Prologue
The last thing Severus Snape needed on this horrible summer day was a talk with the Headmaster. He'd already had to deal with this blasted heat, had gotten into a couple of arguments with his adopted son, Draco, and to top all that off he'd been grading test all day but had barely made a dent in his pile. Now he would have to talk to that insufferable old coot, who would probably have another unimportant job for him to do.
"Brilliant; just bloody brilliant" he murmured to himself as he stormed his way up to the Headmaster's office.
*
The sun streaked into the room bouncing off the many objects in it creating a sparkling atmosphere where Headmaster Dumbledore sat contemplating his options. Dumbledore looked almost godlike sitting in the middle of a pool of light; and he knew it for he had spent much time making it seem so. Right now he was waiting for the infamous Severus Snape and he asked himself for the thousandth time if he should mention the occurrence with one Harry Potter.
He certainly hadn't expected for a House elf to show up at Potter's house and almost ruin his plans, he couldn't have a ministry official showing up; that would be the end of everything, but he had manage to salvage the situation by telling the fools at the ministry that it had been Harry playing a harmless prank on his cousin. Of course they had bought it like a fish biting the bait, now all he had to do was keep them biting it until he could reel them in.
But he'd worry about the idiots in the ministry later, now he would have to deal with the great bat of the dungeons.
*
Severus Snape was on red alert from the minute he stepped foot in that office. The old coot was, as always sitting in that pedestal he'd created for himself. How he loathed that man, the same man that as a child had been a grandfather figure; there were just too many scars to heal and now the first thing he wanted to do was turn around and run as far from this man as possible and never come back but he owed this man his freedom and Dumbledore never let him forget it. Sitting down with a scowl he glared at the Headmaster till the devil spoke.
"How are you Severus? Would you like a lemon candy?"
"I'm fine Headmaster; what did you need?" he answered completely ignoring the candy offering.
"How is the grading coming along?"
"Its fine, Headmaster"
"How is Draco?"
"He's fine, Headmaster."
"Severus you are like a son to me why do you keep calling me Headmaster? I told you, it's Albus."
Severus sighed, he really didn't know why Dumbledore felt the need to keep this lie going he stopped believing a long time ago but the fool kept it going why; he didn't know but if there was a slight possibility that Dumbledore thought he was still loyal he could work it to his advantage.
"Albus then, is there something going on, maybe with one of the students? You seem worried."
"Now that you mentioned it Harry Potter received a warning for using magic in front of a muggle today. It seems that young Harry was playing a prank on his cousin."
"Potter again? That child always seems to be misbehaving all throughout the year and now during the summer won't he ever stop?!" Thank Merlin that Severus was able to control his emotions well for this deeply troubled him Potter wouldn't hurt a fly let alone play a stupid prank on his cousin especially one where he knew that he had the advantage. No, Potter played fair; stupid Gryffindor qualities, just like his mother.
*
Dumbledore fought to keep a smirk off of his face trust Severus to hate the most innocent kid on the planet. 'This could help me later on' he thought.
After another 30 minutes of chitchat about anything the headmaster could think of he dismissed the young teacher.
"Now to worry about the ministry"
*
Severus was very thoughtful on his way back to his quarters. There was something going on in Harry's house. The headmaster wouldn't dismiss something like that unless he was up to something and he was going to check it out. But how to get there without seeming suspicious? He needed an excuse to leave the castle.
When he opened the door he found the living room the residue of a tornado of clothes, books, and toys all of whom belonged to Draco.
"Draco!"
"Yes uncle Sev?" a blonde haired blob peaked out from one of the doors.
"Didn't I tell you to clean all of your stuff up?"
"I am I'm organizing them Sev; I'm getting ready to move into my new room."
"And you couldn't do this all inside your room?!"
"No"
It was a simple reply, and all Severus found he could do was shake his head at Draco antics and try to create a path through all the mess. On the way he nearly tripped over a book of snakes from Draco's childhood and an idea came to him.
"Hey Draco!"
"Yes Uncle Sev?" the blonde head appeared again.
"How would you like to visit a muggle zoo tomorrow?"
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 1
Harry sat down for a minute. 'Just for a minute' he reminded himself. Sweat drenched his back and his muscles ached from all the abuse they'd received over the past month or so. His mouth a dry and his hands were full of blisters. He was sure he looked half-dead, he felt like it. He stood up and started working again, if the Dursleys caught him taking a break it would only be worse tomorrow.
