The True Face of Another

Thanks again for the awesome reviews! I'm glad people generally seemed to like what I did with the Birthday.

This chapter includes some moments you've been waiting for! (I hope ;D)

Please R&R

I do not own HP.

Chapter 21 - Starting to Care

When Harry got back to his room, he set the book Snape had given him carefully on his desk.

He knew this was technically the Potion Master's book, and not his mother's, but even so...the fact that his mum had touched it, that her notes were in, made it very special to Harry.

Snape had to have known how much this would mean to Harry, and yet he'd given it to him anyway. Why? What was behind the man's sudden generosity?

Harry wasn't sure, but he wondered if he weren't starting to see a different side to the Potions Master - the side his mother had apparently seen when she was a kid.

It was late, but Harry couldn't sleep before at least taking a peek.

He settled into his desk chair and opened the front cover that looked identical to his fifth year book. There, on the title page, was a short inscription in spiky, familiar handwriting:

This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince

The half-blood prince? Harry blinked for a second before it occurred to him - Prince, not prince. Prince, as in the name of the manor - Snape's mother's name! And Snape was a half blood, Harry knew.

Harry's attention was drawn back to the page as he noticed another line of text - this one in shining green ink.

With priceless contributions from his partner in crime!

Harry grinned - no need to ask who'd written those words.

He began to page through the book at random and noticed that most of the potions had their recipes highly annotated in black and green ink. Here and there, explanations for the changes were written:

Increases Potency...Makes the timing on the next step less critical...More efficient method for the same result...and so on and so forth.

There was more to Snape and Lily's notes than just changes to potions instructions. In the margins, there were all sorts of observations and thoughts about potions and magic in general.

There were even some spells, it looked like.

It was an incredible trove of treasures, and Harry couldn't wait to scratch the surface!

His heart swelling with excitement, he nevertheless shut the book closed, promising to spend more time with it the next day.

He started to get ready for bed before remembering he had other gifts. It was technically still his birthday for another 30 minutes, so he removed the shrunken parcels, placed them on his bed and reversed the charm, returning them to their original size.

He quickly identified gifts from Hermione, the Weasleys, and...Remus? He gulped. He hadn't heard from Remus, or communicated much with him since Sirius had died and he wasn't honestly sure where they stood. Was Remus angry with him for leading Sirius into that trap?

He opened the gifts from his best friends first. Ron had sent him some sweets and an interesting-looking board game - "Charlie said it's a blast - you can play it solo for now, if you want, but let's play together when we're back in school." Harry figured he could ask Draco to try it out with him and see how it was.

Hermione sent him a beautiful stationery set as well as a photo album. Harry opened it to see the first few pages were filled with pictures of him, Ron, and Hermione from first year on. Harry had a vague recollection of Mrs. Weasley taking pictures of them here and there, but it hadn't ever occurred to him to ask her about them. Apparently, Hermione had.

Mrs. Weasley had sent him some hand-knitted socks and cozy looking pajamas. There was also a short note.

Albus assures me there is no need to send extra food this year. I hope he is right, Harry. Please let me know if this is not the case and I'll send you whatever you need right away!

Fred and George had given him something as well. He removed the object and examined it for a moment before realizing what it was - targeted smokescreen powder, the mechanism undetectable and able to be hidden on oneself and released at any time, without a wand!

Harry shook his head at the twins' brilliance. While they loved their pranks and their shop, at first glance, sold nothing but joke products, in reality, they also were able to create things like this, which could be great when in need of defense.

Harry set their gift aside before taking a card from the last group of packages and hesitantly opening it.

Inside was a note and a photo. Harry's eyes widened. It was a picture of a painfully young Remus and Sirius with Harry's parents. Thankfully, Pettigrew wasn't in it, though that likely meant the rat had been the one to take the photo. Harry shuddered at the thought. There were more photos behind it - Sirius and James, their arms around one another - Remus and Lily, with Sirius between them, messing up their hair.

Each and every one of these photos were ones Harry had never seen before. And they all had something in common - Sirius was front and center in all of them.

Harry -

Happy birthday! I hope you enjoy the photos, and I'm sorry for holding out on you before. When Hagrid originally reached out to me in your first year for photos of your parents, I intentionally withheld a number of pictures that greatly featured Sirius. At the time, I'd thought it was best given I was so sure he was guilty at the time…

But I never threw them away. Perhaps somewhere, deep down, I knew he was innocent, even then. Though the thought certainly doesn't take any weight of off me.

I also want to apologize for being distant recently. I have been grieving for Sirius, true, but a certain brilliant friend of mine helped me to realize that you may have interpreted my silence as anger or perhaps even as a sign that I blamed you, in some way, for Sirius' death.

Please be assured that this could not be farther from the truth. What happened to Sirius was beyond tragic, and those of us who love him will always mourn for him, and for what could have been.

