A/N: One of my longer chapters, yet I feel it is rushed. However, I needed to pack a lot of things into this chapter that are necessary for later on and the sequel (which I swear I am working on despite not having it posted yet.)

Chapter 3

He returned the boy under the covers, and then lay next to him, on top of the covers, summoning a spare quilt from the linen closet. Harry whimpered, scooting closer, missing the comforting touch that had succeeded in removing the nightmare. He curled up in the fetal position against the older man's side. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but smile at the realization that, if Harry was an Animagus, which they couldn't test for until a) he was 17 and b) he got back to a healthy weight, he would likely be a cat. Based some of the noises he made, and the way that he moved.

He thought about what had happened with the other professors in the living room. There was no way that he was going to give up custody of the child now that he knew what was going on. He stroked the boy's raven locks as he mewled softly in his sleep. The boy was considerably under weight, which was definitely worrisome. He needed to find out what the boy ate on a regular basis to know what level of nutrition potion he gave him. While he gave him the 2000 calorie one today, there was no certainty that he would need one that strong, or maybe he would need a stronger one. Severus sighed realizing that he needed to try and test his metabolism, along with figuring out his activity level and his average caloric intake. He shook his head softly, trying to clear the jumbled thoughts that were floating around his brain. He stroked the boy's hair gently, earning a nuzzle against his hand, though the boy remained asleep. "I love you, my son," he muttered softly. After nearly 3 hours, he fell asleep.

He woke up early, about 5 o'clock, though he had only been asleep for 2 hours, as the brunet began to stir. "Good morning, Harry."

He stretched, in a very catlike manner, as he yawned, though he flinched as he shifted his weight roughly against a still healing wound. "'Morning…" he trailed off, unsure what to call his professor after waking up next to him.

"You may call me Severus when we aren't in class."

"'Morning, Sev'rus," he yawned. He was slightly embarrassed over his actions the night before, but, at the same time, he was much more relaxed now that he had gotten The Secret, as he had taken to calling it over the years, off of his shoulders. He was worried about what was going to happen later, but for now, he was going to trust in his professor and hope that he told him the truth. That was one reason he wasn't completely upset about telling the man. Severus had never lied to him. "Thank you," he muttered.

"For what?"

"For helping me. I know I'm just a burden, but I…" he trailed off unsure of how to continue.

"Harry, you are not a burden. Everything that the Dursleys told you was an absolute lie."

He buried his face in the dark robes that the potions master was still wearing from the night before, wanting to believe the words that he was saying, while his brain was arguing between knowing he could trust the man and believing what he had spent the last 15 years listening too. Severus sighed, but allowed him to cuddle for a few minutes before pulling away and getting out of bed. "Come on, let's get some breakfast. I'll go call the house elves. The restroom is through that side door. When you are finished just come out. Follow the hall, you can't miss it."

"Thank you, si…Severus."

"You're welcome." He left the room to use the guest bathroom down the hall so that Harry could feel more comfortable.

It was nearly 20 minutes later when Harry came out, his hands shaking slightly as he stayed close to the wall, almost imperceptibly holding onto it as he walked. Severus remained seated, though he had his wand out underneath the table, ready to catch the boy, should he begin to fall. He finally made it to the table, unscathed, and took a seat, sinking gratefully into the padded kitchen chair with arms. They began to dish up their food in silence, Snape eating some bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast with jam, along with a bowl of fruit. Harry simply opting for a small bowl of fruit, even that, though, he simply picked around, eating, in all, about 3 whole strawberries, 10 blueberries, and 3 small bites of banana.

"Harry, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"I don't have much of a say in it, do I?" he grumbled, having grown more nervous as the meal progressed.

"We really do need to have the talk at some point in time. We may as well have it now and get it over with."

"I guess, what did you want to talk about?"

"Let's go sit on the couch; we can discuss things just as well in there, only more comfortably."

"Yes, Prof…Severus." He still was getting used to calling his professor by his given name, particularly after the animosity between them all those years.

Severus guided the boy to the couch. "I know that you don't want to, but we must discuss you eating habits."

