How Albus Dumbledore managed to rope him into things he had no desire to do, he had no idea. He had just left his safe lab in the dungeons to get an estimate of the incoming first-year so that he could plan around the muggle-borns' lack of experience. Dumbledore hadn't made a personal house call since the 1950s. He knew it had something to do with the Potter brat. He could feel it in his bones the moment Dumbledore mentioned it.
Severus had pointedly refused at first. There was no way he was going to take time off his Wednesday to visit Wool's Orphanage. The Potter brat would already be in his class; he could meet him then. Albus was a grown wizard, and he could show the brat around Diagon Alley all by himself. So, of course, here he was in a tight suit surrounded by the worst muggle children he could happen to imagine. The headmistress had taken an instant liking to him, and Severus wanted to Obliviate himself of her terrifying fantasies of the pair together.
"You have an opening for the Potter boy? You are sure? We have many other children to pick from." Headmistress Dye said carefully. She wanted the boy gone, but shoving him on these nice respectable men would be cruel. She didn't want them to judge her on the little demon's actions.
"Mr. Potter has had his name down ever since he was born. His parents were alumni before they died. We are a very close-knit school and nothing you say will deter us from inviting him. May I ask why you are so reluctant to let us meet him?" Dumbledore manipulated easily. Severus had to hold back a sneer. He didn't know why so many trusted a man who could lie this smoothly.
"He is a troubled child. He was brought to us at the age of seven badly abused. We don't usually take in abuse victims, but he was a sweet boy. I didn't want him to have to sleep in the police station until they found another place for him. It was supposed to be temporary but then the matrons got attached and a child got adopted. We had a sudden opening and decided to keep him." The headmistress started. It was a long story and she wasn't sure just what all she could say without the men second-guessing their choice of taking the Potter boy.
"He doesn't cause trouble per se; he attracts it. The children seem to hate him no matter what. He is brilliant and gets along very well with the adults. I think that makes him a threat to the other children. They seem to single him out among all the rest." She continued. Severus couldn't really think of a Potter in that position. Potter always put him in that position. He wouldn't wish that on any child. Dumbledore had an unreadable expression. He didn't like this. The situation was too similar. He had made the same mistake before. He had to fix this quickly.
"Minor bullying isn't a reason for the aversion you have for the boy. There must have been something else." Albus pressed for more information. The headmistress suddenly got uncomfortable. She hadn't spoken about the rest of the story ever. She promised she wouldn't. It made her look crazy. The more religious matrons believed the boy was a demon.
Severus felt the magic roll-off Dumbledore as he cast a mild suggestion charm on the headmistress. He didn't like the feeling of his magic. His magic had a sickly-sweet feel to it. It felt terrible against Severus' dark core.
"He's a little fallen angel. He never does anything wrong in front of people, but there are things that happen around here when he is angry or hurt. If he is wronged, you better believe that the person will feel his wrath. I don't know how he does it, but it isn't possible to have so many coincidences. The boys always picked on him, but that stopped instantly when he turned nine years old." She admitted. Dumbledore felt a chill go down his spine. This was déjà vu. The same orphanage. The same background. He had created another monster.
"When he turned nine, he was a very quiet child. I believed that either his relatives didn't teach him to speak, or they punished him for it. He answered basic yes or no questions, but he wouldn't speak. He just nodded or shook his head. Michael, one of the other boys here, took to bullying him for being 'mute'. Harry spoke that day. He spoke about things he couldn't have known. He told the other children about Michael's past which only I knew about. I hadn't even told the other patrons." She explained.
Severus didn't know what to think about the Potter boy. He defended himself against bullies better than he ever did. He couldn't fault the boy for fighting back. He couldn't fault the boy for any of this. He knew Dumbledore wouldn't see it that way. Dumbledore would fault Harry for the other boy's actions.
Harry was sitting out on the small lumpy couch that they had in the library book room. He was flipping through a book quietly, his mop of messy hair too distinct not to be able to pick out of the crowd of children. An older boy around sixteen stumbled in obviously being shoved playfully by his friends. His bright blue eyes zeroed in on Harry and a cocky smile tugged at his lips as he moved and shoved the book out of Harry's hands.
"Stop acting like you can read, freak! We all know you can't even talk. Was that why your parents gave you up? Too stupid for them?" He taunted as Harry seemed to curl away from the word. His entire body language shifted when Michael mentioned his parents. It was like a light switch and suddenly Harry looked vicious as he stood up to Michael.
