AN: Hello! Thanks to Lunaz and RiddleAllOfMe for reviewing, reviews always make me feel slightly more sane, or at least I'm going mad in good company. In answer to your question, Riddle, there will be mild Dumbledore-bashing. The kind of basically well-meaning but manipulative Dumbledore who's kind of forgotten that people are more than just pawns on a board. Bit of a spoiler, but Rose does get to yell at him quite a bit (I think, I haven't really planned that far ahead). Also, their backstory will kind of come out gradually, but I hadn't thought of using flashbacks, thanks for the idea :)

I'm having trouble uploading the next chapter, I think I need to update it. Hopefully it will be up by Sunday, but if you can't wait that long, this is cross-posted on Archive of our own under the same name, so look there. Hoping to sort out my troubles soon.

Also, thanks to Alba and musical sphinx for reviewing, I'm glad you like it! Musical sphinx? Rose is definitely a doctor who reference, but it also happens to be one of my favourite character names, so it was just a happy coincidence :) Sorry about the delay, please keep reading!

Snape looked down at the letter in his hand and his lip curled.

Mr Harry Potter (it read)

The Old Abandoned Attic

Regent Street

London.

He looked up at the pop of Remus Lupin apparating next to him. "Lupin," he said curtly.

"Snape. Professor Dumbledore said you had the letter?" Snape handed it to him, and watched the man's face fall as he read the address. Then it hardened and Snape was reminded of that night in fifth year when he'd gone to the Shrieking Shack. Remus had an almost wolfish look on his face and Snape mentally counted the days until the full moon. Remus handed the letter back to Snape.

"Regent Street isn't far from here. Come on."

Rose was just going out of the door when she saw the two men heading towards their attic. She pulled Harry behind some bins and the two of them watched quietly as the men headed into the house. "Should we go?" Harry hissed in her ear.

"No," she whispered back. "I want to know why they're here." Several minutes later, the two of them came back out.

"He wasn't there," the brown-haired man said. "Are you sure it was the right place?"

"I'm sure," replied the other man. "There were definite signs that someone lived there." The brown-haired man sighed.

"How are we supposed to find Harry if-," Harry had gasped at hearing his own name and the man's head whipped round. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes," said the other man. "Behind those bins." When the two men started towards their hiding place, Rose bolted. She had Harry's hand gripped tightly in hers and she headed straight for the two men. They were clearly surprised at having the two children head towards them when they were supposed to head away and Rose used that to her advantage. She barrelled straight past them and they were nearly round the corner when Harry yelped and stumbled. He kept running but after they'd made it past three blocks Rose stopped.

As they rounded the corner, Snape threw a locator and eavesdropping charm at Harry's back. The boy yelped and stumbled, but he kept running. "What was that?" Remus asked.

"A locator charm and an eavesdropping one," Snape replied calmly. "So we know where they are." He waved his wand in a complicated pattern and they heard voices.

"What did they hit you with?" It was an unfamiliar girl's voice.

"I'm not sure." Remus started when he heard the second voice. God, did that boy sound like James. "It doesn't hurt, and there's nothing on me."

"Okay. Come on, we've gotta keep moving. Lucky I've got all our stuff in the back pack, right?"

"Yeah." Snape turned the spell off.

"We scared them, that's why they ran." Remus nodded.

"What do we do now?"

"We wait until night fall, they'll have found somewhere else to sleep by then, so we'll know where they are." He sighed. "And then we hope and pray that they listen to us."

"I'm glad that girl found him," Remus said quietly. "At least he had someone to look out for him, I'd hate to think of him living on the streets of London all alone." Snape nodded in agreement. He may not have liked James Potter, but he wouldn't wish the life those two children had been living on anyone.

"Where are we going, Rose?" Harry asked.

"It's a Wednesday," Rose replied. "So we're gonna go wash dishes for Mrs Smith, like usual, then we're gonna go help Miss Poppy in the library and after that, we'll see."

