This was the part he always hated. School was over, and it was time to go back to Privet Drive. It gave him a sick feeling down in the pit of his stomach. He honestly didn’t think he could deal with his relatives and deal with what had just so recently happened at school. The third task, Cedric dying, Voldemort’s return, all thanks to him.

“Harry, hey Harry, snap out of it!” yelled Ron. Harry, who had been in his own little world, turned quickly when Ron yelled at him.

“What?” he asked, not realizing he had been spacing out for quite some time.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes, I swear. We’re here, it’s time to go home.” he said, pointing out the window. Harry could see the Weasley’s standing on the platform, waiting for their beloved children. The Grangers were beside them, talking animatedly with Mr. Weasley. However, the Dursley’s were nowhere in sight.

“Figures.” muttered Harry.

“What’s that, Harry?” asked Ron. He was standing at the doorway, along with Hermione.

“Come on Harry, my grandparents are coming down this evening, and I would like to get there before they do, you know.” said Hermione jokingly. But Harry wasn’t in the mood to be joked with. He was about to enter his own personal hell, mainly the Dursley’s.

“Go ahead then, you don’t have to wait for me.” he replied.

Hermione frowned, as did Ron. They knew Harry was depressed, but they didn’t know if it was more from past events or something else. “Harry, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m just tired, Hermione. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Let’s go.” he said, leaving their compartment.

“Do you think Dumbledore will let him come to your house during the summer?” asked Hermione.

“I don’t know, mum’s working on it, but I can’t picture the headmaster letting him stay with us when he’s so protected at his relatives.” he said, shaking his head. “I wish he could, though.”

“Me too, I just don’t think he’ll do well with his relatives. You know how they are.” said Hermione, finally following after Harry.

“Yeah, I do.” Ron was thinking back on the time they had to rescue Harry from his own bedroom. “They’re horrible.”

************************

“Oh, Harry dear,” said Mrs. Weasley pulling Harry into a bone crushing hug. “if you need anything, anything at all, you just owl us, alright?”

“Don’t worry Mrs. Weasley, I will.” replied Harry, plastering a fake smile on his face. “I’d better go find the Dursley’s.” he added, knowing they wouldn’t be here for a while and not wanting the Weasley’s to worry. “I’ll hopefully see you sometime this summer.”

“I’ll owl you if I hear anything from Dumbledore.” said Ron, stumbling over his own two feet. Harry laughed besides his bad mood.

“Oh, shut up Harry.” he said, moping.

“I’m sorry.” said Harry, still laughing.

Ron huffed. “I’ll see you later.” he mumbled, walking away with the rest of his family.

Harry turned to Hermione, and gave her a quick hug. “Have a good summer.” she said cheerfully.

Harry just rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’ll try.” he said sarcastically.

Hermione then turned more serious. “Really, Harry, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to owl either of us. Promise me, okay?”

“I will, I promise.” he said, stunned by the amount of emotion he could see in her eyes. She quickly gave him another hug and walked off without another word.

“Weird.” said Harry.

***********************

It had been an hour since his friends had left him, and his relatives still hadn’t shown up. He sat on a bench, swinging his legs to and fro. He was so bored.

“This sucks.” he said to no one in particular. He had gone so far as to sing that utterly annoying song ‘ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall’ before getting a grip on himself.

He was beginning to think he should start walking, or at least go track down a cab, when he noticed an extremely large shadow looming over him. He knew without looking who it was.

“Hello, Uncle Vernon.” he said calmly, standing up and grabbing his things.

“Where have you been? I’ve been all over this damn station trying to find you.” growled Vernon, grabbing Harry by the collar of his shirt and dragging him behind him.

Harry looked exasperated at his uncle. “Where were you looking?” he asked, as if talking to an imbecile. “You pick me up in the same spot every time.”

This apparently wasn’t the greatest thing to say.

Vernon spun around on him so quickly he nearly lost his balance, as his uncle still had a firm grip on his collar. “Don’t you backtalk to me, boy!” he bellowed. “Or would you like to spend the rest of the summer locked in that blasted bedroom?”

Harry looked to the floor, never daring to make eye contact with his uncle. It wasn’t a good idea when he was in such a horrible mood.

“Well, are you even listening to me? Pay attention when I talk to you, freak!” he hissed, shaking Harry by the shoulders.

“No, please don’t lock me in the bedroom.” he pleaded. He had decided long ago that his worst fear was being locked in any room, no matter how large it was.

“We’ll see.” said Vernon, more happily. He knew he was in control of the situation, and that’s how he liked it. The child had to learn he couldn’t backtalk to a higher authority, namely him.

“Now, where did I park that stupid car?” he asked himself, walking away, knowing full well that Harry would follow him.

****************

Snape was pissed. He had graciously met the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, here, for apparent security reasons, on what he called ‘important business.’ The idiotic man had had the gall to say he had returned to the Dark Lord. If only he knew. He was a spy, not a follower, the idiot.

Now, he was about to leave for Hogwarts, but had paused when he saw an exceedingly bulky man shaking one Harry Potter. He knew it was late in the afternoon. By all accounts, all children should have left the train station by now. So, he wondered if he should be worried that an overly large man was throttling the boy-who-lived. He decided that Dumbledore would most likely kill him if he purposefully left the boy to harm, so he followed the two into the parking garage.

********************

Harry was struggling to put his own trunk into the trunk of his uncle’s car. It was heavy, and he was small for his age. He finally shoved it in, and slammed the trunk’s lid down hard. Harry knew he was being irritating, but he really didn’t care. This man knew just how to make him feel two inches tall, and he was so tired of it.

“Do you think you could be any louder over there?” asked Vernon, venomously.

Harry was smart enough not to make a smart ass comment; he didn’t want to get smacked. So instead, “I’m sorry, I’ll be more quiet.” he said, sounding almost defeated.

Vernon could see the depression and defeated look in his nephew’s eyes. He was looking forward to bringing the boy down a notch or two. He always had to ‘correct’ the boy when he came home from school. He always seemed more headstrong and defiant. If he could take him out of that school, he would, but he was afraid of that Dumbledore’s retribution if he tried it. However, it never took but a day for the blasted boy to remember his place. Not long at all.

As Harry was about to get into the car, his owl started to squawk loudly. Apparently, she didn’t want to ride in the car. ‘Join the club.’ thought Harry. She was being very loud, and flapping her wings, drawing the attention of the few people that were also in the parking garage. Vernon swooped down on his nephew.

“You shut that damn thing up!” he growled, standing in front of the boy and his bird. He was attempting to keep the other occupants of the garage to see what was happening. He certainly didn’t want the attention. However, the stupid bird wouldn’t shut up. “If you don’t quiet that bird young man, I’ll break its neck, I swear.”

And Harry knew it to be true. He could see it in his uncle’s crazed eyes. He was trying frantically to get Hedwig to calm down, and as soon as he got away from the car, she did.

“Good.” said Vernon menacingly. “Now get your ass in that car, right now. And keep that stupid bird quiet, or you’ll regret it.”

Now what was he going to do. Hedwig would throw a fit if they got anywhere near the car. “But, Uncle Vernon, she doesn’t like the car, can’t I just let her fly home?” he asked, hesitantly.

Vernon’s face took on a purplish hue, and Harry knew he was in for it. “You think I’m going to let that bloody bird fly home? It’ll draw attention.” he hissed, grabbing Harry, once again by the collar of his shirt, and pulling him until he was mere inches from his face. “Get the blasted bird in the car! Oh, I can not wait until we are rid of you! You’re nothing but a burden on my family. You’re a waste of space, you little brat. Dudley could have his play room if you weren’t there.” he stopped then, as if considering something. “Hmm…perhaps it’s time to put you back in the cupboard. It would have you out of the way, then.”

Harry thought he would cry. He hated closed in spaces. That stupid cupboard was the worst. He couldn’t stand it. And his uncle knew it. Harry could see the smile spreading over his uncle’s face.

“I know you enjoy it so much better than that bedroom.” he said, hatefully. “We’ll be able to move you in as soon as we get home.”

“No.” said Harry, before he had time to think. “Please, let me stay in the bedroom. I’ll stay out of your way! Please. I don’t like the cupboard!” he begged his uncle. And hated himself for it.

Vernon only smiled down at Harry. “No, I think you’ll like it better in the cupboard.” he said, patting him on the head. “Now get in the car.”

“I’ll tell.” he blurted out suddenly. “I’ll write my friend’s and tell them. They won’t let you keep me in there.” He regretted it the second the words left his lips.

“Oh really. And how, pray tell, do you expect to write your friends when you’re owl’s dead?” he spat.

Harry recoiled at his uncle’s voice. The man was serious. He was going to kill his owl. Harry turned to run, but his uncle grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, slamming him against the side of the car.

“And what makes you think your friends even care? They don’t care about you, Harry; you’re nothing but a celebrity to them. They’ll never like you for you, but for the name. I’ve heard all about it. Famous Harry Potter. No one likes you; hell no one even loves you. You’re nothing…”

“That’s enough.” Vernon spun around only to come face to face with one very pissed off Severus Snape.

Snape followed the boy-who-lived and the fat muggle into the parking garage, being discreet enough to stay hidden. A fly on the wall wouldn’t be able to tell that he was stalking the two. As the two neared an extremely hideous looking car, he stealthily hid behind a support pillar, some fifteen feet away from the vehicle.

He was beginning to think he had overreacted, as the boy and his uncle were being annoyingly normal. Potter was putting his trunk into the car’s trunk, and failing miserably by the looks of it. He was honestly surprised it hadn’t fallen back on the small child and crushed his body. Alright, perhaps he was correct in his assumptions. The boy’s uncle was smirking while watching his nephew struggle with that damned trunk. Snape quickly put his wand away before the urge to use it became too much. He couldn’t risk being seen. Or using magic, there were still a few wandering people in the garage, trying to find their own vehicles. Wouldn’t they be surprised.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when Potter’s blasted owl started going crazy. He watched as the boy dragged the bird away from the car and it seemed to calm down. Severus could tell the man was talking heatedly to his nephew, but he wasn’t close enough to hear. He started walking quietly towards them, hoping he didn’t draw their attention. However, that all went out the window when that fat muggle threw Potter into the car, hard. Stealth be damned, he ran the rest of the way, and just in time to hear Dursley’s malicious words.

For reasons he couldn’t fathom, this seemed to really piss him off. To hear a relative talk to a child in such a way sent fire racing through him. And so, he reacted.

“That’s enough.” Snape watched, albeit slightly amused, as the boisterous man turned around, at a rather ungraceful gait.

“Who the hell are…?” Vernon couldn’t seem to find his voice anymore. He no longer had to ask the question, as the man’s attire told him precisely who he was. A wizard. A full blown, trained wizard. Thoughts of a painful death leaked into his suddenly terrified mind. But he wasn’t giving up without a fight. “Now you look here, this is my nephew, and I’ll deal with him in any manner I see fit.”

“Oh really.” snapped the Professor. “Then I think it’s time you developed a new outlet for your manners, for you will no longer be dishing them out to him.” he said, pointing directly at Harry. “Potter, we’re leaving.”

Without waiting for a reaction from the muggle, Snape had grabbed Harry by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled the boy behind him.

“Oh no you don’t!” yelled Vernon, making a grab for Harry as well. However, all he got was thin air. His nephew and the mysterious wizard had just vanished.

***********************

Harry had never disapparated before, and it was rather amazing. The feeling of weightlessness could only be rivaled by the feel of flying. He knew now that he definitely had to learn how to do that little trick, even if he was too young to do it yet.

But that thought would have to wait until later to be addressed. For now he was standing with his most despised teacher ever. Professor Snape. During the whole confrontation just minutes before, he had been wondering what the hell had possessed the Potions master. Perhaps he had discovered some type of new hallucinogenic drug, or potion, rather. Surely the professor had mistaken him for someone else, because he couldn’t figure out why on earth this man had helped him. Things were amiss.

“Um…professor, why did you do that?” he decided the direct approach would be best.

Snape looked at Harry like he was the world’s biggest moron. “Would you have preferred I left you with that muggle?” he ground out.

“Well, no. I was just curious.” he replied.

“I’m not a complete jackass, Potter. Not even I can condone that kind of behavior.” he said, walking away from Harry.

“Oh.” he said, still slightly shocked that any of this had happened at all.

“You’re intelligence staggers me, but if you don’t mind, I have someplace I have to be.” he spat, growing irritated that he had to drag this child around with him. He couldn’t wait to dump him with the headmaster and then get on with his summer task.

Harry had to run to keep up with Snape’s fast pace. “Where are we going, sir?” he asked, almost timidly. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the potions professor was in a very bad mood.

“To Hogwarts, you dote, where else?” he spat. Harry was taken aback by the professor’s mood swings. He didn’t know if he should be glad he had just saved him from his uncle, or fear him for it. If he thought the man had changed just because he had saved him, he apparently was wrong. He continued walking, very quickly, behind the older man. Not speaking another word was his goal.

They reached the front gates of Hogwarts in record time. Harry was actually quite glad for this. He couldn’t wait to get out of the uncomfortable presence of Severus Snape. As they were approaching the massive front doors, they were greeted with an unexpected surprise. Albus Dumbledore was swiftly walking out the front doors, with at least four impressively sized trunks floating behind him. Of course, the headmaster looked rather surprised, or more likely flabbergasted, at seeing Severus Snape and Harry Potter in the same company. His first thought was that something horrible had happened, a.k.a, Voldemort.

Severus, however, was beginning to have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Headmaster, surely you aren’t leaving.” he asked.

Dumbledore noticed there wasn’t an air of hysteria surrounding the boy, and therefore decided that an attack by Voldemort or his Death Eaters was out of the question. “Actually, I was, Severus. I haven’t seen my grandchildren in…” he seemed to pause a moment for calculations before continuing. “at least thirty years. I’m sure they’re wondering whether or not I’m still alive at this point. But that’s beside the point. Margery is getting married. And I’ve been asked to conduct the wedding, so as you can see, I most certainly am leaving. And before you ask, I do not foresee my return until at least two weeks before the new school term.”

Severus’s stomach was now definitely sinking. “Albus, you know I’ve got important…tasks to do this summer. Take the boy with you.” he demanded.

“Speaking of which, why exactly are you here, Mr. Potter.” asked Dumbledore.

Harry seemed to hesitate at this question. How precisely to answer this? Snape’s impatience answered for him.

“The boy’s uncle was belittling him, Albus.” he leaned closer to the headmaster’s ear. “It was verbal abuse, headmaster. He can’t return to them. I have reason to believe, if it hadn’t already, that it would have turned into violence.

So, as you can see, it would do him some good to spend some time with you, Albus.” he spoke loudly at this point, trying to get his point across. He refused to take the boy with him. He’d only get in the way. And he couldn’t afford to lose anymore time.

The headmaster seemed thoughtful at this point. “I am truly sorry, Severus, but this is a family matter. I must insist that you take the boy instead. I would, but I don’t think Harry would enjoy it very much with my boring old family. You’ll be doing much more exciting things, Severus, surely he’ll enjoy it more.” he replied jovially.

Snape’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe this. “Albus…”

“Severus,” the headmaster’s voice had grown stern. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t possibly bring him with me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.” And with that, he strode away from the two, both of which were standing stock still. One was furious, and one was fearful.

After two torturous minutes of absolutely no speaking whatsoever, Snape finally moved. “Come on, Potter.” he hissed, once again walking away from the boy. Once Dumbledore came back from his vacation he was half tempted to quit just to spite the man. “Bastard.” He mumbled.

After traversing what seemed like a maze, they finally reached Snape’s living quarters. “Wait here!” he yelled, startling Harry out of his haze.

“Yes, yes sir.” he muttered, standing out in the deserted hallway as Snape angrily flew through the portrait.

After ten minutes of waiting and still his professor hadn’t returned, his tired feet got the better of him, and he sank down to the floor. Ah, what bliss. His feet were killing him. He didn’t think he’d walked so much in his entire life. His thoughts suddenly took another turn. Where in the world were they going? He knew Snape had something he had to do this summer, and by the way he was acting, he figured it wasn’t something he’d be divulging any time soon. ‘I guess I’ll find out soon enough’

It wasn’t much longer until Snape came storming back through the portrait hole, robes billowing dramatically behind him.

“We’re leaving.” he hissed, and walked away, leaving Harry to trail behind him.

Severus didn’t realize it, but he was doing nothing to dispel the boy’s fears. He was only making them worse.

Harry followed behind Snape, too frightened to actually say anything to the man. He wasn’t sure what he was afraid of. Just that the man acted too much like his uncle for comfort. Perhaps it was just because he was in a bad mood, and he wasn’t always like this. He normally wasn’t even this callused at school. He, therefore, decided on hoping the pissed off attitude would go away soon.

They were almost at the front doors of the castle, and he hadn’t even noticed. Hedwig started making noises from her cage, letting him know she wanted out. He had almost forgotten he had her on him. And that’s when he remembered something else. In Snape’s rush to get them out of the train station, he had left his belongings in the trunk of his uncle’s car.

“Oh no.” he whispered to himself. He was fairly certain that if Vernon remembered that Harry’s things were in his trunk, he would destroy them at the earliest convenient moment.

“What?” asked Snape, interrupting Harry’s distraught thoughts.

Harry about jumped a foot at the voice.

“My…my things. I left them in the trunk of my uncle’s car. He’ll destroy them if I don’t get them back.” he said, hesitantly.

“Well then, perhaps you should have thought of that before leaving them there.” he said, hatefully. Snape knew at this point that he was just being an asshole to Harry because there was no one else to take his frustration out on. Of course, by the looks of things, he figured he had better stop.

Harry didn’t even look like he was going to argue the point. He knew he was flat out lying to the boy. In all reality, it was his fault the things had been left behind. He had disapparated before the boy could have possibly retrieved his belongings. Maybe that blasted muggle had more of an influence on the boy than he thought. And, certainly, his attitude did wonders. The poor boy probably thought he was just as bad, if not worse, than his uncle. ‘Time to act relatively normal.’ he thought.

“Potter, I can only assume you were ignorant enough to leave your wand in your trunk.” he stated. Okay, so old habits die hard. He was going to use the boy’s safety as an excuse to go back and get his stupid trunk.

Harry could barely restrain the flinch that wanted to so desperately show itself. “Well, I left it there…I would have gotten it out as soon as we got home. He would have seen it if I didn’t hide it there.” he replied, defending himself.

“Very well, then. Let’s go get your personal items, and hope your damn uncle hasn’t destroyed anything.” he paused, wondering how long it would take a car to drive back to Privet Drive. “Would your uncle be home yet?” he asked.

Harry looked down at the watch on his wrist. “Probably, it’s been a few hours since we left him there.” he replied.

“Alright. Let’s go.” he said, placing all of his belongings on the ground. After telling Harry to let the bird out of its cage, he placed the cage with his things as well, and then cast a protection charm on them. No one would be able to touch them without receiving quite a shock. With that done, he grabbed Harry’s sleeve and disapparated to Private Drive.

They apparated about a block away from the Dursley residence. “Which one is it, Potter?”

“It’s the fourth one on the right.” he said, pointing to it as well.

Without another word, Snape started walking towards it. Once again, Harry found himself following closely behind the older man. He suddenly felt like a puppy following his master or something. This was definitely not a pleasant thought. So, he gained some speed and matched his pace with Snape, walking beside him. The professor, however, didn’t seem to notice.

They reached number four in record time. The car was thankfully parked outside. Pulling out his wand, Severus muttered “Alohamora.” and the trunk sprang open. And as luck would have it, his trunk was still there.

“I can’t believe it.” muttered Harry. He was beyond shocked that it was there. But he had the feeling that Vernon was so angry that he completely forgot about it.

“Is everything intact?” asked Snape, startling Harry.

Harry sighed, annoyed with himself. ‘Calm down.’ he told the ‘Vernon Dursley conditioned’ part of his mind. He opened the trunk and was once again relieved. “Yes, it’s all here.”

“Good. Now, is there anything else you may be forgetting, or can we finally leave?” he asked, hitting a nerve in Harry.

“No, that’s all. We can leave.” replied Harry. He grabbed his trunk, hurriedly this time, and started to pull it out of the car. It was extremely heavy, and a heck of a lot more difficult to get out than to put in. He was beyond shocked when Snape pushed him to the side and got the trunk out himself.

“You’ll break you back.” he said as way of an explanation.

“Oh.” said Harry, clearly beside himself. He was still looking at his professor in shock when he grabbed his sleeve and disapparated.

***************************

Ah, Hogwarts, once again. Harry decided to ignore his earlier description of apparating, because he was fairly certain that he hated it now. He felt nauseas. Of course, this could also be a contributing factor to extreme lack of food. He hadn’t eaten in at least two days. He had been so depressed about returning home that he had stopped eating. It seemed to be a new end of term ritual. He found himself leaning on Snape for the support, and quickly pushed himself off. This made him dizzy. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, dry heaving.

Snape had been surprised to find the boy leaning on him when they had apparated near Hogwarts grounds. He had been even more surprised when the boy collapsed onto the ground, dry heaving no less. Didn’t he eat this morning?

He kneeled down beside the boy. “Potter, when was the last time you ate?” he asked, curiously.

As the dry heaves ended, he looked up into his professor’s face. He was actually afraid to answer that question. Would he be mad at him for not eating? He didn’t know.

“I…um…it’s been…two days.” he ended, lamely.

Snape raised his eyebrows at this. “Why on earth haven’t you been eating?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to tell the Potions professor what his reasoning was.

“Fine then, don’t answer me. Let’s go, I’ve got some anti-nausea potions in my bag.” he stated, annoyed. He bodily lifted Harry from the ground and practically carried him over to their things. Sitting Harry back onto the ground, Snape grabbed a bag that looked quite small to have potions in it. But, as he opened it, he pulled out several large vials, which couldn’t possibly have fit in a bag that small. He realized it must be magically enlarged on the inside. He watched as his professor finally picked a vial from the lot and gave it to him. “Drink it.” he ordered, placing the other vials back into the bag. Harry did as he was told and almost instantly felt better.

“If you’re done being sick, we’re going to disapparate, hopefully for the last time today, Potter. Can you handle it?” he asked, but with a touch of sarcasm, laced with what Harry thought might be concern.

“Yeah.” he replied. “But, may I ask where we are going?”

“You may ask, but as of now, it is imperative that you know nothing. There are ears everywhere, Harry. Besides, you’ll know eventually.” he replied, neutrally.

Harry felt his shoulders sag. So, basically, he was in a situation he knew nothing about, and he got the feeling someone might be following them, by Snape’s evasive words. Great. If anything, this only made Harry worry more. He was with a man prone to bad moods and now he basically felt completely out of control of the situation.

Snape saw the apprehension and fear on the child’s face and knew he’d have to give up some more information. Before, he had thought Potter’s uncle had been acting out in a single fit of rage. That perhaps something had happened that day to set him off, since Potter had never shown any signs of that kind of abuse. But now, watching him grow more and more withdrawn, he began to wonder. He assumed it was his lack of knowledge that was sending the boy into near hysteria. He wasn’t there yet, but he watched as the boy’s eyes filled with uncertainty. Harry didn’t want to go with him because he was scared of him. Wonderful, just wonderful. Really, now he definitely had to kill some old habits.

“Potter, we’re searching for someone, better now?” he asked, and Harry flinched violently. Now he was certain the abuse had been going on for a while now. Softening his tone, he continued. “This person knows where a certain something is. And we are going to collect this certain item.”

“Oh, okay.” he replied, at least now he knew a little more. But the fact that Snape had told him at all relieved him greatly.

“Now, do we have everything?” he waited until Harry nodded in the affirmative. Then he asked again. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ve got everything.” Harry was sure his professor was trying to annoy him.

“Very well then, do you think you can disapparate without getting nauseas?” he asked, since he would rather not have the child puking on him.

“I think I’ll manage.” said Harry, grabbing his things, and standing near his professor.

Snape grabbed his things as well and, taking Harry’s hand, they disapparated.

Harry thought he was going to be alright for this round of apparating, but he was sorely mistaken. Not eating for two days was definitely not a good thing. This time he immediately fell to the ground, hands holding onto the grass like a lifeline. The world around him was spinning crazily and he was afraid to let go for fear he’d fall over, but not stop spinning.

It took all he had to keep from yelling when he felt someone grab and turn him into a sitting position. He grasped Snape’s robes, trying to stop himself from falling over, even though he wasn’t moving. The next thing he knew, there was another potion vial at his lips and he was forced to drink it. The dizziness was gone replaced with a feeling of extreme weakness. Lifting his hand alone seemed like a futile task.

“Two days my ass.” said Snape, scathingly. “Do you even eat at all?” he asked, feeling the bones through the boy’s clothes.

Okay, so maybe it had been longer than two days, he honestly couldn’t remember when he had last eaten. Hell, he hadn’t eaten decently since he was a one year old. Malnutrition was such a bitch. Harry just let his head loll against Snape’s chest; anything else was out of the question.

Snape sighed in frustration. “We’re going to get some food into you, and then we’re going to have a little talk.” he said, and Harry knew it wasn’t up for argument.

Harry was dimly aware that they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by trees, but he could hear water running in the distance. But there were no signs of civilization anywhere. So, where were they going to get food? Harry’s mind didn’t seem to be functioning clearly at the moment. They were wizards, after all. Food wouldn’t be that hard to conjure up, but try explaining that to Harry.

Harry was shocked out of his ‘stupid moment’ by a piece of bread being shoved into his mouth. He nearly choked.

“Please tell me you know how to chew, Potter.” said Snape, exasperated at the situation in general.

Harry gave the man a withering glare, which was about the only thing he could do. He then started chewing the bread, and swallowed it. After a while, he was able to feed himself, and did so. He was more than uncomfortable with the fact that Snape had been feeding him. Of course, Snape wasn’t too thrilled with it either. The potions professor had been more than happy when Harry started taking the food for himself.

After only eating a fourth of what was offered, Harry had to stop. He had lowered his head when he felt Snape’s scrutinizing gaze on him, and as he did he thought he saw a glimpse of concern. However, the next he saw was the older man’s hard glare. Perhaps he had imagined it.

Snape was pretty damn sure that a bird couldn’t survive on the amount of food that child had just ingested. Perhaps now would be a good time to have that little chat. He had never been one to mince words.

“Did that bastard uncle of yours even feed you at all in the past fourteen years?” he asked, straight forward and to the point.

For the second time that day, Harry nearly choked. “Excuse me?” he asked. He knew Snape wanted to talk, but for some odd reason, he didn’t think it was going to be like this.

“Are you daft, or didn’t you hear the question?” he asked, dourly.

Harry suddenly wanted to be anywhere but where he was. He didn’t want to answer these questions; he didn’t want to be with such a temperamental man, who could possibly cause him bodily harm. Okay, so he didn’t really think he’d hurt him, but it was hard to think otherwise.

Snape watched as the boy seemed to fight an internal struggle. He was actually surprised the boy hadn’t run from him. He never was good at this kind of thing.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it would help me to better understand if you told me about your uncle.” he said, sincerely.

Harry dropped his head into his hands. Did he want to do this? Did he want to tell Snape, a person he never would have felt trustworthy before, things he hadn’t even told his best friends? He thought he would. Even if it was just to get it off his chest. He wouldn’t tell him everything, but enough to make him understand. He could do that.

“You hit the nail on the head, professor.” Snape looked confused for a moment before Harry continued. “He is a bastard.”

Snape looked at the boy incredulously. ‘He spoke.’ To say he was surprised would have been an understatement. The emotion put into the words was what really threw him off, though. Hate was a strong term, but he knew without a doubt that that was exactly how the boy felt about his uncle. Pure, unadulterated hate. What must the man have done to make a child feel that particular feeling about him? Many ideas started to filter into his brain, none of which were pleasant.

Without thinking he asked. “What did he do to you?” He really wanted to know. Not for selfish reasons either. It wasn’t like he planned to use the information against him or anything. He just honest to goodness wanted to know, shocking as it was.

Harry looked at him in a scrutinizing manner. ‘The hell with it.’ he thought. “What do you want to know?”

Snape was surprised, again. “Well, for starters, answer my earlier question. Did they feed you?”

