'Male, dark hair, green eyes and of approximately two years of age.' The tall woman with deep brown hair read aloud the adoption file in her hands.

'Name: Harry James Potter.' She looked over the top of her reading glasses to the anxious woman that stared back at her. 'This is the boy?'

'Yes, it is.' The woman smiled at the receptionist. 'They said all of the paperwork is complete and we can take him home now?'

'That is true.' The receptionist sighed with boredom. 'Shelly!' She called in a loud, demanding tone.

'Yes, Mrs Harvey?' A younger and more vibrant woman appeared with a little girl clinging to her legs as though she was trying to glue herself to another being.

'Miss...' The receptionist failed to recall the anxious woman's name and turned towards her for the answer.

'Oh, um...Miss Erin Summers.' The woman gasped out. She was nervous and excited about meeting the little boy she was in the process of adopting as her own son. There had been strange rumours involving how he had come to the orphanage, such as that his parents had been mysteriously killed and all he had received from the incident was an odd scar on his forehead. The boy had then had gone to his aunt and uncle but they sent him here after only six months with the claim that he was too much to handle and they could not stand an extra child.

But Erin didn't care. She herself had been a bit different, mostly because she didn't have many friends and therefore had to find ways to entertain herself on her own. Erin had always believed that every child was special and they each could be raised to become equally wonderful people with the right discipline, love and of course, a stable household. This is what she had hoped to give to the little boy named Harry Potter.

'Right this way, Miss Summers.' The vibrant girl told her and Erin quickly followed.

--

They reached a playroom where over twenty very young children were playing or being tended to. Most of the children were at least four or five years old although there were a few toddlers amongst them. Erin had only seen a photograph of her new son and had stared at it for hours the night before, so she scanned the crowd for the small boy with dark hair. And she soon found him. Harry was sitting at a small table across from a little girl although they payed each other no attention. She was drawing a picture and he was building something with blocks.

'Hello, Harry.' Erin smiled at the boy as she approached him. She had tears in her eyes as she finally got to meet her son after over a month of waiting.

Harry turned quickly towards the voice and stared at her with curiosity and for some odd reason, caution.

'Halwo.' He returned.

And from that moment forward, Erin loved him as though she had given birth to him instead of his now-dead mother. It felt like she had lost him and that was why she hadn't been there for him in the past two years of his life. This wasn't true, but to Erin it truly seemed as though this little boy was her son. Her miracle.

--

Moments later, Erin signed the adoption papers without caring for a trial period and simply wanted to take her new little boy home. He was content to just sit in her arms and never made a fuss on the entire way home.

Erin lived some distance from the orphanage in London, in fact it was a very long drive to her little country house and Harry slept through the entire journey. And when they finally arrived to the home they would now share together...that was when things started to turn quite sour.

'What is she doing here?' Erin growled under her breath as she spotted her mother's car in the driveway. She did not get along with her mother for many reasons; the main one was because the older woman only ever demanded things she had no right to and refused to believe that it was possible for her daughter to have control over her own life for even a second without ruining it.

'Come on, Harry.' Erin lifted the sleepy toddler from the car along with his tiny bag of belongings. She carried him across the green lawn and into the large house with bright windows and a warmly-decorated theme.

Harry still hadn't said another word as he just looked around from where he had been placed inside a second-hand playpen with a few toys and a picture book.

'So.' Came the deeper and less joyous voice of Judith Cain.

'This is your solution to a disastrous divorce?' She scowled with disapproval while Erin merely frowned at her with absolute loathing. 'Adopt some poor kid in attempt to erase your own failures?'

'Shut up, mother.' Erin glared. 'What are you even doing here? Haven't I made it clear enough that you are no longer welcome in my life?'

'Oh, you've made it very clear.' Judith's scowl deepened. Her very presence appeared to cast a shadow over the area of the living room in which she stood in; as though all the colour was being leeched from her surroundings.

'But you are young and foolish. You need to be made aware of your mistakes before you make things worst again.'

'Goodbye, mother.' Erin sighed and tried to appear unaffected by the woman's harsh words.

