Hi :) So... I better put a warning up that this story does contain implied and a little bit of described abuse... so if you don't like that stuff feel free to skip it or whatever... This isn't a Slash Fic and there's no sexual abuse. Erm... please review so I can improve on this and what-not... At the moment it's just an experiment really...

Disclaimer: 99 percent of the characters, places, objects and other things in this fanfiction are owned by J. (Our queen) I'm only borrowing them... please don't sue me... I don't earn enough money!

Moonlight shone over the forbidden forest that night, coaxing out all sorts of magical creatures from their homes. It made the aurors and order members weary as they patrolled the grounds, making sure that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was safe.

One of the younger order members stopped for a moment, admiring the way the moonlight sparkled over the water, it reminded him of Professor Dumbledore's eyes. He was shaken from his reverie by his partner who was looking into the forest suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.

"John, I think there's something out there, we should go check it out, I mean, it could be a death eater..." John rolled his eyes at Gregory's Gryffindorish behaviour before sighing.

"Fine, come on!"

John was surprised when Gregory didn't start bouncing off the walls with excitement at this new adventure. The two began to walk further into the forest, wands drawn. They had to squint to make anything out in the darkness. John jumped back when he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, making Gregory chuckle slightly before giving him a playful punch on the arm.

"Come on, badger, don't be such a wimp."

He turned back to look into the forest and screamed when he saw a Wolf running towards them at full speed, its eyes glinted silver when the moonlight hit them. The Gryffindor trained his wand on the animal and was prepared to curse it but before his eyes it changed form, suddenly becoming human, it never halted in its stride as it approached the two men. Greg still had his wand trained on it as it approached them.

"Who are you?" John shouted and the human finally came into the pair's view. She emerged from the darkness like smoke and the two watched apprehensively. They realized it was a woman, dressed in black, billowing robes that contrasted deeply with her platinum blonde hair and silver-blue eyes.

"Hollie Chase, gentleman." John stood stock still in awe.

"Oh, erm... Greg... Greg, lower your wand." He hissed in the other wizard's direction.

"How do we know it's her? How do we know this isn't a death eater who's just made some polyjuice potion?"

John slapped the wizard around the head sharply.

"Merlin's beard, Greg! Sometimes, you're really thick! No one else has the same animagus as her! Polyjuice potion wouldn't make them have her animagus form as well!"

Chase coughed lightly.

"Gentlemen, if you're done I do have things to do this evening that cannot be put on hold..."

"Oh! Sorry, Ma'am... erm, do you need to see Professor Dumbledore?" She nodded slowly. "Right, if you'll follow me." John replied awkwardly.

"Bon Bons."

Chase muttered the password and bolted up the stairs to the office, taking two steps at a time. Why would Dumbledore call me here so urgently? Something's up if he needs my help, I mean, I know I'm an order member but... Stop! Wait for him to explain and...

"Hollie, I'm glad you could make it at such short notice." The usually jovial old man's voice scared her from her thoughts with its solemn tone.

"Headmaster, I do run with the speed of a wolf, it comes in handy sometimes. Now, what is it..."

She suddenly heard footsteps and quickly changed into her animagus form, curling up by the large stone fire that had recently been lit, never once letting her guard down. Dumbledore watched calmly as his office door swung open and a tall, skinny man was framed in the darkness of the doorway.

"Headmaster..." His silky voice rang through the office and Hollie's ears perked up at the sound. The potions master finally saw the wolf that was curled up in front of the burning fireplace and raised his eyebrows as he stood in front of the headmaster's desk, his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

"Headmaster, you do realize that there is a wolf in your office, yes?"

"Obviously, Severus." He did his best imitation of Snape, purposefully lengthening out his pronunciation of the first word. Severus glared at him but he continued talking, ignoring.

"Now, you're both probably wondering why I have asked you here at this ungodly hour..."

"Both?" Hollie finally came out of her animagus form to face Snape who now stared at her. "I should have known..." Hollie walked over to the potions master, smirking.

"Oh, Severus, I've missed you too, darling." He gave her one of his infamous death-stares and she feigned fear.

"As I was saying," The two looked back at Albus.

"I've called you here at the ungodly hour for two reasons. Firstly, Miss Chase I would like to offer you a position at Hogwarts on the teaching staff. In times like these it is imperative that we keep our students safe and Professor Jameson left his post as, well let's call it, Security Officer. You would be the perfect choice for this job."

"Ah, of course, Albus..."

"Wait! You're offering her a job?! Headmaster I..."

"Oh, Severus, stop your whining will you, love. I'll have better things to do around here than bother you."

"Chase! What it or I might just…"

"You might just what? Hex me?! Weren't you meant to do that 5 years ago?!" She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Albus, you were saying?"

"Oh, yes," He voice suddenly became deadly-serious. "I want you both to go check on Mr Potter."

