Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. 'Nuff Said.

Warnings: Abuse, Slash (MxM), Evil Dumbledore…possibly more later.

Summary: Harry discovers Dumbles has been paying the Dursley's to mistreat him and runs away after being violently abused. Dobby helps him by giving him a magic collar that allows him to access his animagus form, and then takes him to a forest where he states Harry will be safe as long as he stays away from the wizards nearby. Too bad Harry didn't listen, and now he is at the mercy of Draco Malfoy...

Harry's life had been turned upside-down numerous times in his sixteen years. First, there was his first encounter with Voldemort when he was just a year old; he went from a happy home with loving, caring parents to living a life of neglect with his hateful relatives. Then, when he turned eleven his world changed again as he discovered that he was a wizard; it was the happiest day he could remember. His life remained mostly stable for another year, but then in third year things changed once again as he found out that he had a godfather who was wanted for the murder of his parents, only to later discover that his godfather had been framed and was indeed innocent. For a few precious moments he thought his life would be better, but then that traitor Wormtail got away, and his godfather had to go into hiding again. Fourth year brought even more changes with the death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Voldemort, and Fifth year, just a few months ago, he lost Sirius in the ministry. Now, a little over a month before his sixteenth birthday, his world was once again being thrown into turmoil.

He supposed it was his own fault, really; after all, if he hadn't picked that night to sneak downstairs and get his school books while the Dursley's were eating dinner he never would have been in the cupboard under the stairs, which means he would not have heard the knock on the door. If he hadn't heard the knock on the door, he wouldn't have had to hide in said closet, and he never would have heard the conversation that obviously was not meant for his ears; the conversation between his relatives-and Albus Dumbledore, Harry's trusted headmaster, and once he heard the conversation he could never unhear it, no matter how much he wanted to. But when he first hid in the closet he had no idea about this, so when he heard Dumbledore's voice he sat down on his old cot and listened.

"Shh! The boy is upstairs so you'd better be quiet if you don't want him to know you're here," Aunt Petunia snapped, "I suppose you would like the usual status report?"

"Yes please, Petunia, "Dumbledore replied cheerily, "I just need to make sure Harry is being treated in a way that will best benefit everyone. I trust he's still taking care of all the cooking, cleaning, and gardening while he's home?"

"No," Vernon spoke up, "When we picked him up at the station this year we were ambushed by a group of your kind of people, and they threatened us if we didn't leave the miserable freak alone; said they would be checking in on him and we would never even know they were here unless we mistreated him-and according to those freaks regular chores count as abuse-but if we did "abuse" him," the sarcasm was very heavy here, "then the freaks would "punish" us." Harry could just imagine his uncle's red face at this point, and wanted to snicker at the memory of that wonderful meeting.

"I am very disappointed to hear that," Dumbledore said, "I will make sure those that would look in on young Harry are busy elsewhere so that you may resume normal treatment of the boy; we have worked too hard to mold the boy how I need him to be and any deviation from the normal conditioning you put him through every summer could disrupt everything we have done."

Harry couldn't believe his ears; 'Normal treatment?' he thought incredulously, 'Mold him? Normal conditioning? He knew; all along he knew exactly what was going on and not only did he not stop them, but he encouraged it!' Harry lowered his head in shame and disappointment; there was obviously something very wrong with him if even Dumbledore felt that he deserved the treatment he received at his relative's hands. Really, it was bad enough when Ron and Hermione told him that he was making too big of a deal about the way the Dursley's treated him; he could still hear Hermione's exasperated response: "Oh, stop it Harry! I'm sure it can't be that bad; you're aunt and uncle are just doing what that have to in order to make sure you grow up right! They care about you, and are only trying to build character!" And then there was Ron's agreement, "Yeah, come off it Mate! You don't like your relative's; we get it! Grow up already!" Maybe they were right, and Harry had been making a big deal out of nothing...he was drawn out of his thoughts as Petunia spoke again.

"Well, we will put the boy to work immediately," Petunia said, and Harry could hear the satisfaction in her voice, "As soon as you leave I will have him start cleaning the house from top to bottom and he won't get any food or sleep until it is completed to my satisfaction." Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh before replying.

