Chapter 3
It has been three days since an injured Harriet arrived at Malfoy Manor. All the Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange, worried about the Savior. When Narcissa and Severus told their Lord about Harriet's injuries, he was surprised to see her breathing. The Dark Lord couldn't believe Dumbledore would let some disgusting muggle treat her like a sex slave. They would all check on her every hour to ensure her vitals were okay.
In all the chaos, the Inner Circle would take turns caring for the crying Sirius. He would only calm down when Tom Riddle had him in his arms. Today, Tom was watching over him in Harriet's room. The little boy was finally asleep after crying for dinner and his mother. He sighed tiredly, wondering how a teen could take care of a child while dealing with school and someone out there to kill him. In the silence, there was a whimper. Harriet was thrashing in her sleep. "Harriet! Harriet, wake up," The Dark Lord yelled.
Harriet gasped for air when he woke up. She was sweating, unaware of her surroundings. "Wha- Voldemort! Where is my son!" She said, backing away from the man. The teen kept yelling all sorts of threats to the man wanting to her son. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON!"
"Listen, Potter, if you would-"
"Mama," A child cried. "MAMA!" His last call was loud.
Harriet looked over to the crib to see her baby stand up for the first time, begging to be held by her. "Oh, baby, mama's here." She carried him, pressed his little head against her chest, and kissed his face. "Mama is okay."
"Potter, I need to talk about—" he approached her, causing her to flinch and walk away.
"Get out," she said.
"Potter," He hissed.
"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" Harriet yelled, letting a backlash of magic throw Tom out of the room. As a result, the door's room was completely broken. When the angry Dark Lord wanted to retaliate, a barrier prevented his access to the room.
The young mother turned to check her year-old baby for injuries. She smiled at her son, who was cooing. His chubby little hands found their way to her long, silky, onyx hair. "No, SJ. Don't pull Mama's hair." She laughed.
A handful of people went to their Lord's aid outside the room. They were not surprised by the Savior's reaction but were surprised to see what she had done. Narcissa and Severus were healing the head that the Dark Lord had using a healing balm and pain potion. "My Lord, what happened?" Narcissa said.
"Potter woke up," He barked, pushing her away. "That's what happened!"
Narcissa sighed and tried to reason with her Lord. She knew Harriet would retaliate whenever someone she distrusted would approach her, especially when her son was involved. Her Lord needed to understand that her mental healing had a long way to go. "My Lord, you should keep your distance for a while. Potter may never be comfortable with men she doesn't trust," Lady Malfoy explained.
Voldemort sighed and left the area. He understood what Lady Malfoy was saying since he, too, went through physical abuse. "Narcissa, I think we should check on Potter's injuries," Severus said.
"Yes, but first, we need to know if we pass through the wards he placed in the room," She got close to the door and was able to enter the room, unlike Severus. "Miss Potter," the Lady called.
Harriet's attention snapped to see the elegant Lady in her room. "You must be Mrs. Malfoy," The young mother said.
"Please, call me Cissa or Cissy, Miss Potter." The older woman smiled.
"Then please, call me Harri," she replied, setting SJ to face Narcissa. I'm sorry for the door... I don't know what came over me."
"It's perfectly normal for you to react that way, Harri. You and your son have been through a horrible experience. What those vile muggles did to you was wrong," Narcissa said. "If I could get my hands on them, I would kill them. Now, I am here to check on your in-"
"I don't want to sound arrogant or ungrateful, but I want Poppy to check my injuries. She has been tending my wounds since first year."
"She knew about your abuse?" Narcissa gasped.
Harriet nodded. "She threw a fit at the number of injuries I had and sent a report to the Ministry, but Dumbledore stopped it from reaching an Auror. So, all she could do was heal me."
"So it's true." The Lady mumbled.
"What's true? If you don't mind me asking, who brought me here?"
"The fact that Dumbledore did this to you. He destroyed your childhood innocence to keep his pawn loyal to him." She explained with an angry tone. "But Severus brought you here, and I thank Dobby for reaching out to him." Her last words were a soothing mother.
Harriet sank back to her bed, letting her son crawl to her stomach. Now, all her enemies knew how pathetic and dirty she was. "How long was I out?"
"Three days."
"Three days?!" She jumped back up, carefully holding her child. "Was SJ fuzzy? Did he have his teething ring? Has he been drinking his potions? Did Dobby bring his blanket and plushie? He can't sleep with-"
"Slow down, Harri," Cissa interrupted. "What potions?"
The teen took a deep breath, remembering what had happened to SJ. "When he was born, he would wake up just five minutes or less after I put him to sleep. He wasn't hungry, he wasn't in pain, and he didn't have a dirty nappy. The mother explained. "After a month with no changes, Poppy decided to see what was happening in his dreams every night. Since the spell she would perform was harmless, I told her to check him... It turned out that he was seeing his mother brought to her knees and tortured by your Lord. So, before his bedtime, I gave him a drop of dreamless sleep every day."
"But, why give him Sleeping Draught each time he sleeps?"
"Because Poppy and I believe that he's a Seer. So, I give him the potion to stop him from having horrible visions." Harriet explained. "I know, I should let the gift grow, but..."
"You don't want him to suffer for it..." Harriet nodded. "Harriet, would it be alright if Severus and I ask for Poppy?"
Harriet nodded while she played peekaboo, filling the room with the child's laughter. Narcissa met with Severus in the hall, telling him of Harriet's request, and he immediately obliged. He flooed to his quarters and ran to the medical wing to see a worried Mediwitch. "Poppy..." he called.
"Oh, Severus," she sighed, brushing away a few tears. "What can I do for you?"
