Silent Suffering

Spells

'Thoughts'

::Parseltongue::

::Parseltongue Spell::

Professor McGonagall sorted all of the first years and they all made their way to their tables. Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore stood up to make his welcome speech, as usual.

"Welcome, new and old students," he said with an obnoxious smile on his face, "What a wonderful year this will be. I am glad we have all arrived safe, and we will eat soon as I am sure your young bellies could use some filling. Now, some announcements for all years. A list of the banned items is in Mr. Filch's office and includes all products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The Dark forest is forbidden, and as such nobody is allowed in unless accompanied by a teacher."

Harry resisted the urge to fall asleep at the table, he was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. His magic was taking a toll on him and the wonderful potion Luna had given him earlier was starting to wear off.

When Dumbledore continued, he appeared, to Harry, to look very tense at the words he spoke, "And may we all welcome your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Lucius Malfoy. Let us hear what he has to say." There was a proper amount of applause and Harry glanced over to see the dumbstruck look on Draco's face. He didn't think the blond looked like he wanted his father here very much.

Lucius stood up and looked over the hall, before addressing the students, "Good evening all. The Board of Governors has chosen to place me here as your teacher because it has appeared that all of your past teachers have been severely lacking. We are also reviewing the performance of the school and have decided on a resort for years 5 through 7."

The mention of a resort brought out explosive reactions from most of the older years. Nobody wanted to leave the house they were in. Dumbledore also looked like he was holding back a murderous expression. Yells of outrage were heard through the hall until they caught sight of the irritated and unimpressed look on Malfoy Sr. face and they all fell quiet.

"As I was saying," the blond professor said with a glare, "Years 5 through 7 will be resorted because the board believes that your personality changes from when you first enter. Just because you are being resorted does not mean you are not able to stay in your current house if it still does not suit you. The Board will deliberate at the end of the year if we will always resort children when they reach their 5th year. I look forward to seeing you in my classroom."

Malfoy Sr. sat down and Dumbledore stood up, his face tense, but a fake smile on. "We will do the resorting at the end of the Feast. Prefects will go first and will remain prefects, no matter what house they stay in. If a house is without prefects, the Head of House will choose and let you know tomorrow. Enjoy your meal," he ended his speech with a clap of his hands in which all of the food popped into existence.

Harry looked around to see that there was actually quite a few vegetable near him. He still couldn't eat normal foods for another 3 weeks at least because of his creature inheritances. He put a small piece of bread, broccoli and an apple on his plate and ate slowly. As he got more exhausted, he could feel his mind fading from him and falling into the stupor he usually lived in while at the Dursley's.

Occasionally he would catch the concerned looks that Hermione would give him as he sat there avoiding conversation, but he kept his head down and tried to avoid her attempts at trying to catch his eye.

Eventually, the feast died down, and the food disappeared. Once this happened, Professor McGonagall stood up and walked in front of the head table, standing beside the stool that held the sorting hat still.

"If all 5th through 7th years could come here. I will call you all one by one starting with the Head Boy and Girl and Prefects and then move on from the 7th years and lower. Once sorted, you will go sit at your table without complaint," McGonagall said sternly at the uncomfortable looking students.

Harry got up with everyone else and moved to the front of the hall; he stood with Hermione, Neville, and Luna on his right and Draco, Theo, and Blaise on his left.

"Looks like your father surprised everyone with this, huh," Harry whispered towards Draco as a Gryffindor seventh year girl got resorted into Ravenclaw.

Draco huffed. "He is never going to hear the end of it. 'You'll have an interesting year' he told me before I left," the blond boy mumbled angrily.

Harry watched as the Head Boy and Girl were sorted into their original houses, along with the Draco and Parkinson and the Hufflepuff Prefects which surprised no one. He watched intently as Anthony Goldstein was kept in Ravenclaw, but Padma Patil was sorted into Gryffindor. Harry didn't think this was too bad as she could now be with her sister, though Hermione would have to share prefect duties.

Up next, Ron was quickly sorted back into Gryffindor, and Hermione was sorted, unsurprisingly, into Ravenclaw. He thought that she would fit in much better there.

Harry zoned out as the rest of the seventh years got sorted. He just wanted to get this sorting over with. He didn't even care if he went into Gryffindor anymore.

