Disclaimer: You know if I owned the series I would not have killed off #### in Book 5 (See I was nice no spoiler) I would have killed off Colin or Hagrid and maybe even Dumbledore but I would never have killed off ####. But I don't own the series and all I can do is hope #### isn't dead. He will live forever in my series (except for that one time I did kill him but he dared me too)

Bad Author Notes: I told you I would update and I did. so there. Actual I would still be working on this mess is it wasn't for my wonderful and talented Precious… ummm Beta. (Note to self: Lay off of the Lord of the Ring)

I Hate You

By Lady FoxFire

July 7, 2003

The deafening silence of the perfectly still night was broken by the soft crackling of the glowing hearth, the quiet scratches of the Headmaster's quill against the parchment, the occasional mummer from Fawkes, and the rustles from the many dust covered tomes that littered Albus Dumbledore’s desk.

The office door silently opened, ushering in the imposing form of Snape, with his face covered in red claw marks and the whites of his eyes tinted crimson— the color of blood. His wand suddenly appeared in his hand as he fixed his steely glare at the Headmaster. He raised his wand so that it pointed at Dumbledore’s heart, waiting for the old man to notice him.

Albus Dumbledore raised his head slowly from his work and peered introspectively at his trusted Potion Master and at the wand pointed at his heart.

"I hate you." Severus hissed venomously with all the hate and malice that he had hid within the depths of his soul, his wand never wavering from his intended victim.

Albus slowly set his quill down on his desk, his eyes never straying from the threat in from of him. "Did he believe?"

"Yes," Snape cried out impatiently as he lost the rigid stance that he had held, his wand dropping to his side. "By the Gods, I hate that man." Snape plopped tiredly into the chair in front of wizened wizard’s desk.

"What happened, my child?" Dumbledore asked concernedly as he poured Snape and himself a cup of tea.

Severus sat and sipped his tea quietly, gathering his thoughts before relaying what had occurred during the meeting. "I'm concerned about the source of the Dark Lord’s information. Who do you think told him I was at Potter's residence? And what happened to those Muggles?"

"Ah, the Dursleys." The twinkle in Dumbledore's periwinkle blue eyes hardened as he spoke. All around them, the trinkets in the room shook with the Headmaster’s anger. "I've been able to locate the boy, he is with his aunt right now. It seems as if both of his parents have abandoned him. Petunia was last seen on a ferry leaving for Dover. I still have my men searching for her. As for Mr. Dursley, he was last seen in Midlands. He has unfortunately slipped through our fingers."

~*~

Vernon stood at the side of the road, cursing the car, his wife, his son and of course, Harry, as he tried to repair the flat tire. "Damn bastard! Should have drowned him from the start." He muttered bitterly to himself as he pulled the spare from the boot. "Should have never married that whore when I found out about her sister."

The weeks on the run from the wizarding community had not been kind to Vernon. His skin now had a sickly yellow shade to it as it hung loosely from his body in flaps, due to rapid lost of weight. His eyes were ringed with dark shadows, making it appear as if he had two black eyes.

"They probably made the tire go flat," he continued to grumble to himself as he tightened the last nut on the wheel. "They think they can catch me! They won't! God is on my side. Those freaks will never find me. Nope, never find me. I lost them last time, and they're never going find me now!"

Putting the jack back into the boot, he continued to talk to himself. "It's not like it was my fault. That little slut wanted me to do it. He made me do it."

Vernon started up the car and got back on the road. "It wasn't my fault." He mumbled as he drove past the road sign saying 'Welcome to Liverpool.'

~*~

Remus Lupin sat comfortably next to Harry's bed reading aloud from a book. "The old man appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Except for his costume, which was even stranger than the medieval clothing the other dream people wore — the cerulean blue robes embroidered with silver moons and stars —he looked exactly the same as he had a few minutes ago out in the meadow.

"Taliesin," Hall called out in recognition.

The old man inclined his head. "That is my name by birth. But here I am known as Merlin." He smiled and bowed with a graceful flourish. "Welcome to Camelot." "

"A new book?" Dumbledore asked shutting the door behind him.

