A Friend in Need

Ok so this is my second fic EVER posted and my FIRST Victor/Harry fic.

I'm so excited to hear what you think of it so please review and leave me a message as I love hearing from you people.

Well just so you know warnings will be added to the top of the chapters they apply to so you will know what’s going on but I don’t know for sure how this will pan out.

Hope you like it!!

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Harry watched as the Durmstrang ship plunged underwater and left Hogwarts. He was sad to see them leave…well, sad to see Victor Krum leave. They had struck up a friendship of sorts. After bumping into each other by the lake a few time; Harry just trying to clear his head and Victor training, they had started meeting up there and after a few visits they had progressed to tentative talking.

He’d thought that there would have been a language barrier there but Victor had explained he spoke perfect English due to his upbringing and used the hashed English to keep the fan-girls at bay from talking constantly at him. It had been amazing to listen to the guy talk; he may have spoken perfect English but there was no way he could get rid of that accent of his.

During the Tri-wizard tournament Harry had come to see some hard truths. Ron obviously secretly resented him; he was far too quick to jump on Harry for doing something else no one else could. Hermione was drifting apart from them, although he didn’t really blame her, she had started hanging out more with the girls and although she still helped him out it was obvious it was only because she felt she had to. They were growing up and with growing up sometimes there is growing apart.

Dumbledore hadn’t been around as much as he used to be. He had agreed to put Harry in the Tournament, with out asking if he wanted to or not and then just abandoned him to fend for himself in the battle. He had started to see Dumbledore as the headmaster he is instead of the guardian to save him and he had the feeling Dumbledore only saw him as a means to an end, a weapon against Voldemort.

As the other students made their way from the bridge and down to the lake where the boats where awaiting them Harry stayed and watched the fading ripples of the water. He took calming breathes and tried not to think about the tears forming. Victor had told him they could write over the summer, that he wanted to hear from his little light. Harry smirked through the falling tears. Victor had begun calling him that soon after they decided to officially meet at the lake in the morning before classes. He had said that Harry seemed to have a glow about him; when he was down it would dim but when he smiled it lit up the whole place.

Harry hadn’t known what to say to that. He hadn’t even thought about the implications of the words; he had just thought about the fact that this was the first person ever to say something about him, not his mothers eyes, his fathers attitude or skills, just his own smile. They had spent the rest of that day in relative silence, just happy to be with each other.

He had managed to speak to Victor before yesterday. He’d broken down into sobs trying to explain what had happened in the maze and Voldemort. How he felt that no one believed him and how he wished he could just not have to deal with any of it anymore. He had been mortified when he realised Victor had his arms around him, trying to keep him from falling to the floor as well as comforting him.

Here was Victor Krum, VICTOR KRUM! And Harry was crying like a baby or hormonal girl. He had tried to brush it off and had stood up on his own and tried to pretend it hadn’t happened. But Victor had smiled at him, pulled him into a one armed hug and told him he must visit his home country and his family sometime.

He smiled at the memory of how safe he had felt around Victor, how the man just seemed to command respect by walking into a room, he still felt shivers from when the Durmstrang group had made their entrance in the Great Hall. The smiled faded as his friends called him over to follow the large group.

He now had to spend the summer alone with his thoughts of failing Cedric, of not being strong enough to stop Voldemort’s return. He also had to spend it with his hateful family. He wondered if, since the Dursleys seemed to leave him alone, he would be able to catch up on his studying and actually be prepared for the next year of Hogwarts and Voldemort’s imminent appearance.

“Harry, come on! Everyone has already gone!” Hermione shouted after him again. Although Victor had asked her to the ball they hadn’t really gone further and only seemed to acknowledge each other as good people, the sort you know you can talk to easily but calling it a friendship would be pushing it a bit. Harry sighed and took one last longing look at the lake before turning to her with a fake smile that he knew worked well on people.

“Ok, I’m coming, keep you thong on ‘Mione” He ducked as she playfully swung for his head and ran after Ron who had started to walk again.

As they walked down the path, they could see the boat house come into view. Harry felt his chest constrict; he wouldn’t see his friends for almost two months, they could write but he always had the feeling they would forget him, until an owl came with the first letter of the summer.

“You guys promise to write, right?” Ron asked as thought reading Harry’s own mind.

