Severus was working on grading assignments in his office mindful of the boy who was in the room that had been given to him for the few days Severus would be at Hogwarts finishing his grading. His thoughts went to everything he had learned over the course of the day before; the Dursleys abandoning Potter, Potter not surprised by it and the fact that Potter was not the spoiled pampered prince Severus always thought he was. He could still remember the surprise in Potter’s eyes when he had seen the room he had been given even though it wasn’t much. And Potter’s words; it’s better than what I’m used to.

            Severus put his quill down and rubbed his temple. He didn’t know how he was going to survive a few weeks, at most, with Potter. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with a spoiled brat but all the questions that were swimming around in his head; he didn’t have any answers to them. He had noticed little things today, like his surprise at being given such a large room and his lack of surprise by his relatives abandoning him, and they were hinting that something was not right.

            Now if only Severus could figure out what those hints were really trying to tell him.

            Pushing the thoughts away, Severus refocused on the assignments he was grading; he needed to get them done and he knew that he wouldn’t if he spent all his time contemplating the enigma that was Potter. Granted, that contemplation was a welcoming relief from having to read through dunderheads who didn’t know how to write if their lives depended on it, and that was just spelling-wise.

            By the time lunch came around, Severus had managed to get through half of the assignments and his head was hurting. Swallowing a headache potion, he made his way back into his quarters to get something to eat for lunch. He paused when he noticed his quarters were quiet and wondered were Potter was; surely the boy knew it was lunchtime.

            He probably just asked the house elves, Severus thought but he still made his way to the room; he told himself it was because leaving an almost twelve year old to his own devices for too long wasn’t smart.

            Knocking on the door, he heard a soft “come in” before he opened the door. He was surprised to see Potter seated on the four-poster bed in the center of the room chewing on the end of his quill while occasionally looking at the textbook that lay open beside the parchment he was writing on.

            “Doing summer homework, Potter?” Severus said covering his momentary surprise with a sneer.

            “Might as well get it done while I can,” Potter murmured around the end of the quill he was chewing on. Severus gritted his teeth; that irritated him to no end. Potter’s last words came to his mind and Severus narrowed his eyes.

            “While you can?” he said.

            Potter nodded absently lowering the quill and starting to write again. He paused and looked back at the textbook before turning the page. “Did you need something, Professor?” he asked lifting his head. His glasses were slightly askew but he fixed them after he put the quill down on the parchment.

            “Have you had lunch yet?” Severus asked eyes scanning the area. He knew that if Potter did then the house elves likely already cleaned everything up. However, judging by the surprised look Potter gave him, the answer to his question was no.

            “I guess I lost track of time,” Potter said. “Uh, thanks for reminding me though.”

            “Can’t have Gryffindor’s golden boy starving, now can we?” Severus replied with a sneer to hide that he was a little unnerved with the boy’s appearance. He wasn’t a spy for nothing and he could see that Poppy wasn’t kidding; the boy was much too skinny and he seemed a little pale though he did have it in him to glare at the Potions Professor.

            Before he could say anything, though, Severus added, “Just ask the house elves to get you something to eat.”

            “What are house elves?” Potter asked before he looked down suddenly finding the blank portion of his piece of parchment interesting.

            Severus, on the other hand, was surprised Potter didn’t know about house elves. If anything, he would have thought Weasley would have told him about them. He decided to humor the boy though. “House elves are magical creatures that usually work for wizards and witches. They are the ones that cause the food to appear in the Great Hall for example.”

            “I never knew that.”

            Severus snorted. “Well, now you do,” he said shortly before he turned and was about to leave the room when Potter stopped him again.

            “Um, Professor, how do I contact a house elf?” the boy asked.

            Severus closed his eyes. Today’s going to be a long day, he thought.

. . .

            The day passed by relatively peacefully, at least in Harry’s opinion. After learning how to contact the house elves in Hogwarts, he spent most of his time in the room he had been given working on his summer homework. He was a bit confused y one of the questions he had to answer for his Potions assignment and was tempted on asking Professor Snape but, remembering how nasty Snape was to him during class, he wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing.

            But he hasn’t acted that way since he picked me up at King’s Cross and agreed to watch over me until Professor Dumbledore finds my relatives, Harry thought. He chewed his lip as he studied the question; he could barely read his own handwriting but then he hadn’t had much practice with working with a quill before.

