Arthur Weasley stared at Hogwart's infamous Potions Master; the man whom all his children seemed to abhor. He ceased his affectionate stroking of Harry's midnight black hair, so very different to the trademark Weasley red locks. Still, hair colour notwithstanding, this young boy had wormed his way into his and Molly's hearts from the first moment they had met him. And he knew it was the same with all of their children...except Percy of course.

Arthur's insides clenched as he thought of his third son, and he quickly steered away from those turbulent waters. He gazed down at Harry again. The boy had not moved once, and though his eyes were open, he was staring at the same spot on the wall.

Molly had first seen Harry when the small, thin, wide-eyed boy had asked her so very politely to be shown how to get onto platform nine and three-quarters on the first of September, nearly five years ago.

His no-nonsense but oh, so soft hearted wife had later told him about having met the ‘Boy-Who-Lived' (she had uttered this title with a disapproving sniff), who was, after all, just a poor little orphan boy whose family had not even bothered to see him onto the train. He had been left to fend for himself in a totally unfamiliar environment, and he had stolen Molly's soft heart. And with Ginny twittering on about Harry Potter as well, Arthur had known instinctively that they would be seeing a lot more of the ‘Boy-Who-Lived."

Ron's letters that first year had been full of ‘Harry', and the twins even mentioned him more than once or twice. And when the letter had come from Ron telling them that Harry wasn't even going home for Christmas, Molly had immediately informed him that Harry would be coming to them for the holiday.

Who was he to ever disagree with the formidable Molly? But of course, that plan had not worked out that year. He and Molly and Ginny had unexpectedly been invited to the dragon reserve in Romania and as it had been so long since they had seen Charlie, they had gone. Their four school age sons had stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday and Molly had comforted herself with the knowledge that the boys were together for Christmas and Harry had their company.

He himself had not met Harry properly until the following summer after the twins and Ron had rescued him from his abusive relatives. And like Molly, he had immediately taken to the boy. From that time onwards, one of Molly's life's missions had been to feed Harry up-and she was still doing that whenever she got the chance.

Of course, they had both despaired over the fact that Harry and Ron, along with Hermione, seemed to attract trouble as easily as metal filings were attracted to a magnet: their unofficial mission to save the Philosopher's Stone (he and Molly had nearly died when they had been summoned to Hogwarts to visit Ron in the hospital wing. They had also seen the unconscious Harry, and Molly had wept on and off for days), the flying car incident (if Molly could have sent him a howler for charming the car in the first place, she would have), the Chamber of Secrets when Harry had saved Ginny's life and nearly forfeited his own (again), and the worries of the boy's third year when they had thought Sirius had been a murderer.

Then of course there had been the worry of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Harry's forced participation, culminating in the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and marking the beginning of Harry's real problems.

There had been the set-up by the ministry last summer when the Dementors had been sent to Little Whinging to attack Harry. Arthur still burned with fury whenever he thought about this heinous act of Delores Umbridge's and the fact that if Remus had not taught Harry how to produce a Patronus (and that Harry had actually mastered the notoriously difficult charm at such a young age, a feat Arthur had never before heard of), he would have had his soul sucked out.

And that foul woman (he had always loathed her, and Arthur prided himself on being a person who loathed very few) had walked straight back into her job at the Ministry when she should have been languishing in Azkaban for the equivalent of attempted murder!

Arthur sighed inwardly. He didn't really want to dwell on the terrible happenings of the last school year, nor Harry's prominent role in them. The fact that he himself would have died if not for Harry, and that two of his children could so easily have been killed by Death Eaters because they refused to leave their friend, still made him shudder. As did the fact that Sirius had died and Harry had come face to face with Lord Voldemort again.

And then there was this last murder plot that would have succeeded without the intervention of the man standing before him, waiting for his response-the man who purportedly loathed Harry but had, for some inexplicable reason, been responsible for his wellbeing even after Harry had recovered. This was a conundrum, and Molly in particular was determined to find out why. She had asked Dumbledore if Harry could come to them after his stay at the Dursleys, but he had brushed her off-politely, of course. Molly had practically needed sedating.

Arthur's job when Molly got so het up was to calm the storm. He had not told her that he too was very curious as to why this rather irregular partnership had continued after Harry had recovered from the attempt on his life-perhaps he would be able to assuage both Molly's and his own curiosity now that Severus had seen fit to ask for his daughter' assistance.

But if nothing else, Ginny's anxiety over Harry's welfare would be eased if she could see him. Arthur might have pushed to be allowed to fetch Ron as well, but he could see what a state Harry was in and so, he refrained.

Arthur sighed again. "Of course I'll bring Ginny. I will do what it takes to help Harry." He turned back to Harry, running his fingers through the untidy hair again.

"I'll be back soon, Harry. I'll bring Ginny for a visit. Would you like that?" Harry blinked but there was no other response. Arthur stood up.

"Perhaps Severus, you will think again about confiding in me the cause of Harry's collapse. We are, after all, on the same side and Harry is very dear to my whole family. Anything to do with him is of concern to us."

Severus had crossed his arms during this speech. He was a little taller than Arthur and he looked down his no-nonsense nose at the pleasant-faced, even tempered wizard. "But not necessarily your business," he said haughtily.

