“Twenty points from Gryffindor Weasleys!” Snape growled as he quickly grabbed both crazily laughing boys by the shoulder shaking them shortly.

“But they started it!” Fred immediately cried out, pointing at the students of his house. Most of them immediately looked away, only the bravest keeping their eyes up to meet his, well aware that he could tear apart their mind if he only wanted to, t find the truth.

“Yes, and I am Merlin, Flint, Hospital Wing, Mister George Weasley, you too! And no more trouble out of the two of you on the way there, I will know, and if I find out then you will be serving detention Thursday night, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Flint growled as he turned around and strode from the dungeons, one hand still covering his forehead where the worst pimples had spread, reading Snake. Quite impressive magic, Snape thought, but wasn’t willing to comment on it in front of everyone.

Harry sat in his new room, not really reading like he was supposed to, but rather listening to the angry mumbling that came from the living room, carrying all the way to his bedroom. He was tempted to go out and speak with his friend more than once, but every time he put a leg out of bed he remembered the face of the Professor and how angry and upset he had looked when Pierce had screamed at him during breakfast. It was about an hour until he finally worked up the courage and quietly crept down the hallway, lingering at the corner that led to the living room, eyes on his friend, who was standing in the corner, head leaning against the wall, fingers lazily scratching at the heavy stone. It was only when he was about to say something that he saw the ruler floating behind his friend, at buttock height.

“Why is there a ruler floating behind your butt?”

“Because it smacks me when I turn around or try walking out,” Pierce said, bottom lip pouting out. The ruler had struck him twice, hard, right across his buttocks when he had attempted to turn and lean against the wall with his back, and then again when he had moved to sit down, his legs growing tired.

“That’s mean,” Harry smirked, walking closer, until he finally stood next to his friend, leaning his shoulder against the wall, taking in the redrimmed eyes.

“I’m sorry, you know, about being that way,” Pierce finally said, voice small, sighing against the wall.

“Why were you that way?”

“I was angry, and afraid that he wouldn’t let me see Ter, I mean, we went all this way just to find him, and now he won’t let me see him,” Pierce said softly, one snaking back again to rub the two throbbing stinging imprints of the ruler.

“You didn’t listen to him at all, not even this morning when he just wanted you take the medicine,” Harry observed quietly, finger also scratching at the wall, much like Pierce’s did.

“Yeah, I don’t know why, I guess I just wanted to see how he was when he was really angry, you know?”

“Why would you do that? See, you ended up getting hit,” Harry said, frowning, scratching a little harder.

“Well, I didn’t know that then, you know, he’s just a teacher, and they aren’t allowed to hit anymore. But then, he didn’t even hit hard, really. I bet my butt isn’t even pink, well the ruler really hit hard though, he didn’t even hit that hard.”

“So how does that work?”

“He said he controlled it, and he would know if I turned around and then it would smack me," Pierce said, carefully turning his head to look at it.

“That’s mean,” Harry said again.

“You think you can take it and hold it, so I can turn around, I mean the moment I lean against it, it can’t really smack me.” Pierce observed and Harry thought shortly.

“You think that that’s a good idea? If he says he sees it, he’d see me here too.”

“I stood her for hours, my feet really hurt, and it already smacked me, twice.”

Harry hesitated, before he turned slightly, carefully stretching out his hand, until his fingers finally brushed the even wood.

“You sure?” Harry asked and waited until Pierce nodded.

“Yeah, just hold it until I turned around.” And Harry did, grasping the wood hard, with both hands, nearly yelping with fright when the ruler all of a sudden jerked forward, before stopping again just as suddenly, having almost dislocated his shoulders.

“Thanks mate,” Pierce sighed, back pressed against the wall, wary eyes on the ruler, “why did you wait so long until you came out?”

“He told me to read, and stay out of the living room. I was afraid I’d come out here an he’d still be here, you know?”

Pierce nodded after a few seconds of consideration.

“So what do you want to do if he comes back?”

“We promised we’d never split up, remember? We’d always stay together?” Harry asked, hopeful eyes on his friend.

“Yes, we’ll always stay together.” Pierce said firmly, bright blue eyes on him, smile around them, brightening them up.

They stood like that for ten more minutes until Harry started to get nervous again.

“Maybe you should turn back around, just in case he comes back, you know? I’ll hold it again until you turned,” he said, hands grasping the wood again hard.

“But what if it smacks me when I turned my back?”

“How often does it smack?”

“Once, but really hard.”

“Well, I could stand right behind you and let it smack me once, kay?”

“No, you don’t have to get smacked, I was the one that wanted to turn around.”

“But you already got smacked with it.” Harry said, voice soft.

“Yeah, but that was because I was a brat,” Pierce said, slight tremor, before nodding at his friend.

“Hold it only if it let’s you, don’t get smacked because of me,” he said before turning around, eyes screwed shut and bottom clenched, but the ruler only jerked once, nearly dislocating Harrys shoulder once more before falling still.

“There,” Harry said before letting go, watching it for a few seconds.

“I’ll just stand right here, next to you. We’ll just stand together and won’t talk, okay?”

“Okay,” Pierce breathed, watching his friend with attentive eyes as he stood next to his right shoulder, leaning his head against the cold stone as well, left finger scratching at the stone right next to his right.

“He was telling the truth, you know? About your fame? The guy in the bus recognized you,” Pierce said after a few seconds of calming scratching.

“Yeah, and he seemed really happy to see me, I didn’t even know him,” Harry said quietly scratching as his forehead, fingernail tracing his scar.
“My aunt said I got the scar the night my parents died, do you think I got it from when he tried to kill me?” Harry asked, eyes on the wall as he was thinking, trying to remember, but coming up with nothing but memories of his time at his aunt and uncle, a terrible time.

