Disclaimer: As always I do not own Harry Potter or any other character in the series.

AN: I would like to thank those of you who reviewed. In response I would like to say, you guys are right, the age is supposed to be eleven not twelve. So for the record, Draco and the other first years are eleven at this time in the story. I also feel like I have to tell you guys that I do know how to spell scar. I can't imagine why I spelled it scare. I'll try to be more careful in my proofreading.

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Harry felt exhausted by the end of his first week at school. So much had happened. The first day had been overwhelming, especially since both he and Ron had gotten lost before their first class. He was happy they hadn't received detention but they did end up losing points for their house. Luckily they had Hermione with them. She was just as smart as Harry had originally thought. It seemed like she had already read the books the teachers had assigned. She was also very talented. She seemed to perform almost every spell perfectly but there was one class where spell craft didn't matter and it was easily Harry's favorite class.

Potions reminded Harry a lot of cooking which had been Harry's favorite chore at the Dursleys. It was pleasant to just relax and follow the instructions and create something useful. It also helped that it was Snape who was teaching. It didn't take Harry long to notice the difference between the way the man acted during the summer and when he was teaching. Harry figured it was part of his job though. If a student wasn't careful they could cause a cauldron to explode which did happen the second day. Luckily no one was hurt but Harry had felt bad for Neville as he and the rest of the class watched as Snape lectured him harshly about paying attention to what he mix into his potions. It seemed Snape had quite a reputation for giving detentions and taking points. Harry and Draco were currently the only first year students not terrified of the man.

Harry hated going to his Defense Against the Dark Arts, or DADA as everyone called it. He would always get a splitting headache that seemed to be centered around his scar. He also found it hard to follow Professor Quirrell with his stutter.

The most exciting thing that had happened would have to be their first flying lesson when Neville had lost control of his broom and had unfortunately fallen and broken his wrist. Harry couldn't help but feel that the boy was the personification of bad luck. Draco had found Nevilles' remembrall. Harry had seen him pick it up and chuckle.

"What's so funny," Harry asked.

"It's ironic isn't it? He forgot his remembrall," Draco laughed.

"I guess it is. Why don't you give me that so I can take it to him," Harry offered.

Draco held the trinket out for Harry to take only to have it snatched by Crabbe. Draco gave him a scolding look which the boy ignored.

"Why are you even bothering to give it back? It's not going to help him any, the kid's a walking catastrophe," he said looking down at his stolen prize. A few Slytherins laughed.

"Give it here Crabbe," Harry ordered. This guy was an ass. He had no idea why Draco hung around him.

"You want it," Crabbe asked. Without warning, he through the remembrall towards the castle. "Go get it."

Harry hadn't even thought about what he was doing. He just didn't want to see another bad thing happen to Neville. He hadn't even realized that he was flying until he had caught the remembrall before it smashed against the castle wall. He had to admire Crabbes' throwing arm. The ball had certainly traveled far. Harry quickly landed on the ground and was swarmed by Gryffindors congratulating him on his accomplishment. For a moment he thought everything was okay, until he heard Professor Mcgonagall calling his name. He had been on the verge of either puking or passing out as she led him away from his classmates. His mind kept going over what would happen to him if he were to be expelled. Luckily she had not taken him to the headmaster but to the head of gryffindors quiddich team. That was when he learned that he was to be their new seeker.

Harry let out a happy sigh. It was finally the weekend and the weather was nice enough for him to do his homework outside. Hermione seemed to be thinking the same thing because she was already heading outside with her book bag. Ron looked like he wanted to have fun even though he had homework to do as well. Harry was about to go join Hermione when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Snape.

"Potter, you need to follow me to the headmasters' office," he said catching both Hermione and Rons' attention.

"Am I in trouble," Harry asked feeling his heart rate speed up. The professor shook his head.

"No. I'll explain once we get there."

Harry got even more nervous when he entered the office to see that not only was the headmaster there but Mcgonagall as well. Dumbledore made a gesture for him to sit down.

"Relax Harry, you are not in trouble. We are merely here to take care of some business. As the headmaster I must be here for this and Professor Mcgonagall is here because she is your head of house," Professor Dumbledore explained before offering Harry some candy. Harry declined.