"Harry makes most everything to do with himself, Ron's business-and Hermione's. I imagine Ginny will now be a confidant also."

"Your point being, Weasley."

"My point, Severus, is that whatever this business is about, Harry is involved as much as you and he is not very good at keeping secrets from his friends." Then with a significant look, Arthur turned on the spot and Disapparated.

Severus stared at the spot for a moment and then turned his thoughtful gaze to his son.

8888

It was nearly thirty minutes later that Arthur popped back into existence in the Dursley's back garden. He had been flustered before he had left the Burrow because Molly had decided to give him the third degree about why he needed to take their daughter to ‘that horrible family's home' and ‘what exactly is wrong with that poor boy now'. But now he was even more stressed because Side-along Apparition-even for those who were expert in the art-was a strain.

As it was still daylight, and as this was a Muggle neighbourhood, Arthur had not Apparated into the front garden for fear of being seen. He released his grip on his daughter and Ginny stepped away from her father on somewhat rubbery legs. She put out a hand and grasped his forearm.

"Are you all right, love?" Ginny nodded and after a few seconds, she let go, pulling her long, thick hair together at the nape of her neck with one hand because it was in quite a tangle as a result of their journey. If she had realised that Apparition was nearly as cyclonic as Portkey travel, she would have secured her hair in a plait.

"I'm fine, but I definitely prefer brooms. I don't like Apparition at all. No wonder lots of people don't bother."

Arthur chuckled and put his hand on Ginny's back, guiding her towards the back door. "Lots of people don't bother because they never master the art. Apparition isn't easy, my love, but it is a very handy skill to have. Much quicker than brooms, so it is particularly useful for long distance travel."

Ginny did a quick scan of the back garden before focusing on the plumb line perfection of the window dotted brick façade that was the rear of number four, Privet Drive. Her young face was set in lines of dislike, but all she said to her father was, "Are any of these windows Harry's?"

She did not register Arthur's answer though because she had just caught sight of the sour faced woman she had seen a couple of weeks ago at King's Cross Station. She was glaring malevolently at them through a large window on the ground floor of the house. Ginny instinctively moved closer to her father.

Out of politeness, Arthur knocked on the door. He would give them fifteen seconds to answer and then he would just walk in. Even though he knew Severus was not the most patient man in the world, and he had been longer than he had expected to be, it went against the grain to enter a home where he knew he was not welcome. But in this case there was no choice.

Ginny looked up at her father's set face. He too had seen Petunia, who was now talking to someone over her shoulder, though she had leaned forward to press her face closer to the window, and by twisting her head to the side, she could still give Ginny and himself the beady eye.

Arthur was sure that these Dursleys weren't indicative of the majority of Muggles. Surely the majority were decent folk. Hermione's mother and father were extremely amenable, after all, and the Muggles he and Molly dealt with in Ottery St Catchpole were decent, friendly, hardworking people. It was very unfortunate indeed that Harry had had to grow up with these unloving and unlovable people.

When his self-imposed time limit expired, Arthur grasped the door handle, but it was wrenched out of his hand as the door was pulled forcefully open. The great blood-red, full moon face of Vernon Dursley was glaring out at them, glistening with perspiration even though the day was still very cool. Ginny grasped Arthur's arm and Arthur took a step to the side so that he was half shielding his daughter.

"I have had it with you lot!' roared a clearly inebriated Vernon. "Thinking that you can en...enter my home when...whenever the bloody mood takes you." He hiccoughed and swayed in a non-existent breeze, looking like he was going to topple forward.

"Get off my pr...property, you freak!..."

"Mr Dursley..."

"And take your little slut with you..."

Arthur pulled his wand from beneath his shabby travelling cloak and Vernon was propelled backwards so fast, it was as though he had been blasted by a banishing spell. But Arthur had not used his wand.

"Dad..."

"Stay here Ginny," instructed Arthur in a tight voice as he crossed the threshold to where there was a great deal of screaming and scuffling going on. Petunia Dursley was standing in the archway leading into the tiny laundry screaming at Severus Snape who had the very robust and rotund form of Vernon Dursley dangling from a point close to the ceiling.

"Silence her Arthur!" said Severus, and though he did not raise his voice, its deep, resonant tones carried over the shrill screaming coming from the furiously angry woman. Petunia, though too afraid to attack her husbands persecutor, was obviously too incensed to think better of annoying the man who had earlier silenced and bound her with a spell.

Much against his inclination, Arthur raised his wand in Petunia's direction. He did not have to use it however, because Petunia fell silent immediately, just as if she had been hexed. She refused to be silenced against her will again, even for Vernon, who was too drunk to have allowed discretion to be the better part of valour.

Petunia had been kicking up a stink in defence of her husband as a matter of course, but she was so angry with him herself for having been out drinking since before midday, she secretly rejoiced in his predicament now. Let him suffer as she had suffered earlier, when he hadn't been there to protect her.

Arthur saw the frightened face of Dudley over his mother's shoulder and he knew Ginny was also witnessing this scene. "Severus, I think that might be enough."

Vernon was kicking and spluttering and twisting as though at the end of an invisible rope, but as he was not turning blue, nor was his tongue protruding, Arthur knew he was not choking. Still...

"Do you not think that Mr Dursley might have learned his lesson Severus?" asked Arthur in a reasonable tone.