Harry laughed, but not a happy laugh, a frightening laugh. “Define ‘feed you.’ I wasn’t considered worthy of food. In fact, I wasn’t worthy of anything. The only reason they feed me at all was because they were afraid someone like you might show up. Fear of what they didn’t understand seemed to be a motivational factor in just about everything. I basically received Dudley’s leftovers, in food, clothes, you name it.” After speaking that small amount of information, Harry didn’t know if he wanted to go on. Snape had a look of utter disbelief on his face.

“Did he hit you?” asked Snape, throwing caution to the wind. If Harry would have had anything in his mouth, he would have choked, again.

Harry stuttered for a few moments before finally speaking. “No.” he said, rather unbelievably.

‘Well that was a lie, if I ever heard one.’ Snape thought to himself. “Perhaps the truth would be more believable, Potter.” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Why?” asked Harry. “Why do you even want to know?”

Snape sighed. This kid had absolutely no trust in anyone whatsoever. Not that he could blame him. “I don’t have a heart made of stone, contrary to popular belief. I may be a bastard half the time, but don’t think I don’t give a damn.” he said. He didn’t want to say he cared or anything like that; because he knew the boy wouldn’t believe him. Plus, he wouldn’t believe himself.

Harry seemed to think on it for a while before he finally answered his question, if one would call it an answer at all. More like an aversion. “Maybe we could talk about this later.” or rather a flat-out refusal to answer at all.

Snape knew the conversation was over and let it go. He’d bring it up later, when he was more comfortable with his presence.

“So, where are we?” he asked, as a lame way of changing the subject. But he did really want to know.

“Again with the questions.” he muttered. “Do you hear that running water?” Harry confirmed it and Snape continued. “It’s a river, and across that river is an island. We’re going there. We just have to find a boat.” he said the last almost as an afterthought.

“Oh. Well, why didn’t we just apparate there then?” asked Harry.

“Honestly Potter, do you ever use that brain of yours.” again with the scathing remarks. He saw Harry flinch and mentally berated himself. “Anti-apparation wards.” That was all he needed to say.

“Oh.” said Harry, feeling like a complete idiot. “Didn’t know that.” he added.

“Of course you didn’t.” he replied. “We’d better get going, it looks like it could storm.” he said, looking up at the sky. There were relatively large storm clouds rolling in. He didn’t want to get caught in any bad weather. At that precise moment, the thunder rolled, very loudly. Harry jumped.

“I hate storms.” he stated. Severus smirked. So did he, but he wasn’t about to tell the boy that.

Levitating their belongings, they started towards the sound of running water. Harry noticed that the temperature had dropped drastically. He was pulling his cloak closer around himself, trying to draw in the heat. Snape didn’t seem to care at all about how cold it was.

As they approached the water, one thing entered Harry’s mind. Raging River Rapids. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to crossing the turbulent waters in the rickety boat he saw resting on the shore. He clumsily put his things into the boat after Snape had ended the levitation spell. He stood aside as his professor did the same, and even after the older man had climbed into the boat.

“Are you coming?” he asked, impatiently. Harry stood unsurely by the side of the boat. He didn’t exactly want to die today, and those rapids looked pretty deadly.

“Aren’t you worried?” he asked. “I mean, that boat doesn’t look stable enough to carry a rock, let alone two people…and their luggage.” he clarified at Snape’s questioning look.

Snape’s piercing glare made Harry immediately jump into the boat, regardless of safety. He was beyond relieved when the professor muttered a spell under his breath and the boat began to float over the mutinous waters. He sighed in relief and visibly relaxed, leaning against the edge of the boat. Snape just smirked.

They glided effortlessly across the water and eventually Harry could make out a tiny little dot in the distance. “That would be the island, Potter.” remarked the older man, noticing Harry’s interest in the spec across from them.

“Oh.” he replied. “It’s rather small.” he said, jokingly.

Snape didn’t find it all that funny. “It grows on you.” Harry laughed anyways. He didn’t think his professor realized what he had just said.

“Shut up, Potter.” Then again, maybe he did.

The rest of the day had been taken up with crossing the river to the island. Harry had fallen asleep in the boat and hadn’t awakened until a drop of rain landed on his forehead. He drowsily opened his eyes and looked up into the sky. He could hardly see due to the darkness surrounding them. Sitting up, he noticed that Snape was watching the weather around them with a look of apprehension. This didn’t bode well with Harry.

“Is something wrong, Professor?” he asked, pulling his cloak around himself.

Snape was startled out of his deep thoughts when he heard Harry’s voice. “I’m afraid we won’t make it to the shore before this storm hits at its full force.” he said. As if on cue, rain started pouring down on them in torrents. The wind started rocking the boat, despite the levitation spell, and they both had to hang onto the sides to keep from getting thrown out.

“Hang on!” yelled Snape, trying to find his wand in the many folds of his cloak. However, he was unable as a huge wave came out of nowhere and crashed down on the tiny boat. The levitation spell was rendered completely useless in the force of the storm and the boat fell violently into the raging waters beneath them.

Harry was knocked onto the floor of the boat, where he was shocked to find himself submerged in water. His shock turned to panic when something very heavy fell on top of him, effectively pinning him under the water, desperately needing to breathe. He realized it was one of their trunks and he tried to push it off of himself, but couldn’t, it was too heavy. He thrashed his arms helplessly as he started breathing in water. Suddenly, the trunk was gone and he was wrenched from the water, gasping in air and coughing all at the same time. He clung to Snape like a lifeline and never intended to let go. He had never been so frightened in his life. Well, at least not in the ‘air is being deprived from your body’ sort of way.

Severus nearly had a stroke when he had seen Harry pinned underneath the water by his trunk. Reacting without thought, he had pulled the trunk away from him and tossed it aside, further damaging the already damaged boat. Therefore, he hadn’t noticed their increasingly dire predicament until he had Harry safely above the water.

“Oh shit.” he exclaimed. The tiny boat was going to sink, and soon. He looked toward the island and could just barely make out the faint glow of a light. But they were still too far away. They wouldn’t make it, not in this boat. He once again went digging through his cloak in an attempt to find his wand. The damn thing seemed to be evading him. He couldn’t find it. “Where is it!” he yelled.

“What?” asked Harry, still attached to his professor.

“My wand.” he hissed out.

Harry pulled away from Snape and dug out his own wand. “Here.” he yelled over the wind. “Use mine!” he said and thrust his wand into the older man’s hand.

Snape hastily took the boy’s wand and started with a spell that Harry could hardly hear. Suddenly the rain stopped hitting them with a vengeance and the water in the boat parted down the middle and flew out either side of the boat. Looking up, Harry realized that the storm hadn’t ended, but there was some kind of shield up around them. The water was hitting it and rolling off. He was suddenly reminded of the spell Hermione had used for his glasses. The levitation spell was restored and they continued on through the storm towards the island, which was now considerably closer.

“Are you alright?” asked Snape.

“Yeah.” replied Harry, albeit a little shakily. “I never want to do that again.” he muttered more to himself, but Snape heard him anyways.

“Me either.” he said.

*************************

The rickety boat finally landed on the shore of the island and Harry immediately jumped out. He took a good look around and realized that this was an enormous island. He looked down the shoreline on either side of him, but couldn’t see where it cut off into the river. The trees here were the tallest he had ever seen, with extremely odd looking leaves. But it didn’t matter, as the only thing that did was that they were on land again.

The storm had slacked off some and they were able to actually see where they were going. Harry waited patiently while Snape cast drying spells on the both of them. There was a path off towards their left and they could just barely see a light in the distance. Snape assumed it was the light he had seen while out on the river. Casting yet another levitation spell on their belongings, they followed the path through the trees and were soon in some kind of little village.

When Harry had been told about the island, the first thought that had popped into his head had been some kind of deserted isle with no living life in sight. In fact, he had an image of a movie Dudley had been watching a few years ago flash into his mind. He thought it was called the Blue Lagoon, or something like that.

What lay in front of him was nothing like what his imagination had drug up. There were houses, most of which looked like they were built in the late 1800s, but they probably had been. They continued down the path, which went in-between many of the houses, and then grew larger, like a road. They stopped in front of one of the nicer looking homes, which ended up being a bed and breakfast, as the sign advertised. Although he couldn’t imagine anyone coming out here to visit, as the air of this village alone seemed that of secrecy.

He noticed that no one had ventured outside of their houses when they had emerged from the woods. He had seen some people peeking out of their windows, but they were hastily closed as soon as they saw him looking. He followed Snape up the walkway to the two story house. It was quite beautiful, with a wrap around porch and he noticed a balcony on the other side of the house. There was also a small balcony directly above them. Snape knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer the door.

A woman could be seen through the curtains on the front door coming towards them. She slowly opened the door and peeked her head around it.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked, caution in her voice.

“Deliverance?” asked Snape.

“Severus?” she asked in return, fully opening the door. “Oh, Severus.” she exclaimed, rushing out and enveloping the man in a huge hug. “It’s been so long. Where have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve been teaching, Del.” he replied, and laughed at her incredulous look. “Things aren’t as they were, cousin.”

Things were starting to make sense to Harry. He had been totally confused when the woman had recognized Snape and had actually hugged him. Something he had never expected to see in his lifetime. But, she was family. Very old family at that. She looked more like a grandmother than a cousin. Harry would venture a guess that she was at least in her nineties, but he could be wrong.

“Come in, come in.” she said happily, motioning for them to follow her into the house. She led them to what appeared to be a sitting room and then rushed back out, only to return a moment later with cups and a pitcher of tea. “Sit down.” she said.

They both took seats on the couch that sat opposite of the rocking chair she had sat herself in. “Now, who do you have here?” she asked, eyeing Harry curiously, and placing the pitcher on a table sitting between them.

“This is one of my students, Del. His name is Harry Potter.” he replied, sipping at his tea.

“Why, hello, Harry. I trust you had a safe trip here?” she asked and Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her question. “What?” she asked, truly bewildered.

“That storm gave us quite a bit of trouble, Del. We’re lucky we made it here at all.” said Snape a little scathingly.

“Yes, exactly what are you doing here?” asked Deliverance, pouring Harry some more tea.

“I’m on a bit of a mission.” replied Snape.

“With a child?” she asked, exasperated. “I can only imagine the kind of mission you would be on. And I most definitely doubt this child should be going with you!” she ground out.

“Believe me; he’s more than capable of handling it. He’s handled more precarious situations, haven’t you Potter?” remarked Snape.

“Um…yeah.” said Harry, not wanting to go into the sordid details of all he had experienced to this woman. Although he was getting more than annoyed at being called a child, he wasn’t a child.

“Even so,” continued Deliverance, “if the people are anything like I remember them, it isn’t safe for him. Or even you for that matter. How on earth did you manage to get a teaching job, Severus? Did you hide it from them?” she asked, still marveling at how much this man had achieved.

“Deliverance, I told you already, things have changed. Honestly, don’t you even keep contact with the outside world?” asked Snape, more surprised at his cousins lack of knowledge than he had expected to be. He had assumed she had kept in contact with others, such as himself, but she never sent mail or ever wrote him back.

“Of course I don’t, Severus, are you mad? What if I got caught?” she asked, irritation seeping into her voice.

Harry stared between the two of them in confusion. What were they on about, anyways?

“Things aren’t like they were. We have our own world now.” said Snape, talking slowly, trying to let his words sink into his cousin.

“Excuse me?” she asked, completely shocked. “Our own world?”

“Yes. The Wizarding World, I can’t believe you didn’t realize it. Has it really been three hundred years since you paid attention to what has been going on outside of this island?” he asked.

“Whoa, wait a minute. How old are you?” asked Harry, incredulously.

“I’m very old, Harry. I’m probably the oldest person you will ever meet.” she replied. “Have you ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials?” she asked.

“Yes, hang on, were there really witches there?” he asked, never believing the story to be true, since true witches and wizards could have gotten out of being hanged.

“Some were real witches, and those who remain live here, on this island. We fled when they started hanging innocent people. We did try and save who we could, but they would take our wands, and wandless magic was a very difficult task. This is why we are a secluded people, Harry. We feared what the muggles would do if they ever discovered where we were. Our past experiences with them were unpleasant, to say the least. We decided to stay away from them and keep our presence in the world a secret.” she said, as way of an explanation for the situation. “But what’s this about our own world? Don’t the muggles know of your existence?” The very idea was frightening to her.

Harry thought he could relate with this woman a little with the muggle aspect of the story. He knew all too well how people could react to being a witch or wizard. His relatives would probably jump at the chance to be able to hang him. Sickening.

Severus quickly told her of all that was happening in the Wizarding World, and told of a bigger threat than muggles with a witch and wizard complex, Voldemort.

“Oh dear.” she whispered. “And you defeated him?” she asked, looking straight at Harry.

“Yeah.” he replied, looking studiously at his shoes.

“You’re a very special lad, aren’t you?” she asked. Snape snorted. “Shut up, Severus.”

Snape looked on the verge of arguing with his cousin, but then thought better of it.

“Well now, perhaps you two would like a warm bed to sleep in? Hmm? I’m sure you’re very tired after your journey today. Please, follow me.” she said, and led them up a spiraling wooden staircase. “Here you are, Severus. Your rooms will be connected, in case you need anything.” added Deliverance, pointing at a door on the right wall. “Harry, you’re right in here.”

She led Harry to the next door and unlocked it for him. “Sleep well, dear.” she said, and shut the door behind her.

Harry looked longingly at the bed in the middle of the room. It was huge. The kind you had to use stairs to get into. He had always wanted to sleep in a bed like this, and now he had the chance. He heard a thump outside his door and went to open it. He was surprised to see his things sitting outside his door. She must have brought them up for him. Hedwig hooted lovingly at him from his open window. It was amazing how his owl could find him no matter where he was.

“Potter, keep that bird quiet!” yelled Snape from the other room.

“Yes, Uncl…Professor Snape.” he had almost called his professor by his uncle’s name. He was used to getting yelled at for Hedwig being loud by his uncle. He’d have to watch himself. His thoughts were interrupted when the door connecting his room to Snape’s was opened. And as he was so wrapped up in his thoughts he immediately cringed away from the older man. He had Uncle Vernon on the brain.

Snape looked questioningly at the boy standing in front of him. The blasted child thought he was going to get hit. Damn muggles. He thought the boy and Deliverance should get together and compare notes.

“I see your owl has found you.” he replied, nonchalantly. “Perhaps you should let her out to hunt for food. She’s probably spent the day trying to find you.”

“Oh, okay.” said Harry, relaxing. “I’ll do that.”

“Alright, sleep well, Potter.” said the Professor and he disappeared into his room.

“You too, sir.” said Harry, even though he figured Snape couldn’t hear him. He pulled his trunk over to the closet and opened the door. He was surprised to find a walk in closet. He pulled his trunk in and was almost overwhelmed by a feeling of claustrophobia. He couldn’t even stand a walk in closet. He quickly jumped from the closet and climbed into bed, kicked off his shoes, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

It had been about a week since they had arrived at this mysterious island. Harry had decided to dub it Cross Island, as he had never seen so many crosses in all his life. Everywhere he went, he’d see a cross or some other sort of sign in a window or hanging on the front door. Severus had told him it was a way of hiding. If a stranger had come to their village seeking to destroy any witches, they could honestly say they were a religious colony, and most would leave them alone. Of course, that hadn’t been a necessary thing to do in a very, very long time.

Deliverance had coerced Severus into staying for a while after promising no one had been seen snooping around before they had arrived. If there had been any strangers in the area, they would have moved on.

“We’ll only be able to stay a few more days, Del. I hadn’t planned on staying this long, so quit pestering me about it.” snapped Severus.

Deliverance sighed tiredly. “Very well, Severus. I only wanted company for a while longer. You know I never get to see any of the family.” She laughed. “They’re all dead.”

It wasn’t the first time that Severus thought the woman might be going mad in her old age. Some of the things she said could be considered quite odd. And it was very odd indeed to laugh at one’s own family’s death.

“Ah, yes, Deliverance. Just the same, we can’t stay but one more day. The mountains are difficult to trek in any circumstances, but when you’re dragging a child along with you, anything could happen.” said Severus. ‘He’ll probably fall off a cliff.’ he thought to himself. Over the weeks, he had grown to tolerate the boy. He bemusedly thought he might have to save the little brat if he did fall off a cliff.

“Now, Del, tell me the directions once more. And who exactly is this guide?”

******************

Harry sat idly on his bed, legs dangling off the side, with wind blowing his hair every which way from the open window. He was very comfortable and wasn’t exactly looking forward to getting up. He also wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming traveling they would be doing. He knew they were supposed to climb a mountain, but that was about all he knew. Severus seemed to really like keeping him in the dark. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to actually climb a mountain. Mountain trails are good things.

After a few more moments of laziness, Harry finally dragged his butt out of bed and crossed over to the closet. He stood at the doorway, but didn’t go any further. He decided he would wear a pair of Dudley’s old jeans, which were very baggy on him, and a long sleeved black t-shirt. Now that he had decided, he just had to get them. Once again he found himself wishing that Deliverance had thought to get some dresser drawers. She had none in the entire house. So, naturally, the only place to put his clothes away was in the stupid closet. So far he had been pretty good at it. Just run in, throw his clothes on the rod, and run out. Retrieving his clothes went about the same way, only he grabbed them off the hanger instead. His internal mantra the entire time would be ‘The door is still open.’ Which he would repeat over and over until he got back out.

“I am so pathetic.” he muttered to himself, still standing outside the closet door. Taking a deep breath, he walked inside, grabbed the outfit he wanted, and quickly stepped back out. “That wasn’t so bad.”

After quickly dressing, he went downstairs for breakfast. It had been a daily ritual of sorts while at the Inn. He, the Professor, and Deliverance always sat down together for the meal, and it was spent in relative silence. But not today.

It sounded as if the two cousins were arguing over when Severus and Harry would be leaving. Deliverance was adamant that they stay, but soon his Professor won out. They would be leaving the following morning. Harry didn’t know if he would prefer leaving or staying. His potions Professor had slowly begun to be more, well, nicer, for lack of a better word. He just hoped he would stay that way without his nagging cousin around.

Harry still couldn’t believe how secluded a life these people were living. According to Snape, he hadn’t seen Deliverance since he was a teenager, but even then the people of Cross Island would refuse to listen to anything about the outside world. They just didn’t want to know, so the family would remain quiet. Now, however, Severus was the only one left, and he could care less. He’d tell her anyways.

“Ah, hello Harry.” remarked Deliverance, sipping quietly from a tea cup.

“Um…hi.” said Harry, taking a seat across from the older woman.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, Potter.” stated Snape.

“Yeah, I know.” replied Harry.

“Eavesdropping, were you?” asked Snape, smirking.

“It was kind of hard to miss the raised voices.” Harry shot back. Severus continued to smirk.

“Eat your breakfast, Potter.” he said.

******************

Harry had spent the rest of the morning and into the late afternoon talking without purpose to Deliverance. She had a knack for talking about a whole lot of nothing for a really long time. After nearly falling asleep three times, she finally sent him upstairs. On the way he had run into his Professor.

“Potter, we’ll be leaving by six tomorrow. I suggest you pack your belongings tonight.” he said while passing the boy in the hallway, and then walking into his own room without another word.

“Whatever.” he breathed underneath his breath. But, as he watched the sun slowly setting from outside the window, he suddenly decided to get this over and done with before it was completely dark. It was extremely eerie at night, with only the candle lights for illumination. He only had a few to go by, whereas at Hogwarts, he had many more, plus torches. He decided Deliverance must really want someone to break a leg while staying with her.

He pulled his trunk out from underneath his massive bed and proceeded to drag it over to the closet door. After a moment’s preparation, he started his normal routine of running in and out as quickly as he possibly could. The least amount of time he spent in the closet, the better. Harry was just grabbing his last few pairs of jeans when he noticed the light in the closet was fading, rather quickly. He turned around just in time to see the door slam shut. Without thinking, he ran for it and tried in vain to open the door. It was locked. He pounded on the door with his fists, and was about to scream, but it was cut off.

Suddenly, the walk-in closet had disappeared and he was once again trapped in the cupboard under the stairs. He immediately drew himself up in a corner, wrapped his arms around his knees and started crying.

******************

Severus sat alone in his own bedroom, contemplating the words his cousin had told him earlier that day. She knew of the place he was looking for, but it would take a guide to get them there. It was an apparent difficult journey, and had it not been for the fact that he would never find it on his own, he would have gone without the damn guide. Deliverance spoke volumes about his knowledge of the mountain, but his personality was another matter. He would have to keep an eye out on him, he wasn’t a nice man. And to top it off, he hated children. Just great. He had a sinking feeling that the boy would have an emotional breakdown before they reached their destination.

He wanted to leave extremely early the next morning, as Potter and himself would have to go and get the damn guide. He lived about a quarter of the way into the mountain. Deliverance had sent word that he would be having guests the next afternoon, and he would be paid handsomely, which was the only reason he would take them up in the first place.

He had told the boy to go and pack his things earlier, but did you really have to make that much noise while packing? He quickly opened the door connecting their rooms and saw the boy running in and out of the closet. Severus assumed he was purposefully being a pain, and decided to play a little joke on the brat. As soon as Harry went into the closet again, he flicked his wand and the door slammed shut and locked.

He only planned on letting him stay in there for a few minutes, and turned to go back to his room. He heard him start pounding, but then he heard nothing. Leaving the room, he finished his own packing and placed his bags and trunk by the door. Then he went over to Harry’s room to let him out.

“Hey, Potter.” said Snape, loudly. No answer. “Alohamora.” he said, ready to let the boy out. However, he wasn’t ready for what he was about to find.

It had gotten very dark outside since he had locked Harry in the closet, and he found it very hard to see inside of it. “Lumos.” he muttered, slightly annoyed the boy hadn’t come out on his own accord.

He pointed his wand around in the large closet, before he heard something coming from the corner. ‘Crying?’ he asked himself. He finally saw the boy, and could have cursed himself. Harry was curled up into a ball, arms wrapped defensively around his knees and chest, and was crying. Harsh gasps of breath between sobs made him realize he’d probably been doing it the entire time.

“Harry?” he asked, tentatively, but he still received no response. He slid over to where the boy was still laying on the floor, and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry flinched, but seemed to come out of whatever trance he was in.

“Professor?” he asked, looking startled.

“Yes. Let’s get out of the closet.” he told Harry, helping him up off the floor. Harry gladly accepted the help and rushed out. He stood in the middle of the floor, feeling extremely awkward, and a little disoriented.

“What happened?” he asked, wiping tears from his eyes. He noticed at once that his Professor seemed reluctant to talk.

“Why were you running in and out of the closet?” asked Snape, looking for a diversion.

Harry, extremely uncomfortable, lowered his eyes the floor. His shoes were extremely interesting. “I don’t like closets.” he replied.

“Why?” asked Snape.

“I just don’t, okay.” huffed Harry.

“Really.” snarled Snape, beginning to wonder if the boy was just trying to make him feel bad. He looked like he was hiding something. “It’s time for bed.” he added, taking Harry’s arm, a little roughly.

Harry started violently and brought his arms up to shield his face on instinct. Severus froze, holding the boy’s arms in his hands. He definitely didn’t know what to do in situations such as these.

“Calm down.” he said, and slowly brought Harry’s arms down to his sides. He noticed that Harry was eyeing him wearily, with fresh tears in his eyes. He suddenly had the desire to go and throttle this child’s relatives. “I’m sorry.” he said, and Harry looked so shocked the professor almost laughed. “About the closet.” he added.

Harry just nodded his head and stepped out of the older man’s grasp. “That’s okay.” he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying so much. “It’s not your fault.”

“Actually, it was I who locked you in.” he said, waiting for Harry’s reaction.

But Harry didn’t seem too surprised by it. “Figures.” he muttered.

“Well, if I had known you were going to react like that, I wouldn’t have done it.” he said, defensively.

“Well, who locks people in the closet, anyways?” asked Harry, also getting defensive. He was tired and psychologically worn out.

“I can only assume your uncle did.” said Snape, flat out.

Harry just stared at him. “I take that as a yes.”

“It was a cupboard…under the stairs.” Harry muttered, once again eyeing the floor. He never noticed the look Snape shot at him. The Dursley’s were going to get a little visit when they got back to Hogwarts.

“Well, seriously, you look tired. Go to bed.” ordered Snape.

Harry started to get into bed, but then paused. “I haven’t finished packing.” he stated, looking at the closet as if he wished it would burst into flame. The thought of going back into any closet ever again made him want to burst into tears, for the third time that evening.

“I’ll do it, now go to bed.” said Severus, and Harry could only look at him in shock, again.

“Okay.” said Harry, tiredly. He climbed into bed and was blissfully unaware almost immediately. Severus continued to watch the boy until he was sure he was sound asleep before finishing packing for him. The more he got to know him, the more he couldn’t understand why someone, especially his uncle, would hurt him in such a way. Placing the jeans into one of Harry’s bags, he moved his luggage over towards his door.

“Goodnight, Harry.” he said, and shut the door.

The next morning Harry awoke to discover it had rained during the night, and looked like it might again that day.

“Great.” he muttered to himself, flinging his legs over the massive bed and jumping down to the floor. He briefly wondered what time it was before heading to the bathroom to clean himself up. He just hoped it wasn’t before six yet, or Snape might kill him. After finishing that task, he grabbed his things, which were sitting at the door. “I don’t remember doing this.” he said to himself, and then remembered the events of the previous evening, and preceded to feel like an idiot. “I can’t believe I acted like that, and in front of Snape too.”

With the knowledge that Snape knew more of his past in mind, he headed downstairs. Deliverance had the entire table covered with food. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he saw and smelt the ample supply of food on the table.

“Hello, dear.” said Deliverance, coming out of the kitchen with what looked like a bowl of gravy.

“Hi, Del.” said Harry, sitting down at the table. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, you know.” he added.

“Of course I did. This could be the last time I see the both of you for a very long time. I wanted to make it special.” she replied, setting down the bowl. “Now eat up, you’ve a long journey ahead of you.”

“Yes, mam.” he said, grabbing a biscuit from a basket and the gravy. “I love this meal.” he said to himself. He thought he heard Del chuckling on her way out.

Severus came down the stairs not five minutes later, eyeing the food on the table. “There are three people here, not an army.” he stated, sitting down across from Harry.

“She said she wanted to make it special.” remarked Harry, still shoveling biscuit into his mouth.

“Really.” said Snape, scathingly.

“Yes, really.” Deliverance surprised them both by coming down the stairs instead of out of the kitchen. Harry looked at her in confusion. “Secret passageways, dear.” she said, realizing his predicament.

“Oh.” he said.

“Who knows when you’ll get a descent meal again, so eat up while it’s still hot.” she exclaimed, and bustled over to sit beside Severus.

******************

Breakfast ended rather quickly and soon both Professor Snape and Harry were at the front door, saying their goodbyes to the much older woman. As the mountain would be a long and sometimes dangerous climb, they had packed light, leaving most of their belongings in the house.

“I’ll see you soon, cousin.” said Deliverance, enveloping him in a tight hug, much to Snape’s discomfort.

“Ah, yes, we will.” he replied, breaking out of the hug.

“You be careful now.” she said and wrapped the boy in a tight hug as well. “I shall miss you. Don’t be strangers, come and visit me when you get back.” she seemed to drill holes into Snape’s head at this comment, making sure he understood. If they weren’t back within a week, she’d send out a search party. She trusted that mountain about as far as she could throw it, which says a lot.

“Bye.” said Harry, and they were off, following the larger section of trail they had come in on. Soon the trail broke off and they were left with overgrown foliage to walk through. Harry swiped continuously at bugs, especially the mosquitoes, which seemed to love him. He noticed that Snape didn’t seem to have any problems with the bugs, and glared at him. After a very vicious attack by at least ten mosquitoes, Harry started cursing, very loudly.

Snape turned around and eyed the boy. He saw the red marks adorning Harry’s skin. “Why don’t you use your wand, like most intelligent people do, and repel the damn things.” said Snape.

Harry just looked at his Professor like he was the biggest idiot in the world. “How am I supposed to do that? You know perfectly well that I can’t use magic during the holidays.”

Snape glared. “Apparently I forgot to mention an important factor. You are allowed to use your wand, but only if you are in extreme duress. And if I am present, however, I prefer that you ask first. I don’t want you off enchanting the wildlife, Potter. Got it?” he asked, still glaring.