“Maybe, you could ask him, you know? He seems to know a lot about it,” Pierce said, before biting his lower lip.

“He was dark, he was one his followers, the guy that killed my parents.”

“Yeah,” Pierce said softly, biting his lower lip.

“And he told him about the thing that made him go after me, so he got them killed.” Harry added after a few seconds, finger back to scratching at the wall.

“Yeah,” Pierce repeated, not daring to say anything, this was something he didn’t understand enough about, didn’t know enough about, and it was such a delicate topic. They lived with the person that got his friends parents killed, they lived with a man that worked for the guy that tried killing Harry.

“But he said he was young and stupid, and that he realized just how wrong he was and that he tried saving us,” Harry said after a few seconds, scratching slowing down somewhat, finger tip prickling slightly.

“He seemed really sorry too,” Pierce added, thinking.

“And he was really nice, picking us up and taking us here. He even took us shopping and bought all our stuff, all we’d need for school. This will be the first time ever I’ll go to school with everything I need. I’ve never before had all the books and folders,” Harry said softly, head spinning as he tried to make sense of everything.

“He thinks we are living with him now,” Pierce said, sounding doubtful.

“Why would he want that?”

“I don’t know, he knows that my cousin would take care of us, I know he would. And he still got us rooms and everything.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, scratching speeding up again.

“We will sleep in separate rooms,” Pierce all of a sudden noticed, something in his voice that sounded very close to fear.

“Oh,” Harry said, a pang in his chest.

Having not slept alone in nearly a month, having been held for the same time, being woken when he suffered a nightmare and knowing that he wasn’t the only eleven year old with nightmares, had been nice, he loved it, to be honest.

“I can just sneak into your room when he sleeps, or you can come into mine,” Pierce said quickly, seeing the lost look in his friends face, the need to protect him growing strong again.

“He won’t be angry?”

“He might, but I won’t care, he can smack me every morning for all I care,” Pierce said bravely, punching his friends shoulder lightly.

“Yeah, he can smack you for all I care too,” Harry teased. The mere thought of being hit spread goosebumps all over him, made his stomach churn and nearly flip over in fright.

“Maybe he’ll understand, he placed us on the same bed here,” Pierce said beginning his scratching as well.

Snape stood in the door, watching the two boys, both facing the corner next to each other, quietly talking to each other. When he had told Potter to stay in his room, he had known that the boy wouldn’t, and he also knew that Pierce would try to get out of the corner at least once, though he wasn’t too sure about that. He had no way of knowing if he had, the only way to find out was either to dive into the boys mind, or pull down his pants to see if he had been smacked by the ruler. The mutter of the boys was to quiet for him to hear, so he simply stood for a few seconds, watching their body language, seing Harry going from tense to relaxed and back to tense again, much like his friend. When he finally knew that he should make his presence known, he smirked, flicking his wrist, the ruler first smacking the blonde on the bottom and then the blackhaired boy, who was turning around just at that moment, yelping in fright and then staring at him in shock for a split of a second, before his eyes dropped to the ground.

“Was I unclear when I told you to stay out of the livingroom for now? And you Mr. Rodgers, was I unclear when I said that you were supposed to stand in the corner and think, instead I find you talking and disobeying?”

“That ruler really hits way to hard!” Pierce whimpered, rubbing at his bottom eyes again filled with tears.

“Well, had you obeyed then you wouldn’t have gotten smacked so often!”

“It smacked me only for turning around and-“

“Standing in the corner means that you are supposed to face it, not walk away from it, turn around or sit down,” Snape said, catching the look Pierce gave him. So yes, the boy had tried to sit down?

“But I guess the ruler brought the message across, hm?” Pierce sighed, before he nodded, eyes flicking over to his friend shortly.

“And you Mr. Potter, did you read your book like I said?”

“I started sir,” Harry said softly, eyes still on the armchair, legs shaking slightly. That smack had barely stung, but he was embarrassed and slightly nervous. Was the man mad? Would he get punished?

“Had you done as you were told, then you wouldn’t have gotten smacked,” he said softly before vanishing the ruler and beckoning the blonde boy towards himself.

“Do you have anything to say to me Mr. Rodgers?”

Pierce blushed somewhat as he stood four feet from the fully grown man who was again dressed all in black. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I have, sir. I should have just taken my potions and not screamed at you,” he said scratching as his thigh for a short moment, “it was disrespectful, and I shouldn’t have used the language I used either.”

“Yes, it was very disrespectful. And I do not tolerate Disrespect, Disobedience or Dishonesty. You two best keep that in mind, I do react most unfavorable if you decide to do any of that, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Both said, Pierce sealing his words with a firm nod, while Harry didn’t even lift his eyes, but he had no doubt that his yes was just as meaningful as Pierces was.

“Very well, I will fix lunch now, during that time you can go both grab your introduction to the wizarding world books and sit down in the living room. I want the two of you to read at least the first three chapters until dinner tonight yes?”

“Can’t we go play something first? I-“

“You Pierce, can go and turn right back into that corner if you want to discuss with me right now.” Snape cut the boy off, who gave him an angry glare but then stomped down the hallway, Harry following behind, much more quietly than the first boy, throwing him a glance shortly.

“Mr. Potter, come over here for a moment please,” Snape said suddenly, causing the boy to stop dead in his tracks before he turned slowly and walked back into the living room.

“In my study please, I’d like to have a word with you privately.” He said, pointing towards the door, with a flick of his wrist, opening it, so the boy knew which door he was speaking of.

Snape waited until the boy had gone into the study and then until Pierce had returned looking around once.

