Author's Note:

To let you all know there are no Horcruxes in this story. I had a really hard time writing about them in 'James' Time' and I don't have a clue how I'm going to write it in 'Lily's Flame' or 'What If?' I really hope you like this chapter! I've been really hyped about writing this story for months!

Chapter Two: Coming to Conclusions

Severus' P.O.V.

I came storming into my quarters. I could feel my Elemental and my magic crackling all around me, threatening to let itself loose and attack what was closest. That, in this case, would be my Elemental partner, Cearul. I am a Fire Elemental, well known for hiding my emotions and having a terrible temper if I was upset. Cearul is a panther made completely out of fire. He lifted his head and automatically knew I was upset and pondering about something. "Calm yourself Severus and tell me what has happened with Harry," he said, jumping into my lap as I sat down.

"He was being abused Cearul," I said, unable to mask the sadness and anger in my voice, "They beat him, called him a freak, and left him to die in the rain! The boy is probably going to have asthma for the rest of his life now! The worse thing is that I'm afraid Albus is going to put the boy in an equally horrible or even worse environment!"

"And you're thinking about possibly taking in the boy?" Cearul asked.

"I don't even know why I want to take the boy in!" I shouted, feeling calm once again once I had shouted. I took a deep breath before continuing. "Maybe it's the eyes or maybe it's the way he had begged me not to beat him, but something about him has brought out this… protective instinct in me and all I want to do it hide him from the world. I know that's impossible, he's the Boy-Who-Lived for Merlin's sake! But all I know is… I think I care for the boy,"

"You are probably the best choice for the boy," Cearul said, nuzzling my cheek, "You know exactly how to care for an abused child. You know exactly how they'll react to certain things and how you should go about treating them. You were one yourself and people may say you are hard and cold, but that's because you we're raised differently. Make sure Harry doesn't follow that same path, because Albus is planning on putting him back,"

"He's planning to put him back with the Dursleys?" I asked feeling completely horrified at the idea.

"I told you I have been following that man around," Cearul said, anger flashing in his eyes, "I told Poppy of what I have heard and she agrees that you would be a better candidate than anyone else. Oh, of course we brought up Remus and the Weasleys but you know with Remus he'll be gone for two days of the month and the Weasleys can't give him the attention he needs, no matter how hard they try. She has the paperwork all ready to go, all you have to do is sign it and Harry will be your ward. But she suggested that, while he's in the hospital wing, you should get to know him. Make him feel safe and want to live with you. He might actually prefer Poppy, though I think it's unlikely,"

I sighed and rubbed my temples. Cearul had a point and I didn't want to risk Potter any more than he already had. "What if he's Elemental too?" I asked, "What if he's a Plant or Ice or, Merlin forbid, Water? We'll be constantly fighting and I might hurt him! As much as I don't want him to return to those… monsters, I won't risk his life because of what I am,"

Cearul just smiled at me. "I can tell you his is an Elemental," Cearul said, "But he is none of those. From what I picked up on the boy when I was talking to Poppy, he's a very rare one we only come across when we're very lucky,"

"What is he then?" I asked, "I've only known seven out of the eight or nine different Elementals and none of the ones I know fit that description," The ones I was aware of was Ice, Fire, Water, Wind, Animal, Ground, and Plant. The eighth was a complete mystery to me because I had never come across one and the ninth was rumored to be Death itself.

"Because their leader was killed many years ago and they can't get along with each other without one," Cearul said, "He's an Electric Elemental Severus, and his temper can be worse than yours at times. But, when the Electrics had a kingdom, they were very close to the Fire kingdom. He just has to learn how to control it along with everything else,"

I yawned as he finished. "Good night Cearul," I said, "Please make sure I don't sleep in past ten,"

"Alright Sev," Cearul said, "Good night,"

Harry's P.O.V. 10:33 in the morning

I groaned and turned over, but something was tugging at my arm. I opened my eyes to see a needle in my arms, putting something clear into my arm. I whimpered, wishing the needle would go away. The one time the Dursleys had taken me to the doctor, he put the needles in real hard and they hurt for the rest of the day. I took off some mask and looked up to see an animal on fire. Before I could scream it jumped onto my bed and rubbed against my cheek. "Good morning little one," it said, "Is the needle scaring you?"

I nodded and it gently licked my face. It might be on fire, but the flames didn't hurt. They were just warm. "The needle will come out once Poppy comes back," it said, "You must be Harry. My human was very worried about you last night,"

"The man in black?" I asked.

