"The house elves returned with breakfast."

"Can we eat now?" Harry asked.

"Before presents?" Snape asked, surprised.

Harry nodded. "It smells so good. Food's the best thing."

Severus noted that Potter didn't say ‘the best thing about Christmas', just ‘the best thing.' Given his earlier comments about the Muggles not feeding him and having to eat from the rubbish bin, Severus could see why.

"We may," he said, and Harry led the way into the dining room.

After Harry sat and put several spoonfuls of egg into his mouth, and then had a bite of the sweet orange cinamon roll dripping with melted frosting, he said, "Happy Christmas sir!"

"And to you," Severus said. With the child's every thought on display, Severus found himself frequently surprised at how chipper he seemed, even when speaking to the Potions Master that frequently put him down and gave him detention at school. Had the child always been like this and he'd just not known about it? Or perhaps it was because he was now in unfamiliar territory and was on his best behavior.

Harry helped himself to a second roll and sipped on his hot chocolate before he was ready to go and open the few packages left under the tree for him. Owls had come in the night with them. Severus would have thought Harry's entire fan club would be sending him expensive gifts, but there were only three. One from Granger, one from the Weasleys, and one from Hagrid.

Severus followed Harry into the living room and sat in his comfortable chair. The boy looked at him as if asking for permission, and before the words could slip from his mouth Severus motioned to the presents.

"I can't wait for the sweater," Harry said, and opened the Weasley's package first. The first thing he pulled out of that large box was a dark green knit sweater with the letter H on it. Harry wasted no time in putting it on and said with contentment, "warm at last." Harry also pulled out several letters out of the box and read them, and then pulled several more magazines, a pack of bubble gum, a pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a pair of gloves that matched his sweater. He put the gloves on too, then took them off and went to the box from Hagrid, which had a tin of cookies and a photo of Harry and Hagrid together in a pumpkin patch.

Finally the boy opened Granger's gift, which had a book on charms that were useful in defensive situations, and a book on advanced Seeker tactics. All the while Harry was muttering things to himself like, "I remember that photo," and, "Fred and George got me a subscription to Inventor's Monthly," and, "Hermione always knows the books I'll want to read."

"These are the normal gifts you get from your friends?" Snape asked, sipping his coffee. "You are not expecting more later today?"

"Sir? This is it. Hermione always gets me a book, Ron's mum always knits a sweater, and Hagrid sends something to eat."

"And the rest of Gryffindor?"

"I don't have other friends in Gryffindor. I mean, I like the other boys in the dorm well enough, but they all have their own friends."

"And in other houses?"

Harry shrugged. "I just have Ron and his family and Hermione and Hagrid."

"Do other people who are not from Hogwarts send you letters and gifts?"

Harry frowned in thought and then said, "A man in a bowler hat stopped me in the market and shook my hand once when I was seven or eight."

Severus stopped asking questions as Harry began flipping through the Quidditch book Granger had sent, but after a moment he said, "The elves will be bringing lunch and dinner by, however I do not know if they will bring any baked goods. Would you like to bake cookies?"

"I can bake all kinds of things," Harry said brightly. "Do I get to eat any of them?"

"Yes," Severus said. "Come into the kitchen."

Harry followed Severus into the kitchen and Severus began pulling out ingredients and the other things they would need. He didn't have a recipe card, but like many potions he had brewed, he had the recipe for a batch of chocolate chip cookies memorized. So did Harry apparently, because without being told what to do he began measuring ingredients and putting them together in a large bowl.

"You know the correct amounts?" Severus asked.

"I had to make them a lot at home. Dudley and Uncle Vernon are fat and like to eat things like this. I can make cakes and cinnamon rolls and other things from memory too."

"I see." Severus didn't ask if Harry had been allowed to eat any of those things he baked because he knew the truth was the boy hadn't.

When they had put the cookies in the oven, Harry said, "I know I can't write to anyone but Ron's family and Madam Pince, but I'd really like to write to Hagrid and Hermione to thank them for their gifts and ask if they liked what I got them too."

