It was four am when Harry got off the bus, and five thirty when he managed to walk the rest of the way to King's Cross station. Thankfully the doors were open because the station stayed open all night, and Harry walked in tiredly, hoping he didn't encounter any Muggle guards, who would know he didn't have a ticket and possibly toss him back out again.

As quietly as he could, Harry made his way to platform nine and three quarters and slipped through the magical barrier unnoticed. He felt in his pockets and knew he only had two sickles left, surely not enough money for a train ticket if the train did continue to run during the break.

Harry sat down against a pillar on the empty platform and pulled his last Pumpkin Pasty and licorice wand out of his bag, and scarfed them down hungrily. He hadn't eaten since lunch, and all the walking and hurting had made him famished and tired.

Wishing he had some water, Harry left his back pack on the floor by the pillar and found a Muggle drinking fountain against a wall, and came back, wondering if he could sleep. He found that he couldn't, too anxious from the night's events, and worried that somebody might possibly steal his only clothes if he did fall asleep. So he sat and watched, and waited.

The old watch on his wrist read nine am when he finally heard the blow of the horn from the train. He stood and looked down the tracks in each direction, and saw the scarlet steam engine lumbering down the tracks through the bright sunlight. So it did run during the break, but would it go back to Hogwarts?

Harry snatched up his bag from the ground and hid behind a pillar as people started to filter onto the platform from the Muggle world. There was a woman with two little children, bouncing around and begging for snacks, and a few men in robes that looked possibly as if they could be from the Ministry.

When the train pulled into the station, several adult wizards, and a few families disembarked, and those already waiting on the platform filed onto the train past a wizard who was checking tickets.

Harry watched for a moment, and then decided to find another way on board. He walked the length of the train as a few more passengers got off, and finally saw his entrance: an unguarded, open door at the very end of the train. Harry knew this was the cafeteria car, and climbed on board with a last quick look to see that he wasn't being watched. The car was thankfully empty, and Harry hurried through the door, looking for a place to hide.

There were cars full of sleeping witches and wizards, obviously tired from traveling all night, and in one car Harry managed a glimpse of the Chudley Cannon's minus their Keeper, all wearing their Quidditch uniforms and chatting animatedly about an upcoming game that day. He couldn't wait to tell Ron.

Finally Harry found a tiny closet halfway along the train. It had a tiny window inside and was full up with mops and brooms and cleaning supplies. Harry clambered inside the tight space and sat down on an upturned bucket, feet up on the wall. This was half the size of his broom cupboard, and he wondered now after his long night in the cold, if it wouldn't just have been better for him to spend the holiday reading in his own little cupboard under the stairs.

For a few minutes Harry waited quietly, looking out the window as more families rushed onto the platform and then onto the train, and then with a lurch, the train began to move forward at a snail's pace. Harry didn't know where they were going, but hoped that eventually the train would return to Hogsmead. With any luck he could be back at Hogwarts eating a hot meal and sleeping in his own bed by tomorrow, or possibly even tonight.

His stomach rumbled as he heard the trolley with food going by and the fat woman who ran it, Matilda, asking people if they'd like breakfast from the cart.

Quietly Harry tried to recite some of the things he had recited for his friends the day before, but couldn't get the words out whole, even in song. He was both worried and anxious, and on edge about being caught, and couldn't talk straight if some one put a spell on him he was sure.

Finally after what felt like forever, but was really only twenty minutes of riding on the train, swaying back and forth, Harry was lulled into a fitful sleep, too exhausted to keep his eyes open any longer.

* * *

Panic. Suddenly Harry was panicking because there had been an explosion, and bright light, and for a moment Harry couldn't remember where he was or figure out what was going on. Then there was a shout, and somebody had hold of the front of his shirt.

Harry opened his eyes as a skinny train steward with pimples and orange hair yanked him out of the cupboard by his shirt and said, "What yeh think yehr doin in there? Stowin' away? Get out ‘ere!"

