Finally year 1 is almost over, and I know things are not exactly canon, but it's not fully meant to be, and I really do hope you guys like it.

Much love,

-Xenia


Chapter 5: Informed

"Well then my boy..." Dumbledore smiled, offering the boy a lemon drop, which Harry took silently. "Professor Snape has come to me regarding your scar?"

Harry was unsure to say the least. He wasn't prepared to talk about this. He didn't know if he had some magical disease that they were going to lay at his door, or if this was really a link between him and Voldemort, but either way he was scared out of his mind.

"Of course Potter." The man sneered, and Harry saw the Headmaster's eyes dim a bit, before the twinkle returned. "It is an issue, though Albus we must address the point that the boy is single handedly running through my pain salves, and I haven't the time to replenish them until the start of the summer break."

Albus nodded sagely, taking a moment to think of his options. "And if you watched over Harry as he made his own? Any excess, if deemed worthy, can be used for reserves in the hospital wing."

The old wizard smiled happily as he made up his mind. The two were not so far off from being civil, even if the two ignored one another like the plague.

"And allow another Potter to skirt around the rules Albus?" The man scowled. "We are here to discuss how to put an end to his excessive need for constant potions and attention, not coddle the brat even further!"

Here Harry frowned. He knew the man had to treat him a certain way, even if he did not understand why, or even why he showed Harry his more 'pleasant' side, for lack of a better word. But this was just mean.

"Sir, with all due respect," The boy said, forcing more venom into his voice around the word respect, "I feel like to you, coddling me would be anything above taking half of my houses points and giving me detentions forever."

"And wouldn't you just deserve it." The mans eyes were cold as he stared down at the first year.

"Deserve it?! Are you sure you deserve respect? Because I'm starting to think you don't!" Harry was so angry now, standing from his seat, and staring into those angry eyes he thought he knew.

Snape smirked, "Oh I should really sit Potter, you thinking could bring hell on earth. Should we humble ourselves Potter, or run behind you like little lap dogs?"

Harry was so seething angry right now, he just wanted to smack his teacher senseless, or leave the room so the frustrated tears in his eyes could go away. "No, you should realize that I don't want people to be my lap dogs. You've hated me from the moment we met and I was stupid to think all Professors were unbiased."

"Ten points to Gryffindor, for that astounding revelation. Finally he admits to his own stupidity."

"Ugh! Stop talking Snape!!" Harry screamed, feeling what he thought he knew shatter almost completely.

"There it is, acting just like your father. Fifteen points from Gryffindor." Snape smirked again.

Albus just watched as the conversation fell to ruins before being swallowed by a kraken and forced to stay in turbulent seas.

"How can I be acting like him if I never knew him. He's dead Snape!"

"And oh how wonderful life is without him. Twenty points from Gryffindor for your astounding lack of respect for a Professor." The man said, and that was how Harry ended his first year, storming out of the office and ignoring any other messages from the tall dark eyed man.

He didn't tell him about the Dursley's like he'd been building up to. He trusted the man and here he was making Harry feel inferior and like the freak he was always told he was.

That summer was awful, the Dursleys realized that he was in a bad mood, and took joy in making it worse. He'd never had so many bruises in a single day as he had on that very first day back.

It only got worse, as his ribs were bruised, and his skin had split on his eyebrow from a nasty trip down the stairs.

He still had to perform any and all chores, and his room was still in the cupboard, and he still had to cook and clean and sit on the floor out of sight while the family ate the food he made, knowing he'd not get any if they found one thing wrong, which they almost always did.

Throughout the whole summer the green eyed boy was boiling, both inside and out, as he was reminded daily of the fact that he had no one he trusted enough to tell about this, and that even if they knew, this new version of Snape would simply laugh and say it was well deserved.

Time dragged by, being pulled by its feet as it clawed the ground to slow the summer even more. Harry had already relocated the plants, deweeded the gardens, washed the house, cut the grass with normal scissors, painted the fence, dusted and polished the house, and yet he was outside once again trying to wash the car without getting too wet.

They wouldn't allow a dirty child into their home, but they were even less tolerant of a wet child. Unless of course it was Dudley.

