Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any money off of what I write in the realm of Harry Potter.

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first Harry Potter fic, as well as my first fic that deals with the topic of abuse/spanking. This is going to work itself out to be a Harry/Severus fic in a strictly son/parent relationship. No slash! So, with out further ado, I would like to introduce you to my new fic! Please read and review!

Harry sighed with relief as he made it through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾; he was finally going 'home.' It had been another horrible summer at the Dursleys, and quite honestly, Harry had never been more excited for the new term to begin. As he pushed his trolley with his trunk and Hedwig on it, he tried to maneuver his way through the throngs of parents saying goodbye to their children, an undeniable feeling of jealousy settling at the pit of his stomach.

As he pushed forward, Harry finally spotted a sea of red hair; the Weasley family. When he finally reached them, he observed as Mrs. Weasley kissed each of her children on the cheek and embraced them in tight hugs one at a time. Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Harry hung back silently. That is, until Mrs. Weasley spotted him.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed before ushering him closer to her. She enveloped him in a tight embrace, loosened her grip, and then kissed him on the cheek as well before letting him go. The process took less than a minute, but it still caused a number of his muscles to light up in fire. As he backed away, Harry attempted to appear less tense, not wanting Mrs. Weasley to notice.

"How was your summer, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked him.

"Um…" Harry was saved from having to answer her question. "Come on mum, let him be." Ron interrupted; he gave Harry a knowing glance. "I'm sure the last thing Harry wants right now is to be wasting time lolly-gagging on the platform, waiting to be trampled by the last students to board the train."

"Oh Ron, don't be ridiculous!" his mother chastised.

Smiling at each of her children, Harry included, she said, "Alright, you best be getting on the train then. Have a safe trip. Owl me when you get all settled in. Oh, and remember to be on your best behavior! All of you!" she glanced at Harry as she finished her little speech. A chorus of "yes mums" and a "yes Mrs. Weasley" followed.

Gathering their belongings, the group made their way onto the train. Once on the train, they all split off into different directions to find a compartment to sit in. Since they had been able to make it onto the train before the last minute students arrived, Harry and Ron were lucky enough to find an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Just as they were about to lift their trunks into the overhead compartment, Hermione found them.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerily. "I trust you both had a pleasant summer." She said, smiling at Ron before eyeing Harry. Hermione and Ron shared a knowing glance. Harry, used to their little exchanges, didn't miss it; he simply rolled his eyes at his friends' antics before turning to Hermione. "Would you like help lifting your trunk?" He asked. Hermione smiled her thanks and nodded.

As Harry reached down for the handle of her trunk, Hermione noted his movements; they were very careful and stiff. She glanced over at Ron to see that he was making the same assessments as she had been; they looked at each other sadly. Ron went to help Harry as he struggled to lift the weight of Hermione's trunk over his head; on a second thought, he just sat down, tight lipped and shaking his head, knowing that Harry would object to his assistance. Hermione joined Ron as Harry gingerly sat down across from them.

No one spoke.

Harry looked down at the floor, shamefaced. He knew what his friends were thinking. The only question he had was how long it would take before he would have to answer their questions. It was like this every year since their second year.* Thinking back, Harry remembered what it was like the first time he openly discussed with his best friends the abuse he suffered at the hands of his aunt and uncle.

Flashback

The trio had just finished loading their trunks in the overhead storage compartments before getting ready to settle in for the long journey to Hogwarts. While Ron and Hermione had flopped down on the cushioned seats of the train, Harry sat back gingerly, unable to contain a wince. He quickly looked up at his friends to see if they had noticed, before quickly snapping his attention to the floor, ashamed to find their eyes locked on him.

It was quiet for a few moments.

"Harry…" Hermione was the first to speak. "Harry, are you alright?" she asked.

Harry sat there for a few more moments before answering his friend's question. The problem was he didn't exactly know what to say. Of course I'm not alright. He thought bitterly to himself. I only embarrassed my uncle in front of his boss, and then had to pay the consequences of unsuccessfully playing the invisible nephew.

"I'm fine." He answered.

"Harry, mate, what happened? Did you do get in trouble before your relatives dropped you off at the train station?"

Harry gulped and looked out the window before answering. "N-not exactly" He stuttered. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat before continuing. "I…well, I sort of made a scene at a dinner party that my uncle had at the house."

"The one where that house elf showed up?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded confirmation.

"How could they blame you for that night? It was the house elf that used magic and caused that cake to land on that woman wasn't it?" Ron continued. Harry nodded again.

"It doesn't matter. They blamed me anyway. My uncle said that none of that stuff would have happened if I didn't live under their roof, so of course it was my fault. I-I had to be punished." Harry was shaking in his seat, which wasn't helping his case any; his backside was already incredibly sore and his shaking just irritated it even further.

"Oh that's awful!" Hermione interjected. She bit her lip as she debated whether she wanted to ask her next question. "How were you punished, Harry?"

Harry went incredibly pale; the color quickly drained from his face before he blushed scarlet from embarrassment. "Um, I'd rather not say."

Ron was the next to speak up. "Listen, Harry. Either you tell us what happened, or we bring this to McGonagall's attention as soon as we get to the castle. You're not acting like yourself, and you are really making us worry. Spill it!"

Harry looked at Ron, shocked. Never had his friend been so forceful before. Last year, Ron had been very much a follower; maybe everything they had done to save the Stone that year had changed him a bit. Not wanting to involve his Head of House, Harry decided it would be in his best interest to share with his friends what his summer had been like.

