Everything was very dark. The man’s stomach growled loudly. He looked around in fear, what if they returned? If they heard his stomach, they would make him wait a lot longer before he was given anymore food. He pushed his hands into his stomach willing for it to be quiet. All he wanted was to have a good meal.

Once he’d realized that he was out of the cold and depressing place, he had hoped that everything would be better. How wrong he was. Although there wasn’t some invisible creature to suck away all his happiness, there were two men who tortured him.

One had broken him out of prison but that one rarely came around. The other man, he enjoyed telling Vernon off for the abuse he had subjected his nephew to.

Don’t you think I don’t regret it now? If I’d know I’d be locked up I wouldn’t have done it!

That’s not good enough. You only regret it because you were caught. To this day you would still be treating Harry Potter as if he were a slave!

No, Vernon did not feel guilty for beating the evil freaky little creature. The boy deserved it. He had burnt Dudley with the freaky powers. If that wasn’t evil, then what was? The boy had only been two-years-old when he’d done it. What would he have done when he was older? What would he have done if he’d gone to that school for freaks Petunia had told him about?

There were footsteps outside of the room he was imprisoned in. Vernon had tried to escape, but no matter how hard he tried to break down the door, it wouldn’t budge. There were no windows in the room either. He had tried to attack one of the men, but they had made him feel as if he were being stabbed over and over by a thousands knives.

The door opened, the man who entered the room had a mask over his face. He shut the door behind him and lit his ‘wand’ so some light penetrated the room.

“Please,” Vernon pleaded. “Let me go. Let me see my wife.”

“She’s dead,” the man answered harshly. “She was killed the day we took you out of Azkaban. Don’t worry, she didn’t suffer long. She hurt that little boy, but she wasn’t as brutal as you were. My friend used the cruciatus curse on her and then killed her.”

“You- you monsters!” Vernon croaked.

He’d already lost his son, his freedom, and now his wife was dead. They had at least been in the same cell together in the prison, so they had comforted each other when they could.

“I’m a monster?” the man hissed. “You abused an innocent little boy for two years! Your wife got what she deserved, and you’re getting what you deserve!”

“That child wasn’t innocent! He burnt my son!” Vernon shouted. “We didn’t beat him before that day. It was on a Christmas morning… I remember that much. The boy’s were fighting over a toy, and that evil creature burnt my son!”

“He didn’t know what he was doing. He’s an underage wizard. Children cannot control their powers. I reckon the boy was upset and did it by accident. I always knew that it was mistake for Albus to drop that child off at your doorstep. People warned him not to do it! There is nothing evil about Harry!” The man snarled.

Vernon curled up tightly ready for the curse. Sometimes when he called the boy evil, the man would attack him. However, there was just a scraping noise as a man sat in the ‘guard chair.’

“I can understand maybe you were frightened,” the man said in a calm voice, “but abuse is never the answer. You could have dealt with it in another way. No, instead you beat him daily; you forced him to live in his own filth; you gave him chores that were too difficult for a child that age; you locked him in a cage for his fifth birthday and you ripped his hair out!”

When the man put it that way, it did sound awful, but Vernon didn’t want to admit that. He just closed his eyes and wished that he had enough strength to attack the man, but he was too weak with hunger. I wonder if this is how Freak felt. Wait, why am I wondering that? The boy deserved it, didn’t he?

“Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that you made him grow up believing his name was Freak. That was before he burnt your son, was it not? You didn’t send him to school, although from what I hear, he really wanted to go. You’d be surprised at how many people think that you’re a monster. Harry’s whole story was printed in the Daily Prophet. However, it’s not only wizards who know what you did, Muggles do as well. Every one of your old neighbour’s know exactly what you did him.”

The neighbours had always been nosey, particularly the crazy cat lady. He remembered when one questioned them about four-year-old Harry sitting in the snow with nothing but a sweater and underpants on. It had been a punishment for not completing his chores. The boy had been given a severe beating for letting someone see him.

The man was laughing now.

“And you might not know it, Dursley, but they were suspicious. A witch went to talk to them all; she wanted to know why none of them suspected what happened in your home. They all did, and every neighbour was busy making a list of what they saw. They were planning to go to your peacemen with their lists. They had actually planned to do it soon, but then Severus Snape stepped in. One of the neighbour’s had heard him screaming, and it sounded as if he were being murdered a couple of days before Snape took him away. They were going to all get together that weekend, and go to the station with their lists.”

