Thankfully, no Dementors searched the Hogwarts Express when it brought all of the students back to London half a week later.

Predictably, the headmaster together with his teachers had decided to close the school for the Christmas holidays in order to enhance the wards around the castle.

The day after Sirius Black had forced his way into Gryffindor tower, the whole school had been in upheaval. No on had closed an eye that night, and it had only been at about 11 o'clock the next day that the Aurors declared that Black must have already left the premises and the students were allowed out of their common rooms again.

Classes had resumed the day after, but hardly anyone (Ravenclaws and Hermione excluded) paid any attention to the teacher's lectures. Instead, the students tried to engage their professors into discussions about Sirius Black, how it was possible that the Dementors hadn't detected him when he had entered the school grounds and of his role in the last war.

This latter topic had at least resulted in some serious talks about the time when Voldemort and his followers had been at large. Most of the students only knew very little about that time, having either been too young to really comprehend what was going on or not even been born yet. And their older relatives weren't exactly keen on discussing such a sore topic with their young charges, no matter on which side of the war they had fought.

The supporters of Voldemort of course tried to keep a low profile, and giving your offsprings information about things you wanted to keep secret was not exactly wise if you intended for those things to stay, in fact, secret. Additionally, the more gruesome details might discourage their children from following their fathers' and mothers' footsteps.

And while the people who had fought on what was widely considered the 'light' side weren't as tight-lipped as the former Death Eaters, they still preferred not to think about those terrible times when they hadn't dared to trust anyone, when friends and family had been ripped away from them and you could never be sure whether you would still be alive at the end of the day.

If Harry would have paid attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed that some of the Slytherins looked rather thoughtful these days, and not at all comfortable about being in the same house - or even dorm - as people as Draco Malfoy.

But the black-haired Gryffindor had been too busy worrying about Black, the fact that the man - who had already facilitated the murder of his parents - had almost killed his former best friend, not to mention the Dementors, whose number had been increased after the escaped prisoner's break-in into the castle, or the Dursleys, who wouldn't be thrilled to have their nephew back months earlier than they had expected.

He could only hope that Uncle Vernon wasn't still angry because of what he had done to the man's sister the previous summer.

Harry didn't know whether it had been a good idea to send Hedwig to Surrey with a short note that explained that his school would close over the holidays and that he would need to return to Privet Drive. However, he hadn't wanted to risk giving his Uncle a heart-attack by showing up on their doorstep unannounced - not that he cared about the fat man's health, but he wasn't suicidal. Not yet, anyway.

Of course, he hadn't gotten any reply (not that he had expected one), and so he didn't know whether someone would collect him from King's Cross. Fortunately, he still remembered which train Hagrid had dropped him off at the evening of his eleventh birthday, so he was fairly confident that he would make it to Little Whinging one way or another.

Harry had purposefully chosen a compartment at the very end of the train, in the hope that no one would bother him there. By now, even Hermione seemed to have gotten the message that he wasn't in the mood for company at the moment - well, hadn't been for the last few months, to be fair - but that didn't mean that the other students wouldn't try to harass him during the ride, as it would be their last opportunity to stare and point at Harry Potter for two whole weeks.

While it had been Ron whom Black had attacked and therefore had been in the spotlight for the first day or two after the incident, the general focus had quickly turned back to Harry once it had become public that Sirius Black was the one who had betrayed the Potters twelve years ago and now intended to kill the last member of the family.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had of course tried to keep this secret, but Harry, Hermione and Ron were by no means the only ones who knew about the gamekeeper's tendency to babble out secrets. Additionally, the involvement of the Aurors had led to the Daily Prophet catching wind of what had happened at Hogwarts, and from then on it had only been a matter of days until even the last person knew everything about Black's real reasons for breaking out of Azkaban and his newest attempt on a person's life.

What Harry hadn't expected, though, was that after what had happened on the journey to Hogwarts on September 1st, several teachers and even a few Aurors would accompany the students on their journey back.

It was just his luck that Snape seemed to be responsible for supervising that section of the train Harry had chosen to sit in. Three times, the moody teacher had already looked into Harry's compartment, even though there had been no sign of any Dementor intending to search the Express.

Harry didn't know what to make of the man. Over the last two years, he had gained plenty of experiences on how to deal with an angry, resentful and unfair Snape. The behaviour the man had displayed during the last few weeks, though - since the incident with the Boggart, to be precise - had been completely out of character. He had hardly insulted Harry at all, and even though he had had to serve a few detentions, they hadn't been nearly as unpleasant as normally.