'Do you think this brat will make you happy?' Judith sneered at Harry. The toddler noticed her horrid look and started to whimper as he thought of his scowling aunt that smacked him all the time.

'Leave Harry out of this!' Erin stepped in front of her new son to block his view of the beastly woman he had the misfortune of having as a grandmother.

'You are sick, Erin.' Judith sighed heavily and shook her head. 'You think you can care for a toddler when you can barely care for yourself?'

'I am not sick simply because I don't agree with your petty way of life.' Erin argued.

'You have no friends, no one to care for the child when you tire of his crying and needs.' Judith continued while Erin pondered on the best way to throw her from the house without exposing Harry to extreme violence.

'He is my son.' Erin said firmly. 'I love him and I won't let you damage his life as you tried to mine.'

'Of course not. You'll do that all on your own.' Judith shook her head. 'Always blaming me for your incompetent! No wonder Marcus left.'

'Marcus cared nothing for me.' Erin corrected. 'He was always drunk and preferred to sit in front of the TV all day and do nothing.'

'He had money.' Judith stated.

'But he did not love me. I would rather have love than money.' Erin said flatly. 'Which is something you will never understand.'

'And when this brat cries for food? What will you give him? Love?' Judith snorted and stated the last word with disgust. 'You have much to learn, Erindia.'

'Get out.' Erin pointed to the door while Harry sat down to play with a stuffed dragon. It reminded him of a toy he had from his daddy before the bad man had taken his mummy and daddy away from him.

'Mark my words, Erin.' Judith said dangerously. 'You will never know happiness with this boy. Just like that Sirius Black man did not make you happy, as odd as he was. And this house was not good enough for you, neither were the sums of money you had inherited. This child will be no different. Eventually you'll make a mistake like you always do and he will be gone as well.'

Erin said nothing as he mother turned and left the house. She remained frozen on the spot and her face clouded with dread as she thought of her mother's words. Shaking her head, Erin turned back to Harry and smiled at him.

'Was that you?' She played and a smile returned to her warm face. 'Did you make the mean monster go away?'

'Yup!' Harry played along and smiled at her. He decided that he really liked this new person because she didn't make mummies scream and she didn't smack him or yell at him for confusing reasons.

Erin sighed and picked the boy up as she planned to show him his new bedroom, clothes and toys. She refused to worry about her mother's threat right now unless it was simply to acknowledge that the vile woman had left a newspaper behind on the kitchen counter.

'How strange.' Erin narrowed her eyes at the paper as she could have sworn the pictures had moved. 'I wonder who this “Voldemort” figure is.' She sighed as she spoke to Harry.

'Oh silly, you wouldn't know anything about that scary man now would you, Harry?' She cooed.

And so the woman named Erin Summers invited Harry Potter into her loving home and for two years she treated him to all the things a little boy deserved from his mother.

--

But Judith had been serious with her warning and several weeks after Harry's fourth birthday, social services arrived on the doorstep. They had with them medical forms that Erin knew weren't real and they claimed she wasn't stable enough to raise a child. Apparently she had committed some form of crime involving the adoption of the boy, even though she was certain she had not. Distraught but powerless, Erin had no choice other than to watch helplessly with horror as they took Harry away from her.

She was later committed into an institution when she became depressed over losing her son because no matter how hard she tried to get him back...time and time again she was told that the little boy named “Harry Potter” did not exist.

Part of this reason was the fault of a woman named Natalie Ashworth. She was in charge of the orphanage in which Harry was sent to after being taken from his new mother. For you see, Natalie was a squib. She knew exactly who was handed to her that day. She knew all about the now-famous Harry Potter and his parents as well as the expectation the entire wizarding world already had for this boy's future and his supposed talents.

She sympathized with the boy even more so when a couple showed up the very next day to adopt him. Because she was a squib, she could tell that they were not muggles due to their odd clothes and the way they spoke. They had a young son with them too, being about nine years old. It was when they barely took one look at Harry before they demanded to adopt him that caused her to see it for what it was. Natalie knew that no one would want that child for his cute shyness, his curious personality or gentle nature...they would want him only because he is Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.

