𝕯𝖊 𝕷𝖆 𝕸𝖚𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖊 [√]

1

The day was peaceful; it was the last few weeks of June, and the days were finally starting to get hot. Birds were chirping in the garden, the smell of flowers filled the air, and the cool breeze was blowing outside.

Tom was enjoying all of this. He had finished his Death Eater work today and decided to go outside. On the way, he passed Draco and gave the boy a small nod. Hogwarts was let out a week early because of suspicious circumstances that no one knew of.

Tom exited Malfoy's manor and walked down the path and into the garden. He walked slowly and leisurely as his eyes wandered around the well-kept garden. It was all he could do. Lately, he wanted to get out and go somewhere, but with the war and people knowing who he was, it was quite difficult.

Looking back at the manor, he thought momentarily before apparating away. When he appeared, he was standing in an alley in Muggle London. He visited once or twice, watching the children on the playground and sometimes interacting with their parents. Today was a dark day, so there weren't many kids on the playground.

Tom sat there for a while before he heard pounding footsteps racing towards him. Turning, his mouth dropped at the sight before him. A bloodied and bruised Harry Potter was running towards the playground as a group of boys chased him. "Get back here, you freak," The heaviest boy in the lot said, and Tom scowled.

One of the boys threw something heavy and hard, hitting Potter in the back of the head and making it fall to the ground. They surrounded him and started to kick him, making Tom stand quickly and make his way over to the group.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He asked slowly, and the group of boys turned around quickly.

The boys glared up at him before the one who called him a freak stepped forward, "We're beating the freak, it's what he deserves," The boy said, and Tom nodded and a smirk grew on his face. The boy's collective took a step back at the evil smirk on his face.

"I see. Well, unfortunately for me, I can't punish you the way I wish to," Tom said, stepping forward. "I would advise you, though, to leave this place instantly," he said, and the boys glared at him before huffing and walking off.

"Cappy," Tom called, and a house-elf appeared.

"Yes, Master," It said.

"Follow those boys," He said, pointing to the boys at the end of the playground, "Make them feel the pain they put this one through," He said, looking down at Potter, who now lay unconscious and bleeding on the ground.

Bending down, Tom picked him up and looked around to make sure no one was watching him before he apparated away.

He reappeared at his Manor and made his way up the stairs to his private floor, where only a few were allowed, but they didn't enter even then. He entered the guest room and gently laid Harry down on the bed. Using a medical spell he learned, he scanned the boy and watched as an ever-growing piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. It was almost as tall as his 6-foot-4-inch frame when it was done growing. Reading the parchment, his magic flared, and his anger rose at what he had read.

Severus had told him Dumbledore assured him that Potter was living like a prince where he had left him, but these results proved otherwise.

Placing the parchment down, he went out of the room and into his own. He opened a secret compartment in the wall and pulled out a few potions he kept there for emergencies. Heading back into the room, he placed all seven of them on the bedside table and sat beside Harry.

He maneuvered the boy until his head was in his lap before reaching over and uncorking the first bottle. He slowly poured the liquid into the sleeping boy's mouth and massaged his throat to get him to swallow it.

After he was done, he spelled Harry clean and fixed him under the covers. After casting a spell to alert him when the boy woke up, he exited the room. Entering his room, he headed to the bathroom and stripped off his clothes. He took a shower before heading back out into the bedroom and falling asleep even before his head hit the pillow.

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Word count: 735

Re-published: April 28, 2024, 5:30 am

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