Warning: Contains Child Abuse. Summary on bottom of chapter if this makes you queasy.

Hermione visited the neighbourhood of Little Whinging several times a year to check on her future best friend. It was hard to watch the Dursleys mistreat him. It was her way of trying to understand him better. She thought it might help after the war. He had so many troubles that it had been a wonder that Harry Potter had not gone mad by then.

She was also the only truly tangible link she had to her past. She was wise enough not to visit herself. She knew she had a good childhood, and Ron was also safe, but Harry had always been the one with the worst lot.

She watched as Harry grew from baby to an affection starved toddler. Petunia was never too cruel when he didn't know how to speak. She seemed to be able to ignore his heritage when he didn't show a particular personality. Her attention, of course, was always first and foremost on her Dudley, but eventually she did remember Harry. He got less food and attention than a normal child would, when Dudley got these in excess, but he was not horribly neglected.

It wasn't until Harry was three and a half that he uttered his first word. Petunia was not so thrilled, but was very glad and never failed to point out how her Duddeykins had spoken first, her little boy was so much more intelligent than her nephew.

Soon after beginning to speak, he began to walk. He had had this ability earlier, but had learned early not to do anything. When he didn't draw attention to himself at all was when Petunia would notice him the most.

The boy is walking and talking, Petunia thought, he can do some housework. And so Harry was taught how to do most of the chores he could. The boy slaved away all day, but still his situation was tolerable. Petunia never made him do anything too heavy that would injure him.

It wasn't until Harry started helping out in the kitchen on mornings that Vernon Dursley actually noticed the child. He hadn't been a great presence before then. During the weeks when Vernon had been home in the evenings, Petunia had kept Harry in the cupboard under the stairs and on weekends the child had been kept in a dog pen in the kitchen while the family spent time in the lounge.

Harry was fairly deft at cooking already at his young age. Petunia had taught him well, as she would allow nothing but the highest standard food to feed her two lovely men. Under her tutelage Harry had cooked well, so she had decided to give morning duty completely to him.

"Boy!" Vernon yelled as he had noticed Harry at the stove frying up bacon strips. Poor little Harry had never been spoken to in such high and deep voice that he jumped burning his fingers and throwing the pan in a way that the bacon went all over the floor.

Vernon sat back in his chair, lifted up his newspaper and mumbled very pointedly and loudly:

"Useless freak."

That's how it all began. Eventually even Petunia changed her treatment of Harry to be harsher. Dudley, who had never really cared about the weird kid that was around, began jeering at Harry to get his father's attention. Vernon always praised Dudley highly for his highly creative insults, which weren't that creative at all, but the proud parents would note every little thing their son did and extol it to a degree that implied that little Dudley was the most brilliant being in the universe.

After Harry's fourth birthday in August 1984, things turned for the worse. Vernon got bored at just calling the little boy everything under the sun. He needed more excitement, so on a Sunday morning when he was in an extra foul mood and had made Harry burn the bacon five times, he got up and dug his palm into Harry's hair.

"You utter filth. Why we put up with you, I don't know!"

And dragged the poor child off into the entrance hall.

"I'll teach you to burn my bacon."

With those words he took off his belt, with it tied Harry's arms to the stair railing and took his spare belt and began hitting Harry, uncaring of where his blows fell. This went on for a good ten minutes before Vernon had run out of steam.

Harry was all bruised and bleeding. He couldn't move at all. Vernon was disgusted by the sight, so he released Harry's arms from the railing and threw him into the cupboard.

"You'll come out when you know how to properly make breakfast!"

Next time Hermione came to check on Harry, he couldn't see him anywhere. This worried her greatly, so she waited until nightfall and then broke into the house. At first she couldn't hear anything, but then she heard a soft sobbing from behind a small door under the stairs. The door was locked so she cast the unlocking spell only to find a small, ragged and bloody heap sobbing as quietly as it could.

When the creature heard someone open the door, it looked up with the most amazing green eyes that were filled with utter, animal-like terror. The child scooted into the corner of the small space, as far away from Hermione he could get. The sight broke Hermione's heart. She crouched and slowly held her hand forward.

"Shh, little one. I'm here to help you and take you away", she whispered. The boy looked at her with suspicion, but let Hermione lean closer and carefully touch his arm. The boy didn't dare move just in case this was a horrible new trick or just a wonderful dream. Hermione scooped him up and walked quickly out of the house apparating to the cottage.

The little boy looked at her with wonder and a million questions chasing the terror away from his eyes.

"You're safe now, Harry", Hermione said and carried him up to the bathroom to wash him. The boy said nothing as she undressed him and washed him. He was completely silent and still when she treated his wounds with dittany. He did not protest when she told him to drink the blood-replenishing and pain potions. He ate without a word as she called Kreacher to give him some hot soup. And he fell asleep quickly in the guest room she put him in.

Severus was having a wonderful dream. He was making love to Hermione and they were living together in the cottage without him having to come back to Hogwarts to teach the horrid, talentless children. She was calling his name in beautiful breathy whispers.

"Severus, Severus… Severus, wake up!"

With the loud noise he was jarred away from his dream only to find the other participant of his dream in her own wand light looking at him seriously. He was stunned for a moment before he gathered his wits enough to speak.

"What in the name of Salazar Slytherin are you doing here?"

She smiled wryly at him.

"Eloquent as ever, I see", she whispered and kissed him carefully. He was about to go further with it when she quite irritatingly pulled away with the worried look back on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I have done something, and I think you will be extremely mad at me."

This woke him up completely.

"Let me put my clothes on, and we will speak at the cottage."

She nodded and disappeared into the lounge. It didn't take him long to get ready, so they were soon in the cottage library.

"What is it you have done that you fear will make me mad?" he asked in an almost bored voice. She pulled in a deep breath.

"Harry is here."

"What?"

"Harry Potter. I brought him to the cottage."

"Yes, I heard you", Severus said calmly.

"Are you mad?! What the hell were you thinking?!"

His voice turned dangerous and dark, something Hermione hadn't heard since she had been his student.

"I check up on him, and this time they had beaten him. He was near death, Severus. I couldn't leave him", she explained almost frantically.

"They beat him? In what condition did you find him?" Severus asked in a more reasonable tone. Hermione didn't answer immediately, but got up and went to get the clothes she was intending to destroy. Severus sucked in a quick breath when he saw the tattered remains.

"No part of his skin was unaffected. He had scars everywhere. No broken bones, thankfully, but ruptured organs and he was bordering on amnesiac with the lack of blood. I could not leave him."

"What do you want from me?" Severus asked after a long moment of silence.

"There are only two options, and both involve betraying Dumbledore."

"And what are they?"

"We raise Harry Potter."

"Absolutely not, what is the second option?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Lupin? He'd be perfect."

"No. Someone else."

"You don't mean?"

"Yes."

"I will not go along with this."

"Fine, I'll do it myself then."

"No!"

"You can't stop me."

"Fine. This better work, or else!"

"I know."

Summary: Basically, Hermione kept an eye on Harry. In the August 1984 his treatment got so bad that Hermione had to rescue him. She takes care of him and puts him to bed. Then she goes to get Severus, to ask his help in dealing with the situation. The options are to either raise Harry Potter or get someone else to do it. Severus doesn't like the idea of of raising the child of James Potter, and suggests Lupin, but Hermione has someone else in mind.