Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, however I do own the OC's in this story.
*~ A Second Chance ~*
Chapter One
Summary: Harry Potter has a second Godfather and it might not be who you expect, "Severus Snape". Since Sirius, has passed on, he is obviously incapable of looking after Harry. Will Severus be able be to stand the teenager for a while? Or will he still despise him since he's Lily and James's son? Please Read and Review!
Harry awoke feeling groggy, his Aunt always found a way to interrupt his sleep. Pulling the blankets closer to his emaciated frame, he urged himself to go back to sleep, the bland insalubrious breakfast his Aunt had put through the cat flap sometime before lay forgotten.
"Harry, get up this instance!" Petunia shrieked, her fists pounding against the door.
Harry groaned for he had obviously fallen back to sleep. He had dreamt of his Mother, with her vibrant red hair. Their identical emerald eyes, hers having been full of hope and admiration. It had felt so painstakingly real, but out of all her facial features, he couldn't shake her sincere smile that had embroidered itself into his mind. If he could have had it his way, he would have slept all day to escape the painful reality.
Harry missed neither the disturbing dreams, nor the startling flashes of insight into Voldemort's mind.
However, Harry felt guilty. Sirius was gone and he was dreaming about his mother and it had been blissful, but even though he didn't miss the disturbing dreams, he thought that Voldemort would have been able to access his mind easier now that he was in such a vulnerable state and fill his mind with the flashes of Sirius's death over and over again until he went insane.
Since his arrival at the Dursleys for the summer, Harry had spent majority of his time lying in bed, refusing meals and staring at the misted window, full of the chilled emptiness that he had come to associate with Dementors.
Harry quickly got dressed into clothes Dudley had decided to give him on his arrival for the summer holidays they were in a decent condition compared to what he normally received. These clothes were only faded and worn. Harry had noticed that the dementor attack the previous year had knocked some sense into his cousin.
Harry finally picked up enough nerve to eat the stale bread coated in margarine. It was like clumps of glue in his mouth. With each bite, he washed it down with milk. If he didn't his Aunt would have called him a wasteful freak who didn't appreciate her food and would have given him more chores around the house as punishment.
During the day, Harry was mainly left alone to his own devices. His Aunt had taken Dudley to a uniform shop in London to get him a new Smeltings Academy school uniform as he had lost quite a bit of weight since Harry had last seen him. Dudley had obviously stuck to the regime his school nurse had set him and had apparently taken up boxing and weightlifting during the school year becoming the school champion. This had helped him in losing his poundage which his aunt referred to as puppy fat; he was still rather large looking though, more like a human sized miniature pig.
When the Dursleys arrived home later that evening, Dudley paraded around the house in his somewhat smaller sized school uniform. Harry had just begun serving dinner; chicken schnitzel with a side of mash potato and steamed vegetables.
Harry was then sent to his room with a bowl of cold broth and a glass of ice water.
Dear Harry, if it is convenient to you, I shall call at number four Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven p.m. to escort you to The Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays. If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to The Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you. Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday, I am, yours most sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
Harry had read the letter so often since its arrival three days ago, that he already knew it off by heart. However, that didn't stop him stealing glances at the slanted writing every so often. He knew it was pointless to continue rereading Dumbledore's words; all he could do now was wait. Either Dumbledore was going to come, or he was not. But he had not packed. It just seemed too good to be true that he was going to be rescued from the Dursleys after a mere fortnight of their company, but Harry couldn't shrug off the feeling that something was going to go wrong – his reply to Dumbledore's letter might have gone astray; Dumbledore could have been prevented from collecting him; the letter might turn out not to be from Dumbledore at all, but a trick or a joke or trap! Harry had not been able to face packing and then being let down and having to unpack again.
The street lights suddenly went out and Harry knew immediately that it was Dumbledore coming to collect him. He sighed in relief and then rushed around grabbing anything in sight that had any significant value to him and threw it into his trunk.
Harry heard a knock at the front door and knew his uncle would be in a fit of rage since it was twelve o'clock at night.
He had completely forgotten to inform them that Dumbledore might be coming. Harry felt the urge to laugh and at the same time, the need to dissolve into panic. As he ran down the stairs, two at a time he came to an abrupt halt before he reached the bottom as he knew this was a time to stay clear of his uncle's reach especially when he was in one of his appalling moods. Harry composed himself and stayed in the shadows.
He could swear he heard his Uncle mutter, "Who the blazes is calling at this time of night?"
Harry's Uncle was hastily making his move to the front door in his puce dressing gown which he wore over his flannelette pyjamas.
"Good evening, you must be Mr Dursley. I daresay Harry has told you I would be coming for him?"
Vernon stood, frozen in the doorway, his tiny eyes not believing what they saw.
"Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that I was coming." Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle, but Vernon didn't find this at all funny instead his face went as vibrant as a plum and instead of rage now shone a murderous expression.
"Hello Harry, I must warn you there has been a slight change of plans." Dumbledore said.
Harry stepped away from the staircase, "Erm… Sir what do you mean?"
"I'm sorry Harry, but you won't be spending the remainder of the summer holidays at The Burrow."
Was he to spend the reminder with the Dursleys? Harry didn't want to think of the repercussions if this were to be the case.
"Sir, why can't I go to the Burrow?" Harry asked solemnly.
"I'll explain on the way, but don't think badly of the Weasley's as they enjoy your company immensely. This change of plans was somewhat my fore doing, not there's. Now I'm going to assume that you haven't finished packing your things?"
"You're right Sir, I'll just erm… go and finish." Harry said and rushed up the stairs with his brass telescope and trainers in toe.