"What business," he asked.

"About your relatives and how they treated you," Professor Dumbledore explained. Harry tensed.

"Harry," Snape said getting his attention. It was the first time the man had used his first name. "Mr. Malfoy has been working hard on your custody transfer and we believe we're close to going to court. Soon you'll have a new home and your relatives will be punished for their crimes."

Harry felt his heart swell at the thought of never having to return to that house again. No more name calling, no more beatings, and perhaps he would even be fed everyday like at school.

"Really?"

"Yes but there is one thing," Snape answered.

"You see Harry, there has to be a trial before any punishment can be given," Professor Dumbledore explained. "They'll need you're testimony."

Harry had seen enough TV to know what that meant.

"I…I can't," he stammered. "I can't face them again. Uncle will get mad and punish me."

He could feel tears welling up. Mcgonagall drew him into a hug.

"That monster will never lay a hand on you again," she said in a dangerous tone. Harry allowed the hug to calm him down.

"The court will understand if you do not wish to attend but instead we'll need to extract some of your memories as evidence," Professor Dumbledore said soothingly. Harry pulled away from Mcgonagall.

"How do you do that," he asked.

"I'll be doing that," Snape said kneeling down so that he was eye level with Harry. "But it will require me going into your mind so I may extract the right memories. Are you okay with that?"

"I trust you," Harry said with a nod. Snape nodded and brought out a vial much like the one Harry had seen him use during the summer. He opened it and pulled out his wand.

"You need to relax, I promise not to invade your mind more than I have to,"Snape said in a soothing tone. Harry nodded and closed his eyes.

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Severus pressed his wand gently against Potters' temple and closed his eyes. He was instantly in a web of painful memories all of which had him seeing red. Lucius had asked him to get any memory that would show that Potters' wellbeing was threatened. Severus hadn't expected that he would have so many to choose from.

A particular memory caught his eye. Potter looked about five and he was crying inside his little cupboard. There were sounds of a thunder storm outside and Harry would let out a small yelp every time there was a particularly loud one. There were loud thumping sounds of someone coming down the stairs and the cupboard door was ripped open. The whale Severus had come to find out was named Vernon looked at the small boy with absolute disgust and rage.

"What in blazes is wrong with you boy? You're disturbing your aunt," he raged.

"But Uncle Vernon I'm scared," the little boy cried.

"Men don't cry boy, only little freaks who sleep outside cry," the man said dragging the boy out of bed by his little arm. The child started to kick and cry louder but was silenced with the threat of a beating and no food for a week. Severus watched in horror as Vernon opened the back door and threw his nephew out into the storm where the boy had stayed all night, curled up against the door, until his aunt let him in early the next morning before any of the neighbors saw him.

Severus grabbed that memory along with one that showed Potter getting beaten by his uncle shortly after receiving his letter and another one that showed Potter cooking a meal for the disgusting family but only being allowed to eat what they had left behind, which was almost nothing.

Severus pulled himself out of Potters mind and poured the memories into the vial. It took him a second to notice that the boy was shaking and on the verge of tears. Minerva was holding his hand and rubbing his arm.

"Harry," Severus said getting the boys attention. It was rare for him to use a students' first name since he thought it was too personal but it seemed to be better for getting the boys attention. "No one is going to think any less of you because of this. What your relatives did was torment and abused a child that they were supposed to love and care for. I promise you will never have to go through that kind of pain again."

Potter seemed to relax a bit but then he suddenly got worried again.

"But where will I live now," he asked.

"Lucius is working very hard to get everything taken care of quickly so that you will have a new guardian before school ends," he assured the boy. Actually, they planned to have everything taken care of before Christmas but Severus didn't want to mention that in front of Dumbledore.

Although Dumbledore had ordered Severus to keep him informed about everything that was happening Severus still didn't trust him. The old man was way too manipulative. Unfortunately Severus had to inform him about extracting the memories for the trial since he would have just found out about it later and then Severus would have been in trouble. As much as he hated the old man, he was still his boss, but there were some things Severus could get away with. Like the fact that he knew that Lucius was already well on his way to getting his hands on James and Lily Potters' original will.

