Chapter 7: It Only Gets Worse

Going back to school he was covered in more bruises and scars, the psychological scars burrowing deeper than ever. The first day of term was going to be tricky and there would be a lot of questions on how he'd acquired the black eye, was skinner than before and even more unusual. He was going to have to tell so many lies it pained him just thinking about it. He wasn't sure he would be able to lie it all away though. Georgie had caught a glimpse of the horrors he lived with and Gabrielle had been suspicious since that night he'd been attacked by uncle Vernon after they'd stayed late at the park. Could he get away with this?

He met Gabrielle in the playground. She looked genuinely pleased to see him. She hadn't seen him in nearly two weeks as she'd gone up to Yorkshire to visit her mums parents. Although the smile disappeared and was replaced with a rather confused and shocked expression. "Whoa what happened to your eye" she exclaimed.

"Thanks for asking me how I've been!" he rolled his eyes.

"How you've you been? How did you get that?!" she asked, looking like an excited five year old.

"Dudley punched me in the face… well actually he and his buddies beat me up" he explained "I guess asked for it by winding Dudley up knowing how short his temper is. I shouldn't have tried to be such a sarky smartass"

"You should've punched him back" she smirked.

"Yeah and get the punishment of a lifetime I don't think punching him is worth the risk" he replied honestly "I'd rather not end up that way"

"It wouldn't be that bad. You'd just be grounded for six months or something like that. Have do all the washing up and wiping up after dinner. That's what my parents make me do when I get into trouble" said Gabrielle.

"Well my Uncle deals in different kinds of punishment" Harry looked down despondently. "So I think punching my punching my cousin is out of the question and anyway he's gone back to boarding school"

She frowned at him then went to speak but was interrupted. "Hey Potter!" it was Dennis "How's the black eye?"

"Fine" he replied "Couldn't be better!"

They walked off laughing and cracking jokes. "What a bunch of losers" Gabrielle sneered happily "What I wouldn't give for a reason to kick all of their arses into the middle of next week"

"Or jinx them into the middle of next year" Harry smiled mischievously.

"You wouldn't?!" she exclaimed.

"No I'm not that stupid. I've already been expelled. I don't want to go to wizard prison and have my soul sucked out!" he shook his head as the bell rang. They headed inside and sat down in their form class.

At break time he sat down with Georgie. "Harry you should've come to mine for Christmas and New Year's" she said "You would've really enjoyed it. Patterson and Kyle were there on New Year's they both left my house drunk."

"I wish had" he replied thinking back to New Years' Eve. He'd spent it locked in his room whilst Dudley had gone into London to see the fireworks near the Thames with his parents and friends. They'd gone overnight too and had decided because he was so badly behaved he couldn't come because he'd make them look like filth so they'd locked him in his bedroom for the weekend. Alone and without any food to live off. "I would've" he thought gloomily "If I hadn't been locked in my bedroom" She reached into her bag and took a small parcel out and handed it to him. "I got you this, it's just a little something"

"Thanks" he smiled before opening it. It was a diary, leather bound and brand new. He opened it and flipped through looking at all the crisp white pages. "I really like it thanks"

"It's nothing" she shrugged "You can write your life story down in there"

"I will" he smiled.

As the days started to slide by Harry's back started to heal but he knew deep down the scars, the physical scars were going to be there until he died, they were permanent. Scarred for life. The pain started to fade too, but it wasn't enough. He knew they were there and he could not make them go away.

