After arranging for the majority of Harry's clothes to be sent to Hogwarts, taking only what he needed for the night, Severus managed to drag Harry away from Draco at Madam Malkin's with the promise that they would see each other on the train the next day. He and Harry then stopped briefly at the apothecary, the bookshop and the baggage supplier, talking to a clerk at each one and arranging to have Harry's school supplies and new trunk sent to Severus's rooms at Hogwarts. They ate dinner in the dining room at the Leaky Cauldron, finding several of the Hogwarts professors also dining. That odious Quirrell was sitting at a table near the back and Severus made sure that he and Harry sat as far away from him as possible.

Harry talked non-stop about his new friend in between bites of food before sleep caught up with him and he nearly passed out onto his plate.

When they arrived back at the room, Severus barely managed to get him bathed and changed into one of the new sets of pyjamas before he collapsed from exhaustion. Severus lifted Harry into the second bed, where he was instantly asleep, curled up in the fetal position and taking up so little room that he was nearly invisible beneath the covers.

Watching Harry for a moment, Severus silently cursed Dumbledore for getting him into this predicament. Deciding that that train of thought would do him no good at all, he retreated to the fireplace to call the headmaster.

"Can you come through, Albus?" Severus asked when Dumbledore's head appeared in the Floo.

"Just give me a minute, Severus. His head disappeared and a moment later Dumbledore stepped out. Brushing the soot from his robes, he surveyed the room, his eyes falling on the sleeping Harry.

"Ah, you have him with you, Severus," Dumbledore observed. "Very good."

"No, Albus," Severus hissed. "It is not very good." At Dumbledore's questioning look, Severus took hold of his arm and led him over to the bed. The scars on Harry's face and arm stood out in stark relief.

Dumbledore drew in a sharp breath.

"Were you aware of this?" Severus demanded. "Did you know when you left him with those Muggles that this would be the result?"

Dumbledore sagged slightly. "Minerva warned me that they were not fit, but I had thought that Lily's sister…"

Severus made a slashing motion with his hand, cutting off Dumbledore's excuses. "Did you ask me, Albus? I knew Petunia when we were children. I saw her jealousy and hatred towards anything magical. I would have told you that they were not fit to care for your Chosen One."

Dumbledore turned and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "Tell me what happened."

Severus sat across from him and told him everything. At the end, Dumbledore's face was grey and he was looking away from Severus as if he couldn't stand to see the accusation in his eyes.

"And now, Headmaster," Severus concluded. "You will have someone at the Ministry draw up guardianship papers for Harry. You will name me as his guardian and you will have his name listed as Evan Snape." Severus leaned forward. "I want this done before the Sorting tomorrow. Also, I don't care what you have to do, all of this must stay out of the papers. No one must know that this child is Harry Potter."

Dumbledore sighed. "You are right, of course. If it got out that Harry Potter was this injured, he would be dead before the month was out. I will have the paperwork filed and a copy sent to you tomorrow morning." He started to rise out of the chair, but Severus stopped him.

"We need to talk about his living arrangements. Regardless of which House he is sorted into, he cannot reside in the dorms."

Dumbledore nodded. "I suggest that we add a room to your quarters and have him live with you. That way you can work on healing him as much as possible. I will arrange for tutors to catch him up on the basic education that he has missed. I don't think it would be wise for him to attend classes until we know what he will be capable of and if any of his sight can be restored."

Severus was aghast. "Albus, surely it would not be necessary for him to reside with me." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realised how ridiculous they sounded. Of course the boy would live with him. Where else would he go? Obviously he had not been thinking clearly today and had been merely running on anger and the need to fix Lily's son.

"You will be his guardian. It is the only logical solution." Dumbledore echoed his thoughts exactly and this time when he stood, Severus did not stop him.

"I will let Poppy know that Harry will be arriving tomorrow and to expect him in the Hospital wing soon after." Albus said as he approached the floo. Then he was gone. Severus sat in the chair and leaned his head against the back, wondering yet again what he had done to deserve this.

~HPSSHPSS~

The screaming and the unbelievable level of magical energy swirling around the room woke Severus, and in an instant he was on his feet, wand in his hand, looking for the threat. It took a minute to realise that the horrific sounds and gut wrenching sobs were coming from Harry. The extreme bursts of magic causing the windows to rattle violently and the lamps next to the beds to shatter were coming from Harry.

Severus dropped his wand on the bedside table and pulled Harry out of the tangle of covers, folded him into his arms and tried desperately to wake the boy.

"Harry, you need to wake up," he said repeatedly as he rocked the boy, his arms locked around Harry to prevent him from thrashing. The screaming sobs became a low keening, the magic settled, and a moment later Harry was clutching desperately at Severus's nightshirt and burying his head into Severus's chest.

It was nearly an hour before a nearly incoherent Harry was settled and back to sleep with the help of a small amount of Dreamless Sleep. Severus sat on the edge of the bed, his nightshirt wet with tears and snot, wondering how in hell he was going to cope with this child. He had no clue how to deal with these emotional outbursts, much less the wild magic. Maybe the resignation he had threatened Dumbledore with was not such a bad idea after all.

