Harry Potter lay quietly in the darkness of his cupboard. His ankle was throbbing and his head was hurting worse than ever. He knew that he was in more trouble than he had ever been before and that he probably wouldn't see daylight for at least a month.

He wondered about school. The Dursleys had taken him out as a punishment before, but never for more than a week. He wondered about food too, but he knew Aunt Petunia would give him some through his cupboard door… eventually. He hated being in trouble, he hated being in the cupboard. But somehow, he wasn't angry.

He was angry yesterday, or was it two days ago? He couldn't remember, because it felt like a year ago. He had come back to the Dursley's home, ready to ask his aunt if he could play with Lucy. But Aunt Petunia was out running errands and Uncle Vernon came back early. Well, his uncle just laughed in his face, as did Dudley, of course. And then Harry said it wasn't so weird that someone wanted to be his friend. Well, the laughter turned into an argument and Harry was in his cupboard.

He waited until after dinner, when they were all watching the television, before making his escape. He could sometimes do it, just press lightly on the door, and the latch would come undone. He had never tried it when the Dursleys were still awake. But the sounds from the television were loud enough to hide the sound of the front door opening.

It was great, at first. Harry had never run away from the Dursleys before. But it felt wonderful and the night was still warm. He ran all the way to Lucy's house, but they were already eating dinner. Harry thought about ringing the doorbell, but he could see them through their window. He just didn't like how Lucy sat at the table, recounting something with wild hand-gestures while her uncle listened carefully and her aunt tended to her cousins. It really bothered him how they looked at her and he didn't know why.

It began to turn into one long nightmare. Suddenly the night was cold and Harry didn't know where to go. The school seemed like a good option and he had huddled next to the building until sunrise. He'd figured he would just go to class and then go back to the Dursley's house. It would be like normal.

But then Dudley showed up on the playground and chased Harry off the school grounds. He suddenly didn't care anymore and just went to a nearby park. He always liked it, because there were a lot of trees to climb and Dudley was really bad at climbing trees. He had fallen on his ankle, because of Dudley, so it was harder to climb his favorite tree. But he spent most of the day hiding up there, ignoring everyone who passed.

By the time it got dark, Harry was thinking he was going to die. He was hungry and thirsty and very cold. He thought about returning to the Dursleys many times, but his head felt fuzzy and he wasn't sure what to do anymore. He didn't like the dark. It was so hard for him to see at night. So he abandoned his tree and went to the nearest lamppost.

Then he saw the strange, terrifying-looking man. But he hadn't been too bad, in the end. He had even carried Harry, which was nice. And even though he was dressed in black, he was so warm that Harry had dozed off.

But that man was gone and Harry couldn't even remember his name. It was weird, something like snake? Slivering Snake? That didn't make any sense, but some of the things the man said didn't make much sense either.

He knew Harry parent's though, and even in the darkness of his cupboard, he fumbled for the family tree and a pencil. Carefully, since he couldn't see very well, Harry wrote: James Potter. With something sticky he found in the corner, possibly old gum, Harry stuck the paper to the ceiling, right over his bed. Lying back down, he looked at the dim outline of the family tree and felt very pleased.

-

It felt like months before Aunt Petunia started giving Harry food again, and he cleaned the plate in record time. She was disgusted by his hunger, but otherwise left him alone. That was the one thing Harry liked about punishment, at least the Dursleys just ignored him. Dudley used to try and bother him, but he was far too large to fit in the small cupboard.

Harry spent the next few days sleeping or massaging his ankle. It hurt all the time, but at least he didn't have to walk on it. He had little to do, but he often found himself looking at his family tree and daydreaming about the dark man who brought him back to the Dursleys. He wondered how the man knew who he was or knew where to find him. He had never met him before and he was sure the Dursleys had never either. Though, Aunt Petunia seemed to understand what he was saying. Harry couldn't remember what the man said while he was trying to avoid his uncle's hands. It was nice that the strange man had helped Harry, even if Aunt Petunia had grabbed him anyway.

Harry wished he could remember the man's name. Then maybe he could look him up in the phonebook and ask him to take Harry away. Maybe he lived nearby and Harry could go over to his house to play. Maybe he even had a picture of Harry's parents.

He didn't have many toys in his cupboard, but he did have a few broken crayons. On his family tree he drew a picture of his mother, giving her bright red hair and lime green eyes. He didn't have black, so he gave his father silver hair with a pencil and tried to darken it with a brown. It just ended up looking like silvery brown. Since Harry couldn't remember asking what color his father's eyes were, he gave him green eyes too. He gave his parents nice big smiles.

