"Stay in bed," Severus told the boys as he extinguished the lights. "I will see to the intruder and return shortly."

An intruder, indeed. Severus thought ruefully. He had set those particular wards to warn him of only one person. Lupin.

Severus stood outside the doorway to Harry and Draco's room for a few minutes, listening to the boy's idle chatter as they settled in for sleep. The sound of their voices washed over him, soothing his nerves. When Severus felt that he could control his temper, he left for his office.

The door to Severus's office was shut but not locked and as he opened it, he saw one of the two men still alive that he never wanted to see again. He was standing with his back to Severus in the middle of his office, his hand on the back of the chair facing the desk.

"Lupin," Severus said harshly and the man turned to look at him. Remus Lupin looked terrible, pale and tired, with dark circles under his eyes. His robes were threadbare and something Severus would have put in the fireplace to burn before subjecting himself to wearing them.

"Severus," Lupin said with a small smile. "I hope I've not arrived too late."

Severus swallowed the automatic response that he was ten years too late. "Sit down," he said coldly, closing the door and erecting a ward to keep anyone from coming in and then placing a silencing spell over it. He went to his desk and leaned against it. "We need to talk."

Lupin took the seat he had been standing by. "What is this about?" he asked cautiously.

Severus folded his arms with a scowl. "Harry."

Lupin propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and dropped his head into his hands. "I was afraid of that," he sighed, scrubbing his hands through his hair. "What has happened?"

"You know that Harry was left with Lily's sister and her family," Severus said. "After the…murders."

"Yes," Lupin said, his voice choked. "Albus said it was for the best." He raised his head to look at Severus. "I tried to get custody, but the Ministry wouldn't hear of it. They said it would have been too dangerous for Harry." Lupin's voice held just a hint of bitterness.

"Do you know Petunia Dursley or her family at all?" Severus asked.

"I met Mrs. Dursley twice," Lupin said. "At James and Lily's wedding and again just after Harry was born. I don't think she said more than ten words to me total. When Lily introduced us the first time, she turned her nose up and sneered at me. I don't think I ever met her husband."

Severus snorted abrasively. "Petunia hates magic and anyone who can do it. Her husband is even worse. They never wanted Harry, but Albus left him with them because of the blood wards. They abused Harry for years and then three years ago, there was an accident and Harry was severely hurt. He is blind and horribly scarred. He can hear, but only because Filius knew a charm to amplify what little hearing he has. And those are only the physical scars."

"Oh God," Lupin moaned. "What kind of accident? What did they do to Harry?"

"I do not know the details and I don't believe that Harry remembers it completely, but it involved their cooker and an explosion. He never saw a doctor and Albus took Petunia at her word that Harry was uninjured. He did not insist on seeing the boy."

Lupin's mouth dropped open. "Al…Albus didn't check? He didn't make sure that Harry was not injured? How is this possible?"

Severus sneered. "Albus has been 'managing' Harry's life for years. He didn't check up on him because he didn't want to know the truth, although he will deny it. He will try to tell you that he had no reason to distrust Petunia, that she was his loving aunt and Lily's sister." Severus's voice literally dripped with sarcasm.

"So Albus has done nothing?" Lupin sighed.

"When he sent me to retrieve Harry from his relatives and I discovered what had been done…" Severus stopped and turned his head away so that Lupin could not see his expression. He didn't want to have to explain to this man about his overwhelming rage at having to do the bidding of Albus for James Potter's son. How he had lost that hatred within the first few minutes of meeting the battered child and seeing those blank green eyes. Lily's eyes. "Albus did the paperwork for me to take guardianship of Harry," he said finally. "In public, he is known as Evan Snape. Do not call him Harry if there is even the smallest chance that someone will hear you."

"I see," Lupin said in a faint voice.

"Do you?" Severus asked heatedly, narrowing his eyes at Lupin. "Do you understand even the tiniest bit what Harry has been through? Until I brought him here, he had never had a hot shower, or clean clothes that were not rags. He was starved and beaten before the accident, and starved and ignored after. If Harry had not had his magic to help heal him of the broken bones and brain damag, he would most likely not be alive. As it is, he is has trouble dealing with normal emotions and is frightened of nearly everything. His desire for a real family is so great that he actually asked me if I would be part of it after knowing me for only a week." Severus clenched his fists at Lupin's guilty look. "Where were you during all of this? He needed you and you left. You could have stayed close, seen him occasionally to make sure he was being treated properly, but you didn't. You went into hiding like a coward."

"The Ministry didn't want me anywhere near Harry, and Albus wouldn't tell me where he was living." Lupin's voice trailed off, and he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's no excuse, Severus. I should have tried harder and I will never forgive myself for that." Lupin shoulders slumped. "Thank you for taking him."

