THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS THEY MEAN A LOT TO ME.

HARRY POTTER AND CO. BELONG TO ROWLING. (LUCKY LADY)

Chapter Two. A cruel man.

Harry stood on platform 9 and ¾ waiting for the train to Hogwarts. His head bent in concentration whispering the spells that would soon hide the bruises on his face and neck.

It was 9 am and the Platform was still empty except for the young boy and a shadow draped in a common brown cloak on the far side. The non descript figure seemed intent on watching the boy. He had seen a smiling Harry struggle with his trunk through the portal, a smile that only got wider once the boy noticed he was the first one to arrive on the other side. Indeed, Harry seemed happy and if it hadn't been for the bruises that covered one side of his face, and the fact that a boy of fourteen looked twelve one would have thought him quite normal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The figure saw Harry open the trunk, quickly remove his school robe, pull it around him, and then lift the hood as he began murmuring inaudible words. The brown robed figure could only suspect what the murmuring was for.

Aunt Petunia had warned Vernom not to hit the boy on the face when he was punishing him but the man had ignored her after concluding that if Harry knew magic then the boy could just make the bruises disappear. That reasoning had convinced his wife so much that Aunt Petunia never protested her husband's brutish treatment of her nephew again.

The summer had been a long one, too long. As Harry stood waiting for the train, he could feel his back burning. But he didn't care. In less than two hours he would be on his way to Hogwarts. He used his time and began casting glamorie spells on himself. It took him five minutes to have his face completely back to normal. He would have to wear his sleeves down but that didn't matter. After he finished the spells Harry pushed the memories of Privet Drive to the back of his mind. Once finished, Harry pulled the hood off and the man was not surprised to see the boy's face completely absent of any bruises.

Harry had never been so relieved to finally be away from Privet Drive, just the thought of not seeing his relatives until the next summer made his head spin with joy. He walked around gingerly trying to ignore the bruises underneath his clothes. There were a bit more than last year and more than the year before that but again he didn't care. His Uncle used to hit him some when he suspected Harry had magical powers now that those powers were confirmed Uncle Vernom seemed to want to beat the magic out of him. Well he could try all he wanted, thought Harry angrily, it wasn't going to help.

The brown robed figure stood guard at Dumbledore's orders. Snape had refused at first but Albus had simply repeated the order and left him standing in the potions lab. The line had been drawn Albus would not take no for an answer, now or ever. Snape had considered not coming but in the end, he was smarter than that. His survival instinct was too ingrained to cross the Headmaster anymore. The old Wizard had kept him from Azkaban once but Snape was sure he would not do it again.

Snape looked around and saw the arrival of Moody and two other Aurors. They nodded at him in acknowledgement. He ignored them and continued to follow Harry with his eyes around the platform, the boy walked back and forth carefully. Snape knew there were injuries concealed under the boy's clothes and swore angrily. He had a sinking feeling that Albus knew about Harry's injuries and had wanted Snape to see them. That frightened Snape more than threats did. Albus was showing Snape another sacrifice in the name of the light. Harry Potter the boy who lived was forced to stay with muggles who hurt him and was left defenseless unable to protect himself thanks to the underage magic law. If Albus was willing to allow such abuse to go on then what would stop Albus from sacrificing Snape to Azkhanban or to the Dark Lord himself.

Snape made his decision then and there. Yes he would bond with Potter but it would be under his terms. The Wizard he had once felt a fatherly affection for was gone. Snape looked at Harry and saw the boy wince as he continued walking stiffly back and forth and concluded that Albus was a cruel man.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YES. I'M NOT REALLY AN ALBUS FAN. AS I SEE IT, NO ONE THAT POWERFUL CAN BE THAT DUMB, UNLESS HE IS DUMB ON PURPOSE.

I HOPE YOU LIKE THE CHAPTER I STILL HAVE NOT DECIDED WHICH WAY TO GO. SLASH OR MENTOR? THE MAJORITY WHO HAVE REVIEWED ARE ASKING FOR SLASH.