He laughed a hard bitter laugh; he had thought things had been horrible at the start of the summer but things had worsened ten-fold when Dobby decided to pay him a visit. And when he wasn't working he was running. Running away from Dudley and his gang when they decided to play Harry Hunting again, he had the bruises to prove it. And is aunt and uncle were of no help as they just turned a blind eye to it; like always. At least now his black eye was healing rapidly.
While he worked he thought of his friends and school. How where they? Where they having fun? Had they finished their schoolwork yet? Hermione would have, Ron would be evading it till the last possible minute; he was sure. He; he could only work on under cover of darkness, under its blanket of peace and quiet and safety. That was the only time when the Dursleys wouldn't, couldn't harm him, or treat him like a dog.
He wiped the sweat of his face and looked at his watch. Uncle Vernon would be arriving soon and he would have to go inside to prepare the family dinner. He got the leftovers so he always made sure to make extra; but even then there was usually nothing left for him. He'd be fine without supper, just as long as Uncle Vernon wouldn't come home drunk again; that was when the problems got out of control.
*
Severus grew angrier by the minute; he'd already watched Harry cut the grass, weed the plants, paint the fence, trim the bushes, fix the bench and paint it all without a single break. What were the good for nothing Dursleys doing? They were inside sitting down and watching the telly. Was it always like this? Harry looked sick, he couldn't possibly keep this pace up for long, but what where the consequences if he didn't? He'd already seen the faint outlines of bruises on his arms and face.
He had to do something but he would wait until Vernon arrived home to start the fireworks.
*
Harry finished painting the bench just as the car parked in the curb. He heard a door slam. 'Great Uncle Vernon is in a bad mood.'
After washing his hands half a dozen times he started to heat the Dursleys' diner then set the table: 3 plates, 3 glasses, 3 forks, 3 spoons, ect. They just liked to pretend he didn't exist unless they wanted him to do something. He always preferred when they pretended he didn't exist. After setting the table he put the food down and retreated to the back of the house to let them eat; he would get the leftovers later but right now the delicious smelling food was torture for him.
He closed the door of his room and flattened himself on the bed. If he could he would stay there forever but he couldn't. Finally he could close his eyes if only for a minute.
Bang!
His eyes shot open and saw his clearly drunk uncle standing in front of his doorway. No way to escape.
"YOU! You Little! You've cost me my JOB! You've ruined everything!" His uncle's eyes were bloodshot and he was shaking uncontrollably. He was a bomb waiting to explode and the time was ticking. "You're going to pay you little freak!" Time was up.
His uncle charged at him and started to beat any available surface; his uncle's arms were punches of steel against his frail body and he just wanted it to end. He couldn't do much to cover himself, he was just too little, but he tried, all his vital organs were protected by his tiny arms and he ducked his head to protect his face; he was curled up in a ball praying for it all to end. There was a flash of light and the punches stopped, but not before his uncle was able to land a final blow to his head and he knew no more.
*
Severus Snape stood in front of Harry's doorway; white and shaking with rage. Wand in one hand still pointing to the fallen Dursley he rushed over to Harry's side. The boy was unconscious but pain was sketched into his face. It took everything he had not to turn around and hex the miserable life form that dare call himself human into eternity; instead he took hold of Harry and held him tight. He turned around to face Dursley senior and found Petunia kneeling by him tending to his wounds.
His voice was ice and his eyes were darkness when he told them, "You two best be grateful that I haven't got time deal with you now. But I will be back; you can't treat my Godson like this and get away with it. You've been warned Dursleys" And with that he apperated out.
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 2
Harry opened his eyes to a blurry white room. Was he dead? 'I must be' he thought, 'nothing hurts.'
"Potter, you're finally up." Came a familiar drawl while his glasses were stuffed into his open hand.
"Snape? Why are you here? Are you dead too?" He asked sitting up. 'How amazing' he thought 'heaven looks just like the infirmary.
*
Severus Snape had a tough couple of days. After rescuing Potter, no Harry, from his horrible family he had rushed to Hogwarts, and had fire-called Madame Pomfrey from the floo at the infirmary and started to get all the medicine ready she had told him were needed.