But those at fault were Voldemort and Bellatrix, as well as Sirius himself. Do not fault yourself, Harry. Of course there were things all of us, in hindsight, could have done differently. But that is not a rabbit hole worth going down.

Sirius loved you and would want you to be happy.

I also care for you, greatly, and hope you will give me a chance to show it better than I have in the past.

Feel free to write me at any point if you wish. Albus assures me he will ensure our letters reach one another. I would be happy to answer any questions you have - tell you stories of your parents, assist you in your studies - just say the word.

P.S. I am not so selfless as to have given you my only copies of these pictures. I have copies made for myself as well!

Dora tells me to send her love and wish you a happy birthday as well.

Love,

Remus

Harry had to blink away the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. He honestly couldn't believe it. He had always hoped Remus and he might develop even an inkling of the relationship he'd had with Sirius, but the man had always remained distant.

If Harry was to believe the words in this letter, it looked like Remus had had a change of heart. Harry figured Tonks was much to thank for that. It still remained to be seen if Remus' behavior towards him really would change in any meaningful way, however. He seemed sincere, but it could have been a momentary thing that struck him.

Harry set the photos down with his other precious gifts and turned to the packages. There were two - the first was a thick book on Defense mastery. A quick perusal and Harry was really looking forward to reading more. It looked like it had far more interesting techniques detailed than most books he'd seen.

The other package held a wand holster with a number of protection spells built in. Harry smiled. From these gifts, it seemed Remus was serious about Harry being protected from danger.

As Harry drifted to sleep that night, he wondered at how content he felt. Even with Sirius gone, it felt as if Harry was not so alone as he'd felt before. As if he were surrounded by family.

When he woke, it was with the morning sun, and not suddenly, in the throes of a nightmare as he usually did.

-HP-SS-DM-

Severus returned to his suite after first stopping to give the elves his thanks for their assistance. After all, it was greatly thanks to them that the day had been as much of a success as it had.

His decision to give that book to Potter had been...the height of impulsivity for him.

But now, remembering the truly grateful look on the boy's face, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Potter was clearly starved for information about his mother and would jump at the chance to learn more about her. Given that, Severus had presumed a gift such as this would be appreciated. He had not been disappointed.

Severus supposed he could try to share more stories with the boy, but he didn't fancy a heart to heart becoming a common thing between them.

The potion master no longer disliked the boy - in fact, if he were honest with himself, he was coming to almost like having his presence here at the manor. Once Potter had been given the chance to settle in, he had shown himself to be respectful and studious, and he had undoubtedly helped Draco a good deal.

In addition to lifting Draco's haze of depression, Potter seemed to have been a positive influence in other ways as well, as surprising as it was. What Tilly shared with him earlier, for instance, would have been unthinkable for Draco in the past. Severus still wasn't sure he believed her that Draco had sincerely thanked the elves, however.

Potter had put in effort to be a good ward. In return, Severus wanted to do for the boy what one ought to do as a guardian - even a temporary one - and assist the boy in ways he could.

The largest, most horrific thing plaguing Potter (though the boy did not know it) was the horcrux that lived inside of him.

Severus picked up the stack of journals and tomes he'd been perusing the night before. He'd almost forgotten that Regulus had left him a number of his notes and books when he died. Severus had wondered why at the time, but after delving into some of it now, Severus understood.

Regulus, the young fool, had been trying to determine a way to take down the dark lord. And he had gotten surprisingly far. In his notes was compiled a great deal of information he'd gathered about the dark lord's horcruxes, including methods for destroying them, and several of their suspected locations.

Regulus must have figured Severus would be another one likely to turn traitor against the dark lord, and perhaps had hoped that, by leaving him this information, his mission would still have a chance at success even if he wasn't around to see it. It was quite the risk he had taken, entrusting these to him as, if Severus had turned out to be loyal to the Dark Lord after all, these notes may have led to further strengthening of the Dark Lord's defenses.

Severus rolled his eyes. Regulus did have a bit of risk-taking Gryffindor impulsiveness in him after all.

Then again, he also had a keen understanding of human motivation and had often understood Severus better than Severus understood himself. Maybe this was one of those times. In any case, Severus was extremely grateful to his old friend. Thanks to Reg, the research he himself needed to do had been greatly reduced.

Tomorrow he would go with Albus to hunt one of those thrice-damned soul containers. He'd make sure the old wizard didn't do anything foolish.

But that was not his only mission for tomorrow. He had a detour in mind he wanted to take while he was out - A trip to Privet Drive.

The last hint Potter had let slip - his cupboard - was just too intriguing to let sit.

-HP-SS-DM-

August 1 (Wednesday)

At breakfast, Severus informed the boys he'd need to leave the grounds for some time.

