A/N: So, this is my new book. It's AU, after Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry gets beaten up very severely by Uncle Vernon and he runs away to the Weasley's (at least for the summer. Hehe)

4,371 words

Disclaimer: the majority of the characters and settings in this story are not original; they belong to Her Majesty Joanne Rowling the First. Some characters are however original. Any relation to any person; whether alive or dead, is purely accidental and coincidental, other than where the author states otherwise.

Rated T for language and violence.

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Chapter One: Pain

Harry Potter woke up after a bad dream. He lay back down and looked up at the ceiling, thinking over the dream. It had been Voldermort. He was sure of it. The problem, however, was that there was not much to do about it.

After a few moments' thoughts, Harry stood up and looked out the window. It was dawn, still pretty early. But at least he wouldn't have to face any abuse anymore, or so he hoped. It had been two weeks since he had come back to Privet Drive.

In those two weeks, no one had touched him once. Uncle Vernon had not made contact between his fist and Harry's face. The only reason being they were scared of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and innocent escaped convict. Sirius had been sent to Azkaban without trial for the twelve murders he didn't commit.

So Harry had remained intact, unlike previous summers, where he would get beaten multiple times a day. Before going to Hogwarts, Aunt Petunia would give him some make-up to cover the bruises. At Hogwarts he would use some glamours he had quickly learnt.

The reason that Harry Potter even needed these glamours was that Uncle Vernon beat Harry brutally. The latter would generally spend two months of pain. No one, absolutely no one knew about this. Harry had not wanted the sympathy or the pity. He would never tell anyone if he could help it.

He knew that if it wasn't for the threat of Sirius, Uncle Vernon would have beaten him to a pulp last year, after Harry engorged Uncle Vernon's sister Marge. Harry only got away because he was so quick. But two years before, after finding out that Harry had lied to them for a month about being able to use magic, as well as supposedly dropping a pudding on a very important guests head (the real culprit had been a house-elf), Harry had been beaten severely. He had then been locked in his room, while Uncle Vernon considered what to do to Harry.

As the sun persisted in rising, Harry let these thoughts go and decided to go down and make breakfast, not realising that this would be the first mistake of the worst day of his life.

As breakfast was served, the kitchen was busy as Harry attempted to meet everyone's demands. Coffee for his uncle, tea for his aunt and cousin. Having served them the drinks, Harry sat down, between his uncle and aunt. Suddenly, after taking a sip of coffee, his Uncle released a thunderous roar:

'WHAT IS THIS RUBBISH!' he shouted at Harry, sending spit flying everywhere. 'HOW DARE YOU SERVE ME SUCH GARBAGE!' he screamed. He grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him towards the living room, where he punched Harry.

Uncle Vernon continued to abuse Harry, who let out soft oofs and ended up on the floor, clutching his stomach. After a few minutes, his uncle had calmed down. 'Go wash up and then go to your room' he said.

Harry happily obliged and went to his room, silently praying for a miracle as he washed his bloody face. He winced as he reached a hand to touch his sore ribs.

That evening, his uncle returned late, very late, and drunk, very drunk. He thundered up the stairs, ignoring his wife's pleas for him to go to bed, for she knew what he wanted to do, and for once she knew it couldn't happen. But it did.

A very prominent and wealthy client had terminated his contract with Grunnings and had left to seek other business. It had cost Vernon Dursley his job. He had gone to a pub, and in his drunken state blamed Harry for his bad luck. Luck was controlled by magic, wasn't it?

Uncle Vernon crashed down the door of Harry's bedroom. Harry, who had been asleep, sat bolt upright as the intruder stormed into the room. Uncle Vernon turned on the light and went straight towards Harry, his face contorted in rage. For the first time in his life, Harry felt truly afraid for what was going to happen. He had never seen a look on his uncle's face before; it was contorted with absolute rage, and his eyes were filled with intents of murder.

Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry and slammed him down into Harry's bedside table. Harry, cried out, as he felt his teeth chip and blood fill his mouth. He spat the chips out. Uncle Vernon grabbed him up again and threw him across the room. Harry slammed into the wardrobe. Uncle Vernon advanced and bet Harry with as much force as he could. He then reached for the closest object he could find, which turned out to be a ruler. He smacked Harry with the ruler, ripped open Harry's pyjamas and began smacking him everywhere.

Harry did his best to stay quiet, but even this level of pain was too much for him. He cried out and began to cry as he felt his skin open from the whips that Uncle Vernon's ruler bought down upon him.

An hour later, Harry lay in pain, immense pain, like he had never felt before. His eyes were swollen, he had bruises everywhere, and he was pretty sure he had several cracked ribs. His arm was definitely broken, his uncle had twisted it right back.