“Where’s Harry?” The blonde immediately asked, eyes flying around the quarters before resting on him.

“He didn’t do anything wrong!” Pierce immediately said, dropping his new book onto the couch.

“I never said he did, and did I not tell you to take more care of your books? And why did that take so long anyway? It should have taken you less than twenty seconds to grab a book.”

“I didn’t know which one it was,” Pierce said, frowning at him.

“How could you not know- did you not clean up your things like I had asked you to?”

“You didn’t ask, you commanded me to-“

“Okay, enough of this, go to your room and clean up your clothes and other things, and then you can stay in there and read. If you can not speak with me politely then you won’t speak at all. Go,” Severus said sternly, pointing one long bony finger into the hallway.

“I didn’t do anything!” Pierce immediately cried out, throwing his arms up in anger.

“You better learn fast how to speak with me respectfully or you’ll be having a lot of alone time, and with alone time I mean alone time. Off you go, think about how best to speak with me from now on.” Snape said, thrusting his finger out again.

“What is your problem? I barely said anything!”

“What is my problem? Is that how you should be speaking to your elders? To your future Professor? To an adult you are living with? What is my problem, did you seriously just ask me that? Pierce, go to your room before I get that ruler out again to give you a reason to hurry!”

“Sure, beat me into listening faster, that always works!” Pierce yelled, grabbing his book, he ran from the room, slamming his door shut. Snape stood silently, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, taking a deep breath and holding it in for three seconds, before repeating that four, to five times, making sure he could keep his face even before walking into the study.

Once he joined the boy though, he was slightly surprised to find him standing by the chair, stiffly, not moving, eyes on the desk in panic.

“Harry, please sit down, I’d like to talk with you. We will be talking, nothing more, no need to panic," Severus said, keeping his distance as he walked around the desk and took a seat in his comfortable chair, waiting until the boy stopped fidgeting in the chair opposite of him.

“Okay, I’ll be asking you some questions, and I expect you to be honest with me. If you really don’t want to answer something, then tell me so, but don’t make up a lie, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, let’s start this simple. I might be asking some questions once in a while that might seem stupid, or to simple, some others might be very painful to think about or very difficult to answer, I would still like for you to take some time, think about the question and then answer it as truthfully as you can, but only if you feel comfortable, I don’t want you to feel threatened or forced at any time, yes?”

“Yes, sir.” Harry repeated, eyes on his knees.

“What’s your full name?”

“Harry James Potter.”

“What’s your birthday?”

“June 31st,” Harry answered again, as quick as the question shot out.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Green, I think.”

“Your favorite number?”

“I don’t really have one,” Harry answered truthfully, favorite number?

“Favorite song?”

“I don’t really listen to music.”

“Favorite Movie?”

“I didn’t watch a lot of TV,” Harry answered again.

“What is your favorite food?”

“I think Spaghetti,” he answered thinking about the meals he had eaten that he hadn’t cooked himself, the school cafeterias spaghetti jumping to his mind first.

“Your favorite sound Harry?”

“The Ocean,” Harry said after a few seconds, thinking furiously, trying to be honest and yet careful.

“Your favorite smell?”

“I don’t know,” harry said after thinking quietly for a few seconds, there were so many things.

“Your favorite person?”

“Pierce,” Harry immediately said, that boy was the first friend he had ever had, the first person he had ever truly spoken with.

“Your most hated person?” Harry nearly said Vernon, but caught himself just in time, thinking, “I am not sure anymore,” he answered truthfully. He hated Vernon, he really did everything in him wanted to say that name, spit it out, but the fear or giving up the family secret was so strong that he most probably wouldn’t have been able to say it anyway. But now, he wasn’t sure anymore anyway. The man that had killed his parents, that Tom Riddle, that Voldemort, the Dark Lord or the guy that no one ever called by name, the man that had hunted him down as a baby to kill him before he became a threat.

“What was your most favorite subject?”

“Reading,” Harry said almost instantly, remembering the man books he had the chance to read, the worlds he had been able to build in his head after reading a few when he was locked into his closet for days, or into the shed.

“Which one didn’t you like at all?”

“Math, not because I was bad at it, but because the teacher didn’t like me,” Harry explained carefully, thinking of all the many times the man had called him up to the board to do a math problem, even though the man knew that Harry would be tripped by his cousin and his gang on the way up, scolding him for not doing his homework even though he knew that Harry had finished it in the lesson before already.

“What about your favorite game? What did you like to do when you were home?”

“I liked to imagine stories,” Harry answered truthfully.

“And when you went to play outside?”

“I didn’t,” Harry said carefully, glancing up shortly to watch the mans reaction to his words, but Snape was leaning back in his chair, watching him with attentive eyes, not showing any emotions on his face, something that made Harry feel slightly better, at least there was no anger or pity.

“What were your normal chores, Harry?”

“doing the dishes, cleaning up around the house,” Harry said carefully, thinking furiously. Normal chores, those were normal chores, right?

“And?”

“I don’t want to answer that,” Harry finally said, glancing up once more to gauge the mans reaction.

“Thank you, for being honest. Can you explain to me though why you don’t want to answer that?”

Harry sat quietly, head spinning as he tried to find an explanation that wouldn’t make him seem weird, wouldn’t show his mortification, “I did everything there, cleaned everything, I cooked and everything.”

“Thank you,” Snape said. Interesting, the boy apparently didn’t want to embarrass himself. He would rather admit that he was treated worse than a house elf, than admit that he felt embarrassed?

“What chores did your cousin have to perform? You were the same age, right?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“So you were the only one cleaning?”