"W wait," Harry said, remembering that he had been in the broom cupboard without a ticket. The gangly teenager reached down and pulled Harry's bag from the closet, and proceeded to drag Harry down the isle with one hand, bag in the other. Harry thought the boy looked like he might just have graduated Hogwarts.

People stared and gaped as Harry squirmed as he was dragged down the isle. He couldn't get his footing and the grip on his shirt was ironclad. People stuck their heads out of private compartments as Harry stuttered for the steward to stop and let him go.

"N n n n no! St st stop! I I I I I h h h h have t t t t to g g g g get b b b b back t t t t t to H H Hogwarts!"

"Not wifout a ticket yeh don' yeh little wretch!"

Harry struggled again and was just about to burst into a fit of tears, pleading for the steward to stop dragging him because his ribs burned so badly, when a door opened to their left and a wonderfully familiar voice asked, "Mr. Shunpike?"

The steward stopped and seemed to freeze as he saw his old Potion's Professor. "Yes sir? Something I can get for you?"

"An answer. Why are you dragging Mr. Potter unceremoniously down the train."

"Potter?" Shunpike looked down at Harry and squeaked in horror as he dropped Harry and let him crash to the floor. "Ow come yeh didn' tell me yeh was ‘Arry Potter!?"

Harry lay there, tears finally streaking down his face and panted, trying to overcome the pain his in ribs.

Shunpike looked up suddenly into Snape's eyes and said, "I didn' mean no ‘arm Professor Snape sir. E's a stowaway! Caught ‘im hidin' in a broom cupboard skulking abou'!"

Snape looked down at Harry, who was trying to hide his tears, and then receded back into his compartment. Harry gave a sob, believing his Professor to be abandoning him in his time of need, but a moment later the man reappeared with a handful of gold coins and said, "I will purchase his train ticket. Bring us a tray of hot food and a pitcher of cold pumpkin juice Mr. Shunpike."

"Yes sir!" The teen hurried away down the car and Severus reached down and lifted Harry from under the arm.

"In here Potter. Come on, it's over, sit down.

Harry sat on the bench opposite his Professor and ran his sleeve across his eyes to wipe the tears away. He hated to cry in front of anyone, but he was just so flustered and his ribs had hurt so much he couldn't help it.

After Harry had been given a few moments to calm down and compose himself, Severus asked, "What happened Potter?"

Harry shrugged, and Severus said, "What is the first rule?"

He shook his head. He knew very well what the first rule was and that he was to use words, not gestures, but he didn't even want to attempt speaking at the moment.

"Mr. Potter, I just paid two Galleons for your train ticket. I do expect some answers. Why were you hiding in the broom cupboard?"

Harry sniffed, trying to keep snot from running down his face, and said, "N n n n n n no m m m m m money." The boy looked exhausted just from trying to get the sentence out, and Severus noticed how frustrated he was not to be able to spit it out. The boy was obviously flustered, because just two days ago he was speaking with ease and was coherent enough to easily understand.

"Deep breaths Potter," Snape commanded him. "You need to calm yourself and think of what you're going to say."

Harry shook his head again. "C c c c c c c c can't."

"Look at me." Harry's eyes snapped up and met the dark ones of the older face. "Yes you can."

He hiccupped a little and took a long shuddering breath. Why couldn't he just go to sleep and wake up back in his bed at Hogwarts?

Harry felt relieved when the door slid open to reveal the fat lady with the trolley, bearing a tray full of hot food and a tall pitcher of icy pumpkin juice, because it spared him having to answer more questions for the time being.

"Here you go dear," she said kindly, handing the plate over to Harry. She set the pitcher and two glasses down on a tray she conjured from thin air and left them alone again.

Harry looked around and realized that Snape didn't have any food. Perhaps she had given the plate to Harry by mistake? Not wanting to eat the man's lunch, Harry tried to hand the plate to him.