But Harry was left in pain. When sure that her husband was asleep, Petunia snuck into Harry's room and cleaned the blood and whispered 'I'm sorry'. She then left. That's when Harry decided what to do.

He stood up, in immense pain. He slowly walked around his room, packing his stuff. He had decided to leave and never come back. He didn't care what anyone, even Dumbledore thought. He was tired of this. It had gone beyond worse, and if his uncle was unemployed, it could only go worse. If anyone cared about him, then they would accept this. If anyone, even Dumbledore tried to send him back, he would never speak to them again.

It took him three hours to pack, what with his pain and walking so slowly. It then took him another half-hour to get down the stairs and out the front door. He used a spell to help him keep his movement quiet. If Uncle Vernon found him now, Harry's night would only result in something that Harry couldn't even begin to fathom. At the pavement he held out his wand. A large, three-decker, purple bus shot out of nowhere. A pimpled youth came out.

'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wiz-, 'Stan Shunpike, the conductor, stopped talking as he took in Harry's appearance. 'What the hell is wrong with ye?'

'Nothing,' croaked Harry. Stan knew he wouldn't get anymore answers so he took Harry's suitcase into the bus. After Harry slowly pulled himself up onto the bus and sat down, the bus shot off again.

'Where ye going, mate?' asked Stan.

'Do you know the Burrow?' asked Harry.

'Ah, yeah, I know where it is, can't take you there, sorry, private dwelling,' replied Stan.

'As close as possible,' pleaded Harry, handing his payment over. Stan nodded.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived at a line of trees. After being let off with his suitcase, Harry looked for the Burrow, and saw it in the distance, some two thousand feet away. The Knight Bus shot off, and Harry made his way towards the Burrow.

After about an hour-and-a-half of walking, he arrived at his destination. It was still dark, but Harry didn't care. He was in such a large amount of pain, that it clouded his judgment. He raised his arm and banged it against the door twice.

Lights flicked on in the house, and Harry heard the sound of feet running down the stairs.

'Who's there?' asked a male voice. Harry recognised it as Mr. Weasley's.

'It's me,' whispered Harry, in a weak voice. The door opened a peek, and Harry saw Mr. Weasley, holding a wand which was pointed at Harry's chest. Mr. Weasley took one look at Harry and let out a yelp of shock, taking in Harry's appearance.

'What the bloody hell happened!' he said.

'Arthur! Language!' Harry heard Mrs. Weasley shout, as if from a great distance. Mr. Weasley didn't pay any attention and opened the door wide for him. A second later, he heard two voices yell.

'Bloody hell, Harry! What's happened!' asked Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, rushing over.

'Oh my God, Harry! Who did this to you! Arthur, call Dumbledore! Get me Poppy first though!' screamed Mrs. Weasley, rushing towards the kitchen for potions. 'Ron, take his clothes off and pull him into the kitchen,' she told her youngest son.

As Ron pulled Harry towards the kitchen, a small crowd of people gathered at the foot of the stairs, as Mr. Weasley disappeared into the fireplace. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well as Ron were wide awake now. The crowd consisted of Ginny, Percy, Charlie and Bill Weasley, as well as the twins. Each one of them was absolutely shocked to see Harry like this.

'Harry, who the bloody hell did this to you!' Ron practically yelled at Harry.

'Uncle, drunk, lost job,' said Harry in a weary voice, before losing consciousness. When he was on the table, Mrs. Weasley began taking off his clothes, along with the help of Ron. What they saw was even worse than they expected.

'Oh my God! Bill, get me some dittany, Charlie get me anti-bruising potion,' she shouted at her eldest sons.

Mr. Weasley, meanwhile was in the process of someone to answer the floo. Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey's head popped in.

'What's wrong Arthur?' she asked, in a tired voice.

'Poppy, you must come now! Harry's just showed up at our doorstep, completely injured!' panicked Mr. Weasley.

Madam Pomfrey immediately sprung into action; she took her first aid kit and potions kit and fully stepped into the fire. Jumping out, she almost ran straight towards the kitchen. What she found completely shocked the nurse, who had seen torture victims and victims of terrible plants.

Harry lay there, as Mrs. Weasley attempted to clean him up before using any potions or magic. Harry was lying there, naked. Neither Ron, nor Mrs. Weasley seemed to give this the slightest notice. But all Madam Pomfrey could see where the dozens of cuts, and hundreds of bruises all over Harry's body. His lips, nose and eyes were in terrible state, too. Mrs. Weasley looked up at Madam Pomfrey.

'Poppy, we need to regrow some of his teeth first,' she said.