What the ruddy hell is a peacemen? Vernon wondered. Did the man mean policemen? The wizarding types sure were idiots. He sighed and held his breath as his stomach growled again. Luckily, the man didn’t seem to notice. He really needed food, even if what he was fed was disgusting. The man enjoyed giving him tasteless soggy food.

“They didn’t know how evil he was,” Vernon croaked.

The man jumped up quickly and the chair fell down. He waited for the curse that was surely to come.

“That child is not evil! He is just an innocent little boy who had the misfortune to end up in your care! He lost his parents when he was a baby for merlin’s sake! He’d already been through enough, and then he ends up at your place where he grows up believing that he is a freak who should be beaten for being alive! He’s gone through more than most adults, and yet from what I hear he is loved by everyone who meets him. There are even Muggle’s who love him! So if he is evil like you say he is, then why do so many people love and care about him!? It’s because you are nothing but an unnaturally cruel man who hurt someone who couldn’t defend himself! Now it’s all turned on you!”

“So why don’t you just torture and kill me like you did my wife?” Vernon asked tiredly.

He had a feeling that in the end he was going to die. Why they couldn’t they just get it over with already.

“I’m not a cruel man. Right now I’m trying to hold back from hurting you. I’m just doing to you what you did to Harry. You’ll notice I’ve only hexed you when you actually deserved it. That child never deserved what you did to him. I don’t plan to kill you either, even though that’s what my friend wants.”

He wasn’t going to die? Were they just going to let him go then? Maybe they would see how long they could make him suffer before they decided to free him for good. That worked for him. Maybe he could figure out what orphanage Dudley was taken to and get him out.

“What do you plan to do then?” he asked.

“Put you back in Azkaban when it’s safe. It probably won't be for a while though. My friend told me that it’s being watched at the moment, that’s why he isn’t here. We figure you needed more bad memories to live with while you stayed there. Your wife is dead because she didn’t hurt Harry as much as you did. Although my friend thought she should have the same fate as you.”

Bad memories? He’d had enough bad memories to live through while he was in that place. There was the one where he learned that Dudley was going to be taken away from them. There were also ones from when he was a child, bullied in school because of his weight. He didn’t need to relive this…

“Well, we also wanted to give you a taste of your medicine… actually, to be honest with you; I’m surprised you’re not mad yet. Most wizards are insane after a few months; you were imprisoned for three years.”

There were moments when he had felt insane, but Petunia had always helped him. It had been lucky that the wizards decided to put them together. In the end, he believed his wife had grown insane. She had called out for both the freak and Dudley. She also yelled out that she was sorry to her sister.

I’m sorry Lily! I know I should have gotten him out of there. That wasn’t the life I wanted to live! I shouldn’t have hurt him when I did, but he hurt my son! Don’t you understand that? He burnt my son! I was scared of what those powers could do to Dudders!

I’m sorry Harry; I shouldn’t have named you Freak. I’m sorry for throwing you down the stairs. Maybe you weren’t really evil, but I had to protect my son, you understand that, don’t you? I’m sorry for letting Vernon lock you in the cage on your birthday. It was your own fault because when you found out your birthday was coming up, you actually believed we were going to celebrate it. Why would you think something stupid like that?

Oh Dudders, I miss you so much! I want my son back! It’s not right to make him grow up in an orphanage! That’s where Freak should have grown up.

“Well, I suppose you’ve been good so far,” the man finally said. “I guess you can eat today. By the way, Dursley you stink. How does it feel to live in your own filth? That’s how your nephew felt. Maybe one day you’ll actually realize the consequences of your actions. Of course it’ll be too late…”

The man turned off the light on his wand and turned to the door to leave. Vernon’s stomach growled loudly at that point. When the man was gone, he let out a small sob as he thought about his old life. He’d give anything to have it all back. The man returned later with a lump of potatoes, and greasy chicken.

“Dinner is served. Enjoy!”

When the man left again, Vernon attacked the plate. Freak had done that when he’d been denied food for days.

After his bath, they had breakfast and then they tidied up the kitchen. Severus would have preferred to do this by magic, but Harry wanted to do chores. It didn’t make sense to him, but he decided that it was healthy for a child his age to be responsible.

