HAs far as Severus Snape was concerned, the Headmaster was the luckiest man on the planet today. The only reason being that, if not for him needing to get to his son as fast as magically possible, Severus would be headed in the opposite direction of the one he was currently running in. He could see the front doors of the castle in front of him. He had so much adreneline running through his veins he was almost tempted to blast the damn things from their hinges. As he past through them, he had barely stepped foot on the grass of the grounds before he heard the frantic sounds of an owl. He looked up to see a very panicked looking snowy owl heading straight for him. The only snowy owl that ever resided at Hogwarts, that he knew of, belonged to...

Harry

He lifted his arm, as he had seen his student do many a time, and let out a call to the frenzied creature.

"Hedwig!"

The owl darted for him, pushing her wings to carry her faster, as fast as the poor thing could fly. When she was close to him she landed on his arm after making sure he grapped the parchment she had firmly held in her sharp talons. On his arm, her concern for her human was palpable. She hooted her impatience and worry so much that Severus feared the familiar may give herself a stroke. He calmed her for a few second before glancing down at the letter she had carried. He knew the handwriting immediately, it was from Harry's girlfriend, Granger. What he read made his blood run cold.

Professor Snape

Please you must help me! Harry is at his relatives house in Surrey. Please you must help him, I beg you! He has written me, asking to send for you. He is not safe at that house, no matter what the headmaster may tell himself and I am certain that something is very wrong. He wrote to me saying that his uncle will not let him leave their home the entire summer, until September the first. Professor please! You must hurry for I just know that if he is to stay in that hell hole he will not make it to September.

Please Professor Snape, please save him!

Hermione Granger

Now Severus was well and truly frightened. He had to leave and now! The not so soft bite to his ear brought him out of his panic induced haze and was much appreciated.

"Fly Hedwig, go to him, I promise I shall follow, I will get him out of there." Severus told the familiar as he pushed his arm up to let her off. She took off immediately, giving him a small nip in gratitude before depating.

He watched her fly for all of 3 seconds before he took off at a full on sprint for the gates, turning on the spot and apparating as soon as the iron gate closed behind him with a bang.

When Harry awoke, he silently thanked the magic he was born with, and not for the first time, for keeping him alive. He tried opening his eyes carefully before shutting them when the pain it caused in his head was almost as bad as the "Voldemort Headaches". He lay on his floor and tried to breathe as slowly and carefully as he could so as to reduce the agaony in his ribs. As he lay there just letting air go in and out of his severely bruised lungs, he suddenly remembered the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness. A letter. He saw a letter appear out of the air as if waiting for the right moment to come to him. As he thought about it before, the writing on the envelope came bareling back into his mind.

Such beautiful handwriting, so close to his Hermione's... but the word's told him it wasn't from his girlfriend.

My Son

It was from his mother. He didn't know how he knew it, he just knew in his heart that the letter on his desk was from the one woman he longed to know more than anything in the world.

As he was thinking about the likelihood that he could get the letter and hide it from his relatives, he heard the front door being unlocked and someone creaking it open slowly. He was immediately on alert. He didn't think there was any reason that anyone of the house's other occupants would be sneaking into the house but he didn't trust them for anything. He then heard a sound that assured him it was not one of his mother's relatives. A clacking..on the floors...then the stairs. Boots. In fact he knew that sound like he knew Hermione's voice from miles away. The light, footfalls sounded different than whenever he had heard them before, different on hardwood as to stone, but he was certain he knew who was walking up those stairs and stopping at his door.

The door was unlocked, Harry could feel as well as hear the magic opening the 4 locks. As it creaked opened slowly and he heard a sharp intake of breath as well as a wonderful smell he hadn't realized he knew yet. The figure came closer to him, step by step, boots making their familiar sound on the floor of Harry's prison. He could feel the body heat as well as the energy of his magic as the man drew down to floor next to Harry to get a closer look at him. Harry cautiously tried to speak.

"Professor Snape?" he asked softly, his voice cracked slightly.

Severus Snape had apparated right across the street from the house where is son was meant to be. It looked as if no one was even there.

"Good, this will make things easier...but I will come back", he thought vengefully

He had unlocked the front door easily and noticed that the enitire house was much too quiet. It had given him the creeps. He slowly walked around, noticing not a single picture of his beloved Lily, nor her precious son. It was as if there was no such person as Harry Potter to have ever stepped foot in the home. He continued on up the stairs only to stop at the first door he saw, and a sense of fear clawed at his heart when he saw the locks on the outside of the door. He took out his wand once again to open the door. When the last lock clicked open, he slowly pushed open the door, afraid of what he was to find in here.