'I'm sorry, you must be mistaken.' Natalie said instead to this odd couple. 'This boy's name is ...Cody Evans.' She told them.

Cody was the name of her great-great grandfather and Evans was the first surname of the boy's birth mother. Although not many were sure to realize the connection between the two magical people and the combination of their names to give Harry a chance at a real family.

'Oh.' The woman frowned and peered at Harry more closely. 'Are you sure? He certainly looks like Harry Potter.'

'We only have muggle children here.' Natalie added and surprised them by knowing about magic; clearly they had assumed she was a muggle too.

'I assure you, Harry Potter has already been adopted out to a family through another orphanage.' Which was true. They simply didn't need to know the finer details of that situation.

As the couple left, Natalie glanced down at the little boy in her arms and sighed.

'Cody Evans? I suppose that will do, kid. One day you'll thank me for this, I swear.' She told him, convinced that it was indeed true.

'One day you will find the perfect home and they will love you only for being you, not because of your name or your past. From this day forward you are no longer Harry Potter...you are Cody Evans.'

Natalie thought she was helping him, but his new name meant Erin Summers would never be able to reclaim the boy she considered as her son. It meant Albus Dumbledore wouldn't be able to track him down to check up on him. And...is also led to Severus Snape giving up all hope of ever seeing a part of of Lily again.

To Severus, everyone inside that house at Godric's Hallow had died that night, along with the last pure piece of his soul.

The house was dark and quiet, mostly because it was very late at night and only one person was awake. Seven-year-old Harry had been sitting in the window seat of the shadowed living room for over three hours as he waited for his guardians to come home from some sort of event he didn't understand.

He had been adopted by them three years ago, although they called him Cody rather than Harry. He knew what his real name was but still everyone insisted on calling him something else. They weren't mean people like the evil man that haunted his dreams nor the aunt who screeched in the background of those same nightmares, but they were not the family he wanted.

The man was always at work so Harry barely saw him and didn't bother much anyway because he felt invisible to the man. The woman was always cranky, she often told him to play in his room or outside so that he couldn't bother her while she read her long books about mysteries and romance. And when they weren't around, the man's sister Emile was stuck with looking after him. She was a rather unclean woman since her face was always smudged and she wore long, messy clothes while her hair was too frizzy to tie up properly and always stuck out in odd places. He never really liked Emile because she was so boring and barely ever said a word to him. Harry often wondered if he was indeed invisible; no one ever really acted as though they knew he was there.

Emile was asleep in an armchair behind him as he continued to stare out at the darkened yet dimly-lit streets of Cambridge, London. He had a feeling in his stomach that something wasn't right, that perhaps he really shouldn't sleep just yet because still his guardians weren't home. And these were the type of people that despite how lazy and uninterested they may appear to be...they were never late.

Then the phone rang. Harry turned and lunged for it but Emile had a sixth sense about phones and doorbells so she had reached it before him. The seven-year-old watched with confusion as she appeared horrified, upset and than downright furious. After mere minutes, she hung up the phone and turned to face him. Her expression was sad and yet her eyes were empty of any sorrow.

'There was a car crash.' She told him. 'They're dead.'

Harry felt his whole world crash around him once again. His parents. Erin. And now these people? Not only was he invisible, but he was also cursed; how else could anyone explain how any family he had the chance to be a part of would vanish?

--

Harry couldn't sleep that night. Hey tossed and turned restlessly until the morning seemed to sneak up on him before he had the chance to really experience even an hour of proper rest. Emile had explained to him that she was his only other relative who could take him in and he had to live with her now. She told him that it wasn't ideal and neither of them wanted to but that was just how things worked.

'Where are we going?' Harry asked grumpily. His mood shifted from annoyed to sad and than back with each hour that passed since he had been rudely woken that morning. He was so confused and didn't know how to feel about everything that had happened in his life. He hadn't cried about losing his guardians and he felt guilty for it, but he was also scared about what was going to happen to him now.

'My husband Simon and I just bought a new place because we couldn't really afford the last one.' Emile sighed as she continued to drive and didn't once glance at Harry who sat in the car seat beside her.