Snape immediately protested. "But, Headmaster, why must we go visit, Potter! It's not like he's in danger at his relatives... Their most likely pampering him and waiting on his every whim! He's..."

Dumbledore held up a hand for silence.

"Severus, my boy, trust me on this... I have a very bad feeling." Hollie, who was casually leaning against the wall staring at her nails, straightened up and grasped Snape's arm but he continued to protest.

"What about Minerva?"

"On other business..."

"Flitwick?"

"On holiday..."

Snape went to protest but Hollie gave him a warning look that most people haven't seen more than twice. He stopped himself from biting back at either of them. For one, he couldn't deny Albus this request as he had accepted Snape without a second thought on that dreadful night so many years ago. Also, the fact that Chase's grip on his arm had become excruciatingly painful registered in his mind and he came to the conclusion that if he didn't move quickly he would be forced to try and grow a new arm soon.

The two quickly exited the office and made their way down the spiral staircase. As they exited into the corridor the large stone gargoyle spun around, protecting the office once more. She released her death-grip on his arm and he spun around to face her. He was ready to snap at her but, as his onyx black eyes found her half-grey, half-blue eyes and noticed that worry and care swam around in the never ending pools, he found himself unable to. She gave him a sad smile.

"Severus, we'll need to walk outside of the wards before we can apparate. I.. I'm glad you're..." She faltered for a split second and quickly waved away her words with a flick of her hand before she began walking again, he began to follow at his own speed, his legs taking long, slow strides.

Once the pair were finally back into the forbidden forest, Chase linked her arm with his and the pair apparated.

Young Harry Potter of the cupboard-under-the-stairs frantically scurried around the home of his aunt, uncle and cousin. He still had not completed his chores and was rushing around trying to do so before the others returned home from their outing. They were bringing back Aunt Marge.

As Potter buzzed around the kitchen, scrubbing each and every surface clean and turning his attention to the dinner that was cooking, his thoughts began to wander.

I wonder what Ron and 'Mione are doing... I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts and see them!... but will they still want to be my friends? I haven't owled them all summer and Uncle Vernon burnt their letters to me... they must think I don't like them anymore... they must have finally realized how much of a burden I am. Especially since what happened in with the Chamber of secrets and... And the philosopher's stone the year before last... I mean, why would they even want to be friends with me anymore... why would they...

Harry was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he smelt smoke and looked over to the oven. A dark black smoke was seeping through the cracks and had begun to fill the room. He was thankful that the fire alarm had not yet gone off and as quickly as his feet could carry him he ran over to the cooker and turned off the heat before pulling open the door. Smoke flew into his face and he began coughing violently, the smoke wasn't helping the cold he had had for the past few weeks.

"Potter!" Harry had just began to fish out what was left of the casserole when his uncle burst through the door, Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia followed closely behind. Uncle Vernon's face was a deep purple and he looked even more livid than he had the evening previous. Vernon stalked forward towards Harry and Potter watched like a small rabbit caught within the headlights of a car as Vernon unbuckled his thick leather belt and swiftly pulled it from the loops with one strong, sharp tug. He dropped the burnt food and started to back away into the corner.

"Don't you back away from me, boy! You deserve what's coming to you, I shouldn't have been so lenient on you last night!"

Vernon screamed as he picked up the boy by the scruff of his neck and threw him over the table. Marge went over to the young lad when she saw him struggling to get up and grasped his hands firmly, pinning him belly down onto the table. Petunia watched as her husband pulled down their nephew's ratty jeans and underwear and ripping off his dirty tee-shirt before snapping the leather belt together and slapping it sharply across the boys buttocks and lower back, then again - only harder - and again but still the boy didn't whimper, he knew the consequences of that. Vernon continued his onslaught for a further 30 minutes before giving into Marge's requests and handing the boy into her care. Harry prayed silently to whoever would listen, hoping that Marge would be swift for once.

There was a loud pop in an alleyway just off of Privet Drive. If anyone had been awake they would have thought they saw two people magically appear but that would have been absurd. As the pair apparated into the alley Hollie went to continue walking but was pulled back by Snape.

"Don't you think it wise that we change into... muggle clothes?"

She nodded and stepped back from him, watching as he quickly flicked his wand in her direction. Looking down she found herself in a tight fitting, dark green dress and black blazer, she rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. Hollie wasn't surprised at his chosen colour scheme, if anything it made her smile. Looking up she suppressed the urge to gasp when she saw Snape in a pair of dark, skinny jeans and emerald shirt that was tucked into his trousers. Chase walked over to him and placed a tentative hand on his chest. Her free hand's nimble fingers moved to his collar and she unbuttoned the first 3 buttons on the shirt before gently pulling his collar apart. She smiled gently at him and a thick silence floated between the pair for a few moments.