"No, you look like you haven't eaten, it is for you." With this proclamation Harry wasted no time in removing the lid from the tray to find steaming hot mashed potatoes with gravy, hot corn, and sliced turkey smothered in gravy. He dug in with gusto and Severus knew his assumptions had been right.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Harry chewed and swallowed, and thought hard before he said, "E e e early. P p p pumpkin p p p p p pasty."

"Leftover from the train ride?"

Harry nodded again. "And the last time you ate before that?" Obviously the boy must have been desperate to snack on sweets for breakfast.

"On on th th the t t t t t t train."

"And your relatives did not feed you in between?"

"N n n n no."

Harry tried to look fully concentrated on his food for a while, hoping the man might not ask any more questions. But too soon the food was gone and Harry felt like he might be sick because he had eaten too much after not eating for so long.

"Where did you plan to go on the train."

"H h h h h home."

Snape raised his brows and Harry said, "H H H H Hogwarts."

This statement clearly said all that Harry had meant it to. If he considered school home, then he wasn't getting what he needed from his relatives. Something else panged annoyingly in the back of his mind, reminding him of what Dumbledore had once told him about Harry needing to stay with his family in order to be protected.

"What happened when you got back to your aunt and uncle's house?"

Harry shook his head, not wanting to answer.

"If you wish me to help I need to know. Both the Headmaster and your Head of House are unreachable for the next two weeks, which leaves you in my charge. If you expect me to get you back to Hogwarts, I need to hear the truth.

With a sigh that clearly said he was giving in, Harry launched into the story of how nobody had showed up for him on the platform, Mr. Weasley had apparated him home, and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia proceeded to chuck him out the front door and call the police. He then recounted how he spent the last of his Muggle money on a bus and waited on the platform for the train to pull in so he could sneak on board. It was a full ten minutes before he could get it all out, and he was thoroughly frustrated by the end of it.

Snape seemed to sit in thought for a while and Harry wondered what he was thinking about over there on his bench. After a few minutes Harry couldn't keep himself from falling into another doze, every muscle in his body begging him to do so.

Severus watched as Harry fell asleep while waiting for him to say something, anything at all. He understood know why the boy had reverted back to stuttering even worse than when he had started speech therapy with him two months ago. Hopefully he would regain his confidence and gain ground quickly again, perhaps even by the time they got back to Hogwarts. Normally he would have sent a runaway straight home again, but it was obvious now that this was not to be the case.

He could take him back to Hogwarts later tonight when the train turned around, and stick him back in Gryffindor tower to spend the holiday alone, but after the trauma the boy had suffered, he didn't feel right about leaving him alone like that. What other option was there then?

A groan escaped his lips, unnoticed by the boy, as he realized the option that had come to mind. Surely not, he told himself. A Potter in his house? He had just purchased the house a few years ago, and by the end of the break the brat might have it demolished like the bathroom at Hogwarts after the troll. But there were no other options. Albus was away on some exploratory journey of Africa looking for some old Shaman, and Minerva was in America visiting some silly niece of hers who had moved away to marry some young man who wasn't a wizard and worked in a Muggle bank.

He let the boy sleep until he woke of his own accord, which was at the next train stop, and then gazed steadily at him for a short while longer as the boy looked out the window.

"You have an option Mr. Potter."

Harry looked over, wondering what had finally broken the silence. Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything, and that he at least had his attention, Severus said, "You may go back to Hogwarts on the train tonight for another 12 hour ride, or you continue on to Wendron with me."

His brow furrowed. Wendron? What was there? And then a silly idea struck him that he was being invited to stay with his professor for Christmas. Nobody had every invited him anywhere so he tossed the notion aside. Perhaps there was an orphanage in Wendron that he was going to drop him off at.

"T t to an an an orph orphanage?"

Severus gave him a glare. Silly boy. He would not wish an orphanage life on even his worst enemy.

"To my home Potter. There is a spare room that you may use until the start of the term. Otherwise I will buy you another ticket to Hogwarts this evening when the train turns around."

