Ron woke sporadically throughout the night, his worry keeping him awake. He was half tempted to go pull Harry out of bed and ask him about the bruises. But he knew he had to be sensible about this. He didn’t technically know that Snape had done that to him, and his second major guess was Vernon Dursley. The fat bastard. But he wasn’t stupid, and he knew most of those bruises were fresh. He had never felt so helpless. He had to do something before he burst.

Rolling onto his side, he peered through the darkness at the magical clock his mum had gotten him for his birthday last year. It was only five in the morning! He dropped himself onto his back again and stared at the ceiling. This was definitely not working for him. If he didn’t do something now, he thought he’d go crazy. He cautiously got out of bed, trying not to make too much noise, and walked out the door.

Now, he knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He carefully opened the door to the girls’ dormitory and quickly walked in before the light from the hallway could awaken any of the sleeping girls. Of course, he was now left with a problem. It was absolutely pitch black, and he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. How he was supposed to find Hermione in this darkness was beyond him. Ron pulled back the robe he was wearing, revealing his pajamas beneath them. His wand was stuck in the waistband of his pajama bottoms, and he swiftly pulled it out.

“Lumos.” he muttered quietly. The room was instantly illuminated gently by the light and he was able to make out Hermione’s bushy hair from under a blanket. She was laying three beds away from him, and he once again cautiously made his way across the room. And as his luck would have it, he managed to trip over some unknown object and went falling. He was able to catch himself on a bedpost and hung on for dear life. Getting his balance, he crouched down on his knees. Bringing the wandlight to the floor, he realized what he’d tripped over. To his utter mortification, it was a box of tampons! And it was a big box! It was like in an economy size!

Blushing three shades of red, he finally made his way to Hermione’s bed and tugged the blanket back from her face. He watched her sleep for a moment, wondering why his heart had practically skipped a beat upon first seeing her peaceful face, but brushed it off. He had an important mission to accomplish here. Ron gently shook her shoulder, hoping she wouldn’t absolutely freak out if she woke up disoriented. Thankfully, she woke at the second shoulder shake.

“Ron?” she asked, blurrily. “What are you doing here?”

He learned over her and whispered in her ear. “I need to talk to you, right now. Can you meet me down in the common room as soon as you’re dressed?” he asked.

Hermione looked at Ron with concern in her eyes. She could clearly discern the worry in Ron’s voice, herself. Something was wrong. “I’ll be right there.” she said resolutely.

“Thanks.” replied Ron, and hurried from the room, making sure to steer clear of the major large box of tampons this time.

*******

Not five minutes had past before Hermione had come down the stairs and hurriedly made her way to Ron’s side. “What is it?” she asked, immediately.

“It’s Harry.” he started, but was instantly cut off by Hermione.

“If you woke me up and dragged me down here, just to complain about Harry’s guardianship with Snape, I’m not going to listen to it!” she practically hissed. “You should at least give him some time!” she scolded the teenager.

Ron put his hand up, palm facing Hermione. “Hold up!” he hissed right back. “Give me a second, and I will explain exactly why I’ve brought you down here!”

Hermione closed her mouth, but was giving Ron measured looks. Once Ron knew she was finally going to listen to him, his face took on an extremely worried look again. “I saw something last night when Harry was getting ready for bed.” he began.

Hermione grew more concerned by the minute. “What’d you see?” she asked anxiously.

“Mione, there were bruises all over his back.” he practically whispered.

“What?!” she asked, trying to keep her voice down and in control. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it looks like someone beat the shit out of him.” he finally burst out. “You should see his back, it looks like someone just stood on top of him and started jumping with all their might. It’s awful!” he said.

Hermione looked like she was going to be sick, and Ron quickly put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Was it Snape?” she finally asked, realizing where Ron was going with this conversation.

The teenager sighed and put his free hand to his forehead, trying to massage the headache he was beginning to get, away. “The bruises look recent. And if Harry was with Snape most of the summer, who else could it have been?” he asked.

Hermione was glowering. And Ron could tell she was pissed off. Very pissed off. Harry was like a younger brother to her, to both of them, and if someone was hurting him, God help them, because no one else would.

Concealed back in the shadows of the stairs leading up to the dormitories stood Neville, looking quite shocked and disturbed.