A soft woof came from Snuffles as he lay on the bed next to Harry. "The Forever King, by Cochran and Murphy." Remus softly replied with a shrug as he handed the book to the Headmaster. "Sirius seems to like it."

Snuffle's tongue hung droopily out of his jaws as he nodded his head happily.

Dumbledore handed the book back to Remus. "And Harry?"

Remus smiled down at the boy lying in the bed, his pallid hand intertwined with Snuffle's fur. "Improving. Hermione was right. It's a slow process, but he's starting to come out of it. He doesn't flinch any more if Snuffles or Trouble is with him." The Headmaster slowly nodded his head as he gazed down at the child he failed.

"Albus?" Remus asked softly, drawing the old wizard out of his thoughts. "What's going to happen when Harry awakes?"

"I don't know Remus." Dumbledore answered sadly. "I don't know."

~*~

Sirius sat in the chair next to Harry's bed reading his morning paper, sipping tea. Slowly his eyes began to close, his head sinking to his chest. With a jerk Sirius snapped himself out of a light dose. "I need to get more sleep," he mumbled half-heartedly as he poured himself another cup of tea, the wispy tendrils of steam tickling his nostrils as he took in the pleasant aroma.

Blowing the steam away, Sirius carefully took a swig of the bitter hot liquid. Yawning widely, he ran his free hand tiredly through his hair as he rest his other arm on the armrest of the wooden chair. Slowly, his eyes closed again only to be jerked awake again.

"Maybe I should switch to coffee," he joked with himself as he eyed his cup of tea. Once again his eyes began to close, his head slumping forward as he fell asleep.

"WOW! SHIT!" Sirius jumped hysterically from his seat, brushing frantically at his leg where he had spilled hot tea over himself.

Sirius let out a deep sigh as he looked down at the empty teacup on the floor, his comfortable chair and his wet pant leg. "Right. Time to… yawn… get… yawn… som…" Sirius collapsed to the floor in a deep sleep.

Sitting on top of Harry's chest, Trouble watched closely as Sirius crumpled into an insensible heap on the floor. "Meow," the kitten called out as it turned its attention to the boy underneath him.

Harry's emerald eyes snapped open. He rapidly blinked a couple of time as his eyes adjusted to the bright lighting. Slowly his head turned in the direction in which Sirius lay.

"Meow."

Turning his head back to the tiny black kitten, Harry raised a shaky hand and slowly petted the feline. The kitten closed its eyes and arched into Harry's hand as it started to purr gently. A small innocent smile graced Harry's face as he watched Trouble.

"Meow," the cat batted Harry's hand when the boy stopped stroking the kitten. Holding the kitten firmly against his chest, Harry struggled to sit up.

With great care, Harry swung one leg gingerly off the bed, followed closely by the other. He wobbled slightly, as he stood on his own to feet within an arm’s length of where his Godfather rested.

Harry looked down at Sirius in confusion as the older man snored as he slept soundly on the rug.

"Meow!"

Harry looked down at the kitten cradled in his arms. Trouble purred soothingly, almost as if it was trying to reassure Harry. Harry gave a barely noticeable nod of his head, before stepping over the prone figure of his godfather and walking towards the double doors.

~*~

Harry's bare feet made hardly any sound on the cold stone floor as he padded slowly down the empty hall, his kitten nestled comfortably within his arms. Pausing suddenly, he leapt into the shadows, and hugged Trouble closer to his chest. He held his breath as he listened to the echo of approaching voices.

"I don't know why the Baron won't do anything about Peeves." A woman's voice floated down the hall. "That pest is a danger to the students. Just today, he threw tubeworms into a potion that one of my Ravenclaws had been brewing. Luckily, there was no reaction, but still, he could have hurt or even killed one of the children."

"Oh come now, my Lady, Peeves may be an annoyance, but he isn't stupid. He would never intentionally endanger one of the children," the Fat Friar soothed, as he and the Grey Lady floated down the hall past the place were Harry hid from them.

Harry watched with widened eyes as they disappeared down the hall and through the wall as he nuzzled his cat closer towards him. He was just about to leave his hiding spot when a bell resounded the halls. Immediately, the doors lining the hall threw up and children of all ages emptied into the corridor.

