Chapter 1

Harry didn't know how much more he could take before he broke. He shifted on the floor trying to get comfortable while attempting to stifle his moans of pain. His uncle had gotten him good this time for "scaring poor Dudley-kins." Harry snorted at the thought that Dudley could have been scared of him. He swallowed another moan at the pain from his brief bout of laughter. He curled up a little tighter trying to relieve some of the pain in his stomach where Vernon had kicked him only to wince at what he was sure were broken ribs from the beating he had just gotten and from where he had slammed into the shelves of his old cupboard.

He took the most shallow breaths he could to limit his pain and tried to ignore the darkness that seemed to be creeping up on him. He felt almost breathless with the fear of being back in the too small cupboard.

If only I could get to my wand, he thought desperately, I could get help, I could get out of here!

"Please," he whispered brokenly, "Please someone help me."

SSSSSSSSS

Severus Snape was nearly spitting with fury as the wards to the Dursley house went off for the third time this month. He was in the middle of trying to create a new potion that would allow the drinker to see any manner of Dark curses and the potion was at a crucial point. Going to save the Potter brat from his skinned knee would effectively ruin the potion right when he thought he had a major breakthrough in the formula. Surely the idiot Gryffindor could wait a few days while he finished up, after all how much trouble could Potter get into in a warded house? He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the blaring alarm, surely it had someone else it could go bother. Severus managed a couple of seconds before he couldn't take the sound of the alarm any longer. He furiously put out the fire with a wave of his wand and stormed out of his private rooms at Hogwarts, barely remembering to transfigure his clothes into something more Muggle appropriate.

If this is an attempt by Potter to gain even more sympathy and pain, I will take it out of his arrogant hide. His lips held in a snarl, he Aparated to Privet Drive and strode up to the door taking a moment to make sure he wasn't noticed. Snape didn't bother to knock on the door and just walked straight in after saying a simple Alohomora. Once inside the house he cast a small sleeping spell at the rooms he could hear thunderous snoring coming from to make sure the Dursleys wouldn't wake up.

Snape went upstairs with a scowl on his face and refrained from commenting aloud on the sounds coming from two separate rooms. He passed the first two doors and briefly looked in on the third room to see it was a bathroom. The only other door on this floor had a series of locks on the outside of the door and a cat flap at the bottom. Snape frowned as he walked into the room only to find it empty. All it contained was a cot and an old rickety desk. He strode back downstairs and searched through the house trying to find the brat.

"Potter?" he called. "Potter! I insist you come out immediately!" Snape looked around as if expecting Potter to jump out from under his Invisibility Cloak and snarled when he didn't. Just when he was about to give up and wake the Dursleys so he could find out where Potter was hiding he heard the smallest of moans, "Professor? Prof-" Snape then heard a weak cough. He looked incredulously at the cupboard door where he heard Potter's voice come from. He unlatched the lock and opened the door not knowing what to expect.

"Potter?!" he gasped in surprise, "What in Merlin's name did you do to yourself? Jump off a building to see if gravity still applies to you?"

Harry Potter looked to be on the edge of death, only the most tenuous of strands holding him here on Earth. Snape couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the battered thing in front of him for surely this could not be the arrogant, rule-breaking, son of his childhood tormentor lying in front of him on a baby's mattress. He doubted the thing was even human until one more plea fell from its lips,

"Please."

Well this is the end of chapter one for my first ever fanfic! I will try to update on a regular basis (I'm thinking once a week... maybe.) and since I am new to writing fan fiction I would appreciate any constructive criticism you have to offer!