CHAPTER 1:
Picks off from where Harry leaves Dumbledore's office at the end of OoTP.
Dumbledore's POV
That boy was getting out of hand, how dare he question him. Rage at him and scream at him as well, some guts the brat had developed while in the presence of that Mutt. Good thing that he had gotten rid of him. Who knows what could have happened otherwise.
Dumbledore was pacing up and down inside his office after Harry had left and fuming at how the boy had behaved. He was beyond annoyed. The little brat had suddenly grown a spine. Well he would not allow it to grow further, he needed his weapon weak willed. Granger and Weasley could not do any more and his relatives had done all they could do as well. Dumbledore had sent them specific instructions on how to treat the boy along with a hefty sum of gold.
Now what could he do next, he needed to maintain his image so he needed some one else to do it for him, some one who hated the brat and was strong enough to dole out his orders. That person also had to be loyal to him.
The perfect person came to mind. The portraits around Dumbledore shook when they saw the expression on his face. They had seen a lot of his scheming over time but never had they seen a look so evil.
Dumbledore stroked his beard and moved to sit behind his desk. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and sent out a patronus. Time to kill two birds with one stone. He put a grandfatherly look on his face and waited for his pet/guest.
"You wished to see me headmaster?" drawled Severus Snape from the fireplace. Dumbledore smiled to himself and answered back in a genial tone.
"Ah Severus, my boy, please step through. Lemon drop" he asked as soon as he had stepped inside the room.
"No thank you Headmaster, please tell me why I am here, I have volatile potions brewing and can't afford to stay away from them for long." Severus was not happy about being called away from his potions, this bloody coot and his master had both asked him for a set of potions and ironically both of them wanted batches of the same things for the most part. So he could not waste any of them.
"Severus, I want you to take in young Harry over the vacation, I am afraid he cannot be left alone so soon after Sirius' death." Dumbledore said with a sad note to his voice.
Severus was dumbfounded, the bloody old coot. He new exactly why the Headmaster was doing this, well he was not going to get what he wants. "I am sorry Headmaster, but what made you think that I would be the correct person to take him in, would it not be better for the Weasleys to do so. I am sure Molly would love to stuff him up and coddle him to death."
"No my boy, I am afraid that would not be possible, they already have many children to care for and with how busy the order is going to be, I would rather not chance his safety." The headmaster cajoled.
Severus wanted Dumbledore begging, he would be taking the boy in at the end, he knew that. But he had thought of something and for that to happen without a hitch, he needed his base strong.
"Headmaster, surely there is someone else, why can't he go back to his relatives, I am sure they will be devastated that their precious nephew is being taken away from them. Even the wolf would love to take him in." Severus was inwardly smirking, this should do it.
"My boy, I insist that you be the one to take him in. Every one else will understand when I explain to them the situation." Dumbledore was frowning now. He had expected his pawn to revolt but this was a bit much. It must be controlled. No pawn should be allowed to think on its own.
"Very well Headmaster, but I have a few conditions." The old man nodded, he could always veto them if he did not like it.
"I do not want many visitors over the vacation, some of the boys friends perhaps. My safety is being compromised enough as it is. I do not need added trouble." There was another reason behind this but the Headmaster need not know that.
Dumbledore nodded, this was fine, he was going to ban contact anyway, not that Granger and Weasley wanted much to to with the brat. They were with him because they were paid to do so. "Very well, I was not going to allow much contact anyway. Anything else my boy. The sooner he is moved the safer for all of us."
Severus nodded he expected as much. "Nothing else Albus, I just don't want to compromise my safety any more than I have to." Now that the matter was out of the way, he could plan better.
"When shall the boy be leaving with me headmaster?" the sooner the better.
"Now actually, I asked him to pack an come back to my office to be moved to his summer housing. So he should be here any moment." Dumbledore suddenly spoke up again. " Now Severus, listen. I have heard from his relatives that Harry is not the most wonderful of house guests no matter what you do for him. So my boy feel free to punish him if he mis behaves, in any way you see fit." The last part was said with a pointed look at Severus.
