A/N – so another chapter here to throw at yous. Again forgive the stupid little mistakes I always seem to find after I post it and do point them out so I can fix them. A small request to my fellow readers. Please please review. I'm aiming for the 50 mark :D If you have any suggestions on something you would perhaps like to see in the fic, please I'm open to them and if there are enough of them I'll definitely consider them. So enjoy and please please review~silvermoonfae

Disclaimer – I do not own anything remotely related to the fantastic world of J.K Rowling!

Unknown Power

A tangle of arms and legs shaking with giggles shot from the floo in a flash of green and haze of dust. On the floor, in an unrecognisable cluster of limbs, covered in soot, was Harry and Clíona. Seconds later, Snape stepped gracefully from the fireplace, arms folded, a mildly irritated look scrunching his face. But at the humorous position both kids had somehow managed to achieve, even the stern professor had to crack a smile, relieved that the children were getting on so well together so quickly.

Harry felt all tingly inside. It had been a long time since he had been so carefree and light hearted. Still intermittently laughing and coughing from the dust, he leaned against the mantlepiece of the roaring fire to catch his breath. He was still experiencing periods of weakness as he was still recovering from his last 'meeting' with his uncle. However, Clíona was opposite him, eyes shining with unconcealed mirth, gasping for breath herself, which immediately made him feel better. He hated his weakness and at least now it wasn't so obvious as the both of them were out of breath.

"Remind me never to travel in the floo with ya again. You're as fidgety. It's a wonder we ended up in the right grate, never mind the mess we ended up in!" Clíona laughed.

"Hey, I'm normally light and graceful, whilst travelling using such methods," Harry replied adopting a prim and proper manner. "It was all your fault!" he teased.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Children!" Snape chided from the kitchen table where he was investigating that their purchases had made it all back in one piece, as they had been sent ahead.

Harry and Clíona stifled their giggles at their stuffy guardian. Once Harry had been all laughed out and calmed down, he rested his head against the marble top of the mantlepiece. It had only been a short trip but it had been strained and tense. Harry was unaccustomed to the amount of people shopping the streets of Diagon Alley and he had been stiff and nervous and unconsciously transferred the tense mood to those around him. It had only been on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch that he had loosened up a bit. But then again the crowds had dissipated once they reached the pub. And in a way he was relieved to be back to the quiet solitude of Snape's quarters. He sighed wearily.

Suddenly a glint of light caught the gilding on a frame he hadn't noticed before. The occupants were of a young man, smiling happily, twirling his newly wed bride in his arms. Startled he recognised the young to be Snape. Merlin, but he looked different. Happy. So the woman in his arms must be Clíona's mum. Clíona definitely took after her mother. However, she could see some of her father there too. He had heard somewhat vaguely from Clíona what had happened between Snape and her mother, but this made it seem so real. Somehow, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. After all, wasn't he the one who was supposed to rid the world of this megalomaniac. And the longer he delayed, the more people who were killed because of him. Life just wasn't fair.

The next frame he identified Clíona's birth and he smiled at the happy family they made. But it was the last frame that had really made him choke with emotion and feel a loss of breath. Again, he saw Snape and his wife and Clíona, but it was the fiery red-headed women that enthralled him and the little baby in her arms, with a tuft of messy black hair sticking up a top his head. He stiffened slightly at the sight of him in his mother's arms. Flashes of green light and screams of mercy raced in and out of his head. It was hard to relate this lively, fierce woman of this photograph with the memory of her last living moments. He clenched his hands, enjoying distantly the feeling of palm as he embedded his nails into his pain and he tried to make sense of things.

A delicate hand on his shoulder offered solace, while the other wriggled its way into his hand, preventing him from embedding his nails into his palm. He felt warm breath tingling his ear as Clíona whispered comforting words to him. "Harry, don't get lost in your memories and thoughts." For once losing the heavy Irish accent as she whispered. "Take comfort from knowing that she loved you. You can see it as clear as daylight in this photo. And look at Snape there. He adores you. You can see it in his eyes. And now he wants to help you. Please let him in. You need his help!"

Harry's eyes widened at the indirect mention of his abuse and were glittering with suppressed tears. "How?" he asked quietly.

She knew what he was asking without need for clarification. She glanced over at her father who looked totally engrossed in sorting out their purchases. But she knew better, particularly the way his head was unobtrusively cocked in their direction or how his eyes flitted to them every few minutes. He was aware of what was happening and was leaving her to deal with it. Unlike others, she didn't swell with the importance of such a task, but accepted it gracefully for it was an important responsibility, comforting a hurt and lost child. She turned her attention back to the vulnerable, weary soul he had become. "Listen, I can't tell you how I know yet. But I wont lie to you and I promise you'll most likely find out everything this evening or tomorrow. I just have to make sure. I do know what happened to you in a sense and how you have suffered, but I promise you will find out. There will be no secrets. Please Harry!" She pleaded with him to understand and sighed in relief as he gave her a watery, timid smile. "I understand," he whispered reassuringly, "but as long as you never lie to me, and just tell me you can't tell me for some reason or other, I'll always understand."

