"I didn't expect you this early," Severus said, moving aside to let his son in. Harry closed the door after entering.

"Ginny wanted to come early to bring a few things for the boys. She wanted to catch them before breakfast. Sam already ruined two pairs of shoes and Eli wrote home and said he lost his coat in a transfiguration accident."

Severus nodded and led the way into the kitchen where he sat down at the table while Harry poured himself a cup of coffee. Harry took a long drink, refilled his cup, and then sat down opposite of Severus.

"Would you like me to spell it directly into your stomach?" Severus asked as he watched Harry take another long drink of the hot black liquid.

"This'll do," Harry said, sitting back in the hard dining chair and closing his eyes, looking like he'd rather go back to sleep. "Just needed a pick-me-up before the match."

Severus let his eyes roam to the dark circles under Harry's eyes. He knew Harry often worked late as an auror and was sure he wouldn't have chosen to rise so early to travel to Hogwarts for a Quidditch match that wasn't until nine that morning.

"You haven't been sleeping," Severus observed. It wasn't a question. The dark circles were the work of more than just one night's short slumber he decided.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at his father, and then said candidly, "Not very well. Not for a few weeks." He'd learned long ago not to make things up just for his father's benefit as he always seemed to figure out the truth on his own in the end, leaving Harry looking foolish for his falsehoods.

"The nightmares have returned?"

Harry shook his head and took another well-deserved drink of hot, black coffee. "No," he said. He ignored the Potion Master's raised brow, content not to talk about it further. Harry had always been plagued with nightmares since he was a child, but they'd only intensified after he'd gone to Hogwarts. With Cedric's death, Sirius falling through the veil, the war, and the loving treatment the Dursleys always bestowed upon his return back to Privet Drive, he'd been plagued with re-living the events frequently in his sleep.

"I can brew a batch of dreamless sleep," Severus suggested, unfolding that morning's copy of the Prophet.

"It's not the dreams," Harry repeated. He knew the man seated across from his was persistent however, and didn't feel like dancing around the subject for the rest of the morning when he was there to see Eli's first Quidditch Match as Slytherin's new star Chaser. "I've just had thoughts circling, that's all. It's hard to fall asleep sometimes."

"Hm," Severus said, eyes scanning down the front page of the paper.

"You're doing it again," Harry said, finishing his cup off.

"Doing what?"

"You know what, acting uninterested and being quiet so I'll get uncomfortable and try to fill the silence."

"I wouldn't do that," Severus said with a small smile, eyes never leaving the paper.

"Who do you think I learned it from?" Harry asked. "That's why I'm the chief interrogator at the Auror Division."

"Maybe you should pick Occlumency back up again," Severus said. It really was the best way to stop an overactive mind at night so one could sleep, as well as deal with issues that were plaguing the conscience.

"You know I'm rubbish at that."

"You never made that much of an effort," Severus corrected. There was a knock on his door again and he got up to answer it before Harry could contradict him.

Harry filled his cup of coffee again as Severus let Ginny in and offered to get her a cup of coffee or tea. Harry let their voices fade into the background. His father would never know just how hard Harry had tried to learn Occlumency to please him. Harry had known that after being adopted he'd been a disappointment to Severus and had done all he could to please him. Anything and everything between bringing his grades up to sitting through tortuous hours of occlumency lessons just to show him he was smart enough to figure it out.

Ginny came into the kitchen and began making herself a cup of tea, gave Harry a quick kiss, and then went into the living room to sit by the fire.

"How has Eli been doing in Slytherin?" Ginny asked Severus as Harry came into the living room and sat next to Ginny on one of the two couches.

"He's made a few friends. Aside from the one incident with Alastair McGee he hasn't gotten into any trouble."

"Well I'm glad for that," Ginny said.

Harry nodded. "We haven't gotten any letters about Sam yet so I expect one is overdue."

"As far as I know he's been staying out of trouble. Fred and George Jr however..."