"I'm afraid that won't do the job anymore," he said sadly, "He has had too much time to recuperate; we have worked very hard to make sure he knew his place in...our world was different than his place in the mug-er, that is your world. At school he is above average, special even, destined to save the world; here, he is below you, lower than even the poorest beggar on the street. These few weeks at home without you being allowed to reinforce his inferiority to you will no doubt have erased much of the insecurities we have worked hard to cultivate. No, I don't believe giving him simple chores and making him work for his food is going to work anymore."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Vernon demanded, "We can't beat him as we did when he was younger; the second he starts to feel that we have crossed some line his freakishness comes out and protects him!"

"Ah, I can take care of that for you," Dumbledore sounded cheerful again, "I always come prepared, just in case something like this were to occur. Give me just a moment...now where did I put those...?" All was silent for a few minutes, except for the soft rustle of Dumbledore searching for whatever it was he needed, "Ah! Here we go!" There was the sound of clinking glass, and harry recognized it from his time spent in the hospital wing, Dumbledore was giving the Dursley's vials of potion. "Now, each one of these has a different purpose, and they are charmed to never be empty. This one will block his magic from reacting to anything; make sure he gets two drops of it twice a day. I am aware that he has been training physically this year as well, so this potion will cause him to become disoriented, while this one will cause him to lose control of his muscles. This potion will prevent him from being able to tell anyone the full truth of what happens here. And, finally, this potion will heal physical evidence of any beatings you must give Harry, while still letting him feel the pain he needs; this is just in case you have to send him outside or if unexpected visitors stop by." There was a thoughtful pause, then the sound of another bottle being set down. "I realize that you will still need the boy useful even with the punishment he will be given, so this potion will heal anything that is life-threatening, and I believe we have everything covered; do you have any concerns about this?"

"Yes," Vernon said, "Will you be paying us extra for this? It will take a lot more work to get him beaten down properly, not to mention we have to mess with your freaky medicines."

"But of course," Dumbledore chuckled, "Let's see, I currently give you 2500 pounds a month, correct?" There were affirmative noises from the Dursley's, "Well, since this is causing you more trouble, and you have to deal with the...special medicine, I will double that for you; that will be 5000 pounds a month. Now, I only brought the normal payment with me today, so I will send the rest of the money to you tomorrow. These expenses will, of course, come out of Harry's personal expense account as usual, and if you find you need more funds to properly care for him just let me know; you know how to contact me Petunia. Now, have we covered everything?"

"I believe so," Petunia replied, "All of the medicines are labeled and have instructions so we won't mix anything up, the expenses are covered, and you have plans to take care of those busy-bodies from the station. Yes, we have everything necessary so that we can take...appropriate care of the boy for the rest of the summer. Once you are gone we will begin the new...conditioning treatments."

"Excellent, excellent!" Harry could just see that irritating twinkle in the old man's eyes and it made him grit his teeth in anger, "Very well, I believe it is time I took my leave; I will see myself out. Oh, I would recommend waiting an hour or two before you bring Harry down, otherwise he might sense I was here and ruin everything. I will check in again after I send someone to collect Harry for the new school year and settle any additional financial concerns at that time. Until then, have a wonderful summer!" Harry listened as Dumbledore left and then heard his aunt and uncle return to the kitchen; they appeared to be discussing the conversation they just had with Dumbledore, but Harry could no longer make out what they were saying. Harry lay down on the cot-it was awfully cramped now as he was slightly bigger than he was at age eleven-to think over what he had just heard and ponder his next plan of action.