Madam Pomfrey flew into action. She pushed Ron aside. 'Weasley, go. Me and your mother can handle this,' she ordered Ron. He shook his head. 'Weasley, you must go, otherwise I cannot properly assist Mr. Potter,' she said. Ron seemed to pay attention this time. He backed away at this and leaned against the counter.

Mrs. Weasley and Madam Pomfrey began their work. They cleaned everything first, before beginning to assess the damage and initiating treatment.

Meanwhile, Mr. Weasley was making contact with Dumbledore. He couldn't reach him, so he immediately went straight to Minerva. She was, thankfully available.

'Arthur, what is it? Why are you flooing at five in the morning?' she asked.

'Minerva, its Harry,' said Mr. Weasley. 'He just showed up, with swollen eyes, a broken arm, and apparently even worse, if Molly's sounds are any indicator.'

Minerva McGonagall was not a woman who scares easily. She had faced many challenging things before. She was strong, but this was too much. 'I'll go find Albus,' she said.

'Thank you,' said Mr. Weasley.

As he watched his mother and school nurse work on his friend, Ron thought about how anyone could do this. His parents had only smacked them, and that was dad, and you had to get him extremely angry to do that. Neither Percy, Ginny, Bill nor Ron had ever experienced that, while the other Weasley's had.

Suddenly, Ron remembered that he was not Harry' s only best friend. He raced into the living room, where his family was gathered, and his father was looking at the fireplace very few minutes.

'Dad, where's the telephone?!' he demanded of his dad. He had to contact Hermione. She had to know, and she had to know quickly.

Mr. Weasley seemed confused by this. 'Why do you need the tele-phone?' he asked.

'Hermione,' was all Ron said. Mr. Weasley nodded and lead him outside towards the shed. It was still dark; it was only four in the morning. After Mr. Weasley had showed Ron the phone and reminded him how to use it, Ron called Hermione, pulling the number out of the phonebook, where he had written both hers and Harry's number in. After about two minutes of the dial tone, a tired voice answered.

'Yes, who is this?' asked Mr. Granger, shocked that anyone could call this late, or early, depending on one's perspective.

'It's Ronald Weasley from school,' said Ron, desperately. 'I need to talk to Hermione, now!'

'I'm sorry, son, but she's asleep,' said Mr. Granger, confused as to why Hermione's friend would call at four in the morning to talk.

'Please, sir!' pleaded Ron. 'Our friend Harry' just showed up at my house, all beaten and bruised, by his uncle. Hermione's got to know now!'

Mr. Granger could hear the pleading and was suddenly awake after hearing about the abuse. He walked up the stairs.

'I'll get her,' said Mr. Granger.

He knocked on Hermione's door, before letting himself in. 'Hermione,' he said. 'Hermione, wake up, there's someone on the phone for you.'

Hermione slowly sat up, confused. She took the phone in her hand and bought it to her ear.

'What?' she asked in a tired and cold voice.

'Hermione, its Harry! He's just shown up at my house. He was beaten by his uncle. It's really bad! You have to come over!' Ron pleaded on the phone.

Hermione jumped up and was immediately awake. 'Ron, I'll be there as soon as possible,' she hung up and turned towards her father.

'Dad, I need to go into town, now!' she said.

'What, it's four in the morning!' said Mr. Granger, shocked that she would consider such a thing.

'I need to go to Ron's house. Harry's been severely beaten! I won't be able to sit here at home, anyway, knowing what's happened. I'll worry obsessively and end up going insane,' pleaded Hermione.

Mr. Granger considered this. It was true that she wouldn't be able to sleep, he probably wouldn't either.

'Fine, but I'm taking you, myself, to The Leaky Cauldron,' said Mr. Granger.

Over at the Weasley's, Mrs. Weasley and Madam Pomfrey continued to labour over Harry. After an hour, finally, they were done.

'I'm staying here, with you. I need to monitor his progress, 'said Madam Pomfrey.

'Yes, of course,' replied Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley and Ron came in and helped to carry Harry carefully onto the couch, which had been enlarged. Another half-hour passed until the fireplace erupted in green. Out of the fire stepped Dumbledore and, behind him, McGonagall. They walked towards Harry, and after looking him over, they followed the Weasleys and Madam Pomfrey into the kitchen.

'How is he?' asked Dumbledore gravely.

Mrs. Weasley paused; she could not look at Dumbledore right now. He had sent Harry to them, where he had been mistreated. Ron felt this too, but it was he who broke the silence. But he addressed Professor McGonagall instead of Dumbledore, leaving no doubt about just who he was talking too.

