Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9946511.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Harry_Potter/Other(s)
  Additional Tags:
      Explicit_Language, Slash_sex, Sexual_Content, Spoilers, Voyeurism,
      Action/Adventure
  Collections:
      HPFandom
  Stats:
      Published: 2007-07-30 Completed: 2012-11-14 Chapters: 8/8 Words: 24396
****** Hopes Refuge ******
by vbollman
Summary
     Harry is taken away from Privet Dr, by an unknown wizard, in order to
     heal. Imagine his surprise when the owner of the estate is actually
     someone he knows. Set after Fifth year, that means spoilers for the
     first five books.
Notes
     Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally
     archived at HP_Fandom, which was closed for health and financial
     reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its
     works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I
     e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but
     may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator,
     please contact me using the e-mail address on HP_Fandom_collection
     profile.
***** One *****
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being
made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Authors Note. This story is diffidently AU and set after Fifth year. In this
story, the fight in the Department of Mysteries took place earlier in the year,
and Harry was sent home a few weeks before school ended. I'm also going to be
taken great liberties with forest/plant life in Italy. You'll understand more
when Harry gets to where he's going. Just remember people.... it's Magic....
pretty much anything is possible!!
a/n... Sorry about this... at the moment, this chapter is UNBETA'D... as soon
as i get it back, i'll repost.... luvs ya.
Chapter One
Cal McGill walked quickly but calmly down the length of Privet Drive following
the faint magical trace that he could feel calling out to him. It wasn't well
known to all but one or two that knew him that he was able to feel the distress
of magical children if the need for help was great enough, even though he
himself had barely enough magic to own a wand. Approaching Number 4 he 'felt'
the call become almost over whelming in it's cry for help, so with heavy
concentration he pulled of one of the most complicated—for him-- spells that he
knew, a Notice-Me-Not spell.
Following the sidewalk to the back of the house, he made a desperate plea to
the powers that be, to help him control the fury that flooded his system. From
what he could see, there working in the hot afternoon heat, was a child no more
then 13, doing yard work with an ease that suggested he had been doing it for
years. What really made his blood boil was the fact that the boy was shirtless,
his skin not just burnt but broiled a deep angry red, which had already
blistered, broke open and blistered again. Shorts many times to large barely
hung on hip bones that had no fat on them, and where cinched as tight as they
could go with a frazzled piece of rope.
Every once in a while the child would look over to where the sprinkler lay
barely five feet away, but made no move towards it. Wondering why, Cal shifted
his position slightly and saw a very thin, very prim woman sitting in the shade
of the patio enjoying something cool to drink and smirking at the boy.
Moving back to the front door, he thought for a few minutes before smirking to
himself. Reading the name plate on the door, he knocked and waited for the
woman of the house to answer. Moments later he was admitted into the living
room, and drew on another little piece of magic, cast a mild compulsion charm
and had her agreeing to letting him hire the boy for the summer. Moments after
that he himself made his way to the backyard to convince the child that he
meant no harm and to come with him.
The one thing he was not expecting was to come face to face with the one person
his boss would not like being on his property.
The Boy Who Lived.
~~hp~~
Harry sweltered under the afternoon sun, and wished for one of two things; his
aunt being called away so he could go for the ice cold water being run a few
feet away from him, or for someone to come by and take him away from this hell.
He didn't want to know what his back looked like at the moment, he could feel
the skin stretch and rip open the blisters every time he moved. He really
wondered how he managed to stay on his feet, since he could no longer sweat, he
didn't have the moisture in his body to do so.
A faint knock on the front door, had one of his wishes answered, and he watched
from the corner of his eye as his aunt made her way indoors. Any hope he had at
finally getting to the water hose was dashed as with a malicious smirk, Petunia
Dursley turned off the water hose and took the handle for the tap inside with
her.
As the minutes passed, he eyed the picture of juice on the table, and wondered
if he dared to risk it. A few more minutes passed, and with one ear centered on
the sound of the door opening he slowly stood from his spot weeding the garden
and started to make his stumbling way to the table. Half way there, he groaned
and started to think of an excuse to be away from the weeding when the door was
opened.
Turning towards the sound of foot steps he was already starting to apologize to
his aunt, but abruptly shut his mouth when he saw a strange man standing there
instead. Holding a wand. Before he could start to panic the man started to
speak.
"You have my Wizards Oath that I mean you no harm Mr. Potter. I only want to
talk and perhaps lend you a hand."
Relaxing slightly when he saw and felt the magic of the Oath settle around the
two of them, Harry nodded his head, "talk." he managed to croak out around his
dry throat.
Cal smiled in relief, and walked the last few steps forward and gently took the
teens around the waist and helped him onto the patio being very careful of the
burns on his back, and settled him into a chair before pouring a glass of juice
and handing it over. "Sip slowly Mr. Potter, otherwise you will make yourself
sick."
Taking a slow sips Harry drained the glass, and was poured another. The sugar
giving him a slight high that helped clear his mind from the fuzz that seemed
to have surrounded it. Draining the second glass, and starting on the third,
Harry was finally able to start asking questions. "Who are you and what do you
want?" he asked while glancing at the door expecting his aunt to come out at
any minute.
"Forgive me Mr. Potter. My name is Cal McGill, and before you ask, you have no
need to worry about her coming out any time soon."
"What did you do to her?"
Chuckling softly Cal reassured the young man. "Nothing harmful, I can assure
you. She decided that she needed to take a nap, and more then likely won't wake
up for a few hours."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Harry reached over and refilled his glass, as well as
taking a little of the fruit that sat on the table. "You didn't say what you
where doing here Mr. McGill." Harry pointed out.
"No I didn't. You see, when I talked to your aunt, I didn't know it was you I
was talking about."
"That makes no sense."
"Alright lets start at the beginning, but first can you answer a question for
me?"
"If I can."
"Fair enough. Do you have the ability to see, or sense the magic within a
person?"
"If by seeing you mean their aura's then I guess I can. Or at least, I'm
starting too."
"Excellent. That's exactly what I mean. I am not a very strong wizard, in point
of fact I have barely enough to be allowed to own a wand. I do have a few
special gifts though. One of those gifts is the ability to sense a child in
need of help, and before you take offense, by child I mean one under the age of
17. I was traveling through the surrounding area, when I felt a call for help,
that was strong enough that I knew I had to help as soon as possible. That
feeling led me here to you. Do you understand?"
Sitting silently Harry thought about what he was just told, "so you're saying
that you had a feeling that someone needed help and it brought you here to me?"
"Correct."
"So what do you mean about talking to my aunt about me, but not realizing who
you where talking about?"
"When I first arrived and saw you from over the fence, I thought it was a
younger child that I had on my hands. I had no idea that this was your home so
you can imagine my surprise when I found you here. Another one of my gifts Mr.
Potter is making others believe what I want them to believe or as the case may
be what they want to believe. I told your aunt that I wanted you to come and
work for me, I let her mind do the rest."
"You let my aunt believe that you wanted me to work for you either as a toy or
for hard labour?" Harry asked in astonishment.
"You could say that."
"And what do you really want me to do?'
"I manage an estate that does many different things and we are always in need
of more help to run it. You have a choice of what you want to do when you get
there. Doing as little or as much work as you want to do, as long as you do at
least 10 hours worth of work in a week. We have fruit orchards and stables,
animals that need to be taken care of, as well has fields that need to be
worked, we can always find something for you to do, even if it's watch the
younger children while others go about their duties." Given Harry a tired
looking smile, he added softly, "I could not just turn around and leave someone
in need that I could very well help."
Harry studied the man sitting in front of them for a few minutes. "You said
that you where going to see if you could get me away from here before you knew
who I was. What about know that you know who I am?"
"The offer still stands Mr. Potter. I haven't changed my mind."
"No matter what was decided by you and then by my aunt, I have no choice but to
remain here. The Blood Wards that protect me here are based on my mothers blood
and therefore the only thing that will stand in the way if Voldemort or his
Death Eaters attack."
Cal sat back and thought about the problem. He really did not want to leave the
young man in front of him here, no matter what the protections surrounding him,
as the obviously did not protect him for those who were supposed to care for
him. Searching him memory on anything that resembled Blood Wards, he tried to
think of another way around this protection. "If my memory serves me correct,
you need to be behind these wards for a certain amount of time to recharge
them. How long have you been here?"
Harry bowed his head as the memory of his godfather falling through the veil
flashed through his mind, unknowingly causing him to go pale. Swallowing back
against the lump in his throat, he whispered, "three weeks."
Looking on in concern, but knowing that at the moment there was nothing he
could do for the look of pain, horror, and sorrow that flowed off the teen, Cal
told him, "then you've been here long enough to recharge the wards."
"And how do you stop Dumbledore and the rest from finding me?"
"By moving you off of this island and to another. The estate I told you about
is on the island of Sardinia Italy."
"Italy?"
"Yup."
Falling silent once again, Harry contemplated what to do. It was no secret that
he wanted away from this place, but he was concerned about being tracked down.
Looking up at Cal, with every instinct telling him to trust the man and leave,
he nodded his head. "What do I need to do?"
Every muscle in Cal's body relaxed as he sighed in relief. He wasn't sure what
he would do if the teen in front of him had decided to stay. Smiling he
answered, "first we need to get all your things. I would suggest not putting on
a shirt until we get to the Villa so that we can have you treated by our
healer. I'll also have to have Rosa place a translation spell on you so that
you can understand everyone. The only thing other then that, that I can think
of at the moment is a name for you. You see, we all know who you are, but if we
introduce you with a different name, no one will say anything to anyone else."
"So no worries about it getting out where I am?"
"No. we are a very close nit family on the estate, and you will be treated just
like everyone else."
"Will I be able to use magic?"
"Yes. We don't have the same laws governing our use of magic that you have
here. Our laws state that you have to be 14 to use magic, and even if you were
underage, the wards surrounding the property would cancel out the effects of
anyone using magic."
Harry heaved a sigh of relief at that bit of good news. 'If anything happens
I'll be able to protect myself and anyone else with me.' he thought. "I'll
right, when do we leave?"
"As soon as you have your things. I have a portkey that will take us right to
the main house."
"I'm going to have to have you unlock the cupboard so I can get my trunk, and
then there are a few things in the bedroom that I'll need."
"Shall we then?" Cal asked and ushered Harry inside.
15 minutes later Harry's belongings where tucked away in Cal's pocket, and he
had a finger on the small figurine of a golden panther waiting for Cal to
activate the portkey that would take him away from England.
With a tap of Cal's wand, Harry felt the hooked feeling in his navel and the
two of them disappeared, the wards around that house that should have set of a
warning that Harry was being portkeyed out, never once sounding.
~~hp~~
The only thing that stopped Harry from falling to the floor when they landed
was Cals quick thinking as he reached over and looped an arm around Harry's
waist. When he was steady once again, Cal motioned him to follow and the moved
through the Villa to an outbuilding, which he found out real quick was the
Estates infirmary. Rapid Italian flowed between Cal and a Witch with long black
hair and bright brown eyes. She was slim, and stood about half a foot taller
then Harry. When she pulled out a wand, Harry tried to take a few steps back
but was stopped by the amusement he saw in Cal's eyes.
