On the Run

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm just making his life miserable for my own entertainment.

Chapter 2.

Harry awoke slowly, feeling stiff and uncomfortable. Had he fallen off his bed in the night? It sure felt as if he were on the floor. And his right arm was twisted at an awkward angel behind his back as he lay curled on his left side.

Suddenly, an image of a man flashed into his mind and Harry was wide-awake and sitting up, staring around himself fearfully. Everything was a little blurry because he didn't have his glasses, but he could still make out most of what was around him. He was on the floor of a room that looked like some kind of wild beast had been let loose in it. Broken furniture was littered here and there and most of the walls looked as though something had scratched at it. The curtains and what upholstery he could see was slashed and torn and a film of dust lay over everything. Whatever had got loose in here was long gone. Harry himself was sitting at the foot of a dusty, tired looking bed. He looked down at his wrist and wasn't really surprised to see that he was handcuffed to the narrow bedpost. He was really in trouble now.

Where was his kidnapper? He tried to remember what he looked like from the brief glance he'd had the night before. He hadn't seemed very tall and his hair looked like it was falling out. He'd also had the look of a slightly podgy man who had lost a lot of weight very quickly.

Harry knelt, pulling on the cuffs as quietly as possible so he could see onto the bed. There was no one there. So why had he been thrown on the floor when there was a perfectly good bed going unused? A slight movement made him look closer. The bed wasn't empty after all. Harry gaped at the sight of Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, sleeping in the exact centre of the bed.

"Scabbers?" he whispered in disbelief. "Ron will be so glad to see you. But first I have to get out of here, wherever here is."

He examined the handcuffs more closely. His hands were pretty small. If he tried really hard he might be able to squeeze out of it. He had to be quiet though. Who knew when his kidnapper would come back.

As he worked he let his mind drift. Who had kidnapped him and why? Was he an accomplice of Sirius Black? Or the man himself using Polyjuice Potion? No it couldn't be that. If he were going to use Polyjuice he would surely have used hair from someone who belonged in the school, not a random stranger. Could it be someone working for Voldemort? The very idea made him shudder.

First things first, Harry needed to get out of here and get back to the school. He couldn't be all that far away if Scabbers had made it here in just a couple of days. The thought gave him pause. Why was Scabbers here? Probably scared of Crookshanks, though that didn't really explain the blood on the sheets. Harry shook his head and returned to the task at hand. Yeah, the rat had faked his own death to escape the cat. Next thing you know he'd be thinking Black was innocent of betraying his mum and dad. Or that Voldemort really just wanted to be friends.

Aha! Success. His hand slipped through the cuff so suddenly that he fell backwards, causing the dust to fly up in the air. He almost sneezed but managed to stop himself just in time. He didn't want to alert anyone that may be waiting in the next room. He wished he had his wand, but knew that was impossible, he'd just have to make do with what he had.

Standing slowly and stretching to relieve the kinks in his back he moved to the bed. "Come on Scabbers," he whispered. "Let's go home." He gingerly picked up the rat and started for the door, moving as silently as he could. He opened the door cautiously, half expecting to hear someone yell out, but nothing happened. Relieved he stepped through into a long dark tunnel.

No guard then? That was a stroke of luck. Unless, of course, someone was waiting at the end of the tunnel. He'd go carefully and hope whoever it was had thought he'd been sufficiently restrained.

He walked for about five minutes when Scabbers woke up in his hands. The rat immediately began to wriggle to get free. "Stop it, Scabbers," Harry murmured. "You'll get me caught." But Scabbers paid him no attention and continued to writhe in his grip.

Harry dropped his small burden when it bit him sharply on a finger. It was all Harry could do not to yell out. What was wrong with Scabbers? He was usually so complacent.

Harry's eyes widened as Scabbers seemed to grow in front of his eyes until he was face to face with the man who had removed him from Hogwarts the night before. Harry gasped. He was an animagus! And Harry's own wand was pointed between his eyes.

Harry's gaze flitted about. The man was standing between him and the exit, leaving the only way out towards the room he had awoken in. Even if he felt inclined to run that way this man had his wand and could easily stun him.

"Walk," the man's voice was rasping, as if he weren't accustomed to using it. He jabbed the wand up the tunnel, indicating where he wanted Harry to go. Bowing his head in defeat, Harry turned and walked slowly back the way he came. Was that really Scabbers? He should have left the rat there.

When they reached the room Harry was shoved towards the bed and told to sit. Harry nervously did as he was told, all the while hoping for an escape. He didn't know if anyone could find them here, but he had a really strong desire for someone he knew to burst through the door to rescue him. Professor Dumbledore or Lupin would be great, but he'd settle for anyone really. Even Ron and Hermione. He was sure that between them they could take out this man.

As Harry was thinking the small man, who was barely taller than Harry himself had re-handcuffed him to the post. He muttered a charm and Harry felt the cuff on his wrist shrink until it was painfully tight. He stifled his cry of pain, not wanting to give his kidnapper the satisfaction.

"Who are you?" he asked defiantly. "What do you want?"

The man replied by grabbing Harry's chin and forcing his head around so they were staring into one another's eyes.

"I've been watching you for almost three years, but this is the first time I have looked upon you with human eyes," he grunted. "It's uncanny, how much you look like James."

Harry's eyes flew wide open. "You knew my dad?"

"Oh, of course," the man said, enjoying the discomfort he was inflicting on the boy before him. "We were dear friends. Your mother, too, was very fond of me. Your eyes come from her, you know."

"I don't believe you," Harry said forcibly. How could his parents be friends with someone who would abduct him from school? There was no way. But then a nasty little voice reminded him that Black had been his father's best friend. Maybe his dad had really bad taste in friends or something. Except for Professor Lupin.

