Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is my first attempt at a HP/SS slash fic. Let me know what you think of it by REVIEWING! *grin* And don't worry, I'm still working on "Finally," too.

~~~

Chapter 1

When sixteen year old Harry Potter slowly made his way out the front door one morning in July, he didn't expect to see a big black dog marching back and forth on the sidewalk in front of Number 4 Privet Drive.

But that was, in fact, what he saw. The dog was strutting, head held high, as though he were guarding the house.

To anyone else, this would seem like a normal dog. Harry knew better, however. The dog was really his Animagus godfather, Sirius Black, who was a wrongly-convicted fugitive on the run from the Ministry of Magic.

Sighing and shaking his head, Harry ignored his godfather, who hadn't noticed him. Harry went over to his aunt Petunia Dursley's garden and dropped to the ground. He began to dig up the weeds from the garden, but as soon as he did, a huge mass of black jumped on him. As a result, Harry toppled over onto several flowers, crushing them.

"Shite, Padfoot, get off of me!" Harry hissed, pushing the dog away.

He quickly sat up and turned to inspect the damage done to the garden. He frantically tried everything he could to fix the plants, but to no avail. They lay limp on the ground.

"Shite, shite, shite," Harry muttered to himself before turning to face his godfather again, his expression that of defeat and sadness.

Sirius growled a little, then reached his snout up to nuzzle a bruise on the side of Harry's head. Harry reached up and let his fingers graze the bruise, wincing a little.

"Fight with Dudley," Harry explained, quietly, as he stroked the dog's fur. "Listen, Padfoot, you have to get out of here. You have to leave. It's not safe, if the Ministry finds out about--"

His tirade was cut off by a whine. Sirius padded over to cuddle close to Harry, seeming to offer comfort and warmth to his godson, who was shivering a little. The Animagus licked Harry's hand, then rested his head in the boy's lap.

"Please," Harry pleaded. "Leave. I'm fine. You don't have to keep an eye on me. I'll be all right."

Yeah, right, Sirius thought to himself. He reluctantly rose from the ground and looked at Harry, who gave him a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Go on," Harry told him, scratching behind Sirius's ear. "I'll write as soon as I can. Promise."

Finally, Sirius gave in and walked away, after nuzzling his godson's cheek one last time. Harry sighed as he watched the dog leave Privet Drive.

"Padfoot, you just got me in a whole lot of trouble."

~~~

Sirius, meanwhile, hadn't really left Privet Drive. He'd only gone down the street, to Arabella Figg's house. Not pausing to make small talk with the witch, Sirius threw some Floo powder into the fireplace and, after a moment, found himself in the office of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Albus!" Sirius called, looking around the office.

He found the old wizard sitting at his desk. Across from him was Severus Snape, Potions Master, and one of Sirius's rivals from school. Severus sneered at Sirius, who ignored him.

"Sirius, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Albus asked, the usual sparkle evident in his eyes. "Do sit down."

"Albus, I was just down at Privet Drive," Sirius confessed as he sat down in the chair next to Severus's. "I know, you told me not to, but I had to see if Harry was all right. He hasn't sent me any letters, or anyone else, for that matter!"

"And what did you find at Privet Drive?" Albus wondered.

"I stood outside the house in dog form," Sirius explained, running his hands through his hair. "He came outside and started working in a garden, so I decided to surprise him. I ran and jumped on him, and when he fell on the flowers, he nearly freaked out because he crushed a few.

"When he turned around, I saw a bruise on the side of his head. He said he got into a fight with his cousin, but I think he was lying. And then he just started telling me I had to leave because it wasn't safe.

"After a minute, I gave up and left, but not before I got a good look at him. He's thin and pale, his eyes were bloodshot, he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. And he was shivering. It was blazing hot out there, Albus, and he was shivering!"

"Leave it to Black to throw a fit when his godson has a cold," Severus muttered under his breath. Sirius glared at him and was about to retort, but he was cut off by Albus.

"Thank you for informing me, Sirius," the old man said. "I will send someone to check on Harry and look into it. For now, I need you to go on a mission for me. Go to Remus's house. He has all the details."

"Yes, sir," Sirius sighed.

He took the Floo to Remus Lupin's house, leaving Albus and Severus alone again. Albus turned to look at Severus, who groaned when he saw the excited twinkle in the man's eyes.

