CHAPTER 31

Harry must have collapsed into exhaustion soon after Uncle Vernon's attack, for he woke in the same position crumpled on the floor. His muscles cramped so badly that the simple act of moving brought tears to his eyes. His joints creaked and cracked as he got slowly to his feet, and he swayed in place as the room spun before his rapidly blinking eyes.

Stumbling to his bed, he tried to swallow and realized that his mouth felt as if it were filled with sand. He wished desperately for a glass of water, a wet wash cloth, anything to allow him a sip of liquid and the ability to wipe the crust of dried blood, saliva, and tears from his face… Harry wanted nothing more in that moment than to just feel human again.

That's not true, he realized. I'd do anything to know that my dad is going to be alright…

The thought of his father constricted his throat and made hot tears prickle at the corner of his eyes. But Harry refused to give in to his weakness. Snape was the bravest, strongest man he knew, and he was proud to say that he was his son. Harry was going to honor his father by attempting to be just as strong and brave.

Wiping away his tears, Harry steeled himself before unsteadily rising and stumbling to the door.

Unlocked… Uncle Vernon must have forgotten to deadbolt the door in his angry state last night. Harry said a little prayer of thanks, and asked whatever God was watching for protection when he realized what he was about to attempt.

Harry cracked his door and peered either way down the hall. The other bedroom doors were open, meaning that it must at least be mid-morning, and that the rest of the house was awake. Damn…

Creeping silently out onto the landing, Harry listened hard for any sound that could give him a clue as to where the rest of the Dursleys were in the house. Still and silent as a deer listening for a predator, Harry almost jumped out of his skin when he heard his uncle bark his name. His ears buzzed as he looked around, and it took a few panicked seconds before he calmed enough to realize that the voice had come from downstairs.

"I don't want a homo sleeping in the room next to me, Dad," he heard Dudley say with a strange note of eager excitement tinging his voice. "What if he tried to assault me again, but this time when I was sleeping? You should hear the disgusting things he talks about doing with his boyfriend when you and Mum aren't around." Harry's blood ran ice cold at the lie.

"Has that little faggot touched you, Dudley?!" Uncle Vernon hollered at the implication. "Has he tried to do anything?" Dudley must have nodded his assertion, for his uncle's howl of rage made Harry take a few unsteady steps backward.

"You're not going to tell Mum, are you?" he heard Dudley ask.

"Absolutely not! Your mom wouldn't survive it. I won't ever tell a soul, Dudders. But… You're mum will be coming home soon. So if you want payback for what he's done to you, then it has to be soon."

Uncle Vernon was giving Dudley the chance at revenge.

Oh God…

Frantic, Harry almost decided to race down the stairs in an attempt to reach the front door. But he could already hear them pushing the chairs back from the kitchen table, and knew he would never make it. Instead he spun toward his room, trying to make it back without vomiting all over himself in cold fear.

Harry immediately went to his small dresser, his adrenaline giving him the strength to push it against the other side of the door. He had only just finished pushing it into place when the door opened from the other side, bashing into the soft particle board and making the entire dresser rattle ominously.

"What the–?!" he heard Dudley say. But then his cousin drove his shoulder into it, pushing the dented drawers out of the way without much effort.

The intent was written plainly in his eyes as they raked revoltingly over Harry's trembling form, and Harry again fought the urge to vomit. His cousin's purpose there could not have been clearer.

"You're about to have the time of your life, Potter," Dudley murmured as he closed the door softly behind him.

"And you're about to have the fight of your life," Harry growled, attempting to convince his cousin of a bravery that he definitely did not feel. "Come near me and you'll see exactly what kind of damage my magic can do."

"Your little stick is locked away downstairs, remember?"

"I don't need my wand to defend myself," Harry muttered, squaring up his small frame against his much larger cousin.

Dudley just laughed. The sound chilled Harry to the very marrow of his bones. "Oh, this is going to be fun," he said with a malicious grin.

Don't stop fighting, Harry told himself. Whatever happens… don't stop fighting.

