Twisted Summer
Chapter One
Revised June 11th, 2007
Harry Potter sat on the Hogwart's Express. The train had just reached platform 9 ¾ and he was not in the mood to get up and off the train. He had told Ron and Hermione that he would catch up with them on the platform to say good-bye for the summer, but really, he had been lying through his teeth to them. He planned to stay on the train until he was positive that they were gone, so they would not see him sneak off into London and not leave with the Dursleys. He didn't think he could stand yet another summer with the Dursleys, especially while the memories of Sirius falling through the veil were still so fresh in his mind.
Harry's eyes began to water, but he quickly attempted to get rid of the wetness. He had promised himself a few days after Sirius died, that he would not cry again for him, he had cried enough during those first few days, and he needed to get stronger. If he were ever going to be the child in the prophecy he needed to get stronger than he was now. That is exactly what he planned on doing this summer too. He would go live at the leaky caldron and study.
Harry was so lost in thought that he did not even notice that someone had entered the compartment that he was sitting in until they cleared their throat. Harry spun around, his wand already half way out of his pocket, until he saw that Professor Snape was standing just inside the doorway of his compartment, looking very agrivated.
"Mr. Potter, stand up!" Snape ordered. Harry stumbled quickly to his feet, wondering why Snape was here. The only other professor that he had ever seen on the train was Professor Lupin, and that had been two years ago. But, before he could ask Snape any questions, something was thrust into his hand and he felt a familiar tug as he was swept away.
'A portkey!' Harry though in panic before he landed hard on a wooden floor, Snape standing behind him. He looked around himself, but didn't recognize where he was. It looked like an entrance way of a small house, the floor was clean, but creaky and worn from years of use, and if you looked carefully you could see that the walls were not quite as clean as they should have been. The furnishings, also looked old, almost antique, but kept clean of mold or dust.
Harry finally realized he was still sitting on the floor and Snape was standing over him, waiting for him to get up. Harry quickly clambered to his feet and looked over at Snape. "Um… Sir? Where are we?" He asked, a bit nervous. He did not completely trust Snape, and for all he knew this could be a plan of Lord Voldemort. Snape, however ignored Harry and quickly tread silently down the one hallway that lead away from this entrance room.
"Follow, Mr. Potter. Quickly!" Snape called over his shoulder, not waiting for Harry to catch up. Harry of course, quickly followed Snape down the hall, which was lined with wizard portraits, most of the were of old men, which were sleeping soundly, but a few more, young and lively wizards and witches gazed out of their frames at the passing people. Some of them were wispering to each other, and Harry could make out some of the conversations 'That's him.' 'The one that is coming here now.' 'The poor boy.' Harry was so busy looking and listening to the portraits on the walls that he did not notice until too late, that Professor Snape had abruptly stopped in front of a door. Unable to stop himself soon enough, Harry ran into his professor.
"Pay close attention, Potter, we would not want any unfortunate accidents here." The professor hissed at Harry before turning around and knocking loudly on the door. The door shuddered, and with a creaky sigh, it began to open up for the professor. Harry watched the door intently, wondering what was behind the old thing.
"Severus? I trust you have him." Came a solemn voice from inside, that Harry guessed belonged to Professor Dumbledore.
"I did." Severus said as he moved into the room so that Harry could now see that it was in fact Dumbledore. Although he looked different, his eyes did not have their usual twinkle, and his face seemed slag, and devoid of energy. Dumbledore nodded to Severus and Harry, motioning for both of them to sit down in the chairs that were opposite his. Harry quickly took his seat next to Snape and was about to open his mouth to ask Dumbledore, where he was, but was cut off as Dumbledore spoke first.
"Ah, Harry. I have horrible, horrible news that I must impart upon you. I am very sorry to tell you this, but number four was demolished while you rode the train from Hogwarts."
