The Blood On Their Hands

The plan

Days passed. Harry's situation seemed to worsen. He got seriously beaten every single day. Wounds covered every part of his body. Bruises were driving him crazy. Sometimes, when he would sit alone and locked in his room, he would count his bruises. It's not like he had anything better to do, after all. He came to a pretty impressive number, 142. He was hurting all over, but he learned to keep his mouth shut. Harry wasn't sure how the hell is he managing to do his chores every day, but he guessed it was his magic that kept him alive. If he was a muggle, he was sure he would be dead a couple of weeks ago. On top of all, he was hungry. Terribly hungry. He wasn't sure when was the last time he ate. Maybe a week ago? Dursleys were giving their best to make his life a living nightmare, and he... he deserved it. He was just a Freak, unworthy of love. Deep down, he knew that uncle Vernon's words were true.

Whenever he slept, Cedric's dead body jumped in front of his eyes. Whenever he was awake, he was beaten. There was no way out. Dursleys didn't give him a calendar, so he had no idea how much more will he stay here.

Harry was laying in bed, with his eyes closed. However, he wasn't asleep. The last time he slept was far ago. But, he wasn't tired. It's like his wounds were keeping him from sleeping. They hurt too much. The green-eyed boy was thinking. Dark throughts raced through his head. He was sure that he wanted to die. He had cleared it up in his head a long time ago. He just didn't know how. Dursleys are beating him, but they are careful not to kill him. How would they explain it to the rest of the world?
Slitting his wrists was one of the options, but he felt the pain of doing so when his uncle cut him. He was too afraid of feeling that pain again. He knew that muggle options weren't really going to work. For an unknown reason to him, his wounds healed faster than would be the case with the ordinary wizard. What is he supposed to do, then? Put his wand to his chest and say "Avada kedavra"? Even that wasn't the option, he survived the curse once and no one reassured him that wouldn't be the case the second time. After all, the Dursleys took his wand. Of course, Vernon tried to break it, but the wand sent him back flying into the wall. He couldn't break it, but he could break Harry's bones. Which he did. With his hammer. Vernon took it and hit Harry as many times as needed for his bone to break, and then he hit those places with his fists. Harry passed out in the process, the pain was unbearable.

"Stop. Stop thinking about that. If you kill yourself, even through I have no idea how would you do it, the Wizarding world would perish", Harry thought to himself. He was relying on his own brain to keep him sane.

In the meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were eating dinner at the Burrow. They were laughing at one of Fred and George's many jokes. Mrs. Weasley prepared onion soup and baked bread, so everyone was satisfied with their meal. After they ate, Mrs. Weasley took their plates and went to wash the dishes. Ginny was showing Hermione the bracelet she bought in Hogsmeade, Percy was reading something again, and the others were just peacefully sitting.
"Hey, Ron? Did Harry send you anything? Any letters from him? Or you, Hermione?", Fred asked.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Ron looked sad while saying:"No, he hasn't sent me anything. I wonder is he mad at us."
"Why would he be mad at you, dear?" Molly asked.
Hermione's voice echoed through the room:"Well, he hasn't sent me anything either. On our last day to Hogwarts, he looked like he was going to literally die on the spot. He didn't travel in the same wagon as we did, and after we got out of the train, he barely waved at us. Not to mention he was hurt, his shirt was soaked with blood."
Molly looked surprised."Why would he act like that? And why was he hurt?"
Ron glanced at his mother."Mum, he saw Cedric's death! And You-know-who's return! And he knew that he was going to the Dursleys! Of course he was stressed! And I don't know why was he bleeding, but I saw a Slytherin going back to his wagon at an unusual time."
Molly hid the ashamed look on her face."Yes, you are right. But, I can't help but wonder why is he so scared of his relatives. I know how rude they can get, but I don't know the details."
Ron shrugged."I've asked him about them a couple of times, but he just said that they were mean to him, and that he needed to do chores every day."
"That doesn't sound too bad", Hermione asserted.
"I agree. But we know about the situation three years ago, when boys found him locked in his room, with bars on his window" Mr. Weasley said worriedly.
Silence reigned in the kitchen. Everyone was thinking.
Ron suddenly said:"Okay, if everyone agrees, we can do this: if Harry doesn't send any letters in the next 3 days, we send a letter to him, requesting his urgent answer. If he doesn't answer then, we will pay him a visit."
The redheads and Hermione agreed with Ron's plan.