He noticed when the sixth years started getting called and tried to pay attention for his year. All of the Slytherin's stayed in their house; one Ravenclaw was sorted into Hufflepuff; one Hufflepuff went into Gryffindor, and then the time came for Gryffindor 6th years to be sorted.

Neville was sorted into Hufflepuff, Seamus and Dean were sorted back into Gryffindor, and then it was his turn.

Harry walked slowly up to the hat, having barely heard it say his name. He sat down on the stool and heard it start speaking in his head, "Oooooh, little one you are so close to accepting your fate. Make sure you pay attention to my little song from earlier, for it will help you in many ways. This night is going to be an important one for you. Now we both know where you originally belonged so are you going to fight any longer? No? Well good, we have it then....

SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted from his head and shocked every single person except for Luna. Slowly he made his way over to the Slytherin's table and sat next to Draco who stared at him with shock.

"Might wanna close you mouth Draco, you'll catch flies," Harry said as he sat down.

Draco's mouth snapped shut and Blaise snorted and choked on his laughter from beside him.

"What the bloody fuck, Potter? Why are you in Slytherin?" Draco snapped at him. Harry watched the anger blossom in Dumbledore's eyes as he responded absentmindedly, "It's Harry, Draco. And I've always belonged in Slytherin, but you were a prat 1st year so I didn't want to be near you." He chose to ignore the look of indignation on Malfor Jr.'s face and watched as his other dorm mates got sorted into their original house and Luna got sorted back into Ravenclaw.

As it continued, Harry lost track of time and stared at the same spot on the table with a neutral expression, unaware of the daggers being thrown at his back by his new Head of House.

The resorting finished and everyone started to get up. Draco told Blaise the password and then left to do his Prefect Duties. Theo noticed that Harry was still sitting down, oblivious to the fact that anyone was getting up, but before he could get his attention, their Head of House came down in a fury and put his hand harshly on Harry's shoulder.

Harry, feeling the hard hand pressing harshly into the burn on his left shoulder, flinched violently away from the contact. "Fuck," he gasped out and quickly stood up and spun around to see who had touched him.

When he saw the black teaching robes that could only belong to Severus Snape, he cowered back a little and refused to meet the professor’s eyes.

Snape sneered down at him and spoke, "Well, Potter. It looks as if I receive the misfortune of being your Head of House this year. And I do believe you just earned yourself detention for the use of foul language. What a pity. It shall be completed now. Meet me in my classroom in 15 minutes." With that, the Professor left the Great Hall without another word.

Harry groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. He was exhausted and did not think he could make it through a detention in one piece. Blaise looked at him as they walked down towards the dungeons. "That really sucks, mate. He hates you more than I thought. Now you have to worry about him and Professor Malfoy teaming up on you," he snickered.

"Don't make him panic over nothing. Draco's father should be fine, probably. One of us will be up waiting for you after your detention, though, so don't worry. We won't let the mean nasty snakes bite you," Theo replied with a wink.

They walked down and left Harry outside of Snape's classroom door before heading towards the Slytherin dormitory.

Harry knocked on the door and only entered once he heard Snape tell him to. Once he stepped into the room he noticed that Snape was sitting at his desk, writing something quickly without looking up to even acknowledge him.

Harry walked up to the desk and stopped when he was about a foot back from the desk. He folded his hands together and stared at the ground as he waited for Professor Snape to finish what he was doing and inform him what he was to do.

Harry let his attention wander until he heard the sharp voice from right in front of him. "Well, Potter," Snape sneered, angry the boy would not look him in the face, "It seems as if you've learned the concept of showing up early instead of late. Maybe next time, you'll watch your tongue, boy."

Harry flinched harshly at the use of the term 'boy,' and knew his mental strength would not hold up if he did not get this over with as fast as possible. "Yes, sir. I am sorry, sir," Harry said quietly, his eyes never leaving the floor.

Severus Snape was baffled and angered by the actions of the boy in front of him. He had no idea why he was acting this way or why he would actually be respectful to him of all teachers.

"You'll be cleaning the class, Potter. You are going to scrub down the floors and tables, all without using cleaning spells," the Professor snapped at him, assuming Harry would not be at all used to doing it the muggle way. He didn’t expect for Harry to finish an eighth of the class.