Harry even contemplated the possibility that Hermione had spoken to their professor, as Snape almost seemed to have taken over her job and was following him wherever he went, observing him. However, that didn't make sense. Surely Hermione would have gone to Professor McGonagall or even Professor Dumbledore before turning to the one professors who was infamous for his bias against Gryffindor?

A few times, an even more disturbing thought than the notion of Hermione confiding in Snape of all people had crossed Harry's mind.

What if Madame Pomfrey hadn't believed his excuse about how he he acquired the scars on his back? At that time, Harry had simply been relieved that the medi-witch hadn't dwelt on that subject. But how likely was it that a medically trained professional had believed such a poor excuse? Weird sunburn, all right...

But again, why should the medi-witch have chosen to talk to Snape rather than Harry's head of house or the headmaster? Yes, Snape had been the one who had brought him to the infirmary that day, but surely that didn't give the man the right to know everything about Harry's medical history?

And still, Harry couldn't shake off the feeling that his potion professor knew much more about him than he was comfortable with.

If that was true, though, then the man had behaved pretty decently. The Snape he had thought he knew wouldn't have wasted such a perfect opportunity to ridicule his most-hated student, to let his Slytherins know about Harry's weaknesses, to give them even more ammunition to humiliate the boy-who-had-vanished-the-employer-of-their-parents.

Harry was pulled out of his musings when the door to his compartment opened. He stiffened when once again, it was Snape, clad in his customary black cloak, who was looming in the doorway. Sure, the man hadn't been nearly as nasty as usual, but that didn't mean than Harry felt more comfortable around him. Quite the contrary, actually. The Gryffindor third-year preferred people he knew what to expect from. In this respect, the Dursleys were perfect. They had made it pretty clear that they hated their nephew ever since he could remember, and nothing that Harry had done had made them change their mind.

"Potter," the potion professor addressed his pupil after eyeing him with an unreadable expression for several seconds.

"Yes?" Harry asked curtly, "Professor?" he amended upon receiving a glare from his teacher.

"I trust that your head of house has informed you that under no circumstances you are to leave your relatives' house?"

"Yes. Yes, Professor McGonagall mentioned something like this," Harry answered dismissively.

"Potter, that isn't some more or less important school rule you seem to hold yourself above anyway. I had hoped that the near miss on your friend's life would have made you aware of the fact that there is more at stake than one or two weeks worth of detentions."

Harry glared at the man angrily. As if he didn't already feel guilty enough about the whole disaster! "Of course I am, Professor," he replied coldly, "I do not plan to violate the rules Professor McGonagall and the headmaster have laid down for my stay with the Dursleys."

What Harry didn't tell was that it was unlikely that he would have any opportunity to leave Number 4 Privet Drive anyway. Not after last summer. If he was lucky, his relatives had decided to let him have back Dudley's second bedroom and only lock him up there. If he wasn't so lucky and he had to put up with his old cupboard... well, he was still pretty small for a thirteen years old.

"See that you don't," the potion master drawled, giving Harry one of the death-glares he was famous for, "the escaped convict isn't the only one you should worry about. The Dementors that have so far guarded Hogwarts will use the next two weeks to search the country for Black. I believe that it would be... unwise, for you to run into them when there is no wizard around actually capable of driving them away."

Harry wanted to be angry at the man for making fun of his weakness, but he couldn't summon the energy necessary for such a strong emotion. Instead, he focused on the the untidy stitches on the knee of Dudley's old jeans Harry was currently wearing. Unfortunately, sewing was one of the few chores he had never been forced to learn during his childhood. Still, an untidy seam was better than the big hole that had been there before - and warmer, for that matter, something he had learned to appreciate very early in his life.

Snape cleared his throat, and when he next spoke he sounded actually uncomfortable - an emotion Harry hadn't known the man was capable of feeling.

"I see that you have decided to leave your owl at Hogwarts. You are, of course, perfectly aware that under-aged wizards are prohibited from using magic except if their life is in imminent danger. Considering how prone you are to land yourself in trouble, I thought it would be wise to equip you with a device that would allow you to call for help if the need should arise."

With that, the potion master handed his (until recently) most-hated student a small box.

Somewhat flabbergasted, Harry took it, eyeing the nondescript tiny wooden cradle warily. Given that it was Snape who had presented him with that box, it couldn't be anything good, could it?

"Now, open it!" the portion professor demanded impatiently, "I don't have all day!"

If this was a prank, it was a pretty lame one, Harry thought. He was half-expecting that the box would explode or spray him with some nasty potion-ingredients as soon as he opened it, but nothing happened. In it, he found a small glassy orb, similar to the Rememberal Neville had received in first year.

