A/N Im planning on this being pretty long. Harry's life is going to slowly spin downwards. There will be a character death or a few, but not Snape or Harry. Lots of Self harm of various types later. Mention of child abuse throughout. Attempted suicide as well. Won't be slash.
Disclaimer: Do not own HP. Creepy.
Destroy Me
Chapter 1
Harry Potter found himself in a very... Precarious? position.
You see, he was sitting in a run down, hole-in-the-wall diner in the heart of "ghetto" London at 1:00 am.
Not only that, but the reason why he was there? Well, that he didn't know, due to the fact that the man sitting across from him REFUSED TO ANSWER ANY OF HIS QUESTIONS!
The two dark haired men sitting across from each other in the germ-infested booth could be total strangers, for that was how they appeared. Not looking at each other, just reading their books or newspapers and sipping their beverages.
But these two young men did INDEED know each other, though they wished they didn't.
Harry Potter tapped his feet on the cracked black and white checkered-tile floor, trying to ignore the buzzing of the flickering lights, or the fact that the air conditioner wasn't on, or the woman selling themselves on the street...
But being fifteen, nearly sixteen, that was kind of impossible. After nearly eleven hours of sitting in the God forsaken booth, being ignored by the other man, he ground out, "What are we doing here? Sir."
The man flipped the top of his paper down, glaring back at the black messy mob on Harry's head, the sweat on the boy's brow, and the glowing green eyes through the cracked glasses.
Harry stared hard, unrelenting at the man with shoulder length greasy hair (as black as his own), and the fathomless ebony tunnels that sharply contrasted with the man's alabaster skin.
Severus Snape growled in irritation, "You will see soon enough, Potter, now shush!"
The boy took a long drag of his too thick, too strong tea, before saying, "That's what you said hours ago! Its the middle of the night!"
The older man thrust his paper down, trademark scowl in place. 'Does the bloody brat think I want to be here? With HIM?'
"Just be still for a little longer... If you can handle that," sneer replacing the glare, Snape went back to the Daily Prophet.
Harry ran his fingers through his hair, anxiously. He knew (or was PRETTY sure) Snape worked TOTALLY for the Light. But what if the Pensieve Incident pushed him over the edge and he had contacted Death Eaters to come and-
'No. No morbid thoughts for you, young man,' a voice, strangely like Mrs. Weasley's entered his mind.
Besides, most of the Death Eaters had been caught at the Department of Mysteries earlier that week.
Unfortunately, Bellatrix Lestrange wasn't one of them. The dark haired, clinically insane, bitch of a witch had killed Sirius. That stupid spell... It pushed him right through...
Harry rubbed his eyes furiously. 'Don't cry, ya idiot! You are stronger than that!'
Sirius was dead. The only person that was truly his family; someone who loved and cared for him. HIM! Not Harry POTTER. Not the Boy-Who-Lived. Or Gryffandor Golden Boy. Or Savior of the Wizarding World. Or youngest seeker in over a century. Or Parselmouth. Or the Dark Lord's obsession...
'Enough! God, think about something nice!' Hermione's voice rattled in his head.
'Like what? First my parents, then Cedric, then Sirius- WHO NEXT? Dumbledore? Ron? Hermione? Luna? Neville? Ginny? The other Weasleys? I cause only death and destruction in my wake,' Harry responded.
'Whoo... Don't go Emo on us mate...' Ron's voice mocked.
'Merlin, I think Im going insane! Talking to voices in my head. Rita Skeeter would have a field day...'
Snape shifted his paper, and (again) started to read it through. 'Honestly, is he trying to memorize it?'
Harry was hungry and exhausted, since he had barely ate or slept in the past week. Not to mention he felt slimy, but that may be due to the disgusting part of the city and the sweat that had accumulated.
"Are ye two gonna get sumthin er not?" a tired looking waitress with tall boots and a short dress greeted lazily.
Snape glared at her. "If you will excuse us, we are waiting on a business associate. Now go back to the freezer where your boyfriend-for-the-night most likely is and leave us be."
The woman looked affronted, before lighting up, puffing smoke in Snape's face, and heading back to the kitchen.
Harry tried to hide his smirk at how his teacher's face turned an unnatural red color, when gentle calming chuckles emanated from the door.
Harry stared. The man standing there had a long silver beard with equally long hair, which twinkled as brightly as his diamond-like blue eyes. The man wasn't adorning his usual colorful, oddly patterned robes, but a simple grey suit with a blue undershirt that was as shimmery as the moon.
"Professor? What are we doing here?" Harry asked immediately, practically lunging from the strangely sticky booth.