The two of them stared at one another for a long, tension-filled moment. Suddenly Dudley exploded into momentum, lunging at Harry. But Harry used his smaller form to dive underneath his cousin's outstretched arms and dash away to freedom, and amazingly he made it.

As he ran through the doorway, Harry made the mistake of glancing over his shoulder to see if Dudley was behind him. This meant he didn't see Uncle Vernon, parked against the wall beside the door in case his son needed his assistance. Sprinting away from his vile cousin, Harry didn't see his uncle raise his own beefy arm to stop his flight. Harry's neck collided full force with the thickset muscles of his uncle's forearm, and he immediately dropped to the floor as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Wheezing horribly, Harry's uncle and cousin both sneered down at him as he lay sprawled at their feet.

"There's no getting away, you little faggot freak," Uncle Vernon said with immense satisfaction coloring his voice. "You're going to pay for what you did to my son. It's time to account for everything you've done to this family!" And with that he grasped Harry by the collar and dragged him to his feet.

The stench of booze was strong on his breath, and in his terror Harry made the mistake of crying out, "But what have I done–?"

"DON'T pretend like you don't know, you God damned menace! Everything in our lives has been perfect with you gone! I received a promotion at work, Dudley is the champion of his boxing team, and Petunia was happy enough to stop taking her meds! But not three days after you turn up, I lose my biggest client, Dudley suffers his first defeat, and Petunia is back talking to that quack doctor! I KNOW you had something to do with things going south for us – you and your unnatural ability!" And with that Uncle Vernon shoved him hard enough back into the room that Harry once again landed sprawled on the floor.

"Please Uncle Vernon," he found himself shouting as his uncle closed the door. "I didn't! I SWEAR I didn't!"

But Uncle Vernon merely scowled down at him before locking eyes with his son. "Teach him a lesson he'll never forget, Dudley," he growled. Then he closed the door with a snap.

His cousin was grinning as he hauled Harry up from the ground and threw him facedown onto the bed. "No!" Harry cried as he tried to scramble away. "No, please!" But his pleading fell on deaf ears, and Dudley easily captured his ankles and dragged him backward until Harry was bent over the side of the mattress.

"NO!" Harry screamed, bucking and writhing as panic overwhelmed him.

But his cousin's bulk was immense, and Harry could do nothing to get away. Using his massive weight, Dudley leaned over and easily trapped Harry's body beneath his own. The proof of Dudley's arousal sat hard against Harry's backside, and as he ground his hips against Harry's smaller frame, Harry became a wild animal as he tried to break free.

"GET OFF ME! Dudley, please don't do this! PLEASE!"

"Keep screaming, you fucking freak," Dudley murmured into his ear, fumbling with his pants before reaching down to try and remove Harry's. "It makes it more exciting for me." In a last panicked attempt to free himself, Harry's bloodcurdling screams filled the room.

.:HP::SS:HP::SS:.

"He sent Harry WHERE?!" Snape bellowed, once again fighting with all his might against his traitorous body as he desperately tried to get vertical. That God damn old fool! What the HELL was he thinking, knowing what he does about that family?! My son, oh God… Harry, I'm coming for you, I'M COMING!

"Professor Snape, stop!" Davies cried, flinging himself forward to grasp the professor by the wrists and struggling to push him back. "You're going to injure yourself even further–"

Snape's struggles halted, but the look he levelled at the young man was enough to wither Lucifer himself.

"Get your hands offme Mr. Davies, or I will destroy you," he growled into the sudden silence.

The boy withdrew his hands as if he'd been burned, and the fear in his eyes as he gazed at his old professor was palpable. But he didn't back away.

"I… I can't let you leave, sir," he attempted to say in a forceful voice. But the words waivered, betraying his apprehension.

"You've always been an intelligent young man, Mr. Davies. It would be a shame to kill you. And make no mistake: I will kill you if you do not get out of my way."