Severus turned his attention back onto Potter who was receiving an unnecessary long speech about how if he needed help all he had to do was ask. It was all he could do not to roll his eyes.

"Oh headmaster I forgot to tell you," Severus said interrupting the man before he could use another cheap and clichéd line. "Lucius Malfoy will be here any moment to pick up Potters' memories."

He could tell that the mans' smile was forced.

"And why, may I ask couldn't he send an owl," he asked. "I would have been more than happy to send it off myself."

I'm sure you would, but not before you tampered with the memories making them useless, Severus thought to himself.

"I believe he is using this as an excuse to visit his son," Severus said vaguely. He knew that Lucius had been dying for any and every excuse to get out of the house. According to his latest letter, Narcissa was apparently sticking around this time and was making his life, and the lives of the house elves, a living hell.

"I'm going to go meet him now if that is okay," Severus asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"Can I go too," Potter asked.

"Of course you can," Minerva said as she began shooing the boys out of the office. "You deserve some free time after all of this. Just remember to spend time with your friends as well."

Severus led Potter out of the office.

"Are you sure you want to come with me? You don't have to feel obligated to meet him," Severus assured. Potter gave him a confused look.

"I don't mind at all. Mr. Malfoy has been very nice to me and he's been helping me out with my relatives. I know it's weird but I feel like I owe him a lot," Potter explained. For some reason the way he was talking about Lucius bothered Severus but he quickly ignored the strange feeling. "Plus he's really funny."

XxxxHeeheexxxX

Everything seemed normal for the next few weeks. Severus taught his classes and would sometimes discreetly check up on Potter to see how he was doing. The boy seemed to be getting along with his housemates, especially Ron Weasley. At least the red headed moron was a good distraction so Potter wasn't so worried about his home life situation. The only concern Severus really had was Professor Quirrell. He would often catch the man skulking around the third floor corridor where Dumbledore had hidden the sorcerer's' stone and would often stutter something incoherent when he saw Severus looking at him and walk quickly away. That man gave Severus the creeps. Other than that though, everything was peaceful. Until Halloween that is.

Severus had decided to be a little festive and reached for desert first. He grabbed a piece of red velvet cake that had red icing haphazardly spread over it so it looked like a bloody piece of meat. It may not have looked pretty but it still tasted good. His revelry was interrupted when Quirrell ran into the great hall screaming like a mad man.

"Troll in the dungeon! Troll in the dungeon," he screamed coming to a halt in front of the head table. "I thought you'd want to know," he said calmly before passing out.

It didn't even take three second for all hell to break lose as children started screaming and getting up to run from the room.

"Quiet," a commanding voice rang throughout the room. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at Dumbledore. "Now students will calmly go back to your dormitories, teachers will follow me to the dungeon."

Students and teachers alike started scrambling to follow the headmasters orders.

"Bull shit," Severus muttered. There was no way in hell an idiotic creature such as a troll could get in on its own. This was likely a distraction and Severus had a pretty good idea as to who set it up. He carefully slipped out of the great hall and headed in the opposite direction as the rest of the teachers.

It didn't take long for him to get to the third floor corridor where Quirrell arrived shortly after.

"My, you got over your fainting spell fast," Severus commented getting Quirrells' attention.

The man turned and started sputtering some excuse that Severus didn't even bother to listen to.

"Rest assured I will be mentioning this to Dumbledore, now, why don't we do our duty as teachers and take care of that nasty troll you undoubtedly let into the castle," Severus said motioning towards the exit. A creaking sound caught his attention and he was barely able to avoid getting hit by the door to the three headed dog's lair. He was further startled when one of its heads popped out and started snapping its jaws at him. He tripped backwards and scrambled to get his wand out of his robes. After getting his bearings back Snape quickly stunned the massive dog and quickly fixed the door. Quirrell hadn't moved an inch to help him. The man seemed to have been terrified to the state of being frozen. Snape let out a growl. What had the man expected? A fuzzy kitten to guard the stone? Severus grabbed the man roughly by the shoulder and pulled him towards the dungeons. They were almost there when they ran into Minerva.

"Where have you to been," Minerva demanded.

"I'll explain later," Severus promised.

