June 25th, 1993

It was the day of the leaving feast and Harry was wishing desperately that he didn't have to go. As he began putting food on his plate, he ignored the relieved looks on his friend's faces, reminding himself that as far as they knew, the only reason he hadn't been eating very much was due to what had happened in the chamber. They had no way of knowing that he had spent the last two weeks intentionally eating less to get himself used to the lack of food that he knew would once again come with Summer. The only reason he was allowing himself to eat a normal amount at the feast was because he didn't know when he'd be eating again.

He picked at the food in front of him, knowing he needed to eat, but his appetite was gone at the thought of going back to the Dursley's house. His 'family' was far from pleasant normally, but considering the way he had left the year before, he didn't like to think about what could be waiting for him. Ron had finished his second overflowing plate and seemed to be debating on a third by the time Harry had finished with his food. Seeing that Harry was finished, Hermione made Ron's decision for them by standing up and nearly dragging the two of them with her.

"Come on! We need to go back to the dorms and make sure that we didn't forget anything before it's time to get on the train!" she said as Ron started to complain and Harry smiled slightly knowing that it was only himself and Ron that she was worried about leaving something behind.

Ron sighed and seemed to give in and Harry smiled a little more as he had a feeling Ron was remembering the fact that his method of packing had been to simply throw everything in sight into his truck. It was more than a little likely that Ron had forgotten a few things. Harry knew that he had everything packed already, but he wasn't going to protest and risk an argument with Hermione. He didn't have enough things to be able to forget them, his school supplies, uniforms and the Christmas presents from his friends were all packed in his truck. He wouldn't claim that his truck looked much neater then Ron's did, but he knew he had everything.

Harry steeled himself for a fight when he spotted Malfoy walking towards them with a look on his face that seemed to indicate he had been hoping to run into them. He would have been shocked enough when the other boy did nothing but intentionally bump into him and push past him, but the fact that the action disguised Malfoy slipping what felt like a piece of parchment into his hand had him blinking momentarily in shock as he turned to watch the other boy walk off as if nothing had just happened.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked, looking puzzled.

"Guess he's not brave enough to start anything without his bodyguards around." Ron replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry added, still distracted by whatever the other boy had handed him as he slipped the parchment into his pocket. For some reason, he wanted to find out what it would say before showing his friends. There was no reason in upsetting them if it was just another taunt.

Once the trio had made it into the dorm rooms, Ron instantly began nearly turning the room upside down in search of anything left that belonged to him. As his friend began throwing additional items into his truck, Harry sat on the edge of his bed, the half-closed curtains keeping himself out of Ron's line of sight. Curiosity keeping him from waiting any longer, he pulled the slip of parchment he had been handed out of his pocket and began to read.

Potter,
I know you have no reason to trust me, but I hope that you will at least give me a chance. For as long as I could remember my father told me that I was to befriend Harry Potter when I came to Hogwarts. Father has always known that the Dark Lord was not truly gone and his plan was that either a friendship with a Malfoy would turn you to 'our' side of things or it would enable to Dark Lord to easily be able to capture and defeat you once and for all upon his return.

There was someone who always tried to help me understood that my parents way of thinking wasn't the only one and the older I became the more I realized that their way not the right way. There are too many important people in history who were half-bloods or muggleborns for blood status to really be as important as Father says. I know that I have been … unpleasant in the past, but I did not want you to become my friend and be subject to my father's plan and as time went on, it was necessary to keep up appearances.

I tell you this now because my father has gone too far. I know of his involvement in what has happened this year and I know that he wishes for me to be involved with some of his plans in the future. I will attempt to free myself from my father's wishes this Summer. I know that your relatives are unpleasant, though I do not understand why others have not realized this as well. If the person I seek help from proves trustworthy, perhaps they will be able help you as well. I will attempt to send word to you later this Summer if all goes as planned.

- Draco Malfoy

Harry sat in shock for a moment after finishing the letter. He had no idea what to make of what the other boy was saying. Could it be a trick? If Malfoy knew about his relatives then he could have already told the press or used it as blackmail … unless he wanted Harry to admit it and give him proof. He had been so careful to hide everything that he knew the other boy couldn't yet have anything more than suspicions. It was always possible that Malfoy was telling the truth, but Harry wasn't one to trust easily. He would have to be careful.

"Harry? You finished? I think I have everything now." Ron called from the other side of the room.

"Yeah, I'm done." Harry said, quickly shoving the letter back into his pocket.
He decided to put it out of his mind for now. He wanted to enjoy the rest of the time he had with his friends. He would have all Summer to figure out what was going on with Draco Malfoy.

It was two weeks after the end of his second year and Draco Malfoy was ready to enact part two of his plan. After two weeks of careful spying, he hoped he had enough evidence both in his memory and on his body to ensure that his father would be arrested. He felt another slight pang of guilt at the thought, but he knew that it was the only way. He had heard his father reminiscing about muggle hunting with some of his friends and he was horrified that anyone could do the things his father described. He couldn't let himself end up being forced to do those kinds of things, he wouldn't.

He had waited until he knew his parents were asleep before pulling out his school trunk and packing it to the brim. With that done, he pulled out the overnight bag that he had asked a house elf to charm to be much bigger on the inside when he was seven. At the time, it had been so he could pack half of his toys to take with him to his Uncle Severus' house, now it was to make sure that he had all of his important belongings packed inside. He couldn't afford to forget anything. Anything that didn't come with him tonight he knew he would likely never see again.

With the bag and trunk packed he took one last look around the room and gathered the courage to do what he knew he had to do. The soreness from his last punishment reminded him why it had to be done. It would only get worse if he stayed and he would find himself forced into doing the same and worse to others. He tapped the top of his truck and shrunk it before placing it into his pocket and picking up the overnight bag. Draco took a deep breath before walking as quietly as he could to the sitting room.

He took a pinch of floo powder from the jar by the fireplace and threw it into the fire before calling out "Severus Snape's Quarters, Hogwarts. Lily." and stepping inside. His godfather was the only chance he had. The man had promised him long ago that he was the only person who had the password to his floo and he desperately hoped that was true. As he stepped into his godfather's quarters, he knew there was no going back.

He quickly dropped his bags in shock as an alarm began sounding his godfather came rushing into the room with his wand drawn, "It's me, Uncle Severus!" Draco said quickly.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked quickly, casting a quick spell to turn on the lights before lowering his wand and looking as though he wasn't sure whether to be angry or worried.

"I can't do this anymore." The boy replied softly, "I can't stay there."

"What do you mean?" his godfather questioned as his face shifted completely to a worried expression.

"You always told me not to except everything I was told without doing research and you gave me all those books about how Merlin and Morgana and so many other important people were muggleborn or half-blood." Draco began carefully, "You're … you're not loyal to the Dark Lord are you?" he asked with fear and hope clear in his face.

Severus looked as though he was fighting a war with himself and it was nearly a solid minute before the man responded, "No. I was truly a spy for the light." he admitted.

With that response, Draco lost all composure and threw himself at his godfather, wrapping the man in a hug, "Please help me, Uncle Severus. I can't stay with them, I can't do the things they want me to do." he pleaded.

The man looked startled for a second before gently patting the boy on the back. Draco's quick intact of breath at the contact caused him to pull away from the child's embrace and drop down to his knees, looking the boy in the eye, "Did he hurt you?" he asked, the look of worry on his face suddenly becoming even more intense than before.

Draco looked down at his feet for a long moment before replying, "It's not that bad." he said softly.

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if to compose himself, "Where are you hurt?" he asked gently.

"My back." The boy replied, "Granger beat me for the top of the class and ... he caught me spying on him a of couple times."

"Oh, Draco, let me see." was the man's response.

Draco sighed, knowing that it had to be done but still trying to fight back a blush as well as tears as he carefully pulled his shirt over his head before turning around to allow his godfather to see the damage.

"The cane?" the man questioned, anger clear in his voice as he saw the bruising and Draco simply nodded.

"Don't heal it yet." the boy pleaded, "He'll come after me if can. Take a picture or … or take me to Saint Mungos … whatever you have to do so they arrest him. I know things now, Uncle Severus. If they let me give them my memories he won't get away this time. I can't go back, I can't."

"Are you certain, Draco?" Severus asked in a tone that Draco knew was reserved for only the most serious situations.

"I have to." was the soft reply.

"I have training as a healer, if I treat you I will be allowed to testify and as a healer I can ask for versitarium when they question me as to your injuries so they cannot deny that it is the truth." Severus said before standing up placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, "Come with me and I shall treat your injuries. I'm afraid it may take a while to heal those bruises, but I have a balm that will help."

As they made their way towards what Draco knew was the man's guest bedroom, the boy gave a small sigh of relief. The second part of his plan had gone off perfectly and he knew that his godfather would do everything possible to keep him safe. Now if the ministry would believe what he told them, his plan would be complete and he would finally be truly safe. Then he could see about making sure Potter didn't need help as well.

It was blatantly obvious that the other boy's guardians didn't care for him. He never received letters or packages from them and he never went home except when it was mandatory for Summer break. He had noticed the other boy flinching when touched on more than one occasion and his careful movements at the beginning of the year were cause for worry as well. He didn't want anyone else to go through what he had and if he was going to place himself on the side of the light, he knew that it was time to start looking out for the-boy-who-was-clearly-very-important.

~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had spent most of the morning following Draco's appearance at his quarters at the ministry where the boy was questioned endlessly on what he knew about his father's less legal activities. Severus had requested that Madam Bones be there and as she was one of the few people who knew the full truth about his spying, she had agreed. She had allowed Draco to give his memories for evidence and she had agreed to give the boy versitarium with the pretense that she herself be the only one to question him. By the time the interview was done, no one in the room doubted that Lucius Malfoy would be spending many years in Azkaban, if not his entire life.

A team of Aurors had been informed of what was happening and instructed to distract Lucius until he could be arrested when he came to them about his missing son. It was nearly eleven in the morning and Madam Bones had just turned her attention to Severus, casting a one-way silencing charm so that Draco would not overhear and beginning her questioning of him when Lucius's loud and angry demands for someone to help him were heard in the room. Severus noticed Draco's fear and quickly asked the woman to cancel the charm for a moment as he headed to comfort his godson.

"He does not know that you are here, he will not find you." the man said as he placed a hand on his godson's shoulder, "I will not let him harm you again."
The thirteen year old simply nodded and Severus waited until they could no longer hear the other man's yelling before stepping away again and heading back towards Madam Bones who had an approving look on her face. He once again sat down in the chair across from her and she cast the silencing spell and resumed her questioning. After a long interview that consisted of seemingly endless questions on what he knew of Lucius' Death Eater activities as well if he had ever noticing anything suspicious about the man's behavior with Draco in the past, she had exhausted her questions and he was able to give his statement and memories of the previous night.

Once the interviews were finally finished, the pair was escorted to another room where they were given a late lunch. The meal wasn't particularly impressive, but after the long morning, Severus did not truly care very much and he knew that it wasn't likely Draco would either. After watching the child nervously picking at his food for several minutes, he decided to step in.

"You need to eat child, you have had a long day and it will be Saint Mungos after this." the man said softly.

Draco sighed softly, "Why do I have to go there too? They already have your memories of last night." he asked before sullenly picking up his fork and taking another bite of his food.

"The more evidence they have, the stronger the case will be, Draco." Severus replied, "And I believe that we both know it will be the abuse charges that will convince many of the Wizengamot members to convict your Father."

Child abuse was highly frowned upon among pureblood wizards as many purebloods were only able to have one child and abuse could damage or kill the only heir to the family line. Though abuse still occasionally occurred if the family felt that if their heir was not 'brought in line' they would not even be worthy of being the heir – a situation that occurred more often if the family had more than one child – it was still an uncommon occurrence and even for those who would privately support it, public support would be political suicide.

He watched the child give a small nod of acceptance and fought back a sigh. He had been teaching nearly as long as the boy sitting across from him had been alive and he hated the fact that he had still missed the signs of abuse. Draco was his godson and though his friendship with Lucius may have been an act, he had always cared for the young boy and though he had thought that Lucius might have been slightly too hard on Draco, he had never suspected actual abuse. The thought that he had missed that Lucius was hurting the boy was killing him and he was becoming more and more worried at just how much else he had missed if he had missed the signs of abuse in his own godson.

"It will not be as bad as you are expecting." Severus spoke, "They will want to photograph the bruises themselves as well as any scars. However, the rest of the visit will simply be the healer performing the medical history spell. It will take a short while as the spell will list each illness and injury you have ever fallen victim too, but unless an something has not healed correctly or has left side effects, that will be all."