"Believe what you want, little boy, it won't change a thing."

Harry bristled, but didn't say anything. He tried to shift his wrist so he was a bit more comfortable in the cuff, but to no avail. "What do you want with me?"

"I'm returning to my Master," the man sneered. "I needed a suitable gift and you're it."

"Voldemort," Harry said.

The man flinched violently, but recovered quickly. He backhanded Harry across the face. Harry felt his lip split and this time he couldn't stop himself from crying out.

The man smirked at him. "Do not speak my Master's name, insolent brat, or next time it will be much worse."

Harry glared at him, refusing to be cowed, even though he was currently chained to the bed. "Are you working with Sirius Black?"

"Black? No," the man laughed. "He and I parted ways long ago. I'm sorry to say we are no longer friends."

"But you both work for Vol... You-Know-Who."

The man didn't answer, but he did look very smug at that.

"Who are you?"

The man seemed to hesitate before answering. "My name is Wormtail."

The Marauder's Map! This was Wormtail? Then who were the other three?

"Can I have my glasses?" he asked hesitantly.

"No."

Harry hadn't thought so, but it was worth asking. Wormtail didn't seem to mind him asking questions so he might as well learn as much as he could. If someone rescued him they would want to know certain things.

"How did you get me out of Hogwarts? Teachers are always patrolling the corridors and there are ghosts and things."

"I know all the secret passages," Wormtail boasted. "Far more than Dumbledore even. I was already in your dormitory, have been for years and you had all the tools I needed to get you out of there easily. I outsmarted the great Albus Dumbledore!"

Wormtail seemed to think rather a lot of himself. Harry could work with that. "That was really very clever. How did you manage to pose as Scabbers for all these years? It must have been really difficult."

Wormtail almost preened at the praise. "Yes, difficult. I worked long and hard to conquer the animagus transformation. Only the most brilliant wizards are capable of it, you know. Then I had to insinuate myself into a pure blood family. I knew the Weasley's had children about the right age and they are always Gryffindors, as I knew you would be. It was an uncomplicated life. Then you and the boy became friends when you began school and I knew I had made the right choice."

"Why didn't you do something during first year?" Harry asked, trying to hide his distaste at the thought of this man sleeping in his dormitory for the last three years. He had slept in Ron's bed.

"It was the wrong time," Wormtail said dismissively. "I did not know where my Master was and it would have been imprudent to have you along while I searched."

"You, you know where he is?"

"I would hardly have made such a daring move if I didn't would I?" Wormtail wheezed. "Now be silent. We need to wait until nightfall before leaving and we might as well get some sleep in the meantime." With that he pushed Harry on to the floor and pointed his wand at him. "Since I can't trust you to not try and escape, dormus."

Harry instantly felt tiredness sweep over him and his eyes closed. He was soon fast asleep.

Wormtail looked upon the sleeping boy. Yes, he really was very clever to think of such a spell. He would have to use it whenever he needed to sleep or the whelp would be trying to get away at every opportunity. He put the wand back in his tattered robe pocket and transformed back into a rat. Moments later, he too was sound asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The large black dog was sitting beneath the Gryffindor stands, waiting for the match to start. The sounds above were almost deafening to his exceptionally good ears. Children could be so loud.

It was late though and the dog was starting to become concerned when a voice boomed out over the pitch.

"EVEYONE PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE GREAT HALL. QUIDDITCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."

Cancelled? Quidditch was never cancelled. Something big was going on and he was determined to find out what. He could see two pairs of legs running towards the teacher who had made the announcement and decided that they might be the best people to follow if he was going to find out what was going on. He'd seen these two a lot and knew who they were friends with.

He ran beneath the stands to a spot directly behind the group and crawled on his belly to get as close as he could. While what he heard wasn't very encouraging it didn't really provide any information and he couldn't very well follow them into the school. He'd have to wait until he could learn more. He just hoped the traitor hadn't done anything drastic.

Sirius Black would rip Peter Pettigrew apart with his very large canine teeth if he hurt so much as one hair on Harry's head.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Harry awoke that evening he opened his eyes to stare directly at the end of his own wand once more. He noticed that Wormtail was wearing the other end of the handcuffs that still bit painfully into Harry's wrist. It was by this very handy tool that Wormtail yanked Harry up to his feet.

Harry swayed slightly. The shock of going from sleeping to awake and standing had thrown him off balance, but Wormtail was already pulling him towards the tunnel. Harry tried to ask him a question, but no sound escaped his mouth. Harry guessed he'd been silenced.

The tunnel narrowed at the end and then they had to climb up out of a hole. Harry found it difficult with Wormtail constantly trying to drag him upwards, but managed it eventually and as his invisibility cloak was thrown over him he was surprised to see that they were on Hogwarts grounds.

The castle loomed above them and Harry wished he could remove the silencing charm. If he were able to yell someone might hear and come save him.

Wormtail was already pulling him along at a fast pace and they had soon by passed Hagrid's hut and were out the school gates on the path to Hogsmeade.

He stopped just on the outskirts of the village and threw off the cloak. Harry suddenly realised that Wormtail was wearing his, or rather Dudley's, clothes. They were a little long on him and fit him only slightly better than they did Harry. He removed one of Dudley's old caps from a pocket and shoved it on Harry's head, jamming it down far enough to hide his scar. With a tap of Harry's wand the handcuffs fell off.

Wormtail hissed. "I will call the Knight Bus and we will get on. You will do nothing to draw attention to yourself or I will kill you instantly. You are worth almost as much to my Master dead as you are alive. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded vehemently. Wormtail put on a similar cap and flung his wand out. In his other hand was a familiar moneybag. Great! He was funding his own kidnapping.

With a loud bang and a lot of smoke the triple-decker Knight Bus appeared in front of them.