A/N: I am so excited by the response my story has gotten! Thank you all! You guys fuel me to keep writing, and I'm so excited to post each chapter. :) So, this is my gift to you: the next chapter earlier than expected! Thank you all for the support!
This is a really tough chapter, you guys. This is where I say again; if you are sensitive to abuse, stop reading now. You've been warned!
Okay, so here's Chapter 2! I hope you guys enjoy!
Oh, and I still don't own Harry Potter. :( How unfortunate for me, because that means I'm still a broke college student who writes because it's fun, not because I'm richer than Queen Elizabeth.
Chapter 2
Harry was having nightmares – again. It was always the same: the graveyard and Cedric's death.
'Kill the spare!'
'NOOO!'
'AVADA KEDAVRA!'
And there lay Cedric, dead on the ground. His empty eyes haunted Harry.
"No! Cedric, no! Mum! Dad! Help! Someone, help me, please!" Harry screamed out in his sleep.
Suddenly, Harry was jolted awake by his uncle bursting into the room. Harry was snatched out of bed and was now staring into his uncle's angry purple face.
"What the devil do you mean by it boy? Waking the whole house up at ungodly hours! I'll teach you to keep this up!" Vernon sneered.
Harry braced himself; he knew all too well what he was in for. He was already headed for another beating, and the day had barely begun.
A fist collided with the side of Harry's head, lifting him off his feet and landing him on the floor. When he hit the floor, the pain didn't stop coming. He was hit over and over again. He was kicked repeatedly, and in no one particular place. Harry's stomach, head, chest, back, face, ribs – everything, everywhere, hurt. He was very careful not to make a noise, as that would only encourage his uncle to kick and hit him harder. Now his uncle had begun hitting him with a belt. Not the strap, though; Harry was on the end of the buckle.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it stopped.
"Let's see if any more of your nonsense disrupts us," Vernon threatened. He dropped the now blood-spattered belt and slammed the door behind him, locking all the locks on it before he left.
Harry lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood. He was writhing in pain, trying to assess his injuries. At least two broken ribs, maybe more. His left hand was broken, maybe part of his arm too. His head, Merlin, did his head hurt. That was definitely a concussion. Not to mention all the cuts that covered his body. And his burn! How could he forget about that? He had burned his arm cooking dinner the night before when he burned part of the food. That was the source of the searing pain on his right forearm. His right ankle was cracked – he'd have to be careful with that.
He got up, blood dripping from his cuts and a busted lip, and quietly hobbled over to his desk. He was silently crying to himself, not trusting himself to let it out completely – partially because of how much pain he was currently experiencing, partly because he didn't want a second beating so soon.
Hedwig, who was perched in her cage, clicked her beak worriedly at him.
"Give me a few minutes, Hedwig. I'm not really feeling my best right now. I'll have a letter ready for you in a few minutes."
Harry got out a quill and a piece of parchment and (with great difficulty) began a letter to his godfather.
'Snuffles,
Get me out of here. Please, I'm begging now. I won't last much longer here. I don't care how you do it, as long as it's soon. Help me.
Harry'
Harry rolled up the parchment and tied it to Hedwig's leg.
"Okay, girl. Take this straight to Sirius. Stay with him. Hopefully I'll be there soon too."
With one last sad look, Hedwig flew out the window. Harry looked after her, wishing he could just fly away from here, too. He was so tired. He looked at his clock on the nightstand – five-thirty. Ugh. Well, at least he had a couple of hours to sleep. He changed his blood-soaked shirt and laid back down in bed, praying for no dreams this time, and that the Dursleys would sleep in.
Sirius awoke in his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place to a tapping sound coming from the window. He sat on the edge of his bed and groggily looked to the window. On the ledge sat a big, snowy owl.
He hurried to the window to let her in. Why in the name of Merlin was Harry writing so early? And wasn't Harry awaiting Sirius' reply instead of vice-versa?