“My aunt, she cleaned a lot too,” Harry said after a few seconds of silence.

“How about your uncle?”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” Harry immediately said, eyes not looking up this time, not wanting to see the reaction and not truly caring either, he would not be talking about that!

Snape nodded to himself, so the uncle was the one he should be focusing on for now, the uncle was apparently the person Harry had learned to fear most.

“What is the worst thing you can remember doing, ever? The most disobedient thing?”

“I ran away,” harry said softly, “With Pierce.”

“Nothing else?”

“I don’t think, not really. Sometimes I forgot a chore, or didn’t get it done in time.”

“What happened after things like that, when you didn’t complete a chore?”

“I’d be send to my room, mostly.”

“With dinner?”

“No, sir.” Harry answered after a moment of hesitation, that seemed like a normal punishment, didn’t it?

“And then? Would that be it? For how long would you be send to your room?”

Harry looked up quickly, before dropping his eyes again, knowing that that was not a question he could answer, knowing that if he answered that, then the man would know, and rat on him, Vernon would find out and then surely kill him.

“You don’t have to answer,” Severus said after a few seconds of silence, voice calm, but on the inside he was boiling.

“Harry, look at me for a few seconds, please,” he finally said, knowing that he had only a few more minutes until lunch would officially be over and he had his NEWTS to teach until Dinner time. “You don’t know me, you don’t know if you can trust me, you don’t know when I get angry, or how I react. But you should know and trust that I don’t lie, that I keep my promises. And I promise you right now, that if you speak up and tell me about your life with your relatives that you will never go back there. I can promise you right now that I am trying my very best to keep you right here, so you won’t have to go back for at least another year. But there is also only so much I can do, to make this permanent I will have to try reasoning with the services and authorities, and I tell them that I have some suspicions, that I saw your bruises and welts, and then they ask me what happened, and there is nothing I can tell them.” Snape explained softly, seeing the boys eyes flicker looking at many spots close to his head, wanting to appear as if he looked at him, but never truly making eye-contact for more than a few seconds.

“So if I tell, then I can stay here?”

“If you tell, then you’ll never have to go back. I can’t promise you that you can stay here forever, school is normally closed to students over the summer. But I can promise you that if you speak up, then you’ll never go back to the Dursleys.”

They left the office a few seconds later, Harry not having said much more after that, mostly just thinking about what exactly the promise the man had made entailed.

Harry sat in the living room quietly, reading the book a minute later when Snape ordered a meal from the house elves, making sure that there wasn’t to much on the plates, and that there was enough vegetables. So when he finally called Pierce back into the living room he only had a few more minutes left until his NEWT classes would start.

“Come on, let’s have some lunch,” Snape said invitingly sitting down at the head of the table himself, pouring himself and the boys a glass of milk.

Snape himself was unusually quiet as he sat with his NEWT students, cups filled with tea and scones on the table, the conversations loud as each and everyone of them went over their exam of the day, discussing a hard task one Examiner had set, discussing the hairy chin of a woman and the bad breath of another examiner, Snape only listened with half an ear as his eyes were on Terrance Rodgers who was discussing just as much, but the boy seemed distant, his eyes troubled.

“Alright, now I’m interested, what are all of you planning to do from here on out?” Severus finally said, eyes flying from Terrance to the other students.

“Dragon Taming,” Charlie Weasley immediately said, eyes bright with excitement, the brightest of the Weasleys, snape immediately thought. While Bill had been awesome in school, scoring the best grades, he had lacked the street smarts Charlie and the twins have had.

“So you got accepted?”

“Yeah, going off almost immediately after school ends, will be going home to the brood for a few days first though. Gotta buy myself some security equipment and then I’m off.”

“Why did you stay in school so long? I heard they accept you without NEWS,” Laura said disdainfully, a student from his house, Snape observed frowning.

“Because I wanted to have as many possibilities as possible, and I have now. But I’m still gonna do what I think will excite me most.”

“Dragontaming?” Laura asked with raised eyebrows, a sneer on her face.

“Yes, something that requires skill and personality. So what can you do?” Charlie asked, lips bit tightly together.

“I’ll go to University, I’ll study Law,” Laura said immediately, haughtily. Snape was almost amused by that, as were some other students who tried to hide their smiles. Yes, Laura, you totally walked into that one, Snape thought. Charlie was right though, Laura really was a dumb nut, with no personality whatsoever, like most of the deatheaters children were, he knew.

They went along the line, most of his slytherins going to University, while most Gryffindors went into jobs or trainings immediately after school was out. He only had one Hufflepuff, Tyler Long, who was planning to become a healer.

“How about you Ter?” Charlie asked after a few seconds of silence, when everyone had spoken and only he stayed quiet.

“I just got a few jobs for now, going to earn a bit of money before I go to University, enjoy the real world,” Ter said jokingly, but his eyes weren’t laughing, he almost seemed distant.

“I would not advise that Mr. Rodgers, a scholarship for Prentice-Potions University does not get offered often,” Severus said to the boy who opened his eyes wide.

“How did you know?”

“I send in the letter of recommendation. I will not allow a student of mine, who has such talent, let it go to waste,” Severus said forcefully, his face daring the boy to talk back to him, to discuss it. Inside he was boiling, so the boy really was ready to give up a once in a life-time chance? Had the boy never even considered that there were other opportunities?

“You should have asked me first, I can’t go yet!” Rodgers immediately said, sitting up straighter, painfully aware of the fact that he had everyones attention.

“I was approached if I had any promising students this year, and you are the most promising. I always advice that you don’t take breaks from school, it is much harder getting back into the student-mode after being out of it for a certain amount of time. Go to Prentice, get your degree

and then laze off for a bit.”