"You may. You gave your friends gifts?"

"Yeah."

"With the clothes you wear I was under the impression you did not have funds to buy anything extra."

"I don't get a chance to buy clothes," Harry said. "My family doesn't let me go to Diagonalley or out of the neighborhood at all when I'm there."

"I see. So you do have funds to buy clothes?"

"Yeah. I was looking forward to Hogsmeade weekends so I could, but then my aunt didn't sign my permission slip and Professor McGonagall said I had to stay at the castle because my Godfather is coming to kill me."

"You know he is your Godfather?"

"I heard the Minister of Magic talking about it to Madam Rosmerta in Hogs- umpf um um foo."

Harry turned to look at Snape with a horrified look on his face, hand over his mouth.

"And what, pray tell, were you doing in Hogsmeade when your permission slip was not signed and you were supposed to be in the castle?"

"You said I wasn't in trouble for anything I said," Harry pointed out, backing into the counter as far as he could go.

"You are not in trouble for what you said. You are however in trouble for your misdeeds."

"But after a bunch of questions at Hogwarts you found out that you gave me a bunch of detentions for stuff I didn't even deserve. Doesn't that make it all even?"

The boy had a panicked look on his face that made Severus uncomfortable. The child shouldn't be so scared of being in trouble. At least he wasn't begging not to be hit this time.

Severus pursed his lips and said, "By my count I made you serve three unwarranted detentions. This will strike one of those off. Are there any other misdeeds you wish to confess to now to avoid this same conversation from repeating in the future?"

"Asking me isn't fair because you know I have to tell you," Harry said. "Sometimes I sneak to the kitchens in the middle of the night for food in the first few weeks after school starts, because I can't handle a lot of food right away when I first get back. The elves give me an apple or something to keep in my backpack for when I do get hungry."

"That will strike another detention off of the list. That leaves one," Severus said.

"Then I guess I get one to use later because I'm not actually the trouble maker you think I am and I try to follow the rules," Harry said.

"I will be very displeased if you use the last detention as a free pass to disobey the rules," Severus said sternly.

"I won't," Harry promised.

"It is time to check the cookies." Severus pointed at the oven and the Muggle timer on the counter that was about to run out.

Harry opened the oven to peek at the cookies and then carefully pulled the pan out with an oven mitt. "Your oven mitts are nicer than aunt Petunnia's," Harry commented, still rattling off his thoughts as they came to mind. Severus wondered if his plan to work with the magic was really working at all. Perhaps it would take more time to tell.

* * *

For the first time since Harry had come to stay, he sat in the living room with Severus and read his new books and magazines. He occasionally muttered thoughts on what he was reading out loud, but it wasn't loud enough or frequent enough to bother Severus as he read another book that had come by owl that afternoon. The elves brought lunch and dinner as promised, and a handful of Christmas crackers. Severus allowed Harry to open them all, knowing the boy had precious little to call his own. Harry was pleased when a thick pair of black socks came out of one, and put them on immediately. A toy dragon came out of a shiny red cracker, and finally a warm maroon beanie came out of the third. Harry put that on too. He cherished new items he received, especially clothing. He was anything but ungrateful, Severus decided.

That night as Harry climbed into his bed, still wearing the maroon beanie, he said to himself, "Not such a bad Christmas," and fell asleep, glad that his hands were fully healed and not still bruised and painful, and that he'd gotten to eat good food and wear warm clothes.

* * *

"Potter, get dressed and eat breakfast. It's on the table. We leave in thirty minutes."

"Where are we going? Are we going to the Weasleys? Are we going to school? You're not taking me back to the Dursleys are you?"

Severus gave him an irritated look at the rapid chatter, but only for a moment. "We are going to Hogsmeade to get clothing, now hurry or I will leave without you."

Harry raced up to his room to change into clean clothes for the day, and minutes later raced back down the stairs and into the dining room where Christmas dinner leftovers were sitting on a plate waiting for him for breakfast. He practically inhaled the food and was waiting by the floo when Severus came back downstairs.