Dawn was breaking when Severus finally crawled back into his own bed. He knew that he was stuck with Harry and the worst part was that it had been his own idea. He pulled the pillow over his head and decided not to think about it until later. Much, much later.

~HPSSHPSS~

Something was different. For a moment, Harry could not decide what it was. He reached out a hand, running it over the blanket and sheets covering him. He was in a bed. A real bed. He remembered what they looked like, from back when he could see. He had made them up every day, changed the sheets once a week, but had never actually been in one.

As memories from the day before raced through his head, he pushed back the covers and felt for the edge of the bed. Once his hand curled around the edge of the mattress, he flipped onto his stomach and slowly lowered his feet over the side and onto the floor with a soft thump. He stood there for a moment, afraid to move, but the need to use the toilet was becoming urgent and he would need time to find the loo.

Carefully he reached a hand out behind him, hoping to find the wall. Instead, he ran into another bed. That wasn't good, it meant that he was in the middle of the room. He brought his hand back to his own bed and felt his way around to the other side. Then he reached again, hoping for a wall. Nothing.

With a sigh, he sat down on the floor and began feeling his way towards what he hoped was the wall. Finally, he reached it and pulled himself to standing again. Then, little by little, he worked his way around the room.

He stopped for a bit at the window, feeling the warmth of the morning sun coming through, and put a hand on the glass. He wanted to stand there for the rest of the morning, just soaking up the warmth, but right now that was out of the question.

He continued on his journey to find the loo, bumping into a desk in the corner, before finally finding a door. Carefully, he turned the knob, hoping that this was the toilet and not the door out to the hallway.

Hanging on to the doorknob, he felt along the wall just inside the door with his other hand, and when he felt the sink, he knew he had the right place. With a sigh of relief, he worked his way to the toilet.

~HPSSHPSS~

Severus woke to the sound of a low thump and dragged the pillow off his head. Looking around the room, trying to find the source of the noise, he saw Harry standing between the beds. Harry reached behind himself and touched Severus's bed. After a hesitation, he grasped his own bed again and then began to work his way around to the side nearest the wall.

Severus said nothing, merely observed, while Harry found his way to the loo, but a sick feeling built up in his stomach at the thought that this was what the child went through every day. Harry probably hadn't even considered the idea that he could have asked for help. In Harry's world, there was no help.

Severus tried to push his conscience back into the box where it usually lived, but it was out and staying out. At least where Harry was concerned. Severus climbed out of bed and waited for Harry to emerge from the loo.

Afterwards, Severus helped him dress, showing him how to button his new shirt and trousers, how to put the robes on correctly and how to tie his shoes. When Harry successfully managed to tie both shoes by himself after the fourth try, he grinned with excitement. "I did it!" he exclaimed.

"I had no doubt that you could," Severus replied calmly, but inside he found himself seething once more at Petunia and her stupid Muggle family. That Harry had gone three years without learning any of the basics was unconscionable and Severus vowed to have revenge.

He looked Harry over closely, making sure that his distinctive lightning bolt scar would not stand out. It was there, but mostly hidden by his hair and partly obscured by the other scars. Severus was certain that it would go unnoticed. As a precaution, Severus added a slight sticking charm to Harry's fringe so that it wouldn't move unexpectedly.

Breakfast was taken at the same table as dinner the night before, with Severus keeping a wary eye on the other occupants of the room while Harry greedily ate bacon and eggs.

"How long before we go to the train station?" Harry asked when he finished eating, his hands twisting the serviette nervously in his lap.

"Soon," Severus replied. He took a sip of tea and watched an old witch talking with Tom. "I have some documents that should be delivered here this morning and we'll leave after that."

Not long after Severus finished his tea, a barn owl flew through the door and landed on the table in front of him. Giving the owl a treat as payment, Severus retrieved the large package and the owl left the way it had come.

Scanning the documents, Severus made sure that all of the information was correct. The note attached from Dumbledore assured Severus that the originals that had been filed at the Ministry were conveniently "lost" so that the Daily Prophet and other undesirable parties wouldn't have access to the information.

Severus flicked his wand and muttered a silencing charm around their table.

"I have received the paperwork granting my guardianship for you and officially changing your name to Evan Snape," he told Harry.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. "So no one will know that I'm Harry Potter."

"Only you, Headmaster Dumbledore, Poppy the medi-witch at Hogwarts and I will know. It's the only way to keep you safe."

Harry reached out a hand and Severus took it. Harry's grip was surprisingly strong as he clenched his fingers around Severus's.

"You don't need to be afraid, Harry," Severus said. "You will be protected."

Severus felt a bit of Harry's magic flare up, rattling his empty teacup. An instant later, it was gone. Severus wondered what had set the magic off, or if Harry was even aware of what he had done.

