Trouble at Home

Trouble at Home

Chapter 1

Harry Potter waved goodbye to his friends as he walked behind Uncle Vernon. He could almost feel the anger coming off his uncle in waves. But Harry just dismissed it as normal behavior.

The Third Task had taken a lot out of Harry. The nightmares came much more frequently, practically every night. And these ones included a young man staring up at him with surprise etched into his dead face and eyes.

That was the most frustrating part. Not being able to get away from that innocent face. //If Cedric hadn't taken the cup with me, he would still be alive today. It's all my fault. Everything is all my fault...\

~*~

Harry got into the car and he and his Uncle drove to Number 4 Privet Drive in silence. But Harry could still feel the waves of fury washing over him. //What did I do to warrant such hostile behavior?\

They reached the house in record time, but it still felt too long for Harry's comfort. They got out of the car and Harry proceeded to collect his belongings. Uncle Vernon walked to the front door and went inside with a slam.

Lugging his possessions behind him, Harry opened the door and went inside.

As soon as he closed the door, something hit Harry, hard, from behind.

"You thought it was funny? Doing that to Dudley?!!" Uncle Vernon spat.

Harry looked up dazedly. That had hurt. That had really hurt. He was used to neglect, but outright abuse? Then it finally clicked. The reason his uncle was so angry with him. The toffee from the previous summer. Dudley's tongue. //Uh-Oh...\

*Smack* Vernon hit him with the table lamp right in the face. Harry thought he felt his nose break. Blood started gushing everywhere. He could taste it in his mouth and see it going everywhere.

"You dare get your abnormal blood everywhere in this house? I'll make you pay for that!"

A blow to Harry's stomach stopped all previous thoughts. He crumpled to the ground in a heap of pain. Vernon's shoe connected with his ribs. Harry curled into a protective ball to try and fend off the blows. But the boot connected again, and again, and again...

Then, with one last kick to the head, Harry mercifully blacked out.

~*~

Chapter 2

Pain. Exploding. Can't breath.

Harry slowly regained consciousness. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down, but that only resulted in a white-hot, searing pain in his chest.

//Dammit. What the hell happened?\ he thought, trying to get his breathing under control. Then he remembered. Coming into the house, his uncle hitting him repeatedly, then... nothing. The sweet solitude of blackness.

Harry discovered that he was back in his cupboard. During his life, Harry had found out that he was terrified of enclosed spaces. Being in a cupboard for ten years of his life probably didn't help to ease this fear.

Harry tried to move, but the pain in his chest and head grew to unbearable proportions. He began seeing stars in front of his eyes.

//I can defeat Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in a long time, but cannot even defend myself against my fat uncle. How pathetic. Why does wizarding world think I can protect them?\ Harry sat there for a long time, wallowing in sorrow and trying not to jar his broken ribs. He tried to be quiet, but unfortunately for Harry, Vernon had extremely good hearing, for some things, and detected his whimpering.

*Bang* "Are you crying in there like a little baby, boy!?! I'll give you something to cry about!" Vernon swung the door open and dragged a panicked Harry out. He cried out in pain; Vernon had thrown him into the hallway table, making Harry nearly black out.

//What did I do this time? Can't he just leave me alone and let me drown in my own self-pity?\ Harry began to raise himself up when Vernon kicked him in the arm. It cracked and splintered like a weak tree branch in a storm. The bone broke free of his skin, splattering blood all over Harry and Vernon.

Vernon yelled out in rage at having his shirt destroyed. "That was my favorite shirt you stupid f*ck! You'll pay for that, boy!" And Vernon commenced pummeling Harry into the floor.

Harry took the abuse as quietly as he could, biting his already bleeding lip to keep from screaming out his agony. He could barely breathe through his broken nose, and was starting to get a little cynical in his panic-ridden state. //What a great way to die. Of oxygen deprivation because my uncle decided to discipline me by bashing my face in. Great. Just great.\

When Vernon finally finished and got tired of beating his defenseless nephew, he threw Harry back into the cupboard. //Not again, please, anywhere but the cupboard.\ Harry tried to calm down, but his claustrophobia, added to the fact that he was in so much pain made him begin hyperventilating.

Harry finally passed out.

~*~

Severus Snape jerked awake from one of the few hours of rest he had been able to get in a week by blaring alarms.

//What in the seven hells? Can't anyone around here just leave me in peace? I need my sleep god dammit!!\ Grumbling angrily to himself, Snape hurried out of bed and got dressed. He ran (or what others call, stalking with unhurried grace) up out of the dungeons, nearly running smack into Dumbledore in his haste.

"What are those alarms, a wake up call?!" Snape ground out through clenched teeth. He needed at least some sleep if this man wanted him to keep spying for the side of light. //I'm not immortal.\

"It's the alarm for Harry. It goes off when he is in serious pain." Dumbledore provided wearily. "Severus, can you go check on him at the Dursleys'? It might just be a vision, but I want to know for certain. I would go if I could, but am a bit preoccupied at the moment." Snape could tell Dumbledore was worried. The usual twinkle was absent from his eyes.

"Yes Headmaster." Snape left and headed out the front doors. //If nothing is wrong with that stupid, conceded Potter boy, I'll kill him myself!\ Snape made his way to the edge of the Apparation barriers and Apparated to Privet Drive.

Just the intense Muggleness of it all made him want to turn around and go back in disgust. Everything was exactly the same. Not a single thing stuck out. //How incredibly boring!\ Snape slowly meandered through the Muggle's yards, looking for #4. He sighed the sigh of a tired, overworked man. //Why me? Why do you do this to me Dumbledore? Haven't I already done my penance? This stupid, thick-headed, ungrateful, second generation James Potter nuisance will be the death of me.\

Knocking on the door, rather forcefully, Snape waited for the Dursleys to answer. A bony, horse-faced woman opened the door apprehensively. "I am looking for Harry Potter. Please direct me to his room." Snape said in the most polite voice he could muster. Which is to say that it made the woman cower slightly.

"Umm... well... you see....Harry isn't home right now.." Petunia Dursley stuttered, unsure of what to tell this man.

Snape didn't believe her for a second. He pushed his way through the door, expecting to come upon a Harry Potter shrine. What he found was...nothing. There was not a single scrap of evidence that the young Potter even lived here. Snape spun around onto the woman.

"Where is he?! Tell me right now!" Petunia just stood there, to frightened to move.

Storming up the stairs, Snape opened all the bedrooms, looking for Potter. But he couldn't find him. Then, when he was about to give up, he heard a sound. It came from the cupboard under the stairs. //What is that?\ The longer he was in this house, the more worried he was for Potter. (a/n: Yes, Snape has a heart. You just got to dig down deep to find it.) Seeing padlocks on the door confirmed his fears. He opened the door and looked inside.

What he saw would change his life forever.

~*~