"Do you think so, Arthur? It is your daughter that he called that abhorrent name, after all."

"Yes," responded Arthur, "and if I ever hear any such insult from his foul lips again, he will have to deal with me!"

Severus nodded and the next moment, Vernon had plummeted to the floor, with an almighty crash, denting the chest freezer when he slammed against it. Now, with the obese Muggle spread eagled on the floor in the tiny laundry, there was little room to move. Severus stepped over the prostrate form of the temporarily incoherent man, back into the kitchen.

With a look of loathing directed at Severus, Petunia scurried backwards, very wary now of the black robed wizard-wary now that she knew that he was not averse to using magic against them. It didn't seem to occur to her to go to her husbands assistance.

Arthur stepped back to the outside door and grasping Ginny by the elbow, he pulled her with him and they squeezed past Dursley and into the pristine kitchen.

"What are they doing here?" asked Petunia, indicating Arthur and Ginny with an angry gesture of her head. "That man single-handedly destroyed my living room two years ago. And..." she added dramatically, "he nearly killed my Dudley. He's not welcome here."

Severus raised his eyebrows and looked at Arthur questioningly.

Arthur had reddened spectacularly, just as Severus had seen his youngest son do on more than one occasion. The father of seven cleared his throat, aware that his daughter was looking as curious as Severus. "We...that is to say Fred, George, Ron and myself came to fetch Harry to stay with us before the World Cup. We came by Floo-I had this house connected temporarily, just for the afternoon, you understand-but unknown to me, the fireplace was boarded up; blocked by an eclectic fire."

Arthur cleared his throat again. "We were all stuck in the floo and my only recourse was to blast the blockage apart." Ginny was biting her lip in an attempt not to laugh at the ludicrous picture that had just been painted, and amazingly, Arthur thought he saw Severus's lips twitch too.

"Err...well, you know Fred and George...always joking...they err...they dropped some of their trick sweets on the floor, and Dud...err, Dudley ate one..."All eyes turned to Dudley, who was even redder than Arthur. Petunia rushed to his side and tried to put her arms around her son, but he shrugged her off.

"I'm OK Mum," he said impatiently. He couldn't have looked more embarrassed if he had been seen naked, but he looked both wizards in the eye. "He didn't try and kill me. He tried to fix me up. I was a greedy pig and I got what I deserved. I know the charm, or whatever it was, would have worn off, but everything just got out of hand."

"That's very good of you to say so, Dudley," said a clearly surprised Arthur. "But I do assure you, my sons had no right to produce those sweets and they were duly chastised by both myself and their mother."

"They should have been whipped," hissed Petunia. "My boy could have choked to death."

"I'm sorry, Mrs Dursleys, but we do not whip our children. I am sure you don't whip your son for his misdeeds either."

"No, I don't because my Dudley does nothing that deserves a whipping."

"But you are not entirely averse to handing out a good whipping, you and your fat lump of a husband, are you Petunia?" drawled Severus.

Petunia lifted her chin defiantly, making her long neck look even longer.

"You won't make me feel guilty. We never wanted that boy and he did everything he could to make our life a misery. He took clothes off our son's back and food out of his mouth.

"Mum!"

"It's just as well your son was deprived of some food, otherwise he probably would have long since burst his seams," said a furious Ginny and she glared at Petunia with intense dislike.

"Ginny!" exclaimed Arthur, shocked. "Apologise now."

Now it was Ginny's turn to go red, but Severus noted that the girl coloured a lot more attractively than Ronald or their father. "She doesn't deserve an apology after what she's put Harry through for most of his life," she muttered belligerently, and privately, Severus agreed. Severus thought that if Harry and his little red-haired amour stayed together for the long haul, and after loves first romantic flush had faded, the Potters, as they would probably be by then, would no doubt have a very volatile relationship, considering both their tempers.

But right now the girl definitely needed to calm down and that seemed to be her father's take on the issue as well-even if she was sticking up for her boyfriend-and as much as he agreed with her about her thoughts on Petunia Dursley, Ginevra Weasley had to learn that she could not speak to adults like that.

"It is not for you to make judgements, young lady," Arthur was admonishing. Severus was under the impression that Arthur didn't often admonish his little girl, but to give him his due, he was making an effort. "Now apologise..."

"I do not need an apology from your rude, disrespectful daughter because I wouldn't expect anything approaching manners from her anyway and any apology would be entirely insincere. But I wouldn't expect anything else from one of you lot. Look at Potter..."

"Why you..." Ginny had taken a step forward, her brown eyes flashing dangerously and Arthur had to hold onto her shoulders to stop her attacking the unpleasant, sour faced woman.

A groan, a metallic bang, two small thumps and another groan from the laundry had them all focusing on Vernon who had recovered enough from his ‘hanging' to attempt to regain his feet. Ginny forgot her anger with Petunia when she found herself staring at the twin globes of Vernon Dursley's massive buttocks, over which his olive green trousers were stretched to seam bursting point. He'd managed to get himself onto his hands and knees but he didn't seem to know what to do from this point onwards. One flabby cheek and jowl were resting on the front of the washing machine.

Ginny put her hand over her mouth to try and stifle her giggles. Petunia threw her a filthy look and then it transferred to her husband who was making a total arse of himself in front of these FREAKS!