"Show some decorum, Potter... Now Albus, would you care to inform us why you summoned us to this scum-of-the-earth diner? And made us wait nearly twelve hours?" Snape ground out.
'Ah, so Snape didn't know.' The man had said as much when he picked the green eyed boy up at Kings Cross...
Harry waved miserably to his friends, gladly accepting Mrs. Weasley's hug. Sirius was dead, gone, never coming back...
"Mr. Potter," came an irritated baritone voice. "I suggest you come with me."
Harry looked at his teacher suspiciously. "Why?"
"The Headmaster requested I retrieve you and bring you to some place called, 'Sandy's Diner' for a meeting tonight. And before you ask your (no doubt) idiotic questions, I do NOT know why."
Still suspicious, but okay with delaying the return to his relative's house, Harry Potter nodded, following the man (Now dressed in a black suit) out the train station...
"I trust you two had a pleasant journey?" the Headmaster asked, reaching into his pockets, searching. "Jelly beans?"
After declining, Severus ground out, "The meeting..."
"Oh yes, quite right. My guess is you two won't be happy about this..."
"Oh, quite the contrary; Im already not 'happy'," Snape smirked.
Dumbledore eyed Harry, as the boy wiped sweat off his brow with his loose brownish-grey sweatshirt. "Harry, you are to stay at Professor Snape's house for the summer-"
"WHAT? NO, I WONT STAY AT THE GREASY GIT'S HOUSE!" Harry exploded, making the lights get brighter with his errant magic.
"I did NOT give you permission to place that arrogant selfish brat with me!" Snape hissed lowly.
"But alas, this is for the grea-for the best," Dumbledore stuttered.
"But what about the blood wards?" Harry asked desperately. Not that he wanted to go back to his relative's house, but he did NOT want to stay in Snape's 'house'. 'He probably lives in a dungeon someplace, drinking blood, sleeping in a coffin...'
"Do you want to go back to your relatives, Harry?" the meddlesome old coot asked innocently.
"Not particularly," was Growled, through clenched teeth.
"But what of my... Nighttime duties?" The Potions Master asked, making the boy blush when unbidden images came to him...
"Severus, you are a very good spy. You are in Tom's good graces, are you not?"
"Yes... But Bella is suspicious, possibly Lucius as well!"
"I believe you are too close to Mr. Malfoy for Lucius to speak any of his suspicions. Plus he's in Azkaban."
"That's not the point... With Potter there, what if Death Eaters or Draco come knocking? Or the Dark Lord gets a tip that he's there? Or I'm found out-"
"This is no time for ifs Severus," Albus said, his voice tense. After taking a calming breath, the man continued in a gave voice, "We are in a war, Severus. If we live our lives based on what ifs, then it will be our downfall. Enough of these petty grudges between you two, because like it or not, your alliance may very well influence the outcome of the war."
Said men glanced at each other, unsure.
"And," the Headmaster started bubbly, no trace of the former morose tones, "you have no choice in the matter. Harry WILL be staying at you house."
Harry bit his lip, unsure of what to say. "Why am I staying at his home?"
"You need to be trained to defeat Voldemort, of course!"
"Of course. All fifteen year olds have to go through rigorous training with a meticulous old bats to defeat homicidal maniacs," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes at Snape's glare and Dumbledore's rebukeful glance.
"Mind your manners, Potter!" Snape snapped. Then he added viciously, with a mischievous smile, "After all, You are under my...care... now."
"Severus..." Albus warned, but the younger man just grabbed Harry's trunk, dragging it out from under the cheap red table.
"No worries, headmaster. I won't harm you precious Golden Boy... without reason, that is..." At the old man's serious look, Severus sighed, waving off his concerns. "Joking, joking."
Harry glared at the man, picking up his empty owl cage and broom, leaving a tip on the table.
Snape was out the door, and Harry was heading that way when a wrinkled, but strong hand stopped him. "I need you to be good for Severus, Harry-"
"Im not five, Professor. I know how to behave," the sweaty teenager muttered, shouldering off the hand.
"You and Severus have much in common." At the incredulous look being flung at him, the man added, "Get to know him. And try to get along and not hurt each other."
"I won't if he won't," Harry sighed. Snape was tapping his foot through the door, obviously anxious to get away from the hookers that were trying to swoop down on him.
After a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, the elderly headmaster of Hogwarts shoved the boy towards the glass door. When Harry turned around to say goodbye, Albus Dumbledore had vanished.
A/N what do ya think? Good start? Should I make Snape be Harry's biological dad? Or just a guardian? How long should it take before they get along? Should they even get along? Should Ron be bad? What about Hermione? Or Luna? How will Draco fit into the equation? Will Snape be found out? Review? Yes, definitely review.