Harry Potter and the Different Path by Sherza

Harry very nearly got bowled right back out of the common room the second he stepped in. All the Weasley boys were in the common room, Ron anxiously pacing back and forth. Even the twins seemed more sober than they had been over the last week. Then Ron spotted him and Harry found himself getting more-or-less tackled by an anxious Ron.

"Harry! Mate, are you all right? I mean ... McGonagall said ... and you've been gone all night!"

Harry couldn't stop the grin at Ron's concern. "I'm ok, Ron, really. The teachers've been brilliant about it. Snape's even taking me to get new glasses, since these are years old, and I should have got new ones a while back, but *they* were too rotten to get them for me."

"SNAPE?!" Ron shrieked. "Why're you going with *him*? He hates ... "

"Actually, I don't think he really does, Ron." Harry pointed out. "He ... ummm ... the detention was a fake. I guess the teachers noticed, and asked him to pull me aside. I guess a few Slytherins have come from bad homes in the past or something, and so Snape's used to dealing with that sort of thing. But he didn't want to blab their suspicions all over the place, so he gave me the 'detention'. And I gotta get going ... we're leaving in an hour!" He really didn't want to go into details just now, even if there had been enough time, so the time limit was quite a relief.

"Not without me you're not!" Ron insisted, still nowhere near convinced that the Greasy Git was anything but. Even if he had, apparently, suffered a moment of insanity and been tolerable to Harry.

Severus found himself highly amused (though he didn't show it) when Harry showed up at the main doors a full fifteen minutes early ... with the *entire* Weasley clan currently attending school at his heels. The youngest looked angry and suspicious. The twins seemed more amused than anything else, though there was a glint of outrage in their eyes that Severus knew from long experience boded ill for whoever had aroused their ire. Much as he hated pranks, he had to admit that the twins at least limited themselves to deserving targets, devoting themselves to taking various bullies down a few pegs. He wondered if perhaps he ought to ensure their ire found its target this time, given the ... subject. Percival had a pinch-faced, unhappy look to him. "I do not recall inviting the Weasley clan." He said.

Harry scowled. "I *tried* to get them to leave off, but they insisted on coming, and then Percy followed us, saying they shouldn't interfere, and, well ... " He waved a hand at the four behind him with an exasperated sigh.

Snape almost smiled. "I assure you, gentlemen, that I do not have nefarious purposes in mind where Mr. Potter is concerned." He told them, then eyed Ron, who still looked less than convinced, which was hardly surprising. "You do your House, and your friendship with Mr. Potter credit, Mr. Weasley, but rest assured, your Head of House knows what's going on and fully approves." He couldn't quite restrain a smirk when Ron gave him a gobsmacked look. Dropping the 'Snarky bastard of the dungeons' ploy was, apparently, going to be as much fun as employing it had been in the early days. "Mr. Potter and I shall return later this evening. And Messrs. Fred and George? I shall see you at the regular time. I believe we will have much to cover."

The twins, never stupid at the worst of times, caught what he was alluding to, and gave viciously pleased grins before nodding, then grabbing a still-stunned Ron and heading off. Percy lingered just long enough to apologize for his brothers' behavior, then took off as well.

"Shall we then?"

Harry followed him quietly as they walked down to Hogsmeade, then took the floo at the Three Broomsticks to the Leaky Cauldron. A quick trip to Gringotts for some galleons, and then Snape lead the way to the oculist's.

It took less than half an hour for Harry to be outfitted with new frames and self-updating lenses, all spelled to be unbreakable and impervious to weather. Their next stop was the cobbler's for a pair of proper shoes for Harry. It was while Harry was being fitted that Severus noticed something else ... mainly, that the boy's clothing was in worse than piteous shape. Up to now, the boy'd been dressed entirely in his school uniform, but today had evidently opted for more casual wear (probably hoping to not stand out as much, Severus supposed). The outer robe he wore had hidden the shabby clothes until Harry'd had to stick a leg out for his foot to be measured, exposing the sorry state of both his socks and his trousers.

Wordlessly, Severus steered them to the Leaky Cauldron and settled the two of them in a corner booth where they'd be less likely to be noticed. He passed over the two potions that Harry needed, and encouraged him to order what he wanted. Once they'd been served and were left alone, Severus finally spoke up.

"Harry, while we were in the cobbler's, I noticed your socks and trousers were in ill repair. Are all your clothes as bad?"

Harry flushed crimson, but nodded. "I only ever got Dudley's castoffs." He admitted.

Severus grumbled mentally, and fought down the desire to go to Privet Drive and hex Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley Dursley to within an inch of their lives. "Then we shall have to make a stop at Madame Malkin's, and get you some replacements."

Harry flashed him a wide, happy grin, even though his cheeks were still flushed. "That'd be brilliant! Thanks."

