A/N: If you like angst, action and a little bit of romance you'll like this story!

Enjoy!

I………………….I

Chapter 1: When Misery Takes Over

"Ouch!" hissed Harry as his head painfully made contact with the top of his cupboard, which he had now been living in for the week he had been home for the summer.

Harry suddenly heard his cupboard door open and immediately tensed up with fear, frightened that he had once again woken up his uncle. But was shocked to see the bruised face of his aunt peeking in.

"Shhhhh! Boy, you're going to wake up your uncle!" Aunt Petunia paused, "What is that on your forehead?"

Harry quickly wiped his scar ridden forehead with the sleeve of his pajama shirt. A stream of blood streaked across it. He look up at Aunt Petunia, fear clearly in his eyes.

"Well don't just sit there! Come in the kitchen where I can see. Make sure not to drip any blood on the floor!"

Once seated in the kitchen, with the light surrounding the two of them, Harry could clearly make out a large bruise surrounding Aunt Petunia's left eye.

"Where did you get that?" Harry wondered out loud, pointing to the large sore.

"Don't ask questions!" Petunia snapped.

Harry immediately turned his head in alarm, worried that his aunt would strike him like his uncle had that very day. Petunia couldn't help but notice the odd reaction.

"How did you manage that anyways?" asked Aunt Petunia, softening her voice, as she collected disinfectant and a band aid.

"I-I had a nightmare," stuttered Harry, not truly wanting to go into detail.

"Nightmare- why would you be having a nightmare?" inquired Aunt Petunia.

"It's nothing," Harry said quickly, as in fact it had been another trip to the godfather's death, and by no means did he want to tell his aunt the gruesome details.

"Well, you will be having no more nightmares in this house," Aunt Petunia said in a bossy tone, as she yanked Harry's hair off his forehead and began to clean the wound. She started to apply the smooth cream to the open gash but Harry jerked back his head when the stinging and burning began.

"Look here," Aunt Petunia hissed, once again grabbing his chin and pulling it so he was once again facing her. She couldn't help but observe that Harry would not quite meet her eye.

Aunt Petunia pursed her lips as she quickly applied the brown band aid to the cut, only stopping to quickly glance at the very scar which had brought this boy to her.

"There," she said running her hand swiftly over the band aid to smooth it over but instantaneously she noticed something extremely abnormal. "You're burning up! I knew you shouldn't have been working out in the rain today!" She plastered her hand on Harry's temple, feeling the fever. "You'll be spreading disease all over my clean house!" she added, not wanting to show her true concern for the boy.

"It's nothing Aunt Petunia. Really, I feel fine," Harry said in almost a whisper.

A look of sympathy shot over Aunt Petunia's horse-like face, the first in many years for the poor boy that sat in front of her. Emotion swept into her eyes and she quickly blinked them away, not wanting her nephew to see.

"W-well off to bed with you then. You'll need your rest for tomorrow," she said trying to hide the sentiment in her voice, but not fully succeeding.

Harry rose from the chair and walked slowly out of the room. Only to realize that this was the first time Petunia had ever cleaned one of his cuts. He rapidly turned around to his aunt who was now holding her face in her hands.

"Aunt Petunia?"

"Yes," Aunt Petunia answered lifting her face from her palms.

"Thank you," and with that Harry quickly left the room, as a tear escaped from the corner of Petunia's black eye.

I……………I

The next morning Vernon woke in a vicious mood. "Why isn't that boy up Petunia?" he shouted, raising his fist in a furious threat as he walked toward her.

"Vernon, y-you normally wake him up," Aunt Petunia said, eyeing her husband's raised fist and backing away from him.

Vernon glared at Petunia for a moment, and stormed out of the kitchen, ready to beat anything that got in his way.

"Boy, get up now, you lazy bum!" roared Vernon banging on the cupboard door which was now about to snap off it's hinges. "If you won't get out, then I'll make you get out!" grumbled Vernon, more to himself then to Harry, yanking the door open.

Harry was still sound asleep, oblivious to everything going on around him, dead slumber from fever and sickness.

Uncle Vernon furious, grabbed Harry by his shirt and yanked him out of the tiny cupboard, slamming his against the wall, trapping him within his humongous sausage-like fingers.

"Why aren't you up?!" Uncle Vernon spat at Harry, "Where the bloody hell is my breakfast?"

Harry's eyes were now wide open, trying to find any place to look besides the face of the huge man pinning him against the wall, his feet dangling a few inches above the floor.