"I... I think we should keep moving Severus." He nodded silently and they walked together out into the well-lit street and up towards number 4. They stopped just outside the door and Chase extracted her wand from the inner pocket of the blazer.

"Alohomora..."

The door silently unlocked as she pushed it open before the two snuck inside. As they stood in the hallway Chase closed her eyes for a moment, straightened her posture and deeply inhaled the smells of the home.

Snape began his search for the Potter boy upstairs while Chase guarded the door. When he opened the first door on the landing he found a chubby, sleeping boy. Obviously it wasn't Potter, so he moved on. The next room was filled with disused, broken toys. Severus grimaced at the large quantity of play-things before continuing to the next door.

As he approached there was a creaking of floorboards and a loud, bear-like yawn that came from the room at the end of the hall. Suddenly the door swung open and a large woman with a beefy, purple face and shoulder length blonde hair plodded lazily from the room, a small bulldog followed obediently at her heels. Her tired eyes looked up and met those of Snape.

"Vernon! Vernon!" Dursley ran out of his bedroom, cricket bat in hand.

"What is it, Marge?" The fat man's head snapped in Severus' direction and he heard rushed footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Severus! Sev' is he up here?"

Gladwin's face dropped when she saw the Dursleys who had all crowded in the corridor.

"No." Was his short answer.

"Where's the boy Dursley?" Snape demanded.

"You... You're both breaking and entering! I demand you leave at once!"

"I asked you where the boy is!" The potions master was losing his temper quickly.

She smirked when Vernon jumped back slightly at Severus' tone and watched as they all stood still in indignation or fear, well, all except for Marge who strutted her robust form forward. To anyone else it would be threatening but not to the Auror or the Potions master. Chase removed her wand swiftly and directed it at the family.

"He asked you where Harry is, we would both like an answer."

"I don't know who you are but you can't do anything with that bloody stick of yours! That wretched boy got what he deserved! My brother put the undeserving whelp back into his room!"

Snape watched as Chase began to sneer at the woman. He could see her animagus form starting to appear slightly, her teeth had become sharper and he could see the transformation in her eyes.

"Where is his damn room!?" Chase shouted in anger.

"Downstairs, under the stairs, of course..."

"You left him in a cupboard!..." Chase wanted so badly to curse this wretched family but knew she had to find the boy first. She turned and ran quickly back down the staircase. Snape followed her after giving a sharp glare towards the Dursleys who followed the two magical folk down the stairs.

Snape pushed her out of the way when they reached the cupboard, silently casting a spell to unlock the door, he opened it slowly and stared into the darkness.

"Lumos."

He whispered and his wand illuminated the darkness. Looking inside the cramped, tiny room he felt something within him break when he saw the boy curled up in the corner, reaching out he gently shook the boy awake.

"Potter, wake up."

The child awoke and jumped away at Snape's proximity, crawling further into the corner. He hugged the tiny blanket closer to his body and muttered quietly. All Snape could make out was, "I'm sorry, sir... don't hurt me, sir."

"Child, I'm here to help you. Come with me, you won't be harmed."

Potter looked at him sceptically before slowly shuffling towards him. Snape exited the small cupboard and watched as Harry tried to stand, stumbling as he came out of the tiny room before falling to the floor when he reached the corridor. Hollie looked down to him and her face softened when she saw his battered form, she went and helped him up from his position on the floor, looking at Snape for help. He immediately picked the child up and began to walk out of the house. Chase shot a glare at the Dursleys as they left.

"Good! Take the little urchin, you freaks! He was a burden on my brother's family anyways!"

Marge shouted from the door. A fire burned in both Snape's and Chase's eyes. She turned quickly on her heels and approached the family again, her wand was out quickly when the dog started barking viciously at her and she quickly cast Silencio on it before grasping Vernon by the shirt and slamming him into the wall, the tip of her wand pressed firmly into the underside of his chin, a few heated sparks burnt his skin.

"Your sister better learn to watch her mouth and if I find anything wrong with the boy, you can expect a visit from me again and next time I won't be so nice."

Severus held the boy in his arms; he was far too light and small for a boy of his age. Looking down he watched as the boy snuggled into his chest, not realizing that it was his ''greasy git of a potions master'' holding him. Yes, he knew what the Weasley boy called him when his back was turned. Studying the boy he noticed that Potter's hair was long and unruly, almost like his own when he was a child, and his eyes were surrounded with large black circles.

Hollie touched his arms lightly and they apparated to the Leaky Caldron, from which they took the private Flu to Dumbledore's office. The two walked out from the green flames into the office and could finally look at the boy properly. He was wearing a torn shirt and baggy jeans, his feet were bare. Chase felt her heart break a little when she saw it and looked over to Severus, she could still see an anger burning in his eyes.

