It had been about a week since they had arrived at this mysterious island. Harry had decided to dub it Cross Island, as he had never seen so many crosses in all his life. Everywhere he went, he’d see a cross or some other sort of sign in a window or hanging on the front door. Severus had told him it was a way of hiding. If a stranger had come to their village seeking to destroy any witches, they could honestly say they were a religious colony, and most would leave them alone. Of course, that hadn’t been a necessary thing to do in a very, very long time.

Deliverance had coerced Severus into staying for a while after promising no one had been seen snooping around before they had arrived. If there had been any strangers in the area, they would have moved on.

“We’ll only be able to stay a few more days, Del. I hadn’t planned on staying this long, so quit pestering me about it.” snapped Severus.

Deliverance sighed tiredly. “Very well, Severus. I only wanted company for a while longer. You know I never get to see any of the family.” She laughed. “They’re all dead.”

It wasn’t the first time that Severus thought the woman might be going mad in her old age. Some of the things she said could be considered quite odd. And it was very odd indeed to laugh at one’s own family’s death.

“Ah, yes, Deliverance. Just the same, we can’t stay but one more day. The mountains are difficult to trek in any circumstances, but when you’re dragging a child along with you, anything could happen.” said Severus. ‘He’ll probably fall off a cliff.’ he thought to himself. Over the weeks, he had grown to tolerate the boy. He bemusedly thought he might have to save the little brat if he did fall off a cliff.

“Now, Del, tell me the directions once more. And who exactly is this guide?”

******************

Harry sat idly on his bed, legs dangling off the side, with wind blowing his hair every which way from the open window. He was very comfortable and wasn’t exactly looking forward to getting up. He also wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming traveling they would be doing. He knew they were supposed to climb a mountain, but that was about all he knew. Severus seemed to really like keeping him in the dark. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to actually climb a mountain. Mountain trails are good things.

After a few more moments of laziness, Harry finally dragged his butt out of bed and crossed over to the closet. He stood at the doorway, but didn’t go any further. He decided he would wear a pair of Dudley’s old jeans, which were very baggy on him, and a long sleeved black t-shirt. Now that he had decided, he just had to get them. Once again he found himself wishing that Deliverance had thought to get some dresser drawers. She had none in the entire house. So, naturally, the only place to put his clothes away was in the stupid closet. So far he had been pretty good at it. Just run in, throw his clothes on the rod, and run out. Retrieving his clothes went about the same way, only he grabbed them off the hanger instead. His internal mantra the entire time would be ‘The door is still open.’ Which he would repeat over and over until he got back out.

“I am so pathetic.” he muttered to himself, still standing outside the closet door. Taking a deep breath, he walked inside, grabbed the outfit he wanted, and quickly stepped back out. “That wasn’t so bad.”

After quickly dressing, he went downstairs for breakfast. It had been a daily ritual of sorts while at the Inn. He, the Professor, and Deliverance always sat down together for the meal, and it was spent in relative silence. But not today.

It sounded as if the two cousins were arguing over when Severus and Harry would be leaving. Deliverance was adamant that they stay, but soon his Professor won out. They would be leaving the following morning. Harry didn’t know if he would prefer leaving or staying. His potions Professor had slowly begun to be more, well, nicer, for lack of a better word. He just hoped he would stay that way without his nagging cousin around.

Harry still couldn’t believe how secluded a life these people were living. According to Snape, he hadn’t seen Deliverance since he was a teenager, but even then the people of Cross Island would refuse to listen to anything about the outside world. They just didn’t want to know, so the family would remain quiet. Now, however, Severus was the only one left, and he could care less. He’d tell her anyways.

“Ah, hello Harry.” remarked Deliverance, sipping quietly from a tea cup.

“Um…hi.” said Harry, taking a seat across from the older woman.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, Potter.” stated Snape.

“Yeah, I know.” replied Harry.

“Eavesdropping, were you?” asked Snape, smirking.

“It was kind of hard to miss the raised voices.” Harry shot back. Severus continued to smirk.

“Eat your breakfast, Potter.” he said.

******************

Harry had spent the rest of the morning and into the late afternoon talking without purpose to Deliverance. She had a knack for talking about a whole lot of nothing for a really long time. After nearly falling asleep three times, she finally sent him upstairs. On the way he had run into his Professor.

“Potter, we’ll be leaving by six tomorrow. I suggest you pack your belongings tonight.” he said while passing the boy in the hallway, and then walking into his own room without another word.

“Whatever.” he breathed underneath his breath. But, as he watched the sun slowly setting from outside the window, he suddenly decided to get this over and done with before it was completely dark. It was extremely eerie at night, with only the candle lights for illumination. He only had a few to go by, whereas at Hogwarts, he had many more, plus torches. He decided Deliverance must really want someone to break a leg while staying with her.

He pulled his trunk out from underneath his massive bed and proceeded to drag it over to the closet door. After a moment’s preparation, he started his normal routine of running in and out as quickly as he possibly could. The least amount of time he spent in the closet, the better. Harry was just grabbing his last few pairs of jeans when he noticed the light in the closet was fading, rather quickly. He turned around just in time to see the door slam shut. Without thinking, he ran for it and tried in vain to open the door. It was locked. He pounded on the door with his fists, and was about to scream, but it was cut off.