But just as they were starting to heal and the pain started to fade he received another lot, this time for handing his homework in a day late…

He'd just gotten home from another long day at school and was heading up the stairs but a voice called out to him. "Come here now" it was aunt Petunia. Sighing he turned around and went back downstairs and into the living room where she stood with her arms folded. "You handed your homework in late

"I know I did" replied Harry

"Why?" she spat

"I got the dates mixed up. I thought it was due today" he explained "I have so much homework I didn't mean to. I had it all done I just thought it was due today not yesterday"

"I don't care. Your teacher said it is not the first time" she seethed "And that you have poor concentration skills"

"Why do you think that is?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You are a lazy boy. You always have been" she sneered "Go on, get up stairs. You just wait until your uncle gets home. Then you'll never think about handing your homework in late again"

"Is that a threat?" Harry asked her. She didn't reply just pointed to the stairs and motioned for him to go up them. Glaring slightly at her, he moved towards the stairs and went up them and into his bedroom closing the door behind him. He sunk down on his bed and prepared himself for the beating he knew was coming.

Hearing the front door close from his bedroom Harry knew uncle Vernon was home and he knew in just a few seconds he was going to be flying off the handle. At him. Because he'd handed his homework in a day late and the teacher had called and aunt Petunia was going to tell him. Minutes later uncle Vernon's roaring angry voice shook the whole house. "WHAT. THE BOY DID WHAT!"

Seconds later footsteps thundered up the stairs and his bedroom door practically flew off its hinges as uncle Vernon burst into his room. "YOU LAZY LITTLE SOD!" He exploded "HANDING IN YOUR HOMEWORK A DAY LATE. DUDLEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT!"

"Dudley did" replied Harry, very unwisely.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Uncle Vernon roared "HOW DARE YOU BADMOUTH MY SON YOU USELESS WASTE OF SPACE!"

"I'm not a waste a space and that's not badmouthing Dudley" he shook his head "Me badmouthing Dudley would be a hundred times more offensive, ruder and longer. And I would never badmouth Dudley, I know what would happen to me if I did."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Uncle Vernon roared even louder "YOU HAVE HOURS OF TIME TO DO ALL YOUR BLOODY WORK BOY AND YOU STILL CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO HAND IT IN ON TIME. YOU'RE LAZY BOY!"

"I'm in year eleven, catching up with a year's worth of work. I have a lot of it and I'm trying my best" Harry said angrily, but also feeling intimidated by Uncle Vernon.

"WELL IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Thundered uncle Vernon "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. YOU BRING SHAME ON THIS FAMILY, ON US BY LIVING HERE. AND IF I CAN'T THROW YOU OUT I CAN BEAT YOU!"

"No" Harry looked him in the eye "You can't. I'm fifteen years old. It's called child abuse and its illegal in both of our-"

Uncle Vernon's hand had collided with his face. Harry clutched his cheek and glared up at Uncle Vernon. Suddenly he was being yanked from his bed by his school tie and thrown to the floor. Once on the floor Uncle Vernon started to kick him, Harry was certain, as hard as he possibly could. Making sure every kick hurt more than the last. "Stop!" Harry cried hands clenched in tight fists and his legs curled up tightly underneath him. "Please"

"No" Uncle Vernon hissed. His hands moved to his belt and he quickly undid it. He pulled it out of the hooks on his trousers and rose it above his head. Harry looked up at it, terrified knowing he was going to hit him with it again. He screwed his eyes tightly shut and gritted his teeth, knowing exactly what was coming. As the belt collided with his skin he to let out a howl of agony. Again and again the hard leather belt lashed his back, slicing him up and causing the most indescribable pain. Harry's screams rung through the whole house, down the whole street, screams of anguish and pain. And there was no one to save him. There was no one to save Harry Potter from his fate, from the inevitable. The only person who could save him was himself. "STOP!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs "STOP IT! IF… IF YOU CARRY ON I'LL TELL EVERYONE IN MY WORLD!"

"ARE YOU THREATENING ME?" Roared Uncle Vernon, holding the belt above his above his head. "ARE YOU THREATENING ME BOY?"

Harry looked into his rage filled eyes, fear flying around his body so fast he could barely talk. "Yes"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME?" Uncle Vernon roared before slamming the belt hard into his body "HOW DARE YOU!"