“I wasn’t going to laze off, sir.” Terrance said, eyes flicking from him towards Charlie who looked at him with a deep frown.

“University doesn’t start for another six weeks, you have enough time to just enjoy yourself for a bit,” Severus said, voice hard.

“I can’t go before the first of September,” Ter said, fisting his hands underneath the table, everybody was silent as they watched the show.

“We will speak about that in my office in just a moment,” Severus finally said before glancing around the students. “Well, we are done now, you are no longer my potions students. Seven years, all grown up,” he said after a few seconds eying Charlie who blushed somewhat.

“You keep your head in the game, focus on what needs to be done and do it, you must have learned at least that with me. Get things done, you have enough time to laze about and go partying on the weekends, don’t throw your lifes away for that. Stay focused.” He said, getting up, “If any of you ever need anything, then you can always write, floocall or drop by, you know where I am during the school year. If there is anything really pressing, then send me a message and I will meet you.” He said, pushing his stool to the table.

“You are not quite as annoying as you were two years ago,” he admitted looking at Charlie especially who reveled in the attention somewhat.

He had always up to this moment thought that the man had hated him and his siblings more than anything. Calling him a know-it-all and teachers pet, and handing out detentions and taking points just for looking in the wrong direction-

“Take care of yourself, and I would appreciate a get together in a few years, five years maybe? Just to know where we all stand now? I’ll reach out to you, if you want.” He said and that evoked an entirely new discussion, from which he excused himself, before stopping behind Terrance Rodgers chair.

“You, come with me.” He said sternly, hand on the boys shoulder who tensed up only shortly, intent on saying no, not wanting to discuss it, knowing he was making a stupid mistake, knowing that he was giving away a one-time chance!

“You will be going to Prentice, Rodgers, and if I have to beat you there, are we clear?”

“I can’t!” Terrance immediately said, before blushing as the Professor slammed the door shut loudly, startling him.

“Your cousin will need you to have a decent job when he get’s out of here in a few years, so focus on that. Get your schooling straight, get good grades, get a good job and then take him in. You are seventeen. That is no age to raise a child!” Severus said sternly, before holding still, the look on the young mans face to good to pass up.

“You know about lil’ P?” Terrance asked, feeling his heart beat faster.

“Yes, he is right now in my quarters, napping, or so he should.”

“He is eleven,” Terrance smirked after a few seconds, knowing his cousin and knowing that the boy would be doing everything to do exactly the opposite of what the man had told him to do, only to see how far he could push him. He had done that to him and his parents when he had stayed with them during the Christmas break, causing his father to almost go through with his threat and spank that bottom until it was black and blue, well metaphorically speaking of course.

“Yes, and he needs to learn to listen when he is told what to do.”

“So why? What happened? Why is he with you, since when?”

“He ran away from home,” Severus started watching the boy for reactions. “He ran into another boy, the two of them then ran for it together. Your cousin was intent on finding you, and he remembered that you had once mentioned a teacher in your letters, me. So Pierce went to find a Snape in Scotland,” Severus said, even as he took of his heavy teaching cloak hanging it by the door.

“They found Hogwarts?”

“No, a muggle found them, and asked a neighbor for help, she’s a witch and knew of me, so contacted me. I went to pick them up. They arrived at school here yesterday night, have been treated by the mediwitch and are now supposed to take a nap in their rooms.”

“Treated by the meditwitch?”

“They have been travelling for pretty much a month now, I think. They were very malnourished and dehydrated. Not to mention the bruises and welts your cousin was wearing,” Severus said, not missing the short pained expression of the young man, before a look of understanding covered his face.

“I wondered why it took him so long to reply this time. Normally it took only two to three weeks, now it’s been a month.”

“So can you tell me what was going on at the boys home? You should know that we can help him, that there are thigns that can be done so he won’t have to go back. But your cousin is not speaking up, he has given me no answer as to why he was bruised or why he ran. So I am standing at a pretty bad point here. I know that he can’t go back, but without something I can’t keep him away from his family.”

“His step-father. My aunt, his mother, she married this man six years or so ago I think. Everything was okay back then, She was a monster for a mother though, well that’s at least what my mom says. Didn’t pay attention to the boy whatsoever. He would have to go through hell and back to get her to look at him. She’s an alcoholic and just a nutcase. Well Uncle Tobias, he seemed really great at first, perfect for Pierce. Gave him some boundaries and made sure he improved in school and everything. But then he gave up too. Pierce is a handful, his mother ruined him. Well she ran, like a year or so ago, and left him with Uncle Tobias. That’s when things started to get worse, Uncle Tobias who at first kind of took care of Pierce had to work two jobs, to keep the house going and everything and to feed himself and Pierce, well then my aunt did something with his bank or so, with his credit cards, and he was in a whole load of debt before they figured it out and canceled everything. That’s when the hitting started. Nothing bad at first, Pierce would act up and Uncle Tobias would smack him on the bum, then ignore him again and after a few weeks perhaps spank him once or so. Well things got worse, Uncle Tobias started loosing it, now he is beating the boy up when he get’s into trouble or speaks to loud or anything. Pierce said the man doesn’t speak with him at all anymore, only beats him when he speaks out of turn or anything."

”So why did Pierce keep acting up?”

“My ma’ says it’s the only way he knows how to get attention.”

“Does your ma’ know that your cousin is in trouble?”

“Yes, and she would want to help him but my da’ he is really ill, and when Pierce came to stay with us this Christmas it was too much for either of them to handle. And my ma’ is old now too, you know that she got hurt badly when I was a lil’ kid, and my dad never recovered either, so things are hard either way. They couldn’t take care of him. My da’ said that he couldn’t promise to not lash out at the boy either.”

