Disclaimer: Wave wand in the air and mumbled a few words. Sigh. Didn't work. I still don't own the Harry Potter series and I'm still not making any money off of my writing.

Bad Author Notes: Ok Ok I make a mistake. No "S" at the end of Snape. Talk about ravage fans.

The reason this chapter is late is because life is HELL. If you need more info on why just contact me.

Not Just Tea

By Lady FoxFire

Feb. 24, 2002

A wrinkled hand slowly stoked the soft feathers of a phoenix. "Fawkes, how could I have been so blind? I had done everything with in my power to protect that boy from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but I never once thought to protect him from his family," Dumbledore said with a sad sigh. "I never once thought that they would hurt him no matter how cruel they were."

Dumbledore sat lost in his thoughts as he slowly continued to stoke his phoenix, when a timid knock rang through his office. Dumbledore sighed wearily as he was pulled back into the here and now. "Come in," he called out.

The door opened, and in stepped a pale Professor McGonagall and Professor Snapes, who had concern in his eyes as he watched his fellow teacher.

Dumbledore nodded to a couple of chairs in front of his desk. "I take it everything went well and that you were able to retrieve Harry's stuff?" He asked as they sat down.

Snape shook his head sadly. "Not exactly."

"Not exactly?" Dumbledore said curiously. "What do you mean not exactly?" He asked as he eyed the two professors in front of him.

McGonagall never raised her eyes to Dumbledore as she sat in her seat, lost in thought as she clutched something tightly to her chest. A feeling of deep sorrow radiated from her.

Snape sat quietly in his seat, his hands gripping the arms of the chair cruelly until he suddenly exploded out of his seat. "They're monsters! Every single one of them is a bloody monster!" He spouted angrily as he paced back and forth inside the room like a caged lion. "Fuck!" He exclaimed as he ripped the tie out of his hair, causing it to flow around his face. "It took all my willpower not to kill them all where they stood!"

Dumbledore sat farther back into his seat in shock; he had never seen Severus like this before. Snape was always calm and frigid, not this erupting volcano in front of him. "Perhaps if you would explain to me what happened," he said in a calm voice, not revealing his shock.

"They raped him!" Snapes shouted at Dumbledore with disgust in his voice. "They actually admitted it to me. His uncle and aunt told me that he and that pig of a cousin raped him repeatedly every day for weeks. And that bitch of an aunt didn't even try to protect her own blood. That she herself actually liked to hurt the boy." Snape slowly sank back into his seat with a look of sorrow and hopelessness on his face. "I don't understand how anyone could be so cruel to his own kin. I was a Death Eater and I don't understand."

They sat in silence for a few minutes; the only sound in the room came form the cracking fire and Fawkes preening his feathers. Dumbledore rested his head on the back of his chair and allowed his eyes to close. With a shaky voice, he commanded Snape to tell him what exactly happened in that house from the moment they arrived.

Snape told of how he destroyed the front door, how confronting the Dursleys, of how he and McGonagall separated, so she could search Harry's room and then how he interrogated the Dursleys. He went into detail about the fight the Dursleys had, even to imitating their voices at the time.

"And while we’re on that subject, Dudley didn’t seem to have any problems fucking that whore of a cousin. He was up there practically twice a day screwing his brains out," Snape said in Vernon Dursley's voice.

"Oh dear god." Dumbledore said softly as Fawkes sat on his shoulder and tried to comfort him. "Go on Severus, what happened next?"

Snape let out a shaky breath before continuing. "About that time, Minerva came downstairs looking shaky and pale with only a few items of Potter’s," he explained with a quick glance over at her, as she sat quietly staring down at the floor.

Snape’s face took on an embarrassed look and he fidgeted in his seat as he continued. "After some… persuading…"

"Persuading?" Dumbledore interrupted Severus’ tale as he observed Snape's sudden discomfort.

"Ummm…" Snape suddenly was stuck with a lack of words as a blush came to his checks. "I turned his uncle into a cockroach…" he mumbled as he tried not to look at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore almost laughed at the sight of prim and proper Snape acting like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Quite excusable. Please continue," he said without a trace of laughter in his voice.

"Yes, sir. As I was saying, after some careful persuading I was able to learn that the rest of Potter's stuff had been destroyed. This includes his wand," he said dismally.