“Of course Ronald…But I’m going on holiday with my parents for two weeks and then I’m going to Megan Burton’s house for a week so we can do our summer projects together oh and then Ginny asked about me coming to stay at the Burrow one weekend…But don’t worry I’ll remember to write.”

Ron seemed happy to be having one of his friends over, even if she would be with Ginny most of the time, now he could make a move and they could get together before school starts. Hermione was thinking along the same lines and Harry…Harry tried to be happy for his friends and stomped on the jealousy he felt.

The boat ride was quiet and the train ride was just as silent for Harry. Ron, Hermione and Ginny planned what they were going to be doing over summer. He looked over at the three again, still talking. He slumped in his seat and put his feet up on the opposite seat, it was going to be a long ride back to London.

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Victor dropped his carry bag as he saw three large objects lunge for him. If it wasn’t for so much training he would have been knocked down by the three dogs that were now all vying for his attention.

“Ok, Ok. I missed you all too. Where are the other seven? I don’t think I want to be attacked again.” He ruffled each dog on the head and then turned to the house elf waiting expectantly behind him.

“Take these up to my room and leave them on my bed. Then run me a bath.” The house elf bowed and began sorting the bags before she took them. “Oh and do you know where father and mother are?”

“Tessy last served Lady Milena and Lord Demitri in the games room sir. They have been in there most of the day.”

“Thank you.” With that he left to find his parents. With the dogs in tow he made quick work of the stairs and followed the corridor round to the large double doors designed to show guest that the hosts had money and new how to spend it.

“Victor, you’re home darling. How was the tournament?” His mother asked as she came to great him with a gentle hug and kisses.

“I came second. But the tournament itself was truly an experience I’ll not forget. The training and planning we had to do before each test was intense; dragons, mermaids and then that magical maze. I’m Surprised the little one got through at all let alone win.”

“Little one? Who on earth are you talking about?” His father asked from his seat in front of a chess board.

“Harry Potter, he managed to get his name in the goblet and they made him do the tournament. Funny thing is he’s only fourteen and he beat us all. He really is an amazing person but…”

“But what dear?” his mother walked back to her table to finish her game of solitaire.

“I don’t know. He was really down and looked really worn out you know, I don’t think it was a good year for him. I said he could write if he wanted someone to talk to.” Victor sat across from his dad and moved one of the pieces.

“Aw widdle Vicky has a lover boy and is writing love letters.” Ivan, his older brother, provoked him.

“At least I can get one. I don’t see you with a bride, what’s keeping you?” Victor asked as his brother punched him in the arm as a greeting.

“I’ll have you know that Camilla and I are coming to the end of our courtship agreement and I will be proposing to her within the year.” Ivan explained and the stuck his tongue out at his brother.

“Lady Milena, Lord Demitri, dinner is being served in the family dining room now. Master Victor, you bath has been drawn and fresh towels put out.” The small house elf from before stated quietly.

“Thank you Tessy. Victor, you’re not joining us for dinner?” The youngest Krum stood from the chess board and walked to the door, smiling over his shoulder.

“I’m very tired and would rather relax in the bath and then have something to eat. I’ll take dinner in my room Tessy. Then I’ll get some shut eye.”

The rest of the family followed him out the door and down the corridor. As they came to the parting, were a small flight of stairs lead down into the family dining room and the corridor carried on to the family wing of the castle they paused.

“I’m so glad you're home darling” His mother kissed his cheek.

“It’s good to have another man in the house to talk to.” His father joked and then led his wife down the stairway. His brother smiled and put an arm around Victor’s shoulders.

“It’s good to have the family back together. You never notice how much it splits up during the school year when you’re actually in school.” He let go and followed his parents down to dinner, leaving Victor who smiled and shook his head following the corridor down to his room.

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Harry looked out of his bedroom window, realising it was early morning and saw the bars that had been put back up a week into the holidays. Someone had thought it a good idea to tell his relatives to be careful around him as he was in the middle of a murder enquiry. They had ranted and raved about him being an abomination and a murderer and that they hoped he was proven guilty because then he would get what he deserved and it would be a great irony to him since he would be punished by the very freaks that he loved so much.

