Story Summary : This story will be HPSS slash, with a bit of mentioned HPDM. No MPREG. This story is not a sequel or prequel to my previous stories and takes place immediately after Ootp.

Disclaimer: Not mine humph, do I get three wishes?

Harry spends another summer with the abusive Dursleys following Sirius' death. He takes a wishing potion on his birthday with unexpected and dramatic effects. Was it even a wishing potion at all? How will Harry find his way back to the life he left behind and what will he discover along the way.

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Chapter One: Another Summer At The Dursleys

Harry managed to run back up to his sparse bedroom but the lights in the entire house were still flickering and the walls were still shaking. He managed to throw the door shut behind him without causing any more noise than had been caused already and threw himself down on his bed. He was seething and angry, his mind racing with thoughts; he was still burning with the rage that had almost burst forth from him.

Harry had reached the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts and he was determined that he wasn't going to get expelled at this late stage and if it turned out that it couldn't be avoided, then he was doubly determined that it would be because he had been threatened by Voldemort and not because of some stupid fight with his pathetic Muggle relatives.

Harry knew that if he performed any more out of school magic then he definitely wouldn't see Hogwarts ever again, he had already ran out of luck in that area. Harry thought that he would rather give himself up to Voldemort than have to spend an entire year with the Dursleys. Then he wondered if he really did believe that, could he give himself up just to be free of his awful Muggle relatives. He had to give the idea up as ridiculous but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't disappear from his mind altogether.

Harry's determination to remain a student at Hogwarts hadn't, however, stopped the words 'Avada Kadavra' from hovering on his lips as he tried to do the washing up downstairs barely minutes ago, and he had no trouble with the conviction behind the words. Harry had only been back with his Muggle relatives for a few weeks and already he felt as if he was at bursting point. He didn't know how he was meant to survive another two.

It wasn't as if Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon had spoken to him any differently to how they usually did. It wasn't as if Dudley had changed one little bit in his attitude towards his cousin. Harry knew that it was he himself who had changed, but there was little that he could do about that.

He had returned to the Dursleys so soon after Sirius's death, feeling as if his heart had been cut out, separated from his friends in addition to the wizards that he was still extremely annoyed at. He had been left alone with his anger bubbling inside of him till he could feel that he would soon burst. Being a wizard who couldn't use his wand, he felt like he would quite literally burst and he had just performed a pretty good demonstration of how close he actually was.

It seemed that the Dursleys had had plenty of time to think about Harry Potter and his blood relationship to them and they now knew that he could no more leave them than they could throw him out. This had led to an even deeper level of resentment at the fact that he was still breathing, coupled with a resurgent lack of fear despite the threats they had received from the Order. They quite simply couldn't help themselves.

It hadn't helped that Dumbledore had written to the Dursleys explaining that Harry was as good as dead if he left the house alone. It didn't help either that the Headmaster had told them about Sirius's death; probably begging for their understanding while he grieved. All Dumbledore's well-meaning missal had given them had been more ammunition to torment him with.

Harry wasn't really helping his own situation he realised, he could have reported the Dursleys to an Order member as they were always there even if he hardly ever saw them, taking it in shifts, patrolling outside the house every minute of the day. Was it mostly pride that stopped him from doing it, Harry wondered to himself, or was it that every time he managed to spot one of them from his bedroom window it was Snape.

The hated Professor probably thought that he moved so stealthily but Harry had seen Snape wandering around outside on numerous occasions, occasionally he had even seen him going into the house over the road which was very sloppy spy work. Harry had to wonder if Snape wasn't getting careless in addition to his usual faults. Harry didn't know how Snape dared to show himself anywhere near where he was living after the events at the end of the school year.

Dumbledore had insisted that Snape had been trying to help but Harry didn't think that it was much of a coincidence that Snape had been looking for him nowhere near where he actually was the night that Sirius died. He had tried to give every appearance of looking for him but Harry wasn't at all fooled.

No doubt Snape was out there in Privet Drive now on Dumbledore's specific orders, not because he felt any kind of wish to watch out for him. He was probably reporting to the Death Eaters as well, Harry thought bitterly, no reason why he couldn't as long as he reported to Dumbledore first.

Harry switched the light off so that he could see better but he couldn't see Snape and felt a bit let down. Of course it didn't mean that he wasn't there, only that his black clothes were concealing him properly for a change.

