Harry was by no means missing, because to be 'missing', one has to be 'missed.' And since there was no one to miss Harry and no one to find him 'missing', Harry was not really...missing.

Harry was not missed by the neighbours, as the Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told them that Harry had gone away and was now in the good care of a distant cousin in Norway; and good riddance too because nobody wanted to raise a problem child. Harry was not missed by the wizards, because as far as Dumbledore knew, he was safe and sound and happy at his home in Privet Drive. The wards were intact, no alarms went off and so there was no reason to believe that Harry was in any sort of danger.

So when Severus found the boy in a narrow alley in Greensdale, alone and lost, he was more than surprised.

oo0o0oo

"Potter?" said Severus in disbelief. He stared at Harry and for long moments was unable to process what was in front of his eyes.

Harry Potter is possibly the most famous wizard in magical Britain. Half a decade ago he had saved both Muggle and wizarding Britain from Dark Lord Voldemort. Harry; a helpless, one year old boy had vanquished the dark lord when the most powerful wizards in Britain could not. And in that moment, Harry Potter became a household name; he had become a legend and the epitome of hero. Harry is in nearly every book about the Second War and dark arts published after Voldemort's demise. And even though the average civilian knew very little about Harry, numerous articles and books had been written about him. There is not a soul in magical Britain that does not know his name and he is worshipped like royalty by ninety-five percent of that population. Harry is as famous as Voldemort was infamous and as good as Voldemort was evil. Harry even has his own Chocolate Frog card and that is saying something.

But all that did not matter to Severus Snape, because to him Harry Potter was so much more than just the Boy Who Lived. Harry was the son of his childhood nemesis; James Potter. James and his notorious gang, the Marauders, had made it their mission to make Severus' school days as miserable as possible. Severus Snape hated James Potter with a passion, and as for Harry, he wanted nothing to do with the boy,

Unfortunately for Severus, that wasn't meant to be.

"Potter?" Severus muttered again, with more spite this time as the shock settled.

What in the good name of Salazar was the boy doing all the way out here, in Greensdale, when his home was in Little Whinging, 50 miles away?Severus had to wonder.

"Who...who are you?" Harry stammered, shaking half from fright and half from the chilly morning air. Now fully awake, he remembered where he was. The night before, just after sunset he had crawled into an alley and found a dumpster to hide behind. Aunt Petunia's warning about strangers kept him from asking for any help. He'd been too scared to exit the alley or do much of anything. Harry could only hope that by some miracle, come morning, he would be home. Locked in his cupboard, yes, but home. But morning came and all his hopes were dashed when he realized that he wasn't home and that the angry voice did not come from Uncle Vernon, but a strange man wearing a long, black robe.

"Come with me, Potter." Severus's tone was cold and much more biting than it had been before he found out that the boy was Harry Potter. He reached out abruptly and grabbed the boy's wrist.

"No." Harry pulled back, trembling and trying to sound brave even though he was so scared. "Leave me alone."

Harry hadn't been taught to distrust strangers, but he had heard Aunt Petunia tell his cousin to be aware of people he did now recognize, unless they were the police. Was this a police officer? Harry wondered. He didn't look like one. Surely policemen did not dress like that - in long black robes? But if the man wasn't a police officer, how had he known his name? And if he was one, was he going to take him away? 

The Dursleys had always told Harry that if he was naughty, the police would come and put him in an orphanage. Harry had been taught horrible, untrue tales about the orphanage and he would give anything not to go there.

"Potter, I don't have time to argue. Come with me this instant," Severus said harshly and tried to pull Harry along. But Harry resisted and pressed his back against the wall. Oh, how he wished he could just disappear right through it.

"No! Please don't take me to the orphanage!" Harry pleaded as tears threatened to fall and his heart began pounding faster and faster. "I didn't mean to get lost, honest! I want to go home, please take me home. I live with my aunt and uncle, at number 4, Privet Drive. They'll be mad if I don't get home soon! Please, sir."

Severus frowned at Harry's words. "Stop your yapping! I am not taking you to the orphanage."

"I really wasn't trying to…" Harry blurted out, but then Severus' words registered. "You're not?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Then…where…?"

"Where do you think?" Severus vented impatiently.

Harry looked at Severus fearfully and hollered. "Not…not jail! Oh please, please don't take me there!"

"Don't be obtuse! Of course I am not taking you to prison, where did you get such an idea?"

Harry sighed with relief. If he wasn't going to an orphanage and he wasn't going to jail, then maybe he was going home. Harry almost smiled; he never thought he would be so eager to see Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley. "Are you a police officer?" he asked, remembering Aunt Petunia's comment about not trusting anyone except the police.