"I'll never get this charm…"

"…that test was…"

"Binns is a bore."

As suddenly as the hall was filled with students, it was once again empty. Hesitantly, Harry stepped out of his hiding spot, to only hurry back into to it when he heard the sound of pattering feet running from down the hall. A scrawny first year ran down the hall, his books clutched in his arms.

Slowly, Harry slipped from his hiding spot once more. He glanced up and down the hall nervously as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Meow." Harry looked down at the cat snuggled in his arms and smiled. The cat began to purr softly as Harry started to amble down the halls once again.

"Miss Patil! Did I not tell you to add dragonroot before adding the blood smoke?" a voice bellowed angrily from an open door.

Harry tilted his head slightly to the side as he listened to the voice. Slowly, he strode to the doorway and peeked inside.

"You did, Professor, but I had a vision," Parvati explained in a dream like voice. "I had a vision that if I add the dragonroot before the other ingredients, something wonderful would happen."

"Yes. Like rid us of your presence forever," Snape snapped irritably at the young woman. "Unfortunately for all of us, you had already failed to make the potion correctly. If you had added the dragonroot," Snape pointed up, "Filch would be scraping your remains from the ceiling. Do not make that mistake again, Miss Patil!"

Harry stood in the doorway and cautiously watched as the greasy professor lectured the girl about following directions when another voice suddenly spoke up. "Well if it's isn't the Golden Boy. Fucked any Muggles recently?"

All eyes turned first to Draco then to the Boy-Who-Lived. "See!" Parvati squealed with joy. "I told you: add the dragonroot first and something great would happen. I brought Harry back!"

The classroom was filled with noise as everyone started to talk at once; some of the students even moved towards Harry to greet him. Harry's eyes became wide at the noise of the scraping of desks and the people surging towards him. He took a few steps back until his back was pressed against the wooden door. He seemed to huddle himself around Trouble, petting the cat while peering shyly at everyone and everything.

"SIT DOWN!" Snape barked loudly.

Immediately the students fled to their seat, none wanting to evoke the wrath of their formidable menacing Potions Master.

"The whore of Gryffindor returns," Malfoy muttered loud enough so the class could hear him.

"Fifty points from Slytherin," Snape announced venomously as she stared at Malfoy with contempt.

"What!" Draco's mouth hung open in shock. "You can't do that!"

"One hundred points from Slytherin."

"But… But…" Malfoy babbled incredulously as he started wide-eyed at the head of his house.

"Would you care to make it two hundred and detention for a month?" Snape snarled at the uncrowned Slytherin prince

Draco's mouth snapped shut with an audible snap as he shock his head no.

"I thought not," Snape drawled snidely with a smirk as he turned his attention towards Harry. "Harry," Snape beckoned in a calm, comforting tone as he edged towards the boy, "it's alright. You're safe here at Hogwarts. No one will harm you here."

Harry's eyes widened with fear as he slowly edged his way out of the room. Trouble let out a pain-filled meow as Harry clutched the cat desperately closer towards his body, his eyes fixated on the Potion Master.

"Sir!" Hermione whispered loudly. "You're frightening him."

Snape nodded his head and slowly took a couple of steps back, his eyes watching Potter the whole time. "Miss Granger," Snape called with a nod of his head at Harry, "perhaps he will respond to you."

Hermione nodded her head and rose from her seat. "Harry. It's me, Hermione," She beckoned softly as she slowly made her way over to him. "Do you remember me?"

Harry cocked his head to the side; his eyes took on a slight glassy look to them. Slowly, he began to nod his head.

Hermione face broke out into a smile. "Good. Now Harry, can you tell my why you are down here?" she asked gently as she continued to edge closer to him.

Trouble meowed softly and nudged Harry's hand with her nose. Harry looked down at the cat and smiled. His smile faded as he looked up at Hermione.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it abruptly with an audible click.

Hermione smiled and nodded her head, trying to encourage him to speak. "It's okay, Harry. No one will hurt you."

