Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.
Thanks to all those who reviewed. Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!!
Warning! This chapter contains scenes which some may find disturbing! Also it is a very emotional chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Eight
The morning after his duel with four Slytherins, Damien walked into the Great Hall to a deafening round of applause. The entire Gryffindor table was standing while clapping and whistling loudly. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table was joining in as well. The Slytherin table was sitting quietly, glaring coldly at the others, silently promising retribution. The four Slytherins who took a beating from a fourth year were conveniently missing from breakfast.
Damien grinned from ear to ear. He walked to his table and got clapped on the back by many Gryffindors. Words of praise rang around him.
"Blimey, Damien! I didn't know you had it in you." Dean said while shaking his hand.
"You took on four Slytherins! Four! It's unbelievable." Jason, a fellow fourth year said, his eyes wide with admiration.
Damien didn't know what to say to them. He continued to grin like an idiot and finally reached his seat through the crowd. He sat down next to Ginny and Ron who were grinning like mad as well.
"Well, check out the new celebrity!" Ron said clapping him on the back. Damien blushed and ducked his head, making Ginny laugh
"Hey, Damien. You need to teach us those killer moves!" Mark, a fifth year said.
"Um, yeah sure." Damien said, unsure of how else to respond.
He caught a glance of Harry sitting at the table, a few seats away. He had a small smile on his face at the sight of everyone praising Damien. He gave Damien a discreet wink before looking away. Damien looked away as well and focused on his breakfast. He had yet to tell the others that he had made up with Harry. The person he was dreading telling was Ginny. How would she take the news?
It was lunch time before Damien got a hold of the other three. He firstly had to go over his fight with the Slytherins before they let him talk about anything else. Even Hermione was impressed with his wand work and duelling abilities.
However, when Damien told them how he spoke to Harry afterwards, all three hushed up and didn't interrupt even once. Damien avoided looking at Ginny throughout the retelling. When he finished, Hermione was the first to speak.
"That's wonderful, Damy! I'm so happy Harry's forgiven you."
Damien could feel his face heat up. He looked hesitantly up at Ginny. She was looking at him, a smile on her face.
"Ginny, I'm sorry. I tried to tell him that you didn't want to be a part of it but he, well, he didn't want to discuss it. He's still really mad, even with me." He tried explaining.
"Its okay, Damien. I'm glad he's made up with you. I know how close you both are. He was missing you, that much was obvious. It doesn't really matter about the rest of us. You're his family. It's better that he made up with you as opposed to any of us." She told him in a strong voice.
Damien nodded his head, not wanting to say anything about how much Harry was obviously missing Ginny. Why was he so stubborn?
"So did your mum set you any detention regarding your duel?" Hermione asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. A week's detention cleaning all the greasy cauldrons in the potions lab." Damien said dismissively. "I've had worse."
The rest silently agreed. Damien was as prankster and usually got into plenty of trouble because of it.
"Before you go, Damy. Go over what you did to Malfoy again." Ron said with a grin.
Damien laughed before going into detail about how he made Malfoy skip and jig all the way to the dungeons.
xxx
The days went by and although Harry and Damien's relationship went back to normal, Harry continued to ignore the other three. Damien found himself going back to what he used to do last year. Spend one meal time with Harry and the other with his friends. It was only fair. He didn't even mention to Harry about possibly forgiving the others. He had only just got back in Harry's good books. He wasn't going to do anything to jeopardise his relationship with Harry again.
He had seen Draco Malfoy glower at him from the Slytherin table many times. He wasn't the only one. Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and many other Slytherins were making faces at him at meal times. But it seemed that was all they were willing to do.
It was on a Friday evening, after dinner time that Draco Malfoy confronted Damien.
"Potter! We need to talk!" he said, coming to stand before him.
"Talk then." Ron said, standing next to Damien defensively.
"Was I talking to you, Weasley? No, I don't think I was." Draco answered. He turned to Damien. "A quick word?"
Damien nodded his head and told Ron and Hermione to go and that he would be fine.
"Let's go outside." Malfoy said and walked out of the main doors, letting Damien follow him.
When they reached the Great Lake, Draco turned to face him, a scowl on his face.
"What do you want to talk about?" Damien asked innocently.
"Drop the act! You know what I'm about to say." Draco snapped at him.