******

Harry woke the next morning, refreshed. He had slept quite well, considering the confrontation he’d had with Ron the previous evening. He planned on showing his friend just what kind of man Severus really was. He just had to figure out exactly how he was going to do this. They had gotten their time-tables the night before at the feast, and Harry was deeply concerned about having double Potions with the Slytherins right after lunch. Not only was Ron going to probably glare at Snape the entire time, but he was also worried about how Snape was going to act. Would he be his usual bastard self, or would he be different? Harry figured he’d still be a bastard, and didn’t quite know how he was going to handle this day.

Looking around, he discovered most of his dorm mates had already left for breakfast, including Ron, and if he didn’t get going himself, he’d be late. Grabbing a change of clothes, he hurried into the bathroom and got ready. He went back into his dormitory to grab his bag before leaving for the Common Room. He hoped that Hermione would at least be waiting for him.

She was…but so was Ron. This was an unexpected surprise. He stepped off the last stair and hesitantly walked towards them. They both had strange looks on their faces, like they were afraid he would bolt or something. “What’s up, guys?” he asked, going for nonchalance.

His red-haired friend took a step towards him, something Harry hadn’t been expecting, causing him to inadvertently take a step backwards. Harry watched as Ron’s face instantly changed from concern to outright heartbreak. “What did he do to you?” asked Ron.

Harry looked from one friend to the other, beyond confused. “What are you on about, Ron?” asked Harry, warily.

“I saw them, Harry, so stop acting like you don’t understand what I’m talking about.” rasped Ron.

But Harry was literally so bewildered he was frightened. “I don’t understand anything, Ron. What the hell is wrong with you?” he spit out, taking another step back. “You’re starting to freak me out.”

Harry was relived when Hermione held Ron back from coming any closer. “Hermione, do you know what he’s talking about?” he asked, hoping she could cast some light on the situation. If he had known what the next few moments would hold, he would have run in the opposite direction, screaming his head off.

“The bruises, Harry. That’s what he’s talking about. Who did that to you?” she asked, getting straight to the point. Harry saw the anger in her eyes and knew he’d have to tell them something.

“It was Snape, wasn’t it?” blurted Ron, taking another step into Harry’s personal space.

“What!!” yelled Harry. This was preposterous. Harry took a step forward this time, nearly face to face with Ron, except the other boy was slightly taller than he was. He had to restrain himself from lashing out at his best friend. What the hell was he thinking, accusing Severus like that?

“Well, if not him, then who? Was it the Dursley’s? Harry, please tell us. We just want to help you.” begged Hermione, grasping onto Harry’s sleeve desperately. “You promised to tell me if he was hurting you, Harry. I expect that promise to go for anyone else as well.” she was practically in tears now. “I’ll never forgive myself if he’s hurting you. Not if there is something I could do, but didn’t.” she whispered, so distraught she could hardly speak.

Harry didn’t realize until that moment just how much his friends cared for him. Despite this little intervention, or whatever one would call it, which wasn’t necessary in his mind, they were going out of their way to help him. And he had never seen either one of them so upset in his life. He ducked his head, not knowing what to say or do.

He felt someone place their hand on his shoulder and peered through his bangs to see who it belonged to. It was Ron. “It wasn’t Snape.” he said suddenly. He saw the look his two best friends were trying to hide above his head. “It wasn’t!” he demanded.

“Then who?” asked Hermione, softly.

“Someone I met over the summer. Snape saved me from him. That’s all you need to know.” he stated firmly, pulling out of Ron’s grip. “We’ve missed breakfast, and Professor McGonagall is going to flip her lid if we don’t get to class.” He quietly left the room, hoping the two would just leave it at that. He didn’t want to think about what had happened, let alone talk about it. He couldn’t believe Ron had seen his bruises.

He could hear Ron and Hermione following behind him, but they were smart enough not to mention the bruises anymore that day. Hopefully they wouldn’t do it again, ever.

******

Classes had just let out for the day and Harry was doing an admirable job of completely avoiding his two best friends. They were continually trying to talk to him about their earlier conversation, but Harry wouldn’t allow it. He’d either change the subject or make up an excuse and leave. They’d stopped trying to corner him after that.

He decided that a nice walk down by the lake was in order, and headed in that direction. Upon leaving the castle, he was nearly run over as a group of older students rushed into Hogwarts. “Sorry.” said a tall black-haired young man, helping Harry gain his balance before hurrying after his friends.