"Promise?" Draco asked and Severus felt his heart clinch as he remembered just how very young thirteen really was.

"I promise." He replied as he made another promise to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep this boy safe from that moment on.

July 14th 1993

Harry was struggling to cook breakfast for the Dursley family with only one arm. The familiar pain he had felt in his arm when his uncle had aimed a kick at his face the night before and he had instinctively shielded his face told him that he wouldn't be able to use that arm for at least a few weeks. If he didn't manage to injure it again, it should be healed in time for Hogwarts, but he wouldn't place any bets that he would be able to avoid another injury to it.

He had dealt with broken bones in the past, but it was never a pleasant experience. It didn't matter how badly he was injured, Vernon never let up on him. His uncle accepted no 'excuses'. He had learned to work through pain a long time ago but his uncle had found a new way to punish him this Summer - payback for all that had happened the Summer before he was told – and it made everything that much harder to deal with.

He finally placed the last of the bacon onto Dudley's plate and began placing the plates on the table as quickly as possible. He knew that his uncle would be downstairs any minute and it wouldn't bode well for him if breakfast wasn't completely ready for Vernon to begin eating the moment he sat down. He breathed a tiny sigh of relief when he had just stepped away from the table after placing his aunt's plate when his uncle came barging into the room with Dudley behind him.

"Petunia! It's time for breakfast." the man ordered loudly, summoning his wife from the living room from where she was watching the news.

Harry heard the television click off and within a few seconds, Petunia had sat down at the table across from her husband. As usual, Dudley already had a piece of bacon in his mouth before his mother had even entered the room. Harry stood off to the side as his relatives ignored his existence and he waited for them to pass judgment on the food he had made. He tried to fight back his nerves as his uncle tasted everything in turn. He wasn't sure he could take the extra punishment that would come if his uncle didn't approve, he knew that anything much more extreme would start a vicious cycle that would only get worse until he was able to escape to either Hogwarts or the Weasley's.

"Start your chores, boy!" his uncle demanded, giving the closest thing to approval Harry ever got and Harry quickly made his way out of the kitchen and into the garden to attempt his outdoor chores first, glad to be away from his uncle.

He allowed himself to relax slightly once he was out of sight. He had made it through breakfast with just one useful arm, now he just had to get through the rest of the day. As he scanned Petunia's flower beds for any new weeds, he decided that if his arm had to get broken, he was at least glad that it hadn't happened until he had been back for nearly three weeks. He had already managed to catch up on the things that Petunia had let slide without him around – not that there was much. His aunt was too worried about what other people thought to let anything go without cleaning or tending too for long.

There had been a few cabinets that were loose or wouldn't shut right and other minor things that didn't affect the look of the house very much and Vernon had refused to fix that he had been ordered to fix on his first day back and he had been told to organize and clean the shed the day after that, but for the most part, he had simply taken over the household chores from his aunt when he had arrived back. Every now and then Vernon would decide to order him to do something like clean the attic or paint the shutters, but generally all he had to do was try to keep everything around the house up to Petunia's standards.

After pulling up the two weeds he had spotted, he headed to fill the watering can, trying to ignore the pain he felt with each movement. He knew from previous experience that watering the flowers – along with cooking – would be the hardest thing to do with only one available arm, so he decided to get that done first. As he picked the can up he winced as the weight stretched the bruises and scabs on his shoulders and his ribs ached when he instinctively leaned to the side. He tried once again to push the pain of his mind and struggled back over to the flower beds, he was used to pain, but that didn't mean he wasn't counting the days until he could get away.

July 17th, 1993

"No!" Draco screamed as he woke with a jolt, breathing heavily as he looked around the room and registered that it had simply been yet another nightmare.

He leaned back against his pillows and tried to calm his breathing, he hadn't made it through a night without waking up screaming since the aurors had arrested his father. His dreams were filled with vivid images of what would happen if his father were to escape or be found not guilty. He knew that after what he had done, his father would most likely decide that having no heir was better than having him around any longer.

He was still trying to calm down when his bedroom door opened and his godfather rushed in, giving a quick look around the room before his eyes settled on Draco. Severus sighed before sitting down on the edge of the bed and Draco looked down, embarrassed to have woken the man up once again.

"He will not hurt you again." his godfather said comfortingly, placing a gentle hand on the boy's knee through the covers when he didn't react, "Look at me, Draco." he added, continuing only once his godson had done so, "I promise you. He will not get away with this, but even if he were to, I will not allow him to hurt you again."

"But if he gets out … you can't always be there." Draco replied softly. He knew that his godfather would always try to protect him, but he also knew how powerful his father was.

"If it was necessary, I would be." Severus replied, "The wards here are strong. The castle wards are impressive alone, but I have added further warding to my quarters as well. No one can get into these quarters unless I allow it. You truly are the only other person with the password to the floo, Draco. If needed, I could also take you to Prince Manor. I may not visit there often, but it is still mine and the wards there are some of the strongest I have ever come across. I will keep you safe." the man assured.

"He really couldn't get in?" Draco asked, ashamed by how young he sounded.

"He could not." His godfather confirmed, "This is a moot point anyway, Draco. Your father will not escape and I do not see any way for the Wizengamot to acquit him, biased as some members may be."

Draco let himself relax slightly. He hated that Severus had to remind him of that so often, but it was a hard thing for him to accept. He had never seen anyone get the upper hand on his father and it was hard to accept that the man had truly been beaten this time. He just couldn't seem to accept that he was safe, it didn't feel like that was possible.

"I guess." The boy admitted, "It's just … hard to remember that. He was always so…" Draco trailed off, unsure of how to explain just how he felt about his father.

"He was always in control and he made sure to flaunt just how powerful he was – both magically and politically - quite often." His godfather said, surprising Draco with how well the man understood, "Lucius always tried to make himself seem invincible, but it was not true. Everyone can be brought down with the right tools and Lucius has been brought down. I know that it will take you a while to be able to truly accept that, but he will not get his hands on you again."

"Thank you, Uncle Severus." Draco said softly.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" the man asked, seeming to be satisfied that he had assured his godson as much as he could.

"No." the young boy replied, "I'm just going to try and go back to sleep."

Severus nodded and patted the boy's knee again softly before leaving the room. Draco watched as the door shut and then pulled his blankets up a little closer. He didn't expect to sleep again that night, but he didn't want to keep his godfather awake either. Once he was certain that Severus must have made his way back to his own room, he tapped the lamp sitting on the bedside table next to him to turn it on. He relaxed slightly as the soft light filled the room and tried to push the image of his father's angry face and aimed wand out of his mind.

July 19th, 1993

Severus gave one last look at his godson, who was starring sullenly at the greenhouse Pomona Sprout was happily leading him towards before walking to the gates of Hogwarts so he could apparate to the ministry. Though Draco had been excused from testifying at Lucius and Narcissa's trial as he was a child and the victim of abuse, Severus had to testify and as such, Draco had been left with the only professor still at Hogwarts that Severus had deemed moderately sane. Draco might not have the best afternoon of his life, but Severus was not about to leave him alone and he knew that the boy was secretly fond of Herbology.

Madam Bone's memory of her interview with Draco would be provided as his statement and the memories Draco had given would be viewed as well. Severus' memory of the night Draco had arrived in his quarters would be viewed as well and he would testify under Veritaserum to leave no doubt. The findings of the Saint Mungos healer's full diagnostic charm would be viewed and the healer would testify as well. The abuse charges should be fairly open and shut and Severus had a feeling that part of the trial might be mostly over with by the end of the day. It was the charges that pertained to Lucius' other illegal activities that would make things interesting.

He wasn't particularly looking forward to the part of the trial that would focus on Lucius and Narcissa's status as Death Eaters. He knew that there would be some uncomfortable questions for him and as much as he hoped to avoid it, he also knew that things could end up being revealed that he had not yet wanted to become public knowledge. As much as the possibility had annoyed Dumbledore, he had made it clear to the man that Draco was his top priority. If keeping Draco safe meant letting out information that Dumbledore didn't want out, he would choose his godson over his boss.

He surprised himself slightly when he looked up and realized that he was already at the gates. He took a deep breath to steady himself as walked beyond the gates and then turned on the spot before appearing in the ministry's designated apperation spot. He headed straight for the stairs after having his wand checked, knowing that for the intimidation factor, Madam Bones had arraigned for the trial to take place in Courtroom 10. He made sure his Occlumency shields were as strong as possible to hide the fact that he was nervous about the trial. He knew that his shields were common knowledge for both sides and as such they wouldn't help him with the Veritaserum as he would be given a higher dosage, but he could at least keep up his mask.

He made his way to the waiting area as quickly and calmly as possible. He wouldn't be allowed to sit in on the trial until he had already testified, but he knew that he could be one of the first witnesses called. He took a seat in the small room, pleased to note that he was the first there and pulled out a book from a pocket in his robes that he had brought for just this purpose. It wasn't long before he heard the door open and looked up to see the healer from Saint Mungos walking in.

"Good morning, Professor Snape." the woman said in greeting the moment the door had closed.

"Healer Johnson." he acknowledged with a small nod.

"Am I allowed to ask how Draco is doing?" the young woman questioned, looking nervous and slightly confused.

"I believe so." the man replied, "He is doing as well as can be expected. His injuries are healing well, but as you know, emotionally, it will take quite some time for him to recover."

The woman was quite young and he had a feeling Draco had been her first abuse case. He knew her fairly well as he had been her potions professor when she was in school, though they had not spoken since her graduation until her examination of Draco. She had been a kind and eager Hufflepuff with a talent for potions and he had been rather fond of her, though he would never admit it.

Healer Johnson nodded and pulled out a knitting project from the bag she had brought with her. The blue yarn looked to be forming into a blanket and he had barely had time to wonder why she was making it when she informed him that a friend of hers was expecting a baby. The brief exchange over with, the duo went back to waiting in silence.

He allowed himself to get lost in the book and before long he was called into the courtroom. He nodded and placed his book back into the pocket as he stood and followed the wizard who had been sent to fetch him. He was escorted straight to the frightening looking chair in the middle of the room that he remembered from his own trial and he pushed his emotions further behind his barriers as he sat down.

The prosecuting attorney, a man named Pearson headed towards him holding a vile of clear liquid, "Do you, Severus Tobias Snape willfully agree to be placed under the influence of Veritaserum as you give your testimony?" the man asked as soon as he stood in front of Severus.

"I do." The potions master agreed before tilting his head back and opening his mouth to allow five drops of the liquid to be dripped onto his tongue

He felt the clouded sensation in his mind that came with being dosed with the truth serum and he knew that with the increased dosage, he would not be able to lie no matter what he was asked. He would have to rely on Madam Bone's intervention if things went badly. He had a feeling that Dumbledore was about to lose his spy, but as long as his godson would be safe, it would be worth it.

The prosecutor asked him several basic "control" questions that mainly served to make sure the reporters could correctly identify him. Everyone in the room might have been magically sworn to silence about the abuse charges, but they were free to report about the rest of the trial. The Malfoy's trial would be front pages news for at least the next few weeks.

Once they had established that he could repeat basic facts that he had no reason to lie about, the questioning began, "Can you tell us what occurred in your quarters at Hogwarts at approximately one in the morning on July 10th of this year?" the man asked.

"The alarm on my floo went off, waking me, and I rushed into my sitting room with my wand drawn only to find my godson standing in front of the fireplace. He called out to me so that I would know it was him and I asked him why he was there. He told me that he could not stay with his parents and do the things they wanted him to do. I placed a hand on his back to comfort him and he flinched away. I asked him if his father had hurt him and he admitted that he had. Once he showed me the damage his father had done, I healed him as best as was possible and put him to bed in my guest room." Severus said in a monotone voice, managing to leave out the parts he didn't want to say.

"Did you have reason to suspect Lucius Malfoy of abusing his son?" was the next question.

"I had always found him to be slightly too strict with Draco, but until the boy showed up in my quarters in the middle of the night, I had never expected more than that. I simply knew that there had to be a good reason for my godson to have run away and I knew that Lucius could be violent, though I had never seen him be violent with his son." Severus explained, letting himself go more into detail.

"When had you seen Lord Malfoy be violent?" the other man asked.

"On numerous occasions. Both Lucius and Narcissa were Death Eaters and I have witnessed Lucius torture and kill many times. He is no stranger to the Unforgivables, but he also likes to be 'creative' as he calls it, with his torture." The potions master informed the prosecutor as he tried to ready himself for what he knew would likely come next.