Harry laughed and shook his head as he took another drink of his coffee. "Oh yeah, we heard about that."

"Mum was furious," Ginny said. "She said Fred and George are encouraging their sons to get into more trouble than they ever did. She said if they didn't punish them she would over Christmas break."

"It would help if their father's would stop sending them to school with items from their shop, especially banned ones."

"I heard the boys were selling things from the shop," Harry said.

"As they have always done," Severus said.

They chatted for another half an hour before Severus called the elves to bring down some breakfast. After breakfast, when Harry had finally had enough cups of caffeine that he felt awake enough to watch the match, they went upstairs and Ginny went to speak to Eli to tell him how proud she was of him and Harry found Sam in the Entrance Hall, about to head down to the Quidditch Pitch with the Gryffindor team for their first match of the season.

"Hey dad," Sam said. "Don't worry, I got it all figured out. I'm going to go easy on Eli today. He won't even know it. I'll just act like I'm having an off day when he's got the Quaffle and let him score a few."

"Do you think he got on the team by people going easy on him?" Harry asked.

"No, but what am I supposed to do? I don't want to make him look like a fool out there."

"I think you underestimate him sometimes," Harry said. "Just do your best, like I've always taught you to, and he'll do his best. It's not really Quidditch if you don't respect the other players enough to do your best."

"What do you mean? I have to go easy on him because he's my brother."

"I know you love him, but show that you respect him," Harry said. "He'll know you're not doing your best, and he'll think you think he's not a good enough player to beat you. There's no victory in that. If he has to work his hardest to beat you though, and score goals past you, and he makes a goal, he'll feel on top of the world." Harry wasn't sure Sam understood, so he decided to attack the issue from a different angle. "If you were taking a Potions test and grandpa just gave you an O because you were his grandson, how would that make you feel?"

"Well it'd be nice to pass with flying colors for once!" Sam said brightly, but then he thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "I guess I'd feel kind of stupid like he thought I couldn't do it on my own and had to do it for me."

"Right, and if you studied really hard and he didn't do you any favors and you got an O?"

"It'd feel like I did something worth doing," Sam said. "Ok ok, I won't let up on him."

Harry tousled Sam's hair and Sam grinned before he hurried out the front doors and down the steps after the rest of his team.

As Harry sat in the Pitch in the adult stands later that morning next to Ginny, his father, and Professor McGonagall, Harry's mind wandered back to his failed attempts at Occlumency. He had always tried his hardest at that, and even though he'd failed he hadn't felt bad about the failure. He'd tried to impart to both his sons and Teddy that if they did their best at anything they tried he'd be proud of them. Harry only wished he'd had that growing up. Even after Severus had realized the truth of Harry's home life, things had not always been easy and Severus had not always believed Harry was trying to do his best. It wasn't until after Umbridge had forced his hand that Severus finally started seeing some good in Harry. Harry was never quite sure if he was thankful for the awful things Umbridge had done or resentful. If she hadn't shown up at Hogwarts and started in on Harry right away, Severus probably never would have adopted him.

* * *

Harry had had a peaceful summer at Hogwarts, that is, if one discounted the recurring nightmares of the light leaving Cedric's eyes and Uncle Vernon and Dudley thrashing him just before his return for his fourth year. Other than that, things were peaceful, or they should have been, but to Harry they were melancholy.

After his admission to Snape, the man had gone to the Headmaster and both had agreed that it would be best for Harry to stay at Hogwarts over the summer. He was moved into a guest room in Snape's quarters since most of the other staff would be out of the castle for the summer holiday, and left to his own devices.

Harry ate by himself in the Great Hall at meal times, spent time by himself out on the grounds roaming around the lake and occasionally visiting Hagrid, and read by himself in his room. He saw Snape every day, but few words were exchanged as they passed each other in the living room or corridor outside Snape's quarters. When the man did say something it was usually to ask if Harry was keeping himself out of trouble, to remind him to be in his room by curfew, or to ask if his summer homework was complete. Snape's sour attitude was still there. Harry could feel it lingering just beneath the surface of his docile exterior. The snide comments had gone, but Snape was still essentially Snape. He wanted nothing to do with his temporary charge except see that he was staying out of trouble.