It nodded. "His name is Severus," it said, "My name is Cearul. He was very worried because you were very sick,"

I frowned at that. "Nobody is supposed to worry about freaks," I said, "Freaks like me deserve to die. That's what Aunt Tunia said,"

Cearul looked very angry when I said that. I flinched and covered my face, expecting him to bite me. "Your aunt was very wrong Harry," he said, "You are not a freak. If being able to do magic qualifies you as a freak, then everyone in this castle is a freak. But no one is a freak and you are not one either. If you call yourself that again, Severus will explain why you are not a freak,"

"You're not going to bite me?" I asked. Cearul shook his head as a woman and the man in black, Severus, came walking into the room. Severus gave Cearul a look and he jumped off the bed to him. "Why is there a needle?" I asked, forgetting the no questions rule. "Needles hurt me ma'am,"

"Is it hurting you right now?" she asked, coming over.

"No," I said, "But the doctor Aunt Tunia took me to made it hurt and it scares me,"

She nodded and took the needle on my arm, but put the mask back on my face. I could breathe! Severus really took me to the lady who could help! But I knew I couldn't stay on the mask forever. "My name is Madame Pomfrey," she said, "You can call me Poppy. We're going to keep you on the mask for another hour before we give you some lunch. After that, if you have trouble breathing, you need to tell me so I can give you some medicine, okay?"

I nodded and she went somewhere else. I looked at Severus. He was watching me and Cearul was looking at him. "Are you in any pain Harry?" he asked. I shook my head. "That's good. You were very badly hurt when I found you. Harry, can you answer a few questions for me?" I nodded again. "Harry, do you want to go back to the Dursleys?" I shook my head. I never wanted to go back, but I probably was going to be forced back. No one really cared what I think, never ever. "Can you write?" he asked. I nodded. He handed me a pad of paper and a pencil. "If you have any questions you can write them on the paper and I'll answer them,"

I quickly wrote 'Why do you care what happens to me? I'm just a freak.' When he read that he shook his head. "Harry, you're not a freak," he said, "You're a special little boy who can do magic. I care for you because I hate seeing children hurt Harry. I also knew your mother,"

I quickly grabbed the paper back and wrote 'What was she like? I don't believe what Aunt Tunia said about her.' He read it, handed back the paper and asked, "What did she tell you about her?"

I wrote 'That she and my dad were drunks that we're killed in a car crash. It's where I got my scar.' He took a minute to read it, I knew my hand writing was pretty bad, but I was the best speller out of my whole class and the teacher said I was as smart as the kids a few years ahead of me! She even let me write full sentences and never told my aunt or my uncle!

"Neither your mother or your father were drunks," Severus said, "Your mother was the sweetest woman I had ever known. She was excellent at Potions and Charms. As for a car crash to kill that woman, it would be near impossible. She was killed by a very bad man Harry. He tried to harm you and she was willing to give up everything to keep you safe. You were left with that scar. She loved you very much and you were her world,"

Severus looked like he was about to cry. I was feeling sleepy again and I wrote 'Going to take a nap. I real tired.'

"Good night child," Severus said, running his hand through my hair. I felt really safe when he did that, like no one would ever hurt me again. I really hoped I could stay with Severus, but I knew better than that. He probably didn't want a little five-year-old to take care of.

Severus' P.O.V.

Harry fell back asleep in moments. I waved at Poppy to let her know he was sleep. She came over and sat next to me, watching the little toddler's even breaths. "There was something you didn't tell me last night, wasn't there?" I asked.

Poppy looked over and sighed. "Albus put multiple blocks on Harry's magic," she said, "He's still stronger than most magical children, but not by much. I think, if we took off the blocks, Harry could possibly be stronger then Albus himself. But we need to find a Curse Breaker and he needs to be able to prove that Albus put the blocks on,"

"My friend Simon is a Curse Breaker," I said, "He already knows Albus' magical signature, Albus was the one who 'accidently' curse him a few years after we graduated. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help Harry,"

"Please contact him," Poppy said, "Make sure Albus doesn't catch you. I'll bring Harry to your dorms so he won't have to risk being seen by him. I just can't believe Albus would do something like this. He's been my friend for years and I never would have expected him to let a child be abused like this,"

I had never expect Albus to do this either. He had been the one to offer me redemption after I had become a spy for the Dark Lord. He was looked at like a grandfather by many and everyone trusted the man. I stood and left to contact Simon. He didn't trust that man as far as he could throw a full grown dragon.

I didn't have to say anything for Cearul to take the hint of watching the boy. I didn't trust Albus to not try to take Harry while Poppy's back was turned. Speaking of the devil, there was Albus, heading for the very room I had just left. "Why, hello Severus," he said, "How is Harry?"