Harry cocked his head to the side and looked at Hermione. "H… Hun… Hungry." Harry quickly looked down at the floor, drawing Trouble closer to him.

"You’re hungry, Harry?" Hermione prompted in a soft, mollifying voice.

Harry looked through the thick raven locks of hair shielding his face from view at Hermione and slowly nodded his assent.

Hermione smiled at her friend. "Would you like to go to the Great Hall and get something to eat?"

Harry backed away, his body trembling with fear, as he shook his head no.

"How about the kitchens? You could see Dobby. Would you like that? To eat in the kitchen?"

Harry stilled for a moment then slowly he nodded his head.

The smile of Hermione's face grew. "Alright, lets go to the kitchen and get you something to eat. We could get Trouble some milk too. Does that sound good?"

Harry nodded his head again, a small smile appeared on his lips and he cradled the ebony colored kitten in his arms.

Hermione turned and nodded to Professor Snape as she escorted Harry out of the classroom.

As the door shut behind the two Gryffindors, the classroom exploded with questions.

"SILENCE!" Snape roared.

Every mouth snapped shut with a snap. An evil smirk appeared on Snape's sallow face at how well his students obeyed him. "Mr. Weasley, go call the Headmaster here immediately and inform him that Potter is awake and out of his room. Longbottom, inform Madam Pomfrey and the mutt what happened. Mr. Thomas, inform Professors McGonagall and Lupin of what has happened."

The Gryffindor boys rushed out of the room, off into the directions of their destination.

"Umm, Professor Snape?" Lavender asked raising her hand nervously. "What's going on, sir?"

"That is not for you to know, Miss Brown," the head of Slytherin snarled. "I expect the rest of you to continue with today's lesson."

The students turned back towards their potions. Their eyes drifted over to the door as they whispered hurriedly to each other.

"Eyes on you work and mouths shut!" Snape growled as he passed behind Crabbe and Goyle. "If I hear anything from anyone of you, the entire class will receive detention for two months!"

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore chided softly, stepping into the room with Ron trailing meekly behind him, "I hardly think that would be necessary."

"I assume that Mr. Weasley has told you what has occurred," Snape stated with the first traces of distress showing in his voice.

"Yes. Yes," the Headmaster answered sorrowfully. "Young Mr. Weasley informed me about everything, even about Potter's behavior. Hopefully, it's a temporary side effect of coming out of his illness."

"And what if it isn't?" Ron spoke up; his hands curled up angrily into fists. "What if that bastard damaged his mind? What if he's like that forever? I don't want to lose my best friend like that!"

"We will know something after Poppy has a chance to examine him, Ron. Remember, Harry is strong; he won't let something like this defeat him, no matter what," Dumbledore placated, patting Ron on the shoulder.

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore took a couple of steps toward his Potion Master, "why don't you escort Ron up to the Hospital Wing."

"But… I…" Snape sputtered in confusion as he pointed towards his class.

Dumbledore gently guided the younger man towards the door. "It will be no problem, Severus, I'm quite capable of dealing with a roomful of students," the old man announced with a twinkle in his eyes as he firmly shut the door.

~*~

"Sleeping" George began.

"Like," Fred continued.

"A baby," the twins cooed together as the looked down at the sleeping form of Sirius Black as he lay on his bed.

The twins turned and grinned evilly at each other, raising their wands they quickly got to work.

"Sirius," George called sweetly as he shook Sirius's shoulder. "It's time to wake up."

"No," Sirius grumbled as he rolled over, burying his face deeper into his pillow as he pulled the covers over his head. "Go away."

"Sirius, you need to wake up," The singsong voice beckoned once again but more firmly as one of the twins tugged at the covers. The only reply from Sirius was a loud snore.

"Alright," the twins turned to leave the room. "We'll be sure to tell Harry that you just wanted to sleep."

"What? Harry?" Sirius exclaimed, throwing off the covers and tumbling out of bed. "When? How?"

"Harry woke up," Fred exclaimed with a grin

George's grin mirrored his brother’s as he finished the sentence, "While you slept."

Sirius looked at the twins in confusion. "Harry's awake?" The twins nodded their head, grinning. "Awake … awake? Talking, walking, awake?"

