Harry was jostled forward in the crowd of students facing the Boggart. He honestly didn't know his biggest fear. He thought it was a Dementor, but there was also the chance it was...

No don't think about that! Harry berated himself for letting his thoughts go anywhere close to that in Hogwarts. His home. Where he was SAFE. Besides the Murderer on the loose of course.

One step closer to the Jack-in-the- Box, and Harry raised his wand. Lupin was on the opposite side of the room, only one eye on Harry as he tried to keep a certain order to the line up.

The Jack rocked back and forth for a moment before spinning into what Harry dreaded the most. The only thing he truly hated in the world.

His Uncle Vernon. With a belt held in a way which only Harry could see snorts were heard from behind him, but they disappeared when the Walrus-Man set his beady eyes on Harry and shouted

"YOU WORTHLESS FREAK! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT PRACTICING SUCH ABNORMALITIES?!" Harry's knees quaked and suddenly he felt seven again, terrified of his Uncle's rage "I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED TRYING TO BEAT THE FREAK OUT OF YOU!" Gasps filled the room as Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, covered his face with his arms start choking out

"Un-cle I d-d-didn't m-me-" But the Boggart cut him off and raised the belt above his head. Ron and Hermionie stepped forward, wands at the ready, but froze when the belt came down with a sharp crack, their horror mimicking the room.

The man - could you even call him that?- stopped shouting and looked at the boy nursing a bleeding welt. Harry looked up to see the belt raised again, and Harry turned his head away, only to see his horrified friends. The sight of their horrified concern brought Harry back to reality.

He was at HOGWARTS. Not Pivet Drive. He had people worried about him. His Blood-Relatives are always disappointed when he doesn't die.

And this was not Uncle Vernon.

"RIDICKKLUAS!"

The Boggart turned to a Walrus missing half of its mustache.

No one laughed as Lupin shoved the thing with more force than necessary. Harry muttered something about needing air and ran from the class.

It wasn't till the end of the day that Ron and Hermionie found Harry. The whole school knew by now. Everyone knew that Harry was abused. Dumbledore was being yelled at by McGonagall and surprisingly Snape. Everyone was afraid of Hagrid because everyone in earshot would pale at his dark mutterings. Draco had glared at nothing and everything, because there was the nasty feeling of guilt about what he said to Harry about his Family and Homelife.

Harry though, was at the very edge of the Forbidden Forest, crying and nursing his arm. A low whine startled him out of his brooding. The same black dog he had seen when he had run was a few feet away. Harry let out a hollow laugh and coaxed the dog over.

It was a very big dog, the size of a small pony, but it looked like it was starving.

"Good Dog." The Dog turned it's pale grey eyes on Harry and licked the tears off his face. This continued until Harry fell asleep, his arms around the Dogs neck.

When his friends found him, the Dog was gone. The only trace of it was a paw print on Harry's cheek.