Chapter Notes:

Last chapter was a bit longer than intended and was a bit dragged out, I admit. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to make the chapter remotely interesting since most of it is just filler.

Also, do you find the amount of character dialogue I put in to be too much? Does it annoy you? Do forgive me if it does. I have more of a dialogue driven writing style and sometimes find it difficult to mix it up. However, I did try by adding a bit of information about my OC and her role within the Wizarding World.

Speaking of my OC, I am aware that she seems to be a bit of a Mary Sue of sorts and this is intentional for the sake of the story. Don't worry though, she isn't invincible as she makes herself seem. She has her own weaknesses and character flaws that won't come to light until later on. Please be patient with her.

One more thing - Snape may or may not be less of an asshole in this chapter. Hell, he might even have a heart by the looks of it.

Hope you enjoy chapter 5~

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Harry held his breath as he knocked anxiously on the door to Snape's office. He was fifteen minutes early for his detention, but he'd rather be early than late. He wasn't sure if his earliness would anger the professor - hence the anxiousness he felt. Maybe the man would find a reason to give him another detention for not coming directly on the dot? Harry hoped not.

A silky voice called out with a 'come in' and the small boy pushed the door open, fear building up inside his already queasy stomach. Sitting behind a large and organized desk was Professor Snape in all of his bat-like glory. His brow was raised while his mouth pulled into a sneer. His eyes were emotionless, Harry observed out of habit.

"Mr. Potter," The man sneered as he practically spat out his name, "I wasn't aware that I told you to arrive early. Thought you'd get a head start on your punishment, did you? Well I think not." Harry didn't get a chance to defend himself as the professor stood up abruptly and marched towards him. Harry flinched away from the man as a hand made its way towards his shoulder.

Eyes wide and panic written on his face, the boy scampered off to the corner farthest away from his Head of House. Would the man hit him like Uncle Vernon would? Harry didn't want to find out the answer to that question, not at all in fact. His body trembled as he realized that running away only ever made the beating worse.

–––

Severus didn't know what he had done to scare the boy. One moment he was attempting to direct the boy to a seat and the next said boy was trembling in a corner whispering apologies to anyone that would listen. His first thought was that the boy was feigning fear to get attention but quickly realized that the boy couldn't have asked for more attention - especially when it was only the two of them in the room.

That corner of his office had seen many children much like Potter in his days of being Head of Slytherin, but something about the way the boy hunched into himself and trembled made it seem that this case was a little - not by much - different. Much like the boy's first night, Severus found himself conflicted as to how he should perceive the situation.

He had two options, really. He could continue on hating the boy and believe everything the brat did was for attention, or he could look deeper into it and give into his urge to care for him. The latter was a more humane option - one that required patience and a caring heart. Severus had neither of those, or so he thought at least.

"Potter," Damn, his voice had gone soft again. "I know you must be scared, but I will not harm you, do you understand?" The boy didn't answer, only increased his amount of apologies per minute. A pang of concern washed over the potions master, not the feigned kind, but real, genuine concern. He had seen these signs of abuse many times before - just never so… well, obvious. The brat seemed to wear his emotions where anyone could see.

If this was a bid for attention, well, Severus would be sure to punish such behaviour - but for now he would try to be patient. It wouldn't do to neglect the boy if his fear was actually genuine and mocking him in such a state would be overly cruel. His eyes narrowed as he realized that he was allowing his morals to control him rather than his logic, but was it wise to treat the boy like he had treated him that first night?

No, no it was not. Severus may be a bit colder than most, and certainly not the most sensitive of men, but deep, deep down within the icy prison was a heart that cared more than he wanted it to. The potions master would never admit this to anyone, of course - that would lead to his reputation being shattered.

"Mr. Pot– Harry," The use of the boy's first name seemed to get some sort of reaction - much like a few nights ago. Approaching the boy slowly, like he was trying to get near to a frightened animal, he slowly reached out and placed his hands on the small boy's shoulders. "Can you look at me, child?" His voice softened to a tone not even he knew it could soften to.

"Plea– Please sir! I'll– I'll stop being a baby! Please! Just don't touch me!" The boy wailed suddenly, trying to twist away from the professors grip. Quickly, Severus acciod a calming draught knowing that the boy would only make himself sick if left as he was. Holding out the vial carefully to the cowering child, Severus prompted the boy to drink it.

"Drink this, child. It shall help you calm down," The boy hesitated before reaching his shaky hands towards the vial. Severus watched carefully as the boy timidly gulped down the liquid, noticing how his small body relaxed almost instantly. Tears were still streaming down his face but he was definitely in a better state for conversation.

Carefully, attempting to not scare the boy, Severus gently lead the boy to a cushioned chair– courtesy of Albus– and eased him into it. Pulling a chair from the side of the room over so that he could sit directly in front of Potter, he sat down as slowly as he could.

"Now that you've calmed down, I wish for you to explain to me what just happened. What made you so frightened? What action warranted that reaction?" Potter seemed to hesitate making the professor narrow his eyes at the ingrate. So he was just faking it for attention.

That train of thought came to an abrupt halt as the boy timidly responded. "'m sorry, sir. Just got really s-scared all of a sudden… didn't mean to be a bother…" It was mumbled but Severus heard him clearly. He didn't know what to do as the boy stared down at his shoes which were dangling because he was too short for the chair.