"Really? I don't think so. Why don't you spell it out for me, or better yet, why don't you dance it all out." Damien laughed at the look of outrage on the Slytherins face.
"This is exactly what I want to talk to you about. Stop your stupid stories about how you beat me. You know as well as I do that you won because I let you win. If you weren't Harry's brother I would have hexed you so bad, you would have seen stars for a week!" Draco hissed, pointing a finger at him.
Damien rolled his eyes at Draco. He was about to answer him when the light caught Draco's hand and Damien noticed the silver ring on his finger. A very familiar black and silver ring. Damien stared at it in surprise. He recognised it as Harry's ring. It was actually Harry's private pensive which he had transfigured into a ring. Damien looked at Draco angrily.
"What do you think you're doing with that?" he yelled at Draco.
Draco looked confusedly at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"That's Harry's ring!" Damien snarled at him, pointing a finger at the black ring.
Draco looked at the ring and then moved his hand, shielding the ring behind his robes.
"So?" he asked.
"What do you mean by 'so?' Take it off!" Damien said.
"He gave it to me." Draco retorted.
"Yeah, right! There is no way Harry gave you that ring!" Damien responded. "Take it off!" Damien said, pointing his wand at Draco menacingly.
Draco smirked, eying the wand. He pulled his own wand out and held it tightly.
"You don't scare me, Potter! Harry gave me this ring. It's mine!"
Damien didn't believe him. He knew how much that ring meant to Harry. Why would he give it to Draco?
"I'm telling you one last time, Malfoy! Take it off!" Damien warned.
The blond Slytherin only glowered in response, gripping his wand tighter.
It all happened in an instant. Damien fired a Pertificus Totalus curse at Draco but he blocked it and sent a disarming spell at Damien. The wand nearly slipped from Damien's fingers but he managed to grip onto it. He sent another spell at Draco, furious at him. Draco sent a curse at Damien at the same time. Both spells hit each other in mid air and a blast of yellow light erupted from the collision. The jet of yellow light hit Damien before he could properly grip onto his wand and bring up his shield.
Damien felt his whole body jerk. He struggled to breathe, it felt like he was being squeezed through a narrow tube. His vision blurred and he felt his whole body spin, like he was falling. Suddenly the feeling stopped. His vision cleared and the unseen pressure on his chest lifted, letting him breathe properly again.
Blinking to clear his vision, Damien looked around at his surroundings. He felt his mouth dry as he saw nothing but white walls. He looked up and saw a large hole, as if he were looking up from the bottom of a deep well. Suddenly he knew where he was.
"Oh, no!" he whispered as he looked around himself in shock.
"You idiot!"
Damien spun around to see a very angry looking Draco staring at him.
"What happened?" Damien asked, confused to see Draco standing next to him.
"Your spell backfired! It threw us both into the pensive!" Draco told him.
"My spell?!" Damien exclaimed. "How do you know it was my spell? Maybe it was your clumsy hex that got us here!"
Draco glared at Damien.
"Let's get out of here before someone finds us here." Draco said, looking up at the opening in the ceiling.
Damien had to agree. Harry had just begun to speak to him again. If he found him inside his private pensive then, well it wasn't something he wanted to think about.
"How do we get out of here?" Damien asked. He had only been inside a pensive once before in his life and at that time Professor Dumbledore was with him. He had guided him in and out of the pensive. He had no idea how to get out by himself.
Draco looked at him and for a moment Damien thought he was going to go and leave him behind. But Draco only made a wild gesture towards him, telling him to come nearer. Grudgingly and hating the fact that he didn't know how to leave the pensive himself, Damien moved towards the Slytherin.
Draco grabbed him roughly by the arm and looked towards the ceiling again. Damien waited but nothing seemed to be happening. The grip on his arm was starting to hurt now as Draco seemed to grow frustrated.
After a few minutes Damien spoke to him.
"Is something supposed to be happening right now?"
Draco tore his eyes away from the ceiling and glared at him. He turned towards the ceiling again, focusing on getting out. A few more minutes passed and nothing happened.
"Great! Just great!" Draco yelled, letting go of Damien.
"What? What's wrong?" Damien asked.
"We're stuck!" Draco told him.
"What?!" Damien yelled. "How can we be stuck?"
"I don't know! It's probably because of your stupid botched up spell!" Draco yelled angrily.
