Author's Note: I want to thank everyone for the positive reviews and the interest shown in the continuation of this story! Reviews let me know your interested, so please review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: Timeline has been skewed to fit the story. You will see how. SLASH (homosexual relationship) though not full out for a while. Language. Abuse (emotional and some physical). Fictional medical and psychological diagnoses. Mentions of suicide and suicidal thoughts. Bullying.

Rating: T, PG-13

Summary: Harry is taken to a party with his relatives. There he meets the Hummel family, and is claimed as a friend by Kurt Hummel.

Chapter: Three: In Which Harry Speaks

When Harry woke up it was to the sound of breathing in his ear on a warm body pressed against his back. Harry tensed. He could hear several voices, though all were muffled and far away. The air smelled clean and cool, a vast differences from his stuffy and dust filled cupboard.

Harry breathed in deep, this time taking in the various scents that lingered in the air. The faint scent of soap and chocolate filled his lungs. The breathing in his ear was soft and even. Whoever was next to him was fast asleep.

The sun was warm on his skin, and the combination of the sun, blanket and warm body should have made him feel uncomfortably hot, but the small boy could not remember the last time he had felt as content and comfortable as he did in that moment. Harry wanted nothing more that to bury into that warmth and fall back into a deep sleep.

Almost afraid to wake up completely and leave his wonderful dream, Harry took another deep breath. He basked in the scent of soap and chocolate. 'Kurt' Harry named the aroma as he let go of the last fuzzy moments of semi-consciousness.

Smiling, Harry opened his green eyes. Judging by the lighting, he figured it was late afternoon. 'We've been asleep for at least two hours.' Harry estimated. A hand reached up to wipe away the sleep crusted on his sore eyes.

Blood rushed to the six year old's face as he remembered his earlier breakdown. Both of Harry's hands moved to cover his face in embarrassment. 'Kurt must think I'm a crybaby!'

Harry felt the arms around his waist tighten as if responding to his angst-ridden thoughts. Kurt mumbled softly and tried to bury his face into Harry's hair in an effort avoid waking. His nose rubbed against the back of the smaller boy's ear, causing a surprisingly loud giggle to erupt from Harry's mouth.

"What's so funny?" Kurt sleepily questioned.

Harry laughed again as Kurt's face continued to burrow deeper. "You're tickling me."

Kurt groaned softly, stopped moving and fell back asleep.

Keeping still, Harry allowed himself to bask in the warmth he rarely felt at the Dursley house.

'The Dursleys! Uncle Vernon!' Panic and fear coursed through Harry's small frame. He froze as possible punishments at the hands of his uncle for the scene with the other children tumbled through the young boy's mind. Harry didn't even want to imagine what was in store for him now that he had possibly made them wait for him because of a stupid nap.

Frightened by the harmful possibilities, Harry quietly and carefully squirmed his way out Kurt's tight embrace. Kurt stirred for just a moment, but he stopped before Harry could be concerned over waking his new friend.

"Friend." Harry tasted the word. It was sweet on his tongue, sweeter than the chocolate cookie he had savored earlier.

Green eyes memorized the pale blur wrapped in a light blue blanket. Harry was determined to capture this moment forever. He'd most likely never be as happy as he was in those past few hours.

Inhaling Kurt's scent one more time, Harry turned and bolted out of the room in search for the Dursleys.

HP/KH KH/HP

Barely a minute after Harry had stumbled down the stairs a heavy hand grabbed the boy's shoulder and nearly pulled his arm out of its socket.

"There you are boy." Uncle Vernon's voice carried more than a hint of frustration. "You've had us waiting for you for nearly half an hour."

Pudgy fingers dug painfully into Harry's shoulder, but he knew better than to allow himself to flinch.

"Oh Vernon, you've found Harry. Petunia!" Harry recognized the soft voice of Mrs. Eliza. "Petunia, Vernon found Harry. He must have been upstairs with Kurt."