I could see in his eyes he didn't truly care if he was alright. He just needed to keep the boy alive long enough for whatever Albus needed him for and then Albus would take the glory while the boy died at his relatives' hands. "He awoke today," I said, trying to make it seem like I was onto nothing, "He actually talked to us. He seems to be very bright for his age, nothing like James at all,"

"It's nice to see you got over your schoolboy grudge," It was obvious to see he was lying about that. He must have been depending somewhat on me hating the child. "I hope he recovers soon, his relatives are starting to worry,"

"What do you mean Albus?" I asked, not bothering to hide the anger in my voice. "They told me in no uncertain terms that they would not care if the child died. You saw the scars Albus; it's quite obvious that the boy has been abused,"

A pained smile crossed his face. "They had a misunderstanding," he said, "They apologized for their former behavior and I'll have them on probation for a year once they have Harry back. He won't be abused again,"

I knew he was lying to me. I was taught as I spy to see that. I just wished I had seen it earlier, maybe Lily wouldn't have died that night. She could have lived to raise her son. "Harry is asleep at the moment," I said. That caused relief to flood his eyes. "I have some business to attend to, but you'll not be returning Harry to his relatives till all of his injuries heal, which could take most of the summer. We will not allow him to return,"

He looked upset that I had foiled his plan and I ran to the dungeons, quickly throwing in the Floo powder. "Sandlift House, Oliver's End!" I shouted, rushing through the flames into Simon's house.

Simon was, surprisingly, talking with another Curse Breaker named Zane. As far as I had known, the two still had urges to kill the other. "Severus," Simon said, "How nice to see you,"

"I need your help Simon," I said, eyeing Zane wearily.

"If it has anything to do with Dumbledore, it's safe to tell Zane," Simon said, "He's got a bone to pick with him too,"

"Dumbledore has gone off the deep end," I said, "You remember the Potter boy, right?" A nod from both men. "He placed him with his Muggle relatives. They abused him and I found him under a bush, practically dying from hypothermia and all because he accidentally turned his cousin's yo-yo into a snake. Not only did his aunt admit to me that she didn't care if her nephew died or not, we found scars on the boy's back and he has constantly begged us not to beat him and throw him into a cupboard. Albus seemed to be honestly upset last night about him being abused, but I saw that last night he was lying and covering up his true emotions. Today he said he was going to return the boy to his relatives. I cannot allow that to happen,"

"What does this have to do with us?" Zane asked.

"Harry has had multiple blocks placed upon him," I said, "I highly doubt any are from Lily or James. Poppy and I think that Albus put them on Harry to keep him weak and defending himself from his relatives. We need you to trace and break the blocks on him. The boy could be stronger than Dumbledore if the blocks are removed,"

Zane smiled and they started whispering amongst each other. I thought back to last night, about how the headmaster had looked. The sadness I thought I had saw had been anger that his plan had been somewhat discovered. He knew that we would figure it out and refuse to return the boy to his relatives. All he needed Harry for was to finish off whatever was left of the Dark Lord that night. All of the hatred I saw wasn't toward his relatives, but the boy. That it was his fault that we had discovered his plans. "We'll help you," Simon said, snapping me out of my thoughts, "All we're asking is that you have your friend Malfoy look into Harry's Wizarding guardianship. If Dumbledore is Harry's magical guardian, then he had every right to put those blocks on. If not, he could possibly be looking at a lifetime in Azkaban,"

I nodded and went home, leaving the two to make their little plans. I needed to write Lucius as soon as possible. He could easily look into Harry's guardianship and help me get custody of the boy. It was sad to see my friend having to slave himself to the Dark Lord, but now he is his own man and he knows exactly what needs to be done. That includes protecting little boys from manipulative headmasters. He would do the same if Dumbledore was trying to control any other child. He can't stand the old man and lately, neither can I.

Just as I was about to send the letter, Poppy came running into my quarters carrying Harry and some papers, followed by Cearul dragging a large bag. "Poppy," I said, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Albus is trying to send Harry back to his relatives today," she panted, "He tried everything to get me to hand him over, even as far as threatening mine, Cearul, and Harry's lives. We have to get out of here Severus! He'll kill us both and send him back to just be killed by his relatives! Do you know of a safe place we can hide?"

I took the bag from Cearul once he was safely inside and grabbed Poppy's hand. "The only place that comes to mind is Malfoy Manor," I said, "Do you think you can refrain from killing Lucius for a few days?"

She nodded and I threw in the Floo powder. We disappeared just as Albus came bursting into the living room, looking as mad as the Dark Lord himself.

The moment we landed in the living room a wand was in our faces. "What is the meaning of this Severus?" he asked, eying Poppy and Harry nervously.

"The headmaster is trying to send the boy back to abusive relatives and, we believe, he has placed multiple blocks on the boy's magic," I said, "We need to hide from him and we need to know if he is Harry's magical guardian. He can't place the wards on him legally if he isn't,"

Lucius sighed and put his wand away. "You can stay on the third floor, fifth door to the right," he said, before walking away, probably to inform Narcissa.

"Come on Poppy," I said, "We're safe for now,"

Author's Note:

Am I moving too fast with this story? I really don't like evil! Dumbledore and I hate writing about him, though most people I write about are evil in some way. Someone suggested that Dumbledore pay the price for his actions and I decided to follow this route. I normally don't update this quickly on any story, but this one, as mention before, is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. Please enjoy!