Harry Potter let out a soft groan as he opened his eyes and sat up, wondering where on Earth he had ended up. One moment he was taking his daily beating like a good little freak, and now he was in a field near a large lake...

Harry whimpered in fear. He did it. He did the freaky sruff again! He pulled his knees into his chest before deciding he had to get back in the house before he was seen. He shakily stood up, pain in his legs reappearing. Ignoring it he tried to walk forward.

He forced himself to look up, and scanned his surroundings. He began breathing heavily when he came to a horrible realization...

The house was nowhere in sight.

He started to shake in fear and hyperventilate as he walked. Eventually, as he neared the water, trying to get a good view, his leg snapped finally. With a shout of pain he crumpled to the ground and landed in the water. A cool blueness overtook him as he flailed around, unable to swim.

However, almost as soon as he had fallen into the water, he felt something holding him, and before he knew it, he was coughing and sputtering for air. Something was holding him in its arms... He looked up to see a blue, fish-like woman staring down at him with an expression he had only seen on Aunt Petunia's face whenever Dudley had hurt himself...

Beforehand...

Princess Ruto of the Zora's and one of the seven sages, was taking a swim. Ever since Ganon's perish she had plenty of time to relax. And as she was swimming she heard a loud crack and saw a flash of light. She swam over to the shore and looked where she saw the light.

'What could that possibly be?' She thought, slightly irritated that her swim was interrupted. 'Hope it's not another one of those annoying monsters...It's such a pain fighting those things.'

Ruto peeked over and saw probably the saddest thing ever. A very tiny human child was struggling to walk. He had multiple bruises and bleeding wounds. She continued to watch him, hoping that the humans parents were nearby. As he neared the corner of a small cliff of Lake Hylia , she heard a sickening snap and the child screamed, tumbling into the water.

Without a moment's thought, she immediately shot forward, and the very moment his head was underwater, she snatched him up in her arms, and swam for the surface, holding him tightly. 'Where are this child's parents?!' She internally roared. 'What irresponsible monsters would leave their injured child alone like this?!'

The child, even when underwater, was almost a featherweight! He was looking at her with an amazed and confused expression. Ruto finally got him onto the beach and crouched down next to him. He was incredibly pale.

"Are... are you g-gonna hurt me?" the poor baby asked in fear.

She frowned and shook her head. "Hurt you? Only the cruelest, most vile monsters on this planet would hurt someone like you, especially in the state you're in." The little one looked up at her with a look of confusion that scared her.

"But-But i'm a f-freak?"

Ruto gasped and made the little one look at her. "Child who told you that?" She placed a hand over his. "Why, you're the most normal human I've met, so you've no reason to say such horrible things about yourself!" She scolded gently.

"Y-Yes i do miss... I do freaky things. Like make thing f-fly and change colors... it's why i get daily beatings..." he said brokenly, shocked when he was pulled into the arms of the strange creature who seemed to care about him.

"No... who beats you? Please tell me." she asks, serious. Harry stared up at Ruto, childish amazement on his face, momentarily forgetting his pain. Not only was this creature kind to him, but she was also...well, as Dudley described things that were interesting to him, 'cool.' But Harry knew the truth. She wanted his Uncle's name so she could send him back. He understood. He was just a freak and freaks didn't deserve families!

"I... I'm not allowed to say..."

Ruto was growing angry at the unknown monster who did this. "Please child, I can protect you if you tell me."

Harry began to think. "Y-You promise...y-you won't hurt me or...or s-send me b-b-back to h-him...?"

Ruto grinned. "I promise!" he was pretty cute with that stutter...

"Okay..." Harry took a deep, shuddering breath. "P-Please don't ever let him know that you know, but it...it...it was..." He teared up slightly. "It...It was my...my..."

"Your what?" Ruto pressed gently.

"...My uncle..."

Ruto gasped and put her hand over her mouth. This precious child had been beaten by his Own Family?! Immediately Ruto scooped him up and began to head back to this child's New Home.

Harry sniffled softly, confused. He looked up to see the pretty fishy creature with her eyes narrowed as she moved at a brisk pace forward. "Wh-Where are we going...?" He asked timidly.

"Child you are not going back to your Uncle's. You're going to live with me now. Now and forever. I won't let you be hurt ever again"

Harry began to tear up. Why was she being so kind to him!? Instead of arguing he buried his face in the crook of her neck and began to cry extremely hard.

Ruto was caught off guard by this reaction. How did she deal with a crying child? Was it really such a good idea to take him in if she was so lost for what to do when he was crying in her arms...?

Ruto, in the dark, went for a simple hug, pulling him closer and gently trying to calm him. He eventually did and with exhaustion, fell asleep as she entered Zora's domain.

The little boy snuggled closer to the Zora. As he fell asleep, he smiled. Sure, she was a little bit slimy...but she was also warm and comfy... Deciding he liked her, he fell asleep with a smile.

Ruto hadn't even gotten his name. She frowned as she looked down at him. She shook her head. "No matter..." She mumbled. "I can get his name any time I want now that he's mine."

With that she entered Zora's domain, ready to tend to his wounds and turn him into the most happy little boy you'd ever seen. She couldn't help but smile warmly at the thought, and she held him even closer.