“Yes.” said Harry, happy he got to use his wand, even if he did have to ask. He quickly cast a bug repelling charm that did a hell of a lot better than bug spray could ever do and followed after Snape.

“How much longer do you expect it to be?” asked Harry.

“We’ve probably got another hour or so to go before we reach this man’s…shack.” he said with distaste.

Harry just nodded his head and continued following. He was hoping this guide would be able to lead them to wherever they were going, and quickly. Traipsing through a mountain with Snape was beginning to get boring. But nothing in Harry’s life ever remained so.

******************

The next hour past by very slowly, with no conversation and no rest stops whatsoever. Harry was growing very tired, but was too afraid to ask for a break in their traveling. He still wasn’t too trusting of Snape, especially after what had happened the night before. After stumbling over his own two feet a few times, he decided to risk it. “Professor, do you think we could stop for a bit?” he asked, leaning against a tree gratefully.

Snape turned around and looked at the boy, who looked close to collapsing. “Yes, we can take a quick break, I suppose.” he stated, and proceeded to unpack one of the bags. Harry noticed that Deliverance must have packed them a care package filled with food and other essential items for the trip. “Here, drink this.” said Snape, throwing Harry a bottle of water and opening one for himself.

“Thanks.” muttered Harry, drinking the bottle dry in a matter of seconds.

Professor Snape just waved it off. “If you’re finished resting, we need to be going.” he said, standing up from where he had been sitting.

Harry wearily got to his feet as well, and begrudgingly started to follow after the older man. He hoped when they got to the guide’s home they’d be able to rest for longer. He wondered what the guide was like, hopefully nice. He didn’t think he could stand being secluded with two people with foul attitudes.

It wasn’t too much longer when he saw smoke rising into the air in the distance. “I think we’re almost there.” he told Snape, pointing out the smoke.

“Thank you for stating the obvious, Potter.” stated Snape, scowling. He wasn’t looking forward to meeting the man Deliverance had referred to as ‘Satan’, during one of their conversations. Then again, Deliverance’s view on people differed from his own.

Harry just glared at the infuriating man in front of him. “I hope the guide is friendly.” he muttered to himself, but Snape heard him anyways.

‘You have no idea.’ Snape thought to himself.

*******************

Below the next rise, they discovered the man’s shack, where smoke was rising steadily from the chimney. A man sat outside, smoking a cigar, it looked like, and petting a rather large and vicious looking dog on the head. Harry thought he should be more careful while petting that dog, as it might bite his whole hand off. The dog started growling when he saw the two coming over the hill and stood up defensively in front of its master.

The Professor subconsciously stood in front of his charge, shielding him from any attack the Rottweiler might dish out. The guide stood up from his seat on the porch and reigned in his dog.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, knowing perfectly well who it was. There weren’t many strangers around the area he didn’t know about. He made it a point to know about everything that went on around the island.

Snape had to restrain himself from cursing the man. “I am Severus Snape, my cousin Deliverance wrote to you telling of our arrival. I assume you got the letter?” he spat.

“Ah, I got the letter. Better safe than sorry, I say.” he said, eyeing the boy behind the older man with hatred. Harry could feel the man’s eye’s burning into him and shivered. Well, at least he knew he wasn’t nice. “She didn’t mention you’d be bringing any brats with you, though.” he complained.

Harry winced. He didn’t like this man, not at all. He found himself clinging to his Professor’s robes, and let go.

“Yes, well, the brat is just something we’re going to have to put up with. I had no choice in the matter, he had to come.” he stated, and Harry’s trust in his Professor plummeted to an all time low. He suddenly felt trapped with two people he never wanted to be in a crowded room with, let alone on a secluded island.

Snape noticed Harry’s increasing discomfort. The boy was backing away from the both of them, and he saw the guide eyeing the child with an odd gleam in his eyes. Snape sighed in exasperation. He didn’t want to have to stun the guide on their first encounter.

“What’s your name, old man?” spat Snape, surprising Harry so much he jumped.

The guide looked at Snape indignantly. “I ain’t old.” he hissed. “And I go by the name Jeb.”

“That’s nice.” he murmured, not caring in the least. “Will you lead us to the caves?” he asked, or more demanded.

“Did you bring money?” he asked, holding out his hand. Snape withdrew a pouch from his pocket and threw it at the older man. Jeb opened the pouch and fingered the money greedily. “I will lead you.” he stated.

************************

Harry reluctantly followed the two older men deeper into the trees that went higher into the mountain. He stayed several feet behind the both of them, hoping to stay out of the way. Harry swung his bag from his shoulder. He longed to get out his cloak, as it was growing quite cold. Deciding they probably wouldn’t notice if he stopped real quick for it, he opened his bag and set it on the ground. Rummaging through the large bag, he found it towards the bottom, and picked it up. Beneath his cloak he saw his money sack, and shifted it over towards the side. Harry started when he heard a sound coming from behind him. Turning quickly he found himself face to face with Jeb. He noticed the man had that scary gleam in his eyes, as he had earlier, and shuffled backwards, only to run into a damn tree.

“What you got there, boy?” he hissed quietly, reaching behind him and pointing at Harry’s money sack. Harry quickly turned and pulled his bag to his chest.

“None of your business.” he stated, acting more bravely than he felt. He looked around but didn’t see Snape anywhere. “Where’s Professor Snape?” he asked, hoping to distract the disgusting looking man in front of him.

“Right here.” said a rough voice from directly beside them. Harry spun and looked gratefully at his professor. “Is there a problem?” he asked, glaring at the guide.

“No, none at all. Just having a little chat with the boy is all.” said Jeb, looking as innocent as he could.

Snape took note of the boy’s incredulous look. Harry wandered further up an indistinct trail they had been following at Snape’s insistence. As soon as he was out of earshot Severus turned on the guide.

“Stay away from the boy.” he said venomously, and walked away.

Jeb just smiled evilly. “You can’t be around all the time.” he whispered to himself and went to catch up.

The moon cast an eerie glow on the forest surrounding them as they finished setting up their camp. Severus had been trying not to use any sort of magic, in case they were being followed. He didn’t want anyone figuring out where they were. The layout of the camp was simple; a couple of blankets, and a small fire were really all they needed. Harry had started pulling food out of the bag Deliverance had sent with them, marveling at the amount she had managed to shove into it.

He was just laying out his own blanket to sleep on later that night when he felt someone watching him. He looked up just in time to see Jeb starring at him with that weird gleam in his eyes again. Harry was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable in this man’s presence. If only his Professor hadn’t limited his use of magic to emergencies, he could ‘accidentally’ hex the man and try to get away with it. He laughed inwardly at the idea. As the man seemed to have a staring problem, Harry looked away first. He couldn’t stand that look. He just wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Potter would you like to share the food, or do you plan on looking dumbly at the ground the entire night?” spat Snape, already in a fuming mood, due to the company he was forced to keep, mainly the psycho with the greed complex.

While looking right at Harry, Jeb snickered evilly, enraging Snape, and freaking out the boy.

“Shut your damn trap.” hissed Snape, startling the older man.

“Excuse me?!” he yelled, standing up from his crouching position. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m the man paying you an insane amount of money to lead me up a hill.” he said sarcastically. “Now, unless you would like to go home empty handed, you’ll mind your own business, stop staring at the boy, and shut the hell up!” he said, exasperated with the man.

Harry was surprised by his Professors impromptu yelling fit and even more surprised when he defended him, in his own warped way.

Jeb sat back down, eyeing Snape with a deep hatred in his eyes, which only Harry seemed to notice. Harry ended up getting very little sleep that night.

****************

The next morning, Harry awoke realizing he was freezing. Peering through slightly opened eyes, he saw the reason for this. Jeb was standing over him, smirking, and holding his blanket. “Time to get up, little one.” he said, faking a caring tone.

Harry eyes shot fully open, and he immediately backed away from the older, creepy looking man. Quickly scanning the area, he also realized that Severus was no where in sight. ‘Oh shit.’ he thought, quickly getting to his feet.

“What’s wrong? You act like I’m going to hurt you or somethin’.” he said, pulling something out from behind his back.

Harry started as he realized it was his bag. “Hey, that’s mine! Give it here.” he said, grabbing for it.

“No.” said Jeb, holding the bag just out of Harry’s reach. The younger man hadn’t realized just how tall Jeb was until he was standing right next to him, as he only reached the man’s chest. He had to look up into Jeb’s eyes, and was once again very disturbed by the look he was giving him. He went to step backwards when Jeb grabbed his upper arms hard. Harry had to clench his teeth as he fought back the urge to scream. He wasn’t some sissy, but the fingers digging into his sensitive flesh were sure as hell bringing on the urge.

“I noticed you were missing something from your bag, boy. Where is it?” he hissed, shaking the boy roughly.

Harry looked at him in confusion and pain. “What are you talking about?” but as soon as he said it he knew what the man wanted. His money sack. He had taken it out last night right before he had gone to bed and hidden it. Understanding dawned in his eyes and Jeb saw it.

“You know what I’m talking of, brat, now where…is…it!” he hissed, digging his fingers even deeper into the boy’s arms. Harry involuntarily let out a whimper, which only seemed to please Jeb to no end. “Don’t like that, do ya?” he spat, squeezing even harder, causing Harry to actually cry out. Suddenly they heard branches crashing as someone came rushing towards the camp. “Not a word, you little shit, or I will make this journey a living hell.” he hissed, pushing the boy back onto his bedding, and then acting like he was leaning over the boy with a fake look of concern plastered on his face.

“It’s gone now, son. Nothing to worry about.” he said, right as Snape came crashing out of the forest.

“Get the hell away from him!” he yelled, grabbing the man by the arm and pulling him away from Harry, who was breathing rapidly.

“Get your filthy hands off of me!” spat Jeb. “I wasn’t doing nothing to harm the little brat, was I boy?” he said, staring the boy down. “It weren’t nothing but a snake slitherin’ in his bedding.”

Harry saw the man meant it when he said he’d make the journey a living hell. Not wanting to jeopardize anything, as he knew this trip was important to his Professor, he decided to keep his mouth shut, as a raging Snape could be just as bad.

“What of it Potter, was there a snake?” he asked, with a look of undeniable doubt in his eyes.

“Yes, Professor. It just took me by surprise is all.” he stated, keeping eye contact.

“Obviously.” he said, taking in the boy’s disheveled state and rapid breathing. “If you’re certain.” he said, still eyeing the guide with mistrust.

“I am.” said Harry.

“Very well, then let’s pack up and get back on the trail. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover before the sun sets.” he stated, and started finishing packing up, which he had been doing earlier when the call of nature had sounded.

As soon as Snape was no longer looking at him, Harry rubbed his arms, trying to take away the agonizing sting that still remained from the guide’s rough handling. He knew that Jeb was boring angry eyes through him, but refused to look at him, and because of this he missed the sickeningly delighted look the older man’s face took on.

**************

An hour later and they were trekking up the damn mountain again, following behind the so called guide. Harry personally thought the man didn’t know a trail from a hole in the ground. The man kept changing course, backtracking at some points, before heading back towards the exact place they had been only minutes before. Harry could tell Snape was getting pissed.

“If you know this mountain so well, shouldn’t you actually know your way around the damn thing?” spit out Snape, glaring holes into the nasty man.

Jeb grinned lopsidedly. “Don’t you worry, I’ll get you there. My way to get there might be kind of loopy, but we’ll get there just the same.”

Snape continued to glare. Harry just kept to the back and tried to stay out of the way. Both of his traveling companions were in hateful moods, and he didn’t feel the need to bring down their wrath on himself. He absentmindedly rubbed his arms again, still feeling the lingering pain from earlier. He quickly pulled up his left sleeve, and saw that bruises, in the shape of fingers had wrapped around his upper arm. He sighed heavily. He was pretty confident he wouldn’t be sleeping at all that night, as he would be keeping a look out for the money grubbing disgusting bastard. He’d hidden his money sack in his cloak, which had a little slit torn into the seam, and as he discovered, it was a fine place to hide little things, such as his money. He meant to keep the cloak with him at all times, which wasn’t too hard, as it was growing steadily colder the further up the mountain they went.

He wondered how he was going to constantly stay away from Jeb. It was pretty easy, except for when anyone needed to use the bathroom. He had gone into the forest earlier for this reason, and had to speed it up when he heard footsteps crushing the leaves on the ground. When he got back to the trail, Snape was waiting by himself, looking altogether more pissed off. Then Jeb came back, claiming he had had to go too. He didn’t know how he was going to avoid the man, but avoid him like the plague he would.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize until it was too late that he was sinking into something. He looked down and realized it was mud, or at least it looked like mud. But more importantly, he was sinking fast. Harry looked up and realized he had strayed slightly from the others, and they were almost out of eye sight. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Panicked seized him and he started struggling, which he never should have done. He immediately started sinking further into the mud. He was reminded of quick sand, and stopped moving. Looking up, he finally found his voice and screamed.

***********************

Severus dislike of Jeb had grown steadily since he first met him, but now he was just growing angry at the man. He thought if he looked at that boy one more time in ‘that’ way, he would have to kill him…or something. He wasn’t entirely sure he knew if he was right about that particular look, but he wouldn’t stand for it. He was also certain Harry hadn’t cried out about some stupid snake that morning earlier. He’s a parseltongue, for crying out loud. A snake would not have made that sound come out of his mouth. He had been in pain. But why would the boy lie about it? Perhaps the slimy bastard had threatened him. He honestly didn’t know. But he was going to find out.

He was jerked from his thoughts when he thought he heard someone scream, but it sounded distant, like the person was far away. He turned around and found Harry was not there. Facing Jeb, he saw the man smile sickeningly and snapped.

“What did you do?” he asked, suspicion seeping into his voice.

“He should have paid attention to where he was going.” stated Jeb, as if nothing was wrong. “He’s fine, we’ll just have to pull him out.”

Snape sneered violently at the man and ran in the direction of the scream. About a quarter of a mile away he found the boy. He suddenly felt his heart clench as he realized the boy was chest deep in mud that seemed to be sucking him in, rather quickly. Harry had kept still, hoping to stop sinking, but that didn’t help at all. He had read somewhere that quicksand wasn’t as dangerous as everybody played it out to be. ‘I guess mud has different guidelines.’ he thought, feeling the terror seeping back into his mind.

“Harry!” a yell suddenly pulled him away from the terror invading him, and he looked up into his Professor’s concerned eyes.

“Professor!” he screamed. “Hel..p.” the rest of his sentence was garbled as the mud started pulling his face under. He gasped for breath. He suddenly felt strong hands grab him under the arms and he was being pulled free of the clutching mud. Coughing and gagging on the mud, he struggled to breath in the fresh air. He was dimly aware of someone lightly hitting his back, helping him cough up the mud that he had accidentally swallowed.

“Are you alright?” asked Severus, holding Harry up against him.

Harry leaned wearily against his Professor, feeling suddenly drained of all strength and emotion. “Fine.” was all he could manage to sputter out.

Severus just smirked at the boy’s obvious lie. He looked up and saw that Jeb was standing there, looking pleased. Severus’s eyes grew fierce and cold. “Did it slip your mind that there were these kinds of dangers on the mountain, or were you hoping we’d figure it out on our own?” he spat.

“Well, that was the reason I kept looping around, so no one had a run in with those damn things. He should have kept with us. It’s his own fault.” said Jeb.

“He would have followed us more closely, I’m sure, if he had known the dangers of the mountain. Although, he was probably more worried about you.” hissed Snape. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I would advise you, again, to stay away from him.” he said, motioning to the boy still leaning against him. Harry had long fallen asleep.

“And why would I want’a do that?” he asked, eyeing the boy in the man’s arms.

“Because I will kill you if you don’t.” Jeb looked into Severus’s eyes, and knew for a fact that the man was telling the truth. He had spoken quietly for the boy’s sake, but the certainly in his voice was unmistakable. He’d have to be careful now.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement and started for the trail. “There’s a little pond, if you want to call it that, if you want to get him cleaned up.” he said and walked away. Severus picked the boy up and just decided to carry him instead of levitating him. He didn’t want to use magic unless he absolutely had to; at least that’s what he kept telling himself. He didn’t want to admit that he might be starting to care for him. He hadn’t even realized it until it was almost too late. He never wanted to see that look of fear and desperation in that boy’s face again. He hadn’t known his heart could beat, let alone constrict with the thought that something had happened to the young man in his arms. With this confusing thought in mind, he also went back to the trail, heading for the pond.

Harry was brought out of his light slumber when he felt himself getting put down. He blearily opened his eyes only to realize that Snape, the person he figured hated him the most, besides Jeb, had been carrying him. ‘That’s weird.’ he thought. He also noticed that Jeb was no where in sight, thankfully. The man was really beginning to annoy him, among other things. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Snape spoke.

“Alright, we’re at the pond, Potter. Will you be alright if I leave you here to get yourself cleaned up?” he asked.

“Where’s Jeb?” he asked before he could stop himself, and noticed with a tinge of annoyance that fear had filtered through in his voice.

Severus looked at the younger man beside him in contemplation. “He’s still on the trail, which is about fifty feet from here. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” he replied quickly, too quickly.

“Really?” asked Snape, drawing out the word. “Why don’t you tell me what actually happened with the snake. You and I both know you wouldn’t be frightened of a snake. You can speak to them, for crying out loud. What happened?” he demanded.

Harry looked away, not wanting to tell the older man what had actually transpired. He suddenly noticed that he was looking at the pond, and nearly laughed.

“What?” asked Snape, not finding what was so funny.

“He calls this a pond?” he asked, looking at the water that was probably no more than three feet deep and quite possibly the size of Dudley’s second bedroom. In other words it was very small. “It’s a creek, if that.” he stated, trying to change the subject. Successfully, he noted.

“Yes well, the man does seem to be a bit oblivious to the obvious.” remarked Snape, knowing Harry was changing the subject, but he wasn’t about to forget about it. He’d just bring it up later, when the younger one wanted to talk about it.

“I can’t believe how muddy I am.” said Harry, looking down at his now very disgusting clothes. Where’s my bag, I’m going to need a change of clothes.” he remarked, knowing the ones he had on wouldn’t be used in a while.

“Well, oddly, Jeb had your bag. Do you know why he was carrying your belongings, Potter?” he asked, also knowing he wouldn’t get a straight answer.

“No idea, sir.” he said, once again averting his eyes. He looked up in surprise when Snape held out his bag to him. “Thank you.” he said, taking the bag slowly from his professor.

“Anytime, Potter.” he said. “I’ll just go now so you can have some privacy. I’m going to look for some rare plants that are growing on this mountain. I’ll be nearby.” he added, and walked away.

Harry suddenly realized his Professor was looking out for him, and wasn’t going far to make sure he was safe. With this freaky tid-bit, he dug out some clean clothes, a towel, and a bar of soap. Since this was probably the last time he’d get a good bath, he figured he’d take advantage of it. Otherwise, he’d just be using a good old cleansing spell. Removing his clothes, he stepped into the water and suddenly wished Snape had stuck around. The water was freezing, but he couldn’t use any magic without permission. Damn. He wasn’t about to call him back, as his bruises would draw some unwanted questions.

He decided he’d have to live with freezing his bum off and quickly and thoroughly washed himself of all the mud and grime that had accumulated. He dried himself off with the towel and then quickly got dressed. As soon as that was accomplished, he went off in search of Snape, hoping he was still nearby. He definitely didn’t want to go wait with Jeb.

***************

Snape had only gone about twenty feet into the forest, far enough away that he couldn’t see Harry, due to the thick groups of trees, but close enough to hear him if he was in trouble. There really weren’t any rare plants growing on this particular mountain, but he couldn’t come up with any other viable reason for sticking close. And besides that, he didn’t want to have to wait with Jeb.

He briefly wondered if the man wasn’t leading them in the wrong direction, or worse, that he was under instruction from Voldemort. He knew he’d have to tell Harry where they were going, but he’d prefer to put it off for a while longer. He wasn’t sure how he would take it, but he could almost guarantee he knew what the first question out of the boy’s mouth would be. And he honestly didn’t know how he could shoot the question down without hurting him. But the boy was strong; he’d know he was telling him the truth and move on. He decided he should tell the boy sooner, rather than later, so he wouldn’t be totally unprepared. ‘Perhaps tonight.’ he thought to himself.

He started walking back in the direction he had come, figuring the boy would be done by now and practically walked right into him.

“Potter!” he yelled, startled out of his thinking. His voice softened when he saw the almost imperceptible flinch. “I didn’t realize you were there. Are you ready to go back?” he asked.

“Yeah.” said Harry.

They walked back to the trail in a comfortable silence.

******************

Jeb was waiting impatiently back by the trail. Since it was taking them so dratted long, he decided he was going to go ahead and set up camp. The sun was already setting in the horizon, though he could hardly see it, and soon there would be no light left. He had hoped to get to the caves in the next day or two, but at this rate, it would be longer.

“Curse that stupid child.” he hissed, suddenly wishing he just would have drowned in that mud. What that boy hadn’t known was how close he actually had come to drowning. Once his head had gone completely under, he would have been lost. The ‘mud’ that the kid had fallen into had been spelled to suck whoever was in it deep down into it’s depths, and once completely submerged, there was no way to survive, as the clutching mud would never let go. It had been an idea from the witches and wizards who came from Salem, still fearing for their lives. If need be, they would draw their pursuers into the forest, to one of the ‘mud’ pits, and they would be lost. The wizards and witches had only planned on using them if they were in dire circumstances, but most had forgotten they even existed. The only reason Jeb knew of them was because he had had an unfortunate accident with one a few years back.

He was about to openly curse children in general when he heard the other two approaching to his left.

“Ah, so you finally decided to join me?” he spat, letting his anger come off of him in waves.

Snape immediately went into defensive mode. “If you hadn’t failed to inform us of that damn mud hole, we wouldn’t be in this position at all, now would we?” he hissed, glaring deadly at the man.

Jeb backed off at the tone the younger man was using with him and went to finish making his own supper. Those two could starve for all he cared.

Snape threw one last glare at the man and went to prepare their supper. He rummaged through their food bag, as he had dubbed it, and found the makings for a small, but generous salad and a pizza. He removed the freezing spell that kept it fresh, and did a quick heating spell. Handing the pizza to the young man, he prepared the salad for himself. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jeb was eyeing the food hungrily. However, he wasn’t about to share, not with the likes of him. The man should have known to bring better rations.

He knew from a talk with Deliverance that the man was a wizard, if not a little out of practice. He was apparently the great, great, great, grandchild of Laila Gill, one of the witches who had escaped from Salem and came here. She, along with many of the others, had long since passed away. His cousin, Deliverance, along with only four others had managed to live this long. He still wasn’t entirely sure how they did it, but knew asking was futile, as no one ever spoke of it.

********************

Hours later found most of the company sound asleep. All but one, who lay restless in his makeshift bed. He had tossed and turned almost non stop, and couldn’t figure out why. He was dead tired, but unable to find sleep.

Just as he had started to drift off, the sudden urge to use the bathroom hit him. He was about to just forget about it, and go to sleep anyways, when he realized that wouldn’t work. He really had to go. Grumbling to himself, he slipped out of the covers and headed back into the forest. He was dimly aware that he was very close to the creek he had bathed in earlier, but dismissed it as he silently relieved himself. Feeling much better, he turned to go back to their camp site. Seeing the one person he really didn’t want to see standing just a few feet away, was definitely not what he had been expecting.

***************

Jeb silently got up to follow after he watched the young man head swiftly into the woods. He stood just off to the side, watching the boy as he went to the bathroom. He had heard things about this boy. How he was the ‘savior’ of the wizarding world, how he had defeated some dark wizard named Voldemort and all that nonsence. Standing so close to the boy, he didn’t see what was so bloody amazing about him. He didn’t look all that great to him, in fact, he just looked small and insignificant, especially when compared to the larger form standing beside him. Jeb smiled viciously as the young man turned and finally noticed him.

He watched as first surprise and then fear registered in the big green eyes. The boy took an involuntary step backwards, only to find himself pressed up against a tree. The look of panic suddenly surfacing on his face made the older man laugh in sadistic glee.

*****************

“What do you want?” sputtered Harry, trying to edge away from the tree he found himself trapped against.

“What do you think stupid child.” he spat, shoving Harry painfully in the chest, which sent him colliding into the tree.

Harry could only assume he wanted his money, but was afraid to voice his opinion. He in turn shoved the man back and tried to make a run for it. He was only feet away when Jeb grabbed his hair and roughly pulled him back. A hand was quickly clamped over his mouth and he found himself immobilized.

Tears of fear and frustration leaked out of Harry’s eyes, but he didn’t have any way of wiping them away. He knew the older man had felt them on his hand when he wiped one away with his thumb, none too gently. Harry shuddered violently.

“All you brats are the same.” spat Jeb. “Ya’ll go crying and whimpering for your momma’s when you’re in any kind of fix.” Harry’s eyes hardened, but Jeb couldn’t see that particular fact. “Ya’ll ain’t nothing but stupid little shits, only out to take us older folks out.” he hissed, and Harry suddenly realized this man was nuts.

“One of these days I’ll take ya all down, I promise you that. We’d all be better off without ya, anyhow.” he added, his eyes glazing as he remembered a distant memory.

“What are you on about?” asked Harry, incredulous, as Jeb’s hand suddenly slipped away from his mouth. His fear of the older man had left him shortly at his inability to believe this man’s words. The thought that this man was a complete idiot almost had him laughing.

Jeb’s hand quickly found Harry’s mouth again and he was silenced. “It’s because of little shits like you that I almost died!” he hissed, raging with anger. “You remember that little dip you took in the mud, boy?” he asked, roughly digging his other hand into the bruises that still littered the boy’s arm. Harry cried out through the hand, but nodded, fear suddenly refilling him. “Two bratty little boys, just like you, thought they’d play a joke on ole Jeb, when I killed their damn mutt, trespassing on my property.” He pressed harder into Harry’s arm and he whimpered around the hand covering his mouth. “They managed to steal me dog, and I followed after ‘em, only to end up in one of those confounded mud pits. Almost died, I did, but luckily I escaped, since I knew what they were.” he said, as if he were the only one who did know how to escape. “But I made them boys pay, just like you’re going to pay!” he hissed into Harry’s ear, before he dragged him further into the forest.

Harry’s mind was working overtime. What had he done to incur this man’s psychotic wrath, was he not after his money, and how the hell was he going to escape, were at the forefront of his mind. He tried kicking, he tried biting, he tried just about everything, but nothing worked. The older man held firm, and he realized with dread where they were going. He saw the creek looming just ahead of them. ‘He’s going to drown me.’ His struggles began again, and tears of fear alone streamed down his face. He couldn’t believe this was happening. ‘Where the hell was Severus?’ was his last thought before Jeb plunged his head under the water.

********************

Severus Snape woke from a deep sleep with a very violent start. “What the hell was that?” he asked himself, sitting up. He knew something was wrong before he was even completely awake. He surveyed his surroundings and realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that neither Harry nor Jeb were anywhere in sight. “Oh shit!” he said, and ran off in the direction he believed they would be.

As he got closer, he thought he could hear splashing sounds, but couldn’t figure out what they were. He came out into the clearing where the creek was and nearly stopped in shock. However, anger and a weird protective feeling took over and he attacked.

*******************

Harry felt himself breaking the surface of the water and desperately breathed in the air. He tried punching Jeb in the face, but soon found himself submerged once again. He knew he was kicking and flailing his arms at the man holding him under, but his struggles soon became weakened as he was cut off from his much needed oxygen. Every time Jeb would raise his head above the water, it became more difficult, as his suffering was prolonged when he was shoved back under. He weakly scratched at the hands holding him, but suddenly they were gone, and then new hands had grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. Only when he was on dry land did he realize what was happening. From his perspective down on the ground, he watched as Snape violently attacked the bastard. He was slightly surprised when his professor didn’t use any spells, but had resorted to physical fighting. He was beating the shit out of Jeb. Soon after, Harry passed out from exhaustion.

****************

“Harry, Harry, wake up!” He couldn’t seem to comprehend what wake up meant, so he continued to drift between sleep and wakefulness. Too bad the voice wouldn’t leave him alone. “Harry, you need to get up, now!”

