Chapter 4
"I was called as usual, he didn't tell us in advance, thankfully I was able to get a note to you, thanks to your phoenix," he said pointing to the headmaster, "I had called it to me and you must have got it, we apparated there and I was surprised to see Petunia, the last time I had seen them was two years ago…."
"Why were you at Petunia's, Snivellus?" asked James through narrowed eyes, he had never trusted Severus, no matter what, mostly everyone else had given him the chance apart from James Potter and his group.
"I took him to the blasting house Potter, and I met Harry in Diagon Ally, he recognised me, seems Petunia told him everything," said Severus and taking satisfaction watching James and Lily pale. Alice was watching and frowned, she liked James and Lily and had always agreed with them about Severus, but that all had turned out wrong and she could not get the picture of him taking care of Harry out of her mind. She decided to stay out of it, the man deserved a chance, and he was now free to do so.
"Anyway," he said getting back to the story, "I realised where we were and wondering were the hell the Order was, I was just about to portkey them out to safety myself when Dudley and Harry started fighting the Death Eaters, Harry using magic and Dudley using his hands and feet. They took down half of them, before long they were caught again, Dudley got out of their hold but Harry didn't. Voldemort had shot the killing curse at him, I tried to get to him, but magic was stopping me, he made eye contact with me. There was fire and white magic in his eyes, more power than even Voldemort possessed and I watched as the curse hit him. White magic started seeping off Harry after the killing curse hit him, the Death Eaters had backed away by then; the curse was flung back at Voldemort. When the white disappeared, Voldemort was gone and Harry was on his knees, the Death Eaters were right out off there in a heartbeat. Harry somehow crawled over to Petunia and told her to hold on. The rest I won't say, its private. Then she asked me to look after her children. I gave Harry a mixture of calming potion with sleeping potion, he was in shock and then I brought him back here," said Severus finishing the big speech.
"What happened when we left?" asked Severus and it was Albus Dumbledore that answered.
"Not much Severus, Petunia and Vernon are dead, the poor dears. The Death Eaters are dead too, there are over twenty dead, seven from a broken spine and ten from loss of blood and burns too, others from punctured lungs. We cleaned everything up, and are going to have to let Petunia and Vernon remain missing to the muggle world, there is nothing we can do. The ones that were alive are in ministry holding cells, we all got cleaned up before we came here," said Dumbledore
Severus looked around and saw that it was true, they had all had a wash before they had got there, only Severus and Alice had their robes on that they had battled Death Eaters in.
They were interrupted by Harry waking up, before he could even wake up properly someone was on him cuddling him, he didn't like it at all. He shoved the said person out of the way not thinking clearly, falling right into Severus arms, that actually woke him up properly.
Yawning he yelped "Sev," when he recognised who was holding him, yawning again, he was tired, "Where is mum?" asked Harry, not remembering what happened, he tired to get up but Severus would not let him. "Where's mum and dad?" said Harry trying to wiggle out of his grasp.
The Order members were just about to interfere when Lily grabbed him; Harry screeched and shouted "Geroffe."
They both ended up on the floor, seeing the others that he had never met before he backed away and jumped at Severus, the others were astonished that he didn't throw the kid off him; he was still shaking like a leaf.
Then Lily said, "I am your mum." That was when Harry stiffened in Severus' arms, then he shook his head, realising this was the woman who abandoned him.
"Sev, where is my mum? Please tell me, I want to go home!" said Harry, he didn't like the amount of powerful people that were in the room, his senses were going haywire. Looking up he frowned, Severus looked pained.
"Harry, your mum, Petunia she…she, she died, Harry don't you remember?" asked Severus knowing how much he was going to hurt this little boy in front of him, he knew how much he loved her, his eyes glowed when he spoke about her.
It was then everything came running back to him, he buried his head in Severus' robes shaking like a leaf, huge sobs broke out of Harry's mouth. Severus only tightened his hold on Harry before he stiffened, he could feel something, something he had felt when the black clad men had entered the house. Severus had looked down when he felt Harry stiffen beside him; he had to gasp when he felt Harry's magic flow around him and before they could do anything one of the Order members was pinned to the wall.
The man himself was trying to get down, only to find he could not, even Dumbledore could not get him down. After trying simple 'finite', they all tried to get to him only to find they could not get past the shield.
"Harry let him down please," asked Severus coaxingly trying to get the child to do as he ask and let him realise he is not in trouble, Harry shook his head in Severus' chest and didn't look like he was about to come out any time soon.
The order was shouting, trying to get him down, as well as the shield, shouting at Harry to.
"Put him down…"
"Let him down…"
"Now let him go…"
"Potter let him go…"
"Get the magic moved…"
"Potter let him down now…"
"He's no Potter unless he puts him down," said James. He didn't like the fact that his son was sitting in Severus Snape's lap of all places, all he could think now was 'That's my child not his and I will have him.' Lily had kept having children, but they kept having miscarriages, she had already had two miscarriages, one a boy and the other was a girl.
Severus realised that Harry knew something they didn't; he looked down and whispered into Harry's ear so no one else could hear him. He didn't want them to know Harry's secret, that he was an aura reader; it would come in handy, especially if no one knew.