"Do you have your money pouch? We will be stopping at the Gringotts branch first."

"Yes sir," Harry said brightly. "It's in my back pocket. It's empty now because I bought gifts for my friends."

"Fine. We won't be taking the floo. Hold my arm and we will apparate."

"I hope I don't barf," Harry said.

"See that you do not." Harry grabbed his arm and they spun away, appearing in the snowy alley behind Rosmerta's.

"The Headmaster's personal friend runs the clothing shop. He has been apprised of the situation and will not mind you speaking what is on your mind."

"Ok," Harry said.

"And the goblins at Gringotts, as a matter of course, prefer the truth and are adept at discerning lies."

"Yes sir," Harry said.

They stopped and got money transferred from Harry's Gringotts vault, and then went straight to the clothing shop, though Harry chattered now and again about wanting to visit Zonko's or Honeydukes.

In the clothing shop the owner greeted them and then locked the front door and put the closed sign up.

"We're here when it's closed?" Harry asked.

"Just closing shop til you finish lad," the man said. "Boys items are on that side of the shop."

Severus told Harry the number of shirts, pants, etc he should probably get, but told Harry the final decision was up to him as it was his money, and then went to talk to the shop owner while Harry browsed. As was normal now Harry talked to himself about what he liked or didn't like about each shirt color, and pair of pants, collecting articles of clothing as he went. Both men laughed when they heard him exclaim from the corner of the shop over a maroon zip up hoodie with a snitch zipper pull. "Wow! It's got a Snitch zipper pull!" Harry shouted. Harry brought a big armful of clothing to the shop counter, and then went back to the corner with outerwear again, and after several more excited shouts, he came back with another hoodie without a zipper that had the Gryffindor lion on the front, and a third hoodie that was a deep heathered green with dark gray draw strings and metallic gold ends on the strings.

"Is this everything?" Severus asked.

"Yes sir!"

"Did you find shoes?"

Harry dug under the pile of clothes and pulled out shoes and a package of socks. All in all it was several Galleons of clothes: an entire wardrobe, including slacks for school and casual attire like t-shirts and sweatpants, some plain and others with words like ‘Gryffindor', ‘Seeker', or ‘Hogwarts ESTD 990 AD'.

Harry paid for the purchase and the shop owner bagged up the items. It was five bags and Severus had to help Harry carry them. The man let them apparate away from inside the shop, and Harry forgot all about wanting to visit the other stores in Hogsmeade, chattering happily instead about all of his new clothes.

He was still talking about the purchase when they reappeared in Snape's living room.

"It's not even gonna fit in my trunk!" he said happily. "I'll have to look up a charm or something to make the trunk bigger."

"I will put a charm on it when we return to Hogwarts."

"Really? Thanks. I'll have to send it all home with Ron in the summer because Uncle Vernon will burn it all."

"Are you being dramatic?" Severus asked, because while Harry said his thoughts allowed Severus knew not all thoughts were truth.

"No sir, he doesn't like me to have new things. I always get Dudley's old things. Dudley's always got to have better than me."

"That is interesting considering they are paid a yearly stipend for your clothing."

"I never get new things. Not ever. The first time was when Hagrid took me to Diagonalley before first year, but I haven't been back since then."

"As far as I am aware, you are not returning to your relatives again, so you should be able to go to Diagonalley again once your condition has been taken care of."

"You think so? I always have to go back. The Headmaster always makes me."

"I overheard him telling Professor McGonagall that you will not be returning."

"Wow," said Harry. "Maybe this isn't such a curse after all."

Severus wondered if the boy would continue to think that for long. Never being able to keep one's thoughts to oneself could turn out to be deadly, or isolating and lonely.

Harry went up to put his clothes away, and when he didn't come back down after a few hours, Severus went up to check on him. He was napping across the foot of his bed, wearing one of the new hoodies and a pair of dark gray sweatpants and his Christmas cracker socks.

"Potter, dinner is ready."

Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry sir, I was tired and didn't mean to fall asleep. But napping is allowed right? You said I could?"