Harry had stopped listening to what his relatives got on him about, but that did not stop him from wanting to run away when they hurt him. He wondered if anyone would know.

He scoffed to himself, scrubbing the car to get rid of near on a years worth of dirt. They probably wouldn't even care.

Of course when he was in his cupboard at night, Harry had no anger left to fall back on, he only had a sense of betrayal, for even though he had been told he'd get a room-- they didn't want the other freaks to see him in a cupboard and think he hadn't gotten exactly what he deserved-- he had not gotten any letters from any other adult either.

He was well and truly alone, but he knew now that there was no one to talk to, besides the Headmaster. And if the story was true that the Headmaster had placed him here, did he think Harry deserved it as well?

Speaking of the Headmaster, he had called Harry back later before the day of the leaving feast, and told him what he'd been unable to the last time, which was that he believed Harry had a connection to the Dark Lord Voldemort. Basically confirming Harry's worse fears and his mind was darkened a little bit more.

All of his thoughts spiralled until he went back to school, he had spent his birthday locked in Dudley's second room, with hardly anything but a sad little bed, a small rickety desk, a wardrobe that had seen better days, his trunk, and Hedwigs cage, since they had said she either stayed in it the whole summer or out of their sights lest she die unexpectedly.

Harry had loved her too much, despite her being a gift from the Potions Professor, and had sent her away. He hadn't seen her during the day for a long few months, but he was glad to be leaving, especially as he covered his bruises.

The Dursley's seemed to believe that his bruises going away was from his magic, but most of it was makeup he'd taken from his aunt over the years, and the truth would hurt him worse than the lie.

He'd not expected to be broken out of his room by the Weasley, as he'd never told them what his home life was like, but the twins and Ron stole him away to the burrow where he watched them be reprimanded and then had his stomach filled to bursting with good food, before heading off to platform 9 and the Hogwarts express. It was not enough to keep him in a good mood, as the food had harmed his starved stomach and he had thrown most of it up, then he'd been told off for eating too fast by Mrs. Weasley, which felt too wrong to be right. She wasn't his mum, and everything that summer lead straight back to what his professor had told him.

So a downtrodden, skinny Harry potter was what greeted the staff of Hogwarts on the first day of his second year.

Severus had to gulp down his bit of steak, as he watched the malnourished looking boy come in for the welcoming feast. He was thin, much more so than he'd been during his first year here, almost as if he either got no food or had starved himself. And he knew Harry enough to know that the boy was too bright and bubbly to have done so.

But as the night went on, he watched the boy fall further and further behind a mask of happiness, hardly eating and he knew. Without a shadow of a doubt that there was something wrong with Harry Potter.

Perhaps he should not have dug in so hard? Or he maybe should have told the boy of his plan before hand, had he had the chance, but mentally sighed and he told himself that letting the boy hate him, was the only way.

He knew Voldemort would stop at nothing to get a vessel, and to either kill or fully posses the boys body. He could not be outed because of a link between the Dark Lord and his prepubescent enemy. He needed Harry to know however that he had regretted most everything said that day, and in the days afterward, but the boy simply would not listen.

Harry had ignored him in classes, in the halls, and though Severus ignored the child too for good measure, he had thought the little Gryffindor would at least answer one of the missives he'd sent over the last bit of his first year.

But no, even now, as the snowy owl he'd gotten the boy brought in the last missive, he ignored it. Took it, put it into his pocket and ignored it resolutely. Severus stood and stalked from the dining hall, feeling deeply frustrated and drowning-- as always-- in his own regrets.

He had had to bribe the owl into even taking this last message to the boy, and he would not stoop so low as to beg her again. He would just have to find a different way.

Harry watched the man go, breathing a sigh of relief, and even Ron slumped down in his seat beside him.

"The gits been staring at you all dinner mate, you think he was trying to poison you with his eyes??" He widened his eyes and made an unpleasant face, still chewing his food.

"Language Ronald!" Hermione scolded primly, "And swallow before you speak!"

Ron only poked his tongue out at the girl, yelping when she threw a stinging hex at his tongue.