Harry liked looking at his drawing. He wished he had a mirror, thinking that maybe he could imagine his mom or dad if he could look at his eyes. It made him sad, so he tried to remember anything about them. Sometimes, when he was concentrating for a long time, he could see a bright green flash. He wasn't sure what it was, but he supposed it must have been the car crash.

-

Harry thought it would be summer before the Dursleys let him out. When Aunt Petunia did little more than shove him out the door so he could walk to school, he was glad to know it was still spring. It must have been early, because the sky was still gray and he could hear Aunt Petunia just starting to make breakfast.

Harry felt happy just to be outside, even though he would be hungry all day at school. As he was going down the steps, he almost stepped on a letter poking out of the door mat. Harry thought this was very strange, since the postman knew to put letters through the slot. He picked it up and was ready to slide it through the door when he noticed the address. To Mister H. Potter.

He flipped it over, looking for the return address, but there was none, just a wax coat of arms. Something with a snake on it, but he really couldn't tell. Harry suddenly realized that he was staring at his letter on his aunt and uncle's doorstep. If they saw it, so soon after his punishment, they would probably take it from him. Shoving the letter in his pocket he ran to school.

He didn't stop until he was on the playground, which was completely empty. He hurriedly sat on a swing and took out his letter, just staring at it. He had never gotten a letter before in his life. He was almost afraid to open it, as if the contents would reveal it was some other H. Potter. He suddenly felt a little sick with worry and anticipation, but it could have been his stomach complaining from no breakfast.

He slowly opened the letter and pulled out the small piece of paper. It was very short:

To Mr. Potter, Number 4, Privet Drive

It has been requested of me to determine the exact conformation of your living arrangements in the house of your relations, Vernon and Petunia Dursley. Please return a letter dictating your disposition of the present living arrangements (i.e. room, board, basic welfare). It would be only to you benefit to be hasty in your response.

Sincerely,

Professor Severus Snape

Potions Master

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

P.S. To return correspondence, simply leave it under your doormat, preferably with an edge visible.

Harry was very confused by the letter. Most of it involved words he didn't know, but he did recognize the name, Professor Severus Snape, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With sudden joy, Harry grinned broadly. It was the man that found him in the park. It was the man that knew his parents. He even remembered him mentioning Hogwarts, but that sounded like a very silly school. Perhaps that was where magicians went to learn how to pull rabbits out of hats or make coins appear from behind your ear. He had no idea what a Potions Master would do, but he decided to think about later.

Kicking slightly, Harry let himself swing back and forth while reading the letter over and over again. For his first letter ever, it wasn't much, but Harry liked it anyway. Mostly because it was from Severus Snape, the man who knew his parents. He wanted to write back to him right away, but he would need a dictionary first.

Class seemed to drag on much longer than normal and Miss Rogers could tell that Harry wasn't paying attention. She made him read from the board almost every time, much to everyone's amusement. Harry knew he could read well enough, but even from the front row, the words on the board seemed to get jumbled together.

During lunch, when everyone went outside, Harry stayed in. Miss Rogers was not pleased, but even her glares and occasional remarks weren't enough to scare him away. Harry took the largest dictionary from the book shelf and went to his desk to read the letter. It still took the entire lunch hour before Harry was sure he understood everything about the letter. He wasn't sure why Professor Severus Snape wanted to know about Harry's life with the Dursleys. It was pretty lousy most of the time and not very interesting.

-

Severus Snape had just gotten an owl at breakfast, much to the interest of his associates. Most of them were trying to look over at him and Professor McGonagall, who sat next to him, was trying to read it over his shoulder. "Hmm? A letter? How unusual. Who is it from?"

"It is nothing of importance." He quickly folded up the envelope and put it in his robes. He glanced over to Dumbledore, who was drinking his pumpkin juice casually. But Severus could see the old man's eyes twinkling at him.

Suddenly not feeling very hungry, Severus excused himself from the head table and quickly made his way to the dungeons. He slid out the small letter, glancing at the return address. Harry Potter, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. He couldn't believe the boy had somehow written back to him. He hadn't told Dumbledore that he had finally decided to send a small note to Harry Potter, but he had no doubts that the headmaster knew.

It had really been just a spur of the moment decision. He had just been writing other, important, correspondences at his desk when he thought of what he would say to Potter in a letter. Then he wrote a letter. There was very little thought, though he did take care to instruct the owl to leave the letter under the front mat and return once another was put there.