Suddenly, the walk-in closet had disappeared and he was once again trapped in the cupboard under the stairs. He immediately drew himself up in a corner, wrapped his arms around his knees and started crying.

******************

Severus sat alone in his own bedroom, contemplating the words his cousin had told him earlier that day. She knew of the place he was looking for, but it would take a guide to get them there. It was an apparent difficult journey, and had it not been for the fact that he would never find it on his own, he would have gone without the damn guide. Deliverance spoke volumes about his knowledge of the mountain, but his personality was another matter. He would have to keep an eye out on him, he wasn’t a nice man. And to top it off, he hated children. Just great. He had a sinking feeling that the boy would have an emotional breakdown before they reached their destination.

He wanted to leave extremely early the next morning, as Potter and himself would have to go and get the damn guide. He lived about a quarter of the way into the mountain. Deliverance had sent word that he would be having guests the next afternoon, and he would be paid handsomely, which was the only reason he would take them up in the first place.

He had told the boy to go and pack his things earlier, but did you really have to make that much noise while packing? He quickly opened the door connecting their rooms and saw the boy running in and out of the closet. Severus assumed he was purposefully being a pain, and decided to play a little joke on the brat. As soon as Harry went into the closet again, he flicked his wand and the door slammed shut and locked.

He only planned on letting him stay in there for a few minutes, and turned to go back to his room. He heard him start pounding, but then he heard nothing. Leaving the room, he finished his own packing and placed his bags and trunk by the door. Then he went over to Harry’s room to let him out.

“Hey, Potter.” said Snape, loudly. No answer. “Alohamora.” he said, ready to let the boy out. However, he wasn’t ready for what he was about to find.

It had gotten very dark outside since he had locked Harry in the closet, and he found it very hard to see inside of it. “Lumos.” he muttered, slightly annoyed the boy hadn’t come out on his own accord.

He pointed his wand around in the large closet, before he heard something coming from the corner. ‘Crying?’ he asked himself. He finally saw the boy, and could have cursed himself. Harry was curled up into a ball, arms wrapped defensively around his knees and chest, and was crying. Harsh gasps of breath between sobs made him realize he’d probably been doing it the entire time.

“Harry?” he asked, tentatively, but he still received no response. He slid over to where the boy was still laying on the floor, and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry flinched, but seemed to come out of whatever trance he was in.

“Professor?” he asked, looking startled.

“Yes. Let’s get out of the closet.” he told Harry, helping him up off the floor. Harry gladly accepted the help and rushed out. He stood in the middle of the floor, feeling extremely awkward, and a little disoriented.

“What happened?” he asked, wiping tears from his eyes. He noticed at once that his Professor seemed reluctant to talk.

“Why were you running in and out of the closet?” asked Snape, looking for a diversion.

Harry, extremely uncomfortable, lowered his eyes the floor. His shoes were extremely interesting. “I don’t like closets.” he replied.

“Why?” asked Snape.

“I just don’t, okay.” huffed Harry.

“Really.” snarled Snape, beginning to wonder if the boy was just trying to make him feel bad. He looked like he was hiding something. “It’s time for bed.” he added, taking Harry’s arm, a little roughly.

Harry started violently and brought his arms up to shield his face on instinct. Severus froze, holding the boy’s arms in his hands. He definitely didn’t know what to do in situations such as these.

“Calm down.” he said, and slowly brought Harry’s arms down to his sides. He noticed that Harry was eyeing him wearily, with fresh tears in his eyes. He suddenly had the desire to go and throttle this child’s relatives. “I’m sorry.” he said, and Harry looked so shocked the professor almost laughed. “About the closet.” he added.

Harry just nodded his head and stepped out of the older man’s grasp. “That’s okay.” he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying so much. “It’s not your fault.”

“Actually, it was I who locked you in.” he said, waiting for Harry’s reaction.

But Harry didn’t seem too surprised by it. “Figures.” he muttered.

“Well, if I had known you were going to react like that, I wouldn’t have done it.” he said, defensively.

“Well, who locks people in the closet, anyways?” asked Harry, also getting defensive. He was tired and psychologically worn out.

“I can only assume your uncle did.” said Snape, flat out.

Harry just stared at him. “I take that as a yes.”

“It was a cupboard…under the stairs.” Harry muttered, once again eyeing the floor. He never noticed the look Snape shot at him. The Dursley’s were going to get a little visit when they got back to Hogwarts.

“Well, seriously, you look tired. Go to bed.” ordered Snape.

Harry started to get into bed, but then paused. “I haven’t finished packing.” he stated, looking at the closet as if he wished it would burst into flame. The thought of going back into any closet ever again made him want to burst into tears, for the third time that evening.

“I’ll do it, now go to bed.” said Severus, and Harry could only look at him in shock, again.

“Okay.” said Harry, tiredly. He climbed into bed and was blissfully unaware almost immediately. Severus continued to watch the boy until he was sure he was sound asleep before finishing packing for him. The more he got to know him, the more he couldn’t understand why someone, especially his uncle, would hurt him in such a way. Placing the jeans into one of Harry’s bags, he moved his luggage over towards his door.

“Goodnight, Harry.” he said, and shut the door.