Harry was grateful that Snape had believed him and kept him from going back to the Dursleys, but he was aware he was living in the home of a man who hated him just about as much as his own family.

He tried to pass the time writing to Ron and Hermione, but he went weeks without a reply from either. It wasn't until the middle of July when Snape told him to be up at six am and meet him in the living room, that he found out why his friends had yet to respond to him. Snape had simply said they were flooing out for ‘Order business' and taken him through the floo to a dusty old house.

"Harry!"

Harry was surprised to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him in the living room when he stepped away from the grate. Snape swept past him and out of the room.

"Hey," Harry said quietly.

"Snape looks in a mood today," Ron said. "Big Order meeting. Course we're not allowed to go. Fred and George have been working on a way to listen in but they said their invention isn't quite ready yet."

"Why haven't you responded to my letters?" Harry asked. It looked as though Ron and Hermione had been living here, wherever ‘here' was. Hermione's cat was asleep on the back of an old sofa and she had a pile of books on an end table. Ron also had a small pile of Quidditch magazines on the floor next to an old armchair.

"I'm sorry Harry," Hermione said. "We really wanted to but haven't been allowed. This is Order Headquarters and we've been staying for safe keeping. Dumbledore told us under no circumstances were we to send letters to anyone or we could give away the location. He also said letters could be intercepted and read by the other side."

"It would have been nice if someone had sent word to me," Harry groused. "I thought you were mad at me or something." Harry wasn't a fool. He'd seen copies of the recent Prophet articles that had been coming out. He was disgusted about the lies they were spreading about him and Dumbledore and about how Cedric had died. When his friends hadn't replied to his mail he wondered if they had started to believe the lies Rita Skeeter had been printing.

"We're not mad at you Harry," Hermione assured him. "I've actually written a reply to every letter you've sent. They're up in my room. Ginny's been writing to you too. We were waiting until we saw you to give you the letters."

Harry looked at Ron but he held up his hands. "Don't look at me," he said. "You know what I think about writing. I knew Snape would have to bring you round eventually to one of the meetings."

They led Harry up to Ron's room while Hermione retrieved her letters, and the two spent almost an hour telling Harry about their summer thus far at Grimmauld Place. After learning that Sirius and Remus were there Harry hoped to see them, but they never made an appearance. It was nearing noon when Snape found Harry upstairs and told him they were going back to the castle.

"Can't he stay just a little while longer?" Ron asked. Snape only sneered in return and stated he didn't have time to come back for Harry later that evening, so they left, Harry going with two stacks of letters and a bag of Every Flavor Beans Ron had been saving for him.

"I don't have time to traipse back and forth across the country for you Potter," Snape said when they returned to their dungeon quarters.

"I didn't ask you to sir," Harry said.

"No, you talked your friends into doing it for you. If you are bored and have taken to scheming I can find work for you to keep you out of trouble."

Harry stared at him. He was bored. Even scrubbing floors would be better than wasting his summer sitting around in the dungeons. "Ok," he said resolutely.

"Ok?" Snape repeated.

Harry nodded.

"Just- find something to keep yourself occupied and out of the way," Snape said, shaking his head. Harry had a feeling the man wanted to snark about not having time to babysit Harry or find things for him to do, but he didn't. Instead he left Harry alone again, disappearing out into the castle, presumably to his office to work on whatever he needed to for the Order.

Harry didn't get another chance to visit Order Headquarters, and he didn't hear from his friends for the rest of the summer. Later, when Professors started turning up in the middle of August to begin preparing for classes, Harry wondered that he had ever despised being bored. He should have been content to lead such a peaceful life, because there was no possibility of that once Dolores Jane Umbridge turned up.