“Don’t worry about it.” muttered Harry grumpily. Today just wasn’t his day. He quickly made his way to the lake and decided to just sit down on a rather large rock overlooking the rippling water. With his head in his hands, he stared silently, not really seeing anything and letting his mind drift. He didn’t notice the presence behind him until a hand touched his shoulder. Instinctively, he pulled away from the touch and spun around and off the rock. He practically had his wand in hand, but realized who it was just in time. “Del!”

“Yes, dear, it’s only me. You don’t have to hex me!” she said jokingly, but he could see the concern in her eyes. “I’m sorry if I frightened you.” she added.

“Oh, you didn’t.” he said. “I was just off in my own little world. It was just a bit of a shock, I suppose.” He turned back and looked at the water, which was now practically in small waves as the squid which resided there came up to have a look around. Apparently two people staring at him wasn’t amusing enough, and it dove back under the water. The waves calmed variably and Harry glimpsed Del out of the corner of his eye, coming to sit beside him as he had reclaimed his position on the uncomfortable rock.

“Are you alright?” she asked. He should have known the woman would know something was wrong. She seemed to have a knack for that sort of thing since he’d known her. Harry sighed. She already knew the truth; it wouldn’t hurt to spill his guts to her. Heck, she’d probably give him some good advice.

“I guess I’m not.” he began, pulling his hand through his hair. “Ron saw me changing last night and pretty much freaked out about the bruises he saw.” he blurted out, and looked at Del worriedly.

Del patted his hand reassuringly. “What did you tell him?” she asked.

“Well, nothing really. I don’t want him to know what happened, it’s private.” he said, getting almost defensive. Del patted his hand again.

“That’s completely understandable, Harry. But it might help you to be able to talk about this to someone else. They are your friends, sweety. They might be able to identify with you and this situation in a way that Severus and I can’t.” she advised. “I’m not saying you have to or anything.” she added when Harry started to look upset. “It’s just a suggestion.”

Harry leaned against the older woman, feeling safer when she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I just don’t know. Ron can be so dramatic sometimes. I mean, he blamed Snape when he first saw them.” he complained. He felt Deliverance stiffen beside him and looked up into her face, curiously. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

“He would never do that. He would never hurt a child in such a way.” she declared vehemently. “I can not believe that boy would accuse him of such a thing.” Harry pulled out of her embrace. She shook herself from her tirade and looked Harry in the eye. “I’m sorry, baby.” she said. “It’s just something from the past.” She took Harry’s face in her hands to make him look at her. “I promise you Harry, Severus would never hit you or hurt you knowingly. Don’t you worry about that.” she said. Harry could tell she was upset about what Ron had said to him. Harry hadn’t thought that Snape would hurt him; well he did occasionally, but not really. He knew his Professor had a protective streak now, a very long one. He was reminded of all the times during their summer when Snape had saved him.

“It’s okay, Del. I was more upset that he discovered the bruises more than anything. They just want to help me. But I wish they’d lay off the interrogations.” he grumbled. “Why does life have to be so shitty.” he griped. He quickly swiveled his head to look at the woman he was beginning to think of as a grandmother. Perhaps he shouldn’t be cussing in front of grandmother-like figures. She only raised an eyebrow. He sighed in relief.

Deliverance smiled lightly beside him. “Don’t worry sweety. Everything will turn out alright.” she said, and gingerly pulled herself up from the rock. “My, don’t sit there too long, Harry. Your bum’s liable to go numb.” she said, and laughed. Harry could only stare at her incredulously. He found her sense of humor slightly odd.

“Okay.” he said in response. He watched her as she walked up to Hogwarts and then disappear beyond the front doors. Turning back to the lake, he continued to stare in silence. He sure hoped everything would turn out alright, but knowing his past experiences, things would only get worse before they got better. If they got better at all.

******

Deliverance walked briskly down the corridors, intent to get to where she was going and quickly. That poor child has so much weight on his shoulders, and it’s beginning to drag him down. she thought worriedly. She wished she could take away everything that had happened to him and take it on herself. She wanted him to be able to trust someone, trust in someone. She hoped that Severus would be that person for him, and perhaps Harry would be the person that Severus finally opened up too. They had been growing so close, or at least, she’d thought that.

Rounding the last corridor, she walked halfway down the hall before banging on the door. It opened almost immediately.

“What do you want?” snarled a voice from within. Deliverance smirked.