Resentfully, he opened an eye, only to shut it again at the bright light that suddenly assaulted his vision. Through his closed eye, he could tell someone had moved to block out what he could only assume was the sunlight. Again, he opened an eye, and yawned, which caused him to start coughing violently. He realized he was coughing up water when his memories hit him from all sides. He sat up quickly, looking around wildly for his tormentor.

“Where is he?” gasped Harry, who had finally quit coughing.

“I took care of him, don’t worry.” said Snape, keeping his voice calm.

“What do you mean, you took care of him?” he asked, wearily. “You need him to guide you, remember?” he asked.

“I was able to pry that bit of information out of him before he…left.” said Snape.

“Left? You… you just let him leave?” he asked, fearing the man would be lurking behind the nearest tree, ready to pounce on him again.

Snape eyed the boy for a moment before deciding he would have to be truthful with the boy, just to ease his mind. “He won’t be disturbing us, if that’s what you think.” he started. “He is currently tied to a tree, five feet up, with indestructible rope, which he won’t be able to get out of, unless he suddenly grows another wand,” at this point he waved a wand carelessly around in front of him, “and there also happens to be a spell placed on the tree that will attract every dangerous, and hopefully rabid, animal in the vicinity, as his ‘body guard’.” he said.

Harry visibly relaxed after hearing this, and even smiled grimly at the thought of that hateful man tied to a tree, where those animals could reach him.

“Now, why don’t you get into some dry clothes.” said Severus, handing him a pair out of his bag. “I’ll leave you to your privacy. Just yell if you need anything.” Harry nodded, and then Severus walked into the wooded area. Snape had only gone a few feet when he realized he still had the boy’s glasses in his pocket, where he had put them for safe keeping after taking them off of the slumbering boy. He was surprised Harry hadn’t asked for them directly. He turned back, figuring he wouldn’t have had time to get more than possibly his shirt off, and walked back into the clearing where they had set up camp. He once again was brought up short at the site that greeted him, and his anger at the man tied to a tree grew in strength. He had known there had been a struggle, but most of those bruises were old, he could tell by the color. He suddenly grew angry at himself for not realizing earlier that that bastard had been hurting the boy right underneath his nose. He knew without a doubt now what had happened the other morning with the snake. Jeb had hurt Harry, causing him to cry out. He watched as Harry’s body shook in silent torment.

*************

Harry sat, oblivious to Snape’s presence, and gingerly rubbed at his arms, one which had slightly fading bruises, and the other which had even darker ones from Jeb’s harsh hands. He suddenly felt very alone, and despair crashed down on him. Why did this kind of thing always happen to him? He didn’t understand why no one cared for him. His only living relatives hated him, just because he was different in their standards. He wanted to scream at the injustice of his entire life, he knew his friends and the Weasley’s cared about him, but he had never known what love felt like, at last that he could remember. He knew his mum and dad had loved him, but he would never feel that particular feeling again. Harry continued to unconsciously rub his arms, shaking from the cold and his own feeling, hoping the pain would go away.

He was therefore shocked when Severus sat down next to him and draped his arm around Harry’s shoulders.

Severus motioned to his arms with his eyes, and Harry suddenly wished he hadn’t spent so much time dawdling on his feelings, and had just gotten dressed. “You could have told me, you know.” he said, getting a real good look at the bruises. Harry’s arms seemed so small, and the bruised shape of fingers on his skin looked so big. He was considering going back and doing some more permanent damage to their ‘guide.’

Harry just shrugged. “I didn’t want to cause any trouble.” he said, knowing complaining usually wasn’t a good idea.

“You’re not any trouble.” said Snape, and truly meant it, for probably the first time in his life.

Harry smiled. Maybe Snape wasn’t such a great git after all.

Severus sat up stiffly from his position on the ground. His back was absolutely killing him due to the hard land they were sleeping on. He glanced at the muggle watch resting on Harry’s wrist, and realized it was only 3:45 in the morning.

“Great, I’m wide awake at this ungodly hour.” Severus muttered to himself. This always seemed to happen to him. The one day he had decided to sleep in, he couldn’t accomplish the task. Deciding to risk putting a softening charm on his blankets, he did so and quietly put one on Harry’s as well. “The kid might as well be comfortable.” he said, shrugging his shoulders. The only reason he didn’t use magic more often was due to the fact that it could be traced. The last thing he wanted was someone locating their position and honing in on them. He knew there were people at the ministry under Voldemort’s control, the damn bastard. After this mission was accomplished, he’d never be able to spy on the nasty ugly man again. Not that this bothered him, not at all.

He was just about to lie back down on his much more comfortable bedding when he noticed Harry’s head tossing back and forth, as if in a dream. Or more likely a nightmare. Severus quickly made his way over to the boy and gently touched his shoulder to wake him. Bad idea. Harry immediately knocked the hand away, misinterpreting it as a threat in his dream world. The next thing Severus knew Harry’s hand came up in a fist and slammed hard into his cheek. Stumbling backwards, he was unable to control his slight anger and extreme annoyance at getting hit, and held Harry’s arms above his head without further thought.

“Harry, wake up!” he yelled, and was shocked to see the boy’s eyes shoot open as quickly as they did. He was equally surprised when a mixture of fear and pain shot through his eyes.

“Let…go.” he gasped, tears coming to his eyes. Severus quickly let go of Harry’s arms and sat back, mainly to give the boy some space.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, guilt showing clearly in his eyes. He watched as Harry sat up, obviously in pain, and couldn’t help but feel he had caused it. He didn’t think he had hurt him, but maybe he had.

Harry gradually got into a sitting position and then looked to the older man sitting beside him. Seeing the guilt radiating out of his Professor he jumped to explain. “No, no it wasn’t your fault.” he said quickly, wiping the tears off his face. “It’s just my…um…back.” he ended lamely. He knew as soon as the words had left his mouth he would have to explain, and he didn’t want his teacher to see all his bruises.

“What’s wrong with your back?” asked Severus, drawing closer once more. “Let me see.”

“It’s not that bad, really.” he said, trying to throw Snape off. He hadn’t noticed that a bruise had formed until hours after Jeb had attacked him in the woods. He realized that the bruise was from Jeb shoving him against a tree. He remembered quite vividly how much that had hurt, but he hadn’t thought it would even bruise at the time. He should have realized it would, as he had only recovered from the bruise his uncle had left after slamming him against the car less than a week ago. He lowered his head as Snape raised an eyebrow in annoyance.

“Show me your back.” he demanded, not taking no for an answer.

Harry sighed. This sucked. “Why? I told you it’s nothing.” he tried, determined to get out of showing Snape. It wasn’t his damn business anyways.

Snape’s patience was growing thin. The earlier encounter with Jeb had left a few marks of its own. Although not nearly as many as were on the bastard still tied to a tree. He was tired, sore and clearly agitated. “Just show me your damn back, Potter!” he snarled. And immediately regretted it, as he seemed to do a lot of that tonight.

Harry was instantly on his feet and backing away from his teacher, fear the prominent emotion in his eyes.

“Harry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Please, just let me see your back. If you’re injured, I can heal it.” he said as way of an explanation.

Severus watched as the boy seemed to contemplate his options. Finally, he cautiously walked back over towards his Professor, and went to pull his sweater off. As soon as he went to lift the shirt, the muscles in his back pulled, shooting intense pain through his back.

“Are you alright?” asked Severus, as the boy in front of him suddenly stiffened. Harry merely nodded, not quite understanding anything beyond the pain encompassing him. “Perhaps I should assist you?” he asked, or rather told the younger man.

Harry continued to nod. Severus stepped over to him and helped remove the sweater, cringing himself as the boy flinched at the movement. As he was standing in front of Harry, he took the boy’s shoulders and turned him around. His eyes widened at the site before him. There was a fairly large bruise that had formed in the middle of the boy’s shoulder blades and trailed down towards about the middle of his back. The dark purple

of the bruise almost made it look black, but Severus could only think of how hard you would have to hit someone to make the bruise color like that.

Turning Harry back around, he noticed the boy was still in a daze. “Are you alright?” he asked again. Severus knelt down in front of the boy, who was extremely short compared to him, and looked into his eyes. “How did this happen?” he asked, not sure if he really wanted to know the details.

“Tree.” said Harry, as if this explained everything in a nut shell. Severus just stared at the boy in confusion.

“Excuse me?” he said, clearly not understanding.

“He slammed me into a tree.” said Harry.

Severus looked at the cold ground in contemplation. He knew the bruise shouldn’t be that dark if he was just slammed into a tree. Now, if he had been picked up and thrown into a tree that might explain it. He was missing something, he just didn’t know what.

“He must have slammed you rather hard, considering the size and color of the bruise, Potter.” he said, carefully watching the younger face.

Harry sighed in resignation. He’d have to tell him now. He hadn’t complained about it earlier, as the bruise really hadn’t been that bad. His uncle never did aim to bruise, as that always led to too many questions. But Jeb had only made the already existing, yet practically gone, bruise worse. Stupid prick.

“How much did you see in the parking garage that day?” asked Harry suddenly, surprising Severus with the change of subject.

“What does that have to do with this?” asked Severus.

“You’ll see. How much did you see?” he asked again.

Severus took a minute to remember all that had happened that day. He had seen everything that had happened in the garage, but he wasn’t sure if the boy would be angry that he hadn’t reacted sooner than he had. “I saw enough.” he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow in irritation. “Okay.” he said, drawing out the last syllables. “Did you see when my…um…uncle,” he really hated referring to the man as any sort of family, but oh well. “threw me against the car?” he asked, eyes resting on the ground, as he didn’t like talking about the abuse he suffered at his uncle’s hands, especially to Snape.

Severus paused. He did remember that. That had been when he’d decided to act. “Yes, I do believe I remember that moment.” he said, watching the boy for his reaction.

“Oh…well, it left a bit of a bruise, and that guide only complicated matters.” he said quickly, still looking at the earth below him as if it were the most magnificent thing he had ever looked upon.

“Ah, that explains things.” he realized he’d have to watch the boy closely. If the blasted child hurt himself, he’d more than likely not tell him until he was dying or close to it. “I’ve got an ointment in my bag for bruises. Wait one moment.” he said and hurried over to his bedding. Grabbing said bag, he made his way back to Harry.

“Alright, lie down, and I’ll put this on your back.” he directed Harry. The boy did as he was told and laid down on his own makeshift bed. As Severus rubbed it in, he sighed in relief as the ointment immediately started to ease his pain. “I take it you feel better now?” he asked.

“Yeah.” mumbled Harry, sleep already dragging him down. Severus noted that the ointment had dissolved into the boy’s back, as it was supposed to, and he covered the slumbering child.

“Sleep well.” he said.

*********************

The cold was unbearable, and there was nothing he could do about it. The damn ropes seemed to only strengthen whenever he struggled to get out of them. He had already encountered one too many wild, ferocious beasts than he had ever dreamed of seeing. All in all, he was miserable. However, he wasn’t completely down in the dumps. He had called out, sounding suspiciously like a nightingale, for help. Moments later and the beast he had wanted to see the most approached him.

Jeb’s vicious looking Rottweiler came stalking up towards the tree he was bound to. The dog had been following the three of them since the day they left. Under Jeb’s command, of course.

“Up, boy!” he yelled, and the dog did as commanded. Jumping up on its hind legs, the Rottweiler supported himself by putting his front paws on either side of Jeb’s body. It was quite a monstrous dog. “Good boy.” he whispered, grabbing the dog’s collar and what he had put there himself on the off chance something of this degree happened.

With the newly acquired wand in his calloused hand, he undid the ropes binding him, and collapsed onto the ground in an undignified heap. He watched with weary eyes as the dog trotted away from him, his mission complete.

“That brat’s going to pay.” he vowed, climbing slowly to his feet.

*********************

Hours later from the time they had awoken earlier and they were once again trekking the dangerous grounds of the mountain. It had grown increasingly colder as they walked, and Harry kept his cloak wrapped tightly around himself. He was wishing desperately that he had packed more sufficiently for this stupid weather. There was an ample supply of snow, it seemed, and he grudgingly noticed that he kept slipping into the deeper parts of it. The bottom of his pants legs were soaked through and chills were now creeping steadily into his body.

They had finally reached the area where the cave, as Severus called it, was supposed to be located. However, they were no closer to finding it. He knew the location, but not the exact spot. They had searched the hillsides completely and still there was no sign of it.

“Do you think we could stop for a bit?” asked Harry, teeth chattering. Severus turned to see that Harry was shivering, jumping up and down in one spot, and rubbing his hands together.

“Cold?” he asked, smirking.

“Just a little.” replied Harry, sarcastically.

“Yes, we can stop here for the evening. There’s not much more we can do anyways.” decided Severus, dropping a bag to the ground, where the land was relatively clear of snow.

“Thank goodness.” answered Harry, immediately dropping to the ground. He had never been so cold, as far as he could remember.

“Are you hungry?” asked the Professor, pulling out what appeared to be fish, from the food bag.

“No.” said Harry. In fact, he felt slightly sick to his stomach, but he wasn’t about to tell Snape that.

“Harry, you didn’t eat lunch either. You need to eat.” he stated, handing him a piece of the fish.

Harry’s stomach rolled in protest. Definitely not eating. “No thanks. I don’t like fish, and besides, I’m really not hungry.” he added.

Snape raised an unbelieving eyebrow. “You’re sure?” he finally asked.

“Yes.” said Harry, grateful that Snape wasn’t pressuring him to eat more.

“Very well.” said Severus, not wishing to argue with the boy. “But you must drink some water, at the very least.” he said, throwing him a water bottle.

At least he could handle water. “Alright.” said Harry. He took the bottle and almost downed its contents. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he had been. After his teacher had finished eating and was lying carelessly on his bed, reading a book, he decided to ask his question.

“So, what’s in this cave?” he asked, very interested.

Snape looked up from his book. “I guess I’ve kept this from you long enough.” he stated, and sat up.

Harry nearly jumped with joy. It was about time. He’d been dying to know what was in this cave, and why Snape was being so secretive about the whole thing.

“Let me finish before you start babbling with your questions, got it?” he demanded, an edge to his tone.

“Okay.” said Harry, uncertainly.

“My cousin, Del, told me a story when I was a teenager about an Orb that was hidden in these mountains. Of course, at the time, I didn’t believe her; I personally thought the woman had a few screws loose. I can only assume that a certain pain in my…rear,” he figured he shouldn’t curse too much in front of the child, “must have been eavesdropping and overheard a conversation I was having with my father.”

“Who?” asked Harry, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Ah, yes. I do believe you’ve met Lucius Malfoy, have you not?” asked Severus.

Harry only nodded, too afraid he might say something he shouldn’t.

“Yes, well, it was him. Bloody idiot never could stay out of other people’s business. And so, naturally, he told our Lord, and he’s been looking for it ever since. He never knew the exact location, and since this island has its own protections, it appears as if no magic even exists here. But if you’re looking for it, it can be found. This is one of the reasons I’ve not allowed you to use your magic.” he stated.

“Oh.” replied Harry. “But what is so important about this orb?” he asked.

Severus had been hoping he could get around this certain aspect, but no. “Well, the orb has a specific power, and no matter who wields it, it will only bring destruction. That is why we are after it, to destroy it.” he said. “The power it holds is this: It can bring back the dead.” he ended, waiting patiently for Harry’s questions.

“Wait, I thought magic couldn’t bring back the dead.” he said, or more questioned.

“You can’t. One can’t bring back a person alive. This Orb will bring back the dead, but the only difference is that they remain dead, and undeniably evil.” said Severus.

“Oh.” replied Harry, hanging his head. When Severus had said the Orb brought back the dead, for one tiny second he had hoped this was the answer to his prayers. He could bring back his parents, and finally have a family who cared for him. But that idea had been shot down like lightning. “You’re certain they’ll be evil?” he asked, still hanging on to his hopes by a thread.

“Yes, they will be evil.” he stated softly. “The Orb was created to bring back legions of the dead, as an undefeatable army. Dark Lords before Voldemort thought it was a splendid idea. Why waste time on bringing followers over to their side, when they could just conjure them out of thin air, and an Orb, of course. There was a downside, however. No one could control them, not even the most powerful sorcerer. The only way to defeat them was to send them back to the hells that they came from. They were banished back inside the Orb and it was then hidden, deep in these mountains. Do you understand now, why this Orb cannot get into Voldemort’s hands? Or anyone’s for that matter?” he asked, stressing the last question. He knew the boy longed for his parents, and that was what he had been dreading.

“Yes, I understand.” said Harry. He may have been depressed about having his hopes taken away from him, but he would never let that bastard get his hands on the Orb. What if the Dark Lord brought back his parents just to spite him? He didn’t think he could handle trying to kill his parents, even if they were just evil reincarnate.

“Good.” said Severus. It was getting late, the sun had just set beyond the trees behind him, and he noticed the temperature had dropped increasingly. Story time had taken up some definite time. “You’d better bundle up tonight, Harry, it’s getting colder.” he told the younger boy.

“I had planned on it, sir.” he said, as he’d been freezing since they’d stopped a few hours ago. He thought the bottom of his pants had frozen, but they had just dried stiff and extremely cold.

Severus just raised an eyebrow. “How’s your back?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s fine. That ointment helped a lot. Thank you.” he couldn’t remember if he had said it before, so he thought he’d say it now.

“You’re welcome.” said Severus. “Do you think you’re going to need a Dreamless Sleep potion tonight?” he asked, as if nothing had happened that morning.

“Um…no, I think I’ll be alright.” Harry didn’t want to admit to his nightmares, so he hoped he wouldn’t have any that night.

Snape obviously didn’t believe him. “What was that nightmare about earlier?” he asked, waiting for Harry to freak out on him.

“I didn’t have a nightmare!” said Harry, indignantly.

“Really?” asked Severus, cynically. “I don’t believe you.”

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his bed roll. “Believe what you want.”

“Was it about Jeb…or your relatives?” he asked, carefully.

Harry froze. “That’s none of your business.” he snapped.

“Ah, so you did have a nightmare?” asked Severus, smirking.

“Oh, shut up!” yelled Harry. With that he got under his covers and refused to speak with Severus.

Undaunted, Severus got a bottle out of his bag and placed it beside where he assumed Harry’s head would be. “Just in case.” he said.

About an hour later, Harry woke quickly from a bad dream. His uncle had been…well, he’d been himself. Spotting the Dreamless Sleep potion, exactly where Severus had left it, he gave in and took the potion. He never even noticed his teacher watching him as he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Harry awoke from his potion induced sleep to discover that it was pretty late into the day, probably close to lunch, in fact. He looked around the area they had set up camp and noticed Severus was nowhere to be found.

“Professor Snape?” he called out, but there was no answer. He noticed that breakfast was ready and waiting for him on a flat piece of wood, sitting on the ground. The idea of eating, like last night, made him feel sick to his stomach, so he discreetly threw most of it into the woods, before covering it with some dead, wet leaves. While relatively hidden, he went ahead and relieved himself before returning to the campsite.

“Sir?” he yelled again, more loudly. However, he still received no answer. Worry started to flood him as he wondered where his Professor could possibly be. ‘He could have found the cave.’ he rationalized with himself. But surely he would have waited for him, or at least left a note. He decided to go ahead and pack up anything that was still lying about, that belonged to him, and get ready to keep going. At least he could be prepared when Snape eventually came back. ‘If he does come back.’ he thought to himself, inadvertently. “Don’t think that!” he chastised out loud.

As he was picking up one of the drinking cups, he noticed that Snape’s wand was sitting on the man’s bedding. The worry he had been experiencing before upped itself to a higher degree. Surely Snape would never leave his wand? Would he? He didn’t think so. He grabbed the wand from where it lay and headed back into the woods. He didn’t exactly know where to look, so he just went west. It seemed like a good direction, and he had a weird feeling, like something was drawing him in that direction anyways. So he went. Pulling his own wand from his pocket, he quietly made his way along, looking for any places where he could see Snape’s footprints in the snow. There hadn’t been hardly any snow where they had camped out.

Harry wasn’t sure if calling out was such a brilliant idea. What if someone had captured his Professor? He could be walking straight into a trap. Not the best thing to do when trying to find, and possibly save someone. The thought of saving Snape, of all people, seemed almost humorous to him. He could imagine that Snape wouldn’t be too thrilled about it, either. Upon further thought, he decided if they had wanted him, they would have taken him while he was still out of it from the Dreamless Sleep potion. And the silence of the wooded area was starting to make him slightly nervous. Besides that, when every animal in the woods was silent, didn’t that mean something dangerous and deadly was lurking about? He didn’t even want to think about what could be causing everything in the forest to be quiet.

“Snape?” he yelled, not worrying about using formalities. He waited for any kind of response, but received none. This was starting to grate on his nerves. “Snape, where are you!?” he all but screamed. He now noticed that it was even quieter, if that was possible, and the thought that whatever was out here could easily track him down, due to his loud mouth, occurred to him at that moment. “Idiot.” he muttered to himself, looking around and peering into the spots where it was almost completely dark. The snapping of what sounded like sticks drew his attention to his left, where it just so happened to be extremely dark. Lifting his wand up, he muttered “lumos” before sticking it out in front of himself. And saw nothing. “Weird.”

He continued in his westerly direction before he finally noticed footsteps in the snow. Judging by the size of the print, he deduced that it was probably Snape’s. Besides, who else could possibly be out here with them? Well, except Jeb, the psycho. But Harry knew he was securely tied to some tree many, many miles away from their current position.

“Well, this makes my job a hell of a lot easier.” he said to anything that happened to be listening. Following the footsteps in the snow, he ended up in a rocky area of the mountain. He had somehow ended up on an edge, a very steep edge, with extremely sharp rocks, that were highly slippery from the snow that had melted due to the sunlight. Backing up, he got back on more stable ground, and looked about him. The footprints had just ended when the rocks began, so there was no telling where Snape was.

Frustrated with the entire situation, he turned to go back to the campground when he fell, straight through the ground, and landed in shallow, murky water. “This is nice.” he grumbled. He couldn’t see a thing in front of him, which scared him. Anything could be down here. He imagined a dead, maggot infested corpse closing in on him at that precise moment, and frantically searched for his wand. “Shit, shit, shit…” he kept repeating to himself, while sloshing around in the disgusting feeling water for his errant wand. He just had to drop it. It figures.

Harry knew that if he didn’t calm down, he could possibly overlook his wand in his panic. Taking in deep breaths, he counted to ten, and then slowly ran his hands through the water, trying to ignore what felt like bloated skin. It was probably just a dead animal anyways. Finally his searching fingers felt the long wooden stick that could only be his wand. Standing carefully, he dried his wand on the shirt he was wearing underneath his cloak.

“Lumos.” he stated, and light flared from the end of his wand, lighting up the area. As there was no corpse with bugs crawling in and out of its eye sockets, he decided all was well with the world and moved on. His fear of the unknown was quelled, and his need to find his professor took over. With the light of his wand, he went further into what he could only figure was an underground cave of some sort. He immediately thought of the Orb. “This could be that cave.” he said aloud, and his voice echoed loudly. He flinched apprehensively in response. ‘Oopsie.’ he thought to himself, not risking his voice again.

The tunnel-like passage that he was following kept splitting into different sections, making it impossible to determine which was he was going, or if he was going in the right direction at all.

“This is hopeless.” he whispered. He hadn’t expected a response.

*****************

Jeb tromped noiselessly through the forest, grumbling maliciously to himself all the while. He knew the bastard and the brat were ahead of him, but by how far he wasn’t sure. He had lost their tracks a while back. So, the only rational thing to do had been to head straight for the cave. He only hoped he would get there first, where he could wait and pounce on them. The saying was correct, revenge will definitely be sweet.

The closer he got to the location of the cave, the move he felt like there was something or someone else nearby. Stealthily climbing one of the trees, he settled onto a thick branch and waited. Sure enough, not minutes later, three figures dressed in black robes and what appeared to be white masks became visible.

“This won’t do.” he hissed. “This won’t do at all.” Jeb’s eyes narrowed dangerously. The black robed intruders had to go.

****************

*Not all things are hopeless.*

Jumping in surprise, Harry nearly ended up back in the murky water. “Who’s there?” he asked, his eyes darting in every direction.

*Watch it!*

Harry looked down in surprise, and then sighed in relief. It had only been a snake, a very small snake.

*Hello.* hissed Harry. *Sorry I almost trampled you to death.*

*No harm, no foul.* said the snake. *My name is Wynd.*

*Oh. Well, Wynd, you haven’t happened to come across a dark haired man, have you?* he asked.

*Actually,* he hissed, *yes, I have. Although I fear he wasn’t in the greatest of company. I suggest you hurry, your ability may be helpful.*

Harry immediately became alarmed. *Why? Where is he?* he demanded. *Can you show me the way?*

*Just follow this passage; it will no longer break off into other passages, but into a large cavern. This is where you will find the man.* hissed Wynd. *Hurry.*

Harry looked down to thank Wynd for his help, but the snake was gone. As he didn’t exactly have time to ponder the snake’s disappearance, he began to run down the passageway. It didn’t take him long, and he was in the cavern that Wynd had mentioned. It was quite possibly the largest hole in stonework he had ever seen. He realized now why the place was so wet; there was a medium sized body of water directly in the middle of the cave. There were also rather large columns that had formed in many places around the water, where the stalactites and the stalagmites had met. And many were just hanging from the ceiling. Harry cautiously walked around them as he imagined one falling and piercing through him.

However, his attention was grabbed quickly when he finally saw who he had been looking for. Professor Snape was standing in quite an odd position, at least Harry thought so, on the other side of the cavernous area. Keeping away from the water, Harry edged around the columns and sharp rocks that seemed to litter the cave floor, until he could clearly make out the older man. The closer he got, the more he realized that Snape seemed extremely stiff and tense, like he was awaiting an attack. But he couldn’t see anything dangerous. He kept walking and finally he stood directly behind his professor. He thought touching him or speaking out loud could be potentially dangerous, so he silently peeked around Snape, and nearly screamed. Thankfully, he wasn’t that stupid, and had a battle of wills with himself on not screaming like an idiot.

After he calmed down, he realized why Wynd thought his ability would be helpful. Directly in front of them was a massive, completely black snake. It was frightening really, even if he could speak to snakes. This one in particular looked pure evil. It distinctly reminded him of a Cobra, only much bigger. He watched in abject horror as the snake slithered closer to his Professor before its head and upper body rose in the air, looking more venomous than before. Apparently, neither the snake nor Snape even realized he was there. They were more intent on each other. Finally his senses came to him, right as the Cobra-like snake launched itself at Severus.

*Stop.* hissed Harry, in a tone he didn’t even know he possessed. Deadly.

Severus’s head spun around so quickly Harry was surprised he hadn’t given himself whiplash. But Harry’s attention was focused entirely on the snake.

The snake had diverted its focus when Harry had spoken, and now it was drawing dangerously closer to the younger man.

*And why should I? He has disturbed the sanctuary of the Orb. No one is allowed access to the precious object. He must be destroyed.* hissed the snake. *And you will be as well.* It proceeded to say, slithering ever closer. *However, there is something about you that no one seeking the Orb has ever possessed. You are innocent and pure of heart.*

Harry just looked at the Snake before him. He was slightly surprised by the black creature’s suddenly less threatening pose. He also didn’t know exactly what to think about what was just said of him. He was frightening sure that he wasn’t as innocent as this creature believed. He was the cause of many deaths and would be the cause of many more in the future. He couldn’t quite agree with this snake.

*You doubt my sincerity?* asked the snake. *I assure you, I am never wrong. Believe in yourself, and all will be well.* the snake paused, looked at his Professor, then back at Harry. *Back to business. What do you plan on doing with the Orb?*

*Destroy it, of course.* replied Harry, matter-of-factly.

Harry would have sworn that if the snake had an eyebrow, it would have been raised. *That’s definitely new. Most people wish world domination, or revenge of some sort on a past wrongdoing. You are most admirable in your deeds, young one. Tell me, what of this man. Is he to be trusted?*

To Harry, it seemed as if the snake was asking if Snape was a danger to the boy, and if so, would he like it to kill him for his sake. In a short matter of time, the snake had become protective of the boy standing in front of him, for reasons it couldn’t even begin to fathom. The boy’s aura, it presumed.