"My spell? It was probably your…oh, forget it!" Damien hissed.
Both boys stood in the middle of the white room, purposefully not looking at each other, both worried about how they were going to leave and what would happen if a certain someone found them.
"What do we do now?" Damien asked hesitantly.
"We'll just have to wait until whatever spell is blocking our exit lifts." Draco told him.
"How long will that take?" he asked.
"How am I supposed to know? Can't you just sit with your trap shut!?" Draco hissed angrily at him.
"Don't shout at me, Malfoy! It's your fault!" Damien retorted.
"My fault!" Draco yelled.
"If you hadn't stolen Harry's ring, this would never have happened!" Damien told him angrily.
"For the last time, I never stole anything from Harry! He gave this to me when he ran away from Riddle Manor so I could store memories of meeting him!"
Damien stared at him. "He did what?"
"I couldn't risk getting caught meeting Harry when everyone was out looking for him. Harry gave me his ring so I could remove my memories of meeting with him and store them in here safely." Draco explained.
"Oh" that was all Damien could say. He had just jumped to the wrong conclusion and as a result he along with Draco was stuck in Harry's pensive.
Damien sat on the ground. Everywhere he looked there was nothing but blank white walls. Even the ground he was sitting on was white. It made Damien feel very uncomfortable. He tried to imagine himself somewhere else. Somewhere comfortable and safe, like his home.
Damien didn't notice it right away. He only realised what was happening when he heard Draco curse loudly. He looked up and saw the white walls were being replaced by dark coloured walls. He was on his feet instantly. The room they were currently trapped in was slowly changing. Dark coloured walls with portraits were replacing the blank walls. The ground under their feet was replaced by a thick expensive carpet. Torches hung from the walls, lighting the room. Large arch windows appeared with dark green drapes.
"What…?" Damien started, looking dazedly around himself.
Draco spun around to face him, a look of outrage on his face.
"What did you do?!" he demanded.
"I didn't do anything!" Damien cried.
"You must have done something! All Harry's memories were locked! You unlocked them somehow." Draco told him.
"How could I do that?" Damien asked.
"I don't know how, but you've done it somehow! This is one of Harry's memories!" Draco told him, looking around himself, an expression of unease on his face.
"How do you know that?" Damien asked.
Draco looked at him, his grey eyes locked with Damien's.
"This is Riddle Manor." He told him. Damien looked around at his surroundings, feeling his heart thump wildly in his chest.
"Oh, no!" he whispered as he realised that he and Draco were stuck in Harry's private memory.
Just then he saw the door open and a young boy entered the room. Damien watched in mixed fear and curiosity as a young boy, around the age of nine or ten, walked into the room. There was no doubt as to who the boy was. The messy dark locks and vibrant green eyes couldn't belong to anyone other than Harry. Damien felt a bizarre feeling erupt in his chest at the sight of the young Harry. He was undeniably cute, dressed in bottle green robes and clutching a small silver mask in his hand. Harry looked around the room, his big green eyes scanning the room, searching for someone. Damien looked around the room as well. There was no one else in the room, other than Harry and them.
The nine year old Harry sighed and walked inside, closing the door behind him. He fiddled with his mask, letting the sliver material run through his fingers. Damien looked over to see Draco watching the memory as well. Both boys knew that they shouldn't be watching Harry's memories but they couldn't do anything about the situation. It wasn't as if they could stand there with their eyes shut tight and hands pressed against their ears to stop seeing or listening to the memories.
"We, we shouldn't be watching this." Damien whispered. Why he was whispering he didn't know.
"I know. He'll kill us for sure." Draco said, his eyes fixed on the young Harry.
Despite this, both boys continued to watch as the nine year old Harry walked into the room and sat down on the sofa. His hands were still fidgeting with his mask. Damien was finding hard to look away. He had wondered what Harry must have looked like when he was younger. His parents had lots of pictures of a young Damien all over their house. The only pictures he had seen of Harry were when he was only a baby, under a year old. To see Harry like this felt very odd.
Harry had just looked around at the door when a voice echoed in the room, making Draco and Damien jump.
"You're early."
Harry looked around, as did Damien and Draco, and saw the person who had spoken. Damien felt his blood run cold when he saw the tall figure standing near the wall, with a large portrait of a serpent. His red eyes were fixed on Harry, his bony hands clasped behind his back. The expression he was wearing was blank and cold. It made Damien's skin crawl to see him standing there.