"I most certainly am not!"

Harry opened his mouth a few times before speaking. "But…I…I'm not suppose to…"

"I meant yes! I am a…police officer," Severus said quickly. If saying that he was a member of the Muggle law enforcement was going to make Harry cooperate, then so be it.

Harry peeked at Severus skeptically. "But you don't look like one. You don't dress like one, either."

"And what would you know, Potter?" Severus sneered condescendingly.

Harry dropped his head and cowered.

"Come with me. I have business to attend to. Let's get you home before you start wreaking havoc."

That comment made Harry look up. "You are taking me home?" He asked so quietly it was barely audible.

"Yes," Severus grunted.

"Do you promise?"

Severus breathed deeply through his nose and let the air out of his mouth. It hasn't been one minute and Harry was already driving his patience. "Yes."

"Cross you heart and hope to die?"

Severus rolled his eyes at the ridiculous Muggle phrase. "Fine. I will take you home but on one condition."

Harry looked at Severus and nodded several times.

"Anything, sir."

"You will listen to me and do exactly as I say. And hold your tongue; I do not want to hear another word. Is that simple enough for you to do, Potter?"

"Yes, sir," Harry answered obediently.

Harry grinned as he untangled his legs and got to his feet. He knew he would be in big trouble for getting lost; his aunt and uncle would be furious if he caused gossip among the neighbours. Even so, he wasn't lost any more and he was going home.

"Behave, Potter."

"Yes, sir."

"Hmph, you'd better." Severus said sharply as he wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist and pulled him along like a misbehaving toddler.

oo0o0oo

Severus groaned when he saw the long line at the floo. He threw a glance at the grandfather clock at the far side of the room. It was 8:50. No, he was definitely not going to make his 9 o'clock appointment. Trust a Potter to demolish my plans, Severus thought in despair. Cursing, he led Harry to the end of the line.

Severus decided that he would drop Potter off at Hogwarts and let Dumledore handle things while he distanced himself from the situation. Severus didn't care what Dumbledore did with the boy as long as it did not involve himself. He wanted nothing to do with Potter and he won't have Dumbledore persuading him into helping in any way, shape or form. Severus wouldn't give the time of day to any Potter, let alone one so closely related to James. True, he hadn't thought twice about helping the brat, but that was only because it would have been irresponsible of him to leave a six year old boy lost in an alley. He really didn't care about the boy and why should he? Potter's wellbeing was not a concern of his.

But Seveurs couldn't help but notice something odd about Harry, something not right. First of all, he noticed that Harry was entirely too small for his age and skinny too. In fact, Severus would go as far as 'malnourished' to describe Harry. Additionally, the shirt Harry was wearing was so large it could be mistaken for PJs. Maybe that's what it is, thought Severus, sleepwear. However, the shirt was also old and worn, not to mention filthy. Severus grimaced as he wondered about what kind of guardian would allow their ward to get so filthy, it was simply unsanitary. In the end though, Severus blame that on the fact that Harry had been lost.

After only a few minutes, the impatient wizard started to tap his foot and held back his urge to shout for the people ahead of him to quit stalling. Severus glanced at Harry absently and found the boy staring wide eyed and mouth agape at the floo. He rolled his eyes, concluding that Harry has probably never seen, much less travelled the floo before.

"Wipe that lunatic expression from your face! It's just the floo, Po..." Severus stopped short. He nearly said Potter. I would have to be careful not to let that slip, Severus thought as he reached down and flattened Harry's fringe. It's a good thing your fringe covers your scar, Potter. Or else I'll never make it out of here today.

"It's just the floo…Harry," Severus finished sourly, and sneered as if he'd just ingested something rotten.

Harry gasped as another swirl of green flames sprang to life and flinched when Severus reached down to touch his hair, but didn't notice his name being said.

"Yikes! What…what was that?" Harry stuttered, momentarily forgetting he was suppose to stay quiet like he was told to. "What happened? Why did he do that? Is he, is he alright? Where did he go? Did the fire get him?"

"Quiet," Severus snapped. "That's the floo, Haven't you ever heard of the floo before?"

Harry shook his head, his eyes transfixed by the horror of the green monster as it swallowed another man whole.

"Wouldn't you know it," Severus muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Harry gulped and decided it'd be best if he did not look at the scary flames. He turned to Severs. "Know what, sir?"

"Never you mind," Severus dismissed and Harry switched back to goggling at the fireplace, gasping whenever a person disappeared into a swirl of green flames. He yelped with alarm and ducked behind Seveurs when a particular large swirl of flame created backlash that threw itself out of the fireplace and into the crowd of people.