"You are one to talk about parents not wanting them. Mine died for me, but yours? Yours gave you up because you were too violent to have around your perfect sister. Barely made it until double digits before mummy and daddy shipped you off." Harry shot back his voice sharp but a deathly calm that someone that old shouldn't have been able to accomplish.
"Shut your fucking inbred little mouth about things you know nothing about!" Michael yelled, slamming his fist into the wall beside Harry's head before looking at it like he didn't know how it had gotten there.
"That's strike three, isn't it? Be careful Michael, you'll be thrown on the streets before long." Harry's voice was too soft to be heard and only Michael could see the flash of red in them. Michael ran off and Harry grabbed the book again and started to read again as if nothing happened.
"He shouldn't have known the things he did. He was also right about it being Michael's third strike. He had a lot of behavioral problems and had been reprimanded for harming Harry before. We didn't know what to think when we got the reports back from the other children. Michael killed himself that week and his roommate swore that Harry did it, but it's just not possible. Michael was nearly an adult. Little Harry was only just a boy." She said as if she often had to convince herself not to believe the stories of Harry's abilities.
"We're not going to turn Harry away for rumors, may we meet him?" Dumbledore said coolly when the headmistress of the orphanage finished her tale.
Severus felt like his entire world had been shaken to the core. He had seen the memories of a boy just like Harry. He had seen the way vicious muggles had twisted him. He could feel his stomach tying in knots. Had they unknowingly created another monster? Harry could be so much worse than Tom ever was. Harry had fame and support. Harry could completely crush the world under his shoe if he played his cards right.
The headmistress led them through the halls towards a small bedroom at the end of the hall where Harry was sitting on the bed with a book propped up on his knees.
"Harry? You have some visitors." The strict tone of the headmistress made Harry shoot out of the bed and snap the book closed. Severus could see the title of a sociology book on the spine even if Harry looked like he was caught doing something wrong.
"Apologies! I should have tidied up." Harry said with a polite tone as he put the book out on the little shelf above his bed. "Harry Potter, nice to meet you," Harry said politely. Severus felt the knot in his stomach start to loosen. He didn't look anything like the monster from the memory of the matron. He was polite and shy. The matron left to give them privacy.
"It is our fault for coming unannounced, but we wished to have this meeting in person. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of a school named Hogwarts. Your parents were alumni and we have come to offer you a place at our school." Albus said, obviously putting on a show. Severus felt his shoulders tense. He never liked seeing how the muggle-born children reacted to being told they were special. He could easily tell who already felt like they were better than their peers.
Harry shifted nervously under Severus' gaze. His eyes never left Dumbledore just slightly below eye level obviously not wanting to make eye contact with the older wizard. "What sort of school? I… I wasn't aware that someone knew who my parents were. I have been here for as long as I can remember." he said softly. Severus felt his heart shutter. The only lie had been that he couldn't remember before he was at the orphanage. He did remember living with his relatives, and by the flash of emotion that crossed Harry's face, he knew the memories weren't pleasant.
"Hogwarts is a school for a very special type of person. Hogwarts is a school of magic-"
"Don't say that word." Harry cut in instinctively his eyes widening at the fact that he had cut off the Professor. Severus felt something heavy settle in his stomach. He knew that level of programming from his own childhood. The obvious fear at the sound of the word magic. His father had programmed that same fear into him.
"I apologize…" he said trying to take back what he had admitted in one short phrase. Severus could understand the anger at still slipping into old habits. He understood the shame. He also saw that Albus was not understanding what Harry had just admitted with that word. He was looking understanding. He was trying to be supportive, but Harry was just pulling away from the older man even more that he wasn't reacting to what he said. The understanding grandfather act had failed him for once. He kept his eyes trained on Harry. All he could remember was the way that Lily looked holding Harry to her chest like he was the center of her universe. Severus has never seen her look at anything that way. Severus now desperately wanted to be anywhere else. He didn't know how he was going to face those familiar eyes every single day when the fire that Lily had was completely vacant in Harry.
"You are not the first student we have had that reacts poorly to the knowledge at first. You are a wizard, Harry. Have you ever done anything that cannot be rationally explained?" Albus asked and Harry stiffened more than Severus thought was possible. The pain in his eyes as he looked down at the comforter that he was picking at. Severus felt like he was dealt a blow. He never wanted to see that much remorse in a child ever again. The broken way that Harry carried himself immediately made him want to protect him. For once he hoped that Harry Potter was in Slytherin. He wanted to be able to unravel the puzzle of what made an eleven-year-old look like a battle-torn soldier.
