Chapter 3: The Invisible Truth

Harry Potter slowly pulled himself to bed and carefully peeled his clothes off, his shirt now covered in his blood. His torso was covered in blossoming bruises and he was in agony. But he was used to pain. At fifteen he shouldn't have been used to it, but he was. He found it hard to fall asleep, remaining awake most of the night.

He couldn't bear the thought of going to school looking like he'd gone ten rounds with a professional boxer. He was covered in bruises from his uncle's violent beating. But if he didn't go he'd just get another one. It was a lose-lose situation. In pain, he dressed for school, not allowed breakfast he left the house and took the forty five minute walk to school. He should've gotten the bus but he was saving his money for things like stocking food for future imprisonments and getting lunch at school. He was slowly, very slowly, getting his appetite back and was able to eat more again. But he was still underweight for his age and height.

When he got to school he saw Georgie and Patterson at the gate, probably waiting for bobby and Kyle to show up. "Hey Harry!" Georgie called out "Come over and join us"

He shook his head, he didn't want them to see his bruises. He quickly hurried inside to his form room and took his seat. But soon as he did everyone stared at him. The girl who sat opposite him, Gabrielle who was friends with Georgie but had come in early today, had her mouth hanging wide open in an 'o' shape. "What happened to you?" she asked finally.

"Nothing" he dismissed her

"You've got a black eye, and a split lip" she said "That's not nothing. Did you get into a fight?"

"Something like that yeah" he replied. She looked at him kind of sympathetically before looking away and talking to her boyfriend, whose name was Zane. He looked at Gabrielle closely. She had very long ginger hair that tumbled all the way down her back past her waist and round face. She had very peachy skin and soft. For some reason she reminded him of his mum. Of course Gabrielle had brown eyes not green eyes.

At lunch time Georgie and the others finally found him hiding up a tree he had climbed to escape people gawping at his bruised face. Georgie climbed up first followed by Patterson while the other two stayed down on the ground to look out for teachers. "What happened? Did you get attacked on the way home last night?" asked Georgie

"Yeah, something like that. This guy jumped me and roughed me up a bit but I'm fine" he replied

"You don't look it, you've got a massive black eye." She sighed

"You think this is bad you should see my stomach" he thought to himself. "Seriously I'm fine Georgie"

"You should call the police" she insisted

"No I didn't get a good look at him, it was dark" said Harry, keeping up with his lie. He did want to tell her but he barely knew her and he didn't want her to think he was weak. He'd fought of lord Voldemort yet he'd let a muggle beat him up. Again. "Look it was nothing. I'll get over it" but deep down he knew he would never get over it. Not truly. Yes he could put it to the back of his mind but it would always stay with him. This was his childhood, beaten and neglected.

"Ok" Georgie caved. "Harry I'm curious, what did happen to your parents?"

"They were killed… in a car crash" he replied, trying to make it sound like he was telling her the truth when really he was just lying through his back teeth to her. "When I was a baby. I don't know how I survived. I never really knew them"

"Oh I'm so sorry" she sympathetically. They remained up the tree until the bell rang for class and they headed inside.

As the days passed the bruises faded but the scars remained. The deep psychological scars. But he was Harry Potter, so he carried on and insisted everything was fine. That he was fine. When really he wasn't that fine at all.

It wasn't too long before another beating was thrown his way. This one over him wanting to go on an educational school trip for English. But Uncle Vernon was having none of it. "But Uncle Vernon everyone is going. It's for our coursework"

"You're not going" he spat "I'm not paying for it"

"Please" Harry begged but it wasn't getting him anywhere. "It's free"

"NO!" Roared Uncle Vernon before standing up and shoving Harry to the floor. Harry looked up at him and felt such a hatred burning inside his body. Uncle Vernon stamped on him more than several times, like he was a trampoline. "Stop!" Harry cried suddenly, he'd really had enough. It was agony. "Please stop!"

Uncle Vernon did stop but then went onto rant about how ungrateful Harry was and always had been. When he finally stopped Harry fled to his room and shut himself inside. He collapsed on his bed and again found himself staring at the floor. He pulled the lose floorboard up and pulled out his photo album. He opened the first page and looked at the picture of him with his parents. He looked at his parents smiling faces and his heart ached for them, then he looked at himself. He hadn't smiled that much in years. "What do I do mum and dad?" he sighed "How do I make him stop?"