"S... Severus?" He didn't look at her, simply turned away and walked swiftly to the hospital wing. Chase threw herself into one of the armchairs, Snape had his duty and she had hers; she had to talk to Dumbledore about the boy's condition.

"Pomfrey!"

Snape kicked open the large doors with a swift kick, shouting out for Madam Pomfrey as he entered. He placed the boy on the bed just as the mediwitch scurried out of her office.

"Snape! Why, in Merlin's name, are you making all this racket?!"

He moved to the side so that Pomfrey could see the boy. She gasped and shooed Severus away from the boy. She began by doing a quick couple of scans with her wand, frowning slightly. She moved to gently turn the boy onto his back, it was easier than it should have been, causing her even more worry. Carefully she pulled up the boy's ragged tee-shirt and gasped when she saw the cuts and bruises that riddled his back; it was a sea of deep purples, flowing reds and white lines, indicating the scars of previous mistreatment.

Pomfrey ran over to the large cupboard and grabbed a few creams and salves before rushing back to Harry who was still asleep.

"Severus, go get Albus; he'll need to see this." Snape stood stock still, his eyes transfixed by the boy's obviously badly abused body.

"Severus!" He snapped from his trance and nodded stiffly before turning on his heel and walking out, not noticing he had still not changed from the muggle clothing.

"Now, Hollie, it's prudent that you keep the grounds safe this year. Black cannot get anywhere near Harry, we can't let him kill the boy; he's our only hope if you-know-who comes back."

"And the Dursleys?! Are you just going to leave the boy beneath a cupboard until his final year?!" She snapped, subconsciously smoothing her dress as she did so.

"What happened at the Dursleys was nothing more than a lack of room. Nothing to get over-dramatic about. It's not like they... Severus!"

The headmaster looked over to the door, which had been violently opened by the potions master, with a slight shock in his eyes. Snape stalked over to the desk, slamming his fists down hard onto its intricate, tough wood as he spoke.

"You knew, didn't you!? You knew they were abusing the boy and that's why you sent us to deal with them! I can't believe you would let something like this happen and right under your nose for that matter... I..."

"Severus, please, what are you talking about? The boy wasn't abused." Hollie piped up from her position on the sofa.

"The boy was abused! I just saw the inflictions with my own bloody eyes! And you! You were meant to look after his safety!" Her eyes narrowed and she stood to face him.

"Sorry, Severus, but it's not my main job! It's meant to be his guardian's responsibility to look after his welfare! Also, I've been doing other things to keep the boy safe."

"Like what?! Sunning it in Italy!" He bit back.

"No, just because you don't see enough sunlight down in that bloody dungeon of yours! Besides I've been looking for Sirius Black, you vampire!" She shouted back at him and he huffed.

"Severus, did you come up here to let off your anger, dear boy, or to tell me that Poppy needs my assistance?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Pomfrey wants to see you." He said. Albus smiled at him.

"Well I'll leave the two of you up here, I'll be back shortly. Oh and do feel free to have a sherbet lemon." and with that Dumbledore left the two alone.

Chase say back down on the sofa, calming her breathing and her mind while Snape paced the room, muttering under his breath. He heard the slight whisper as she pulled her wand from her pocket. In his peripheral vision he watched as she cast random sparks and colourful pinwheels from the tip of her wand, his dark eyes scanned over her body and for the first time in all too many years he took in her perfect body and shapely legs, her grey/blue eyes and curled blonde hair She seemed at ease in the tight fitting muggle clothing, he noted as she sighed, leaning back into the headmaster's plush red and gold sofa. He walked over to the imposing glass window. With his hands clasped tightly behind his back he bowed his head forward, leaning it against the cool glass. It had started to rain, he enjoyed listening to the sound of the rain; it calmed him. Snape could feel her eyes rake over his own body like he had done moments before but she didn't say anything. For once!

He heard the click of her heels against the stone floor as she approached him, deeply inhaling the air he could smell her distinct perfume: ambergris, vanilla and honey. It took him back to when they first met.

Snape walked hastily through the snow-filled streets of London, he turned the corner and quickly entered the nearest shop, which he knew to be a Wizarding cafe. He instantly defrosted when he entered the room, the white specks of snow that had previously tainted his jet black, greasy hair were gone immediately. The cafe was decorated in emerald green and silver, there were a few darker green chesterfield sofas and dark mahogany coffee tables. He also noticed the green, leather armchairs with a single silver cushion on each that surrounded mahogany tables.

He sighed as he looked around for a free table, to his great dismay he was unable to find one. He looked around; looking for someone as equally reserved as himself to share a table with, there in the corner he found that exact person.

He walked over to the table; the woman who occupied it was hidden behind a book. He deeply inhaled; he smelt the distinct burning of various tobaccos, veritaserum and the woman's perfume. His sense of smell having been heightened through his years of potion making, he could immediately detect the ingredients: Ambergris, honey and vanilla.

