Disclaimer: I borrowed them, hugged them, squeezed them, called them George, then gave them back like a good girl. Harry Potter and all related characters and situations belong to JK Rowling.
Author's Note: This is in response to the Abused Harry challenge for the Potions and Snitches ficfest and Severitus' challenge. Spoilers up to OotP, but completely disregarding HBP. (I am firmly in denial. It didn't happen, I swear!) No ships. Mentions of past abuse. Well-meaning but incredibly dim/blind Dumbledore. Canon ships, if any at all. My thanks to the best beta readers a girl could ask for, Chris and lesyeuxverts! Thanks to Owen, for once again making sure that my Latin is actually correct. Also thanks to Loralee, for telling me that, no, I wasn't absolutely insane for going in this direction.
Child abuse, unfortunately, continues to be a major problem in our world. Recent statistics state that one out of every ten children is a victim of some sort of child abuse. If you know of a child who is being abused, visit http : // www . Kidsafe - caps. org / report. html (remove spaces) for your local reporting hotline (US only), or call 1-800-4-A-CHILD in North America. In the UK, call Childline at 0800 1111.