He sat staring at the picture for a long time before putting it back under the lose floorboard and lying down on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling. He didn't even bother getting up to go down for some food. He just wasn't hungry and anyway his stomach was still cramping painfully from uncle Vernon stamping on it. Instead he slowly dropped off to sleep but his dreams turned into nightmares and he went back to the graveyard with Voldemort and woke up sweat-drenched and shaking violently. He couldn't get back to sleep after that so he laid awake until dawn when he got up and headed to school.

He thought he'd be able to hide this beating from everyone but he failed. He had P.E and when he got changed Patterson, bobby and Kyle saw them. He got changed as quickly as he could but they still saw them and asked about them. "Harry what happened?" asked Patterson

"Nothing" replied Harry "I fell over that's all"

"Yes and I'm a real life wizard" said Kyle

"I am" thought Harry "That's what happened. I fell over, halfway down the stairs ok"

"Yes and I'm God" said Patterson

"That's how it happened!" lied Harry before hurrying from the changing rooms and out onto the field.

They played football and everyone, including him scraped for the ball and everyone was knocking into everyone. Which when you think you may have a couple of broken ribs and are covered in bruises isn't a good thing.

At lunch Georgie asked him about them but he dismissed her too. He told her what he'd told the others, that he tripped and fallen halfway down the stairs. He couldn't tell if she believed him or not. He didn't want them to know yet.

The following Tuesday it was the school trip. Everybody else was going except him. Because his uncle wouldn't let him go. It was like he was back in his third year at Hogwarts when they'd been allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Everyone else had been able to go but he had because he didn't have a parent or guardians permission to go. This had something to do with the fact he'd blown his aunt up during dinner when she'd insulted his dead parents. She'd called his father a lazy, unemployed alcoholic and stated there was something wrong with his mother. It had undoubtedly infuriated him to the point he'd lost control and blown her up like a balloon before fleeing the house.

As the bell rang for break Gabrielle, Georgie, Kyle, bobby and Patterson packed their things into their bags. "We have to go wait in the playground" Kyle said to the others.

"Yeah" said Georgie. Harry stared at the floor, burning with jealousy and hatred for his uncle. It was so humiliating to be the only one who wasn't going in his entire year.

He walked with them to the playground. "Maybe we can sneak harry on the coach" suggested Gabrielle.

"Do want to be excluded?" asked Georgie. "I thought you'd learnt your lesson after you were excluded for punching Dwayne Wright"

"He was asking for it" she shrugged "I have no regrets over that. I guess we better not. Sorry"

"It doesn't matter" he replied. "I'll just bunk off and go to the park"

"No you won't young man" said Mr Pryke coming up behind him "You'll go back inside with Miss Fosterman and do what she tells you"

"Yes sir" he nodded. Gabrielle smiled at him before Mr Pryke ushered her onto the coach with a disgruntled growl.

Gabrielle waved to him as the coach pulled off. Faking a smile he waved back until the coach had turned out of the school playground and out of sight. "Come on harry" said Miss Fosterman "I've got some things for you to do whilst your classmates are on this school trip."

He sighed loudly and followed her inside the school. They went to her classroom and she told him to sit down at any desk he wanted. So he chose the desk right in the corner and slouched himself over the desk, resting his arms in his arms. "Harry" said Miss Fosterman "I've got some maths for you do from your maths teacher, Mr Fitzgerald"

She came over and placed some papers on his desk. "Just do what you can" she smiled slightly. He nodded and she moved back over to her desk. He looked down at the paper. The title read: Basic Multiplication and division. "Oh great" he mumbled "I'm rubbish at this"

He attempted the questions for a while before giving up and slouching in his chair. He drifted into a daydream about being at Hogwarts. He was rudely jolted from his daydream by Miss Fosterman. "Harry it's lunchtime" she said "Just hand me your work on the way out"

He stuffed his things into his bag and stood up. He kicked the chair back under table, picked up his work and headed over to Miss Fosterman's desk. He dropped his work on her desk and went to leave but she stopped him. "What's this?" she asked pointing to title next to which he had written for idiots so that it now read: Basic Multiplication and Division for idiots.

"Basic Multiplication and Division for idiots" he replied smartly

"Mr Fitzgerald will go crazy when he sees this!" she exclaimed rolling her eyes "Do you want to be in detention?!"

"No of course not" he shook his head.

"Scribbled that out then" she said handing him a pen. He took it and scribbled over the 'for idiots' before heading off for lunch.

He spent the afternoon kicking back in Miss Fosterman's History classes. She'd given him some more work but he'd finished that quickly so she'd told him to just sit quietly in the corner. But the children in her year seven class were more interested in talking to the year eleven than doing their work. "Did you get into trouble?" one asked eagerly "Did you punch someone? I did once!"