After they cleaned, Harry was to have study time. Severus had started to teach him the basics of what he would learn at Hogwarts, but they also went over what Lupin had taught him the previous year. This usually lasted about two hours, Severus would have liked for him to study longer, but Harry would get distracted because he wanted to play.

He also taught him how to cut up potion ingredients properly. He decided it was not too early to teach him about the ingredients. One day soon he’d let Harry see his potion’s lab in the house. He wanted to wait until the boy was a little bit older, even though Harry was anxious to see it.

After lunch, that was when Harry could have his play time. Either he could invite a friend over for a few hours, visit a friend, or he could do what he wanted outdoors if the weather permitted it. That was when Severus would go into his lab to work on potions. If the boy needed anything, all he had to do was knock on the door. The sound was magnified ten times louder than usual so he would hear it.

After dinner he usually had Harry study again, or they would go visiting. When it was close to bedtime, the boy would insist on having another bath, and then Severus would read to him before the child went to bed.

“You know you’re probably the cleanest child I’ve ever met?” Severus told him one morning. “I don’t even think Hogwarts teenagers bathe as much as you do.”

“I like to be clean,” Harry said with a shrug. “Didn’t get to have baths at my aunt and uncle’s. All I had was a stinky cloth to clean myself with-” and then he blushed “and I always forgot to use to toilet cause Aunt Petunia didn’t really teach me. Sometimes I remembered, but not always. So I would have to sit around in in that and it was gross and I always had a rash cause of it. I tried to remember and I tried to clean my pants really good but it wasn’t enough. I always felt dirty. Having a bath was a-a-”

“Luxury?” Severus supplied.

“Yeah that. The nice lady came and I got to have two baths before she came but then once she was gone everything went back to normal. Aunt Petunia even let me wear nappies again and she cleaned my clothes for me.”

“What nice lady?” Severus asked.

He and Dumbledore had gone through Harry’s memories to see what his life had been at the Dursley's, but he didn’t remember anything about a nice woman going to see Harry.

“A nice lady came to see me after I broke my arm when Aunt Petunia threw me down the stairs. I remember it really good because they were really nice to be for two weeks. I got to play again, they let me eat every meal, I wore nappies because I still really didn’t know how to use the toilet… and Aunt Petunia washed my clothes in the machine a couple of times. The lady came and asked me if I was happy and I said yes, cause I was. I thought they loved me since they didn’t hurt me anymore. She let me sit on her lap, and I never got to sit on anyone’s before that. I always wished Aunt Petunia would hold me on her lap, but she never did, at least I don’t remember it. I thought since I told the lady I was happy and that I was never hit they would give me my own room with toys. Uncle Vernon sometimes ruffled up Dudley’s hair and told him he was a good boy. I always had dreams that he would do that to me too.”

Severus didn’t know what to say to that, so he told Harry to work on some of the summer work Lupin had left for him. He wanted to know who the woman was who had gone to see the boy. Why hadn’t she suspected anything? Did someone ask her to go check on things at the Dursley’s?

He knew that the neighbour’s had planned to tell the Muggle police about Harry’s treatment there. One woman said that she did call the cops after she noticed the boy covered in bruises, but for some reason nothing came out of it. Had they sent someone over to check on Harry?

It was three years later, but after seeing Harry’s reaction after they told him the truth about his parents, Severus was still angry. It didn’t help that the boy was very self-conscious because of his height. He was probably the size of what a five-year-old boy should be, and that embarrassed the boy.

He didn’t tell anyone, but he was worried that Harry would always be at a stunted growth. He had done research to see if there was a way to help the boy grow, but there wasn’t. He had even looked into some potions that could maybe help him. If anyone knew anything about potions, it was Severus, but so far he hadn’t found anything.

Poppy had said that as long as Harry ate well, and exercised, he should be fine. It was true that the boy had grown over the years, but he was still too small. What if he didn’t have a growth spurt when he was older? He was likely going to be the shortest in his class when he started the first year.

“Severus,” Harry said. “Can you help me with this problem? I don’t know why Remus makes me do this maths stuff when I won’t have to do it at Hogwart’s.”

“You’ll need to know some of it. It will be very helpful in Potion’s if you can measure. Also, in your third year you can take a class called Arithmancy,” Severus said as he walked over to Harry, he was disappointed that the boy didn’t call him ‘daddy.’