"No, that seat is not taken. Yes, you may sit there." Her words were sharp, she spoke them without even looking up from the book, which caught him off guard slightly but he didn't show it, simply kept his indifferent expression while he nodded curtly and sat down.

Severus took a cursory glance at the title: Moste Potente Potions. He raised his eyebrows discreetly, impressed by the young woman's chosen reading material. He quickly ordered a strong, black coffee before pulling a book from his own satchel. He needed to take a break from the endless cycle of writing lesson plans and buying potion ingredients... and extra cauldrons, he added bitterly.

His coffee levitated over, along with a fresh double espresso for the woman, and he began to continue with his book. Opening the old leather backed copy; he read slowly, taking his time to enjoy the writing as he subconsciously stirred his coffee with his free hand.

The young woman looked up from her book, curious as to what this mysterious stranger was reading. Wuthering Heights! She was amazed by the wizard's book choice and smiled slightly, she looked over his form. His long greasy hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, with a few loose locks framing his sharp, strong-jawed face. His nose looked a tad crooked but it didn't affect her assessment of him: wiry, strong-willed, handsome - however, not in the conventional sense - and extremely intelligent. She watched as he fingered the corner of the page, enraptured by the muggle novel.

He looked up when he felt her intense stare pulling him away from the book.

"Is there something you need?!" He raised an eyebrow, his face completely void of emotion.

"Erm... well... I just wanted to... compliment you on your reading choice." She stated, obviously flustered. His lips twitched.

"And what makes you think I need compliments from the likes of you on my reading material?"

"You don't... although I did see that impressed look you had when you saw my own book." She smirked.

"Well you don't see many people openly reading Moste Potente Potions..."

"Just as you don't see many wizards reading Emily Bronte. How are you finding it, by the way?"

And so, with that one question she had sparked the conversation that led them from complete strangers sharing a table to what could loosely be classed as a friend. When the time came for Chase to leave she left him with her name, Floo number and address. From that moment they met up at least once a week, deciding to get to know each other.

He watched from their usual table as she entered the coffee shop. He couldn't see the exact expression on her face as she entered, a silver and blue silk scarf was tied around her head, keeping her perfect blonde hair in its beehive.

Today the cafe was decorated in royal blues and cold brass. He watched as she walked over to the table.

"Severus, it's good to see you."

She said meekly, his eyes scanned her body; noticing she favoured her right side and he noticed her hand twitch as if she wanted to tightly hold onto her ribs. Chase pulled the scarf that had protected her hair from the rain off and removing her brown leather jacket as well before sitting down. He nodded, before sliding his bookmark into place and looking at her with a single eyebrow raised. He heard her give a sad laugh.

"Bad day at the office, I guess."

"Obviously." He drew the word out, taking at least two minutes to say it; it made her smile.

"I never see many work related injuries on you, Snape... so, what is it you do, exactly?"

He took a sip of his coffee, watching as she waited patiently for his answer. The witch who ran the cafe had become accustomed to them meeting nearly every Saturday morning for the past few weeks and automatically levitated two fresh cups of strong coffee over to the pair, secretly smiling to herself as the two conversed.

"Potions master at Hogwarts." She smiled softly.

"Oh, well... maybe you could whip me up a quick pain-relieving potion, professor?" He raised a questioning eyebrow as if coaxing her to push her luck.

"You know, I only just scraped an E in my NEWTS for Potions and that was all luck. I was a lot better at DADA..." That made him look interested but she didn't give him any more information on the subject. They slipped into a silence, the two sipped at their coffee and eventually Chase began to read her book once more, he realized that today she was reading a German muggle book: Der Gedichte, und Träume, von Bertolt Brecht. It intrigued him, but he didn't bring it up, simply went back to his own book.

After a few hours of comfortable silence, reading, contemplation and coffee the two stood to exit the cafe. Snape pulled on a large black overcoat to guard himself from the cold while Chase pulled her jacket back on. As the two walked out onto the street the conversation lit up once more.

"What is it you do exactly, Hollie?"

"Oh, well... I work in Magical Law Enforcement... A..." She trailed off at the end of the sentence, mumbling incoherently, making him smirk.

"I must have missed that last part, what did you say?" Was that playfulness in his voice? He scratched it off as his imagination.

"I'm an Auror." She said, quietly and quickly. Inside his mind he almost felt sad, sad that he would be forced to keep the truth from yet another person... but she wasn't just another person to him, was she? He enjoyed her company and - rarely, secretly - longed for it.

"Oh, I seemed to have put you into a coma, Severus..." She laughed lightly, her laugh reminded him of Lilly.

"Don't worry we're not all like Mad-Eye... Anyways, I better apparate home and get these injuries sorted out." She apprehensively lent forward and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"I'll see you next week, Sev'"

She was gone.