Harry's injuries had been extensive and had needed a lot of his potions. Harry had broken his right arm in three places trying to stop his "uncle" from hurting him further, four of his ribs were bruised, had broken two bones in his left leg, one of his lungs had collapsed, and had a concussion from the last blow. And that was not counting the extent of the malnutrition he had suffered from for years. Harry had been an inch from death's embrace but they had slowly been able to draw him back into the land of the living.
Now here he sat, asking him if he was dead or not. He could have cried. He was silently thanking every God he could think of for this second chance to get to know his second Godson. And in that one second he decided that Dumbledore and his rules of having to pretend to hate Harry Potter and the whole school (apart from the Slytherins) could go straight to hell.
It was a very tense minute before he answered the whispered comment.
"No, Harry, you are not dead. I manage to stop that beast before he killed you. You are in the infirmary at Hogwarts." He told Harry as gently as he could; waiting for the bombard of questions Harry must be itching to ask.
*
Harry was even more confused; here sat Severus Snape, the most hated in Hogwarts and he was being gentle to him; kind even. Only one thing had managed to register in his brain.
"You, you stopped my uncle?" He asked amazed and grateful.
"Harry, I wasn't going to stand there and watch that beast beat you to a pulp."
"Thank you, sir." Was all he managed to get out.
"There is nothing to thank Harry." Snape answered getting up from the chair next to his bed and handed him a potion. "Here drink this." He smirked after seeing the grimace on Harry's face. "They're vitamins Potter for all malnutrition you have suffered."
*
Dumbledore was furious, his plans were ruined (for the moment at least). Severus Snape just had to decide to be kind for once and check how Potter was doing without telling him. He had not been able to stop Snape from going and now his pawn was not where he needed it to be. He needed Potter to suffer so when the time came and he "rescued" Potter from his awful family he would be forever indebted to him. But no, now he had to act like he knew nothing of what went on in that house and beg forgiveness from Potter to try and salvage this situation.
The chess game had taken a sudden twist. A pawn had reached the other end of the board and had turned into a dark night standing guard in front of two pawns keeping them, for now, protected.
He had to do something; those two pawns and the knight could be a deciding factor in the game later on and they couldn't be together.
*
Days passed and Harry finally caught up in all his homework, he also grew incredibly bored of sitting in a bed all day; but every time he asked Severus when he would be able to get out of the infirmary, and this cursed bed, the answer was always the same, "Soon."
It was a picture perfect day just outside these prison walls. The sky was a glimmering blue a soft breezed whistled its way through the trees and there was not a cloud in sight. His hands were just itching to grab a hold of his broom and escape to the outside.
When he finally looked up to see his visitor, the last person imaginable stood behind Severus with a scowl on his face.
"Potter."
"Malfoy."
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 3
"Sev, why do we have to house Potter of all people?" Draco whined following Severus around like a lost puppy.
"Harry is staying with us for the summer because he is family and he needs help. Since you are my son, Harry is your cousin of sorts now."
"Wait; how does that work out?"
"Lily, his mother, made me Harry's Muggle Godfather while Potter Senior made Black his godfather in the magical one."
"Oh."
"You will behave Draco; he is going through a rough time."
"I will Sev, don't you worry." Draco assured Severus, knowing he did not mean a work of it.
He had been having a good time here in the castle, surprisingly after everything that happened, and here came Potter to ruin everything.
"Potter." He acknowledged his voice icily polite.
"Malfoy." Potter replied to him in the same tone.
"Harry, I think you are well enough to be discharged, but you can't do anything to strenuous." Severus told Potter calmly but firmly.
A whoop of joy sprouted from the bed and Potter sprang up from it like a muggle rocket.
"Finally,"
Severus chuckled and he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as well.
*
Harry became serious in a flash; he had been so caught up in the moment that he forgot what had been on his mind all day. Where was he going to stay?
"Severus where am I going to stay for the rest of the summer?"
"Harry, Draco and I would like to invite you to stay with us for the rest of the summer holidays." Severus told him with a small smile.
"Really?! I can? Thanks Severus." He ran to hug the man, he had grown close to over the past few weeks; he now saw his as an uncle.
"Come Harry, we will show you our quarters."
*
Days passed and the animosity between Harry and Draco had become much more prominent. Severus could barely stand it. They refused to share a room or to even be in the same room as the other. Shouting matches between the two were also common, for both boys insulted whatever they could about the other. And on this monstrous, hot summer day; it was starting all over again when Malfoy started commenting on his letter.
