Wiping at the sweat on his neck, Harry shifted uncomfortably on his knees as he continued pulling weeds out of the ground. His hands were red with irritation and he also had a few blisters. He was most likely allergic. Not that it really mattered. He dared to glance up at the two boys playing in the back yard next to the Dursley's. Sighing, he imagined himself playing with them and having fun. 

Suddenly aware over the fact that there was a shadow over him, Harry looked up to see a man with black hair dragged back into a pony tail, dressed in worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt. "Hello there" The man greeted him and crouched down with a little smile on his face. Harry ducked his head down and tried to stay calm. "Hi" He piped out. "It's a bit warm for a little boy like you to be doing gardening isn't it?" Harry stayed silent and hoped the man would just go away. 

"Would you like me to take a look at your hands? They look a bit painful" The stranger said and Harry tried to ignore the stinging but it was getting worse. Biting his lip he hesitantly put up his small hands for the man to see. The man put one of his hands behind his back. Harry looked behind him and was glad to see none of the Dursley's nearby inside or outside. 

"Here we go" The man said and unscrewed the cap on the lotion like thing he had in his hand and Harry puzzled over why the man would walk around with such a thing. "It might be a bit cold alright?" Harry nodded uncertain as the stranger took his hand gently and applied a thin layer of lotion on his hand before doing the same to the other. 

To Harry's amazement, he watched as the blisters became smaller and smaller until they disappeared and  his skin returned to it's normal colour in a few seconds. Smiling brightly he grinned up at the stranger. "Thank you Mister!" He said gratefully and looked down at his hands again. He never noticed how the stranger had frozen in place, even just for a small minute. 

"No need to call me Mister!" He protested. "My name's Severus Snape, you may call me Severus or Sev if that's a bit hard to pronounce" Harry grinned. "Thank you Sevus!" He said again. "I'm Harry" Severus smiled tightly. "It's very nice to meet you Harry. Is your Aunt Petunia?" Harry nodded and lost his grin. Sighing, Severus put away his salve and pocketed it as he stood. "I need to talk to her for a moment, will you be alright here alone for a while Harry? Why don‘t you rest in the shadows for a moment?" Severus asked and looked at the boy with both guilt and concern. As Harry nodded, he gave him a small smile before walking up the door and knocking before letting himself and let his anger show. 

"You! What are you doing here?! I do not want your kind in my house!" Petunia shrieked as she met Severus in the hallway. "What have you done to that child Petunia?! His what, four years old now? He shouldn't be pulling out weeds with his bare hands in such temperatures! Alone! And he's so small and thin!" Severus said loudly but refrained from yelling. "That.. child... got what it deserved and nothing more. He should be grateful for what we‘ve given him" Petunia sneered. Staring at Petunia with hatred and anger Severus tried to not reach for his wand and do something that would get him in trouble.

"This is not over. I'm taking him with me, I won't let you harm him anymore" Severus spat and turned only to spot Harry holding the door open and looking at him with wide eyes. "Would you like that Harry? To get away from here?" Severus asked and was shocked when Harry ran forward and latched himself to his legs. "Please. Please take me away Sevus!" Harry begged and looked up at him with tears in his eyes. 

"Grab your things and we'll go" Severus watched as the little boy walked over to the cupboard under the stairs, and got a few clothes from the inside and two little toy soldiers. Nodding while trying to control his anger at the Dursley's Severus held out his hand for the boy to take. Harry grasped it tightly and followed Severus out to the door to never come back. 

The two walked over to the neighbours driveway where Severus once again crouched down to look Harry in the eyes. "A couple of my friends live here and my son Draco is staying with them. We're going to pick Draco up then we'll go to Hogwarts to visit Headmaster Dumbledore so he can help you out" Severus explained. Harry looked at Severus uncertain. "What's Hogwarts?" He questioned quietly. "It's a school for wizards and witches to learn about magic. I work there and teach in positions" Harry just looked even more uncertain but didn't say anymore and Severus didn't push any further. 

