This was going to be another typical summer at the Dursley's. It was the summer between Harry's second and third year. Harry hated summer. He knew that he would be locked in his room and he would be lucky to get a bowl of watered down soup every other day. This summer Harry knew was going to be bad because Professor Dumbledore had sent a letter home with him for his aunt and uncle. This letter was all about the fight that Harry had gotten in with his number one enemy... Ron Weasley. The letter made Harry look like the bad boy for beating up Ron for no apparent reason even though Ron had always been the one to start it. You see, Ron hated Harry because everyone loved the "boy who lived" Ron would mess with Harry and provoke him. Harry never hit first, he would wait for Ron to hit him then he would beat Ron up and usually sent him to the hospital wing. As Uncle Vernon read the letter, his face turned red, and Harry could tell that he was furious. Uncle Vernon put the letter down and glared at Harry. After a few minutes, Vernon said,

" What the hell is your problem? Why can't you keep your hands to yourself? Boy you are going to spend the whole summer in your room. You are not going to leave at all. When we decide to let you eat, food will be placed through the cat door and there will be a bucket by the top of the stairs for you to use as a bathroom. Now go upstairs and wait for me. You know what happens when you get into fights at school." Harry hung his head and walked out of the living room and walked towards the stairs. Harry's trunk was at the bottom of the looming staircase. Harry looked up at the stairs and let out a small whimper. He had to get his trunk up not one but two flights of stairs. This was going to be difficult considering the fact that he only had one hand. You see Harry had gotten into a fight with Ron at the beginning of the last week of school just before finals. Ron pushed Harry backwards and Harry lost his balance and fell down. When he did, his right wrist hit first and he heard a "crack." To make matters worse Ron then stepped on his wrist several times. Harry knew once he landed on it that it was broken, and now it defiantly was. On top of everything, Harry still had exams to do. By the end of the week, Harry's hand was burning and he was in a lot of pain. He was still in pain but he knew what was coming was going to be worse. Harry had no idea how he was going to get his trunk up both flights of stairs. He let out a sigh, tightened his grip on trunk with his left hand and began to climb the stairs. He made it up the first flight and dragged his trunk to the door at the end of the hall. Harry placed his trunk down and opened the door. He then flipped on the switch that turned on the light. The light was faded in the attic and it was very hot. Harry hated the attic; he hated living up there. He picked up his trunk again and began to drag it up the stairs. Harry was about half way up the stairs when he felt his left shoulder was about to give out, when he suddenly felt the trunk get lighter. Harry turned around to see Dudley holding the other end of the trunk and smiling. Harry smiled back at Dudley and the two of them carried his trunk up the stairs. Dudley was nice and liked Harry as long as his parents were not around. If his parents were around Dudley would just ignore Harry. Dudley would sneak food from meals to save and give to Harry when he could. The boys set the trunk down at the foot of a pile of blankets that Harry used as a bed. Harry looked at Dudley and said,

"Thanks cuz!" Dudley patted Harry on his left shoulder and said,

"No problem. You hurt your hand at school?"

"Yeah I fell on it. I will be fine." Harry replied. Then he said, "You have better get going your dad is going to be up here soon."

"Did you get into another fight at school?" Dudley asked. Harry nodded and then said,

"It is always the same kid that always get into fights with. He doesn't like to leave me alone." Dudley gave Harry a hug and turned around to leave. He stopped before going down the stairs and turned to Harry and said,

"I will bring you up some pain meds when dad is finished."

"I will be fine." Harry said quickly. Dudley smiled at his cousin and walked down the stairs. After Harry heard the door close he sat down on the pile of blankets. After about ten minutes, Harry heard the door open and heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. He knew right away that is was Uncle Vernon. He made it to the top of the stairs and walked over to Harry and said,

" You know why are you in trouble right boy?" Harry nodded. Uncle Vernon slapped Harry across the face, knocking him sideways, and said, " I want to hear you say it boy!" Harry sat up right again, making sure to not make eye contact, and said

"I am in trouble because I got into a fight at school." Uncle Vernon nodded and said,