"Understood Headmaster." Severus was inwardly gagging. What was the Headmaster thinking telling hims something like that. He had a vague idea of the reason but he dd not want it to be true, it would hit a little too close to home.
Just then there was a knock on the door, Severus caught a look on Dumbledore's face just before the genial look came back. He gave a new meaning to the phrase killing with kindness.
"Come in." The door opened to reveal Harry Potter. In all his years of knowing the boy, never before had he seen him so dull. This was worrying him.
"My boy, you will be staying with Professor Snape for the holidays. With the current situation I feel that this would be the best option for you." There was not a hint of anything but worry on the headmaster's face when he said this, but Severus knew what was behind that mask. He had seen it only a few minutes ago.
"As you wish Headmaster, am I allowed to owl Ron and Hermione?" Severus could see him grasping for something, anything but he knew there was nothing.
"No my boy, I am afraid that it will endanger them, you do not want that do you?" the old man peered at Harry until the poor boy shook his head silently. That sadness will not be there for long. Once Severus was through with him, there would be a brand new Harry Potter on the playing field. One that no one could control.
With that thought in mind he grabbed Harry and making sure the boy had his trunk and owl safe, activated the portkey.
They arrived at Prince Manor and Snape took a moment to appreciate what his ancestors had created. He then turned to look at his ward to find him doing the same thing. Harry was being very quiet and that was unsettling. But it was to be expected considering he had just lost the mutt. He would snap out of it soon enough if Severus had anything to say about it.
"Move it Potter, I do not want to stay out here all day." He glared for good measure and got a defeated sigh in response. Snape just shrugged it off and began leading the way into the manor. Potter followed along quietly observing the scenery. He led the way inside the manor without really giving the boy a chance to take everything in. He would have plenty of time for that later.
He led him up the grande staircase to the second floor where the bed rooms were located. They stopped at the third door to the right.
"This will be your room for the length of your stay Potter. I expect you to maintain it and keep it clean. I will not come in when you are not there and I expect the same curtsey from you when it comes to my personal room". When Harry nodded a little dazed he continued.
"Breakfast is at eight, lunch at twelve and dinner at six. If you are late then you are not allowed to eat. In-between if you are hungry call for an elf and they will bring you a snack. But mind you Potter I will know if you are gorging yourself and ruining your appetite. Now we will finish this conversation later. Clean up and come down for dinner clear." He got another nod.
Severus then walked away leaving Harry to brood in silence.
Harry did not know what to do now, he was on the home of his potions Professor who for the most part hated him and the rest of the time disliked him with a passion. he sighed and went into his bedroom, it was a beautiful room. He had expected to stay in a room similar to his cupboard but then this was a nice surprise.
The room was large and airy, with large victorian styled windows on his walls. He had a small sitting area, a desk and chair pushed of near one wall in front of one of the windows allowing for plenty of light to fall on it. Near his table he had two large bookshelves devoid of anything. In front of the opposite wall on the far side of his room was a large king size bed.
All his furniture was made of oak and his walls were a cream and pastel green combo. His bedding was in green to match his walls and he had a large duvet. His sofa set was in cream and there was a large white shag rug on the floor. The curtains were in cream held together by white tassels. Over all it was very beautiful. He set hid trunk down by the foot of the bed and moved to get cleaned up.
He washed up and came out just to hear a knock on the door. Surprised he opened the door to find his professor waiting for him. He must have looked like a fool as his Professor merely sneered and ordered him to follow him downstairs which he did, quietly.
They walked down the stairway quickly again not giving the time to appreciate the manor properly and power walked towards what Harry assumed was the dining room. He was right. The room was done in shades of cream and black and a hint of gold. Not very elaborate, it had the less is more vibe.
"Sit down, Potter." The voice startled him so much he almost slipped and was caught by a warm hand.