Harry nodded before replying, "Yes, sir. Could you summon me a bucket, a scrub brush, and a few towels, please sir?" Harry wasn't too averse to cleaning the muggle way, seeing as he had been doing it for 16 years of his life, but wasn't sure if he would actually have the energy to finish it all.

Severus sneered at Harry before summoning the items for the boy. He went back to his desk and watched as Potter grabbed the towels with his right hand and put one around his neck while placing the other three on the table. Harry put the scrub brush in the bucket and picked the bucket up before heading over to the sink.

Severus was astounded that the boy had gone as far as to fill up the bucket from the sink instead of just using a spell. He had never said he couldn't, just that cleaning spells were not allowed. As he watched he realized that the boy seemed to favor his right side more than his left and that bending down to the ground caused a few winces and a sharp hiss.

He got angrier as he watched the boy, realizing he wasn't complaining or slacking, just doing the job. He didn't want to see Harry doing something good, he wanted to imagine him as a replica of James Potter. He wanted him to argue back with him that the punishment was unfair or point out the fact that he was obviously in some sort of pain. Severus sat there until his angered reached maximum capacity.

As Harry was stared at by Snape, he lost himself in the monotony of the job. He could do this in his sleep. His mind drifted and the blood loss plus starvation added on to what may be a concussion and extremely painful injuries plus the obvious loathing directed towards him from the person in the room, contributed to him reverting back to a Dursley-state, thinking that this was just another day cleaning for the Dursley's.

He could feel the anger coming from the person that he registered was close by. From the amount of pure hatred emanating from the person, Harry's mind drew a line to Vernon and assumed that that had to be the person who was in the room. He continued to clean as much as he could with only one arm fully functioning and his broken ribs.

Harry felt as 'Vernon' moved from where he was and came closer to where he was cleaning, already a third of the way done with the floor. He felt the panic well up inside of him and had to choke down the fear and just keep working.

‘The burns. If I make him mad he might do it again. Can't let it happen. Can't let it happen. Just do what he says. Respond how he wants. No backtalk. Respect him. Grovel. Don't get the oven.’

When the person spoke, he didn't even realize that the voice was not the voice of Vernon Dursley.

"Look at you, Potter. Think you're so great. Just like your father. He was worthless too. An arrogant, spoiled brat. And you're just like him aren't you. You think you are better than everyone else, do you, boy? Well, you're not. You're just an idiot child who lets others do all the work for him. You're nothing, boy. You hear me?" the voice spat harshly at him. He curled in on himself a little more for if the kicks began, but quickly remembered to respond.

"Yes, master. I'm sorry, master," Harry said quietly,putting down the sponge and staring directly at the ground. The only thoughts that filled his head were that he was weak and couldn't take another punishment.

Snape's eyes widened in shock, not quite understanding why Potter had said that like it was a reflex, though there was a terrible thought in the back of his mind.

Snape quickly regained his composure. "What was that, Potter?" he growled lowly. This time, Harry realized that the voice speaking did not belong to Vernon Dursley. He slowly looked up in horror as he saw the snarky Potion's Master standing in front of him with a blank expression on his face.

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry- I mean- Nothing, sir. I didn't say anything, I’m sorry, really must go," Harry stuttered out and turned around to try and run out of the door.

"I don't think so, potter," Snape sneered and his hand shot out to grab Harry's left shoulder and spin him around. Harry couldn't help the strangled whimper that came from him as the burn on his shoulder was gripped harshly. His knees gave out and he was panting on the ground from the burst of pain that shot through his body.

Snape stared shocked for about two seconds until a calculating look came into his eyes. He took out his wand and cast complex and almost illegal wards in his room before turning to the boy before him.

"Do try and get up, Potter. Follow me into my office. Don't try and run because there are wards and locking charms that I can guarantee you won't be able to get through," Snape said before turning around and walking  through the door on the side of the room.

Carefully, Harry pulled himself up and followed Snape through the door. He was terrified of what was to come. He knew coming was a bad idea. Every time he knew he would have to deal with the man within the first month of school, he would always have snarky and disrespectful comments prepared as to not cause suspicion when he could not come up with them on command, but he did not know he would have to deal with him personally so soon and he was not mentally prepared for the harassment that was sure to come.