"Okay." Harry nodded; Wednesday was work day. Mrs Smith owned a pub and for as long as he could remember they'd washed dishes for her on a Wednesday. The first time Rose had taken him along, Mrs Smith had watched until she was sure that Harry could handle dishes without breaking them. Miss Poppy was more recent, she'd offered them a job in the library after seeing them come in every week so Rose could teach Harry to read.

The two of them dodged across the road and Rose into an alley and Rose knocked on the back door of the pub. A rather matronly woman opened it and beamed at them "Good morning Rose, Harry, are you here to wash dishes again?"

"Yes please Mrs Smith," Rose replied.

"Come on in then, you can leave your rucksack here if you want to, Rose dear." Rose's hand clutched convulsively at the strap.

"I'd rather keep it with me if it's all the same to you, Mrs Smith."

"Of course dear." When they reached the sink Rose put the rucksack down in between her feet. They had long ago worked out a method for washing dishes: Harry would wash them because he could tolerate higher temperatures than Rose and she would dry them because she was quicker at that than Harry. All in all it worked pretty well. Mrs Smith only ever let them work until lunchtime, because she said it wasn't right for children to work all day, but she gave them lunch and five pounds each in payment, so it was a pretty good deal.

The library was a good half-an-hour walk away, but Rose passed the time by picking pockets. She'd always refused to teach Harry how to do it, saying that it wasn't something anyone should ever have to learn. Only once, in exasperation after Rose had broken her arm and they were hungry, had Harry demanded to know why she picked pockets if it was as bad as she said it was. Rose had gone very distant and quiet, her eyes far away, and the look on her face had scared Harry enough that he never asked again. Rose always dropped the wallets after taking the money, so that hopefully people would think they'd just fallen out of their pockets. They didn't get an awful lot on the way to the library, but the after work rush was usually better.

Miss Poppy always had stacks of books for them to put away and sometimes she even let them take some of the really old ones away with them. She'd also helped teach Harry to read when he was younger. It was dark by the time they'd finished running all over the library, doing various errands for Miss Poppy, but she pressed a £10 note on each of them before they left. Rose picked pockets for a bit and Harry did a bit of begging, although he hated doing it, but they couldn't afford to be picky. When it got dark, they made their way down into a tube station. "I'm afraid we're gonna have to sleep here tonight Harry," Rose said with a sigh.

"What, right here?"

"You know what I mean," she snapped. "In the morning we can find somewhere a little more permanent than Baker Street Station." Harry curled up on the bench, but Rose didn't lie down.

"Aren't you going to go to sleep Rose?" he asked.

"Nah," she replied. "I'm gonna keep watch. I don't need as much sleep as you do, remember?"

"Uh huh, 'cause you're a superhero." Rose grinned at the old joke.

"That's right kiddo, now get some sleep."

Remus thought his heart might break when he heard the old joke. Harry clearly didn't believe a word of it anymore, but it spoke of many nights when she'd had to keep watch while he'd slept. Snape turned off the spell and then looked at him. "Have you ever been to Baker Street Station?" he asked.

"Yes," Remus nodded. "Several times."

"Good, apparate us there."

"Now?" Snape looked at him, exasperated.

"Yes now. We don't want to frighten them by appearing in the middle of the night." Remus looked at him dubiously, but he held out his arm and as soon as Snape had a hold of it he apparated.

Rose reacted as soon as she saw the two men from earlier. She had no idea how they'd got there, but she could worry about that later. "Harry, light!" she hissed, dragging him to his feet. The boy was still half asleep, but he held up his hands and light began to illuminate the station. The two men seemed visibly surprised and Rose noticed that both of them had sticks with lights on the end.

"How did you do that?" asked the man with black hair.

"None of your business," Rose replied, keeping Harry firmly behind her. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"

"I'm Remus Lupin and this is Severus Snape," the brown-haired man replied calmly. "We just have a letter we want to give to Harry." There was something … off about him, something Rose couldn't put her finger on, although she was pretty good at reading people. She opened her mouth to argue but Harry stopped her.