Severus snorted in amusement and Harry blushed.

"Sir?"

"What?"

"Can I ask a question?"

Severus glared down at Harry and considered the request. "One," he said shortly.

"Well…what is it, exactly?"

"If you must know, the floo is the most common form of transportation for wizards. Now be quiet." Severus himself much more prefers Apparation, of course, because unlike the Floo Network, Apparation did not have lineups. Plus there was no added task of buying floo powder. It was a shame he could not just Apparate to Hogwarts because that would make things so much simpler.

Another minute passed and Severus frowned. He looked to the right and then the left, he twisted his head around and glared at the people behind him but did not find what he was looking for. At last, Severus looked down and saw Harry blinking at him.

"WHAT?" he snapped. He truly despised being goggled at like some sort of zoo animal or madman.

Harry jumped, cowered and looked down at his feet. "Nu...nothing, sir," Harry murmured quietly. "It's just that, well, um…it, it's not real, is it."

"What are you blabbering about?" said Severus with distaste. "Can't you speak in complete sentences? What is this it you are referring to?"

Harry bit his lip. He knew he wasn't suppose to say the 'm' word, the worst bad word there is according to his aunt and uncle.

"Well?" Severus demanded.

Harry frowned and glanced up at Severus nervously. He couldn't say it, he just couldn't. The word was bad, bad, bad and he got horrible scoldings for saying it in the past."I…I'm not suppose to say it, though. Aunt Petunia said that it's a bad word."

Severus didn't respond when he realized that he couldn't care less what it was and opted to forget the whole thing. He grunted, turned his head away from the annoying little thorn at his side and ignored him until their finally turn came.

About time! Severus cursed and vowed never to use Floo Network again, at least not when it is so jammed. He dropped one galleon into the silver bowl. Floo powder is getting more and more expensive every year. Severus shook his head as he grabbed a handful of powder from the bronze bowl. To think they used to be a sickle a few decades ago. You owe me money, Potter.

The Potions Master readily stepped into the fireplace, but Harry hung back.

"What now, boy?"

Harry nibbled on his lower lip and eyed the fireplace tentatively. "It won't hurt, will it?"

"No," Severus answered shortly. "Now cease your dawdling and get in."

"But…isn't it…fire?" Harry began, still not sure about the whole thing. The green, fire liked flames looked very dangerous to him, what if they burned like real fire? "Won't it burn?"

"No, it will not burn. Now step inside!" Severus barked and pulled, but Harry dug his feet in.

"Promise?"

"Yes. I. Promise," Severus bit out each syllable. Harry was grating off the last of his patience.

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Fine."

Harry swallowed, he knew better than to disobey but…"Can't we use the bus? Please?"

"NO WE CANNOT USE THE BUS, NOW GET YOU BUTT IN HERE OR SO HELP ME!"

Harry flinched away faster than you could say hurt. He once again goggled at Severus, then hunched his shoulders, dropped his head and let out a single sob, and then another, and then another.

Behind them, the crowd of people looked at Severus with disapproval, frowning and shaking their heads. A fair number turned their heads and whispered into the ears of their partner, others just stood there tapping their foot impatiently.

"Sir, there is no need to shout. It's his first time using the floo, it's not his fault he is nervous," said a woman in the crowd, glaring at Severus' critically like he'd done something repulsive.

"Madam, do be so kind and keep stay out of this!" Severus said snapped at her venomously, making her huffed in umbrage.

"Hey, she's right. Cut the kid some slack," said a man half way down the line and others nodded in agreement, and agreeing with words of 'yes' and 'that's right'.

"Must you also meddle in the affairs of others?"

"Just get a move on!" another man yelled angrily, gesturing with one hand and crossing his arms. "You're holding up the line!"

Easy for you to say, Severus thought irately. When was the last time he was face to face with a crying six year old and a room full of witnesses demanding he get control of the kid and get a move on? Try never.

Get a move on indeed. What was he to do? Pick the kid up and throw him into the floo? Severus supposed that that would be the easy thing to do. But something tugged at him, something he could barely identify; sympathy was not unknown to Severus, just rare…as was guilt.

The Potion Master stomped out of the floo, making Harry flinch and backed away. Experience taught him to stay out of the way when adults were angry, especially when they were angry at him.

"Now see here, boy…"

"I'm sorry," Harry interrupted, crying hard now and getting more hysterical by the second. He'd done it now, he'd disobeyed and he was never going home. Right now, he'd be lucky if the man didn't just shove him into the fireplace and then leave him at some orphanage. He shouldn't have been such a scaredy-cat. Why hadn't he just listened to the man and got in there like he was told? If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was to obey his elders no matter what.

