Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to Harry Potter, other than this story's plot.
After Severus left, the Dursley's were left standing around. Vernon believed that he came down to check out a disturbance after Snape obliviated so when he saw Harry standing there, he assumed the disturbance was caused by Harry.
Vernon glared hatefully at Harry, who cringed away from his gaze. Vernon turned to Petunia and Dudley, "Why don't you both go ahead and go back to bed." They both went upstairs and Harry was left standing in the kitchen with a slowly purpling and enraged uncle.
"So boy, what have you been doing out here? Why are you even out of your cupboard?" Vernon asked as he descended on his defenseless nephew.
"I-I wasn't doing anything." Harry stuttered out fearfully. Nothing he could have said would have convinced his uncle that he wasn't doing anything.
Vernon smacked Harry. "You are out of your cupboard." Another smack. "You were up to something out here." Vernon shoved Harry to the ground "You tried to lie to ME by saying that you didn't do anything!" A kick to the stomach. "And simply because you exist!" Another kick, which resulted in Harry hitting an end table with a vase that promptly fell on top of Harry. It broke into many pieces, most of which became imbedded into Harry's scalp.
"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" Vernon bellowed. He gave Harry another kick to the stomach. Harry curled up in attempt to protect his vital organs. Vernon kicked him hard in his right wrist and a crack was heard. Harry sucked in a deep breath in attempt to hold back a scream at the pain he now felt but if he screamed that would most likely enrage his uncle further. Vernon seemed satisfied with the damage he inflicted on Harry and he practically tossed the young boy into the cupboard under the stairs. Harry hit his head on the way in and loss consciousness.
Harry woke up slowly to a pain filled world. He tried to shift to a more comfortable position but it only caused him more pain. Harry stifled a quiet whimper that could attract his uncle's attention if he was heard. It was hard to tell what time it was therefore Harry couldn't determine how long he stayed there in the cupboard. He drifted in and out of sleep throughout the day and was he just about to drift off again when he heard knocking at the front door.
Severus woke up the next morning and went about his usual routine. He checked that the room was properly suited for the ten year old that would soon be occupying it. It was pretty plain but Harry would have the option to decorate it however he pleases once he got all settled in. Once everything was prepared, Severus trekked to the edge of the Hogwarts wards and apparated an alley near Privet Drive. He once again transfigured his clothes into appropriate muggle clothing and walked up to number four. Severus proceeded to knock politely on the door and thundering footsteps were heard just before Dudley answered the door.
"What do you want?" Dudley asked rudely.
Severus sneered at him and replied, "I am here to collect Mr. Potter."
Dudley paled a bit then turned around and bellowed, "DAD! Some weird guy is here to see the freak!" Dudley scampered behind his father when Vernon came charging to the door.
"Why do you want the boy?" Vernon asked as he studied the man before him. He looked slightly familiar but yet he couldn't remember anything.
"I am coming to take Mr. Potter away from here. He will be living with me until he starts his schooling." Severus replied to the man.
"He's not here." Vernon said adamantly and began to close the door. Severus stuck his foot in the doorway to prevent it from closing. Severus pulled out his wand and entered the house. Vernon backed away in fear once he saw the wand and let Snape enter.
Snape was about to head upstairs to search the bedrooms when he hears a slight whimper. He turns around and searched for the person who made the sound. There was no one behind him since the Dursley's scampered away from him. The sound of a car starting was heard, followed by a screeching take off. Severus then noticed a small door that had a lock on it. It was unusual to see a small cupboard with a lock on it. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Severus unlocked the cupboard. The door slowly opened and inside lay an injured raven-haired boy. It was obvious know as to why the Dursley's fled.
Severus reached a hand inside in attempt to pull Harry out but as soon as Harry felt the hand, he flinched away and began mumbling.
"No Uncle…Please…I'm sorry…I didn't do anything…No…" Harry mumbled out in a pain filled voice and incoherently.
"Mr. Potter…" Severus began but dropped the formalities. "Harry. Look at me. I am not your uncle." Harry slowly opened his pain filled eyes and gazed into the onyx eyes staring down at him and recognition flashed threw Harry's eyes.