"Dudley!" she hissed. "Help your father up and take him up to bed. I'm going shopping" And with one last scathing look that encompassed the entire company, including, for some reason, her son, Petunia flounced into the hallway where she pulled her coat and bag from a hook and exited the house ahead of a window shaking slam of the front door.

Severus ignored Dudley as the boy scurried past to assist his lummox of a father. It was at least ten minutes since he had left Harry alone in his room. Harry... who hadn't moved or responded other than to blink when Severus had spoken to him. He had remained curled on his side, his eyes open, looking at the blank expanse of peach coloured wall.

Whilst waiting for Arthur's return, Severus had kept his uneasiness buried deep and he had spoken to the boy in what he hoped had been a patient and conciliatory tone of voice. He had started by apologising for his strong-arm tactics and he had thought-hoped really-that this might elicit some reaction...but no.

After he had laid himself bare for a good ten minutes-where were Arthur and the girl anyway?-he had given up. What was the use in debasing himself further when he was not even sure if Harry could hear him?

So Severus had just sat and stared at Harry's back-he stared at the thick, untidy Potter hair and the hunched, skinny shoulders. He might have been looking at the back of James's head; the way Harry's hair stuck up at the crown was identical to how James's had. Merlin knew, he had seen it often enough, bobbing along in front of him in one or other of the Hogwarts' corridors in their student days. Severus had always tried to make a point of being behind Potter and Black in the corridors, that way he had been able to avoid a surprise attack.

There was no escaping the overall resemblance between James and his son, besides the thick black hair they had the same neat nose, as well as general face shape; but now that Severus knew better, there was more to Harry than he had ever bothered to see before all this business had come to light. Severus found that if he leaned forward a couple of inches in his chair, he could see the curve of higher and slightly more chiselled cheekbones and the arch of a finer eyebrow. These features were definitely his own. James had had a plumper face and thicker, straighter eyebrows. And Lily's contribution had of course been those mesmeric eyes; Harry's were exactly the same colour, shape and size. He had also inherited his mother's very determined chin. Perhaps the boy's small stature was compliments of his mother, because he was six feet tall and James had been close enough to that height also. Of course, Harry's small stature might also have something to do with having been half-starved for most of his formative years; but Severus did not think he would be much taller than five foot, six or seven.

Severus was not sure how long he sat there staring at the back of his son's head. But whether it was ten minutes or half an hour, it was enough time for him to realise that he had been the one entirely at fault since the pair of them had entered this bedroom. He was the one whose job it had been to deliver the news of this new and even more significant relationship with something approaching empathy. He was the adult! The boy had already been left reeling by the news that they were cousins for Merlin's sake, and that had been less than a week ago.

Severus only had to look at the way he had reacted when he had first discovered the birthmark to gauge what a shock the news would have been to Harry. He had lost himself in the bottom of a bottle of whisky and had then wallowed in misery for the next day or so until he had completed the Paternity Potion. He had practically had a tantrum in front of Dumbledore. He, Severus Snape had acted like a belligerent child with his ranting and raving and in between venting, he had tried to bury his head in the sand. And he had had Dumbledore's support and encouragement.

And then, after being presented with proof positive of his role in Harry Potter's genetic makeup, he had treated the boy as if his very existence was an abhorrence. Much as he had treated him since that day, five years ago, when he had first clapped eyes on the small, skinny James clone who had, of course, been sorted into Gryffindor.

Today, he had delivered the news of his and Harry's closer relationship as dispassionately, as coldly and as cruelly as he had treated Harry when he had presented himself for that first Occlumency lesson. And even after being made privy to some of Harry's earliest and most distressing memories, and knowing what the teen must be going through because of the connection with the Dark Lord, Severus had made no attempt to try and actually teach the boy a decent method of Occlusion. He had just kept on thrusting forward like a bull in a china shop-and he had probably left the same sort of devastation in his wake.

Dumbledore had told him about Harry's connection with the Dark Lord and how it had advanced so far that he had seen the attack on Arthur Weasley; a distressing occurrence certainly but also the reason that Arthur had survived. It had quickly became apparent that Harry had thought that he had been possessed and that it had been he who had attacked Arthur. He could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for a not even sixteen years old boy to witness the evil Lord Voldemort was capable of. But had he been sympathetic? No, he had been as cold and disparaging as he had always been when dealing with Potter.

He should have spent the whole of that first lesson, and however long it took, instructing the boy on how to Occlude instead of attacking and virtually raping his mind when he had had no idea of how to protect himself. He had known Harry suffered during those lessons, just as he had known that he slept poorly and suffered severe headaches because of the connection. The Legilimency could only have exacerbated the severity of those headaches. He, Severus had had Lord Voldemort in his mind after all, and had suffered severe headaches afterwards as the man had absolutely no finesse. Lord Voldemort was not interested in being gentle, not even with his own followers.

Just as he had not been interested in making it easy for Harry! And he was an accomplished Legilimens who was quite capable of probing another's mind without the painful side-effects. He had just not bothered because he had been forced into close company with Harry Bloody Potter by Albus Bloody Dumbledore, and as he could not do anything to Dumbledore, he had taken his displeasure out on James Potter's son.