She was almost bouncing in relief at this stage and tugged his hand to follow her. "Come on Harry, lets find out what my dear father had planned for this evening." Once again, laughing, he stumbled along as she continued to tug him enthusiastically.

Snape was well aware of all that had transpired. It was a skill he had picked up as a spy, having a soft focus on all his surroundings. He had to hide the small smile that crept upon his face at his enthusiastic daughter and his eyes shone with pride at her delicate handling of the situation. He was glad that he could rely upon his daughter to comfort Harry if he needed it and that Harry would accept solace from his daughter. It was a major step in his healing and it would help him to have someone else Harry could depend on besides himself if he was unavailable.

Now however, it was time to figure out just how powerful Harry was and then assess the standard of his daughter's magical education. However, knowing his late wife, she would be beyond her year level, if anything. With a last wave of his wand, their purchases sorted themselves into their respective rooms for later. He noticed his daughter and Harry finally making their way over and so he gestured at the other empty chairs around the table, indicating for them to be seated before he began.

"This evening, I hope to test your magical powers, Harry and your standard of magical education, Clíona. Both involve simple enough procedures and shouldn't take too long," he explained. "We'll begin with you Harry and so that you know what it will involve, I'll give you a brief run down. There will be two steps. The first of which will involve you holding this globe," he lifted a clear glass ball, that looked uncannily like one of Professor Trewlawney's crystal balls. Harry almost snorted at the thought of that fraud and her crystal balls. "Secondly, you will be taking this potion." This time he held up a vial of what looked like grey sludge. "You add one of your hairs to the potion to tune it to yourself. Then you will pour one drop, and only one drop mind, onto a piece of parchment, while you imbibe the rest. Is that clear.?"

Harry nodded his head in agreement. He really didn't see the need for all this rigmarole. Everyone knew he was of average power and nothing special. His grades attested to that. He had been told of what occurred that night he had been rescued but he hadn't believed it really.

At Harry's nod he turned to Clíona. "All yours will involve will be a standard test on spells and magical theory to determine where your standing is in your magical education. OK?" At her acceptance, he ushered them out ensuring them that he would call them later when he was ready. This was going to be a trying evening for himself.

And he didn't know how right he was.

HPHPHP

Later that evening they were all settled in the sitting room, Harry standing nervously as Clíona was settled on the chair comfortably and Snape was pacing relentlessly in front of him, globe in hand.

"Firstly, I need to explain in a bit more detail what you must do Harry, OK?" Harry nodded so he continued. "You must clasp the globe in both hands like so. Then you must travel to your magic's core." He paused as Harry looked at him questionably.

"You're core? Is that even possible?"

"Yes, anyone can do it. The reason why it's not taught to everyone however, is that it has become a lost art as it's a rare occasion that one needs to measure someone else's power. For the average wizard or witch there is just no need to. Anyone above so, there isa need to gain an accurate approximation of their powers. The stronger you are, the less the average potions and spells will work on you and some spells may not have any effect whatsoever. Can you tell me how this could become a problem?" he challenged.

Harry thought for a while. He knew the answer but he was reluctant to answer. This was too much like previous class situations and he didn't want to revert back those situations. But not answering could lead to worse consequences he thought, thinking of his uncle. Taking a deep breath he chanted in his mind repeatedly that it had all changed. Everything had changed!

"Um, well, in situations, erm, where healing was needed and their situation was life threatening and they were above average power. Then you would need to have quick access to potions and knowledge of spells which could be used." he concluded. He cringed almost expecting the usual point loss for Gryffindor or snarky reply.

However Snape smirked slightly, as if he knew what Harry had been thinking. "Indeed, if school term were in procession I would give points to Gryffindor." he said, going for the shock factor. Harry's mouth dropped open like it were on a hinge and Clíona stifled her laughter.

Amused, Snape continued. "Well Harry, if you've finished impersonating a fish, I'll continue. Now you can see why, if anybody shows a hint that their power is developing above average, then it must be determined. Now, travelling to your magics core, is not so much as finding your core or seeing it with your eyes. You must centre yourself in line with your magic. Be one with it. It is like an intense feeling, your magic sings within your very veins, " Harry opened his mouth as if to say something but Snape cut him off. "It pulses with every heartbeat and only then will the globe light.

"Now the colour the globe shines is also important as it determines your magical strength. There are seven different colours the ball can change. Seven is one of the most powerful numbers in the magical world, hence the seven colours to indicate the various power levels." he explained.