"Come on, let's go get Draco" Sev said and stood up properly. His hand was grasped immediately by Harry as they started walking up the driveway and knocked on the door. It didn't take long before the door was opened by an enthusiastic Draco who was about to jump onto his dad when he saw that he was accompanied by someone he'd never seen before. "Hi daddy!" He said with a grin and let himself be hugged. "Hey kiddo! Did you have good time?" Severus asked with a grin. Nodding quickly he stared at Harry. 

"Draco this is Harry. He's going to come with us to visit Headmaster Dumbledore today" Staring shyly at Draco, Harry thought he looked nice enough. Draco smiled. "Hi Harry, have you ever been to Hogwarts before? It's really fun and the Headmaster always has candy" Draco said excited. Severus raised his eyebrow and looked down at Draco. "Well it's seems you've had enough candy young man. Get your things and we'll be going" As Draco went to say good bye and get everything, Severus briefly tried to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Jones about Harry. Waving good bye the three walked over to an alley where Severus quickly took Harry's clothes before apparating them to Hogsmeade. 

Harry screamed and let go off Severus's hand and look frightened up at Severus. "It's okay Harry, I'm sorry I didn't explain to what I was going to do. That was very dumb of me and I apologize. Apparating can be a bit scary the first few times. I promise I or someone else will explain everything to you okay? But first we need to see the Headmaster" Severus said softly. Draco took pity on the boy and stood closer to him. "I was afraid too but dad is a really good wizard and takes really good care of me and I almost never get hurt with him" Draco said and took Harry's hand and started walking towards Hogwarts. "Those are really nice, I have soldiers too but they are bigger and they move" Harry listened intently as Draco rambled the whole walk up to the Hogwarts, telling him about everything that passed through his mind. Severus, who was by now very used to his son's ramblings, walked behind them. Harry gasped as they entered the castle and saw that the paintings were moving but Draco carried on walking and Harry was forced to keep up. 

Knocking on the Headmasters door, he smiled down at the boys as he waited for Dumbledore to let them in. The door started opening and Severus ushered the boys in while Dumbledore greeted them from behind his desk. "Headmaster" Severus said and nodded. "Draco, why don't you and Harry play on the soda while I talk to the Headmaster?" Draco nodded and took Harry with him. When he looked back at Dumbledore the smile on the old man's face was gone, replaced with a frown. 

Putting a spell over himself and the Headmaster so the boys wouldn't hear what they were talking about Severus sat down in one of the chairs. "I expect there‘s a good explanation for why Mr. Potter is here Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "The Dursley's have been abusing him Headmaster. Draco's friend, Steven, has recently moved. I had no idea that Harry lived in the neighbourhood until I spotted him doing gardening, alone, under the glaring warmth of the sun. I started talking to him and managed to get his hands healed which had had an allergic reaction to some of the weeds he was pulling out without gloves" Severus started. 

"After healing his hands I got him to rest in the shadows while I went inside to speak with his aunt, and when I confronted her about my suspicions, she didn't even try to deny it and said that Harry deserved it and should be grateful for everything they had done. I took Harry with me, his clothes and a few toys. After picking up Draco we came here" Dumbledore looked over at Harry who giggled at something Draco had said. 

Sighing, Dumbledore looked at Severus. "I never suspected. He is their nephew after all. I will speak with the ministry, I will get someone to come talk to both you and Harry tomorrow so an official report can be made and they can be punished" Severus nodded. "Thank you Headmaster. We will be going to the Manor for the time being" Ending the spell. "Would you like some lemon drops children?" Dumbledore asked and Draco eagerly jumped up and nodded. "Yes please!" He stated and held out his arm. Dumbledore placed to on the palm of his hand. "I'm sure young Harry would like one too" Dumbledore said with a smile as his eyes twinkled. "Thank you Sir. Headmaster" Harry said quietly and popped the lemon drop in his mouth. 

"Let's go home boys" Severus said. Picking Harry up he quickly explained that they were going to floo over to the Manor and it was nothing to be scared off. Clinging to Severus as they stepped into the fire place, he squeezed his eyes shut as Sev called out "Snape Manor!" loud and clearly.