Harry had been minding his own business one day, sitting on the steps leading up to the first floor while he read a book, when someone cleared their throat behind him. "Hem hem."

Harry turned and found a squat woman dressed all in pink above him at the top of the stairs.

"Excuse me," she said, coming down the stairs. "What class do you teach?"

Harry frowned. This must be the new Defense Professor. He had a feeling she wasn't dumb though, and couldn't possibly have mistaken him for a teacher.

"I'm just a student," he said.

"Oh," she said, "I see. I was under the impression that students were not allowed on the grounds until September 1st, therefore I thought you must be a Professor."

Harry had only met this woman two minutes ago and already he felt uneasy around her. "I'm staying with Professor Snape maam. In the dungeons."

"I see. I didn't realize you had been removed from the care of your family Mr. Potter."

There it was. He knew she wasn't stupid. She knew exactly who he was. Even if they'd never met before, she couldn't miss his ugly scar or glasses. And the Prophet had been printing pictures of him all summer, calling him a liar and a disturbed youth who only wanted to frighten and terrorize the community.

"Not removed exactly," Harry said.

"Then why are you staying at the castle?"

"For my safety," Harry said.

"Oh dear, whatever would you need to be kept safe from?"

Harry really didn't want to say his relatives, but knew it wouldn't be wise to say Voldemort either. When Harry didn't answer, she smiled, but it wasn't a true smile. It never reached her eyes.

"Since you seem to have nothing to do at the moment Mr. Potter, perhaps you would be amenable to helping me move boxes into my office. I'm afraid since I don't know you, I just can't trust to leave you to your own devices within the school when there are so few staff around."

Harry didn't protest and followed her up the stairs to the Defense office, where twenty or more boxes were piled in the corridor outside.

He moved boxes where she directed, and then before he could escape, she asked him to begin unpacking them. He was surprised an hour and a half later when she gave him several biscuits from a pink tin with kittens on the outside.

"I believe in reward for hard work Mr. Potter," she said. Harry accepted the biscuits, told her thank you, and left, wanting to escape back to the Dungeons. He didn't eat the biscuits, and left them on Snape's kitchen counter instead. He skipped dinner that night, and breakfast the next morning, not wanting to run into Umbridge again. He couldn't pinpoint why exactly she made him uncomfortable, but she did. She seemed too polite, and played stupid even though she clearly knew a lot of things. Her smile was fake too. Everything about her seemed to be fake.

"Will you be skipping lunch today too Potter?" Snape asked as he walked past Harry sitting on one of the couches in the living room with a library book.

"I didn't skip, I ate here." Snape kept a few things in the pantry and fridge. Mostly coffee, tea, and things for quick meals like oatmeal or soup.

"I see," he said.

Harry didn't want to say something about trying to keep away from Umbridge because he didn't want Snape to yell at him for being rude to staff.

"I believe she's out of the castle today," Snape said.

"Who sir?" Harry asked, trying to feign naivety like Umbridge had done. Apparently she could do a better job of it than he could.

"You're a terrible liar," he sneered. "No one would fault you for trying to stay away from Dolores Umbridge. She's a dangerous woman."

"Sir?"

He passed Harry and went into the kitchen. He came back out a few minutes later with a cup of coffee.

"Stay on her good side Potter. If I have to warn you again I will be very displeased." He left the quarters and Harry frowned at the warning. Why would Harry need to stay on her good side? Why was she dangerous? Why would Snape even care to get mad at him if he didn't stay on her good side?

