"Abuse? They don't abuse me sir." Harry said in confusion, his heart however was pounding. Why did the man have to be so blunt with it? His survival instincts had kicked in and he knew that unless he deny, deny, deny he would be in serious trouble when his Uncle found out.

"Potter, please do not insult my intelligence by blatantly lying to me when the evidence is clearly on display for the world to see." Severus drawled out.

Severus couldn't stop the eyebrows that went up on his own accord at the lie that Potter just spouted. He had almost forgotten that denial was a given when it came to getting children to speak out about their home life to protect themselves. This might take a while, but he would stay here for as long as it took.

"Then pray tell me how you received your injuries Potter?" Severus asked in a tone that told the child he was simply humoring him.

"Of course sir, I was riding my bike down this huge hill, hit a pebble and flew off it. I was lucky that I had my helmet on because my body crashed into a tree and man did it hurt," He replied seriously.

Harry had said that with wide innocent eyes and such an innocent voice that Severus could almost believe him for a second until he remembered the hand-printed colored bruises on the child's arms and pointed it out.

"Okay... but can you explain those hand-shaped bruises on both of your arms?" Severus asked with a quirk of his eyebrow, wondering how the boy was planning on lying his way out of this one.

"Oh that? My friend Rick was pulling me to walk faster, but he gripped me a little too hard, hence the bruises. No matter, all is forgiven," Harry replied with a sheepish look on his face.

Severus couldn't believe it, since when was Potter such a good liar? His answers were exactly on point. He was very tempted at that point to legitimize the child but he knew that for one Albus would kill him. Not to mention this small share of camaraderie that they were showing would officially end.

Severus decided to try another tactic that usually worked without fail on his Slytherins. Guilt coupled with disappointment; it was harsh but then again he wasn't the Slytherin Head of house for nothing.

"I don't understand why you're lying to me Harry and why you are defending them. You are betraying yourself because you'll just have to go back to the Durselys unless the truth comes out." Severus said with a depressed voice as if he was giving up on the child.

Severus of course was lying as well; Harry was not going back to the muggles no matter what happened. But at the moment the boy didn't know that yet. He could see the boy's eyes widen again only this time he saw traces of fear and uncertainty in them. He continued, knowing that as much as it paned him he needed to break that.

"I'm very disappointed in you Harry, I can admit when I'm wrong, and I would have thought that a Gryffindor like yourself could too. I guess I was wrong about you," Severus said with a shake of his head before pushing back his chair as if he was about to get up and leave.

Throughout his speech Severus watched as Harry's carefully constructed blank mask started to crumble down. He knew the use of his given name coming from him would be his breaking point. Severus was completely blown away by the words starting to come out of the boy's mouth however.

"Fine," Harry replied in a weary voice that didn't fit him. "Since you really want to know, then I'll tell you. I'm a worthless freak, a burden to all the normal people, and a huge waste of space." Harry said matter-factly, as if he truly believed it.

Severus was appalled, how dare those muggles tell Lily's child that. He struggled to calm his temper and before Harry's eyes, drunk a calming draught like he had just given the child. It wouldn't do for Severus to get angry and accidentally frighten the child. He motioned for him to continue on with the story.

"They didn't like me because I did magic, and I didn't even know that I was a wizard until Hagrid came to get me. They made me do chores so I could earn my keep." Harry replied as his gaze took a faraway look on it as the memories came forth.

"What kind of chores Harry?" Severus asked, now unintentionally calling him by his first name.

"Stuff like, gardening, cooking, and cleaning the house and their rooms. I did dusting, washing clothes, the windows and doing the lawn. Stuff like that." Harry replied as he ticked each chore off with his fingers.

"How old were you when this all started?" Severus asked in horror, this was a far cry then what he had originally thought.

"I was 5, I remember making eggs and crying because I slipped and burnt my hand on the stove," Harry murmured with a sigh.

"They had you working like a house elf with no pay, and they were given 700 pounds a month for keeping you. That is why I assumed you were spoiled," Severus replied with a shake of his head.Those bastards, how dare they?

Severus could see the child literally start to come apart at the seams before his very eyes. Before he could even think of comforting him he watched as Potter visibly straightened up and put his face in a neutral expression and he longed to know once again what the child was thinking of.

Harry couldn't believe it, all their talk of them taking him in out of the goodness of their hearts was all for naught when they were getting paid to keep him; those jerks. He could now understand why Voldemort hated muggles, he would never join the dark side but he was a bit sympathetic to the cause now. He felt a little ashamed and ill at the thought of understanding his parent's murderer.

"I got all of Dudley's old clothes, and I wasn't allowed to have a bedroom so I slept in my cup... I mean somewhere else." Harry said faltering on the words.

Harry couldn't bring himself to talk about the cupboard and what it represented, nor could he bring himself to talk about Uncle Vernon's punishments, even if the evidence was clear as day.

