over the boy and looked into his face, cocking his head to the side in confusion and shock, trying to determine in what the boy spoke was true.

It was.

Harry giggled again before reaching out and gently, hand trembling, petted the soft, white fur on Lucius' body. He practically purred with contentment, sending a scowl at Sevvy's knowing smirk.

"You… you remind me a bit of Draco, although your fur's whiter than his hair… maybe his father? Did you know, Mr. Malfoy, Lucius, I think his name was- hard to think right now- tried to kill me in second year?" Lucius winced, and Harry, thinking he'd done something wrong, quickly pulled his hand away before continuing. "He must have really liked his house-elf to lose control like that over losing him, so that makes me think that it wasn't Lucius hurting Dobby so badly. Maybe Mrs. Malfoy? She seemed coldly cruel the first time I saw her at the Quidditch World Cup, and it didn't seem like there was any love lost between her and the two male Malfoys.

But anyway," Harry pulled himself out of his ponderings, not noticing, again, the Slytherins' shocked looks at his perceptiveness and hidden intelligence. "You look a lot like him. White-blond, regal, impeccable. So I think I'll call you," He giggled again. "Lucy. If I wasn't so bloody terrified the first time, I think that I might have called him that to his face. As it was, at that moment at least, I valued my life."

Lucius whined and Severus flinched. They'd hoped the boy wasn't suicidal, but they really should have known… they knew that they would have been.

"Also," Harry continued, grinning impishly. "I wasn't about to let a wizard finish what the basilisk had started not an hour earlier."

Lucius yelped and Severus yowled quietly. Harry merely giggled again under their glares. They knew one thing for certain, that was one of the first things that they were going to interrogate the Raven about.

Harry grinned before swallowing dryly. Harry pulled himself off his makeshift bed and dragged himself across the floor until he came to the bloodied cot. Harry paused there and swallowed convulsively, before he wrenched his eyes away from blood and stains from when his Uncle had last- no, don't think about it!- and reached under the bed.

He pulled out the water and took a couple sparing sips, before eating three bites of the bread. That seemed to be all his stomach could handle however, and Harry set it aside as his face tinted green.

He grabbed the cheese and broke off two pieces, along with some bread, and offered it to the animals. They wanted to refuse it, but knew that, if they had any hope of rescuing Harry, they also needed to keep their strength up. So they reluctantly took the food, eating it quickly. Harry then poured some water in his hand, offering it to Lucy, then refilling it and offering to Sevvy.

After the sparse meal Harry put his supplies away. But, instead of back under the bed, he wiggled a loose floorboard away and revealed a stash of hidden and precious treasures. Severus caught sight of a photo album, an invisibility cloak, and Harry's wand, before the food was safely put away and the board replaced. Both hidden snakes were vaguely impressed with the boy's foresight.

Still seeing some water left over on his hand, Harry licked off what was left, not wishing to waste a drop. The sight of the boy so desperate and thankful for something so simple, so essential, caused both Severus and Lucius' hearts to clench painfully.

Harry dragged himself back to the nest of sheets, curling on his side again. Lucy settled against his back, and Sevvy his front. Harry absentmindedly began running his fingers through Sevvy's fur, watching the dust motes swirling in the dimming sunrays leaking through the metal bars on his window. As the golden light gradually shifted to red, and then a purple-blue, Harry allowed the black cat's soothing, rumbling purrs to lull him to a peaceful sleep.

It wasn't even three hours later that they were jerked roughly awake by the sound of pounding footsteps, then the locks on the door being systematically opened one by one. Lucy and Sevvy took off, and the tip of Sevvy's black tail only barely made it through the disillusionment charm before the door was slammed open with a bang; lack of doorknob on the room-side keeping a dent from forming in the wall, but also serving to only amplify the violent sound.

Harry flinched and cowered into his corner as Vernon- The Beast- lumbered his way into the room, sick, lascivious leer on his face.

"Stand up!" He snarled, kicking Harry in the side, and Severus and Lucius swore they could hear the broken bones grinding together.

Harry didn't make a sound, but obeyed immediately, though it was obvious that the effort cost him greatly.