"How is it that you were able to witness this?" Pearson questioned.

"Because I was a Death Eater as well." he answered, causing the room to explode in angry yells and calls for his arrest.

"Quiet!" Madam Bones called, "Allow the prosecutor to finish his questioning. You are here to observe and listen, not interrupt. If you do not know how to properly behave in a courtoom I will have you thrown out!" she declared, taking charge of the situation before Dumbledore could even speak.

"Were you loyal to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" the prosecutor asked as soon as the room became silent.

"Never. I was a spy from the very beginning." Severus answered truthfully.

The room gave a collective gasp and excited and shocked whispers came from every corner. Severus gave a slightly apologetic nod to his boss, but he did not regret it. He had planned to avoid letting that information out if at all possible, but if it would put Lucius behind bars and protect Draco, anything was worth it. As Madam Bones called once again for order, Severus was the only one to see the stricken look on Dumbledore's face. He would not be able to keep the truth quiet this time. The light had just lost their spy.

July 24th, 1993

Since the first day of the trial Severus hadn't been able to step out in public for any length of time without being bombarded by the media. The additional questioning on the stand had focused on Draco and the Malfoy parents and as such, every reporter was determined to be the one to get Severus Snape's story. There had been questions at first, but once several experts had testified that even a master Occlumens such as himself could not lie under the amount of Veritaserum he had been given. Suddenly he had gone from a disliked and distrusted Death Eater to a hero – and he detested it.

He had simply done what needed to be done. He had been a Slytherin, dancing a little too close to the dark side during his school years, but as he grew older and the war became a reality, he knew that he could never side with Voldemort. As much as he may have disliked his father, he was a half-blood himself and his beloved Lily was a muggleborn. He couldn't join someone who would happily kill the both of them. Even if he managed to get them to accept him, Lily would always be in danger and he couldn't let that happen. He had joined the Order straight out of school and when he realized that they needed a spy, he volunteered. When Lily had found out, she had finally forgiven him for his mistake in fifth year and that alone was enough to make it worth it to him.

After that horrible Halloween night when he had lost his best friend – his love – all over again, he hadn't really cared much that Dumbledore had wanted him to keep his cover. Lily was gone, Harry was as good as gone for the next ten years and half of the order had never truly trusted him in the first place. He had no one he cared to 'keep up appearances' for anymore. As long as Dumbledore kept him out of Azkaban, he truly didn't care what the public thought of him. Now that Voldemort was clearly working to regain power, he knew that the loss of his cover would make things very dangerous for him and as such, he truthfully couldn't bring himself to care enough to stop and talk to the press. Once the trial was over, he was going to have to make sure he practiced his glamours and had a good stock of polyjuice.

He had never done it for the glory, he had done it for Lily and everyone other half blood and muggleborn in danger, he had been a spy to try and keep Lily's child and all the other children from having to grow up in a war. He had allowed himself to be revealed as a spy for Draco, his godson, the only good thing left in his life. When it came down to it all, two children represented the most important choices he had ever made in his life and he would never regret either one. He had done it all to keep his godsons safe.

As he pushed his way through the crowd of reporters to take his seat for the closing arguments and verdict in the trial of Lucius and Narcissa, he let his thoughts travel to his second godson. It was a secret that no one other than the Potters, Dumbledore and the traitor had ever known. He was truthfully shocked that Voldemort had never found out his connection to Harry Potter, but he supposed that Black must have had his reasons for keeping that part to himself.

It had been dangerous times and James and Lily had both named a set of godparents in hopes that at least one would be able to care for their son. As it had played out, he was the only godparent who was even capable of taking Harry, but Dumbledore had shut that idea down very quickly. When he had attempted to take the boy, he had quickly given on long speech on blood wards and the fact that he still needed to remain a spy and despite what he had told the older man about Petunia, Harry had been whisked away to live with his only remaining relatives.

He supposed it had all been for the best in the end, Dumbledore had repeatedly told him that the boy was safe and happy and Harry probably had been better off being raised by a family then by him, he had known nothing of raising a small child. The only thing he regretted was that he had allowed Dumbledore to convince him to treat the boy so badly in order to keep his cover. With his cover now blown, it had been pointless and he doubted he would ever be able to regain Harry's trust. Draco would now be in his guardianship, but he would have liked to have had both his godson's in his life.

It wasn't that he was exceptionally fond of children in general. Despite the image he had portrayed over the years, he did like certain children and he got along rather well with his Slytherins, but he could certainly never be compared to Molly Weasley. Harry was his last link to Lily and he had been fairly close to the child when he was a baby, but he would have to be content with watching him grow up at a distance. Now that he didn't have to keep his cover, he could be a better teacher, he would no longer need to excessively favor the Slytherins and he could be fairer to the other students. He was strict by nature and that wouldn't change, but perhaps if Harry noticed the other changes, they might be able to be on speaking terms one day.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the court was called into order and after several minutes of formalities, the attorney's began to present their closing arguments The prosecution had it fairly easy. The abuse charges were open and shut due to the memories and Veritaserum testimony and as Severus had ended up providing memories of things he had seen Lucius do and heard Lucius brag about, it was exceedingly obvious that the man was guilty of all charges. Things were slightly trickier with Narcissa, as she had never been one to be highly involved in the activities Lucius had enjoyed and she had also never personally harmed her son. However, the fact that she did bare the Dark Mark would not bode well for her.

Once the defense had finished reminding the Wizengamot of the irrefutable facts that they had been presented with, the prosecution rested and the defense began their closing statements. The desperate attempts at casting some kind of doubt as to the Malfoy's guilt were almost amusing. The best they could seem to come up with was a repeat of the Imperius defense and it was easy to see what the Wizengamot thought of the idea that someone had managed to have them under an Imperius for at least the last fifteen years – especially when aurors had testified that they had shown no signs of being under the curse when they were arrested.

When the Malfoy's attorney finally ended his slightly pathetic statement, Dumbledore called for a vote. Though the tedious task of voting on each charge took quite some time, all but the most staunchly dark families and found Lucius guilty on all charges – and there had been no one who had voted not guilty on the charges of abuse. Though she faced many less charges then her husband, Narcissa had also been found guilty on charges of use of an unforgivable curse. With both Malfoy's convicted, Dumbledore called for an hour-long break so that he could confer with Madam Bones on a sentencing,

Severus stepped out to wait outside the courtroom, calling for a Hogwarts house elf to bring him a late lunch rather than attempt to leave the building and once again be surrounded by the press. He knew that if it had been up to Madam Bones, Lucius would find himself kissed before the end of the day, but he also knew that with Dumbledore's slight obsession with 'mercy' and second chances – the reason why so few people had believed it when Dumbledore had 'vouched for him', though that had worked in their favor – he would do everything in his power to not allow that to happen.

One way or the other, as long as Lucius was out of Draco's life, Severus would be happy. After all the man had done, he would rather see him kissed, but it wasn't as if anyone had ever escaped Azkaban. He ate his lunch and then tried to quietly plan for Draco's possible reaction to the news. He knew that the boy had wanted for his father to be somewhere where he could no longer hurt him, but he also knew that they were his parents and it would be hard on him – especially as Narcissa would have to spend some time in Azkaban as well.

Once an hour had past, they were called back into the courtroom and Severus took his seat, watching the excited reporters with slight amusement. Perhaps he could get make it back home without being bombarded with incessant questions this time if they were all too sidetracked with Lucius and Narcissa's punishment. He felt a slight twinge of guilt that the pair would soon be in Azkaban, they had after all treated him well and had obviously trusted him enough to name him godfather to their son, but he had never trusted them. It had always been an act on his part as the things he had seen Lucius so happily do had sickened him.

Once the room had quieted down, a call for order was given again and an eager hush fell over the room. Finally, Madam Bones, as the head of the DMLE stood to give the sentencing.

"For the crimes he has been convicted of, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy has been sentenced to life in Azkaban." the woman announced, pausing to let the commotion that came from the initial announcement die down before continuing a few seconds later, "And for the crimes she has been convicted of, Narcissa Malfoy (née Black) has been sentenced to five years in Azkaban."

Severus was pleased with the outcome. Lucius had committed endless atrocities and deserved life in Azkaban at the least and Narcissa, though fairly loyal to Voldemort, had never been one to enjoy acts of torture and murder and to his knowledge had never once used the killing curse and had only used Cruciatus twice. He knew that it would be hard for Draco to lose his mother, but he hoped that perhaps Narcissa would be able to keep at least some of her sanity in Azkaban and if she changed, perhaps she might be able to have a relationship with her son again in the future.

Once the formalities were over with and Lucius and Narcissa had been led away, Severus quickly slipped away. After successfully avoiding the press, he apparated back to the gates of Hogwarts and headed straight for the greenhouses to pick up Draco who had once again been left with Pomona. It was time to give his godson the news.

Harry had been waiting in his room for last few hours and he wasn't looking forward to what he knew was coming. The dinner the family had been planning that night would have taken most of the day to cook and as usual, it was Harry's job. However, his attempt lift the heavy dish after preparing it had gone badly. With only one hand to use, he had dropped the Dursley's dinner all over the kitchen floor. The rage his uncle had displayed as he had dragged Harry to his room told him that this punishment would be one of his worst, but he had been left to wait as Vernon had told him he was not going to mess up their family outing. So there he sat waiting, terrified for the Dursley's to come home from lunch.

He knew that he would end up having to deal with the nightly routine as well when the man came back. He didn't expect to be conscious long after his uncle finished - he usually wasn't when things went this bad – and his uncle wouldn't let him 'skip' his regular punishment just because he wasn't awake for it. That was his reminder of what a freak he was, that he was below them and Vernon was the one in charge. It was a reminder of just how big a mistake it had been to let Ron and the twins damage the Dursley's house when he could have just snuck out the front door as the twins had already picked the lock and his uncle had definitely found a punishment he would never forget.

He didn't know how long he had been waiting. Vernon had long since broken the old alarm clock that used to be in the room beyond repair. All he knew was that the waiting had felt like days instead of hours. Finally, he heard the car pull back into the driveway and he tried to ready himself for what would be coming. It took nearly all his willpower to keep himself from hyperventilating as he heard his uncle's thudding footsteps coming up the stairs.

The moment the door flew open his uncle was coming at him, dragging him to his feet and shaking him, "What do you think you were doing, boy? Wasting our food! We spend good money to take care of your worthless self and you think you can just waste more of it by dropping our food on the floor?" the man screamed.

Harry sincerely doubted that they had ever spent an extra penny on him, but he knew better than to say that. He simply kept up a soft manta of "I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon." as the man continued shaking him and ranting, his hands squeezing the boy's already bruised arms.

After what seemed like an endless lecture, the man finally let go, pushing the boy to the floor and then shutting the door to the small room, "Alright, strip. You know how this works boy. You'll get the rest of your punishment afterwards; I want you good and awake for this part. You'll never learn your lesson otherwise." The man said menacingly.

The small twelve year old slowly complied, shaking slightly and looking away both in shame and in fear of what he knew was coming. He would give almost anything to be able to escape what was about to happen, what had been happening all Summer. He was beginning to wish that Fawkes hadn't healed him in chamber. At least then he would have never had to deal with this.

His uncle starred at him for a moment and then shoved him on to the bed before sliding off his belt and giving the boy an impromptu lash across the back before tossing the piece of leather aside for the moment. Harry heard the sound of a zipper being undone and closed his eyes, wishing desperately to be anywhere but where he was. As usual, his wish was not fulfilled and he soon felt the all too familiar pain of something roughly shoving its way inside him.

For the next several minutes, his world was nothing but pain, shame and horror as Vernon continued his attack, all the while reminding him that this was what freaks deserved and Vernon simply had to remind him of his place. He could barely even be glad when he was over, because as soon as he heard the sound of the zipper closing, his uncle picked the belt back up.

The belt lashed repeatedly across his back, on top of existing scabs and bruises and re-opening old wounds as it caused new ones. The silence during this part of the punishment almost made it more frightening. His uncle didn't even care to remind him why it was happening, he only wanted to make him hurt. Once Vernon grew tired of the belt, it was tossed aside and the man began to kick at him. Harry instinctively shielded his face with his arms and felt another snap in the same arm that had caused this situation to begin with. He barely had time to register the new pain before his uncle suddenly stomped on his right leg and everything went black.