"Another letter from the Mudblood Potter? Don't you have other friends?"
"Don't you dare call her that again Malfoy! And at least I have friends I can trust, unlike you."
"Does it matter who I trust? And I'll call her what I want, besides that is what she is, isn't it? Dirty-blood, just like your mother." Malfoy smirked.
Harry lost it then and threw a punch at Malfoy's head. Malfoy, shocked by the blow cradled his eye where the punch had hit him; and threw a punch at him as well. A fight broke out between the two, their magical auras pulsing waiting to explode shinning around them.
*
Severus was walking back to his rooms from the lab when he heard an explosion from the inside, he dropped everything and ran.
Inside he found his rooms in shambles; book strewn all over the living room, torn and ruined; all his glass ornaments had shattered and their remains decorated the areas near where they once stood. His furniture was also a mess, overturned and ripped to shreds. And, of course, in the middle of it all was Harry and Draco still trying to punch the other one out.
"That's IT! Harry James Potter, Draco Lucius Malfoy-Snape you will STOP this INSTANT!!!!"
The two boys froze and guiltily turned to look at him.
"You two from now on will do everything together until the moment you learn to respect the other. You will share a room do you chore together, study together, eat together, everything! Am I clear?"
"Yes sir" the both mumbled turning to look at the other, both worried about their fate.
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 4
Several days had past since the arrangement and Harry and Draco had kept a routine. Where-every they happened to be was dead silent; they avoided talking to the other like the plague.
But it was getting more and more difficult as time went by because they had to be together all the time. But it was night that things were much worse.
It was the third night in a row that Draco woke bathed in cold-sweat, a silent scream stuck in his throat. It was always the same dream, no memory; playing over and over again, a broken record in his head. It was the day his parent's sins had caught up to them. He rolled over to face the wall and cried as quietly as he could, dreading the moment sleep would overtake him again; making him relive that moment over and over again.
*
Unbeknownst to Malfoy, Harry found himself in a very similar situation. He had woken up from another dream, a gut-clenching memory from his time at the Dursleys. Every night he had to see something different from his past. Seeing it but not being able to stop it and that made it worse, much worse.
He had been up for a while now, reminding himself that there was no way that his uncle could get to him again, couldn't beat him until he was half-dead, couldn't hurt him anymore here. Silent tears crawled down his face when he heard a gasp coming from the bed next to him. It was Malfoy.
Without making a sound he turned his head to see what had happened to him. Malfoy was pale and shaking, drenched in sweat, tears streaming out of his eyes. Slowly Malfoy had turned away from him, to face the wall; but he could tell that Malfoy was still crying.
"What happened to you Malfoy?" he asked as gently as he could.
There was a gasp from the other bed, obviously Malfoy hadn't noticed him.
"It's none of you damn business Potter." Malfoy answered acidly still facing the wall.
"Was it a nightmare?" He tried again.
"Why does it interest you so much Potter?"
He decided to change the subject, "Malfoy, did Severus tell you hoe I was hurt and why I stayed?"
Malfoy turned around to face him and sat up; he was shocked at the question.
"No, Severus only told me that you were going through a rough time and that you were going to stay with us."
"Malfoy, my family did that to me."
*
Draco was speechless, the famous Harry Potter abused by his family? How could that be? Potter was supposed to be spoiled rotten and only care about himself. What had happened? How had Potter of all people end up in that situation? It was a situation that was almost unimaginable to him, for in the wizarding world people adored their children. Anyone who dare hurt a child was sentenced to life in Azkaban. 'Muggles are barbarians' he thought.
"How Potter? Who?" He asked astonished that Harry Potter was trusting him with his story.
"My uncle" Potter had answered simply, shrugging his shoulders.
He saw right through that, "He's a bastard Potter. If he were a wizard, he'd be rotting in Azkaban; like he should."
"Well, he's not." Pot-Harry said getting up from his bed and coming to sit at the foot of his, "but what happened to you Malfoy? How come your with Severus and not with your parents?
'Should he trust Potter?'He asked himself. 'Potter trusted me.' He decided.
"Potter, my parents are dead."
*
It was Harry's turn to be shocked. If he had expected anything to come out of Malfoy's mouth that hadn't been it.
"What happened?" He asked hoping Malfoy, 'no', he thought, 'Draco', answered.
There were a couple of quiet minutes before Mal-Draco answered him.