"Can you tell me where it hurts the most?" Severus asked in a soft voice.
"My arm and my stomach." Harry said shortly. He was still having slight difficulty catching his breath.
"Can you drink this?" Severus asked kindly, well as kind as Severus could since he is not normally a kind person at all. Harry drank the potion that Severus pulled out of his robes and he fell asleep into a deep slumber. Severus then picked up the young boy and apparated out of there and in front of Hogwarts wards. He trekked up to the infirmary as fast as he could while carrying Harry.
"Poppy!" Severus shouted when he entered the infirmary. He set Harry on one of the beds just as Poppy came rushing in.
"Oh my goodness." Was all she said and then she got straight to work on diagnosing and healing Harry. She gave shoved a few potions down his throat before casting some healing spells. Poppy also removed all his hair since there was so much glass that was embedded in his scalp. She spread some cream over the cuts on his head and was finished for now.
She turned to Severus, who was still in the room while she treated Harry. "His wrist was broken, one rib was cracked and a few others were bruised badly, he had numerous cuts in his scalp, along with bruises from prior injuries. I have healed everything but some of the bruises will require cream to be massaged onto the bruises to help them disappear faster. His wrist will be sore for another day or two along with his ribs. Make sure he gets plenty of rest and that he hardly does anything for the next two days." Severus nodded his head in agreement. "Since I plan to leave for vacation, could you move him to your quarters?" Poppy questioned.
"That would be agreeable." Severus gathered Harry into his arms and carried him through the hallways and into the entrance of the dungeons where his room was located. He placed Harry on the bed and tucked him in before heading out to work on a potion.
Harry woke slowly and found that everything relatively good feeling instead of the pain that he had been expecting. He studied the unfamiliar surroundings. It definitely was not the Dursley house since the walls were made of stone and it was not the same room that he stayed in when he was kidnapped. Severus chose that moment to enter the room. Seeing Severus' face brought back the memories from the night before.
"Thank you, sir." Harry said respectfully. "For taking me away from them. And healing me." He added at the last minute. Severus just nodded his head in acceptance for the unnecessary apology.
"How are you feeling?" Severus asked as he pulled out some cream.
"I'm fine, sir." Harry said even though he was slightly sore, but then again this was nothing compared to what he has felt before.
"Through this door, there is a bathroom that you can use to take a bath. I will have out some clothes that you can wear instead of these rags. After you clean up, apply this cream to your bruises." Severus handed him the cream and proceeded to transfigure some clothes for Harry. They would have a chance to shop for clothing soon, but not today.
"Yes sir." Harry hesitated to ask a question, since that was always forbidden at the Dursley house, but asked anyways. "Could you tell me your name sir?"
Snape almost looked shocked for a minute but he quickly covered up any form of emotions. Throughout the entire events of the last day, he had not once mentioned his name. Oops. "My name is Severus Snape." He paused for a minute, and then sighed exasperatedly. "You may call me Severus." He said with some difficulty, since not many had the privilege to call him by his first name.
"Thank you sir." Harry said after Severus answered his question.
"You do not need to thank me for every little thing. Go take a warm bath and do not forget to apply this cream to your bruises." Severus instructed the young boy, who did as he was told and entered the bathroom for his first warm bath, since all baths at the Dursley's were cold.
Harry tuned on the water and added some bubbles to the water. He undressed then stepped into the warm and bubbly tub. He relaxed in the tub for a while before scrubbing himself clean. Approximately 30 minutes after Harry entered the bathroom, he reappeared in his room clean with a much nicer set of clothes on. His clothes may have been transfigured, but they would be fine until they went shopping and at least they fit. Harry was slightly tired after the bath and he decided that a little nap wouldn't hurt. He got comfortable on the bed and promptly fell asleep.
While Harry was taking his bath, Albus entered Severus' quarters to discuss important matters that involved Harry.
"Severus. How is young Mr. Potter doing today?" Albus had that dammed twinkle in his eyes again, which only meant trouble.
"Potter is currently taking a bath right now. What is it you came here to ask?" Severus, impatient as usual, wanted to get right down to the point.
Albus' eyes twinkled even more than before. "I have another favor to ask of you…"
"Why do I have the feeling that you are about to ask me to keep the boy for the summer?" Severus guessed out loud.
