Hope Restored

Chapter 5

Summary: Harry has just finished his fourth year and after defeating Voldemort he wants to do nothing but disappear. But he had been forcibly bound to stay at the Dursleys and forced to endure constant abuse.

Warnings: Abuse, OOC, Corporal Punishment, Self Harm.

Disclaimer: My stories are based on characters and situations created and owned by author J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made from the stories on this profile and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Nor is any insult or defamation of character intended toward any of the wonderful actors who brought the original Harry Potter books to life through the cinema.

Harrison and Severus spent the rest of the evening talking and getting to know each other. Harrison was amazed how different Severus acted when he wasn't at Hogwarts. He knew the man had his reasons but he wished to know why. He had always had the urge to please the man, but his attempts were for nothing. He usually gave him zero for his potions and when Harrison wanted to ask a question he ridiculed him and said he had to actually study so he could ask the questions.

After two years Harrison gave up, but continued to study potions. He had always loved them and his dreams of being a potions master soon disappeared because of his potion lessons at Hogwarts. He had to ask his father, he had to know why he was treated so badly in his classes. He said "Sir, could you please… explain it to me… why did you treat me so badly in your classes?" Severus had expected this question. He said "I simply had to. Slytherins and Gryffindors do not get along and if I had been lenient who knows what could have happened. Potions are very unstable and explosive, any more mess and disorder in there and we could all have been injured"

Harrison had never looked at it like that, he was ashamed. He had only thought about himself. He hadn't thought how hard it must be to teach a room full of untrusting people a dangerous subject. He hoped that now, Severus would help him learn Potions. He knew that as a Potion Masters son it was expected of him to be good at Potions. He had practiced after classes sometimes, trying not to let the professor's treatment make him stop loving the wonderful art.

After they finished talking Harrison went to his room to unpack and was pleasantly surprised when he saw Aton sitting on his bed. He ran to him and immediately picked the purring kitten up. Aton was one of the things that brought him happiness at the Dursleys. He lay on the bed, put Aton on his chest and tried to organize his jumbled thoughts. So much had happened in such a short time. He had trouble believing it was all true, that he had a father who wanted him. Harrison started talking to the kitten.

"You wouldn't believe what has happened. I have a father, a real father who wants me! I hope that everything will be alright, that he won't notice how useless I am…" He yelped when he felt Aton bite his hand. The kitten was glaring at him; it looked as he was displeased with him, as if he disapproved Harrison's words. Harrison secretly thought Aton looked more cute than intimidating when he was angry, he hoped the kitten won't sense what he was thinking.

"Do you see how nice this house is? It looks so comfortable, it looks like home…" Harrison said with a small smile, while Aton just purred and went to sleep. Harrison petted him a couple more times and went to unpack his clothes. If he could call them that, they looked more like rags than clothes. But they were the only things he had, so he treated them with care. He put them in the closet, which was located in the far corner of the room.

His room was wonderful, it wasn't too big, but Harrison wouldn't have felt safe in a big room anyways. Spending a lot of time in a cupboard did that to a person. His bed was in the corner and a big window with curtains was above it. The room was done in grey and blue colors and his desk was beside the bed. Harrison also discovered that he had his own bathroom. It was small, but it had everything he needed. Also, he had a bookshelf full of books in the room and on it, beside the books, was a note which said.

'Harrison, these are all Hogwarts books, I expect you read them in your free time. It would be beneficial if you were actually prepared for a new school year.' Harrison ignored the small insult in favor of being happy that he could read as much as he wished. He liked reading, but at the Dursleys, he wasn't allowed to. But now he could read as much as he wished. Harrison decided that it was rather late, so he showered and after picking a book on animagus transformation, he went to bed and read a little before sleep.

Meanwhile, Severus was in his own room. It was also a shock to him, having to care for a child. He had experience, he had to care for the Slytherins in his House, but this was different. He was fully responsible for one child, and he had to admit, he was a bit scared. His godson, Draco Malfoy, was a spoiled child, but from what he had heard from Lucius, raising a son wasn't so hard. But Severus knew he would soon find out if that was true.

He looked at Lily's picture on his nightstand and she waved to him. He still couldn't believe this all was happening, but he was happy it has occurred.