Chapter Text
Hadrian has regrets. He remembers many of his regrets both big and small… His biggest regret is allowing himself to dream in this hell hole… He remembered those dreams so vividly… they were so real and it made it hurt all the worse… He curled up into a tight ball in his small cramped cupboard under the stair, balling his little eyes out as his mind wandered back to his dreams that had come to him so long ago. It had been two years but he remembered that morning like it was just yesterday… The first morning he fully remembered being in this horrible home.
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Hadrian’s eyes blinked open… He was in a new place? Where was here? It was dark, musty, and had cobwebs shining in the little light coming from the bottom of the small door… Strange… How did he come to be here? He remembered exploring Dad’s realm, like he always did but then he came across a weird rift thing… It looked cool and he could see so many different time periods through it! He had wanted to show Dad and Papa! Yes he had, so he had reached out to touch it and the world went weird? What had happened? He felt smaller? Why did he feel smaller? Did his stomach hurt? He’s never felt like this before… Where is Dad and Papa? He missed them…
Hadrian sniffled back tears, he had to stay strong for Dad and Papa. they always said they would find him if lost, all he had to do was wait for them to find him… How long will it be? Hadrian had no time to think about it as a shrill voice screamed at him to “Get up!” and to cook? He didn’t know how to cook, no not one bit… Even so Hadrian forced himself up and noticed his vision was blurry? Hadn’t he spelled his vision right before? Why was it bad again? Hadrian attempted to draw on his magic only to find it blocked off from him. Hadrian began to panic but had no time to think about it as the small door was thrown open and he was harshly dragged out by his hair causing him to yelp in pain and make tears prick at his eyes.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING FREAK? TUNNY TOLD YOU TO GET UP AND COOK!” The man snarled as he dragged Hadrian through the unfamiliar halls. Hadrian struggled and tried to get away but he couldn’t. He was dragged crying and thrashing all the way to the kitchen where he was harshly thrown to the floor with one final glare from the man. “Get to work you horrid freak!” The man hissed before leaving. Hadrian sat balled up as he cried out for his Dad and Papa in his mind, afraid that any noise would bring the bad man back.
With blurry vision, caused by his natural bad eyesight and his tears, Hadrian forced himself up and to the stove. He cooked as best he could, which wasn’t really good. He slaved over the stove that was too tall for him… He had burned the eggs and when the smell reached the terrible woman, who he assumed must be Tunny, all hell broke loose. She screamed and yelled at him like a possessed woman. He sobbed as she grabbed the pain and flinged the hot oil and burnt egg at him, the splash only catching his side because he had moved his arms to protect his face in fear that the oil would have hit him directly. He stumbled from the stool he had been standing on so he could reach the stove, now standing on the ground in front of her. He cried out in pain as the hot oil seeped into the dirty rags he had for clothes. The woman didn’t stop there though… Next she raised the hot, metal pan, bringing it down on his raised arms knocking him to the floor.
The first hit stung and burned and Hadrian screamed in pain… The second hit hurt worse somehow, making Hadrian’s screams burn and tear at his throat like a knife. The third hit knocked Hadrian's arms away from where he was covering his face but luckily he pulled them back up before the forth hit came, aimed at his face but being blocked by his arms. The fifth hit Hadrian felt blood run down his arms and onto his face. Tunny seemed to realize as the pan cooled down Hadrian’s screams became less painful, only because his vocal cords couldn’t take the forced sound but Tunny didn’t care… Tunny wanted those screams loud and proud. She threw that pan at him and instead began to drive her high heel into his leg. Hadrian screamed again and sobbed harder as he tried to rip her heel from his thigh. Tunny only pulled back when she was sure her heel had broken skin, she could tell by the horse screams from Hadrian and the pained look in his eyes.
Tunny snarled at Hadrian murmuring something like “That should teach you a lesson.” before turning and leaving, her heels clicking on the floor and the one heel covered in blood leaving stains as she walked. Hadrian sat sobbing on the floor as he clutched the wound in his leg, arms shaking and burnt as curled in on himself, his mind flooded with pain.
Why…. Why him? Why had he ended up wherever this was? Why did they treat him like this? He could only hope his Dad and Papa would find him as soon as possible.
