A Bathroom. He needed a bathroom. That was all Harry could think as he ran through the halls of Hogwarts. He needed to shower. He felt so unclean. He felt like Slughorn's hands were still all over him, defiling his body.

It was worse than Harry had imagined when he'd realized what Slughorn planned to do to him. He knew when he'd figured out what was going to happen that it would be awful, but the experience was much worse than he'd thought. It was worse than anything he'd ever been through. It was worse than living in the cupboard under the stairs for eleven years. It was worse than Umbridge making him write with a blood quill. Hell, it was even worse than watching Cedric and Sirius die. It was even worse that he couldn't do a thing to stop it. He couldn't even struggle as Slughorn had advanced on him. He couldn't move at all due to the potion he'd been tricked into drinking.

Harry had thought at the time that it would never end. It had seemed to go on for so long. It felt like hours, though it probably wasn't. Once Slughorn was… finished, he'd acted like it was nothing. He'd told Harry he could leave whenever he wished, like he was dismissing him from a detention. Of course Harry couldn't leave for a while. It took him hours before the potion had worn off and he could move again. It took him a while after that before he could make himself get up. When he finally did though, he ran as fast as he could.

Harry finally found what he was looking for. A bathroom with a shower, and it was after curfew, so no one should disturb him. He quickly undressed, which caused him to think of Slughorn again and how he'd taken his time undressing him.

Harry shuddered and forced the thought away. He got into the shower and turned it, causing the hot water to pour onto him. He grabbed the soap and started scrubbing. He scrubbed so hard that it was actually painful. He had to get Slughorn off of him. He would do whatever it took to stop feeling his hands on him.

Harry wasn't sure how long he was in there trying to get clean to no avail. He would guess an hour or two. After realizing that he was never going to feel clean, he dropped the soap and slid down the wall to the floor of the shower. The water was still pouring down on him as he sat there.

Harry couldn't believe what had just happened to him. It felt like a horrible nightmare that just never seemed to end. He knew it wasn't though. What happened was real. Slughorn, a teacher he'd started to really like and trust, had raped him. He'd slipped him a potion that rendered him powerless to so much as move, let alone defend himself and then he'd forced himself on him.

Those thoughts brought back the memories. He kept seeing the images over and over again. He tried to think of something else, like Quidditch or his friends, but it unfortunately didn't work. He would've even taken the memories of the Dursleys or Voldemort, but all he could think of was Slughorn.

Harry started to cry, both from the memories and the helplessness he now felt. He didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to recover from this? How was he even supposed to face people after it. Right now, he couldn't even be around anyone. The very thought of anyone being near him freaked him out.

Unbeknownst to Harry, someone was around and knew what had happened to him. A transparent figure was just inside the door listening as the boy cried. The ghost exited a second later, joining two other ghosts on the other side.

"Well? Was the Baron right, Nick?"

"Yes, Lady, I would say so," Nearly Headless Nick said with sadness in his eyes. The Bloody Baron had been enraged when Professor Slughorn entered the school this year. He'd told all the ghosts of depraved the man was and that they should each watch out of their prospective houses The rest of them had waved it off though. None of them believed that such an abomination would be allowed inside the sanctuary that was Hogwarts. It was something Nick regretted when he saw Harry Potter running out of the dungeons with terror and disgust etched on his young face.

"I'll get him," The Fat Friar said before gliding away.

"This is unconscionable. How can something so savage and heinous happen in our school. Hogwarts is supposed to be safe. Children should not have to fear their teachers. Teachers are supposed to protect their students," The Grey Lady said.

"Well, unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time a teacher tried to harm a student here," Nick said.

"Not like this," The Grey Lady replied.

The Bloody Baron suddenly appeared with the Fat Friar just behind him. "Where?"

"The bathroom. He's huddled in the shower crying. He ran from the Dungeons. He looked terrified," NIck said.

"I've watched the slytherins carefully. I've ensured he's not sneaking into the dorms after them. He hasn't had the chance!" The Bloody Baron said angrily

"It wasn't them. He went after one of mine," Nick said solemnly.