"Look at me you ungrateful brat!" Uncle Vernon screamed as he released Harry from one oh his hands and slapped him with as much vigor as he could manage, knocking Harry's face against the rock hard wall.

Vernon then released the weak figure from his grasp. As Harry lay crumpled on the floor, blood spilling from his nose and mouth, he shook with pain and fright, blinded from the absence of his glasses.

Kicking Harry towards the bathroom opposite the cupboard, Vernon yelled, "Get cleaned up, you weak son-of-a-bitch, and then make my bloody breakfast!" With one last stiff kick to Harry's stomach, Vernon stormed up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

Harry quickly lifted himself from the floor with what little strength he had, and running toward the toilet, Harry deposited both vomit and blood into the porcelain throne in front of him.

Over and over again, Harry puked out his guts until there was nothing left inside of him.

Still leaning over the toilet, he suddenly felt a hand awkwardly rubbing his back. He promptly turned around to find Aunt Petunia on the floor beside him, black eye and all, years of torture and pain flooding her eyes tears.

"I'm so sorry, Harry! I'm so sorry! It's-it's just that sometimes Vernon gets-" Petunia paused to find the precise word, "-upset when things don't go as planned. I'm so sorry!"

Aunt Petunia sobbed next to her nephew, the both of them lying on the floor and leaning against the bathroom wall.

Harry stared at her weakly, completely amazed at her actions.

"Mum? Why's dad so mad?" Dudley asked as he walked into the bathroom where Harry

and Petunia sat.

"He's not in a very good mood today, that's all dear. Did he hurt you at all?" Petunia asked suddenly very worried.

"N-no. What's wrong with him," inquired Dudley, pointing at Harry who now was once again leaning over the toilet feeling sick again.

"He's sick dear. He should be fine; can you please do me a favor and sit at the table? Your father is going to want everything to be normal when he comes downstairs."

"Okay," obeyed Dudley as he walked towards the kitchen to sit down in his chair, nervously awaiting his father's appearance.

"Harry! Don't get up so fast!" demanded Aunt Petunia as Harry quickly tried to stand up who helped Harry the rest of the way up and took up a cloth, wetted it, and started wiping the vomit and blood from Harry's face.

"S-sorry, but I have to get breakfast started," croaked Harry, still recovering from retching so much.

"I've already started it. Don't worry. Just take a shower, Harry. You look awful."

Harry turned and looked at himself in the mirror over the sink. He did look dreadful; he had vomit and blood dangling from his mouth, mixing with sweat that covered his entire body.

Aunt Petunia walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The bathroom now had a frozen stench of vomit, it made Harry want to throw up again.

He stripped down and stepped into the shower. As he turned on the water, he was hit with a shock of cold. He quickly turned the knob to warm and picked up the soap, lathering himself with it, washing the grit from his skin.

As Harry washed himself, he contemplated the situation he had now been put in. He knew Uncle Vernon had finally snapped to his fullest. Arrogance had filled him since the encounter with Harry's friends at the train station and he wanted to prove that he would not be told what to do or ho he should act around his own family. Ever since Harry was a little boy he would slap him around and bully him, but he had never dared to hit Aunt Petunia or beat Dudley before. Harry knew this was the reason behind Petunia and Dudley turning their acts around and finally joining ranks with Harry.

It had happened in such a short time though. He had only been home a few days and in that time he had been forced to the cupboard and beaten several times over and over again. Yesterday, Vernon had even made him work out in the pouring rain, getting Harry sick. Then Harry had been forced to take off all his drenched clothes before reentering the house. It was humiliating to walk in his bare boxers in front of his so-called family, especially when he was so thin and small for a boy of his age.

Petunia had begged Vernon to let him work inside, pleading with him that if those people at the train station ever found out they would surely come and hurt her family.

"I'm not scared of those freaks!" Vernon had growled at her slapping her across the face.

"They are all talk, now shut it you bitch and mind your own business!"

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the bathroom door, "Harry!" Aunt Petunia yelled through the door, "Hurry! Your uncle will be down soon," she warned.

Harry quickly finished rinsing his hair out, and shakily stepped out of the shower to dry

himself off.

After redressing himself, Harry stumbled out of the bathroom, a bit dizzy asking, "Where are my glasses at? I can't see a thing."

"I've got then here, Harry." Aunt Petunia held them out to Harry. He took them and carefully placed them on his bruised face.

"Um Harry?" Dudley asked

"Yes."

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked in concern watching Harry stumble over to his seat.

