AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. They make my lifeJ

Chapter 2- The Cabin in the Woods

By the time Severus started drifting back to the world a few hours later he had put the whole thing off as a deranged dream. He could not possibly have met Harry Potter, the chosen one, yesterday after he killed his entire family and destroyed his house only to have him blow up a good part of the ministry and then manage to apparate away. It was an appalling idea, no child of his age even with the best of training could have a fraction of the power needed to perform even one of these acts, not to mention the fact that the son of Gryffindors would never do such a thing.

That was when Severus inhaled a clump of dirt and coughed himself awake. His eyes opened to a deep darkness broken only by the pale moonlight shining through in patches from the thick canopy above.

Severus stood shakily, letting the sheer impact of what had just occurred sink in. He was in the middle of god knows where with the murderous child of his (deceased) best friend and worst enemy who was probably long gone by now.

As Severus looked around he was struck with an odd feeling- the feeling that he had been there before. Once his eyes accustomed to the dim moonlight he realized with a jolt where he was. His father used to take him here as a child for some "time off" after Severus had performed too much magic in front of him- accidental or otherwise- to educate him free from public view. Severus closed his eyes to the memories before visibly shaking himself. He had more important things to do.

If he remembered the forest as well as he thought he did, his father's cabin wasn't far off. Slipping his wand into his hand as an afterthought Severus slipped quietly away into the silent woods.

Severus came out onto a clearing not long after and laid eyes on the ruined remains of the cabin. Despite his initial worry, it was clear that it was not the work of magic- nature had simply taken her course through the decades the place had stood empty.

The roof had completely caved, bringing down great chunks of wall with it. The remaining walls were covered in ivy, half eaten away and emanating the earthy scent of rotting wood. The door had long since fallen off its hinges and lay forgotten on the side of the cabin.

The only sounds Severus could hear came from deep in the woods beyond him as woodland creatures roamed the darkness, yet somehow he knew that the boy was inside. There was a certain disquieted feeling to the air- he could sense the powerful magic coming off the Potter boy pulsating through the stillness in waves.

Severus's heart accelerated as he approached the shack washed in the watery moonlight that cast long shadows against the wall. "Lumos," he whispered and the tip of his wand ignited in a brilliant white light.

Severus paused at the door, bombarded by fears of both the past and present. He pushed them down and stepped forward.

As soon as he had crossed the threshold there was a rapid movement in the corner of the hut. There, half concealed in shadows, stood Harry who had fixed Severus with a piercing stare. There was fear in his eyes, but less of the crazed panic Severus had seen in the ministry. Instead his eyes seemed to be filled with a tired resignation; there was no more fight left in him.

Despite his gut instinct on the matter, Severus approached Harry slowly, trying for a non-threatening stance. Potter pressed back against the corner but made no move to flee. Severus approached slowly until he was only a few feet away from him and paused, unsure on what to do.

As an auror his job was to subdue the suspect and bring him in for questioning.

But as Lily's best friend, even to this day, his job was to take care of her only son. The boy she had sacrificed everything for. As always, that instinct won out.

"Hello Harry," Severus said softly. "My name is Auror Snape. I'm here to help you, okay?"

At first Harry just stared at him blankly, but then in a trembling voice that was barely over a whisper he asked, "What's an au-auror?"

"It's someone who protects wizards. Like a muggle police officer."

There was no reaction from Harry at the word "wizard" but his eyes calmed a little. Severus could feel the magic in the air slowly fading away, most likely returning to its master. Harry suddenly looked exhausted; Severus supposed the events of the day were finally catching up with him.

"Are you hurt?" Harry numbly shook his head. Severus considered his next actions for a moment. Now that he had calmed him down, surely the right move was to take him back to the Ministry. They would be much more adept at caring for the child. Snape ignored the voice in his head pointing out that Harry was now seen as a threat by the Ministry and after the Dark Lord the Ministry had developed a rather… interesting way to deal with threats.

"Do you mind if I take you somewhere?" Severus could see the wheels spinning in Harry's head as he thought it over. Finally he gave a tiny nod and Severus reached over to grab his hand before he could change his mind. "Hold on tight," he whispered and they were sucked away.

They arrived at Severus's family home. Severus sighed, knowing that there would be repercussions for this. He found he was too tired to care. Harry seemed to second this feeling because Severus was practically holding him up as he swayed lightly on his feet.

"Let's get you to bed." The tiny boy was too exhausted to protest as Snape scooped him up and deposited him on his king size bed. He was asleep almost instantly.

Severus did a brief diagnosis spell on the boy and frowned with what he found. There were no wounds on the boy that required immediate attention but his body held clear signs of severe abuse and neglect.

Nearly every bone in his body had been broken at least once, although all but a few hairline fractures were healed by now. There was massive internal bleeding, showing up as dark purple bruises running up his arms and legs, and even a few dark marks on his chest. But perhaps what was most alarming was the size of the boy. Severus had thought he was light when he had picked him up- but light wasn't even a proper adjective to describe his extreme emaciation. It looked like he had been starved to near death.

Severus looked shocked at the tiny child who was curled up in the center of his bed fast asleep. The sudden wave of rage that rushed through him pushed away any hint of tiredness. He was only able to keep down the surge of magic that threatened to explode by the thought of frightening Harry.

Severus took a steadying breath and calmed himself enough to think properly. It was time to start on his first priority- healing Harry Potter.