"This Harry is Rosa. She is our healer and resident 'Mother'. She's going to
cast the translation spell on you so that you can understand everyone."
"How many different languages are spoken here?" Harry asked keeping an eye on
that wand.
"about 6 or 7. She won't hurt you, my wizards oath keeps you safe from harm by
any one one the estate at this time." Cal said carefully.
Relaxing slightly, Harry nodded his head in agreement, and felt a cool
sensation flow down his body, as she flicked her wand at him.
"There now Child. You will be able to understand everyone and everyone will be
able to understand you. And just so you know this spell does not wear off, so
you never have to worry about not understanding those around you every again.
Now I am Rosa, and you are in need of a different name. What would you like us
to call you when you are here?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling sadly. "Horatio Black, But
you can call me Tio."
"Good then Tio, hop up onto the bed, and we can see what needs to be done."
knowing better then to argue with a healer after being treated by Madam Pomfrey
for the past five years, and sat down on the bed she indicated. After five
minutes of being tsked and tutted after, Harry dropped his head and therefore
didn't see the look of concern pass above his head. He also didn't see Cals
wand come up or hear the spell that was spoken that caused him to fall asleep.
As he body slumped forward, Cal caught him and gently laid him on his side,
before looking up at Rosa. "How bad is it?"
"This child is in a bad way. From what I could scan, he's malnourished,
dehydrated, undersized, and suffering from some serious injuries, most of them
recent. The magical residue on him is great, so I would say that he has
recently been in a major duel of some kind. There is also something unusual
about his blood, but what it is, I'm not sure, only that it's not fatal in
anyway." Looking down at the small form sadly she continued. "It's good that
you brought him here Cal. He needs time to heal from the physical and emotion
trauma that he is suffering."
"If the last letter I received from the Boss is correct, then he saw his
godfather killed in front of him, and them went on to face the Dark Lord. He
ranted about 'Dumbledore's Golden Boy' being given special treatment and sent
home to his family's loving care to be dotted on. How are we going to explain
that this same 'Golden Boy' is an abused child that now is hiding in his
sanctuary?"
"You don't, I'll do it once he gets he gets here. All that you need to tell him
is that you have acquired another abused child that you brought home with you.
I will deal with his reaction when he comes home."
"Good, I really don't feel like dealing with his temper once he gets worked
up."
"Off you go then and write that letter, let me deal with this child. Oh and
Cal, tell him that even before he drops off his bag in the Main House to come
see me."
"Yes Rosa." Cal replied with a smile, having learned years ago that you never
miss with this healer once she has her mind made up. 'This should be a fun
letter to write!' He thought to himself. 'I can see it now.'
Hey Boss
Not much really happening out here at the moment, other then I found another
child that needs our protection. Goes by the name Horatio Black.....
Rosa says the instant you get home to see here, don't bother dropping your bags
off first. Not wise to piss of that woman ya know....
'Yes, this really is going to be a difficult letter to write.'
***** two *****
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being
made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N. Be advised from here on out, most of the time Harry will be called Tio or
Horatio. Just to avoid any confusion.
a/n... Sorry about this... at the moment, this chapter is UNBETA'D... as soon
as i get it back, i'll repost.... luvs ya.
 
Chapter Two
Three days.
Cal was starting to worry. With only the aid of a simple sleeping charm the
first day, Horatio Black ~otherwise known as Harry Potter~ continued to sleep
for three days. Almost four.
The most infuriating thing about the whole waiting game he was playing was the
fact that Rosa didn't seem to be concerned, she just flicked her wand over him
a few times, smiled and then walked away. And Cal was about ready to scream.
Added to the whole problem, was the fact that the boss was going to arriving
within the next five days. 'And won't that just be fun.' he snorted to himself.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized the Rosa would be back any
minute to check over the young man once again, and to make sure the magical IV
that continuously fed him a nutrient and saline solution, as well as a few
other potions that Rosa determined he needed, was still working like it was
suppose to.
Right on time Rosa walked through the door and without saying a word to Cal,
starting running her diagnostic spells up and down Tio's body. Unlike all the
other times she had down this though, Tio flinched at the wash of magic and his
eyes started to flutter open.
Finishing her scan Rosa smiled down at the boy, "good afternoon Tio. Did you
sleep well."
Tio tried to answer to answer her verbally, but only managed a dry croak, and
instead just nodded his head. Reaching over Rosa poured a small glass of water
and helped the boy sit up. "Small sips Tio, we don't want you getting sick."
she admonished when he reached for the glass.
After finishing the glass of water and handing it back, Tio smiled. "Thank
you."
"You're very welcome. Now do you remember how you got here?"
Clearing his throat slightly, Tio answered her, his voice soft. "I remember Cal
coming to my aunt and uncle's and saying he felt my magic calling him, and then
portkeying here. And then the translation spell, and my new name, but anything
after that is blank."
Nodding her head, Rosa smiled once again, "you fell asleep after that so I
don't expect you to remember what happened. You've been asleep for three days,
while your body healed and your magic replenished itself."
"Three days?"
"That's right. During that time I've had you on a magical IV so that you didn't
get sicker then you already were. I've fed you a few different potions during
that time, and managed to correct a few problems you've been having." Rosa
explained, after she poured him another glass of water, and watched as he drank
that down as well.
"Like what?"
"Well, I've been giving you a combination nutrient and saline potion to keep
you hydrated and to give you the calories that you needed. I've also feed you
an extremely mild hormone potion to help kick start a growth spurt that will
hopefully bring you up to a normal height for your age. The Potions Master that
also lives here, managed to finally create a potion to correct eye sight, so I
gave you that as well." she finished, holding her breath to see what his
reaction would be.
Tio studied the woman standing over him for a few minutes, and wondered just
where the anger was, that he should have been feeling, and would have felt if
he would have been in school. "Did they work?"
Releasing her breath, Rosa nodded her head, "yes child they did. Otherwise you
would have asked for your glasses before now. As for the hormone potion, we'll
just have to wait and see. That one will need a little longer to work."
"Then once again, I say thank you. For every thing." Tio said, his glance
towards Cal, letting it be know that he was also included in that thanks.
"Your very welcome child. Now as I've just completed your latest scan, I can
hand you over to Cal and he can show you to your room. I'm going to need you to
follow a calorie high diet for the next few weeks, and you're going to need to
drink lots of fluids as well."
Tio hid his surprise at not being kept in the care of the healer longer, and
only nodded his agreement. As he swung his legs over the edge of bed, Rosa
reached over and took hold of his shoulder. "The one thing that you must
remember above all else, no matter what anyone says, is that you are on medical
rest for the next two weeks. I catch you doing any work, and I'll have you back
in that bed so fast, you won't know what hit you. Do you understand me, Harry
James Potter?"
The use of his full name had him staring at her wide eyed, and he tried to
swallow around the lump in his throat. "Yes Ma'am." he whispered.
"Good. Now Cal you make sure that everyone knows that he's not allowed to do
any work, and if they have a problem with that, they can take it up with me!"
Cal taking his cue from Tio, nodded his head with a "yes ma'am." and with
another quick glance at Rosa grabbed hold of the teen. "What ever you do Tio,
never piss that woman off. She's one of the best duelers on the Estate."
Glancing over his shoulder at Rosa, Tio gulped and nodded his head. "Thanks for
the warning, I'll make sure I keep that in mind."
~~hp~~
Cal spent the rest of the afternoon, showing Tio around the Main House, and
letting him slowly adjust to his new surroundings, as well as making sure that
there was plenty of fruit juice and water around for him to drink. He knew that
the other teens on the Estate had something planned to help Tio as much as
possible as he finished recovering, but no one would tell him what it was.
When it finally came time for the evening meal, he escorted Tio to the dining
hall, or in this case the small clearing where the meal was served in good
weather. "Alright Tio, this is where we all gather for our meals. Not everyone
who works here eats with us, as we all do rotations in the outer areas, but
whoever is close by does join us. At the moment there are only a few of us, so
you won't have to remember everyone at the same time. We do have people from
all over the world working here, so you will meet some interesting people."
Tio simply nodded his head as tried to take in everything around him, wondering
just how he was going to remember where everything was. He knew that he had
only seen a small portion of the estate, and was worried over just what was
going to happen later when he was showed the rest. "Cal, I'm not sure I'll ever
get around this place on my own." he said tentatively. "I mean, I can't follow
you around all the time, I know you have your own things to do."
Cal reached over and ruffled Tio's hair, "don't worry about it. For the first
few weeks you'll have a buddy who will show you how things are done. I have
someone in mind for a partner for you later, but he's not here at the moment,
so I'll have have the others take turns until he does get here. And before you
ask it's no trouble, we'll have whoever in here in the main complex guide you,
until they need to get back to work. Gives everyone a little holiday." he
finished with a wink.
Tio sighed in relief, and followed behind Cal as he walked through a vine
covered archway, into a small clearing. Breathing in the heady aroma of
multiple flowering plants, Tio looked around in wonder, not really believing
what he was seeing. Flowering plants filled the air, and created a cool glade,
a glade that seemed to infuse the soul with peace. With a delighted smile, Tio
followed Cal further in, ready to meet those he would be working with.
Cal looked at Tio with dancing eyes. He loved the reaction that everyone had
when they first entered this glade, and had a feeling that this particular
young man would be spending a lot of his healing time within it's charmed
environment. Glancing over at the table, he almost groaned in dismay. The
handful of teens sitting around the tables where the exact opposite of Tio.
Load, boisterous and unruly. Unfortunately three of the five would understand
Tio the best, and were, to be perfectly honest, the ones who could be the
answer to all their problems.
"Alright you lazy lot, settle down! There's someone I want you to meet." Cal
called out gathering every ones attention.
"Lazy!? Just who are you calling lazy old man?" A tall oriental teen shot back,
"for your information, 'we' have been busting our balls, with the exception of
Sofia as she has none, for the past four days clearing all that storm damage."
"Whatever you say Yeo. Personally I don't believe a word you say!" Cal laughed.
Motioning Tio closer he pointed to each teen as he introduced them. "This
loudmouth is Yeo. Going from him to the right are Sofia, Stephen, Mikal, and
Fernandez but he prefers Dez. Over the rest of the summer I expect you will get
to know them well. For now, just relax and enjoy the food." He told Tio. "As
for the rest of you, this is Horatio Black. Don't over work him, as Rosa has
him on Medical rest."
Dez looked Tio over carefully, "How much MR?" he asked thoughtfully.
"Full Medical Rest Dez. Rosa has stated that Tio is to rest and relax for as
long as she says. At the moment that would be for the next two weeks" Cal
informed them.
"Damn. Someone did you over good, in order for her to order full MR. No worries
though, I'm sure we'll be able to find something 'fun' 'restful' and
'relaxing', to do during that time." Dez said with a slow grin the reminded Tio
of the Weasley twins.
Groaning in dismay Tio shook his head as he walked closer to the table. "What
in Merlin's name did I ever do, to be surrounded by pranksters and trouble
makers?"
"Well Mr. Black, I would say that you where just loved." Dez returned, before
reaching over and pulling Tio down beside him at the table.
"Ewwww." Tio moaned, before looking up at Cal with a mournful look. "Help me."
he whined.
"Not a chance kid. Besides from what I've heard you know how to hold your own."
