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Harry woke in a panic in his bed on Privet Drive. But before he could remember the nightmare that woke him, a heavy fist crashed into his head and sent him spiraling into darkness.
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It had been two days since Mrs. Figg had seen her charge. The Dursley's were acting the same as always, except that Harry was nowhere to be found. Knowing that Petunia would relinquish no information about the boy, Mrs. Figg decided to owl her concerns to Professor Dumbledore. It didn't take a real witch to know something wasn't right. And this Squib learned long ago to trust her instincts. After the warning the wizards had given the Dursley's at the beginning of the summer, one would think they would take Harry's disappearance seriously and contact someone. But Mrs. Figg had neither seen nor heard anything out of the ordinary.
If felt like forever before Albus Dumbledore appeared in her kitchen. It had actually only been a couple hours.
"I've haven't seen any sign of him for two days, Albus. I'm so sorry. I should've been keeping a closer eye on him." Mrs. Figg's worry all came out in one big blurt while she walked towards the wizard so fast she nearly tripped over one of her cats.
"Calm down, Mrs. Figg. We'll get to the bottom of this." Just as he said "we", two loud CRACKS sounded behind him. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape apperated out of thin air into Mrs. Figg's kitchen. The commotion scared Mr. Tibbles so bad he jumped back and hissed at Snape. Severus just glared at the cat before turning his attention to what Dumbledore was saying.
"...we're going to talk to them right now. And I've got a dozen witches and wizards on stand by if we need help. I only hope the Dursley's have a good excuse for not contacting me as soon as the boy disappeared."
The anger in his voice echoed the rage Minerva was feeling towards the Dursley's. She was already thinking of curses to use on them if something had happened to Harry.
Professor Dumbledore reassured Mrs. Figg before heading towards the Dursley household with the witch and wizard following closely behind. He silently prayed that whatever delay the Dursley's had caused would not cost Harry his life.
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First, there was only black. Then a deep throbbing made his head feel as though it would explode. Wait a minute......everything was still black. Had he gone blind? Oh, he forgot to open his eyes. He immediately regretted opening the one that wasn't swollen shut. The bright lights made his head explode into a whole new wave of pain.
As Harry became accustomed to the sensation, he realized he couldn't move his hands or feet. And as he regained some of his senses, he noticed that he was sitting upright in what felt like a cold, stone chair. His arms were bound mercilessly behind the chair.
Something clammy touched the side of his face, causing him to jerk away in surprise. The fresh wave of nauseating pain immediately made him regret the sudden movement.
"Hey Crabbe. Looks like the Mighty Harry Potter is scared." The voice sounded like an older, deeper Goyle. His father? guessed Harry. Harry tried to open his eye again, and the shock wasn't quite as bad as the first time. He could just barely make out two blurry shapes standing in front of him. It was then he realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. They were probably still sitting on his night stand at Privet Drive.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter." mocked a different voice. Harry assumed it came from Crabbe, Sr. "Someone would like a word with you before he presents you as a surprise to the Dark Lord." the oaffish voice continued.
At that moment, Harry heard a door creak on it's hinges as footsteps and a menacing chuckle entered the room. The hair on Harry's neck stood on end in fear and anticipation.
---------------------------------------Minerva couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Professor Dumbledore this enraged. The Dursley's cowered in a corner as Albus made clear the severity of their hesitation to act, while Professor Snape searched the boy's room for any clues about the boy's disappearance. Besides Harry's glasses and wand that were laying on the night stand and a smudge of blood on the boy's sheets, there was nothing to be found. Snape handed the glasses and wand to Professor Dumbledore while Minerva picked up the cage that contained a very hungry and upset Hedwig. They stood behind Dumbledore as he finished giving the Dursley's a verbal lashing. Then the three wizards disapperated, leaving the Dursley's alone, still shaking from the shock of the evening's events.
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I hope you enjoyed my first chapter:-)
Shameless Promo section: One of my absolute favorite fics is The Unexpected Friend by Questie. It's well worth reading.