Slowly he lifted his head from the glass, finally calm and composed once again. He spun around slowly and looked over to the fireplace where Hollie had curled up in her animagus form. Things hadn't been the same between them since someone at the Auror's office had let slip that Snape was a death eater, they conveniently forgot to mention that he was a double agent.

Dumbledore re-entered the room, his usual twinkling eyes had dulled and a small frown tainted his face. Chase seemed not to have noticed him as she snuggled closer to the fire, Snape watched as Dumbledore walked over to the sleeping Wolf, gently scratching behind its ear. The sleeping Auror quickly awoke and, changing back to human form, followed the headmaster to his desk. Severus sat in the chair beside her.

"I'm afraid that our worst fears have been realized." He paused and watched as Hollie's brow furrowed, showing her confusion.

"Harry was... abused by the Dursley."

He watched from the seat behind his desk as Snape's jaw tightened at the mentioning and Chase tried desperately to reign in her anger but the two men could see it breaking through; her animagus form came out in small sections. Dumbledore noticed the way she sneered, her face transforming into the muzzle of a wolf, the sharp teeth but it went as quickly as it came.

"Why… No, how did we fail to notice this?" She snapped, Snape watched as the usually stoical Auror lost all patience and calm.

"We couldn't see the signs of abuse clearly. I believed he would be safer with them… the blood protection is unequivocally safer than normal wards…"

"But the people he's with aren't safe!" Snape and Chase shouted at the same time, before glaring at each other at the realization of what they had just said.

"Yes and now we've the proof; we will have to send the boy somewhere else. However, the problem is: where do we send him?"

"Albus, we can't send him to the paternal godfather, the man's a murderer." She paused and looked at both men.

"What about the maternal godfather? Lily Potter would have chosen someone."

"You may be onto something, my girl. I'll go to the registry office at the ministry in the morning but for now, I think we should all get some sleep; we won't be able to deal with anything properly if we're falling asleep where we stand."

The two nodded and stood up to leave.

"Hollie, your quarters will be located in the dungeons, near Severus' own. I'm sure he would be more than happy to show you where they are."

"Headmaster…"

"No, Severus, I insist you show our young Auror to her rooms." He said, his usual demeanour seeping into his tone.

Snape grunted before swiftly walking out of the room. Chase took a sherbet lemon from the bowl on Dumbledore's desk before following the potions master down to the dungeons.

"Come here, boy!"

Harry scurried into the furthest, darkest corner of the room when his uncle's large sweaty hand reached out to grab him. The young boy curled up into the foetal position and covered his face protectively with his arms. His small, undernourished body shook violently in fear.

"No… no, uncle, please! I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" A sadistic smile crept onto his uncle's face.

"Oh, you're going to get what you deserve, Potter! You little freak!" SLAP. "Worthless." KICK. "Idiotic" PUNCH. "Good-for-nothing." KICK.

Vernon picked up the cricket bat from the corner of the room.

"Little shit! You're lucky that we even took you in! No one else would love you; you're a burden to everyone!"

Harry lay motionless on the ground, his arms crooked and stretched away from his body. Vernon brushed the tip of the bat gently across Potter's right knuckles. He then lifted it, swung it in a great arc, like an axe, and with all his force brought it smashing down.

A high pitched scream resounded throughout the hospital wing. Harry woke up suddenly, a thin film of sweat covering his face and his hand burnt furiously with pain. He looked around the darkened room, suddenly overcome with a sense of fear and the unknown. Potter shifted awkwardly beneath the sheets, feeling extremely uncomfortable he ripped them away from his body and stood uneasily from the bed. Harry looked around before he ran out of the hospital wing and down the ancient stone corridors of Hogwarts, his fear overpowered sense and he ran blindly through the hallways, down a long spiral staircase, through a portrait and finally he ended up in a long, dark corridor.

Only a few dimly lit torches illuminated the corridor and Harry was hesitant to continue. Now wishing he hadn't left his bed. The portraits along the dark passage whispered as he continued down it slowly; he looked at the walls at the whispering, spiteful paintings. The raven haired boy felt an unstoppable pain strike through his body and his legs began to ache, He began to slowly sink down to the cold, timeworn floor. He found himself unable to call out for help; the pain becoming so unbearable. He hadn't realized his uncle and Marge and hit him so roughly.

Harry's ears pricked up when he heard footsteps resounding through the hall. They became louder and Harry tried to shy away from the noise. It stopped in front of him. He heard himself whimper quietly. He waited for the pain.

It never came.

Instead he felt arms slip beneath his trembling form and then a weightlessness as he was lifted from the ground.

"Oh, darling… what's happened to you?" A smooth voice broke through the tension, it made him feel safe but he knew he shouldn't. He didn't even know this person but she felt safe.