Cal told him, and then slanted a sly grin at the others. "Like I told you all
before, I was at Hogwarts learning all I could while a gang called the
Marauder's ran loose." With a wink at the others he turned to Tio, "I also know
exactly who they are to you Tio."
The five other youths stilled completely before looking over at Tio. "Cal has
been telling us stories about those four. How do you know them?" Sofia asked,
Dark blue eyes sparkling with excitement.
Tio grabbed a small slice of Pizza that shimmered into existence on the table,
and ate it slowly, savoring the food along with dragging out the silence as the
others waited for an answer. When he dished himself a small helping of fruit
salad, his own grinned spread across his face. "How much did you know about
them?" he asked softly.
Mikal watched the grin spread, and a glance at Cal, showed relief in those
eyes. "Not much, Cal's told us a few stories, and their names, along with how
they all seemed to have disappeared about 15 years ago. Other then that..." He
trailed off, and watched a flash a pain flair to life in those enchanting green
eyes. "Tio?" he questioned softly, while the others remained silent.
Taking a deep breath Tio waved away the question, "I'm fine." Taking another
deep breath, he motioned Cal away from the others to ask a few questions. "Cal
you're sure I can use magic?"
"Yes Harry. I'm sure."
"And they know who I am, but won't say anything?"
"You have my word."
Pulling the one thing he had been allowed to take out of his trunk, Tio cast
through his mind for a happy memory. Settling on a memory of winning the
Quidditch cup, Tio pointed his wand and with a smile spoke the spell. "Expecto
Patronum." and watched with a twinge of pain, as Prongs danced his way through
the clearing. Glancing over the others, Tio had to laugh at the looks of awe
and disbelief on everyones face. "Let me introduce to you Prongs, A.K.A James
Potter, my father."
Stephen was the first to recover. "Your father was Prongs?"
Tio's smile was down right cunning. "Oh yes, you are looking at the Son, Godson
and Honorary Nephew, of three of the Marauders."
"Tio, do you know know of a store called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Dez asked,
as he started plotting.
At his questions the others all developed the same look, and Cal took a step
back, wondering if he should start running to warn the others.
Tio looked up as a wicked grin spread across his face, "you mean Fred and
George's new shop? Who do you think gave them the start up costs to open it?"
Cal started to retreat as the others started to sport the same grin. He now
knew that young Harry Potter would be in the best of hands. He also knew that
everyone would have to step carefully around this group in the weeks (and if
Rosa had her way years) to come. His own grin turned slightly wicked as he
walked amongst the many pathways. There wasn't a chance in hell that he was
going to tell anyone about this new development.
~~hp~~
~~four days later~~
Tio tossed himself off his bed in an effort to wake himself up from his latest
nightmare. Breathing deeply in an effort to calm his racing heart, and slightly
panicked breathing, he let his mind go back to the dream. As he calmed, he
pulled out the notebook Cal had given him, in order to write down everything so
that he could work his way through the nightmares instead of pushing them to
the back of his mind and suffering through them every night. He wrote down
everything; what he saw, felt, heard, and over all his reaction to them.
Half hour and many tears later, Tio glanced out the window and watched the
brilliant sunrise. As the colors faded finally to a pale blue, Tio noticed a
dark shadow moving across the grounds. Moments later, the shadow lightened to
the form of a person. Yeo to be exact.
Getting himself dressed he slipped silently out the bedroom door. Thankful for
the lessons in moving silently he learned from the Dursleys if nothing else,
Tio left the house, and followed the same path Yeo took into a small glade and
sat down to watch the fluid movements of the other teen.
Yeo knew he was being watched, and even knew who was watching, but continued
with his morning exercises. 'Maybe, I can get him to open up a little.' he
thought to himself, allowing his body to come back to his first starting
position.
"Good morning Tio. You're up early." He called softly.
Tio started slightly at the quiet inquiry. Recovering quickly, Tio returned the
greeting. "Good morning. I hope that you don't mind that I followed you here?"
Smiling softly Yeo joined Tio sitting on the grass. "Not at all. I was just
surprised that you managed to leave the house without Rosa or Cal following
you."
Tio dropped his head slightly and considered how to answer. He knew in his
heart that nothing he said would be spread further, he just wasn't sure if his
mind would allow him to say anything. Taking a deep breath, and letting it out
slowly, Tio turned his gaze on the teen next to him. "One of the first lessons
I learned at my relatives was that I was to be silent at all times. No matter
what. The next one I learned was never to ask questions."
"The first thing I was taught was to take my punishments like a Man. Never mind
that I was only three at the time." Yeo returned in kind, letting Tio know that
he wasn't alone.
Green eyes met chocolate brown, and the first barrier was breached, and
understanding flowed between the two of them. Wiping the start of tears out of
his eyes, Tio nodded towards the clearing. "What was that you were doing?" he
asked, going back to neutral ground.
Nodding his head in understanding, Yeo allowed the shift in subjects. "It's
called Tai Chi. I found that it extremely relaxing. It's also great to keep my
body in shape and for flexibility and movement."
"I feel the same way about flying. There's no greater feeling in the world then
when I'm on my broom." Tio said sadly.
Yeo looked at him in concern. "Why so sad?"
"My Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor took over the school, and then with
the support of the Ministry she banned me from playing Quidditch again. I'm not
sure if that order was rescinded or not."
"She banned you from playing, not flying!"
Tio snorted softly, "Kinda hard to fly when she took my broom away. I'm not
sure if I'm going to get it back, and it was the first ever present I remember
getting from my Godfather."
Yeo stared at the sky in thought for a moment, before looking back at Tio.
"Well there's nothing I can do about your broom, but I know that Dez has one,
and that there are a few extra laying around somewhere." He's eyes turned
wistful for a moment. "I always wanted to fly."
Tio looked at him in confusion, but Yeo answered the question before he could
ask. "I'm a muggle Tio, and there's no one here magically strong enough to take
me up, that actually flies on a regular basis."
It was Tio's turn to be thoughtful for a few minutes, before he looked at Yeo
with a gleam in his eye. "I'll tell you what. If you're willing to teach my Tai
Chi, I'll see what I can do about getting you into the air. Deal."
Yeo blinked at him in surprise before a huge grin split his face. "I'll go you
one better. If you manage to get me in the air, and promise to take me flying
whenever you get the chance, I'll teach you all the martial arts that I know."
"Deal."
"Well then lets get started. Run back to the house, and change into something
comfortable, and we'll start your lessons."
Tio laughed as he pulled out his wand. "Why would I go all the way back there,
when I can just transfigure what I'm already wearing?" before proceeding to do
just that.
"Huh, forgot about that." Yeo grinned, before getting up and pulling Tio to his
feet and to the center of the clearing. "Let's go, we still have an hour before
breakfast is served."
~~hp~~
As soon as the others found out what Tio and Yeo would be doing after
breakfast, they rushed off to gather enough brooms for everyone. Dez came
strolling out of one of the smaller villa's that they each shared with a room
mate carrying two racing broom cases, and brought them over to Tio.
Carefully setting both down on the ground, he knelled in order to open first
one and then the other. The first broom he pulled out almost brought tears to
Tio's eyes when he saw the Firebolt. The second made him gasp in awe. The
newest broom to hit the market, the Lightening bolt. Made by the same company
who made the Firebolt.
"The Firebolt is mine, but I figured you would need a little more power, and
Antonio said that if it was ever needed we could use his." he explained as he
pulled the Lightening bolt out of it's case and handing it to Tio.
Excepting the broom with shaking hands, Tio could feel the power and the urge
to race leap from the broom to his very being. Carefully examining it, before
attempting to hand it back, Tio stuttered, "I can't use this."
"And why not?" A new voice asked from behind Tio.
Tio spun around on his heel. One hand holding the broom protectively, while the
other unsheathed his wand and pointed it at whoever had startled him. And then
nearly dropped both the wand and the broom as he stared at the man in front of
him.
Standing a good foot taller then Tio, with short wavy black hair, and ocean
green eyes, set in a classically handsome sun kissed face. As the full lips
turned up into a smile, Tio had a hard time fighting down a blush, even as a
fluttering feeling started low in his stomach. A slight niggle had him thinking
that there was something familiar with the nose, and sharp cut cheek bones, but
he couldn't place what it was, and pushed it away to figure out later.
Raising his hands to show he meant no harm, the young man gave Tio another slow
smile. "My name is Antonio Cardova, but everyone calls me Tony around here
unless I'm in trouble. And you most be Horatio Black." At Tio's nod, he
continued. "Now would you like to tell me why you can not use that broom."
Tio swallowed around his suddenly dry throat as he tried to piece together a
response. "I couldn't use a broom like this without the express permission of
the owner." sheathing his wand, he ran loving hands over the handle of the
broom. "Something like this is special. I would be afraid something would
happen to it."
"Tio look at me." when Tony had his full attention once again he gave another
small smile, and was delighted to see that blush reappear. "You have permission
to use my broom. I know you will take excellent care of it. Now go and take it
for a test run."
Tio didn't need to be told twice, and quickly let go of the broom so that it
hovered at his side for a second before he mounted it and shot up into the air.
The sensation of having the wind in his face was wonderful, and for the first
time in weeks he felt his cares blown away with the wind.
The Lightening Bolt was awe inspiring and moved at his command with barely any
direction. 'I could get use to this.' he thought in utter joy. It didn't take
long before he felt the brush of the wards, and knew that he would have to
return. Dropping down a little lower, he tested some of his simpler moves,
before laying himself flat against the broom handle and with a whoop of
delight, dropped down into an almost vertical dive, gaining speed as he went.
Those on the ground watched with huge smiles as Tio speed off, and could swear
that they could see the troubles blow away. Dez looked over at Tony with a huge
grin and patted him on the shoulder, whispering in his ear, "this is the first
time since he got here that he's been this happy."
Tony grinned back, before frowning. "Harry Potter? I almost dropped with shock
when I saw who it was."
"You, me and everyone else." Dez replied softly. "Is the Boss Man here as
well."
"Yes, and he's not going to like this. Not one bit."
There quiet conversation was interrupted by Sofia's panicked scream. "He's
falling!"
Tony looked up in alarm, and laughed in relief a moment later, "No he's not
Sofy. He's diving." But that thought came to worry the closer Tio came. Dez
echoed his worry by the grip he felt on his arm.
"He's coming in too fast! He's not going to be able to pull up in time!"
As they all watched in horror as Tio came closer, Tio let his senses guide him.
About five feet from the ground, he pulled back on the handle and felt it lift,
as he toes skimmed the earth after completing a perfect Wronski Feint. With
another laugh of pure delight, he brought the broom around so that he hovered
in front of the group, his grin not fading in the least. "That was totally
awesome!" he exclaimed happily.
That happiness faded when he heard his full name screeched from the medical
building.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!"
***** three *****
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being
made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N... This chapter will deal with the abuse Harry suffered at the hands of his
aunt and uncle. None of it's really graphic as I don't list everything
'written' in the file, but it is applied, with some of it mentioned, all the
same.
a/n... Sorry about this... at the moment, this chapter is UNBETA'D... as soon
as i get it back, i'll repost.... luvs ya.
Chapter Three.