“And you think you could handle him all by yourself?”

“there is nothing else I can do. I promised him, and he is just ten, still so little. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. He doesn’t understand that the way he acts leads to him getting hit harder and harder until it finally bruises.”

“So you think he is responsible for the abuse?”

“I think that he forces ones hand. I nearly beat him up three times during Christmas break, but how can I discipline a ten year old? I’m only seventeen.”

“Okay, Ter, sit down.” Severus finally said, motioning towards the chair.

The boy immediately obeyed, the look of surprise on his face nearly causing Snape to smirk. Yes, he never addressed students by their first names, not to mention their nicknames. The boy looked tensed, tired, worn out, the bags under his eyes larger than they had been the weeks before.

“I have an offer for you,” Snape started carefully even as he poured himself and the boy some tea.

“You have been offered a full scholarship for Prentice, and there s no way that you are going to pass this up, or so help me Merlin, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Terrance said quickly, the seriousness in the mans voice had his stomach flutter somewhat. Professor Snape had never been a man to mess with, to discuss with, or to disobey.

“Very well, you will be going to that school, and if you do well and maintain your grade average, then I will take care of your cousin.”

“My grade average?”

“Yes, no A’s, and never more than one E on your final report, do you understand what I am saying?”

“Yes, sir. But Prentice is the hardest there is,” Ter said, hesitation in his voice.

“That matters not, I know that you are fully capable of achieving top grades,” Severus said sternly. “I expect to see your reports for ever trimester,” he added after a few seconds, “you are welcome to stop by if you need help."

Ter sat still, the man was offering to take lil’ P’ of his hands, to give the boy a home and let him go to school, and his only expectation was passing grades?

“What else do you expect from me?” Ter asked after a few seconds, thoughts spinning as he tried to understand why the man would just offer something like that.

“Nothing, Mr. Rodgers, I expect you to succeed. And perhaps a night of babysitting once in a while.” Snape said softly, and Terrance sat doubtfully.

“But what about money? I mean, he needs food, and clothes and school supplies and all, I’ve been saving a lot, so I could-“

“Buy yourself school supplies? Yes, you could. Pierce is a wizard, we have funds for that, charitable organizations and what not. You need not worry yourself with that. The only thing you need to worry about right now, is that you sign this paper right here, and then hurry up to the owlery. Let’s just hope that they still have a dorm room left for you.” Snape said, as he pushed a role of parchment towards the boy.

“But what- what if you change your mind? What if he is you know, too much?”

“He won’t be, I’m surrounded by children all day, three-hundred days a year. I will be able to take care of him over the summer break. I’ll have more authority over him that way as well. Everything will be okay, you are seventeen, you should not worry about a ten year old boy. The only future you should be concerned about is your own.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do you know me to lie?”

“No, sir.”

“Good, sign this, and send this off. Then come back down here, you’ll have dinner with us tonight.”

“So that’s why you weren’t here yesterday? And you weren’t at any meals today?”

“Yes, that and we, the Professors, normally don’t come out when our subject is tested. Students tend to be so nervous, that they bombard us with too many questions, and then you guys get even more nervous. So I stayed down here.”

“Makes sense, is your passwort still the same sir?”

“Yes, they boys are allowed out of their rooms at four.”

“Who is the other boy? Does he have siblings here?”

“No, but hurry now, you want that letter to arrive before the Principle retires for the night.”

Snape pressed the towel to his damp face. The cold water had seemed like a sensible idea at first. Something to wake him up, to clear up his thoughts, to still his racing pulls. But in the end, it had helped only for a second. The moment he padded his face dry the anger came racing back. Both boys now stood in two separate corners, Potter stood stock still, while Pierce every once in a while mumbled something before he angrily kicked at the wall.

“When I say quiet time, I mean for you to lay in bed and red. Or sleep. Not go through my quarters, touch things that aren’t yours. Destroy my personal property and make a total mess out of your rooms. What were you doing here?” Snape finally snapped when he thought he could at least control himself enough to not shake one of them to death.

“Potter, turn around!” He finally nearly shouted and the boy whipped around eyes wide, hands trembling at his sides.

“What were you doing?”

“Playing,” he finally whispered after a few seconds, voice shaking in fear.

“Playing? Playing?” Severus mumbled softly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “During your nap-time? Or quiet-time? I gave you multiple ideas, you could have slept, could have read, could have organized your desks, you could have drawn something, or even played one of those games in your rooms, by yourself. Yet I come back here, and my living room table is ruined, your room Potter is a total disaster. And you Pierce, you never cleaned it! What were you doing in here?” He asked again, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling his blood pressure rise again.

“Pierce was in his room,” Harry finally said, voice shaking, voice high pitched in his fear.

“And you?”

“I was reading, and then, well I read about this spell.” Harry said, blushing, backing even further into the corner, as if he was trying to get swallowed by it.

“Spell?”

“the Levitating spell.”

“Wingardium Leviosa?”

“Yes,sir.”

“And?”

Harry whimpered glancing over to Pierce shortly who looked at him with wide eyes, firmly shaking his head when he thought Snape wasn’t looking.

“Okay out with it, now!” Snape finally snarled after another minute of silence.

“I just tried it!” Harry cried out, voice shaking.

“You just tried it?” Snape asked, rather surprised as he glanced around.

“Yes, sir.”

“And this happened?”

“Well, sort of.”

“Mr. Potter, the entire story, right now.”

“Well, I tried that spell, and when it worked, well then I tried the others too.”

“Which others?”

“The others from the books,” Harry said carefully, the calm voice of the Professor somehow reassuring, the wonder in the mans voice taking his fear to some extent.

