"Detention Mr. Malfoy," Snape said calmly, as he watched Draco chuck something orange into Harry's potion, which bubbled and turned frothy before spilling over the edges onto the floor.

"Sir?"

"For contaminating Potter's Potion. And you can switch cauldrons with him as well.

"But sir, I didn't-"

"Two detentions for lying to me when I watched you throw it in."

"But sir!" Malfoy was almost whining now.

"Three detentions Mr. Malfoy. Care to go for four? I've got a lot of potion's jars to scrub out."

Draco grumbled something and got up angrily to move to Harry's cauldron. Ron and Hermione didn't seem pleased about the switch either, and neither did Crabbe or Goyle as Harry moved to sit with them.

Harry and Draco were not the only ones astonished at whom the detentions had just been handed out to. Harry rarely escaped a year with less than ten detentions from Snape, and Harry didn't think he'd ever seen a Slytherin get one from their own head of house.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked as they packed their things up at the end of class.

Harry shrugged and Hermione said, "You've been very quiet around him lately, did something happen?"

With a shake of his head Harry asked them to leave it be, and then they left for other classes.

As he erased the blackboard with a wave of his wand, Severus wondered that the boy had not told them anything about the memories. Perhaps he had never told them anything of his home life and hadn't wanted them to know of his panic attack. Or maybe he was just keeping his promise not to tell, he thought with curiosity.

Severus couldn't explain it, but over the last week a strong sense of needing to protect the boy had stolen over him. He had already convinced the Headmaster in private that the boy should no longer stay with his relatives, and that perhaps a more vigorous search should take place for John and Ginger Evans, who he knew for a fact would be kinder to Harry. The Headmaster agreed on both counts, but nobody had told Harry yet. For some reason the man believed him the better man for the job.

He didn't think he'd find a good way to tell the boy aside from dragging him into his office, but found a perfect opportunity present itself a few days later, when a letter arrived to him by owl on Muggle paper in a Muggle envelope. It was from John Evans.

‘Dearest Severus, we were so pleased to hear from you. However did you find us? Or was it the clever owl that tracked us down? We have been curious about Harry since we left England. We have always regretted our decision not to stay, but with Ginger's health as it was, I knew it would not get better unless we left everything that reminded her of Lily behind. In our old age we find now that we have missed our opportunity to raise up a child in Lily's memory. Is there any chance Harry would wish to leave Petunia's loving home to spend some time with two foolish old grandparents?'

Albus had spent some time tracking down the general location of the Evans, and had then allowed Severus to send a letter to the area by owl informing them that Harry was now fifteen and doing well. There was no reason to put off telling Harry he didn't have to go back to the Dursley's now. Christmas would come soon enough and the boy needed time to think things over, and perhaps correspond back and forth with his grandparents before making any decisions. And if the boy didn't want to stay with them? Well, then he would redouble his efforts to protect him at Hogwarts, he thought to himself.

"Potter." Harry looked up, surprised to find Snape standing there over him at Gryffindor table later that day. Severus did not fail to notice the boy had now taken to sitting in the same spot his mother liked to sit in at the far end of the table.

"Sir?"

"I received something that might be of interest to you. Whatever you decide to do is fine with the Headmaster. He has agreed that you are not to return to the Dursleys."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What is this?" Severus handed him the folded letter and Harry stared down at it curiously.

"I will leave that to you to figure out. If you have questions later you can find me in my office. He left the table and wondered what the boy would do with the new information. Harry didn't show up to his office and outside of class he didn't see him at all for weeks, although he did seem marginally happier.

When it was nearing Christmas, and he had begun to expect Potter wasn't going to speak to him again about anything in his personal life, there was a knock on his office door one evening, and Harry entered, several letters clutched in his hand.

"Sir, am I bothering you?"

"No. Come in and close the door."

Harry did as he was told and then sat down in the visitor's chair. "I've been writing to them. Who would have thought they're all the way in America!"

He seemed both excited and happy, and for some reason it pleased Severus immensely to know this.

"They say I can come and stay for Christmas and for the summer, and maybe they'll even move back to England. They said they might move somewhere closer to Hogwarts."

"And you have arranged transport to and from the United States?"

"Well, no, not yet. That's a little bit of a problem because they said they can't come and get me and I asked Ron and he said you have to be 17 to portkey to another country by yourself."

"I see."

"I was hoping maybe that you'd come too. They said there's always room in their home for you."

Severus raised a brow. They had been writing back and forth about him?

"And you think that I have nothing better to do over Christmas and summer holiday?"

Harry bit his lip. The answer was yes, and he didn't have to say it.

"Have you spoken to the Headmaster about this?"

"He said I can go if I get somebody to go with me. I'd really like to meet them. They say they tracked down one of their nieces and her family that disappeared off the map when Voldemort came to power."

"Where exactly to your grandparents live?" He had only been given the location of the United States, and where the owl had gone from there he had no idea.

"Oregon... a small city called Klamath Falls. They said it's hilly and a little dry, but otherwise ok. It sits on two lakes and they have a big house up a mountain overlooking one of them."

He could see that Harry was trying hard to convince him and held up his hand. "Do not expect me to sing Christmas carols Potter. And don't expect any presents either."

Harry grinned suddenly and Severus was surprised at how pleasing he found the smile.

"Thanks sir," he said. "Ron and Hermione are going to flip out when they hear I'm having Christmas with Professor Snape and my grandparents." He ran out the door to tell his friends, dropping one of the letters he clutched in his hands on his way out.

Severus stooped down to pick it up. He didn't intend to invade the boy's privacy by reading it, but curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it to find Ginger's tidy handwriting scrawled across lined paper.

‘Dear Harry, I'm so happy you've agreed to come for Christmas. Unfortunately we cannot fly back this year to come and get you. Perhaps you can ask Severus to accompany you. We always did enjoy having him around the house during the summer and holidays, and he will always have a place in our home. Did you know our home is set on a hill over Klamath Lake? Don't expect to do any swimming in it... it will be frozen over by the time you get here, and in the summer it's a little dirty, but don't worry, we'll drive you out to some of the cleaner lakes in the area during the summer if you want to swim. Our house has a big yard and is set in a neighborhood full of tall pine trees... with a strong young wizard around to help ward off the cougars I imagine we'll be able to get out and do some gardening this summer.

We were so pleased to hear that you and Severus get along well together. We always wondered, with his animosity towards James how things would turn out once you got to school, but it seems from your letters that all is well. We're glad you've found an adult who understands you. And we again are sorry that we were not there for you as a child, although it sounds to us as though you are growing into a fine young man.

Looking forward to your next letter, and to seeing you and Severus at Christmas, love Grandma Ginger, and Grandpa John.'

From the letter it almost sounded as if Harry trusted him and had told them so, and this too filled Severus with as much comfort as Harry's smile seemed to over the last couple of months.

"See Lily?" he asked the thin air, speaking to her memory, "told you I wouldn't hold a grudge... at least not forever."