Portkeying himself onto the Estate before breakfast, Severus Snape found
himself pulled into Rosa's office, handed a cup of strong black coffee, and
handed a medical folder. Grumbling slightly under his breath, but not daring to
say anything more out loud about meddeling females, he looked up Rosa and
raised an eye brow.
"Good morning to you to Rosa. How have you been lately? If I may ask how long
do you plan to keep me here as Albus would like me back soon, to help with the
search of our dear, missing Golden Boy." he asked in a smooth dark voice,
carefully blank of all sarcasm.
Rosa raised one of her own eyebrows in response. "Good morning Child, I trust
you had a good journey? As for how I've been? I've been worried sick over
Horatio Black, and you'll understand why once your read that file! And to
answer your last question, You Will Sit There, until I say otherwise. Do you
understand me?" she said her voice hard and cold.
Sitting back in shock at a tone of voice that Rosa rarely used with him, he
realized that what ever was bothering her, was extremely important. Taking a
sip of his coffee, Severus relaxed back into his chair and opened the file. He
knew that playing games while Rosa was in this mood was not a good idea,
especially since he had considered her as a mother ever since his own had died
many years ago. "Alright Rosa, you have my complete attention for as long as
you need, and I'll read the file like you want. But couldn't you have at least
allowed me to settle in first?" He couldn't resist the last question.
"I'm sorry Severus, but this has waited long enough as is. It's imperative that
we come to an understanding before I allow you to leave this office." Rosa told
him in all seriousness, but her voice softened slightly.
"Ff it's that bad, why don't you just tell me what is in here?"
"In all honesty Sev, you need to read it to understand and except, as well as
to draw your own conclusions. I've kept back the pictures until after you're
done, and I'll go through each one separately with you, if you would like,
though they explain themselves real well."
Nodding his head in understanding, Severus started to read through the file
that he had been handed. Over the next half hour, the only thing out of his
mouth were low growls of complete fury. As he reached the last page and read it
through, he flipped it over expecting there to be more. To his confusion Rosa
had not given him the full medical file. "Rosa?" he asked with a low growl.
Rosa just sat calmly, and looked at him for a moment. "I need to know what you
think so far Severus." she asked calmly.
With a muttered oath, Severus stood and started to pace. "What I think, is that
whoever had this child under their care should be dragged out into the street
and slowly tortured! What I think is that no matter what, this child needs to
be protected, and given the best of care! What I think is that who ever has
been teaching this child until now needs to be dragged out with the primary
care givers! What I think is that you should get to what ever point you are
trying to make. Now!" his voice had started out loud, but had settled for a
deadly hiss that promised retribution for everyone who had not seen that there
was a 15 year old child that desperately needed help. Another thought entered
his mind "He is alive right? You were able to heal him completely?"
Rosa nodded and motioned back to the chair with a silent order for him to sit
back down. "The last part of the report I removed for reasons I'm sure you will
understand by the time we are done. It deals with his mental health as well as
some of his injuries that he had received while he was in school. Horatio is
alive and if not well exactly, on his way to being so." With a sigh, she also
sat back in her chair and sipped from her own cup of coffee. "To all
expectations he should still be in a healing sleep. The amount of damage that I
found and healed should have guaranteed that he stayed asleep for a good two
weeks. Imagine my surprise that after only three days he woke up. He was so
severely dehydrated and starved and over long periods of time for the course of
many years, that he honestly should have died years ago. I'm guessing that the
reason he didn't was part due to his magic and in part due to his will to
survive. Above all else, that boy is a surviver just like you. Over the years
his injuries without combining them with malnutrition and dehydration should
have killed him. And that's without the injuries that happened while he was at
school, where to my knowledge he should have been removed from after his second
year, if not his first."
"Do you know what school he's going to? I would love to have a word with his
Headmaster and his Professors." Severus growled.
Rosa watched Severus in concern. She knew what he heard next would be hitting
him hard. Instead of answering him verbally, she instead handed him the
pictures, keeping only one back. "Look at these." she said softly.
Severus took the pictures and examined each one carefully. The evidence in
front of him showed him the body of child no more then 12 or 13. "Are you sure
he's going to be 16 soon?"
"Oh yes, I'm sure. Though unless you're looking him in the eye you couldn't
tell. He'll barely come up to your shoulder, where he should be almost looking
you in the eye." Giving Severus a hard look she continued, "do you agree that
this child needs your protection? And that you will do everything in your power
to treat him like the child he is?"
"What are you holding back from me now?" Severus breathed, even as he nodded
his agreement to her questions.
"The fact that Horatio Black is not his real name."
A cold feeling of dread started to form in the pit of his stomach as Severus
looked Rosa in the eye and saw a mixture of ice cold fury and concern. "I know
this child don't I? He's one of my students?" When she only nodded her head in
response, he thought back to when he first received that first letter from Cal.
"There was only one student removed from the school for the last part of term."
Rosa nodded and handed him the last piece of damning evidence. A head shot of
one Harry Potter, the famous scar laying red and swollen. "Do you understand
why I didn't give this to you right away?" She asked her voice hard.
Severus didn't bother answering her, as he allowed his body to fold in upon
itself. The rage he had been feeling over the mistreatment of the teen by the
parents redirected to himself and the others within Hogwarts. "Rosa, why didn't
we see this?" he asked in a shaken voice.
"I don't know about the others, but you I can honestly say, never saw Harry,
but only his father James. You made the assumption, based on who his father
was, that Harry Potter was going to be a spoiled brat, and never looked any
further then that." Rosa told him, her voice still hard.
"Where is he Rosa? I need to see him for myself."
"Do you want to see Harry Potter The Boy Who Lived?" she asked not letting up.
"No, I want to see Harry, just Harry."
"He's outside with the others, he somehow convinced Yeo to teach him Tia Chi
this morning." she said softly, as she stood and walked around her desk to help
Severus out of his chair, and pulled him into a hug. "I've put him in the
bedroom next to yours so that we could keep an eye on him. You have the time at
the moment to start making things right with him."
Severus nodded and followed Rosa out the door, pulling himself together as he
went. As they exited the house, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard
Rosa screech.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!"
~~hp~~
Tio was quick to dismount the broom and stand to face the approaching storm,
not sure exactly what to expect. Focusing on the woman coming towards him, he
saw in her eyes the exact same concern that Molly Weasley showed to her own
children when they've done something extremely stupid and/or dangerous.
Relaxing slightly, he looked beyond her to the other figure coming up fast.
Severus Snape.
Eyes going wide in horror, he felt panic start to set in, barely aware that
Rosa had stopped dead in her tracks. As a chocking sob threatened to work its
way free, Tio started to move backwards away from the one thing that threatened
his safety, tripping over his own feet in the process. As Snape came closer he
scrambled backwards on his hands and feet trying to put as much distance
between them as possible. As another set of hands tried to pull him back up to
his feet, he pushed them away, wither physically or with magic he was sure, and
made his own way to his feet. "I'm not going back! You can't make me go back to
them." he cried, ready to run.
Tony watched as Tio slowly started to have a breakdown as Severus came closer.
After Yeo and Stephen had been pushed away magically from helping, and then
seeing Tio poised to run, he came up slowly from behind and wrapped his arms
around the slight teen, expecting but hoping against the reaction he knew was
coming.
Feeling arms lock around his waist, Tio started to panic, and struggled
franticly to get away. "NO! Let me go, you can make me go back! LET ME GO!
Please just let me go" Tio sobbed.
Pulling Tio tight against his chest, Tony started a gentle croon, hoping that
it would work, as well as hoping that the teen would not remember that he could
use magic against him like he did to the others. "Sh Tio, you're not going
anywhere. You need to calm down, your safe here." he whispered over and over.
When that didn't work he switched and started using the name 'Harry' instead.
Instead of decreasing the teens attempts to get free, the words only seemed to
fuel the struggles instead. Sending a pleading look to Severus, he did the only
thing he could. Held on tighter, as he wasn't sure what his uncle would do.
Severus watched in horror as the 'bane' of his existence had one hell of a
panic attack. All due to seeing him. Guilt settled in further, as he watched
Tony try to calm Harry down with no result, he knew that he would be the only
one who could do what was needed. Pulling on his mask and using his best
teaching voice, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Seize and desist
Mr. Potter. NOW!!"
Knowing it was coming and actually hearing that tone of voice coming from
Severus were two different things. Tony himself had only heard that tone once
or twice, and the others he doubted had ever heard it before. Unfortunately, it
looked like Harry knew that voice very well, as the teen slumped in his arms.
Without a thought, he picked up the smaller teen and cradled him against his
chest, and waited for Severus to come to them.
Hating himself even more for having had to do that, Severus walked over to
where Tony waited. Nodding his head in thanks, he lightly grasped Harry's chin
and pushed it up so he could look directly into those green eyes, and using a
touch of Legilimeny to get his point across. "You Harry, are not going
anywhere."
Ever since Cal had showed up and his aunt and uncles to take him away, Harry
knew that it wouldn't last, even though he allowed for a small shred of hope.
When he first saw Snape coming towards him, and hope that he had been feeling
was squashed. Now with both the words, spoken and unspoken echoing in his mind,
he allowed true hope flicker to life if only dimmly. If nothing else, Harry
knew that this man had never lied to him. That hope dimmed slightly as another
thought came to mind. Unable to voice it out loud, he allowed it to form in the
forefront of his mind, knowing that Snape would see it. 'Dumbledore?'
Severus did indeed see the question, and knew before they could move forward
that it had to be answered, and did so in the same way that it was asked so the
young man before would understand that it was the truth. 'He is very worried
about you, and has been since he found you to be missing a few days ago. I will
need to tell him that you have been found, and where you are, but I will not
allow you to be taken past these wards.'
Harry nodded his head in understanding and allowed that small flicker of hope
to take root a little deeper, and glow a little brighter. Resting his head
completely against Tony's warm shoulder, he allowed his eyes to close and
darkness to over take him.
Severus sighed and stepped away from the two teens. "Take him to my study Tony,
and don't allow him to be alone, in fact you stay with him until he wakes once
again. I need to go talk to the Headmaster and tell him that Harry has been
found, and that I will not allow his removel from the Estate."
Tony only nodded his head and started to move towards the house. Ignoring
everyone else around him.
~~hp~~
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore sat in his office surrounded by varies members of
the Order of the Phoenix, knowing that all that he had to give him was bad
news. Five days ago, the Wards around #4 Privet Drive had collapsed, and after
checking in with the Dursleys the only information he had been able to gather
was the fact that a man had came to the door, and offered to take the boy off
their hands for the rest of the summer. The worst part of this, was that they
had allowed it! Without getting any contact information from whoever it was
that showed up, and no back ground information. Looking over those gathered, he
dreaded giving them the information that Harry was missing. Especially after
the loss they had all just suffered recently.
Just as he had started to tell Remus Lupin and the Weasleys, Poppy Pomfrey
along with all the Professors but the one that already knew what happened,
Severus Snape stormed through the door.
"Severus my boy, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, grateful for the
interruption.
Severus sneered, but was inwardly glad that he had gotten there before Albus
was able to tell the others anything, and handed over the medical folder that
Rosa had first given him, as well as handing over a second copy to Poppy
Pomfrey. "I know what you have to tell them is important Albus, but I need you
to look this over first. It's a matter of life or death." he said with quiet
intensity that he normally didn't show in front of the others.