"It seems the beast made its way out of the dungeon," Minerva explained.

They all went silent and heard the sounds of yelling down the hall. Shit, some students must have ignored the headmasters' orders and decided to get a peek at the troll. All three teachers took off as fast as they could. They heard a large thumping noise as they approached a girl's lavatory. They all skidded to a stop and Severus was floored by what he saw.

There, standing next to a fainted troll, was Potter and his friends Weasley and Granger. They all seemed to be in perfect health as well. He had been barely paying attention to Granger's explanation. He had heard Minerva taking points but then give points to Potter and Weasley for what she called 'sheer dumb luck' which he didn't agree with in the slightest. It was insane to reward students for doing something so suicidal.

"P-perhaps we ought to go," Quirrell suggested. "M-m-might wake up."

Severus turned and walked out of the lavatory after the children. Minerva grabbed his arm and Severus and all three students stopped.

"I'll go contact the other teachers and we'll handle clean up. Severus, can you escort these three to their dormitory," she asked. Severus raised an eyebrow at her.

"Of course but why are you having me take care of them. They are from your house are they not?"

To those who didn't know him, he probably sounded condescending but Minerva was one of the few people who could read him accurately.

"Yes but I would like for you to do the easy job," Minerva explained irritating Severus.

"And why would that be," he asked.

Severus could feel the stares of the students behind him. He was hoping Minerva wasn't about to degrade him in front of them. She seemed to enjoy teasing him.

"Honestly Severus, you need to take better care of yourself. I bet you haven't even realized your leg is bleeding," she chided.

Severus looked down to see that his leg had indeed been injured. It must have been that three headed demon. Severus needed to talk to Dumbledore about that thing. Sure it was a great guard dog but this was a school dammit. That thing would tear apart every student it came across if it got out. Not to mention that Severus was pretty sure that keeping an animal locked up in a dark room like that was probably violating some magical animal rights law.

"Yes I will get this taken care of and I'll take care of the idiot trio," Severus sighed. Minerva gave him a nod and left.

Severus quietly led the trio to the portrait guarding the Gryffindor common room. He watched as Granger and Weasley went inside but stopped Potter. He gave him a fierce glare but felt a little guilty when Potter flinched giving him a terrified look.

"I'm not going to yell at you or lecture you but I swear if you do something so idiotically dangerous again," he started through clenched teeth but Potter cut him off.

"I'm sorry please don't hate me. I just wanted to warn Hermione, I didn't know that the troll would be there," Potter pleaded. Severus sighed and put his hand on the boys shoulder.

"It's okay, I don't hate you. I'm upset that you managed to scare three years out of me but I don't hate you. I just request that you reframe from making decisions that will get you killed."

Potter relaxed a little bit and Severus straightened himself out.

"Now off to bed. You have a big day tomorrow," Severus reminded the boy and turned to leave.

"Goodnight," Potter called after him.

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Severus was exhausted by the time he made it back to his private chambers. Pomfrey had told him his leg would be sore tomorrow but other than that it would be fine. He was glad she hadn't asked him too many questions about what happened. He was too tired to deal with the anything. He almost cried in relief when he finally fell onto his bed and buried his head into the silk sheets, not that he would ever admit to doing so. He would, however, admit the rage he felt when the sound of a owl pecking at his window filled his ears.

"I swear to god if that's the old man is summoning me I will turn in my letter of resignation," he yelled opening the window. He was taken back when he found a falcon instead of an owl there. It was clearly one of Lucius'. Severus quickly took the letter and shooed away the bird. There was no way he was writing anything back tonight. Severus sighed as he opened the letter. He would judge by the length whether or not he was going to read it tonight or wait till the morning. There was only a small note connected to a few official documents.

Severus,

I think you need to read this yourself instead of me telling you what it says. The original documents are with the lawyers. Send me a letter when you're done and we'll set up a meeting to talk about it.

Lucius

Severus couldn't help but be concerned. His friend had been entirely too serious in his note. He looked curiously at the documents.

"The last will in testament of James and Lily Potter," he read out loud.

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AN: Finally done! Next chapter we find out who Harry was originally supposed to live with. Thanks for reading!