Harry Potter and the Dark Kingdom
Chapter 3: Hope
Adrian looked down on the boy he considered to be his younger brother. Harry had numerous injuries that would take days if not weeks to heal. There were so many wounds, which looked to be from a whip or belt, on his back that the nurse had to keep him on his stomach to keep them from getting infected. It was so hard seeing Harry lying on a stark white bed in the hospital; it brought back memories of the last time he had seen Harry, and more of when they first met. With a sad smile Adrian recalled why Harry was so small and why he had very little confidence in himself.
He hated visiting Diagon Alley. Wizards were all two-face bastards that cared more for their image than for actually knowing about the things happening in the world. Well it really wasn't all wizards just the one's here in Britain. With a sigh Adrian continued on his way to Gringotts. He needed to make a withdrawal, and his father told him he wasn't allowed back until he showed that he could be more mature. Whatever that meant, Adrian thought he was very mature for being fifteen. After making his withdrawal and transferring it into muggle money, he returned the way he had come intending to do some shopping in muggle London.
Adrian was exiting another store in the mall when a small blob ran into him, knocking both of them to the ground. Looking down at the blob sitting on his chest Adrian realized it was a small boy with extraordinarily long hair and beautiful green eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get away from…" the boy began before being interrupted by a loud shout.
"Boy!!!! Get back here right now. How dare you do that to Dudley, you little freak." A fat man yelled from across the food court.
The boy looked over his shoulder with a look of terror on his face before scrambling up with every intention of running away. Before he could Adrian grabbed his arm and pulled him into a store. They watched from behind a manikin as the fat man waddled by. When the man was finally out of side Adrian looked down at the young boy, well younger then him, and asked, "Who are you? And why were you running?"
The boy looked around before responding by asking, "Can we go some place else to talk? I don't want anyone to accidentally hear what I'm about to tell you."
Nodding his head, Adrian once more grabbed the boy and pulled him to the changing stalls in the back of the store. Pushing the boy into one, Adrian stepped in behind him before closing the door. Turning to look at the boy Adrian saw that the boy had collapsed onto the ground in the fetal position muttering something about being good and not to hurt him because he would be a good boy. With a sudden clarity Adrian realized that this boy had been abused and probably thought he was going to do something to him. After all they knew nothing about each other.
Kneeling down beside the boy Adrian gently lifted the boy's face to look at him clearly. "Little one, don't worry I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Adrian, Who are you? And how old are you?"
Adrian watched as the boy slowly gained control of himself before being able to answer, "I'm Harry. I'm seven." With an innocent grin Harry held up seven fingers. With that Harry curled up in Adrian's lap with a mumbled, "I'm sleepy." And with that just conked out.
Thinking quickly Adrian decided to take Harry home with. After all he was only a child, and obviously his family didn't care for him if he was that terrified of his uncle. With that thought in mind Adrian gathered Harry close to him and shimmered to the entrance way of his home. Once there he summoned a servant. "Tell my father that I have brought a young child to the hospital wing in need of immediate care and he should meet me there." Bowing the servant ran off to find his lordship to let him know Adrian had returned home with a stray. And not just any stray a female one. Striding quickly through his home Adrian entered the hospital wing, laid Harry on a bed , and called for a nurse. Then stepped back as she came rushing in.
"What is it young lord Adrian? Are you hurt?" The nurse asked giving him a quick look over.
"No, I'm perfectly fine. I wanted you to look over this young boy I found. He told me he was seven but he doesn't look older than three at the most," Adrian responded with a worried frown. Pushing Adrian further out of the way the nurse began to run scans and such to check the boy's status.
Suddenly the doors of the wing banged open and a tall regal man entered. "Adrian what is this I hear about you bringing a stray girl into this house without approval? How dare you do such a thing," the man all but boomed out not even bothering to keep his voice down.
Then a whimper came from Harry before he shot out of the bed and into a corner, once again curling in on himself terrified of being hurt. With a reproachful look towards his father, Adrian went over to Harry and clamed him saying no one there would hurt him, Adrian wouldn't let them and he promised to always take care of him. When Harry finally fell back asleep, Adrian turned to his father and said in a completely calm voice, "First, Harry is a boy. And second he has been abused and I refuse to allow any child to go back to that sort of environment." Moving on to a bed still holding Harry close, Adrian gave his father a pleading look. "Can we keep him here? I promise to take care of him."
Looking at the boy in his son's arms Lord Manticore could not help but agree. The boy was so thin that even from across the room he could see his ribs. No child would be treated like that while in his home. Giving the boy one last glance he spotted a scar on the boy's forehead. Striding over to the bed he brushed the boy's bangs over to the side and gasped as he realized just who this boy was. There on his forehead was a scar shaped as a lightning bolt. With that knowledge Lord Manticore spun around with every intention of finding out who dared to do this to the savior.
Adrian was pulled out of his thoughts by a whimper. Looking at Harry he saw that he was slowly stirring. Leaning forward Adrian lifted Harry's hand gently and waited as his little brother awoke once more to pain. Pain he promised to never let happen.
"Adrian, come catch me if you can," a young voice called out. Harry giggled as he ran from his brother. It had been only a couple months since that day Adrian had rescued him and he couldn't be more grateful. Harry knew that if he had had to stay with his 'family' much longer he would not have survived.
"Damien you little brat get back here!" Adrian yelled. He was infuriated; Damien had gone and dyed his hair pink. A neon pink that he couldn't get rid of.
Lord Manticore watched as his two sons chased each other all over his mansion. When Harry had first arrived it took weeks until anyone other than Adrian could touch him with causing a panic attack. Over time Harry had wormed his way in to the Lord's heart, and a month later Lord Manticore had adopted Harry renaming him Damien. Now Damien was like any other boy only reacting when someone raised there voice at him or suddenly lunged at him. It was a marvelous change, one that was well worth all the trouble of hiding the savior from the world. Eventually Damien would need to go back. But for now he could just be another young boy playing with his brother.
AN: I hope the time changes weren't confusing to anyone. Please leave a review otherwise I won't know what needs improvement, or what should stay the same. Thanks!