"Napping is allowed so long as it is not an all day thing."

"Yes sir."

"Uncle Vernon doesn't let me nap ever. Not even when I'm locked in my cupboard. Once he caught me sleeping in the day and dragged me out of the cupboard and into the yard. It was raining and he said I had to stay out there."

"Your uncle manhandles you?" Severus asked as they began down the stairs.

"What's that? Does that mean hitting? I get hit."

"It means handles you roughly... drags or pushes you around."

"Yeah, not all the time, but sometimes."

"But you get hit often?"

Harry covered his mouth and looked like he wasn't pleased with the question, despite that he'd already admitted to being hit.

Frustrated with Harry's refusal to speak Severus said, "I believe the Veritaserum has had such a severe effect on you, as it has on others like you, because you have truths that need to be told, but have not been able to tell."

"I always get in trouble when I tell the truth!" Harry shouted, pulling his hand away from his mouth. "I told at school once in primary and they called the police, and then the police came and didn't believe me. They believed Uncle Vernon, then when the police left I got locked in my cupboard for weeks over the holidays! Then at school the teacher thought I was just a liar and never believed anything I said again, about anything!"

"You will not be in trouble for telling the truth here. It is a rule."

"What truth do you think is so big and important? You know practically everything I think because I don't have any control over what comes out of my mouth!" Harry was worked up and breathing heavily.

"I do not know," Severus said. "That is for you to tell, if you so choose."

"Then what?" Harry asked. "Then if it doesn't work you just know all my secrets? You'll have lots to use against me in class."

"I will not use anything against you."

"I don't believe you."

"Must I take Veritaserum to prove it to you?"

"Forget it!" Harry shouted, turning his back on him. Then he turned around again. "What do you want me to say? I have literally told you everything I know. I've told you every wrong thing me and Ron have ever done. I told you I don't get to eat, and that I live in a cupboard under the stairs! And you heard me say I get hit at home, so why did you ask about it a second time?"

"Because I care to hear the answer."

"No you don't. You just want to get me out of your hair and get back to Hogwarts," Harry accused.

"That is not the only reason."

"Well here it is," said Harry bitterly, face red from yelling. His face grew serious as he looked at his Potions Professor. "I get hit a lot. For every little thing. Uncle Vernon hits the hardest, Dudley hits the meanest, and Aunt Petunia hits the nastiest. And it hurts every single time."

Harry's face flickered for a moment, but the effect was gone so fast Severus wasn't even certain he'd seen it. He narrowed his eyes.

"What?!" Harry shouted. "What's that look for?"

"I thought I saw something. An effect of the poisoning perhaps."

Harry didn't seem to hear him though because he was still worked up. He turned around and said to himself, "Everything they do hurts. Every time they yell at me, or send me dirty socks, or ignore me all day on my birthday-" there was that flicker again, despite that Harry wasn't facing him. He could see something on the back of Harry's neck that wasn't there before, a scar perhaps, but then it was gone once again. Harry turned around, looking at an empty spot on the floor and continued, "-when I'm lying in my cot hungry at night, or cold becuase the blanket is too thin, or they say lies about my parents, or aunt Marge comes and visits just to taunt me, or-" the flickering was more prominent now, and Severus realized that what he was seeing wasn't a flicker as much as it was a difference between Harry's features... the Harry that he always saw, and the boy that was standing in front of him, ranting, and unaware that anything was different at all. Harry looked up at him then and said, "It hurts. All of it. They know it, and that's why they do it." The flickering of features stopped, and suddenly there was a different boy standing in front of him. It was Harry Potter, but there was a scar under his ear, and another on his chin, and another down the front of his neck. There was one on his right arm and three on his left. Severus was willing to bet there were more under his shirt.

"You were wearing a glamour." Severus said quietly, not sure if he was believing what he was seeing.

"I don't know what that is."

"A charm to change your appearance."

"I didn't do any magic like that," Harry said. "If I did I'd make my hair look nicer than this." He pointed up to his mop of black hair.