"Oh yes, of course. Little dears must have been getting to into all sorts of trouble." Petunia's voice was full of false cheer. She came in front of Harry's face and wiped at his cheek savagely with a course napkin. "Just a bit of dirt, dear."

Harry remained still. Whenever Aunt Petunia called him 'dear', it was usually a warning not to do or say anything without her or his uncle addressing him first. Hopefully Aunt Petunia would consider the wiping of imaginary dirt off his face as his punishment for making them wait. Then he'd only have to worry about Uncle Vernon's punishment.

"Dudley!" Uncle Vernon called. "It's time to go home."

Harry could hear Dudley parting with his friends with a promise to come and play as soon as possible. This of course meant a few rounds of Harry Hunting, a game Dudley and his small gang had recently taken to playing. More Feeling than hearing the thundering footsteps of his cousin as he neared, Harry was able to brace himself for the not-so-subtle shove Dudley gave him on his way to the door.

Mr. Burt and Mrs. Eliza escorted them to the door and exchanged pleasant goodbyes with Harry's aunt and uncle. Used to being ignored by adults, Harry was surprised when Mrs. Eliza bent low to caress his hair.

"Goodnight Harry," she said, "We'll see you soon."

Harry was pulled thought the doorway and was half way down the street before he could wonder what she had meant by that statement.

HP/KH KH/HP

Kurt woke to the sound of the front door closing and an empty space next to him. Grogginess, normally something that plagued his first waking moments, left him as he quickly realized his new friend was gone.

Jumping up, Kurt scrambled to the window. He was just in time to see Harry being pulled by his uncle down the street. Blue eyes meet with green and Kurt waved to the small boy, but Harry did nothing but blankly stare back.

Anger suddenly filled Kurt. Why was his new friend leaving? Why hadn't Harry said goodbye? Why had he just stared when Kurt waved?

'Maybe Harry doesn't really want to be my friend?' Despair and disappointment filled him briefly before anger and hurt pride swelled.

"Fine! If Harry's going to be a butthead then I don't want him a friend!" Kurt shouted before he flung himself face first on his bead.

"Kurt?" His mother's soft hand rubbed against his back as his small body was wracked with sobs. Elizabeth had come up the stairs to check on her son when she heard him shout. "Kurt, honey, what's wrong?"

Kurt pushed himself up from his bed and rubbed his face against his mother's side. "Mommy! Harry's a butthead! I don't want him anymore!"

Elizabeth's hands gently pulled up Kurt's red splotchy face. She began looking for bruising or welts, concerned that the boys may have gotten into a fight. Had she been wrong about Harry? " Kurt, did Harry hit you or push you?"

Kurt shook his head. "No mommy."

"Did he pull your hair or call you mean names?"

"No."

"Did he break your toys or threaten to hurt you or daddy or me?"

"No." Kurt sniffled.

"Well, honey, why is Harry a butthead?" she asked.

Kurt's sobbing subsided. "He-he left while I was sleeping, and he didn't say goodbye, and he ignored me when I waved at him from my window."

"And now you don't want to be his friend anymore?"

Kurt nodded.

"Honey, Harry had to leave. His family had been looking for him for a while, and he probably didn't want to wake you up."

Kurt was silent for a moment. When his mother explained it like that he could see, maybe, Harry wasn't a complete butthead.

"He still ignored me." He replied stubbornly.

"He probably didn't see you sweetheart."

Kurt humph, "He's still a but head, and I still don't want him anymore."

Elizabeth looked at her son. Kurt could see the sadness in her blue eyes, had he said something bad?

"Kurt, I'm disappointed in you. I would have expected this from the other children in the yard, and even from Harry's cousin, but from you?" Elizabeth shook her head.

Hurt filled Kurt. "Expected what mommy?"

"Ignorance, Kurt. Ignorance." There was a tone to his mother's words that caused a pang in the boy's heart.

"What's that?"