"Are you related to Sybil? Perhaps you have some seer blood in you?" Albus trailed off.
"I am not in the mood for jokes right now Albus. There is NO way I could possibly be related to that woman." Severus spat out. The mere thought of being related to that woman was sickening for him. "Yes I suppose I can care for the boy. I dislike children greatly but knowing you, you will not accept no as my answer." Those damn eyes twinkled brighter. Severus stood up, fed up with this conversation, "I have work to do. Good day headmaster." Severus' robes billowed once again behind him as he took off towards his labs. Albus left the room, joyously sucking on a lemon drop as he went back to his office.
Harry woke up from his nap when he felt his shoulder being shook. He completely forgot where he was and began trembling. "No…I'm sorry..." Harry mumbled out as he was curled in a fetal position.
"Potter," Severus began, but that was no way to deal with a frightened child. "Harry. Relax, you are at Hogwarts. I took you away from your relatives." Harry began to calm down and process the fact that he was not at his relative's house. Harry felt a hand rubbing circles on his back. That was something that no one had ever done before and he began relaxing. Harry uncurled from his fetal position and looked up to the dark haired man, who promptly removed his hand from Harry's back. Harry was saddened by the loss of contact but ignored that feeling since the man did not even look comfortable being here.
"I'm sorry." Harry said simply.
"It was my fault that I startled you. I came here to tell you that it is time for dinner." Harry nodded then stretched real cat-like before getting up and following Severus. Severus led Harry to the dining room area of their rooms and a house elf served them. "Drink this potion before eating." At Harry's curious look, he explained briefly what the potion was for. "It is a potion that will help you keep foods down. You are malnourished and need to eat more. This will insure that you can keep you food down." Drinking the potion down, Harry grimaced at the taste and ate other food to get rid of the lingering taste.
Severus led Harry on a short tour of the rooms after they finished eating dinner. "This is a small kitchen area that will have some food stocked. Our meals are delivered by the house elves, but you are welcome to get food from here if you would like a snack." Severus pointed to a hallway that was in the opposite direction as Harry's room, "That leads to my bedroom and my private bathroom. You will not enter unless you knock first and then you may enter if I grant permission."
Severus led Harry into the living room, which was decked out in various shades of green. "This is the living room. You may read any of these books on these bookshelves. You may not read any of the books that are found on the shelves in my bedroom. Those books are dangerous and I will be very displeased if you touch them." There was not much else to see so Severus led Harry back to his room.
"Would you like to decorate your room?" Severus asked Harry, whose eyes lit up at decorating his very own room. Harry nodded shyly.
"We can start with the walls. What color would you like then?" Severus asked as he pulled out his wand.
"Could it be a bluish-green color?" Harry asked excitedly. Severus did not respond, but a mumbled spell later and the stone walls were painted a nice blue-green color. "It's perfect!" Harry exclaimed as he looked around in wonder.
"What color would you like the carpet to be?" Severus icy heart was slightly warmed by seeing the looks of pure joy on this child's face for just decorating the room.
"Could you make it a really dark blue color?" Severus complied and the carpet was not a dark blue color. They may live in dungeons, but there was no way that Severus would allow Harry to get sick by walking around on cold cement floors. Severus never minded the cement floors but with his new charge, it would be best to put carpet in all rooms.
There was nothing else to change around in the room. The bed had green sheets and blankets on it, courtesy of the house elves. The room seemed to match nicely and to Severus' relief, he was not asked to make it in Gryffindor colors. Harry was beaming with happiness and he looked around his new room. For Harry, this was the start to a great summer.
THE END!
A/N: I meant to have this up before I left for the weekend but I kind of forgot. Oops! Anyways, this is the end of this story and I have the sequel started and first chapter is out. I really hope you all liked this story and PLEASE REVIEW! If you read this story and haven't reviewed, then please leave one for this last chapter just to say what you thought of it as a whole.
Thanks to: darkcelestial20, NATWEST, Touch of the Wind, and lifeless.bookworm for reviewing my last chapter!
THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SEQUEL IS OUT! PLEASE GO READ IT!