As she did this, powerful beings were wondering why their savior had disappeared from the Dursley household. They began to apparate there, intent on getting their answers...

Meanwhile...

Vernon Dursley was not in a good mood. He had turned the house upside down looking for his freaky little slave, yet he was nowhere to be found."WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD FREAK!?" he yelled, shoving aside large objects and searching in every corner. He heard several large cracks and turned around slowly.

"Mr. Dursley." Came a polite elderly voice. "I'm afraid we have lost track of Mr. Potter. By any chance do you know where he is?" Vernon Dursley turned to see three figures. One with black hair that was almost shoulder length, an elderly man with a beard and an older lady with a pointy hat.

"It's you freaks... GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" he yelled.

Professor Mcgonagal was angry. Where was Harry Potter?! She hadn't wanted him to be here in the first place.

"Listen Mr. Dursley. We need to see Mr. Potter now." she said with a hard edge to her voice

"I don't know where the freak is either!" Vernon snapped. "He's right vanished! Now leave me alone so I can try to find him!" Severus Snape approached the man. The fat idiotic man.

"Disappeared you say? How?"

Vernon scowled. "Well I don't know! I simply put him in his...room, and he disappeared! I can't find the bloody boy anywhere!" Albus Dumbledore stepped forward.

"May we see his room?"

Vernon began to sweat.

This encounter would spell big trouble for Vernon Dursley...

Back in Zora's Domain...

Harry stirred, feeling Warm, safe and wet. He started to move and heard a comforting voice call out to him.

"Ah, I see you're awake. Very good." He looked up to the face of the pretty fishy lady from earlier. He smiled softly, thrilled he hadn't been dreaming.

"H-hi miss..." he said shyly.

Ruto smiled. "Do you understand where we are?"

Harry was confused. He sat up but winced and went back down. "Yes, just lay down and relax." Ruto said soothingly, clasping her hand in his. "Welcome, little one, to Zora's Domain. I am the queen of the Zoras...Ruto."

"Hi miss Ruto..." he said shyly

Ruto grinned, "Can you tell me your name little one?"

Harry smiled shyly and replied "H-Harry miss..."

Ruto stroked his cheek. "Harry...A lovely name. Welcome to your new home, Harry." She said softly. "Is my bed to your liking?"

"I like it miss Ruto..."

Ruto was very happy. Her little boy would be happy here... and that was all she needed. She smiled warmly, tucked the blankets in up to his chin and planted a soft, gentle kiss on his forehead. "Well then...Are you hungry?" Harry opened his mouth to decline, but blushed when his stomach interrupted him. Ruto giggled and picked him up gently, carrying him to get food for her hungry little one. She smiled when Harry snuggled closer to her. She bent down and kissed his head, pulling him closer. "I do hope you enjoy seafood, as it is the most common meal in the Zora community...We are rather low on options, as most of our territory is near water..." She thought for a moment. "On second thought, perhaps you would like to return to bed and I can have one of my chefs bring a meal to us?" Harry nodded vigorously. Ruto spun him around playfully and went back to her room. She placed him under the covers once more and sat by his bedside again, smiling warmly. She called in her chef, and requested some grilled fish for her and her new child.

"Miss Ruto?"

Ruto leaned closer. "What is it dear?"

Harry teared up. "Why are you... you so nice to me?"

Ruto smiled sadly and gently gave him another kiss on his cheek. "Because, child...You're lost, scared, confused, alone and hurt. I may not be the kindest being on this planet, but if I can protect an innocent child such as yourself from pain and misery, I will do so at all costs. I am nice to you because you deserve kindness. I need no other reason."

Harry began bawling once again, clinging to Ruto like a lifeline and sobbing his little heart away.

It Broke Ruto's heart but she knew it was for the good. He needed to let it out. Wordlessly, she scooped him up and placed him in her lap.

"It's all right, my dear...Let your grief flow...Everything will get better from this point forth. My child..." And Harry continued to cry, for a long while, in the embrace of his new caretaker.

Finally, he stopped crying, just as the chef came in with their meals, arms thrown around his caretaker, face buried into her chest, completely ignoring the thin layer of slime on her body.

And he was happy. For the first time in his short four years, he was happy. He was safe, he was warm, he was going to be fed...

Was this...what having a mother was like?

No. No, freaks didn't deserve a mother. He was a lonely freak. But he really liked Miss Ruto. She was so kind... Harry fell asleep in her arms once again.

Ruto smiled and looked to the plates of food on the bedside table. She shook her head and placed Harry in a sitting position on her lap, his tiny arms still wrapped around her. She would feed him when he woke... For now Ruto would enjoy the peace! She would tell her people of Harry later! She pulled him closer and waited.

She let out a soft yawn. It HAD been a long day...Perhaps she would need to nap as well... Wordlessly, she climbed under the covers of her bed, keeping the little boy held close. Ruto had been asleep but little Harry had mumbled out words that would've made her the happiest Zora alive.

"Mommy..."

As if subconsciously responding, the Zora smiled in her sleep and pulled him closer, resting her chin atop his head.

And all was peaceful. For now at least.