Harry woke up with a groan. He felt strangely comfortable. Nope, he definately wasn't with the Dursleys. His eyes snapped open as he remembered the events of the day before: the fire, Lady Shiara, Snape...

Harry tried to sit up, but flinched as pain shot up his body. The bruises in which his uncle had hit him stood out as clearly as ever on his pale skin. Besides, he wasn't in the mood for food. Not after the dream...

He shuddered as he recalled the dream. He had relived both Cedric and Sirius' deaths; Both had accused him of killing them. He had felt awful, crying out blinding as his godfather once again fell over and floated across the room and under the veil, disappearing from sight, as Voldemort's chilling voice rang out:

Kill the spare.

Harry shuddered involuntarily. It was as if Cedric meant nothing, as if the Hufflepuff was nothing for than a spare, a mistake. His scar was burning again, prickling annoyingly from time to time. And worst of all was that Snape had seen him squirm in his dream, seen his weakness, heard him scream and cry.

The clock chimed for breakfast, but Harry pointedly ignored it. He didn't want to eat, didn't want to face Snape. Besides, it wasn't as if he could have gotten up without falling.

He was extremely bored. Fortunately, bookshelves and books lined the edge of his room. Peering at the covers, he saw one which read, "Potions: The Art of Brewing". 'Ha!' Harry thought sardonically. 'Imagine if Snape knew that Harry Potter was sitting in his library reading about Potions of all things.' Raising his voice, he called out, "Accio Potions book!"

A dozen different books flew across the room, landing in front of Harry. Picking out a specific book, he banished the rest of them back across the room without another thought.

He flipped open the book he had chosen and turning to page one, was about to read when he suddenly froze. Realization hit him with the force of a brick wall. He had managed to summon the book without a wand! Gathering his strength, he tried again. "Accio, parchment!"

The piece of spare parchment flew into his waiting hand. Harry stared at it, disbelievingly. 'Interesting,' he thought, amused. 'Maybe it works only for the Summoning and Banishing Charm.' To test his theory, he raise his hand and concentrating on the Potions book, said firmly, "Wingardium Leviosa!" To his surprise, the book flew up into the air.

After a bit more practise, Harry realized that he could do most of the spells had learned at school, although it took a lot of energy out of him. He sighed as he realized that some day, the wandless magic would become useful, After all, he knew in his heart that he would have to face and defeat Voldemort one day. And he woul dneed all the help he could get.

Sighing, he flipped open the book and began to read.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Severus waited patiently for Albus to arrive. He had owled the Headmaster about Sebastien, and Albus had agreed to meet him.

And Sebastien. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was worried for the boy. It was almost dinner time, and the boy hadn't come down for breakfast or lunch.

There was a bang in the fire and Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace, robes flowing magestically.

"Ah, good evening, Severus. How nice to see you."

"Good evening, Headmaster," Severus growled, annoyed by Dumbledore's optimism and cheerfulness.

"I recieved your owl about Sebastien," Albus continued. "May I see him?"

"Of course."

Ringing a bell, Severus sent a House Elf to retrieve Sebastien. He watched as the boy walked into the room a minute later. For a second, surprise flashed acrossed the child's features. Then, they were gone, as quickly as they had appeared.

"Sebastien," Severus said. "This is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."

There was something about the voice, the tone, that sounded utterly familiar. Shaking his head, Severus concentrated on Albus' voice.

"... I will have to ask you a few questions. Answer them you if you can." Dumbledore was saying.

"Yes, sir." Sebastien nodded in comprehension, his eyes betraying none of his emotions.

"What is your full name, and who are you parents?"

"My name is Sebastien," the boy replied. "I'm an orphan. I don't remember who I was raised by, therefore I don't know my last name."

Dumbledore nodded. "What age are you?"

"Sixteen, sir."

"I suppose that you have no idea how you ended up in Snape Manor?" The Headmaster's eyes twinkled merrily.

"That's correct."

"Very well. For now, you will stay with Severus. You will go to Hogwarts in a few weeks for schooling as a sixth year. You have until the beginning of term to think of a suitable last name for yourself. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." The boy quickly left the room.

"Severus," Dumbledore said. "You must be careful of what you say and do around Sebastien. He is a very sensitive child; he had been through much, much more than you will ever imagine."

Severus looked curiously at the Headmaster; how did Albus know of this?

"You will have to question him about his scars and bruisings. But be gentle and encouraging; he is not a normal child. And you will have to teach him in the various subjects until the term starts." Albus took out a small, silver watch and glanced at it. "Oh dear, I really must run. Goodbye, Severus." Taking a handful of Floo Powder, the Headmaster stepped into the fire and disappeared.

Sighing, Severus went back to marking papers.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At seven p.m, Harry, feeling slightly hungery, went downstairs for food.

After dinner, he was about to go back to his room when Snape spoke. "Sebastien, I wish to talk to you."

"Yes, sir," he replied, his voice emotionless, not showing any of his curiosity. "What is it?"

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but how did you get those scars? Sebastien, I must know in order to help you."

Harry froze at the question, panic rising in his chest as images of Uncle Vernon came into mind: the sharp, kitchen knife, cutting into this shoulder, the look of cruel delight on Vernon's face, the swishing of the whip, beating him mercilessly, again and again...

"Answer me, boy!" Snape's voice was loud and obviously irritated.

Harry winced as the voice, so similar to his uncle's rang through the air. Out of habit, he raised his arms protectively in front of his face, ready to block the blow he knew would soon come. He began to tremble. 'No,' he thought, 'Not in front of Snape!' But he couldn't help it. He shuddered, remembering the pain and agony...

Suddenly, he couldnt' stand it anymore. Without hearing Snape callign his name, he raced out of the room, disappearing down the hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but how did you get those scars? Sebastien, I must know in order to help you." Severus tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. He did not notice the way the boy stiffened.

After waiting for a few minutes, the Potions Master began to feel annoyed. What did the boy think he was doing, ignoring him? "Answer me, boy!" He barked out.

This time, the reaction was obvious. The boy visibly cowered, crouching as he threw his hands in front of his face. Severus cursed himself for his forgetfulness; hadn't Albus just told him to be careful of upsetting the other?

"Sebastien, Sebastien..." he called, keeping his voice soft and soothing, missing the usual note of menace.

The boy did not seem to hear him. Suddenly, the child bolted up and ran out of the room. Severus immediately followed.

He found the boy in the corner of the library, curled up into a ball, trembling visibly.

"Sebastien, it's okay, you're safe..." Severus reached up and put his hand uncertainly on the boy's shoulders.

Sebastien appeared terrified, flinching at his touch. Whimpering, he curled up even tighter, grabbing his knees and hugging it to his chest.

"Sebastien," Severus said again. "It's okay, no one will harm you..."

The words had absolutely no effect. If possible, the boy just seemed to curl up tighter.

Severus went and brought back a bottle of Calming Draught. He walked up to the boy but was suddenly stopped. Looking carefully, Severus saw hat the boy had created a shield. Pulling out his wand, he whispered the counter charm and the curse disappeared.

When he tried to approach the child, however, the boy screamed. A blue light appeared from nowhere and hitting the Potions Master in the chest, threw him at the wall.

The blue beam of light circled around and around the crying boy, picking up speed, spinning faster and faster...

By the time Severus looked up, the blue light had faded and there was nothing in the spot the boy had been sitting. Sebastien was gone.