Harry stayed at the window and began to think about Ron and the fact that it was his birthday in the morning. Ron would send him something and so would the others but it was Ron's present that he looked forward to the most. Harry hoped that the owls would be able to get to him. He thought about Ron a bit more and then he started to think about Draco as well.

Harry stood up and went back to his bed, picking up the history book again and forcing himself to read, he was determined that he was going to stop himself from thinking about Draco in THAT way, it was just too disturbing and wrong and he needed to be able to face the Slytherin with all the dislike he should still be feeling, blushing was just not an option.

Harry sighed, at least that little secret was something that nobody knew about and thus the Dursleys could not torture him with it.

Harry, still simmering with anger, decided to get into bed, he knew he wouldn't get to sleep right away, he didn't feel at all tired, but it was late and he didn't want to sit Snape watching out of the window any longer. He took the book that contained the pictures of his parents out from below the floorboard and crawled underneath the covers, pulling them over his head. He was sick of history but still wanted to seek comfort in the past.

Tomorrow was his birthday, Harry reminded himself again as he looked at the picture of himself as a toddler with his mother holding him and his father standing close by. At least there would be letters and presents to look forward to, Harry thought, if the Dursleys didn't find a way of stopping them getting through that was.

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Not being able to sleep very well had its advantages Harry thought as he heard his Uncle Dursley thundering up the stairs at six o'clock the next morning. He had been hammering on the front door downstairs making sure that the letterbox was barricaded shut.

Vernon Dursley burst into Harry's room and without saying anything to him began to nail strips of wood over the window frame on the opening side of his window. Harry sat quietly and let him, feeling not in the least bit bothered by his uncle's actions.

"There," He announced with vicious glee, "That should make sure those blasted pigeons can't get through!"

Mr Dursley then left again and Harry had not only managed not to say a word to him but he had also managed not to hex him into oblivion either. Actually Harry still felt relatively happy and quite calm since the 'pigeons' in question had already taken the opportunity of coming an hour earlier, when Harry had chosen to leave the window open all night. Because he had been awake all night too, he now had the underneath of his bed stuffed with presents and Vernon Dursley knew nothing about it. This also of course meant that he was now beginning to feel tired and he had lost the opportunity of going to bed till at least the next evening. Still, Harry thought, his spirits unaffected, it was worth it.

Harry decided that it was probably best if he went down to make the Dursleys' breakfast as usual and pretend that it was just a normal day, then they could see him not receiving his presents and that would cheer them up immensely. He promised himself as he descended the stairs that if he managed to get through the following ordeal then his birthday presents would be extra nice. As Harry reached the bottom of the stairs he began to make some deep, calming breaths.

"Morning," Harry said in a neutral manner as he entered the kitchen.

Vernon Dursley didn't even look up from his newspaper and grunted vaguely. Petunia Dursley gave Harry a disapproving look and pointed to the cooker. Dudley, having been unable to wait was already tucking into one of six chocolate donuts.

Harry turned his head away from his cousin's gluttony and got the bacon and eggs out of the fridge. He thought about his friends and his birthday presents as he cooked, he had been making breakfast for so many years that he hardly needed to concentrate and he didn't make a mess any more thanks to all the punishments he had received in the past for doing so. Harry briefly wondered why Snape's abuse hadn't had the same effect and stopped him making a mess in Potions. Well, truth be told, Snape's shouting wasn't nearly as bad as what the Dursleys had done over the years.

Harry thought about Ron again in particular and then tried to think more about Hermione and the others too. He then thought about Ron again, he was sure that of all the presents the one from him would be the best. Then Harry thought about Draco Malfoy, it was a mistake, a very big mistake.

"What are you smiling about?" Dudley demanded with a mouthful of donut.

"Nothing," Harry replied trying not to sound confrontational in any way and mentally kicking himself for making such a stupid slip.

"Don't speak to Dudley in that manner boy," Vernon snapped from behind his paper.

Harry took another deep breath and didn't look up from the cooking.

"I bet you were thinking about a girl, how pathetic, I bet YOU haven't got a girlfriend yet," Dudley taunted.

Shit, Harry thought, the mistake was promising to turn into perhaps the biggest mistake he had ever made in Privet Drive.

Harry had already heard all about how Dudley had managed to persuade some girl in the village near to his school to go out with him. Harry didn't know how he had managed it, but he even had a photograph, which Dudley had been waving in front of anyone who came close enough, whether they were interested or not.

"Of course that freak hasn't got a girlfriend," Vernon added, "Who would have him?"