Sirius removed the parchment from her leg and unrolled it. Hedwig clicked her beak impatiently at him.
"Okay, Hedwig, I'll give you some food in a minute. Just let me see what Harry wants," Sirius said.
As Sirius read Harry's letter, he was steadily becoming more alarmed. He saw blood spots on the parchment and he knew something had happened. No wonder Hedwig was so upset. He quickly turned back to the white owl and dumped out some owl treats for her on his desk. "Here, Hedwig, take the lot. I've got to go get Harry."
Sirius ran from the room and down the hall to where Remus was sleeping. He burst through the door, letter still in hand, and shook his friend awake.
"Remus!" Sirius called urgently. "Moony! C'mon, wake up! Hurry!"
"Whasgoinon?" Remus said, half-conscious.
"It's Harry! Something's wrong. He just owled me, and Remus, I have a very bad feeling. I think he's hurt. We need to get Lily and James. Please, hurry!"
Remus jumped out of bed and hurried to find clean clothes. He changed and then pocketed his wand.
"Let me see the letter, Sirius," Remus said, trying to stay calm.
Sirius handed him the piece of parchment and watched as the werewolf's eyes grew wide with fear. Remus sniffed the letter and looked up, angrier than Sirius had seen him in years.
"We need to get Lily and James. Now. That's Harry's blood all over that letter. He's badly injured," Remus confirmed.
Sirius and Remus tore out of the room and down the stairs, racing to get outside.
Once they were in the street, Sirius grabbed Remus', arm and Remus Apparated them to just outside of Hogsmeade. Sirius quickly transformed into his Animagus form of the black dog, and they hurried down the street, breaking into a run when they hit the Hogwarts grounds.
Sirius transformed back when they reached the castle, and they ran inside, letting Remus' wolf-like sense of smell help them find their friends. When they reached their door, they started knocking as hard as they could until James answered, looking rather alarmed by this rude awakening.
"Erm, can I help you two?" James asked, slightly caught off guard. "Do either of you even know what time it is?"
Lily was in the background, looking slightly concerned. "Is something the matter?"
"James, it doesn't matter what bloody time it is. You both need to get dressed as quick as possible," Sirius said in a rush. "It's Harry."
James stared at Sirius with a look of fear. "Is my son okay, Padfoot?"
"Oh no!" said Lily worriedly. "My little boy! What's happened?"
"We can't be entirely sure of anything," answered Remus. "He just owled Sirius and his letter was very…worrisome."
James looked at Lily, and saw his own concern mirrored in her face.
"Give us just a minute to get properly dressed, and we'll be ready," James said. "And we want to see his letter."
They were out within minutes, eager to see their son.
"Can we see the letter, Remus," Lily asked.
Remus handed them Harry's letter and watched as they read, their faces a mix of confusion, anger, and worry.
"'Snuffles'? Why does he call you 'Snuffles,' Padfoot?" James asked.
"It's a codename in case the owls are intercepted," Sirius answered.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lily said impatiently. "Let's go."
They set off for Hogsmeade, leaving behind a note for Dumbledore about where they had gone. Once in Hogsmeade, they Apparated a safe yet close distance away from Privet Drive and made their way through the neighborhood.
When they reached Privet Drive, Lily broke out in a run, James taking off after her. There were lights on in Number 4, people were awake and starting their day. When the group finally reached the doorstep, they had no idea what they would find inside.
When Remus and Sirius (who had transformed back from his dog form) got to the door, James started pounding on it. After about five minutes of knocking, a rather large man who looked extremely angry that his breakfast had been interrupted snatched the door open. When he saw who was beating on his door, his face blanched and a look of sheer terror spread over him.
"W-What do you want? There's nothing here of concern to you," he stammered.
"Well, that's a fine way to greet your sister-in-law after fourteen years, Vernon Dursley," Lily said coldly. "And I do believe that something here is of my concern – you have my son."
"But, but you're dead!" Vernon exclaimed, horrified. "And you -" pointing at James, "you're dead too!"