Poppy was already reading the file handed to her, and Albus with a quick look
in Severus' eyes started to do the same thing. Severus for his part, sat and
watched both of them for their reactions, and was not disappointed.
"HOW CAN PEOPLE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN" Poppy screeched as everyone stared at
her. "Severus, did Rosa heal him? Is he going to be okay?" she demanded to
know.
Before Severus could answer, Molly broke in. "What's going on?" she asked.
Albus looked around the room, with with a nod of permission from Severus, gave
the others an explanation. "Cal McGill found a child, who was being severely
abused. He took the child to Severus' Estate to be healed.
"How badly was he abused?" Remus asked, his voice shaking. Everyone in the room
knew what kind of Power Cal had, and if he had been called to a child, then
things were extremely wrong.
Poppy took over the explanation. "According to this file, this child has more
luck then anyone else I know, including Mr. Potter. In all rights he should be
dead, many times over." she seethed. "How I would love to get my hands on the
adults who cared for this little one."
Severus decided to step in. "He's tiny for someone his age. He looks no more
then 12 or 13, but will shortly be 16. He's alive, and awake, despite the
odds." Looking over to the Headmaster, he asked. "I have promised him that he
could stay on my Estate. When I left him, he had just finished having a panic
attack at the very thought of being removed. I left him asleep, using my nephew
as a pillow."
"What do you need from us Severus?" Albus asked.
"I need to remain home until the new term starts. I'm hoping by then he will be
willing to go back to his school by then." He said carefully.
"You would trust his school with his care once more?" Poppy demanded.
"I would now." Was the growled response, "do I have your agreement that he will
be staying with me at my home and for my caring of him?" He asked carefully,
not willing to give them any more information until he had the Headmasters
promise.
"Of course My Boy, of course, you have my word, along with any help that you
may need." Albus agreed quickly, before continuing. "With all this information,
you left out a few things. Who is this child Severus?" Albus asked, a slight
twinkle starting in his blue eyes at the protectiveness that Severus was
showing.
Severus saw the start of the twinkle, and found an evil joy, in destroying it.
"He calls himself Horatio Black." he told them, and watched as Remus' eyes went
wide with dawning horror. "He's true name, is Harry James Potter." and waited
for the uproar.
"WHAT"
"That was pretty much my reaction. Rosa made sure that I would be the very
first person she saw, so that I wouldn't do anything to harm him more. She has
the pictures still to prove everything. When he saw me, he went into full
flight or fight mode. Tony actually had to restrain him before he could do
anything foolish, and when we finally got him to stop struggling, I told him
that he wasn't going to leaving."
"I'm sorry My Boy, but you will need to bring young Mr. Potter here." Albus
said, remorse coloring his voice.
Here Severus glared at the Headmaster even as a sneer twisted his lips. "Sorry
to disappoint, but you have already given you word that he would remain with
me. Just like I've already given him my word that he would not be leaving. I
have yet to a lie to him, and I refuse to start now!" by the time he was
finished Severus' voice had once more taken that deadly quality.
"Now Severus..." Albus started.
"No Headmaster. I have an abused child, who to my surprise, refuses to leave my
Estate, even after finding out that I will be there. I refuse to break what
little trust he has given me."
Before Albus could protest Remus spoke up. "And how will you treat him
Severus?"
"Like I treat any other child that comes through my gates in his state. With
respect."
Remus nodded his head with a quick glance at Molly gave his permission. "When
Sirius died, he left guardianship of Harry to me, or as the case may be to who
I deemed suitable. I was going to give it the Weasleys, but it seems that due
to the circumstances, I'm believe that it's best going to you."
Severus bowed his head to hide the shock that he couldn't hide. All he needed
in truth was the permission to keep Harry Potter on his Estate by his new
guardian, who he figured would have been Albus. He never thought that the Mutt
was the young Potters magical guardian and had remained so during his
incarceration over the year. Nor did he figure that he would have had the
brains to have had it transferred to the Wolf. "I'm honored Wolf, but I don't
want it, unless it's Mr. Potter making the request. I refuse to decide his fate
without asking his opinion." He said softly, knowing everyone would know he
spoke the truth.
Remus smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that what he had learned today about
Harry rocked Severus to his very core. Even more then it did to everyone else
in the room. "Good, because if you had accepted it without consulting Harry, I
would have removed Harry from your care faster then you could say his full name
assumed or otherwise." Looking up, his grin turned slightly wicked, "you will
allow us to visit him yes?" It was not exactly a question but he was not
willing to push the man that had his cub at his mercy.
Annoyed with falling for the Wolf's trap, Severus could only sneer. "I'll think
about it Wolf, but don't hold your breath."
"That's all I can ask Severus, that's all I can ask."
"If there is nothing else, I need to collect Harry's owl, and then get back to
my Estate, hopefully before he wakes up."
Molly looked up at Severus with tears in her eyes, "Just one more thing."
"And that would be?" Severus drawled.
"Take care of him for me. He's been my 7th son ever since his first year!"
"For that you have my promise." Looking over at Poppy he figured he might as
well get the rest of Harry's medical file. "Poppy, would it be possible to have
Harry's medical file, so Rosa may look it over and complete her own records?"
he asked softly.
Poppy looked up, her eyes red and puffy as her mind continued to whirl with all
this new information. "Of course Severus, I'll just set them on my desk, pick
them up before you leave."
"Thank you."
Giving a short bow to those in the room, Severus made his escape from the
Headmasters tower, before his temper could escape him.
~~hp~~
Harry slowly followed a voice singing softly in his ear to the land of the
living once more, not sure if he really wanted to be there. Along with the
singing he could hear voices talking softly nearby, and the familiar hoot of an
owl. Opening his eyes slightly, he glanced around the room he was in, to the
best of his ability before closing them once more, and allowing himself to
drift. A soft chuckle that made his pillow vibrate, brought home the fact that
he was curled up in someones lap, and made him snap open his eyes.
Tony looked down into confused brilliant green eyes, and chuckled once more.
"Welcome back Little One." He said softly and watched once again as the
delightful blush crept across Harry's face.
Opening and closing his mouth a few times, Harry finally found something to
say, although softly, "I'm sorry."
Tony cocked his head to the side and gave Harry a puzzled frown. "Why?"
Dropping his eyes once more, Harry sighed "Everything."
Pulling Harry tighter, Tony nuzzled the soft hair on top of Harry's head, "oh
my Little One, there's nothing to be sorry for as your reaction to a threat to
your safety was well deserved. I'm just trying to figure out how Uncle Sev
managed to stop your fight for freedom with that voice of his."
Harry laughed softly and relaxed into the body holding him before answering.
"Conditioning. Every first year student figures out in their first week in the
school, wither or not they even had potions that week, the exact tone of
Professor Snape's voice. If it starts loud, and then goes really soft you know
you are in a huge amount of trouble."
"Indeed, and what else did you all figure out during that first week, Mr.
Potter." came that dark silky tone.
Harry shuddered lightly, "the darker and silkier the voice the better the
chance of detention." came the soft answer, before tilting his head back and
whispering so that only Tony could hear him, "Beware the Bat of the dungeons.
Those who enter his lair, have little chance of coming back!"
Tony tipped back his head and laughed, with Harry joining in, much to the
befuddlement of the adults.
"What was that Mr. Potter? I seemed to have missed it."
Harry tried to hold back his laughter, and managed to suppress it to just a few
giggles as he answered. "Nothing Sir, nothing at all."
Severus looked over at Rosa while throwing his hands up into the air. "Do you
see what I put up with during the year. He's shows no respect."
Harry froze for a moment as he analyzed that tone of voice. He had never heard
that exact tone from Professor Snape before, although he knew it well from his
time with the Weasleys. Twisting around in Tony's arms so that he was facing
the rest and of the room, and stared at his Professor in shock, meeting those
dark eyes that were for the first time that he remembered, laced with
amusement. Shaking his head slightly to make sure he wasn't seeing things,
Harry finally managed to ask, "who are you and what in Merlin's name have you
done with Professor Snape?!"
***** Four *****
A/N... NOT BETA'D. Beta'd version to be posted as soon as I get it back.
Disclaimer. Not mine. no money was made from writting this.... Don't sue.
 
Chapter Four
For the first time since his Godfather fell through the Veil in the Department
of Mysteries, the haze that had been covering Harry's mind lifted. Going over
the past few weeks in his mind, he couldn't believe that he had been stupid
enough to leave the safety of the wards at his aunt and uncles with a complete
stranger. By a portkey no less! Letting his wand drop into his hand from it's
spot in the arm holster, Harry pushed himself up and away from the young man
who had been holding him and set himself in clear view of two different exits,
while making sure nothing could attack him from behind.
A slight movement on his left had him dropping down into a defensive postion
with his wand pointed directly at the black clad figure, who may or may not be
his Potions Professor.
“Mr. Potter, just what exactly do you think you are doing?” Came the dark silky
growl that demanded an instant answer.
“I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to prove who you are.” Harry said,
his voice shaking slightly at he tried to keep his attention on all four people
at the same time.
'Now he asks for proof!' Severus sighed to himself, rubbing the bridge of his
nose in frustration. “Very well Mr. Potter, ask your question, just keep in
mind that you will be answering questions of your own to my satisfaction at a
later date.” He growled out softly.
With his wand still being held steady, Harry dragged his free hand through his
hair as he thought back over his years at Hogwarts, trying to find something
that only the two of them would know or remember, without touching on any sore
points between them. A flash of memory from his first year gave him the
question that he needed, considering that one of the people involved was dead.
“A few days after Christmas in my first year, you and Quirrell were arguing
over something after curfew. What did Filch come and tell you about?”
“You'll have to be more specific then that. Quirrell and I argued often that
year.”
“You had become suspicious that something unseen was watching you outside the
library and reached out to see if you could grab it.” Harry clarified.
Severus stood quietly for a moment thinking back over that year. “Filch came to
us and said that a student was out of bed, he had found a lanern in the
restricted section that was still warm.” he finally said, and then gave the
teen a glare, “I'm going to assume that was you I sensed.”
Harry dropped his wand arm and sank to the floor, his body shaking in reaction
as well as relief. The other four people in the room remained silent until the
teen gathered himself once again. Five minutes later Harry looked up at his
professor with dull green eyes. “You've already spoken with the Headmaster?” he
asked, ignoring the question posed to him, his voice small and defeated.
Severus knew this was not really a question but nodded his head in answer
anyway.
Sighing softly Harry slowly stood up and started for the door. “I'll go and
gather my things then.” He said, resigned to his fate.
“And just where do you think you are going?” Severus asked his voice once more
that dangerous purr.
“We both know that there is no way Professor Dumbledore is going to let me stay
here.” Harry replied, “after all, the only trully safe place for me is
apperantly behind a set of blood wards, even if the people there hate me.” He
added bitterly.
Severus attempting to walk calmly to where Harry stood, doing his best to bury
the rage he was feeling at everyone who should have been taking care of this
young man, but judging from the way Harry's body stiffened the closer he got,
it wasn't working all that much. “I gave you my word that you would not have to
leave, and I intend to keep it. At this time, I have never lied to you, and I
don't have any plans to start now.”
Harry looked up, his eyes guarded, not really daring to believe that he would
be able to stay. “But..”
