AUTHORS NOTE

HP/SS mentor fanfic. THIS TAKES PLACE DURING THE SUMMER AFTER HARRY'S FOURTH YEAR AT HOGWARTS. WARNING CHILD ABUSE! READ AT YOUR OWN WILL. (NOT OVERLY GRAPHIC BUT SOME MAY FIND HARD TO READ)

ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED :) UPDATE 28/04/2014 - It has come to my attention that some of this story could include better grammar and wording. Therefore I will be updating all of the chapters over time. It won't change much but I hope to make it flow better.

No Slash! I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS NOR AM I PROFITING FROM THIS IN ANY WAY. ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO ONE J.K. ROWLING, THANKS

The day had dawned bright and early on the houses of number 4 Privet Drive, the cars were gleaming and the lawns were all identically trimmed and tended to. Harry Potter was experiencing the worst day of the summer so far. Upon arriving home about a week before, Harry's uncle had ordered him to lock up his owl Hedwig and to place his school belongings in his old bedroom (or rather the cupboard under the stairs depending on your view). Vernon Dursley had locked them away for the remainder of the summer so that Harry couldn't touch any of his "freaky things" when he was away from the castle. Harry also had the constant list of chores to do which greeted him daily but this he was used to, even his cousin had gone out of his way to torment Harry even more than usual already.

Dudley had invented a new game, it seemed which involved dropping things on purpose whether it be food, drink or anything else he happened to be holding and waiting for Uncle Vernon to bark at Harry to"pick that up boy or I'll give you something to whine about!" To top it all off, he was experiencing nightmares throughout most nights; he cursed the thought of not being able to set up silencing charms when away from school. His nights had transformed into constant images of Cedric's dead body, Voldemort rising to full power and the familiar trapped feeling that hopelessness brings. This was often followed by Uncle Vernon unlocking his bedroom door, grabbing any part of Harry he could and flinging him across the room before advancing on him, fists raised. Soon the nightmares had begun to include his uncles' piggy eyes staring at him from behind every grave stone and Death Eater hood while Voldemort taunted him. The result was that Harry woke each morning feeling sleep deprived, sore and depressed.

This particular morning however he had an unexpected visit from Mr Weasley. Harry was upstairs at the time inspecting the most recent damage to his body when he heard Mr Weasley's voice floating upstairs; "Hello, I'm Arthur Weasley… we met last year when I came to collect Harry. I've come to check on him." Although this should have been a welcome visit, Harry was wondering what to do when his Aunt came running into Harry's bedroom and anxiously telling him that he had to "fix" his appearance to hide"those ugly marks"; then he had to "get rid of that freak waiting outside to see you as soon as possible before the neighbours see" by his Aunt as she thrust his wand toward him.

Giving her his best glare that could rival that of his potions master, Harry muttered the incantation and placed a glamour charm on himself. Apparently his aunt seemed pleased as she snatched his wand out of his hand and thrust him toward the stairs giving him a warning glare. "Your uncle will see you when he's gone!" she added with a cold was the main reason why Harry was so nervous, I'm going to get it after Mr Weasley leaves, he thought miserably as he trailed down the stairs.

A short while later, Mr Weasley seemed satisfied that Harry was in no immediate danger and happily left the house, he gave harry a small smile as he was ushered out of the Dursleys' neat home. Harry knew he was going to have a good "talking to" just as soon as his uncle rounded on him after the door had shut. He grabbed Harry by the hair and then threw him into a nearby wall and proceeded to kick and punch him. As each blow landed painfully on Harry's head, neck and body, Mr Dursley roared at him. "Don't invite those freaks into my home; you keep your kind away from my family you little whelp! Don't try to turn away you little freak, you deserve this!" When he was finally spent, he barked at Harry to"Get out of my sight and don't come down for the rest of the day".

Aching and bleeding, he limped to the stairs and proceeded to drag his broken body up to his room, collapsing on the bed he heard the definite sound of locks being clicked into place when it finally hit him, he had done underage magic and he would be expelled! He had tried to tell Dumbledore before leaving Hogwarts that he couldn't stay with the Dursleys but it had been brushed aside as usual because of the "blood wards", these meant that he needed to return to the Dursleys' to keep him alive when he was away from the protection of Hogwarts. He couldn't bear to admit that his uncle beat him every summer, what kind of stupid hero would people think him to be if they knew he couldn't even defend himself against a stupid muggle?! Slowly he rolled over onto his aching side and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.