Harry only nodded in response, still feeling nauseous, with the smell of food not helping; he took his seat at the table.

"But why are you so concerned?" Harry asked, thinking back to what he had thought about in the shower.

"Um, well, no reason," was Dudley's only response.

Vernon came down the stairs, in what seemed to be a better mood. He walked over to Petunia and gave her a peck on the cheek, then walked over to the table, gave Dudley a pat on the shoulder, not truly noticing how Dudley tensed up with the mere touch of his hand, and sat down, completely ignoring Harry as usual.

The rest of breakfast went much like this, with Petunia and Dudley slipping Harry meaningful looks, while Uncle Vernon completely ignoring him.

Harry, himself, didn't eat as he still felt queasy. After breakfast and after Uncle Vernon had gone to work, Harry went back into his cupboard, starting to feel even sicker, he began shaking more, and grabbed one of Dudley's old sweaters and throwing it over himself to keep warm. For the first time he fully appreciated how big Dudley truly was.

He laid down on his small, miserable cot, grabbing the one small turn up blanket he had and curled up into a tight ball trying to subside his shivering and fell into a deep fevered slumber.

I………………I

Harry woke up in a terrible coughing fit. He tried to quiet it down in case his uncle had already arrived home from work but it was uncontrollable.

He opened his cupboard door when his hacking subsided and quietly made his way out, in hope of finding a cold glass of water.

Harry was stunned to find that he had slept most of the day away and that it was almost dinner time. He jumped in shock, to find his aunt waiting for him, outside his cupboard with a glass of water.

"Here," she said quickly as she gave him the glass of water. She kept glancing nervously at the front door, awaiting her husband's arrival home.

"Thanks," Harry croaked, truthfully savoring the cool liquid on his scorching, burning throat.

"Let me get you some medicine, your fever has gotten much higher since this morning," she said feeling his scar ridden forehead. She went to the medicine cabinet and retrieved a bottle of liquid medicine. She took out a tablespoon and filled it with the red fluid.

She walked back in the hall and gave Harry the spoon, but at that moment Uncle Vernon came storming in the front door and glared at Petunia in rage watching the scene take place.

"Petunia!" he roared, as he saw her and Harry, "What do you think you are doing giving that boy medicine?"

Petunia's eyes grew wide with panic she tried to explain. "Vernon, he's dreadfully ill, his fever is so high. Remember, we don't want those people to know we're not caring for him," added Aunt Petunia as she screwed the lid back on the medicine bottle, with much difficulty from shaking so hard.

Harry stood still not knowing whether or not to take the medicine.

"Harry take the medicine," said Aunt Petunia in just above a whisper, hoping against all hope that Vernon would not hear.

"No! He will not have the bloody medicine! He does nothing around the house and he doesn't deserve anything!" exclaimed Uncle Vernon as he harshly grabbed Harry's hand which held the spoon, causing it to spill onto the floor as well as Harry dropping the glass of water he had not yet finished.

"Get a bloody wash cloth and clean the mess you made now!" Uncle Vernon roared.

Harry turned around and ran to the kitchen for a towel, coming back within seconds and swiftly wiping up the spilt water and medicine.

"Now, get in the bloody kitchen and sit at the god damn table!" Uncle Vernon continues to shout. He shoved Harry into the dining room with all his force. Harry smashed into the panel outlining the doorway. Harry screamed as he felt his arm break from the forceful amount of power.

"Shut up boy and take it like a man!" Uncle Vernon screamed once more he grabbed Harry by the collar and threw him across the room, slamming him into the kitchen table, "Sit down."

Harry quickly stumbled into his chair and sat down, remaining quiet as blood from his nose spilt down his mouth and shirt.

Uncle Vernon turned around and yelled at his wife, who was hovering over her son, as if to protect the gigantic boy, "What the hell are you looking at? Sit the bloody hell down!"

Aunt Petunia and Dudley hurried past Uncle Vernon to the table and took their places. Vernon followed them with a look of great fury.

Once they were all seated, Vernon yelled at Harry to serve the food but stopped to reconsider as he looked at Harry, he was still trying to relinquish the blood coming from his nose with the one arm that wasn't broken.

"Petunia! Get the food now!" Petunia hurried up from her chair to retrieve the food. She quickly dished out the pork and beans, making sure to give Vernon extra spoonfuls.

As Petunia started to serve Harry, he interrupted her actions, "Sorry, but I don't want any Aunt Petunia. I'm not really feeling very good right now." Petunia stopped dishing the food onto his plate and nodded her head in understanding.