Davies backed up a few steps, the terror in his eyes increasing. But still he refused to leave the room. "Professor, I – I won't try and stop you. But… Where…?"

Snape gave Davies an assessing, calculating look. Deciding that he could trust what he saw, Snape quietly murmured, "I'm going to get my son."

Davies' wide eyes tracked him as he slid from the bed, grasping the metal rails for support as his body swayed dangerously. The world tilted as Snape took the first step toward the door, his legs collapsing from underneath him and sending him careening toward the floor. Diving forward, Davies was able to catch him before he did any damage. When Snape eyed him suspiciously, Davies' gaze hardened on his old professor. "I told you I wasn't going to stop you. I meant it."

After the young man helped steady him, Davies took a few backward steps toward the door, as if worried that Snape would collapse again the moment he left. When he didn't, Davies looked Snape in the eyes as his hand fiddled with the door handle. "That woman, the one who was here… the Auror. I'll – I'll find her, Professor. I'll send her to you and Harry."

"Davies!" Snape called before his old student had a chance to rush off. The young man looked at him quizzically, and with genuine sincerity Snape murmured, "Thank you."

As the door swung closed Snape's eyes roamed the room. His breath hitched as his gaze landed on his wand, the one weapon he knew he could use against the muggles if need be, giving him a fighting chance to rescue his son. Stumbling to the side table where it rested, Snape grasped it gently in his stiff, throbbing fingers.

Already out of breath but refusing to stop, Snape staggered to the spacious area before his bed and prepared to apparate. Knowing the feat would be near impossible in his current condition, he took a moment to close his eyes and focus his mind, breathing deeply as he attempted to quell the pain that continued to rage throughout his body.

Harry… I'm coming…

And with that he turned on the spot and disappeared with a pop!

The fall through space was absolute agony. The normal pressure of apparition became so constricting that Snape feared his bones would be naught but shards and splinters when he finally landed.

He slammed into the ground outside Number Four so hard that he found himself in a piled heap of weakened muscle and aching bones. For a few excruciating moments, Snape feared that he had crushed every bone and snapped every tendon in his body. Finally the constriction eased, and his lungs dragged a gasping, rattling breath deep into his chest. Move, God dammit! His mind screamed at him. You need to get to Harry! But his body refused to obey. He lay helpless in the morning sun on the front lawn of Number Four, his face pressed against the spiky blades of grass and his body twitching as the taste of blood and dirt flooded his mouth.

Suddenly a terrified, hair-raising scream emanated from deep inside the house, muffled by layers of walls and glass.

"Oh my God…" he croaked, struggling to his feet. "HARRY!"

Refusing to allow the pain and dizziness to stop him, he finally made it across the lawn. Falling against the front door, Snape raised his wand to murmur an unlocking spell – but was sickened to see that his wand was no longer in one piece. It must have broken when I landed, he realized in horror. The dark pine had snapped, the shredded core of the dragon heartstring connecting the two halves with a few meager, ragged threads.

At that moment another bloodcurdling scream sounded from the other side of the door.

"HARRY!" Snape screamed.

Wide-eyed, he looked frantically around for something – anything – to use as a weapon. He was so desperate to get to his son that he didn't even notice the magic that began to grow and change inside him.

A sudden rush of adrenaline and something more surged powerfully through his veins, and Snape tossed his broken wand aside as his muscles swelled with an unnatural strength. With a roar he slammed his shoulder against the door, which gave way as if built of no more than matchsticks.

"What in Christ–?!" he heard from the landing above, followed shortly by muffled grunts and thumps from behind one of the bedroom doors. Snape bolted up the stairs, somehow managing to take them four at a time as if he had wings.

"YOU!" The bloated walrus cried, but the hair-raising scream that Snape released as he charged the bigger man had Vernon looking at him with wide, terror-filled eyes. Even with the added strength flowing through Snape, he had a difficult time overcoming the bear of a man who fought with the wild strength of a rampaging bull. Holding him with one hand by the flabby neck, Snape roared as he repeatedly struck the man hard in the face. But Vernon refused to give up, and grabbing his outstretched arm with both hands, ran until he smashed Snape against the wall.