And here today, even after the revelation of their cousinly relationship had wrought a change in the boy over the last week, he, Severus had made no effort to relay this more significant news with anything approaching understanding. He had been the bull in the china shop again. He had let his own unresolved feelings of the situation to show through clearly. He had become impatient and instead of taking time to calm down, he had hexed the boy in the most unforgivable way. Albus would have his balls when he found out, and he would be sure to find out. And he would have every right to castrate him.

In fact, Severus was surprised that those amazingly sensitive instruments of Dumbledore's had not registered that Harry was under attack here at Privet Drive. Because that is exactly what had happened. He had attacked his son.

Oh, sure, the Gluteus Adhaero and the Lingua Adhaero hexes had been relatively innocuous-but he had also threatened Harry with the torture of the Oculus Virga curse.

What in hell had he been thinking?

Well, the bare facts of the matter were that he had not been thinking of anything other than his own discomfiture and abhorrence of the task ahead. He had treated Harry as if he had done something wrong-as if he was being brought to task for some misdemeanour. And Harry of course had reacted accordingly.

Every line of Severus's body had screamed aggression and his very tone of voice had been resentful, cold and angry. So how had he expected Harry to accept the facts with anything approaching equanimity. It had been Severus Snape, the servant of the Dark Lord who had been at work today, not Severus Snape, the man Albus Dumbledore put so much faith in. In retrospect, he knew that he should have asked Dumbledore to be with him when he made the revelation to Harry, because his own method might have caused irreversible damage.

It had been the raised voices-the high pitched, unmistakable shriek of Petunia Dursley and the deeper rumble of the voice of her behemoth of a husband-that had dragged Severus from the unpleasant contemplation of his monumental mistakes. He had Apparated into another nasty scene that had been resolved with Petunia storming out of the house and Arthur assisting Dudley who, whilst being of a fairly robust build himself, was nonetheless having trouble hoisting the nearly dead weight of his father off the floor. Arthur employed a Levitation charm and asked Dudley to lead the way to his parent's bedroom.

"Don't go into Harry's room, Mr Dursley," ordered Severus as the strange procession left the kitchen. Dudley cast a nervous look over his shoulder at Severus, and after nodding once, he scurried after Arthur.

If Ginevra Weasley was nervous about being alone with Professor Snape, she did not let on. When he turned to her, she raised her determined little chin and tried to look suitably brave. Severus was impressed despite himself; there was not a quiver to be seen.

"I imagine that your father has told you why I require your assistance, Miss Weasley," he said in his best and most intimidating Professorial voice.

"He told me that Harry isn't well and that you thought he would benefit from my company," she responded, her brown eyes fixed on him unflinchingly.

"That is the bare outline, yes," agreed Severus, but he wished that Arthur had been a little more up front with his daughter. Now it was left to him to explain more fully.

"What's wrong with him? You said that the poison was all out of his system. Or are the injuries he sustained from Hagrid causing him problems?"

"Miss Weasley, I concede that your presence may be able to do what I have failed to do myself, but at this time, I would prefer that questions remain at a minimum. You may set your mind at rest however. Harry's current problems are not physical." Severus paused, not sure how to continue, and hating himself for appearing anything less than in control.

"Harry has...well, he has shut himself off. I cannot reach him, nor could your father. He is not unconscious, but he will not speak, nor indeed respond in any way other than to blink."

Ginny now blinked and her eyebrows drew together above her pert little nose. Suddenly she looked quite fierce-just like a mother bear hell-bent on protecting her cub. "What did you do to him?" she asked angrily, so intent on ascertaining what had happened to Harry, she had quite overlooked whom she was berating. He raised his mobile eyebrow in a gesture that students knew did not bode well for their peace of mind. But before he could put the little minx in her place, her father, who had re-appeared in time to hear his daughter's rudeness, stepped in.

"Ginny! Apologise to Professor Snape now!" said Arthur angrily. "What's gotten into you, young lady?"

"But Dad, he's done..."

"If by him you mean Professor Snape, then you use his title and name. And I brought you here to help Harry, not to carry out an interrogation of Professor Snape. Now apologise immediately."

Still looking mutinous, Ginny glared at her father. then with a visible effort, she calmed herself enough to glance at Severus and say coldly, "I'm sorry, sir."

"I accept your apology this time Miss Weasley because we have wasted enough time. Now, if you will come with me..."

"Severus..." Arthur put a hand up in a ‘stop' gesture. "Severus, don't you think that it might be better if we allow Ginny to see Harry by herself. I imagine if Harry is going to respond, he is more likely to do it if there are no adults in the room...and Ginny will be much less self-conscious if she does not have her teacher and her father hovering over her whilst she is talking to her boyfriend."

Severus did not like it, but he had to concede that Arthur might have a point. Harry might respond to Ginevra's presence alone, but he doubted it. She needed to speak to him. And she would probably be too embarrassed to say much with him and her father in the room.

"Very well. Miss Weasley, Harry's room is the second door on the left along the landing. We will wait here." Ginny followed the route that her father had taken earlier and ascended the stairs quickly and lightly. She was desperate to see Harry...desperate to find out what was wrong with him?

She had been so excited when her father had turned up out of the blue and told her that he was taking her to see Harry. Of course, departure had been delayed by first her mother and then Ron, who had wanted to know why he couldn't go and see Harry too, as he was his best friend.