            Sighing, Harry decided to get back to his Potions essay and work on his Charms assignment. It wasn’t as long as his Potions assignment and Harry was able to get through it by dinnertime. Rubbing his fingers to ease the cramps and standing up and stretching. He walked around a bit; he had been sitting for so long that his legs had fallen asleep.

            Afterwards, he returned to the bed and called for Petal, the Hogwarts house elf who had helped him during lunch, and with a pop the female house elf appeared next to his bed. “What can Petal get for yous, Master Harry?” she asked.

            Harry shifted uneasily. He didn’t understand why the house elves always called him ‘master’ but when he asked Petal to stop, it would fall on deaf ears and Harry just gave up. “Uh, surprise me,” he said.

            Petal smiled and disappeared with a pop. She reappeared a few moments later as Harry pushed his parchments and quills out of the way and a tray appeared on the bed; there was plate of roast beef, steamed broccoli covered in creamy cheese, mashed potatoes and a dinner roll that smelled as if it was freshly out of the oven. Also on the tray was a goblet filled with pumpkin juice, a napkin and a knife, fork and spoon.

            “Thank you Petal,” Harry said.

            Petal beamed. “Yous such a nice master, Master Harry,” she said before she vanished with a pop. Harry would never understand why she always said that whenever he thanked her but decided not to worry about it.

            He was halfway done with his meal when a knock sounded on the door. “Come in,” he called wiping his mouth before he began eating again.

            The door opened and Snape walked in. “At least you didn’t lose track of time this time, Potter,” he said.

            Harry decided against responding to that. “Has Professor Dumbledore found my relatives yet?” he asked. He wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of going back with the Dursleys but he knew that it was inevitable. Dumbledore made it clear a few weeks ago that Harry had to go back even though Harry had tried to tell him that he wasn’t happy there. He was afraid of telling Dumbledore the entire truth and was hoping that hinting at the entire truth would be enough; sadly, that was not the case.

            He played with a loose thread on the blanket as he waited for Snape to respond. He had been conditioned from a young age to never ask question and, though he knew things were different at Hogwarts, he still felt a little uneasy about asking questions especially from someone who hated him.

            “You would have already been sent back already if he had,” Snape said.

            “Oh.”

            “Severus?” A voice called and Snape turned before walking out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with Dumbledore just behind him.

            “Hello Harry,” Dumbledore greeted him with a cheerful smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Getting started on your summer homework I see.”

            “Might as well get it done right away,” Harry said with a shrug.

            “Capital idea, my boy. It’s always a good idea to get through homework right away so that you will have the summer free for doing fun things,” Dumbledore said.

            Yeah, fun things, Harry thought sourly. The most fun he has during summer vacation was being able to go outside and work in Aunt Petunia’s garden. That wasn’t that fun but, compared to Harry’s other chores, it was.

            “I was wondering if you could help me, Harry,” Dumbledore said. “I was considering using a tracking charm to find your relatives but then I thought that perhaps you might be able to help me out.”

            “How?” Harry asked.

            “Do you know who your uncle’s sister was?”

            Harry grimaced as he thought of Aunt Marge—she wasn’t really his aunt but Uncle Vernon insisted that he call her thought—and her vicious dog Ripper. He could still remember spending most of the time Marge was visiting in a tree to avoid that dog.

            “I take it by your expression that you do and don’t get along with her,” Dumbledore said.

            “Probably doesn’t spoil him like his aunt and uncle do,” Snape sneered.

            Harry glared at the Potions Professor; he didn’t know a thing about Harry’s life with the Dursleys. Of course, that was primarily because Harry didn’t tell anyone; he feared no one would believe him and he feared what his uncle would do if he found out that Harry told someone. Still, it hurt to be accused of being a spoiled brat when the exact opposite was true.

            “Severus, really, you shouldn’t judge Harry like that without knowing if it’s true,” Dumbledore chided the Potions Professor gently.

            Snape glared at Dumbledore and Harry had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling at seeing the Potions Professor being rebuked.

            “But you do know her, Harry, yes?” Dumbledore said.

            Harry sighed but nodded. “Her name’s Marge,” he said.