Harry would soon find out the answers to these questions. Over the remaining two weeks til the start of the term, Umbridge had found and cornered Harry almost every time he ventured out of the Dungeons, and had him up into her office or the Defense classroom to do one thing or another for her. Moving furniture, organizing books, writing out new classroom rules for Defense, and copying out lesson plans that she dictated to him. Harry didn't like what he'd seen in her office at all. From what he could tell, they wouldn't be practicing Defense that year. He'd already read through the entire new Defense book they'd been assigned, and there was nothing useful in it at all. It was like she didn't want them to learn anything or to be able to defend themselves. She almost seemed disappointed when Harry didn't say anything about it to her, but Snape's warning to be careful rang through his mind every time he thought about it. If Snape was wary of this woman, and she made Harry feel uncomfortable and on edge, there had to be a reason.

Two days before the rest of the students were going to arrive, Umbridge found Harry reading in the Great Hall after lunch. She was with a man Harry didn't recognize. He was tall and lean, he had dark, well trimmed hair, wore a suit, and had a black briefcase.

"There you are Harry," she said. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. She never used his first name. She also seemed far too happy about something.

"Professor?" Harry greeted uncertainly.

"This is Jacob Jones of the WCW."

"WCW?" Harry asked.

"Wizarding Child Welfare office. We have some paperwork for you to sign."

"What paperwork?" Harry asked.

"Professor Umbridge would like to adopt you," Mr. Jones said with a smile, as if it were a treat he was delivering to Harry. Harry choked even though he hadn't been eating anything.

"Sorry?" Harry asked.

"Oh don't be such a silly boy Harry," she said with a fake smile, pretending as if they were old friends. "He's been spending so much time with me lately Mr. Jones," she said, "he comes to my office regularly for biscuits and to help me with lesson plans and organizing my office. I feel comfortable saying he would be well matched to become my son."

"Er," Harry started shaking his head. He felt trapped.

"It's my understanding that you are no longer in the care of your Muggle guardians," Mr. Jones said.

"I'm Professor Snape's ward," Harry said.

Mr. Jones raised his eyebrows.

"His very temporary ward," Umbridge hurried to tell him. "While Professor Snape makes a good head of house for Slytherin, and a fine Potion's Master, I'm afraid he doesn't seem to make a very good guardian." She shook her head and looked as though it grieved her. "I've witnessed Harry skipping countless meals and he often seems down."

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't skip meals," he said. "Sometimes I eat in the quarters with Professor Snape. He makes great food," Harry lied. He didn't know what else to do.

Mr. Jones pulled a few papers out of his briefcase and began making notes. "Is Professor Snape planning on adopting you then?" he asked.

Harry bit his lip. If he lied Umbridge would call him on it. She'd march down to the Dungeons to get Snape right then and Snape would laugh in his face and abandon him to be adopted by Professor Umbridge.

"Er-"

"Harry."

Harry's head snapped up to the door leading out of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall was standing there and he felt a wave of gratefulness wash over him to have an adult he trusted there.

"Yes Professor?" he asked, unable to keep the eagerness and anxiety of his situation out of his voice.

"Professor Snape is looking for you."

"Ok, thank you Professor," he said, practically leaping out of his seat and bounding out of the Great Hall. Once he was in the Entrance Hall, Professor McGonagall touched his wrist and gave a small shake of her head. Aware that Umbridge and Mr. Jones were still within earshot, she said loudly to Harry, "I believe he's in the Headmaster's office."

Harry nodded once and then took the stairs two at a time to get up to the next floor. He made his way to the Headmaster's office and found Snape waiting outside for him.

"Not a word," he said as he said the password and the statue leapt aside to grant them entrance.

At the top of the stairs the door opened, admitting Harry and Snape, and Dumbledore ushered them inside. Harry took note that he threw a privacy ward at the door before speaking.

"What did Professor Umbridge want to speak to you about Harry?" the Headmaster asked without preamble. Harry looked between him and Snape. Both seemed wary and serious.

"She wanted to adopt me!" Harry said loudly, anxiety finally getting the better of him.

The two men exchanged glances.

"To adopt you?"

Harry nodded, eyes wide.

"You do not want Dolores Umbridge to adopt you," Dumbledore said.

"No sir," Harry said, shaking his head. "She makes me uncomfortable."

