Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Harry Potter woke up one Monday morning, drenched in sweat, after having another one of his nightmares. With Cedric's last words echoing in his ears, he rolled out of bed, wincing at the fresh welts on his back. He exited his room, heading to the bathroom, to shower and get dressed.
In the shower, he noticed how the welts had scarred over, a result of his magic working overtime to keep him alive. Otherwise, he would have probably bled out by now, with his hemophilia fucking him up.
He glanced down, at the array of tattoos going up his arms, legs, back, and chest. He'd received another one last night when he snuck out to grab another packet of magic cigarettes. This one was a little pride flag with a flagpole on his right forearm.
He finished up his shower, got dressed, and exited the bathroom, heading to the kitchen to start breakfast. Half an hour later, his relatives traipsed down the stairs and collapsed at the table. His cousin Dudley glanced longingly at Harry's new tattoos he'd been getting since 3rd year and the lip and tongue piercings he got before his fourth year.
(His tattoos were magical and moved. For example, his new pride flag seemed to wave in the wind, while the snake on his right leg, curving onto his hip, seemed to slither and curve slowly. The branch with lilies on the left side of his chest seemed to slowly bloom and then unbloom, etc.)
He quickly served his relatives breakfast and left the room to start cleaning the lounge.
Later that day, while cleaning up the dishes from dinner, there was a knock at the front door. His aunt moved towards it and Harry heard her open the door. A few moments later, there was an anguished scream. "Vernon! Vernon!" Harry walked quickly to the doorway, listening in. Two officers stood at the front door, talking to Aunt Petunia in low tones. She seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack and tears were streaming down her face. Uncle Vernon ran to them, panic evident in his face. "We were just telling your wife how your son seemed to have suffered a brain bleed, and he isn't responding to anything we say or do." One of the officers stated. "It's almost as if he isn't alive at all." Harry didn't hear Uncle Vernon's broken sob, because his mind was suddenly overcome with waves of sound and screaming voices, all repeating "He's gone!".
He quickly stumbled from the kitchen, heading upstairs. He didn't hear Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exit the house to head to the hospital, or notice 2 hours had passed. His head was just thundering, screaming, "He's gone, he's dead, he's gone!".
After a few more hours, his head finally quieted. He heard the front door open and heard his Aunt and Uncle come inside. He silently walked outside of his room and peered down at his relatives. They seemed to be a husk of their former selves. Harry quickly pulled his head back before Uncle Vernon noticed and decided that he needed to be "punished". He walked quietly to his bed, pulling out his last letter from Ron and Hermione.
They refused to tell him anything about where they were or what they were doing, but they seemed to be together. Fred and George's letter was different however. "Dear Harry ,
We're afraid we can't tell you where we are because we're under a Fidelius. Dumbledore forbade us from telling you anything but we can say that we're cleaning out a bunch of dark objects.
We're so sorry we can't tell you more but they are planning on getting you out of there soon. Ginny sends you her regards and is sorry she can't write, our mom is keeping her busy in the kitchen. Hope you're doing well, Forge and Gred."
Harry smiled at their words, last year, him, the twins, and Ginny, always hung out occasionally to talk and play games. Harry sighed heavily. He missed them. It'd been a week since that last letter arrived, and Harry was practically burning with the desire to hear from the outside world. He hated reading the Daily Prophet since they liked to drag his name through the mud, but he needed the info. Ginny recommended the Quibbler to him a few weeks back and he'd seen the improvement immediately.
There was apparently a girl at school named Luna who was the daughter of the editor. Ginny described her as the living embodiment of the Quibbler. Harry caught the lovesick tone in her letters but decided not to comment on it, knowing she'd tell him about her crush when she's ready. Ginny promised to introduce them to each other on the train and Harry was looking forward to it.
Harry heard the Dursley's bedroom door snap shut and sighed heavily. "Just you and me Hedwig" He murmured. Hedwing hooted softly, her amber eyes looking melancholy. Harry laid down and slowly drifted off.