JB21Q
patreon
Widow's Vengeance Chapter 3 - Speak up
🕑 Added 2021-01-23 21:32:56 +0000 UTCChapter 3 - Speak up.
"This is not funny." Mr Rushman said in a far from amused voice. "Natasha, darling, can you and Clint please go upstairs and fetch your friend please?" He asked.
"Yes Daddy." Natasha nodded, inwardly very pleased at how her plan was going.
"Now, Mr Rushman," Vernon quickly spoke. "I...I just think that this is all just a very big misunderstanding. I..."
"In that case it should be cleared up quite quickly." Mr Rushman cut him off. "Go on kids." He said to Natasha and Clint.
The pair nodded before they walked past the pale Dursley's and up the stairs, once they were out of sight they exchanged smiles before they moved over to the room that Harry was staying in. Natasha slowly opened the door and it opened to reveal Harry who was cleaning up the room by sorting out all of the toys. He apparently hadn't noticed them since once the toys were sorted out he picked up a feather duster, he turned around and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Natasha and Clint.
"Hi Harry!" Clint smiled as Natasha waved.
"I...what are you two doing here?" Harry blinked.
"Our dad is talking with your relatives," Natasha answered. "can you come downstairs please?" She asked. "He wants to talk to you."
"With me?" Harry asked in a surprised voice, wondering what their father would want to talk to him about. "I...um...I think I should just stay here and finish cleaning." Harry said, remembering how the Dursley's wanted him to stay upstairs.
"Harry, it's fine." Natasha said as she walked into the room.
"I..I don't know...I..."
"Harry," Natasha cut him off as she grabbed his hand. "just trust me, please." She said in a quiet voice, she looked at Harry who was clearly struggling with deciding if he should stay upstairs like told or come downstairs like asked. Eventually he just decided to go down with them, if he didn't go then the Dursley's would probably find another reason to punish him, but then again they could probably punish him for coming down, so punishment was going to happen either way.
"Okay." Harry nodded, Natasha smiled at him and pulled his hand before guiding him out of the room. She led him downstairs with Clint following after him. When Harry got down he saw the three Dursley's standing there, looking as stiff as wood. Harry looked at Uncle Vernon's face and saw an expression that he couldn't really recall ever seeing on his face: fear. Harry looked around and saw a man - who he assumed was Natasha's father - standing by his cupboard.
"Here he is, Daddy." Natasha said, tugging on Harry's hand as if to show her father that he was Harry.
"Thank you sweetie." Mr Rushman said to her before turning to Harry. "Now Harry, can you come here please?" He said in a gentle voice. Harry glanced at the Dursley's, when none of them looked like they were going to say anything he moved forwards and stopped in front of Mr Rushman, Natasha had moved with him and was standing next to him since she was still holding his hand. "There's a good lad," He said with a kind smile before he gestured to the inside of the open cupboard. "this is a very clean room Harry, do you sleep in this one?" He asked in a casual voice, as if talking about the weather.
"Uh...I..." Harry coughed, he was really not sure what he was supposed to say now.
"It's alright if you do, I used to sleep in one as well. Mine was slightly smaller," He lied. "so is this your room?" He asked again. "You can be honest with me." He added.
"Harry, tell him the truth." Clint said from his spot on the stairs. "He's here to help you."
"Yeah Harry," Natasha said, pulling his attention to her. "just tell the truth, please." She said, looking him straight in the eye.
"Son," Mr Rushman said in a soft voice as he knelt down in front of Harry. "is this your room?" He asked as he gestured to the cupboard.
"Y...Yes sir." Harry said in an embarrassed voice.
"How long have you been living in there?" Mr Rushman asked.
"A...as long as I can remember, sir." Harry answered.
"Hmm, kids, why don't you all go upstairs and play?" Mr Rushman 'suggested'.
"Sure thing, Dad." Clint nodded, sensing that what Mr Rushman really wanted was some time alone with the Dursley's.
"Come on, Harry." Natasha pulled on his hand before she led him upstairs. Harry, who didn't really know Mr Rushman that well, didn't protest and followed Natasha up since he could tell that what Mr Rushman had just said was not a question or a request, it was an order and if there was one thing that the Dursley's had made Harry good at, it was following orders.
"So...does the fat man really give the smaller fatty two rooms?" Clint asked once they got upstairs and entered the room with all of the spare toys.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, somewhere in-between smiling at Clint's description, worrying about what they would think of him and worrying about getting in trouble.
"Look at all of these toys," Clint whistled as he looked at the hoard of toys. "does he even play with half of this stuff?" Clint asked.
"Not really." Harry shook his head. "Sometimes he does if he's really, really bored but he keeps most of his toys inside of his other room." Harry answered.
"Well, we might as well play with them while we're here." Clint grinned.
