A/N: I don't plan to do many pre-chapter notes, but I thought I might do this one, since I am currently stuck at home doing less than nothing.

My family is stranded by Hurricane Harvey. No, we are not flooded- we can thank the man who designed our neighborhood for that- but all of the roads surrounding our neighborhood are impassable. This afternoon, I rode my bike through the waters to see how deep they went, and for the fourth day in a row, they are still too high for my car to pass through them.

I started writing this story over a year ago, but I delayed publishing it to the site, as I knew it would be long(I'm rather bad at "long") and the characterization off. Consider it my fantasy land, for these characters to behave "off"- if you know you won't enjoy it, you might wish not to read, but if you don't tend to care, this might be fine for you.

Harry Potter, age 9, was traipsing down the empty, snowy street, all by himself. His wide green eyes passed over all kinds of new things- beautiful evergreens, snow-covered playgrounds, snow-people, even warm houses, though he dared not approach them.

The cold was biting, and he found himself, for the first time, uncomfortable in his environment. He loved it. Harry pressed his gloved hands over his face and breathed into them, in an attempt to warm his reddening nose, and continued on his walk.

Upon reaching the end of the street, Harry turned around. He was just about to head home, when he noticed something odd down the next street over. One of the houses had grown, out of the ground, like a flower.

Harry knew when he was seeing magic. His mother had made very clear what he could and could not do while outside, what was normal and what was not, and he also knew, from watching telly, what was certainly not. He looked over his shoulder at his own street sign, and then back down where the strange house was. He found that if he backed away slightly, it vanished. Harry thought to the maps his mother had shown him of the area. His street was called Sugar Cove. If he were to turn down the street crossing Sugar Cove, which was called Cobble Canyon Road, then he would eventually hit the end of Cobble Canyon and be able to turn left on the street called Spinner's End.

He looked back at his home, and then down at his pendant. He loved his mother, but he hadn't been allowed to see very much magic. Then again, any magical stranger could be an ex-Death Eater, whether nice or not, as his mother had said many times before allowing him to leave the house. There was also the thought that, at any moment, Lily Potter could activate her son's pendant and see where he was, and she might consider the distant road much too far.

But…

Harry continued his game of putting the Spinner's end house in and out of sight. What was the harm, really? Maybe he could go there, spy on the inhabitant, and then leave. If the inhabitant seemed nice, perhaps he would stay. And even if the inhabitant wasn't nice, no one had seen or heard from Lord Voldemort in many, many years. And to top it off, Harry was well-disguised, knew all about muggles, and covered his scar with a well-placed headband. He knew better than to give his real name to anyone, so why would anyone want to sacrifice him to Voldemort, or whatever else?

It was this reason that sent Harry down Cobble Canyon- a little less carefree, as something in him knew he was breaking his mother's rules, but still extremely curious.

The house on Spinner's End was in the back of the neighborhood, and appeared very unfriendly, at least as far as houses go. There were no lights on inside. It was a greyish black, with no flowers around it- although Harry thought that he saw a few when he tried to peer around the back. It looked as if it hadn't been lived in for years.

Fascinated, Harry kept on. Perhaps no one lived in the house at all, he thought. Perhaps it could become his own little clubhouse, closed off from the non-magical world and kept secret from his mother. He could hide his pendant somewhere at the park, and come here, and maybe he could practice magic.

Delighted by this prospect, Harry knocked on the front door, and, upon having no response, tried the handle.

Locked. He frowned to himself, and started searching around the windows, until suddenly a cold voice shocked him from his thoughts.

"Excuse me," the voice said, dark and clearly not impressed.

Harry turned around so fast, he fell into the snow. There, right in front of him, was a giant bat! Well, it wasn't really a bat. It was just a man who bore strong resemblance to one.

"Would you care to explain why you were trying to break into my home?" asked the bat-man.

Harry swallowed nervously, but collected his words quickly. He had never spoken to anyone other than his mother.

"My mother doesn't like magic, sir," he began, sounding forlorn, "and when I saw this house grow out of the ground from my street out of an empty lot, I thought maybe a wizard lived here, so I came to see. But the house looked like no one lived there at all, and then I thought maybe I could make it like a secret clubhouse and practice magic without my mother knowing, sir. I didn't know you lived here."

The bat-man glared at him.

"Your name?"

"Evan Baker," Harry answered immediately. His mother had drilled the false name into him as though it were his own.

"Your mother is a muggle, then?"

"No sir," Harry answered. "But she doesn't like magic, and doesn't use it much."

"A witch who doesn't like magic," he scoffed. "Useless."