“Your presence, in front of me, right now.” she said insistently. She heard a grumbled reply but couldn’t make out exactly what she’d heard.

“What?” he asked, despairingly. “Is it that hard to notice that I am extremely busy?” he said, motioning behind him to his desk, where there were stacks upon stacks of papers.

“Oh dear, I hadn’t noticed.” she replied with mocking sarcasm. “There are more important things you should be worrying about.”

The smirk that annoyed her to no end appeared on her cousin’s face. “Don’t you smirk at me, young man.” she scolded. She nearly growled in impatience when all he did was do it again.

“And what, pray tell, is more important than this?” he asked, once again waving his arm to indicate the papers. “I’ve got papers to grade, potions to make, a stock to refill, and patrol this evening. What, may I ask again, do you want?” he asked, impatience evident in his voice. She could tell he’d had a horrible day. He normally wasn’t this short with her, no matter what the circumstances.

“Get your head out of your self-appointed important ass and go check on your charge!” she yelled.

She watched in amazement as those words alone changed his outlook on things. “Why, what’s wrong? Is he okay?” he asked, stepping out into the hallway, and began heading down the corridor. “Where is he?” he asked, growing frustrated with her. “You can’t just come down here and tell me something’s wrong with him and then stand there like a fool!” he bellowed. “Is he okay?” he asked again, calming down after seeing her murderous look.

She sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. But, I think it would be a good idea if you went and spent some time with him. I do know he had a spat with his friend Ron, I believe his name was.”

Snape looked annoyed. “He had a fight with that brat, and that’s why you think I should talk to him. They get into arguments all the time. It wouldn’t be a year at Hogwarts if those two didn’t have some type of disagreement. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” he said, and started back for his lab.

Deliverance sighed again. “He saw the bruises on Harry, Severus. Believe me, this was more than just a normal argument.” she said.

Snape turned back around, looking tired. “Where is he?” he asked.

“He was out by the lake, last I saw him.” she replied. He nodded and walked past her. Before he could turn the corner she stopped him. “Severus.” she called, and waited until he had turned toward her before continuing. “Don’t you go out there with the lovely attitude you just graced me with. You may have had a bad day, but you can’t take it out on Harry. I’d venture to say he wouldn’t handle it very well, especially with the day he’s had already. Be nice.” she ordered.

Snape smirked. “Yes, mother.” he said, and quickly turned the corner before she could respond.

Well, at least he’s in a better mood than he had been with me. she thought.

*******

It didn’t take long at all for Severus to reach the lake where Deliverance had said she’d last seen Harry. His earlier foul tempered mood had all but dissipated. He hoped that Weasley child hadn’t done or said anything too depreciating to the boy. But, seeing the raven haired child sitting despondently ahead of him, he assumed he had. Little bastard, he thought poorly of the red-haired boy.

Harry still hadn’t realized he had an audience, and Snape took the chance to quietly observe the boy before he did. He’d watched the boy while he had been sleeping, but he’d never had the chance to do it while the teenager was awake. The difference was astounding. Whereas in sleep, Harry was relaxed and peaceful, he was the exact opposite while awake. Severus could sense the anxiety pouring off the boy in waves from where he was standing, almost fifteen feet away. His shoulders were tensed; he had a continual motion of clenching his fists in his overly large grey pants. Snape assumed they were hand-me-downs from that cousin of his. Severus could feel his paternal instincts kicking into overdrive, and wondered where the hell they were coming from and what he was supposed to do with them.

He pushed these thoughts from his mind and cautiously approached the boy he was beginning to love as a son. He placed a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder. Snape wasn’t too surprised when the boy jumped away from his touch.

“It’s just me.” he said, sitting down on the rock. It was big enough to fit three overweight people comfortably, and Harry was cautiously wavering on the other side of it. Once he realized who it was, he scooted closer to the older man.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked. “I thought you had massive amounts of papers to grade.” he said jokingly, as Harry had passed him on his way down to the Dungeons.

“Well, I did. But someone told me you might need someone to talk to.” said Severus, watching Harry’s reaction closely.

“Del.” remarked Harry. “She’s sure has got a big mouth.” he added more to himself than to his teacher. Snape laughed.

“Yes, that she does. She is very good at keeping secrets, but if she thinks you need help, she’ll do something about it.”