"Do not think that you will take him away from me," Severus said, glaring at Lupin. "Just because I allowed you to come here does not mean that I am giving him up. He is mine now."

"Severus," Lupin said tiredly. "I'm only here to help. I swear I will not try to take him. How would I care for him full time since I'll need to be gone four days a month?"

Severus nodded sharply. "I will show you to your rooms. There is an unused space next to my quarters that I had the house elves furnish for you. Come to my rooms in the morning before breakfast and you can meet Harry then. After that we will discuss how to let Albus know that you are here." He dismantled the silencing spell and the ward, leading Lupin out of his office and down the empty corridor. He stopped at a door a few yards past the door to his own quarters. "Your rooms are heavily warded. I have the Wolfsbane potion ready for you to take on Monday, and beginning Tuesday morning you will stay in these rooms during the full moon, regardless of whether it is day or night."

"Thank you Severus," Lupin said after he had set his password and the door opened.

"Do not thank me, Lupin," Severus snapped. "I would not have you here except that Evan needs the help."

Severus stood glaring at Lupin's door after Lupin had disappeared inside, thinking that maybe he should change his mind and toss the man out on his ear before Harry became attached to him.

With a bitter snort, he strode back into his own rooms and after making certain that the boys were asleep and the wards around Draco's bed functioning correctly, he fire-called Minerva.

"May I come through?" he asked when she appeared in her dressing gown, a book in her hand.

"Of course, Severus," she said with a smile, sitting in her chair. "Is this about Harry?"

"Not about the conversation you had with him this afternoon," Severus said as he sat on the edge of the other chair facing her. "Lupin is here. He arrived in my office about an hour ago."

"That was quick," Minerva's face betrayed her surprise. "It's only been two days since the letters were sent. Has he seen Harry?"

"No, he arrived shortly after the boys were in bed." When Severus realised that his fingers were digging painfully into his knees, he forced them to relax, folding them in front of him. "I did tell him some of what happened while Harry was residing with those relatives of his before I sent him to his quarters, and I will have Lupin meet Harry tomorrow morning."

Minerva called for a house elf to bring tea. "How did he look?" she asked once the tea was poured and she had convinced Severus to sit back in the chair.

"Tired, thin and poor." Severus sipped the tea and grimaced. He disliked chamomile tea. "I will need to work out a salary for him. I do not want his pay coming from Albus or the school, so if you will help me draw up a contract, I will set something up from my personal account."

"I understand," Minerva said. "If Albus is paying him, then he is tied to the school. It could cause problems if you need to leave suddenly and Albus tried to use it to stop you."

"Yes," Severus said. "It's one thing for me to quit without any notice, but Albus could ruin Lupin if he did the same thing." Not that Severus cared about Lupin's reputation, but Lupin might, if it came down to it.

"Do you truly think that Albus would go that far?" Minerva looked worried and scared.

"I don't know. I thought I knew Albus; he was a manipulative old sod, but mostly honest and firmly on the good side." Severus looked down at his hands, then back up at Minerva. "Now? Who knows." He drained the last of the tea and scowled at the cup. "You are aware that I hate chamomile tea."

"Yes, of course I am," Minerva said. "But you don't need to be up all night."

"If I leave you some Galleons, will you take Lupin this weekend to Diagon Alley and get him new robes?" Severus asked. "I normally wouldn't bother because I really don't care how he looks, but you know that Harry is fascinated by the feeling of different things, especially cloth. I don't want him accidentally rubbing more holes in Lupin's robes."

"I would be happy to." Minerva set her teacup aside and the house elf popped back into the room to remove the tea service. "When will you let it be publicly known that he's here?"

"Tomorrow," Severus said. "I'll bring him to dinner in the Great Hall. That will give Lupin and Harry all day to become acquainted."

"What will you tell Albus?"

"I'm going to tell him the truth, that I hired Lupin to help me with Harry."

"You know you'll have Albus trying to interfere again," Minerva said dryly. "He's barely managing to keep out of it now. Every time I talk to him it's Harry this and Harry that."

"I know," Severus stood and took a pinch of floo-powder. "I'll handle him somehow."

"What about you?" Minerva asked before he could leave. "Are you going to be able to work with Remus?"

"I have no choice, do I?" Severus said resentfully. He waved his hand, dismissing her concerns. "I will be fine. I doubt we'll ever be friends, but we will learn to work together."

~HPSSHPSS~

Draco's hair was still slightly damp from his morning shower, but Harry had come rushing in to use the toilet, so Draco had had to leave the room before he was completely finished.

"You don't need to do all that stuff to your hair," Harry said as he closed the door to the loo.

"How do you know?" Draco said dryly. "You can't even see my hair."

"Probably a good thing," Harry shouted.

"You're a snot!" Draco yelled back.

"Yeah, so?" Was the loud reply as the sound of water running came from behind the door.

