An Ally

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I simply borrow the characters.

Harry's stomach flipped around while he waited for Vernon to come home from work. It always happened the same way. Petunia would pick him up from King's Cross, he would have his belongings ripped from him and locked away while he spent his time locked up in the bedroom the Dursley's had permitted him to remain in during the summer. The locks had long been fastened, and the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. The only reason Vernon was ever this late was if he was on a business trip or if he had a particularly trying day and Petunia had mentioned he was due back at his normal time.

The smell of Chinese take-out seeped in from under his door as Dudley walked by. It would seem this would be a very bad night indeed if Petunia had finally given in and had food delivered.

Harry managed to doze off in the corner on the floor. There were no chairs in the room. The only furniture that occupied the space was an old dog bed they had thrown in a corner as a makeshift bed after Dudley had demanded a puppy (and gotten bored of it several days later) and a bucket meant for his bathroom needs. He hadn't gotten any food, and only managed to sneak in some nutrients potions in his shoes. They would give him enough nutrients to keep him alive until the end of the summer, but barely. He would be entirely too thin, and practically a walking zombie by then.

The slight screech of Vernon's tires as he turned into their drive woke Harry with a start. It was almost dark now, casting his room in a purplish blue hue. His heart started to pound faster, fear kicking in. He had been scared in the graveyard after the TriWizard Tournament, but it was nothing compared to the fear he felt now. In the graveyard he could fight. He had his wand. He wasn't defenseless.

Here he stood a lesser chance of an ant getting trampled on at a picnic.

He curled into himself, trying to make himself seem as small and insignificant as possible, the fabric of his shirt pooling around his feet. It was at least five or six sizes too big for him and was riddled with holes. He hugged his legs to his chest, listening to the door open downstairs. Petunia didn't even greet him, a very bad sign indeed. She always greeted him when he came home.

Each thud of his uncle's feet landing on the stairs made the blood pound in his ears harder. His heart raced, his mind going a million miles a minute wondering what sort of fresh hell Vernon had planned for him this summer.

The locks were undone painfully slow, each click as they released echoing in the empty space. Suddenly the door burst open, making him jump. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut and waited for the blows that were sure to come. He had expected to hear footsteps coming towards him, but instead heard the slow creek of the door closing once more. He opened his eyes just enough to glance at what was happening.

Vernon had closed them inside together.

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no... He couldn't make his brain think of anything more than that. Worry gripped him where the fear hadn't settled yet as his uncle stared at him.

"Get up, boy. Now." His voice was low, with a dangerous edge to it. Harry stood quickly, trying to make himself look as small as possible even though he was on his feet. "Do you have ANY IDEA how STUPID you are? Almost getting killed at school? YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST DONE THE REST OF US A FAVOR AND DIED!" Vernon backhanded him across the face, making stars dance in front of his vision and causing his glasses to skid across the floor to hide somewhere on the other side of the room.

He had no time to recover, as fists grabbed his shirt and yanked him close. "If you can't die, then I'll have to just make you wish you were dead." His voice was dangerously quiet. A moment later, Harry was tossed to the floor. He didn't even bother trying to get up but he wouldn't have made much progress as Vernon was on top of him now, pinning him to the floor. He tried not to move or make any noise as that would just make his situation worse.