When Harry had come back down the stairs, ten minutes later with a packed trunk, he had expected that Dumbledore would be waiting for him in the hall ready to leave, expect Dumbledore had wanted to have further discussion with his Aunt and Uncle over how he would have to come back for another year for further protection.
"Now that we have done with formalities, and had our discussion over Harry's inheritance, I think it is high time for us to be off." Said Dumbledore.
Horace Slughorn was one of a kind; Harry didn't know if he liked the short stature man with his prominent eyes, large belly and enormous silvery walrus-like moustache. But, in a way he had been present, but also vain, and whatever he said to the contrary, he was much too surprised that Slughorn said that a Muggle-born could make a good witch or wizard especially from a man who had been the head of Slytherin house.
"Sir, where exactly am I going to be staying for the remainder of the holidays?" Harry asked.
"I am about to take you there the place of residence is Spinner's End. Ever heard of it?" Replied Dumbledore.
"Erm.. I think my aunt may have mentioned it once or twice."
"Yes, yes well Cokeworth is quite a quaint little town, now I need you to grab hold of my arm again."
Harry tightly gripped onto Dumbledore's arm, Budleigh Babberton vanished before his eyes and he was now standing in front of rows of brick houses.
"Ah, here we are Harry, Cokeworth, Spinner's End it's this one."
Dumbledore knocked on the door and not a second later the door was opened by no other than Severus Snape!
Snape's eyebrows were raised, his cold black eyes that held no warmth were fixed on Harry and his upper lip was curling. Harry felt as if his body was made of water, his current desire was to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He didn't know why Dumbledore had brought him here of all places. He felt very afraid, but most of all a burden.
"Severus, I'm sorry to intrude, have you been waiting long?"
"No not at all." Severus said though by his expression he was obviously annoyed.
"As you know this is a matter of grave importance."
"Yes, I received an owl from the Department for the Protection of Magical Children regarding Potter's current predicament this morning." Severus said coldly.
"What?" Harry mustered, he was stunned. Didn't they realise he was standing right in front of them.
"Oh, sorry Harry would you please wait inside; I just have something I essentially need to discuss with Professor Snape?"
"Umm, okay." He said.
He could feel Snape eyes trailing him, sending a shiver down his spine.
He'd walked into a sitting room where there were books in every crevice. It was quite dark and neglected; the only sources of light came from the dimly lit fireplace and the clouded windows which were in terrible need of a wipe down.
Snape and Dumbledore's conversation had gone on for a few mere minutes, it had however; felt like hours.
Once inside, Dumbledore sat down on the threadbare sofa whilst Snape sat in the old armchair. They were studying him with a sign of misfortune and Harry definitely didn't want their pity.
"Harry, your place of residence has temporarily changed as you will still of course have to return to the Dursley's next year for obvious reasons."
"Professor….?"
"We must abide by the rules of the Department for the Protection of Magical Children."
"Sir… I don't…understand what are you implying?"
"Typical." Severus muttered under his breath.
"Harry, early this morning both Professor Snape and myself received a letter from the Department for the Protection of Magical Children."
"What did this letter say?"
"This letter was enchanted after Sirius's passing another name suddenly appeared, that being of course Severus."
Harry couldn't believe his ears.
"No! Couldn't this…this letter of been a ruse a mistake?"
"No, I really don't believe so; this letter as I've already said was enchanted using extremely complex charm work…" Dumbledore paused suddenly. "Harry, this letter was written by your Mother."
Harry swallowed hard, his eyes focused on the letter that was in Dumbledore's hand.
"How about you read the letter for yourself," Dumbledore said compassionately.
Harry was shaking, he was too afraid to read the contents it upheld and he didn't want to believe that what Dumbledore was telling him was the truth.
Harry tried his hardest to pull himself together and finally grasped the letter from Dumbledore's decent hand and began to read his mother's elegant handwriting. It had given him some relief that his mother got to have her final say before she passed but, what they were saying was true, his enemy the one that punished him and made his life hell at the only place he afforded to call home when he wasn't at The Burrow was in fact his Godfather.
"Why… why… would my Mother do this?" Harry stammered.
"Potter, your Mother was much smarter than your idiotic Father we were…." Severus hesitated and didn't complete his sentence.
"Don't talk about my father that way… and I'll never consider you as my Godfather. Sirius is… was my… Godfather." Harry exclaimed looking distraught, his face welling with angry tears."
Snape might have been his Godfather by right, but that didn't mean he had to accept it.
"Severus maybe I should handle this?" said Dumbledore calmly.
Snape nodded with distaste.
"What Severus, is poorly trying to say is that during your Mother's time at Hogwarts, they were the best of friends and it is my belief that as a ruse into protecting you, she provided you with two Godfather's to throw the public off guard."
Harry slowly calmed himself down, wiping his tears on the back of his hand. His mother may have been best friends with Snape during their time at Hogwarts and had a valid reason to make him his Godfather, but his father would have profusely refused right? Harry's head was swimming, trying to think of an answer. Surly this predicament he was currently in had to of been one sided between his parents.
Just to make sure you know this story is set during the summer holidays before Harrys sixth year at Hogwarts.
Also I do apologise if there are any grammatical mistakes this really isn't my area. I just love to write!
Please Review! It's nice to know what you guys thought of the story—good or bad.
If you have any ideas, suggestions or just want to talk for whatever reasons please PM me I don't mind.
P.S - Go and read The Last Will and Testament of Lily Evans Potter by chrmisha if you haven't done so already, it is one of my absolute favourites.
TBC…
A.L107