"What were her reasons for wanting to adopt you?"

"She said I come to her office to spend time with her and to have biscuits and help her... she made it sound like I wanted to do those things. I don't sir. She always corners me when I leave the Dungeons and makes me help her. And she told that guy that Professor Snape was a bad guardian because I was skipping meals. I just lied and told her he makes great meals and we eat in his quarters."

Snape scoffed and looked like he wanted to say something about the comment, but didn't at a serious look from Dumbledore.

"This is very serious Harry," the Headmaster said. "Dolores Umbridge is a dangerous woman. If she were to gain custody of you there is no telling what would happen. As it is she is planning to take over the school in short order."

"But she can't," Harry said, shocked.

"She can do whatever the Minister allows her to," he said. "I know you've seen the papers and what they're saying. The Minister isn't pleased. He's denying all rumors of Voldemort surfacing. If she gains custody of you they will do whatever they have to in order to silence you. I would not put it past either of them to remove you from school and send you to St. Mungo's to the psychiatric ward."

Harry felt all the blood drain from his face and was sure he'd gone as pale as a sheet. He felt a chair hit the back of his legs and realized that Snape had moved the chair up to him so he'd be forced to sit down.

"What am I gonna do?" Harry asked, voice hollow.

Snape and Dumbledore exchanged glances again.

"If you were to be adopted by someone else first she would be unable to gain custody of you."

"What about Ron's parents?" Harry asked, hoping the Headmaster wasn't suggesting what he thought he was.

"We gained word this morning that she put in a petition to gain custody of you. If the Weasleys or anyone else puts in a petition it will come second to hers. She appears to already be making a case for you wanting to be adopted by her and her having a relationship with you. Our only hope is to prove that even though there was no prior petition, that you would be better suited being adopted by someone who has already had guardianship over you for some time and already has a relationship with you."

Harry was quiet and didn't say anything, and after a long silence, Snape cleared his throat. He sounded uncomfortable. "Me Potter."

"I know," Harry said.

"We can make the case that you have already been staying with him for the summer, and that even before that he was the one you chose to confide in about your home life, and that you had a prior established relationship because he'd taken you to St. Mungos when you were younger for injuries sustained at your families home."

"That's all true," Harry said, "but..."

"But what Potter?" Snape snapped.

Harry clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. He wasn't going to say it. There was no need to. Snape hated him. He despised him. They didn't have a choice though so it didn't matter. Harry tried to tell himself that the summer hadn't been all bad before Umbridge had shown up, but couldn't convince himself that being Snape's ward would be a good thing. He was hard to get along with, and Harry was just being shuffled to one more guardian who didn't want him and wanted nothing to do with him.

"It's settled then," Dumbledore said. "I'll contact the Ministry. Harry, I want you and Severus to work on a story. It needs to appear as though this is what the two of you want. You need to come up with examples of times where you've bonded. If we can't make a good case as to why you should go to him Harry, then there's a very real possibility that Dolores will win her petition."

"I'm 16, don't I get a say in where I go?"

"Unfortunately not," Dumbledore said. "Wizarding majority isn't until 17 and the court has never taken anything of the like into consideration before."

"Yes sir."

Snape and Harry spent an hour coming up with fake things to say and rehearsing their story in the Dungeons after they left the Headmaster's office, and that evening Mr. Jones knocked on Snape's door.

"Professor Snape," he said, "I understand that you do wish to adopt Mr. Potter?"

"I do," he said, and Harry was surprised to see the man smile. He didn't think it was possible aside from when he was very angry and plotting to punish Harry.

Snape made tea and he and Harry spent what seemed like hours telling Mr. Jones their carefully crafted story about how they played chess together every evening, about how they went to the lake to skip stones together, and about how Harry only felt comfortable confiding in Snape about his home life with the Muggles. Harry even brought out a poster Ron had once given him and told Mr. Jones about the birthday party Snape had thrown for him last month. In the end Mr. Jones seemed satisfied and had taken pages of notes.

