KelseyHalliwell: within time. I have the drafts. I'm just working on them. I'm so sorry but I had lost interest in them. But I'm resurfacing and working really hard on forcing myself to write the next chapters. Haha. Soon, tho, soon. I hope. And thank you, I luv that ppl love my stories.

Here's ch. 1.

Chapter One

Saved

Hermione didn't feel like playing anymore. She walked back home sad. Green Eyes was right there. She could touch him. And she let him slip through her fingers. She walked into her house without even looking across the street. She walked inside and smiled weakly at her parents who were unpacking some boxes. They had come earlier in the week and started to unpack, so they didn't have much left. The movers van came with their furniture. Hermione walked up to her room and sat on her bed. She grabbed her teddy bear and hugged it tightly, tears starting to track down her face.

'Why am I so upset? I don't even know his name,' she thought to herself as she let her upper body fall backwards onto her bed. She stared at the boring ceiling. She wiped her eyes as her door opened.

"Hermione?" came her mother's voice. She sat up and smiled weakly again.

"Hey, Mum," she said still staring into space.

Charlotte came and sat next to her on the bed. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked seeing her tearstains.

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing."

"No," Charlotte didn't buy it. "Something's wrong. I can tell."

Hermione sighed. She didn't want to tell her about Green Eyes. They would think she's crazy. "Can I tell you when I'm ready?" she asked.

Charlotte stoked her daughter's hair and nodded, agreeingly. She'll tell her on her own time. She kissed her on the head and said, "Why don't I help you redress your bed?" Hermione nodded and they stood getting out her fresh sheets and comforter. They were purple. Her favorite color. Her soft pillows were pulled from their cardboard container. And she and her mother slipped them into the pillow covers, putting them on the bed. Then came her stuffed animals. There weren't that many that she put on her bed. Just her teddy bear, "Teddy"; "Martin", her turtle; "Bambi", her deer; and "Faline", her doe. Her only friends, other than her books.

She went downstairs to help her parents unpack. Everything was almost out of boxes. They still had a few left. Hermione's mind was on Green Eyes again. Where did he live? It must have been close because he was at the playground. He was so close and yet, so far.

They had dinner that night at seven. Hermione was quiet, which was a little unusual. "Hermione, are you okay?" Jacob asked noticing her silence.

She looked up at him and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"How was the playground?" Charlotte asked. "Were there any other children there?"

Hermione paused and replied, "A few."

"Were they nice?"

"One was," she smiled at the memory of Green Eyes.

"Well, do you know their name?" Jacob asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't. He had to leave before I could say anything. Before both of us could say anything."

"A 'he'?" her dad asked.

She nodded. "He looks around my age. Six."

Charlotte nodded and they finished dinner. Hermione went take a bath and then went to bed. Not knowing that Green Eyes was across the street thinking about her.


'Who was she? She was beautiful. I'm only six and I already think a girl is beautiful?! What's wrong with me?!' Harry thought as he laid in his lumpy, uncomfortable cot in his cupboard. This was his safe haven and his cage. He felt safe and trapped at the same time. It was like he was stuck in an impenetrable sphere and there was fire all around him and there was no escape. There was blood all over his cupboard. He had tried scrubbing it out one time, but it stayed there stained.

He could smell the aroma of spaghetti, garlic bread, and green beans coming in through the vent on the cupboard door. The food he cooked and he couldn't even eat it. He couldn't even taste his own creation.

He could hear the scraping of forks against the porcelain plates. All of it was making his mouth water. He hadn't eaten anything since eleven o'clock that morning. He had snuck in to the kitchen and gotten himself a pop-tart. He savored the strawberry taste, smiling. Of course, he was caught red-handed and beaten raw. But he didn't care. It was worth the pop-tart.

His stomach was growling, something he was definitely used to. Why didn't they like him? Why did his parents leave him there? Why didn't they love him?

'What is love anyway? I've never felt it. Maybe it doesn't exist,' he thought.

He heard the loud clinking of silverware and plates being put in the sink. And the water being poured on it. Harry looked through the cracks of the vent at them in the kitchen. They were throwing his food that he made away. How dare they! This wasn't something new, but he was still ticked off about it.

The door opened and shut quickly. Harry felt something hit his stomach. It was crusts from the garlic bread. He greedily ate it up. The lights went out and he heard his uncle's nightly, "Nighty-night, fucker!" It creeped him out the way he said it. Then there were loud footsteps on the stairs, blowing dust in his face.

He eventually fell asleep, thinking of a certain brown-eyed girl.


The next morning, Hermione woke up to the sun shining in her face. She sat up and stretched, reaching for the sky. She stood and got out of her bed, walking downstairs, smelling breakfast cooking. She groggily walked into the kitchen and sat down. A plate was set in front of her. She looked at it and smiled. An egg in a hole. Her favorite.

She greedily ate it up. Three times her parents had to tell her to slow down. She just replied, "Take it as a compliment." But she still slowed down.