"Let them Rose," he whispered. "I have a feeling I know this guy. And … this is important. I have a hunch." Rose nodded. She'd learnt to trust Harry's feelings.

"All right," she said. "Give us this letter then." The brown-haired man, Remus Lupin, handed it to her and she gave it to Harry. Seconds later, the boy was looking back up, deeply suspicious.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he demanded. "'Cause if it is it's not funny."

"Don't be obtuse boy," the black-haired man, Severus Snape, said. "You can already cast Lumos wandlessly and you've probably done other kinds of accidental magic over the years." Rose and Harry exchanged a glance. It would certainly explain some things that had happened over the years.

"Prove it," Harry said. "Prove this is real." Snape sighed in exasperation, but Lupin pointed at the bench with his stick and muttered something and it lifted up in the air. Harry gasped, but Rose reached out and waved her hand above and below it to check for wires. Harry was still staring awestruck at the bench when Lupin lowered it back down, but Rose had regained her composure, or at least, she pretended to.

"Alright," she said. "You've given Harry his letter, what now?"

"He'll have to come with us back to Hogwarts I guess," Lupin said. "The Headmaster will know what to do with him."

"Not without Rose." Harry had found his voice again and three faces turned to look at him, but he held his ground. He reached forward and took Rose's hand. "I'm not going anywhere without Rose."

"I suppose we could make an exception in this case," Snape said quietly to Lupin.

"It is an unusual circumstance," Lupin agreed.

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" Rose asked. On the streets she'd learnt to be wary of things that seemed too good to be true. "How can I be sure that what you're saying is true?" Lupin frowned.

"I can give you my word?"

"Sorry mate, but that ain't gonna wash." Rose shook her head. "That's only words, it might mean nothing to you." Snape however, was looking at her with something approaching compassion. He fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a small golden ball, a snitch that he'd confiscated from some students last term and forgotten about. He waved his wand in a complex gesture over it, murmuring some words, and then tossed it to Rose. Harry snatched it out of the air before it reached her and then handed it to the girl.

"Think of somewhere you want to go and then say 'portus'. It will take you anywhere you want to go."

Snape watched as the girl gripped the snitch tight and whispered 'portus'. She disappeared without even the noise that would come from apparition. She reappeared on the other side of the station and then ported back again. "It's a portkey," Snape explained. "It will take you almost anywhere you want to go."

"Almost?"

"It won't work in places that have anti-portkey wards, but it will work in Hogwarts." Harry grabbed Rose's arm and they held a whispered conference. In respect to their privacy, Snape didn't activate the eavesdropping charm.

"You have to register personal portkeys with the ministry," Remus hissed to him. "That thing's illegal."

"Like that should worry a Marauder," Snape retorted. "Besides, they'd never let a Muggle have a portkey, and they wouldn't have gone with us otherwise." It appeared the two children had come to a decision, so Remus and Snape broke off their conversation.

"Alright," Harry said. "We'll go with you."

"Okay," Remus said. "We're going to have to side-along apparate you there, it's a bit like using a portkey, although it's more uncomfortable, but it only lasts a moment."

"We can only safely apparate one person each," Snape continued. "So Mr Potter can go with Lupin and I'll take Rose." Harry nodded readily enough, but Rose didn't look convinced. After a moment she tossed Harry the snitch. Again, the boy snatched it out of the air, displaying a Seeker's reflexes.

"Port back here if we don't turn up in the same place," Rose told him. The boy gulped and nodded, before taking Remus' arm. Snape offered his own arm to Rose who gripped it tightly.

"Hogwarts?" Remus asked.

"Hogwarts," Snape agreed and apparated.

