Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
A/N: Hey there everyone! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I love you all! I am very relieved that you are all enjoying this so far. Sorry about the late update but my schedule has officially just become hell. Don't worry though, I will keep updating this story, but perhaps not as often as I'd or you'd like. A huge thank you to my beta enb2004! LOVE YOU! If it wasn't for her this fic never would have happened. As promised, here is Chapter 7. Enjoy!
It was a widely known fact that Severus Snape was not a patient man. Many would in fact say he was probably the least most patient man to have ever walked the earth, and they wouldn't be all that far off.
There were a select few people that were more impatient that Severus however, and one of them happened to be standing right in front of the said potion's master.
"Severus, you are late," Voldemort hissed as Snape bowed and kissed the hem of the dark lord's robes.
"I am aware of that my lord, and I implore your forgiveness. I was with Dumbledore when the mark burned," Snape said, knowing that he would not be forgiven. It didn't matter, though. He had to keep up his appearance of the loyal death eater, no matter how much he detested the role he played.
"You are well aware that I do not forgive Severus. Crucio!" Voldemort cackled.
Severus had known this was coming but there truly was no way to brace oneself for the Cruciatus curse. Biting his lip, he fell to the ground as his body shook in agony. Still, he did not allow himself to scream. He would not give that bastard the pleasure.
"Always the silent one Severus. You are indeed the perfect spy. You may stand up now," Voldemort said.
Snape gasped for breathe as he kissed the hems of the dark lord's robes once more. "Thank you master, I deserved to be punished."
"Yes, you did. As for the rest of you," Voldemort said glaring at the cackling Death Eaters. Seeing their master's glare, they immediately became silent and glanced at each other apprehensively. "As for the rest of you, you would do well to learn from Severus's example. He is not weak, unlike many of you," Voldemort said, eyeing Pettigrew in particular.
"We'll do better Master. We live to serve you milord," all of the death eaters said together.
"Yes, yes, I know you do. Now, onto more important things. As you know, I have attempted to locate the locations of one Harry Potter. At last, I have found where his muggle relatives reside. We'll attack them within the week. Severus, start preparing potions. Lucius, you shall be in charge," Voldemort said.
"Yes Master," Lucius and Severus answered together.
"Very good, be gone with you," he said dismissing the death eaters. Severus was only too glad to apparate back to Hogsmeade. The less time he spent around that snake the better. Every day his job was getting riskier and this day was no exception. He would have to warn Dumbledore that Potter was in danger once again.
Snape sighed at the thought of Potter. No matter how much he disliked the boy, he did not deserve the task fate had set upon him and him alone. No one did. Life was not fair, but Severus Snape had known that for a very very long time.
Slowly, he approached the grand doors of Hogwarts. He was very thankful that it was summer and that no students would be wandering around. It would be disastrous for them to see him coming back from one of his meetings. Luck though, did not favor Severus Snape. For as soon as he had entered the castle, he had run into none other than the Weasley twins.
"Professor!" George said.
"Sorry, we didn't see you there," Fred said. At least Severus thought it was Fred. It was hard to tell with those two.
Snape groaned inwardly while scowling at the twins. "And just what are the two of you doing lurking around Hogwarts this late at night, in the middle of the summer nonetheless?"
Fred and George were hardly intimidated by the potion's master bad mood though. Their mother in a bad mood was far more scary.
"We're here because Harry is here Professor. We were just on our way back to the infirmary," George said.
Severus blinked for a few seconds. What in the name of Merlin was Potter doing back at Hogwarts. Unless... No, the dark lord couldn't have attacked Potter yet. Could he have?
He turned back to the twins. "And just why is Mr. Potter here?" he questioned.
Fred and George looked at each other uneasily. While they knew that the potion's master wasn't the nicest person on the planet, they also knew the genuinely cared for his students, even if it wasn't obvious.
They hadn't always thought so, but after the previous school year, they knew better. It was amazing how five seconds of one overheard conversation could change years of hard held beliefs.
"Umm, you may wish to talk to Professor Dumbledore sir. He's in the infirmary with Harry and the rest of our family, as well as Hermione," George said, unusually timid.
Severus nodded tiredly. This was just what he didn't need. A castle full of anxious teenagers and adults all fretting over the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Oh um sir?" Fred said hesitantly as he noticed Snape's scowl.
"Yes Mr. Weasley?" Snape said through gritted teeth. He was tired, in pain, and more than a little concerned over what Voldemort was planning and doing. He wanted nothing more than to report to Dumbledore, make sure Potter was in one piece, and then go to bed and sleep the next few years away. With any luck, when he woke up, Voldemort would be gone once more. To bad that it would never happen that way.
"Um, I think that we should warn you that Sirius and Remus are there as well," George said. Ron had told them as soon as they had returned from Hogwarts about the great dislike between the Professor and Sirius.
Severus nodded tiredly at the twins in thanks. Right now, he was tired enough that he could actually put up with the remaining Marauders presence. Perhaps.
Automatically, his feet took him to the healing wing. He dimly noticed that the twins were following behind him, but paid no more overt attention to them. His goal was on getting to the healing wing and finding out what in the world was going on.
As soon as he had entered the wing, he was duly pounced on by Poppy. "Poppy! For Merlin's sake, I'm fine," Severus groaned as the medi-witch dragged him over to the closet bed.
"Forgive me Severus, but you do not seem fine to me. How long did he hold it?" Albus asked as Poppy started scanning him.