Severus locked his office door behind him. He had plenty of time to sit down and contemplate the letter before morning classes. If there was anything of importance, he would bring it to the headmaster. If there was nothing, then he would simply burn it and continue as normal. He opened the letter, already grimacing at the terrible penmanship.

Dear Professor Severus Snape,

How are you? I hope you are doing god because Im god. Thank you for when you helpd me it was nise. Do you life close? I could com over and play if you life close. The Dursleys dont care much somtims if I go away. I have a famly tree in my cuborred. I put it abuv my bed. It is god becuse you gave me my dads name and what my mom looks like. I drew a pichur of her on it and I draw another one for you. Does it look like her? Do you know what my dad looks like? I hope he has blak hair because I drew him with blak hair. I used to have a frend called Lucy but now she doesnt like me becuse Dudley hit her. Can we be frends? My faforit color is green. What is your faforit color? Can I se you agan?

From,

Harry

The spelling was atrocious and Severus read it several times before he decided he understood what was written. There was next to nothing of what he requested in his initial letter, just the mindless ramblings of an eight year old. He looked at the bottom to a circle bearing red scratches and green dots. He supposed it was the 'pichur' of Lily, though it was shameful that such a scribble would be a representation of her.

He put the paper on his desk, rubbing his eyes and wondering how on earth he thought writing to Potter would yield any results. But it sat there and seemed to be looking right back at him. So glanced at it again, somehow feeling there was something off about it. He found it then: I have a famly tree in my cuborred. I put it abuv my bed.

A cupboard? He remembered when he was so rudely shut from the Dursley house, the uncle had been shoving the boy into a cupboard under the stairs. He had thought it was just a form of punishment. Could there be a bed in there? If that was true, this situation was seriously disturbing. It required further investigated, he decided.

Severus was halfway in his drawer, ready to grab another piece of parchment to write a letter. But just as he was putting the heading, he suddenly thought of receiving another illegible correspondence. He smirked to himself and pulled out another paper, heading Spelling Practice.

The weather was getting quite warm and Harry was glad to be outside more. Dudley was outside more too, which meant Harry must always be on his guard for him. But the tree in the backyard was enough to deter his cousin for now. So, after Dudley got bored of chasing Harry and went to go find his friends, Harry settled himself to read his newly arrived letter.

He was shocked when he first saw that his return letter had disappeared and every morning he had carefully checked under the front mat for another. He wasn't sure how the letters were coming and going. Just this morning he checked and there had been nothing. After checking he had gotten to the sidewalk, but he remembered forgetting his lunch on the table. Then there it was, as he walked back to the front door, though he knew he definitely hadn't seen it earlier.

To Mr. Potter, Number 4, Privet Drive

Upon pursuing the atrocity that was your last correspondence, I have concluded that you are in dire need of penmanship lessons. So I have included a short spelling assignment, which consists of all of the incorrect words from your previous letter. If you do not comply to complete that assignment with the highest standard, I will not be reading the reply.

It was still written with all those words Harry didn't know, but he thought he got the idea of it. Harry looked at another piece of paper in the envelope and the long list of words. He didn't think he misspelled all of those words and he could swear that he hadn't used some of them at all. He turned back to the letter.

I must advise you to observe all my requests as I list them. I am dumbfounded by your lack of understanding, which was apparent in your response. I specifically require that you record your activities with your relations and the manner in which they express their behavior towards you. If I have not made this as painfully clear as possible, then describe the place in which you reside in the home, and if the Dursleys meet your daily nutritional requirements. I will be most displeased if you are unable to comprehend such simple instructions.

He frowned. Was he asking for Harry to talk about his cupboard? Or if the Dursleys fed him? This was very strange.

Do not bother to ask me any more ridiculous questions. I do not have a residence nearby your neighborhood, nor in your country, at the moment. Do not go through the inconvenience of trying to befriend my acquaintance.

Sincerely,

Professor Severus Snape

Potions Master

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

-

Dear Professor Severus Snape,

I dont no why you want to no abot the Dursleys. They arnt rely nice. I sleep in the cupboard undr the stares. It is smal and has a loc on it. I dont like it wen they loc it but sometimes its ok. I get food evry day not when Im bad. Im punishd rite now because Dudley calld me a freak and I got mad. He hit me and uncl Vernon yelld at me for geting in fites. Uncl Vernon calls me freak to and I dont like it. Can you come back and see me again? Im outsid more because its warm. We culd play outsid then Dudley wont hit you then for being my friend.

Harry