            “Do you know where she lives?”

            “Uh…” Harry narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember; he had overheard Vernon tell Petunia where Marge lived a few years ago. “South Yorkshire, I think.”

            “Very well, Harry. Severus, will you be leaving soon?”

            “Tomorrow morning,” Snape said stiffly.

            “Very well. I doubt I will have found them by tomorrow if they are not with Vernon’s sister so I shall keep you and Mr. Potter updated on the search. Good evening to you two.” Dumbledore then left the room.

. . .

            The following morning, Albus apparated directly to South Yorkshire and cast a disillusionment charm on him as well as a tracking charm. Some tracking charms could work with only a name to go by—names were power in the Wizarding world—and the tracking charm that Albus cast was one of those. It led him to a house a few miles away from one of the cities in the county; there was a large garden outside of the house and, tied in the garden, were twelve big dogs.

            Albus released the disillusionment charm and the twelve dogs immediately started barking wildly and pulling on their chains. Thankfully, they were not strong enough to break free from their leashes. Albus ignored them as he walked down the stone path to the door; there wasn’t a car in the driveway but Albus figured either the Dursleys weren’t there or they had left early.

            Knocking on the door, Albus waited patiently until the door opened to reveal a short, plump woman with blue eyes. “Who are you?” the woman demanded.

            “Are you Marge Dursley?” Albus asked not answering the woman’s question.

            “Who wants to know?”

            “My name is Albus Dumbledore. I’m looking for your brother and sister in law, Vernon and Petunia,” Albus said. “Have you seen them?”

            “Ah, Vernon said you’d be comin’ by. Get off my property before I set my dogs on you!” Marge growled.

            “I only wish to know where your brother and sister in law are and then I shall leave,” Albus said surprised by the term that Vernon had used to describe him; he remembered Vernon using that term to describe both him and Harry when he had visited the Dursleys after Harry’s first bout of accidental magic when he was three. He had thought Vernon had grown out of using that term but, apparently, he hadn’t.

            “I ain’t telling ya. Vernon said that you’ll just stick that nephew of Petunia’s back with them and they don’t want that. Good for nothing brat that kid is. Ungrateful little urchin. Vernon should’ve given him up for adoption or put him in an orphanage,” Marge said furiously. “That degenerate brat’s as shifty as his alcoholic parents; it’s a no wonder he went to St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.”

            Albus felt anger go through him at the sheer number of insults that was spewing from the woman’s mouth. He gritted his teeth slowly relaxing himself when he felt his magic begin to stir in response to his anger. He could now see why Harry didn’t like Marge Dursley.

            “I ain’t answering your questions so get off my property now,” Marge said sternly.

            Albus wasn’t at all fazed by Marge’s tone. “Just tell me where Vernon and Petunia went and I shall leave,” he said.

            “No.”

            Albus sighed. “I really didn’t want to do this,” he murmured and cast a silent legilimens before poking around in Marge’s mind long enough to determine that Vernon had only told his sister that they were going to stay in a hotel in London before looking for another place to live. Once Albus got the name for the hotel, he left Marge’s mind.

            “Good day to you,” he said politely before turning and walking away. He didn’t need to obliviate her because he hadn’t done anything relating to magic around her.

            Once he was out of sight of Marge’s home, he apparated to London near the hotel he was seeking. He made a point of transfiguring his clothing so that they resembled, somewhat, the clothing of those around him. There were still eccentric, not that Albus cared, and did draw the eyes of more than one person.

            Reaching the Holiday Inn hotel, Albus made his way into it and over to the innkeeper’s desk. “Excuse me?” he said to the girl who was reading a magazine.

            “Yeah, what can I do for you?” the girl asked in a bored tone.

            “I’m looking for a couple of guests who are staying here.”

            “Names?”

            “Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley,” Albus said.

            The girl went about looking for the Dursleys while Albus was conscious of the stares he was receiving from the other guests in the hotel’s lobby.

            “Sorry, sir, the Dursleys checked out an hour before you got here,” the girl said.

            “I see. Do you know where they went?” Albus asked.

            The girl shrugged. “No idea. Is that all?”

            Disappointed, Albus nodded before leaving the hotel. His only lead and now he didn’t know where to continue looking. He supposed he could try casting another tracking charm; if they had only left an hour ago then they couldn’t have gotten that far, could they?