Draco thought he had taken then news about as well as he possibly could have. He had been calm and nodded in all the right places and then excused himself to his room once they got back to Severus' quarters. After so many weeks of waiting to get to this point, he wasn't sure what to do now. He had just made sure his parents got sent to Azkaban and no matter what they had done, he felt like the worst son in the world. He wished he could have thought of a way to keep his mom out of it, but he couldn't have been completely sure that she wouldn't have pushed him to become a Death Eater as well and once the Veritaserum was involved, there was really no way to avoid mentioning what he knew about her.

He didn't have a choice but to get away. He knew that. He could never have done the kind of things Lucius wanted him too. He could never have tortured and killed people, no matter what he thought of them. He just wished that there had been another way. But then, if his father hadn't gone to Azkaban he would have just kept torturing and killing people himself. There hadn't been any good solution, he knew that deep down. He just really hated the situation.

He felt guilty that he hadn't really given Severus an option about raising him either. The man had immediately given him the guest room. He had let him set out all his things and had even changed the color of the walls for him, but he still knew that he hadn't given his godfather any other choice but to take him in. He didn't know if the man had wanted to have to raise a child and now he was making him have to. If his father hadn't been hurting other people, he would have just run away. But Lucius had been hurting other people and he had needed Severus to help him and now he highly doubted it would be as easy to sneak away from Severus as it had been to get away from his parents.

He didn't know what to do now. With his parents in Azkaban, his godfather was now officially his legal guardian but he had never really thought about what happened after that. He supposed that he simply lived with Severus. He didn't know if he had access to any of his vaults so he would just have to offer to pay the man back when he came of age if he didn't. Severus had never minded spending money on him in the past, but this was different now, he had basically invited himself to move in.

He didn't know what would happen once school started back. His plan had been to throw himself firmly on the side of the light with this move and he knew that wouldn't please some of his housemates. Many of the people in his house had also been raised by Death Eater parents and most of them hadn't had someone like Severus telling them there were other ways to look at things. Theo was truly his closest friend in secret and he knew the other boy felt the way he did, but Blaise, Greg and Vincent all firmly agreed with their parents and his 'new' stance on matters would make things interesting in the dorm room.

A knock on his door suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see his godfather standing in the doorway, "Are you alright, Draco? It's nearly dinnertime." the man said.

"I'm fine." the boy replied softly.

"You do not have to be 'fine'. After all that has happened, it is perfectly alright for you to be upset." his godfather said gently.

"It's just … they're my parents." Draco said, staring at the floor.

"I know that. They did things that parents shouldn't do, but they were still your parents and I know that you care for them. Your father would not have stopped doing the things he did any other way. Your actions have likely saved the lives of many people, and your mother got a relatively light sentence. I know those fact do not truly make things any easier, but it is the truth." Severus said.

"Are you okay with me living with you?" Draco asked suddenly, all in one breath.

The man blinked in shock for a moment before replying, "Of course I am, Draco. I may have not been fond of your father in truth, but I have cared for you since the moment I met you and was told you were my godson. I will do anything to keep you safe and I certainly do not mind you living with me." he said sincerely.

"Good." Draco replied, calming slightly.

"Now, are you ready for dinner?" his godfather asked, standing up when the boy nodded and leading him into the dining room.

Things were certainly not going to be easy, but maybe they didn't have to be all that bad either. The pair had a comfortable dinner and Draco even managed to forget the situation with his parents for a short while as he ate and talked with his godfather. It wasn't until he had headed back to his room that he remembered that he had forgotten the very last part of his plan.

As he tried to figure out what to do a sudden idea popped into his mind and decided it couldn't hurt to try it, "Dobby?" he called softly and sure enough, within seconds of his call a small house elf stood in from of him.

"Master Draco!" the little creature exclaimed, hugging the boy around the knees, "Dobby has been being so worried! Dobby is being hearing what be happening to Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa and Dobby is being hearing that you is with Master Snapey but Dobby is being wanting to see you himself! Is Master Draco being okay?" he asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine, Dobby and I'm glad to see you as well." Draco said, patting the little elf on the back before attempting to disentangle himself from the hug, "I just need a favor, if that's okay."

"Of course, Master Draco!" the little elf said, his ears perking up happily.

"Do you remember Harry Potter?" he asked, remembering what the elf had told him when he had come to say goodbye to the one Malfoy who had been nice to him after he had been freed.

"Of course Dobby is remembering the Great Harry Potter!" was the instant reply.

"Could you just go check on him for me? I promised him I'd get word to him this Summer and I haven't had the chance. Just … tell him that Draco Malfoy wanted to see if he was doing well and that he can send a letter to me at Hogwarts if he wants and I can write him back." He said, knowing that the other boy had no real reason to trust him and hoping that sending Dobby, who Harry knew had been freed, might change that.

"Dobby will be doing that right now!" the little elf exclaimed before instantly disappearing.

Draco smiled softly at Dobby's excitement. He and the elf had discovered that they were both in a similar situation when it came to Lucius' version of 'discipline' when he was quite young and though he knew his parents would have never approved, he had formed a secret friendship with the small creature who had always been so kind to him. He had only just wondered if he should have come up with something better or maybe even sent a letter with Dobby when suddenly the elf was in front of him again and looking hysterical.

"Harry Potter is being hurt! Harry Potter is being hurt and he is not waking up!" the little elf said before letting out a panicked wail.

Draco took one look at the blood on the little elf's hands before letting out a yell of his own, "Uncle Severus!" he called frantically.

The moment Severus heard his godson call for him he found himself practically flying into the boy's room. He quickly took in the scene as soon as the door flew open, his godson standing in the middle of the room looking terrified but unharmed next to an old Malfoy elf who looked equally frightened and had blood on his hands.

"What happened?" he asked quickly, not sure how to make any immediate sense of the situation.

"Harry Potter is being hurt!" the little elf wailed.

He didn't even have time to question him further before his godson began frantically speaking, "I knew that Potter's relatives weren't really nice to him and I know how that feels and I wanted to make sure he was okay especially since I'm going to be against the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters now and he's really important for that so I gave him a letter before we left school and said I'd contact him again this Summer. I sent Dobby to him and Dobby says he's hurt and he won't wake up!" the boy exclaimed.

It took a moment for Severus to make out what the boy had just said but then he felt himself pale. His godson had just told him that his other godson was severely injured and possibly dead.

"Accio Emergency Potions Kit!" he called and a small pouch flew towards his hand, he grabbed it and turned to the elf, "Dobby, can you take me to Harry?" he asked, knowing that the house elf would be able to get him there the quickest.

"Dobby will take you right now!" the little creature said before grabbing his arm.

Suddenly, with only a quick moment of disorientation, he was standing in a dark room. He cast a quick lumos, happy to find himself already facing the wall with a light switch, he quickly turned it on and canceled his light spell before turning around. There was a tiny body lying on the ground, still curled loosely into a ball, one arm clearly broken. The lack of clothing made it instantly clear that the situation could be nothing more than abuse. What skin wasn't covered in blood was covered in bruises and he found himself mentally cursing both his boss and himself for trusting the man and never checking on his godson himself.

He ignored the frantic hooting of the boy's owl and quickly knelt next to the child and felt for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found one. With that done, he quickly conjured a piece of parchment before casting a field diagnostic spell and watching as words appeared on the page. The spell would alert him only to injuries that were life threatening or that would make it dangerous to move the boy. He would wait until they were out of this horrific place before casting a normal diagnostic and fully healing the child.

The words that appeared on the parcement alerted him to the fact that the boy was losing a lot of blood and had a broken rib that was dangerously close to puncturing his lung. Relieved that Harry's life wasn't in any immediate danger, he gently moved the boy so that he could see the broken rib and then with careful spellwork, moved the rib back into position. With that done, he opened his potions kit and pulled out a pain reliever and a blood replenisher from the padded pouches before spelling both potions into the child's stomach. Afterwards, he scanned the floor near the boy before spotting the child's broken glasses and placing them in his pocket.

He turned to the elf who was watching the scene, "Gather the child's things. He will not be coming back here." he said.

Suddenly a few items floated out from under the child's bed, and the owl's cage moved closer as the door suddenly flew open and a trunk and a broom suddenly flew into the room, landing at the elf's feet. The elf released the owl, opening the window with a wave of his hand and shrunk the rest of the boy's belongings to fit inside the trunk before shrinking that as well. As the elf dealt with Harry's belongings, Severus cast a spell to clean the blood off of the child and was appalled at the number of wounds he was then able to see.

He cleaned the dirty and raggedy blanket lying in a crumpled ball beside the child's bed with a quick charm before transfiguring it into a much nicer looking blanket. It wouldn't last long, but it would do for the moment. He wrapped the boy in the blanket before picking him up and turning to the elf who was holding the boy's trunk in his hand.

"Take us back to my quarters." He told Dobby and the elf quickly grabbed his arm and after another moment of disorientation, he was standing in his sitting room.

"I need you to go back to the house and do not let his relatives leave until the auror's arrive. They did this." He once again told the elf and Dobby's face quickly turned into one of almost frightening anger before he sat down the shrunken truck on a nearby table and disappeared.

He shifted the boy's weight onto one arm before transfiguring his sofa into a bed and placing the boy on it, filing away the thought of just how little the child weighed for later. A few seconds later, another piece of parchement had been conjured and a list of the Harry's injuries was slowly appearing.

"Will he be alright?" Severus heard a voice say and he turned around to see his godson staring at the other boy, trying to look calm but clearly even paler than usual.

"Physically, yes, I believe so. Please go to your room until I have healed him. You would not have wanted him to see your injuries." He told the child, watching him walk away before turning back to the injured boy.

As soon as his eyes found the child, he noticed a spot of blood appearing on the blanket and he quickly picked up the parchment and scanned the list of injuries, desperately hoping it was not what it looked like. The list only confirmed his suspicions and he suddenly sank into the chair next to the bed, fighting a very strong temptation to go back to the Dursley house and kill the boy's uncle – because either he had done it, or he had known about it. There was no other option.

The weight of guilt felt like it was going to crush him. He had failed both his godsons. Both boys had been abused and Harry … Harry had been raped, repeatedly based on what the diagnostic spell was telling him. If Draco hadn't been the one to pick up that something was wrong, he would have never known. He couldn't even be sure that Harry would have survived the Summer. That broken rib could have easily punctured a lung if it had been left untreated and the child was already severely malnourished, almost starving. Draco had saved his godbrother and he didn't even realize it.

He fought his way out of his own shock and stood up to begin healing the child. He gently removed the blanket and began running his wand over the bleeding welts obviously left by a belt. He sealed the few wounds on the child's chest before turning him over and dealing with the welts on his back. With the wounds sealed and the bleeding stopped, he began the complicated series of spells needed to stop the internal bleeding that had resulted from the most recent rape. Several minutes later, he had finally stopped the last of the bleeding and he moved on to setting the child's badly broken arm and broken leg and placing them in magical splints.

With that done, he headed quickly for his storage room to get a large container of bruise balm. The deep bruising the child sported would take a rather long time to heal, but the bruise balm would speed the healing slightly and help with the pain. On a normal, fresh bruise, it would have healed it in no more than a couple of days, but the balm did not work nearly as well on old, deep bruising. Despite what some people seemed to think, magic could not heal everything. The hand-shaping bruising on the child's neck as well as in several places on his arms only angered him further. The Durlsey's would pay for harming this child.

He set about carefully applying the balm to the many bruises on the child's body, hoping to get it done before the child awoke. It seemed that it had been the pain that had caused the boy to lose consciousness – possibly combined with slight exhaustion as he had not woken up once he had been given the pain potion – and he could wake up at any moment. With that done, he stepped away and covered the child back up. It was usually best for a patient to drink the potion rather than have it spelled into their stomachs and as such, he would wait to give the child the potions to heal the broken bones and the nutrient potion until he was awake. He had a feeling that the boy would need another pain potion then as well.

"Kenzie!" he called, causing a small Hogwarts elf to appear in front him, his personal favorite elf, though few knew it, "Can you please get me a pair of hospital pajamas for this boy. They will have to be very small." He requested, looking at the child and wondering why he had never truly taken in just how little Harry was.

"That be Harry Potter!" the little elf gasped, "Is Harry Potter okay?"

"He will be now, but he needs the pajamas." He told her, causing her to nod and disappear before almost instantly appearing back in front of him.

"These be the pajamas that Miss Poppy uses for Harry Potter." She said, handing the pajamas over as he wondered how many purebloods would beg to know how binding spell for the Hogwarts elves had been changed to allow them to touch clothing. A Hogwarts Elf could only be freed if the Headmaster verbally told them so.