*This is my teacher, and he is safe. He wishes to destroy it as well. You don’t need to worry about him.* hissed Harry.

The large black Cobra-like snake seemed to sigh before answering. *Very well. I trust your judgment. However, carrying this certain object will be very dangerous. You must destroy it immediately. If you do in fact need my help, you need only say my name, and I shall be at your side immediately.*

Harry looked confused. *Would you care to inform me of what your name just might be?* he asked.

*I suppose I should enlighten you in order for it to work.* hissed the snake. *My name is Aeden.*

*Alright. And how exactly does this work? Can you hear me or something?* asked Harry.

*Actually, we can link your Parsletongue ability and my own snake language together and sort of be telepathic. I will hear your thoughts if you speak in Parsletongue. It’s rather odd and complicated, but don’t worry, it shall work. I’ve done it before.* hissed Aeden. *I will lead you the rest of the way into the sanctuary.* Harry could only nod.

“Sir?” asked Harry. Snape was looking at him already, but he had wanted to be sure he was paying attention.

“Yes, Potter?” asked Severus.

“This is Aeden. He is the guardian of the Orb, I guess, and he is going to allow us to get the Orb, as long as we destroy it.” he said. “Oh, and here’s your wand.” he added, still wondering why Severus would have left his wand behind, as it seemed extremely unnatural of him.

Snape took his wand without further thought and eyed the snake suspiciously. He wasn’t entirely sure he could trust something that looked so completely evil. But if Harry did, then he would as well. “Fine, let’s go then.” he said, noticing that the snake was moving away from them.

“Alright.” said Harry, following Aeden and Snape further into what became a tunnel. It grew so small that Harry and Snape had to crawl, and then army crawl through it. Harry was beginning to feel extremely closed in. On top of that, the cold that had seeped into his bones the night before was beginning to make itself known again. He had been able to ignore it for a while, as he had been moving and staying busy, in body and in mind. But now, in such a small space, his fears and the cold were beginning to take over. This was quite possibly much worse than being locked in a closet. But right before he started to really panic, the tunnel opened up more, and he could finally stand, not totally, as he had to bend his head down to fit, but it was better than being so confined.

Severus turned around to make sure Harry was still with them, and noticed how pale he had become. He also noticed that the younger man’s breathing seemed to be labored. He immediately knew the reason, as he remembered how scared he was of being confined. “Are you okay, Harry?” he asked, wishing he had his bag of potions on him, but he had left them behind.

“Yeah, sure.” muttered Harry.

Snape raised one brow in disbelief, but left it at that. If the boy wanted to discuss his problems, he would do it when he was ready.

They were now in another cavern, although this one was much smaller than the one they had been in just moments before. In the center of the cave stood a small pillar with a glowing ball of light floating just inches above it. Harry thought it was a very beautiful object to cause such harm. But most things were, he mused.

*The spells that would cause you harm have been removed.* hissed Aeden. *It is yours now. *Remember, you must destroy it quickly. But I suggest you get into an open area before you do anything.* advised the great black snake.

*I will do as you say, Aeden. And thank you.* he said, walking up to the Orb and taking it into his hands. He could feel the power radiating off the object. He thought he knew why Aeden wanted them in an open area when they destroyed it. Moving back towards his professor, he noticed that Snape was holding out a black pouch for him to place the Orb into. He did so without complaint.

Harry wasn’t looking forward to going back through the cramped area they had just gone through. He wished desperately that Aeden knew another way out.

*There is, Harry.*

Harry whipped back around to look at the snake. *Whoa, how did you do that?* he asked.

*I told you Harry, we are now telekinetically bound. I can hear your thoughts, but only if you say my name.* explained Aeden.

*Oh yeah.* replied Harry, somewhat sheepishly. Well, at least now he knew it would really work. *So, what is this other way out, then?* he asked.

*Right through there.* hissed Aeden.

Harry just looked at his newfound friend as if he had gone insane. *Aeden, that’s a wall.* he said, monotonously.

*Yes, Harry, I realize that. However, it’s more than just a wall. If you walk through it, you will be outside of the cave.*

*Alright, thanks again, Aeden.* said Harry.

*Anytime, Harry.* hissed Aeden. Harry watched as the snake slithered away from them and out of the cave.

“Are you finished speaking to the snake now?” asked Snape, looking bored.

“Ah, yes, we can go now.” he said, and walked directly through the wall, startling his potions professor. A few seconds later and Snape followed after him.

“How did you know it was an illusion?” asked his professor.

“Aeden told me.” replied Harry as if it was the stupidest question ever asked. He was hard pressed not to say ‘duh’, but he held back.

Snape just glowered at him. He looked around and figured they were only a few miles away from their campsite. “Let’s get going, we’ll be able to reach camp before mid afternoon.” said the professor.

“Okay.” said Harry, who had realized that it would take them a while to reach camp, and he was already exhausted, cold, and his stupid throat was feeling all scratchy. He hated that feeling. If he could just reach his hand down his throat, he’d be much happier.

An hour later Harry felt like lying down right in the snow and going to sleep. He felt really hot, and kept putting his clammy hands on his forehead to cool it down. He knew they were almost there, but all this walking was starting to affect him and his developing cold. He hated being sick, and he knew without a doubt that he was coming down with something. His entire body was aching fiercely and his head felt like it would explode, given the chance.

Finally, he realized he recognized the clearing up ahead of them. They were coming into their campsite. ‘Thank goodness.’ he thought to himself. He could finally sit down and rest. However, the closer they got, the more he realized something was wrong. Things didn’t look quite right.

Severus seemed to notice it as well, since he came to a complete stop right in front of him.

“What is it, Professor?” he asked, stepping up beside the older man.

“Someone has been here.” he said, and pointed ahead. Harry looked up and finally could see into the clearing. Their campsite had been ransacked. It looked like someone had gone in and just started throwing things about. The two of them cautiously moved forward, hoping whoever had been here was already gone. Harry noticed that Snape was holding the pouch which contained the Orb more tightly now. “Stay close.” he told Harry.

Harry wasn’t about to disobey. He withdrew his wand from his pocket and followed his Professor as they proceeded into the clearing. Harry didn’t think that anyone was still around, it was just a feeling, so he began taking stock of the damage. He noticed that his belongings had been tossed about the area, but it didn’t look like anything was taken. Although, he figured what they were looking for, Snape had hidden in his pocket. He noticed that Severus was looking through his own belongings, and watched as he threw his potions bag down in disgust.

“They took them all.” he managed to get out through clenched teeth.

Severus noticed that Harry looked practically devastated at this. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Wondering why the younger man would be unhappy that his belongings had been stolen.

“I was hoping you had a pain killer of some sort in there.” Harry muttered.

“Why do you need a pain killer?” he asked.

Harry looked startled. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud. “I just don’t feel too hot.” he said in answer. Harry was even more startled when Snape walked purposely towards him and placed his hand against his forehead.

“You’re burning up!” he said, clearly not happy that Harry hadn’t mentioned anything before now. “You know, it generally helps if you tell someone that you aren’t feeling well.” he said heatedly. He was worried about how warm his young charge had become. If he didn’t get a fever reducing potion or something else into the boy soon, his fever would become dangerous. Before, he hadn’t been too distraught that his potions had been stolen, but now he was downright pissed. It was almost as if whoever had thrashed their camp knew the boy was getting sick, which meant they had been followed. He only hoped it wasn’t who he suddenly suspected. But he didn’t think that the old geezer could have gotten down from the tree without help. And he knew the man hadn’t had a wand. He’d checked himself. But he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

“Harry, I’m going to go and find some herbs. I’ll be back in just a minute. You should lie down and rest, walking all that way probably wore you out. I really wish you would have told me.” he said, emphasizing how disappointed he was in the younger one.

He realized at that moment that he didn’t like hearing disappointment in his Professor’s voice. He suddenly felt extremely foolish for not mentioning it. But hell, he wasn’t used to someone actually doing something about him being sick. This was all completely new to him. His aunt and uncle would have just locked him in his room and left him there to deal with his sickness by himself. But he couldn’t very well explain this to Snape.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t think you’d care.” he said, slightly exasperated. “I wasn’t allowed medicine when I was sick.” He regretted his words the second they escaped his mouth. He definitely hadn’t meant to think that thought out loud.

Severus just looked surprised, if not astonished. “They wouldn’t give you medicine?” he asked. “And why the hell not?” demanded Snape, trying not to let his anger at this kid’s relatives show through.

“Well, they wanted to save it for Dudley. He was a big, well, fat, kid. They said they couldn’t waste something as important as medication on a freak like me. They thought I could heal myself or something.” replied Harry bitterly, and with a hint of annoyance.

Harry could tell Snape wasn’t too thrilled with this answer. He looked rather angry, actually. He didn’t know if he had said something he shouldn’t have, or what. Was Snape mad at him, or his relatives?

“That is the most pathetic excuse I have ever heard of to refuse a child medicine.” spat Snape.

Ah, so that’s why he’s mad. “Yeah, well, they were pretty good at that.” he said. The Dursley’s were masters of lame excuses. He rubbed at his face, distractedly. He was very tired and although he felt hot, he was also getting cold chills.

Severus’ face softened. He knew Harry didn’t feel well, and now he knew why the poor child never mentioned when he was sick or anything else for that matter. “I’ll get those herbs.” he said. “Lay down.”

Harry did as he was told as Severus walked into the forest. He didn’t even notice when Snape put a protection charm on him.

**************************

It took Snape about fifteen minutes to find the necessary herbs to make a tea for Harry. These certain herbs would reduce his fever, and hopefully it would be quickly. When he came back into the clearing, he noticed that the younger man had fallen into a restless sleep. He was continually tossing and turning. He hoped the boy wasn’t having a nightmare.

He had just finished making the tea when Harry shot up straight. He looked around wildly before making eye contact. Severus noticed that he was shaking violently and on the verge of tears. Without a second thought, he moved over and sat beside the smaller man. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Harry nodded jerkily. Snape didn’t believe him for a second. Putting an arm around the green eyed boy, he pulled him closer, giving him a one armed hug. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

Harry was too dazed by the kind gesture from Snape to even grasp what the older man had just told him. When he finally did, he looked down at the blanket he had managed to kick off himself. Grabbing it, he covered his shivering form back up. “It was just a bad dream.” he said.

“Obviously.” said Snape, unconsciously feeling Harry’s forehead for fever. It had risen. “I need you to drink this.” he said, handing Harry a cup that had been warming up.

Harry took it and automatically drank it. His face scrunched up in distaste. “That was gross.” he said impassively.

“I realize.” replied Snape.

Harry relaxed against his Professor and began to feel drowsy again. “It was about my relatives.” he said out of nowhere. Severus looked surprised.

“What happened?” he asked, and waited patiently for Harry to answer.

“The usual.” he said in a deadened voice. “I was locked in my bedroom. Uncle Vernon wouldn’t let me out except to go to the bathroom. I would get water from the faucet, because it was the only thing I could get. No food, either. Then the water would turn into fire, and when I tried to get out, I realized that my uncle had locked me in. I could see him somehow, through the door, and he was laughing at me, like he always used to do. Then I’d start to burn too. And then I woke up.” he ended, and noticed that Severus’ arm had tightened around him comfortingly.

“That’s not a very pleasant dream, Harry.” said Snape. “Did he lock you in your room a lot?” he asked.

Harry only nodded to affirm.

“What about the fire?” he asked, trying to figure out what it symbolized.

Harry continued to stare into nothingness for a while before he finally answered. “When I was little, my uncle would run my baths for me. And he would either make it so hot I could hardly stand it, or he’d make it freezing cold. He’d make me stay in the water.” whispered Harry. “I always thought that was what the dream was implying.” he added.

Severus couldn’t say much in the wake of this information. He was literally struck silent. He could not fathom why someone would do that to a child. “You’re never going back there.” he said suddenly, with lots of conviction.

Harry looked at him in surprise. “Can you even do that?” he asked.

“I’ll speak with Dumbledore about it, but there is no way in hell I will allow you back in that…hell.” he stated.

Harry slept peacefully after that.

Jeb followed the masked men for what seemed like miles until they finally stopped suddenly just beyond a line of trees. He could tell they were quietly discussing something, and waited patiently for them to make up their minds about it. After what felt like hours, which in reality was only five minutes, the three men walked past the line of trees, at which point Jeb could no longer see them. Sighing in annoyance, he crept out from behind the tree he’d been hiding behind and walked to the trees. Sneaking a glance around them, he noticed where they were. It was the bastard and brat’s camp. He’d be able to tell the older man’s luggage anywhere. It had been made out of a weird leather material. He silently watched on as they destroyed the campsite. He had decided long ago that he wouldn’t interfere with them unless they found the Orb.

However, now he was getting tired of following them around everywhere. He stopped his internal thinking when he heard their voices.

“I don’t see the ‘object’ we discussed. Either he hasn’t found it yet, or he’s got it on him.” said the tallest of the three.

“What’s this about him? I see two makeshift beds, here. Someone’s with him. Our Lord will be pleased if we bring back two instead of one.” said a short, fat man.

“Indeed. And with the ‘object’, he’ll be more than pleased. We must find it, immediately. There’s no time to waste, he’s here on this damned mountain, surely we can find some trace of where they’ve gone.” said the tall man again.

“Then quite your babblin’, and let’s get on with it.” said the third man. The other two nodded to their third. Jeb assumed he must have been the leader of this ‘find the Orb’ assignment. Without another word, the three men headed west.

Jeb was tired of following them, when he knew exactly where the Orb was. Kind of. He just didn’t want to risk these men getting in his way. He decided to forget the ‘no interfering’ idea he’d had earlier. These jerks had to go. Going after them for the last time, he went to take care of business.

*******************

While Harry slept not more than three feet away from his Professor, said man was hurriedly shoving everything within reach into his bag. He had spent over twenty minutes finding healing herbs, mixing them into a tea, and then talking with Harry. He knew they were no longer alone on this mountain, and he was trying to pack up as fast as he could. The only thing keeping him from picking up Harry and running was the fact that he couldn’t sense anyone’s presence. He felt they weren’t in any immediate danger. After he finally had everything packed in disarray in his bag, he stood up, slung it over his shoulder, grabbed Harry’s bag and did the same. Then he took the few steps it took over to Harry.

He watched the peacefully sleeping boy for a few moments, before lifting him into his arms. ‘No need in waking him up.’ he thought. He wasn’t too happy about how light Harry was. No child should be this underweight. After quickly scanning their campsite, he was satisfied that they had left nothing behind, and set out. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but far away from here seemed like a good idea. He knew he had to destroy the Orb, which was hidden safely in his pocket. On instinct, he started looking for an open area. He knew once the Orb started to destruct, it wouldn’t be pretty. The power radiating off of it was enough to make him want to construct a powerful shield surrounding it when it blew, and for him and Harry to be far, far away. Dismissing his thoughts, he quickly traveled the mountain, unconsciously heading in the direction they had already came from. Heading back to Deliverance’s, and a village full of unsuspecting people. Of course, he didn’t realize they were being followed by such a colorful group of people. The thought had crossed his mind, but now he was only worried about Jeb. He suddenly wasn’t so sure the old crow wasn’t as ‘tied down’ as he had assumed. Something was going on.

************

Jeb silently followed the three men, trying hard not to become noticeable. It was hard, as the snow was cracking as he stepped on it. It was beyond cold in the middle of the forest, and he shivered from lack of appropriate clothes. He didn’t know what had happened to his things only that they were gone when he reached the last place he had camped with the other two. He still wanted to rip that boy to shreds, but that’d have to wait. First, he had to deal with the stupidly clad trio ahead of him. ‘Really, who wears these things?’ he thought to himself, eyeing the black robes and masks.

Closing in on his prey, he took his wand out of his pocket. He had an idea, and they were in the perfect location to do it in. As the Death Eaters grew closer and closer to an area completely covered in leaves, Jeb made his move.

“Hello there.” he said, stepping out from behind a tree, about fifteen feet in front of the three men.

“Who the hell are you?” asked the tall man.

“Just a local mountain dweller.” he replied, taking a discrete step backwards. “You lookin’ for someone?” he asked, keeping a knowing tone in his voice.

“Maybe.” spoke the trio’s leader. “You seen anyone up here?”

“As a matter of fact, yes I have.” said Jeb.

“You planning on telling us where they are?” asked the tall man again, menacingly.

“Maybe.” answered Jeb, taking another step backwards. “What’s in it for me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, you’re life.” spat the leader, taking a threatening step forward, his two followers doing the same.

“That ain’t no way to speak to your elder, son.” hissed Jeb, purposefully taking two large steps back.

“You scared old man?” asked the short, fat man. Jeb could hear the smirk through his mask and almost cursed him on the spot. But what he had planned was much better.

“I’m quackin’ in my boots, fatty. What you gonna do about it?” he spit out, turned around and ran. About ten feet away he heard their yells. Turning about, he saw they were in quite the predicament.

“Stuck, are we?” he asked, grinning like a loon. “Don’t mess with dwellers, sonny boys, it gets ya killed!” he yelled, and walked idly away. He smiled as he heard their last garbled screams. They had walked straight into the mud pits. Now he just had to find the bastard and the runt, and let revenge take them as well.

**************

Harry awoke to find himself in his Professor’s arms. ‘This is really strange.’ he thought to himself, but was too tired and content to care. But Aeden’s warning came back to him suddenly. He knew the Orb hadn’t been destroyed yet, and he had to tell Snape what the black snake had told him before they left.

“Sir?” he asked, keeping his voice low, so as not to startle his Professor.

“Yes, Harry?” asked Severus, not stopping to put the small form in his arms down.

“Aeden told me we needed to destroy the Orb as soon as possible, and we’ve probably gone over the time limit he had hoped for. He also said we should get into an open area before we destroy it.” he said, beginning to feel self conscience, as Snape still hadn’t put him down. He just wasn’t used to people taking care of him, or holding him for that matter. This was totally new to him.

“I figured as much, Harry. There’s a clearing a few miles from here. Deliverance took me to it once when I was younger. If need be, we can throw it off a cliff and run like hell.” he said, but only in an extreme circumstance.

Harry laughed. He was imagining Snape, running like hell. It was quite an entertaining visual.

“Shut it, Harry.” snapped Snape, but with no real threat in his voice.

“Yes, sir.” replied Harry. “Um…can you put me down now?” he asked, feeling awkward.

Snape paused in his determined stride. He was surprised he hadn’t put the boy down as soon as he had come to. ‘You’re starting to care.’ whispered a voice in his head. He internally waved his annoying internal voice away, and quickly placed Harry on his feet. A little too quickly it seemed, as Harry swayed precariously where he stood. Severus immediately placed a steadying hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Just a little dizzy.” replied Harry, gaining his equilibrium. He still felt like crap, but at least his fever didn’t seem to be as high. Apparently, Snape knew his herbs as well as his potions.

“If you’re sure…” he said, and Harry nodded that he was. Snape smirked in acknowledgment and walked off, leaving Harry to catch up. Which he did in a matter of minutes, trying to ignore his fatigue, which he thought odd, since he’d just woken up.

Matching Severus’ stride, Harry began thinking of what would come after they destroyed the Orb, which could very likely be on that exact day. Would he have to go back to the Dursley’s? Or would he stay at Hogwarts until the start of term? The thought of having to stay at the Dursley’s for one second literally made him want to hurl. A sudden image of the cupboard under the stairs flashed through his mind, and Harry shuddered violently.

Severus didn’t miss the sudden movement, either. “Are you cold?” he asked, not truly believing that was the problem.

“Not really, sir.” he answered without thinking, and then internally cursed himself.

“Then why were you shivering?” asked Snape.

Harry sighed. Since he couldn’t use the ‘I’m cold’ excuse, he decided to go for the truth, sort of.

“I was just thinking, Professor.” he answered, hoping Snape would let it go at that. But hope had apparently died.

“About what?” he asked.

“Just some stuff.” he replied, intentionally skirting around the subject.

“Some stuff.” said Snape, raising an eyebrow. “Would you care to enlighten me on the ‘stuff’ you are referring to?”

“Fine…I was just wondering what would happen once we got rid of the Orb.” he said, and continued walking, leaving Snape behind him.

“Oh.” replied Severus, clearly not thinking that would be the answer he would receive. But then again, it did make sense. He realized the boy must have been thinking of his relatives. He realized Harry had left him behind and quickened his pace. “What do you think will happen once we finish our task?”

Harry hadn’t expected Snape to ask him that. He hadn’t expected an answer at all, for that matter.

“I assumed I would return to my uncle’s.” he answered, slowly, hoping his Professor would disprove his assumption.

“Think again, Mr. Potter.” said Snape, rather icily. “We’ve discussed this before, Harry. Take me at my word, you won’t be returning there.”

Harry sat in silence. He had forgotten their conversation just the previous night. His Professor had promised him he’d talk to Dumbledore.

“I had forgotten we’d even talked about it, sir. I believe you, but where will I be staying? At Hogwarts?” he asked.

“I’m not surprised you’d forgotten, Harry, you were ill last night. And as for where you’ll be staying, most likely it will be Hogwarts. But we shall see.” answered Severus.

“Alright.” stated Harry, coming up with worse case scenarios in his head. An orphanage being one of them. He couldn’t imagine ever staying in one of them.

“It shouldn’t be long now.” said Snape, effectively changing the subject. He had an idea of his own, but he wouldn’t mention it to the boy just yet.

“You mean the clearing you mentioned?” sighed Harry, growing weary from all the walking.

“Yes. It should be just around the next rise.” motioned Snape.

“Good.” muttered Harry, wishing they could just get it over with so he could sit down and rest.

They walked a few more yards before Harry finally noticed the clearing. It was rather large, which he figured would come in handy once they destroyed the darn Orb. He wondered how they were actually going to go about destroying it. The clearing stretched out for miles on either side of him, and straight ahead, he could tell the land dropped off, probably into the river. He assumed this was the cliff Severus had mentioned.

Snape walked them out into the center of the clearing, before placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder to stop him. “We’ll do it here.” he said. He carefully took the Orb out of his inside pocket and placed it on the ground in between them.

“Alright, get your wand out and place a shielding charm over the Orb as soon as I get finished saying the incantation, okay?” he asked. Harry nodded in return and immediately took his wand out of his pocket. “Now, when we’re finished, we need to get as far away from here as possible, even with the shielding charm on, there will be quite a blast.”

“Okay, Professor.” he said, and waited patiently, albeit nervously, while Snape performed the incantation. He noticed his Professor had a sheen of sweat developing on him, and wondered just how strong this incantation was. As soon as he was finished with it, he quickly cast the shielding charm.

“Run.” spoke Severus, as he grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling the boy along with him.

Harry ran as quickly as his legs would allow, but found himself being practically dragged anyways. He knew they had to get away quickly, but really, was this necessary?

Snape realized he was dragging Harry and went to pick him up, but never got the chance. He saw the shielding charm expand and swell around the Orb, and watched in fascination as it grew larger and larger. He snapped out of his daze when he noticed they were both still standing out in the open. They had to get to the cover of the trees. He scooped Harry into his arms, without protest, he saw, and made a mad dive for the trees, right as the power behind him exploded.

Harry screamed putting his hands over his ears, as his Professor threw him to the ground. He was more than shocked when Snape covered his body with his own and placed his arms around Harry’s head.

The explosion rocked them, nearly bringing their bodies up off the ground with its force. Harry could feel immense heat, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. He saw that Snape had his wand in hand and assumed he had cast a shielding charm of his own over them. And then it was over. He looked up and wasn’t surprised to see all the snow around them had melted, and most of the trees looked as if they had at least gotten scorched. He felt Snape get up and then took the hand offered to him. Severus pulled Harry to his feet.

Harry looked over to the clearing, expecting to see a black crater in the ground, but instead all he saw was dead grass. But the Orb was gone, and their task was finished. Harry turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here, Mr. Potter. I have a feeling my cousin is waiting anxiously to see us. Especially if she just saw the fireworks that happened up here.” he said, and picked up their belongings which had gotten thrown off at some point.

“Okay.” replied Harry, relieved. He couldn’t wait to get back to Del’s and get a nice hot bath. He went over to grab his bag and then bent down to tie the shoelace he had almost tripped over. He was almost done when he saw boots step in front of him. Looking up he stilled. His emerald eyes grew wide and fearful. Harry started to scoot himself backwards when Jeb viciously grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him up.

***************

Severus was going around picking up his clothes. Somehow his bag had gotten opened, and they were strewn everywhere. Picking up the last article of clothing, a black shirt, he threw it into his bag. As he swung his packed bag onto his shoulder, he heard Harry’s startled scream.

“Harry!” he yelled, running in the direction where he had heard the boy’s scream. He stopped in his tracks when he found them. Severus suddenly wanted to rip this man limb to limb as he saw the fear and pain in Harry’s big eyes.

“You should have killed me when ya had the chance.” spat Jeb, digging his fingers into Harry’s small arms. Snape could tell the boy was fighting hard not to make a pained sound, which would have pleased Jeb to no end. But he could tell the old bastard was hurting him by his eyes. When he got his hands on that man again, there would be no tying to a tree, he’d be dead.

“Let him go!” demanded Snape, fire burning in his black eyes.

“No.” hissed Jeb. “You took away me Orb, I needed that. Ya were supposed to get it out and then I was gonna take it off your hands for ya. Ya weren’t supposed to destroy it!” he screamed, digging deeper into Harry’s arms.

Severus thought he heard the boy whimper, and was about to curse the man into oblivion when he spoke again.

“Ya took somethin’ precious from me, now I’ll take somethin’ precious, well maybe not precious, but it means somethin’ to ya. I’ll be takin’ your boy now.” he hissed. Jeb then did something that made Harry scream, but Snape couldn’t tell what. He ran towards them.

“Severus!” screamed Harry. And then they were gone.

Severus looked at the spot they had been standing on in shock, before he realized what had happened. This must have been an apparition spot. That bastard had his Harry.

“No.” he whispered.

Harry had been shocked when Jeb had showed up right in front of him. He had been in a state of ‘what the hell’ when Jeb managed to disapparate on an island he had believed safe from this type of travel. Now he was just confused. Jeb had cruelly tied his hands together with rope over three hours ago and now he was tied to a pole in some friggin’ shack. All in all, he was literally quite bored with the situation, but in the back of his mind, the fear he felt was sitting idly, waiting to come forth in all its fury.

He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of his captor since he’d dumped him in this hell hole. His wrists were burning and he was pretty sure he could feel blood running down them as well. His hands were tied behind his back, secured tightly to the pole. He had tried many times, unsuccessfully apparently, to get out of his bonds, but no. Here he sat, waiting for psycho to come back.

To kill some time, he started daydreaming. He started to imagine how Severus had reacted when he suddenly disappeared. Or at least how he was hoping he had reacted. Harry hoped he was at least worried about him, and at the most looking for him, if only not to get killed by the headmaster when he died. That wasn’t the most pleasant thought to come up with, so he went in another direction. He wondered where his Professor was at that precise moment. Was he looking for him? Was he thinking up horrifying ways to wipe psycho off the face of the universe. What if he was thinking up horrifying things that Jeb could be doing to him? Would he care? And suddenly Harry thought that he would, just maybe, he would.

***************

Snape was pissed. He was beyond pissed, he was irate, and thinking up the most likely ways to kill that old bastard and still make it look like an accident.

“If he touches one hair on Harry’s head, I’ll rip his off and shove it up his ass.” he seethed to himself, since no one else was around. He was hurriedly making his way to Deliverance’s in hope she just might know where he was keeping Harry. She’d better know. He had to find out, and quickly. He was internally alarmed at how frightened he was about Harry’s safety, and what Jeb could possibly be doing to him. He started to realize he did care for Harry, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself out loud, or to anyone else for that matter. But once he found Harry, he’d never let anything else happen to him. Even if he had to magically bind their wrists together. He’d never let that kid out of his sight again. Of course, a whole hell of a lot sight can do. Severus had watched Harry being ripped away from him and couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

“Stupid prick.” he said to himself, hoping to all that was good that he’d run into Jeb, the jerk, and rip him limb from limb.