"It's a form of hate, Kurt." Elizabeth pulled Kurt into her lap. His big blue eyes still filled with tears were confused and cautious. She wanted nothing more that to keep him cradled in her lap and hide from the horrors of the world. But no, she knew doing so would only inhibit her baby boy, it was better to try and teach him while he was young. Maybe, by teaching her son about the horrors of ignorance and hate, he could then teach Harry the joys of love and friendship.

"Ignorance," she continued, "is hate of the unfamiliar or unknown. Hate hurts sweetheart. It causes good people to do bad things and bad people to get away with doing worse things."

"How mommy?" Kurt was confused. Did his mommy think he was bad now?

"Kurt, do you remember when we were at the mall with Aunt Bev and you two were coming back from the bathroom when those men said all those things to her and madder cry?"

Kurt nodded. It had only been a few months ago and he could still remember the sad, red face of his favorite aunt as those men said mean things he didn't understand. He remembered when one grabbed her and pulled her against the wall, while another man pulled at her cloths. She had started to scream, but one of the men had hit her across the face.

Kurt had screamed as loud as he could and jumped on the back of the second man. He bit the man and hit him with a tiny fist while pulling out his hair. It was the combined commotion of his screams, his aunt's sobs, and the man's yelling that had alerted a passing shopper to call security in the normally empty mall. His aunt had carried a bruise on her face for weeks.

"Well Kurt, the reason why those men did what they did was ignorance. Ignorance caused them to hare Aunt Bev because she loves Aunt Amy instead of a man."

Kurt looked at his mother with wide fearful eyes. "Am I like them mommy? Because I said Harry's a butthead?"

"No, Kurt." Elizabeth knew her next words had to be chosen carefully, they could either hurt or help her son's future. "But, you will become like them if you can easily throw away your friends. Things like ignorance and hate start off small, kind of like a seed, Kurt. Once it's planted it will grow and grow and grow until it's so big that you can't move it. When you first met Harry, what did you think?"

Kurt thought for a moment before replying, "I thought that he was small and scared, but you gave him to me so that means he's special. I thought that he is mine."

Elizabeth smiled her son always was possessive. "And when those other children wouldn't let Harry play with them, what did you think then?"

"That they were mean, and Harry is my friend so they can't be mean to him."

"So Kurt why, if Harry meant so much to you in such a short amount of time that you would yell at those other children for his sake, are you so ready and willing to give him up? Because you got angry at him without knowing his reasons for doing what he did?"

Kurt was silent. Embarrassment flooded his cheeks as he realized he was acting just like those jerks that had made his aunt cry. "How do I stop from being ignorant, mommy?"

Elizabeth smiled at her son and held him close. "You just have to take a breath and think about why you are angry before you act on it honey. Remember that you will get mad at your friends but you won't stay mad forever, but words said in anger can hurt for a long time. You also have to know that some people are bad Kurt, some people are good, but most people just follow what everyone else around does or says. Most everyone else thinks Harry is bad because of what his family says about him, but you and I know different."

Kurt nodded. He still didn't understand completely, but he was sure he would one day. Until then, he just had to be more careful about getting mad.

"You have a voice in you Kurt. This voice will tell you whether or not you can trust a person. Sometimes this voice will be very quiet, more like a feeling than anything else, and others it will be so loud you'll wonder if others can hear it. Either way, you should listen to it Kurt."

Kurt nodded once more. He began to doze off, the soft repetitive caress of his mother's soft hands on his back lulling him to sleep. Before he could completely fall asleep, Kurt asked himself what he thought about Harry.

'Mine.'

HP/KH KH/HP

By the time the Dursleys had reached the sanctity of their own home, the sun had almost completely set. The crickets began to chirp and the sky was painted in pretty purples, pinks and oranges.

It was also getting harder and harder to see. Harry had been lucky enough not to trip on the entire walk back over to the house, he dreaded to think the punishment he would have to face if he slowed his relatives down any further. Uncle Vernon seemed ready to explode already.

Harry had almost walked through the door when Dudley reached out and shoved him, propelling the small boy into his uncle's back. The blow from hitting his uncle had Harry sprawled on the floor in the next instant.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon roared. It was followed by a kick to the stomach that left Harry gasping for air and Dudley watching with glee.