End Flashback

Harry recalled the looks of terror on his friend's faces as he had described the abuse he suffered at the hands of his aunt and uncle. It hadn't been easy, but with his friends' prodding questions, he had been able to share what he went through.

Each year, when the three of them boarded the train, it was only a matter of time before Hermione and Ron would question him about his summer; they had agreed that, if Harry told them what his relatives had done to him before they got to school, unless they thought he was in any amount of real danger, they wouldn't tell any of the professors about it.

"What happened this time?" Ron asked.

Trying to push down his nerves, Harry thought of how to best answer the question. Considering the deal he had made with Ron and Hermione three years ago, he felt it would be best to answer with the truth.

"Not much really." He answered. Deciding to elaborate, Harry added, "this summer it seemed like, no matter what I did, I couldn't stay out of trouble. If I completed my chores on time at the end of the day, I was told that I completed them in the wrong order. If I obeyed an order to retrieve the mail, I was accused of doing so with an attitude even if I really didn't; I was careful to be respectful and answered with a 'yes ma'am' or 'yes sir' whenever I was spoken to. I could go on and on. Nothing I did was ever ok this summer." Harry finished. By then, he had tears in his eyes that threatened to fall.

Seeing this, Hermione took out her wand and warded their compartment. Although she had already taken the precaution of a silencing spell, she decided it would be best to make sure no one could walk in unwelcome. As an afterthought, she flicked her wand and the shade on the window was pulled down. There was no need for Harry to feel extra vulnerable. Looking over at Ron, she silently communicated her intentions to move over next to Harry. Ron nodded his head at her.

Knowing that Harry didn't like sharing any of this with them, Hermione decided to offer him comfort by sitting down next to him. She didn't say anything to him, but Harry knew that he was more than welcome to lean on her shoulder or ask for a hug. To her slight surprise, Harry did just that; he first leaned his head onto her shoulder and then, after she situated herself, Harry turned himself into her embrace for a hug just before he started to cry.

Hermione sighed as she looked over at Ron, who had his head in his hands, clearly at a loss of what to do. On the one hand, he was incredibly relieved that Harry would not have to suffer at the hands of his aunt and uncle for another ten months. On the other hand, he knew that this could not keep happening. His best friend was normally so composed, put together. But now, sitting in a compartment on the way to Hogwarts, he looked so fragile; Harry only ever cried openly, as far as Ron knew, when it was just the three of them. Never before had he broken down so easily.

When Ron looked up at his friends sitting awkwardly across from him, he saw that Harry had his eyes closed while Hermione carded her hand through his hair. In that moment, Harry looked peaceful.

"Is he asleep?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded her head.

It was quiet for a moment before Ron spoke again. "We have to do something about this." He said. "This can't keep happening. We agreed to keep this to ourselves as long as we thought he wasn't in any great danger, but the way he said he couldn't seem to do anything right no matter how hard he tried, that scares me." Ron swallowed back the urge to vomit.

Hermione nodded her head once more. "I know. I was just thinking the same thing." She looked down at Harry's sleeping form, wondering how much rest he had been able to get over the course of the summer. He looked absolutely exhausted.

"He's not going to like this." Hermione stated. "He's probably going to hate us for awhile."

Ron nodded his head in acknowledgment. "It's what we have to do. His safety is at stake here."

Silence settled over them once again. For awhile, the two who were awake just listened to the sounds of the train in motion, vacantly looking out the window at the scenery that flashed by.

"How do you propose we handle this?" Ron asked. His sober attitude was a bit unnerving to Hermione. She missed the carefree Ron. At the same time, she was grateful that he was there to be helpful.

"We always said we would tell McGonagall." Hermione answered. "I say we go to her as soon as we get to the castle. We should get there in plenty of time to catch her before she has to attend to the first year students."

Ron nodded his head in agreement. "What about him?" He motioned towards Harry.

Hermione shook her head. "I haven't quite figured that one out yet."

"I'm thinking that it might actually work out better to give it some time. Not much, mind you. We could wait until at least tomorrow. Let's let him be tonight, but while he makes his way back to the tower after the feast, we make a break for it to Dumbledore's office and say that we need to have a meeting with him and McGonagall. We'll tell them about what's been going on these past few years. I don't think there's much we can do until we talk to them. They'll probably know what to do about it; I'm sure Harry is far from the first student to walk through the halls of Hogwarts who has been abused." Ron said.

Hermione couldn't get over how rational Ron was being. "It's settled then. Let's just survive the feast tonight, and then go from there." Hermione agreed.

Hermione yawned. "Go ahead and take a nap, Hermione." Ron said. "I'll stay awake in case he wakes up." Ron stood up to gather a pillow for Hermione to rest her head on and a blanked to cover both she and Harry.

"Thanks Ron." Hermione said.

Before falling asleep, Hermione looked down at the sleeping form of Harry. Try as she might, she had never been able to understand why Harry would not let them help him with the issues he had to deal with living at his relatives' home.

'That changes today' she thought to herself. 'Today, Ron and I step up to the plate as best friends and take care of you, even if you don't want to be taken care of.'

A/N: *In this fic, Harry (and Ron for that matter) have always traveled to school on the train. Flying car incident didn't happen for the purpose of this fic. There may be some other events that did not/do not happen for the benefit of future chapters.

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