Harry nodded his head in understanding. She sounded kind of like Hermione. “I guess I can understand that.”

They sat in companionable silence, just staring out into the relaxing ripples of the water. After he discovered that Harry wasn’t going to say anything, Severus decided to strike up the conversation between them.

“My cousin informed me that you and Ron had gotten into a little argument.” he paused when he noticed Harry stiffen even more at the mention. “Would you like to talk about it?” he asked.

Harry was silent for a moment. He seemed unsure if he wanted to say anything or not. “I guess.” he finally relented. But was silent again.

Snape sighed. “You do realize when one says they want to talk about something, one talks about something.” he said, trying to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. He was still in a foul mood, but definitely didn’t want to take it out on the boy.

Harry scowled at him in response. “Give me a second, I’m trying to figure out where to start.” he said, annoyed.

The Potions teacher felt a tinge of aggravation at the sharp tone, but ignored it. “Well, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.” he said calmly, and turned to watch the water once again.

Harry sighed this time, and Snape saw out of the corner of his eye that the boy was about to speak.

“I told Ron about you being my guardian.” he said, surprising Snape with the topic. He had been expecting some kind of dramatic scene. Perhaps he was starting out light.

“Oh really, and how did young Mr. Weasley react to that news?” he asked, also taken aback that the boy had even mentioned his guardianship to his friends. He had automatically assumed Harry would be embarrassed to have him, the git of a potions master, to be his legal guardian. Apparently, he’d been wrong.

Harry laughed bitterly. “He wasn’t too thrilled, I can say that.” he said. Severus noticed that the young teenager had gotten a few strands of grass and was busily ripping them to shreds. “I don’t think he could understand why I would willingly let you be my caregiver, seeing as how you’ve acted towards us, towards me, in the past.” Harry paused at this point, and Snape felt a flickering of guilt pass through him.

“There was a reason for that, you know.” he said in his own defense.

“I know that. I know you had a front to uphold, but did you always have to be such a bastard?” he asked, and his eyes grew wide when he realized what he’d just said.

Severus merely smirked. “It’s alright, Harry. I realize I was a complete and total ass. Don’t be frightened to speak your mind.” he said, and Harry thought he had remembered the older man saying that to him recently.

“Sorry, just the same.” apologized Harry. The boy had grown up having manners drilled into him, what did he expect? “Anyways, Ron pretty much stopped talking to me, and told me when I came to my senses he’d be around. I guess he saw them that night while I was getting ready for bed.” he said, almost distractedly.

“What, the bruises?” asked Severus, picking up on where the conversation was going.

Harry remained still for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah, them. He and Hermione confronted me about them the next morning. Hermione had been really understanding when I’d told her about all of this guardianship stuff the night before, but I guess Ron got a hold of her this morning. She was really mad.” Harry paused to run a hand through his hair. Severus noticed he did this a lot. It must be a nervous habit. Instinctively, Severus put his arm around Harry’s slender shoulders. He felt the boy stiffen in surprise, but kept his arm where it was. Harry slowly began to relax and lean into the half-embrace. Snape felt a surge of happiness that the boy hadn’t shrugged his arm off, that he felt safe with him, otherwise, he knew Harry would have fled from the touch.

“What happened then?” he asked, trying to get Harry to regain his focus on the story.

He felt Harry lean closer, as if he was drawing strength from him. “They wanted to know what happened, and who did it.” he began, but then stopped. Severus began to get an idea as to who those two kids thought had ‘done it.’

“They thought it was me, did they not?” he asked, slightly angry that everyone automatically assumed the worst about him. He felt Harry stiffen beside him again and start to pull away. He immediately started rubbing the boy’s shoulder. “I’m not mad at you, Harry.” Once the raven-haired teenager had relaxed again, he prodded him into continuing.

“Yes, they thought it was you. But I shot that idea down real quickly.” he said, and Severus felt another surge, but this time it was pride, that the boy had stood up for him. “I told them you would never do something like that, that you had in fact saved me from it.” he said, growing shy. “They were skeptical, but I think they believe me now.” he finished, dropping the shredded remains of the grass onto the ground. “Now I just wish they’d let the subject drop.” he said, and Severus could tell the boy had been pushed to tell about his summer when he didn’t want to.

“Would you like me to have a word with them?” he asked, suddenly feeling very protective of his charge.