Harry relaxed slightly, thinking he was going to have to discuss the abuse, and knowing that he wasn't ready to do that yet. He still kept his glamour charms up, despite the fact that Severus had already seen all of them. "Yes, sir."

"How much do you usually eat per day?" he had a Muggle ballpoint pen and notebook in front of him so that he could keep track of everything without missing a bit of information.

"I eat the same thing every day."

"And that would be? Besides, 3 bites of banana, 10 blueberries, and 3 small strawberries."

Harry blushed slightly. "Um…at lunch I usually have a piece of the wheat bread, without the crust, and some carrots and celery."

"How much?"

"4 sticks each." He looked down. "That's all I was ever allowed."

Severus jotted that down quickly. "And dinner?"

"Um…1/2 a chicken breast, always the smallest one on the plate." He glanced up slightly. "It keeps Hermione off my back if I eat it. And…er…another piece of bread without the crust. I always have a glass of carrot juice with dinner too, at least, I have since I started school. Hermione, again, always makes sure that I do."

"How much water do you drink per day?"

"Um…about 12 and a half servings. Hermione keeps track for me to make sure I drink enough, particularly between classes and whatnot. More if I'm playing Quidditch that day or if it's hot."

He thought for a moment. He knew about how much activity the boy got throughout the day, particularly with walking between all his classes or even just the dormitory and the Great Hall. "How often do you have Quidditch practice?"

"Um…Katie schedules it for 4 times a week, 2 morning practices and 2 evening practices, for um…a total of…12 hours a week. But we are also expected to run each day, I run 5 miles with Katie and Alicia every day, usually after dinner. We did yesterday right before I came down here. I really should tell them that I won't be able to make it tonight," he mused more to himself than anything.

"Any other physical activities?"

"Not really, no."

They were quiet as Snape worked out some calculations on paper. "Harry, you aren't even taking in enough food were we to assume that you do nothing but sleep, breath, and sit around all day."

He looked down at his lap. "Sorry, Professor."

"Come here, phoenix," he said softly patting the couch cushion next to him. The boy always rose from the ashes that life had thrown at him and buried him under, so the pet name seemed fitting.

Harry came over and curled up into the side of the older man. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to upset you, I…"

"Hush, child." Severus cut him off. "You didn't make me mad, I'm simply worried about you. I just want you to get healthy." At the boy's nod he continued. "Do you know what Calories are?"

"It's like the bodies fuel right?"

"Very good. That's exactly what it is. You aren't even taking in 400 calories a day when you should be getting close to 2500 with how active you are, at the very least."

"What does that mean, professor?"

"Please, call me by my given name, Harry."

"Sorry, Severus," he muttered bashfully.

"There is no need to apologize, phoenix. What I mean is, your body must rely on other sources, outside of food, to get the energy that you need. That means your body is feeding off of itself. Thankfully, because you are a wizard, it is able to draw off of your magic, though that still means you aren't able to gain any weight. Once you are getting the adequate number of calories per day, you will be able to accomplish so much more, magically speaking. With your powers, I have no doubt in my mind you will be one of the strongest wizards in the world." He felt the boy tense. "No, I don't care about your ability to defeat Voldemort, that you did with your ability to love your friends and family. Your mother, and, though we didn't get along, your father, were two of the most powerful people I'd ever had the privilege to know. You inherited their power, not some random power from the Dark Lord through a silly scar, now gone, yet your powers have stayed."

The boy relaxed into his side once more and he stroked his hair, gently playing with it as he spoke. "Harry, the weight you are at now is not at all healthy. For the time being, we will keep your meals as they were previously, your stomach being used to those portions. However, we will start adding a little more substance, a little at a time. Be it milk instead of water for breakfast, finishing the crust on your bread, adding a snack midday. It will be little by little so that we don't overwhelm your system. In the mean time, we are going to have you take nutrition potions 4 times per day, once at each meal and again right before you go to sleep. Each will be 500 calories so it will put you about where you are supposed to be. As you begin eating more, we will slowly ease off the potions, alright?"

"Yes, Sev'rus," he muttered, quite content to just stay curled up on the couch with the older man. He had never had the chance to just be a kid growing up and he was getting the opportunity now, albeit, most likely only temporary.

