Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter and the associated characters. I do not make any profit from these writings. Except for the main plot, all other plot variations belong to me.

Warnings: This story is slash. Mild language. This story is AU. There is a reason for everything. I will explain in more detail as and when the plot requires it. Please be patient.

A big thanks to all those who have reviewed :D It really means a lot to me. You can always PM me if you have any questions. I update my profile regularly, with info about any up and coming stories as well as the progress on the ongoing stories.

A big thanks to Aaliyaana's-Seventh Heaven who helped me refine this chapter and beta'd it for me. Any mistakes are my own, I have tried my best to correct my mistakes.

Chapter 4

Harry took a few minutes to unpack his school trunk with items he was sure he would need for the next few days. After that, he found himself at loose ends. He wasn't quite sure if he could wander around without permission, and decided not to risk it. This left him with very limited options. He could read a book, take a shower or lie down for a nap. 'I'm too old for naps,' He thought as he eyed the rather large bed. It looked so inviting however, that he finally gave in and stretched out on it to test its comfort.

He was in heaven the moment his head touched the pillow. It was soft; and the bed was warm, as if a heating charm had been placed on it. Unable to help himself, he gave in to his body's demand for sleep. The bed really was as comfortable as it looked.

He groggily awoke some time later to the sound of sharp knocks on his bedroom door. Scrabbling for his glasses, he called out a hoarse, "Come in!" before finally putting them on, the world coming into sharp focus just as the door opened to reveal Snape standing there; his perpetual scowl fixed on his face.

"Professor," Harry said; slightly alarmed at seeing him in the doorway. "What is it? Did you need anything?"

Snape entered his room and gazed about at his efforts at settling in. Harry grew nervous as the professor's keen eyes seemingly went over every tiny detail of the room. The continued silence was beginning to make him feel uneasy.

A hesitantly voiced, "Professor?" from Harry - who was still recovering from the shock of seeing Snape in his room - startled the man and brought his sharp, glittering eyes back to the boy huddled comfortably under the blankets, his hair in complete disarray from sleep.

'Actually it always looks like that,' Severus thought snidely although all he said was, "It's time for dinner."

"Dinner?" Harry asked, confused.

"You slept the whole afternoon away," Severus informed him. "It is now dinnertime."

"What time is it?" Harry asked, pulling back the covers before sliding his legs out and sitting up on the edge of his bed. Fancy sleeping the day away like that!

Severus simply flicked his wand and cast a tempus. "Seven," He replied mildly. "I suggest you wash up and get dressed. I presume you don't remember where the dining room is located?"

Harry nodded sheepishly, a faint blush working across his face. He was positive that Snape was cursing himself right now. If he hadn't asked, Harry certainly would not have volunteered the information. He was pretty sure that he would get lost without someone to guide him, but hell would freeze over before he willingly asked Snape to help him. He'd simply be providing him with more fodder for taunts later on.

'Why did I ask?' Severus wondered in mild annoyance. He inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep his snide remarks to himself. "You have 10 minutes. Use them well and be ready by then. I will escort you to the dining room, lest you get lost on your way and get up to mischief on your first day here."

"I don't always try to get into trouble, you know. Most often trouble finds me." Harry mumbled; sulking over the fact that Snape was still hell bent on seeing only what he wanted to see and not the bigger picture.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, I think you'll agree that whether you look for it or not, trouble finds you in the most unexpected of places; isn't that right, Potter." Without waiting for a reply, he swept from the room; smirking over his jibe.

Harry rolled his eyes. Snape was still...Snape. Even if he was being a bit more cordial this time around.

"It was probably a fluke," Harry muttered. "Yeah, that's right, there's no way that Snape could have been teasing me," Harry continued in disbelief, not sure if he should believe in this new Snape. But there was a warm glow in his chest, and he simply didn't know why. 'Surely, I'm not feeling like this because of that conversation with Snape?' Harry thought unsurely.

He stood up and stretched with a tired yawn. He was still sleepy despite his long nap. 'Ah well, I'll go right back to bed as soon as dinner is finished.' He told himself. 'Hope nothing goes terribly wrong... Oh man! With my luck, I've probably just gone and jinxed myself,' Harry thought irritably.

He gathered a set of new clothes, then made his way to the bathroom for a shower. He didn't want to give Snape any cause to be on his case.

After a quick wash he was dressed and almost ready to go. 'Just need to get the hair right now.' He grabbed his comb and attempted to tame his hair into some semblance of order. His efforts were in vain. His naturally unruly locks refused to lay flat. He scowled at his reflection before leaving the bathroom. 'At least my clothes are neat.'

If Snape proved to be anything like the Dursleys, then he was in for a tough road ahead. He was sure to be picked on for the slightest infractions. 'Helen probably won't...I like her so far and I feel the most comfortable around her, and isn't that saying something about me.'