Severus knew that Harry was holding something back but let it go for now. The boy had already acknowledged said abuse, so he decided to stop the questioning for now. Severus decided to leave him at this time to prepare for classes.

Harry was glad that Snape was leaving; he could finally let his masks down. He struggled to control the tears in his eyes that threatened to fall down his cheeks. He couldn't believe they were getting money for him and still treated him like dirt. Harry closed the curtains around his bed; he didn't want someone to come in and see him on the verge of breaking down.He was just so hurt, and he just wished he could have something to take away the pain. He felt like the hurt was tearing his insides apart. 

Once again the thought of ending his life started to come back into play. He didn't want to think about what he couldn't have at the moment. But he was drowning in all his emotional grief and he couldn't think about anything else. He reached towards the dresser for a glass a water to swallow the lump in his throat when his arm got caught in between the dresser and bed. When pulled it back up there was a long gash with blood dribbling off where the desk had cut his arm.

So focused on the physical pain, his emotional hurt was almost non-existent. He had found a way to keep his emotions at bay until he could end it all. He conjured up a razor and proceeded to decorate his arm in many slashes. He breathed in a sigh of relief at every cut he made. He quickly finished and put a glamour on his arm in parseltongue to hide the evidence.

It wouldn't do to give them another reason to doubt his sanity, or to keep an eye on him. He was just so tired, never stopping to think the loss of blood had aided in that. He closed his eyes to try to sleep and once again fell into a peaceful sleep where he dreamed of being with his parents. He smiled to himself knowing he would be with them soon.

Severus herded the first years to the infirmary for his and Poppy's annual check-up on the new Slytherins. They usually found at least 5 children a year with questionable injuries. Just once in his teaching career would he like one year where there was no children abused by their guardians. As they were being examined he looked over and saw that the curtains around Harry's bed were drawn.

As Poppy took care of his first years, he walked over and peeked through the curtains and saw that Harry was sleeping contently with a peaceful expression on his face. He put a modified silencing charm around his bed that would notify Poppy if he woke up but kept the sounds from inside the infirmary away from him. Satisfied that the child wouldn't wake up he turned back to his snakes.

Severus was at a standstill about how to treat Harry, he knew that due to the nature of his current role in the war he couldn't afford to treat him nice in front of the students or teachers, least the death eater children report back to their parent, and have his cover nearly blown. But at the same time he couldn't treat him like he did before.

What kind of message would he be sending to the poor child; confess your fears and I'll exploit you later? Right, that would definitely be telling the child how much he was worth, nothing in his eyes. He absolutely refused to do that. Maybe he could speak to Harry in private about it. He was confused about his protective feelings he was getting for the child of his enemy.

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

The next day had Severus walking into the infirmary where he heard Granger and Weasley trying to get passed the tyrant known as Madame Pompfrey who was telling them quite forcibly about not being able to visit Harry in the bed. Where were they when all this was happening? Severus thought to himself? Some friends right? He would have to talk to Granger and Weasley when he had a chance.
He heard Harry's blank tone reply in accordance to Poppy's words and Severus had to wonder to himself if Potter had ever sounded like that before. It was a disturbing tone, one that you would never want to hear in a child voice; it was dead and full of resignation.

The next morning when Harry woke up he was refreshed and in a good mood until he heard Ron and Hermione's voices. He didn't want to deal with them today. Now they want to know what was happening after the fact that it happened. Where were they when he needed them? Aware of how his voice sounded he replied that he was to tired and didn't want any visitors because he was going back to sleep.

After they left, Harry wasn't feeling the least bit guilty about lying to his friends. He then went into the bathroom to shower. As he showered he let his glamour's fall, and was almost in a trance by the way the scars looked on his arms, he loved it. He finished with his shower and put his now long hair back into a pony tail and walked out to see Snape sitting in a chair by his bed. Wondering what the heck he was doing here, he casually walked back to his bed and sat down.

Severus was once again angry at how no one seemed to realize how this child was treated. The clothes that he had on were new courtesy, of Severus who had gone out and bought for the child once he had seen the rags in the boy's trunk. Because the knew clothes fit him, they could see just how thin the child was.

He would need to take nutrient potions for a while to help him long; although he would never be as tall as his year mates he wouldn't stay the size he was now. Severus shook his head, that wasn't what he was here today for. He was to finish talking about his home life. He put his hand over his eyes sighed and started the painful conversations.

"Good Morning Mr. Potter," Severus stated conversationally.

"Good Morning Sir," Harry replied in a soft voice

"How are you feeling today?" Severus asked genuinely curious on how the boy was doing.

"I'm fine sir," Harry answered carefully, still confused on why the man was here.

"Well the reason I'm here is because we are going to finish the conversation we started yesterday about the Durselys. Now how did you acquire those injuries on your body that led to you being in the infirmary?" Severus ask professionally, he was trying to make this as quick as possible.