"Over the summer all the Death Eaters had a meeting in my house. One of the, I don't know which one, they wore their masks, had found another way that might bring You-Know-Who back. Almost everyone said yes; my parents were one of the ones that didn't. they decided to make examples out of them, so they brought me out and…" A sob escaped Draco; he turned to Harry, eyes full of tears. "they tortured them Harry! They tortured them any and every way possible; tortured them to insanity before they finished them off! All in front of me! I hate them! I hate them!" He finished in-between sobs.
He couldn't do much but embrace the boy that had been through as much if not more than he had.
They could feel a friendship beginning to form between the two and if not friendship just yet, a truce. They had shared too much for them not to trust the other.
*
Severus moved away from the door were he had so shamelessly eavesdropped to the whole conversation, and walked away smiling. They had both needed that.
When he got to the end of the hallway he turned around and waved his wand, turning off their alarm. It had been a hard night for both of them and much had been accomplished.
*
Days passed and that beautiful summer holiday neared its peak. Summer showers graced them with their presence and the boys were often found outside racing each other through the wind; their faces all smiles.
Dumbledore could see that Potter and Malfoy had formed a small friendship. It had to be stopped.
It was time for reinforcements
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 5
Ron Weasley was having a good summer. His brothers were leaving him alone, his sister was too busy chatting about the famous "Harry Potter" to bug him, his classes were officially over for the summer; and he didn't have to pretend to like either Potter or that stupid Mudblood anymore.
He couldn't stand either of them. Potter was way too gullible, and to nice to everyone. It didn't matter to Potter who people were; not how rich, not how important or who their connections were; and that Ron couldn't bear. How could you be friends with complete nobodies? If it were up to hi he'd be trying to be friends with people like Cedric Diggory, or Seamus Finnegan, or Neville Longbottom for Merlin's beard! They had parents in powerful places or they were rich. And here was the famous Harry Potter being best friends with nothing more than a Mudblood.
Granger, now he couldn't wait for the day when he can finally convince Potter to ditch her. Stupid know-it-all. She didn't belong with them, she was a muggle-born for crying out loud, people like her shouldn't be accepted, or even recognized by society.
He was walking towards his house when Dumbledore apperated in front of him.
"Mr. Weasley, a word." The headmaster said.
"Sure Headmaster." He answered wondering what the man had planned for him this time.
*
Dumbledore needed this to work; he was glad to have Potter's "best friend" in his service, he might be able to help.
"Mr. Weasley, I need you to come to Hogwarts."
"What? Why?" The kid asked him; honestly children these days were so thick.
"Because Potter is there and so is Malfoy, they are becoming friends and I need you to stop it."
"How am I supposed to do that?" The child dare ask him.
"Use your imagination Weasley, I don't really care just stop it."
"I'm getting paid for this, right?"
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes Mr. Weasley, expect a large paycheck at the end of this." He started to walk towards the apparition point. "oh, and Mr. Weasley, invite Miss Granger as well, you wouldn't want to seem suspicious."
*
'Well,' he thought, 'there goes my summer.' Now he had to spend his days of peace with both Potter and the Mudblood. He scowled but went inside to start packing and write Granger the letter. 'At least I'm getting paid' he thought closing the door behind him.
*
Two days later when Harry and Draco were I the Great Hall trying to outdo each other inches, Dumbledore walked in with his two guests in tow.
Surprised, they both looked up at the noise.
Harry was shocked beyond words. What were his friends doing here in the middle of summer? 'I thought students weren't allowed in the castle over the summer?' He looked at Draco who seemed as shocked as he was.
"Mr. Potter, there you are!" Dumbledore announced, his arms wide and he was grinning from ear to ear, "I thought you might like to spend some time with your friends so I took the liberty of inviting them to the castle for a few days!" He explained his annoying smile still there, and he turned and left the room.
He didn't miss Draco's look of 'what am I chopped liver' but he couldn't do much, he was glad they were there, especially Hermione.
"Hi guys!" He said happily as Hermione launched herself at him.
"Harry! How are you!?" Hermione asked him, smiling after she finished crushing him in a hug. "Draco! How have you been? Harry has told me that you have become great friends. I'm so glad to hear it.:
"Breathe, Hermione, Breathe." He said smiling, he had missed her.