It had actually been his idea for the boy to learn about maths equations. Remus had taught him how to add and subtract, but Severus wanted Harry to learn more beyond that.

“You know, other kids don’t have to study over the summer,” Harry said. “Hannah Abbot told me that she sleeps in and then plays all day.”

“Yes well, you’ll have a head start when you get to Hogwarts, now won’t you? You aren’t going to be one of those children who slack off on their homework. I expect you to get good marks. If you’re sorted into Slytherin, I’ll have access to all of your marks. If I see that you are below average, you’ll be working with me every night until you pull your grades up,” he answered.

“What if I’m in Gryffindor?” Harry shot back. “I don’t know if I want to be in Slytherin. My mummy and daddy were Gryffindor’s. I know you were in Slytherin, but some of the kids I met there aren’t very nice to me.”

“What do you mean?” Severus demanded.

Harry didn’t answer. He blushed and looked down at the parchment full of equations. Were his students tormenting the boy? He wouldn’t have expected it from any of them. Sure they picked on the other students, but why would they pick on a little boy? They all knew Harry’s story, and they also knew who his guardian was.

“Harry, have my students been bothering you?” he asked.

“No,” Harry answered quickly. “I really don’t like multiplication. It’s complicated…”

“You know I can find out if you’re lying don’t you?” Severus said ignoring his last comment.

“You’re not gonna use Legli-whatever on me. You said I was too little even though Professor Dumbledore says you should start soon.”

“He wants me to use it on you for your less than pleasant memories. I believe you aren’t ready for that yet. Although I do plan to teach Occlumency to you the summer before you start Hogwarts… but no, I didn’t say I wouldn’t use it on you if you lie to me. It’s not often you do. Now tell the truth. Are my students picking on you?”

Harry didn’t answer. He just started to work on the next equation. Severus was going to have to teach him how to use a quill properly. The boy’s hand writing was terrible. He also managed to drip ink all over the place. There were already ink smudges on his face. He usually managed to get his hands covered in ink, and then he would touch his face.

“Harry,” Severus said in a stern voice.

“Sometimes they bother me about my past. They said I should have defended myself, but I was too weak. I know it’s not true cause you and Dumbledore and McGonagall and-”

“Who said this to you?”

Severus was surprised this hadn’t caused a setback on the child. He must have been full of stronger stuff then he had previously presumed.

“I don’t know their names. It’s not the bigger ones, they tell them to leave me alone. It’s the first and second years. The bigger one, the prefect put two boys in detention because of it. She said she would tell you, so I don’t know why you don’t know about it. It’s not all of your students. I just don’t want to live with the people who did bother me for it.”

A certain prefect was going to lose her powers for not coming to him sooner. She was also supposed to fill out a form about the incident, but he had not once seen any forms about students teasing Harry.

“Well, you should have told me, and before now. They have no right to bother you about that.”

He never would have believed it from any of the students at Hogwarts. They all knew he used to believe his name was Freak, why would someone bother him about it? Kids can be cruel sometimes a voice in his head reminded him.

“Well I know it’s not true. I’ve been told all the time it’s not. I don’t like to be teased, but I remember what it was like at my aunt and uncle’s. No one could have defended themselves against it unless they were a lot older.”

Harry was a lot more capable than he first believed. Not many abused children would say that. He knew that some would wonder if they should have tried to defend themselves. Harry already understood that he couldn’t have defended himself against his aunt and uncle.

They worked together on the maths problems for the next half-hour without speaking. Afterwards, Severus had Harry help him with potion ingredients.

“By the way, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot were wondering if they could visit tomorrow,” Severus said.

“You mean together?” Harry asked and his eyes widened.

“Yes, together. Well Hannah’s mother asked if she could come over, and Susan wanted to see you again. I decided to let them both come over tomorrow.”

“But the last time I played with them they made me play a girly game. I had to pretend to be a knight and they were princesses. I had to save them from a dragon. I don’t like that game,” Harry said.

“Hmm really?” Severus asked. “Sounds fascinating. Maybe I’ll mention your little game to Draco when he comes over.”

“No!” Harry said in horror. “I don’t need him to know, or Ron or the twins! Nobody can know.”

Severus just laughed.