Severus huffed slightly, fighting down the hex-urge again. Bloody blasted ... of all the ... thankful for clothes that fit right and weren't falling apart? He was going to *kill* the Dursley's. And the Headmaster. "Think nothing of it, Harry." It was, Severus knew, improper for him to call the boy by first name (given that he had no other relatives currently attending Hogwarts, like the Weasley clan), but he knew himself well enough to be chary of calling the boy 'Potter', since that name had more than enough negative connotations where he was concerned.

After lunch, it took little enough time to outfit the boy with enough underthings, trousers and shirts to keep him at least until he started growing under the influence of the supplement, which would start happening about the time Harry stopped taking the potion. In the midst of that, Severus discovered the boy had no appropriate winter wear, and purchased gloves and a heavy winter cloak for the boy.

That finished, the pair of them made their way back to the school, and Severus returned to his office to grade assignments, only to find himself distracted.

He hadn't expected this. Not at all. He wished, now, that he'd paid more attention when a less-than-pleased McGonagall had mentioned Harry being left with the 'Dursley's', a decade ago. Dumbledore had told him the boy had been taken somewhere safe, but had never said who, or where. Though, in his own defense, he wouldn't have immediately realized the import of the name even if he hadn't buried himself in grief. He'd not seen Petunia since ... fifth or sixth year, had it been? And even before that, he'd paid her and her harping no mind. And when ... well, once he'd made that colossal mistake, Lily hadn't exactly been of a mind to let him know about familial events like a marriage, had she? So he'd not known Petunia had married, much less to whom.

Still, he wished he HAD known. No wizarding child deserved Petunia as an authority figure over them. She'd been hateful and unreasonable from the day he'd met her, and had only gotten worse over the years. He would have been able to make it plain to Dumbledore that leaving the boy with her was completely unsupportable. It was a miracle the boy hadn't become another Voldemort in the making thanks to the 'care' he'd received at that house.

Severus sat back from his desk with a sigh. This was going to change everything. And he'd not get a moment's peace, he knew, until he sorted matters out. That it would put off grading first-year essays (always an execrable task) was just a benefit. He grabbed a regular quill and drew a roll of parchment to himself, scribbling down items that needed to be dealt with.

The boy ... Harry's ... clothing and glasses and general physical state had been (or were in the process of being) dealt with. So was guardianship. He'd need to speak to Harry about that. He doubted the boy'd be thrilled that Severus, of all people, was taking up that charge, but then again, Harry might surprise him. Merlin alone knew that if someone had offered himself the same 'salvation', he'd likely have jumped at it, no matter what they looked or acted like.

Once he had the guardianship papers, he'd have to make sure everything was in order regarding the Potter vaults ... speaking of which! He highly doubted Harry knew anything about his inheritance. The thought made Severus sneer as it brought James to mind, but there was no denying that Harry deserved to know that he had money enough to make the Malfoy's green with jealousy, and that for all he was a half-blood, he boasted a wizarding pedigree (on his blasted father's side) longer than anyone short of the Blacks and possibly the Weasleys could trace. And there was the manor to consider. Severus knew it had been undergoing repairs at the time ... well, back then ... as the place had suffered damage in the attack that had killed the elder Potters, but he did not know if the repairs had been completed before ... then. Nor did he have a clue as to whether the Potter family elves still lived, or what their names had been.

However, if the place was livable, they could easily renew the wards and stay there over the summer. Anything was better than Spinner's End. Snape sneered at the very thought of the place. He hated it, but living in the castle the year 'round since shortly after Voldemort's downfall, he'd not ever seen the need to purchase a home he could abide. Certainly, at this point, he had more than enough money to do so (much to his secret pleasure).

And there was Harry's schooling to consider. Dumbledore might waffle on about letting the boy be a child, but Severus was rather painfully aware that when Voldemort returned, Harry would be a priority target. He'd have to see about encouraging Harry to work to his full capacity. Remedial lessons in how to study and such things would be needed, since the Dursleys had done everything in their power to squash Harry like a bug, but if Harry had even half of Lily (and his bloody father's) intelligence, he'd catch on quickly. He'd speak to Minerva later about additional lessons for the boy, under the guise of helping him bridge the gap between his Muggle education and what a wizarding boy his age should know.

Severus sat back for a few moments and considered. Yes, those were the immediate issues. The thornier, trickier problems (like what to do about Dumbledore, and whether or not the wolf should be contacted), he'd ruminate on at greater length another time, as they would take considerable thought. He would also have to come up with some sort of plan of attack where Voldemort was concerned. And quite aside from Harry and his attendant issues, there was Quirrel to be dealt with. Snape wasn't quite sure what going on with that man, but he made all of Severus' finely-honed instincts scream in warning.