"Sit down Potter" it was repeated and this time the hand guided him to the chair and he sat. He had been reducing the amount he had been eating in order to prepare for his home life. Usually the worst was when his stomach was used to food and he suddenly had nothing to eat. So he had been doing this since second year. Because of this he was weak.
He looked up to see his Professor glance at him with what he would think of as worry had it been any one else, but he would not assume his professor to do the same. Snape then clapped his hand and two house elves popped in with food, it was rich. Red meat and gravy with lots of vegetables.
Harry nearly whimpered, in fact one little one did slip out but he muffled it quickly. He tried his best to finish all of it incase he could not get anything more for a while. He could only stomach so much though and he felt sick.
It only got worse when dessert showed up, fruit salad and creme, a little custard as well. Harry had not had fruit in a while, he loaded up, big mistake. His stomach could not handle the rich custard and he began feeling ill. Better quit while he was ahead.
"May I be excused Professor, I am done." He asked with a shaky voice. Now Severus had alarm bells going off, the boy had not eaten much and what he had eaten would not have satisfied a bird. But still, he had to build trust.
"Very well Potter, but make sure you are down in time for breakfast." He said with his usual tone. Harry nodded and left the room.
Harry walked up the stairs as quickly as he could, he wanted to get to his room quickly incase he was going to be sick. Luckily that was not the case, by the time he reached his room, his stomach had settled down enough to tell him that he was not going to throw up.
He quickly went about his business of cleaning up and changing into a pair of Dudley's old clothes and brushing his teeth. He let Hedwig out for the night and clambered into bed. He did not know what was going to happen for the rest of summer but he liked to think it would be better than what he was used to.
He would have probably slept through the night if he had not been woken up by a rather nasty nightmare. He was in the ministry again and he just saw Sirius fall through the veil. He saw Voldemort and he saw Dumbledore walk past without a care, he saw himself being held by Remus and he saw the split second look of anguish on Bellatrix's face.
That was the reason he was not able to cast the cruciatis on her, not because he did not have enough hatred. She regretted it and she regretted it a lot, he was not even sure if that was she meant to do it.
He needed to think of something else, this was not good, he needed sleep, desperately and if he could not sleep then he would not be able to maintain himself tomorrow and his professor would not appreciate a sick teen on his hands. But he was not able to, all the death eaters who were present, all the order members, his DA everyone, they just kept flashing through his mind.
The thing that he regretted the most though, apart from Sirius' death, was that Lucius Malfoy was present. He knew how much Draco loved his father and Harry knew life without a father. He could not even remember his, but watching your father getting sent to Azkaban is much worse than not knowing your father at all.
Watching from the sidelines, not able to do anything as the one person you looked up to your whole life, loved your whole life, idolised your whole life getting dragged away by the foulest creatures on earth, no he did not wish that on anyone let alone Draco Malfoy.
He had to prevent that from happening and the only way he could think of was to go to Lucius Malfoy's trial himself and plead on behalf of the man. Dumbledore could not know, that would be horrible. So who could he ask, none of his friends. Actually he could ask no one he knew, none of them would be willing to help someone like Malfoy. Well almost everyone.
Snape would, probably. Snape hated everyone but Draco, it was obvious, but would he help Harry. Well there was only one way to find out. He would have to ask him, which he would do in the morning. With this plan in his mind, Harry was suitably distracted and he went to sleep faster than ever before.
The next day morning he was awoken by the alarm he had set the previous night, he jumped up and rushed to get ready. As he was showering he remembered what he wanted to talk to his teacher about and felt butterflies enter his belly. He shook it off, he was going to do it.
With that thought in mind he pulled on his Hogwarts clothes and shoes and tried his best to tame hair. He supposed it would calm down a lot if he just let it grow out a bit, but every time he tried either Hermione or Mrs Weasley would cut it off. Well, now was his chance. Deeming himself ready he left his room.
Luckily he remembered his way to the dining hall and got there with a little time to spare, this time though he had taken the chance and really noticed the decor, he really liked it. Some of the portraits had even smiled at him, he had smiled back and wished them good morning which resulted in a gentle laugh and returned greeting from most of them.