"What? No...we can't." Harry said quickly before Clint could reach down and grab a toy. "They're Dudley's toys, I...I don't think we're allowed to play with them." Harry said, he knew for a fact that he was not allowed, he couldn't really say if Natasha and Clint were allowed, they had never come to the house before. He knew that the Dudley's friends were allowed when they came over, but Natasha and Clint were not Dudley's friends.
"They wouldn't know." Clint pointed out.
"Clint," Natasha said in a stern voice. "if Harry doesn't want us to play with them then we won't play with them." She said, having noticed Harry's discomfort.
"Fine, fine." Clint rolled his eyes before looking around the room.
"Thank you." Harry mouthed to Natasha.
"You're welcome." She mouthed back before she looked around. "Do you want to just sit down and talk?" She asked Harry.
"Um...if you want." Harry nodded, all the while wondering why the hell she would want to talk to him. "I..." Harry was interrupted by a sound from downstairs, it sounded like a large crash, it was followed by the sound of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia screaming.
"So...what do you want to talk about?" Clint asked in a casual voice just as they all heard Vernon's voice shout out several swear words.
"Sh...shouldn't we go down and see what that is?" Harry asked with a frown, wanting to simultaneously stay and go.
"I think we'd be better off staying here," Natasha said. "besides...do you want to stay here with us and talk or go down there where they're shouting?" She asked.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"So...what do you want to talk about?" Harry asked.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few minutes later Harry heard the sounds of sirens, he got up and walked over to the window and saw a couple of police cars arrive. The policemen exited and quickly went into the house just as an ambulance arrived.
"It's the police! And an ambulance! They're coming in here!" Harry gasped.
"Really?" Clint asked in a convincingly shocked voice.
"Why do you think they're here?" Harry asked, watching as two people exited from the ambulance and went into the house.
"Harry," Natasha said in a quiet voice as she stepped next to him. "they're here for the Dursley's, the police at least."
"What? Why?" Harry asked as he looked at her.
"Harry, mate, they're here because of what the Dursley's have done to you." Clint said.
"What?" Harry blinked, looking extremely confused.
"What they did to you was very, very bad, Harry." Natasha said, once again pulling Harry's attention back to her. "They shouldn't have put you under the stairs and made you live in a cupboard."
"It...it's fine...I don't mind." Harry mumbled.
"You should," Natasha told him. "every kid our age should be sleeping in a bed in a room, not in a cupboard. It's really bad for you, Harry. There are dust and insects in there that could affect your health, what happens when you're older and you can't fit in there anymore? Besides, the Dursley's aren't feeding you enough, are they?"
"They feed me." Harry said in a quiet voice.
"Not enough," Clint shook his head. "if they fed you properly then you would be taller, bigger and stronger."
"And healthier." Natasha added. "They're not allowed to only feed you a little bit, they need to feed you enough to keep you healthy."
"So...the police are here because the Dursley's aren't feeding me enough?" Harry asked in a confused voice.
"Not just that, Harry." Natasha said in a patient voice. "If they're not feeding you properly then that could be really bad for you. So can keeping you under the stairs."
"Harry," Clint spoke in a soft voice. "do they hit you?" He asked, despite knowing the answer. Harry didn't answer, he instead looked out at the window, as if the police car and ambulance were the most fascinating things he had ever seen. "They're not allowed to do that either." Clint whispered.
"It's illegal to hurt you," Natasha said, she gently turned him around so he was looking at her. "Harry if the police ask then you have to tell them everything."
"I...I don't want to make a fuss." Harry said in a quiet voice as he looked down. "It's fine." He mumbled.
"Harry," Natasha placed her hand under his chin and gently pushed his head up so he was looking at her. "you NEED to make a fuss. If you don't then you let them win, Harry. You let the Dursley's win, you let them think that you will let them do whatever they want to you. If you tell the police then they can get you away from here, get you to a real family."
"A...a real family?" Harry repeated, his voice filled with disbelief but also a very small amount of hope. "Really?" He asked.
"Really," Natasha nodded. "But you have to tell the policemen everything. Tell them about how the Dursley's made you sleep in a cupboard, how they don't feed you, how they hit you. You need to tell them."
"I..." Harry said under his breath as he shook his head.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Natasha asked.
"I don't want to," Harry said with teary eyes. "everyone already knows I'm a freak, I...I don't want to make...I don't want to..." Harry trailed off as he felt his tears swell up.
"Harry, you are not a freak!" Natasha told him in a passionate voice. "You're a nice and kind boy."
"Yeah," Clint agreed as he wrapped an arm around Harry's trembling shoulders, Harry flinched but didn't move. "the Dursley’s, they're the real freaks. I mean...look at all of the stuff they've done to you, normal people don't do that, that's what freaks do."