"This orb is a device that will enable you to call for aid. If you feel that a visit of an adult wizard is in order, you simply need touch the globe. The amount of... distress you are experiencing will lead to a matching orb lighting up accordingly. Depending on the urgency of the situation, help will arrive instantly or at the next possible opportunity."

Harry nodded at the professor, still rather dumbfounded. That was actually pretty... well, thoughtful, to provide him with a device like this. Still, Harry doubted that he would need it. As far as he knew, neither Dementors nor Death Eaters could enter the house of his relatives, and it wasn't as if he would ever leave the premises. The only dangerous situation that could possibly arise was that of him doing accidental magic, and thus provoking his uncle. But there was no way that he would let anyone know about what was going on inside Number 4 Privet Drive, no matter how sever the trashing was.

"Just to make sure that you have understood me correctly, you are to use the orb no matter of the actual type of danger you might find yourself confronted with, is that clear?" Snape asked, almost as if he had read Harry's thoughts.

"Right. Uhm, thank you, Sir," Harry nodded quickly, wanting to end the awkward situation as fast as possible.

Snape was already turning around, intending to leave the compartment, when Harry remembered that he had yet to ask a rather important question. "Uhm, Sir, who will come if I touch that ball?"

Snape, turning around again, gave the boy an undecipherable look. "That, Mr Potter," he stated expressionlessly, "is non of your concern."

He was out of the compartment before Harry had time to comprehend the answer.

Snape didn't know what was wrong with him. He, the one teacher feared even by witches and wizards who had left Hogwarts more than a decade ago, was actually nervous at the thought of approaching an annoying Gryffindor third-year. Well, as a matter of fact, it wasn't the prospect of having to face Harry Potter that had him worried, but rather the thought of what he had to do next.

At least Potter had chosen to sit on his own, which would make the task a little easier. He could only image what the reaction would have been if some of his fellow Gryffindors had chosen to keep the boy company. They would probably destroy the device he had procured for the boy as soon as he had left the compartment, convinced that, as it came from the head of Slytherin, it had to be some sort of dark artefact.

Snape nearly snorted at the thought. Normally, Solicitals where used by mothers of little children, to let them know whether their child was in distress when they weren't in the same room as their offspring. To avoid any uncomfortable questions, he had even put a glamour on himself when he had apparated to Diagon Alley to buy one. The trouble he went through because of Potter! His life had been much easier when he had still hated the boy, when his only worry had been to keep the boy alive so that one day he could fulfil his purpose and destroy the Dark Lord once for all.

At that time, he would never have dreamt of ever being concerned about Potter's well-being. But since non of his colleagues seemed to be prepared to bring the boy back into line, it was (once again) left to Snape to make sure that the Gryffindor survived the school-year.

Only that telling himself that he only wanted to keep the boy alive wasn't working any longer.

Oh, it wasn't as if he hadn't tried, but after his observations over the past few months, and especially after the conversation he had had with the medi-witch a few days prior, he couldn't hide from the truth any longer: That he. Severus Snape, was worried about Harry bloody Potter's mental state. Perhaps it was time to retire from his job as a spy-amongst-death-eaters, as he was obviously becoming soft.

Yes, the Greasy Git from the Dungeons was actually concerned about the son of his arch-nemesis.

But then, it wasn't that much of a surprise. Potter's physical condition alone made it abundantly clear that something was very wrong with the boy.

The Gryffindor had always been skinny, but now he was positively gaunt. If Snape hadn't known better, he would have thought that Potter was anorectic. Actually, he didn't know any better, but somehow, he doubted that this was the case. He - as well as the medi-witch - had observed the boy's eating habits closely. And while Potter hardly ate anything (when he showed up to meals at all), the little he did eat was by no means low-calorie or of any particular texture, nor did it belong to a specific group of food. In short, the boy's eating habits didn't suggest that he was suffering from an eating disorder.

No, both the potion master and Madame Pomfrey had agreed that it likely was the amount of stress Potter had gone through during the last few months that had resulted in him losing his appetite.

Even Snape had had to admit that it wasn't a very far-fetched idea. The numerous encounters the boy had had with dementors alone would have been enough to cause even the most resilient person to fall into a depression.

And considering what it was that Potter was experiencing during his encounters with those creatures (and quite likely in his sleep now, too), it was almost a miracle that he hadn't yet resorted to anything more... drastic.

Potter's hallucinations (and Snape really prayed that this was what these images were - hallucinations, and no actual memories), however, weren't the only reason why the teacher had decided that the Gryffindor needed a means to contact someone during the time Hogwarts was closed.

During the enlightening conversation he had had with the medi-witch a few days ago, the spy had sensed that there was something else that troubled the nurse.