Staggering up Harry winced in pain at trying to stand on his hurt leg. Holding back a cry of pain Harry stumbled his way back to the cupboard under the stairs that he had been dragged out of. Laying down on the natty dog bed that seemed to be serving as his bed, Harry began to cry harder as he cradled his wounds.
Harry would spend the next 3 days under those stairs, locked away for his failed attempt at cooking. His wounds healed slowly but he could feel his magic helping the healing along even if he couldn't use his magic at the moment.
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Harry blinked his eyes, pushing the horrid memories down… He remembers the dreams of his “Dad” and “Papa”... The hope of them being real was dashed out of him just like his hope and longing for any form of love… They were made up. He knew that now, having spent 2 years at the Dursley's house proved that to him. They were just made up because little him couldn't deal with the torture the Dursley's put him through, not that he could deal with it now…
Today was his 8th birthday… He hated his birthday. He hated the gifts the Dursley’s thought to get him. Pain and suffering from them for a full day… This birthday was the worst though. Vernon had lost a deal at his job so he was angry and when he was upset or angry then Petunia was upset and when Petunia was upset Dudley was upset and when everyone was upset then Harry got his beatings 10 times worse that day.
He was brought out of his musings as he was once again dragged out of his cupboard. It was early in the morning on his birthday which meant the family beating for existing was due. Harry didn’t even get to fully open his eyes before he felt a shoe meet his face. He didn’t cry out, he never did, but the pain still shot through him as it always did. Another swift kick sent Harry to the wall where he let out a soft oof at hitting the wall, mentally hoping he didn’t damage the wall at all. That hope was dashed when Petunia screeched about getting blood(He was bleeding?) on the wall. A hand grabbed his hair, jerking him to stand. His vision was already blurry but he could make out the Dudley shaped blob pulley back before landing a swift punch to his gut. Harry let out a soft whimper and was swiftly slapped by Petunia for the sound. He was thrown back to the floor, his hand reaching up to soothe the slap which is when he realised he had bit his tongue at some point and that was what was bleeding, along with his nose.
He could barely see, vision swimming in and out of darkness already… He could, however, hear the unsheathing of a knife that Dudley had gotten for last Christmas… That was new… They never used actual weapons on him… He could hear as one of the approached… Felt as the cool metal cut away his shirt and was quickly pressed to his throat before he could even struggle… Heard the murmur from Vernon about being useful somehow and the hum of agreement from Dudley… The shrill laugher from Petunia as she walked away, her heels clacking along the wood floor… His heart dropped and stomach churned with fear.. No.. They couldn’t… They wouldn’t… Right? Please, no! No no no no no no! Stop! No! Plea-
2 hours later
Everything hurts… It hurt so much.. He was a shivering mess, pain racking his little body as tears still fell from his hazy eyes… They… They had raped him… Had… Had taken his innocence… How… Why… Everything hurts… They weren’t gone… Not yet… Vernon said he was still useless… Even after he had used him…. Had hurt him… Vernon said he wasn’t needed anymore… The knife was pressed against his throat and Harry didn’t struggle… Didn’t even move… To hurt… To lost to even struggle as his throat was slit. As he gargled on his own blood, the pain was nothing… He barely felt it compared to the pain he had just experienced… Black covered his vision and suddenly the pain didn’t matter… Suddenly he felt safer than he ever had in that home…
Suddenly he was opening his eyes again… Wrapped in a warm hug that felt so foreign to Harry… Who was this? Why are they hugging him? He was a freak… Who would lower themselves to hug him? Someone else joined the hug… Harry had yet to look at the people who were hugging him, afraid that this was all just an imagination.
“I’m… I’m s-so sorry m-my raven…” One of the people hiccuped out and Harry…No… Hadrian paused.
“D-dad?” Hadrian forced out as tears began to fall. He looked up, lip quivering as his eyes found a familiar face… The face of Death… the face of his dad… Hadrian looked back to see Life, his papa, the other person hugging him and then fully broke down. Sobbing and crying as he clung to them both, throat too tight to breath suddenly. Gasping, begging for unneeded air to enter his lungs before just giving up.. It wasn’t needed here… Not with them… Not when he was back in his own hell bent body, literally… He was back… He was back and he was safe from all who would harm him… His parents sobbed above him and he sobbed with them. Sobbed for what he had lived through… Sobbed at the worry they must have had for him all these years… He just sobbed because he finally could. Finally able to let everything out without fear…