When Harry walked in, He realized that it was an office with a cozy sitting area, decorated with a coffee table, two leather recliners, a sofa, and a love seat, everything decorated with dark wood and in shades of Slytherin green, black and silver, with the walls being a nice cream color.

Snape sat up straight in one of the recliners and motioned for Harry to sit.

Harry sat in the plush loveseat and ignored the intense stare he was receiving.

"So, Potter," Snape started calmly, "why don't you tell me why you are injured, and how injured you are." Snape couldn't possibly think of a reasonable explanation for how Potter would sustain injuries, and couldn't wait to find out what stupidity Potter had committed this time.

"Uh, I'm fine Professor. I just had a little... accident over the summer. I fell down a flight of stairs and I'm still a bit sore. It's just a couple of bruises. Nothing big," Harry said quietly, trying to sound confident in his answer but knowing it took him too long to answer.

His story brought back the occurrence  of being kicked down the stairs by Dudley 2 days after returning to the Dursley household. Technically he wasn't lying to the snarky man.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the explanation given to him, sensing it was a bit of the truth, though he knew that the boy was definitely more injured than a few bruises and a sore body. He studied the boy, trying to look for any evidence that would help him find out what was going on, when he noticed that Potter looked perfect: his skin was perfectly tan and clear, he had no bags under his eyes and then he noticed it, there was a tiny blur on his ear, that one could mistake as a smudge, and realized Potter was definitely hiding something.

"Why are you wearing a glamour, potter?" He sneered at the raven haired boy.

Harry's eyes widened, was his magic drained so far that his Glamours were becoming recognizable. Nobody should have even known he had one on because of his creature inheritance.

"I don't think that it’s any of your business, professor," Harry snapped at Snape.

Snape raised one eyebrow before responding, "Drop the glamour and take off your robes and shirt so I can see the damage. If you try and argue with me, I will stun you, take down your glamour myself, and give you a full-body check-up instead."

Harry stared at the older wizard as if he had lost his mind. He knew that he could take Snape in a fight on any other day, but his magic was depleted and he was becoming dangerously dizzy. Not seeing a way out of it, Harry focused on dropping the surface glamour only. He knew Snape would see he obviously didn't fall down the stairs, and could only think of one story to tell him.

Snape watched as Harry reluctantly pulled off his outer robe and took off his shirt and tie. He fought to keep a straight face when the glamour came down, revealing a bruised face and a nose that had obviously recently been broken. It became more difficult to remain impassive as he saw the boy's actual wounds. He walked closer to see them all and walked around Harry a couple of times.

"How many times did you fall down those stairs, potter?" Snape asked quietly. Now that he saw the wounds there was no denying the obvious facts that Harry Potter was most definitely abused.

"Okay, so I also may have gotten into a fight with a group of muggles," Harry lied, horrified that he had to say those words and horrified that that was the best he could come up with for a professor who was a lot smarter than any kid.

Snape looked at him skeptically, "You fought a group of muggles and got beat up by them?"  When it became obvious Harry was not going to speak, Snape sighed, "Fine, well I'm able, but we should have Madam Pomfrey look you over."

Harry quickly shook his head and grabbed his shirt to put back on. "You can't- I can't go to her. Then Dumbledore will find out and I don't need that man knowing anything right now," Harry said without caring that Snape may be on the Headmaster's side.

Snape looked at Harry with a calculating stare before walking off to the side towards the fireplace. He put up a silencing charm and made a quick fire call to someone before obviously coming to a decision. He turned around to address Harry.

"We will travel together, don't ask questions. You will see a healer, and Dumbledore won't be notified. Draco already told me how you were listening and talking about both sides of the war. Now Let's go," he spoke harshly.

Harry flinched slightly, put his robe on and walked into the fireplace. Snape threw the Floo powder and whispered the name so that he couldn't hear it.

When they arrived at the destination Harry tumbled out and just saved himself from falling directly onto his face. He looked around to see that they had arrived in a magnificently and richly crafted office. He was distracted until he saw who was sitting at the desk in the office.

He turned to Snape and stared at him incredulously, "You brought me to Voldemort's fucking hideout??"