Thinking about the Dursleys only served as a reminder of the unfair turn his life had taken from a young age. 'I'm not sure that it's going to be any better this time around,' Harry thought despondently. The Dursleys had been all too keen on keeping him under their thumb, and what better way to do it than to neglect and abuse a boy. He'd been deprived of affection and simple caring till he'd met Mrs. Weasley. The thought was like a bitter pill in his mouth, completely wiping out his good mood from before. He resolved to forget about the Dursleys and decided to look forward to getting to know Helen and Sebastian better.

He was surprised to see Snape coming out of a room opposite his. 'How interesting...I'm sleeping in the room opposite him.' He thought. 'I wonder what other surprises are around the corner...'


Severus was in a quandary. Here they were, finally home - seeing as Helen had taken it upon herself to issue the edict that they were to stay put until told otherwise - and he was already starting to regret bringing Harry here. It wasn't that he didn't want Harry to meet his family, it was the fact that here, he was being forced to interact with him more than he would have otherwise preferred. If he'd simply taken him to his own home, he could have left him in a set of rooms and they need never have seen each other until the end of summer.

His house-elf was quite capable of looking after a guest or family member without any say-so from him. But here, the boy was bound to be constantly underfoot; and he'd simply have to put up with it. Helen would have his head if he dared to step a toe out of line with regard to Harry.

Severus was feeling the beginnings of a headache. He cast a tempus and realized that ten minutes were up. Time to get a move on; he glanced in the mirror before leaving the room. He looked just fine as far as he was concerned. He eyed Harry's room door in distaste once in the hallway.

Helen never ceased to amaze him with her shenanigans. Admittedly, he hadn't specified where she should place Potter but he certainly hadn't expected her to put him up in the room directly across from his. Oh well, he'd just have to live with it.

He was about to go and knock on the door when he saw Potter exit from the bathroom, showered and dressed for dinner.

"For once, you seem to be on time, Potter," He remarked caustically.

"Call me Harry." Harry said suddenly, quite determined to ignore Snape's bad mood. He was tired of people calling him by his last name. "Please," he added when Snape gave him an odd look.

Severus nodded grudgingly. He couldn't say no, not when Harry looked at him with those startling green eyes of him. 'Just like Lily...' he thought wistfully.

Harry's eyes lit up at Snape's nod. There was a warm feeling blossoming in his chest. The simple change from Potter to Harry meant more to him than he ever thought it would. "Well, the threat of getting lost in this place and missing dinner is enough to make anyone be on time, Professor," Harry replied cheekily.

"Hmm...Well, I'll keep that in mind the next time you dither, Potter. Missing meals is the best deterrent for growing boys; as always, it seems," Severus snarked back mildly, expecting the quip to be taken in the manner in which it was meant, that is to say, as a joke. Unfortunately, he was ill prepared for Potter's, no Harry's reaction. The statement seemed to have struck a chord and the light in his eyes dimmed; the spark from their recent exchange fading. It looked as if Harry had hunched into himself and he was quite upset with the downward turn the conversation had suddenly taken.

He didn't want to leave things unresolved and quickly closed the distance between them and asked, "What did I say that has upset you so, Harry?" When no reply was forthcoming and Harry simply refused to meet his eyes, he grasped his chin and coaxed his head up, leaving Harry no choice but to lock eyes with Severus, unwilling though it may be and growled softly, "I know something has upset you. Will you not tell me what I did wrong? If we cannot be honest with each other now, when the bond is still new, we will never be able to get past this barrier of hate and misunderstanding that lies between us. If we hope to even have the slightest chance to accept and make this bond a success, then we need to start by being honest with each other." When he saw Harry get defensive, he swiftly tried to reassure him, "Yes, you and I have a long and troubled history between us, I don't deny that; but nothing says that we cannot try to get past all that. And I cannot stop myself from making mistakes if I don't even know what I did wrong. This is your first chance, Harry. You can prove to me that you are a mature young man; share with me the reason for your reaction, tell me why you were affected by, what was to me, a very silly thing, said quite plainly in jest."

"I can't tell you..." Harry stated softly, and Severus sighed, disappointed. He released his hold on Harry. However, before he could pull away completely, Harry surprised him by catching hold of his hand and squeezing it tightly. "But I can show you...if you are interested," Harry added meekly.

Severus felt a flash of relief; things could be resolved faster if Harry was willing to work with him on their -as yet- non-existent relationship rather than put up barriers at every turn. Things would definitely be harder if Harry refused to make an effort at maintaining a cordial relationship, and he for one, did not want any more hardships in his life. 'Well, other than the ones already plaguing my life, of course,' Severus thought snidely.

He decided that it was best to get this matter out of the way and the closest room was his bedroom. He opened the bedroom door and quickly pulled Harry in, who was just now realizing - belatedly, it seems- that they were getting late for dinner and he heard him put up a token protest, "Wait, can't we do this later?" Harry wheedled, "We'll be late for dinner."

