Shit! Harry thought as an owl swooped into the living room in front of an already enraged Vernon Dursley. He grabbed the letter, expelled from Hogwarts for saving his useless lump of a cousin! He shuddered, no escape for him now, his uncle would have as long as wanted to punish him for using magic, not just until the end of summer. The bruises on his chest from the other night were only just beginning to fade, he knew there would be fresh ones by the morning. The man was raving about throwing him on the streets, that may actually be OK, he'd rather face 100 death eaters and the Dark Lord himself than be locked in a room with his very angry uncle right now!

Another owl soared through the open window and Harry quickly stepped further back from Vernon as the vein in his neck pulsed so strongly it threatened to burst. His aunt picked up the red letter addressed to her. A howler. Could things get any worse?

'Remember my last' The letter shouted and burst into flames.

'He stays' was all Petunia could say as she clutched her humongous son to her chest, steering him out of the room.

Harry looked up at his uncle, he could feel it coming, any minute now the man was going to snap, and he would be in for it.

A third owl screeched as it dropped a letter onto his head, without pausing, Harry tore it open and skimmed it. Some rubbish from Arthur Weasly about staying put and not surrendering his wand, and that he may not be expelled after all. There was a glimmer of hope, but that was assuming he lived through the night. With the purple blotches appearing on his uncles face, he highly doubted it.

'Get. Up. To. Your. Room!' the man spat, Harry didn't hesitate to obey, knowing it would be futile. He may be the boy who lived, he may have survived fighting the most powerful dark wizard of all time, yet he was powerless to evade the fists of Vernon Dursley, of which he has been familiar with for as long as he could remember.

Professor Severus Snape had just settled down in an armchair with a large glass of firewhiskey and an article titled 'Experimental Potions; are they safe?' when he heard a cough from the picture frame behind him. He rolled his eyes as he turned around to face the dumpy little man in the portrait. Should have known he wouldn't get a night to himself.

'What is it?' he asked

'Headmaster Dumbledore requests your presence immediately' the portrait replied, in a pompous tone.

'Tell him I shall attend him in due course' no reason he shouldn't finish his drink first, he had a feeling he may need it.

'It is urgent Professor, you must respond with haste' the man stuck his nose in the air and side stepped right out the frame.

'For gods sake!' Snape hissed and grabbed a handful of floo powder from his mantelpiece. The headmaster could be so demanding! It had better be important. If not, he had every intention of walking straight out and returning to his paper! He threw the powder into the fire, saying his destination as he stepped into the green flames.

A moment later he arrived on the hearth of Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts School.

'You summoned me Headmaster?' he addressed the man sitting at the large wooden desk, siphoning silvery streams of memories from his head into the little stone pensive in front of him.

'Unfortunately we have a bit of a situation and I could use your help Severus' Albus Dumbledore;s piercing blue eyes locked onto the potions masters dark ones.

'Harry needs extracting from the muggles, with care' he continued

'What? You called me here for Potter? Get one of the others to go for him, I've got better things to do than pick up that arrogant little...'

'Severus it is not that simple, he is not safe within the order just now, he may give too much away. I believe he needs you to start occulmency immediately, it cannot wait. He was attacked by two dementors and forced to use a potronus charm to protect himself and his cousin, the ministry is after his blood. The other side know where he is. He is not safe and it needs to be you!' Albus interrupted him.

'Where am I supposed to take him?'

'Headquarters, but first teach him to close his mind'

'And I'm to go right now? It's late, he is probably sleeping!'

'This cannot wait Severus, his mind needs to be closed tonight! Go now, return to me when he is at headquarters.' The headmaster waved a hand dismissing Snape and returned to his pensive, swirling the contents with his wand.

Annoyed, Snape returned to the fire and called out his home, he may need a couple of memory modifying potions for the muggles the boy lived with in order to get him out without a fuss.