Despite that, the boys were determined to use the lab again. ("Please, sir! I'd really like to try out some of the recipes you and mum came up with!")

("I'll make sure to keep Potter in line!")

Severus noted that Draco looked interested but not shocked at Potter's mention of the recipes he had developed with Lily. Apparently Potter had already briefed the boy on his way to breakfast.

"Fine, but only after first understanding what exactly the changes to the potions you work on do. And do not touch the spells in that book without me there to explain them first!"

While there was nothing the least bit dubious in the book he's given Potter - his more dubious spells started to find their way into the margins in sixth year, when he didn't have Lily's positive influence to keep him from his darker, more violent tendencies - but even if this book was completely benign, casting spells without knowing exactly what they were intended to do was a bad habit to get into.

With a nod and quick "Yes, sir!" Potter wolfed down his food, appearing a completely different boy than the scrawny waif he'd been on his arrival here. He and Draco soon excused themselves.

Bottled basilisk venom in hand, Severus flooed to Hogwarts and together, he and the headmaster ventured to an area outside of Little Hangleton. They slowly approached a dilapidated shack that had apparently once belonged to the Dark Lord's mother's family.

The whole place reeked of dangerous dark magic.

Severus was doubly glad he had elected to come on this expedition when, after disarming many enchantments, they had finally extracted the horcrux - a ring - from the house when Albus, appearing to be in a trance of some sort, made to put the damn thing on.

Without hesitation, Severus petrified the old wizard, grimacing only slightly at the unpleasant noise as the wizard toppled over and hit the ground.

"Apologies, Albus, but I am certain you would have been in far worse pain had I not interfered. That ring is almost certainly cursed."

He released the spell partially so Albus could speak. "Th-thank you, my boy. I'm certain you are right. Forgive an old man's weakness."

Severus nodded and, receiving a noise of consent from the old wizard, removed the vial from his pocket and let a few drops fall on the ring.

A horrible, high pitched scream let loose from the ring, followed by an apparition that shapeshifted into different forms. Severus didn't even blink when the faces of Lily, his father and his mother all appeared before him.

Severus just sneered. These were nothing but cheap tricks on the part of the dark lord.

Eventually it went silent and Albus took the ring carefully, putting it in a special box, after they were certain it no longer posed an immediate danger.

-HP-SS-DM-

After making his excuses to Albus, Severus disapparated from the Gaunt Shack and materialized again on an entirely uninteresting residential street.

He knew that gaining Potter's trust enough to get the boy to confide in him was perhaps the nobler approach, but that was far too slow a method. Severus figured, if he wanted answers, he needed to go to the source.

And while the Dursleys were no longer living, their house, where it all had taken place, could still be leveraged.

Old traces of magic could be detected years later if you knew what you were doing, and what Severus was banking on was that the raw emotions of a wizard child - the raw material that fed accidental magic - would have left traces he could use.

If Severus could follow those traces and identify particularly potent areas of residual magic, he could call up a memory playback of things the house had seen when the inhabiting wizard had released magic into its environment, intentionally or not.

It was a complex spell, and not one known to many. Severus had mastered it years ago.

There was a car in the driveway, of course. Severus had anticipated this. But by casting spells of invisibility and notice-me-not charms on himself and on a 5 foot radius around him, he should be able to do his work and leave without the new muggle owners being ever the wiser - and, of critical importance, without him ever having to touch said muggles with magic.

After casting his charms, he walked up to the front door. He went ahead and cast the spell to detect magical traces and immediately noticed residual magic around the flowerbeds and shed. So the boy had spent time outside, presumably working in those areas. That was consistent with Arabella Figg's report.

Severus silently unlocked the front door and entered the house. Four people were sitting in the family room to his right. They didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss.

There were faint traces of magic in that room, but nothing significant. There were four areas in the house that seemed to give off stronger signals than the rest. Two were upstairs, but the one that was most powerful was right in front of him. Severus moved forward quickly and stopped before a small cupboard under the stairs.

The potency of the residual magic in this area was even more powerful than it had seemed at first. Well, this was why he'd come here in the first place.

He opened the cupboard and peered in. It was small, standard for this sort of house.

Just what was its importance? Had those beasts locked Potter in here as punishment? It seemed likely given what Severus knew about them.

The cupboard seemed to have been cleaned out for its new occupants so Severus didn't anticipate finding any clues within it without using the memory recall spell...but...hold on. In the back corner was a balled up piece of paper. He reached for it and flattened it out.

On it, in the clumsy letters of a child, were the words:

Harry's room

Severus rocked back on his ankles, his breath coming up short.

No. It couldn't be. Even he had had a room, and a bed, as a child, as poor in quality as they each were. Severus cast the memory recall spell and suddenly, he was floating, ghostlike, in the dark space of the cupboard, the only light a line visible through the gap around the edges of the cupboard door.