Harry stood up from the sofa and stared at Voldemort. Even though Voldemort was looking at Harry rather blankly, Harry gave him a wide smile.
"Better than being late." He answered in his childish voice.
Damien gasped at the way he answered. He was obviously blaming Voldemort for being late. Damien didn't think many people could blame Voldemort for something like that to his face and live to talk about it. But to his immense surprise, Voldemort's expression softened and something like a smile tugged at his lips. His red eyes seemed to shine with an emotion Damien was certain could be confused with pride.
"I had matters to care of." he said.
Harry cocked his head to one side, giving Voldemort a questioning look. Damien recognised the action. Harry still did that when he wanted to ask a question but decided not to actually ask it.
"Are you ready?" Voldemort asked, walking towards Harry.
"Yes, sir" Harry answered.
"Come along then." Voldemort led Harry towards the door. Harry quickly put on the silver mask and followed Voldemort.
Damien let out a breath of relief as the room began to dissolve. The memory was over. Now hopefully the room would go back to being nothing more than blank white walls. He looked over at Draco and saw the look of relief on his face as well.
But when the surroundings cleared, the two boys found themselves in the same room as before. The sofa that a nine year old Harry had been sitting on was still there but now it held an older Harry. Damien examined the teen before him. Harry looked to be around thirteen years old. His hair had become even messier and Damien could see the results of Harry's training regime through his dark robes. Harry was currently sprawled out on the sofa, looking quite comfortable, reading a book. Damien glanced across the room and saw an annoyed looking Voldemort sitting at his desk, looking through some papers. His eyes were clouded and the frown he was wearing showed that what he was reading was making him irate.
Harry wasn't paying any attention to Voldemort. He looked quite happy, lying on the sofa, reading. Damien found the scene rather odd. He never thought it was possible for anyone to be this relaxed when in Voldemort's company. He glanced over at Draco and saw a look on his face that he never thought he would witness. Draco had a sad smile on his face as he looked at Harry's carefree image.
Harry put down his book and reached over to the table that held a jug of water. He poured himself a drink. Once he had drained the goblet he put it back on the table. The goblet made a clinking noise as it touched the table's surface.
"Harry, I'm trying to figure something out. Keep it down." Voldemort said without even looking up at Harry.
Harry looked at him and responded with a 'yes sir'. Harry settled down and picked up his book again. A few minutes passed in silence before Harry let out a soft sigh.
"Seriously, Harry! Breathe louder!" Voldemort snapped at him, raising his head to look at the teen.
Harry looked up from his book.
"What's the matter, father? Haven't had anyone to crucio lately?" he asked evenly, with a smirk.
Voldemort put down his quill and glared at Harry who in return was still smirking openly.
"Tell me Harry, why do you insist on annoying me with your company when I'm trying to plan out strategies?"
"Because that way, when your strategies don't work you can blame them on my company." Harry responded.
The corners of Voldemort's lips quirked but he forced himself not to smile. But Harry already knew he had made him almost smile.
"Just get out!" he said in a playful tone.
"But I'm comfortable." Harry responded with an equally playful whine.
Voldemort lowered his head back to study his papers. Harry grinned and stretched before lifting up his book again. Voldemort raised his hand and the door flew open. Harry snapped his head around to look at the door. The next moment the sofa that Harry was sitting on began rising off the floor.
"Hey!" Harry yelled as he was still sitting on the sofa. Voldemort was still studying his papers, his hand raised in the air, directing the floating sofa.
Damien watched in amusement as the sofa carried Harry over to the door and tipped him out into the hallway. Harry landed with a thud. He sat on the floor, looking incensed with his very embarrassing exit.
"And stay out." Voldemort said with a smirk, lifting his head slightly to see Harry's flushed face.
The doors to the room closed, blocking Harry out and instantly dissolving the scene before Damien's eyes. Damien felt his head spin as the images before him flashed and whirled around him. It slowed down and the first thing Damien noticed was the bright sunlight. He blinked as the bright light momentarily blinded him. When his eyes adjusted he saw that he and Draco were outside. It took less than a few seconds to work out where they were. They were standing in Harry's massive training ground.
"Come on! Block me!" came Voldemort's voice.