"I bet even none of his freaky friends would want to go out with him!" Dudley continued.

"Well, have you got a girlfriend?" Petunia asked primly.

Harry had been dreading being asked a direct question because now he had to answer; if he just ignored them things would be worse. He considered telling them a lie but then they would just ask more questions and then he would never be free to go upstairs. They would keep hounding him until he was making the house shake again.

"No I haven't," Harry replied eventually without looking up, the last thing he wanted to do was explain anything about Cho Chang never mind pretend that it hadn't been the disaster that it had turned out to be. He certainly didn't want to discuss why it had been a complete disaster.

Dudley was ecstatic, "Hah, I knew it!" he yelled, "I bet you've never had one either, I bet you're a poof!"

Yes, Harry thought, smiling enigmatically in front of the cooker that had definitely been the worst mistake to date, in his eyes at least, the Dursleys however were having a wonderful time with it.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Vernon added, "He's a freak in every other way possible!"

"Oh no," Petunia said primly, "Not that as well! It's too much to be born!"

"You can keep your dirty, filthy hands off our Dudley mind you, or you can forget about staying here!" Vernon continued.

Dudley suddenly looked pale, as if just realising that his modesty was seriously at risk and that a little piggy tail was the least of his worries.

The mugs on the mug rack began to rattle and Harry's cheeks flushed bright red.

"I bet they're at it all the time at that school of theirs, him and his friends, don't they have boy only dorms? You know what they say about that sort of thing," Vernon rambled on as Harry flipped an egg over onto the other side with as much concentration as he could muster. He continued to cook hoping that it would distract him sufficiently. However the Dursleys could tell when they had him annoyed and they continued to goad him.

"I have not been doing anything like that with any of my friends," Harry eventually snapped. Unfortunately it was indeed the truth, Harry thought, but not for the want of wishing it was not.

"None of the boys want you either then?" Dudley taunted, laughing at his own joke.

"It's none of your business," Harry snapped as one of the mugs managed to rattle itself off the mug rack and onto the kitchen bench. Harry caught the mug before it ended up on the floor and sat it down on its base.

"Everything about you is our business as long as you stay underneath our roof!" Vernon yelled.

"You had better not be bringing any diseases into my nice clean house!" Petunia squealed with her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"I bet your mother and father would have been horrified, I suppose even they would have had some limits regarding freakish behaviour, and that wizard godfather would have been disgusted too, and he's not just a freak but a criminal too. I could see it in his eyes though I only had the misfortune to meet him once, it was in the way he looked at me, it was no surprise at all that murder was on his mind. It might be just as well that he died in time to miss it." Vernon added, not really caring about what Sirius might have thought, he certainly wasn't qualified to make the judgement.

Harry continued to cook while he thought about reminding them about various things including who it was kept the house as clean as it was. He knew that his Uncle Dursley was just trying to wind him up and he tried to stay calm and finish with breakfast. Harry was no longer bothered about whether he would be able to get some food for himself or not, he just wanted to get out of the kitchen.

It was too late though, as Harry fried some more bacon, the kettle made a sizzling noise and then a small pop, Harry had shorted the fuse. Suddenly he was thinking about Sirius again and about how he could have eventually gone to live with him. About how for a short while he had had a proper family, how he had had somebody who cared about him. Somebody he could have eventually talked to about who he was, even though it would have been awkward and difficult. Sirius wouldn't have been ashamed of him, he was sure about it.

Suddenly Harry was running up the stairs to his bedroom and he had left the bacon cooking on the hob completely unattended. He could hear Vernon Dursley hollering up the stairs after him but he didn't care. Tears were burning Harry's eyes and he didn't stop, he didn't think he was capable of stopping. The lights went on and off and Harry could feel the floor beneath him shaking as he ran but he didn't stop.

Harry threw himself down onto his bed and the tears flowed relentlessly, now that he had begun he couldn't stop. He didn't want to, he wanted to be brave and composed but he didn't seem to have any say in the matter anymore.

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After a while Vernon came to stand outside the bedroom door but he didn't come in, "I want all your chores to be done before I come home from work," He demanded before he went back downstairs and went out to work.

A while after that both Mrs Dursley and Dudley went out to the shops so that, for half an hour at least, Harry was left on his own.

Harry thought that opening his birthday presents might help him cheer himself up, so he pulled all of the packages out from underneath the bed. He had managed to stop crying but his eyes felt puffy and red, he knew that he had to calm down, if his aunt caught him looking upset or if he made anything else happen then he would be in even more trouble.