A moment later, there was the sound of a lightbulb turning on and light flooded the space. Severus was hard pressed not to gasp. Although this was expected given what he'd seen so far, picturing it and really seeing it were different.

In front of him, swimming in a shirt that came down below his knees, was an absurdly skinny little boy. Familiar green eyes were visible behind poorly mended glasses. The garment he wore, in addition to being too large, was threadbare and looked filthy.

Potter shivered and pulled a thin blanket around himself. Severus noticed the boy didn't have a real mattress. He apparently slept on a scant collection of dirty, thin blankets. It looked more like an animal nest than a child's bedroom.

Now that the light was on, Severus could see the cupboard contained cleaning equipment one would expect to see in a place like this.

Otherwise, its contents were limited to a handful of broken action figures, a few piles of garments similar to what Potter wore, some broken crayons and scraps of paper. Scant though these possessions were, it was clear this was indeed the boy's room. But he didn't even have a single stuffy to keep him company. Just the broken action figures. Potter had clearly tried to keep the space relatively organized - his clothing, if you could call it that, was folded and set aside in neat piles. On the door to the cupboard was the same paper Severus had found himself, though at this time it was taped to the wall.

The sound of Potter's stomach rumbling got Severus's attention. The boy looked to be having a battle with himself for a long time before finally creeping over to the cupboard door. He quietly tried to open it but upon finding it was locked looked resigned rather than surprised.

"A-aunt Petunia? Uncle V-Vernon?" The high-pitched voice was quiet, hesitant. Fearful. Harry tried again when he got no answer. He eventually tried knocking on the door a little.

Eventually, Severus could hear footsteps and a spiteful voice hissing through the door. "What are you making this racket for, boy?"

"I'm just...well, I was wondering if I could have something to eat. I'm really hungry, Aunt Petunia."

"How dare you try to make us feel guilty after the freakish stunt you pulled?"

"S-sorry, aunt Petunia…"

Another pair of footsteps could be heard - much louder this time. The cupboard seemed to shake and Harry curled into himself a little as the lock could be heard being unlatched.

The door was wrenched open to reveal an enormous purple-faced man who was looking at Harry with rabid hatred in his eyes.

"Why are you bothering your aunt, you freak!? After what you put us through? You should count your lucky stars for what we give you. Your aunt has a soft heart - I for one agree with Marge and think we should have drowned you like the miserable runt you are rather than waste our valuable time and money on the likes of you!"

Potter was shaking but his eyes were entirely dry. Severus was almost impressed, though he figured the boy was used to this sort of thing, which was not something that brought Severus any joy."

"You'll stay in there and eat what we say you eat, when we say." The man's voice turned almost manic, and he gave the boy a horrible smile. "In fact, you should thank me. For you, this is like a two week break, Potter. No work or school at all for all that time!"

The man laughed meanly and slammed the door. The boy finally let his expression crumble, but even as tears rolled down his cheeks, he was entirely silent. Severus noticed for the first time the bucket in the corner of the room. Was Potter being forced to use that to relieve himself?

The memory ended and Severus felt absolutely sick. A large part of him didn't want to see anymore, but he felt almost as if it was his duty at this point to at least check out the remaining sources of most potent magic.

As Severus left the house some time later, he thought the Dursleys were lucky they were no longer alive. Because if they had been, he wasn't sure he could have restrained himself from taking revenge for the boy. For his ward.

While the cupboard incident was still the most horrifying revelation, the kitchen scene with that shrew Petunia hitting a young Potter with a frying pan for burning a single piece of bacon while his fat cousin sat at the kitchen table stuffing his face with ice cream was quite horrific in its own right.

As was the bath scene, with Petunia forcing an extremely tiny Potter to bathe in ice cold water.

The room Severus had determined was eventually given to Potter was not much better than a jail cell with the bars on its windows and the series of locks on the door. It was clear that Potter had always been miserable in that house.

It was a wonder, and it said something about Potter's resilience, that the boy had come out of this overall gentle and kind - that he hadn't let this turn him cold, bitter, and cruel. Severus knew better than most how life could do that to one.

When the head of Slytherin returned to the manor, he almost took his dinner separately from the boys, but found himself craving to see Potter as he was now - relatively happy and healthy - as a balm to what he'd just seen. He knew he'd have to make sure his Occlumency shields were in peak condition lest he let on to the boy that something was wrong.

Sure enough, this Potter was in great spirits, chatting amiably with Draco and even trying to pull him, Severus, into their conversation of the potions they'd tried out that day.

"Seriously, sir, that modification was absolutely brilliant! How did you come up with it?"

Severus could no longer deny it - he was starting to care for this boy. Care not just whether he lived or died, but care that he was happy.

"Perhaps I'll walk you through it sometime."

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