            Albus decided to try that and hope he could find another lead as to where the Dursleys were and, perhaps, get answers for why they left Privet Drive.

. . .

            Severus glanced over his shoulder to make sure the brat was keeping up as he led the way past the wards of Hogwarts. Normally, he would have floo-traveled to his home but there were certain spells that prevented anyone who wasn’t of the Prince bloodline from entering the home unless they had prior permission. As Potter didn’t, Severus would have to apparate them to beyond the boundary of the wards surrounding the valley and then make sure the wards understood that Potter had permission.

            Severus still didn’t like the idea of bringing a Potter into his home but he was still very suspicious. He couldn’t help but be; everything that has happened in the past two days was proof that something was seriously wrong. It was hard for Severus to keep hold of his preconceived notions about the Potter brat when the little things he has been noticing were hinting that his notions were wrong.

            He gritted his teeth. He wasn’t too surprised he hadn’t noticed these little things during the school year. All he saw was a carbon copy of James Potter; the rule breaking and the fiasco with the Philosopher’s Stone only added to that. Now, on the other hand, he was forced to see the little things he missed while school was in session.

            This thinking is starting to give me a headache, Severus thought coming to a stop once they were beyond the gates of the home. “Come, Potter,” he said.

            “Where’re we going?” Potter asked.

            “Forgotten already, Potter?” Snape said coolly.

            Potter flushed and glared at him. “No, I’m just wondering where your home is,” he snapped.

            “You’ll see,” Snape said taking the boy’s arm. “I suggest you let your owl out of her cage. She didn’t seem to care for apparition the last time we did it.”

            Hedwig chirped in response and Potter hesitated but opened the cage. Hedwig flew out of it before chirping and flying off gliding along with the gentle wind.

            Snape then turned and apparated away with a soft crack that distilled the air; the two of them reappeared on a dirt path surrounded by trees that sloped gently downward into a beautiful but small valley. The Princes had chosen the valley to build their ancestral home because it was far enough away from the muggle world that they could avoid the persecution of witches and wizards during the 1600s; nowadays, it was peaceful and no one of a dark nature could find the valley let alone get past the protection wards that surrounded the valley, and the manor within it.

            When Severus inherited Prince Manor after his mother passed away, he had learned there was more to the valley than he knew before. It was also home to a host of magical creatures of both light and dark origin; the wards only prevent dark creatures, witches and wizards from entering the valley and there were already dark creatures in the valley when the wards went up. The creatures left the residents of Prince Manor alone and, in turn, the residents of Prince Manor left the creatures alone. There were some that didn’t mind it if the residents of the manor asked them questions—some of the creatures were sentient enough to actually respond whether out loud or telepathically—or studied them but there were some that you should avoid if you could as they are very protective of their homes and, especially, their young.

            “Wow,” Potter breathed upon seeing the valley. “This is beautiful.”

            Severus didn’t respond as he kept his hand on Potter’s arm and led the way down the sloping path past the wards; his magic stirred in response to the wards and, because he was holding Potter’s arm, the wards acknowledged that Potter had permission to be in the valley. Once beyond the wards, Severus released Potter’s arm and told him to keep up as he kept walking.

            The valley was one of the smaller valleys within the Pennines though only witches and wizards knew about it and only those of the Prince bloodline—and those given permission by a Prince—could enter it. The valley was primarily forest though a river did weave its way around the boundary to the north and west of the valley.

            As the valley wasn’t big, the walk to Prince Manor took maybe five minutes. You could walk from one end of the valley to the other in twenty minutes if you took your time and ten if you were in a hurry. Potter was looking everywhere as they walked along the path toward the manor though, his emerald green eyes wide with surprise and awe as he moved.

            “You actually live here?” he said.

            “No, Potter, I just brought you to a random valley because I felt like it,” Severus said scathingly glaring at the dunderheaded brat he was forced to keep an eye on.

            Potter flushed again before glaring at him but said nothing.

            Finally, the two of them reached the manor. It was a beautifully constructed with sash windows along the first and second floors and towers that rose up a floor higher on either side of the manor. There was a stone path winding its way across the grass to the double doors.