“No!” exclaimed Harry. “They’d absolutely kill me if they knew I let you talk to them about this. And besides, I really don’t think it would be good for Ron and mine’s friendship at the moment, if you know what I mean?” he asked.

And yes, Severus did understand. Ron would assume that Harry had complained about it and that he himself had decided to get the red-haired boy into trouble. As much as he would like to assign Weasley detention for the next month, he didn’t think Harry would appreciate it that much. “Alright, I won’t say anything, I’ll let you handle it however you deem necessary.”

“Thank you.” sighed Harry.

“Anytime.” replied Severus. “I’ve got some more papers to grade, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be heading back to my classroom. But if you have any problems or anything, feel free to stop in, okay?” he said, indicating that his door would always be open to Harry.

“Thanks, Professor.” said Harry. Severus only nodded and stood up from the uncomfortable rock. He was halfway across the wide expanse of lavish green lawn when he heard it. Harry had half whimpered, half screamed. He spun around and was shocked to find the boy clutching his forehead, withering on the ground.

*******

Ron had just left his dormitory and was headed for the library. Hermione had gone there over an hour ago to finish her homework in peace, as most of the Common Room was filled with chattering kids. It had been a long day and he was extremely tired, but he had promised Hermione he would show up eventually and get some of his own homework done, with her help, of course. He had almost reached the library doors when a woman he had never seen before came out of the library and smiled at him.

“Hello, Ron Weasley, is it?” she asked, still smiling.

Ron had no idea who this woman was, or how she knew his name, but she was starting to freak him out with that smile. “Yeah, who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Deliverance, perhaps you’ve heard of me?” she asked.

The red-haired boy thought long and hard on that name, it sounded really familiar. But who was she? Then it finally hit him. “Hey, you’re the woman Harry mentioned, aren’t you?” he asked.

She smiled again, this time more sincerely. “Yes, I am she. I met Harry this summer. I’m Severus Snape’s cousin.” she said, and Ron eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“You were with Harry this summer?” he asked, immediately wondering if she knew who had hurt Harry.

“Yes, I was. He’s a delightful young man, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked, and Ron thought he saw a tinge of annoyance in her eyes. “You know, he thinks very highly of you, Ronald, at least when you’re not acting like a dolt about situations you don’t understand.” she said, her voice bordering on calm.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked, growing angry. He barely knew this woman, and she was trying to give him advice on Harry and his ‘situations.’

“It means, think before you speak. Do some research before you blindingly rush into circumstances that you know nothing about. Grant it, I applaud you on the fact that you cared enough about Harry to take action, but do it cautiously. You’re his best friend, try and keep it that way.” she said, and Ron realized for the first time just how very old she looked.

“I take it you talked to Harry?” he asked. He could tell by the way the woman acted that she cared for Harry, a great deal.

“Yes, but don’t you dare tell him I talked to you. He’d kill me.” she said, jokingly. “Seriously, he wouldn’t be too pleased about it, but I thought you should know these things. He’ll talk to you when he’s ready.”

“So, you know what happened to him over the summer?” he asked, desperately wanting to know so he could find out who had dared to touch his best friend. And then he planned on hunting the bastard down, possibly with the help of his many brothers, and exacting his revenge.

“Yes, I do know, but it is up to Harry to tell you, okay.” she said again, her voice sounding more stern.

“Sorry, I’m just worried about him, what if this person can get his hands on him again. I won’t be able to protect him if I don’t know who did it.” he said, distressed.

The older woman’s face seemed to soften at his words. “You needn’t worry about that, child. The man has been dealt with.” she answered cryptically.

“Snape?” he asked, remembering what Harry had said. Deliverance looked clearly surprised.

“What makes you think that?” she asked.

“Just something Harry said while I was off blaming Snape for everything. He said Snape had saved him. Is that true?” he asked, not really accepting the fact yet, not until he heard it from this woman would he believe it. Something told him she wasn’t good at lying.

“Yes, it’s true. Severus would never do anything to harm Harry, don’t you forget it. You just watch the way he is with him sometime. I’d venture to say you’d be shocked at the difference in him.” she added. “I must be on my way. I’m late for my walk with Zane, the poor thing must be wondering where I’ve disappeared to.” she said, more to herself than to Ron.

Ron watched her go, wondering who in the world Zane was. He felt a little better about the whole guardianship thing, but decided to take the woman’s advice. He was going to start watching.