Harry opened his birthday presents one by one and they did begin to cheer him up. He couldn't go too slowly though because he had to have them all put away again before aunt Petunia and Dudley came back.

Hermione had sent Harry books, which was fairly typical for her and Mrs Weasley had sent him some food, interestingly his parcel contained a rather large chunk of fruitcake with a note that said that it would keep fresh for quite a while. They obviously knew that the Dursleys weren't feeding him properly and Harry wished that they would all forget about the protection thing and just come and rescue him.

There were a few other parcels but Harry saved Ron's till last. There was some Quidditch stuff, magazines with moving pictures; Harry didn't know what he thought about them, whether he would be interested if he might not be able to play. After flicking through for a few minutes though, he realised that he was still very interested in Quidditch and that he was losing track of the time and he needed to get his things put away before any of the Dursleys came back.

There was one more present from Ron; it was a smaller package and when Harry tore the paper off Harry found that it was a small box. He took the lid off and inside was a sealed phial, there was a potion inside and it was crimson in colour, Harry read the label, 'Wishing Potion: Makes three wishes come true with just one mouthful'.

Harry smiled at Ron's rather sweet thought and fervently hoped that none of Ron's brothers had been responsible for brewing it. He looked at the clock and noted that if he didn't drink the potion straight away it would be ages before he was free to come back upstairs to drink it, but then he didn't want to rush things either. He had no choice but to leave it for a while but that didn't mean he couldn't think of what he was going to do with it.

If it was going to work he needed to do it soon enough so that it would all come true before bedtime. More than anything else he wanted to get away from the Dursleys, so he planned to wish for somebody to come and pick him up, taking him away without jeopardising his protection, and then he wanted Ron to like him quite a bit more than just as a friend. Finally he would wish that, if he had to come back to the Dursleys at any point, they at least wouldn't give him any trouble ever again.

Harry was happy that he wasn't tempting fate by asking for too much; he shovelled all his presents back underneath the bed and worked out that he should try to get back upstairs just after he made the evening meal. He was sure that it would work; after all, it wasn't as if he had asked for Voldemort to suddenly implode and it wasn't as if he had asked for Sirius back. Such modest requests where surely within the possibilities of a magical potion.

Mr Dursley was never happy anyway, so, Harry thought, he would still at least be able to tell whether the potion had worked or not without actually setting out to annoy him. If they suddenly left him alone then he would know that he was in for a very good summer. If they didn't, and he was still stuck with the Dursleys for the whole of the summer, then Harry had played it safe just in case.

Harry felt the tears coming back as he thought about Sirius again and about how his dreams of family had died once again that night at the Ministry. There was no point in asking for that situation to be reversed, even as far as the wishing potion was concerned the past was the past and there was nothing to be done about it.

Harry had no choice but to fight his thoughts away again, he had to get his chores done before Mr Dursley came back from work. He had preferred it when all he had felt was disbelief and anger, at least he could still deal with things without falling apart.

Harry decided that it was probably best that he was already doing his jobs by the time Mrs Dursley came back and a quick look out of the window confirmed that she was already on her way up the street. Harry shut his bedroom door behind him and rushed downstairs to get the vacuum cleaner out.

Harry tried to tidy and clean the living room first; he had to do it every day because of Dudley and the food he ate whilst he was watching TV all day. This was also the reason why it was almost impossible to do so. On this occasion Harry managed to only hastily vacuum half of the carpet before Dudley was back from the shops with his mother.

Dudley launched himself into an armchair and turned the TV on with the remote, as soon as Harry saw the picture come on he could feel Dudley's eyes on him.

"Mum!" Dudley shrieked at his mother who was through in the kitchen, "Make Harry stop!"

Petunia Dursley came straight through from the kitchen and Harry had already looked up towards the door, he already knew the outcome to this scenario.

"Harry, let Dudikins watch his TV, why can't you do the upstairs first?" Mrs Dursley said before returning to the kitchen before Harry could protest, not that it would have done any good to say anything anyway.

Harry packed up the vacuum cleaner knowing that Dudley wouldn't be pleased if he did the upstairs either but that Mrs Dursley couldn't be bothered to come upstairs to tell him.

Harry knew that Dudley would be there all day now, he should have got the living room done while they were out like he usually did, now he stood no chance. Harry could see it now, Dudley diving into his first bag of crisps and spreading his crumbs everywhere. Piling more mess on top of yesterday's evening snacks.