“But nothing Mr. Potter. Albus has already given his permission, and the
Werewolf has agreed. Being your Magical Guardian, Lupin has more say then the
Headmaster does, in what happens to you.” Using a single finger he raised
Harry's chin up from where it had dropped, making sure that their eyes once
again locked. “Do you understand me Mr. Potter.”
Heaving in a deep breath and releasing it albet shakenly and nodded his head.
“My name Sir, is Horatio Black. But if you would like, you may call me Tio.”
“Tio it is then. Now was there anything else you needed to say before we
discuss what has brought you here?”
Shaking his head slightly, Tio tried not to panic at those words. “No Sir.”
“Very well. Go and join Tony back on the sofa and we'll figure out what is
going to happen from now on.”
Tio nodded his head once more and moved back to the sofa, trying to keep
himself from blushing once again when Tony pulled him down to sit next to him,
one arm drapped calmly across his shoulders.
Rosa had sat quietly in the corner of the room, and watched everything that
happened. She saw the confusion when Tio had woken up in another's arms and her
heart once more went out to the boy who hadn't been given any kind of loving
touch in his younger years, nor that many later in life. She had watched as
confusion turned to shock, followed quickly by self disgust. Tio's reactions
were those of one who had to fight for his life in more then one occasion, and
the fact that he had used something from so far back as a way to make sure
Severus was who he said he was, called for either training or experiance. At
this point she expected it was the latter of the two options. When Severus had
convinced him to take a seat on the sofa once more, and Tony had pulled him
close, insuring that he was not going to run off, she figured it was her turn.
“Horatio Octavius Black!” she stated firmly bringing all attention to her, and
found with satisfaction the 'deer in the head lights' look that Tio gave her
for the use of a middle name he didn't know he had before then. “Would you like
to explain to me what exactly full Medical Rest means to you?”
Tio gave Rosa a panic striken look and took a deep breath. Never had he
expected that she would give him a middle name, and then use it without a
warning. “Um.. rest and relaxation?”
“Precisely. Rest and Relaxation, nothing taxing in the least. So explain to me
why you were up on a broom? Doing something that could in more ways then one,
hurt you once again.”
“I was relaxing...” Tio attempted to explain.
“No magic. No homework. No doing anything that can and will strain your magical
reserves to the point where they will not recover. Do You Understand Me?”
Panic turned to confusion as Tio listen to Rosa, and that confusion slowly
turned to horror. “But flying...”
“No buts young man, you are not flying until you are given clearence by me and
no one else.”
Tio felt tears start to form, and brushed them away angerly. Turning to his
Professor, with pleading eyes, he attempted to get through to him. “Professor
Snape, please, I haven't been in the air since Umbride banned me from
Quidditch. I need to be able to fly.”
“NO!” Rosa replied for Severus, her voice firm.
Tio could no longer hold back his tears, and with a small sound of despair
shrugged off the arm around his shoulders and practically ran from the room.
Tony only allowed himself a disgusted look at the three adults before following
after him.
Severus flinched when he heard a door down the corrider slam shut, and sighed
in frustration at the reason behind it. Rubbing his temples in an effort to
reduce the headache he felt forming he directed his next words to Cal. “I think
you better go see if he'll let you in. I highly doubt Tony will get anywhere
with him at the moment.” A clear dismissal was heard in his soft voice for any
that knew what to look for. He didn't look up until he heard the door to the
study close as the man left.
Summoning a bottle of Scotch and a glass, he remained silent as he sipped at
the fingers worth of liquid he poured. His eyes where emotionless when he did
finally look up at Rosa. “You have just destroyed and report you may have built
with that young man.”
Rosa looked back in disbelief. “No actually I didn't. I gave that young man
clear boundries that can not be crossed. He needs someone to take charge of his
life.” she replied softly.
With a snort of disgust Severus stood and started pacing, as he tried to find
some why to make her see the error she made when it came to young Tio and
flying. “How many times have you put me on full Medical Rest?” he finally
asked.
“To often to count.” Was her immediate reply.
“Then why did you still allow me to brew my potions?”
Her brows wrinkled in confusion as she tried to figure out where Severus was
leading with his questions, but still she answered. “Brewing allowed your magic
to recover faster. It allowed you to focus on only what you wanted to focus on.
After spending the day in your lab you always came back recharged, and ready to
take on the world once more.”
Severus nodded after she answered, he knew exactly what brewing did for him, no
matter what the situation. Now to get his true point across. “Before the first
task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I watched that young man like a hawk. He was
a sickly green color and nothing anyone said to him helped. He was that way
right up until he summoned his broom and mounted it. After he took the wound
from the dragon he was against, Madam Pomfrey made the comment that she
couldn't believe how much he healed before she had a chance to get to him, and
no one could give her a reason why.” His voice remained soft through out his
explanation, willing Rosa to understand what he was trying to say. When her
look remained confused he almost gave into his frustrations, and instead took a
deep breath. “Rosa, don't you see? Flying to Harry is the same thing as brewing
is to me. It's the only real time he can let everything go. When Umbridge took
away his broom this past year, something died inside of him. Even I noticed it.
Taking away his chance to fly was probably the cruelest thing you could have
done to him.”
Rosa took in this new information and then paled drastically. “What have I
done?” She whispered into an empty room
~~hp~~
Tony followed Tio from the room angry at the so called adults. From what he
could see, that short flight that Tio had taken earlier meant the world to him,
and from his reaction to being grounded from flying, he deduced that Tio's love
for the air meant more then Rosa would ever know. Reaching what he presumed to
be Tio's room he knocked and tried to open the door, only to find it locked.
“Tio? Please Tio let me in?” he called softly. His answer came when the wards
around the door adjusted themselves slightly and he 'felt' as they locked and
silenced the room he was trying to reach, just as Cal arrived.
“How is he?” Cal asked.
“Not good. The wards around his room just readjusted themselves to lock and
silence his room. We're not going to get into him anytime soon.” Tony sighed.
Nodded his head in understanding. “Can you conjure me up a chair? I'll remain
here and monitor his mood, until he decides to come out.”
“And until then what am I going to do?”
“Track done the others and start thinking of ways to give him some of the
things he missed growing up.” Cal answered immediatly. “I'm sure the lot of you
can think of something to keep him occupied until Rosa takes him off of MR.”
Tony stood silently for a moment, already considering a few ideas. “Can you
tell me how bad you think in may have been for him?” he asked softly.
Cal sighed, “you know I can't.”
“But...”
“But Yeo and Mikal will probably relate to him best.” Cal admitted.
~~hp~~
Tony smiled sadly as he watched group of five people who sat in one of the many
clearings on the Estate. Even though he could hear them joking around, none of
them really put any effort into it. They all had similiar backgrounds, some
more so then others, and they had all survived with help from those who lived
here, and in turn helped others to survive as well.
Many individuals had come and gone over the years, and once healed as much as
possible here, 99% of them had been relocated to different places that had been
deemed safe for their continued healing. These five, had stayed, and had no
intentions of leaving anytime soon.
The only girl of the group was Sofia, but she never let that stop her from
putting the rest of them in their place. She had been fighting for her survival
in the streets of London, when Severus had found her five years ago, at the
tender age of 11, snatching her from the arms of two men, who had caught her
stealing in order to pay for the drugs her mother already had her addicted to.
The dirty street urchin that had arrived then was nothing like the girl she was
now. Standing at 5' 5”, with her long strawberry blond hair pulled back in an
ever present french braid that reached her waist, she had turned into a
talented artist. Many of her water colors adorned the walls of the Manor, and
she had recieved commisions from some of the wealther families in the area as
well. The money she made was donated to programs to help the homeless. She
never forgot her past and could be found talking at different schools during
the year, in the hopes of saving another child from what she had lived through.
Tony was pulled back to watching the five by Dez tripping over a log, and his
shoulder length hair becoming tangled in the twigs littering the ground,
sending the other four laughing. Of them all, 17 year old Dez was the only one
who had not been abused in one way or another. He had been born in the Manor,
shortly after his mother had arrived by herself, bleeding heavly after being
attacked by her boyfriend. To bad she had left him an orphan days later by
committing sucide. Tony sighed again, he himself had only been 2 at the time,
so both boys grew up together, driving everyone on the Estate batty with their
pranks. A small snort of laughter escaped him as he remebered Dez's 17th
birthday, extremely glad that his uncle had not been around to be the victim of
one of the many pranks at that party, and looking forward to what ever Dez had
planned for his own 19th birthday at the end of August.
Another burst of laughter, and Tony watched as Mikal chased Yeo around the
clearing. Those two had become friends fast, and had relied on each other for
the healing and comfort that they needed. It didn't matter that Yeo was of
Asian decent and a muggle or that Mikal was a wizard and as white as they came.
Mikal with his sand colored shaggy hair, stood 2 inches taller, but Yeo more
then made up for it with his purple and blue spiked hair. Both prefered to were
clothing that showed off their lean muscles, and in return most people
respected the fact that in a fight these two would come out on top. Those who
didn't, learned the hard way that when you messed with one of them, then you
messed with them both. A shudder went through Tony's body as he remembered
Cal's words about these two relating to Tio more then anyone else. He could
still clearly remember when they had both been brought home by Cal, broken,
bleeding, and rejected by their families. They arrived within days of each
other, and really had not parted in the past four years. Now with both of them
18, Tony highly doubted they would ever be able to seperate from each other.
The one Tony worried about the most at the moment was the last of this group.
21 year old Stephen had come to the Estate 7 years ago, when he lost control of
his magic. Unfortunately his loss of control had unleashed not only regular
magic, but also a very rare elemental fire magic, causing the destruction of
the school he had been attending at that time. The catalyst for his lost
control had come in the form of the merciless taunting of his school mates,
enraged further when he caught his then girlfriend cheating on him with two
different guys. He had walked in on her being double teamed, and loving every
minute of it. Now he needed the absulute control that only Severus had been
able to teach him, but in a situation like this, he needed to be watched
constantly so that his soft spoken exterior didn't turn into a raging inferno.
Shaking himself from the past, Tony approached the group, causing all to fall
silent. Meeting Stephen's eyes he smiled slightly, knowing his next words would
calm everyone down. “The good news is that he's staying.”
They all sighed in relief, the tension immediatly leaving the group. Only Sofia
seemed to realize that there was more. “And the bad news Tony?”
Sighing again, Tony shook his head. “Tio locked himself in his room after Rosa
informed him he's not allowed to fly until she clears it.”
There was a few seconds of silence before the meadow erupted in sound once
again.
“What?!”
“She can't do that!”
“But..”
“ENOUGH!” Tony bellowed, “There's more.” was said in the silence. “She's given
him his restrictions. No magic, no home work, nothing that can cause a drain on
his magic. I'm sure that if she could have gotten it away from him, she would
have confiscated his wand.”
After a few minutes Yeo spoke up, “he's totally defenseless without the use of
his magic, isn't he?”
“Unfortunatly yes. I'm going to assume he picked up a few things over the
years, but...”
The others nodded in understanding. No matter what he had picked up over the
years, there was still a very large gap in Tio's education.
“So what are you going to do about it?” A silky voice asked from behind.
