Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter four: When Plans Go Haywire

The day after the rather eventful trip to Diagon Alley, Severus sent Harry out to play after lunch with the explicit instruction not to be back before five o'clock. The child went without much protest, although Severus heard him grumbling about unhealthy obsessions with sunlight. He had to suppress a smile at that, as it was exactly what he himself had said on occasion when Albus once again kicked him out of his lab.

Thinking about Albus sobered him. The argument he'd had with the older wizard before Harry had come down and interrupted them had mainly been a back and forth about what was best for Harry. Albus had argued for returning Harry to the guardianship of the Dursleys. Severus had steadfastly refused without offering an explanation, believing Harry deserved his privacy. Of course, he hadn't counted on Harry overhearing and then blowing up at Albus, revealing far more about the Dursleys in the process than he'd meant to, Severus was sure. Albus hadn't taken the information well, nor had he taken Severus' dismissal well. Severus knew that sending Albus away had hurt the man deeply, but at the time, all Severus was concerned with was comforting Harry, a Harry who seemed to know far more than Severus had thought. He'd surprised Severus twice: once at the hearing with his knowledge of Severus' activities during the war and now with his knowledge that it was Albus who'd placed him with his aunt. Severus just hoped that whoever was telling the child all this would never reveal that it was Severus who'd caused the Dark Lord to go after the Potters.

The whoosh of the Floo pulled Severus from his thoughts as Lucius stepped through. He was impeccably dressed as always and had brought his ornate cane with him. Severus' sharp eyes noticed that Lucius placed a great deal of weight on it today, actually using it instead of carrying it as a decorative piece. He quickly waved his friend into a chair.

"You're worse than yesterday," Severus remarked bluntly.

"After that tousle, Draco couldn't take much more," Lucius said in reply to the unasked question.

Severus nearly had to bite is tongue to keep from making any comments. He would have done the same for a child who was his. Besides that, he knew Lucius wouldn't appreciate anything that even remotely looked like pity, which in the man's eyes included compassion and a helping hand. Not for the first time, Severus cursed Lucius' pride. If not for that, he could've helped his friend years before.

"Everything went according to plan?" Severus asked instead, changing the subject.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "I slipped the diary in between the books of the Weasley girl. She'll surely tell her father about it."

"That's good," Severus said.

In fact, Lucius couldn't have picked out a better person to give the diary to. A lot of things could be said about Arthur Weasley, but the man was firmly against the Dark Lord, which was exactly what they needed.

"I will keep an eye on Arthur," Lucius said. "I imagine he'll want to keep it quiet to protect the girl, but the moment he hands the thing in, I will know about it."

Severus nodded in agreement. He didn't doubt his friend's words for a moment. Lucius, having given his report, stood to leave. Severus stopped him with a softly spoken question.

"What do I need to prepare for when Draco gets back to Hogwarts?"

Lucius stiffened slightly, unnoticeable if you didn't know the man as well as Severus did.

"Nothing," he answered. "I will heal him before he gets on the train."

After these words, Lucius disappeared through the Floo. Severus heaved a sigh. Yes, Lucius would heal Draco, but at what cost to himself?

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus shook his head in resignation as Harry frantically ran up the stairs for the third time that morning.

"I thought you'd packed your trunk last night," he called out after the boy.

"I did," Harry shouted from upstairs.

"And yet, we are still not leaving," Severus mumbled sarcastically to himself.

He truly did not understand why Harry was still running to and fro for things that needed to come with him to Hogwarts. Yesterday's panic he could understand. He'd ordered Harry to pack his trunk after breakfast to avoid this exact situation where at the last minute things got packed and even more things got forgotten. But when he'd gone to check on him an hour later, he'd found a panicked child and a trunk filled to bursting.

"What is going on?" Severus asked.

"It doesn't fit anymore," Harry answered almost in tears.

Severus looked at the full trunk, then over at the bed, which was still filled with all kinds of things. Amongst the clothes that were piled there, most of them the new wizarding wardrobe Severus had bought for Harry, were other things that had been newly acquired: books, games, Quidditch gloves for when Harry tried out for the Slytherin team, and his second pair of new boots.

"Why in the name of Merlin does it look like you are packing your whole room?" Severus asked, baffled.

"What else would I do with it?" Harry asked.

"How about leave it here?" Severus said a bit impatiently.

Then he caught the look of weary resignation on Harry's face as the child began to sort through the things on the bed, making two distinct piles. Severus briefly closed his eyes in sorrow as he realized that one of the piles contained all of Harry's new things and the other one his old things.

"Harry, stop that," Severus said softly, stepping over to the child. "That's not what I meant."

Harry stopped his sorting and turned to look at Severus with confusion clearly written on his face.

"These things, all of them, are yours to keep," Severus said. "All I meant was that you don't need to bring everything with you to Hogwarts. Leave some of your clothes here, the books from last year, and things you will not need at Hogwart's like Hedwig's cage. She can easily fly to Hogwarts and stay in the owlery."

"But what about the rest?" Harry asked.