"Talking walking and eating awake." One of the twins said as both of them rocked back and forth on the balls of their feet. "And currently in his room with Madame Pomfrey. She's…"

Sirius didn't hear to the rest of what the twins were saying as he pushed them out of the way and bolted from his room to Harry's.

"Harry?" Sirius called out as he flung the door open.

"You!" Remus snarled, his eyes blazing with fury as he sprung out of his chair. Grabbing Sirius by the collar, Remus slammed him into wall. "How dare you come barging in after you let Harry wake up alone and just amble out of the Hospital Wing! He could have been KILLED! HARRY NEEDED YOU AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN BE THERE!"

"I'm sorry," Sirius mumbled looking down at the floor, "I tried to stay awake. I was about to call from someone when I fell asleep."

"I don't want to listen to your pitiful excuses any more," Remus growled angrily as he let the wolf inside of him to show. "Lily and James trusted you to watch after Harry. Hell I trust you and this is how you repay us."

"I… I…"

"Now Remus, I think you're being too hard on Sirius," Dumbledore placated as he rested a hand on Lupin's shoulder.

Remus shrugged his shoulder knocking Dumbledore's hand away. "Too hard on him? Too hard on him! He let Harry wander the halls! Anything could have happen to him! And you're say I'm being too hard on him!?"

"It wasn't his fault," Madame Pomfrey asserted sternly as she stepped away from Harry's bed.

"Not his fault?" Remus turned on Pomfrey snarling at the woman. "He fell asleep!"

"He was hexed." Pomfrey stated simply in a tone which one would use to calm an upset child.

"WHAT?"

"Have a seat, Sirius," Pomfrey entreated as she waved the man towards an empty chair. "I need to see if there was any lasting damage."

"But… But there was no one else in the room!" Sirius argued exasperatedly as he stumbled over to the chair.

"But there was someone there," Pomfrey countered as she slowly moved her wand over Sirius. "Harry was in the room."

"Are you saying Harry hexed Sirius, causing him to fall asleep?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"Exactly."

"Poppy, perhaps you could explain to everyone what is going on," the Headmaster suggested.

"Very well, Albus. Harry's condition is rather complex," Pomfrey stated slowly as she brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face. "He is not fully awake yet."

"What do you mean, not awake?" Ron cried indignantly. "He was down in the dungeons walking around. Bloody hell, he was even talking to Hermione." Ron waved a hand over towards his fellow Gryffindor, who sat very still on the floor; her knees curled up towards her chest.

"He was talking to me, but it was like he was a child," Hermione whispered quietly, her eyes red from unshed tears. "He acted like he was three, or maybe four years of age. I... I think… There must have been some…"

"Brain damage," Remus finished Hermione's statement somberly as he looked down at the floor, not daring to catch anyone's eyes.

Pomfrey smiled at Hermione's comment. "Actually, Harry's behavior is a good sign. A very good sign."

"A good sign! A good sign of what?" Ron shocked he's face gradually turned red as he grew more and more impatient with the medi-witch. "That he's has brain damage? That my best friend will be a child forever?!"

"Quite the opposite, in fact," Pomfrey replied in a lecturing tone. "It mean there is no brain damage, and that he should make a full recovery in time."

Sirius shook his head as if to clear the confusion from his mind. "Let me get this straight. Harry placed a hex on me so he can wander around Hogwarts unhindered as he behaves like a four-year-old. And this is because he doesn't have any brain damage and will recover fully?"

"Exactly."

Remus and Sirius shared a look of incredulity between them as Ron and Hermione stared at the woman in shock.

"Poppy," Remus said cautiously as he stepped closer to the older woman, "I think you need to take a break. Between caring for Harry and the other students, you're overworked."

Pomfrey huffed indignantly at Remus’s insult. "I am not overworked. And if you used that head of yours for a moment, you would realize that I am right," she retorted sternly as she glared at Lupin. "I spent a number of years cramming your head full battlefield healing. You should know what's wrong with him"

Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "Poppy, pretend that none of us have a clue what you're talking about, and tell us what the bloody hell is wrong with Harry!"