Well, first he had to get away from the Dursley's; that much was abundantly clear. When Harry first started listening in on the conversation he had mostly felt disgust with himself for disappointing his mentor, but the longer he listened the more that self-loathing receded to be replaced with utter contempt for Albus Dumbledore. 'How dare he?' Harry gritted his teeth to prevent an angry growl from escaping, Dumbledore was supposed to be his protector, a friend of his parents, someone he could trust to look out for him. Instead, he found that Albus Dumbledore was a manipulative old man who not only encouraged the Dursley's to mistreat him, but paid them to mistreat him-and with Harry's own money! Twenty-five hundred pounds was a lot of money; it translated to...500 Galleons a month; 6000 a year! Not only that, but he was doubling their pay so that the Dursley's would beat him, and he had given them potions to prevent him from fighting back! The last thought is what made him blanche; the thought of a professor giving someone potions to drug a student was...well, it was repulsive and Harry knew he needed to leave now. Before he got a chance to do anything, however, the cupboard door was slammed open and Vernon Dursley reached in to grab him with one meaty hand.

"So, spying on us were you?" Vernon sneered, "I'll bet you think you're clever, but I knew you were here this whole time; might want to look around a bit more carefully the next time you decide to sneak around my house-which had better not be anytime soon. Come with me boy; you're about to get what you deserve."

"Let me go!" Harry shouted, struggling against his uncles hold, "You can't do this to me; it's child abuse! Uncle Vernon!" Vernon came to a sudden stop and backhanded Harry across the face hard enough to make him see stars.

"Shut up boy!" He thundered, "You've had it easy until now, but all that is about to change. Sit!" He pushed Harry down onto one of the kitchen chairs and motioned to Petunia to bring the vials over, "Right, first I think we should give him the one to stop him from talking about what happens here." Petunia nodded and held up a vial of green potion; Harry bided his time and waited for Petunia to get closer and then he struck out, kicking the vial from her hands. The vial fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces, green potion splattering everywhere. "Stupid boy!" Vernon yelled, backhanding Harry again and then slamming his head forward into the table, "You will be cleaning all of this up by hand! But first;" Vernon shoved Harry's chair up to the table so that his chest was pressed against it and he wouldn't be able to kick out any more before pulling the boy's hands behind his back and gripping his hair harshly to force his head back, "Okay Petunia; the blue one that blocks his freak powers now; only two drops, remember." Petunia didn't reply put merely gripped Harry's chin with one hand to force his mouth open and then poured two drops of the blue potion into his mouth. A few seconds later Harry cried out in pain as he felt his magic being locked away from him; it felt like someone had ripped off a limb. The pain passed quickly, and left in its stead a large gaping hole, making Harry feel exposed.

Harry was so focused on the pain that he actually forgot about his relatives until his uncle dumped him out of the chair and Harry fell in the middle of the shards of broken glass. He cried out again as the sharp edges cut into his skin drawing blood, but quickly shut up when Vernon slapped him once again.

"You will pick up every shard of glass by hand, and then you will clean the rest of this mess up," Vernon hissed, "You are not to make a single sound while you do this, is that understood?" Harry nodded mutely, "Good. When you are done here you will come find me in my office for your punishment." Vernon and Petunia then walked out of the kitchen without a backwards glance, leaving Harry behind to clean up the mess on the floor.

Cleaning up the mess in the kitchen took Harry the better part of an hour, and by the end his hands were covered with cuts and scrapes from the broken vial. Once the floor was spotless Harry considered locking himself in his room until the potion wore off-Dumbledore said to administer it twice a day, so that meant it should wear off after twelve hours-but he knew that Vernon would have no problems breaking down the door. He needed access to his magic so he could escape, but he knew it would be a long time before that happened. Scowling, Harry walked to his uncle's study and knocked on the door. When Vernon called for him to enter he did so hesitantly, and it was with even more trepidation that he closed the door behind him. Vernon pointed to a cup of tea in front of him.

"Drink that!" he barked, "I won't have you getting de-hydrated on me."