"They destroyed everything?" Dumbledore said in a stunned voice

"Yes sir, with the exception of whatever McGonagall has," Snape replied in a dejected voice.

Dumbledore leaned forward. "What about Hedwig, Harry's owl?" he asked as he rested his head in his hands.

Snape shook his head sadly. "Hagrid is taking care of his bird, but it doesn't look good." Snape sat in silence for a moment. "Albus… I think if Potter… Harry cares a lot for that bird. I'm afraid that if he lost it that we might lose him."

Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement in silence. Slowly Dumbledore rose from his seat, as if all his years had finally caught up with him. In silence he walked over to his window and stared down at Hagrid's cottage. "What were you able to find, Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall continued to sit in her seat in silence, not even acknowledging the question. Dumbledore turned from his window to look at her. "McGonagall?"

McGonagall shook her head no as she clutched the items taken from Harry's room tighter.

"Minerva?" Dumbledore asked with concern in his voice as he knelt down in front of her and took one of her hands in his. "Minerva, what did you see in Harry’s room?"

Minerva raised her head just enough so she could look Dumbledore in the face, her eyes were awash in pain and sorrow. Seeing the concern in his face, she closed her eyes tight and turned her face away from him. After taking a shuddering breath, she opened her eyes and allowed them to focus on a Muggle toy that Dumbledore kept on his desk as she began her tale.

"In the war with Vol… with You Know Who, I’ve seen a number of his victims and the rooms in which he hurt them." Her eyes suddenly stared into Dumbledore. "But this was a child’s room." She hissed in pain. "How could anyone do such a thing?"

Dumbledore rocked back from the sound of her voice, never had he heard such pain and anguish from her, not in all the years he'd known her. Slowly he stood up, with a passing glance of concern for Snape, and turned back to his desk.

Using his wand, Dumbledore summoned a tea set with cream and sugar. Without saying a word, he poured tea for Snape, McGonagall and himself, then pulled a drawer open in his desk. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he pulled out a small blue bottle with a sigh of relief. Pulling the cork out, he lets two generous drops of electric blue liquid drip into each one of the tea cups. A puff of steam exploded from the cup as each drop touched the tea inside.

As gently as possible, Dumbledore took Harry's items from her as he pressed the teacup into her hands. "Drink it up, Minerva." He ordered before laying the items on his desk and handing Severus his cup.

McGonagall took a sip of the tea and sputtered as whatever was in the tea hit her.

"Finish it. It will help," Dumbledore commanded as he added cream to his cup.

They drank their tea in silence as Dumbledore quickly looked over the papers from Harry's room. With a nod of his head he placed them to the side. "I'll read those later," he said to himself. "Now Minerva, I want you to tell me everything you saw after you and Severus split up. Do you understand?'

McGonagall nodded yes with a glassy-eyed look on her face.

"Albus?" Snape said concernedly as he looked back and forth from the headmaster to McGonagall.

A small smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Don't worry, Severus. It’s only a small potion I found years ago that helps a person retell some disturbing event without distress," he explained before turning back to McGonagall. "Please begin your tale, my dear." He said as he settled back into his chair.

"I could tell that they were hiding something from us. They were practically terrified of us." Minerva said in a calm, dead voice as she stared at the Muggle toy on the desk. "I could smell the terror on the uncle as I passed by him. He didn't want me to go upstairs. He must have been afraid of what I might find, but he was too scared of Professor Snape to stop me."

McGonagall stopped, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing. "The second floor looked devastated. The first two rooms had things thrown around, furniture moved and closets standing open with everything that was in them thrown haphazardly out. It was as if someone was searching for something or someone."

"I'm willing to bet that they were searching for Harry," Snape interrupted. Nodding in agreement, Dumbledore asked her to continue her tale.

McGonagall licked her lips nervously as she remembered what she found next. "I could tell… even before I reached the last bedroom… that there was something wrong with this room. The room… it gave off a feeling of pain… of just wanting to die." She struggled to continue as tears started to form in her eyes.

"The bedroom door was half off its hinges when I opened it. The room was hot and dark inside, almost suffocating. And the smell." McGonagall’s voice trailed off as the memory forced her to relive that moment.

"What did it smell like, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked as he leaned forward, his eyes riveted to her face.

