Harry had been hesitant to accept the lollipop from Akali...but she had insisted. Once the candy was in his mouth, he instantly enjoyed the explosion of flavour as he sucked on it.
'This is so yummy!' Harry thought to himself as he continued to suck on the watermelon lollipop. Harry never tasted anything so good in his life and was very happy that he was able to experience it at least once. 'After all...' Harry thought forlornly 'She won't keep me long enough to give me another one...'
Akali wordlessly leapt from rooftop to rooftop, keeping a tight hold on the little boy in her arms so he wouldn't fall onto the streets below. She felt a dull ache in her heart remembering the condition she had found him in...
She couldn't believe that they would viciously hurt a child so young.
She had thoughts like this the entire trip back to her home. She had been lost in thought, and just barely stopped in time to avoid falling off of a roof.
Mentally cursing herself for making such a rookie mistake, she realized that her house was only three properties down. Deciding that she might as well get off the roof and onto more solid ground, she jumped off the roof and landed perfectly in a crouching position without hurting Harry. She looked at Harry to see that he was not only still sucking on his lollipop, but looked excited.
Akali tilted her head and smiled under her mask. "Oh? You seem cheerful, little one." She said, amusement evident in her voice. Harry blushed.
"Um...I...I thought it was fun jumping across the roofs..." He replied shyly. "I-It's like those ninjas I saw on telly..."
Akali giggled at him comparing her to a ninja. "Well, I suppose you could make that comparison." Akali explained to Harry as she stood up. Harry's eyes sparkled as he looked up at her.
Harry took in the sight of his saviour... Long, raven coloured hair in a ponytail. An outfit consisting of emerald green thigh-high boots, gloves, shoulder pads, corset and loin cloth...Calm, disciplined, serious eyes...An emerald green mask over her mouth...
"Y-You look so cool..." He whispered.
Akali blushed underneath her mask and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Goodness...Thank you, little one." She said before she gave him a serious stare. "Now lets get you inside so I can mend those injuries." She told him as she stepped out of her neighbour's yard and walked 12 meters to her house.
She threw the door open, carried Harry into her kitchen, and set him down on her counter before pulling out the medical supplies she kept in her house. She was well versed in medical care, being a nurse and all, so she would be enough to tent to his wounds.
She set the kit next to Harry and turned towards him. "Now then, young one...I must request that you remove your shirt and allow me to inspect the injuries." Akali asked gently as Harry looked nervous.
"Um...o-okay." Harry said timidly as he reached for the bottom of his oversized shirt and pulled up, revealing multiple horrible looking injuries.
There were bruises. There were wounds. There was still blood flowing freely from various points of his body. Parts of his body were charred black, while others were missing massive swathes of flesh. Most of the wounds had gotten infected, and were a sickly greenish colour. And she swore she could see a little bone sticking out...
"My God..." Akali said in a very soft tone as she went to the med kit and immediately got to work. She opened the kit and pulled out a can of anti-bacterial spray, deciding to disinfect his wounds first. She turned to harry and gives him a sad look. "Child, I'm going to spray your injuries to disinfect them first. It will to sting a slightly, but it will do wonders for your injuries." Akali explained.
Harry nodded, not caring that it would sting. It's not like he wasn't used to pain...
Akali sprayed the disinfectant over the little boy's injuries. He hissed slightly at the pain, but he didn't cry out. Compared to the many things Vernon had done to him, this felt like a love tap...
After she sprayed the smaller cuts, she took Band-Aids and put them on them. When she was done, she started looking at the larger injuries. One being a large gash on his left, which would need to stitched up. She rummaged through the kit until she found a medical needle and thread.
She applied the numbing cream to the gash, so he wouldn't feel as much pain, then began the process of sewing the wound shut. When she was finished, she sprayed it with more disinfectant and placed another band-aid over it.
She continued to do this for every other injury, from the bruises on his torso, legs and arms, to the burns on his back. Within an hour, during which Harry was finished with his lollipop, Harry was covered almost head to toe with bandages.
Akali looked at the sight and frowned sadly. He looked like the world's smallest mummy... To think a child could suffer so many injuries sickened her...
Her thoughts were interrupted by a low grumbling sound. She turned to Harry with a tilted head, and smiled. "I see you require nourishment, child."
She picked Harry up and carried him to the table then sat him down on a chair. "Worry not, I will prepare a meal for you." Akali stated as she started to go to the fridge and freezer to see what she could make Harry for dinner.
She searched around for food, and smiled when she saw something she decided would do nicely...
Harry sat patiently at the table, looking at the band-aids all over his body. He liked the band-aids. They were going to help his pain go away.