Harry finally let himself calm down. He didn't know why the man kept sending him messages, but he'd not look at them this year. No, he'd never look at them, he amended.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

The year started slowly, and had another unremarkable start, at least to Harry that is.

He still found magic beautiful, and the castle even more so, especially after the twins had given him a map they'd stolen from Filch, which apparently his dad and friends had made when they were in school.

He used it and his cloak rarely, but it was nice to have a piece of at least one of the two.

That didn't make the first week back any less boring though, because they had another defense teacher who surely didn't know his bum from the toilet he pulled this shite from.

He was worse than Quirrell had been, not only bragging about things he's likely never done, but only ever talking about himself. His first test was on which of his books or features was the students favorite, and he even tried to get Harry to pose for pictures with him.

Snape was a bloody git, but was this really how he saw Harry?

The next few weeks weren't any better, as Harry had been hearing whispers in the halls about killing and hunger, though no one had usually been around to hear it with him. Was he going insane, or was there really something there.

He decided to ignore it, only the talking got worse and he realized that the thing in the walls was big, real, alive, and surely on the hunt.

They'd heard talk about the Heir of Slytherin, and the Chamber of Secrets. They even knew that only an heir of Slytherin could get in, but they had no idea where it was, and the golden trio was becoming worried.

They had a lot to contend with, especially since all three of the golden trio suspected Draco malfoy of being the heir.

Things only got further muddled as time passed, and they followed the blond boy under the cloak with no results.

The boy shook off his thoughts and got back to the matter at hand.

It was now a good handful of months into the school year, and they had a break in the form of a dueling class. It was a class which Professors Snape and Lockhart had orchestrated, where the students got to see Snape hand the blond mans butt back to him. Each student was paired with someone from the opposite house, and told to stick with lower level spells.

Harry was put up against Malfoy, with the rest of the students on either side of the raised stage, but before they could see who had won fair and square, which Harry felt would have been him, Malfoy threw a spell that summoned a deadly snake.

It was racing down the table about to take a bit out of any student that screamed or moved away too fast, when Harry heard its confusion in the form of actual words.

'Where am I? Why am I here? MOVE!!!' It hissed out in blind panick and Harry decided to try to talk to it.

'It's ok, I can take you outside and away?' He asked, not noticing how everyone stared at him, Malfoy's smirk had left his ashen face, and even the teachers had paused, Lockhart having backed away from the entire situation.

'Away! Yess, away. So loud, so cold...' it admitted, liking that the boy had not moved other than to crouch. The boy was quiet. He made the room quiet, so he was ok for now.

'Just don't bite anyone and I can get you away safely.'

The snake nodded, then slithered closer and closer to the boy, before curling around his wrist and up to his neck, finding warmth from the thin body.

'That tickles...' Harry had tried not to laugh or squirm when the snake settled itself in. The snake was well and truly happy where it was, the boy was kind and quiet. He was warm and spoke in a language he could understand. It was almost too perfect for the snake.

The silence however was broken by Snape and children who were once again starting rumors about Harry.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will serve a detention tonight for your lack of respect towards the art of dueling. Ten points from Slytherin." The mans last words seemed forced out, and the blond opposite Harry paled even further. But the Head of Slytherin was no longer looking his way.

"Mr. Potter, again you show up to class looking to outshine everyone."

"What do you mean Professor?" Harry said quietly. He had to stay calm or else the snake around his neck would get even more agitated.

"If you had not thought to do so before, why reveal that you are a parselmouth now?" The man sneered, "So hell bent is he on speaking the snake language in front of his peers."

The boys eyes widened and he looked at everyone, some of which had backed away from him in fear.

"And of course you go out of the way to save the day for all of them, rushing in like a dunderhead!" The man was seething though he too had kept quiet.

For Harry it was kind of fitting that he learned just how freaky he was this way.

He stepped down off of the stage, where Hermione and Ron stood, and felt happy that at least they would not leave him.

Someone spoke about the Heir to Slytherin, though despite the bloody writing that most had seen on the walls weeks ago, no one really knew what it was about, and Snape got even more angry.

He released the class and forced Harry's friends out of the room, leaving just the boy and his once mentor alone.