This response caused Harry's temper to flare. "She's afraid of the bloody Death Eaters noticing if she uses her magic, more like. She spends all day brewing fantastic potions- my Mum's far from useless."

The bat-man raised his eyebrows. "But the Dark Lord is gone, and all known Death Eaters are in Azkaban. Why would she continue to fear them?"

Harry calmed and shrugged. "I dunno, sir. What's your name, anyhow?"

The bat-man glared so harshly, Harry had to resist the urge to take a step back.

"I am Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And I don't like children."

He turned and began to walk back into his house, and despite his terrible demeanor, this was the first other Wizard Harry had met. Harry called after him.

"Wait, please," he shouted, "I've never met another wizard before besides my Mum! I just want to know about magic, and- and Hogwarts-"

"Find someone else," replied Snape, waving his hand and shutting the door behind him, leaving Harry alone once more.

It was still cold, but Harry didn't like it anymore. He turned around and head back to the warmth of his home and the sad arms of his mother.

When Harry returned, the widowed Lady Potter hardly noticed.

Harry was rather unsurprised by this. After all, he had been going out on his own regularly since age 6, for longer and longer periods. His Gram had encouraged it, after seeing too many of her house things destroyed by accidental magic. Gram had kept Lily Potter from worrying too extensively over Harry's trips, and soon Lily didn't think much of them at all.

He sighed, collapsing onto the couch next to the fireplace. He missed his Gram. She wasn't really related; she was just a potions mistress who took on his mother for training after the war, but living with her had been like having a grandmother, and they had been very close. She was a very no-nonsense sort of person, who might come off as abrasive but was truly gentle and kind. She always made sure Harry was well-fed and happy, well-mannered, and even taught him some games. Her illness two months prior had come on like a freight train, and it had been unstoppable. The woman was nearing 142 years of age, and she asked that her life not be prolonged. Her property and funds had gone to her next of kin, and Lily and Harry had needed to leave before evidence of their stay became apparent.

The sound of his stomach growling brought Harry out of his nostalgia, causing him to hop up from the couch.

"MUM," he shouted, "what's for dinner?"

Lily Potter, who was no longer brewing but taking notes on the properties of some new ingredients, jumped to look at the clock. It was already close to 7pm, and Harry had to be hungry, if he had gone so far as to call out for her.

Harry could, if he wanted, make himself a sandwich. But he knew his mother enjoyed cooking almost as much as brewing, and he enjoyed helping her. It was one of those things they were able to do together, as a family, and it had become a cherished tradition between them.

"Harry," she smiled, as she emerged from the basement-turned-potions-lab, "I'm so sorry. I lose track of time so easily down there."

Harry simply brightened his own smile, even though he secretly wished she might come out more often. Brewing made her feel better- her demeanor now was better than when they first arrived after Gram passed, when she had mostly slept, and cried. It was harder for her if she thought he was upset though, and so he hid it well.

"It's ok, Mum," he encouraged.

Lily yawned. "What are you hungry for, kiddo? I think we've got..."

Harry followed her to the kitchen, listening to her chatter about dinner. Now that she wasn't sleeping all the time, she never seemed to stop working either. They picked something to cook, and Harry started gathering ingredients as she listed them from the recipe.

"Not sure if we have okra," she was saying thoughtfully. "Have a look in the storage if you don't see any."

"Mum," he asked, whilst looking through the cupboards, "do any other wizards or witches live around here?"

Lily stopped short, froze on the spot it would seem. Harry became nervous as he watched her take a deep breath before turning to him with hardened eyes.

"No. Have you met any?"

"No, Mum, I just-"

"Where did you go today?"

"Just down the road, like we-"

"How far?"

"Mum-"

"How far?"

Harry huffed.

"I stayed on Sugar Cove. I just went down to the playground."

Lily sighed.

"I'm sorry, Harry. There used to be a wizard living here, but he moved a very long time ago and never returned."

"You knew a wizard here?"

She smiled. "Once. Perhaps I'll tell you about him. But you must promise, Harry, that if you meet another wizard, you will turn right around and come home to tell me."

Harry hesitated under her gaze, but ultimately he realized that if he were to have any freedom, he must create it for himself.

"Yes Ma'am."

And there you go.

One problem I have encountered writing this, is that I cannot seem to decide who I want the story to focus on. Every chapter may focus more strongly either on Harry Potter or Severus Snape, as I suppose this is really more my attempt at an adoption fic than anything else.

It is a bit irritating, to have so little handle on focus, but I could not focus only on Potter and still have the desired depth. I'm just not that talented. We'll see what I come up with over time.

Chapter 2 will arrive sooner rather than later. I have about seven chapters already written, which I am tweaking and embellishing as we speak.