"Um sir, why is 7 one of the most powerful numbers?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.

Snape saw the sincerity in his eyes, answered appropriately. "Magic can always be broken down into seven components. We also consider there to be seven base elements upon which our world balances upon. Earth, Water, Fire and Air, the four usual ones, even considered by many muggles to be base elements. But also, Light/Dark, Space/Void and Sound. Elementals have not been seen in centuries. It is a most difficult art, to control the elements but it can be done by these. However, I'm sure you need not worry about these and study them if you wish in your extracurricular time. Now can you imagine our whole world based on the number 7? If you do arithmancy you'd learn more. As it is, at the moment it may be difficult to comprehend." Snape lectured.

Now back on track, the seven colours are, ranging from weakest to strongest, white, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, purple and with orange as the average everyday wizard. There are also secondary colours interspersed within the primary, such as dark streaks or blobs of black, indicating darkness surrounds you, or pink showing your loving nature." He looked disgusted at the very notion of pink streaks in someone's globe. "However we shall interpret this as we come to it."

Harry was overwhelmed by the amount of information he was receiving. He really just wanted to get this over and done with. He was positive he was of average power if not weaker. He just didn't have the smarts like Hermione had. He was relieved when Snape finally halted his spiel. His brain was overworked at this stage, so literally none of the last couple of minutes really processed in his mind and he was working from mostly automatic.

"I will first demonstrate and then it's your turn. Holding the globe, you must centre yourself. It may take a couple of tries, but don't worry. Just keep trying until you feel the magic singing in your veins."

"But sir, my magic always feels like that, It's why I love magic so much and loathe returning to my relatives each year as well as the other reason. It feels like it hums in resonance to my body, both working in perfect synchrony." clarified Harry passionately.

Now it was Snape's turn to imitate a fish. 'Impossible!' he thought, 'only the extremely powerful and disciplined could stay in a state where their body was in perfect harmony with their magic. Once achieved, it was widely accepted as the perfect state, where you where at peace with your magic and it preformed its best. But the boy hasn't exhibited anything to indicate such levels of power except the one incident. But then again he has defied Voldemort more times than any other and all before the age of 16. Still it wasn't likely. He was mistaken.' There really was only one way to fins out and silently he handed over the globe to Harry. At the slightest touch it should light up if what he said was true.

Harry looked at him questionable as he handed him the globe silently, but still he reached out to accept it. As soon as he touched it, a mere finger made contact with the shiny glass, it glowed intensely. Snape almost dropped it in shock and Harry jumped back. Clíona stared in awe at him and usually nothing seemed to phase her. Contact was broken and the glow was immediately sucked back in upon itself like a vortex.

Snape couldn't believe it. A finger! One finger and it lit the room with power. And the fact that his magic sung in his veins at all times. He had achieved what none other, save Merlin and the four founders had managed to achieve. A state of perfection whereby his magic would resonate harmoniously with his body. He shook his head slightly to try and rid him of his confusing thoughts. They needed to determine his power levels and so he handed the globe back to Harry, again wordlessly.

Harry knowing what to expect this time, even though he was still nervous, grasped it lightly in both hands. Instantly, they were bathed in a warm glow. If the first revelation was a shock, it was nothing on this. The globe glowed gold. Gold! With blobs of purple. Gold was a secondary colour, meaning purity and strength of heart. And the purple? Well he was now officially one of the most powerful wizards of the day. And the secondary colour overshadowing the primary, well that attested to his character and innocence. The prophecy was seeming more and more likely as time wore on. A globe such as this hadn't been seen since the time of Merlin himself and his globe broke in two and so his power couldn't couldn't even be measured. And speaking of the devil . . .A large resounding crack echoed through his quarters and the light dimmed considerably before vanishing entirely. Lord above, he was as powerful as Merlin!

Harry just stared at the two halves of the globe in his hands in surprise. "Um sir? Is this supposed to happen? What does it mean?" he asked tentatively, not liking the play of emotion on the usually stoic face of the potion's master. This just couldn't be good.

Snape breathed slowly and counted to ten before answering. "Well basically the only other wizard to affect a globe such as you have is Merlin, and his power couldn't be measured by any known means." Harry paled significantly. He was shaking and muttering quietly to himself. 'Uh oh,' Snape thought.

"No, no, no, am not! Just a freak! Nothing special! No, no, no!" he mumbled in denial, eyes glazed over with this revelation.