"Are you in pain?" He nodded stiffly.

"Come on, this will need urgent attention." Without another word the woman turned on her heels and marched quickly back down the corridors. In the half-light Harry could see the woman's perfect blonde hair and steel blue eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, love." She ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to get you some help."

Her accent puzzled the young boy but he didn't dwell on it as he heard her mutter a password and almost jumped free of her arms when she kicked a door open.

"Severus! Severus, wake up! I need your help…"

She placed the young teen down on the sofa and swiftly walked away from him and down another corridor. Harry heard the harsh, swift whispers coming from down the corridor. He was surprised when the woman – who he guessed was called Hollie – came back with the potions master in tow. He was clad in green and silver stripped silk pyjama pants and had obviously just thrown on a black shirt. Snape's hair was tousled, his dark eyes cloudy from lack of sleep. He walked over to the raven haired teen who had watched him carefully, like prey watches predator.

"Potter, can you sit up?" The potions master asked. His voice remained professional and distant. Harry nodded slowly and began to sit up stiffly, his body felt like it was burning inside but he tried to ignore it and continued to remain upright.

"Where does it hurt?" Harry hesitated.

"My… my legs and back… and…" Snape raised a questioning eyebrow when the boy abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

"And… my head hurts." Potter's voice was rough and croaky and he briefly wondered where the woman – Hollie – had gone to. The young boy jerked away when Severus began to examine his legs.

"Potter, calm down; I'm not going to hurt you. I need to make sure that you're okay and to do that I need to examine you. Okay?"

Harry looked sceptically at Snape before nodding slightly reluctantly. He winced when Snape began to examine his legs, sliding the overly baggy trouser legs up. His anger began to boil when he noticed the dark red gashes, dark purple welts and the horrendous burns that riddled the poor child's legs. The potion's master frowned before helping Harry to stand and lifting his shirt, he locked away his emotions and he inspected the lad's back. It was covered in bruises, burns and angry red mutilations that cross hatched over his skin like a thatched roof.

"Chase!" He shouted but when Harry jumped he decided to lower his voice.

"Hollie" He spoke her name softly for once and she appeared immediately. "I need you to get me some healing salves and a headache potion from my storeroom."

Chase nodded having been stunned into silence by the injuries in the boy. Minutes later he returned with a glass pot of light blue cream and a small brown bottle. He sat Harry back on the sofa and she handed the balm to Snape first, her hand shaking slightly as she did so. Harry hissed when Severus began to apply the powder blue cream, Hollie was at his side instantly, sitting on the arm of the settee she gently put a hand on his forehead, checking his temperature, finding it normal she brought her hand back, stroking his hair gently, he found it calming; along with the now soothing effects of the balm Snape had applied to his legs.

"Do you still have a headache, Potter?" Snape asked and Harry nodded silently as the salve slipped into his skin. Hollie took the headache relieving potion from the side and gave it to Harry.

"Only drink half of the bottle, okay?" The woman's voice was soft and caring but all Harry could do was nod, again, in reply before downing about half of the vile potion, it had the same consistency as pancake batter but tasted like out of date milk, it made him feel slightly sick drinking it. The cream had finally dried into his skin and he was pleased to discover that his legs didn't hurt anymore. He jumped when Snape gently touched his shoulder.

"Lay down on your belly."

"Why?"

"So that I can apply the healing salve to your back."

Snape said; his voice dull and monotonous. Harry hissed once more in pain as he rolled over onto his stomach. Severus lifted the boy's shirt up once more before taking some of the powder-blue cream into his hand and smoothing it over Potter's back. The raven haired teen gasped in pain when Snape's hand brushed over a particularly deep gash.

"You'll need to use Vulnera Sanentur to heal that, Severus."

"I know that, Chase! What do you think I am a muggle?!" Snape snapped. "Go fetch me some dittany, will you."

Hollie stood abruptly and walked away into Snape's privet storeroom. While she was gone Snape quickly finished rubbing the cream onto the boy's back before he began to mutter an incantation that, to Harry, sounded almost like a song. Harry felt his back muscles twitch and spasm as the wound slowly fused back together, healing itself. He heard Hollie come back swiftly and after a few moments another cream was spread across his back. Harry heard the woman mumble something to Snape.

"I don't know, Hollie! But Pomfrey did fix all of this before, I was there!"

"Severus…"

"What!"

"Look at his hand." Snape's gaze travelled down to the boy's right hand, his knuckles were black with bruises and Snape's brow furrowed.

"Potter, what happened to your hand?" Harry's brow furrowed and he awkwardly turned his head to peer at his hand.

"I… I don't know, sir." He replied meekly.

"Harry, darling, why were you out of bed?" The soft voice of Hollie came from the dark room.

"I had a nightmare…" Harry felt himself cringe and he blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed at his show of weakness.

