Chapter 1

"Albus, no!"

"Severus, please."

"I will not become that insufferable brat's guardian."

"Severus, there's no one else. He needs someone with a firm hand, and it's only for the holidays, it's just nine weeks."

"I have complete control over him?"

"Yes," Dumbledore sighed, "You will be his legal guardian. Just sign this piece of parchment. Vernon Dursley has already agreed."

Snape reluctantly signed and stormed out of Dumbledore's office slamming the door behind him to prove his point.

…..

Harry Potter's last lesson of his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry finished in a most unexpected way.

"Potter, stay behind." Professor Snape said, with a grimace on his face, as he and his friends went to leave. Harry resigned for the worst, wondering what he had done to annoy Snape this time.

Ron and Hermione left Harry in the Potions classroom, shuffling to the front, trying not to meet Snape's eyes.

"Potter the headmaster thinks it imperative that you stay with me this summer-" Snape was cut off.

Harry's head shot up, "But-"

"There will be no objections or interruptions," said Snape carrying on, "you shall be staying with me. We will apparate to my manor immediately after the Leaving Feast, and so you will be packed and ready. In addition, you will tell no one of this arrangement. That is all, you may leave."

"But-" Harry tried again.

"That is all, you may leave."

Recognizing defeat Harry left, feeling gloomy with a pang in his gut.

…

The Leaving Feast came all too soon for Harry, and straight after, as promised by Snape, they met in the Entrance Hall and walked down to Hogsmeade.

Harry grudgingly grasped Snape's arm and they were moved immediately to an affluently decorated room, which Harry could only assume was Snape's study.

"Follow me, I will show you to your room. Knoddy, my house elf, will show you around."

Harry stepped into his room and managed to hold in a gasp. The room was magnificent, twice the size of his dormitory at Hogwarts, with a four-poster bed, a desk, a huge oak wardrobe and even an en-suite bathroom. It was clean and tidy, just as he expected.

Snape left without another word and turned down the hall. Harry prepared himself for bed and sunk into its warm depths. He was quickly engulfed in the softness of it and fell to sleep.

It only seemed like seconds after Harry had fallen asleep that he rolled over and was startled awake by a pair emerald green eyes staring into his own green eyes. After he had gotten over the initial shock, he realized they must have belonged to Knoddy, Snape's house-elf.

In a scratchy voice, he said, "Master Snape told Knoddy to wake up Mr. Potter. I will be back in half an hour to see that you're ready." And before Harry had time to say anything, Knoddy had disapparated.

Harry heaved himself out of bed, hoping that Snape would be in a half decent mood, and pulled some creased jeans and a black shirt out of his trunk, laying them on his bed and heading into the bathroom. He eased himself into the bath, and massaged the soap into his skin. He sunk low into the warm water allowing it to cover his body. A couple minutes past and he gathered his towel and stood. He dried himself off and walked into his room and pulled on his clothes.

Ten minutes later, with a final, futile attempt to flatten his disorderly hair, he found himself following Knoddy into the kitchen, not knowing quite what to expect.

Like everything else he had discovered in his short time at Snape Manor, the kitchen- like all the other rooms- was an impressive room, full of wizarding objects, most of which Harry couldn't even name. The room was huge with one single window at the left of the room. In which Snape was sitting in front of at the table.

Snape sat engulfed in the Daily Prophet. Seeing this, Harry hesitantly made his way towards him and the table. When he reached the table, he paused, not knowing whether he should just sit down or wait for Snape to tell him what to do.

Luckily, he did not have to wait long before Snape gestured him towards the chair without looking up. He sat down and then paused again. Snape folded the paper and set it aside. He then started piling food onto his plate. Harry took this to mean that he could take food for himself and piled food onto his own plate.

They finished eating and Snape had not said a word to him the entire morning. So, Harry excused himself, but before he could walk halfway across the room, Snape spoke up, "I did not excuse you Potter. There are things to be discussed. Sit back down."

Harry turned back around, made his way back to the table, and sat down. He waited nervously for Snape to say something. After a few moments of silence, he started suddenly.

"While you are staying under my roof, you will follow my rules. You will eat three meals a day on schedule, and you will not be late to any of them. You will keep your room tidy and you will respect me." Snape paused long enough for Harry to understand what was being said, but not long enough for him to say anything and quickly continued. "If you do not follow any of these rules, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. You may leave."

Harry nodded and walked, despondently, from the kitchen, desperately dreading the next nine weeks.