"Right now take your shirt off and go face the wall." Harry took off his shirt and went over to the wall. He placed his hands on the wall. His right wrist began to throb more than before. Uncle Vernon took off his belt and began to beat Harry with it. After about five minutes, Uncle Vernon stopped and Harry slid down the wall and onto his face. Harry's back was covered in welts, bruises, & blood, lots of blood. Harry could feel the blood rushing down his back. It was warm and ran like a river down his back. Uncle Vernon left the attic and went to his bathroom, washed the blood off of his belt and hung it on the towel rack to dry overnight. Then he walked down the stairs to his desk in the living room. He wrote the following letter:

Dear Albus,

Thank you for letting me know about the fights that Harry has been getting into while at school. I can't believe that he would beat up another boy let alone the minister of magic's youngest son. I made sure that the boy would regret what he did. Let's just say that his back is black, blue, and red. I am glad to be of assistance to you in assuring that my horrible nephew suffers and his life is miserable. He deserves every bit of punishment.

Yours truly,

Vernon Dursley.

Vernon then placed the letter in an envelope, sealed it, and addressed it to: A. Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then he went to the closet under the stairs and took out an owl named Herbert. This was one of the owls that Dumbledore used to send messages back and forth to the Dursleys. Vernon gave Herbert the letter and sent him out via a window and Herbert flew towards the castle. Meanwhile, upstairs in the attic, Harry was in the process of trying to get himself off the floor and on to his 'bed'. This was difficult with the cuts, bruises, blood and a broken wrist. After about 20 minutes, Harry finally made it to his 'bed'. As he lay there on his stomach trying to catch his breathe. He was wishing that he had taken Professor Lupin up on his offer to stay with him, his wife Tonks, and Harry's three-year-old godson Teddy for his summer vacation. He had not even been at the Dursley's for 24 hours and already he wanted to leave and he also wanted to vanish from the planet. Harry decided that he should get away from the aunt and uncle's house before things got worse. He decided that he would send Professor Lupin a message. Harry then realized that all his parchment paper and his quill were in his trunk, which was at the other end of his bed. Harry tried to sit up and fail to do so. He tried again, and this time he managed to sit up for a few seconds before falling face down in a small puddle of blood, his blood. Just then Harry heard the door open and footsteps on the stairs. Dudley came into view. He had a cloth over his arm, a bowl of warm water, a glass of water, and a bottle of aspirin. Dudley set everything down and helped Harry sit up. Dudley then took the rag and placed it in the bowl of warm water and turned to wipe Harry off. Harry protested. Dudley looked at Harry and said,

"Please let me clean you up. You are covered in blood." Harry relented and finally let Dudley clean him up. Dudley took the rag and dipped it into the warm water and began to wipe the blood off of Harry's face. Once the blood was off of Harry's face, Dudley wiped the blood that had dripped down Harry's back. After Dudley did this he handed Harry two Advil from the bottle and then handed him the glass of water. Harry didn't want to make Dudley mad so he took the medicine without complaining. Afterwards Dudley helped Harry get his shirt back on being careful of Harry's wrist. Harry looked at Dudley and said,

"Thanks." Dudley smiled back and said,

"No problem!" Dudley then turned around to pick up the stuff he had brought up with him and he headed for the stairs. Harry asked,

"Dudley can you please send Hedwig up here and leave the door open?" Dudley smiled and nodded. Hedwig stayed in Dudley's closet since the attic was too hot for her. Dudley left the attic and Harry managed to open his trunk, get out a piece of parchment, his quill, and ink. He held the note with his right hand and wrote the following message:

Dear Professor Lupin,

All is well. I made it home safely. Summer is going to go by slow as normal. Looking forward to school starting up again.

H. Potter.

Harry set the quill down and his right hand began to throb. He dropped the letter right in to the puddle of his blood. Harry quickly picked up the bloodstained note and folded it up. Just then Hedwig flew up the stairs, and began to circle around Harry's head. Harry tried to hide the note but Hedwig saw it, swooped down, grabbed the note from behind Harry's back, and flew down the stairs and out Dudley's window towards Grimwald Place to find Remus. It is almost as if Hedwig knew who the letter was going to and that it was in Harry's best interest that the note make it to Remus. Hedwig reached Grimwald place and flew into the open window right into the kitchen. Molly Weasley had just finished washing the dishes. Remus smelled the blood and began to look around the kitchen frantically to find the source of the blood. Hedwig flew back into the kitchen and dropped the note on the kitchen table. Remus saw the note, smelled the blood, and began to panic. He grabbed the note and opened it. He sank into a chair. Harry was obviously lying about being well. Molly looked over and saw Remus just sitting in the chair staring at the note. She asked,

