Title: Trust and Betrayal
Author: Michelle
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot. All characters are from the mind of JK Rowling. No money is being made from this and no copyright infringements intended.
Summary: Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be one of trust and betrayal. Who should he trust? Who will betray him? Doing the easy thing and doing the right thing aren't as easy to choose between as one might think.
Chapter One
Rain pounded on the widows outside of number four, Privet Drive as a young man stared out into the street. As usual the other boy occupant of the household was thumping around downstairs looking for something else to eat.
There was an odd calmness as Harry Potter stared out through the glass pane into the night. Sirius had passed on only a month ago all because of his stupidity. Harry turned around as Dudley pounded up the stairs and past his door. Harry felt the pounding in his head as Dudley slammed his bedroom door and laid his head down on the tattered pillow on his bed. He lay there feeling as if, maybe, things might be alright again as he drifted to sleep listening to the rain outside.
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The next morning Harry heard the usual yelling downstairs. Wishing he could just go back to sleep, he begrudgingly clamored out of bed and pulled on one of Dudley's shirts. He sighed as he slipped down the stairs and into the kitchen where Dudley was getting yelled at. Harry groaned inwardly knowing what was to come.
As soon as Harry entered the room Uncle Vernon turned to face him, his face suddenly purple with rage. "You…you were supposed to make sure he didn't sneak out of his room at night! Dudley cannot help it that he needs to eat…he's a growing boy! But we went through all this trouble to keep him on a strict diet and you had to ruin it all, boy!" Vernon yelled his face only a few inches away from Harry's.
Petunia stood quietly in the corner of the kitchen cutting the grapefruit and making toast for Dudley's breakfast. Harry's attention was torn away from her when his Uncle's fist collided with his jaw knocking him off his feet. Before drifting into unconsciousness Harry heard Petunia gasp loudly and Dudley laughing in the background.
Harry woke to find himself in a rather tight position. He felt a dull ache in his jaw as the events of that morning flooded his mind. Uncle Vernon had hit him. He had grabbed him by his hair and he had pushed him, but never had he actually hit him before. He opened his eyes to find himself in complete darkness save a small stream of light coming in through a crack in the wall.
Harry sat up rubbing his jaw and winced. He stared out the small crack to see that the hall in front of him was empty. He slowly opened the door, his heart pounding in his chest. Looking through the small opening he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one in the hall or in the kitchen. He crawled out of his old bedroom remembering how cramped it was. He stood up in the hallway and let his eyes adjust to the light. He looked around and listened for few moments but after not hearing anything he quickly and quietly ran up the stairs to send a letter to someone - anyone. On the way upstairs Harry realized how long he'd been knocked out. It was nearly dark now.
He got to his door and for a moment felt as though he should just turn around. He fought it and turned the handle slowly - quietly. He poked his head inside only for a moment before he was pulled inside the room by Uncle Vernon. "Boy, did you think you were going to come up here and send a letter to those freaky friends of yours?" His uncle asked narrowing his eyes and pulling harder on the fist of hair in his hand. Harry flinched but did not trust himself to speak. Harry felt himself getting dizzy as he stared past Vernon. He saw that Hedwig was lying silent and still inside his cage and at once he knew he was alone. Tears stung at his eyes as he saw his only friend at Privet Drive lay there, dead, inside her cage.
Harry's attention was taken away from Hedwig when he was thrown across the room. He hit the wall with a thud and slid down it gasping for air. His uncle roared and picked him up by his hair. Harry hung there too weak to do anything to stop him. He felt a fist slam into his already bruised face and felt blood trickle down. He was thrown across the room but this time he hit his head on the edge of the bed and he felt himself drifting into unconsciousness.
Harry awoke once again but this time he didn't know where he was. It was a dank, dark room. Harry couldn't see clearly considering his glasses were no where to be found. His wrists and feet were tied - no way of escaping now. Harry felt a sudden wave of panic sweep over him. What if no one came? What if he laid here and starved to death? Harry tried not to think about these things and closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes when he heard someone coming. Was it his uncle? Harry squeezed his eyes shut again - waiting for the worst. He waited and felt someone grab the rope around his wrists and start untying it. He opened his eyes to see what was going on and found himself face-to-face with Hermione. She looked very frantic and kept looking over her shoulder as if she was waiting for someone to burst in any minute.
She finally got the ropes off of him and helped him over to a door on the other side of the room. She grabbed the handle and tugged at it hard. It didn't budge. Harry heard Hermione sigh loudly before whipping out her wand and muttering a spell that Harry couldn't quite make out. It was a warm night outside but there was a certain stillness in the air that kept the both on edge. Hermione got Harry into the backseat of a car and quickly got in the front. She started the engine and roared off.
Harry felt himself relax a bit and leaned his head down seeing Hermione's face fixed into a determined glare. How had she known? Did Dumbledore send her? How did he know? Harry felt himself getting weaker by the second and felt a shrill coldness sweep through him. He was suddenly very hot and lightheaded - as if he'd been poisoned. He was now shaking violently.
He saw Hermione turn around. She gasped when she saw him and slammed on the breaks causing Harry to shake worse. She got out and opened his door. Her eyes were darting over him frantically like she didn't know what to do. Harry heard a car's tires screeching behind him. Hermione slammed the door and got back in the front. She sped off throwing quick, apologetic glances at him every few moments.
Harry was sweating bullets by the time Hermione pulled into a driveway. He was shaking but couldn't get himself to stop. His breaths were short and ragged and he was burning up. Hermione pulled him out of the car and tried her hardest to get him inside. She finally gave up and ran inside. Harry panicked inside. Where was she? Had Uncle Vernon followed them all the way here? He saw Hermione come back out of the house with a taller, older man running along behind her.
They got to the car and lifted him out. They quickly carried him to the house where an older woman was waiting with a wet cloth and a bag of ice. They laid him on the couch and Hermione dabbed his forehead (which was bleeding) with the cloth. The two older people were talking frantically in the background. Harry didn't know what was going on but he had no control of his body. Hermione had bandaged up his head at some point and was now checking for any broken bones.
Harry felt his eyelids suddenly become very heavy and shut them. He felt Hermione check his arms, wrists, hands, ankles, and legs. He felt the warmness radiating from her hands for a moment - as if she hesitated before lifting his shirt over his head. There was a pause before her felt her warm hands on his torso. He heard her gasp when a shot of pain coursed through him.
He heard her drone in the background. "Mum! Dad! He's got a broken rib!" She said. She was crying now. Her parents tried to calm her and told her that the medics would arrive soon. They went on to explain to her that it seemed her had been beat up pretty badly but he would be fine.
"Mum!" Hermione replied. "He was shaking and sweating! He's been poisoned! Those foul, evil people!" Hermione screamed. "Why aren't they in prison? They treat him horribly! That's why Ron and I have to send him food every week! They starve him!" Hermione cried. Ron. Harry had forgotten about him. Why hadn't Dumbledore sent Ron? Harry wasn't thinking straight anymore.
Harry heard sirens in the distance before drifting off for the third time that night.
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