Damien turned around to see Harry and Voldemort with their wands pointed at each other. Again, Damien was surprised to see the small smile on Voldemort's face. He had honestly thought the Dark Lord would be incapable of smiling. He was firing curses at Harry which he was easily blocking.
"At least make it challenging." Harry said while deflecting the curses.
"Don't get cocky with me!" Voldemort replied as he fired three simultaneous curses at the twelve year old.
Harry blocked the first two before jumping out of the way for the third.
"You have to admit, father. You are getting a little slow now." Harry smirked as he blocked another onslaught of curses. "It's probably the age thing."
Voldemort stopped and looked at Harry, a strange gleam in his eyes.
"Are you calling me old?" he asked.
"You may be immortal but that doesn't stop you from ageing." Harry teased.
Voldemort squared his shoulders before sending three curses at Harry. Harry blocked them and then turned to him with a cheeky smile.
"Too slow."
Voldemort smirked and sent a non verbal curse at Harry which threw Harry off his feet. He landed flat on his back.
"Too arrogant!" Voldemort said, grinning at Harry's sprawled form.
Harry jumped back up onto his feet and aimed his wand at him.
"Okay, I was being lenient up until now, but now everything goes." Harry said.
"As you wish." Voldemort answered calmly.
The two began duelling, each blocking the others curses with efficiency. Damien watched with admiration and amusement. Harry was smiling throughout the duel and the sight brought a smile to Damien's face as well. He realised at that moment that he hardly saw Harry smile anymore. He had seen Harry give small empty smiles, especially to his parents but the deep smile he was sharing with Voldemort just now was something he hadn't seen for a long time. The knowledge that Harry was definitely happier with Voldemort made Damien's eyes burn. He pushed that thought aside. He wasn't going to show such emotions, not when Draco Malfoy was standing next to him.
The memory faded just as Harry collapsed on the ground, laughing and conjuring a white flag. The colours mixed and blended with one another and blurred everything from view. Finally it cleared up and Damien saw the huge room with the enormous bed. He knew he was in Harry's room.
"But I don't see why I have to be the one who does it?" A voice caught Damien's attention. He scanned the substantially sized room and saw two young boys standing near the window.
Damien instantly turned to see the expression Draco was wearing as he watched his own eight year old self in the memory, standing next to an eight year old Harry. Draco was staring at his younger self, a red tinge appeared on his cheeks and he was avoiding Damien's eyes. Damien grinned as he saw the eight year old Malfoy roll his eyes at Harry's question and launch into an explanation. His usual slicked back hair was falling around his eyes, his pointed face was just as pale as usual but his grey eyes seemed to sparkle.
"I already told you, Harry. If I go to get it and get caught I would be slaughtered on the spot! But if you go to get it and by chance get caught you can easily get out of it." Draco explained.
"How?" Harry asked with a frown.
"You know, that thing you always do to get out of trouble."
At Harry's blank look, Draco grabbed at his forehead and made a face, scrunching up his eyes and moaning pathetically.
"Ahh! It hurts, I'm sorry, father, ohh, it really hurts!" he said in between moans.
"Yeah, because that's what I do." Harry said annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest, while fixing Draco with a glare.
Draco dropped his hand away from his forehead and looked at Harry with an equal glare.
"Well, do you want to get the Felix Felicis or not!" he asked.
Harry sighed and looked at the door.
"Okay, but if I get caught sneaking the lucky potion out of father's lab, I'm blaming it all on you!" he said.
"Fine! If you want to lose the only friend you have then you can just do that!" Draco told him evenly.
Harry only made a face at him in response and stalked to the door. The memory faded as soon as Harry left the room. Damien and Draco were caught in a whirlwind of colours and blurred images. Damien found himself wondering what other memories were stored here. He knew Harry only stored memories he didn't want anyone else knowing about. All that Damien had seen so far were pleasant memories. Before he could stop himself, Damien wondered what unpleasant memories Harry had stored here.
The swirling colours slowed down and then finally stopped. Damien had to blink a few times to clear his vision. When the room came into focus Damien couldn't help but gasp. They were standing in the living room of Godric's Hollow. Draco was looking around the room with confusion. It was clear from his expression that he didn't know where he was. Damien knew what he was about to see and wished with all his might that somehow the memory would stop. But the memory didn't stop and soon enough both boys saw a small bespectacled boy sitting in the corner. Damien felt his heart ache as he saw the young Harry. He looked barely three years old. His eyes were hidden behind black framed glasses which were being held together by sellotape. One of his hands was bandaged and he was hugging that hand close to his chest. He was sitting with his back towards the wall, his head lowered, eyes fixed to the ground.