"Yes Uncle," Harry replied and picked up the cup with his eyes averted; he knew that the tea was spiked-did Vernon really think he was stupid? Now, the question was which potion had he put in the tea, and would Harry be able to just pretend to drink as he had with Umbridge last year. Harry decided he would just have to take a chance, so he closed his lips tightly and pretended to sip the tea. After his third pretend sip Harry let the teacup fall from his hands and spill on the floor. After a few seconds he looked up and saw Vernon's victorious smirk, before his uncle glared at him angrily. "I'm sorry Uncle," Harry said, "I didn't mean to-you drugged the tea! I-I can't-"

"You can't fight me," Vernon said, "Now you'll get what you deserve, and there's no way out of it. The muscle weakening medicine is already working, and I expect the disorienting medicine should also start working soon." Right on cue Harry let his eyes flutter closed and he forced a dazed expression on his face, dropping his chin to rest on his chest. Vernon grabbed him by his hair and threw him on the desk, taking off his belt as he did so, and Harry braced himself for what he knew was coming; once again he would have to wait for the right moment to act or risk ruining everything. He felt the air behind him move and knew that Vernon was pulling back to land his first blow, and when it landed Harry screamed; he had been expecting to feel the harsh bite of leather through his clothes, but nothing could have prepared him to feel the sting of the metal belt buckle instead. Briefly Harry thought that Vernon must be holding the belt at the opposite end from the buckle and wielding it like a whip, but then the next blow came ripping another scream from his throat. The blows began to rain down harder after that, and Vernon didn't pause for even a second between blows. Harry screamed his throat raw and writhed against the desk, but he was in too much pain to really fight and Vernon didn't notice his struggles. It seemed like an eternity that the blows came down, one after the other, ripping his clothes to shreds and leaving his back a raw, bloody mess, but eventually they slowed and then stopped, and Harry could hear his uncle's ragged breathing over his own pitiful whimpers.

"I'm not done yet," Vernon warned, "but it's time for Dudley to go to bed. I'm going to tell my son good night, and when I get back you'd better not have moved, understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry gasped out, his throat sore from all the screaming. He felt Vernon move away and then heard the door close and knew that he only had a few minutes in which to act. Harry opened his eyes-he hadn't even realized they were closed-and found that the world in front of him was blurry. Very carefully Harry slid himself off the desk, biting down on his lip to stop a whimper of pain from escaping, and crawled on the floor, feeling for his glasses. He finally found them, and felt relieved that he was able to see again. Pulling himself to his knees he looked around his uncle's study and saw that there were five vials lined up on a bookcase across the room. Harry gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, pushing the pain aside long enough to walk over to the bookcase. Once there he examined the vials and grabbed the one for healing extreme damage; he knew from the injuries he had sustained at Hogwarts that healing potions would normally knock you out if you took a full dose, so he took a small sip which was just enough to make the wounds scab over. If Harry aggravated his back too much he knew the scabs would open, and he still felt incredibly sore, but he felt ten times better than he had before drinking the potion.

Now that the pain was somewhat lessened, Harry had to make a plan, and fast-he could hear Vernon thundering back down the stairs. Without sparing much thought to what he was doing, Harry finished pulling the shreds of fabric off his back and then grabbed a marble bust of William Shakespeare and positioned himself to the side of the door-far enough away that the door wouldn't hit him when opened but close enough that he would be able to act quickly when Vernon came in. Harry's heart began to beat faster as he saw the doorknob turn, then the door was open and Harry was bringing the marble bust down on his uncle's head, hard. Vernon let out a strangled cry and went down, but he was still conscious so Harry hit him again and then drug Vernon's fat body further into the room so he could close and lock the door. Harry eyed his uncle warily as he pondered what to do next; he knew he needed to tie him up, but with what? Harry's shirt was ripped to shreds but the pieces were too small to use...Aha! Harry's eyes lit up with satisfaction as he grabbed a pair of scissors off the desk and then proceeded to cut his uncle's shirt into long strips.

Within a few minutes he had bound Vernon's wrists together and then tied his ankles just to be safe, before gagging the man with Vernon's own belt. With his uncle safely out of the way Harry didn't feel as much pressure to hurry, so he took another sip of the healing draught-he knew that he would probably have to run since his magic was currently blocked- and then picked up all the vials. His uncle had a coat on the rack in the corner so Harry put it on, wincing as the material drug across his wounded back, and then put the potions in the coat pockets. Once that was taken care of he examined the bookshelves in the room and searched through all the drawers and found a box labeled "Freak" which he set aside to take with him and then he decided it was time to leave the study. First though, he needed to write out a letter or two. Harry sat down at his uncle's desk and used his finest stationary and a heavy fountain pen to write four letters; one to the headmaster, one to Ron, one to Hermione, and the last to Voldemort. Harry wasn't entirely sure how the last would get delivered, but Hedwig had never failed him yet, so he assumed she would be able to deliver the letter.

