WARNINGS: abuse/neglect/eating disorder/spanking/bullying/swearing/corporal punishment

The twins were exhausted from traveling that by the time they got to Hogwarts they were fast asleep and put to bed in a spare room in Severus' quarters. They didn't wake up until the following morning. It was a long-needed sleep. Severus, on the other hand, didn't sleep well, actually, he didn't sleep at all. This new responsibility that had been thrown on him was like heavy bricks. Yes, he was the head of Slytherin House, so he had a lot of experience with looking after children right? But were these twins that he was going to care for 24/7 going to be brats? Lazy? Cheeky? Arrogant? He had no idea what to expect apart from them most likely going to have some sort of trauma from the abuse he was told little about by Dumbledore. Did Dumbledore himself even know the severity of the abuse? Probably not because if he did he would have surely got them out of that house earlier.

It was morning. The children had slept long enough, Severus thought. Time to wake them up, a person they had never met before. This is going to confuse them.

Severus walked into the spare room. He had made 2 beds for them to sleep in. He did put them into separate beds while they were sleeping but one of them had moved into the other bed so they were both asleep together.

Who was he going to wake up first? Wait… which one was Harry and which one was Alex?

"Dammit," he cursed out loud, loud enough that it woke up one sleepy head. The boy scanned the big green-looking room before he laid eyes on Severus. The boy's hair was sticking up. Very green. Very very green the boy thought. The glasses were still on the boy's face. He looked towards the end of the bed. There he stood. A man in all black. The boy looked startled. He'd never seen this man before. He looked scary. The boy with the glasses quickly shook the other boy until he woke up. He did exactly the same as the other boy did. Look around the room until he noticed the man in black. He gave the same look like the other boy. They both looked at each other and gulped.

"Who are you?" the boy without the glasses asked, he was nervous, waking up in a room he had no idea where he was or who this man was.

"My name is Severus Snape. You may call me Severus" he crossed his arms and said, "may I ask which one of you is Alex and which is Harry?"

The boy with the glasses spoke up. "I'm Harry. The only way people tell us apart is my glasses. Alex doesn't need glasses"

Severus nodded and changed the subject. "You both have 10 minutes to get up and ready. Brush your teeth and get dressed. There is a bathroom through that door" he pointed to the white door.

"By the time I'm back I want you both waiting in this room. I have already gotten you both new clothes so you can put those on. I'll be back in 10 minutes" and saying that he left the room.

The twins did as they were told not wanting to know what would happen if they didn't do as told. When they finished getting dressed in clothes that actually fitted them, Severus came back.

"Good. let's go have breakfast then we'll talk" they both nodded and followed the man to the small kitchen. The twins sat at the table nervously. Severus got out his wand and food magically appeared on the table. Alex dug in but Harry didn't. Severus noticed after 2 minutes that he wasn't eating. "Does this food not live up to your expectations, Potter?" Harry shook his head then grabbed a piece of toast and chewed on it carefully. Meanwhile, Alex was eating too fast for Severus' liking. He was eating everything he could.

"Slow down or you'll be sick" Severus warned. "Sorry, I'm just hungry. We've never been offered this much food ever" Severus didn't say anything to that and just ate his own food. When they were finished Severus waved his wand and the empty plates had gone.

"Wow…" they both said.

"Let's go sit in my office and talk" the twins followed Severus into his office. It was full of huge books. Severus sat behind the desk and told them to sit on the chairs.

"So you are probably wondering who I am, am I correct?" the twins both nodded. "Verbal answers please"

"Yes sir," they both said.

"I'm your new guardian. You won't ever be going back to the Dursleys again. The way they treated you both was disgusting, you don't have to fear anymore, you are both safe with me now. You will be in the care of me and you don't have to worry." Alex smiled and Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"I am a professor and the potions master here at Hogwarts. I am also head of Slytherin House-"

"What's a Slytherin?" Alex cut him off. Severus had to restrain himself from snapping at the boy. He hated being cut off. Severus explained to the twins about the Hogwarts houses and their meanings.

"As I was saying, I teach here at Hogwarts but I won't be coming back for another 2 years until you both are 11"

"Why not?" they both asked.

"Because I will be looking after you both" Severus said. They nodded their little heads.

"Any questions?" he asked. They both sat there for a moment until Harry spoke up.

"What about school?" Harry loved school. It was an escape from the Dursleys.

"You will both be enrolled into a muggle school until you go to Hogwarts" Harry smiled. He was happy to go to school. On the other hand, Alex wasn't a fan of school, he did get into trouble quite a bit but luckily for them, Severus had no idea what they were both like in education.

"You will both be meeting Professor Dumbledore today and I expect you both to be respectful" they both nodded. Severus got out of his chair and told them both to follow. Severus walked quickly so the two were basically running after him. They walked past students who were staring at the two boys, luckily they had no idea who they were, they were famous after all, Severus wasn't going to be happy that the word would get around that the two twins were with Professor Snape.

When they got to the office, Severus greeted Dumbledore.

"Ah Severus, finally have the twins, good good."

"Boys this is Albus Dumbledore. He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts"

"Hello," Dumbledore said and smiled, they smiled back.

"You both look very much like your Father, except the eyes, you both have your Mothers eyes," Dumbledore said. And that's exactly what Severus was thinking.