"Bloody hell. I knew he could go after him, but I assumed it would likely be the slytherins since he has more access to them. Still, I warned you to look out for your house, Nick."

Nick looked down shamed. "I know. I assumed you were having us on or something."

"Oh, of course. The Slytherin ghost is nothing but a liar, right?" The Baron asked irritably.

"To be fair, nothing like this has ever happened," The Fat Friar said.

"Of course it has you naive hufflepuff. Did you think I just came up with the idea out of nowhere? This child is not the first. There was another. He swore an oath never to speak of it. I take partial responsibility for that, having urged him to speak with the headmaster on the matter," The Baron said. After several weeks with the then sixteen-year-old Severus Snape, he'd gotten out what happened to him. It took him longer than that to get the boy to turn the sick bastard into the headmaster, naively thinking the man would do something about it. He regretted that, especially now. "What boy was attacked?"

"Harry Potter," Nick said.

"Bloody hell," The Baron whispered. Of course the bastard would go after Potter. He should of realized that he would. The child was famous, and according to many, was having quite a good year in Potions. Plus, the boy became a frequent victim of treacherous teachers. Of course he would be for Slughorn too.

"What shall we do? You've just said that the headmaster will do nothing. All the other teachers will just tell him and history will repeat itself," The Grey Lady said.

The Baron could think of a teacher that wouldn't go that route, but he wasn't prepared to tell Potter's secret, no more than he had Severus'. This young man had been violated enough. Exposing him would just be another violation. Who and when to tell had to be from Potter himself. "Right now, we need to get Potter out of the bathroom.

"I'm pretty sure he's still curled in the shower. He can't seem to even bring himself to get dressed," Nick said sadly.

The Baron cringed. He didn't want to traumatize the boy further, but they couldn't leave him in the bathroom naked all night. "We must get him clothes. Have a house elf get him some, one of the less rowdy ones and tell them not to speak when they enter."

"I'll go," The Grey Lady said.

The Baron glided through the bathroom door and stopped by the shower, ensuring not to peer through the curtain. The boy was still crying, reminding him of the last young boy he'd had to comfort. The difference was that this boy had just had it happen. The violation was not even a day old. The Baron guessed it would be harder. "Harry."

Harry stopped crying and stiffened at the soft voice. Someone was there. No. He couldn't deal with anyone. No one could see what had been done to him. "L...leave me alone."

"I can't, Child. I know what has happened. I'm sorry," The Baron said.

Harry began to cry again. He wasn't sure who was there. He recognized the voice, but could not place it. But whoever it was, they knew and he didn't want to deal with that.

The Baron stood there for a few minutes, unsure of how to proceed. Just as he was about to go on, a house elf came in with a change of clothes for the boy. He quickly motioned for the house elf not to make any noise and then watched as he left before turning back to the boy. "Harry, you can't stay in here all night. You need to get up and get dressed.

Harry shook his head. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I've had clothes here for you. Stand up, get out of there, and put them on. Someone else will find you out here if you don't," The Baron said.

Harry began to panic. He didn't want that. He couldn't handle everyone knowing what had just happened to him. "W...will you leave. I can't do it with you here."

"Of course. I'll be outside," The baron said before gliding out of the room.

Harry didn't hear the door or anything, but he hesitantly peered behind the curtain after a minute and found himself alone. He got out of the shower and quickly dried off the rest of the way with a towel. He then quickly put on the clothes brought to him. There was a pair of underwear and a sweatshirt and pants. He immediately put them on and exited the bathroom. To his surprise, he found The Bloody Baron waiting. "You're Slytherin's ghost. Why would you help me?"

"There's no Gryffindor or Slytherin tonight, Child," The Baron said.

"A...are you going to tell the teachers about this?" Harry asked, hoping the answer was no.

"No. All I plan to do right now is ensure you arrive someplace safe to sleep," The Baron said.

"I can't go back to the common room," Harry whispered. There were way too many people there. He wouldn't feel at all safe. "I'll sleep in the Room of Requirement."

"I shall make sure no one is able to bother you," The Baron said. It was unlikely that anyone would even look tonight, but if they did, he would stop them, even if he had to sic Peeves on them.

"Thank you," Harry said before walking away.