Arthur had stopped the argument and informed Ron that Professor Snape had requested Ginny's presence. Ron had had a few choice words to say about their git of a Potions Master that had Arthur admonishing him, much as he had just done Ginny down in the kitchen. It would seem that their father had a good deal of respect for Severus Snape.

As Ginny hurried along the landing, she almost collided with Dudley Dursley as he came out of what she took to be his parents room. This was confirmed when a loud, grunting snore emanated from the room. A quick glance past Dudley showed a large mound of bedclothes moving up and down in time with the horrible noise coming from beneath them.

"Are you a friend of Harry's," asked Dudley. He sounded decent enough, but Ginny had heard about the horrible things that this boy had done to Harry over the years.

Her voice was very cool when she replied. "I'm Harry's girlfriend. And you're his bullying cousin."

Dudley reddened. "I know I was a bully and that my parents were less than ideal guardians. But I've changed, even if they haven't." Dudley looked down at his trainers and thrust his fingers into the back pockets of his jeans. "Since Harry saved me from the Dementor, I've changed." He looked up at Ginny again.

"Harry's forgiven me. We've been getting on really well since he came home."

Ginny studied the large boy in front of her. Dudley wasn't as overweight as she would have thought from everything she had heard from her brothers. He was large, yes, but Ginny thought he must have lost some weight. The two cousins looked nothing alike, but then, what she had heard about Lily Potter and what she had seen of her sister, Petunia, there was no resemblance there either.

"Well, I'm glad someone in this house has some sense. Pity you didn't find it years ago though, Dudley. Harry is a very loyal friend." She walked past him towards the next room.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Dudley, nodding his head towards the door that stood ajar. "They were having a huge argument when I went in there earlier."

Ginny spun back to face Dudley. Her red-gold eyebrows drew together again. "Harry and Professor Snape?" she asked, though she knew who Dudley was talking about. He nodded.

"What were they arguing about?" Dudley shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Snape was saying something about not being pushed any further and Harry said something about having heard what Snape had said to my mum."

"What did Snape say to your mum?" asked Ginny.

Dudley shrugged again and Ginny was irritated by his lack of any real information. "I don't know, but Snape told Harry to shut up or he would hex him."

"Snape threatened to hex Harry!" repeated Ginny, appalled, but not hugely surprised. The thing that she was hugely surprised about was how Professor Dumbledore had left Harry in the charge of a man who hated him with a vengeance.

"Harry didn't seem worried though," added Dudley. "Snape told me to get lost but I didn't want to leave Harry with him. But Harry said he was all right, so I left to make my mum a cup of tea because she's been a bit upset with all the wizards and witches coming and going. Well, you saw what she was like yourself." Dudley looked embarrassed by the antics of his parents.

Ginny nodded distractedly. "I've got to go, Dudley." And she entered the room that Snape had told her was Harry's.

Dudley sighed and entered his own room, the door of which was opposite that of his parent's room. He wanted to check on Harry too, but he was too nervous to go against that scary black-robed wizard.

"Dudley!" Dudley hadn't even made it to his bed where he had planned to lie down when the pretty girl appeared in his doorway, looking around frantically. "He's not here either."

"What..."

"Harry's gone..." and Ginny rushed out as quickly as she had come in. He heard her clattering down the stairs and he followed immediately.

"Professor Snape!" Severus and Arthur had heard the scared voice and the frantic footsteps and were already in the hallway when Ginny jumped down the last three stairs. Arthur grabbed her by the arms to halt her headlong flight.

"Ginny! What's wrong?"

"He's not there! Professor Snape, Harry's not in his room!"

Something cold and leaden settled in Severus's stomach, and if it was possible, his face became even paler than it normally was. He pushed past father and daughter and started up the stairs, pushing Dudley roughly aside where he was standing on the first landing. His long legs took the stairs three at a time and he was in Harry's room less than ten seconds after Ginny's nearly hysterical announcement.

It was indeed empty. After a frantic scan of the room that was totally unnecessary because it was so small, Severus registered more than the empty bed. With a tension releasing sigh, he saw that the boy had had the presence of mind to put his trainers and glasses on and that he had taken his wand. The acid that had begun to churn in his gut settled a little. So, he was not unprotected...wherever he was.

Severus was sure that Harry was not in the house. He could sense his absence. But to be on the safe side he threw open the bathroom door and the door to the spare bedroom, scanning their interiors quickly. Nothing. When Severus descended the stairs again; the two children were standing in the kitchen looking out the back window. Ginny turned to him, her small face pinched with worry.

"Dad's checking the garden shed and the garage," she said in a small voice.

Severus did not respond. Knowing that it was a waste of time he strode into the sitting room and crossed to the front window, pulling the netting aside and looking along the road in both directions as far as he could see. Panic was now taking a strong hold of him and as Severus was not ordinarily one to panic, he did not immediately recognise the emotion.

"He's not out the back Severus, nor is he in the shed or the garage" Arthur had reappeared, his face also pale and set. Severus was not surprised. Harry would have had to pass them to get out the back, unless he had gone out the front door and through the garage. He looked past Arthur at the two teenagers, both of who were white-faced and scared. He strode forward and grabbed a handful of Dudley's windcheater, pulling him upward so that they were nose to nose. "Is there anywhere in this house that Potter could hide?" he hissed.