He tried thinking of Harry to get his mind off of the prick, but all that did was make him madder at Jeb. A sudden image of Harry sitting by the creek just a few days ago, bruises littering his body, made him shudder. If he even found Harry in a similar state…he let the thought go.

Then he thought of Deliverance, and how he was going to kill her for sending them with ‘old, paranoid, and evil’ in the first place.

****************

Harry had taken to trying to get out of the ropes again, but decided it hurt to much to even put forth the effort. He was drained just by trying. He stopped short when he heard a door somewhere nearby open. He realized he was in a bedroom, but it wasn’t furnished at all, unless you called the pole a furnishing. He also had a few friendly spiders as company, but considering he kept stamping them with his foot if they came near him, he’d figured they’d learn by now. The damn things were just committing suicide. ‘Death by foot.’ he thought, and nearly laughed at loud. But stopped himself as the door to the room he was being held in opened, creaking very loudly.

The idly sitting fear of earlier came screaming to the forefront of his mind. He wanted nothing more than to become one with the pole, but didn’t think that was possible. If it were, he hoped it would come to him in the next two seconds. It didn’t.

“Hello there, youngin’.” sneered Jeb, stepping fully into the decrepit room. “Enjoyin’ you’re stay?” he asked.

‘Oh yeah,’ thought Harry, ‘it’s a regular Days Inn.’ Instead he replied, “What do you want?” as his brilliant comeback. Harry saw a black dog standing behind the man in the doorway, but with one movement, Jeb had kicked it, sending the poor thing whimpering into the next room.

Jeb smirked evilly. “Oh, to bring incredible torment to your person was what I had in mind. But we’ll see.” he said, laughing hysterically.

Harry briefly wondered if the man had read that line in a book somewhere, because he sure as hell didn’t think it was in his regular speech pattern. But when the words truly started to sink in, he shrunk away from his captor, and further into the pole. He wished he could will this freak away, he was a wizard, but didn’t think that amount of power was in his capacity to do, which was too bad, because he had to think of something. Continuing to stay in the hands of this psycho was definitely going to be a hazard to his health.

***************

Snape crossed the threshold of Deliverance’s yard and up the front stairs in record time. Perhaps breaking the front door’s window was a bit much, but he was in a state here.

He saw Del come into the living room with a look of great annoyance and an undertone of fear. He felt slightly bad for making her feel that last emotion, but then it faded when he remembered who had Harry. However, he felt even worse when a look of utter concern crossed her face when she saw who was at the front door.

“Severus?” she called, quickly crossing through the living room and into the front parlor, swinging the door open with such force he was surprised the glass didn’t spray her in the face. “What wrong? Where’s Harry?” she asked.

“You didn’t tell me that the guide was a lunatic, Del!” he yelled, unable to control his fear and anger.

“What?” she asked, clearly confused.

“Jeb, the guide, the one you sent us to, he’s crazy.” he said, trying out his calm voice. “He hurt Harry, had been hurting Harry, but I didn’t notice.” he admitted. “When I found out about it, I took care of him, or at least I thought I took care of him. He somehow got out of my trap and the damn bastard got Harry.” he sighed, wiping a hand across his eyes, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

Severus looked up to see Deliverance staring at him, partially scared, and partially hurt. “Do you think I would have sent the two of you out with him if I had known he would hurt Harry?” she accused, tears springing to her eyes.

Severus guiltily eyed his cousin. “I didn’t mean it that way. Well, yeah I did, but now I don’t. I was just angry. I can’t believe I let this happen.” he seethed.

“Now, don’t you go blaming yourself for this. Don’t you go blaming anyone, unless you intend to blame Jeb Corwin, he’s the only one at fault here, and don’t you deny it.” she pressed.

“Corwin?” he asked. It was odd finally knowing the last name of the man he had only known as Jeb, or the guide, or as he was frequently thinking of him now, prick.

“Yes, that’s his name. Why don’t you come inside so we can discuss what we’re going to do.” she said, turning into the house.

“There’s not much to discuss.” he bluntly remarked. “I’m going to find him, get my boy, and kill Corwin.” he said with such certainty that he knew Del would know he was serious. He was surprised, however, to see a raised eyebrow and smirk adorning his cousin’s face.

“What?” he bit out.

“Your boy?” she asked, not hiding her laugh at all.

“What?” he asked again, confusion etched clearly on his face.

“You just said you were going to get your boy.” she told him.

He blanched, probably for the first time in his life, and was at a loss for words. “I did not.” he exclaimed.

“Why, yes, you did.” she stated. “You care for him, don’t deny it.”

Snape said nothing, but thought long and hard for about two seconds before he realized she was correct. He knew it was happening, but having someone else point it out to him, from his own slip of tongue no less, was a little disconcerting just the same.

“Can we discuss this later?” he spat, growing angry just because he could. “We have to find him. There’s no telling what that prick is doing to him.” his face grew pale, at least paler than usual, at the mere thought of it.

He saw the drastic change in demeanor from his cousin and knew she had gone into strategic thinking mode. Otherwise known as: Find Harry, Kill Jeb.

“Alright, just give me a moment. I need to think.” she said, and promptly went into the house, not stopping until she had reached her favorite chair. She sat in it and continued to ignore her cousin, thinking deeply.

Snape watched all this with slight amusement. It was quite funny to see, but the situation behind the actions weren’t. He waited with bated breath for Del to come to some kind of decision, or at least get an idea. She had always had great ideas.

It didn’t take long. Before he knew what she was doing, the much older woman was on her feet, flying upstairs. “I’ve an idea!” she yelled back, and Snape just grinned.

*************

He was beginning to realize that becoming one with the pole directly behind him wasn’t exactly an option. But, he had no where to go, and Jeb was growing steadily closer, with that weird gleam in his eyes, that he had grown to deeply dislike.

The closer Jeb got, the more panicked Harry became. He just didn’t know how to get out of this situation. ‘Where the hell is Snape?’ he asked himself, knowing he had no answer to this question. He just hoped he was on his way.

Jeb walked right up in front of Harry, towering over the standing boy. Harry flinched when the older man reached out a hand and quickly lowered it onto his shoulder, letting it rest there. His skin crawled at the small lingering touch. He desperately wished he would let him go. Then the man’s larger hand squeezed Harry’s small shoulder with such force Harry thought it might break, it hurt so much.

Harry couldn’t stand it any longer, and kicked out. Jeb howled in pain, jumping away from the boy, and clutching his shin.

‘Missed the groin.’ thought Harry, as he had tried to kick him there. Harry shied away from the recovered Jeb, as he descended down on him. But he had nowhere to go; he wasn’t quite prepared when Jeb backhanded him violently across his face. His head ricocheted off the pole and he found he could barely hold himself up anymore. He felt something trickling down from the corner of his mouth and knew he was bleeding. Harry slowly started to slide down the pole, no longer able to carry his own weight, and fell blissfully into unconsciousness. He wasn’t aware when Jeb’s hand came down on him again.

******************

Severus’ patience was steadily dwindling. He didn’t exactly know what Deliverance was doing, but he didn’t think it should take so damn long.

“Del, it’s been ten minutes!” he yelled. “What the hell are you doing?”

It was a moment before the sarcastic reply was thrown back at him from upstairs. “I’m break dancing, what do you think?” she yelled.

Severus took a moment to gather a mental image before he started laughing, despite the serious situation. Then he was back to business. “Seriously, what are you doing? We’re wasting time just standing here and doing nothing.” he yelled back, impatiently.

“Fine, fine, I’m coming.” she said and quickly descended the stairs.

“What’s that?” he asked, eyeing the rolled up parchment in her arms. “Is that what took you so long? You were looking for paper?” he asked scathingly.

“Yes, Severus, I stood upstairs all this time looking for paper. And I thought I’d write a quick story while I was at it. It’s a map you idiot.” she spat right back.

Severus started to retort but a firm “Shut it.” from Deliverance kept him quiet.

“It’s a map of the entire island. There are secret passageways and other nifty things around, and this includes all of them. It also includes every house and hidey hole as well. If I’m correct, and I do believe I am, our resident prick is hiding your Harry, “she couldn’t help but add that line, “in this small house.” she concluded.

“Small house? It’s a shed. It’s not even a shed, it’s a shack, if that.” the picture illustrated on the parchment, which looked to be hundreds of years old, was standing out on the paper, like a 3-D effect. He noticed that when Del put her finger on one specific area on the parchment, the area would then pop out at you. It wasn’t like the Marauders Map, which showed the location of any person on Hogwarts grounds, but it was useful, none the less. “And what makes you think Corwin has Harry at this specific location?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“I’ve seen him lurking about there on numerous occasions, of course, he didn’t realize I was there, but I’ve seen him, and that’s good enough for me. It’s hidden, as the door is in the ground covered by leaves and twigs. But, I fairly well know where it is, and the map will help. Shall we?” she asked, gesturing towards the door.

“Let’s.” replied Severus.

They quickly left Del’s Bed and Breakfast, heading in the shack’s direction.

*****************

Harry dragged his eyes open, just to close them again. The light that was streaming through one of the windows was nearly unbearable. He tried sitting up, but hissed in pain, his head was killing him. Harry realized the cause of his distress was from Jeb, and that he must have done further damage after he had passed out, considering it was difficult to move.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Harry pulled himself into a semi-upright position, and looked around. He figured he hadn’t been unconscious for too long, maybe a few hours, since the shadows on the wall had only moved minimally. At this new position, he tried to look out the window for the first time, only to realize that there was nothing there except blank space. It was completely dark, only there was sunshine coming through.

“Crazy head must have some type of charm on the windows to make it look like sunlight.” he muttered to himself, trying not to think to much as it hurt like hell to do so.

The next thought that entered his pain ridden mind was that he must be underground if the need for a sunlight charm was on the windows.

‘Great.’ he thought, despairingly. He didn’t think Severus would ever be able to find him then.

Lowering his head to look down, he resigned himself to his fate. He’d just have to wait to be rescued, or psycho in the other room was going to kill him. And what great choices they were, too.

It wasn’t long before the door opened again, but only slightly. Harry cocked his head at the door, wondering what the man was doing. He was therefore completely surprised when a dog came waltzing in.

‘What the hell?’ he thought, but then he realized with a jolt that it was that crazy Rottweiler he had encountered the day he and Severus met their guide all those days ago. Then he remembered the black dog he had seen earlier when Jeb had come in. It must have been this dog.

Harry once again tried to back up, but ran into the stupid pole instead. He was beginning to hate the blasted thing.

“What do you want?” he asked, shakily. The only response he got was a growl from the ferocious dog.

“Nice doggy.” he said out of nowhere, and then questioned his own idiocy. ‘What are you thinking?’ he asked himself. “Go away!” he yelled, before questioning his sanity again. ‘Oh yeah, Harry, egg on the crazy dog, maybe you can get yourself torn to little doggy pieces before you’re rescued. That’s a great idea, you moron.’ he chastised himself.

The dog only came closer to Harry, making him wish he could disappear. He was terribly frightened of this dog. He knew he shouldn’t show fear, or at least his cousin had said that once when they ran into a mad dog walking home from school. And it had worked, the dog just ignored them and kept going, only to come chasing after Harry moments later when Dudley had yelled ‘Sick ‘em boy!’ at the damn dog. So, he decided to go with his obese cousin’s idea of showing no fear. The dog continued to come.

“What do you want?” he practically whispered, not wanting to make the dog attack. He watched nervously as it came and sat down right beside him, curled up and laid its head down on his lap.

‘This is really weird.’ he thought. Sitting extremely still, he refused to move. The thought had occurred to him that maybe Jeb had trained this dog to attack him when he least expected it. It could happen.

*****************

“Are you sure it’s here?” asked Severus, trying to reign in his annoyance at his cousin. “I don’t see any hidden door in the ground, here.”

Deliverance glared at him. “Of course it’s here. I wouldn’t have said ‘Stop, its right around here’ if it wasn’t right around here!” she said, exasperated. Their worry for the boy and the constant bickering were beginning to get to both of them.

“Fine.” spat Severus, continuing to kick the snow, dead leaves, and mud around beneath him.

“Well if you’d exert a little more effort, Severus, this would go a lot faster.” she hissed right back at him.

“Effort?!” he yelled. “What do you think I’ve been doing the whole time, sitting on my ass?”

“Yes, Severus, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” she said, her sarcasm was obvious.

“Don’t get lippy with me, woman!” he yelled, taking a step forward, only fall from Deliverance’s sight.

“Severus!” she screamed, worried at his sudden disappearance. “Are you alright?” she asked. Stepping forward, she carefully crept to the edge of the hole her cousin had fallen into.

“I’m fine.” he answered flatly. “And I think I’m in a room.” he added.

“We found it!” she said exuberantly. “I told you it was around here.”

“Yes, you did.” he said. His next words were denied him as a fist came flying out of nowhere. He narrowly missed it, and soon found himself in a fist fight of sorts. One he was obviously winning. He had the man pinned in about three moves.

“Deliverance, a little light please?” he asked, as there was barely any light in this room. As his cousin lit up the room with her wand, Severus descended on the man. “Where’s Harry?!” he spat, anger radiating off of him in waves. “Tell me, or I swear I will not hesitate in killing you.” To emphasize his point, he wrapped his hands around the prick’s neck. “Tell me, now!” he yelled.

“There.” gasped Corwin, pointing to a nearby door that was currently standing open a bit. He was dimly aware that that room was where the light was coming from.

“Good. Now, maybe I won’t kill you.” he said, not hiding his malicious intent. He thought he heard Del snickering somewhere behind him.

“Watch him, will you?” he asked, and not waiting for an answer he walked over the door, and gently pushed it aside. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but he hadn’t expected what he was seeing.

******************

After Harry’s lap had gone numb from the dog’s weight, he started petting it subconsciously. He didn’t have anything else to do. Harry was beginning to worry about what would happen if Jeb came back in here. He didn’t fancy getting smacked around again, as his head was still killing him. He thought if he saw the old man one more time, he’d puke. The mere thought of him at this point was just nauseating. He knew the man was crazy, but he was tired, scared, and plain sick of being tied to a pole. He wanted to go home. This thought brought him back to where exactly he would go if he got out of this. He realized that even Severus’ sounded good to him.

“Come on, Severus, come get me.” he muttered to himself. It was at this precise moment that he heard a suspicious thud from outside his door. The dog in his lap brought his head up and snarled. Harry hadn’t realized he’d been petting it until that moment, and did it again in an effort to calm it.

“Shh.” he said, and surprisingly, the dog laid its head back down in his lap.

The next instant it sounded like there was a small struggle going on, and then it was silent. He could hear voices, but they were muffled and he couldn’t make out what was being said.

“Please be Severus.” he thought to himself. He didn’t think he could handle it if it was one of Jeb’s psycho friends. Who knew what would happen then.

He began anxiously petting the dog, who had become quiet in his lap. He didn’t know if this was a good or bad thing. At once the voices stopped, and he heard someone walking towards his door. He stiffened immediately, and as he did so, the dog stood up, taking a defensive stance over the boy. Harry’s brow shot up in surprise. ‘You’re protecting me?’ he thought, amazed.

As the door came fully opened he thought he would jump for joy if it hadn’t been for the ropes keeping him tied down.

“Severus!”

He could tell Severus was beyond shocked when he saw a massive Rottweiler standing over him in what appeared to be a protective stance. He didn’t know if he should be worried or relieved. He felt the dog wasn’t a threat to himself, but he very well could be a threat to Severus.

Severus edged into the room very slowly, and cautiously approached them. “Harry, are you alright?” he asked, quietly.

“Yeah.” whispered Harry, using what slack he had in the ropes that were tied painfully around his wrists to continue petting the dog, in an attempt to calm him down. The Rottweiler finally settled down, after realizing that the boy wasn’t frightened of this man. He laid his head back down in the boy’s lap, content with just being petted.

As Severus grew closer, Harry saw a glimpse of anger in his eyes and flinched. He couldn’t possibly fathom what he had done to deserve anger directed at him. ‘Did Severus think this was his fault?’ he asked himself. But then he saw the concern as the more dominant emotion and realized he wasn’t mad at him, but the condition he had found Harry in. He probably didn’t look too good, if the way he felt was any indication.

The older man knelt down in front of the boy, and got his first good look at Harry’s face. There was a large bruise covering the right side of his face, he had a black eye, and there was a line of dry blood coming from the corner of his mouth.

Snape sighed, trying to keep his increasing anger from showing on his face. This kid just never gets a break, he thought. He pulled out a knife from a deep pocket, and went to reach behind the teenager to get at the ropes. The Rottweiler apparently took this as a threat, as he immediately was on his feet again, growling ferociously at the Potions professor.

“Whoa!” yelled Harry, using his voice now, since the dog was now completely out of reach of his still restrained hands. “Calm down, dog! Sit.”

The dog did as it was told and immediately sat back down. “It’s okay, dog, he’s just going to cut the ropes.” he remarked, relief in his voice. The ropes were one of the things really hurting him at the moment. He knew his professor had discovered the shape his wrists were in when he heard a distinct shocked gasp. Followed closely by many swear words. As the ropes were gently removed, he slowly dragged his arms to his front, trying not to touch the damaged flesh. At seeing them himself, he nearly gagged.

‘Ew.’ he thought, eyeing the raw flesh and blood.

“Let’s take care of that now, your other wounds can wait until we get back home.” said Severus, taking Harry’s abused wrists in his hands. He quickly doused them in a disinfectant, which didn’t even burn, to Harry’s great surprise, and continued to wrap them in a cooling cloth. “There, that should do until I get you back and can properly heal them.” he said.

Harry just nodded in consent. “How did you find me?” he asked, and his eyes widened as he remembered his captor. “Where’s Jeb?” he asked, more worriedly.

“Well, I found you with the help of my cousin.” he answered.

“Del?” asked Harry, only slightly surprised.

“Yes, and she is currently taking care of Corwin.”

“Corwin?” asked Harry.

Snape raised an eyebrow before he remembered Harry had never known the old man’s last name. “Yes, Jeb Corwin is his name. And hopefully we’ll never have to think or speak his name again after this. We’re going to Del’s and then we’re going back to Hogwarts, as soon as you feel up to it.” he stated.

Harry was more than thrilled to know they would be heading to Hogwarts soon. “That’s great.” he said.

“Good, let’s get out of here then, shall we?” he asked, extending a hand.

Harry took the pro-offered hand and was pulled to his feet. He swayed slightly before he felt steadying hands on his shoulders.

“Are you alright?” asked Severus.

“Just a little dizzy.” answered Harry, leaving out the fact that the older man’s hand was directly on top of the painful bruise Jeb had left on his shoulder from his death grip.

“If you’re sure.” he asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.” said Harry, more than happy to get out of this room. Snape gently started to steer the teenager out of the room, when they both heard a yelp coming from the other part of the shack.

“Del!” yelled Severus, pushing Harry back towards the dog. “Stay here.” he demanded, and rushed back into the other room.

*****************

As Snape swung open the door, he was met with a frightening sight. Corwin had Del in front of him, like a shield, with a wand pointed directly at her throat.

“I’m leavin’, and I’m takin’ her with me!” he spat, dragging the woman along towards the exit.

“No!” yelled Severus, going for his wand.

“Don’t ya even do it! Throw yer wand down, or I’ll kill her!’ he yelled, pressing the wand even harder into Deliverance’s throat.

Severus only hesitated for a moment, before realizing he didn’t have a chance. “Alright.” he hissed, throwing his wand down. Jeb quickly cast a summoning charm on the wand, and it flew into his outstretched hand. “Go in the other room!” he ordered, pointing with Snape’s own wand at the door.

Severus gave Del an anguished look, and she returned it with a comforting one. ‘Go.’ she mouthed. ‘Protect him.’

He shot Jeb a death glare, before backing into the room. The door slammed in front of him, and locked.

“Damn it!” he yelled, throwing his weight into the door. “Shit!” he muttered, more angry than anything for being so stupid.

“Professor?” came a questioning voice from behind.

“What?” he yelled, frustration taking over. He turned around and immediately softened at the look on the boy’s face. He had scared him. ‘Way to go, you dumb ass.’ he internally scolded himself.

“What happened?” asked Harry. “And where’s Del?” as this came out more as a demand than a question, Severus gave him an amused look, which quickly turned to worry.

“He took her, and we’re locked in this room.” he said.

“What?!” he yelled, clearly not liking this turn of events. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

“Calm down.” said Severus, testing the door’s limits. It was a fairly strong door, and he didn’t think breaking it down was going to be an option. “We’ll get out…somehow.” He just had to figure that part out.

“Hey kid, Corwin didn’t use any other way to get in or out of here, by chance, did he?” asked Severus, but didn’t think there would be any real chance he had.

Harry took a minute to think, but realized he hadn’t. “No, the only time he came in was through that door.” he said. “And he left the same way, well, I guess he did.” he said, mumbling the last part. He had been slightly unconscious when Jeb had left the room.

“What do you mean, ‘you guess?’” asked Snape, pacing the floor.

Harry blanched at this; he hadn’t meant to be overheard. “I...I…um...well,” he sputtered, not sure how to answer the question without further angering his teacher.

“Spit it out, Harry.” he said, focusing his attention on the boy now.

‘You’re gonna be angry.’ he thought. “Well…you know, he um…knocked me out.” There, he had said it. That hadn’t been too bad.

Snape had a sudden urge to hug the boy. ‘Whoa, now where did that come from?’ he asked himself, shocked. Instead, he placed a hand on the boy’s head, ruffling the already messy hair. “So, I can assume your unconsciousness came from this.” he asked, motioning to the large bruise covering Harry’s cheek.

“Well, kind of.” said Harry, who found this conversation entirely too embarrassing. “I passed out after my head hit the pole, which was the result of him hitting me.” he said, and then tried a diversion tactic. “So, how are we getting out of here?”

Snape gave him a lingering look. “I’m not too sure.” he said. Harry nearly sighed with relief, but held it in. The diversion had worked.

Harry stood there, contemplating ways to escape, when he noticed the dog was scratching at the wall. ‘That’s strange.’ he thought.

“Professor, look.” he said, pointing at the dog. Severus turned and looked towards the dog.

“What is he doing?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. He cautiously approached the dog, as he wasn’t too sure it would be friendly towards him, and crouched down beside it. He knocked on the wooden panels, and wasn’t disappointed when he heard a hollowed out area. “There’s something here.” he stated, and began pulling the panels from the wall. He finally revealed a small tunnel.

“There’s an opening, I can see some light.” he told Harry, scooting over for the boy to look himself.

“I see it.” said Harry. “Are we going then?”

Severus considered the passage way before turning to Harry again. “Are you sure? It’s kind of a tight fit.” he said.

Harry once again looked at the tunnel, before deciding he’d rather suffer a minor panic attack than stay in this room one more minute. “Let’s go.” Besides, he could handle it. He’d just have to crawl fast.

“Okay.” remarked Severus, not truly believing the boy, but feeling he needed out just as much as he did. They entered the tunnel, making quick work of it, not wanting to stay in there too long, for obvious reasons. The dog followed after them complacently. When they saw the light, they realized they’d have to climb upwards to get out, without anything to hang onto.

“This could prove interesting.” said Snape. As Harry was in front of him, he slightly lifted the boy and gave him a boost. “Just use the roots and dirt, I guess, to pull yourself out.” he added.

He waited to make sure the boy had purchase on the roots, before starting to climb himself, digging his feet into the dirt and making little holes to help himself climb.

“You doing alright, there?” he asked Harry.

“Yeah.” Severus noticed the teenager’s voice was shaky, and tried to look up through the shadow the boy was creating. He could tell the kid wasn’t going to last much longer without panicking. “Hang on, Harry, we’re almost out now.” he said, trying to sound encouraging.

“Uh huh.” answered Harry, and quickened his pace, desperate now to get out. In his haste, however, he missed the root he had been trying to grab, and lost his footing. He started to slip, and frantically scrambled for something to hold onto. He let out a startled scream as he fell. Harry didn’t know what he had expected, but Severus actually catching him hadn’t been one of them. He was therefore extremely surprised when his professor managed to actually catch him, without falling too much himself. The dog beneath them yelped.

Harry’s breathing was erratic, and Severus could tell he was panicking. Levering himself by using his feet to dig into the ground, he quickly turned the boy around, thanking God that the boy was extremely small for his age.

“Harry!” he yelled, getting the frightened teenager’s attention. “You have to hold onto me! Do you understand?” he asked, trying to be stern and somewhat gentle at the same time. Instead of getting an answer, the boy immediately wrapped his arms around Severus neck and his legs around the older man’s waist, clinging to him as if his life depended on it.

Snape wasted no time and hastened his pace, climbing as quickly as he could, not wanting the teenager to go into a full fledge panic attack. He was more than relieved when his hands actually touched grass, and he easily pulled himself and his burden out of the hole. The potions professor tried to put Harry down, but the boy wasn’t cooperating.

“Harry, we have to go. Please, let me put you down.” he said, trying to pry the boy’s face away from him, so he could make eye contact. But he refused to let go. Snape sighed in exasperation. He let his arms fall to his sides, and yet the boy still clung to him. Snape looked around himself, clearly not knowing what to do in this situation. “Harry!” he finally yelled, and the boy instantly came alive, jumping down from the man’s arms. However, he still wasn’t completely calm, as Snape could plainly see. Taking the boys face into his large hands, he garnered eye contact.

“You’re fine.” he stated. “Look around you; you’re in an open area. You’re okay, and we need to go now. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” he asked. Snape noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Rottweiler had somehow managed to get out of the hole all on it’s own. He didn’t have the time to wonder on that fact, however.

Harry merely nodded, blinking as comprehension settled in. He then remembered that Snape had just been carrying him, and he blushed crimson. “God, this is embarrassing.” he mumbled to himself.

Severus wisely remained quiet and started walking, letting Harry follow when he was ready. He knew the kid was embarrassed at how he had reacted. After an annoyingly awkward silence, Harry finally spoke.

“Where are we going?” he finally asked, running a bit to catch up. “Do you know where he took her?”

“Well, not really.” stated his Professor. “But I’m hoping these footprints will kind of lead the way.” he said, sarcasm lacing his words involuntarily, and pointing to the ground.

Harry looked down and noticed for the first time that there were prints left behind in the mud and the still melting snow. “Oh.” said Harry, trying not to look too sheepish.

Snape just smirked and continued on his way. He had a purpose, and that was all he was focusing on. Finding his cousin.

“Hey! Come back!” yelled Harry. Snape turned around, curious as to why the boy was yelling. He was therefore not all that surprised at seeing the Rottweiler running in the opposite direction they were going in.

“Harry, it’s a wild dog, let it go.” he said.

“But…” said Harry, although he didn’t really know what to say. He was mildly disappointed that the dog was leaving him, he’d grown attached to him in the short time they had spent together. But they didn’t have the time to go chase him down, either. “Alright.” he finally said.

No more words were spoken as they continued on their way, stopping every now and again to find the footprints when he lost them, but then moving on. The sun had come out full force, and the fact that Harry hadn’t eaten in quite a while was catching up to him. His stomach growled loudly, but he intentionally stepped on an old branch at the same time to hopefully cover the sound. It did, for Snape kept walking, never looking back. The quick pace they were keeping was making the teenager tired, and he continually found himself having to up his pace to a jog to keep up with the other man. A nice comfortable bed with massive pillows was calling to him, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t be an option until they got back to Del’s. And they hadn’t even found Del yet.

Thinking of Del made him remember who exactly she was with, and a surge of fear flowed through him. What if he treated Del the same way he had him? But the more he thought of it, the more he thought of Del beating Jeb up, which brought a smile to his face. But Corwin had a wand, and Severus’ cousin didn’t. What if he did hurt her? He didn’t like the morbid thoughts that were coming to mind. They had to find her, and fast. He looked up when he noticed Severus had stopped walking and was looking wildly around at the muddy ground.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, dread filling him.

“I’ve lost the damn tracks!” he yelled. “They’ve just stopped. The bastard must have grown a brain and started wiping them out.” The professor’s anger was palpable, and Harry took an involuntary step backwards. “Shit.” he yelled again.

“Professor, you have to calm down now, there’s got to be something we can do.” said Harry, throwing caution to the wind, for talking like this to his teacher could be deadly. But Snape only looked at him.

Severus took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “You’re right. Just let me think for a moment.”