***** Five *****
Disclaimer....This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is
being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Thank you for patience…Just to answer one major question I had asked of
me…No I’m not abandoning any of my stories….And I am trying to update each
story in order….
Thank you once again to Periculum…Not sure what I would do without your help….
Enjoy.
 
Translations: All translations courtesy of The Grey Company.
Hisie – Mist (Elvish)
 
Chapter Five
Tio wasn’t sure how long he lay curled up on his bed, allowing his tears to
flow. His earlier anger had only lasted long enough to get him out of that room
and into his own. The words ‘no flying’ running through his mind in an endless
circle, with the words Umbridge had said in his Head’s office last year. ‘No
flying…Banned from Quidditch…No flying…Banned from Quidditch.’ It was having
something land on his back followed by needle like claws kneading his flesh
that finally pulled him out of danger of sinking too far into these dark
thoughts.
Twisting around, his hand connected with soft fur. Grabbing whatever creature
had landed on him, Tio managed to pull the small silver and black cat to nestle
under his chin. “Wherever did you come from?” he whispered, and receiving only
a purr in response, he allowed the sound to soothe both mind and soul as he
drifted into sleep.
~tink~
The soft sound barely made its way into his conscious mind.
~tink~
Grumbling, he pulled the pillow over his head.
~tink~
{…grrr…grumble…grrr…snarl...}
~tink~
The repetitive sound, soft as it was, quickly became annoying, forcing Tio to
wake up completely and search out the sound.
~tink~
Focusing in on where the sound came from, Tio made his way to the window,
opening it slowly. Stepping back when a dark form entered his view, Tio had his
wand up with the business end pressed firmly under the chin of whoever it was
that just entered his room.
“I told you Mik, didn’t I? You can’t just go into someone’s room uninvited, and
expect a warm welcome.” Yeo laughed, as he entered the room behind his best
friend.
“True, but I didn’t expect him to be that fast with his wand,” Mikal groaned,
keeping one eye on Tio, even as he tried to glare at Yeo.
Tio slowly lowered his wand, once he realized who had just invaded his room.
“What are you doing here, and why did you use the window?” he asked softly.
“Well Little Bit, when Tony said you locked him and Cal out, we decided that we
would give you until lunch to come out on your own, and then we would come and
get you,” Mikal stated.
“And since knocking on your door is not possible, we had to find an alternative
method of entry. These Wizards keep forgetting that doing things Muggle is just
different, not wrong.” Yeo added.
“You do realize that you just insulted two wizards in the immediate vicinity?”
Mikal asked Yeo.
“Yes, but you seem to have forgotten that Tio here was raised in the Muggle
world,” Yeo replied with a smug smile.
“Um…Still here,” Tio had to interrupt, almost feeling that he was dealing with
the Weasley Twins. “And why couldn’t you knock?”
“Being Muggle and all, I cannot even pretend to know how this shit works,” Yeo
drawled, clearly ignoring the snort of disbelief from Mikal, “but I’m gonna
assume that you heard someone following behind you and calling out for you, and
you basically wished that they would shut up and leave you alone.” With a quick
grin at Tio, Yeo staged whispered, “The wards around your room heard your wish
and made it happen.”
“What?!”
Mikal had to laugh at Tio’s confused look. “Yeo knows about as much as I do
about magic, he’s constantly reading everything he can find,” he explained.
“Ravenclaw,” Tio muttered under his breath. “Alright, I can understand that.
But would one of you please explain how I managed to lock and silence the door
with wards I know I didn’t cast, and without a wand?”
Mikal smiled softly, despite the frustration and slight bit of anger he could
see in Tio’s eyes. “Stephen could explain it much better if you wanted a long
drawn-out explanation, but the bare facts of the matter are actually fairly
simple. Not only is the Manor warded, but each individual room as well. These
wards are still subject to the Boss Man, but only in an extreme emergency,
otherwise they only answer to one person; the master of that room. You wanted
to be left alone and the Wards, which are now keyed permanently to you, made it
happen.”
Tio sat down on the bed, automatically petting the soft fur that somehow
materialized under his hand. ‘I have my own room! Permanently!’ he thought, the
idea repeating over and over in his mind.
Mikal and Yeo shared a sad look, both knowing why Tio sat there with a stunned
look on his face. A place of his own, that would always be there, was even to
the two of them a miracle, and they knew that this was only the first step in a
long road of healing. Knowing that he needed to distract Tio, Mikal laughed
softly, satisfied with himself when green eyes came up to met his own. “It
looks like Hisie has already claimed you” he stated softly, nodding at the cat
demanding Tio’s attention. “She only tolerates us mere mortals, but it looks
like you now belong to her.”
“Hisie?” Tio questioned.
“It’s Elven for Mist.” Yeo supplied.
“She’s beautiful,” Harry replied, scratching behind silver ears lined in black.
“What kind is she?”
“We believe that she is the Magical variety of Bengal Cat. She looks just like
a kitten, Uncle Sev says she been here since his mother was a child. Rumor has
it that she’s been here much longer than that.”
Tio whistled softly under his breath, moving his fingers under Hisie’s chin,
causing her to close her eyes in delight, only to open slightly seconds later
and look with his own. Tio watched in fascination as her eyes, previously blue,
turned to a green that matched his own. “Oh wow. Her eyes changed color.”
Yeo and Mikal leaned forward to take a look before grinning at each other.
“Should we tell Uncle Sev, or do we wait for him to figure it out?” Mikal
asked.
“Oh most definitely wait until he figures it out!” Yeo answered
“Alright, can the two of you please explain ‘Boss Man’ and ‘Uncle Sev’ to me?”
Scratching his own head he continued. “And what exactly do you want to tell
him?”
“Better yet, we’ll all explain it over lunch. Come on, time to go.”
~~hp~~
Yeo, Mikal and Tio kept laughing every time they looked over at Cal. When they
had first exited the room, the look on Cal’s face at seeing three people leave
when only one person was suppose to be in there was priceless. Tio had looked
the older wizard over, then glanced over Yeo and Mikal, muttering over how
blind some wizards could be when it came to Muggle methods. That had started
the laughing, and now Tio just couldn’t stop.
Upon entering the clearing however, and seeing Snape, Rosa and Tony talking to
each other quietly, the laughter stopped abruptly. Seeing Tony and Snape
standing close together, both with a single eyebrow raised, made Tio take a
double take, and he started searching for other physical characteristics that
were similar. Shaking his head, he looked at Mikal the question he really
wanted answered in his eyes.
“I told you, Little Bit, that we would answer your questions after we eat,.” he
stated calmly.
“Mikal, please,” Tio whispered, desperation coloring his voice.
Sighing softly, Mikal slowly placed an arm around Tio’s shoulders. “Yes. Second
cousins or something like that, though Tony calls him Uncle. It’s actually the
reason we all call him Uncle.”
“I see.”
“No, not really. At the moment, you are seeing in black and white. Let’s eat,
and then we’ll see about convincing you to see in shades of grey,” Yeo
commented.
“Ya, that would be a good idea, considering that Stephen looks about ready to
explode, and that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Mikal added
“Oh?” Tio questioned.
“Later.” Yeo placed an arm around Tio from the other side, the two of them
steering the young man away from the adults, and over to where the rest of
their group of friends sat eating in the shade.
“Boys?” Rosa called, walking up from behind, and trying to place a hand on
Tio’s arm.
“Don’t touch me!” Tio hissed, his eyes narrowing in anger.
“Tio, you must understand, this is for the…”
“Greater Good,” Tio finished, shaking off the restraining hands. “Now where
have I heard that one before?” he added, tapping a finger to his chin in
thought. “Oh wait, by every adult who figured they could control my life. Well
guess what, it’s not going to happen this time. The only reason I’m listening
to you on this matter is because you are a Healer, but let me assure you Madam,
that if I had my way, I would be asking for a second opinion.” Taking a step
away from Rosa, Tio closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. “Do not try
to say what I can and cannot do. You are not my mother, nor are you my
guardian. Please keep your recommendations on a medical basis, and pass them on
through the proper channels. Thank you.”
***** Six *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
Thank you once again to Periculum…I’m really really not sure what I would do
without you!
Chapter Six
Tio allowed whoever was tugging on his arm to pull him over to the rest of the
teens, his palms sweating and shaking in reaction. He kept expecting to be
called on his rudeness, and knew that it would be well deserved. So far Rosa
had been nothing but polite to him, he could even admit that she had been
kinder then most people had ever treated him, but he had thrown it all back in
her face. He knew that she didn’t deserve that, but the word combination
between what she said and Umbitch still rang in his head. He didn’t really
react when he was convinced to sit, and didn’t notice that everyone in the
clearing was watching him in concern.
Rosa stared after the boy with hurt in her eyes, knowing that it was her fault
that he felt the way that he did. She could see for herself now exactly what
Severus had explained to her in the study earlier; she even knew what she
needed to do to fix the problem, but in her heart she also knew that she had
done the right thing. It seemed that all she could do was wait and see if her
decision not to allow Tio to fly was for the best. She would know within a few
days if his magic, like the young man’s body, would recover faster than she
expected. For now she would allow her decision to stand, at least until she did
a scan on Tio’s magic. Maybe if she provided him the information needed on
exactly how much magic it took to fly and direct a broom the way he did, he
would understand why she had made that decision. “I understand what you were
saying, Severus, about flying being to him what potions are to you. But you and
everyone else need to understand that to fly the way he does, he needs ten
times the amount of magical energy that you need to brew even the most
complicated of your potions,” she murmured. “There is a book in the library
that explains exactly that. I’ll be in my office if you need me, please remind
Tio that I expect him there after the evening meal,” she added before walking
away, knowing that one of the house elves would deliver a meal to her there.
Severus watched Tio walk away from them, his eyes narrowed in concern when he
saw the boy start shaking. He had a pretty good guess as to why Tio was
shaking; more than likely it was an inbred reaction for any kind of ‘attitude’
he would have shown in the ‘tender ‘care of his relatives. He knew growing up
with ‘Petunia the Pill’ would not have been pleasant, but he never expected the
girl he knew back in his own youth to turn into the kind of bitter person that
could have treated her own flesh and blood in that manner. He had been given a
report on what exactly Cal had found when he went to rescue Harry from that
house, and he had become even more enraged. It was a sure thing that he would
have to go to the next Order meeting and vent there, because doing so anywhere
near the child would do more harm than good.
His thoughts on exactly what he planned to say when he next saw his fellow
instructors were derailed when Rosa made her statement. Following her with his
eyes as she walked away, he nodded slightly to himself. She had a point, the
way Har…no Tio… the way Tio flew on a broom bordered on reckless on the best of
days, and despite the calm authority he used while directing it, if he was not
recovered sufficiently, he would make a judgment in error and come away with a
whole new set of serious injuries. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tony nod
in understanding as well.
“I think my being here may well be more of a distraction for him than
anything,” Severus said softly. When he had Tony’s full attention, he
continued. “Would you please be kind enough to inform Tio of his appointment
with Rosa, and ask him to bring me up a copy of the report in my office when he
is done?” When Tony nodded once in compliance he added, his voice just above a
whisper. “Let him know that he’s not in trouble with me, though I doubt he will
believe you at this moment. Get him to relax before he goes to see Rosa, and
stay with him if he would like. I would like a chance to explain things to him
from Rosa’s point of view, and perhaps give him the book she mentioned.”