Harry bit his lip to keep his answer from spilling out. Of course he'd like to stay with Snape. He had been very nice to him teaching him and helping him with the train ticket, but he was sure it was a trick.

"H h how m m much f f farther?"

"We are almost there now. It is a short distance to apparate from the train station."

Harry looked out the window again and Severus wasn't sure if he was thinking, or ignoring him. But finally after a few minutes he said, "Ok."

"Ok what Mr. Potter? A train ticket North or Wendron?"

"W W W Wendron."

Severus nodded and said, "Be ready to disembark then." Just then the train slowed down, and after a few minutes came to a complete stop. He wasn't kidding when he said they'd be there soon, was he, Harry thought to himself.

They stood and Snape lead the way out of the car and off the train, where he lead Harry into a nook behind a vending machine and gripped his arm, disapparating with him and appearing again on a little country lane surrounded by fields.

"W w where?" Harry asked as Snape let go of his arm and they began walking forward.

"Rowe's Lane Wendron. The house is just ahead." He pointed to a neat little two story house, with an overgrown garden in the front. The house was brick with black trim on the roof and black shingles. Harry took one look at it and thought that he liked it very much.

After a short walk they were there and Snape lead the way inside, incanting several anti intruder spells as he unlocked the front door.

Inside was a small entryway with dark hardwood floors. A doorway to the left revealed a sitting room. Aside from this there was nothing else but a flight of stairs going up to the second level, and a short hallway straight ahead with two more doors leading off, one on each side.

"The kitchen is to the left at the end of the hall and my study is to the right. You may not enter the study without permission first. If you go outside, inform me first, and stay out of the garden unless you wish to get hives from the poisonous plants there."

Harry looked around. Those rules didn't seem too bad. He hadn't mentioned what and when Harry would be cleaning yet, but the place already seemed much more inviting than Privet Drive.

He was motioned to follow Snape upstairs, and on the second landing he found four more doors. "This is the bathroom," Snape explained, pointing to the first door on the left. "Do not enter this room under any circumstances," he warned, pointing at the second door on the left. He opened a door to the right and said, "This will be your room while you're here. My room is the door at the end of the hall."

Harry stepped into the guest room and found a comfortable looking twin bed, a wardrobe, a small fireplace in the corner, a window overlooking the fields and meadows, and a nightstand.

Snape waved his wand and conjured a desk with a chair and hovered it under the window, and then conjured a soft brown area rug right under the bed to cover the cold hardwood floor.

"Th th thank y y y y you," Harry said, frustrated that he couldn't talk again.

"When you have dirty laundry call for Mitzi."

"S s sir?"

"Mitzi!" Snape spoke to thin air and there was a crack that startled Harry as a small house elf wearing a clean little gray and black uniform appeared.

"Master is home!" She ran forward and hugged Snape's legs tightly, surprising Harry.

"Mitzi, this is Harry Potter. While he is here you are also to obey him as you would me... within reason," he added, thinking of all the damage the boy could do to his house if he ordered the little elf to do crazy things.

The house elf turned to Harry and bowed and said, "Mitzi is pleased to meet you sir!"

Harry smiled tiredly and said, "Y y y y you t t too Mmmmmitzi."

The elf didn't seem to notice Harry's stutter, for which he was very pleased.

She turned back to Snape and he asked her to fetch groceries from the store, and she nodded before vanishing with another loud crack.

"I suggest that you wash and then rest. Lunch will be served when Mitzi returns."

Harry nodded and Severus made to leave, but Harry threw his hand into thin air to stop him and said, "Th th th thanks."

Severus gave him a look as if wondering what on earth there was to be thankful for. "Yes, you already said that Mr. Potter. Wash and rest and I'll fetch you for lunch in an hour."

Harry sat down on the foot of the soft bed and marveled at how his day had turned out. He finally had a feeling of certainty about him, although about what he didn't know. Forgetting to wash Harry lay back on the bed and fell to sleep almost immediately.