"Remus are you okay?" Remus didn't respond. Molly hollered up to Tonks. "Tonks Remus is in shock." After a few minutes, there was no response, so Molly did the one thing she knew would get Tonks' attention. Molly walked to the bottom of the stairs and hollered up, "NYMPHADORA!" Then she ran back to the sink. All you could hear through the entire house was,

"DON'T CALL ME NYMPHADORA!" Molly turned around and hollered up,

"Please come downstairs to the kitchen. Remus is in shock." Tonks came downstairs and she glared at Molly. Molly pointed to Remus. Tonks looked at Remus, saw the note, read the note, saw the blood, pulled the chair out from under Remus, causing him to fall to the floor, she then grabbed his arm and pulled him outside to the backyard and threw him in the pool. She then pulled out her wand and summoned a towel for him and sat down in one of the chairs by the pool. She did all of this without saying a word. Remus snapped out of his shocked like state as soon as his head hit the water. He surfaced and climbed out. He shook himself off and grabbed the towel from Tonks and sat down next to her on the one of the chairs. Remus sighed and after a few minutes said,

" There is something wrong and he is not telling me the truth. That was his blood on the note. I have smelled it before and I would know that smell anywhere." Remus sat a few minutes longer and then said, "I am going to rescue my cub. I don't care what it takes but I am going to do what ever it takes to ensure that my cub is safe. I will protect him at all costs even if it kills me in the end." Remus just sat there trying to figure out how to rescue Harry. After a little bit he came up with two options. One he would burst into the Dursley's house and demand that they surrender Harry or the second option was to go in the middle of the day and distract his aunt while Tonks snuck in and rescued Harry. The first option would more than likely get him arrested and Harry killed. Remus decided that the second option was better. He shared his decision with Tonks who agreed with him that the second option would be better. She also agreed to go with him and help him out. Remus then lay back on the chair and looked up at the setting sun. It was too late to send Hedwig back with a reply now he would have to wait until morning. Remus and Tonks decided that they would not go tomorrow but the next day to give Harry a chance to pack anything that he needed to pack up. Remus sat up and went inside. He grabbed the note from the table and went straight up to his room. He got out a piece of parchment paper and his quill and wrote the following note back to Harry.

Harry,

Tonks and I are coming to rescue you tomorrow afternoon. Be ready to go by noon.

Yours truly,

Remus Lupin

Remus then took the quill and signed his name. The next morning he gave the note to Hedwig and sent her back to Privet Drive. Meanwhile, Harry was having trouble sleeping. He couldn't get comfortable and when he finally did he had a nightmare about Ron and his older brother Percy. Harry had only come in contact with Percy once and he never wanted to cross him again. He ended up in the hospital wing. Harry usually didn't go to the hospital wing unless he was taken there against his will. Madame Pomfrey would look at him and say 'Oh you will live.' Then she would send him back to his dorm. Harry would barely make it into the Gryffindor common room when Hermione would find him and take him over to a corner and patch him up. Harry liked Hermione and she liked him too. Hermione was always there to lend a hand. In his dream Ron and Percy were doing things to Harry that made him feel very uncomfortable. Harry finally woke up from his nightmare and realized that he was safe in the attic of the Dursley's or as safe as he could be here. Harry found himself shivering even though it was in the middle of summer and the attic had insulation so it was burning up in there. Harry tried to use one of the blankets to wrap up in but they didn't do any good. Harry had no idea what time it was. There was no window and he didn't have a watch. By the time Hedwig reached the Dursley's it was lunchtime and Vernon was pulling into the driveway. Hedwig flew into the nearby trees to wait for him to go back to work. Vernon walked into the house and sat down in his favorite chair in the living room and put his feet up. Petunia came into the living room, saw her stressed out husband, and began to rub Vernon's shoulders. While she did this she asked,