"Now, Severus..."

~~~

"Vernon!" Petunia Dursley wailed as she ran into the living room.

Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle, was seated in front of the television, along with Dudley, the blob Harry called his cousin. Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"Vernon, It ruined my garden!" Petunia cried. "My flowers are dead and trampled, all because of IT!"

Hearing this, Vernon's eyes blazed with anger. He rose from his seat and headed for the stairs.

"Boy!" he shouted. "Get down here this instant!"

Harry cautiously made his way down the stairs. He stood in front of Vernon, head down and staring at his feet.

"You ungrateful little freak!" Vernon hissed through clenched teeth. "We've fed you, clothed you, and taken care of you for nearly sixteen years, all out of the goodness of our hearts, and how do you repay us? By ruining Petunia's garden, or threatening my son with your abnormality! Well, I'm bloody-well sick of it, you wretch!"

Vernon backhanded Harry across the face, causing the boy to fall to the floor. Harry blinked a little and sighed inwardly when he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He discreetly spit a tooth into his hand and shoved it into his pants pocket before Vernon dragged him back up by his hair.

"Daddy?" Dudley whined. "Daddy, is it my turn?"

"Of course, son," Vernon agreed, handing Harry over to Dudley. "Do what you want with him, as long as he's still alive, and then throw him in the cupboard. Make sure you're done by supper, mind." He then gave Harry a swift kick and spoke to him in low, harsh tones. "Where's your murderer godfather to save you now, eh? Don't give my Dudley any trouble, or you'll regret it."

~~~

"Damn you, Albus," Severus muttered as he walked up to the front door of a Muggle house two nights later. "Damn you, Potter... Can't you, for once, stay out of trouble and let the rest of us have a peaceful holiday? Well, at least Albus lowered the wards for me... I just need to get in, make sure the brat's alive, and get out."

With that, Severus pointed his wand at the doorknob and unlocked it, then entered the dark house. Assuming that everyone would be asleep upstairs, he climbed the stairs and carefully opened doors, looking for Harry. On the bed in the first room were what looked like a hippopotamus and a broom, both snoring loudly. Severus cast a Sleeping Charm on them. In the second room was another hippopotamus, and Severus charmed him, too.

The third room was a bathroom, and the fourth was another bedroom. This bedroom had shelves lining the wall, and on the shelves were all kinds of broken toys. Aside from that, the room was clean. The bed was neatly covered with a thin sheet, and a cage containing a snowy owl sat on the otherwise empty desk.

This is definitely Potter's room, Severus told himself. And, as usual, he's out of bed after hours...

Severus continued his search downstairs. He noticed that throughout the family room and the dining room, there were pictures of the boy he assumed was Harry's cousin, but there was no sign that there was a Potter living in the house, except for what Severus had found upstairs.

Finally, Severus gave up looking for Harry. He stood in front of the door, considering his options for what to do. He could leave, or he could keep looking. After a moment's consideration, he decided on the latter. He had a bad feeling about this search, and he began to call Harry's name.

"Potter! When I find you, you'll be sorry for all the trouble you've caused me and everyone else these past two days!"

After a few seconds, Severus heard a noise coming from the hallway next to the stairs. Moving closer, he found a door to what seemed to be a closet, but that was where the sound was coming from. Something was pounding against the door, and a weak, quiet voice was speaking frantically.

"Help me, get me out of here..."

Severus quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open. A small, black-haired body fell out of the cupboard and collapsed to the floor. Blood soaked through one leg of the boy's pants. His bare back was covered with welts and bruises, and his chest rose and fell with each rapid breath.

"For Merlin's sake, Potter, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Severus muttered.

He knelt down next to Harry and turned him over, causing Harry to inhale sharply in pain. The boy closed his eyes and bit his lip, so as not to cry out. Finally, the pain got to be too much, and he grabbed Severus's robes tightly in his fists, screaming in anguish. His back felt like it was on fire.

"Please, make it stop hurting..." Harry whispered, his voice hoarse as he stared up at Severus with tear-filled eyes. "Make it stop..."

Even through all his years as a Death Eater, Severus had never been as affected by anything as he was by the sight of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, beaten and begging for the pain to go away.

No, I don't care for him, Severus told himself, silently. I'll just take him to Hogwarts and leave it at that. I'm not involved.

"Potter, can you walk?" Severus asked, surprising himself by how gentle his voice was as he lifted the boy by his arms, so that he wasn't lying on his back.

"I-I don't think so..." Harry muttered, his head subconsciously falling to rest on Severus's shoulder. "Dudley...my leg...pistol..."

"The boy shot you?" Severus asked in astonishment. "Bloody hell..." He pulled a small marble out of his pocket, wrapped in a piece of cloth. "Potter, this is a portkey that will take us back to Hogwarts. Hold onto me, and don't let go until I tell you."

Just as a precaution, Severus grabbed Harry's hand before touching his other hand to the marble. They both felt a familiar tug around their stomachs as the portkey was activated, and within moments, they were in Albus's office. The old man was shocked when he saw the condition Harry was in, and he rushed over to the two younger wizards.

"My goodness, what happened?" Albus asked, a worried glint in his eyes.

"The Muggles," Severus muttered. "Potter, where are your things? Albus will send someone to get them."

"Burned..." Harry whispered. "My trunk... Everything in it... But my wand and everything...under the loose floorboard...in my room..."

"I'll send Minerva to get them," Albus told Severus. "Take him to see Poppy."

"You can let go now, Potter," Severus told Harry. "I'm going to levitate you to the hospital wing."