Chapter 8
"Uncle Sev?"
"Yes Ian?" They were working in the potions lab again. Severus had to fully restock the infirmary before the school opened back up and he was behind his usual schedule.
"Why did you look like you weren't happy to see Harry? He seemed nice to me." Severus paused for a moment and looked at the boy.
"Potter and I don't get along very well. His father and I hated each other while in school and that rivalry has passed down to his son."
"But papa said that Harry never knew his parents."
"You know there are things I simply can't talk to you about." Ian nodded still looking at him expectantly. "Well it has to do with those things. I can not be kind to Potter without putting my life in danger."
"Oh…can I be friends with him and still be friends with you?" Severus looked taken aback at that question for a moment before answering.
"Yes I see no reason why not. You know when school starts I will have to treat you just like any other student right?" Ian nodded. They had actually bonded when Severus was left to watch him while his grandfather went somewhere. While Albus thought it was due to their similar family problems it was actually just that Ian had been curious about the potions lab in his new home and Severus offered to teach him a little about the subject. It appeared the boy was a natural at brewing. Severus had of course asked the boy about his nightmares, which he still had, and his comment about his relatives not wanting him but the boy just wouldn't talk about other than to say it was in the past and that was where he wanted to leave it.
"Does that mean you'll have to pretend you don't know me?" He asked hesitantly.
"No child it simply means I can't show favoritism towards you and you will have to call me Professor Snape instead of uncle."
"I think I can handle that." Ian said seriously before turning back to his work of carefully preparing ingredients. Severus smiled to himself in amusement and went back to his potion.
While they were hard at work Albus had made a trip to the Burrow to speak with Molly and Arthur. He had run out of ideas on what to do about his grandsons' nightmares and thought they, as parents of 7 children, might be able to help. Supper had just ended when he arrived and the children had all gone to the Grangers to watch a movie.
"Now what has brought you by Albus?" Molly asked as they sat in the family room sipping tea.
"I am curious if you can give me some advice. I know I have mentioned my grandson's nightmares to you before but I cannot seem to get him to tell me what they are about nor do I have any idea how to stop them. I thought you two might have some ideas considering your children are all happy and healthy, especially Ginny as I know she suffered from the nightmares after her first year." Molly and Arthur exchanged a look before Molly set down her tea and looked at him.
"The best way to get him past this is to get him to talk. That's what helped Ginny. She needed to talk about not only what happened in her nightmares but also how they made her feel. She came to grips with it after a while and I do know she still has them now and then they are few and far between. Admittedly Bill who has seen his fair share of terrible things happen with his work managed to get her to open up the most. It was probably due to he had the closest experience to what she had been through. I know he's seen partners and careless rookies get hurt and killed on his job and felt responsible. Ginny felt as if she had as good as set that monster loose herself. He managed to talk to her and get her to see it wasn't her fault."
"But where can I get someone who was treated poorly by their relations to speak to Ian? I know he talks to Severus but I am beginning to doubt my original thoughts on how they became so close. He says Ian won't speak to him about the nightmares either."
"You could ask Harry." The three adults turned around in surprise to see Ron standing there. "Sorry I came back to get Harry's birthday present I bought for him and over heard."
"What do you mean we could ask Harry? I know his relatives weren't the most caring individuals but…" Molly stopped as Albus raised his hand.
"So you are saying that Miss Granger was correct in Harry's relatives neglecting him?" He asked seriously.
"Yeah you should see him without a shirt on. He's covered in scars and the like from before he started Hogwarts. He says that they haven't hit him since starting Hogwarts, but if anyone knows about relatives not wanting them around it would be him. Besides, don't you remember mum? When Fred, George, and I came back from rescuing him before second year we told you they had put bars on Harry's window and were starving him." Molly paled as she thought back and the two wizards looked at her.
"I thought you boys were just trying to get out of trouble!" She said faintly.
"Well can't say as I blame you there! The twins have come up with some good ones over the years. Anyway if that's all I'll just be going now." Ron said uncomfortably before turning and going out the door.
"It seems I need to be talking with Mr. Potter tomorrow as well as Madam Pomfrey. Signs of abuse should have been reported to me right away no matter what Healers Oaths forbid it."
"So what do you want to do today?" Harry asked Tarek as they lounged about in the Gryffindor common room. They were both in the habit of getting up early and had already gone through their morning workout routine complete with jogging 5 laps around the lake.
"I want to go to the library. We need to start researching your parents and find out where your Elvin blood comes from. Grandfather told me that if an elf wishes it they can denounce their heritage and magic will hide their ears before it stopped working for them. It also causes their children to be born Muggles. I'm not sure how long that continues for though. So it still could have come from your mother's side of the family."
"Ok we'll go to the library today and research the Potter family and then we can go to a Muggle town, maybe London and see if we can find anything out about the Evans side of things. How's that sound?" Tarek nodded in agreement and turned back to her book. Harry had loaned her Quidditch Through the Ages and she was only half finished with it.
Harry wasn't quite sure why but he had an ominous feeling as he walked to the Headmaster's office later that morning. A house-elf had told him at breakfast that he was to report as soon as he had finished eating and when asked said it didn't know why.
"Ah Harry! Come in! Come in!" Albus said as Harry made to knock on the office door. 'One of these days I'm going to find out how he does that' Harry swore to himself as he entered the office and sat in a chair across from Albus.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes I know you have met my grandson Darrian, correct?" Harry nodded confused where the man was going with this. "Ian has nightmares, it seems the relatives he was left with after his parents died were less than kind to him. However I cannot seem to get him to open up to me about it, nor can anyone else. I was hoping since you come from a similar background you might be up to the challenge." Harry sat there in shock for a moment letting what the older wizard was saying sink in a bit. He felt a flash of anger.