"Harry, I had to tell the Headmaster, your Head of House, and Madame Pomfrey about the injuries that I saw last night."

Harry stiffened.

Severus continued to stroke his hair, calming him. "Do not worry, they do not know everything, just what I was under oath to say. Because of such, however, it has been requested that you receive a new guardian."

"Who is it?" he asked, not daring to even hope of who it will be.

"If it is agreeable with you, I will become your guardian."

The Gryffindor sat up and looked at the man. "Really?"

"I wouldn't have threatened Dumbledore otherwise."

The emotionally young teenager threw his arms around the man's neck, hugging him with all his might. "Thank you, Severus!"

"You're welcome, phoenix."

After about 20 minutes, Harry pulled away and looked at him. "Does this mean you get to punish me?" he asked nervously.

"Let's talk about that now, since you brought it up." He pulled the boy back down to their earlier position. "First, you are old enough, I believe, to help in deciding the rules. We shall negotiate now, but they will be unyielding later. Does that seem like a fair trade off to you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, if you get detention with any of the other professors, you shall have one with me as well, or would you rather something else?"

"That would work. I know every detention Ron gets, Mrs. Weasley always sends a Howler, but I really don't like being yelled at," he finished weakly. "But, as I would be getting in trouble, it's only fit that I get the school punishment and one from my…guardian."

"Very well, what do you think about curfew? The 6th year school curfew is 11, however, I would prefer if you were in bed by that time, and not just in Gryffindor Tower."

"Um…how about if I'm in the tower by 10 and in bed by 11, unless we're having a study session that goes a little longer, in which case, I must be in bed before 12? And, at the end of school ball this year, I get that extended to whatever everyone else has for curfew."

Severus thought for a moment. "That would be acceptable. If you are sick, however, I wish for you to retire an hour earlier than you would normally."

"I can do that."

"Okay, so we have a curfew and a bed time and a detention rule. What else?" he asked wanting the boy to participate more, not just agree mindlessly.

"Um…grades?" he hazard to guess.

"Ah…yes, grades. You are one of the brightest minds in the student body. You are taking Potions, Defense, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures, correct?" At the boy's approval, he continued. "I expect nothing less than an E on any tests and assignments."

"Sir…I…"

"You currently are struggling in Potions, I know, as well as Transfiguration. Those we can work with easily to get you caught up. Once you have regained full health, or even just partial health, your marks in Transfiguration should increase significantly. You can spend more time on your essays, to achieve better scores there. I am always willing to look over your essays for you, as long as you start them early enough. I don't want any more of these last minute essays you write during breakfast."

"Oh, I guess I can pull at least Es in all classes. What if, by chance, I don't?"

"What do you think should happen?"

Harry thought for a minute. "If I don't get the agreed upon grade it would be because I didn't study hard enough, or I didn't try as hard as I could have. In either case, I was most likely doing something instead of what I should have been doing. What if…I get banned from Quidditch practice for 2 practices, though not the runs, so I can stay in shape?"

"Can I amend that if you get 5 marks below an E you get grounded from Quidditch altogether until, either, those grades are improved, or you write an extra essay explaining what you did wrong on the test, or an improved essay?"

"I think that would work." While he didn't like the possibility of not being able to play, he knew that it would be a good incentive to keep his grades up.

"What else do you think should be included?"

"Um…fighting?"

"Do you plan on getting in fights?" Snape asked trying to hide a smirk.

"No!" Harry said quickly. When Severus started to chuckle he pouted. "That wasn't very nice."

"I never claimed to be nice."

"I just meant that Malfoy seems to like to draw me into fights. Most of the time I can ignore him, but it is harder other times."

"What do you think your punishment should be should you get in a fight?"

"I don't know. I was kinda hoping you'd come up with something, other than detention, cuz I know I'd get one of those anyway if we are caught."

"If you do get a detention, that automatically gives you a second one, and, I think it would be appropriate to make you skip a Hogsmeade weekend. Is that acceptable to you?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. I hate having to miss a weekend, but if I can remember that then I will try to avoid the fights even more."

"That does generally tend to be the point of a negative consequence." Severus smirked as Harry cuddled closer, embarrassed. "Can you think of any others?"