Draco chuckled, "I'm fine, Hermione." He also extended his hand out at her, "I know we got off on the wrong foot; so how 'bout we start again? I'm Draco Malfoy, pleased to meet you; and please ignore me when I act like a prat."
Both Hermione and Harry laughed. Hermione shook hands with him and said, "I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you too. Oh, and don't worry I will!"
Harry laughed again but turned to Ron who was still at the door with a scowl on his face, "Harry you're friends with Malfoy? I never thought you of all people would hang out with Death-Eaters."
Draco's smile disappeared off his face. "Whatever, Harry, Hermione, I'll see you late." And he stalked out of the Great Hall.
"Ron, he's not that bad once you get to know him." He said fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
"Whatever, want to play?" Ron asked gesturing towards the chess board on the table.
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 6
As the days passed Harry could see more and more clearly that no matter what Ron would never change his attitude towards his new friend. Hermione, Draco, and he took to sneaking around the castle talking about anything and everything when Ron was asleep and couldn't ruin anything. Tonight Harry and Draco had decided to take a midnight ride on their brooms and were currently under Harry's invisibility cloak trying not to make a single noise that would wake up the teachers still there. As they turned a corner Draco saw Dumbledore with his back to them talking, well yelling at someone in front of him.
"I told you to separate them! They cannot under any circumstances be friends or allies it would ruin the plans for if continue to see them together and happy you will pay! You were to separate Potter and Malfoy anyway possible how many times do I have to tell you this?! Keep disobeying me Weasley and you will pay!" Draco heard Harry stifle a gasp behind him.
Draco felt bad for his friend, how could Weasley betray them just like that? He wanted to go out there and punch Weasley out and he knew Harry wanted to too because he felt him stiffen with suppressed anger. But they kept on listening.
"Don't worry Headmaster, I will keep them apart, I can already tell that Potter is starting t distrust Malfoy." Harry scoffed at this.
"And Malfoy is already jealous of all the time we spend together." Another scoff at this, this time it was Draco's.
"Headmaster? When can we get rid of the Mudblood? I can barely stand Potter but I can't bloody stand her! She is doing nothing to help us in our plan. She actually befriended Malfoy and when I confronted her about Malfoy she told me to go straight to hell!"
'Good girl' he could practically hear Harry beaming. And he was fighting the urge to laugh. 'Wow, Weasel really is an idiot.' He thought.
"Look Weasley, I don't care what you do but I want them hating each other's guts again. If not: one, you will not receive that pretty little paycheck you have been waiting for. And two, I will personally make sure that you regret ever being born!"
"Yes sir." Weasel answered Dumbledore as he watched the man walk back towards his office. "Another day pretending to be stupid Potter's friend. Great, just bloody great." Weasel murmured as he walked right past them towards his rooms at the other end of the hall.
Draco looked at Harry, who was looking at him and in unison they sprinted the way back to their rooms and Severus's safety.
*
Severus was in his study unable to sleep after another day brewing potions for the infirmary. He was reading the newest Potion journal in his study when Draco burst in looking bewildered.
"Draco, what in the world are you doing up in this hour?"
"Never mind that, we'll explain everything as soon as Harry gets here." He said pacing around the room.
"What have you two been up to?" he asked his son again.
"Severus, we'll explain everything as soon as; oh good, finally Harry you took forever."
Harry was entering the room also looking surprised dragging a sleepy Hermione behind him.
"Sorry but Hermione didn't want to wake up."
Severus was more than confused, "What is going on here?!"
They two boys looked at each other and Harry started to talk.
"Well Severus you see we were walking around the school…. We were going down to the kitchens…. Oh fine we were on our way to the quiditch pitch, yeah I know you've said millions of times not to but keep listening. When we were turning the corner to go into the main entrance when we saw Dumbledore talking, well yelling at someone."
Draco interrupted, "Severus it would be a lot easier if we could just show you. Couldn't you just extract my memory of it?"
Now more that curious as to what was going on, and more than a little worried he did so. He placed the memory into his pensive which he'd gotten out and they plunged themselves into the memory.
*
Several minutes when all four of them came back out they just stood silent for a little while. Then Hermione couldn't hold it any longer, "That little weasel let me go and beat the crap out of him."
Harry sprang forward and held her tight. "Hermione that won't help besides, I'm first in line."
"But what can we do? We need to stop them." She asked.