"Clint's right," Natasha nodded, taking both of Harry's hands in her own. "you have nothing to be embarrassed about, Harry. None of this is your fault, you need to do this. You need to tell them everything; they won't think that you're a freak. You're not a freak."
"But...but what if they send me back to the Dursley's?" Harry cried, tears dripping down their face.
"They won't." Clint told him in a confident voice.
"But what if they do?" Harry asked.
"Then Clint and I will come over everyday to make sure they don't bother you, at least until we find a way for you to escape." Natasha told him. "We're not letting you stay here, just...please trust us and tell everyone, please." She said, begging him with her eyes.
Harry was about to respond but stopped when he heard the sound of footsteps, the three children looked towards the door just as it opened to reveal Mr Rushman, a policeman and one of the men from the ambulance.
"Hi Harry," Mr Rushman said. "these men just need to talk to you." He said in a soft voice.
"Be brave, tell them the truth, Harry." Natasha whispered while Clint gave him an encouraging nod. Harry gulped as he looked at the three men.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry was sat in a hospital room, he didn't really know how to feel right now. He had done as Natasha and Clint said and told the police everything, he didn't skip a single detail, he told them everything he remembered. The policeman looked angrier and angrier as Harry spoke, at first it worried Harry but he was able to quickly realise that it wasn't him who the policeman was angry with. The men from the ambulance had insisted on taking him straight to hospital.
Harry had just gone through several tests with the doctors and nurses, they had told him a few moments ago that they would be back soon. The door opened, it wasn't a doctor or a nurse that walked in, it was Mr Rushman.
"Hello Harry, are you alright?" He asked as he took a seat and sat next to Harry.
"I'm fine, sir." Harry answered.
"Really?" Mr Rushman asked, sounding disbelieving. "Harry, after the night you just had I would be very surprised if you were just 'fine'. I won't push you but I will give you a fair bit of advice that I think you should take to heart, emotions are not a weakness, Harry, alright?"
"Y...yes sir." Harry nodded.
"Please just forget all of that 'Mr' and 'Sir' nonsense, just call me Matt." Matt said. "Now, I have to apologise to you, Harry."
"T...to me?" Harry blinked.
"I lied to you earlier when I was trying to get you to talk to me about the cupboard, I've never lived in one." Matt admitted. "I'm sorry about lying, but I was really trying to help, do you think that you can forgive me?" He asked.
"I...um...uh yeah...I forgive you." Harry said, not really used to an adult apologising to him.
"Thank you, now I want you to know that the doctors are going to look you over to make sure that you're okay. I don't know how long they want to keep you in the hospital for, but once they're done then you can go. Is there any place you can live? Anyone you can live with him?"
"I...I don't think so," Harry admitted. "there's Mrs Figg across the street, she babysits me sometimes but I don't think I can live with her."
"Well...in that case you can come and live with me if you want." Matt offered.
"I...what?" Harry asked, he felt like he was saying 'what' a lot these days.
"You can come and live with me if you want, at least until we can find you somewhere to go." Matt told him.
"You...you want me to come live with you?" Harry asked with disbelief in his voice.
"Clint and Natasha were very insistent on it," Matt told him, whispering like he was telling Harry a massively important secret. "Natasha even told my wife, once she heard she was all but demanding I bring you to our house. I can't compete against my wife, so what do you say, Harry? You want to come and save me from my wife?" He finished in a jokey voice.
"I..." Harry tried to speak but suddenly felt like that was the one thing he was unable to do.
"Hey, it's alright." Matt hugged him when he saw tears dripping from Harry's eyes. "Just let it out, just let it all out." Matt told him, and Harry did, he cried and cried into Matt's shoulder. Matt felt his clothes get a bit wet but he didn't move. Several minutes later Harry had pulled his head up and looked at Matt, his eyes were all dried up and redder than before.
"You...you really want me to come and live with you?" He asked in a quiet voice, hoping and praying that this was not some sort of trick.
"If you want to," Matt nodded. "I'm sure the kids would really like it if you did."
"I..." Harry coughed and wiped his eyes. "I'd like that." He told Matt, giving him a watery smile.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. I was going to wait a bit more before making this one but I've decided to give it out earlier as a thank you to my newest patrons. With that being said, I want to say thank you to the older ones, I want to thank all of you for helping me out, it really means a lot.
I'm still trying to think up other rewards I can give you guys, as of the moment all I've got are shout outs and dedicating one shots for those who pay a certain amount. I'll see if I can think up anything else.
Also for those who are asking, this story is not connected to any of my other crossovers. It is not a prequel or sequel to Raven or Reborn, it has nothing to do with them.
Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review.
Comments
Christian Jeffress
I’m not crying, you’re crying! Fantastic chapter!
Rebac
This Chapter is great! Matt did handel the situation with Harry really good