"Merlin!" Draco whispered, obviously in shock.
Damien looked over at Draco. He was looking quite pale, his eyes fixed on the young Harry. Damien shuddered as he anticipated what was to come. Soon enough a shout was heard coming from the kitchen.
"Boy!"
Harry looked up at the sound and Damien could see the pain and fever in his eyes. Harry slowly and painfully got to his feet. He bit his lower lip as he straightened his back. He could see the fear on Harry's face as he walked shakily to the kitchen. Damien had never seen Harry look that afraid.
Harry opened the door and walked into the kitchen, to face his parents. Damien was bracing himself for this but the sight still took his breath away. Sitting at the table was James and Lily. Damien knew it wasn't really his parents but the sight still made his stomach twist in knots. Draco seemed to realise what was going on as well. He suddenly reached for Damien's hand and grabbed it, startling him.
"We have to leave!" he hissed at him, purposefully not looking at Harry and the fake Potters.
He looked, instead up to the ceiling, which was now the ceiling of the kitchen at Godric's Hollow. He closed his eyes and concentrated on getting out. But after a few moments, he opened his eyes, cursing. They still couldn't get out.
"You've learnt your lesson, haven't you?" James' voice brought the two boys attention back to the scene before them.
Harry nodded slowly and said in a quiet, fearful voice.
"Yes, sir."
"Good! Now go to your room and stay there. We're having company over and the last thing they want to see is your ugly face!" James said hatefully.
Damien felt like someone had downed him with icy cold water. His dad would never speak like that, with anyone never mind his own child.
Harry moved away from the table and started making his way across the room before Lily stopped him.
"Wait, come back here." Her voice was devoid of the usual warm tone.
Harry obediently walked back.
"Yes, mum." He asked, his eyes fixed on the ground before her.
"Take off your shirt." She instructed.
Damien and Draco watched in growing horror as Harry slowly took of his shirt, hissing in pain the whole time. Damien felt his stomach lurch and bile rose in his throat as he saw the bloodied back of his three year old brother.
"Fuck!" Draco whispered from his side.
Harry's back was littered with welts and bruises. The blood had dried, showing that the punishment was a day or two old. Harry was swaying a little as he stood eyes still down cast.
Lily roughly turned him around, making the little boy gasp in pain. She wrenched his bandaged hand away from his chest and this time Harry cried out.
"Shut up! I'm trying to see what damage is done." Lily snapped at him.
She dug her fingers into Harry's small frame, twisting and turning him around so she could examine his bruised torso and torn up back. When she finished she pushed him back, making him stumble.
"You're fine! Go upstairs. I'll heal your back in a few hours."
Damien stared in horror at her. How could she do that? Harry needed medical attention right away. He was clearly in agony. He was bruised all over and the injuries on his back would definitely get infected if they weren't treated right away.
Harry picked up the shirt from the ground and slowly made his way out of the room. He walked slowly out of the living room. Draco and Damien followed him up the stairs. Damien felt Goosebumps erupt all over him. He was walking in his home and yet he knew that it wasn't his home. It was a hellish version of the home he had grown up loving. He watched Harry reach the landing and expected him to walk to the second room on the right but Harry walked across to the set of stairs leading to the attic. Damien and Draco followed him and found themselves in a cold creepy looking attic. It was so cold in here that Damien could see Harry's breath mist in the air as he breathed. Harry shivered and headed towards the small cot in the corner. He lay down, groaning in pain as his back touched the bed. He wrapped the tattered blanket over his small shivering frame and curled into a small ball. Only when his face was hidden did the child start to cry. His sobs echoed in the empty attic and Damien could feel his heart break as he listened to them.
The memory faded to be replaced with another one. The two boys found themselves in the same place, the attic. Harry was lying on the small cot, his breathing sounded heavy and strained, like he was having difficulty taking breaths. Damien neared the cot and saw Harry's pale complexion and glazed eyes. He was ill. Damien walked over to his brother's side and sat down next to him. He could feel the fever by just looking at him.