“And you Mr. Rodgers?”

“He just came out when you started yelling,” Harry immediately hurried to say, throwing a apologetic look at his friend.

“Mr. Rodgers, I asked you!” Snape said sternly throwing the blackhaired boy a warning look.

“I was sleeping, and then you yelled.” Pierce admitted after a few seconds of hesitation.

“Very well, you may go and finish cleaning your bedroom, Mr. Potter, study with me!” Snape said, before motioning for the boy to follow him and firmly closing the door behind the two of them.

“I didn’t think it would work,” Harry mumbled quietly after a minute or so of silence.

“It shouldn’t have worked. The average wizard is in desperate need of a wand to perform the most simple spells. I myself have limited power if I am without my wand. Barely enough to safe my hide if in danger.” Snape said calmly as he took his seat behind his desk, before pulling his wand from his holster and placing it on the table. “When we were in diagon alley I purposefully did not get you and your friend a wand, as I thought I could keep the two of you from destroying my quarters that way. I had not thought either of you powerful enough, or rather experienced enough to even manage the most simple spell without a wand. Nor had I ever thought that you two would really attempt,” Snape continued as he watched the black haired boy take a seat carefully. “I had thought that I could have the two of you study the theory of most of your future lessons, and then perhaps towards the end of the summer start practicing the more practical side. This I see now, was an error on my part. When I offer the information of spells and jinxes and hexes, not to mention potions, I should have placed some ground rules.”

“I don’t want to stop studying,” Harry said quickly his eyes on the mans wand which was laying on the desk, waiting for him to take it and try some magic spells.

“I am very glad to hear that.” Snape nearly smiled as he watched the boy, his fingers itching to grasp that wand, Snape knew the feeling. The desire to learn, the desire to try and test yourself, test what you knew.

“But I need you to listen to me now, Mr. Potter. Magic can be very dangerous, that is why young wizards and witches are send to school, to learn the correct use, if every child simply played around and attempted without instruction and supervision then chaos would soon follow. Therefore I will give you and Pierce rules. The reason though, why I needed to speak with you privately is, that I would prefer it if you told no one ever that you attempted to perform those spells without a wand. It is very unusual that you were successful in your tries. And it is best if you keep that to yourself for now, do you understand?”

“Pierce and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“He I your best friend, and I understand that, and I don’t expect you to lie to him. If you wish to tell him, then you may. But if you plan on doing so, then please tell me now, because then I will call him here as well.”

Harry sat still for a few seconds, thoughts racing as fast as his heart still was, if not even faster, fingers damp with cold sweat. “So if he doesn’t keep it a secret and tells people, then what?”

“Having a secret power is something that will keep you safe in the long run. Just imagine you are in a fight, or duel. There is a spell which disarms people. If somebody took your wand from you, and you were facing death, and you could then defend yourself without your wand, it could safe your life. If people knew this beforehand, they could anticipate your move and thus your element of surprise would be spoiled.”

“Like if that Voldemort-“

“I would prefer if you not spoke his name here-“

“It’s not even his name, it’s that stupid name he gave himself.”

“Still, that name makes me very uncomfortable.”

“I don’t- well okay. If Riddle decides-“

“Can you not just say he-who-must-not-be-named like everyone else?” Snape asked, the desire to itch his dark mark strong now.

“But that’s silly. Fearing him gives him more power.”

“Making a mockery of him is not a wise choice.”

“He wanted me dead anyway, and if what you say is true and he is still out there, then he most probably still wants me dead, right?”

“You should not trouble yourself with that just yet,” Snape said carefully, those imploring green eyes which met his just briefly nearly shredding his soul.

“But it’s true, right? That prophecy thing said I would be stronger than him, so he decided to kill me as a baby, when I wasn’t a threat. Then someone hid me away so he couldn’t find me. If he is still out there, and if he is crazy then he will surely try again, not?”

“Possibly.” Snape finally admitted, curious as to the boys reaction.

“You see, so if he wants me dead anyway, then I can call him Voldemort.”

“People will not like it.”

“One should face what they fear.”

“Easier said than done,” Snape answered, waiting patiently.

“He-who-must-not-be-named. That’s just stupid. Everyone still knows who you are talking about. And that just makes you more afraid, I mean, that makes him sound really creepy. Voldemort is a stupid name. And if his real name was Riddle, then that is what he should be called.”

“People here call you the boy who lived,” Snape observed quietly.

“That’s just as stupid. I was a baby, who knows why I survived. I mean, maybe he used a wrong spell or messed up or so. I messed up the spells today too, casting is hard, so maybe he just-“

“No one ever survived the killing curse, not before you and not since. The once he sought to kill, he killed, there were no survivors. He knew no mercy, no humanity. He not even hesitated when aiming his wand at a baby, at a woman. You are hailed as a hero, everybody knows you. It would be wise if you were aware of it, and of the reasons why. People see a savior in you, the promised savior. You ended the worst war the wizarding world has ever seen. We had many wars, and not one as brutal and as inhumane as the last.”

Harry sat thoughtfully, fingers holding onto his slacks tightly,back stiff, as his eyes stared at nothing in particular, his lips twitching once in a while.

“I stopped a man from killing me as a mere baby, yet I was not able to stopping my uncle from beating me.” He said, slowly, voice trembling, stuffing his fingers under his thighs, face paling somewhat before reddening tremendously.