The boy in front of him was certainly no average eleven year old - and not because of what he had done as a baby. As much as Severus wanted to fool himself like he had before - as much as he wanted to tell himself that the boy was nothing but an attention seeking brat, he couldn't. A memory of himself flickered into his mind for a brief second before he shoved it back behind the barrier.

Taking a moment to scan the boy's appearance, Severus noticed that the boy's sleeve had been pushed up and spotted finger like bruises encasing his bony wrists. The boy seemed to notice too as he shoved his sleeve back down violently. The professor saw the boy's chest rise and fall a bit faster, a fresh wave of panic approaching despite the calming draught the boy previously drank.

"Mr. Potter," He made his voice as cold as he could given the situation - which wasn't all that cold at all. "I ask you to be calm while I ask you some questions. I cannot give you another calming draught until the other one completely wears off, alright?" Damnit! His voice went soft again. His reputation would be in shreds before the second day of classes if he kept this up!

"O-Okay, professor - I'll be calm," 'I'll try to, at least' was silently attached to the end, not needing to be spoken out loud. Severus hummed in response, offering the child a half filled cup of tea. Potter took it hesitantly, as if he were scared it was just a joke and he wasn't actually being offered it. Severus opted to ask about that too.

"Who gave you those bruises, Harry?" Severus felt the need to get straight to the point, not wanting to drag the silence out long enough for the boy to work himself up again. The boy had less of a reaction than he had expected, but still shrank back into his seat regardless.

"I– I fell sir… I'm really clumsy and– and–" The professor raised a hand to silence him, feeling the need to contradict the obvious lie.

"Those are fingerprints Harry, who did it? You cannot lie to me, so tell me the truth. Who has hurt you?" The boy bit his trembling lip as he, in Severus' perspective, weighed the price of telling the truth - something he had seen with a lot of abuse cases. "You are safe within the walls of Hogwarts, I will not allow you to be hurt again if you tell me." Perhaps that would help the boy open up.

"U-Uncle Vernon– he– he–" Severus refrained from scowling at the boy's stammering, instead focusing on the response he had gotten. Raising a hand to cut off the boy's rambling. Just as he pieced together what he should say to the child, three sharp knocks sounded from the door.

–––

Harry tensed up again as the door opened to reveal the woman from Defense - Professor Williams. He relaxed, if only slightly, as the woman softened her gaze towards him slightly like she had at the sorting and in the one class he had had with her so far.

"Forgive the intrusion, Severus, I wasn't aware that you were busy." The young boy relaxed as Snape's attention was drawn away from him for a short moment. Violet eyes meant prominent green ones as the woman inspected him carefully. "Hello, Mr. Potter. I don't believe we have properly met as of yet," Her lips shifted into a soft smile, eyes glimmering with what Harry thought was… fondness? No, that couldn't be right.

The professor was correct of course. Professor Quirrel was scheduled to teach Defence with the first years this week, so Professor Williams had not made an appearance. Harry found himself becoming shy around the seemingly kind, but intimidating woman. He hadn't known it was possible to give off those two types of auras at the same time– but he assumed his lack of knowledge of such a thing just made him more of a freak.

He felt an odd urge to impress the woman, to make her proud of him. She seemed nice enough, nicer than Snape and Professor McGonagall at least. The latter wasn't as bad as she could be, of course, but the look in her eyes whenever she looked at him reminded him of how Aunt Petunia looked at him. Aunt Petunia had always looked at him with contempt, constantly acting as if his best efforts were worthless. No, his efforts weren't worthless– he was useless. Always was and always will be.

After realising he hadn't responded, he was quick to amend his mistake. "No, Professor, we haven't," Was his timid response. Suddenly he remembered Snape's presence and immediately tensed up again.

"A word, Williams– if you don't mind, that is?" The tall potions master interjected before the woman could respond and soon Harry was temporarily alone in the small office.

–––

Tempest eyed the closed door of the office for a moment before bringing her full attention towards Severus. It was an odd sight to find Severus in the same room as Potter and looking worried. Surely the man hadn't gone soft over the little whelp. Although, in the back of her mind, she acknowledged that if the man was worried there just had to be something wrong.

"The boy– Potter, he's being abused, Tempest. By his uncle, by his relatives." Severus had said it slowly, knowing that it would send Tempest's mind into a frenzy. Tempest strongly detested anyone who would dare harm a child, so it was no surprise to Severus that the woman's eyes flashed with anger after the words had been processed.

"Has the boy told you this? Or did you find a couple of harmless bruises and simply assumed so?" It took a great amount of control for the woman to push her initial anger aside.

"Finger-like bruises, he had admitted that it was his uncle. What other conclusion could I have come to?" He snapped, making his colleague's eyebrows raise slightly. She did suppose that it was a reasonable conclusion to come to, but it would do them no good to just assume. What if it wasn't the boy's relatives but another student - what if the boy was just trying to cover for said student by using his uncle as an excuse? That simply wouldn't do.

"Perhaps he was covering for, say, another student? Perhaps you should take a look at the boy's memories before taking any action. Besides, you and I both know that The ministry won't do anything about such a thing without it being a completely solid case." Tempest suggested, eyes flickering towards the closed door of the office.

Releasing a long sigh, Severus had no other choice but to agree. Tempest knew the ministry like the back of her hand, and so did he to an extent thanks to a certain Lucius Malfoy. They would need solid evidence. So with that, the investigation would begin from that evening on.

NOTE:

I would like to apologize for the wait and I also would like to announce that I have a new Hetalia fanfiction in the works that is to be posted on this site and my Wattpad account (same pen name).

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!