Harry remained quiet, waiting for him to make some kind of decision on what to do. He desperately wished there was something he could do to help. But what help he could be he didn’t know. And then, bam, he remembered.

“Oh!” he yelled, breaking Severus from his thoughts.

“What are you on about?” he asked, irritated. Harry ignored Severus and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. “Harry, are you okay?” he asked, minimally concerned, but confused more than anything. Harry waved his hand in Severus’ face.

“Shh.” said Harry, before switching languages. *Aeden.* he hissed, and opened his eyes, looking around expectantly. He saw the confusion in Snape’s eyes. “I’m calling for Aeden. He told me to if I needed him. I think this constitutes as an ‘I need him’ situation.

Severus raised an eyebrow. He was impressed. He hadn’t realized the teenager had that particular ability. “Are you and the snake telepathic then?” he asked, curious.

“Yes. He explained it to me…I think he’s here.” he finished, pointing a few feet away where a large black snake was slithering towards them.

*You called?* asked Aeden. *Were you able to dispose of the Orb?*

*Yes. Thank you. But I was wondering if you could help me find my friend Del. She’s been taken by the guide who brought us up here, because he’s friggin’ insane.* told Harry.

*Well then, that’s good news indeed, except the abduction.* added Aeden, noticing the dirty look he had been about to receive from the boy.

*Yeah, but we really need your help. We don’t know where he took her, and I was wondering if you could help us out.* asked Harry.

Aeden slithered closer to the boy, and reared his head up so they were eye level. *I will help you in any way I can. Give me a moment, and I’ll have a direction for you to take, dear boy.*

Harry was beyond grateful for Aeden’s help, as Severus and himself had been getting nowhere, fast. He watched quietly as the large snake seemed to test the air with his tongue, slithering every which direction, before coming back to Harry. *I’ve discerned the scent, I know where they’ve gone.* hissed the snake. Harry’s eyes widened. That was fast, he thought.

*Where?* he asked, wanting to leave straight away.

*They’ve gone north, towards the other side of the island. You’d do well to be careful, child. I and my kind sense a danger there; we do not trespass on that part of land. It is dangerous. Heed my warning.* he warned, once again making eye contact with the boy.

Harry didn’t think this news was very encouraging. What else could go wrong on this damn trip? Don’t go there, he told himself. *Thank you for your help, Aeden, we really appreciate it.*

Aeden bowed his head elegantly. *I’m sure.* he hissed, eyeing Severus with contempt.

*He’s a good man.* defended Harry. *Why do you dislike him?*

*No reason really, but there’s something about him that doesn’t feel right.* advised the snake.

Harry thought he might have an idea on what it was exactly the snake was picking up on. *Don’t worry, you’re right, in a way, but you’re wrong as well. He’s not evil, he spies on it.* Aeden seemed to understand immediately what he was being told.

*That is good to hear, little one. But watch yourself nonetheless.* hissed Aeden.

Harry merely shrugged. *I will.*

*I must go now.* said the black snake, and started to slither away, before turning his head back. *Child, be cautious on the other side of the island. I fear I won’t be able to help you there.* he added, and then disappeared into the forest.

“Great.” moaned Harry, putting a hand to his forehead.

“What’s wrong?” asked Severus, worry clearly in his voice, as he laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Nothing really, it’s just that this whole thing keeps getting more and more complicated.” he said.

“Was the snake able to help you?” Snape was worried that Aeden hadn’t been able to help them, since he had left so abruptly.

“Yes, I know where they went, but Aeden says there’s another danger there, something worse than Jeb could ever be. I’m imagining a monster, here, professor.” said Harry.

The Potions professor raised an eyebrow. “A little dramatic, aren’t we?”

“No, not really.” answered Harry, starting to get annoyed. “I believe the snake when he tells me there’s something dangerous over there, something he’s so scared of he doesn’t dare go to that side of the island. If you don’t want to believe me then fine, but we’re wasting time standing here, we should go and find Del.”

And with that said, Harry stalked off, leaving his professor staring after him. Severus finally shook himself out of his reverie and followed after the boy, wondering where that moment of daring had come from.

“Harry, I didn’t mean anything by it, you know.” he said, trying to placate the boy. Harry nodded his head to let the older man know he heard him, but didn’t stop his hurried pace.

“Well, what did Aeden say?” he finally asked.

Harry sighed. “Um…he said that they were heading north, probably trying to lose us by going over to the creepy side, if you were to ask me.”

“You’re probably right. Did your friend tell you anything about whatever it is we’re going to be facing?” he asked. “You know, neither of us has our wands.” he stated.

Harry turned about quickly at that. “What do you mean you don’t have your wand?” he asked, incredulously.

“He took it, Harry. Did you think I would have had us crawl through that tunnel if I didn’t have my wand?” he said.

Harry honestly hadn’t thought about it. He’d been more worried about getting out, that he hadn’t really wondered on why Snape wasn’t just using his wand.

“Oh, well…where’s mine?” he suddenly wondered.

“I’m not entirely sure I know. If it’s in any of your belongings, I left it at Del’s place. Do you remember where you last put it?” he asked.

“Not really. I would have put it in my cloak, it’s where I had been hiding my important items.” he said.

“Why were you hiding your things?” asked Snape.

“From Jeb. He kept trying to steal my money sack.”

“Really.” it was a statement, not a question. Severus was plain sick of the guide. He took the bag off of his shoulder that he’d brought with him, and pulled out Harry’s cloak. “I thought you might need this, so I brought it.”

Harry couldn’t believe his luck. He took the cloak from Severus and opened the seam where he hid his stuff. And pulled out his wand. “Thank goodness.” he said. He could tell Severus was relieved as well.

“At least we have a wand.” he said.

Harry could more than agree with him. They headed off again, and were soon entering a part of the woods that reminded Harry distinctly of some kind of horror movie. The sun didn’t seem to want to shine here, even though it was only in the afternoon, and it felt as if all the trees were reaching out to grab him. There was still quite a lot of snow in this area of the forest, as the sun hadn’t been able to reach it to melt it. Harry was now very grateful he had his cloak, and he wrapped it tightly about himself. With his wand stuck back in his pocket, they trekked on.

“I have the feeling we’re getting closer.” remarked Severus.

Harry just looked at his curiously. “How can you tell?”

“I just always have been able to tell when someone else is around. And believe me, it comes in handy when students are out after curfew, trying to sneak around.” he said suddenly. And Harry laughed. Severus cracked a grin.

“Keep your guard up, someone’s coming.” he said. Harry stopped laughing abruptly, listening hard. And then he heard it, the sound of crunching snow. He cautiously peeked around a tree. His eyes grew wide at what he saw.

At Harry’s reaction, Severus too looked out from behind a tree, and had to contain himself.

“I see you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself.” he stated.

“Of course, what did you expect? I wasn’t about to wait around for you to come save me.” said Del, haughtily.

Severus glared. “Shut up, woman.” he said, but jokingly.

Jeb tried to say something, but it came out mumbled as he had a piece of Del’s dress wrapped firmly around his mouth. Deliverance had ripped up her dress, and used it to hogtie the man. She had then had him levitating behind her. Harry couldn’t keep it in anymore, and started laughing at the scene. Jeb glared evilly at him. Harry didn’t stop.

“I take it your alright, though?” he asked.

“Yes, cousin, I am fine.” she answered. “Oh, and here’s your wand.” she said, and handed it to him. As soon as the wands had switched hands, Jeb fell the two feet back to the ground, hard. Harry snickered. “It came in handy. It’s been so long since I used magic, I almost forgot how.”

“I’m glad your safe.” said Harry.

Deliverance turned around and gasped at the boy’s face. “Oh, you poor dear. Are you alright?” she asked, discarding the boy’s worry for her. She gently grasped his face between her hands and tried to keep the tears from falling. She pulled him into a hug, and glared for all she was worth at the man still hogtied on the ground. Jeb recoiled. That woman could be a real bitch when she wanted to be. As he knew all too well now.

“Let’s get out of here, Del, you can take care of him all you want when we get him home.” he said. He ruffled the boy’s hair again, before moving over to Jeb. He untied the man’s feet. “You’re walking. I’m not exerting the energy it will take to levitate you.” he hissed. “And you thought she was bad.” he added, motioning to his cousin. “I’m much worse.” This was emphasized with a swift kick to the stomach. “Now get up.”

*************

Jeb struggled to his feet, and allowed himself to be led. No need to start causing a scene yet. He had been pulling at his bonds since the woman had tied him up. They were almost off, just a little more and he’d be free. He had been ecstatic when the man had untied his feet. It only made things easier. He’d be free soon enough, and then were they ever in for it.

He watched as the boy kept looking back at him. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that smile off his face. He’d do it too, just as soon as his hands were free. Not much longer now. And little more wriggling, and finally the strands of fabric came loose, and he slipped his hands from them. He knew he didn’t have much of a chance at fighting the older two, and he knew he should just make a run for it. But he couldn’t forget how the little brat had laughed at him. If he hadn’t done that, he’d probably have been able to walk away, but no. He had to teach him a lesson. He continued walking, holding the fabric in his hands, so it appeared he was still tied up. He had to show the brat who was in control.

The afternoon had quickly left them, and now nightfall was settling in. He really didn’t want to be in these woods after dark, but it was hard to tell when it was daytime in these particular woods anyways. But when night fell, he knew that was when whatever lurked in the forest came out. He had heard many tales from some friends, but they had all been different. He didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t. Some said it lived in the trees, others said it lived underground. Many described it as a shadow with no form, and this was something he didn’t want to meet tonight. So, gathering his courage, he let the fabric drop to the ground.

Swiftly, before anyone could stop him, he just had to do it, pushing the man walking beside him, Jeb tackled the boy.

**************

Harry was walking beside Deliverance. He was glad she was alright, he had worried about what Corwin might do to her. But he needn’t have worried. He had jokingly thought Del would beat him up instead of the other way around. It was comforting to know he had been right. He looked back every once in a while, just to be glared at by the older man. Severus, who was walking beside Jeb, would give him encouraging smiles, which he would return.

He walked along quietly, enjoying the silence, when he suddenly tensed up. He didn’t know why until he was tackled from behind. Someone took his upper arm, which was already bruised, and used it solely to flip him over. He cried out, coming face to face with Jeb. And then he was viciously backhanded, bringing tears to his eyes.

“No one laughs at me!” spat Jeb. Harry tried to scream, but Jeb’s hands had found their way around his neck, and he suddenly couldn’t get any air. Jeb smiled at the fear he could see in the boy’s eyes, and squeezed tighter.

**************

Severus, caught of guard, was pushed onto the forest floor. He tried to get up, but found he was tangled up in some vines. He grabbed his wand, to undo them, when he heard Harry cry out. He fought harder with the vines, as he saw that bastard backhand Harry. He used his wand, eviscerating the vines, and ran for the man hurting his boy. He saw red when he realized Corwin was strangling him.

Without further thought, he cast a curse at the man, which sent him flying into a tree with a sickening crack. Severus could care less, and rushed to Harry’s side. Wrapping his arms around the teenager, he helped him into a sitting position. “Breathe.” he instructed, rubbing his back. Harry took in shuddering breaths, coughing in between, and trying hard to keep the tears from falling.

“You can cry. Someone tried to kill you, believe me, it’s allowed.” said Severus, who could see the internal struggle he was battling with.

Harry let out a strangled laugh before he did cry. And Severus held him.

“Where’s Del?” asked Harry when the tears had subsided. He thought she had gotten knocked over when Jeb had tackled him, and was growing worried.

Severus looked over and saw that she was having the same problem he had had; only she lacked a wand to assist. Severus eviscerated these vines as well, and she quickly got up. For a woman going on four hundred or something years of age, she sure could move fast, and wrapped Harry in a hug.

“It’s okay.” she said, wiping away the tears. Severus took this opportunity to check on Jeb, who hadn’t moved since he was thrown into the tree. He knelt down in front of him, and could tell the man was dead. He was leaning against the tree, with a sharp branch impaling him through the heart. At least he didn’t have to worry about this guy anymore. He noticed the silence, and looked over.

“Is he dead?” asked Harry.

“Yes.” he answered.

Harry couldn’t bring himself to feel bad.

The trip back to the Bed and Breakfast was made rather quickly. Not wanting to run into whatever dwelled in the forest, they had headed out as soon as possible. Now they were only minutes from the house, and were they ever glad to see the top of the roof peeking out from behind the high trees. Soon the trees became denser and the dirt trail appeared before them, leading to Del’s home. They tiredly followed it, and trudged up the steps.

Del took no time at all in opening the front door, and allowing the two younger men to enter the house. “Make yourselves at home.” she said. “And Harry, why don’t you lie down on the couch. You look exhausted.” she instructed.

Harry was too tired to argue, and did as he was told. He didn’t think he had ever felt something as comfortable in his entire life. He immediately dozed off, oblivious to the world.

Snape sat down on the smaller sofa catty corner to the couch Harry was lying on. Observing the boy as he slept was almost calming. He looked so peaceful, despite the bruising done to his face. He figured now was as good a time as any to get started on healing the boy’s wounds. Muttering a quick spell under his breath, and Harry shirt disappeared. And then Severus almost wished he hadn’t destroyed the Orb. Then he could bring back Jeb, just so he could kill him again, albeit a bit more painfully.

Severus could hear Del coming back into the sitting room, followed by the tinkling of crystal. She had brought tea, and then she nearly dropped it. He turned around just to see Deliverance clutching the tea set angrily as she eyed the boy’s chest and arms. “That bastard.” she cried, nearly dropping the tea set again.

Harry continued to sleep on, not aware of the turmoil in the room, caused over his state. “I know what you mean.” hissed Severus. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now. What’s done is done. I’ll need your help, Del.” he said.

Deliverance nodded in compliance and set the tea on the table. “I’ll get the healing ointment out of the cabinet.” she began, walking from the room.

Severus was thankful she had anything at all, considering his potions had been stolen when they were still out in the forest. He found himself wondering again who had destroyed their camp. He knew it wasn’t Jeb, and wondered briefly if Death Eaters had found out his location. If they had, they wouldn’t be able to stay here for much longer. The villagers would have to be notified, and Del would have to leave with them. He just hoped she wouldn’t put up a fight.

Soon, Deliverance returned with a basketful of jars, all of which contained some kind of healing ointment, and potions for various problems. She took out a jar containing some kind of amber ointment and handed it to the potions professor. “Use this on the bruising.” she instructed. These were from her own stores, therefore Severus didn’t exactly know what they were each designed for. He would if he could study them, but he trusted that Del knew her potions.

He scooped out a generous amount with his fingers, and began gently rubbing the ointment on the bruises littering the boy’s upper arms and chest. Harry moaned in pain, but remained asleep. Deliverance had also dabbed some ointment onto her palms and was beginning with the boy’s face and neck. Jeb had left finger marks on his neck, where he had tried to strangle him. They both knew they’d have to apply the ointment for a few days before the bruises truly faded, as they were done with such hostility.

“What about his back?” asked Deliverance, not knowing if there was bruising there as well.

Severus gently turned Harry over, so he was lying on his stomach. Then he got a good look at his back.

“Oh my God.” he gasped, and went from leaning on his knees to sitting on his heels. He was dimly aware of Deliverance cussing liberally, but was too engrossed in the teenager’s back. There was no spot of skin unblemished. He didn’t see how Harry had been able to move let alone walk. No wonder he was so exhausted. It looked as if Corwin had kicked the boy repeatedly and with vigor. He could even see the design from the man’s footprint in Harry’s back in a few places. He stomped on this child. Severus couldn’t speak he was so mad. He wanted to hit something, or break something, or scream. And he desperately wanted Jeb still alive, so he could kick him into the ground!

In order to save Harry from even feeling the anger vibrating off of him, he got up and walked out of the house. He didn’t want the poor boy to feel his anger, and he was damn sure he’d feel it if he stayed a minute longer. Severus considered taking an ax and going back out to where they had left the man’s body, just so he could hack it to pieces. But he controlled himself, knowing Harry wouldn’t approve.

He stiffly ran his hands through his hair, dishelving it. He was alarmed by how much he was beginning to care for the boy lying inside. He didn’t know how to react to this newfound feeling. But he knew Harry needed him, and he wouldn’t leave the boy to be hurt again. He intended to talk to Dumbledore when he got back. The boy was his now.

*****************

Deliverance wasn’t surprised when Severus left the house. She knew he was mad, and was almost glad he waited until he got outside to unleash his anger. She had been cussing up a storm, but was calm now, and knew she’d have to tend to Harry herself. She couldn’t help herself, though, and felt tears running down her cheeks as she looked once more at the damage done to a child. Lightly stroking the boy’s face, she had to stifle a sob when he moved into the touch, craving it, even in sleep. She poured out a liberal portion of healing ointment into her hand, and as carefully as she could, began rubbing it into his back.

Harry whimpered and tried to move away from the touch.

“Oh, baby, it’s okay. Shh…this will make you feel better.” she crooned, and Harry settled back down, falling deeper into sleep. A lone tear fell from Deliverance’s face and landed silently on the small of Harry’s back. She vowed to never let anyone harm this child ever again. He was like a grandchild to her now. This was her baby. If anyone touched him in anger again, they’d be getting a face full of Deliverance’s fist. She knew violence wasn’t the answer, but she was willing to make an exception.

*************

He slowly trudged through the forest, looking for the boy. He hadn’t wanted to leave him, but he couldn’t follow where they were going. He just hoped they had made it back alright. He noticed a house in the distance, and sniffing the air, he picked up on the boy’s scent. It was much stronger now. As he drew closer, he picked up a different scent, a familiar scent, and realized he had found them.

He peered out from behind a rather large tree, and saw the older man pacing out front of the house. He looked angry and worried.

Was the boy okay? He didn’t know, and this made him rush forward, startling the older man. He slowed down and crept up to the familiar smelling man. Nuzzling his hand, he let out a whine.

He wagged his tail in delight as the man called Severus patted his head and rubbed behind his ears. The Rottweiler began nudging the man, attempting to push him towards the door. He wanted to make sure the boy was okay. And then he barked when he wouldn’t move.

Severus finally gave in and let the animal practically steer him towards the house.

****************

Deliverance looked up when she heard the door open. And nearly dropped the cup of tea she had been sipping at.

“Oh no. No, there are no dogs in this house. No. Out!” she ordered, shooing the dog away with her hands. But the dog didn’t move, and Severus continued to look at her in amusement.

She placed her hands on her hips and started tapping her foot impatiently on the wooden floor. “Are you ignoring me, Severus Snape?” she asked.

“Well, yes, actually.” he received a glare at this point. “But he seemed rather adamant to come inside.” he shrugged off the older woman’s blatant annoyance.

“It is not sanitary to have a dog in here when that boy is sick!” she screeched. She nearly leaped into the air when the dog growled. “And its wild! Severus, I demand that you take that dog out of this house.” she demanded, worry evident in her face. “There’s no telling what it’s dragged in with it. He’s got a fever, Sev.” she ended.

“What?” asked Severus, forgetting about the dog instantly. “When did this happen?”

Without waiting for his cousin, he made his way back into the sitting room, and felt the teenager’s forehead. “You’re right, he’s gotten a fever again.” he sighed.

“I’ve got to get him back to Hogwarts, where he can get some proper care and a fever reducing potion.”

Del was saddened by these words. She didn’t want these two men to leave, but she also knew Harry needed more help that she could give him.

“And you’re going to have to come with us, Del.” stated Severus.

She looked at Severus in surprise. “Whatever for?” she asked.

“I think there are Death Eaters on the island. We’ll have to alert the villagers, and then we really should leave.” he said.

Without a moment’s hesitation she agreed.

Severus looked surprised himself. “What, no argument? You haven’t left this island in who only knows how many years, and you’re willing to go…just like that?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. This boy is like a grandchild to me. I won’t leave him until I know he’s going to be alright. But, you need to get him out of here. I’ll alert the others of the possible threat, and then I’ll come after you later, alright?” she asked. “I’ll need to close up the house, and pack a few things. Then I’ll leave.” she added, when he looked as if he might protest.

“Very well.” he agreed. A sudden barking reminded them of the dog. “I guess we’ll bring him with us. I have the feeling he might come in handy at some point.” he said distractedly.

“Okay.” she replied, as she felt the dog belonged as well, even if she had been trying to get rid of it. There was just something about him that grew on you.

Severus immediately grabbed what was left of their belongings, and shrunk them. Slipping them into his pocket, he went to retrieve the boy. He was still sleeping soundly, and he was dressed again, something he hadn’t noticed earlier while checking for a fever.

“Be careful.” said Severus, and gently lifted Harry into his arms. He wasn’t about to wake him, and thought it’d be just as fast this way. He hardly weighed anything anyways, and a weightlessness charm wasn’t necessary.

“I will. Be swift, Severus.” she watched as they left the house, the dog following closely behind. As soon as they had disappeared into the trees, she rushed from the house to inform the others.

*****************

Severus made quick work of the trip back. Crossing the river was much easier this time, as there was no storm to slow them down, and then he quickly disapparated to a point just beyond Hogwarts grounds. Making sure the Rottweiler wasn’t lost in the apparation, he quickly walked towards the castle, with the dog right behind him.

As the school was still relatively empty, he met no one on the way to the Infirmary. He wondered if Dumbledore was back from visiting his family yet. If he wasn’t, he would be paying him a visit this very evening, to ensure that Harry stayed with him from now on. Forget being a spy, Harry was his number one priority from now on. And besides that, he had a very strong feeling that Voldemort already knew of his deceit.

As he entered, he saw Madame Pomfrey handing Professor Flitwick a potion of some kind or another, and instructing him to take it once this morning and once that evening. He gave nothing more than a nod in passing him as he left and continued towards Poppy.

“Good evening, Pomfrey.” he greeted the woman, before placing Harry on a bed.

“Oh, is that Harry?” she asked, as she hadn’t even noticed he was in the Potions Professor’s arms until he had laid him down.

“Yes. He just needs a fever reducing potion and a good nights rest.” he instructed, but Poppy insisted she check him over. “Very well.” said Severus.

“What in the world happened to this child!” she asked, looking suspiciously towards Severus.

“Don’t give me that look.” he spat. “You know I would never hurt a child!”

Poppy had the good sense to look properly chastised before answering him. “I’m sorry, Severus. Yes, I know that, but I had heard from Albus that he would be with you this holiday. Would you mind informing me what did happen?” she asked.

“The guide I had leading me on my ‘mission’ turned out to be an indescribably bad idea.” he responded, clearly having nothing good to say about the guide.

Poppy didn’t look too pleased herself. “I’ll be able to heal these rope burns, but the bruises will take longer to fade.” she explained.

“Yes, Pomfrey, I know that.” he replied, shortly.

Madame Pomfrey spoke no more after that, feeling the man’s frustration, and continued to heal the boy’s wrists. She noticed that healing ointment had already been applied.

“He should sleep for a while, would you mind watching after him while I go find Albus.” asked Severus.

“No, not at all, Severus. But Albus is still with his relatives, he won’t be back for another three weeks.” she informed him.

“Ah. Well, I’m going to pay him a visit then. I need to speak with him immediately. I should be back early tomorrow morning.” he told the medi witch. “If he wakes up, tell him I’ve just gone to talk to the Headmaster, but I’ll be back.”

He smirked at the dumbfounded look on the woman’s face.

***********

Severus apparated into the modest farmhouse outside of Tuscany. Margery, one of the headmaster’s great grandchildren, had moved here years ago. After her marriage, he assumed the husband would be moving in with her. She wouldn’t leave this house unless death beckoned her, according to Albus.

He entered the kitchen from the entryway, and saw the leftovers from dinner. He was suddenly reminded that he hadn’t eaten in a while, and neither had Harry. He should have instructed Poppy to make sure he got breakfast. He figured he would just get back early tomorrow morning and do it himself, if everything worked out okay.

Upon exiting the kitchen, he found himself face to face with a strange woman. Her startled yell brought a man along as well.

“Who are you?” he demanded, pushing the red-haired woman behind him. “Albus!” he yelled, as he noticed the man’s attire. Neither of them were muggles, but they basically lived like them. At a moments notice, Albus had stepped into the small hallway outside of the kitchen and let out a sigh of relief when he realized who was there.

“Severus, are you trying to give us all heart attacks?” he asked, smiling. “What did you need, nothing’s wrong is it?” he asked, giving way to worry, when he realized Harry wasn’t with him.

“Well, nothing is wrong at the moment, but let’s just say we had a very difficult journey. Harry is in the infirmary, but he’s doing better now.” he explained. “Could we speak in private?” he asked, noticing that the couple from earlier were starring at him.

“Yes, of course.” he said, and lead the younger man into a nearby room. Upon closing the door, he realized they were in a guest bedroom.

“What happened to Harry?” asked Albus.

Severus quickly went into all that had happened on the trip, including the odd little experience with the snake called Aeden.

“So, he is dead then?” asked Albus, speaking of Jeb Corwin.

“Yes, the impact with the tree is what killed him.” he said.

“Very well, one less thing we will have to deal with.” he replied. Despite the happenings on the Island, Dumbledore was very pleased with how things had worked out. Severus seemed to genuinely care about the boy, something Albus never thought he’d live to see. If he had known this would happen, he would have done it long ago.

“There’s one more thing, Albus.” he added. “I don’t want Harry going back to his relatives.” he stated, letting it be known that this wasn’t exactly up for argument.

Albus looked deep in thought. “Severus, I understand from earlier that the Dursley’s had been saying some harsh things to Harry, but I’m sorry to say, that he is safest there.”

“Yes, Albus, I understand that. He’s safe there from the Dark Lord, but he’s not safe from his relatives. How do you expect him to defeat him if he’s too frightened to even deal with me, or worse, what if those bastards go too far, and kill him. Do you think about these things at all?” he spat.

“Of course I do!” said Dumbledore, defending himself. “But what do you propose we do with him? He can’t stay at the castle during the summer holidays, there’s hardly anyone at all to protect him. I wouldn’t ask the Weasley’s to take him; they’ve got enough on their plate as it is, even though I know they’d take him in a heartbeat. Really, Severus, what do you want me to do?”

“Let me take him in.” said Severus.

Dumbledore took a step back in spite of himself, just at the impact of these words.

“Are you serious?” he asked, disbelief clearly etched on his face.

“No, I just asked so I could see that utterly stupid look on your face. Of course I’m serious. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.” said Severus, with the sarcasm laid on thick.

“And your spying duties?” he asked.

“I have reason to believe Voldemort is catching on. Someone had followed us onto the island and ransacked our camp. And no, it wasn’t Jeb, that’s not his style. He was only in it for hurting the boy.” he stated bitterly. “And besides that, the boy is my only duty now. I will no longer spy after this.”

Albus was truly impressed. “Very well, Severus. Harry Potter is now in your charge. I will make up the appropriate paper work, in case anyone feels the need to contest your guardianship. Of course, this is only if Harry approves as well.” he added.

“I’m sure he will.” said Snape.

“You look exhausted, Severus. Why don’t you take a rest before you return to Hogwarts. It’s quite late.” he said, but it was more of a demand than a request.

“I think I will, Albus.”

Albus gave him the guest bedroom they had been chatting in and left him to his rest. He had some papers to make out.

*****************

Harry awoke sometime that morning, feeling refreshed. He was rather hungry, however. Hearing a slight whining noise, he turned his head and saw a dog lying at the end of his bed.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised.

The dog came closer in response. He nuzzled at the boy’s hand, and Harry complied by petting him.

“You really need a name.” he mentioned to no one. But the dog barked happily.

Harry seemed to think about it for a while. “How about Zach?” he asked. The dog shook his head. “Hmm…how about Quinn?” he asked. Still a no.

“I know…Zane.” he asked, and was glad when the dog barked, enthused.

“Good, Zane. I’m starving, how about we go scrounge up some food?” he asked. Zane jumped down off the bed and headed for the door. “I take that as a yes?”

Harry looked around the room, but Madame Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. He figured Severus had left him there to go back to his quarters for some peace. He was sad he hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye to Del, though. Dismissing his depressing thoughts, he headed for the door with Zane trailing behind him.

After they had eaten their full in the kitchen, thanks to Dobby, they ended up wandering the halls. Harry was trying to find someone, a teacher, hopefully, but so far they’d had no luck.