10 minutes later, he apperated outside number 9 Privet Drive. The house was dark, except for one light on in an upstairs window, a window with bars. That was odd, did they get a lot of break ins in this area? Was that room particularly vulnerable? He walked up the path through the immaculate front garden to a gleaming front door. Typical Petunia, everything neat and in its proper place. With a whispered spell, he unlocked the front door and slipped into the hall. He didn't want to bump into his old acquaintance if he could help it. The house was spotless, every surface gleamed, totally unnatural in his opinion. He made his way silently up the stairs, listening intently for any of the Dursleys getting up to use the bathroom. He stood for moment on the landing, the door at the far end had a faint glow emitting from under it, that must be the room with the bars. He noticed it also had a number of locks on the door, and what appeared to be a cat flap installed into the bottom. Did they keep some sort of animal in there? He looked at the other doors, which was the boys room. He flicked his wand briefly, muttering a location spell. His wand spun around, pointing forwards at the door with the locks. Immediately, Snape's skin began to prickle. Surely not! The boy was a pampered little prince by his family, arrogant and a brat like his father, but something had him on edge, flickers of suppressed memories from his own childhood trying to break though the surface. He gave himself a little shake, forcing the unpleasant recollections to be buried deep again, no, he was wrong, this was nothing like that! He stepped slowly towards the door and quickly unlocked it with a spell. As it creaked open the stench coming from within engulfed him, stale sweat, mould and fresh blood, he put his hand to his nose as he walked into the room.

'Lumos' he uttered and a pale light from his wand tip lit up the squalor. Broken toys and furniture was piled along one wall, next to a small desk on which rested a dirty owl cage and a stack of newspapers. In the far corner was what he assumed to be a bed, strewn with filthy rags and blood stained sheets. Where was the boy? He lifted his wand light higher and a faint moan came from the pile of rags. He rushed over, fear trickling down his spine.

There, almost hidden amongst the sheets was a child. Wearing only stained underwear it was apparent he was severely malnourished as the professor could clearly see every single rib under his pale skin, large purple bruises covered most of his chest and legs, his face swollen and puffy, his lip broken and bleeding. Harry Potter had been beaten beyond recognition.

'Potter?' Snape whispered, hardly believing that this could be the same child he had despised all these years. The boy groaned, semi-conscious. A quick diagnostic spell revealed to the teacher that Harry had three broken ribs and a fractured collar bone. Pulling his own cloak from his shoulders he wrapped it around him, and gingerly lifted him into his arms, alarmed by how little the child weighed. He moved carefully from the room, keeping the child in his grip as steady as possible. A loud snore came from the room next door as he made his way along the landing. Anger and rage bubbled up inside Snape, how he wanted to drag that man from his bed and make him pay for what he had done! But now was not the time, he needed to think of Harry right now. But he would be back, he would not let the monster get away with this!

Harry lay very still, his eyes shut tight, waiting for the pain he knew was coming. He'd been in a very strange dream, starting out as his dreams normally did, in that graveyard, with Voldemort and the ghost of Cedric Diggory, then it changed and none other than Snape, his most hated teacher was carrying him down a street, then laying him on a bed while muttering spells and waving his wand over him. Forcing some kind of potion down his throat before an odd burning sensation flooded through him and he faded away into nothingness. It must have been the repeated blows to his head that had caused him to dream about the potions master. He slowly opened his eyes, it was weirdly bright, the bed was soft. His blanket smelled faintly of lavender and was crisp and clean on his bare chest. The pain was yet to kick in, though his body was stiff and aching. He reached out to the side, fumbling for his glasses, but the little table by his bed was no longer there.

'Here' a voice sounded from next to him, Harry jumped and flung himself to the back of the bed, pressing himself against the headboard, curling up into a ball, presenting the smallest possible target.

'Harry, calm yourself' the voice said quietly. That was not the voice of Vernon Dursley, that was Professor Snape! Had his dream been real? Confused, Harry carefully lifted up his head, keeping his body tightly curled. Snape wasn't likely to be much better really, especially if he had heard what he had done and how much trouble he was in, perhaps he was going to dole out a punishment of his own?