            “This place is huge,” Potter breathed.

            Severus, again, didn’t respond as he led the way to the doors and unlocked the doors. He walked into the foyer waving his wand to turn on the lights as Potter hesitantly followed him. The foyer was large with a spiral staircase that led to the first floor and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling; on the wall across from the door was a portrait of Severus’s mother who was currently asleep. To the right of the staircase was the living room; there was also the door that led to a stairway that would take someone to the top of the south tower. To the left was the dining room, and beyond it the kitchen, and the door that led to a stairway that would take someone to the top of the north tower.

            A pop sounded and the Prince family house elf, a small female house elf by the name of Kari, appeared. “Master Severus is back,” the house elf greeted him. “And yous has company? Yous should’ve told Kari, Master Severus, so Kari could prepare.”

            “It was last minute, Kari,” Severus said.

            “Where shall your guest stay, Master Severus?”

            “One of the guest rooms is fine, Kari.”

            “Kari’ll get to work cleaning the room, Master Severus,” Kari said before disappearing with a pop taking Potter’s stuff with him as she went.

            “Come, Potter, we should discuss some things while we’re waiting for Kari,” Severus said leading the way into the living room. He sat down and Potter, after a moment, sat down in the armchair in the room.

            “As you know, you’ll be staying here until Professor Dumbledore finds your relatives. While you are here, I expect you to obey the rules I have set for you. I will not have you running around as if you own the place.”

            Potter glared at him but, before he could say anything, Severus went on.

            “The rules are simple that even someone as dimwitted as you should be able to comprehend them,” Severus added earning him another glare. He was probably being a bit unfair, especially if his suspicions were correct, but he wasn’t exactly a nice person.

            “The main rule is that you are my guest and you will treat me with respect. Do that and I shall endeavor to do the same,” Severus said and decided to ignore the incredulous snort that Potter let out. “And remember that you are a guest and should not treat this situation as if you were back with your relatives. Understand?”

            “I understand, sir,” Potter said.

            Severus was silent for a long moment but decided that if Potter was going to remain with him for a week at the most, that was supposing it took that long to find the Dursleys, then he would no doubt get bored eventually. He didn’t like the idea of Potter wandering around his home but it was better than hearing him complain about how bored he was.

            “You may also explore the manor if you wish,” he said hoping he didn’t sound as reluctant as he felt. “But do not enter any of the rooms that are locked; they are locked for a reason. As we wouldn’t want Dumbledore’s golden boy to starve, you are welcomed into the kitchen at any time if you get hungry. If you are in dire need of assistance, come get me or Kari. You may also leave the manor but do not go into the forest and ask permission before going flying.”

            “Yes sir,” Potter said.

            A pop sounded and Kari reappeared in the living room. “The guest room is ready, Master Severus,” she said.

            “Good. Please escort Mr. Potter to his room, Kari,” Severus said.

            “Kari’ll do that. Come, Mr. Potter, Kari’ll show you to your room,” Kari said looking at Potter.

            Potter nodded before following Kari as she led the way toward the spiral staircase.

            Severus watched him go before turning his gaze to the fireplace across from him as it flared to life and Albus’s head poked through. “Headmaster,” Severus greeted him.

            “Severus, may I step through?” Albus asked.

            “You will anyway so I suppose.”

            Albus’s head disappeared and his entire body reappeared. “I am afraid I am at a dead end in locating Harry’s relatives, Severus. I managed to track them to a restaurant in London but I lost the trail again. It will take time for me to pick it up again.”

            “And?”

            “Harry may end up having to stay here a bit longer than I had originally thought.”

            Wonderful, Severus thought sourly though, to be honest, this gave him more time to prove whether his suspicions were true or not. He had to know because he did not tolerate child abuse or neglect and if Potter really was being abused or neglected then Severus would do whatever he must to remove Potter from the Dursleys’ care. He told himself that he was only doing it for Lily but another part of him argued that he was also doing it because he hated child abuse and neglect with a passion and would not wish that on the Potter brat, no matter how much he didn’t like him.

            “Very well headmaster,” he said out loud.

            “I shall be going now, Severus,” Albus said. “I will return when I have any more information on the Dursleys’ whereabouts.” Without another word, he turned before floo-traveling back to Hogwarts.