Satisfied that he was done in the study Harry quietly opened the door and saw Petunia sitting on the couch; Harry hesitated a moment because he really didn't want to attack a woman, but he knew he needed to get out as soon as possible. Suddenly, Harry was struck by a brilliant idea; he very quietly peeled the coat off and pulled out one of the potions vials, hiding it in his pants pocket. Then he opened the door again, making sure to make enough noise to alert Petunia. As his aunt turned around Harry lowered his head in submission and bowed his entire body as if he was in pain.

"A-Aunt Petunia, Uncle told me to m-make some tea," Harry stammered, "W-would you l-like a c-cup?"

"Yea," Petunia snapped, "and makes it quick you rotten little freak!" Harry shuffled to the kitchen, but once there he straightened up and put a kettle on to boil. As soon as the water was ready he poured his aunt a cup, added the correct amount of cream and sugar, and then added six drops of potion to the cup. He shuffled back out and handed it to Petunia, and then backed away to watch her drink it. After a few moments Petunia dropped her cup just as Harry had pretended to, and the brunette hastily moved forward to bind his aunt with the strips of table cloth he had prepared while waiting for the tea to boil. Petunia glared at him as he stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth, but she had no way of fighting him. Harry moved upstairs and paused outside of Dudley's room; should he tie him up too? No, he could hear his cousin snoring, and that meant nothing would wake him up tonight.

Harry entered his bedroom and let Hedwig out of her cage, giving her quiet instructions to deliver the letters; he told her to go to Neville when she was done because Neville was the only one who ever seemed to listen and understand when Harry spoke about his relatives-he jotted a short note to explain everything to Neville and then Hedwig was out the window, disappearing into the night. Once that was done, Harry quickly gathered his wand and invisibility cloak from under the floorboard before heading back downstairs. Once there, he pulled his trunk out of the closet but then frowned; how could he do anything with his magic blocked? All his efforts would be wasted if he didn't leave the house soon! If only he could pop in and out like a house elf! 'Wait a minute,' Harry thought, 'House elf?'

"Dobby!" he called, and a few seconds later the house elf appeared, bowing and eager to help the Great Harry Potter. Normally this would bug Harry, but right now he needed the elf's help. "I have to leave Dobby, but I can't use magic for a while; the Muggles found a potion to block it, can you help me?"

"Yes sir, Harry Potter sir!" Dobby squealed, "I is helping Harry Potter, I is! Dobby is getting the great Dumbledore-"

"No!" Harry interrupted, "Dobby, you can't tell Dumbledore or my friends or...anyone! I need to go somewhere safe while the potion wears off, but I don't want anyone to recognize me; please Dobby-you are the only one I trust right now."

"The great Harry Potter trusts...me?" Dobby whispered in disbelief, his green eyes welling up in tears, "Oh, Dobby is so happy! Dobby can help Harry Potter sir hide until he is better! Dobby just needs to get something!" Dobby popped out, leaving Harry startled and a little uneasy as he didn't know where the little house elf had gone, but Dobby returned after only a few moments, holding a black leather collar in his hands.

"What is that?" Harry asked, and Dobby grinned.

"It is a magic collar," he said excitedly, "The collar allows you to become your animagus form even if you never learned how to; it will keep you in that form until you are able to use your magic again. Dobby can take Harry Potter to a safe place once he is transformed!"

"That's brilliant!" Harry smiled, "But what about my stuff? I won't need anything of my things while I'm in animal form, but I can't leave them here."

"Dobby can shrink them and turn them into a charm until Harry Potter needs them," Dobby offered, "Does Harry Potter want to use the collar?" Harry was silent for a moment as he thought about it. He didn't really want to transform into his animagus form as he didn't know what it was-what if he turned out to be a helpless bunny or something?-but he didn't have any other options, so he sighed and nodded.