Harry stared at Dumbledore, stunned. When he finally found his voice the only thing he was able to say was, "What?!" This was not suppose to have happened, even though he did not want to admit it, that house and his relatives had kept him safe from any trouble through blood magic. It had managed to keep him safe every summer and now it was gone. Dumbledore sighed, his hands loosely clasped in front of him.
"The protection of the Dursley's house was all but gone when we checked on it before you came home. I must admitt this is partially my fault. I believed that the wards would be restored when you came home. The Dursleys however never left to come pick you up from the train station this year. The Death Eaters broke through the weak wards thinking you were already home, since the Dursleys were there. They planned to kill you, but when they could not find you they killed the Dursleys instead." Dumbledore paused to let this information be acknowledged by Harry.
Harry was in shock. His only relatives were now dead, just like Sirius. First Sirius and now the Dursleys. How many people would die this year because of him? Harry just stared down at the floor unable to comprehend what he had just heard.
"I am sorry, Harry." Dumbledore said softly. Harry just nodded for Dumbledore to continue.
"All this means that you are left without a guardian. You understand?" Dumbledore asked, his voice serious. Guardian. Sirius. Dead. It took Harry a longer time to respond to Dumbledore this time.
"Yes, I understand. Who is going to look after me now?" He asked his voice a bit raspy.
Dumbledore nodded gravely, "Well, as headmaster of Hogwarts, I am to find a suitable guardian, within twenty-four hours." Another pause. Harry could tell there was something that Dumbledore did not want to tell him. He was dragging this point out far to long.
"Yes? So who have you chosen?" Harry asked, curious to know who would be his new guardian. He hoped, that Remus would take over Sirius's guardianship.
"Severus has agreed to become your temporary guardian," Dumbledore said quickly, looking over at Snape who had been quiet through the entire conversation. Harry had even forgotten that he was there, but now he looked over at Snape with surprise and disgust, before turning back to Dumbledore.
"What! Him? You must be joking…" Harry began, but the serious look in Dumbledore's eyes told him that this was indeed no joke. "But…But, sir, we don't get along well. Surely there must be someone else that could do it, Lupin…the Weasleys…?" Harry desperately, did not want to be connected to Snape in any way.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it is already officially approved by the ministry. Besides, Lupin's lycanthropy does not allow him to be accepted by the ministry, and the Weasley's have enough children of their own to look after, rather than having to have one more added to their house, although I am sure they would have agreed if I had asked them. Besides, Severus has my full confidence. You will do well together."
Harry had stopped listening after the first words had left Dumbledore's mouth. "You mean, it is official? It can't be changed now?" He asked weakly as he glanced over at Snape, who let no emotions slip out from behind his cold mask, as he watched Harry.
"No, It can't be changed now." Dumbledore said. "You will be living with Severus for the remainder of the summer, until school starts again. I am sorry, but I have some other business that needs to be attended to. I will leave you to get to know each other better." Dumbledore said quickly, and before either of the two people sitting could protest, Dumbledore had apparated out of the room.
Harry looked glumly over at where Snape was sitting. 'Now what?' He thought to himself, as he observed the man in front of him. He still had the same, stiff teaching robes, that he wore around Hogwarts on, and his hair was still just as greasy as it was before. Harry wondered if he should say something, anything to break the unnerving silence that surrounded him, but Snape did first.
"Crafty old coot." Snape muttered to himself before continuing on in a louder voice. "Mr. Potter, you will be staying here for the remainder of the summer. All of your things have been moved to one of the guest rooms. Maren will show you the way." He said, as a house elf popped into view. Harry looked down at the elf, and by the time he looked back up, Snape was already across the room and at the door and gone.
'Great.' Harry thought to himself. 'Some great summer this will be. Stuck here with Snape, no, it didn't seem like Snape even wanted to see him. He had left without saying anything, but that he would be in a guest room.' He sighed inwardly and looked back down at the elf. "Well, shall we go?" Harry asked.
A/N: After some thought, I have decided to go back and revise some of my earlier chapters for this story. So here is the first one.