She was used to being left home alone. Their practice was only five miles away. Not very far and they could be home in two minutes. Hermione got dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse. It was hot, but she loved wearing jeans.

She went up to her room and stayed there, reading as her parents left for the practice. As she was reading how Lucy Pevensie escaped the White Witch with the help of Mr. Tumnus, she heard a loud yell.

"You will not go anywhere, boy! We're locking you in!" it was familiar. She looked out of the window and saw the fat man, his wife, and his son, but no Green Eyes. The fat man was locking the door and getting into his Mercedes Benz. Hermione noticed the license plate. She recognized it from the playground. She pieced it all together.

Green Eyes lived right across the street! She was so close! That's why she was so drawn to that house.

She smiled at the realization. Maybe she could sneak over for a peek. She had never done anything bad before. At least not horrible like being a Peeping Tom. She decided to do it anyway, wanting to see him.

She snuck out of her house, looked down the street for anyone watching. It was silent. So she ran over across the street to Number four. She went to the window to peek in. It was uglier than her house. There were green carpets and ugly wallpaper. She was looking at the stairs. But there was no Green Eyes. 'Where is he?' After five minutes of trying to find him, she left, defeated. She could hear his heartbeat, so she knew he was close. But she didn't want him to know she was there.

It was worth a try. She went back to her house, locked the door, went up to her room, and continued to read about how the older Pevensie children didn't believe their little sister had found another world in a wardrobe.

Maybe she could try that night.


She couldn't wait for tonight. After dinner, leftovers from the night before, she took her nightly bath and slipped into bed. She waited for her parents to come tuck her in. "Goodnight, dear, we love you."

"I love you, too," she said back and they left.

Her parents usually fell asleep at around nine since they had to get up in the morning. She got out of bed, still in her plaid, matching pajamas, she put on her shoes and left her house quietly. She was like a mouse. Her parents never heard her walk into a room. She doubted they would hear the click of a door. And she lucked out as their window faced the backyard. She hurriedly crept over to Number four. She heard the heartbeat. It was erratic.

Hermione looked into the window and saw a sad sight. Green Eyes was leaning against the wall under the stairs, with his shirt up to his neck. Hermione saw thousands of wounds and raw cuts on his back. It was horrible. Crack! came the belt on his raw back. Green Eyes didn't even flinch, but she saw his hands grip the wall, almost in pain. He must have sensed her. He turned his head to look at her and their eyes met once again.


It was her. He saw her standing there in the window. Her heart jumping, erratic, like his. He looked at her, almost pleadingly to help him. But he didn't want to call out to her. In fear of Uncle Vernon hurting her, too.

She was too beautiful to mess up. Her brown eyes filled with tears as she saw blood spurt from his back. He fell to his knees, hitting his head hard on the wall. He didn't black out, just became delirious. He was suffering. If his uncle noticed she was there, he would probably beat her as well, letting him rest a bit. So he kept his mouth shut and suffered.

He suffered for her.


Hermione put her hands on the window, wanting to take his pain away from him. Blood dripped from his back and his head from the nasty blow on the wall as he fell to his knees. Sweat poured off of the six-year-old's body, making him shine.

Finally, the man stopped and shoved Green Eyes into the cupboard under the stairs and locked the door. Hermione could swear-swear-she heard the boy crying. She ran back to her house, in the door, crept up the stairs, into her bed, and wept.


The next day, she told her parents about what she had seen. Of course, they were furious that she had snuck out of the house, but then saw her reason. She wanted to help him. "Please," she pleaded tears once again rolling down her face. "Please, we have to help him."

Her mother held her close as she cried. Jacob nodded. "Alright, I'll call the police and ask them to get a search warrant."

Hermione smiled as he stood up and went to the phone.

An hour later, they saw two police cars rolling into the driveway of Number four. The family of three went outside their house to watch what was happening. They saw other neighbors had come out as well.

The door opened and the fat man and his wife stood there terrified. The police went inside and they heard one shouting, "Where is the boy?!" The fat man wouldn't say anything, so Hermione ran across the street to the home, ignoring her parents' calls.

She went through the door to the cupboard under the stairs, hearing his erratic heartbeat again. It was so fast. She closed her eyes and sighed, opening it. When she opened it, she fell upon a sad sight again. Green Eyes was sitting towards the farthest part from the door, curled up in a ball with his hands over his ears, blocking out the noise. A tear rolled down her cheek as he was crying as well and backed away more from her as the door opened.

"No, it's okay." She looked at the police officers and said, "He's here!" Two rushed to the cupboard and looked in. Seeing the blood and scared little boy, they shouted to the other officers, "Arrest them!"

There was some struggle, but they caught all three of them in no time. Hermione's parents came in. Hermione looked at Green Eyes and knelt down, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and held out her hand to him. "It's okay. They're gone. You're safe now," she said soothingly. He was still a little scared of approaching her. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I want to help you." She sighed when he still didn't come. "Trust me." That did it.

