Hope Restored

Chapter 1

Summary: Harry has just finished his fourth year and after defeating Voldemort he wants to do nothing but disappear. But he had been forcibly bound to stay at the Dursleys and forced to endure constant abuse.

Warnings: Abuse, OOC, Corporal Punishment, Self Harm.

Disclaimer: My stories are based on characters and situations created and owned by author J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made from the stories on this profile and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Nor is any insult or defamation of character intended toward any of the wonderful actors who brought the original Harry Potter books to life through the cinema.

Harry was currently in his cupboard, thinking about everything. It wasn't fair that after saving the Wizarding World he had to stay with the Dursleys. He knew that the Order knew about the abuse, but they choose to ignore it. They were probably busy celebrating the Voldemorts defeat.

After the world found out about him being back in the end of his third year it has been a time of great despair in the world. Everyone was either going into hiding or trying to stay alive while fighting him.

Everything ended after Harry and Voldemort had a final battle during Harry's third task in the Triwizard tournament. The world celebrated, but their Savior was soon forgotten and abandoned.

They all forgot how much he sacrificed for them, how much he tried and tried and failed for them. He trained with Dumbledore his whole fourth year. He lost all of his friends and spent all of his time training and studying.

Hermione and Ron after some time decided that it was too bothersome to be friends with him. He spent too much time away from them and kept too many secrets. So he was left alone, but only by his friends. But now, the whole world abandoned him. Even the all mighty Dumbledore, who despite training him for the whole year was too busy with ministry business to check up on him or even find a different place for him to stay.

He couldn't blame them really, Harry thought after he flicked another spider of his leg. He knew he had acted rudely to his friends, but he had been very busy and they just kept bugging him, telling him to confide in them, despite him saying that he was forbidden to do so and that it wasn't any of their business.

It was only the first day of the summer holidays, but Harry was already in his cupboard, with bruises on him. He hoped it would be better this year but he was mistaken.

Vernon had been demoted and decided it was all the freaks fault. So he showed the world how much of a man he is by beating a defenseless fourteen year old boy.

Harry was honestly happy that the war was over and that he wouldn't be forced to watch the murders of muggles and light wizards every night through his scar. He and Voldemort had a connection through Harry's scar which contained Voldemorts horcrux.

He and Dumbledore spent two months finding the horcruxes and destroying them, but at the time Harry also had the Triwizard tournament to deal with. Despite them destroying all the parts of Voldemorts soul they could find, Harry had to be killed so that his scar was destroyed.

He wasn't killed exactly; he felt pain as the Killing curse hit him, and after a moment he was back and he defeated Voldemort after stunning his Death Eaters with a powerful spell.

But now he only had his secret companion, everyone else was killed or had abandoned him. Remus and Sirius were killed during a raid and everyone else was busy with celebrating their new found freedom.

His secret companion was a cat, a Russian blue. He had found him one day last year when he was working in the garden and he was with him ever since. His name was Aton and he was the cutest thing ever.

Harry loved him a lot and he knew that Aton would never abandon him, unlike other people. The only person from who he desired to get an approval from was ironically the person who hated him the most.

Severus Snape, the spy for the light. A man who had given up everything for the Greater Good. It was a pity that he hadn't noticed how similar he was to Harry. Harry had even begun to look like him, with longer and darker hair and longer fingers. Even his potion skills had improved.

Harry wanted badly for the man to notice him, in a good way, but it wasn't happening. He had tried approaching him during his training but the man still thought that he was a spoiled arrogant brat. If only he had looked a little harder.

Anyway, Harry was disappointed that a person, who hated him, had to be so connected to him. It wasn't that he wished it had been someone else; it was that he hoped Severus was able to accept him. He had begun to tell him the truth once, but he had insulted him like always.

He looked around his cupboard thinking, how would he have lived if his parents survived. Who would he have been now, a good student like Lily, or a prankster like James? He would have probably been in his room now, sleeping, as it was five in the morning. Lily would have come, wished him good morning, and James would ruffle his hair and tell him how proud of him he is…

He angrily wiped a tear from his eyes; it wasn't good to thing about something that could have never happened. O, how long had he wished for a family, for the support of a parent and love of a sibling. It was useless to dream now, that could never happen, he wasn't worth it.

Just when he thought he had a chance at family, to be happy, he was again rejected. O, how long he had hoped that his father, Severus Snape, would accept him.