"It can stay here, in your room," Severus answered.

Realization flooded Harry's face, and Severus gave him a smile before leaving the room. By the time Harry joined him for lunch, his trunk was packed. At least, that was what he'd told Severus. But the evidence suggested otherwise.

"Harry, hurry up," Severus shouted. "We need to leave or you'll miss the train!"

Stomping could be heard as Harry ran down the stairs, and a few seconds later he skidded to a halt in front of his trunk, threw the lid open, and dumped another book in it before closing the lid again.

"Ready?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry nodded. Severus waved his wand to lighten the trunk and then floated it behind him as he made his way to the back yard. It wasn't a large garden, but the high fence around it made them invisible to their neighbors' peering eyes. He put the trunk down then waved Harry closer.

"Grab my hand and your trunk," Severus said.

Harry followed his orders, and with a last warning to hold on tight, Severus Apparated them onto Platform nine and three quarters.

The platform was bustling with activity, and Severus found it odd to be there. He'd never expected to bring a child there on the first of September, but he found himself rather liking it. For one wistful moment, he allowed himself to pretend Harry was his, instead of a temporary ward. But it was an impossible dream, and he knew it. Sirius would most likely regain his full mental health and retake custody of Harry, which was how it should be.

"I'll see you at school," Severus said.

Harry grinned at him, a mischievous smile that made Severus suspicious. He wasn't fast enough, however, to prevent the child from hugging him. And while he grumbled under his breath about Harry ruining his reputation, he hugged the child back.

"See you at the feast, Professor," Harry said as he withdrew from the hug.

Severus watched as Harry took his trunk and stepped into the waiting train. He kept on watching as the clock struck eleven and the train started moving. He was still watching when the train disappeared from sight. With a sigh, Severus resolutely turned his back on the direction the train had chugged off in and Apparated to Hogwarts.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The Sorting yielded eight first-year students for Slytherin, which wasn't too bad. As the meal began, Severus took time to look his snakes over. He paid special attention to the problem children, those who Severus knew were experiencing trouble of some kind. Some of them were more jittery or withdrawn than they had been before the summer holidays, but that was to be expected. He'd only step in when they didn't show any marked improvement at the end of the week.

While Irma nattered on about the new additions she had acquired for the library, Severus focused his attention on Harry, who was sitting with Theodore and Draco as usual. The three boys were in deep discussion, and it looked to be a quite serious one as well. And while discussions were quite normal, serious talk was rare during the Welcoming Feast. It was even more suspicious that the three of them sat a distance away from the rest of the house and kept their voices low.

Severus ran through the topics they could be discussing in his head. Harry's change of guardianship could be one; but knowing Hermione Granger, that topic had probably been discussed during the train ride. Perhaps they were talking about Theodore's home situation, but from what Severus knew of the boy's reticence in talking about that even in a private setting, he doubted it. The same could be said for Draco's home situation.

The matter became even more puzzling when Harry pulled a packet of parchment out of his pocket and the three boys started reading through the papers, foregoing their dessert in favor of whatever was written down there. That, more than anything, made Severus sure his kids were brewing up trouble.

The moment the meal ended, the parchments were hastily shoved at Harry and put away. Severus saw Harry give a nod to Hermione over at the Gryffindor table, which made the hair on his neck stand up. If the entire foursome was in on whatever it was that they were planning, Severus definitely needed to find out what it was. He stood from the Head Table to make his way down to the boys when Albus called out his name, stopping him in his tracks.

"Perhaps I can offer you some tea in my office?" Albus said.

While Albus looked and sounded unconcerned, Severus knew better. And he couldn't deny that he missed the old man's friendship. This summer had been the first time since he'd started working at Hogwarts that Albus had not visited or contacted him, apart from the one disastrous visit after the guardianship hearing. Angry as he sometimes was with Albus' ideas and plans, the old wizard was the closest thing Severus had to a family. He could not deny the man's cautious attempt at repairing their friendship.

"Very well," Severus said. After a last look at the retreating backs of Harry and his friends, he followed Albus up to his office.

Albus silently poured some tea for the both of them. The lack of small talk made it abundantly clear that Albus really wasn't sure about how welcoming Severus was feeling. Severus decided to take pity on the man.

"Just spit it out, Albus," he said.

"I didn't know," Albus said warily. "I truly didn't know that Harry had such a hard life. I knew he might not have a very happy life, that his aunt might not love him as she should have, but abuse? No, I never knew that. If I had, I never would have left him there."

Although Albus looked sad and old while he said it, there was a hard glint in his eyes that spoke of his anger towards the Dursleys. Severus relaxed back in his chair, relieved that Albus was at least innocent of putting the child in harm's way on purpose.

"So you see why I did what I did?" Severus asked.

"Yes, I do indeed," Albus said.

"And yet, you still don't approve," Severus said, well used to reading the subtle signs the older wizard gave of his mood and thoughts.

Albus sighed and took a sip of his tea. He stared into his teacup for a long time, as if he could divine his thoughts of the subject in the liquid. When he looked up, his gaze was troubled but affectionate.