"Harry can you sense something?" hissed Severus into his ear, making sure no one could hear.
Harry nodded and pointed from his forehead to Sev's forearm. He got what Harry meant because he said, "Take the shield away I will get him, ok." Said Severus and Harry nodded, doing as asked.
The shield being down he put Harry on his chair and walked over and lifted up his robes, and there it was. The dark mark. The Hospital Wing exploded with noise; unable to believe he had been the one. That said person was Peter Pettigrew, best friend of Sirius Black and James Potter. Although as soon as the mark was bared, he was no longer their friend, Sirius hissed at him, "Why Peter? Why?"
"I joined the winning side, Sirius. My master will be back and he will rule the world. I will be awarded for being faithful and being his right hand side he will reward me above all others. Yes my master will, yes. He will be back and kill you all," was all Peter would say, it was obvious he was insane.
Without another word he was taken by the Aurors and was now being taken to the Ministry, to be precise a holding cell, awaiting trial for being a Death Eater.
Harry himself had been sitting on the chair but a red head woman kept cuddling him. Harry just kept pushing her hand and herself away from him, but she just kept coming back before he could get his anger under control he exploded.
"Get off me woman!" yelled Harry as the woman let go, hurt.
"Don't speak to your mother like that," yelled James Potter at his son.
"Shut up! She is not my mum! My mum just died!" said Harry his voice cracking slightly.
"She is your mother," yelled James Potter back.
"Not mine," yelled Harry.
"You better get used to it. You are our son, you will live with us and if I have to punish you I will. You are a Potter act like one," yelled James.
"I will never be a Potter!" Harry yelled back.
"You are one," yelled James.
"I am a Dursley! And always will be," shouted Harry and a smack sounded the hospital wing, as the new saviour of the Wizarding world clutched his face in his hands. Harry was now sporting a bleeding lip, swelling eye and red huge red handprint on his cheek.
No one dared move or make a sound, as much as they liked James they could not believe that he had done that to his own son. And they were still confused too, they had thought that Harry Potter died and one of them voiced that.
"I thought Harry died? Didn't he you told us he died of lung failure!" said Frank Longbottom, as Severus lifted Harry up and put a numbing charm on him. He healed his lip and eye, tears were seeping out his eyes, everything was too much for him.
First he lost his mum and dad. Now he ended up being in the same room as people he never wanted to know, his parents that had abandoned him.
Now for the first time in his life he had someone lift a hand to him and most of all he hurt all over, everywhere, but the numbing charm helped a bit.
Before Harry knew it he was hauled on Severus' lap, he then gave Harry a pain potion, Harry didn't turn it away but he could not open his mouth, the numbing charm had been that strong. Severus must have realised because he opened Harry's mouth for him and poured it down then rubbed his throat till it was swallowed. Harry sighed in relief he didn't hurt anymore he relaxed. Severus smiled when he realised he had guessed right.
He pulled out a sleeping draught of dreamless sleep, opening Harry's jaw he poured it all in, then rubbed his throat till it went down. Before Harry knew it he was feeling very sleepy, knowing he would be asleep any minute he snuggled into Sev and was asleep within minutes.
Severus having heard the question that Frank had asked replied, "Potter didn't want his life in danger so he and Lily gave him up, to someone who hated magic and who hated her own sister too, not caring if he was not brought up fondly, and they were going to tell him when he was eleven, but it didn't go as planned. Petunia looked after Harry with her life, she still loved him on her dying breath, she didn't blame him. Harry thought of Petunia as a mother and Vernon as his dad, to him they will always be mum and dad. And his cousin Dudley well they are like brothers to each other. And now here he is, knowing the Potters abandoned him, Petunia according to Harry had told him when he was five, and still he called them mum and dad. How would you feel if you had just lost the person you think of as a mother father and be in the same room as the ones who abandoned you and if that's not enough he was hit by one of them? He is magically, physically, emotionally exhausted, he has just faced Voldemort and lived to tell the tale. Now excuse me if he doesn't like it!" said Severus yelling in the end, keeping Harry carefully clutched to his side, not that Harry would be going anywhere he had a death grip on Severus anyway, even in his sleep.
He, after shouting carefully, put Harry down on the hospital bed and covered him, putting on a couple of throw's to keep him warm. The Order members started leaving, most giving the Potter's the evil eye, realising what they had done to their son, that was not accepted in the Wizarding world. Soon they were all gone apart from, Dumbledore, Lily, James and Severus.
Before anyone could speak Severus said, "I'm staying here, he knows me best and I will look after him as long as he wants me too," he said closing the matter. Dumbledore could see that Severus had found someone he had come to love and a renewed twinkle entered his eye, so in the end Dumbledore said, "Very well Severus I have to go, lemon drops to eat. Goodnight and Lily, James, Severus is right, he needs someone he knows. Go back, get some sleep after all you need it," said Dumbledore. James and Lily agreed. Lily being pregnant again needed sleep. Soon Severus was the only one there.
Soon Severus was asleep too.