Snape knew that as a healer, Madame Pomfrey had taken an oath not to speak of her patient's medical condition or history to anyone except close relatives and people expressly excluded from that rule. It had, after all, been due to this oath that she hadn't told the potion master more than the basic details after he had 'rescued' Potter from the boy's Boggart .

However, Snape hadn't been a spy for nothing. He was well aware how to convince reluctant people to provide him with information he deemed important. It helped that he was one of the four heads of houses and thus in a position similar to that of a guardian to the students attending Hogwarts. And then, it hadn't been as if Madame Pomfrey had particularly keen on keeping the information he needed secret, especially not after Dumbledore had announced that Hogwarts would close for the Christmas holidays and all students had to return home.

"Do I really need to remind you that, if the well-fare of a student who isn't yet of age and who doesn't have any magical guardians is concerned, your obligation to secrecy doesn't apply?" Snape had hissed angrily when the medi-witch had proved rather stubborn.

"You know as well as I do that this only applies to the student's head of house!" Madame Pomfrey had whispered back, "last time I checked, Harry Potter was in Gryffindor!"

The potion master nearly snorted. The last thing he needed was Potter being a Slytherin. The boy managed to give him a headache even when he was safely stored away in the tower full of bloody lions! "And you know that there is an exception to this rule if there is reason to believe that the respective head of house doesn't have the student's best interest at heart," he growled back, smirking at Pomfrey's bewildered look.

"Why shouldn't Minerva have Harry's best interest at heart? She loves the boy!"

"Yet she allowed Dumbledore to place him with his relatives. And neither has she ever said anything against the man's unorthodox handling of the boy and his stunts during the past few years. You're not blind, Poppy, you must have seen the looks Potter has given Dumbledore over the past months. You could almost think that he believes that Dumbledore is the Dark Lord reincarnated!"

Snape had been satisfied when the medi-witch actually looked uncomfortable at his last statement. He didn't have any clue why Potter seemed so distrustful of Dumbledore all of the sudden, and neither did he care. However, if the boy's strange behaviour worked to his advantage...

"He has scars," Madame Pomfrey said in a hushed voice, startling Snape out of his thoughts.

He looked at her as if she had lost his mind. "This is Harry bloody Potter we are talking about, of course he has a scar!" he growled.

"I didn't mean that one," the medi-witch huffed angrily, "but those on his back. Some of them seemed pretty recent, while others were clearly many years old. When I asked him about them, he came up with a ridiculous excuse. The story he told me about how he broke his arm during the summer wasn't very convincing either."

Comprehension dawned on the teacher's face. "So you think...?"

"Yes," Madame Pomfrey gave Snape a dark look, knowing that there was no reason to became any more specific. The medi-witch was well aware of her colleagues other job, having provided him with medical aid whenever he needed it. She knew perfectly well that the man was able to read between the lines.

It had been at this exact moment that everything had fallen into place and the potion master suddenly understood.

The condition Potter had been in when he had first come to Hogwarts. The state of all of his clothes except his school uniform. The boy's defensive attitude towards adults. His disregard for rules and his own safety. Dumbledore's mentioning about how Potter had begged him to be allowed to stay at Hogwarts during the summer holidays. The obese muggle his Boggart had turned into.

While Snape could no longer say that he hated Potter, he was by no means fond of him either. But that didn't mean that he felt comfortable about allowing a thirteen year old child returning into the 'care' of his abusive relatives.

Briefly, he had contemplated pressuring Albus into letting him stay at the castle, or even sending him to those blasted Weasleys. But with the threat of Black looming over them, he knew that his only chance of having his way would be to reveal everything he knew to the headmaster, and currently, Snape wasn't sure whether this would be a wise decision.

Potter clearly was wary about the man, and the potion master doubted that this was only due to him being responsible for Potter having to grow up in less than ideal conditions. After all, the mistreatment had likely been going on for years already, so why should Potter suddenly start to keep his guard around Dumbledore? The boy had literally worshipped the man during his first two years at school.

What if Potter had reason to believe that Dumbledore was hiding something else? Snape knew better than anyone that Dumbledore could out-manipulate most Slytherins...

No, better not risking anything. True, Potter might sustain some additional injuries due to Snape keeping quiet, but if it would mean that he could protect the boy from far more serious danger some time in the future, it was worth it, wasn't it?

Still, his conscience wouldn't allow the potion master to let the boy leave the relative safety of the castle without any protection whatsoever. He could only hope that Potter had gotten the message and that the stubborn boy would indeed use the Solicital should it become necessary.

Omitting the fact that it would be his most-hated teacher that would come to the Gryffindor's aid would hopefully help matters.