Healing Hearts

Chapter 2

"Get up to your room, boy. I'll be there later tonight with your welcome home present."
A small boy shuddered lightly and quietly raced up the stairs, wanting to hide away his shrunken things before his Uncle would think to break them.
The boy is unfazed by the many locks decorating his door, but the addition of what must have been a cat flap was interesting, if a bit daunting.
Quickly entering the room, Harry noticed everything was as he had left it, except for his windows, which were now barred. There goes my chance of getting letters from anyone.

-

A small boy smiled softly as he pet a hurt owl with a splinted wing. The animal closed its eyes and shrunk in on itself a bit, relaxing against the gentle hand massaging its feathers.
The pair stayed that way for a while, both slowly slipping off into sleep, before a loud pop signified the arrival of a certain free, green-eyed elf.
"Hello Master Harry Potter, sir!"
"Mm? Oh, hello Dobby. What're you doing here?"
"Dobby's just wanting to sees Harry Potter, sir. And Dobby be not liking whats he sees."
"It's nothing Dobby, thanks for your concern though."
"'It's nothing' he says! Dobby ought to shows those dreadful muggles just whats it means to hurts Dobby's Master! To leave bruises ands cuts all over Master!"
"No Dobby, please don't. I don't want you to get hurt."
"If Masters says, then Dobby will follows, buts... Dobby be sorry for asking Master, buts he must knows! What has Master's family beens doings to him?"
"Oh Dobby..."

-

A pitiful 'mereow' sliced through the silence that had fallen over a young boy as he gardened over a neat patch of flowers.
Quickly abandoning his post over the plants, the boy rushed over to the origin of the sound and found a small kitten, malnourished and weak.
"Oh, you poor thing. Come here baby, I'll make it better."
The kitten let out another light 'mew' before stumbling and falling right into the gentle hands of the little wizard healer.

-

Tom?
Yes?
Why'd you hurt so many people?
You are too pure to understand.
Please?
Even tainted by my soul, you are repulsively naïve and hopeful.
Fine, I'm taking that as a compliment.
Take it any way you wish.

-

A severe chill permeated the air as the students all huddled together, trying to stay warm. The clicking of their compartment door as it opened caused many a face to pale even more in dread. A whispering sound slid through their ears as the children's eyes fell upon a darkly cloaked figure, leaning into their compartment by the door.
Neither party said a word as they stared at each other, but then, ever so slowly, the dark creature approached, and their smallest member twitched violently, choked out a cough, and promptly started gasping for air. Many of the other children had trouble breathing by now as well, and screams echoed in all of their ears.
One wizard did not hear them though, as this child was sent spinning into memories of when he was weighed with sorrow, of when he hadn't been quick enough. An owl lay dead by a tree, a kitten lying still on his bed, a fish belly up in a pond, a dog severed in two by a truck, a woman on the ground by his cradle, a sickly green light flying towards him-
A tired pair of amber eyes stared kindly into his, with a piece chocolate hovering just to the side of them.

-

Snape glared down at a teary-eyed Harry Potter, his wand pointed squarely at the little 'puff's head. Neville watched in horror as Snape began to cast, his lips peeling back into a snarl.
"No! You can't! R-ri-"
The spell flew with a barely cast glance at the heir of Longbottom. Harry fell, a scream of pure agony echoed through the classroom, all other occupants silent at the event. "Harry! Ri-Riddikulus!"
Suddenly, the scream was cut off by an angelic giggle, an uninjured Harry smiling up at Neville with a gentle hand petting the bat clinging to his robes.
Cheers erupted from the rest of the class, and the shy Hufflepuff smiled brilliantly. The real Harry rushed forward and hugged his friend, having noticed his shaky, pale skin. "You were so brave, Neville. It's a wonder you weren't put in Gryffindor."
An even more radiant smile flew onto the boy's face as he hugged his first, and littlest, friend to him tightly.
The clapping had to die down eventually, and the hug had to end, but both were done with a calm, content feeling. This aura was quickly wiped away; however, when keening wails suddenly interrupted the silence.
Slowly turning around to face the Boggart, Harry could feel his face pale as he caught sight of a cat laying right in front of him, the keening noise originating from its mouth. He knew that cat, he had found it when he was nine, dead in some bushes near the playground Dudley had always chased him from.
A moaning howl joined the cat as a thin Great Dane with a bleeding flank limped out of sudden shadows. Harry had found this guy when picking up meat for his uncle at the local deli. It had been curled up next to a dumpster, and still as only the dead could be. The small 'puff could feel tears building in his eyes as a pregnant white fox added her own whines to the haunting cacophony of deceased animals' pain.
Tearing his eyes away from the sight, Harry shakily palmed his wand. Suddenly, the horror hit a new high as animals appeared everywhere, all the animals he had helped or found over his years of life. Even the little kitten that he had saved just months before lay on the ground, blind and weak with pain from scrapes he knew he had healed on her side. "No!"
Tears blurred his vision, but suddenly all the animals disappeared, and Harry couldn't help but relax slightly. The shadows did not recede; however, and a chill flew down Harry's spine. "No! Please, no! Not my baby!" A red headed woman stood with her back to the little 'puff, but he knew exactly who she was.
"Avada Kedavra!" A green light sailed through the air and hit the redhead, causing her to slump to the ground, motionless in her death.
Falling to his knees, Harry curled into a ball and cried. Cried for his mum, for his dad, and for all the creatures he couldn't help. Slowly, the shadows retreated, but the pain did not.
Students were crying and wailing, holding onto each other as they lived through Harry's greatest fears. Warm arms encircled Harry from his place on the floor, and not bothering to look who it was, the boy flung himself into their arms, crying in relief at the sound of a heartbeat.
The sounds of life slowly overtook those of death.