"Perhaps your magic put it up for you, to hide the truth."

"What are you even talking about?" Harry half shouted, arms up in the air. He'd just spilled his guts to him and all he could talk about was how he looked?

Severus conjured a mirror and handed it to Harry, who took it uncertainly and looked down into it.

"That's where Aunt Petunia slapped me and accidentally caught my face with her nails," Harry said quietly, reaching up to touch the scar on his cheek. "But it didn't scar. It barely even made a mark."

"It scarred," said Severus. "But you had already walled yourself off to what was happening. The glamour was already up and hid it from you." The child had probably done it to survive.

"Professor," said Harry quietly, still looking into the mirror. "Ask me something about things I did wrong at Hogwarts."

"Potter?" When Harry didn't answer, Severus asked, "The night you were poisoned, what did you get in trouble for?"

Harry looked away from the mirror and up at him. "I didn't get in trouble. I was in bed all night sleeping," he lied.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Harry set the mirror down on an end table, turned and went to the stiars. "I guess I don't have to tell the truth anymore," he said, and disappeared up to his room.

Severus sat heavily in the armchair he was nearest to and stared at the mirror the boy had just abandoned. The truth wasn't something the child was keeping from everyone else, but from himself. The poisoning had held up a mirror, and the boy had finally seen his own reflection.

* * *

Severus didn't check on the boy when he didn't come down for dinner, but he did the next morning. The child was still sleeping, or perhaps pretending to do so. He'd had enough of being forced to tell the truth, so Severus didn't call him on it and let him lie in bed.

At lunch he went back up to the room with a shimmering blue creme in a small jar. It was translucent and slimy, and it jiggled when the jar moved. Harry was sitting on the bed pretending to read one of his new books, but he looked like he was just staring at the page.

"This is a scar remover. It won't work on the scar on your forehead, but it will work on the others. You may apply it yourself, or I can apply it to places you can't reach."

Harry's eyes came sluggishly up to meet his Professor's. "Thanks," he said unenthusiastically.

Snape set it down on the nightstand, but he didn't turn to leave. Instead he pulled out the desk chair and sat down.

"What do you want?" Harry asked. "I told you everything. The curse or whatever broke."

"I don't want anything Potter. What do you want?"

"Does it matter?" Harry asked. "No one cares what I want."

"Not your friends?"

"That's not what I mean." When Severus didn't say anything right away however, Harry began filling the uncomfortable silence himself. "I just want to be treated nicely, like I'm not an inconvenience someone has to put up with. I want to be believed when I say something, even when I'm not being poisoned by my Potions Professor. And I want to live someplace where people aren't constantly mean and rude to me for no reason. I'm a person."

"Yes you are," Severus agreed. He was still reeling from their discovery the previous day and was certain Harry must be feeling strong emotions about it as well. It was a lot for a thirteen year old to handle.

"Why are you still here? I'll use the scar balm."

"Do you want company?"

Harry looked up at him, incredulous. "I'm just reading," he said quickly, picking his book back up.

"Then I shall read too."

"I'm not reading," Harry snapped out, angry suddenly. "I'm just sitting here thinking."

"Then I shall think too."

"You're just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"I am not doing nothing," Severus said. After a moment of deliberation he said, "I am sitting with a friend who needs time to think on things. That is time well spent."

Harry opened his mouth to shout something, anything, but he didn't know what, and without the poisoning his mouth wasn't apt to just spew things without him, so he closed it. Snape would never claim he was his friend, yet he had, and here he was, willing to just sit there with him.

They sat in silence for almost ten minutes when Snape said, "You are a person. It's a rule. It is something I will not forget."

Tears pooled in Harry's eyes and his lips moved but nothing came out. Snape knew he was repeating the rule to himself. Then quietly Harry said to himself, "Crying's allowed. It's a rule now too."

Harry did cry, but Snape didn't watch. He sat silently in the desk chair at the foot of the bed. He sat in solidarity with a boy who had only ever needed someone who would do such a thing, and to listen.