He hesitantly crawled from his corner, grabbing her hand and fell into her arms, burying his head in her neck, sobbing. She rocked him from side to side. "It's okay. Shh. It's okay. You're safe now. Shh." Her parents walked up behind them, gazing down at him. Tears rolled down Charlotte's face as Jacob held her.

The boy was calming down, his sobs turned to soft cries. Out of an impulse, Hermione kissed him on the side of the head.


Harry was scared. His uncle, aunt, and the men were so loud. He curled up in his corner, covering his ears and crying. "Where is the boy?!"

'I'm right here!' he wanted to shout but was afraid his uncle would hurt him again. He jumped a bit as he heard her heartbeat coming closer and getting more frantic. He jumped when he heard the lock clicked open. He jumped when the door opened to reveal her.

His savior.

He backed away from her more. He didn't know why he was scared of her. But he was. He whimpered. "No, it's okay." Her voice was soft and sweet. Like a lily pad over a pond of fresh water. She looked up and said, "He's here!" He saw two police officers look at him and yell, "Arrest them!" He heard his uncle and aunt's protests. Soon, his cousin's. His brown-eyed girl knelt down to him, tucking her hair behind his ear. She held out a hand to him. He backed away. "It's okay. They're gone. You're safe now." Her voice was so soothing. "I'm not goint to hurt you. I promise. I want to help you." Why would anyone want to help him? He was a freak. A fucker. Nobody wanted him. "Trust me." 'Alright, I'll trust you.' He needed to be held, so he crept out from his space, grabbing her hand and falling into her arms, shaking.

She whispered sweet nothings into his ear and kissed his head. He felt at peace, listening to her heartbeat against his. Together, they beat to the same tune. The same...Harmony.

He was saved.


They just stayed like that until a police officer came to them, saying, "We found this in the attic. We believe it's the boy's birth certificate. You can give that to him." It was an old document it looked like.

Charlotte gave the paper to Hermione to give to the boy. He took it and released her, reluctantly. Looking at it, he smiled internally as he had only smiled once in his life. His birthday was July the thirty-first. That was almost here.

Hermione looked at him and stroked back his bangs, seeing a lightning bolt shaped scar there. She traced it lightly with a soft finger. His eyes closed at her soft touch. She smiled.

Her parents were talking to the police officer, asking where he was to go.

"Well, he'll have to go to the orphanage. Or the foster care system until we can find a nice home for him," he had answered.

"Can we keep him?" Hermione asked still staring at him.

"Hermione, he's not a puppy," her mother reasoned with her.

She turned to glare at her. "I know he's not. But we can give him a good home."

Charlotte knew she was right. She stared at the boy. He stared back at her. He looked so lost, almost like a lost puppy. He was pretty thin, obviously from malnutrition. His green eyes caught her attention. They seemed to say, help me. Without knowing what she was doing, she nodded. Turning to the officer, she asked, "Is it possible if we could take him into our custody for a while?"

"Yes, if you would like to be his foster parents, I'll call a social worker and get them to come here or your home. You can take him home if you like. We'll need your phone number, though, to keep in contact with you."

"Thank you," Jacob said.

Hermione looked back at the boy who stared back.

And smiled.


They brought him home with them. The first thing they did was feed him. He tried not to shovel it down and disgust these nice people. He told them his name was Harry Potter. They introduced themselves as Charlotte, Jacob, and Hermione Granger.

Hermione. That was her name.

The social worker came soon and the Grangers signed some paperwork. After he ate, they gave him a bath. Jacob gave it to him, to be more precise, since he was a male. He wanted to vomit when he saw his back. But he got over it and cleaned Harry of all bloodstains.

Hermione paced back and forth in front of the bathroom, waiting for him to come out, listening to his heartbeat. It was more calm now. When they came out, he smelled better. He felt better. He smiled at her. He was dressed in her father's old pajamas. Charlotte came up to them before they could say anything to each other.

"Um, ma'am, I was wondering if I could rest for the remainder of the day. I'm quite tired, if that's okay with you," he asked shyly not looking at her.

"Of course, Harry, you can rest however long you want. We'll put you in the guest room. Come on," she led him into the room next to Hermione's. Hermione followed them. "It's not much, but this is the guest room."

It really wasn't much, but Harry started to cry. "For me?"

They nodded. "For you."

He smiled and said, "No, it's perfect." He went sit on the bed. It was soft and comfortable. He stood up and pulled back the covers, slipping in and laying down. Hermione walked over to him to tuck him in.

"Stay with me," he blurted it out. "Please."

She nodded blushing and slipped in with him. Charlotte smiled as she wrapped her arms around Harry protecting him from the cruel world. He settled into her embrace. Charlotte closed the curtains, putting them in darkness, kissed both of their foreheads and left the room, shutting the door.

It was true.

Harry had been saved.

And he felt safe in his brown-eyed girl's arms.

TBC...


Well, that was ch. 1. Hope you like it. Worked on this listening to "Anywhere But Here" by Safetysuit and "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss. Great songs!

Will be posting more to this and Additions. And possibly Found and Bitten.

Pleez review!

DREWHHR