"Harry? Harry! Just calm down." Snape soothed. But Harry wasn't responding to him. He was too trapped within the web of his thoughts. He cast a panicked look at his daughter, who immediately jolted from her dazed stupor that she had fallen to. She calmed herself down and filled the room with a soothing balm. Harry immediately relaxed, his dark mutterings of self disgust trailing off before he slumped back into the settee, which was luckily right behind him, or he would have had a bad knock on the cold, hard dungeon floor. Snape shot her a grateful look before settling beside the shaken teen on the settee, ignoring the flinch and barely audible whimper which followed.

Very deliberately he took the child's face in his hands and tilted his head gently so he was staring down the depths of those sorrowful emerald orbs. "Harry, I will sat this however many times that I have to, to get you to believe what I say. You. Are. Not. A. Freak! You are not a burden, nor any other derogatory term your disgusting so called 'family' have deemed you. You are a powerful wizard in your own right, with perhaps foolish Gryffindor tendencies, but a pure heart and spirit as the globe attested to. Never ever think like that. Never ever think that you deserved what was done to you. It was wrong and no one deserved to be treated the way you were, least of all you. Do you understand?" Snape tried to impress upon the vulnerable child. He could still see the doubt lurking deep in his eyes and Snape was sure it would take many talks such as these to actually rid him of his self loathing, but the boy nodded in acquiescence. Snape realised that it was a starting point on which they could build upon.

"Very well. After this last round I find myself reluctant to continue. I think we'll leave the potion stage until tomorrow and until you are well rested, to find out what other surprises you may have in store for us. Why don't you retire to your room, while I test Clíona, which shouldn't take long. It is getting late and the shadows are creeping upon us. I'll see you tomorrow Harry and goodnight." He arched a delicate eyebrow, daring him to protest at the dismissal. But Harry wouldn't complain for between everything that occurred today, he felt both physically and emotionally drained.

Muttering a goodnight to Clíona who responded cheerfully and to the professor who nodded, he stumbled to his room, knowing he would be asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

HPHPHP

"Freak!" Slap!

"Burden!" Thwack!

"God for nothing Son of a bitch!" Thump!

"Please Uncle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It was an accident I swear!" Harry pleaded in a small voice from the corner he had backed into, curled into a ball protecting all his major organs from further damage.

"LIAR! You live to make our lives a misery. Well, I will. Not. Have. It!" his Uncle roared, punctuating each word by a whip with the belt.

Harry just moaned and whimpered in pain as the belt rained down upon him. No amount of begging would save him from the whip brandishing whale that stood above him. His Aunt and cousin watched on as usual, no hint of sympathy in their eyes. Only disgust. And it was this particular day Harry realised, he had never had a home there. He was an intruder and not one solitary soul in that house would ever debase themselves with such a low action as helping him. No one would ever help him! So he took his punishment stoically until a particularly harsh snap caused the buckle to catch the side of his face and he screamed!

"No!" Harry shot up in the bed, a mixture of sweat and tears rolling down his face. He looked around wildly for the dangerous, looming presence of his uncle. But he didn't catch any sight of the whale in the faint moonlight from his enchanted windows. And he was too large and cumbersome to lurk in the shadows stealthily. He was safe here. Finally he notice a faint pain emanating from his wrist and upon closer inspection revealed a jagged, yet shallow cut. He shrugged his shoulders dismissively. He must of caught himself off something or other earlier. He didn't catch the blood which was stuck beneath his fingernails or the smear of blood on the opposite hand. No, he suspected nothing.

He was safe here, that was all that replayed within his mind. Safe! It had been an emotionally trying day so he wasn't surprised that his nightmares continued to haunt him, even here. They had become a familiar, if unwanted night time companion. Suppressing a yawn, he snuggled down into the comfiest bed he ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. He knew he would be restless for the remainder of the night, if he was lucky enough not to be plagued by another nightmare. But once again he thanked Merlin above for his wandless ability to cast silencing charms.

Eyes slipping closed and his consciousness descending into the inky depths of oblivion, he never saw the looming shadow hovering by the door, merging within the darkness, pinpricks of light shining in his eyes, the only indication that they were there. He didn't notice him silently glide over, tucking him him tightly or brushing his wayward hair from his face. He didn't see the sorrowful cast to his eyes or the small "Oh Child!" that was sadly whispered around the room before his protector left. He didn't know that he had a silent Dark Angel that protected him fiercely, even from the night and was determined to help him at all costs even if it was to save him from himself.

A/N – OK so I'm sorry that this chapter might have overwhelmed you with the technical bits I had to put in for background information but it was necessary. After the next chapter I hope to fast forward it a small bit. I don't want this fic to be totally about him being abused and his recovery etc. etc. There will be elements of his hardships throughout the fic as a result of his abuse but I think after the next chapter we'll see a different Harry. And pretty please review. I can't say this enough :)

Just giving you's all a heads up. I will be changing the name of the story. The title was always a temporary as it was but I have found several names which I think flow better. Thanks :)