"Bad morning at work Verney?" Vernon sighed and said,

"Bad don't even begin to describe my morning. I was late getting out the door this morning because I had a nightmare that the boy was good and I had no reason to beat the crap out of him. Then because I was running late I didn't get my morning cup of coffee and we know what happens when I don't get my coffee. Then I got to work and realized that my belt was still hanging up in the bathroom where I left it last night to dry. Then as if things couldn't get any worse, my boss did a surprise uniform check. He normally does it by last name but today he did it by first name. A fellow co-worker named Chuck slipped me his belt after our boss checked his uniform. If it had not been for Chuck I would have been fired." Petunia soothed her husband's head, she then leaned down and kissed him and said,

"You know what will make you feel better and calm you down." Vernon nodded his head and got up from his chair. He went upstairs and grabbed his belt from the bathroom and went to the attic. He opened the door and began to climb the stairs. Harry could hear his uncle's heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. He wondered why his uncle was coming up the stairs, was it that late in the day, or was it lunchtime. Harry could tell by the way his uncle was coming up the stairs that he was in for another beating. He figured that his uncle had probably had a bad morning/day, depending on what time of the day it was, at work and so he was going to the one thing that made him feel better, beat the crap of Harry. Harry hated getting beat up he had problems getting into fights at school with Ron. He ended up with cuts, bruises, and broken bones from the fights with Ron and the one fight with Percy. Most of the time, Harry ended up sending Ron to the hospital wing. You see Ron made fun of Harry because he had no parents and he lived with muggles. Harry sat up the best he could. His back was still sore from yesterday and his head was pounding and even with his glasses everything was slightly fuzzy. Uncle Vernon came into view and he looked at Harry and Harry looked back at him. Uncle Vernon then walked across the attic and grabbed the chair from the corner. Harry hated when his uncle used the chair. It meant that his uncle was really mad and Harry was going to get a good hard beating. He knew he would have his hands tied to the chair and he would be beaten till he fell to his knees. Sometimes his uncle would stop after he fell the first time other times he would make Harry stand back up and beat him till he fell a second time. Harry wondered what had happened to make Uncle Vernon so mad. He didn't dare ask that would only make things worse much worse. Uncle Vernon just stood by the chair. Harry knew what to do. He pulled his shirt off trying not to wince in pain from his back and his wrist. He then walked over to the chair. He placed his hands on the chair and as Uncle Vernon tied the rope around his hands, Harry could feel a sharp shooting pain in his right wrist. However, there was nothing he could do about it. After Uncle Vernon finished tying Harry's hands to the chair he took his belt and began to beat the living crap out of Harry. He could feel the belt ripping his skin open and the burning and stinging pain his back is in. Not to mention the blood rushing down his back. After about two minutes, Harry fell to his knees. He could now feel the blood going down his legs. Uncle Vernon pulled him back up and continued beating Harry up then when Harry fell a second time Uncle Vernon untied his hands. Then he led Harry over to the bed and pushed him onto his stomach. Uncle Vernon got down on his knees next to Harry and pulled out his pocket knife and turned Harry's head so that see the knife. He then told Harry,

"I am going to make sure that you will always remember that you are stupid and will never make anything of yourself. You are stupid for getting in trouble at school and because you are just like your mother." Vernon then took the blade and pressed it against the upper part of Harry's back. Then he said, " You will have the word 'stupid' carved into your back as a reminder." With that Vernon began to carve the word into Harry's back. Harry could feel the blade tearing his skin and he buried his face in the bed and tried not to cry. He felt every cut that his uncle made burn and sting, as if it was being burned into his back permanently. By the time Vernon was finished carving' stupid' into Harry's back, it was covered in blood, lots of blood, bruises, welts, cuts and a permanent reminder that he was stupid. Harry knew that he was stupid. He had barely passed his classes. Harry knew that he had trouble reading but what he didn't know was the he had Dyslexia, but no one knew this. Harry by this point was having trouble breathing. Vernon stood up, moved the chair back to the corner and left the attic. Harry turned his head so he could try and breathe better but it didn't help much at all. Harry didn't have to hide the tears now nor could he. He was in a hell of a lot of pain and he was hungry too. Harry had not eaten anything since he had been here nor could he remember the last time he had eaten. He just lay on his pile of blankets and cried until he slipped unconscious.