"How did you find out about how I was treated at the Dursley's? Or did you know all along and just send me back there for the hell of it?" Harry asked his eyes narrowed in suspicion and annoyance.
"Ron over heard me talking to his parents last night and informed me that you might be able to assist me. Please believe me dear boy when I say that if I had known you were so mistreated there that I would have found some way to have you removed from their home." Harry was still frowning but he nodded.
"I'll talk to him, but I've only met him once so I'm not sure it will do any good." Harry said softly. Tarek had helped him greatly while he was in Airen. His nightmares had gotten bad and she had always seemed to know when he needed someone to lean on even when he himself hadn't.
"All I ask is that you try." Albus said seriously. Harry nodded and then was about to ask if he knew where the boy was when Ian walked through the door.
"Oh sorry! I didn't know you were talking!" He said about to leave.
"No Ian! It's perfectly all right! Harry here was just inquiring as to your whereabouts. It seems he wishes to get to know you." Ian smiled happily at the thought of getting to know the older teen.
"Why don't we go for a walk?" Harry suggested and Ian nodded and led the way out to the corridor. They wondered around for a while talking about Quidditch and Hogwarts, then they came to the kitchens and sat at a small table with glasses of pumpkin juice.
"So how did you come to live with the Headmaster?" Harry asked in what he hoped was a casual tone.
"He was in town asking about me and my aunt overheard him and brought him home to her and my uncles' house." He answered softly looking away. "So are you looking forward to playing Quidditch again?"
"Yeah I am! You know I used to live with my Aunt and Uncle. I was sent there right after my parents were murdered when I was a little more than a year old."
"Yeah I heard…sorry I read about your parents in Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."
"That's ok I think most of the world has." Harry said pulling a face.
"Probably." Ian said nodded in agreement.
"So I…um..sorry I'm not sure how to say this!" Harry said his face blushing.
"Just spit it out! That's what Uncle Severus says to do!" Ian said smiling at him.
'Yeah." Harry said with a half-hearted smile. "Your grandfather is worried about you. He told me you have nightmares that you won't talk to anyone about and…."
"What?!" Ian exclaimed looking embarrassed, angry, and hurt all at the same time.
"He thinks it would help to talk to me about them."
"Why should I talk to you? I'm fine! I don't need any help, they're just dreams!"
"Dreams about how you were treated by people you wanted to care for you."
"What would you know about it?" Ian asked accusingly, his face red.
"Yes Potter I would like to know that myself." They turned and saw Severus standing there looking very unhappy. "I fail to see how someone who has been spoiled and waited on hand and foot most of their lives can even begin to comprehend what it is like to be in an abusive situation!" He sneered.
"Which is exactly why the headmaster asked me to talk to Ian." Harry countered with a scowl.
"Like I said before, Potter, how could you know what it is like?" Severus asked advancing forward and pulling Ian to his side as if to protect him.
"I don't know maybe because I grew up with relatives that hated anything and everything to do with me? Maybe because I grew up in the same kind of situation that Ian had to live in for a year!" Harry was glaring at his most hated teacher with a look that almost made Severus take a step back, however he caught himself just before and refused to follow through with the act.
"You expect me to believe that the precious boy-who-lived was abused as a child? That is a joke! You are nothing but a pampered little child who thinks he knows everything! Well let me tell you, you are nothing! Nothing but a sniveling little coward who thinks he should have everything handed to him on a gold platter!" Harry saw red for a second and then stopped before he spoke. Snape smirked as if thinking he had won the argument but then Harry spoke in a deadly cold tone of voice.
"No Snape I don't expect you to believe that. I don't expect you to believe anything about the real me because all you see when you look at me is my father. I'm sorry my father pranked you when you were in school together and that you hated each other, I really am. However I am not my father. We are very different people. Mainly because he grew up with parents that loved him while I didn't even know what my name was until I started public school. He probably knew his name from the start while I was always referred to as 'freak' or 'boy'. I learned at an early age if I wanted to live to see the next day I had to keep my head down and try and not let anything 'too weird' happen around me. My room before I got my Hogwarts letter was the cupboard under the stairs, did you know that? The reason I disappeared this summer was because my relatives had finally beat me to the point that I was wishing I was dead just so I wouldn't be in pain anymore and I have little doubt that it was my magic that sent me to the Forest where Lorn found me and was able to save my life. How do you feel about the 'precious boy-who-lived' now?" At this point Severus was taking a step back away from the enraged teen. His eyes were glowing slightly and the feeling of pure energy coming off of him could have been cut with a knife. With that Harry turned and stalked out of the room.
Harry continued walking until he made it all the way to the library where he new Tarek was waiting for him while looking at some books on his family.
"Harry? What is wrong?" She asked alarmed at the site of him stalking into the room looking clearly enraged.
"I don't want to talk about it." He said grabbing a book and slamming it down before sitting and opening it.
"It must have been bad to put you in a mood like this. Well I did find that no one in the Potter family has ever had any special gifts really. They have all been strong magically but nothing really notable. None more than your headmaster anyway. That means it had to of come from your mothers' side."
"But how could it come from her when she was the only witch in her family?" Harry asked frustratedly.
"Maybe her family were not Muggles, but Squibs."
"Maybe." Harry said but he sounded as if he really doubted it. Tarek didn't reply but simply opened another book. Harry noted with a small smile that it was Hogwarts; A History. Thirty minutes later she gasped causing him to look up from his own research.
"What?"
"Harry you know Bohan lost a daughter years and years ago right?" Harry nodded confusedly.
"Well her name was Rowena and she was kidnapped when she was very young. This book has a Rowena in it and her picture looks just like Rega! And look at her ears, she was an elf!"