"Well, not anymore," said James angrily. "Give me back my boy, Dursley."
"Good!" Vernon spat. "Take him! He's nothing but trouble! I never wanted him in my house to begin with!"
At this, Sirius came forward, raising his wand.
"Hi, remember me?" Sirius said threateningly. "I'm Harry's godfather. You know, the mad mass murderer? Well, say one more thing about my godson and I'll make that statement ring true. Now where is he?"
Vernon eyed Sirius' wand closely, weighing his options. "He's upstairs. The first door you come to."
Sirius, keeping his eyes on Vernon, said, "James, Lily, you go upstairs with Remus. I'll stay down here and keep an eye on things."
Lily, followed by James and Remus, pushed their way past Vernon, throwing nasty looks at him as they went. They reached the top of the stairs and headed to the first door they saw.
"Oh, James," Lily said as they reached the door. "James, look at the locks. Why? Our little boy is in there."
"I don't know, Lily. I just hope he's okay," James said.
Remus walked up to the door and raised his wand. "Alohomora." The locks on the door clicked open, and the door swung open.
Lily slowly crept into the room, James right on her heels. The sight that greeted them was nothing like what they were expecting. Lily expected to see her son maybe sitting on the bed, reading. James had thought he might still be asleep. But not this – this didn't even look like a teenage boy's room.
For starters, it was extremely clean, except for one corner of the room. This particular corner looked as though someone had poured buckets of dark red paint all over the floor and splashed it on the wardrobe near the foot of the bed.
"Blood," said Remus, fully alert. "I smell blood. Harry."
Their eyes traveled to the bed, where they saw a small, very pale boy curled up in a ball. He appeared to be asleep.
"Harry!" Lily gasped as she ran to the bed. "Harry, sweetheart, wake up!"
Lily sat on the edge of the bed, lifting the small frame of her son, holding him close.
James looked around the room, then back to his wife and son. He strode across the room to get a better look at him. James sat down on the bed and noticed the spot where Harry had been laying; it was soaked in blood. He studied the teenager more, noticing the funny look of his left hand and arm, then looked over the rest of his form as well. Harry's right foot hung strangely, too. James also saw that he was swollen in several places. He leaned over and carefully raised Harry's shirt – he was horrified.
Lily was sitting across from him on the bed, holding Harry and quietly crying. She kept repeating the same things over and over, more for her own comfort than anything.
"Harry, sweetheart, wake up. Mummy's here now, darling. Daddy's here. Everything will be alright, baby. It's going to be just fine. You're going to be okay, Harry."
Lily moved to wrap her arm around Harry and he violently twitched, but did not wake. As he twitched, he let out a low moan of pain. Lily's eyes darted to James – she was terrified for their precious boy. Finally, James spoke.
"Moony, go downstairs and see if you and Padfoot can find Harry's stuff. It doesn't look like it's up here. I'll look around and get his things in here."
Remus headed downstairs to Sirius, who still had Vernon backed into a corner, wand trained on him. When Remus reached them, he pushed past Sirius and went straight to Vernon, pressing his wand against his throat.
"Alright, Dursley, where have put Harry's things?" Remus said menacingly.
"Don't point that thing at me!" Vernon choked out.
"Dursley, you aren't in the position to tell people what to do," Remus said. "I should hex you into oblivion right here. The quicker you tell me where his things are, the quicker we'll all be out of your house with Harry."
Vernon seemed to think this over and pointed to the locked cupboard door. Sirius opened it with his wand and looked in the door.
"How is he, Remus?" Sirius asked as he took Harry's broom and trunk out of the cupboard.
"Not good, Sirius," Remus said grimly. "We're going to have to take him to Madame Pomfrey. If that's all his things, I suggest you go see if James and Lily need help."
"He's hurt?" asked Sirius incredulously.
"Yes, and pretty badly from the looks of it."