They appeared at the edge of a large forest with something that looked a lot like a castle ahead of them. Rose felt a bit nauseous, but she was more concerned about peering around for Harry. Remus and Harry appeared next to them with a pop, and then Harry bent over and promptly emptied his stomach onto the grass. With a sigh, Snape waved his wand and vanished the mess. Harry looked very pale as he wiped his mouth and handed the snitch back to Rose. "I don't like apparating," he said. "I think I'll walk places from now on." They headed up to the castle, Snape's long legs carrying him off ahead of the others. Remus followed, but he walked slower so that Rose and Harry could keep up. It was a long walk and Harry began stumbling after a while. It was dark and late and his feet were starting to go numb. After he tripped over his own feet for the fifth time, Rose stopped and crouched down in front of him.

"Hop up," she said. "We're never going to get anywhere at this rate." He hopped up and was almost instantly asleep. Snape was waiting impatiently at the top of the stairs for them, although he wisely bit back a sarcastic remark when he saw that Rose was carrying Harry.

Snape headed straight for the infirmary and Rose focussed more on keeping up with him than with gaping at the place she'd just entered. There'd be time for exploring tomorrow and she didn't want to get lost. They entered what looked like a hospital and Snape bellowed, "Pomfrey!" Remus motioned for Rose to lay Harry down on one of the beds and she sat down next to him.

"There is no need to shout, Severus Snape," a woman appeared from the other end of the room, Rose guessed she was this Pomfrey person.

"I need you to check these two for injuries," Snape said curtly.

"Very well." Pomfrey pulled out a stick and approached Rose, who stiffened automatically. "Hold still dear, this won't take a moment." She muttered something in another language and waved her stick in a complicated motion. A parchment popped into being next to Rose, making the girl jump, and writing appeared on it. Rose raised an eyebrow, from the looks of things it was writing out injuries that she had suffered. Was it cataloguing all of the injuries and illnesses she'd ever had? That would take a long time. Pomfrey was staring at the parchment in shock as the list went on and on and on. Rose shifted, uncomfortable.

"Are you going to do Harry now?" she asked.

"In a moment," Pomfrey replied. "Where have you been living?" Rose's face hardened.

"Why does it matter?" Pomfrey opened her mouth to answer, but Snape beat her to it.

"I'll explain later Pomfrey, check Harry now." The woman, who Rose guessed was some kind of Doctor, muttered under her breath, but she waved her wand at Harry. Another parchment popped into existence, but Rose was distracted by Remus. He'd been looking at her parchment and now he spoke to her with an oddly intense voice.

"Is this correct Rose?"

"Let me see." She took the parchment off of him and scanned it. Remus noted that she didn't look surprised at what was written there. "Yes, this is right." Rose gave it back, noting that Remus' eyes flashed amber when he once again took the parchment. Madam Pomfrey bustled back over, holding a small vial.

"This is a vial of Dreamless Sleep, dear, it will make sure you get a full nights sleep." Rose looked at the bottle askance and then shrugged. Oh well, it's not like this day can get any weirder. She swallowed it in one gulp and almost immediately began to feel sleepy. Rose stifled several yawns and lay down next to Harry, automatically putting her body between him and danger.

As soon as she was sure that the blonde teenager was asleep, Madam Pomfrey turned to Snape and Remus. "All right," she said crisply. "Does someone want to explain this? That's Harry Potter isn't it?"

"Yes," Snape said calmly. "We found him living on the streets."

"You what?!"

"We have to go and tell Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey," Remus said, glaring at Snape. "You might as well come with us, it's not a story I want to have to tell twice."

"Bring those parchments," Snape added over his shoulder. "We need to see the true extent of what's happened."

When they reached Professor Dumbledore's office, the password was Fizzing Whizbees, they found that Minerva McGonogall was there as well, berating him for leaving Harry at the Dursley's. "I told you Albus, I said they were the worst kind of Muggles, but would you listen?"

"Ah, Remus, Severus," Dumbledore said. "I assume you found Harry?"