"Strip." The Beast ordered, and again, only this time after a slight hesitation, Harry obeyed; sliding his torn shirt and the bloodied boxers that Dudley'd dressed him in to the rough, stained floor.

Harry stood there, trembling slightly, fighting not to cover himself, allowing The Beast and Severus and Lucius to see everything.

The old and new gruesome bruises, the bumps where his broken bones pressed against his skin, the scars and welts and blood that left not one inch of his body unmarred.

"Turn around and place your hands on the wall." And Severus and Lucius were forced to look away when confronted with the shredded mass of flesh that was his back, coupled with the crusted blood that coated his arse and thighs.

They heard a choked, muffled cry and their heads whipped back to see what happened, and were almost physically sick at the sight of The Beast shoving his tongue down Harry's throat while brutally thrusting three fingers in his again-bleeding arse. Anytime Harry would move to flinch away or take his hands from the wall, The Beast would take the hand tearing out Harry's hair and slam his head into the wall while simultaneously slamming his fingers further into Harry.

It wasn't long until Harry was so dazed that it was only the hold The Beast had on Harry's hair that kept him from collapsing to the floor.

It was ten minutes of this brutal treatment before they heard the television turn off and the sound of Dudley's footsteps up the stairs. The Beast bit down on Harry lip harshly and thrust his fingers three more times before stepping back and snickering.

"Be good for Dudley, freak." And then he let go of Harry's raven locks, and the shuddering boy fell to the floor in a heap.

The Beast opened the door just as Dudley reached it. He smiled and presented his three bloodied fingers to his son. "I prepared him plenty for you Duddykins, but he still should be plenty tight."

Dudley grinned cruelly. "Thank you, father. I shall be sure to make good use of your generous… gift."

The Beast laughed before clapping his son on the shoulder- leaving a three-fingered bloody handprint on his shirt- and leaving the room.

Before The Beast could fully depart, however, Dudley stopped him. "Could I get the keys for the freak's room, father? I'll be sure to lock up once I'm done with him."

The Beast nodded with a grin before fishing in his pocket and depositing a ring with seven keys into his son's palm. "Be sure you do Dudley. The old Bumbles fool told us that our payment would be cut by twenty percent if we let him escape again. It was lucky that he was caught before he could get too far."

Severus choked on his own breath while Lucius, himself, just ceased breathing altogether. Any thoughts, hopes, that Dumbledore didn't know about the abuse were shot through the window- a fiftieth story window. And worse, he was paying them for it.

Dudley just nodded seriously before putting the keys in his own pocket. "Thanks father. Sleep well. Mum's coming back from Ms. Perryweather's tomorrow night, correct?"

The Beast nodded before turning and leering at Harry one last time before leaving for good. Dudley came in the room and shut the door, but didn't fully relax until The Beast's footsteps fully receded and his door slammed shut.

"C'mon Har." Dudley hurried over and helped Harry off the floor and over to the sheets, trying to staunch the steady trickle of blood from the boy's arse.

Harry shuddered and whimpered, before looking imploringly up at Dudley as his face tinged green.

Dudley was barely in time to get Harry's waste bucket in front of him before Harry was throwing up the little he had in his stomach. He then spent another ten minutes dry heaving and coughing up bile. When he was done, tears running steadily down his face, Dudley put the bucket back in its corner.

"H-horrible…" Harry choked out. "He was inside m-me an' he was everywhere an' I couldn't… couldn't get a-awa-awa-away!" He sobbed this last part, curling into himself and shaking violently. "I dunno… I dunno how much l-longer I c'n do this Dud. I just… I just can't anymore…"

"Shhshh… I'm trying Har… I'm really trying. Here," Dudley emptied out his pockets, revealing three six-pence's, two screws, a keychain and a hoop earring. "Now that I've finally got the keys, you can create replicas… right?"

Harry sniffled and nodded, and Dudley handed him the key ring. Harry took a moment to examine all seven keys, before concentrating on the first (a gold colored square-headed one). Harry grabbed one of the screws and, with a brief glow of gold, transfigured it into an exact replica of the key.

Harry continued in this manner until, where there was once seven pieces of junk, were now seven completely identical keys to Harry's locks. Unfortunately, the effort seemed to have exhausted what little energy that the boy had, and he promptly passed out.