Still there was still no point dwelling on it, not if he still had at least two more weeks to get through. Harry suddenly remembered the potion, maybe he didn't have two more weeks to endure, he smiled to himself, and surely Ron wouldn't send him something that might not work. It would be cruel and even if Ron wasn't anything more he was still one of his very best friends, it had to work. Harry couldn't wait to thank Ron in person, especially if he got all of his wishes to come true.

Harry spent the whole day cleaning as usual but at least his thoughts were mostly his own. He spent a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to get no trouble from the Dursleys at all. He thought about what he was going to do with the rest of his summer once he managed to reach the Burrow with Ron and his family.

Petunia Dursley managed to get her own lunch and Dudley spent all day eating anyway so Harry didn't have to go into the kitchen till it was time to make the evening meal. Harry tiptoed into the kitchen, both his aunt and Dudley were watching their soaps on TV now and he wanted to get as much of the meal prepared in peace as he could. When he was left on his own he was free to eat this and that as he went along.

Harry peeled six large carrots first, he then cut and boiled five of them and ate the sixth one raw as he worked. He then peeled and cut some more vegetables and stole a biscuit out of the biscuit barrel, making sure that the crumbs were thrown into the bin along with the peel. He then filled the dishwasher and scooped up and ate the wasted food as he put each plate in one after the other.

He was only grilling the meat but there was enough time to make a cup of tea. Harry turned towards the kettle, remembering that he had shorted it that morning. He stared at the clean whiteness of the new one and his heart sank, he should have realised earlier, the Dursleys had had to buy something new because of him. This was when things generally got really bad. Harry suddenly didn't feel like having a cup of tea any more.

Harry heard Vernon Dursley pull up outside in his car, he heard the key in the lock as he entered the house. Harry heard Mr Dursley taking his suit jacket off and complaining about the heat, he then went into the living room. Harry decided to take his chance, there was going to be fireworks and he really needed to wish it away.

Harry left the kitchen with the meat still under the grill; it would only take a few minutes anyway. He ran up the stairs and dashed into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He scrambled down onto the floor and grabbed the potion. He could hear Mr Dursley thundering up the stairs already, he pulled the stopper out of the potion phial and drank it all down, reciting his wishes in his head as he did so.

Nothing happened immediately as far as the potion was concerned, Harry was a little disappointed but he supposed that it must have to take time to take effect just like all other potions had to. What worried him more than anything at that moment was the fact that Mr Dursley was now right outside of his door.

Harry dropped the potion phial to the floor as Vernon Dursley hurled the door to his bedroom wide open making it smash against the wall and rattle on its hinges.

"What is the meaning of this boy?" Vernon yelled, "The cooker unattended, the living room is a mess, I warned you."

Harry knew that it was useless to protest; all he could do was hold on until the potion began to work.

"You're over sixteen now, if it wasn't for the threats of those freaky people of yours you would be on the streets fending for yourself. You're old enough to get up to vile acts with your freaky friends and to think, that that law is one of ours, so you're certainly old enough now to be punished like you deserve." Vernon spat at Harry.

Harry had been determined to stand tall but the look in Vernon's eye was making him very nervous indeed. What did he mean? Was he actually trying to say that so far he had been going easy on him? What was it that Vernon had in mind now as a suitable punishment?

Suddenly Vernon lurched forward and grabbed Harry's arm, just like Snape had done when he had caught Harry looking in his Pensieve. Harry struggled against the hold but although he was technically an adult he was still shorter than Mr Dursley and thin even for his age. He was no match for the sheer obese bulk of his uncle. Vernon slammed Harry up against the wall.

Harry felt the breath hammered out of his chest as he impacted with the wall, he tried to struggle, his anger was rising and if he didn't manage to get free by physical means very soon, he knew that he would extricate himself magically.

"You can't do this, they've been patrolling outside, they'll know," Harry attempted to protest.

" I've managed to catch that ruddy bird of yours, and I know how to write your little notes, I know where you keep the ink and the parchment too, bet you didn't know I knew that did you?" Vernon hissed in Harry's ear.

Harry had to admit that he hadn't seen his owl since the morning.

Vernon Dursley put a big fat hand around Harry's throat and began to squeeze, Harry tried to prize him away but his grip was like iron. Vernon brought his free arm back; he clenched his fist and drove it into Harry's abdomen. Vernon let go of Harry then and he gasped for breath, sliding down the wall onto the floor, unable to do otherwise.

