Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognisably Harry Potter-ish

Chapter 9

Harry and his captor re-materialised in a darkened room, Harry could see that there was a bed and desk but little else. His captor walked over and gently lowered him onto the bed, it was soft beneath him, far more comfy then the last one he had been strapped too. Then the dark figure left the room. Harry wondered if he was just going to be left there, but five minuets later the hooded figure returned, he illuminated the room and stood at the foot of the bad Harry couldn't not make out the face but when he spoke, he knew who it was:

"If I release you do you promise not to run off or try and kill yourself?" Harry thought about this, he had been restrained for days and would like to be able to move; also the chance of successfully taking his life here was dramatically reduced. He looked at the figure, he couldn't move or speak he wasn't sure how to convey his acceptance of the terms. The figure spoke again

"Blink once fore yes" Harry blinked. The man drew his wand,

"Finite Incantatem" Harry felt his limbs again and moved his arms experimentally. His captor finally removed his cloak. Severus stared at Harry, he was still thin though being force fed had improved his condition a little. Severus moved round to the side of the bed and sat down, Harry shuffled to the side a bit, Severus caught his arm and pulled him back, he viewed the tubes disdainfully. Harry looked away he was beginning to feel like a freak show.

"One more deal Potter, I'll takes those things out of you but you have to eat and drink. If you don't I'll take you straight back to the Burrow and allow Miss Granger to put them back without a pain reducing potion understand?" Harry nodded; he was under no illusions that Snape meant every word. Severus reached for the tubes and gently began to pull them, Harry couldn't get his head back far enough and started to gag, Severus lifted the boy with one hand between his shoulder blade, allowing Harry to tilt his head back and prevent the tubes from choking him. As they came free Severus dropped them on the floor.  Harry was still coughing as Severus lay him back down. By the side of the bed was a jug of water and a glass, Severus poured the water into the glass and handed it to Harry, he accepted gratefully and drank it. The cold fluid bought a flood of sensation Harry had almost forgotten about. He lay back down feeling the rich fabric beneath him, he was puzzled

"Where am I?"

"You're somewhere that is safe from overbearing relatives and Dark Lords" Harry nodded, it was a start

"Err why am I here?" Severus stiffened he knew the boy would ask but he wasn't ready to explain, Harry saw the tension as a mark that he had said something wrong and was about to get punished, he shuffled across the bed

"Sorry I didn't mean to upset you" he said a little too quickly, Severus bought his attention back to the boy he's as jumpy as a grasshopper, Lord Merlin why didn't we see it before.

"Harry I'm not upset, and even if I was, I wouldn't hit you for asking a question, especially one you're entitled to ask. Come here." Harry was sitting up against the pillar at the bottom of the bed, he moved cautiously next to Severus, never taking his eyes off him.

"Thank you. I bought you here because I no longer felt that you were safe at the Burrow. Safe from Voldemort and the muggles perhaps but I was there today and something I saw disturbed me" It was true, but it wasn't the real reason he had decided to take Harry, he needed somewhere private for the conversation they needed to have.

"Lupin" Harry said quietly Severus nodded slightly; Harry drew himself into a ball and wrapped his arms round his shins, Severus put his hands on Harry's, Harry flinched but then relented allowing the contact.

"Harry why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sit like that, are you cold?"

"No, it's just… it makes me feel better" Severus nodded, a child bought up without physical affection often did this, it was a sign that they needed comfort. Or so Miss Granger had informed them when they had been discussing the matter. Severus moved round slowly and placed his arm around Harry's shoulders, he was not an affectionate man and the whole thing seemed alien to him. Harry straightened away from the contact, Severus was relieved

"Sorry" he muttered "I was told that you might want comfort" so much for Granger's little theory

"I do" Harry said "But not from... it's just that…"

"Not from me" Severus said he understood, damn Granger couldn't that girl be wrong just once? Severus sighed and looked at the wreck of a boy sitting on the bed

"Harry, would it help if I said I was sorry" Harry hugged himself tighter and shrugged, Severus inwardly sighed, this was going to be more difficult then he had previously thought.

"Harry, I am sorry. But we did need to know, you may not agree with it but do you understand why I did it?" Harry thought about this for a bit. He could see that from their point of view he was being secretive, maybe he had a point.

"I guess, it's just I didn't want anyone to know and then everybody did, I'm sorry I kept it a secret but I didn't think I deserved that" Severus lost his cool

"Damn it boy for the last time it's not you fault!" He was a bit more forceful then he had intended and needed to cool down, Harry had flinched at the sound. It was so frustrating watching him beat himself up, he obviously believed that what ever anyone did to him he deserved and it was going to take a long time for them to convince him otherwise.

"Thank you" he said quietly Severus was surprised

"For what?" Harry laughed emptily

"For taking me away from overbearing relatives and friends twice" Severus reached for

him again and this time Harry let him, he held Harry until he had stopped shaking. He was there a long time. 