"Petunia! Give the boy some food! I don't care if he doesn't feel good! It's his fault anyways. We work hard for this food; I will not have him not eating and then go telling those miserable freaks of his that we are starving him!"

Petunia shakily served Harry some beans, careful not to give him too much, but enough to satisfy Vernon.

"Eat!" Vernon yelled as Harry sat there, staring at his food miserably.

Harry slowly picked up his fork and shoveled up some beans and raised them to his reluctant mouth, he shoved it in and swallowed with much difficulty, gagging the whole time.

The next bite was much easier to swallow but is stomach was once again acting up. One more bite and he felt his stomach roll dangerously. He dropped his fork loudly on his plate and laid back in his chair trying to calm his stomach.

He looked at his uncle through watery vision. "May I please go to the restroom?" he asked as his stomach gave another painful lurch.

Vernon glared at Harry. "You heard me, not until you finish your dinner!" he said in a dangerous tone.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" cried Harry desperately as he jumped up from his seat.

Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry's arm and forced him back into the wooden chair, which toppled riskily.

"Eat!" Vernon yelled once more.

Harry glanced at his Aunt desperately; she just shook her head sympathetically, knowing she did not have the power to stop her husband.

Harry erratically grabbed his glass of water, hoping to calm his stomach down, but it did just the opposite.

His stomach gave another powerful lurch, and Harry jumped up from his chair, not caring if his uncle got mad at this, danger of losing what little food he had consumed on the table.

But before Harry could make it to the doorway, Uncle Vernon stepped in front of him. "YOU'LL SWALLOW IT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS ROOM!" Vernon bellowed at the top of his lungs. Before Harry even had a chance to argue, Vernon made a fist and laid a punch in the pit of his stomach.

Harry knew he couldn't control it any longer, without even a warning; Harry's throw up left his mouth and landed on Uncle Vernon's ugly gray sweater.

Aunt Petunia gasped, Dudley covered his face, and all Uncle Vernon could do was stare and gape down at his sweater, now covered in Harry's insides.

Harry quickly looked around, but soon realized there was no where to run as Uncle Vernon was blocking the doorway with his large body. Harry knew what was coming next.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Uncle Vernon yelled. He pushed Harry in repugnance, with as much strength as he could congregate.

Harry fell backwards, chopping into the dining room table, breaking it and causing all the food to spill onto the floor. Aunt Petunia and Dudley screamed, running to the opposite side of the room.

Harry lay there, looking up at the ceiling, with a sense of helplessness. He had heard and felt his arm snap in to as he hit the table but he ignored it as he knew it would only call worse punishment if he screamed.

Uncle Vernon trudged over to Harry, saw him laying on the ground and hollered, "Get up off your skinny ass!" Uncle Vernon picked him up buy the collar for the second time that day, forcing him up on his feet, only to punch him in the face, knocking him backwards into the counter. Harry could feel it press hard against him and knew that it would bruise almost immediately. Harry maintained his composure, still standing up, facing his uncle, helplessness surrounding him. Petunia and Dudley were hovering terrified in the corner, watching Harry get beat to a pulp.

Vernon walked over to Harry once more, took his face in his hands, and pounded it hard against the cupboard. ONE- Harry's cheek split open and bled even more onto his already grotesque face. TWO- Harry's broken nose compressed even more into his skull. THREE- Harry felt dizziness come over him and a blank expression washed over his face.

Uncle Vernon released him and he fell to the ground in seemingly a slow graceful kind of float. Aunt Petunia ran over to him, bending over to check for consciousness.

"Let the boy fend for his god damn self Petunia! Leave him be!" Uncle Vernon said grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her away from Harry.

Petunia slapped her husband harshly across the face. "Look at the boy Vernon! He's dying! He can't fend for himself!" Petunia pointed at the unconscious figure of Harry, lying there with his arm in a distorted position and blood dripping from his chin down to his already drenched shirt.

"What are you saying Petunia? The boy has brought us nothing but misery! He deserves this! Never disobey me again!" Vernon said as he lifted his hand and slapped his wife across the face, leaving a red hand mark to go along with her black eye.

Petunia screamed as Dudley ran over to help her. "Leave her alone dad! And Harry too! Or I'll-I'll-"

"You'll what? Beat me up Dudley? Well lets see here," Uncle Vernon screamed, picked up a vase and threw it at Dudley, smashing it against his son's humongous belly. The shards of glass cut through Dudley's clothes and sliced his stomach. Blood spilled out, flooding the floor and mingling with Harry's bodily fluids.