"Um…skipping class? I don't do it often, but I have in the past a few times, usually just History of Magic or Divination or Care of Magical Creatures. I guess, just Creatures now because I dropped the others."

"If you skip a class and are not sick, which if you are sick I expect you to either go to the Hospital Wing or come and speak with me. If you are bed bound, I expect you to send one of your roommates to come and get me or Madame Pomfrey."

"Yes, Severus, but I hate the Hospital Wing. So I will probably come to you first."

"That is agreeable. Back to the point on hand, if you do miss class, for any reason other than illness or injury where you cannot physically make it, you will be doing your class work that you missed that night with me, and I will give you an extra assignment to complete."

Harry made a face. "Yeah, that works. But, what if I was skipping like Care of Magical Creatures to finish some homework?"

"Haven't we already discussed the fact that there will be no procrastination? If you are skipping a class to finish homework, I will assume you were procrastinating and you will miss 2 practices as well as the skipping class consequence."

"Oh, right."

"Remember, you are the one who came up with that so you cannot be mad at me if you must miss practice."

"I know, that doesn't make it any easier of a pill to swallow."

Severus chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair playfully. "There's an easy remedy."

"What?" he asked excitedly.

"Don't skip class and keep up on your homework."

His face fell, "Oh, right."

"Can you think of anything else?" Severus asked after a few moments of silence.

"That means you can still think of something, right?"

"I can, I want to know if you can."

His nose scrunched up as he thought hard. "I can't think of anything."

"How about your notorious habit of skipping meals whenever possible?"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. What are we going to do about it?"

"Um…say I have to show up to all of them?"

"And if you don't?"

"I…have to take a nutrition potion for what I missed."

"And…"

"Um…I get grounded for the weekend, no matter what is going on, though I can still play in a match if there is one."

"That would be acceptable. You will be grounded to your quarters down here so there is not even the temptation of breaking the terms of grounding. You will be allowed out for meals, which you can still take in the Great Hall, but you would be going to meals at the times I choose, not the other way around."

"Um…Sev'rus?"

"Yes, phoenix?"

"Do I have to be grounded or sick to stay down here?"

"No, you can stay down here whenever you wish, as they are your quarters as well. During holidays, if you wish to leave the school grounds, we can go to Prince Manor, which will be your home as well."

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"I would not have suggested otherwise."

Harry hugged him tightly again. "Thanks, Sev!"

"You're welcome."

"Is there anything else, punishment wise, we need to talk about?" Harry asked nervously.

"What about swearing? I don't hear you say anything nearly as often as I hear Mr. Weasley, but there are occasions where you have used improper language."

"When you were growing up, how were you punished for language?"

"I had my mouth washed out with soap for 5 minutes."

Harry tensed. That was how the Dursleys punished him for speaking at all though it was always way longer than 5 minutes. "C-c-can we pick something else, please? I would rather be grounded."

"Of course. Grounding is a little harsh for swearing. How about if we just have you write lines instead, say 100 for each word, 'I will not swear?' And if it happens again, we will add 50 on each time it happens."

"Thank you."

"Why did you not want the other?"

Harry just hid his face and shook his head.

"You can tell me, phoenix."

"Aunt Petunia used to pour dish soap in my mouth whenever I talked," he muttered hiding in his guardian's shoulder. "I wasn't allowed to rinse it out, though I usually did as soon as I went outside to do my chores there."

"I will never do that, Harry. I promise you. And I will never hit you. I will do my very best never to raise my voice or yell at you."

"Even if I deserve it?"

"Harry, nobody ever deserves to be hit. I swear to you, I will never, ever, raise a hand to you in violence or anger. If I do get very upset, which I'm not expecting to, I will calm down before we speak about what is going on or punish you fairly and according to our rules. To cool down, because we both tend to be a fair bit hot headed, we will each go into our bedrooms until we can think rationally, then we will meet in the living room to discuss what happened."

They were quiet for a few more minutes. "Sev?" Harry asked weakly.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Is it going to be the same when we are out of class as when we are in here?"

"I will treat you the same as I treat my snakes, but I will expect better of you. I won't be as harsh as I have been in the past, but when we aren't alone, you will need to call me 'sir' or 'professor'. I might not always call you by your given name, but I won't just call you by your last name either. May I inquire as to why you always seem to botch your potions in class?"