Dumbledore offered them both a lemon drop. They both took one. They talked mostly about their parents with Dumbledore while Severus went to go sort some things out. When he came back they looked to have been having a nice chat.

"Thank you, Albus. I shall be leaving with them now and heading home. I've packed up and I will see you when I do. Say goodbye boys"

"Bye. Seeya" they said and followed Severus out. They followed him all the way to the front doors. It was busy as it was now lunchtime and students were watching. Alex scratched his head revealing the lightning bolt scar. A Few students gasped.

"It's the twins who lived" one student shouted out and pointed. Suddenly a crowd was formed and Alex and Harry felt overwhelmed. They weren't used to the attention. Severus rolled his eyes and thought they were both loving it. He grabbed their hands and walked through the crowd. Some students followed. They walked all the way down to the dungeons and back to his quarters.

"Right. Here is the fireplace. We are going to floo to my house. You will grab some of this powder then you will say 'Spinner's end' then you will throw the powder down. When you get there you will wait for me to come through. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir," they said.

Alex went first and got there no problem. Harry was nervous about the flames but did as he was told. Severus went last. When they got into the house Severus got his wand out and put a charm on the fireplace so that nobody could use it.

"Right, it's time for Lunch" Severus announced. He got them to follow him to the table and they sat down.

"After lunch, we are going to have a talk" Severus got his wand out again and food appeared onto the table. The twins wondered how he did that but they didn't question.

Alex dug in once again and Harry just sat there not touching a single thing on his plate. Severus spoke up.

"Do you not like this food, Potter?" Harry looked up at his guardian and shook his head.

"Verbal answer please"

"It's not that I don't like it, I do, I'm just not hungry"

"I would like you to eat at least a few bites of vegetables and some chicken" Severus ordered. Harry picked up his fork and did as he was told. It took him a while to eat but he managed.

Alex finished his plate and looked content. Harry, on the other hand, did not.

"Right, let's go talk in the living room" they got up and followed him. They sat down and Severus began to talk.

"Since you both will be living under my roof, I expect you both to follow my rules. If you break a rule there will be consequences" Severus said in a scary tone at the last part.

"1st rule is that no one is allowed in my lab.

2nd rule no lying to me or to anyone, I will not tolerate liars in this house.

3rd rule do everything I say

4th rule is to be respectful…"

The twins listened to all the boring rules Severus had made. There were a lot of rules to follow. Severus then moved onto the consequences.

"If any of you break my rules you'll be in a lot of trouble," Severus said, watching the twins squirm in their seats uncomfortably.

"What will happen if we do break a rule?" Alex questioned Severus. Severus was going to do what he usually did with his unruly Slytherins. "I will ground, take belongings away, make you write essays, clean my cauldrons or even put you over my knee. So i do suggest that you two will follow my rules" the boys were relieved when he didn't mention locking them in a cupboard for a week.

"I guess it's not that bad," Alex said. Severus was curious as to what punishments the Dursleys gave them so he asked them "What would happen at the Dursleys if you did something wrong?"

"Get punched, kicked, beaten with the belt, no food, locked in our cupboard…" Alex spoke like it was a normal way to be punished. Harry added "sometimes when Uncle Vernon would lock us in the garden all night while it was freezing outside" Severus' blood boiled. How dare they treat children that way.

"That will not happen here. Ever" Severus said, the boys smiled at that

"Do you both understand everything I have just said?"

"Yes Sir" they both replied.

"Good. Now, I have a friend coming over and he has a son who I would like you both to meet. His name is Draco. He is my godson. He is also nine years old like you two" the twins nodded their heads, they were excited to meet a new person to play with. Dudley always had friends over. Harry and Alex weren't allowed.

Just then the fireplace made a noise. "Don't worry. It's just the Malfoys" he pointed his wand at the fireplace and cast a spell. In came a tall man with long blonde hair with a cane in his hand. In came a little boy with blonde hair brushed back smartly.

"Lucius, Draco, good to see you both" he stood up and greeted them.

"This is Harry and Alex. Say hello boys," Severus told them. "Hi… Hello…"

"Good to meet you both" Lucius took a step forward towards the twins, he puts his hand towards Alex, Alex took his hand and shook it. Lucius doesn't let go, he steps even closer then uses his cane to move Alex's fringe out the way to reveal his scar.

"Forgive me, both your scars are legend, as of course is the wizard who gave it to yous" he gave a little smile. Alex felt uncomfortable; he gave Harry a quick look then Lucius let go of his hand.

"Why don't you all go in the garden, it's a lovely day, Lucius and I have to talk" he suggested. Alex and Harry followed Draco out to the back garden. It was quite big and nicely kept. There was a swing set, a football and a broomstick. It was mostly there for when Draco would stay at his godfather's house.

"So… who's who?" Draco eyed the twins.

"I'm Alex" he answered, putting his hand out to shake Draco's hand. They shook hands and began to talk. They got on instantly. Harry stood there awkwardly as the two got along together. They sat on the swings talking about god knows what. Harry stood alone with the football lightly kicking it against the fence. He felt a little jealous that Alex was getting the attention of a new possible friend. Harry felt left out. He hoped this wasn't going to be a regular thing.