"I think this is all in order," he told Harry and Snape. "I don't see why you can't adopt Mr. Potter by this time tomorrow. I'll floo back in the morning with the paperwork."

He left, and as soon as he'd gone, Snape left the room and left Harry alone again. Harry went to his room and lay on his back in the dark, staring at the ceiling. It was a wonderful story and he only wished it were true. Aside from the one time at the end of the previous school year, he'd never told Snape anything. It would have been nice to go to the lake to skip stones, or to play board games, or if anyone at all had thrown him a birthday party, but none of it was true. Harry had received no gifts, or gotten so much as a ‘happy birthday' when he'd turned 16. And Snape didn't want him.

By the end of the next day the papers were signed. Harry had been officially adopted. There was no celebration and Snape spent the entire day ignoring Harry after Mr. Jones had taken the paperwork and left.

The day after that, Harry's friends arrived back on the Hogwarts Express, and Umbridge began her reign of terror on the school. She was angry that Harry, Snape, and Dumbledore had thwarted her plans, and made Harry pay a few days into the term with a blood quill detention. She was angry later in the term to find out Harry had started an illegal dueling club and forced Dumbledore to flee the school. She was angry at Snape for being complicit in all of it and cut his pay in half. She was angry at every staff and student at Hogwarts, but never more so than she was at Harry.

Snape was livid when he found out about Harry's mangled hand part way through November.

"I warned you to steer clear of her Potter!" he snapped while applying essence of Murtlap to Harry's hand in his quarters late one night after a long blood quill detention.

"I tried."

"Obviously not," he spat. "This has clearly been going on for weeks."

Harry kept his mouth shut and Snape narrowed his eyes at him. "Months?"

When Harry didn't answer, Snape cursed. "You are my ward Potter. That makes me responsible for you and your body. I expect you to notify me of any injuries that need tending to immediately after they happen."

"You didn't tell me that," Harry said, upset, "how was I supposed to know?"

"That is the nature of a parent child relationship."

"But you're not my parent, are you?" Harry asked, his long held feelings finally bubbling up to the surface. He could only take being tortured, talked down to, and snarked at for so long. "You just did it to keep me out of St. Mungos."

"For which you should be thankful," Snape said, scrubbing the murtlap roughly into Harry's newly healed wound.

"Ungrateful."

"Excuse me?" Snape spat, letting go of Harry's hand roughly.

Harry stared at the coffee table, expression void of emotion. It startled Severus to see him that way. He'd been melancholy throughout the summer and into the term, but he hadn't seen him emotionless like this since the last night of the Tri-Wizard tournament.

"Potter?"

"I'm ungrateful," Harry said, finally coming back to himself. His cheeks turned slightly pink. "That's what my family always said."

Snape sighed. Sometimes it was easy to forget the child had suffered at the hands of his relatives. He'd been finding it hard to look past his previous prejudices against the boy since having his suspicions confirmed at the start of the summer.

"I'm sorry sir," Harry said. "I don't mean to be ungrateful."

When Harry went to his room that night, not wanting to risk getting caught out after curfew trying to get back to Gryffindor tower, Severus sat by himself in the living room, staring at the bloody rag and the nearly empty bowl of murtlap. He didn't know why he had expected Harry to just come to him for help now that he was his legal guardian. Clearly the boy wasn't used to seeking out help from adults for any issue, especially not injuries. Not when most of his injuries had been caused by the adults he was supposed to trust the most. Instead of going to the Hospital Wing, or the Headmaster, or his Head of house, or his new guardian, Harry had simply endured, like he always had. He didn't complain, he didn't act spoiled and demand people cater to him when he was injured. He just did his best to keep pushing on and get through the year. Not pampered, not spoiled, Severus reminded himself. Just Harry. Maybe he should repeat that to himself more often, he thought, and stop being intentionally blind.