Severus had sat down in his desk, then a light-bulb turned on inside his head and he started to rummage around looking for a book. "I know I have it here somewhere." He kept on murmuring under his breath as the three kids stared at him. "Aha found it!" Severus exclaimed after five minutes of searching. He skimmed a couple of pages before turning it to the correct one. He read in silence for a few seconds and then he looked up to the kids a smile on his face once more.
"Kids, I have a plan."
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Chapter 7
It took seven days before they were able to track down the Professors they needed for their plan to work. These included Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout; the four heads of houses. Now the four teachers sat in Severus' office waiting to see what had been so important that they had to be recalled to work almost a month early.
Harry, Hermione, and Draco entered through the small painting that led to Severus' quarters and moved to sit on the couch in the corner of the room. The teachers of course, noticed them.
"Kids, what are you three doing here, shouldn't you be at home?" McGonagall asked them, looking confused as to why Draco was with them and not Ron.
"Well Professor, Draco and I are staying with my Godfather this summer. And Ron and Hermione came to visit. Ron is asleep at the moment."
McGonagall was shocked, "Sirius Black is here inside the castle?!"
Harry and Draco looked at each other and started to laugh so hard that tears started to come out of their eyes.
Hermione explained for them since they couldn't. "Professors, Harry's mom gave him a Godfather in the muggle world as well; Professor Snape is Harry's Muggle Godfather. And Draco is Professor Snape's adopted son."
"Though he will be amused that you Professor thought he was Sirius Black." Harry said once he was able to calm down.
*
Severus Snape was getting everything together. Although he felt slightly guilty about giving an unnecessary sleeping draught to a student, it needed to be done. They couldn't have the child warning the Headmaster before they were ready to go.
As we walked into his office he found his two kids chuckling softly, Hermione looking amuse, and the three professors looking a little embarrassed. He wondered what had happened but he decided to let it pass. From what he could tell, his kids would tell him later. He sat down in his desk and started the meeting.
"Thank you for coming, I know it's still summer holidays but what we found couldn't wait. It seems our dear "Headmaster" is as sweet and kind as we think."
"What do you mean Severus?" McGonagall asked.
"If you accompany me, I will show you rather than tell you, it's much easier to understand that way."
*
Hermione sat waiting for their teachers to come back, wondering what would happen next. Draco and Harry were sitting next to her but she could tell that they to were nervous. They couldn't sit still.
Finally 10 minutes later all four teachers popped out again, Professor Snape being the only one that didn't seem affected.
*
"How dare that man do something like that?!" McGonagall was growling under her breath. "I'm gong to go and give him a piece of my mind."
"Professor McGonagall Stop!" All three kids shouted.
She did so and turned to look at the people inside. Severus was leafing through a book and the others were trying to control their rages to see what Severus was going to show them. She walked back wondering what the sly professor had come up with for revenge.
Inside the book, which turned out to be the rules and regulation of Hogwarts was a paragraph that read:
If the current Headmaster of the School is unfit or unworthy to be in charge
of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding any longer
the four heads of houses have the power and the right to fire him
but it is only together, working as one, that they can achieve this feat.
The four teachers grinned; and as one marched down the hallway to see their "beloved" headmaster.
*
After storming through the castle and up the spiral stairs they calmly pushed open the door and stepped into Dumbledore's office for the last time.
"Hello Headmaster." Professor Flitwick said calmly.
"Hello! What brings you three here a month early?
"Actually Headmaster, you do." It was Professor Sprout who spoke this time.
"Oh, what happened?"
McGonagall spoke up, "You know headmaster; we just found the most interesting piece of news. That you not only threaten a student by quote, "And two, I will personally make sure that you regret ever being born!" You have manipulated them for years! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Dumbledore was marble-colored. How could they find out about that, it couldn't have been Weasley he is too dependent on that paycheck to do anything. How? A ghost maybe? Whoever it was, it was going to pay.
"Minerva aren't you overreacting? I'm sure it was just a prank of some kind."
"Cut the crap Dumbledore." It was Severus who spoke, "It was a memory, and you have been doing the same to me for years, I put up with it because I owed you, but students? I won't put up with that."
His four teachers begin to speak in unison, "We as the four heads of houses, representing Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin hereby deem this Headmaster unworthy to take charge of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding and banish him from the school grounds to never return. So mote it be"
A gust of wind flew from the window and surrounded him like a tornado. It lifted him up in the air and threw him out of the school. Like the spell said, never to return to school grounds.