"What was it about love?" The young teen went to speak but no words came out, he choked for words before finally giving up and closing his mouth without uttering a single word. It made both Hollie and Severus worried.

"Harry," she stroked his hair back soothingly. "You don't have to say anything at the moment, love. Just lie here and try and sleep for now, okay?" Snape shot her a look but when his eyes met the body of the small boy again something in him softened.

"Potter, do you want a dreamless sleep potion?" He nodded. "Hollie, would you…" She cut him off by handing him a small vial of purple liquid.

"Drink this, Potter." He passed the boy the potion and Harry drunk it obediently. His eyes felt heavy and he began to sway. Hollie conjured up a soft, goose-feather pillow and placed it at the end of the sofa. She coaxed Harry to lie down before pulling the blanket off the back of the leather sofa and gently covered the boy with the soft, dark green blanket.

"You just stay here for tonight, love. You look too exhausted to even blink, we'll find something a little better for you in the morning, I promise."

Hollie smiled at the child softly and stroked his hair back as he fell asleep. She looked back at Snape who was, unsurprisingly, scowling at her. She stood up, never taking her eyes off of him.

"I can't have the boy here!" He hissed, making sure to keep his voice down. "Did you not think about how I would feel when you offered to let him stay here?! Of course you didn't!" He threw his arms up in frustration. "You always act without asking! Without thinking!"

"Oh, yes! Because you're such a saint! Where else was I meant to take the boy? At least he's safe here with you!"

"Chase, you know how I feel about the boy… How am I the safest option?" The pair had slowly gotten further away from Harry and closer to Snape's chamber. They now stood mere centimetres away from each other.

"No! No, Snape, I know how you felt about James Potter… Just because he looks like the man does not mean he is the man." She pushed him into the bedroom and closed the door quietly, casting a silencing spell on it.

"He could be more like Lilly than you realize! Remember Lilly? You loved her?! Or are you so wrapped up in your guilt and despair that you've forgotten the reason you risk your life every day!"

She shouted at him, her canines elongating as her anger overcame rational thought.

"Enough!" He screamed. Without thinking Snape raised his hand and brought it down forcefully upon Chase's cheek. She hadn't even realized what had happened until she found herself on the floor, two long cuts running down her cheek. Snape's violence hurt her more than any curse she had taken, tears dripped from her eyes and mixed with the congealing blood. Looking up she saw him standing over her. He grasped the collar of the shirt she wore and pulled her roughly from the floor.

"Don't you ever speak about Lilly again, do you understand me? A pure-blood elitist like you will never understand what she and I went through." His voice was deathly; he didn't need to raise it to cast fear into her bones. He let go of her and she held onto one of the posters on Snape's mahogany four poster bed to keep herself from falling.

"Severus… I'm sorry…. I just care about the boy. I know I can't even begin to comprehend what happened in yours and Lilly's childhood but… but you never helped me to understand, did you? You were too busy keeping secrets from me ever since you found out I was an Auror!"

She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes and cheek before walking over to him. Chase grabbed handfuls of his shirt, pulling him into her smaller body, and leaned up, swiftly claiming his mouth with her own. She moved her lips across his own gently, he was too surprised to respond at first but eventually he realized what had happened and began to kiss her back, roughly at first; he bit at her bottom lip and scraped his teeth along her jaw line. However his anger quickly dissipated and his kisses became more tender and caring. A small moan escaped Hollie's lips when she felt his tongue gently slide over her lip before slipping between them and into her mouth. His hands wrapped their way around her waist and he pulled her body closer to his own, relishing in her warmth. Suddenly Hollie broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against his own.

"You could have told me, Severus… it wouldn't have made a difference to me. I was only angry because I had to find out from Moody and not you." She gently kissed him again before pushing away from him.

"I need to go... go get this cut seen to… I'll… well; I'll come by in the morning to check on Harry." Severus nodded, feeling slightly saddened that she was about to leave him again. But then again, you did hurt her didn't you? You vowed never to act like HIM and yet when she tells you something truthful that you don't want to face you lash out! Give her space… she'll come back."

He nodded and removed the silencing spell from the door before allowing her to leave and she did so quickly. Only glancing back at Harry once before she exited through the portrait. He silently moved into the sitting room and looked over at the boy. He looked so peaceful when he slept and Severus noted the boy had his mother's nose. He briefly wondered why the Dursleys would harm a boy who looked as innocent and loving and Harry Potter but decided not to dwell on it. Tomorrow morning the boy would be in the hands of someone who truly would care for him, the Dursleys would be taken to the ministry and Snape… Well, Snape didn't exactly know what would happen to him and he found himself slightly weary about what would happen but somehow managed to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the plump pillow.

Okay... so, I really want to know what you all think... Please, please, please review... but don't just criticize at least give me something constructive... Thanks :)