What he found made him want to string Dursley, and especially his wife, up by there entrails and leave them for the thestrals at Hogwarts.

His son, his Lily's most treasured little boy, lay bloody and beaten on his floor. He was curled in the most conveluted version of the fetal position Severus had ever seen and looked as if he was trying very hard to breathe without causing anymore pain. his eyes lay shut almost peacfully but by the damage on the boys face looked like it would cause Harry great pain to open the even if he had tried. He finally snapped back to reality when a soft breeze ran across his face and through his hair. Sandalwood. That alone was enough to snap him out of his shock and get him moving. Trusting that Lily was right (as she usually always was), he gentley knelt on the floor next to his son. The son he had betrayed and prayed the boy would forgive enough now to let him help him. He was about to call to Harry, to see if he was awake when the boy beat him to it. His voice came out in a strangled whisper.

"Professor Snape?"

Was that relief he had just heard?

"Harry" he let out.

Harry for his part was thanking every star in the sky that he had such a brilliant familiar and an even more brilliant girlfriend. Hermione had figured it out. She had sent Hedwig to the Professor. He had no idea why he had specifically told Hermione to send for him. Something inside him told him that Professor Snape was who he needed right now. Something told him, he could trust this man more than any other. His body completely sagged in utter relief that the man had come for him.

Severus watched as Harry took in that his potions master had come for him. He saw that the boy truly looked relieved to see him. He looked down again as his noticed Harry try to move.

"Shhh child be still" he ordered gently, he certainly did NOTwant his child injured any further. He very carefully leaned down to pull the child into his arms so as to carry him. His son let out a very slight whimper of protest to the movement.

"I know Harry, it's alright I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey. You're safe now." he whispered to the boy. He sat there for a minute longer, just holding his son. He held his child to his chest with a hand on the head of soft black hair that he only now noticed was getting longer during the summer than he had ever seen it.

As his professor brought his head to his chest, Harry could hear the man's heart beating incredibly fast. He felt the strong arms hold him protectively, bring his own long teaching robes around him in order to shield his body more from the world around him. It was then that Harry's heart gave a soft jolt, his mind swirling with memories he feared he would never remember.

Long red hair surrounding his face as he let out a baby's giggle. His mother was playing a game with him, her beautiful smile comeing to sight as she brought her face up again.

That smell, potion ingredients, engulfing his senses and chasing the monsters away from his dreams as his father held him in his arms.

Another black haired man with glasses, telling him that daddy had to go away for a little while, that this man would be here for him until he got back. Reassuring him that daddy loved him and always would.

When Harry came back to himself it was with a painful intake of breath. He then noticed that scent surrounding his senses again. Potion ingredients. Rosemary, Aconite, Sage, and Sandlewood. The Sandlewood actually reminded him of his mother, but the rest...

"Daddy" cam Harry's whispered cry.

Severus actually stopped breathing for half a second. Did he really just hear that correctly? He looked down to see Harry trying to bury his face further into his robes, and taking as many deep breaths as he could. He strained his ears but he was sure his child was muttering something else...

"Rosemary"

"Sage"

"Aconite...also known...monkswood...wolfbane..."

He could barely hear the boy but still he heard him...and he understood him. Those were what his robes smelled of. Those were probably the strongest smelling ingredients he used where the smell never came out of his robes, no matter what he did to them.

"Harry must remember them...he remember's as I do."Severus surmized. He then thought about what made him remember in the first place and began searching the room for it. There on Harry's desk sat a letter, yet it seem to be unopened. As he felt his child snuggle into him more, he decided to just take the letter with him along with the rest of Harry's things. He could give it too him in the hospital wing when the child was feeling better. When he was sure he had everything after having summoned all of his son's belongings, he slowly lifted them off the floor with little protest from his precious cargo. He looked to check and found Harry fast asleep. He allowed himself a small smile.

He dropped a kiss on his child's head, whispering, "Come my son, let's go home." before turning on the spot and doing just that.

They were going back to Hogwarts, they were going home.

Albus Dumbledore had better remember one thing...Hell hathe no fury like a woman scorned.