Severus thanked the elf and used a quick spell to dress the boy in the clothing she had brought before pulling the child's glasses out of his pocket and quickly casting a spell to fix them before setting them on the table next to his still shrunken trunk and heading for his floo. Luckily, the Headmaster was in today, having come back to Hogwarts after the Malfoy's trial. He would have to call the man in and speak to him in the dining room so as not to leave the boys in his care. He would have to use the one-way silencing charm though, he needed to hear his godsons, but they did not need to hear him yelling at their Headmaster.

Draco had been waiting rather impatiently in his room for what felt to him like ages when he heard the sound of the floo. Stepping cautiously into the hallway, he spotted his godfather standing in the sitting room with the Headmaster, who was staring at Harry with a look of shock and horror on his face.

"I need to speak to the Headmaster in the dining room. You may wait for me in the sitting room, but please let … Mr. Potter wake on his own." His godfather said as soon as he spotted him.

Draco quickly nodded and made his way into the room, sitting down in a chair near the sofa-turned-bed. The other boy had been covered completely with a blanket, but he could still make out what looked to be fairly severe bruising on his neck and some fading bruises on his face as well. He remembered the sight he had seen earlier of Potter wrapped in a blanket, with blood started to seep through it in multiple spots and he felt vaguely sick. He didn't think he had ever looked that bad.

Lucius had always kept the damage to his back, insuring that there was nothing that a small glamour couldn't cover up if necessary. His father had never been willing to leave any kind of visible wounds and he hadn't been willing to cause any serious damage. He hadn't given up on Draco yet, he had still wanted him alive and healthy to carry on the Malfoy name. It didn't look like Potter's relatives had even cared that much.

He felt guilty at waiting so long to check on the other boy. At the time, he hadn't expected Potter's relatives to be any worse than his father and he had simply decided that the plan worked best if he took care of one thing at a time. He didn't know what to think now. He had spent the last two years pretending to hate the other boy and now he knew things that he knew Potter didn't want anyone to know and he was sitting beside him while he was unconscious. His plan had never involved this.

He had thought that by helping Potter out he might simply be able to get a do-over and maybe make a friend on the light side of things to help with his transition. He had thought that maybe if he helped The-Boy-Who-Live end up in a Wizarding home with people that actually cared about him, that might be able to help the light a little bit since the other boy would almost certainly be important in bringing down Voldemort if the whisperings he had heard about some kind of prophecy were any indication. Now Potter was in his godfather quarters unconscious and he had no idea what was going to come of this.

He craned his neck a little to look into the dining room and was surprised to see that his godfather appeared to be yelling at the Headmaster. He leaned back in his chair with a confused look on his face. There had to be something more going on than he realized. He hoped that his godfather would explain it once the Headmaster had gone. He didn't like it when there were missing pieces of information, you couldn't plan for anything if you didn't know everything you needed to. Draco didn't like not having a plan.

Draco suddenly spotted the tiny truck sitting on the end table next to Potter's glasses and leaned forward to examine it. It must be Potter's trunk. If they had brought it back with them, that must mean that Severus had gotten Dobby to pack. He felt another pang of understanding. He knew what it was like to have all your belongings stuffed into two containers – or one in Potter's case. His trunk and bag might have held a lot, but it still felt awful to be so in limbo with all you owned in a trunk or bag instead of in a room where you belonged. He had only just begun to wonder where Potter would end up living now when he noticed the other boy slowly beginning to stir.

Harry woke up to pain all over his body. He groaned softly and was just about to open his eyes when he suddenly realized that he should have been in a lot more pain. A wave of confusion hit him and he carefully opened his eyes, trying to fight back panic when the blurry room in front of him didn't look familiar.

"Potter?" a voice said, startling him even more, "Oh, your glasses are here." The voice added, seeming to notice his fear and confusion.

A blurry hand appeared in his line of sight holding what he assumed were his glasses and he reached out to take them before quickly placing them on his face. It wasn't until he saw who had handed the glasses to him that he registered who the voice had belonged to. His eyes widened as he starred at Draco Malfoy.

"Where am I?" he asked, trying to hide his fear.

"You're in Hogwarts, in my godfather's quarters." the other boy replied, "Professor Snape's Quarters." he added, seeming to realize that Harry didn't understand.

"Why?" he asked, almost more baffled then scared at this point, Snape couldn't really do anything worse to him then his uncle had.

"I told you I'd contact you again if everything went like I planned." The other boy explained and Harry's mind flashed back to the letter he had received before the end of school, "It did. My parents … they're in Azkaban and I'm living with my Uncle Severus now. Dobby still comes when I call him, I assume because we always got along well, and so I asked him to check on you. He found you really hurt and I called Uncle Severus to help. Dobby took him to you and he brought you back here and healed you."

"He healed me?" Harry exclaimed softly, even more confused than before.

"Of course he did. And he's in the dining room yelling at Dumbledore now. Probably about what happened to you, but I don't really know why." Draco explained before sitting back and seeming to decide to let Harry take in the information he had just been given.

All indications were that Draco Malfoy really had been telling the truth in that letter and if that wasn't confusing enough, now he was being told that Severus Snape had been the one to find him and he'd actually taken him away from the Dursley's and healed his injuries? His whole world felt like it had been turned upside down. Suddenly his mind rushed back to one thing the other boy had said. Snape had healed him. That meant that his profession knew. Not only about the beatings, but if he had used the spell that Madam Pomfrey usually did when he got hurt then he knew everything. The professor that had always seemed to hate him now knew exactly what his uncle had done to him.

His secret was out. Not only did two people he thought of as some of his biggest enemies know, but he knew they would tell everyone. That had probably been the whole reason for this, to get proof of what had happened and let the whole Wizarding World know. He didn't have anywhere to go now. He couldn't stay in the Wizarding World and he didn't think he could survive being at the Dursley's year round again. He didn't even realize that he was hyperventilating until he heard a panicked voice yelling beside him.

"Uncle Severus!" the other boy called and suddenly Snape and Dumbledore both ran into the room.

"Calm down, Harry." Snape said, baffling the boy, "No one is going to harm you here. Calm down."

When Harry didn't react Dumbledore spoke up as well, seeming to break himself out of a state of shock, "You are safe my boy, I promise." he said.

Harry slowed his breathing slightly, but didn't seem to be able to do any more, "Drink this. It's a calming drought." Snape said, holding a vile in front of him and he would have refused except for the fact that Dumbledore was standing right next to the man.

He took the vile with shaking hands and downed it quickly, relieved to find his breathing beginning to calm almost instantly, "Please don't let them tell!" he begged the Headmaster as soon as he could speak.

"I am not going to tell anyone other than the aurors who will be arresting your 'relatives' and they will be sworn to secrecy." the potions professor said, Harry continued to eye him distrustfully, looking even more startled at the mention of aurors and the man shot a look at Dumbledore before speaking again, "The Headmaster is going to explain things to you."

The older man sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of the bed Harry was in before he began to explain, "Severus was a spy for me, for the side of the light during the last war. I knew that Voldemort was not truly dead – as you have seen – and I wanted Severus to maintain his cover for when Voldemort returned to power. However, when Severus testified under Veritaserum – truth serum – at the Malfoy's trial, the truth came out. Now that … this has happened, Severus has asked me to explain some things to you." the man said.

Harry slowly nodded, remembering Hermione mentioning Veritaserum at some point and suddenly understanding why Dumbledore had always trusted Snape. The calming potion seemed to keep him from reacting with any kind of shock and he simply accepted what he was being told as the new truth, as strange as it was.

"You were born in the height of a war, Harry. Your parents chose to name two sets of godparents for you in an attempt to insure that no matter what happened, there would still be someone to care for you. Severus was your mother's best friend and as such, he is one of your godfather's." He informed Harry, pausing to let that fact sink in and giving a tiny amused smile at the gasp from the other boy, "When your parents were killed, both Severus and your remaining godmother wanted to take you, but the sacrifice your mother had made left powerful wards that could be set up at the home of someone related to her if you resided there with them. In addition, I thought it would be safest for you to be somewhere no Death Eater would guess to look. After quite a while, I was able to convince them both, though I had to also remind Severus that he needed to remain a spy."

"Who is my godmother?" Harry asked, still in a slight daze from the calming potion.

"Alice Longbottom, your friend Neville Longbottom's mother. However, something happened weeks later that left her incapable of caring for you even if I had agreed to leave you with her. I believe it would be best if you asked Mr. Longbottom about that." The man explained before continuing, "I had left someone to keep an eye on you, but I neglected to realize that she was obviously not capable of watching you very well. I knew that you were not loved as much as your cousin, but I thought the wards made up for that. I never knew that you were being harmed. When Severus questioned me about you, I stretched the truth rather far and told him that you were happy and healthy in your new home to keep him from going against my wishes and when it came time for you to join Hogwarts, I told him to treat you badly so that no one would suspect his true allegiance was with the Light. I convinced him that he would do you more good remaining a spy. I am dreadfully sorry for what my mistakes have led to." the Headmaster told him, looking older then Harry had ever seen him.

Harry nodded slowly, trying to make sense of what he had just been told and Dumbledore stood, announcing that he needed to leave before stepping back through the floo. Snape was his godfather and he had been ordered by Dumbledore to treat him the way he always had. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore and he had no idea how to react to this.

He looked up to see Draco shooting confused looks at Snape and the man seemed to take this as his queue, sitting in the spot Dumbledore had just left, "I promise you, I will not harm you." The man said gently, "As your godfather, I have legal custody of you. I would like it if you would stay with me, but no matter what, you will not go back to your relatives. The Headmaster is going to ask the elves to add a room for you to my quarters and I would like us to try things out for the rest of the Summer, but if after that you do not wish to stay with me, we will find someone else to take you in by next Summer." He offered.

Harry simply nodded, not even sure how to respond. Everything had been changed so much and even with the calming drought, he didn't know how to deal with it. He just hoped that if this man had really been his mother's best friend, then maybe he was someone he could at least trust not to hurt him as his uncle had.

"I need you to take these potions." Snape said, "This is to heal the bones that were broken, this is for pain, this is to help with any blood loss and this is to take the place of some missed meals." he told Harry as he handed each vial to him.

Harry downed the potions having decided to treat the man with at least a small amount of trust and slowly lay back against his pillows. He hoped that maybe it would all make a little more sense in the morning.

Draco sat in his room more confused than he had ever been in his life. He had gotten very little sleep the night before as his racing mind tried to process all that he had found out. He had suspected there was something wrong with Potter's homelife, but he had never thought it was as bad as it now seemed to have been. However, it wasn't just the fact that the other boy's injuries had been so frighteningly severe that had sent Draco's world on its head. He couldn't believe that his Uncle Severus had another godson and that that other godson was Harry Potter.

The story Dumbledore had told the night before had made sense. He knew that many children born during the war had been given two sets of godparents. He himself hadn't, as Lucius and Narcissa had never dreamed of their side losing or even taking much damage. He had lost his godmother – a distant cousin of his mother's - , but obviously Severus had survived, now the only remaining godparent for both him and Potter apparently. He was angry at the Headmaster's manipulations of the man and he wasn't too happy about the idea that someone who could so easily manage to forget how his actions affected people was seen as 'the Leader of the Light'.

He had winced at the knowledge that Potter's surviving godmother had been Alice Longbottom. He had heard enough of his parents bragging to know that his aunt was partially responsible for what had happened to the woman and her husband. If his aunt hadn't done that, then perhaps Potter would be moving to stay with Longbottom, but it had happened, and now Potter would be living with him. They were godbrothers and that was going to take some getting used to. He had wanted to help the other boy and maybe even end up friends someday, but he had never expected for them to end up nearly family.

He had tried to question his godfather after Potter had fallen asleep the night before, but all the man had done was confirm what Dumbledore had said and refuse to tell him how badly the other boy had been hurt, reminding Draco sharply that he wouldn't want Severus giving out information about his abuse to his classmates. He had blushed slightly at that and tried to force down his curiosity about that particular matter. He would have to go into this situation slightly blind and try to figure out how to treat the boy he was now living with without knowing how he had been treated in the past other than the simple fact that it had been bad.

He walked quietly into the sitting room and peered around the corner to see his godfather attempting to read the paper and failing as his worried gaze kept traveling to the sleeping boy on the couch. He watched the pair for a moment before heading back to his room. A door had appeared across from his in the night and when he had woken up that morning, he had peaked inside at the room. The elves had placed basic furniture inside, but it was a plain room. Severus had obviously shared his opinion; because he had announced over breakfast that he would need to take them shopping once Harry had recovered.