He went into the room and spotted his professor already there and nursing a cup of tea in his hand. He waited awkwardly at the door not knowing what to do. Just as he was about to walk in and face the music if there was any a sharp voice bid him entrance, he looked and saw his Professor giving him an unimpressed look. Oh well.
"Sit down Potter." Harry hastened to do so and saw that breakfast was not here yet, just the drinks. He poured himself a cup of tea and added a drop of honey in it. Just then he saw the paper and right across the front page was an article announcing Lucius Malfoy's trial. That was a chance if he ever saw one.
"Professor." He called out. Snape did not look up but he did nod and Harry took that as the order to continue.
"Professor, is Lucius Malfoy really going to have a trial?" the professor looked at him as though he had just asked him a very dumb question but answered him anyway.
"Yes he is." He replied.
"What do you think the outcome will be?" he could hear Snape sighing heavily before gracing him with an answer.
"Unless a miracle happens Potter, he is going to Azkaban for a very long time. There is now way for him to get out of this using either his money or his influence."
"Professor," he looked down and gathered the courage, before he got to his point he needed to clear something up else the game was lost even before it began. He had to do this right. "When is the trial?" Gauge the time, that would give his strategy.
"June 5th." Those fucking sadists.
"Draco's birthday" he blurted out without realising. Snape looked up at him sharply. Harry did not notice though he was busy planning. Okay he had two weeks and in that time he had to find out were Snape's loyalties lay and find out what he could do to help the Malfoys. Well he had his stupid dumb luck going for him, he would figure it out.
He looked up sharply when the food came in and that time was enough for Snape to slip into his mind to find out what he was up to. To say Snape was surprised by what he found would be a gross understatement.
He already knew a little about the boy from the time he had tried to teach him occlumency but this line of thought was very knew, where had he been hiding them earlier and did the Dark Lord know about them. Snape decided to let the boy work it out, interfering now would not go well.
"Potter" he called and they boy looked up immediately, good. "I want you to weed the west garden after breakfast and then water the same, is that clear." That should give him time to himself and keep him out of mischief.
"yes Professor." This was perfect, he thought best when he was doing physical labour. He finished his breakfast quickly. He only had a bowl of porridge with jam and fruits so it did not harm his stomach much. He quickly downed a glass of milk and wiped his mouth.
"Professor," he called, he did not know where the gardens were. "Where is the west garden?"
Snape looked up and snapped his fingers and a house elf popped in. "Rose show Mr Potter to the west garden and show him where the tool shed is."
"Yes master." She then turned to Harry "Follow me" and she walked briskly to the entrance hall leaving Harry with no choice but to follow.
He was wearing dressy clothes but he did not have anything else so he just went with it. He would wash them properly later. When they got to the entrance hall Rose apperated them to the west garden and pointed out the shed.
He nodded his head and got to work. He went to the shed and found a wheelbarrow and various sheers. He did not see any gardening gloves but he was rarely allowed to use them so he did not fret over that much. He grabbed what he could find and went back to the garden. The west garden itself was huge, but the part Rose had told him to do was about quarter of it and it was made entirely of different coloured roses. It was beautiful.
He grabbed the sheers and went at the garden starting at the bottom and working his way to the top. While he pulled and cut he let his mind wander to the problem he wanted fixed. They was he saw it, there were two parts. His professor's loyalties and freeing Lucius Malfoy. Somehow he got the feeling that the second problem was going to be a lot easier than the first one. Another thing, the most important thing, he did not care if Voldemort won. He just did not care.
Author's Note:
I am well aware of the many people who have written stories like this. I have read so many of them myself but I can never get enough of them. I am writing one of my own for the sheer pleasure of being able to twist the plot as I please.
I would like to point out though that since I have read so many of these stories some of what I say may be very similar to what another person has written. I assure you I have no intention of copying someone's work without their permission, that is not my style. However if anyone has any problems please inform me and I will make corrections immediately.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy it.