'She's so nice...' Harry thought as he watched Akali pull something out of the fridge and make her way to the stove. 'She gave me a lollipop, she made the pain go away...I don't deserve to be treated so nicely...'
Harry watched as the ninja put the dinner together, smiling at her. He wished he could stay with her...But he knew she hated him, and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Akali came back into the room after about five minutes, and set a plate in front of Harry. He looked down to see what he was eating.
It was a beef burger with lettuce, tomato, cheese with ketchup and mayonnaise a whole wheat bun. On the side was sweet potato fries with a light pepper seasoning. The smell of the burger and fries made Harry's mouth water in anticipation but he stopped himself from being tempted to eat it.
Akali watched the child stare at his food and frowned. "...Eat, little one. You need your nourishment."
Harry looked at her with a nervous stare. "Is it really okay for me to eat this?" Harry asked Akali with a nervous voice. Akali nodded her head.
"Well, of course." She replied. "In order to recover, it is imperative that you eat."
Harry hesitated, then picked the burger up. He gave Akali another uneasy glance, and she nodded in encouragement. Slowly, he put the burger to his mouth and opened it, then bit down into the food...
His eyes widen as he tasted the meaty goodness that was a burger. It went perfectly with the crisp lettuce and the juicy tomato ad the creamy cheese that laid on top of the meat. After chewing for a minute, savoring the deliciousness, he swallowed the bit and looked at the rest with a primal hunger.
Akali smiled warmly as she watched the little boy devour his food. He would need it gravely, the poor thing...
In a mere fifteen minutes, Harry's food was gone.
There wasn't even a crumb left on his plate. Akali looks at him with a smile. "Do you require more nourishment child?" Akali asked him.
Harry was still hungry, but he didn't want to waste anymore of her food. "No thank you, I'm filled up enough." Harry told her.
Akali looked at him, and shook her head, then rose to her feet. Harry blinked when she came back out with another plateful of fries and half a burger.
"I'm sure this will be enough to satisfy you." She said calmly. "Any more will cause you to suffer stomach pains."
She took his empty plate and replaced it with the other. Harry swallowed hard as he looked at Akali, asking permission to have more. Akali saw his look and nodded her head, giving her permission. Harry smiled and immediately dug into his food with gusto.
Akali watched with a sad smile as the little boy devoured his meal. How starving he must have been...It was as if the Dursley's had never fed him...
Now this left one question: what was she going to do with him?
Her first thought was to take him to the orphanage. She then shook her head as realized that Harry would possibly be miserable there. There was the possibility of putting him up for adoption herself so she could personally see to it that he gets a proper home.
But the idea left something in her heart...A dull pain. She looked at the little boy sadly and realized that she didn't want to leave him...
'Is it truly necesarry to give him up?' Akali asked herself as she saw Harry started to slow down in his eating, showing that he was close to full. 'Perhaps I could be the one to raise him...He can be my child...'
Harry finally finished his food, and looked up at the woman who prepared it for him with a small smile.
"Th-Thank you, Miss Akali..." He said softly. "It was yummy..."
Akali smiled as she took his plate. "It is good to know the food was to your liking." Akali told him. Harry smiled, but then looked upset. Akali looked at his sudden mood change in confusion. "What seems to be the trouble, child?" Akali asked him.
Harry's response was to simply look down. Akali cupped his chin in her fingers and lifted his head up to look at her. "Tell me what bothers you, little one..." Harry teared up slightly.
"Wh-When are you gonna get rid of me?"
Akali looked at him in concern and confusion. "What? Why on Earth would I get rid of you?" She asked.
Harry looked down sadly.
"I'm a freak...You hate me. You're only pretending to like me because you're a nice person...It's okay that you hate me, though...I understand...Do you want me to leave now?" Harry was beginning to tear up at this point. Before he knew it, he was being wrapped up in a hug by Akali. Harry blinked away his tears as he looked at Akali in surprise. "W-why are you-" Harry became to say before being interrupted by Akali.
"Shhh..." Akali whispered softly. "No...Never say such things about yourself. You are not a freak, as I said earlier. You are an innocent child...And I am not going to leave you. In fact... my intention is to adopt you, little one..."
Harry's eyes widened and glistened with tears. 'Adopt...me...? She...wants...me?' Harry asked himself as she started rubbing the back of his head.
"D-Do you really mean it?" Harry asked her.
Akali looked at him. Wordlessly, she removed her mask, revealing her full face. Then, she planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Of course I do." She said simply.
Harry examined her face as tears started to fall. 'She's so pretty...' Harry though before he hugged her and cried.
Akali wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly against her bosom, allowing him to release his pent up emotional baggage onto her.
'I will never leave you, my child...' Akali thought as they held each other. 'Never...'