Suddenly the door opened and James stalked inside. Harry pushed himself to sit upright in his bed. His eyes fixed on his dad.
"Why are you still in bed?" he asked harshly.
Harry gulped and looked at him fearfully.
"I…I'm not f-feeling we-" He was cut off as James grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him from the bed.
Damien cried out as he saw Harry hit the ground. James pulled the ill, young boy up by his hair and forced him to stand. His legs shook but Harry managed to stay on his feet.
Damien had tears in his eyes and it didn't matter to him anymore if Draco was there or not. He cried as he saw James beat the three year old Harry. Every kick and punch that landed on him made Damien cry out as if it were him receiving the beating. The physical blows threw Harry to the ground. He curled into a ball to protect his stomach and chest. Damien screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to see anymore. He could still hear the beating go on and James' shouts of 'worthless' and 'bloody squib!' rang in the room. Harry was quiet, holding in his cries of pain. The beating finally stopped and Damien shakily opened his eyes. He saw Harry on the ground, blood leaking out of his nose and mouth. His glasses lay broken on the ground, one of his eyes was bruised and had started to swell. Damien looked over to see Draco standing where he was. His fists were clenched tight and the look of fury on his face was frightening.
"Get your worthless self downstairs. You mother has been slaving all day doing your chores! I won't stand for it!" James shouted at Harry.
He left before Harry could get up. Damien watched through tear filled eyes as Harry tried to get up but groaned at the pain. He lay back down, wrapping his arms around his torso. There were tears running down his cheeks and the sound of his strained breathing was making Damien cry even harder. Draco turned his face away from the sight, his back turned to Damien and Harry.
Damien walked over to the young child, lying broken on the floor. He reached towards Harry, wanting to comfort him, forgetting for an instant that this had already happened years ago and nothing he could do would change it. Before his hand could reach Harry, the memory started to fade.
"Oh God, please no more of this! I can't watch. Please let it change. Let the next memory be of Harry in comfort and in no pain, please." Damien whispered to himself.
The next memory they found themselves in was not in Godric's Hollow. Damien recognised the room as Harry's bedroom in Riddle Manor. Harry was sitting on the window seat, his face turned to the window. Damien heard a gasp come from Draco. He understood why. Sitting next to Harry was a dark haired woman. Damien recognised her as Bellatrix Lestrange.
"You have to sleep now, Harry. He'll be back soon and he won't like it that you're still up!" she told him.
Harry, who looked around the age of six, was sitting with his arms around his knees, eyes fixed to the window.
"Go away, Bella." He said in a soft voice.
"Not until you go to bed." She responded.
Harry turned to look at her. Damien could see a sort of haunted look in his eyes.
"I can't sleep. Not until I see him to make sure he's alright."
"I assure you he'll be fine. He's not known as the most powerful wizard, the Dark Lord, for nothing you know. Now go to bed." Bella tried to get Harry up but the six year old wouldn't budge.
"Fine, but when he comes home to find you out of bed, you can explain to him. Don't blame me." She said annoyed.
"Who else should I blame?"
The voice made both Harry and Bella snap their heads to look at the door. Voldemort was standing at the door, looking at both with obvious annoyance.
Both got to their feet and Bella dropped to her knees almost instantly. Harry looked visibly relieved. He smiled at Voldemort while he looked at Harry blankly.
"Leave." He ordered and Bella hurried from the room, her head bowed the whole time.
Voldemort studied the boy before approaching him.
"Why are you still up?" he asked, his voice sounded cold to Damien.
"I couldn't sleep." Harry answered.
"Were you disturbed by nightmares again?" Voldemort asked, his tone warming up considerably.
Harry shook his head and looked at Voldemort, uncertainty clear from his expression.
"I...I was worried about you. You hadn't come back and I thought…I thought…that…"
"That I had left you?"
Harry nodded, his eyes tearing up at the very thought.
Damien watched closely as Voldemort placed a finger under Harry's chin and gently tilted his face so he could see into his eyes. There was no hostility towards Harry at all. He spoke in a different voice. It wasn't cold or full of hate. It was quieter and sounded almost…human.
"I will never leave you. I have already told you this many times. I don't like repeating myself, you know that, don't you Harry?"
Harry nodded his head and replied with "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"What have I told you about saying sorry all the time? Harry, look at me. You are my son. You are the son of Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard. You are the heir to Salazar Slytherin. You do not apologise, not even to me!"