"There has been an accident that requires your assistance," The Potion Master said. "Is your Floo Network open?"
"Yes, what was the accident?"
"I'll explain when we get there. Malfoy Manor!" In the manor, Severus led Poppy to Harriet's room. Once the Mediwitch saw the teen, all her composure fell. It was the first time Severus had seen her cry.
"What did he do, Harriet?" She yelled.
Harriet flinched at the yelling and looked away. "It wasn't their fault; it was mine. I forgot the cooling charms for SJ's food and put it in the fridge..." She mumbled. Since they weren't home, I let SJ take fruit from the fridge. It was my fault. I know a freak can't eat food, but SJ was hungry. I couldn't let him starve."
"Harriet, how often do I tell you you are not a freak?" She hushed. "They are. You didn't deserve what they did to you. What happened to you to leave without calling me? Dobby came in three days ago worried about you, and I didn't receive any messages."
"He was going to hit SJ like he hits me..." The girl sobbed. Her breathing was unsteady, remembering what had happened. "He got so angry. He was angrier... He took off his belt and whipped me till the floor was all bloody. SJ wouldn't stop crying, and I got in the way when he wanted to punch my baby. It's all my fault... SJ shouldn't have seen that. He was in my closet every night, and his dad came again. He wanted to have fun with his favorite celebrity. He was a big fan... I couldn't say no; uncle Vernon was in the room... Please, I'll be a good girl. Please stop hurting me." The teen had completely forgotten where she was. She pressed her knees against her chest and moved back and forth. "Please, Uncle Vernon, stop."
"Harriet, sweetie, you are safe; you are not with the Dursleys." She reached to wrap the young mother in a hug, but it only made it worse. Harriet flinched and backed away to a corner of the headboard. Severus, I need you to take the boy out of this room. SJ, come to grandma."
The boy looked torn between his mother and "grandmother." He looked back and forth to the two parental figures he knew; he wanted his mother, but he could feel she was distressed. After a long time deciding, SJ crawled to his grandmother's embrace. "Now, you will stay with this man until mommy is okay."
SJ cocked his head, not understanding what she was saying. "Come, SJ," Severus said.
The boy looked at who called him and smiled brightly, "Pappy!" He asked for Severus to pick him up, giggling uncontrollably. "Pappy!" He yelled once more.
Severus cocked an eyebrow, not understanding why the kid called him that. The professor carried the boy, who began playing with the greasy hair. The little boy giggled when "his Pappy" started bouncing him as he left his mommy's room.
Once the Mediwitch was sure the baby was out of the room, she began her daily routine with Harriet. She looked at the teen, staring into space and moving back and forth. "Harriet, can you look at me? Look at Poppy," she hushed. Harriet looked at the Healer,, petrified at what she might do. "It's okay. I just want to help you."
Harriet shook her head, "Freaks don't deserve help."
"Oh, honey, you are not a freak. The people who said that are wrong. You are a special girl, and people love you and want to help you get better. SJ is waiting for his mum to get better." She hushed. The frightened teen tentatively crawled towards Poppy. I promise nobody will hurt you. You are safe and loved. Everything will be fine." Poppy extended her hand to Harriett until she received the adult's embrace. The teen sobbed hysterically.
"I was so reckless, Poppy. He could have killed him; Vernon could have killed SJ because I was reckless. I was a useless freak, and Vernon would have killed him if I didn't step in." She sobbed. "I almost killed my baby! S-SJ could have died!"
"You listen to me; you did all you could to protect your son. The only one responsible for all of this is Dumbledore and the Dursleys." Poppy cleared. "Harriet, you can start a new one now. The people here will help you do that."
Harriet wiped her tears and took a deep breath. "I doubt Voldemort will want me to get better."
"I don't know about him, but I know that Mrs. Malfoy and Severus will help you through this. I promise."
"You think so?"
The Mediwitch chuckled. "If you don't trust me, trust your son's judgment. He started calling Severus Pappy for some reason."
"I think SJ will destroy the dungeon bat's reputation by the end of this week." The teen giggled.
"Enough of chit-chat; I need to do what I was called for." The Healer said. She performed a body scan and reviewed the results; she was happy. "Now, you'll need to drink the nutrition potion thrice until you are adequately healthy. All your injuries have healed perfectly, even the bones I couldn't heal a year before. Has Sj been drinking his pain potion to soothe his teething?"
"No, I don't think Snape brought me... HEDWIG! She's still at the Dursleys!" Harriet yelled.
"Take it easy, Harri, call Dobby."
"Dobby." The house el popped in. "Please get all of my things from the Dursleys and Hedwig."
"Yes, Miss Harri!" The house elf replied, popping out of the room.
Following the elf's disappearance, Severus knocked on the door's frame, asking for entrance. "The insufferable brat has been crying for his mother."
Harriet's eyes traced an energetic and hyper SJ trying to free himself from Snape's tight grip. "Mama!" He then bit the professor's hand and wiggled out of his "imprisonment" to run to his mother.
"You are walking, baby!" Harriet gasped. The young mother walked towards her son and kneeled to pick him up. "Poppy, did you see that?"
The Healer nodded with a bright smile while the Potion Master scowled. "Potter, the Dark Lord is requesting your presence." He said.
"You can tell him I'm not going. If he wants to talk, he has to swear he will not attack me or my son." She replied.
"I ensured he wouldn't attack when I asked for sanctuary on your behalf." He snarled.
Harriet looked over to Poppy. "I'll be there no matter what you choose, Harriet." The teen took a deep breath and left her room to face Voldemort again. This time, she was hoping SJ wouldn't need to see his mother in pain.