"It was my going away gift, since they have no control over me for going to the freaky school every year." Harry replied tiredly, knowing there was no point to deny. Snape had taken the vow there was no way to evade this. He ignored the part of him, that seemed relieved that he was finally sharing the truth with someone.

"What did he say to you?" Severus asked quietly, knowing that with physical abuse verbal was never far away.

"That I deserve this punishment and that if anyone cared they would have put a stop to this long ago," Harry mumbled out. And honestly he had to agree with his Uncle about that part at least. No one cared, and this all went unnoticed until the man went too fair.

"You do know that is not true right?" No child deserves to be treated like that," Severus told him tightly. "And we care, even if we don't always show it. I'm just sorry it took us so long to see," he admitted quietly.

"Sure..." Harry replied with a shrug. It was kinda hard to believe, especially if you were told this your entire life. He had load of time to think on it, if it wasn't true why would his relatives constantly say it to him? He convinced himself rather quickly that his teacher was lying to him.

It hurt Severus's soul for that child to believe that his self-worth was that low. To think that you're a freak just because you can do magic, when you were born that way! It was just jealousy that fueled the hatred which turned into abuse. If only they had known! He could now understand why he didn't tell anyone. The poor child didn't believe he deserved kindness.

"We'll work on that Harry." You are worth something; your life has a purpose in this world." Severus said steadily, he would get the boy to believe his words in time.

"Yeah of course it does. I'm the goddamn savior of the wizarding world" Harry replied bitterly.

"What? No that is not what I meant, you don't have to save the world Harry," Severus said with a frown. What made the boy think he did?

"I do, Dumbledore said so, besides there is that stupid prophecy..." Harry rushed out, before shutting his mouth at the look Snape was now giving the wall.

"I know about that, you are just a child; and you do NOT have to save us. There are plenty of witches and wizards more powerful then you who are capable of dealing the Dark Lord. Prophecies are just that, you took divination, that's not what makes them true." Severus stated, angry at how Albus had told the boy the prophecy. It was a wonder the child was still on the light side, it goes to show just how strong the child really was.

"Okay," Harry replied wanting the man to stop lecturing him. "Do you know when I'll be able to get out of the infirmary sir?" He said trying to change the subject.

Severus wanted to know what happened to the brat who would rather serve a detention then give him the respect and call him sir, The boy had been calling him that at nearly every sentence.

"Not for a while Mr. Potter, Poppy found out that you've broken your wrist numerous times in the past. Which wouldn't be a problem only due to it healing incorrectly it's going to take about a week to fully fix it so you won't have any problems in the future with it." Severus told him with a sigh.

"Oh a week huh?" Harry sighed softly; he wouldn't be able to put his plan into action if he was stuck in the infirmary.

"The Headmaster has given you the choice of staying here or staying with me. Which do you prefer?" Severus asked though he was pretty sure the boy was going to choose the infirmary.

Harry smiled inwardly, this was almost too easy. He could 'take care' of himself when Snape went to teach his classes. Harry knew that he would have to take into account that man might check on him during break and he didn't want to set his plan only to have Snape foil it. He knew if the man did he would place various alarm and trackers on him to alert him if Harry attempted it again.

It was a perfect plan; He just only hoped that Snape wouldn't be sad that Harry had killed himself, since he worked so hard to save him the first time. Harry shook his head, what the hell was he talking about? Snape hated his guts. But he couldn't help thinking back on why did Snape comfort him when he was having a panic attack? Or talk about the Durselys when no one else did? Why did he seem care about him now when he never did before?

Harry was confused for the moment before he reasoned out that Dumbledore had probably told Snape to be nice to Harry. In retrospect that sucked if he was being honest, but that was his life. No one else could care for him without the Headmaster prompting them first? How pathetic was that? He was too much trouble and not worth it. Even his so-called family thought so; just a freak incapable of being loved. Yes this was the best thing to do. Madame Pompfrey would constantly have an eye on him and he would never be able to escape.

"I'd rather stay with you sir, Madame Pompfrey would treat me like an invalid, but you wouldn't. You'll treat me how I deserve." Harry said matter factually.

Severus pondered on Harry's words; did the child honestly think that he would still treat him like he did after discovering his horrid home life? From the look on Potter's face he obviously did.

"Well let's go while classes are still in session then," Severus murmured wanting to move the boy before anyone could see him with him.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of him, no it was simply that he did not to dawn the Slytherin head of house mask. He still hadn't figured out just what he planned to do with the child in question. Whatever he did, he knew that he had to be careful, not matter what.

He could see that Albus was right, and the world of Harry Potter he knew that the child was far from being okay. He knew that the child staying with him was for the best, but he couldn't help wondering was their ulterior motive for this. That thought alone would keep him on his toes, he knew.