'He's terrible. His lip is broken, several teeth chipped, seven cracked ribs, both eyes swollen, nose broken, arm is broken is several places and even his legs are bruised,' said Ron. 'He left no part of Harry untouched,' spat Ron. 'Hermione already knows. I called her using that muggle thing.'

'How did he get here from Surrey?' asked Bill.

Dumbledore cleared his throat: 'The Knight Bus took him. It reached about two thousand feet out of the perimeter of the house. I believe he walked the rest of the way.'

'He walked, walked two thousand feet! How? How! He was in such a state that he could barely hold himself up,' fumed Mrs. Weasley.

'Adrenaline, most likely, contributed to his remarkable distance,' replied Dumbledore, calmly.

Mrs. Weasley was fuming. Here he stood, the man who had, essentially put Harry in harm's way, calmly discussing the situation.

'How dare you,' she whispered. 'HOW DARE YOU! You stand there, talking calmly, when it was you who put Harry in harm's way! Why them!? Why not us, or Minerva? For Gods' sake, bloody Hagrid would do! Why them? Minerva told me about them! Saw them that very day, when you dropped Harry off at their place! '

'I was necessary, Molly, there was strong Blood Magic there!' replied Dumbledore, slightly agitated.

'BULLSHIT!' roared Mrs. Weasley, shocking her entire family. Her children stared at her, open-mouthed at their mother. 'He would have been better off unprotected by that stupid magic and living with a loving family, then living like he has! Blood Magic!? Really? That's your excuse? Did you ever check on him!?' demanded Mrs. Weasley.

Dumbledore shook his head.

'NO! IN TEN BLOODY YEARS, YOU DIDN'T THINK ONCE TO CHECK ON HIM, TO SEE HOW HE WAS DOING? THEN AGAIN, IF YOU HAD SEEN THE ABUSE, YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT IT WOULDN'T MATTER! AS LONG AS HARRY HAD HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD MAGIC, THEN IT WAS ACCEPTABLE TO LEAVE HIM THERE!' she screamed.

'I'm afraid that once he is healed, he will have to return to Privet Drive,' said Dumbledore calmly.

Everyone stared at him, shocked. Even McGonagall, could not believe it. Madam Pomfrey also stared in shock.

'Albus, are you serious? Given what we have seen, how can you send him back?' said Professor McGonagall, her respect for this man suddenly vanished.

'He must, the Blood Magic is too important!' insisted Dumbledore.

'But – how? – What? stuttered Ron.

'No! NO!' shouted Mrs. Weasley

'I'm sorry, Molly, but he must,' said Dumbledore.

'Actually, Headmaster, he must not. As far as I see, Mr. Vernon Dursley is unstable. If Harry were to return, it is possible he could die from any future wounds sustained. Therefore, I am advising that he never return,' Madam Pomfrey said, stepping in.

'I'm sorry, Poppy, but you can't do anything about it,' said Dumbledore, turning around and smiling sadly at Madam Pomfrey.

'Actually, Albus, I can. I am the nurse responsible for his health. I believe a Will by James and Lily Potter was found but buried, and I bet you were the one to bury it. It would, most likely, determine the succession of the legal guardians. I doubt that the Dursley's would top that list. But while we wait for that list, I am ordering him, as his nurse, to not return there,' said Madam Pomfrey, angrily.

'Poppy, you mustn't,' said Dumbledore, surprised at his nurse's response.

'Yes, I must, Albus. This boy needs care, maybe the Weasley's, maybe Minerva, but certainly not you,' replied Madam Pomfrey, in a nasty voice.

'I will fire you Poppy,' Dumbledore threatened.

'I would rather see my job go, then to see Potter returned to those relatives,' said Madam Pomfrey, standing up to her full height. 'Who knows? St. Mungo's have wanted me for years. Perhaps I'll work with them?'

Dumbledore realised that he was outnumbered. He decided to admit defeat.

'Very well, nothing will sway you. We will talk later,' said Dumbledore. He looked down at his feet and entered the fireplace, before bursting into green flames, and disappearing.

'Molly, calm down, okay?' said Mr. Weasley. He turned to Minerva, for he too, was disgusted with Dumbledore, 'I've contacted Amelia Bones and am meeting her at nine o'clock.'

'Good,' said Professor McGonagall. 'But we must find James and Lily's will. It will state Harry's legal guardian. I am only hoping that it is not Dumbledore. When he wakes up, you will have to talk to him.'

'I'm afraid, Minerva, that it will take a few days for him to wake up. I've put him into a coma, so that he won't feel any pain,' said Madam Pomfrey.

'Good. But you must go to Gringotts soon,' urged Professor McGonagall. 'Now, I must also take my leave.'