It was a shock to hear his godfather referring to Potter as Harry, but he supposed that he ought to do the same. They might still be in rival houses, but if he was placing himself on Potter's side in the war he knew was coming and they would be living together, it would likely be best for them to be on a first name basis as soon as possible. He couldn't say that he was particularly happy about the situation, but it wasn't as if he had given his godfather a choice about taking him in. He knew that Severus had said he was fine with Draco living with him, but he had no room to protest who else the man chose to allow to stay with him.

It wasn't as if he truly minded being around the other boy. He might have spent the last two years pretending to hate him, but the most annoying things about Potter were the fact that he was a Gryffindor, and the fact that he had chosen a best friend who didn't seem to know what manners were. He simply wasn't sure that he liked the idea of sharing his godfather. He had always had the man's undivided attention when he stayed with him – with the exception of potions - and it was clear that wouldn't be the case any longer. He would just have to get used to it, it wasn't as if the other boy had anywhere else to go.

He finally decided to step back into the sitting room and speak to his godfather instead of merely spying on him. He found his godfather and godbrother exactly how he had left them a few minutes before. He couldn't help but worry slightly for the other boy. As far as he knew, Pot-Harry had slept through the night and it was nearing noon. As his godfather had refused to give him any details, he worried that Harry was more injured then he knew.

"Is he alright?" Draco asked softly.

His godfather looked slightly startled before looking up at him and Draco knew instantly that the man must not have slept well either or he would never have let himself be surprised by his thirteen year old godson, "He should wake soon. Sleep will help him heal." The man replied.

Draco nodded and turned his attention back to the other boy. He was small – too small – and Draco had always known that. He had been considered small for his age but Harry had taken that to another level as the smallest child in the school. He didn't like seeing the other boy looking so hurt. He didn't like seeing anyone hurt, as much as he had tried to pretend otherwise. It was one of the reasons he had known that he couldn't be who his parents wanted him to be. He didn't think he could have just sat back while people were tortured and killed and he knew he couldn't have done it himself.

He wondered how things would change now. He had hoped to someday be friends with Harry, but now they were suddenly living together and sharing a godfather. He didn't know if the other boy would ever trust him and that would be ten times worse in the situation they had now found themselves in. If they couldn't make things work, Harry would likely chose to live with someone else when Summer was over and Draco knew that wasn't what Severus wanted.

Draco grabbed a potions textbook he had left sitting on a nearby bookshelf and sat down in a chair near his godfather to wait. One way or another, he needed to try to make this work. He owed it to Severus to make sure Harry would stay.

Harry slowly came to awareness before remembering exactly where he was and wishing he could just go back to sleep instead of trying to make sense of the confusing mess that was his life at the moment. He kept his eyes closed as he attempted to decide what to do. He was in the quarters of someone who until the night before, he had believed to be one of the three people in the wizarding world who hated him the most and another of those three people was there was well. However, if he believed what he had been told – and somehow, he did – than he should at least be mildly safe.

It would be easy to confirm if Snape had testified under Veritaserum that he had always been a spy and if he asked Hermione to help him with his research, he should be able to confirm if Snape had truly been his mother's friend as well. He didn't think the man would have bothered with lies that could be so easily uncovered. Not to mention that Dumbledore had been the one to tell him, though he wasn't sure how much he really trusted the man anymore after the other things he had told him. Malfoy had kept his promise as well and if his parents were in jail then he should at least be safe from being taken for a third go around with Voldemort. If the man who was apparently his godfather had always been on the light side, he wouldn't be killing him and he doubted he would let Malfoy kill him either so if he could trust that he wouldn't be killed or given to Voldemort, then they really couldn't do anything worse than his uncle had.

Calmed slightly by establishing that he at least wasn't in a worse situation and it might possibly be a better one without being under the influence of potions, he decided to finally open his eyes and alert the people he could hear breathing near him to the fact that he was awake. He pushed himself up slowly to a sitting position, easily ignoring the soreness as it was so much less then he was used to. He felt for the table he had seen next to the bed he was in and found his glasses, placing them on his face and looking up to see Snape and Malfoy sitting to his left.

Malfoy had his nose buried in a book Snape was watching him, having clearly just put down a newspaper, "How are you feeling?" the man asked and the boy next to him quickly marked his page at sat down the book he had been reading, turning his attention to Harry as well.

"I'm fine, sir." Harry replied, uncomfortable at the attention on him but not wanting them to see it.

It was clear by the look on his face that the man didn't believe him, but he simply nodded before speaking again, "Let me know if you require a pain potion." he said before glancing at the clock on the wall, "I believe it is time for lunch." he announced.

Harry began to get up from the couch before realizing that he was still in the hospital pajamas, blushing he gathered the courage to as the man a question, "Sir, is my trunk here?" he asked.

"It is." The man confirmed with a nod, "Draco, please show Harry to his room while I ask Kenzie for our lunch." Snape said, stepping into the kitchen.

"Your room is this way." The blond boy said, looking slightly nervous as he led Harry to a hallway off of the sitting room.

Harry spotted three doors as he stepped into the hallway, ignoring the increased soreness as he walked and Draco quickly explained what they were, "The room on the right is my room and the one on the left is yours. The bathroom's at the end of the hallway, the elves made it slightly bigger when they added your room so there are two sinks now and you have your own cabinet for your toothbrush and things."

Harry opened the door to the room Draco had said was his and his eyes widened. The room wasn't huge, but it was bigger than Dudley's second bedroom had been and certainly nicer. There was a four poster bed like the ones in the dorms with his truck at the foot of the bed and a nightstand next to it and a dresser near what he assumed was a clothes cupboard along the same wall as the bed. A desk and chair sat near the door, with Hedwig's cage by the desk. Along another wall there was an empty bookshelf with an armchair next to it and there was more empty shelving on the wall between the bed and the desk.

"I know it's bare at the moment. Uncle Severus says he'll take us shopping soon so you can pick out some things to make it 'more your own'." The other boy informed him, snapping him out of his astonishment.

"It's great. He doesn't have to do that." Harry said, unused to anyone buying things for him.

"He will though. He said that he'll take me as well and I brought most of my things from home." Draco informed him, looking slightly understanding.

Harry nodded, "I'm gonna change now and … get ready." he said, still looking around the room, "Thank you for showing me where it was." He added as the other boy walked away.

Draco turned back and gave a small smile before leaving Harry alone to take in the fact that this was now his room. He riffled through his truck before pulling out one of his school uniforms as it was too warm to wear his Weasley sweater. He pulled out his toothbrush as well, smiling as he thought about how it always seemed to get replaced at Hogwarts whenever it started to get a bit frayed. He had done some research on house elves after freeing Dobby and he assumed it was the Hogwarts elves who were behind it. The little creatures took better care of him then the Dursley's ever had.

With that done, he made his way to the bathroom, locking the door and double checking it before heading towards the sink with nothing sitting around it, assuming it was his. He opened the cabinet, surprised to find toothpaste and a few other small things already there. He frowned slightly, wondering if it was the wrong cabinet before opening the cabinet over the other sink. He spotted everything that had been in the other cabinet and much more and headed back to the first one, deciding that it must have been the elves again.

He quickly readied himself for the day before stepping out of the bathroom and making his way back into the sitting room, spotting his new housemates waiting for him at the dining room table. There were bowls of soup sitting out and he blushed slightly, know that was likely because of him as Snape had seemed to know the night before that he hadn't eaten in three days.

"Thank you, sir." Harry said before sitting at the open seat with soup in front of it.

"There is no need to thank me, I do have a kitchen, but the elves made our lunch today." The man said.

Harry nodded his understanding and waited for the other two to begin eating before starting in on his own soup.

He hadn't eaten anything but the Dursley's leftovers all Summer and it felt nice that someone had actually made sure there was food for him. He felt a tiny amount of hope that just maybe this really would be better than the Dursley's. If both of the people he had been living with had been putting on an act for the last two years, then he really didn't know them at all so he decide to attempt to treat the situation like that. He would look at it as living with people he had never met as much as could. He didn't know if he could trust them not to hurt him, but he also didn't know if he couldn't.

He hadn't fully trusted adults in a long time; he could never actually remember trusting one until Hagrid. Other than the half giant, he had trusted the Headmaster and Professor's Sprout, Sinastra and Flitwick not to hurt him, but no more than that. He had a tentative trust in his Head of House, though she had a tendency not to trust him and her strict nature often made him nervous. He didn't think she would harm him, but he felt more comfortable with the others. He had never trusted any of them to protect him and certainly not with any of his secrets. Hagrid alone had that level of trust among the adults at the school.

After the time he had spent with the Weasley's the year before, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had become second to Hagrid on his mental "safe" list. He wouldn't trust them with secrets, but he did trust them not to harm him as well as to protect him. He had felt safer at The Burrow than anywhere else he had ever been. Maybe now he might someday learn to trust Professor Snape that way as well, but he would make sure the man had earned it first.

It was slightly easier to trust people closer to his age, he trusted both Ron and Hermione more than anyone and the twins and Neville were close behind. He didn't believe that his other dorm mates, his Quidditch teammates or Percy and Ginny Weasley would physically hurt him, but he didn't trust them beyond that. After his experiences in primary school, he viewed the rest of his classmates as potential dangers. He was considering elevating Malfoy out of the 'danger' category, but he wasn't sure he was ready to do that with Snape yet.

The school was safer the Dursley's house had ever been and certainly more of a home, but he wasn't so blind as to believe himself safe at Hogwarts. Safer then he would be in other places perhaps, but not safe. It would be so nice to have somewhere else that was safe. He couldn't help the tiny glimmer of hope that was starting to grow, but it also scared him. He desperately didn't want to have to lose that hope.

Harry finished his soup, surprising himself until he realized that the pumpkin juice that had tasted slightly off might have had something to do with that, "I can do the dishes, sir." He offered, seeing the others were finished as well.

"There is no need for that." Severus said, standing up and gathering the dishes himself before placing them in the kitchen sink and casting a spell to clean them, "I expect you to keep your room clean and help Mr. Malfoy keep the bathroom you share clean as well as to complete any other chore I specifically ask you to do, though that will likely not happen often as I have an elf who is more than happy to do the majority of the housework. I ask you to do this much only because you may not always have a house elf around and I wish for the both of you to know how to function for yourselves in that case."

Harry nodded, knowing that he most certainly knew how to cook and clean already, but much too relieved after a lifetime of doing all of the housework at the Dursley's to even care about having to keep a single bedroom and bathroom clean, "Yes sir." he told his new godfather.

"Harry, you may unpack or work on your Summer homework if you wish, but I do wish for you to rest today. You are not yet fully recovered." The man said, "I will be in my potions lab for the next hour or two if you need me." He added before sweeping into a room off the sitting room.

Malfoy stepped into the sitting room, looking at one of the many bookshelves for a moment before grabbing a different one then the book he had been reading earlier and settling into a chair. Satisfied that he knew where both of the others were, Harry headed into his room to unpack before starting on his homework. Something told him that his godbrother was likely already finished and he didn't want to give Snape a reason to be angry with him for taking too long with his. As strange as the situation was, he was determined to not make things any worse.

The child's injuries would have faded by the time that the mediwitch arrived, but Severus' memory would be proof as to the extent of them and images could be pulled from his memory with special spells. Madam Pomphrey would already need to know the child's medical situation in order to remain his healer and Harry would likely be more comfortable with her. The aurors had arrested the boy's relatives and with help from a squib police officer and a few well-placed spells, they were being held in a muggle jail. He had a few plans in mind as to how to make their experience there as unpleasant as possible, but at the moment, his godsons needed him and he did not have the time to see to that. Revenge was a dish best served cold anyway.

He gave a quick glance to his stock of dreamless sleep and calming droughts and filed away a mental note that he would need to brew more of those in the near future as well. He knew that both boys would likely need them on occasion, though dreamless sleep was a potion that could only be taken sparingly. He pulled out the ingredients he would need and set to work on both potions. He didn't have time to think about anything other than the potions until he reached a stage where both needed to rest.

He could have cursed himself for never noticing that something was wrong with Harry. The more he went through his memories, the more small signs he found, more than there had been with Draco. Draco's tense behavior around his father and when voices were raised were signs that had already been haunting him. Now Harry's similar reaction to raised voices, his tiny size and the way he had flinched slightly at touches he didn't see coming and had often gone still and tense at any touch that lasted more than an instant was haunting him as well.