Harry had not talked to the man alone since that disastrous meeting, and once the doors closed leaving the two, Snape sent two spells towards the door.

Harry backed away, before the Professor relaxed his posture and explained that one was a silencing charm and the other was a locking charm. The explaination hadn't calmed Harry as all, but he was again shocked by how the man switched from the greasy bat of the dungeons to this collected Professor in seconds.

Harry really had gone insane this year.

"We need to talk Harry." The man said, taking a seat and motioning for Harry to do the same.

"What is it sir?" Harry asked coldly. He was still so angry at the man for pushing him so far away that he wasn't sure which side of the man was real of fake anymore.

"Just sit down Potter. I am trying to be civil." The man said.

"Oh, well I'm sure if you are trying to be civil then I shall endeavor to be more like my father." Harry snapped. The snake had fallen asleep by now, unworried now that it had a boy shield to protect it from harm or being put in another loud place.

Severus felt his control slipping, and knew that if he did not get it under control, he would blow his whole cover.

"Boy." Harry winced at the word, backing up further and Snape saw the small movements for what they were. Trauma. Something was wrong with the boys home life, and they would have to speak on that as well later.

But for now he had to get through to the boy.

"Harry." He amended, "Please. I really must speak with you, as this is about your continued safety, at the risk of my own."

Harry did not look at the man, but he nodded softly. He would listen, then leave the room and try to forget while this weird hole in him ate him up piece by blackened piece. He felt charred and burnt, like how the Headmaster's Phoenix Fawks had looked from his first meeting with the Headmaster.

Severus knew the path they were going down and inwardly cursed, he could see the flame in Harry's eyes dimming as the silence dragged on.

So the man jumped off the deep end. "I must apologize for how I have been treating you as of late."

Harry looked at him in shock, his head snapping up as he had not expected that.

"I would have spoken to you about my plan before hand, had I not gotten roped into the meeting as well. I mean no ill will, and while I did not like your father, I no longer hold any hatred towards him. Harry I do not hate you, but you must understand that I cannot act how you would like me to."

Harry really wanted to believe this but the man had hurt him deeply that day and so many days after that.

"You are nothing like what I accused you of being that day, and no matter what I may say to you, know that this is not a lie. I do care for you, and it is for that reason that I am doing this. Have you not read any of my letters?"

The pit in Harry's stomach had lessened a bit, and he didn't really know why. He still trusted the man, even after these past few months, but it would not be easy to get back to that easy student-mentor relationship they had before.

"No. I haven't. They are all in my trunk." Harry sighed. He couldn't lie to the man, just as much as he couldn't throw those blasted messages away like he'd tried so many times to do. He just could not let them go, could not let them reach the bottom of the trash without immediately taking them back out.

The seated man sighed happily, it seemed Harry might actually be willing to forgiving him. He steeled himself for what he knew was coming next.

"Harry. I want to tell you something about your family that may surprise you. No, it's not bad," The man chuckled, "It is actually quite amazing. Somewhere near the fourteenth century, your ancestors-- from your fathers side-- mixed genetics with a dragon."

Harry finally found himself taking a seat. This was a lot to hear, let alone take in.

"Some dragons can shift to human forms, but most cannot. This is what allowed your family to take on certain traits. You seem to have the ability of speaking the language, though anything else will not fully manifest until you are older. Usually dragon kin, as they are called, reach their magical majority and creature inheritance at around 16, but are endowed with life long abilities or features such as Parseltongue, horns, or wings."

The boy was so intrigued, and he couldn't tell what was more amazing, the fact that his teacher didn't hate him, or the fact that he was somehow normal even with all these new changes in his life. He was just 12, he didn't expect to be told he was part dragon!

"Now, I am speaking to you about this, because as it stands you will have a higher mental shield, so you may not feel the full effects of this link with the Dark Lord. However, we will still need to keep up our animosity towards one another."

"Even around the Headmaster??" Harry asked.

"For now, yes. The old man would stop at nothing to see us on friendlier terms, and has his own schemes in place."

"Why though?" The boy inquired, curiosity keeping him engaged in the conversation.

Snape laughed, and the nice deep rumbly sound calmed Harry easily.