"I can make things move. I once changed a teacher's hair blue." Harry said, his face going blank. Suddenly Severus worried even more. The amount of emotional control it took to blank out like that at eleven was astounding. He wondered what had caused the son and godson of the rashest men Severus had ever met to display this level of emotional control. Albus looked slightly relieved at his answer as if Severus wasn't more worried than when he came in. Severus wondered for what felt like the millionth time if Albus realized how much he resembled the Dark Lord when he treated people like pawns in his chess game. He wondered off-handedly if that was why he had accidentally created so many dark wizards.
"Your parents were also magical. They were heroes of the last magical war. They died to protect you." Albus said easily, already trying to instill loyalty in Harry seconds after turning his entire life upside down. Severus wanted to speak up and stop him but he knew better than to question Dumbledore in public. Harry took the words like a blow sitting down on his bed, his eyes going unfocused for a second. Severus would give anything to know what was going through his mind.
"They didn't die in a car accident. That was what I was told, or at least what was told to the caseworker who removed me from my relative's house." Harry's voice was soft and Severus felt a chill down his spine. He knew exactly who had told Harry about his parents. He could just imagine the horse-faced Petunia looking smug as she told the orphan child of her sister that his parents had been delinquents. He would have loved to say the same about James, but after what had happened even he had to admit that James was at least honorable even if he was a childish bully as well.
"No. Your parents were heroes. They defeated a Dark Lord that was terrorizing the magical world. Every child in our world knows the story of Lily and James Potter. They were brave and selfless. They were some of the brightest of their age." Dumbledore said, easily singing the Potter's praises. Severus wondered if Dumbledore realized what he was doing to Harry. Telling him that any family in the wizarding world would treat him like a celebrity for his parents. He knew the lengths he would have gone to get out of his home. He knew what he would have done had he access to Harry's resources. Severus almost prayed that Harry never thought of it.
"I do not have any money. How am I supposed to afford to attend? Is there a scholarship opportunity?" Harry asked blankly. Dumbledore glanced at Severus worried that Harry had not asked about his parents, but Severus was watching Harry. He wished the boy would look him in the eye so he could scan the surface of his thoughts, but Harry always looked just slightly away from them trying to stay polite but not look at them directly.
"Your parents set aside money for you to attend. Nearly every child in our world goes to Hogwarts." Dumbledore said, finally surprised that his Potter song and dance didn't continue on. Dumbledore would never quite understand the mind of Harry Potter and Severus knew that. Lily and James were truly gone now with not a hint of either parent in the child who sat on the bed fiddling with his comforter refusing to meet their eyes. "Professor Snape will be coming by this week to take you to get your supplies if you accept our offer." he continued. A swell of several emotions crashed into Severus at the idea of having to teach the boy about their world. He already had to pick his words so carefully so as not to reveal his status as a spy, but now he had to analyze every minute detail of Harry's interactions in order to be able to report back to Dumbledore. Dumbledore handed over Harry's letter to him. Harry opened it carefully, his eyes sharp as he looked over it.
"I would like to attend." He said, suddenly moving to his desk to write a formal acceptance and handed it to Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes, Professor Snape will be here to collect you by nine in the morning this Thursday," Dumbledore informed Harry not even bothering to ask Severus. Dumbledore knew how obedient he had made Severus over the years. Harry nodded politely a soft 'yes sir' leaving his lips as he still refused to look them in the eye. Dumbledore started to push them out of the door and Severus tried to catch a glimpse of Harry as they left to see if he showed more emotion without their lingering presence. Harry just sat on the bed tracing his fingers over the letter. Severus shook his head as he followed Dumbledore.
"We need to change our plans. He is too similar to Tom. I need you to lead him to the light." Dumbledore rattled off as they walked to a place they could apparate back to Hogwarts. Severus felt his thoughts swirling.
"Do you really think I am the best person to do that?" Severus asked suddenly. Dumbledore shot him a grandfatherly smile.
"I have the utmost faith in your ability to keep him from making the same mistakes you did," he said and Severus was suddenly reminded that he had no choice. Dumbledore could ruin him if he wanted. Severus nodded obediently and let silence fall between them as they got back to the castle.