"Yes," Remus said. "He's been living on the street for the last seven years. A girl called Rose has been looking after him." Before Dumbledore could respond to that statement, Madam Pomfrey broke in.

"Is someone going to tell me why I have two malnourished, badly abused teenagers sleeping in my infirmary or not?"

"Two?" Dumbledore was astonished, something that didn't happen very often.

"Malnourished and badly abused?" McGonogall was equally thrown for six.

"Potter refused to come with us unless the girl was brought along as well. Considering how his so-called relatives," Snape practically spat the word, "treated him I am not surprised." Snape too had read the damning scrolls that detailed the teenagers past injuries.

"How did his relatives treat him?" McGonogall asked.

"Harry hasn't said anything yet," Remus replied. "And he was asleep when Madam Pomfrey did the diagnostic charm so we haven't had a chance to ask." They all looked to Madam Pomfrey who unrolled one of the scrolls of parchment.

"Personally I'm more concerned about the girl Rose," she said. "As she has a long history of abuse. But Harry's past isn't pretty either. Up until age one and a half there was nothing wrong with him. From then until some time after he was four it looks like systematic abuse." She looked up at them, sorrow in her eyes. "It's hard to tell, and I don't know how well Harry will remember it but it looks like he was beaten almost daily." Remus looked around the room and noted the dawning looks of horror. He'd half expected McGonogall to have a sort of 'I told you so' moment, but she seemed too horrified. Snape's face was a mask as always, but Remus knew something of his childhood and he knew that he would be able to sympathise with Harry. Dumbledore's expression was surprising to say the least. He didn't look surprised, but … regretful, like he'd expected that something like this had happened to Harry. For himself, he was still trying to reconcile the wary, broken boy he had met with the bubbly baby who loved everyone.

"You mentioned being concerned about the girl?" Dumbledore said, drawing the medi-witch's attention.

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey said, unrolling another scroll. "She has a much longer history of abuse, until she was seven. After that, it's mostly what you would expect from someone who lived on the streets, although …" she trailed off, contemplative.

"Although what?" Snape snapped. Remus smiled slightly. Snape might profess to hate children, but sometimes that façade wasn't nearly as secure as he thought it was. He lost the smile when Madam Pomfrey spoke again.

"It appears that she nearly died from pneumonia when she was twelve," Madam Pomfrey replied slowly. "As in, about an inch from death, but she is completely recovered, no sign of lasting damage to her lungs or anything."

"May I see Harry's record?" Snape asked suddenly. Madam Pomfrey looked surprised but she handed it over. Snape looked over it for a few seconds. "I thought so. Potter had a case of magical exhaustion at the same time. I'd say he healed her with a burst of accidental magic." In a quieter voice he added. "Lily's first major burst of accidental magic was for a similar thing."

"That's impossible!" McGonogall burst out. "He couldn't have been more than eight and Poppy said she was about an inch from death -"

"I wouldn't say it was impossible," Remus said softly, and all of them looked at him. "He's already shown signs of being able to control his magic without a wand, so we know he's powerful and the one person he relied on was dying. Scared and alone, with an idea that he had some kind of magical power …" he trailed off, not wanting to imagine Harry in that kind of situation.

"It makes sense," Snape nodded. "Magic is triggered by strong emotion, if he felt that she was really dying, he might have been able to save her."

"That would make him one of the most powerful wizards we've ever seen," McGonogall said in a troubled tone of voice.

"I'm sure that's very important," Madam Pomfrey said, in a tone of voice that suggested that to her it was less than important. "But right now I have two teenagers in my infirmary with no where to go. What are we going to do with them?"

"Wait until they wake up," Snape said. "They've been independent from adults for most of their lives, they aren't going to trust us if we try to make decisions for them."

"Well said, Severus," Dumbledore said. "In that case, I will leave them in your capable hands for now, Poppy and speak with them in the morning."

I hope to update once a week, but real life might get in the way, so sorry in advance.

Hope you like the story so far,

Catkin Thief