Harry tried to pull himself up but he was still gasping for air and his legs had turned to jelly. Harry was stunned, even though he had half suspected that it might happen sooner or later, his uncle had never actually struck him before and even with the threat of the Order members he had now taken that step forward. Vernon made for the door and the stunned feeling drifted away as Harry got his breath back. His anger returned, Vernon might be finished with him but Harry wasn't finished, not by a long shot.

Harry launched himself at his uncle's now retreating back as forcefully as he could and sent him bashing up against the wooden banister, which buckled underneath the weight but by some unfortunate miracle, didn't give way. Vernon swung round with fury in his eyes and planted another first in Harry's abdomen. Harry managed to keep upright and thumped his uncle back with all the strength that he could gather.

Vernon twisted Harry's arm roughly behind his back forcing him to turn round, then used his weight again to slam Harry up against the wall and while he retained the advantage he grabbed him by the throat again.

Harry gasped at the pain; Vernon Dursley was holding his arm in just the right way. He couldn't move and he couldn't resist as Vernon pulled him away from the wall and he was pushed towards the staircase. Harry was pushed into descending several steps and then Vernon gave him one more final push, letting go of his arm as he did so.

Harry had no options at all, he was falling and he tried to grab a hold of the banister but his chest hit the edge of a step and he tumbled over. He kept on falling and tumbling until the wall at the bottom of the steps brought him to an abrupt stop. Vernon then descended the stairs, stepping over Harry as he went and went back into the living room without another word.

At first Harry couldn't move, he just lay as he had fallen at the bottom of the stairs feeling stunned. After a number of minutes, Harry wasn't exactly sure how long, he started to feel as if he could do something, he risked trying to move, his back and ribs hurt from his sudden landing and both his arms were throbbing, one because of the fall and the other because Vernon had twisted it. Harry tried to sit up and then shakily stood up, unwilling to try and pull himself up with his arms. The pain in one arm began to ease a little but Harry jolted his right arm against the wall and a lightning bolt of pain made him feel dizzy and sick. He cradled it against his body to try and ease the pain.

Somehow Harry managed to get himself up onto his feet and back into his bedroom, he could smell the odour of burning meat coming from the kitchen and he could hear the swearing coming from both his aunt and his uncle. He didn't care anymore; all he could feel was pain and anger.

Harry eased himself down onto the bed gently and cursed the potion that Ron had sent him. Was it possible that Ron had brewed it himself and had got some of the ingredients mixed up? So far it appeared to have had the opposite effect to the one that he had been promised.

The pain in the arm that Vernon had twisted was beginning to ease but the other arm still throbbed persistently, if anything it was getting worse no matter how careful he was with it. Harry rested his right arm unmoving in his lap, he didn't want to think that it might be broken because then he would have to do something about it and that something might involve walking out of the door and running into Snape.

Harry wondered if the only thing that had been keeping him with the Dursleys that year was the fact that Snape seemed to have been the most frequently present Order member assigned to assist if anything happened. He would rather start up some kind of weird sado-masochistic relationship with his cousin than go into the street and admit to Snape that his uncle had just beaten him. Harry visualised Dudley on all fours and naked with whip marks all over his back and begging for more, he chuckled a little and then winced as the movement jarred his ribs and his arm.

After a while it got dark and Harry couldn't hear anything other than the TV coming from the living room, the monsters had settled. He managed to pull himself up with one arm and moved over the bed so that he was lying propped up against the wall in darkness. Harry knew that his arm was indeed broken and that he couldn't escape the fact. He knew that he should just forget that it was probably Snape and step outside where he knew that an Order member, albeit a Snapey one, would come for him. He wouldn't have to endure the humiliation long, he would be taken to Hogwarts and Madam Pomfrey would take away his pain, and fuss over him, and mend his arm in no time. He should just go outside, he knew it. He also knew that he wouldn't.

Harry thought uselessly that he was going to get into trouble for not doing his homework since he now couldn't write. He was so tired but he didn't even want to think about how he was going to manage to lie down. He sat propped up against the wall and tried to breath through the pain, he wondered if Snape ever noticed him looking out through the window and would think it odd that he wouldn't be there, Harry wondered if Snape would come to the house to find out why.

The hours passed and although Harry couldn't lie down properly he somehow managed to fall into an uneasy sleep. On the floor, the empty potion phial still lay with the remainder of the potion dripping out of the glass neck and onto the carpet.