He had tried his best to ignore the child when he didn't need to protect him. Having to be around his best friend's child, his godson and know that the child would never feel anything but hate for him had been too hard. The boy's eyes had been so painful to see and he had shoved his emotions as far behind his shields as possible when near Harry. It had caused him to miss every sign and now he regretted that more than anything in his life other than not finding a way to protect Lily and Harry when Voldemort had gone after them. He had failed both of his godsons and all he could do now was try to repair the damage that he could.

Draco was trying his best to be strong but he had finally begun to open up a little before Harry had been rescued. He had a feeling that the other boy's arrival had likely set Draco back in that slightly as he knew that the boy wouldn't want to appear weak in front of his classmate. Harry would be even harder to get to open up as he knew that the child was coming into the situation with no trust in either him or Draco. The child was putting on a strong act just as Draco was but for a spy who had worked with children for over a decade, he could now easily see that Harry was still terrified and traumatized behind his mask.

As rare as it was, he had seen a few cases of abuse in his time as a professor, but it had never affected him as much as it did knowing that the victims were his own godsons. It had been easier to know how to handle Draco as he knew the child and personal experience had allowed him to understand what it was like when your father's punishments went too far. The sexual abuse that Harry had gone through was something he didn't know quite how to deal with. The idea that someone would so brutally rape a child was horrifying. Though there were several inner circle Death Eaters he had known were capable of doing that to a child, he had made it a personal goal to insure that the ones he knew had committed such crimes were sentenced to Azkaban after Voldemort's fall and he had been successful.

Harry had grown up in a home that he now suspected had never been safe. He had known Petunia well enough in the past that he had no trouble believing she had known about at least the physical abuse - and had possibly participated. He had believed that she had changed, but the house had not been big enough to believe that she had never heard Harry scream and the boy had too many scars to believe that she had never seen injuries. Narcissa Malfoy at least hadn't known what her husband had done and she had loved her son in her own way. Harry had not even had that. Knowing what the boy had been through in his first two years at Hogwarts, he wondered if the child even knew what safe was.

He was making it a personal goal to break the child of his end-of-year near death experiences before they became even more of a habit. Now that Harry was in his custody, he would make sure that the boy learned what it meant to be safe. He might be learning as he was going with both boys, but he would make sure he kept them safe, fed, clothed and never harmed them. That alone would be an improvement, he knew, but he hoped that they could be happy as well. He had promised himself that he would protect his godsons and he had failed them both. He was determined not to fail them again.

He wondered when Harry would be up to a shopping trip. He had suspected they would need to go soon when he saw how few things the elf had gathered, but the boy wearing his Hogwarts uniform confirmed his suspicions even further. He would have to glance in the boy's room once he had unpacked and figure out just how much the child would need. Draco had at least come with more than enough belongings, he simply wanted the child to be able to make his room his own and not an exact copy of his room at Malfoy Manor - and he also wished to avoid any jealousy.

The trip would require quite a few glamour spells if he wished for any semblance of peace, but it was necessary. Though he did not believe himself to currently be in much danger in highly public areas, the wizarding world was annoying enough with their sudden change in opinion of him after it was confirmed that he had always been a spy. He did not wish to know how they would react to the fact that he was now the guardian of The Boy Who Lived in addition to the Malfoy heir. He had never had any wish to be seen as a celebrity and he desperately hoped that something new would come up soon and take the attention off of him. It would be ridiculous if it remained necessary for all three of them to use glamour's anytime he needed to take the boys out in public. If they would calm down about him, he could easily scare off any reporters or 'fans' who tried to approach Harry.

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Harry was placing the last of his things in his new room and trying not to be embarrassed at how that almost made it look even more bare. The bookshelf held a single shelf of his school books and only half a second shelf containing the four books he had felt safe in taking from Dudley's bookshelf in his second bedroom (he had feared that if he confiscated anymore it would be noticed) and the couple of books he had received from his friends in addition to his photo album. He had placed his flute from Hagrid on one of the other shelves and the Quill Hermione had given him was sitting on his desk with some extra parchment.

The rest of his school things had been placed in the drawers of his desk and his school uniforms and pajamas were in the wardrobe while his trunk, broom and winter clothes were in the cupboard. The only reason he even had pajamas and winter clothes was because one of his dorm mates - he still didn't know which one - had told a seventh year prefect that he had none that fit in their first year. He had made it sound as though he had simply outgrown his own coat and forgotten to pack his other things. Somehow, the girl had believed it and had pulled out a catalog to help him order a cloak, scarf, hat and gloves in addition to some pajamas. He had always wished that he had been able to keep the catalog and order clothes other than his uniform, but he hadn't been given the chance.

With his Weasley sweaters, he felt more normal in colder weather, but in warmer weather he still had nothing to wear other than his uniform and the near-rags from the Dursley's that he refused to wear in the wizarding world. A part of him hoped that if the professor was going to take them shopping, he would be allowed to pick up some clothes as well. He still had some money from his first trip to Gringots as he had never had the chance to spend it except when catalogs for jokes shops, candy stores and books went around the dorms for birthdays and Christmas and he could always get a little more from the bank.

He couldn't help but wonder how his friends would react to him staying with the potions professor and how it would be explained to the rest of their world. He really didn't want to end up the center of another Hogwarts 'scandal' and he was afraid that his friends might react badly to the situation. He didn't exactly have a choice yet and he knew that Hermione at least would understand that and the others probably would, at least after a while. He just hoped that if he did end up choosing to stay with his godfather, his friends would be able to see that the man wasn't who they had thought he was as well.

He pulled out the parchments with his homework assignments written on them and took his potions book off the bookshelf, deciding it would be best to start with the class his new guardian taught. He had no idea what to expect now and though things had gone well so far, he couldn't let himself trust that it would stay that way. He hoped that maybe if he did a good job with his potions essay it would please the man. He buried himself in the task, forcing himself to forget about everything else. He was in the middle of reading back through the essay when a knock sent him jumping what felt like several feet into the air. He turned around to see Snape standing in the doorway, having obviously knocked on the open door.

"Yes sir?" he said carefully as he tried to calm down his now racing heart.

"I simply wanted to see how you were doing." The man replied, seeming to realize he had frightened him, "Have you unpacked?" he asked as he looked around the room.

"Yes sir." Harry repeated, blushing slightly but keeping a slightly wary eye on the man.

"Very well. We will be shopping soon and I shall pick you up some new things." Snape said.

"You don't have to do that, sir. I have enough." Harry replied, shocked that the man really did seem to plan on taking him shopping - and seemed to be indicating that he would pay for it.

"No, you do not." The man replied in a strangely gentle tone, "I am your guardian; it is my job to make sure you have the things you need. I can see that your relatives did not do that, but they were certainly no model for how any human being should behave."

Harry paused for a moment to try to figure out how to reply. He struggled to push away the feelings that came up at the mention of his relatives. He was trying so hard to forget about the things that had happened in that house, hoping that if he didn't think about it he could pretend it never happened, but he was never successful for very long at all. He knew logically that parents and guardians were supposed to provide a lot more for the children in their care than his relatives ever had, but it was still hard to understand that it really did apply to him as well, especially when that guardian was a man who had seemed to hate him until only the night before.

"I can pay for it." He offered carefully, unsure of how to deal with the situation.

"That is not your job. I know that your parents left you a trust vault, but that was meant to be for extra things, things that you wanted but did not need. All of your godparents knew going into it that it would be our job to provide for you if you ever came to live with us and we all willingly agreed. Money is not a problem for me so you do not need to worry." Snape said in the same gentle tone of voice.

"Thank you." Harry managed to say, slightly baffled at how different the man seemed. It really was as if he was living with someone he had never met before.

"May I look at your belongings? I need to know what we will need to get when we leave for our shopping trip. I would prefer to get everything finished in one day as it will require disguises." His godfather stated with an annoyed look on his face.

Harry nodded his agreement as he blushed at the thought of the man seeing how little he had and the condition of some of it before becoming confused at the last part of what the man had said, "Disguises?" he asked, liking the idea of no one being able to recognize him, but curious as to why the man thought it necessary.

Snape stepped towards the wardrobe, frowning at seeing only uniforms and too-big stained and holey socks and underwear. Harry blushed even further but felt a small amount of relief that he had managed to fold the boxers so that the blood stains didn't show. Mostly. Even though he knew that the man was aware of what his uncle had done to him, he didn't want there to be any more reminders for either of them. He quickly blinked away tears of shame before the man answered him.

"It seems that I am now considered to be a ... hero. I find the excessive attention distasteful at best. Despite what I have said in the past, I know that you feel the same. I plan on making use of glamours when we are required to be in public until things die down." The man said as he looked into the cupboard and a brief flash of confusion registered on his face.

Harry had nodded quietly in agreement before speaking, "A prefect helped me order some things when it got cold in first year." he explained softly before the man asked, "Someone told her I didn't really have anything." He added, looking at the floor in embarrassment.

"You do not need to be ashamed about any of this." His godfather said before pausing for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to say, "Your relatives were nothing short of monsters and the blame lies solely on them for the things they have done. You are only a child. They were meant to care for you and provide for you and they did not. That is in no way your fault."

A part of Harry wanted to protest but he quickly thought better of it, shifting slightly in his seat and trying to push the soreness of the not-yet-healed injuries out of his mind. He had dealt with much more pain in the past and felt almost silly for letting it bother him so much, but it was a near constant reminder of what had happened when he so desperately wanted to forget.

"There is no shame in asking for a pain potion, child. I have seen people with much less severe injuries request them. It has not even been a full day and magic does not heal everything." Snape said and Harry was once again shocked by the kind words, "Do you want me to bring you a potion?" the man asked.

Harry fought with himself for a moment before sighing softly, "Yes sir. Please." He responded and the man stepped out of the room before returning with a potion vial a few seconds later.

"Drink all of it, it is a single dose." Snape told him as he handed the vial over.

Harry quickly downed the contents and tried not to grimace at the taste, "Thank you." He told the man softly.

His godfather nodded, "I will be in the sitting room with Draco if you would like to join us." He said before stepping out of the room.

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Draco had watched as his godfather came out of his potions lab and head for Pot-Harry's room before turning back to the book he had been attempting to read, but when the man came back out and headed quickly for his lab before walking back out a moment later carrying what Draco knew was a pain potion, he set his book down, giving up all pretenses of actually reading the book he had only made a few pages of progress in as he waited in concern for Severus to come back. He didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on and embarrass Harry, but he found himself suddenly more concerned for the small boy.

He still couldn't get the image of the other boy unconscious, bleeding and looking so small the night before out of his mind. The sight had shaken Draco badly, he had never disliked the other boy and had hoped they could someday be friends and seeing him so injured was hard. As his mind had wandered back to the situation over the last few hours, he had done a lot of thinking on what to do now. The only thing he had managed to figure out was that if Harry was going to stay as Severus wanted, he would have to trust them so Draco was going to do his best to make Harry feel welcome and safe with them.

He would have to watch his tongue carefully for a while as he didn't want to slip up and say something that would upset his new god-brother. He didn't want to give the other boy any reason to think that the Draco he had known for the last two years really was the real one. If Harry was going to choose to live with them, Draco would have to show him that they could be friends. They would both have to make Harry believe that he was safe with them and Draco knew that with the acts they had both put on, that would be easier said than done.

He watched as his godfather walked in and as soon as he sat down Draco spoke, "Is he alright?" he asked, still concerned about the pain potion he had seen Severus take to the other boy.

"He will be fine." Severus replied, "He had been holding off on asking for the potion but he allowed me to give it to him." he explained.

Draco nodded and turned back to his book but after several minutes, he found that he still couldn't keep his mind on the story. He had yet to really have a conversation with his new godbrother, not counting the brief discussion when he had first woken up, and he decided that he needed to fix that. He marked his place and set the book down before making his way to the other boy's room.

Harry was sitting at his desk, looking to be making corrections on a piece of parchment and Draco knocked softly on the door, "Can I come in?" he asked carefully.

The other boy jumped at the noise and turned around quickly before nodding carefully and Draco stepped inside, making his way into the room and sitting on the edge of Harry's bed. "So ... what are you working on?" he questioned.

Harry looked slightly nervous as he glanced back to the parchment before looking over to Draco, "The potions essay." he answered.

Draco nodded, "Yeah, that one's pretty hard, but Uncle Severus already read mine and he said that I did a good job." he said before pausing a moment as he tried to decide how to word what he wanted to say, "If you want I could read over yours . I know potions never ... went that well for you. I'm sorry about that. I just ... I didn't want anyone to suspect I wasn't really on Father's side of things."

