Harry Potter sat on the tiled floor of the Gryfindor common baths. It was late at night as he furiously scrubbed at himself, his untidy black hair had been washed four times, the skin on his arms and upper torso had been scrubbed raw, his neck scratched and cut at, and despite all the mutilation he was doing to his thin frame, he still felt dirty, still felt the man in him, on him. If there was bleach he would have used it. Finally unable to coninue with his furious scrubbing he slumped against the scalding hot tiled walls resting his scarred back and letting himself go limp. It had been half of term and he still couldn't get rid of the feeling. He shuddered and closed his eyes letting the stinging in them fade, as he let the tears go.
Severus Snape, held the glass of brandy in his hand, swinging it slightly, watching the amber liqued sway to and frow, on his lap lay a large tome, its leather cover and heavy pages a comforting weight. He had awoken in the middle of the night from his oldest nightmares and found himself in his large armchair, slowly sipping a glass of brandy, and an old favorite, consuming his thoughts untill he was ready to confront those haunting memories. He thought he had put most of what happened to him when he was younger to rest, but for some reason his mind was dragging nightmares he hadn't suffered in years back to the forfront of his mind. His mind and his magic were telling him something, something he was afraid to find out.
It was unusually hot in the potions classroom, and Snape was carefully watching his classroom full of first years. Several Slythorin boys a couple Slythorin girls, one in particular, a quiet blond girl with pail blue eyes and a slight frame, who he knew would be the next to come to him for rescue, still his usual scowl was in place, and he glanced over at the Gryfindor first years small and young, and already insufferable. He paced the room, quickly banishing cauldrons that had a messed up potions in it, much to the grief of the student who cauldron he just banished. When class ended and the other students where packing the quiet girl still sat at her bench. It didn't go unnoticed to Snape when one of the boys gave her a quick hug and a bright smile. "Ms miller, why are you still in my class room, when you will be late to your next class if you do not hurry?" despite what he was saying he was already writing a pass for the girls next class.
"I, uh," the girls swallowed and quietly with a qiver in her voice said, "I need your help."
Snape turned to her his normally harsh scowl replaced by a sad soft smile, making his normally unpleasent face, morf into something, pleasent and comforting. The girl looked at him startled and with tears in her eyes she slowly tentivily went to him wrapping her small arms around his waist as the man ran his long fingures through her hair. After a minute snape softly pushed the girl away so he could go to his knees, now at the same hight as the girl he asked, "can you show me?"
The girl nodded and with trembling hand rolled up her sleaves as far as they would go, to show the scars that littered her arms.
"Why?" snape asked, it was easier on him and his students to stay calm, despite his anger and outrage, to ask simple yet hard questions.
"My dad says its 'to get rid of the muggle in me.'..." The girl answered truthfully her whole body shaking.
Snaped pulled the girl into a tight hug letting her go as he heard the ramble of his sixth years coming down the hall for class. He handed her the pass, and said, "My next class is coming but come to my office after classes are over and i will help you," he promised. The girl beamed at him teary eyed and dashed to her work bench grabbing her bag and book then was out the door.
As she ran down the hall a couple of older students saw her and mistook her tears and haist for something it wasn't, and they said, "There goes another one no doubt he's made his first years cry again." Only a passing Slythorin knew what really happened and he quietly put his hand on her shoulder as her pace slowed and gave it a reasuring squeez.
Harry Potter, watched the girl leave the room his mind racing with what he just saw, he had only come in on the last half ofthe exchange, Snape kneeling in front of the girl her sleeves rolled up, and her soft spoken coment, nearly inaduable to hear. Instead of pushing the girl away and telling her to grow up like Harry was sure he would do, Harry found himself completely stuned as he watched snape give the girl a hug and a promise of his help.
His mind still realling harry walked in and took a seat, one of the first actually in the room.
SS
Half way through potions nearly all of the students had taken there robes of, even Snape was seriously considering it. The only one with his robes still on was Potter who looked ready to die from the heat. Snape noticed, as he couldn't help but do sometimes, that Potter kept tugging at his left collar, to the point it where it as sticking up. Wondering what the hell the boy was hiding he turned back to the his desk and in one swift desicion opened the classroom doors. Every student sighed in relief as the stiffleing air was sucked out of the room by the sudden opening of the huge wood doors.
Harry watched the professor as he circled the room and banished any potion that was going wrong. The man was his usual snarling frightening self, and Harry would never had thought about it if he hadn't seen the man with the little girl hugging her. the fact that he had just opened the doors to the dungon in attempt to cool the temprature down was enough to make Harry think.
As Harry completed his potion and began to bottle it he, thought long and hard, and seriously considered telling the man scowling over him about his uncle, about the beatings and the... Harry involentarily shuddered at the the unfinished thought and he instantly felt slimy and dirty, and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to start scrubbing himself again. But he wouldn't, he had more control than that, he finished filling his viles and carefully took one up to the potions master.
Snape took the vile Potter offered him, noticing the red scratches on his wrists, and inspected it, the potion was in a word perfect, "Finally Potter you have managed to do something right for once." he said, whatching as the boy standing in front of him blush.
The sniggers from the Slythorins and the grumbles from the Gryfendors mad harry blush, but he didn't miss the prase, and despite how the man acted Harry still seriously considered talking to him. As he went back to his bench, the near desperation he was feeling at telling someone, anyone was over whelling, he quietly did a lip sealing charm on himself to make sure he wouldn't say anything.
He looked at the clock, five mniutes to go and all the classes would be over and he would seriously have to make up his mind. As he watched the hands on the clock tick away, he thought it through again, and again, wheighing every option, thinking up excusses and then shooting them down, finally with only a few seconds to go harry made up his mind. Yes he would tell the potions master, and he knew why, he would tell him, because, he finally saw what he hadn't seen in any of the other teachers, he saw compasion, and a caringness, but most of all, he saw the trust the little girl had for him, and if snape could get a child who had been through a hell like that to trust him and open up to him, well maybe, past, aside harry might be able to trust him too. He really hoped so, because he couldn't be let down again.
HP
Snape watched as his last class of the day filed out, all except for Harry Potter, and suddenly his sence of forboding was back, his heart was screaming 'something was wrong.' "Potter have you lost track of time or are you wating on me to invite you to tea?" Severus felt the ripple of magic, and heard the slight pop from the releace of a spell.
"No sir, i was just wondering," Harry fell silent his heart in his throat his mind racing with second guesses.
Snape quirked an eyebrow, "i am not a mind reader Potter, finish your sentence or leave."
Harry took a deep breath and looking snape streight in the eye asked, "Would you be as nice to me as you where her?"
end prologue.