"Why did you decide to call me Evan?" Harry asked after a moment.

"Your mother's name was Lily Evans. I thought it was…appropriate." Harry smiled, the sweetest, most innocent smile Severus had ever seen.

"You won't forget that you promised to tell me about her." Harry squeezed Severus's fingers again.

"No. I never forget my promises."

Harry looked like he didn't quite believe Severus, but said nothing.

Severus cancelled the silencing charm. "Time to go," he said.

~HPSSHPSS~

Harry didn't like Apparating the second time any better than the first, but this time didn't complain. He didn't want the professor thinking that he was whiny and decide that he didn't want Harry after all. Ironically, he had no reservations about pressing close to Professor Snape and gripping his hand as tightly as he could. There was an overwhelming amount of noise at the train station and the constant sensation of other people surrounding him was intensely frightening, almost more than he could take. He wanted to find a small, quiet place that he could curl up in and hide.

Instead, he buried his face into the professor's robes and clenched his free hand in the pocket of his trousers, trying hard to calm the fine tremours. He felt a breeze swirl around him and suddenly the white noise pressing against his ears was louder. He thought he could hear individual voices.

He felt the professor kneel down next to him. "Evan," he started.

"I want to go," Harry whimpered. "I don't want to do this."

Harry felt the professor take a deep breath and then wind his free hand around Harry, pulling him in close. "I'll be with you. I'm not leaving you here."

Harry felt the panic ease, just a bit. The breeze around him calmed.

"Promise," Harry insisted.

"I promise that I will stay with you the entire trip."

Harry nodded and loosened his death grip on Professor Snape's hand, but didn't let go entirely. He pulled his other hand out of his pocket and dragged his sleeve across his face. Suddenly, he felt a soft cloth of some sort pressed into his hand.

"It's a handkerchief," the professor said. "Use it, not your sleeve, to wipe your face."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, doing just that, then tried to hand it back to the professor.

"Put it in your pocket so you'll have it for later."

Harry stuffed it into the pocket of his robes, next to his wand.

"Better?" the professor asked.

"Yes, sir."

"You can do this, I know you're strong enough." He felt the professor shift a bit. "Draco's here."

Professor Snape stood as Harry felt a different, smaller hand on his arm. "Hi, Evan," Draco's voice, close to his ear, was full of excitement.

"Hi, Draco," Harry replied, smiling a little. "I'm glad you're here."

The hand on his arm squeezed a bit. "It will be fun finally going to school." There was a pause. "Oh, look, it's the Weasels." There was something nasty in Draco's voice. He sounded like Dudley. Harry started and felt the breeze start up again, just a little.

Harry heard Professor Snape's voice rumble, but couldn't understand the words. Draco said something back that sounded like "blood traitors."

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I didn't understand what you said."

He felt Draco shuffle next to him. "Nothing," he said.

Harry pulled on the professor's hand. "What did Draco say?"

He felt Draco pull his hand away. "I didn't mean it!" he exclaimed.

"Then tell me."

The professor said something else. Draco sighed.

"I called the Weasleys blood traitors."

Harry tipped his head to the side. "Who are the Weasleys?"

The professor was kneeling at his side again. "They're a family of wizards. They have seven children and the youngest boy is starting this year."

"Why did Draco call them blood traitors? What does that mean?"

Neither of them answered for a moment. "It means that they're pureblood Wizards, but they like Muggles and Muggle-borns and will associate with them," Draco finally admitted.

Harry shifted closer to the professor. "So you don't like them because they like people like me."

"I…I…" Draco stammered. The light breeze became a wind and the noises outside of Harry's ears increased again. Professor Snape was talking.

Harry tugged on the professor's hand. "Sir, I think I've changed my mind. Will you please tell Draco that I'd rather not be friends with him?"

"What!" Draco exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"

Harry gripped Professor Snape's hand tighter.

"I had years of my cousin Dudley being a bully and beating me up and calling me a freak. I'm not going to be friends with someone like that. If you really didn't mean it, you have to prove it." Harry really didn't want to lose Draco's friendship, but he wasn't going to be friends with a bully.

"How?" Draco asked.

"What's the boy's name that's starting this year?"

There was a pause. "Ron, I think."

"Go get him and let me meet him." Harry was shaking. He felt Professor Snape pull him a bit closer, until he was almost pressed up against him. He heard the professor's voice again, telling Draco…something.

"All right, all right." Draco huffed. "I'll do it, but I don't promise that it will work."

The breeze around Harry settled again.

"He's gone, Evan," Professor Snape said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to, sir," Harry felt like he was going to fall over from nervousness. "I can't let him get away with that."

"You know that he may not be successful getting Mr. Weasley to come over. They have never liked each other."

"I know. He has to try, though. Will you tell me what's going on?"

"Draco is talking to Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley is yelling and waving his arms. Draco is talking again." Harry felt Professor Snape's chest rumble with an unheard laugh. "Now both boys are on their way here."

Suddenly Harry was terrified.