"Get up boy!" Aunt Petunia pulled him up from the floor before Uncle Vernon could kick him again. "And Vernon, really, what if he bruises and the Hummels see it?" She turned acidic eyes toward Harry. "The freak causes us enough problems, we don't need anymore."

'A warning,' Harry realized.

"But Pet," Uncle Vernon sounded strained. "We can't leave him unpunished. It'll only encourage his freakish ways."

"I didn't say don't punish him, just don't bruise him." With one last glare at her nephew, Aunt petunia walked up the stairs and out of sight.

"You heard her boy." Uncle Vernon said almost gleefully.

Dudley, who at first looked rather put out by his mother's interference, was once again smirking joyously at his cousin's misfortune.

Harry remained perfectly still. Any movement at this point could just provoke the large man.

The first blow to his bottom was only surprising in the fact it wasn't delivered with the same bruising force as normal. That wasn't to say it didn't hurt, because it certainly did, as did the four that followed.

After only five smacks to his bottom, Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar and tossed him to his cupboard under the stairs. Only half as many blows as normal. Harry remained tense however, while not common Uncle Vernon would occasionally throw Harry into his cupboard only to pull him out moments later to give him another thrashing.

Only after he heard Uncle Vernon lock his cupboard did he allow himself to relax.

Harry looked around his cramp cupboard, thinking back on his day. Even Dudley bouncing on the stairs did little to dampen the happiness swelling within Harry. His punishment wasn't even close to being as painful as it normally was. He had gotten a cookie today, and he had even been told what he needed to do in order to become a good boy. Perhaps the most important, and the most unbelievable, was the arrival of Harry's first and only friend. Kurt.

'Mine.'

HP/KH KH/HP

It was two days later when Harry was finally allowed outside. The only soreness he held was in his stomach from where Uncle Vernon had kicked, but even that was only a dull ache. The bruise was already beginning to fade around the edges.

Aunt Petunia had given him more chores around the house. Harry figured this was part punishment and part reasoning for the slightly bigger portions he was getting at meal times, when he was allowed to eat at least.

Life had certainly improved. Not much by most people's standard but to Harry the difference was night and day. Maybe, if these changes continued, Harry might be considered a good boy.

Maybe then his aunt and uncle would love him.

Thoughts like these were what fueled both Harry's hope and body to work faster and harder than he ever had before.

He had been weeding the garden for less than an hour when he heard a soft voice hiss, "Good sssunning day."

Harry paused in his work and looked around. Uncle Vernon had already left for work and Aunt Petunia and Dudley were inside watching the telly.

"Ssstupid human boy blocksss the sssun."

Harry looked down and was surprised to see a small green snake poke its head out from under the bush.

"Ssstupid humansss." It hissed.

"Are-are you talking?" Harry whispered.

The snake quickly backed up into the bush. Did Harry imagine it, or did the snake look surprised?

"A human boy ssspeaksss?"

Shocked, Harry shuffled away. "Y-y-you talk!" Harry accused. He must have gone insane.

The snake slithered out from the bush. "Interesssting," it hissed, "a ssspeaking human."

Harry shut his eyes tightly. "I'm dreaming. I have to be dreaming. Bad, freaky boys talk to animals and I am a good boy now. I'm a good boy. When I open my eyes the talking snake will be gone. I'm a good boy. I'm a good boy." He chanted.

"I mussst tell. I mussst tell of the human boy that ssspeaksss."

Harry heard a soft rustling. Gathering his courage, Harry opened his eyes and looked down.

Gone.

The strange talking snake was gone.

"I am a good boy." Harry said like a prayer.

"Boy!" Aunt Petunia's voice rang.

Harry swallowed before he shakily replied, "Yes, Aunt Petunia?"

"Get inside and clean up quickly!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." Harry got up to do as he was told.

He spared one last glace to where the snake had been before turning to go into the house.

"I am a good boy."