Severus knelt down to Harry's level and put both hands on the boy's arms, only to have the boy flinch even harder. "Harry, calm down," he began, trying to remember what calmed children down when they were on the verge of hysteria. "Cease this childish behaviour, there is nothing to cry about." But try as he might, Severus couldn't get Harry to stop

"Stop you sniveling, boy before I have to do something we both regret!" Severus snapped, succeeding only in scaring Harry more. Severus groaned

"Perhaps it was not necessary of me to raise my voice," he said with the hope that that would calm Harry down. It didn't. Around them, the crowd was getting more and more restless. What is the matter with you, Potter? What do I have to do to get you to calm down?

Severus heaved a great sigh and cursed Harry for looking so pitiful as he stood there crying miserably. He knew he would regret what he was about to do, never in all his days could he imagine he'd be doing something like this. The stern wizard, reputed to be cold and insensitive, pulled the small frame into a sorry excuse for a hug and patted him awkwardly on the back. "Would you hush already? You are making a scene."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled feebly, thinking it was all his fault. "I'm sorry."

"I heard it the first time, brat. That's enough." Severus coughed, feeling extremely uncomfortable to have a six year old Harry Potter crying into his robes.

oo0o0oo

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled even though he knew it was no use. Sorry was rarely good enough for his aunt and uncle; they would punish him no matter how many times he apologized. He'd ruined everything; there was no way the policeman was taking him home now. Not after he so blatantly disobeyed and broke the rules.

With that on his mind, Harry didn't know what to make of it when Severus pulled him into a hug. He couldn't remember ever being hugged by anyone before, but he'd see Dudley get them all the time. Harry didn't understand why the man was hugging him. If this had been Uncle Vernon, he would have received a cuff to the head and no meals for two whole days.

Stiff at first, Harry eventually relaxed and decided that he liked this hug. It was nice and warm and made him feel that everything was going to be alright – what a strange feeling.

oo0o0oo

Harry leaned into the hug and didn't pull away until Severus decided that he'd had enough physical contact with Potter junior to last one lifetime and the one after. He breathed out, grateful that the boy had finally stopped his wallowing.

"Clean your face," Severus said as conjured up a handkerchief and held it out for Harry.

Harry took it and wiped his nose and eyes. "Am I in trouble?"

"No," Severus answered.

"Are you mad?"

Yes. "I am not."

"Okay," Harry snuffled.

"Have you finished quite finished then?"

Harry sniffed again and nodded as he rubbed his eyes. He bit his lip and eyed the floo carefully.

Severus sighed. "Why do you think all these people are doing this, Harry? I can assure you that you will not be harmed. Close your eyes if you are frightened."

"What is it, though?" Harry asked.

"Like I said before, the floo is a form of transportation. Now, move those feet, there are people waiting."

Harry turned his head to see a crowd of people either tapping their feet, crossing their arms or both. "Oh…sorry," he apologized.

"Alright, get in."

"Um…where are we going, sir?"

"Hogwarts," said Severus without thinking.

"Where is that? You're not taking me home?"

"You will be by sunset. There are some questions that need to be answered first."

"Oh, okay."

"No more questions!" Severus said sharply. "Hold my hand." Severus grimaced when Harry practically glued himself to him. He grabbed another handful of powder and threw it at his feet."Headmaster's office, Hogwarts."

oo0o0oo

Minerva McGonagall jotted down a few notes in her log. Hogwarts was to reopen to students in a week's time and she still had a lot to do; the triple duties of being the deputy headmistress, a head of house and the Transfiguration professor had her running to and fro from one task to another nonstop. She was checking over her schedule for today when Albus Dumbledore called her to discuss some critical issues that required immediate attention. Now she sat in his office, sipping tea and listening to her boss and old friend go on about the breakfast menu. She sighed and considered that maybe Dumbledore was right, perhaps it would be best for her to relax, lay back and get some much needed rest before term began and the real work started.

They were not ten minutes into their discussion of critical issues when a whistle from the floo signalled someone on the other end.

"I wonder who that could be." Dumbledore said curiously and answered the floo with a casual wave of his hand.

"Headmaster, it is I," said Severus' head when it appeared half transparent in the green flames. "May I have your permission to enter? I have a small and irritating complication of which I require your assistance."

"Why of course, Severus. Do come in, the floo's open," said Dumbledore cheerfully.

A flash of green fire sprang to life and WHOOSH, out came a tall wizard with a little one in tow.

Tbc…