But then he heard footfalls, and suddenly Professor McGonagall was there.

“Harry!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, confused.

“I guess Professor Snape brought me here. Albus made him take me with me over Holiday.” he explained. “I’m not sure where he is now, though.”

“Oh.” she replied, finding the thought of Severus and Harry alone together quite absurd. “I can’t believe he brought you here and left you alone. What was he thinking?” she asked, more to herself than to Harry. “Severus wasn’t in the castle this morning, and it’s truly not safe for you to be here, Harry.”

Harry felt his stomach drop in dread. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked, timidly.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to take you down to Hogsmeade Station, so you can go back home.” she answered him.

Harry thought he would cry. After all that he’d been through, he didn’t think he would handle his Uncle very well. And he’d have to call him too, to pick him up. He was going to be so mad.

“Do you have anything with you, Harry? Clothes or your trunk?” she asked, not noticing the despairing look on the boy’s face.

“No, I don’t know where it is. I think Snape must have it.” he replied, but distantly.

“Well, I suppose I’ll just have to bring it to you myself later, then, but firstly, we need to get you home. Come along, Harry.” she said, and Harry followed after her, desponded.

The wind whipped viciously around them, and the rain he had hoped would hold off for only a few more moments, pelted into them. The woman beside him turned her brisk walk into a sprint, motioning him to do the same. He was more than willing to oblige, and taking Zane by the newly applied collar, rushed to keep up with her. He only hoped this wasn’t a foreshadowing of his day to come.

They skidded to a halt once they were safely inside the Hogwarts platform, dripping wet and already exhausted. Professor McGonagall brushed a strand of hair that had become plastered to her head behind her ear. She eyed the wet dog disdainfully.

“Will you be taking the dog with you, Potter?” she asked.

Harry grasped the collar he still held tighter. He didn’t even have to think about the question, he knew immediately what kind of response he would be getting the second his dastardly relatives saw Zane. Vernon would kill him. “No, I don’t think that would be the greatest idea.” he said, still clutching the collar. “Could he stay at Hogwarts? I’m sure Hagrid wouldn’t mind if he kept Fang company.” he asked. Hagrid would be more than happy if he came home only to find another animal he could latch onto.

“I don’t see why not.” said McGonagall. “I’ll contact your Uncle for you, so he can be waiting for you when you arrive.”

Harry didn’t think his Uncle would be waiting patiently for him when he arrived. More like two hours later, just to annoy him. “Thank you, Professor. When will you be able to bring my things?” he wondered.

The Transfiguration Professor quickly pulled another errant strand of hair behind her ear before replying. “Probably tomorrow. I’ll talk to Professor Snape as soon as he arrives at the school.” A loud whistle rang throughout the platform. “That’s you, Potter, better hurry now or you’ll miss the train.” she said, scooting him in the right direction.

Harry quickly jumped onto the train as it was pulling out. As he turned back around, he watched as Professor McGonagall and Zane got further and further away, until they were merely dots in the horizon.

The train, he discovered, was practically empty, with only a few passengers here and there as he passed the compartments. Sliding into an empty one, he collapsed onto the large seat. He desperately wished he still had Zane for some company, but didn’t wish the treatment he’d receive from his Uncle on anyone, let alone his dog. His earlier run in the rain had left him drained, but his constant worries of going home kept him from sleep.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Snape knew what was going on. He couldn’t fathom why the older man would let him go back home after he had promised him he’d never have to return. Harry distractedly pulled at a loose thread on his overly large shirt, a Dudley hand-me-down. If his Professor didn’t know, he figured he’d figure it out soon enough and come after him. But, if he did know, he wouldn’t be returning to school for almost a month. A cold chill ran down his spine at what his Uncle could do to him in a month. He was immediately consumed with visions of the cupboard under the stairs, and quickly stood up to shake the thoughts.

“Get a grip, Potter.” he told himself. “He’ll come.”

He tried to reassure himself as he slowly sat his tired, aching body back down on the seat. He desperately wanted to sleep, and maneuvered himself until he was in a tight ball. He was asleep before his head hit his rolled up cloak for a pillow.

****

Lightning flashed dangerously close to his open window, illuminating the shadowy room. Vernon Dursley jumped nearly a foot off of his chair. “Damn storm.” he hissed, and settled back down. He pushed the button on the armrest, sending the chair backwards and into a reclining position. An hour ago the electricity had gone out, forcing them to revert to lighting candles all over the house in order to see. It was only mid-afternoon, but it was still as dark as night outside.

Vernon looked up in hope as the lights flickered once, twice, and then died once again. His muttered curses could be heard all the way upstairs.

“Vernon, dear, we’re going to need some more candles. Would you mind getting them for me?” came a loud, screeching voice from upstairs.

Vernon shrugged. Why not, he didn’t have anything important to do, like watch television. “Just a moment, Petunia.” he called. He assumed she had heard him even though there was no reply. He had to drag himself out of the chair, his rather large frame making it more difficult. Upon entering the kitchen, where there was a drawer full of candles for such an occasion as this, he heard an unidentifiable sound. He pulled open the nearest drawer and groped for a weapon of some sort. He pulled out an egg whisk. That would have to do.

He looked all around the darkened room, trying to discern where the noise was coming from, when a frightening furry, large eyed ‘thing’ appeared in front of him. He screamed, (and would later recall he sounded distressingly similar to a girl), and dropped the egg whisk to the floor.

“Vernon!” Petunia shrieked from somewhere above him. “What is it? What’s going on!?” he noticed she was hysterical from his lack of response.

He found himself groping blindly once again for the candle which he knew was just mere inches away on the counter. He grabbed it, nearly burning himself in his haste, and swung it around wildly. Vernon finally spotted the animal that had dared to enter his home.

“Son of a bitch.” he hissed. He grabbed the Owl by its legs and lifted it into the air, ignoring its squawks of fear. He ripped the letter from the bird’s leg before throwing it back out the window. Skimming the letter, his face quickly turned from pale to a bright shade of red. His nephew would be returning home tonight. “It’s time for that brat to learn some lessons.” he spat, turning on his heel and leaving the house.

****

Harry was startled from his sleep by the sound of screeching tires. He dimly realized they were stopping. His eyes widened as he absorbed the fact he was in London, where his Uncle was supposedly waiting for him. He clumsily climbed to his feet, and made a feeble attempt at straightening his clothes before exiting the train.

He took his precious time walking towards the barrier and even went so far as to wish he’d somehow get magically transported somewhere, anywhere but here as he passed through. No such luck. Harry tentatively searched the area around him, but saw no sign of his Uncle. He never thought he’d be so happy that his Uncle hadn’t arrived on time. His summer so far had left him far from brave, and even though Jeb scared him more than his Uncle ever had, his instincts told him things would be much worse this time around.

His Uncle would be undoubtedly upset over the way he had been whisked away at the beginning of summer. Another quick scan of the station and he finally spotted the overly large man. His heart seemed to do a summersault right there in his chest before pumping wildly. He wouldn’t have been surprised if it had burst right out of him. Vernon looked pissed.

Harry took an involuntary step backwards and right into a solid wall. Where’s a damn magical barrier when you need it! he thought.

The man was on him before he could blink, and with a tight pressure on his upper arm, right where his bruises still remained, he was pulled from the crowded station and into the practically deserted parking area. Harry was breathing hard, trying to keep from crying out from the pain.

He watched from a skewed perspective as the back door was torn open and he was roughly pushed inside. He continued to watch as Vernon walked around the car and quickly got inside. The glare he was subjected to courtesy of the rearview mirror sent a completely different kind of chill up his spine. Jeb’s frightening leer would have been a welcome change to the deadly glare he was receiving from his Uncle.

Harry practically molded himself into the car seat, sinking as far away from the glare as possible. It was going to be a long, rough month.

****

The sound of someone banging on his window brought Snape from his comfortable doze. “What the hell.” he thought, pushing the blankets from his body and sitting up in bed. He listened for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on when he realized it had been the rain, not a person banging on his window.

He groaned loudly. He hated this kind of weather, and was surprised to notice that the next thought that entered his mind was Harry did too. He hoped the teenager was fairing well in the Infirmary. His body finally replaced of its much needed sleep, he didn’t have any more reason to remain. He drug himself from the warm blankets and quickly got ready to leave. It took him less than ten minutes to grab a quick shower and place a freshening charm on his clothing. With that finished, he headed out of the guest bedroom and into the kitchen.

He wasn’t surprised to see the Headmaster sitting at the table, sipping a strong cup of coffee. He could smell it from the doorway.

“Coffee, Albus?” he asked, slightly amused.

Albus smiled around his coffee cup before taking another sip and placing it on the table. “Yes, Margery insisted I try it. She added some kind of powdery substance to it, called French Vanilla. It’s rather tasty.” he remarked, taking another sip.

“I’m sure.” Severus agreed, distrustfully. “I’d better get back to the castle before Harry thinks I deserted him.” he said. He didn’t know how close to the truth he really was.

“I assumed you would, and I have something for you.” Severus watched as the old man pushed a stack of papers across the table. “I believe you’ll be needing these.”

Snape leaned over the kitchen chair to grab the papers. Just by looking at the topmost piece he knew what they were. “Adoption papers…?” he asked, uncertainly. He knew he wanted to boy with him, but to officially adopt him…would Harry even agree to such a thing?

“I thought I’d go ahead and draw them up, just in case.” he said casually. “They won’t be official until you and Harry sign them. Somewhere in there are the official papers designating you as Harry’s legal guardian. The adoption papers were just an idea on my part.”

Severus eyed the man doubtfully. “We’ll see.” he finally said. “But, I must get going.”

Albus only nodded his head. “Good luck.” he whispered, but Severus was already gone.

****

The school was still seemingly deserted when he returned. He wanted to look over the papers before speaking with Harry on them, and plus, he wanted to hide the adoption papers until he was ready to deal with them. He didn’t want Harry to see them and throw a fit. He was sure the boy wouldn’t want his greasy git of a Potion’s Master to adopt him anyways. He couldn’t be sure, though.

He quickly deposited the papers in a secret drawer of his desk. One could only get into it with three different passwords, all spoken in different and unknown languages, plus, one had to have Snape’s hand. It would be more of a hassle to break into his desk than anything else.

He read the papers which declared him Legal Guardian of Harry Potter and nodded in approval. With the papers in hand, he quickly made his way to the Infirmary, intent on discussing this matter with the boy. Upon entering, he was surprised to see neither Harry nor Madame Pomfrey anywhere in the Infirmary.

“Pomfrey!” he called out, expecting an answer. None were forthcoming. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Confounded woman.” he muttered. He left the hospital, intent on finding the boy and giving him what for. He should have known better than to leave the Infirmary.

After ten minutes of searching, he began to grow worried. “Where the hell could he have gone? And where the hell is Pomfrey?” he asked himself menacingly.

“Watch your language, Severus.” said a sharp female voice. “And for your information, Poppy had to go down to the village. Olivia Dunegood is having her baby. Poppy was the closest Medi-witch available.”

Snape eyed the woman in annoyance. He couldn’t believe she had just tried to scold him as if he was a student still. “Wonderful.” he said, scathingly. “But where’s Potter?” he asked, growing more and more annoyed with the boy. He never should have left the Infirmary.

“I sent him home. What were you thinking leaving him here to his own devices?” she asked, but took a step back at the look Severus was sending her. If looks could kill…

“What…?” he asked, uncomprehending the stupidity of the woman before him. “What was I thinking!?” he roared. “What the hell were you thinking!?”

Minerva took another step backwards. “Severus, it isn’t safe for him here, you know that!” she yelled, getting flustered herself.

“He’s safer here than he is there!” he yelled, infuriated. “Damnit, I don’t have time for this…”he muttered. “what were you thinking!” He still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that McGonagall, of all people, would send him home.

“Severus, what is going on?” she asked, but feared she already knew. “Shit.” she said, surprising herself and Snape. “I know they’re the worst kind of Muggles, please don’t tell me they’re abusive.” she asked, already wishing she had gone with her heart and let the boy stay.

“They’re abusive.” he stated, flatly. “You coming with me?” he asked, as he noticed her stride had become as determined as his, and they were already halfway to the apparation point.

“Hell yes.”

****

Harry knew they had arrived home as soon as they turned into the driveway. He was hunkered down in his seat, keeping as far away from Vernon as he could. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had sent a fist his way. But none had come so far. That didn’t mean things wouldn’t change once they entered the house.

Harry was literally pulled from his musings as his Uncle grabbed his bruised upper arm and dragged him from the car and into the house. It was still raining, and they were both absolutely soaked by the time they got inside. He knew Vernon had figured out his arms were hurt, as he kept repeatedly squeezing them, making him cry out.

“Stop it!” he yelled, and yanked his arms from his Uncle’s tight grip. He rubbed the extremely sore spots, while backing away from Vernon. Harry watched the man warily. He wasn’t doing anything except staring at him hatefully. The light was still very dim, as there was only one candle lighting the entryway, but the shadows seemed to extend the frightening features of his Uncle’s face.

Harry watched with wide eyes as his Uncle slowly opened the cupboard door. His Uncle turned back to him, and he couldn’t understand why he looked so…distraught. “You’ve brought this on yourself.” he said.

He took another step away from his crazed Uncle. “You’re nuts.” he declared and made to go for the door. But a large hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.

“Get in there!” Vernon yelled, pulling Harry towards the cupboard.

“NO!” Harry screamed, lashing out, trying desperately to either kick or hit the crazed man holding him. He continued to scream as he dragged his feet, not willing to go in that damn cupboard. “No, no…please!” he screamed again, and threw his head back with all his might, nailing his Uncle in the head. He hoped he’d broken his nose.

But the man only tightened his hold as they drew ever closer to the opened door. He was sobbing and screaming all at the same time now, and still fighting with all he had. But it was of no use, Vernon was much stronger than he was. His screaming intensified until his Uncle twisted him around and backhanded him so hard he was thrown into the cupboard.

He felt his Uncle kick his legs into the storage area, and then slam the door. Harry could feel the hysteria closing in on him. He couldn’t stand the closed in area, it was so small! He kicked the door, as tears streamed down his face. Unable to stand it any longer, he curled into a ball in the corner. Shaking uncontrollably, he started to sing to himself. You are my Sunshine was the first song that popped into his head, so he sang it. But, he still couldn’t shake this feeling. He wanted out so badly.

He threw his hands over his head when Uncle Vernon slammed his beefy hand against the door.

“Shut up!” sounded through the small door, and he started crying even harder. He’d never been so scared in all his life. This was somehow different from all the other times his Uncle had shoved him in here. He wanted Severus, and he wanted him right then. He rocked himself back and forth in the tiny space, crying uncontrollably.

He was too far gone to notice the door slamming open, or the arguing voices coming right outside the door. However, the second he felt someone touch his shoulder, he panicked.

Harry kicked out without thought, only knowing he had to get away from his Uncle. When the hands started to hold him down, he grew even more hysterical, screaming. Tears still poured from his eyes, blurring his vision. “No!” he yelled repeatedly, practically clawing at the hands that held him.

He felt someone grab his legs and he was suddenly pulled from the cupboard and out into the hallway. He was conscious of the fact that it was easier to breathe and he found himself calming down slightly. He was startled from his musings as hands gently took his face and turned it marginally upwards. He looked into deep black eyes, filled with concern. Severus.

He was too exhausted to do more than stare at the man leaning over him. Severus was rubbing his temples with his thumbs in a soothing gesture, also causing him to continually close his eyes. He was so tired. He closed his eyes one last time and knew no more.

****

Severus and Minerva found themselves a few streets away from the Dursley’s and immediately headed in that direction. It didn’t help matters that the weather seemed to be worse here than it had been at Hogwarts. It had dwindled down to a steady drizzle, whereas here, it was still pelting them like bullets. As they walked up the sidewalk to the Dursley’s front door, the two of them were able to make out a noise that had previously been drowned out by the roaring wind and crashing thunder. Harry was screaming.

Snape brought his leg up and kicked the door in. This wasn’t no social call. All sorts of horrible ideas were going through their minds on what could make Harry scream like that. Snape’s were closer to the truth, however.

Severus felt his nearly lifeless heart come to life and practically break as those screams suddenly came into true focus as the door flew open. Harry was terrified, and he could discern the sobs in between the screaming. Oh, someone was going to die.

As Vernon Dursley stood in silent shock, Snape watched as the whale of a man began to open his mouth in outrage. “Get out of my house!” he screamed.

Minerva apparently had already had enough of his mouth, and sent a Petrificus Totalus and a muttered curse which appeared to be causing the big man some pain. Good for her, he thought.

The Muggle all but forgotten, he rushed to the cupboard and nearly ripped the door from its hinges. “Harry?” he called, but the boy was too distressed to hear him. He went to touch his shoulder in an effort to grab his attention, but Harry reacted quite violently. He hissed out in pain as a foot struck him right in the chest, momentarily sending him out of the small storage area. He wasn’t about to give up though.

Re-entering the small room, he watched in some small amount of anguish, and a great part of anger at that damn muggle, as Harry struggled with his fear. Not knowing any other way, he grabbed the kicking legs and quickly pulled the teenager from the cupboard. He was shocked by how quickly he calmed down. He had stopped screaming at least, but he didn’t seem to realize he was there.

He briefly noticed that Minerva was standing nervously behind him, but his attention remained on the boy lying beneath him. He gently took Harry’s face in his, and wasn’t surprised by the slight tremble that raced through his body at the touch. He was still scared, naturally. Harry’s eyes met his and recognition flared within them. Severus could see the exhaustion plainly in the slightly dimmed emerald eyes. He instinctively began to rub his thumbs along Harry’s temples, knowing it would cause him to close his eyes. And, as he knew he would, the boy fell asleep.

Severus pulled the boy into his arms, holding him close. He eyed the Muggle in disgust. If he knew he wouldn’t get sent to Azkaban, he would murder the man where he lay. But he wouldn’t leave Harry like that.

“What are we going to do with him, Severus?” asked Minerva, kicking the still body with a booted foot.

“Well, since we can’t kill him…” he said, in all seriousness, “I suppose we’ll just have to let Dumbledore dole out his own punishment.”

“That might be worse than death, Severus.” added McGonagall, giving the petrified man another swift kick in the side. “Let’s get him back to Hogwarts.” she said, regret lacing her tone.

Snape knew the woman felt horrible about sending him here, especially after hearing the boy screaming. He knew those screams would haunt him for a long time in coming. He could only imagine what the Transfiguration teacher must be thinking, after sending him here.

He motioned for the door and she quickly led the way. Upstairs, hidden in the bathroom, a quiet sigh was released. Her husband would live another day.

The silence in the room was what initially woke Harry up, oddly enough. He was expecting to hear his aunt yelling at him to get his lazy self up and make breakfast, or some other such chore. He kept his eyes closed and waited for the inevitable. It was a moment before he realized he was lying on a soft bed. That’s not right, he thought. Where was the hard, extremely uncomfortable, mattress? He dared to open an eye and practically sighed in relief. He was in the Infirmary.

Then he was struck with another problem. How’d I get back here? After searching the room with his eyes, he came to the conclusion that he was alone in the room. A million questions were running rampant in his head. He vaguely remembered seeing Severus, but that memory was very fuzzy to him. Speaking of the devil…he thought as the door creaked open and in walked none other than Severus Snape.

He watched in slight amusement as the man walked over to his bed without realizing he was awake yet. Severus looked up and his eyes widened. “You’re awake.” he stated.

Duh, but he would never say that out loud. Especially not to Snape.

“Yeah.” he said, instead. “How’d I get here?” His confusion was evident.

Severus looked concerned, which actually made Harry’s heart flutter. “Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

If it was possible, Snape’s concern became palpable. What is going on?

“Harry, what’s the last thing you remember?” asked Severus.

Harry’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “Well, I remember trying to find you, or anybody for that matter, and running into Professor McGonagall. And then…and then…I went home.” he said, and brought his hand up to rub his forehead. Where’d this headache come from? he wondered. Then everything that happened after he’d gotten home came back to him, in one big rush. The Cupboard! “Oh shit.” he said, not caring that he had just cursed in front of a Professor. This time he brought up both hands, covering his face. How could he have forgotten something like that?

“Harry?” asked Snape, and the teenager felt him place his hand on his back, and he flinched in spite of himself. The hand was removed.

Harry sighed. “I’m sorry.” he whispered. He was sorry for so many things. He thought he had definitely kicked the man at some point last night. And flinching just then.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Snape stated emphatically. Harry raised his head and looked Severus in the eyes. The older man didn’t blame him for anything. Harry didn’t know why he had thought he would. Must be the joys of being raised by the Dursley’s. The mere thought made him cringe.

Snape sighed. Harry felt the depression in the bed as his Potions Professor sat down beside him. “Here, I need to put this on again.” Harry looked up and recognized the healing ointment.

“Okay.” he muttered, and sat up straighter. Severus quickly but gingerly applied the ointment to the boy’s back, which was still incredibly bruised, and then his front. He then started on the new one, which had appeared on his face. He knew this one was courtesy of Vernon Dursley. Harry flinched once again.

“Are you okay?” asked Severus.

Harry merely nodded. He could tell his teacher was eyeing him in concern.

“Listen Harry, I need to go get something, but then I’ll be right back. Is that alright?” he asked.

Harry was surprised when the thought of being left alone seriously freaked him out. But the man promised to come right back. “Promise?” he asked, anyways.

“Yes. I’ll be right back. You have my word.”

“Okay.” Harry consented, and Snape quickly left the room.

****

Severus was angry. The boy had finally stopped flinching, but now it was occurring with his every touch. He never intended on getting this close to the boy, but now that he was, he couldn’t help but be upset when the boy flinched at his touch. He wasn’t angry at Harry, but at the ones who had done this. How could they even want to hurt someone like Harry? He just couldn’t fathom it, not anymore. He could hardly believe he had disliked the boy before. What was his reasoning? It had been purely based on his father. But the boy was nothing like his father, something he wished he had noticed a little bit earlier.

Now, he was on his way to get the Guardianship papers. He didn’t know if this was exactly the best time to spring them on the teenager, but he hoped that once Harry saw he was serious when it came to taking care of him, he would be able to trust his teacher again. He only hoped.

He quickly entered his chambers, and before he had even closed the door, was spouting the different languages which unlocked the secret drawer. As soon as he got there, he merely touched it and it sprang open. Grabbing the papers from their hiding place, he swiftly removed the adoption papers, no need to give him heart failure just yet, he thought, and placed them back inside. Guardianship papers in hand, he fled back to the Infirmary.

He was so intent on getting there, that when he finally did, the doors sprang open of their own accord, probably trying to get out of his way, and banged against the walls, causing quite a noise.

Harry flinched violently. Snape cursed. He’d have to be careful with what he did.

“You okay?” he asked.

Harry nodded slowly. “Are you?” he asked, curious as to why the doors had slammed open like that.

Snape, following the boy’s line of sight, realized he had been looking at the doors. “I suppose they realized it would be in their best interest to get out of my way…I was in quite the hurry.”

Harry laughed lightly. “I suppose.” he said. “What are those?” he asked.

Snape looked down. “Oh, these…they’re some papers I wanted to discuss with you.” he said, and approached the bed slowly. He took at seat in one of the uncomfortable bedside chairs and pulled it closer to the bed. He realized Harry was looking apprehensive about what this conversation could possibly be about, and decided it was best to quell his fears. He just hoped he wouldn’t fear living with him more than anything else.

“Harry, I went to see Albus last night.” he started, but was quickly interrupted.

“That’s where you were?” asked the teenager. The boy seemed relived.

“Yes, where did you think I was?”

“That’s just it; I didn’t know where you were. I thought you had…left or something. And when Professor McGonagall sent me home, after you had…you know…promised…I didn’t know what to think.” he ended.

Snape felt his heart do a weird flip flop kind of motion. The boy thought he had left him, maybe not purposefully, but that he had left. “Harry,” he began, “I never break my promises. I told you that you weren’t going back, and I meant it. I wish now that I had just waited to go speak with Albus. If I had known what was going to happen, I would never have left your side. But believe me, I gave Professor McGonagall a piece of my mind. She truly regrets sending you back, Harry. She didn’t know.”

Harry nodded. “I knew she didn’t. So, what are these papers about?”

Snape grew more and more nervous. Something he was accustomed to feeling. “Harry, these are guardianship papers.” he began, but was once again interrupted.

“Guardianship papers!?” asked Harry, clearly worried. “What does that mean? Who wants guardianship?” Severus realized that the boy knew Sirius couldn’t get legal custody of him, due to his current problem of being a supposed escaped convict.

“I do.” he stated, rather bluntly. He watched as the boy’s huge eyes grew wider than he had ever seen them grow.

“You do?” he asked. “Really?”

“Yes, would you mind that, Harry?” he asked, hoping and praying that the boy wouldn’t say no to the offer.

“You’d be like my legal guardian? No one could take me away from you? Not even the Dursley’s?” he asked. Severus thought he saw a tinge of hope reflecting in the boy’s eyes.

“Yes, Harry, I’d be your legal guardian. No one could take you away, and especially not the Dursley’s. Would you like that?” he asked again.

“Yes, I’d like that a lot.” he said, shyly picking at a loose string of thread from the overly used blanket.

“Good. I’m pleased you accepted, Harry. Now, in order for these to be official, you need to sign them, which merely states that you agree to me being your legal guardian, okay?” he asked, handing the right paper over to the boy.

“Sure.” said Harry, and took the pro-offered quill. He quickly scratched down his name and handed the official papers back to his new guardian. It was at that moment that the doors opened again, with a rather large bang. Harry jumped once again, but Snape put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, one that gratefully wasn’t shrugged off or flinched from.

“Del!” yelled Harry, clearly happy and surprised to see her. He assumed she would stay on the island, as Severus hadn’t gotten the chance to tell him about their previous plans. He’d been asleep.

Severus watched as his older cousin rushed into the room, heading straight for them like a woman on a mission. “What’s happened? A strange woman named Minerva led me here, but wouldn’t come in. She said Harry had been hurt again. Are you alright, sweety?” she asked, looking at the boy intently.

“I’m alright now.” he said, once again examining the blanket as if it were the more interesting sight he’d ever seen.

Severus quickly pulled Del aside and explained what had happened in the past day and a half. He wasn’t surprised when it appeared as if she would go to the boy’s relatives herself and beat them with her rarely used cane, the one which she was carrying with her now. She was old, for goodness sakes, and had to lean on something every now and again.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Harry dear?” she asked, approaching the bed once more.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Did you know that Severus is my new guardian?” he asked. Snape knew a diversion tactic when he saw one, but didn’t think he’d have to let Del know that. She was too surprised with the news.

The older woman turned surprised eyes onto her younger relative. “Really, Sev? Oh, that’s excellent.”

“Stop calling me Sev, woman, and yes, I really am. Harry’s already signed the papers, so it’s official.” he said. Snape had sent the papers with a house elf to the Headmasters office. He wondered how this would all go over with the Ministry of Magic and the press. He definitely hoped they didn’t get wind of it anytime soon. However, he knew Dumbledore would pull some strings of his own to keep this quiet, at least for most people.

The Professor saw a familiar twinkle in his cousin’s eyes, and knew the ‘Sev’ calling wouldn’t be going away anytime soon.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in relative peacefulness, with Harry taking a short nap, as he was still incredibly tired, and Deliverance and Snape talking quietly by his bedside.

“Will you be taking him to the Manor for the rest of the summer?” asked Deliverance.

“I doubt it. There’s only a few weeks left until school is back in session. I might take him by for a weekend before classes begin, just so he can get a feel for the place, and perhaps pick a room. The house elves will undoubtedly want to get started on decorating it, with Harry’s advice, of course.” he explained, sighing.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, taking a quick look to make sure Harry was still asleep. He was.

Snape looked at her in surprise. How could she tell these things? “I have one worry.” he began. “Those blasted Gryffindor housemates of his better not give him any trouble over this.” he said, though it came out as more of a threat.

“Severus, if they’re his friends at all, they’ll get over it and support him. If not, well, you have my permission to give them detentions until they’re eighty.” she said, smiling.

Severus gave a small, very small smile in return. “You’d better be right. But if not, I can always make their lives a living hell.”