"It is not so much that I do not approve of you as a guardian," he said slowly, seemingly choosing his words with great care. "It is more the fact that it is Harry you are the guardian of. Now that Voldemort has returned, you're facing enough danger as it is. Before you became Harry's guardian, you might have convinced him of your loyalty, but it would seem impossible now."

Severus snorted. Impossible indeed. As Harry's guardian and a traitor, he'd be placed directly under Harry on the Dark Lord's hitlist. Only Albus might be above him, but even that was doubtful.

"It does not really matter, Albus," he said. "The Dark Lord's specter saw me when I was defending the Stone. He would not have forgiven me for that, especially not with the suspicion I already faced as a reported spy."

Albus conceded the point by changing the subject, and just like that, it was as if their argument had never happened. They exchanged some news and talked about the upcoming school year. It was during a discussion on the amount of homework Severus gave his classes that Albus brought up a point Severus had not even thought about.

"You cannot grade Harry's work anymore."

"Oh, drat," Severus said. "I hadn't even thought about that. What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, my boy," Albus said. "I've already arranged everything. Horace Slughorn will grade Harry's work; all you need to do is owl it to him."

Severus nodded his thanks. It seemed that it didn't matter how well Severus planned things, Albus was always one step ahead of him. It was something Severus found immensely comforting at times, even though he would never admit it.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The first week of the school year had been busy as usual, but it also felt rewarding as Severus reconnected with all of his students. The only thing out of the ordinary was Harry, Draco, Theodore, and Hermione's behavior. Severus had seen them huddled together several times that week, talking for a few minutes, exchanging parchments, and then breaking up again to go to their respective classes or common rooms.

As he walked down the hall after his last class of that week, he saw the foursome walking towards an unused corridor. They were walking close together, and each of them had what appeared to be a full book bag with him or her, even though he knew they didn't have any classes on Friday afternoon. Determined to find out just what they were planning, he started to follow them from a distance.

"Ah, Severus, I'm glad to see you," Lupin said, suddenly standing in front of him as the man stepped out of his classroom.

Severus gritted his teeth as Lupin started talking to him about Harry's performance in class. Normally he didn't mind talking about his Slytherins with other teachers, especially when the news was positive. And Severus didn't mind admitting, at least to himself, that he had a slight bias towards Harry, which was perfectly understandable under the circumstances. After all, for all intents and purposes, Harry was currently his child. But today, at the moment, he didn't have the time for it.

"Not now, Lupin," he snarled.

Without waiting to see how the man would react to the brush-off, Severus stepped around Lupin and strode off towards the corridor the children had disappeared in. But as he had feared, when he got there it was all ready too late. The children were out of sight, and there was no way he was going to find them now.

"But Severus, I really do think we should talk about Harry's performance," Lupin said, having followed him. "He is quite good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I am thinking about giving him some extra work, but I do not want to overwhelm him. I know he's been getting extra Potions work from you. And as you are his guardian, I felt…"

"Yes, yes, fine," Severus said. "We'll talk."

"Splendid," Lupin said, far too cheerful in Severus' opinion. "Why don't we go to my quarters and talk over a nice cup of tea?"

Severus sighed but followed Lupin. Being a good guardian was shaping up to be much harder than he thought it was going to be.

HPHPHPHPHP

It was the middle of the second week of school when Severus finally heard from Lucius. It wasn't much, just a short note that said: No sign of activity, possibly not reported? Severus cursed softly as he read it. Surely the girl hadn't been dumb enough to keep the diary? But, according to Lucius, Arthur had not brought the diary in, and Severus knew the man well enough to know he wasn't foolish enough to try and deal with the thing itself. There was only one thing to it, so Severus wrote Lucius a note back saying he would look into it.

It wasn't until the next day that Severus actually got the chance to do so. He went up to Gryffindor tower right after breakfast. All Gryffindor years had classes, and he did not, making it the ideal time to check the situation out.

He entered the tower and made his way up to the first year girls' dorm. Looking around at the posters of the male lead singer of The Weird Sisters, the one bed that was covered in clothes and the pink accents clashing horribly with the Gryffindor red that adorned another bed, he briefly gave thanks for the fact that Harry was a boy. Pink, at least, was not in his future as something he had to deal with now that he was Harry's guardian.

It was easy to identify Ginny Weasley's bed. Not only were her initials on her trunk, but the trunk itself was battered in comparison to the much newer looking trunks of the other four girls. Severus opened it and waved his wand over the contents, checking for the magical marker that was attached to the diary. The spell showed nothing, and Severus frowned. He repeated the spell on the girl's bed and nightstand, both times coming up empty. Getting increasingly worried, Severus scanned the entire room with the spell and even went as far as to scan all rooms in Gryffindor tower when that, too, didn't turn up the diary. But it was no use. Wherever the diary was, it was not in Gryffindor tower.

With dread balling up in his stomach, Severus went to find Albus. With the diary missing, they were in serious trouble.