"Easily" harry said quietly "I want this to end"

"NEVER" spat Uncle Vernon "EVER"

"Then kill me" Harry replied, tears streaming down his face. Uncle Vernon stared at him then turned around and walked away. The last thing harry heard him say was "no meals for a fortnight"

Harry lay on the floor, feeling his blood flowing down his back and onto the floor. Tears rolled down his cheeks, the pain really starting to sink in. All he wanted to do was howl, scream but he was certain it would warrant more lashings with that belt. And more he did not want. He just cried away the pain, he fought against it and didn't let it win. But it all hurt. And nothing could change it. He thought about what he'd just said to Uncle Vernon. If wasn't going to end it then he should kill him, 'then kill me', and it was so real. That's all he wanted, more than anything else in this world. He wanted this to end and if death ended it, then that's what he wanted.

Getting ready for school the next morning was a task of great difficulty. And when he got to school his friends noticed his extreme discomfort. But he wouldn't divulge the truth and ran away from them. Away from them and high up a tree. He was too afraid and too ashamed to tell them the truth.

The days drifted by and the pain started to subside. But as always just as it started to heal along came another lot.

Harry unlocked the front door to number four and went inside. He could Aunt Petunia cleaning even though the house was always spotless. Yawning quietly he headed upstairs to his room and closed himself in. He sat down on his bed and took his shoes off and kicked them underneath it. Then he took his blazer off and threw it over the end of the bed. He looked around the dull room he slept in, wishing he could brighten the place up a little. Opening up his bag he took out some paper he had taken from school and some pens Georgie had lent him, as he had none of his own, and put them on his desk. He sat and started doodling, pictures of the golden snitch he favoured catching, the Hogwarts castle (though it didn't look great) and Hedwig, who sat watching him intently with her amber eyes. He spent ages working on them before finishing them and sticking them to the wall with blue tack. He smiled at his handy work, it looked a bit more homely. Aunt Petunia's voice called up to him and told him to come downstairs. He went straight down into the kitchen. Looking around he couldn't see uncle Vernon, this was a very good thing in his eyes. "Sit" she hissed. He did as he was told and sat down at the table. She brought two plates over and put one down in front of him. He waited until she had sat down before he started eating. Usually she didn't talk to him but today was an exception. "Your uncle is working very late tonight and doesn't want, or need, your nonsense when he gets home." She said coldly

"I'll behave myself" harry replied "It's not like I intentionally try to provoke him though is it?"

She glared viciously at him. "You are not a fool Harry, you know what you are doing when you wind him up"

"I would not deliberately provoke him" Harry spat furiously, he was suddenly so angry with her, with uncle Vernon, with everything that had ever happened to him. "Because I know what I'll get"

"You get what you deserve" she hissed. Harry stared at her in disbelief. True she'd always been cold towards to him and that was because his mum, her sister, had been a witch and he was a wizard. And because she'd despised his parents, his mum and his dad, because she thought he was lazy and because of the obvious. But this was something else, beyond heartless. How could someone say that their nephew, a blood relative, deserved to be beaten with a leather belt, to be beaten at all?

"You are something else" he said angrily "I'm your sister's son. Don't you have any respect for my mum?"

"My sister was a freak and she gave birth to a freak." Aunt Petunia scorned

"You don't do you?" he retorted "If you did you wouldn't let this happen. You wouldn't let him hurt me"

She didn't say anything and carried on eating. He was so frustrated. He finished eating and did the washing up before she told him to get upstairs, where he went and kicked his wardrobe in anger.

Soon after he heard the front door close, uncle Vernon was home and he knew he was going to get beaten again. He picked up the picture Sirius had sent him and held it firmly in his hands. He looked at their faces. Right now he wanted them so badly, Sirius was still alive and he needed him more than he'd ever needed anyone. "Come save me Sirius" he mumbled before placing the picture back on the side. "Come save me now"

He heard talking down stairs then angry footsteps heading in his direction. "Here comes the punishment" he thought. The door flew open and Uncle Vernon thundered inside and flew off the handle. As usual. "HOW DARE YOU BE DISRESPECTFUL TO YOUR AUNT THE WAY YOU WERE TONIGHT?" He roared

"I was just asking her a question" replied Harry "A question. It's not a crime under any one's laws."