'It's not much, but you'll have your own room and such.'

'I want to go home.' Harry crossed his arms in defiance; this new place didn't sound very nice at all.

'You know why you can't so can it.' Emile scowled. 'Look kid, I know this is a terrible situation but just be lucky that you're not out on the street, okay? We may not have a great lifestyle and all but it could be a lot worst, believe me.' She sighed and pulled up outside the house.

Harry peered at it and swallowed fearfully. It was dark and the same dull stone as all the other houses in the row on the entire street.

'I don't wanna stay here!' He pleaded with Emile. 'It's scary!'

'It's here or the streets.' Emile frowned at him. 'Pick one.'

Harry sniffed and got out of the car. He pulled out his bag and dragged it across the footpath in effort to further point out how much he didn't want to be there.

'You're going to be trouble.' Emile muttered. 'Good thing Simon will sort you out while I'm at work.'

'I hate this place.' Harry looked around. 'It's ugly and scary!'

'So is your attitude.' Emile stepped inside the house and called out to her husband while Harry remained standing outside to observe his new surroundings.

He spotted the house directly across the street from theirs which was exactly the same as all the others and yet there was something about it that caught his attention. Perhaps it was the almost a shift in the air that he felt when he stared at it...something like the presence of magic and belonging.

'Boy!' A loud voice caused him to jump and he spun around to face the man Emile referred to as her husband Simon.

Harry clutched his bag and quickly rushed inside the cluttered and even darker interiors of the house. While Emile had the appearance of laziness, disinterest and defocus...this man wasn't much better. He wore a white singlet over his hairy chest that matched the same dirty shade of his short, messy hair. His chin was covered in stubble and his hands were greasy but dry. Even from a distance the beer and cigarette on his breath was strong and unavoidable. Harry hated him at first sight.

'So you're the brat we've been forced to endure?' Simon asked and rolled his eyes. 'Well you're expected to pull your weight around here, got it?'

Harry could only nod his head because he had a bad feeling that while this man may seem mostly a bit annoyed right now...that may change in the space of a second.

'Good. Start with those dishes and then you can get outside and play for a while.' Simon narrowed his eyes as he walked over to the couch and sat back down to enjoy the rest of the cricket game he'd been watching. Emile had gone upstairs to dump Harry's stuff on the worn bed in his shabby room before she left the house to visit her friends.

Harry sighed miserably and dragged his feet over into the kitchen which was in an unclean but not disgusting state. There were only a few dishes so he quickly washed them off (he was used to this chore from his guardians since they had him do this and make his bed daily).

--

With his soapy task done, Harry did as he was told and stepped outside into the street. He wondered how anyone could remember which house was theirs since there were no numbers and each one looked the same. They counted them, he supposed. Harry sighed and sat on the front step (only a few houses had steps, such as this one due to the slightly uneven ground), and rested his cheek against hand while his elbow rested on his knee in boredom.

He turned quickly when he heard an unfamiliar sound and spotted a dark clothed man leaving an alley a few houses towards his right. The man had dark black hair, black clothes and looked like the sourest man Harry had ever laid eyes on. And yet, he didn't get the same instinctual urge to recoil from this stranger as he had with Simon.

'What?' The man snarled at him when he passed by the steps and noticed the boy staring at him.

'Oh um, nothing.' Harry quickly mumbled.

'Who do you belong to?' The man asked and looked around but other than the two of them the street was vacant, almost abandoned.

'I just moved here.' Harry pointed to the house behind him. 'I'm H-Cody.' He quickly corrected. 'Cody Evans.'

The man's face changed for a fraction of a moment but than he said not a single word and turned to cross the street. The dark man walked inside his house directly across from Harry's...the same house the boy felt an odd connection to minutes previous.

Little did Harry know...he had just met the one person who would not look at him as though he was invisible, who wouldn't cast him aside whenever he was there and this man would come to realize the one thing that everyone else tended to forget: he was just a child without a family to love him or even care when he was hurting inside.

Neither were aware of it then, but Harry Potter had just met Severus Snape.