They had taken everything out of his room; cupboard, desk, lamp, ceiling light, bed and all his pictures. The only thing left was a mattress and the bedding, his clothes where piled up in a corner. They had taken to locking him up all day, they would only let him out for a ‘toilet break’ twice a day and only fed him once a day; they would push a tray through the cat flap, that would have to last him all day, with a bowl of cold porridge, four slices of bread and open can of cold beans with a pitcher of water.

He heard the heavy foot steps of Dudley and cringed. He took a steadying breath as he waited of the onslaught of insults and mocking. He didn’t know how much longer he could put up with this. He had managed to secretly keep a writing set under a loose floorboard as well as his tin box full of things he help close. He had sent letters to his friends, explaining what was happening at the Dursleys and how things were going but the reply from that had broken his heart.

Both letters from Ron and Hermione had the same theme; they had begun to believe the papers that he had done it and were cautiously trying to tell him that they didn’t want anything to do with him, they thought he was a loose cannon and…He sighed as Dudley dropped to his knees so he could taunt Harry better through the flap.

“Hey Murderer! Hey, hey you orphan. Mum said not to make a mess of the tray like you did last time or my dad will have to come and teach you a lesson. He said he’s not afraid of you and will give you a beating if you make a mess. Are you hungry? Look what I have here; it’s your favourite right? Ha, ha. Hey four-eye don’t keep me waiting come get it already!” The fat boy’s voice grated on Harry’s throbbing head causing his headache to spike.

Our abused hero crawled over to the flap and lay on his stomach as he put his hand through the flap to pull the tray in, but as he did Dudley, as he had many times before, pulled it out of his reach. Harry would usually shout at Dudley for being a prick and struggle to reach further anyway but after four weeks of this he just didn’t have the energy. Everything ached and he just felt like crawling in a ball and forgetting the world around him.

He just waited for Dudley to push it towards him again and he would try to grab it like always, soon he would get bored and leave it just out of his reach and knocking over his bean or porridge so it would look like he had made a mess. He had been beaten by Vernon no less that eight times because of that little joke of his.

But this time Dudley was bored of Harry not shouting at him so as Harry went to grab the tray big D stomped his big fat foot on Harry’s arm and hand. Harry tried not to make a sound; not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing him scream and not wanting to chance Vernon hearing him. He had tears rolling down his face and blood from his lip running down his chin from biting his lip. After a few excruciating minutes Dudley was called down to answer the door to his friends and he left Harry to cope.

Harry sniffed and swallowed the sobs wanting to break lose. He officially had no one to care about him. Dumbledore had explained that Harry must give up trying to fight his relatives and just weather it out until September. He was old enough to look after himself and that he needed to stay there for protection.

But he didn’t want to weather it out; he wanted someone to cry to, someone to hold him and tell him it will be ok, he had been looking after himself since he was five and for once he wanted someone to look after him, to actually care about him, someone there constantly to. There had only ever been two people who looked kept an eye on him Hagrid was always the first to ask if he was alright if anything happened and the second person made him cringe slightly; Snape.

The man had always been right around the corner from him, always telling him what he was doing wrong and what he would have to do, even if it was with a sarcastic tone the man had always been guiding him and, trying at least to, keeping him out of trouble. It was slightly depressing yet warming that the man was the closest he had to a father…a slightly overbearing and grudging father but father none the less.

Harry looked at contents of the tray that had been spilt all over as Dudley had kicked it on his way down stairs. He needed help; he was close to committing suicide and didn’t have anything to help him do that. He got out the box with all his inks and the last two pieces of parchment he had left and started to write to the only two people he knew could help him.

Dear Professor Snape,

I don’t know if you will listen to this letter but there is only one other who I can trust and I have sent him a similar letter.

I need help. The life you think I live is very different from my reality. I live with relatives that hate me more than you do. I beg you…Please, I can't survive another beating, mentally or physically. I’ve been abandoned by those that you called
Loyal fan-groupies and…please, if you don’t wish to help me then please send something so I can end the pain, because it hurts so much to be totally alone and I’m not strong enough to carry on.

Please sir, I beg you to listen to me.
Harry

He rolled the tear stained parchment up and tied it. He opened his window and called for Hedwig, who had taken to living in the tree next door. She took the message and Harry told her to find Severus Snape at Hogwarts. He watched her soar into the sky and only let himself dream for a moment before he started his letter to the only person who he had been in contact with all summer.

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Right thats it for now! Dont forget to tell me what you think!!