"YOU WERE DISRESPECTFUL UNDER THE RULES OF THIS HOUSEHOLD!" He hollered

"She called my mother a freak!" Harry snapped "And me a freak!"

"IT'S TRUE" He spat "YOU'RE A FREAK, YOUR MOTHER WAS A FREAK, YOUR FATHER WAS A FREAK. YOUR WHOLE LOT ARE FREAKS!"

"We're not freaks" Harry defended "We're people"

"FREAKS!" He raged

"And you call me disrespectful" Harry mumbled underneath his breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Bellowed Uncle Vernon "ANSWER ME BOY"

"Nothing" replied Harry

"YOU LYING, DISRESPECTFUL, UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SOD!" He exploded furiously before making a grab for him. Harry moved out of the way and jumped off the bed. He made for the door but the large man grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back towards him. "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" He pushed the door closed and threw Harry at the wall. He slid down to a heap on the floor but didn't stay there for long before moving across his room to get away from his raging mad uncle. Uncle Vernon chased him and grabbed him again knocking him into his bedside cabinet knocking his pictures off. They fell to the floor and the frames smashed. Uncle Vernon shoved him to the floor and stamped on his head with his shoed foot. "Owww" Harry whimpered slightly. Then he stamped on his stomach several times, laughing as he did so while Harry gasped for breath and begged him to stop. But he didn't stop. Instead his belt came out of his trousers and above his head. Then he slammed it down into Harry's tender skin as hard as he possibly could. Harry let out a bloodcurdling scream as the belt collided with his skin. And the belt continued to collide with his skin, over and over again.

Harry froze with fear, unable to move, unable to scream anymore. He just let it happen because he felt so utterly powerless to stop him. He was weak, he was capable of fighting off Voldemort but not his muggle uncle. He felt like such a pathetic let down.

Eventually the beating stopped and uncle Vernon stormed from the room slamming the door behind him. Harry pulled himself to his feet and moved over towards his bed. He bent down, though it caused him a great deal of pain, and picked up the picture of his parents dancing and looked at it. He sighed, his heart yearning deeply for them, he wanted to be with them. He placed it back down on down on the table and picked up the picture Sirius had sent him a few weeks before. The glass was still intact, as was the picture. He stared at the picture, they were all smiling and looked so happy and carefree despite what was happening in their world. He wished he felt happy and carefree like them. He wished they were here with him. You always want what you can't have. And for Harry James Potter it was all too true.

Sighing he laid down on his bed and lay staring into the nothingness, the abyss of nothing. He was emotionally shattered.

The following day at school he had to lie his way out of it. But this time teachers questioned it, because it was becoming a regular thing. "How did you get that black eye?" asked Mr Pryke.

"I walked into the doorframe" he shrugged.

"Like last time and all the times before?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yes" Harry nodded "I keep forgetting to put my glasses on then I walk into things. It was an accident ok"

"Ok" replied Mr Pryke before starting the lesson. Harry couldn't tell if he believed him or not, and that worried him slightly. If he did suspect then he might call the house and talk to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon which would definitely end up with him get another lashing with that belt. If he told anyone he was going to get it in the neck. He knew that.

Thankfully he didn't call the house and talk to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon about the mysterious bruises which often appeared on Harry's body. So he didn't get another lashing with uncle Vernon's trusty belt.

Sorry for the long wait. I haven't given up on this story I have just been focusing on one of my other stories. I will hopefully post the next chapter or two by next Saturday as I'm not getting my laptop back from the repair shop until thursday and have borrowed one to post. I have the next few chapters more or less done. Enjoy.