"Malfoy."

"What does Mr. Malfoy have to do with anything?"

"He always throws in ingredients when your back is turned. All the Slytherins do to Neville's potions too. Hermione is far enough away that they don't bother trying, or she did something, I'm not sure. I will admit that sometimes I get distracted as to what comes next though. Usually if I'm cooking or something I have everything laid out ahead of time so I know which order they go in. I'm a visual learner and so just seeing it in my head from a piece of paper is hard. Not to mention it is difficult to read the board sometimes, so I'm usually looking off of Ron's notes, which isn't always accurate."

"Are you up for a shopping trip today? Very few people will be out as it is during the school day. We can go to Madame Malkin's and get new robes as well as some other clothes that she can charm to fit you as you grow so you won't need to buy new clothes for a little while, especially as you go through a growth spurt over the next couple months."

"How much are you expecting me to grow?"

"Once you hit a healthier weight of about 90 pounds for your height, maybe a bit less, you will begin to grow in height, which will be aided by a potion as well, though, because of past events, you most likely won't top 5'10"."

"That is still 10 inches taller than I am now."

"It is. Would that be acceptable?"

"Can we go into Muggle London too? I want to get some jeans that actually fit. I mean, if you don't want to we don't have to, I was just thinking it was an idea, and you're really smart, you could probably find or maybe you already know a charm that would work even on Muggle clothes and then when I get to a regular height we would be able to get normal clothes that wouldn't have to be charmed and…" he trailed off as Severus put his hand over his mouth.

"You're rambling. If you would like, I would not mind going into Muggle London."

His eyes widened as if he wasn't expecting to be granted what he wanted. "Really?"

"Yes, Harry, we really can do what you want to. If you ever want to do anything, just ask and I will see if it is a possibility. In this case, since we will already be in Diagon Alley there is no problem in cutting through the Leaky Cauldron to Muggle London."

"Thank you, Severus."

"You're welcome, child. If you are agreeable to getting up, I can show you around our quarters and to your room. The house elves have already brought your things down at least for the next two weeks, after that, you have the option of staying longer or going back up to your dormitory. It is your choice. Do you know what your friends are planning on doing for the holidays?"

"Um…I think Ron is planning on going home, and I believe Hermione is going home too, I think she's going to the States with her parents. Ron invited me, but I already told him that I wasn't going to go. I always feel like I'm just looking in on the festivities and not actually part of them," he muttered the end of it.

"What would you like to do for the holidays? At least for this first year, we aren't going to go anywhere other than home or the like over the Christmas holidays, but we can stay wherever you would feel more comfortable."

"Can we go somewhere other than the school?"

"Yes, would you like to go to the Manor or to the Cottage?"

"Whichever you would prefer."

"We will probably go to the Manor then. However, we will leave after the other students leave for the holidays." They stood up. "This is the living room, as you already know, you also already saw the kitchenette." They walked down the hall, Severus keeping ready to grab a hold of Harry were he to stumble. He was still a bit unsteady on his feet. "This door on the left is the guest bathroom, which you can always use if you do not want to return to your bedroom, on the right is the linen closet if you ever wish to have an extra blanket or pillow, there are more than enough to spare. You know this is my bedroom, which is where you stayed last night.

"If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to come in, even if it is just a nightmare and you don't think you need me. I will most likely already have come into your room if it is a nightmare, but if I have not, you can always come in. This cupboard across from my room is simply potions that have been finished. Your nutrition potions will be kept on the bottom shelf of the top portion, always at easy access." He opened it up. "Go ahead and take one now, we'll grab another at lunch." When the boy did, he indicated the sink next to the cupboard. "Please return the empty vials to the basin, the will be washed by a house elf or a student in detention and I will reuse them."

They continued a little farther. "This is my private potions lab on the left. I would prefer if you did not enter there without an invitation. If I am in there, knock and wait for an answer before entering. Occasionally I will be making a potion that must have the conditions remain the same for it to turn out and I do not want you to get hurt. And this, is your room," he indicated the blue door on the right. "Go ahead and check it out."