"They know me well enough not to wait," Severus replied, all the while guiding Harry to the couch in front of the fireplace. Before Harry could protest some more, he added firmly, "And they know that you are with me, as I expressly came up to get you." His rooms were quite spacious and he was never more glad of it than now, because for one, his bed did not dominate the room. And the last thing he wanted was to spook Harry by seating him on the bed. Taking a seat next to him, he continued bluntly, "This is important, and frankly, I do not trust you to be this willing by the end of dinner. Time always seems to bolster your courage, and I for one do not want this still between us when we go down to dinner. And I doubt you would have an appetite if you kept thinking about what was to come after."

"All right, then. Let's get this over with. You're right. I hardly ever have an appetite when I'm dreading something," Harry agreed softly, a rueful smile on his face at being caught out. 'I guess that's another thing that no one has ever noticed about the boy,' Severus thought, adding one more to the long list of things that weren't commonly known about the boy.

"Look me in the eyes, and think about the memories that caused you to react that way. And whatever happens, don't break eye contact with me. Try to accept the intrusion and you'll hardly be able to feel it," Severus instructed. Harry nodded agreeably and he simply added, "Show me everything, Harry. I give you my word that I won't use anything that I see in these memories against you; here or anywhere else."

Harry simply said, "I'll try."

"Fair enough," Severus replied before gazing into Harry's eyes and softly incanting, "Legilimens." He was ill prepared for the rush of feelings and memories that bombarded him, each one different in its entirety. Some he could recollect from those failed Occlumency lessons, but there were countless others which seemed to mock him for his assumptions about the boy and his home life. Far from being the pampered prince, the memories showed a young harry running around the house, doing chores, cooking food and being slapped and beaten for the slightest infractions, most often taking the blame for another, shorter, stouter boy who in all likelihood was his cousin, if what he knew about Petunia was right. And worst of all, was the way they withheld food from a small boy; a boy who had no clue as to what he'd done wrong and why he was being treated like an outcast while his own cousin was being spoiled and overfed to the point of obesity.

Each new memory seemed to be more of the same; beatings, severe verbal abuse and general neglect. The boy had never owned clothes before his arrival at Hogwarts and even those were barely passable. What he'd simply dismissed as laziness and a general disregard for personal appearances was actually nothing more than the boy following the edicts that his loving family had inculcated in him.

As he examined one memory after another, it was clear to him that the stipend that the family had received for looking after Potter had been grossly misused. It was apparent that they had splurged it for their own silly purchases rather than on the boy for whose care it had been provided; for that matter, was still being provided. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that the Dursleys had been paid a sizeable monthly stipend to cover for the boy's expenses and their righteous self-posturing was making his blood boil; knowing that the boy, Harry had believed everything that they'd spewed. And why not? After all, these were details only a select few members of the Order, those closest to Dumbledore were privy to.

He would certainly have a few choice words to share with the Dursley family when he visited them. And it was a given that they wouldn't like what he had to say one bit, Severus resolved darkly, appalled at the way Petunia, Lily's own sister, had shamelessly exploited her nephew and done a piss-poor job of raising a child.
Deciding that he'd seen quite enough to convince even a jury that the boy had been subject to severe abuse and neglect, he slowly withdrew from Harry's mind and broke eye contact to stop the spell.

"I think, it's safe to say that I have completely failed you." When he saw Harry try to protest, he brought up a hand, effectively silencing him and continued, "As a professor, even more, as one who has endured abuse himself, I should have spotted the signs; but I let my own prejudices color my opinions about a boy I hardly knew and in so doing, I condemned you to six more years of hardship. You were too young to do anything about your situation but the same does not apply to me. And rightly so, I am an adult wizard; more avenues are open to me than they are to you as is evidenced by the fact that I did manage to improve the intolerable situations of some of my Slytherins, but my biggest mistake was in assuming that abused children rarely end up in other Houses. Slytherin has always been a safe haven for abused children and so I did not see what was in front of my eyes...I have sufficient proof now to believe that what they say about 'assuming' is right; 'Assuming simply makes an ass out of you and me'."

Harry smothered a snort at that, hardly believing that his stern Professor had said something like that. Even more unbelievable was his statement about being abused himself. Harry, for one, had difficulty picturing the strong and thick-skinned professor as a young child who might have endured similar abuse. But his comment about Slytherin House struck a chord with him and before he could think too much about it, he simply blurted out, "The Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, you know."


I believe this is as good a place as any to stop the chapter ;) Please leave reviews. The more reviews I get, the faster I post the next chapter! :D

The next chapter will most probably star Lucius Malfoy and what happens when they find Harry isn't where he is supposed to be. Ideas and suggestions of what you'd like to see are welcome. I only have a few ideas so far and a broad outline; nothing is set yet, so you might even be able to convince me to use some of your ideas. So keep them coming...

Updates will be a bit slow as I will be a bit busy in the coming month, but I will definitely try and get out shorter chapters.

Till next time,

Silver ^_^