...I know it's been over a year again. IM SORRY! Wow I suck! But thankyou for all sticking with it! I think I might have got better at writing ... Ish :/ so maybe that will make up for it! Hope you enjoy :)

There was a tangible silence that felt heavy in the small room, and seemed to last forever, until it was broken by Snape's teeth gritted drawl.

"Now is not the time for your jokes headmaster" I kn

Albus bowed his head and sat heavily into the chair behind his desk. With a heavy sigh he answered the irate man.

"I only wish that I were joking Severus. Harry cannot leave the protection that he gains from living with the Dursley's. What they provide is just too important"

"Too important!" Snape growled " I have just outright told you that your precious golden boy is being beaten to a pulp at the place that you send him back to and you are going to do ... Nothing" Snape finished in such a quiet voice that had it been any student he was talking to they would have fled with fear. But the headmaster just looked up with sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" he nearly whispered, switching his gaze at last to the young boy standing silently in the corner. Harry looked up from his shoes for the first time at the exclamation, his eyes no longer shimmering with tears and fearful hope; Instead they were blank.

"Don't worry about it" he stated, shifting his crutches into a more comfortable position as he turned towards the door. "Excuse me, I have homework to catch up on" with that he quickly hobbled out of the room, not once looking at Snape, who's concerned eyes followed the boy until he was out of the door.

"For someone so great and good, you really are an evil man Albus Dumbledore" Snape said, not looking at the man in question but still resting a heavy gaze on the door where the boy had left.

"Severus..." Albus tried to say but was quickly cut off.

"No Albus" he spat, whipping round to glare at the man "save your excuses for more naive ears. We both know you could get him out of there, in a heartbeat, if you wanted to. But you don't do you. It's not in your best interest" with his last cutting words he stormed out of the room, missing the sorrowful look that followed him.

...

"Potter!" Snape called out, after rounding the corner and finding the person he was looking for. Harry was stumbling along with clear difficulty, his sore leg getting worse with each step. He turned around when his name was called, but swiftly carried on his way when he saw who was there. "Potter stop!"

"What?!" Harry snapped. Turning around once more "what do you want? Have you not tormented me enough?" His eyes were now shining slightly with unshed tears.

"Oh what you think I planned that did you?" Potter's attitude mixed with his own anger making him more volatile than he'd care to admit. "You think I wasted my time to play a cruel trick on the boy who lived?"

"I told you" Harry whispered, raising his eyes to meet the older man's black ones "I told you not to tell anyone, I told you it would never work! But for some stupid reason I believed you!" Harry hastily wiped his face with his upper arm in an attempt to hide the tears that had finally fallen. His voice rose as he continued "I was actually stupid enough to hope that maybe this would be it, maybe it will end. But I was wrong. You were wrong! I told you it would hurt to hope, and guess what! It fucking kills! Happy now?" With that Harry moved quickly round the corner and out of sight.

...

Snape remained where he stood for an uncommonly long time. He should have said something to the boy. He should have comforted him or something, but what could he say? The boy was right. He had raised his hopes just for them to be shot down. He had promised that he would never go back, when he never had the power to keep it. With a sigh he headed back down to the dungeons. It was getting late now and he had marking to do for tomorrow.

But any marking that needed doing was left undone, he couldn't focus, all he could think about was the golden Gryffindor that suddenly seemed less like his father.

...

The next morning Harry downed his small bottle of nutrient supplement but couldn't even think about eating anything. He scraped his fork through his eggs with little enthusiasm, his head resting on his other hand as he stared blankly at the table.

"Try and eat something Harry" Hermione insisted from the seat opposite him. He hadn't spoken to them much since yesterday, they had known what the meeting with Dumbledore was about and so were waiting eagerly back in the common room, and rushed over to him when he came into the room. But all Harry had done was shake his head lightly and continue on to his dorm room, ignoring the questions by his worried best friends. They had tried to talk to him about it a number of times already, but Harry just insisted "there is nothing to talk about" and that was that.

"'M not hungry" he muttered out of his hand that was half covering his mouth. Harry couldn't wait for the day to end, all through breakfast he could feel 3 sets of eyes boring into him for. The head table, all of which came from people who he really didn't want to see. Dumbledore's sad glances, Snape's consistent steady gaze that once again gave nothing away about what he was thinking; which was the complete opposite to the other pair of eyes. Malcolm had been glaring at Harry with such a passion that he was sure he would drop dead from it. What was his problem? He had never done anything to the man and yet he was sure Malcolm would take great joy out of seeing him dead. It was unnerving.

...

The day passed with a next to normal routine, if it wasn't for the persistent attempts of Snape to get Harry to look at him during potions, it might have been just like any other day. Except as the day progressed Harry grew more and more nervous for his upcoming detention with Professor Malcolm. He had been right, the man had left a bruise on his arm, it hurt too. There was something about the man that had Harry generally scared to be in his presence, something no one else seemed to agree with him on. Ever since he had arrived, everyone had been praising Professor Malcolm and how nice he was. The man was either an amazing actor or Harry just turned him sour, whatever it was, Harry didn't like the feeling he got as he knocked on his office door.

"Come in" came the gentle call from inside, it even sounded inviting. Harry opened the door and shuffled in. "Potter" the man spat after looking up from his papers, his face one of pure hatred.

"I... Er... I have detention sir" he stuttered. Why did this man make him so nervous! Where was his Gryffindor bravery!

"Do I look stupid to you boy?!" Malcolm shouted advancing on the small thirteen year old standing near the door. Malcolm stalked passed him and slammed the door shut, locking them both in.

As he turned back around he grabbed Harry by the back of the neck and frog marched him towards a door at the far end of the room, something that with crutches and a broken leg was very hard to do. When they were near enough at the door Harry didn't move his crutch fast enough for the fast pace and he tumbled to the floor. He gave a soft gasp of pain as he landed on his leg, trying to subdue his agony, not wanting to give the vindictive teacher the satisfaction.

"Get up" Malcolm sneered. Watching on with visible humour as the teen struggled to right himself. When Harry was finally on his feet Malcolm turned and opened the door which was revealed to be a storage cupboard with cleaning equipment inside. The man pulled out a cloth and a bucket which he proceeded to fill with water with a quick spell. He thrust the bucket and cloth at the boy with added force which made Harry stumble backwards in order not to fall over.

"I want the whole floor scrubbed spotless or you will return to do it again. Understood?" Without waiting for an answer he returned to his desk, whistling while he went.

Harry lent one crutch up again a near by table so he could pick up the bucket. With effort he managed to drag himself and the bucket to the end of the classroom and bent down to the floor. He gasped in pain, unable to keep the sound at bay this time. Kneeling on his leg was agonising. And Malcolm knew it. He was in for a rough night he could tell.

There you go! Another chapter :) let me know what you think! New chapter up soon! Hopefully!