Dudley swallowed, terrified, as Arthur put a hand around Severus's steely wrist. "Severus, we are all worried. There is no need for this." he said gently and Severus released the handful of fabric, turning away before he could take his displeasure out on anyone else. He ran a less than steady hand across his mouth and chin

"I...I looked in the cupboard," stammered Dudley and Severus spun back and glared at him.

"What?"

Dudley pointed through the door into the hallway. "The cupboard under the stairs. It...it used to be Harry's room. Mum and Dad only moved him into the bedroom upstairs when the letter came from that school."

Dudley cringed when he felt the shocked gazes of the Weasley's and Snape on him. They were all pale and worried but Snape looked as if he could commit murder at any moment. He strode to the cupboard-Dudley was amazed that even those black robes seemed angry-and wrenched it open.

"Lumos!" By the light of his wand, Severus studied the small confines of the cupboard that appeared to be nothing more now than a storage area for cleaning equipment and sundry stacked boxes. Behind the boxes, pushed up against the wall was a small, stained mattress.

Severus could feel himself shaking with fury. He had glimpsed Harry being confined in a small space once when he had skimmed through some childhood memories, but he had assumed that the small boy was being punished and had thought nothing more of it. Now Severus straightened and shut the door with forced calm. He turned back to Dudley who seemed to diminish in size as Severus glared at him.

"Your parents kept Harry in this cupboard until he was eleven years old?" he asked with deadly calm.

Dudley's Adam's Apple bobbed up and down. He nodded mechanically. "They...they moved him when they saw that letter was addressed to ‘The Cupboard Under the Stairs'.

Ginny was looking just as infuriated as Severus felt but Arthur just looked sad. It was he who took charge as he saw that his fellow Order member seemed at a loss as to what to do next.

"Severus, we need to check out the neighbourhood." Severus nodded glad to be told how to proceed and he moved towards the front door.

"Severus! I do not think it is wise to be seen out and about in a Muggle neighbourhood in wizard's robes. And I also think we need to effect a slight alteration to your looks. Seeing as you are well known to..." he glanced at Dudley and with a lowered voice he proceeded carefully. "...to certain factions and your looks are quite distinctive..."

Severus felt a fool. His brain was definitely not working at it's full capacity. "Of course you're right Arthur. Thank you for pointing out what I should have realised myself. He looked down at his flowing robes and then back up at Arthur. "Perhaps it would be easier if I attend to your robes and you to mine. You can also transform my appearance."

Arthur inclined his head and pointed his wand at Severus's robes which seemed to fade in and out of focus for a moment before coalescing into a pair of faded denim jeans and a turtleneck charcoal-grey cable jumper. Severus did not even bother to check out his clothing. He stood erect as Arthur pointed his wand at Severus's face and whispered an incantation.

Severus's hair seemed to retract into his scalp and fade from midnight black to grey-streaked brown with a side parting and a floppy fringe which he had to push out of his eyes which had turned grey. His face became shorter and plumper, he could feel his nose shrinking and his lips becoming fuller. Arthur lowered his wand and directed it at Severus's long pale hands where his fingers shortened and thickened. Simultaneously, Severus felt heat radiating outwards from his body and looking at his hands, he saw that his pale skin had taken on a ruddy hue. He knew his new face would now have the same complexion. Arthur was very thorough. Of course, Severus could only see his hands but he had no intention of checking out his appearance in a mirror.

Ginny looked at the stranger standing in front of them with almost the same feeling of awe that was reflected in Dudley's slack-jawed face. But it was not the transfigured Professor Snape that held her in awe; it was the fact that she had never before realised just how accomplished a wizard her father was. Obviously Professor Snape thought so too, because it had been his suggestion that Arthur transfigure him. Ginny felt her heart swell with pride. Wait until she told Ron and the twins. She was sure that they all thought that their father was just a mediocre wizard.

With Ginny's thoughts divided between her worry for Harry and pride at her father's wand work, she saw but did not really register the new model Professor Snape transfigure her father's robes into a pair of old brown cord pants, a cream coloured polo shirt and a beige zip-up jacket with twin brown stripes down each arm. He also now had a pair of brown suede shoes on in place of his black boots.

"Dudley, I would appreciate it if you would come with us. You can point out places that Harry frequents." Dudley's eyes widened but he nodded his acquiescence. As Severus reached the front door again, Arthur spoke again.

"I think we should contact Albus, Severus. We may need assistance and I for one would like Albus's direction."

Severus was becoming seriously irate at all the hold-ups. "Just get on with it Weasley. I'll meet you out the front, and he pulled the door open and walked out into the mist that had become even thicker since Arthur and Ginny had arrived.

Arthur raised his wand again. "Expecto Patronum!" The large and sinuous weasel streaked from Arthur's wand and failing to find anything to protect it's master from, it tumbled over in the air and looked at Arthur through his little shoe-button eyes. Arthur stared back intently. After five seconds, the creature-just a blinding white light to Dudley-tumbled joyfully again and shot out through the open front door. Arthur immediately conjured another Patronus and repeated the same process. Ginny looked at her father questioningly.

"I've also sent a message to Bill. We need all the help we can get and I know he can leave work at a moment's notice.