Severus sighed and reluctantly answered the headmaster. "Probably somewhat less that 45 seconds, although it felt a hell of a lot longer."
Albus nodded gravely. "I had feared as much. Did you find out anything important?" Severus nodded and looked around carefully to make sure no unfriendly ears would hear what he was about to report. He noticed happily that nearly everyone was asleep save the twins, Poppy, himself, and Albus. "He is planning to take the Dursley's. Somehow, he found out where Potter's house is. Fortunately, from what I have been told, Potter is here."
"Yes, sadly he is," Albus said with more than a hint of anger in his voice.
Severus was taken aback by Albus's anger and for a moment, he thought it was aimed at him.
Albus seemed to sense that however and clasped Severus shoulder reassuringly. "Fear not Severus, I am not angry with you but at those poor excuses of human beings who happen to be Harry's relatives."
"They do not even deserve to be called human beings," Poppy hissed. "I would prefer we carry this conversation out somewhere else. People are trying to sleep you know," she said pointing to the filled room.
Severus and Albus nodded, and moved out of the wing. "Albus, what happened to Potter and how does it relate to his relatives?"
"Harry is here because of injuries that he sustained while staying at the Dursley's," Albus said.
Severus hissed. "Then the Dark Lord has already been there and everything he told us tonight was nothing but a ruse."
"No Severus, I'm quite sure that what he told you was quite true. It was he nor his followers that attacked Harry. No, it was the muggles themselves who are the cause of Harry's injuries," Albus said dangerously.
Severus was more than taken aback. In fact, one could say he was shocked, a rare occasion, a very rare occasion. Never, never had he suspected that the boy's only remaining relatives had abused him. Never.
Looking back at it though, he should have suspected. Potter was always thinner when he came to Hogwarts, and when the end of the year came around, he never looked happy like the rest of his classmates. In fact, he usually looked like he had been sentenced for execution.
"I realize that this is a lot to take in Severus. It shocked me as well but do not blame yourself. You could not have known. No one knew until today," Albus said gently. It did not take a genius to figure out what his teacher was thinking.
Severus made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like he was distressed. "That still does not change the fact that I should have seen it. I was abused myself for heaven's sake! I of all people should have seen the signs!"
Albus sighed. Severus blamed himself for far too much. "Child, there is no way you could have known. Harry is apparently quite the accomplished actor. Up until now, he has managed to hide the signs of abuse from his dorm mates. For four years he has hidden it. If his dorm mates and his closest friends never noticed, how could we have?"
Severus bowed his head. "How long?" he asked hoarsely.
Albus shook his head sadly. "We don't have an exact figure, but from the scarring, I would say a good while. Harry's hasn't regained consciousness yet. Once he has, we'll talk to him."
"What of his care? Who will be his guardians?" Severus asked.
"That, most mercifully, has already been taken care of by the Weasley's. Somehow, they were able to persuade the courts to give custody of Harry to them right underneath my nose. I must say Severus, never in my whole life have I ever been more grateful to have missed something. Had I known, I may have tried to stop them and everything would have ended in disaster," Albus said sadly.
Severus just shook his head. Too many things had happened tonight and his head was whirling from all the new information. "What of the Dursley's Albus? Voldemort is planning to attack them."
"They will have to be removed from the house and brought here. I had planned on it anyway once learning about the abuse. We can not let their actions go unheeded. They need to be punished for what they have done," Albus said, his voice deep with anger.
Severus nodded. "When shall we remove them?"
"Tomorrow, if all goes well. We shall have to take extra precautions, however, to keep them away from Harry," Albus said.
Severus nodded again. Those muggles would not touch Potter again, not while he was still alive. No child deserved to be abused, no child.
Albus smiled at the concern that Severus was emitting. Not that he was aware of it, but he would be soon enough. "Go and get some rest Severus, and make sure to take a potion for the after effects."
Severus nodded and bid the headmaster good night before going down to his room. With all the new information he had learned that evening though, sleep did not find him for a long time.
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Severus Snape was not the only one who had trouble going to sleep that night. Albus Dumbledore was pacing in his office far past midnight. His musings were over the Dursley's and of course Harry.
He was not sure what to do with the Dursley's. The crimes they had committed were atrocious and they deserved to be punished. On the other hand, that would require a trial and a trial, involved publicity. The last thing Harry needed, or wanted for that matter, was more publicity. He had far to much of it as it was.
Sighing, Albus sank down into his chair and petted Fawkes who had settled on his shoulder. "I don't know what to do Fawkes. I don't suppose you could keep the press away if there was a trial?"
Fawkes just looked at him and trilled softly. "I didn't think so," he said sadly.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no way he could keep the trial quiet. The press would find out one way or another and then, all hell would break loose. And then there was Voldemort to consider.
He was getting stronger, that much was apparent. It was only a matter of time before he declared open war on the Wizarding World once more. If Fudge did not listen to him, Azkaban would fall in a matter of months if not sooner.
Everything came down to one boy. Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. The only chance the Wizarding World had was one almost 15 year old boy who had far to much weight on his shoulders already.
Albus swore that he would do everything in his power to ensure that Harry was ready for what was coming while at the same time, preserving what little childhood Harry had left. How that could be achieved, he did not know.
Looking out the window at the night sky, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen, defeater of the dark wizard Grindewald, and the greatest sorcerer of the current age, prayed for a miracle and for the soul and strength of one teenage boy.