"No I didn't punch anyone" he laughed slightly "Everyone else in my year went on a school trip. I couldn't go."

"Did you trash school stuff?" another asked.

"No" he shook his head "I just didn't get permission to go"

"Sucks" said the first.

"Yeah it does" harry sighed "It sucks a lot".

"Boys!" Miss Fosterman exclaimed "Turn around, leave Harry alone and get on with your work"

The boys sighed and turned around. He rested his head in his hand and sighed deeply. He picked up his pen, flipped his English book open and started scribbling messages of hate against his uncle in it. Miss Fosterman started walking around the room and walked by him then she stopped and turned around and walked back. She looked down at his English book and examined the messages of hate in it. She picked it up and studied it. "Stand up and come with me" she instructed. He followed her out of the classroom where she started talking. "What is this?"

"Doodles" he replied

"These are not doodles. They're psychotic ramblings" she said firmly "'I wish you would die! Or 'I'll make you regret what you did to me!' or 'I'll hurt you until you're dying in agony!'"

"Just ramblings" he shrugged

"Whose this meant to be?" she asked pointing to a drawing of round, fat man with a small head and big bushy moustache who was shaking a clenched fist.

"My uncle" he replied.

"And this?" she pointed to a skinny figure with Harry's scar, round glasses and who was pointing something in the direction of uncle Vernon.

"Me" he shrugged.

"This looks like a knife" she said pointing to the object pointed in uncle Vernon's direction.

"No it's not a knife" he shook his head, it was his wand. "It's a stick. I'm poking him with it"

"What does this mean?" she asked pointing to the words Aveda Kedevra written in a speech bubble his head.

"I made those words up" he lied, trying not to smirk. He was directing the killing curse at his uncle in that doodle.

"Are these messages of hate are directed at your uncle?" she asked

"Yes. Because he is not a nice man" harry responded aimlessly. "We just don't see eye to eye. About anything. At all."

"Right" she said unconvinced. "Try not to draw any more of these or I will take this up with the deputy head. This is highly disturbing"

"Is it?" he asked.

"Yes it is" she nodded, looking astounded that he didn't understand that what he'd drawn was disturbing. "Do you not understand that?"

"No" he shook his head. "I was only drawing my feelings."

"If these are your feelings you need to see a counsellor" she replied. "Urgently. Have you ever drawn anything like this before?"

"No" Harry looked at her not understanding her concerns about what he'd drawn. "I was bored"

"Yes I'm sure you were" she said "But this, this came from somewhere else. You are directing messages to your Uncle that you want him to die. What would possess you to draw this?"

"You wouldn't understand" he looked down. "We just don't like each other. He hates me, I hate him. That's how it is, how it's always been. Will be to one of us dies."

"Ok" she nodded. "Go back inside and rip that page out. Just try not to do any more of those"

"Ok" he agreed before going back inside.

After the final lesson he went to the playground and waited for the coach to return. It returned not long after and he went over to it. Gabrielle and Georgie came off together and smiled at him. Georgie headed off and Gabrielle came over to him. "How's it been?"

"Alright I guess" he shrugged "Miss Fosterman told me off for drawing psychotic doodles and said what I'd written was a bunch of psychotic ramblings"

"Why what did you write?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter" he said "But I drew my Uncle and made some remarks about him that she thought were highly disturbing."

"Oh" she smiled slightly "Hang on… highly disturbing. She thought they were that bad?"

"Yes" he nodded. "How was the trip?"

"Boring as hell" she sighed "The guy talked for three hours straight. I almost fell asleep but Mrs Tremaine shouted at me to wake up and pay attention. I got through two bottles of water while that man was droning on and on and Mr Pryke wouldn't let me go to the toilet. By the time we left I was dying for a piss and had almost wet myself. I had to run to the toilet and pray that I didn't piss myself on the way. I only just got there on time"

"At least you got to go" he sighed.

"Yeah. But that guy could've put me to sleep he was so boring" she laughed slightly "He gave us some hand-outs; I haven't even looked at them yet. I didn't learn anything, I just sat there daydreaming for the first half of it then dying for a piss the other half of it. I'm going to be in shit for that. Half the time I didn't even know what he was banging on about"

"You wouldn't let me have a look at those hand-outs would you?" he asked hopefully.

"I think Mr Pryke brought some back for you actually. So you didn't miss out" she replied "He said he would"

He nodded and they headed out of the school grounds and went to the park for a while before heading their separate ways.