"Okay," he agreed, "I'll use the collar; how does it work?"

"Harry Potter puts the collar on and transforms," Dobby said, "and when nasty potion is out of Harry Potter's system he will be able to change back. Dobby will take Harry Potter somewhere safe, and will check on Harry Potter in two days if he hasn't called for Dobby by then."

"Sounds good," Harry nodded, "Okay, can you go ahead and shrink my trunk? And after I transform I want a mirror, so I can see what I look like." Dobby agreed and quickly shrunk Harry's belongings, turning them into a charm that was attached to the collar. Taking a deep breath Harry thanked Dobby for his help and then fastened the collar around his neck. For a few seconds nothing happened, then Harry felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, followed by a painful twisting sensation that made him close his eyes and cry out in pain; the pain was worse than the polyjuice potion he had taken back in second year, and he honestly thought he was about to black out when the pain finally began to recede before vanishing completely.

Hearing Dobby gasp Harry opened his eyes and lifted his head slowly; looking down he noticed that he was a largish-type animal, with four legs and a tail that lashed out behind him. Dobby snapped, causing a mirror to appear, and Harry stared at his appearance, very pleased with what he saw. His animagus form was a large, black cat and he still had the same emerald eyes and-he noticed with disgust-a small white marking in the shape of a lightning bolt; at first Harry thought he was a panther, but on closer inspection he saw that, barely visible against his already black fur were even darker black stripes.

"Harry Potter sir is a tiger," Dobby said excitedly, "They is being very rare-Harry Potter is even more powerful than Dobby thought! Dobby is proud to serve Harry Potter!" Harry tilted his head, eying the elf curiously, but as he was unable to ask the questions swimming through his mind he butted Dobby with his head and walked to the door-or attempted to anyway; it took him some time to coordinate walking on for legs, but once he realized his tail played a big part in helping him balance it got easier.

When he saw that Harry was comfortable in his animal form, Dobby placed a hand on his collar and apparated them to a forest.

"This place is far away from the bad people who hurt Harry Potter," Dobby informed him, "Harry Potter is being careful; there be wizards close by, but they not be looking for Harry Potter so Harry Potter is being safe." Harry butted his head against Dobby in thanks and then leapt into the nearest tree, quickly leaving the small house elf behind.

Once he felt like he was far enough away from the spot where he and Dobby had entered the forest, Harry slowed down and began looking for a suitable place to spend the night. His feline senses were able to detect other predators in the forest so Harry figured that his best bet would be to find a tall tree with sturdy branches. As Harry stalked through the trees he noticed that the pain in his back was slowly increasing and he realized that the potion must only offer temporary relief; either that or the potion didn't work on his animagus form.

As he pondered this, Harry slowly became aware of the sound of running water and followed it to a stream; after verifying that there was no immediate danger by the stream the black panther crouched down to drink, keeping his senses open. Nearby Harry heard the sound of another animal, and determined that it was probably a deer; he was disturbed to realize that he was hungry, and the predatory instincts of his current form were making it hard for him to resist chasing after the animal and turning it into supper. Instead, Harry drank as much water as he could and then climbed a nearby oak tree which he decided would make a good place to sleep. He climbed up to the highest branches and surveyed the land below him; there didn't seem to be much in the way of human habitation, but to the north of him Harry saw a large manor with what appeared to be albino turkeys in the front yard. The house was far enough away that Harry felt safe and yet close enough so that in the morning he would be able to see who lived there-if it was someone he knew maybe they would be able to help him.

Having satisfied himself that he would be safe for the night, Harry lay down on a large branch and fell asleep almost immediately.

*******Author's Note*****So, first chapter of a new story; I have been working on it off and on for a while, but Goblin King was my main story, so this kind of fall to the back burner before I posted it, and I just found it again. I will try to post new chapters on a regular basis, but sometimes there may be a lapse due to my work schedule. Now, please review and let me know what you think!