“And that is nothing to be ashamed of,” Severus said slowly, choosing his words carefully, “there is something called survival mode, some children are never faced with any danger and thus don’t have to fall into it. Other children are faced with abusive parents, or relatives. They do whatever it takes to survive. You will never know what would have happened had you reacted, had you defended yourself, had you spoken up, had you hit back. You can call yourself a survivor now, you know that you kept yourself alive by behaving the way you behaved. By cowering, by lowering your voice, by staying invisible, by obeying. You knew how best to react to stay alive. You are a survivor and that is important.”

He kept his voice calm, void of emotion, he didn’t react even as the small boy wiped a hand across his face aggressively, shoulders trembling.

“The guy that send me there should have checked up on me.”

“Yes, he should have. Yet he thought that he had made the right choice, the safest choice.”

“Family does not mean love.”

“I know, and you know. Therefore we can safely say that neither of us will ever make that same mistake. Pierce knows too. The man that send you there now knows as well.”

“Do any other witches and wizards know, that their boy who lived you know, was hit?”

“No, and they won’t ever find out unless you let them.”

“What if my relatives say something?”

“They wouldn’t, if they did, they would face time in prison. Child abuse is against the law, Mr. Potter. If they every mentioned to anyone how they treated you, then they would be locked away for many years.”

Harry was silent again as he absorbed that information. He had always known that it wasn’t right, that the others weren’t hit, but he had never be sure, never truly believed himself. Always doubted himself. Had he only trusted his instincts, then he could have fled from his own personal hell, he could have been saved, had he only spoken up.

“Don’t famous people normally get mail and such?”

“Yes, and I would assume that you received thousands of letters, gifts and other things. People searched for you for months, some grew quite frantic and demanded the minister of magic to bring you forward so you could be celebrated as you deserved.”

“I was only a baby.”

“A baby which had just lost his parents and had been through something very traumatic.”

“So where is it?”

“It is all stored in a vault in Gringotts.”

“The wizarding bank,” Harry mumbled carefully remembering the name from their little outing to diagonally.

“Yes, you have a couple of vaults in that bank I would assume.”

Harry again sat quiet, digesting that information. He was truly a hero, he was famous, people had written him fanmail, had tried to contact him, had searched for him.

“We can speak about this later, we still have to talk about your little mishap from earlier. While I am partly to blame for tempting you so and for underestimating you, I still wonder. As you were playing around with your quill, did you hesitate after noticing that the first spell worked. Did you stop to think if you were allowed?”

“Well, you never said no.”

“When the first spell didn’t work as planned, when you first destroyed something, did you then hesitate?”

Harry blushed for a second.

“Did you not for one moment stop and think, if I would approve or not?”

“Well, I tried to repair and clean, but all of a sudden it just didn’t work anymore.”

“So you knew that I would be upset. And you knew that it was wrong, that is why you didn’T wake Pierce either, because you knew he would warn you to stop.”

“I didn’t think it would break anything. It wasn’t supposed to.” Harry said, fingers trembling. When had they gone from speaking about his fame and such to him being in trouble again?

“That is likely to happen as you are not yet fully trained. I want you to go and get a prachment, ink and a quill from your room and then take a seat at the dining room table until dinner. There you will write lines for me. 100 times, I will not attempt any magic without adult supervision. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, after you wrote those lines, I want a detailed explanation as to why what you did was wrong, and why you won’t do it again. Clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, Pierces cousin is about to come here, you will sit and write while the two of them catch up. You should be done writing this by dinner time. After that Pierce you and I will sit down and speak about the rules.”

Pierce and Ter clung to each other for nearly two minutes after Snape had called the boys into the living room. Pierce was intent on never letting go, while Ter just kept stroking the boys hair. The Professor had lifted a huge weight from his shoulders, and now he was able to enjoy his cousin without having to worry about the next few years, without having to worry about an apartment, about work, about anything but school.

“Did you send the answer?”

“Yes,s ir. Thank you so much,” Ter said, over the blonde boys head, who was still clinging to his middle.

“Mr. Potter, do come here and greet our guest, the guest you were so intent on finding.” Snape called, the black haired boy who sat at the table now a deep red, embarrassed at being seen while he was punished.

“Harry Potter!” Pierce squeaking was the only reason why Ter jumped and stopped his wide-eyed mouth open staring. While he did let go of the boy in his arms, who had turned somewhat blue in the tensed up hug, did he still not close his mouth nor did he stop staring.

“Hi, you are Terrance, right?”

“Yeah, um, Yes, just Ter actually. It’s such an honor to meet you-“

“I’m just Harry, it’s good meeting you too. Pierce and I were looking for you for nearly a month. It would have been so much easier had you written the name of your school.”

“Um, well muggle mail doesn’t arrive here anyway, there’s a box for that in some muggle town here. And we’re not supposed to, you know. Had I known that you, well-“ Terrance didn’t find any more fitting words, his eyes on the black haired boy. Everything he had heard, all the stories he had been told, the information he had gotten, nothing had prepared him for this.

“Terrance, Pierce. Why don’t the two of you go to Pierces room, I am sure there is much you two need to talk about. Especially about the most recent changes. You oh famous Mr. Potter, please do sit down again.”

“Hey!” Harry blushed a deep red, head falling forward before hurrying back to the table, Terrance frowning at Snape at the mockery of his hero.

“Oh do forgive me Mr. Potter,” Snape mocked again as he walked towards the table pulling away the chair, offering it to the boy. “Please do take a seat, would you like a cushion for your-“

“No, I’m fine, thanks!” Harry cried out, ears a bright pink as he quickly grabbed his quill and hurried to complete his lines.c

Ter gave Snape one more confused look before he allowed his cousin to pull him down the hallway into his new room, intent on hearing about the change and wanting nothing more than for Ter to reassure him that he would still take him with him, no matter what the stern Professor dressed all in black said.