"Esploratore Addormentato."

Remus jaw dropped open as she he stared at the woman in shock.

"Esploratore Addormentato?" Ron mumbled in confusion. "Sleeping scout?"

"It's a rare condition one normally finds in wizards or witches who have been severely injured on the battlefield," Remus explained slowly, his brow deeply furrow in thought.

"Or suffered from prolonged torture," Pomfrey corrected.

"But what is it?" Sirius growled in frustration.

"It's a form of protection," Remus clarified as he sat down next to Sirius. "Image the brain—the mind— as an army. This army has been forced to retreat into a safe place."

"Into a coma?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded his head. "The army doesn't know if the enemy is still out there waiting to destroy it. So the army sends out a scout who appears harmless."

"That’s why he hexed me," Sirius muttered in a dejected tone. "He thought I was an enemy."

"No," Pomfrey spoke up. "Harry would have stunned anyone within a given distance when the scout was sent out. He would not be able to tell the difference between friend and foe. The only reason your were knocked out, was because you where there."

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. "So now what?"

"We wait," Pomfrey announced with a shrug of her shoulders. "As he gradually feels safer around us, the he'll become more open."

"So it wasn't Sirius's fault that Harry was wondering the halls?" Fred, or was it George, asked nervously as both red haired boys glanced over at the former Marauder nervously.

Pomfrey sighed wearily. "No, it was not Sirius's fault."

"Oh," the twins uttered meekly as they turned to Sirius. "Sorry, Sirius."

"Sorry?" Sirius repeated in confusion, "What are you sorry for?" Sirius eyes widened, as he realized what the twins were not saying. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Just a few little innocent charms." George, or was it Fred, explained as he nervously played with his wand.

"Couple curses." The other brother added with a shrug

"Simple spells."

"Nothing harmful."

"Just irritating."

"They should wear off in a couple of hours." The twins started to back towards the exit, never taking their eyes off of Harry's godfather.

"Or days."

"Or weeks."

~*~

Draco sat in Slytherin common room, hunched over his transfiguration report. His tongue stuck out slightly as he added the finishing touches to his paper.

"DRACO!"

"Yow!" Draco exclaimed as he bit his tongue in surprise.

"Draco, I can't remember anything since lunch on Tuesday," Pansy moaned as she plopped down limply next to Draco, leaning on his shoulder. "Do you remember anything?" she cooed, batting her eyelashes at him

Draco rolled his eyes as started to gather his work, shoving it into his bag. "Pansy, no one remember anything since Tuesday."

Pansy stuck her lips out in a pout. "It's all Longbottom's fault. Only he could mess up a simple hair coloring potion," she whined. "I can't believe Snape didn't try to have him expelled, or at least give him detention for the rest of the year."

Draco sighed resignedly. "Pansy, for the last time, Snape doesn't even know if it was Longbottom, and without proof, the Griffindork bitch won't let her precious little brats get what they deserve."

"Well, we should do something about that," Pansy stated with a sniffle as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We should… Umm… We should…"

"When you figure something out, tell me," Draco drawled in a conceded tone as he started towards the boy's dorms.

Slamming the door to his private room behind him, Draco threw his school bag onto his bed. "What a fat cow," he mumbled bitterly under his breath as he pulled his school robes off. "I can believe father wishes me to marry her. She belongs in a pig sty, not in my bed."

"You know, talking to oneself is a sign of emotional problems, deary," a voice called

"Shut up!" Draco snarled angrily as he turned and glared at the mirror that was imbedded into the wall. "If I ever find the person who put that unbreakable charm on you, they will be very sorry," he growled.

"Oh I highly doubt that, deary," the mirror replied snidely, "I’m sure that they would be very happy that I've lasted this long."

"Whatever," Draco snarled as he fell back onto his bed, "Just shut up so I can get some work done without being disturbed."

Pulling his books out of his bag, Draco started to flip through his Potions notes, when he suddenly stopped and stared in confusion at a note he found at the bottom of the page.

Potter is here.

~*~

Esploratore Addormentato (Italian) - Sleeping Scout