Falling to his knees, Snape had no time to catch his breath before Vernon kicked him hard across the face. The blood poured freely, wet and warm as it streamed from his broken nose and into his mouth. Dark splotches of red misted in a wet spatter against the white walls as Snape coughed and gasped, moaning in pain as he lay on his back.

Panting, his obese opponent came to stand above him, looking down at him in triumph.

"GET OFF ME! Dudley, please don't do this! PLEASE!"

The sound of Harry begging just like Snape used to beg, broke something inside him. He bellowed as his foot shot out to connect with Vernon's knee. With a sickening crunch the huge man collapsed, screaming in agony as his massive bulk carried him crashing down the stairs. He landed with another stomach-churning crunch at the bottom, his skull caved into a deep hollow where it landed head-on against a metal banister.

Weakened and out of breath by his fight with the huge man, Snape stumbled to his feet and staggered down the hallway. Throwing open the door, he felt as if he'd been struck by lightning as he was rooted to the spot by the eerily familiar, disturbing sight before him.

Harry was bent over the mattress with his massive cousin behind him, who was struggling to divest Harry of his denim jeans. His son's face was almost unrecognizable, swollen and covered in dark bruises and dried blood. Dudley was completely exposed as he held both of Harry's hands behind his back, trapped in one of his own.

"I WILL END YOU!"

Snape hadn't realized it was his voice until Dudley glanced behind him with a baffled look on his twisted, ugly face.

"What the fuck?!"

"DAD!" Harry choked out.

With a snarl Snape charged, snaking his arm around Dudley's throat from behind. But his fight with the boy's colossal beast of a father left him drained and weak, and he struggled to drag the huge boy away from Harry. Dudley flailed about, one hand tearing at Snape's tight hold against his neck and the other beating wildly about Snape's face.

Forcing Dudley to his feet, Snape squeezed his forearm tighter around the vile attacker's neck until her heard a choking gurgle. But Dudley used his size to his advantage, throwing himself forcefully backward and sending both he and Snape careening heavily into the dresser. Snape refused to release his hold, even as the mammoth teen bashed him repeatedly into the wall.

Finding purchase on one of Snape's inflamed hands, Dudley jerked severely on his fingers to loosen his hold, causing Snape to cry out in pain. But just as he managed to slip out of Snape's grasp, Harry flung himself onto him before he could attack Snape.

"Harry don't!" Snape yelled, but too late. Dudley easily tossed the smaller boy off him, slamming him into the wall as he proceeded to punch him full force in the jaw. Harry's head lolled like a limp rag doll before he crumpled to the ground.

"HARRY! NO!"

The monstrous teen turned on him, running at him like an American football player and bashing him once again into the broken dresser. The air left Snape's lungs in a whoosh, and he too crumpled to the floor.

Gasping as he lay writhing on his back, Snape wasn't quick enough to escape Dudley's boot heel as he slammed it repeatedly down into his chest and stomach. Rolling over, Snape attempted to crawl away. I have to get to Harry… I have to protect my son… Seeing his advantage, Dudley aimed a furious kick to Snape's head. Stars exploded in front of Snape's eyes as the room threatened to dim into darkness.

"Harry…" Snape moaned, reaching for him.

"I'm going to end you, asshole!" He heard Dudley scream from what seemed like a great distance.

This is it, Snape realized. Please God, just protect my son when he ends it.

Suddenly there was a great commotion in the doorway, a chorus of many voices yelling as the room filled with people. Dudley went still a moment before he fell heavily to the floor with a great thud. But the room continued to darken slowly around Snape. He could barely hear the muffled sounds of people calling his name, and could not make out the faces of those surrounding them. His gaze was locked onto Harry's crumpled, beaten body as he slipped into unconsciousness, no longer caring if he lived or died, as long as his son was safe.

"Harry… Har-ry… Har…"