Dudley gave a small, sad smile and ran his fingers through his cousin's hair before grabbing the replicas and standing, making his way over to the bed.

Before the two animals could do much of anything, Dudley had reached under the bed and was prying away Harry's secret, loose floorboard. He pulled a ziplock bag out of his pocket and, after putting the keys into it and zipping it up, he stashed it in the folds of the invisibility cloak.

But, as Dudley was maneuvering the board back in place, Dudley's knee slipped on a puddle of blood on the floor and he fell on his stomach. Unfortunately, this caused Dudley's hands to shoot forwards in an effort to catch himself, and his hand caught Lucius' tail.

Dudley yelped before grabbing the appendage and dragging the growling, snarling Lucius out. Severus followed after, baring his sharp teeth at and piercing the shocked boy with his black, dangerous eyes. It only took a moment to recognize the animals, and when he did, Dudley was quick to remove his hands and hold them up in a placating gesture.

"M'sorry," Dudley pleaded plaintively. "I know that you probably won't understand me, but it wasn't me and I'm really sorry. I won't touch or harm you but- like Harry says- for Merlin's sake, be quiet."

Gradually the two calmed down and nodded. Dudley breathed a sigh of relief before smiling. "I should have known you were here. From what I remember, we really did a number on you; and Harry wouldn't have been able to let you go without healing you. He probably feels like it's his fault, like if he wasn't alive Dumbledore wouldn't be doing all this to us here in Little Winging. Hell, he blames himself for everything that happens in the wizarding world too, no matter that he's a kid being expected to do a job all the adult wizards are afraid of doing."

As he growls this out, he moves his cousin into a more comfortable position, trying valiantly to do everything he could without arousing suspicion. To Lucius and Severus' surprise, Dudley was actually doing a good job. Using an extra water jug he brought to wet a rag and clean the lacerations, rubbing healing salve and Neosporin to protect from infection, and even taking out plastic wire and a needle to sow together, with surprising skill, the most dangerous and gruesome wounds. He even redid the long cut on his front that Harry'd done himself with string.

As though sensing the staring animals, Dudley began explaining softly. "I researched survival techniques on the internet so that I could take care of Harry. Things like re-setting bones, stitching wounds, cleaning and guarding from infection. As much as I could find. I just had to make sure to delete the search history off of my laptop so that other-Dudley never knew."

Severus gasped. ~Lucius! I've got a plan! Oh thank MERLIN that I'm a Half-Blood...~

But, before Lucius could enquire further, Severus was streaking across the room and latching onto Dudley's pants leg and pulling insistently.

"W-what? What do you want? C'mon now, stop it I'm trying to help, can't you see that?" Dudley hissed in frustration and confusion.

Giving up, since no matter how hard he pulled he wasn't moving the still over-large boy an inch, Severus took off and slipped through the cat-flap in the door; following closely behind by a confused but loyal fox.

"Shit!" Dudley yelped quietly. He jumped up and tiptoed quietly to the door before easing it open, making sure not to open it enough that it creaked. To his shock, the black cat and silvery fox were waiting for him on the other side. As soon as he was through the door, the cat turned and took off down the hall before stopping outside of Dudley's cracked open door.

Dudley paused in confusion. Were they… were they trying to get him to follow them? Apparently so, since as soon as he got within a foot of his door, the two animals turned and slipped through the crack. Dudley entered as well and shut the door before turning on the light.

There they were, the strange cat and fox. The fox was sitting on the floor next to his desk chair, while the cat… well, the cat was sitting on his closed laptop, tapping it twice every three seconds in an obvious, if not odd, message.

As soon as Dudley sat in the chair, the fox hopped in his lap before leaping to the table, sitting beside the cat who had now removed himself from his laptop but continued to tap the top.

Dudley sighed before relenting, opening it and powering it on. After entering the password and waiting for it to load, he sat back and looked to the cat for instructions (feeling not a little bit barmy).

The cat leaned over and tapped the icon labeled 'Microsoft Office Word'. Dudley blinked in shock before opening it. As soon as this was accomplished, the cat stood before the laptop, blocking Dudley's view, and began hitting the keys.