Petunia screamed once more, "That does it! I'm done! Dudley help Harry to the car, lay him across the back seat, grab that towel and stop as much bleeding from your stomach as possible." Petunia rounded on Vernon, "Good bye! This has gone on long enough! You beat me, you beat your son, and you beat Harry! And for your information, nobody- and I mean nobody- deserves that!"

Petunia started to walk out of the kitchen, but Vernon grabbed her wrist, "If you leave, your never coming back and don't you dare breathe a word of this to anyone you slut! If you do, I will track you down and so much worse will happen. I will not only kill you but the boy as well!" Vernon threatened.

Petunia yanked her hand from Vernon's grasp, "Good bye," Petunia said, not meeting her husband's furious eyes, she knew her own were filled with fear.

Petunia ran from the kitchen, grabbing her keys and purse, and for the last time exited her perfect, dream home which had now turned into a house of blood and horror.

I…………..I

Petunia arrived at the car a few moments later, tears stinging her eyes, to find Dudley struggling to get the now half-conscious Harry into the back seat of the car.

"Here," Petunia said as she carefully grabbed hold of Harry and placed him into the back seat and buckled him up.

"It hurts," Harry whimpered as he opened his green eyes a bit to gather the blurry surroundings around him.

"Hang on, Harry. We're going to the hospital. Just wait, it's going to be okay," replied Aunt Petunia compassionately as she handed Harry his glasses closed the back door.

Dudley was already in the passenger seat, holding a towel over his cuts, putting pressure on them to stop the flowing blood.

Petunia glanced back at Harry from the driver's seat; he was now vigorously shaking but still conscious.

"Is he going to be okay?" wondered Dudley as Petunia backed out of the driveway and headed toward the hospital.

Petunia looked at Dudley, worry in her eyes, "I hope so Dudders, I hope so."

It started to sprinkle as Aunt Petunia drove out of Little Whinging.

The roads were dark and deserted. It was almost as if the outside reflected Petunia's broken heart.

As she drove to the hospital, she knew she had tears in her eyes but she would not let them flood over.

"Harry?" she squeaked in the deafening silence.

Harry let out a low grunt to let her know that he had heard.

"Harry, you know that I never really hated you, right? Your Lily's son- I could never hate Lily's son- I love my sister more then you could ever of known. But at the same time, I hated her!" Aunt Petunia continued, now letting her tears stream, "I hated her with all I had! My parents loved her so much more then me and I hate that and so I hated you. I'm so sorry, Harry! You didn't deserve-" she stopped in mid-sentence.

A sudden coldness had swept through the car. Harry felt the familiar feeling of his insides freezing.

He heard Petunia scream, too weak to turn towards her, he saw Dudley go limp straight in front of him.

"Harry!" he heard Petunia scream, "Harry, what's going on?"

But his aunt's voice was drowned out by another's- her sister's, his mother's.

"No, no, please don't-" Harry turned his head looking for the voice; too weak to do the spell he knew would save them.

He turned his head to the left, then towards the window, once again searching for the voice in his head but something else met his eye, he saw the blurry figure of a dementor outside his window.

He turned his head to the left, once more and saw another, and turned his weak head towards the wind shield and saw one more. He immediately knew that the car was surrounded by them. In his peripheral vision he saw his aunt falling unconscious, muttering to herself, "No she's not dead! No she's not!"

As Harry listened to the voices around him- his mother pleading and his aunt's worst memory- he felt the car start to drift to the left side, he pointed his blurry eyes at his aunt and watched as the steering wheel slipped from her control.

He closed his eyes, knowing what was coming next. He felt the car drift into the next lane and opened his eyes to see the lights of a large semi-truck shining at them.

He heard one last plea from his mother as the small car that contained the two Dursley's
and himself, smashed head on into the semi.

Glass flew everywhere, shredding Harry's face into even more cuts, causing further blood to spill. The glass ripped through this clothes and cut his arms and chest.

Next came the flip, Harry yelled as the car did a full turn. Harry's head jerked back and forth and he could feel his neck sprain from the constant jolting.

The car kept spinning, Harry felt dizziness come over him once more, and then the car jerked to a stop as it smashed to full contact with a tree.

Darkness- Harry felt darkness come over him- he felt everything fade out and soon he saw nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing.

I……………………..I

Notice: This is a repost. We originally had nine chapters up, so the updates will be faster than normal. Once we have nine up we will post every Sunday.

Any questions send us an email.