He lifted a finger and gently touched his wet cheek.
"I don't ever want to see you with tears in your eyes. Crying is a sign of weakness and my son is not weak, is he?"
Harry shook his head, wiping away the last of his tears.
"No, sir. I'm not weak." He repeated.
Voldemort nodded and looked at Harry. His eyes were taking in everything about the young boy before him.
"Why were you afraid that I won't come back?" He asked after a few moments.
"I got scared when everyone else came back from the raid and you didn't. I asked Lucius Malfoy but he didn't tell me what happened to you and I thought that maybe you were hurt." Harry looked closely at Voldemort before adding worriedly, "You're not hurt are you, father?"
Voldemort looked thrown by the simple question. His red eyes shone with an emotion Damien never thought he would see in the world's most evil and hated wizard.
"No, son. I am not hurt. I am perfectly fine." He answered.
The memory faded just as Harry smiled back at Voldemort.
Damien felt Draco hold onto his arm, a lot gentler this time, and suddenly he was jerked upwards. Damien felt his whole body jerk and he landed on his hands and knees. He looked up and saw the evening sky. He looked around and saw the Great Lake. They had managed to come out of the pensive. Damien looked shakily at Draco. The blond Slytherin was brushing his robes and looking around at the deserted grounds. He looked at Damien but found there was nothing he could say to him. Draco turned and walked away, leaving Damien still sitting on the ground.
xxx
Damien opened the door to his dad's quarters and saw Harry sitting on the sofa, a book in his hand. Damien noticed right away that he didn't look half as comfortable as he had when he was lying on the sofa in Voldemort's chamber.
"Hey, there you are. Where have you been?" Harry greeted him, putting down his book.
Damien didn't answer. He walked inside and stopped short as he saw James sitting at his desk, evidently marking essays.
"Hey, Damy." He greeted warmly.
Damien couldn't help it. The moment he saw his dad's face the memory of him beating a three year old Harry came rushing at him. He knew it wasn't really his dad who had hurt Harry but he couldn't help the emotions that came at the sight of him.
"Damy?"
He turned to the sound of Harry's questioning voice and saw him looking at him in concern. The memory of Harry as a child, lying curled up in a freezing attic, bleeding and hurt and horribly neglected came back to Damien. It was too much to take. He ran to Harry, embracing him tightly, thinking about the small three year old he had seen being abused horrendously.
His hot tears fell on Harry's neck, making him grow more concerned. Harry wrapped an arm around Damien, looking puzzled and worried. He looked over to his dad, who was hurrying over to him. Damien's shoulders shook as he sobbed and clung to Harry tightly.
"Damien? Damien what's wrong? What happened?" both James and Harry asked but Damien didn't answer.
At last, Harry managed to pull the tearful boy away and held onto him.
"Damien, what happened? Why are you so upset?" he asked, growing fearful at what must have happened to upset him like this.
Damien looked at his dad's worried face but he couldn't answer him. He felt choked with emotion. Harry seemed to realise that something about James was making Damien more upset.
"Dad, I think you better go outside." Harry told him.
"Why?" James asked perplexed.
"Just go." Harry repeated.
"Damy, do you want me to go?" James asked, looking at Damien.
Damien nodded his head, his tear filled eyes still averted from him. Looking immensely confused and slightly hurt, James left his quarters, leaving Harry alone with Damien.
"Damien, tell me what's wrong?" Harry said, holding Damien by the shoulders. He had never dealt with a tearful Damien before.
Damien calmed down a little and looked at Harry, trying hard to get a grip on his emotions. He knew Harry was going to get angry but Damien didn't even think about lying to him or keeping the truth from him. He wasn't ever going to keep the truth from him again.
Talking a deep breath, Damien faced Harry.
"I…I was with Malfoy." Damien said in a hoarse voice.
"Draco? What did he do to you?" Harry asked at once, angry with his friend.
"He didn't do anything. We…we…" taking a deep breath, Damien gathered his nerve. "We were stuck inside your pensive."
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Okay, so this was another long chapter. I swear I don't plan for them being so long. I will try to keep them shorter if anyone finds them too long. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!!
Note to A. Nonny Muss, the answer to your question is at the bottom of my profile page :) cheers!!