Professor McGonagall stood up, and followed Dumbledore's lead. She soon vanished in a roar of green flames.

None of the Weasley's went back to bed. They were far too awake now. At seven, the fire erupted in green flames, and a bushy-haired girl, with tears streaming down her face, and puffing like she had just ran a marathon appeared. Almost immediately, Hermione Granger threw her arms around Ron.

'I never knew! How can I be a best friend and not know! Where is he? Is he okay?' she asked, fresh tears streaming down her face.

'I didn't know either, Hermione. I think it must have stopped this summer, because Mum said it's all fresh. He's in the living room, Mum needs him close,' said Ron, pulling her from his grasp and staring at her. 'He's in an induced coma. Madam Pomfrey said that if he wasn't, he'd be screaming in pain.'

At this, a fresh wave of tears started falling down Hermione's cheeks.

'How did you get here so fast?' asked Ron, trying to change the subject, and generally curious. He and Hermione went into the living room, where the rest of the Weasley's sat, or stood, around Harry's couch. Mrs. Weasley and Madam Pomfrey were the closest, continuously monitoring Harry's state. Mrs. Weasley looked up, as her youngest son entered the room.

'Oh, Hermione! Oh, what are you doing here?' Mrs. Weasley jumped up, and hugged the girl.

'Ron called me a few hours ago. I never even knew,' said Hermione sadly. She turned towards Ron, 'I caught the Knight Bus. My parent's insisted I go with them. But I said I needed to be there quicker. That ended up with me being delayed by an hour. I got to the Leaky Cauldron at around six-thirty. But it didn't open till seven. I immediately ran towards the fireplace, and came here.'

'We think Harry arrived on the Knight Bus,' said Ron.

At this, Hermione's cheeks turned red. She nodded: 'Stan Shunpike was telling me all about it. He said that the kid was all "tattered up" He also strongly suspected it was Harry. He'd had Harry on the Knight Bus last year,' said Hermione, answering Ron's unspoken question. 'I, er, I decided to confound him, as well as the bus driver,' whispered Hermione.

The Weasley's and Madam Pomfrey all looked at her.

'I'll have to talk to Amelia Bones about getting that piece of underage magic squashed. I'll explain the situation,' Mr. Weasley spoke up.

'Thank you,' said Hermione. She walked towards Harry, and kneeled down. She looked at him; he looked so peaceful, but underneath, Hermione knew, was a raging torrent of pain.

'How could anyone do such a thing?' whispered Hermione. The Weasley's all heard her.

'We were just talking about that. We think that paying the Dursley's an early-morning visit is a good idea,' said Ron. Most of the Weasley's nodded.

'I'm afraid not. If we do, we could all be charged with assault. I'll tell Amelia Bones about what's happened, and then we'll decide what to do with the Dursley's. I know, for a fact, that the Ministry can influence some of the muggle agencies, and can arrest Vernon Dursley for assault resulting in great bodily harm,' said Mr. Weasley.

The Weasley's and Hermione all considered this. They would not be happy. But it was a better course than what they had planned. This way, Vernon Dursley would be imprisoned for a great deal of time.

While the Weasley's pondered what to do with them, the Dursley's were now waking up on a Friday morning. Vernon Dursley unlocked the door of Harry's bedroom, preparing to beat him up some more, for he still blamed Harry, even in his own sober state. He opened Harry's door and entered the bedroom. What he saw infuriated him.

The room was bare; there was nothing other than the furniture. All of Harry's personal effects had disappeared. But, as well as that, the window was smashed. The walls chipped, the table had broken into pieces. Uncle Vernon was so furious that he smashed his fist into the wall. The wall gave way, and Vernon Dursley's fist drove straight through the plasterboard.

He screamed: 'PETUNIA! HE'S GONE! THE LITTLE SHIT'S DISAPPEARED!'

Petunia Dursley raced into Harry's bedroom. She saw the damage, and she saw how bare the room was. On the outside, she appeared angry. But on the inside, Petunia Dursley smiled, happy that her nephew, her sister's son, had escaped Vernon's beatings.

So, there we are the first chapter of my new book. It is pretty brutal. I despised myself, and actually felt sick writing that first part, about the punishment. Dudley's not on his diet, yet, because I think at this point, they're still debating with the school nurse.

But it has asked a lot of questions; will Dumbledore send Harry back to the Dursley's Now or next summer? What about the Quidditch World Cup? Who is Harry's legal guardian meant to be?

Find out by staying tuned in.

I appreciate if you review, and please check out my other story; "Hermione Granger – First Year: Hogwarts and New Friends"

Update soon!

SeekerGranger