"Like blood and pain… And the smell of sex," she sobbed as she closed her eyes tight to keep the tears from escaping.

"Minerva." Dumbledore said in a calm, soothing voice. "I want you to open the door and step into the room. Once you're inside, I want you to tell me everything you see."

"It's dark. Very dark. The smell is worse inside." Her breath came out ragged. "There's no light switch inside. Remember one out in the hall."

"Step out and turn the light on," Dumbledore commanded, in the same calm, soothing voice.

McGonagall nodded her head. "Light on. Single naked bulb. Bare room. Window blocked up. Old bed and filthy mattress lying on it's side. Chains. Empty closet with broken door. Strange…"

"What is it, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked as he leaned towards her again. "What's strange?"

"Strange design on the walls and floor. Like someone splattered paint around…" McGonagall reached out to touch the walls in her memory. "Blood. It's blood." She said it in horrified shock as she stared at the hand in front of her. "It's everywhere… on the walls… the ceiling… the floor… I can see places where the wood floor is stained from the puddles of blood. So much blood!"

McGonagall started to shake from the sight of the blood on her hand, of the blood surrounding her. A whimper escaped her lips as she started to panic. "Minerva. The blood is gone. You don't see it anymore." Dumbledore commanded her in a firm voice, effectively ending her panic. McGonagall's body shuddered in relief as the sight of the blood vanished. "I need to look around the room. I need you to tell me where you found the few pieces of Harry's stuff."

McGonagall nodded her head in understanding. She sat in silence for a few minutes as Snape stole an uneasy glance at Dumbledore. "Something over in the far corner," she said finally, "Walking over." Minerva cocked her hear to the side as if listening to something. "The floor boards sound different… loose boards near where the bed was, I think… a hiding spot. Very good, Harry. Some stale bread… fabric, a cloak of some type… Harry's wand! Papers… with Harry's handwriting. 'It’s my hope that what I write will end up in the hands of a witch or wizard so that the world may learn what is happened to me if I do not survive this summer.' He wasn't expecting to live."

Dumbledore let out a weary sigh as he leaned back into his chair. "What was in the corner?" Snape asked as he watched McGonagall uneasily.

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Minerva. I need you look into the corner and tell me what you find," he said in a soothing voice.

A few minutes passed as in McGonagall's mind she walked over to the corner. "NOOOO!!!" She cried as she shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from crying out.

"When I count to three, you'll be back at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said quickly. "One. Two. Three."

Like getting hit with a bucket of ice cold water, McGonagall calmed down instantly. "Dumbledore?!?" she said in confusion.

"It's ok, Minerva. I used a potion to put you into a trance-like state so you could tell me what you saw in Potter's room," he explained gently as McGonagall wiped the tears from her face. "Can you tell me what you saw in the corner? You became very upset when we asked you before."

McGonagall became to twist her robes in her hands as she remembered what was in the corner. "I never expected to see any of those things anyplace like a child’s bedroom," she started to explain.

Dumbledore and Snape leaned towards her hanging on every word she said.

"Whips… chains and restraints… gags… cat o' nine tails and…" A sick blush appeared on her face. "Some other… adult items."

~*~

Sirius stood watching the sun slowly sink out of sight from the infirmary wing windows. When the last traces of light vanished from the sky, he turned back to the world inside. His eyes immediately came to rest on the thin form resting in the four-poster bed. Madam Pomfrey had been able to heal the internal damage, but sickly, greenish-tinged bruises still remained on his pale body, a visible reminder of what the child had suffered.

Harry began to thrash in his sleep, reliving the hell that was his life for the past few months. Gently Sirius reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair out of Harry's face. Even this gentle touch caused Harry to flinch and whimper in fear.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." Sirius sobbed. "It's all my fault. Everything that happened to you… it's all my fault." Tears poured down his face. "If I hadn't insisted on Peter being the Secret Keeper your parents never would have died. And you would never have been forced to live with those monsters."

Sirius wiped the tears from his face angrily. "I know I haven't been there for you when you needed me. Hell, I've been a lousy godfather to you." Sirius bit his lip in frustration as his hand hovered over Harry's hair, wanting to touch and comfort the child but unable to do it. "I may not be able to change the past, Harry, but I can promise you this. No one will ever hurt you again if I have anything to say about it." Sirius’ dead calm voice would have terrified anyone who had heard it.