Next morning Harry awoke and found for the third time that week he was in a different room. By the light of day he could see that the four poster bed was in the middle of the room, off to his right was a door presumably to the rest of the house, to the left of it was a small conjoining bathroom. On the other side there was a dresser and desk. Harry rose, it felt odd to be able to walk, his wrists and ankle were sore from the ropes. He went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. He stood under the jet and for the first time since he was first whipped, inspected his injuries. He ran his hands over the cuts on his just and inspected the ones he had made himself on his arms, his forearms were going to scar badly, but hadn't healed yet, none of the wounds had, he put it down to not having enough energy. Slowly he ran his hands down his back, the cuts were deeper there, he traced his spine down to its based and winced, his body was still recovering from his uncle's attacks. He shut the shower off and picked up a towel off the rack and wrapped it round his waist, he was careful not to look in the mirror, his uncle had told him that he was the true image of evil and he didn't want to see what evil looked like. Out in the bedroom with light pouring in the window Harry felt better then he had done since leaving school. Someone knocked at the door, the sound made Harry jump; he wasn't used to having someone asking to come in.

"Err hang on, I'm not dressed" he called back

"There a clean robes in the dresser" the voice on the other side of the door replied, Harry quickly went over to the unit and opened the draw, sure enough there were sets of black robes in there, he quickly through one on and opened the door. Severus was standing on the other side patiently waiting.

"Sorry" He murmured, Severus brushed it off.

"Harry sit down for a second please" Harry sat Severus was pacing "As I am sure you're aware, when I bought you here, it was not with the consent of Dumbledore" Harry nodded

"The rest of them are going to wake this morning and think I have been kidnapped" Severus nodded

"And while I am likely to be a suspect, I do not think they will have any real evidence against me the trail left when I apparated will be dry by now and the floo network never records data like that." Harry interrupted again

"Why would you be a suspect? I mean it was you who took me from my Uncle's place" Severus nodded

"Which brings me onto another matter that I must talk to you about" he finally stopped pacing, pulled the chair out from the desk and sat down.

"Harry, I know you are conscious of the animosity I had towards James" he paused Harry nodded wondering where this was going.

"Well I am not sure if you know the full reason why, yes when we were at school there was all that business with Sirius and Remus, but there was something else. Harry I am not sure how to tell you all this so I shall try and start from the beginning. While I did not like James, Lily was never anything but kind to me, she didn't care which house I was in, what my lineage was or how much money I had, we became close. She said she cared deeply for me, but loved James and married him. I stayed in contact with them but then one night when James was away, Lily was upset, she had just exchanged harsh and I believe her last words with Petunia. She was distraught that her sister would not accept her. I comforted her and that night one thing led to another…" he trailed off wondering how much detail to put into this. From the look on Harry's face he decided that was enough, he pressed on quickly

"I loved your mother Harry, never question that, but when James returned she told him the truth he was understandably angry, but he forgave her preferring to pin all the blame on me. But that wasn't the end of it, Lily become pregnant" Harry had not made the last connection, he was still struggling with the idea his mother had an affair.

"She became pregnant with you, Harry" Harry was stunned and didn't speak for a long time. Severus waited him out,

"It's impossible" he finally said "I mean you may have slept with her, but I look like James every one says so" Severus shook his head

"I promise you it's true, and yes you look a lot like James. The reason for this is, that when you were a baby you had an amazing power, you could look at two people in a room and mould yourself to look like a mix of them, for the first days of your life you did it with every new face in the room. But it wasn't to last when you were a month old, you would still change but only with people you knew. James spotted this, and he didn't let me near you, until you were six months old the only people you saw were Lily and James, so when finally you lost the ability, you looked like a mixture of them, and it stuck. When I realised what James was doing, I was livid, he was keeping me from my love, and my new born son" Harry flinched at the last four words, Severus continued choosing to ignore it

"It was then I changed sides, it was then I joined Voldemort, I wanted to rid the world of everyone and anyone who reminded me of her, of you." Harry was stunned and having a great deal trouble taking this all in, he shook his head in denial.

"It's a lie, some sort of sick joke, if it were true you wouldn't have been so nasty to me all these years" Harry got up and headed for the door Severus grabbed, him by the shoulders pinning him to the wall

"Why would I lie? Harry why? And yes I've been beastly, it's because you look so much like James Potter, the man who had the perfect family, MY FAMILY!" he was shaking Harry, Harry was trembling anyway but he was still refusing to accept it, tears were welling in his eyes and there was a lump in his throat, his swallowed it down, determined to keep the tears from falling.

"Why are you doing this? Why now?" he chocked out, Severus drew in several deep breaths, and relaxed his grip on him, but didn't let go

"I'm telling you this because you need to know, you need to be protected now, and not just from the Voldemort, but from your uncle, and from that werewolf" Harry looked at him with renewed anger;

"Lupin wouldn't hurt me" Severus grunted

"Told you that did he" Harry nodded

"Just before…" Harry stopped suddenly realising the type of protection Severus was talking about his eyes went wide and he made a little 'oh' noise. Harry now was very confused

"But he said I was like da… James he said I was like a son to him" Severus guided Harry back to the bed and sat him down the boy did not look like he could stand much longer.

"Yes you are like James, and that is the problem really. James loved Lily I'm sure but there was a reason they never had children" Harry took this in and lay down on the bed he put his hands over his face

"This is all way too confusing. I need to think" Severus nodded.

"I'll be in the lounge if you have questions. You are not going to do something idiotic are you?"  Harry looked at him

"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to tell you if I was?" Severus just stared at him.

"Ok fine I won't do anything idiotic" Harry said, Severus nodded and pulled the door too, but did not put it on the latch. Harry lay on the bed and turned the facts he'd just heard around with what he already knew. By the time he'd finished he had a very large headache.