Draco buttoned the last button on his shirt and tucked it into his trousers, then walked out of the bedroom. The sudden sound of voices as he passed the doorframe made him realise that Uncle Sev had put up a silencing spell around their room. He looked up to see Uncle Sev sneering at a strange man who was skinnier than Uncle Sev, and disheveled with patched robes and worn leather shoes with holes in the toes.

"Severus, I don't need for you to pay me, I'm here for Harry," the man was saying. Draco was startled; this man not only knew Harry, but he knew that Evan was Harry?

"I am not going to have you starving, or walking around in robes that look like that, just because you think you're too good to take my money," Uncle Sev said with disdain.

The man flushed. "That's not it," he cried. "I never thought…"

Severus made a slashing motion with his hand that stopped the other man's words. "You will be paid and you will accept it."

"Albus…" The man ran his hands through the graying hair on his head.

"No," Uncle Sev hissed. "We will not bring Albus into this. I told you that you cannot be tied to the school in any way. We will do this my way, or you will leave now."

The man's shoulders slumped. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll go with Minerva on Sunday."

"Uncle Sev?" Draco said tentatively. "Is everything okay?"

"Draco," Uncle Sev said, looking over to where Draco was hovering. "Everything is fine. Is Harry still in bed?"

"He was heading for the loo last I saw." Draco went to stand next to Uncle Sev and looked directly up into the stranger's face.

"Draco, this is Remus Lupin," Severus said, his voice flat. "Lupin, this is my other ward, Draco Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin," Draco said putting his hand out just as Mr. Lupin's head jerked. His eyes were bulging and a look of horror crossed his face, then he visibly smoothed his face and took Draco's hand with a small smile.

"Mr. Malfoy." It was a statement that was delivered without inflection and Draco wondered what Father had done to this man to make him react that way.

"Umm…" Draco said, turning toward the bedroom door. "I'll just go check on Harry."

He rushed into the bedroom and nearly collided with Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked anxiously, grasping Draco's arm. "You're breathing fast. Have you been running?"

"No, you just startled me," Draco said, pulling Harry toward the bed. "I wasn't expecting you to be finished dressing."

Harry stopped walking, forcing Draco to stop. "What is it?" he asked again. "It's more than that. What's going on?"

"Harry," Uncle Sev's voice said from the sitting room. "Come out here."

Harry looked terrified. "What have I done?" he whispered to Draco. "What?"

"Nothing, Harry," Draco rushed to reassure him. "No, you're not in trouble. Uncle Sev has someone for you to meet out there. That's all.

Harry went very still and his face was immediately a blank mask. "Someone for me to meet."

"Yes," Draco said. "A man. He looks a little older than Uncle Sev."

"And he knows my name," Harry said, his voice flat.

"Yes," Draco said worriedly. "What are you thinking?"

Harry shrugged and briefly put his hand on his bed, smoothing his fingers over the comforter. Then he turned and silently walked out of the bedroom, his movements stiff and awkward. Draco followed a step behind without a clue as to what was wrong with Harry or how to help.

Mr. Lupin was standing in the same spot that he'd been in when Draco had left the room, with an expression on his face that Draco didn't recognize. Uncle Sev looked angry, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Harry," Mr. Lupin gasped when he saw Harry's face. Harry didn't move, and for the first time that Draco could remember, Harry's hands were completely still. He was not rubbing them over his jumper, or twisting his fingers together. His hands dangled down at his sides as if Harry had forgotten that he had them. Draco stepped up and stood next to Harry, their shoulders touching.

Mr. Lupin walked over to Harry and crouched down in front of him. "Harry," he said again. "I'm Remus Lupin. I'm here to…" His words stopped as Harry turned without warning and walked back into the bedroom. Draco frowned, wondering what had just happened, then with a confused look at Uncle Sev, went after Harry.

He found Harry at his wardrobe, with the door open. He was standing in front of the hanging robes, his hands grasping the one that hung in front.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Draco whispered.

"Nothing." Harry's voice was calm and distant. "Will you help me?"

"Help you do what?" Draco looked around the room. Harry was dressed, his shoes were tied correctly, the bed was sort of made, the covers pulled up instead of dragging off onto the floor, what did he need help with?

"Packing," Harry said, his voice suddenly choked. He cleared his throat harshly before continuing. "I'll need help with the trunk. Do you think that Uncle Sev will let me keep some of my clothes? I don't have any of Dudley's anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Draco exclaimed, putting a hand on Harry's arm. "Why are you packing?"

Harry suddenly sat on the floor, as if his legs had given out on him. The robe he was clutching dragged off the hanger and bunched around him. "I'm going away, of course." Harry pulled his knees up and put his head on them. "Isn't that why that man is here? So that Uncle Sev can send me away?"