Arthur strode after his Patroni and Dudley and Ginny ran to catch up. Holding the door open for Dudley to rush through, Arthur pushed it partway closed again before Ginny could exit. "Ginny, I want you to stay here." Ginny immediately opened her mouth to argue, but Arthur held up one hand and put the other on his daughter's shoulder, lowering his face to her level. "I need you here to explain more fully to Professor Dumbledore and Bill when they arrive. We also need you here in case Harry comes back. It wouldn't do for him to come home and only find his aunt and uncle here, would it?"

Ginny still looked mutinous but she saw the sense of what her father had said. She nodded her head and Arthur smiled, pleased to have escaped an argument. He kissed the top of her head. "Good girl. We'll be back as quickly as we can."

When the door banged shut behind Arthur, all Ginny could hear was a carriage clock's tinkling tick tock and the rumbling snores of Vernon Dursley. She walked back towards the kitchen but stopped when she came abreast of the cupboard door that Professor Snape had opened earlier. When he had shut it, the latch hadn't caught. Ginny pulled it open again.

She did not have the luxury of performing a Lumos, but she looked around and found a light switch near the lounge door and she flicked it on. The hallway had been very dark because of the grey mist enveloping the outside world but the electric light dispelled the gloom and shone partway into the open cavity of the cupboard.

Ginny stood to the side and stared into the crowded little space. Harry had called this place his bedroom for nearly ten years of his life. She couldn't imagine it. If the door was closed, the only air that got into the place was through a small vent in the door and that could be closed off. Ginny also noticed that there was a lock on the outside of the door, but not the inside; they had obviously locked little Harry in.

Ginny brushed tears from her eyes and getting down on her hands and knees, she crawled into the space, pushing a tray containing cleaning agents and rags to the side, and squeezing between two towers of boxes. When she was fully in the cupboard, she twisted around onto her bottom and sat with crossed legs, staring out into the lighted hall. If the door was shut and that vent closed, the only light that would penetrate this space would be a strip at the bottom of the door.

Ginny sat in the small space and cried for the little boy who had had such a tragic life...the little boy who had grown into a wonderful young man whom she had adored now for five years. Her little girl worship had turned into love over the last couple of years. And Harry had finally, thankfully noticed her as more than just his best friend's sister. She couldn't lose him now, she just couldn't.

What had happened to Harry? And was it Professor Snape's fault? But Professor Snape had seemed nearly sick with worry, that was obvious. And that was so strange, considering his history with Harry.

Ginny didn't know how long she sat there in the semi-dark, but the front door being thrown open shocked her back to her surroundings. She sat still and prepared for action, her wand pointing towards the open door and every nerve ending on red alert.

"Dad!" called a familiar voice and Ginny slumped with relief.

"Bill! I'm coming."

"Ginny? Where..." Bill Weasley's words were cut off when he saw his little sister crawling out of...a cupboard? He rushed forward and grasped Ginny under the arms and hauled her to her feet. "What in the name of Merlin..."

"Oh, Bill!" Ginny threw herself into Bill's arms and he hugged her to him.

"Gin, what's going on? Dad's Patronus said Harry's missing."

Ginny nodded and gulped. Bill led her into the lounge where he pulled her onto the couch next to him and listened as she explained all that had happened since their father had come to collect her from the Burrow.

8888

At the same time as two damp, deeply worried Muggle-dressed wizards and their teenage companion re-entered number four Privet Drive to find the leader of the Order of the Phoenix and Bill Weasley comforting his sister, a slightly built young wizard wearing a hooded jacket pulled low over his forehead stepped down from a triple decker, purple monstrosity of a bus. As soon as he had stepped onto the grass verge, the bus disappeared with a loud bang and the boy thanked the Gods that he was no longer on board.

Feeling in his pocket, the boy fished out a pair of round, wire-framed glasses and put them on, his vision sharpening for the first time since he had put his glasses away, seconds before he had summoned the Knight Bus.

Harry Potter stared back down the road in the direction the Knight Bus had come from before dropping him off. There was nothing to see but the narrow gravel road lined with sad looking trees drooping under the weight of the enveloping mist.

Harry had no idea what county he was even in. He had not asked and the conductor had not communicated in any way. Harry had been pleased to see that Stan Shunpike was not the conductor tonight and when he had stated his destination, this conductor had just handed over his ticket and had then thrown himself down into a seat directly behind the driver and buried his nose in a dog-eared paperback book with a very raunchy cover. He had elicited no curiosity towards the kid who seemed determined to keep his face hidden. It weren't any of his business after all. The few passengers on board were too worried about trying to keep the contents of their stomachs in place and they too ignored the young wizard.

Now Harry turned and looked down the road towards his destination. His heart was pounding hard as he walked along the verge towards a sign that he could see half hidden by a drooping branch of a large oak tree. Over the slight rise in the road and in one of the inexplicable gaps in the mist he could see one thatched and several shingled rooves. They looked very picturesque seen through the trees and with the gravel road snaking towards them.

Harry stopped in front of the sign and pushed the wet branch aside. He stared almost mesmerized at the letters burned neatly into the old fashioned wooden sign. He had heard the words said many times, but he had never seen them written anywhere. The sound of the name was musical to his ears, but the written words looked magical.

Harry traced the blackened letters with his hand whilst mouthing the words silently.

Godric's Hollow.