And then, after about five minutes, to Dudley's shock, the cat stepped away to reveal a message:

MY NAME IS SEVERUS SNAPE, AND I'M HERE TO HELP HARRY. I'M A WIZARD WHO HAS BEEN DISGUISED AS A CAT TO ASCERTAIN HARRY'S CONDITION. MY FRIEND HERE, LUCIUS, IS THE SAME.

Shock quickly morphed to suspicion and fear. Dudley jumped up and grabbed his pocketknife before facing the now-wary animals. "Where are your allegiances? With Voldyshorts, or with Dumbledick?"

The cat- Severus Snape- leaned over and busied himself with the keyboard again.

WITH THE DARK LORD. THERE ARE MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS, MOST OF WHICH I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN AT THE MOMENT, BUT KNOW THIS. NOT IS AS IT SEEMS, AND TOM IS VERY MUCH CONCERNED FOR HARRY POTTER, AND SENT US TO MAKE SURE SOME SUSPICIONS OF HIS.

Dudley sighed in relief before stowing the knife, much to the animals' shock. "Alright, good. It's about some time someone took notice. Now, I don't have much time," Dudley's eyes flickered to the computer clock now reading 11:37pm. "And I gather that you have a plan to get Harry out of here. Let's hear it."

Severus nodded and began typing furiously; they didn't have a minute to lose.

THERE'S A SQUIB WHO LIVES A COUPLE HOUSES DOWN NAMED ARABELLA FIGG. HER FIREPLACE IS CONNECTED TO THE FLOO NETWORK AND WE CAN ESCAPE TO THE DARK LORD THAT WAY. I'VE BEEN THERE ONCE BEFORE, AND SHE KEEPS THE POWDER ON THE MANTEL IN A HORRID GREEN POT WITH A JAPANESE CAT ON THE FRONT. NOW, REMEMBER THIS: YOU NEED TO THROW THE POWDER IN THE FIREPLACE AND YELL OUT "SLYTHERIN MANOR TOM RIDDLE'S DRAWING ROOM; PASSWORD: PARSELTONGUE". THEN, STEP INTO THE FLAMES. WE'LL MAGICALLY BE TRANSPORTED TO SAFETY.

"Okay, lemme think… I think I can do that, but it'll have to wait until Thursday. The potion kicks in again at midnight and I'll be a right bastard until tomorrow night at midnight. As for Vernon… lessee… Oh! OH, PERFECT!" Dudley gasped and slapped his hand over his mouth, but all they heard was Vernon snort and the bed creaking as he rolled over, before the snoring began anew. They all sighed in relief, before Dudley continued, whispering quickly as their time became shorter.

"Vernon has a meeting with the company heads on Thursday. He'll be leaving early in the morning and won't be back 'til evening. It's perfect; we won't have to worry about him at all. And with the keys that we finally replicated, I can get Harry out without too much difficulty. And I can always throw a fit for a new video game to get Petunia out of the house... Oh, thank God… Merlin… whoever; we can finally get out of here…" Dudley let forth a shuddery, relieved breath before sinking back down in his seat. "Thank you… thank you so much…"

Severus and Lucius hopped down from the table, their mission accomplished. Severus meowed softly to gain Dudley's attention, before motioning and pawing at the closed door. Dudley jumped up, seeing the time- 11:53pm- and whipped out a piece of paper before penning a quick note. After finishing and deleting the Word Document without saving, Dudley quickly tiptoed back to Harry's room; following, once again, the two animals.

After rearranging the ratted, sparse blanket around Harry's unconscious, prone form and placing the folded up note beside him on the floor; Dudley nodded once to the once again hidden Lucius and Severus and shut the door.

They heard seven clicks as the locks were engaged, then the quiet shuffling of Dudley back to his room, and then silence.

~C'mon Lucius, we may as well go to sleep. We'll need all the rest we can get to survive tomorrow.~ Severus sighed, mouth opening in an exhausted yawn.

Lucius just nodded in silence before curling up with his friend beneath the rickety bed.

He knew Severus was right, just as he knew that it wasn't as easy as it sounded. It would take all their power to retain their lives and sanity throughout the next twenty-four hours… if not theirs, then the poor, broken, beaten child laying across the room.