'Take your glasses' the Professor reached out and Harry cautiously took them from the man, pushing them onto his nose. He blinked. This was not his room, it was too clean, too bright. He was sat on a large wooden bed in the centre, its sheets white and fresh. Sunlight streamed through a large window to his left, pale blue blinds raised above it. The walls were a gentle grey, in the far corner stood a little oak wardrobe, next to it a large book case teaming with various volumes. On the other side of the bookcase was a small writing desk, complete with parchment, ink and quills laid neatly upon it, as if waiting for someone to compose a letter. To his right was a comfy, old fashioned looking armchair, in which sat a very stern looking Professor Snape, his arms folded and a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth showing his clear displeasure.

'What the fuck is going on?' Harry said

'Watch your language Potter!' Snape barked, Harry shrank back a little

'Where am I?'

'You are in the guest bedroom of my house'

'Why?'

'Did you expect me to leave you with your uncle after state I found you in?'

'Hmpf' Harry snorted 'I thought you would approve'

Snape stood up quickly 'What? You think I'd condone such things as what that... that.. animal did to you?' he yelled, Harry began to shake, pushing his small frame as far away from the man as he could. He'd done it now, he should have kept his mouth shut! Snape was going to hit him, or curse him, or otherwise hurt him in some way.

Severus stood very still, noticing the fear in the boys eyes.

'Harry' he said softly, regretting his outburst. He was beginning to see the truth, the truth he should have seen the very first time he laid eyes on the boy who lived when he first arrived at the school. He was not pampered or spoilt, he was broken and abused. He had been so blinded by the old hatred of his father that he had failed to see the pain in the son. Her son, Lily's son. Shame washed over him and he sank back down into the armchair, he had failed her.

'Harry' he repeated 'I am sorry, I should not have shouted at you'

Harry looked up at him, his eyes wide and confused. Has Snape just apologised to him? Maybe he was trying to lure him into a false sense of security?

'Why did you come for me?' he mumbled

'Because the Headmaster asked me to teach you to close your mind, then take you to your friends. However, I do not feel you are strong enough at present to even begin to learn something that requires so much mental effort, and I do not believe you would benefit from the company of others right now either. I have managed to heal your broken bones and the large injuries you have sustained but the bruising will take some time to go. I also wish to perform a full diagnostic spell on you, to asses any past injuries that may have gone untreated and thus not healed properly. So for the time being, you shall stay here.' Snape spoke softly and steadily.

'Then you'll take me back?'

'Back?'

'Back to my uncles house'

'You will never be going back there Potter, I can guarantee you that!' he raised his voice again before he could stop himself and Harry once more flinched. He was going to have to be very careful in how he spoke if he wished the boy to trust him.

'Are... are you angry with me too, sir? Harry stuttered

'Why would I be angry with you?'

'I did magic out of school, I got a letter from the ministry saying I was expelled from Hogwarts'

'You are not expelled, not yet. You must attend a hearing in due course, but don't worry about that at the moment. Right now, I need you to tell me exactly what has been going on at your uncles house'

'No' Harry suddenly stood up and backed towards the door

'No?'

'Fuck you! You absolute prick!' and he turned and ran.

Severus sat stunned for a while, what had triggered that? Surely the boy knew that he'd seen the state of him the previous night, he must understand that it was obvious what had been going on. Unless there was more... no... no... he would not even think it! He stood to follow the teen from the room, he could not get very far, all the doors were locked by magic and Harry had no wand.

Harry ran down a small landing, noting a flight of stairs he bounded down them three steps at a time, almost colliding with the front door. He yanked at the doorknob but it was very firmly locked. He looked around wildly, the door to his right open to a spacious yet cramped living room, bookcases from floor to ceiling. He thought briefly of Hermione as he dashed past, aiming for the door at the end of the airy hallway. He opened it into a small kitchen. An old wooden table stood in the middle, he stumbled over a chair as he raced towards a back door. He pulled again at the handle, once more finding it locked. He was trapped. Exhaustion overwhelmed him and he collapsed in a heap on the door mat, shaking from head to foot, unable to control the tears that streamed down his cheeks. A large shadow appeared in the doorway just as Harry faded into unconsciousness.