Sirius started up the stairs, then turned back around and looked at Vernon. "I'm not finished with you, Dursley. Mark my words, you'll get what's due to you."
Then he stalked up the stairs and prepared himself for what he would find there.
James had gathered what few things of his son's that he could find in the room. It wasn't much; a few pieces of clothing, a few books, parchment, quills, and Hedwig's cage. They would have to get him some new clothes. He obviously didn't have nearly enough.
Just then, Sirius walked in the room and looked around. As his eyes took everything in, a look of horror spread across his face. Then he rested his eyes on Harry and his face fell. He rushed to his godson, at a complete loss for words.
Lily looked at him through her tears and said, "Why would someone do this? My baby doesn't deserve this. Why?"
Sirius found his voice, "I don't know, Lily. He's a really good kid. He's a great kid. I highly doubt he did anything to provoke this. But I'll be damned if I let them get away with this. I found his trunk and broom, by the way, James."
"Harry doesn't have anything up here besides what I've gathered up," James said to Sirius. "Would you mind taking it when we go downstairs and put it in his trunk?"
"Sure," Sirius replied. He gathered up the small pile and headed downstairs.
James turned to Lily and said, "Sweetheart, we need to get him to Madame Pomfrey. I'll carry him."
Lily looked sadly at Harry and gently moved from the bed. James reached down and carefully picked him up. Harry moaned, but he didn't wake up.
That's when James noticed Harry's right forearm. It was badly burned and looked infected.
"Lily," he said. "Look at Harry's right arm. I didn't notice at first, but it's burned."
Lily looked at Harry's arm and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. "Let's go, James," she said. "Let's get him out of here and get him help."
James turned around and carefully carried Harry out of the room. Lily closed the door behind them and they made their way down the stairs.
"He's so light, Lily," James said sadly. "Do you think he gets enough to eat?"
"He will from now on," Lily said. "I'll make sure he has whatever he wants to eat every day up to September first."
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Lily made a beeline for Vernon.
"You!" she hissed. "What happened to my child? When I get done with you, you'll wish I'd killed you! If you thought for one minute you could bring harm to my son and get away with it, you're badly mistaken."
A look of terror was etched on Vernon's face. Suddenly, he was looking straight down Lily's wand. He tried to flash her an apologetic smile, but it turned into more of a grimace.
As Vernon slowly tried to edge away from Lily, she hexed him full in the face. Boils sprouted up all over his ugly face, causing him to choke out a terrified cry. Lily sent another hex to him, this one stinging him all over. Lily thought that both hexes combined would keep him occupied for a while. She lowered her wand and turned to see Sirius and Remus gaping at her.
"What?" she said.
"Well, Lily," Sirius started, "you kinda took the fun out of this for us."
"I never would have expected you to raise your wand to a soul," said Remus, obviously shocked.
"Yeah, well, no one messes with my baby," Lily said fiercely.
As she turned to leave the house, she glanced into the kitchen down the hall. She saw Petunia staring back at her, a mixture of surprise, horror, and apology written on her face. Lily merely gave her sister a cold stare in acknowledgement.
"Come on," James said, readjusting Harry in his arms. "Let's get Harry to Madame Pomfrey."
He was already standing just outside the door, ready to leave. Lily walked out, followed by Sirius and Remus, who were carrying Harry's belongings. They walked down Privet Drive and Apparated to Hogsmeade when they reached the end of the street.
A/N: Well, that's Chapter 2! Please review! Here is a rough timeline if anyone questions how everything went about that morning:
5:30 – Harry's beating.
6:00 – Harry sends letter to Sirius
6:30-6:45 – Sirius receives letter
7:00 – Sirius & Remus alert Lily & James
7:30 – group arrives at Number 4
Again, if anyone sees any mistakes or something, PLEASE tell me! I love you all for continuing to read this! If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to review or PM me! Also, what should I do with Harry & Ginny's relationship? And Sirius? Both of these questions are pretty important, but I want to know what you guys think! See you all next time! :D