The other boy gave a slightly hesitant nod of his own, "If you don't mind." he said before continuing, "And it's okay, I understand."

Draco suddenly felt the need to explain himself further and he looked down for a minute to gather the courage he needed, "I was afraid to give Father any reason to think I didn't agree with him." He offered softly, knowing that it was only fair for his godbrother to know the basics about his life when he had seen Harry so injured, "Father hit me when he was displeased with me and I ... I was afraid." he explained, saying the words as quickly as he could before looking at the floor again, "Severus had to heal me too." he added hoping that the information would help Harry to understand his actions and be able to more easily trust him.

When Draco looked back up, he saw the other boy looking at him with wide eyes before he seemed to regain his composure. Harry gave a small understanding nod before turning to pick up the parchment he had been writing on and then holding it out to Draco.

"It's only the first draft. So ... let me know how I did?" he asked with a small smile.

Draco grinned at what seemed to be a peace offering and took the parchment from Harry, beginning to read through it and offer advice as he went. He was slightly surprised at just how well Harry had done on his own and made sure to tell him that, smiling again at the shocked and mildly proud look that appeared on the other boy's face.

Draco shot out of his bed as he heard screaming coming from the room across from his. Running out into the hall, he spotted his godfather rushing into Harry's room and quickly followed the man, standing frozen in the other boy's doorway as he watched his godbrother screaming and thrashing in his sleep, begging for someone to stop. He didn't think he had ever heard someone sound so scared. He watched as Severus placed a hand on Harry's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up before yanking it away as if he had been burned when Harry only screamed louder and frantically tried to back away from the touch.

"You're safe, Harry, wake up. You're at Hogwarts." The man said, trying to wake the boy up with his words but Harry didn't seem to react.

Draco's panic rose as the other boy remained trapped in his nightmare, he remembered the state Harry had been in when he had arrived and nearly felt sick. He didn't think he even wanted to know what his godbrother was dreaming about. As the smaller boy continued to scream Draco finally rushed into the room, moving past Severus to take a seat on the edge of Harry's bed a safe distance from where the other boy sat curled into a ball in the corner and still lost in his dream.

"Come on, Harry." He said as gently as he could, hoping that hearing another child might snap Harry out of his nightmare, "You're not there anymore, you're at Hogwarts in your room in Severus's quarters. I'm Draco and Severus was talking to you earlier. We're godbrothers and you live here now. I helped you with your potions essay last night." He began, keeping up a monologue of everything he could think to say until the other boy's screaming turned into soft crying, "You awake now?" he asked carefully as Harry's eyes slowly opened and he seemed to curl even more into himself before giving a tiny, quick jerk of his head that Draco took to mean yes.

Severus sent a grateful look to Draco before stepping closer to his other godson. "You're safe here, Harry." he said before attempting to place a comforting hand on the other boy's shoulder, something that he did often for Draco. The man pulled his hand back sharply again when the small boy seemed to jump several feet in the air.

"Please don't touch me." Harry said quickly, the request half-muffled as his face remained buried in his arms as he sniffled, clearly trying to calm his crying.

Draco quickly stood and backed over to other end of the room again, not wanting to upset the other boy again. Harry clearly wasn't dealing with things as well as it had seemed at first and while Draco could definitely understand that, he wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to help his godbrother but he didn't know him well enough to really know how to and he knew that until a couple of days ago, Harry had really had no reason to trust either him or Severus. Draco couldn't really even imagine being in Harry's shoes.

He watched as Harry wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve before scooting over slightly and feeling for his glasses, finally looking up once he had placed them on his face. "I'm okay." He said and Draco shook his head softly at the blatant lie, "Just ... don't touch me. Please." The other boy finished.

"Okay." Severus said softly as Draco watched from the corner of the room, "Do you want me to bring you a dreamless sleep?" he asked and Harry quickly nodded, muttering a soft ‘Please'.

As his godfather walked past him to retrieve the potion, Draco looked awkwardly back to the other boy. "I'm glad you woke up. That sounded ... bad." He managed to say, wishing he could think of something better.

Harry nodded carefully, arms still held tight around his knees, "Thank you." He said softly before slipping back into silence as both boys waited for Severus to return with the dreamless sleep.

Within a few more seconds the man had rushed back into the room with the potions vial and Draco watched as he carefully handed it to the other boy, trying not to touch him. Harry eyed it carefully for a moment before taking a deep breath and then downing it quickly before taking a sip from the glass of water at his bedside, "Thank you." He repeated again.

"Lay back down, it should take effect quickly." Severus stated before turning to Draco, "Go back to sleep." He told him and Draco quickly obeyed, stepping back out into the hallway.

"I promise, you are safe here, Harry." He heard his godfather say just before he pulled the door to his own bedroom closed.

Severus double checked the potions he knew he needed to bring with him as he again questioned his choice of taking the boys shopping that day. After Harry's nightmare, the boy had slept past noon under the effects of the dreamless sleep potion and had spent the rest of the day quietly working on his Summer homework and speaking as little as possible. He had sent the child to bed with a dreamless sleep the night before, knowing that he needed to be well rested for what they had planned today, even though it meant he couldn't give the little boy the potion again that night no matter how many nightmares he suffered.

He knew that there were many things the boy needed but while he was physically recovered enough to make the trip, he worried about the emotional aspect. He shook his head and tried to push away the doubts. It was important for Harry to see he really would have the things that every child should have now and Severus was more than ready to burn the tattered rags the Dursley's had tried to pass off as clothes. They just had to get through this day and if he picked up their school things as well, they would not have to leave the castle grounds again before school started.  In his mind, it was best to get it over with.

He stepped into the living room to find both boys waiting on a couch looking nervous, "Remember, refer to me as ‘Sir' or ‘Godfather' while we are in Diagon Alley and I will call you John and Mark." He stated, looking first and Harry and then Draco before casting glamour on himself, suddenly seeming to gain a slight amount of weight as his hair became short and light brown and his eyes turned blue. He then motioned both boys towards him before casting the same spell and watching as they became blond-haired, brown-eyed and obviously meant to be brothers.

"We will head to Madam Malkins first and then while we wait for her to finish the spells on Harry's clothes, we will pick up your books and school supplies before heading to choose things for Harry's room." He explained quickly, "We will floo to the Leaky Caldron. Draco will go first and I will call out the location before you step through Harry as you are not accustomed to the using the floo and then I will be right behind you." He added, having heard the story of Harry's last ‘adventure' with the floo and not wanting to repeat it.

With that said, he gave one last appraising look at both boys before handing Draco the floo powder. After his first godson stepped through he gave a few moments for him to move out of the way before tossing the powder and calling out the same location, quickly telling Harry to step in and giving him a slightly longer window to move before stepping through himself. He arrived to find Harry brushing himself off and Draco hovering close by, looking protective but unsure. With a nod at his godsons, they were on their way and within minutes Harry was looking extremely uncomfortable as Madam Malkin's tape measure zoomed around him while she happily showed him various fabrics and color choices.

The woman had looked much too thrilled at his story of the boy's accidental magic going awry and setting fire to his room, destroying his clothes and many other belongings and he watched Harry closely, hoping he wouldn't need to intervene as the boy nervously and quietly answered her questions in as few words as possible, looking as if he had never been given so many choices in his life and Severus frowned slightly has he realized that was likely true. He hated seeing the boy so uncomfortable, but he knew it was a necessary evil as Harry needed clothing that both fit him and was actually fit to be worn.

Once the smaller boy had been shown so many different fabrics that Draco looked like he was about ready to fall asleep and Severus was finding himself tempted to yell at the woman, she finally announced that she was done and should have the new wardrobe ready within a few hours. He quickly lead both boys into the bookstore, where he gathered their school books while Draco showed Harry the fiction section. He paid for their text books before shirking his purchase and heading back towards his godsons.

"These are my favorites." He heard Draco saying as the older boy pointed out a book series he recognized as being popular with his younger Slytherins.  

"Were there any books that you liked, John?" Severus asked, feeling slightly guilty as the boy jumped in surprise before nodding carefully, "Draco, please help him carry them." He said, amused at the shocked look on the younger boy face as the blond send him a look that clearly seemed to say, ‘I told you so.'.

Harry looked quickly between the shelves and Severus as Draco began gathering the books that his godbrother had shown interest in. "Go on, the bookshelf in your room wasn't meant to stay empty." He prompted, causing the boy to pick up a few books before shooting a worried look at the large amount that Draco continued gathering,

"It's too much, sir." He said softly.

Severus lowered his voice as he leaned in slightly, "I'm a professor and I promise you that I have more than enough money to buy books for my godson. I meant it when I told you that you would have the things you deserve."

The boy nodded carefully and picked up a few more books before watching with wide eyes as Draco handed the stack he had made to Severus before gathering more. He felt a strange mixture of amusement and sadness as he watched the child's face and he hoped that some day he wouldn't be so shocked at being given the things that every child deserved. Once Draco seemed satisfied that they had gathered enough books for Harry, the group headed to pay again before Severus shrunk the additional books and they headed back into the Alley.

He quickly led both boys in and out of stores to finish gathering their school supplies while making sure to watch for anything that seemed to catch Harry's eye, knowing that the child's birthday was in just a few days. It was easy to see that the crowd had his younger godson on edge and he was relieved when they headed into the final store so both boys could choose things to personalize their rooms.

He stood back as he allowed them to choose curtains, rugs and bedspreads along with a few other small things. He bit back a smile as he watched Draco play up his own excitement as he looked through different options, finally managing to get Harry to tell them which things he preferred and after an hour in the shop, they were finally ready to head back to Madam Malkin's to pick up Harry's new wardrobe.

With their shopping finally over, the three floo'd back to Hogwarts and Severus quickly removed the glamour's before unshrinking the bags and sending the boys to place them in their rooms while he ordered dinner from the house elves. With their order places, he collapsed into a chair and said a silent prayer of thanks that the day had managed to go without any major problems.

Harry stepped into his room and stared at the bags sitting on his bed. He knew that he had thanked his godfather at least five more times during dinner, but he wasn't sure he could ever thank him enough. He had an entire wardrobe of clothes that not only actually belonged to him, but fit better than anything but his school uniform ever had and it wasn't even only clothes, he had books, a room decorated with things he chose - including a lamp that Draco had demanded he buy - and even a wizarding board game. He didn't even know how to react.

He looked in the bags containing the books they had bought and began to slowly pull them out, examining each one before putting it onto his bookshelf. He was certain that Draco had added several books he hadn't even seen in the store.  He wasn't really sure what to think about the way the other boy had behaved while they were in Diagon Alley. He had hovered nearby almost protectively and seemed strangely determined that Harry would get everything he needed or wanted and more.

Draco was trying and he knew that his godfather was too, but even though he knew that, he couldn't stop the doubts that still whispered in the back of his mind. He had never known anything but cruelty from either of them - with the exception of the note from Draco - until only a few days before. It was hard to trust that things wouldn't go back to the way they had been before, or worse. He had to admit though, so far, things were better then he would have dared to hope.

He really did have his own room, bigger then he'd slept in at the Dursley's and with nice, sturdy furniture. As he pulled the other bags off of the bed before starting to put the bed bedspread on he couldn't help but think how different it was to Dudley's second bedroom. Nearly everything in that room had been old and falling apart, right down to the pillow and blanket, but here it was all new, all really his and much more then he needed.

Severus had kept his promises so far. He really had allowed him to make the room his own. The new rug he had chosen was already on the floor, the curtains were waiting to be hung on the magical window that let him look out at the lake, the lamp had been sat out on a table the few belongings he already had were sat out here and there making it truly look like a room that belonged to someone, belonged to him.

It wasn't even only the room, he had bought him the new clothes that he had promised and mentioned at supper that he'd like to burn ‘those rags that your so-called relatives attempted to call clothing'. Severus had bought the books and the board game, extra parchment and quills so he could write to his friends and other odds and ends. Harry hadn't missed a meal since he had been there and when he had asked them not to touch him, no one had. He wasn't even sure how to react.

He pulled out his school supplies and began setting them on shelves and in his desk, marveling at having his own room to store them and not even having to hide them. He could read ahead in his books once he had finished his homework if wanted too and he wouldn't even have to hide it. He desperately hoped that things would stay this way, because he had started to get his hopes up and he knew that losing this now would be horrible. He was finally starting to feel like he might be safe.