Tony nodded once again. “No promises, Uncle, but I’ll do what I can.”
“That’s all I can ask at this stage: that you do what you can.”
Tony joined the other teens around Tio, and simply directed the meal, which had
shimmered into place earlier, over to where they were all sitting. Noting that
Tio’s shaking had not dissipated any, he carefully pulled the younger teen into
his arms and tried to settle him once again. Honestly, breaking down like this
again today would not do Tio any good at all. “Come on, Little One, no one here
blames you for trying to take back control,” he whispered in Tio’s ear. It took
a number of minutes, but finally the shaking started to ease up, and bright
green eyes looked up at Tony once again in confusion. Tony chuckled slightly
when the confusion turned to horror at what exactly he had said and done,
followed by embarrassment complete with that blush that Tony was quickly
becoming addicted to.
“How much trouble am I in?” Tio finally asked, conquering his blush.
Stephen answered for Tony. “That depends on what you mean by trouble. If you
wanna know about the trouble you’re in from Uncle Sev and Rosa for speaking
your mind, I would say none. If you wanna know about the trouble you’re going
to get into from the rest us, if you don’t unwrap yourself from around Tony and
actually eat, I would say a whole lot.”
Tio managed to beat the blush into submission before it managed to show itself,
and slid out of Tony’s embrace. Looking at the wealth of food spread out in the
middle of the rough circle that group had made, Tio knew that he needed to
stick with lighter foods as his stomach would not handle the heavier foods
available, and started placing fresh fruits, cheese, and some sausage on his
plate along with a bread stick. Getting a look of disbelief from Stephen, he
quickly added salad to his plate as well.
Conversation was light as everyone concentrated on eating first and talking
later, and due to the fact that they were once again eating in the glade where
tranquility reigned supreme, Tio found that he had more of an appetite than he
first suspected. Much to the relief and pleasure of everyone else, he managed
to eat a second helping of most of the food available.
It wasn’t until the remaining food vanished and a dessert tray took its place
that Tio started looking for answers, and looked to Tony for the first one.
“You and Professor Snape are related?”
Popping a chocolate in his mouth, Tony nodded his head. “Distantly. We’re third
or fourth cousins, though I never cared enough to actually figure out how we
were related. The only thing that I did care about was that when my mother died
he was the only one left who was able to care for me. I’ve called him Uncle my
whole life.”
Tio let this sink in for a few minutes, before looking around the circle. “What
is this place? Why are you all here? How did you all get here? Why do you call
Professor Snape ’Uncle’? Boss Man? What do you do here? What about the Statue
of Secrecy?”
Pulling in a deep breath to continue, he found a hand across his mouth and
heard Stephen chuckle. “Easy there, Little Bit, give us a chance to answer
before you ask any more. We understand why you need to know this information,
but you need to slow down.”
Tio gave him a sheepish smile and ducked his head. “I’m sorry, but…”
“But today you figured out that you have a place here among us, and you’re
desperate for the answers that have been circling in your mind for the past
week. Like Stephen said, we do understand,” Mikal continued for him.
Nodding his agreement to what the others were trying to tell him, Tio continued
to keep his head down, knowing that they would answer his questions in due
time. Looking up in surprise when a soft finger touched his cheek, Tio found
Sofia kneeling in front of him with a glazed look in her usually bright blue
eyes. “Secrets upon secrets lined up with even more secrets, held over with the
light of truth. You will find your happiness here, Harry Potter, make no
mistake,” she whispered before her eyes came into focus once more, and she
continued speaking as though nothing had happened. “Uncle Sev made this place
into a retreat for those who needed help, and named it Sanctuary. Of course the
official name is still Prince Manor, but we all tend to forget that little
tidbit of information,” she said with a grin. “As for how we came here, well
Uncle Sev found Yeo and I, Dez was born here, Stephen was brought in by Rosa,
and the rest of us by Cal.”
Mikal, Stephen and Tony shared a look at the whispered sentence, and knew that
something important had happened. For his part, Tio had to suppress a shudder
of fear, and quickly stopped the look of shock from showing in his eyes. It
wouldn’t be the first time that he had heard a prophecy, and knew that she
would not remember a thing. Hopefully the others, if they had heard, would keep
it between them, or write it off as reassurance or as nothing cryptic at all.
“I think I like the name Sanctuary better than Prince Manor,” he said, hoping
his voice wouldn’t tremble as he spoke.
Dez, seeing the distress Tio was in, decided to help him out. He had also heard
what Sofia had said, but decided it would be better to figure it out at another
time. “Everyone but Tony and I were brought in for the same reason - and yes,
Tio that includes you. In time, I’m sure you will get enough of the details to
figure out everything, but that time is not now. However we can make the
attempt to answer everything else.”
“We’ll start with the easy stuff,” Stephen added. “We call Severus ‘Uncle’,
because it was with his help that we turned out as we did. Each of us healthy,
happy, and in his words ‘not absolute dunderheads’.” He laughed.
“That and he forbade us to call him father, pops, dad, or any of the other
euphemisms for a father figure,” Tony laughed. “He complained that he was too
damn young to have such old children.”
“We also work for him, in between going to school and all. We go through and
remove any of the dead fall in the forested areas that need it. Repair damage
due to storms, take care of the animals, plant and harvest the fields, fish,
and just make a general nuisance of ourselves,” Sofy added with a giggle.
“As for the statute of secrecy, no worries there, what they don’t know, they
can’t do anything about. Besides, we all signed a contract to keep the
knowledge of magic to ourselves, so it doesn’t really matter one way or
another,” Yeo added.
Knowing that they had given the teen enough to think on tonight, Stephen
figured it wise to redirect everyone’s attention. “You know, it’s such a
beautiful evening, why don’t we all head down to the pond for a few hours?”
Tony, seeing the distraction for what it was, agreed immediately. “Great idea,”
he said with a grin, throwing Stephen a grateful look. “We’ll go swim for an
hour or so, and then perhaps a bonfire when it’s fully dark?”
Noises of general agreement were heard all the way around, and the wizards
among them quickly transfigured the clothing to what was needed. Tony figured
this was perhaps the best way to keep Tio’s nerves from acting up at the
moment. Something active, his appointment with Rosa, followed by his meeting
with Severus, and then a relaxing bonfire. All he knew was that he wasn’t going
to jinx it by asking what else could go wrong at this time.
***** Seven *****
A/N I have had this chapter back from my beta for awhile now, but ran into
computer problems so I couldn't post it....my apologies to everyone...
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
 
Chapter 7
Tio sat fiddling with the cup of tea he had been handed by Snape moments after
he had knocked on the study door. His thoughts still sat on the meeting he had
had with Rosa not even a half hour before. Harry did understand what Rosa had
been trying to say about how much magic it took for him to fly, he even
understood why allowing his magic to recover before he used it again was a good
idea, but the thought of no flying at all almost made him sick to the stomach.
He had explained this reaction to the Healer and Rosa did say that she
understood what exactly flying meant to him, but she was holding firm to her
decision not to allow him to fly for at least a week, maybe more, which led Tio
to believe that she didn't really understand after all.
“Drinking the tea while it hot is usually the way to go, Tio,” a soft voice
said.
Startled, Tio looked up into the dark eyes of his professor, and barely managed
to hold back a flinch. “Yes Sir, sorry Sir,” he mumbled before taking a small
sip.
“What did Rosa have to say?”
Tio glanced up through his bangs trying to figure out what exactly the man
wanted to hear. “She said that I was overall healthy, but my magic still was
pretty low, though it seems to be recovering faster than she expected but not
fast enough for me to fly anytime in the next week or two,” he replied, keeping
it simple.
“You do understand why she said that, correct? Even you have to admit that at
times you go from simply death defying acts to completely suicidal while you
are on a broom.”
“Of course I understand what she was saying, I'm not an idiot!” Tio exclaimed,
jumping to his feet and starting to pace, letting his frustration out. “What I
want to know, is why we couldn't compromise. No flying above a certain height,
or past a certain speed. Hell, I would even be willing to fly with a buddy, but
when I mentioned it, she got this look in her eye that reminded me entirely too
much of Mrs. Weasley about to give the twins hell,” Tio finished, breathing
hard, not noticing the moisture in his eyes. “I know it's dangerous, but surely
something could be done to make it safer,” he pleaded.
Severus suppressed a grimace at the look the teen threw his way and forced
himself not to move from his chair to wipe the tears from those pleading eyes.
“I'm sorry, Tio, but Rosa's word is law when something like this happens. I'm
sure she's going to insist on seeing you every day, so she'll be able to give
you a better idea on when exactly you can be up in the air again.”
Tio nodded his head in defeated understanding, slightly embarrassed to have
broken down in front of the man like this over such a stupid thing as flying.
Curling back up in the chair he had been sitting in earlier, he reached for his
cup of tea, and took another sip, grimacing slightly when he found it cold, and
placing it back on the table. “What do I call you?” he mumbled after a few
minutes of silence.
“Excuse me?” Severus asked, not understanding what the teen was asking.
“I mean I can't keep calling you Professor or my whole identity of being
Horatio Black will be called into question, and calling you Snape is
disrespectful. So what do I call you?”
“You don't seem to have a problem with being disrespectful and calling me Snape
while in school,” Severus couldn't help but point out.
“You're also not the nicest person going while there either,” Tio retorted back
softly. “And it would look odd if I didn't call you that in front of the
others. At least I refrain from calling you any of the other names the students
come up with.”
“Indeed Mr. Pot...Black,” Severus corrected himself. Couldn't the brat have
picked something other than Black as a last name? “I have a feeling that
calling me by my other honorific would be a problem.” Seeing the confused look,
Severus smirked at the boy. “I am a Potions Master. It is my right to have
everyone use the title Master, when they don't use Professor.”
Tio stared at the man in horror, before shaking his head sharply. “There is no
way in hell I'll ever call someone Master!!” he stated with a shudder.
“For the same reason I don't want to be called it except under certain
circumstances within the Potions Guild.” Severus agreed. “You could call me
Severus or, if you don't have a problem with it, 'Uncle Sev' as the other brats
do,” he offered, watching as the teen paled slightly when he mentioned 'Uncle.'
“If that is too familiar you may call me Sir or Mr. Snape, as those both are
used by others that come to the estate as well. At this point, Tio, I'm not
going to push for anything other than what you are used to or are willing to
call me,” he informed the teen gently.
Tio nodded his head gratefully, and watched as his tea cup disappeared, before
a new one took its place. Taking a sip he sighed and let the silence stretch,
extremely glad that Sn...Severus (wasn't sure about that one!) was letting him
set the pace for this meeting for now. After a few minutes, he took a deep
breath and continued with what he needed to say. “I've already apologized to
Rosa for today, and I wanted to apologize to you as well. My words and actions
earlier were rude, disrespectful and undeserved,” Tio stated nervously.
Severus sat his own cup of tea on an end table and relaxed back into his chair,
hiding his surprise that the boy was starting the very conversation he had had
in mind when he called for this meeting. “Your reaction when you saw me this
morning was completely normal for your situation. You saw a threat to you new
found safety and tried to run in order to protect it. You magically pushed out
at a lesser 'threat' that was attempting to hold you down, although it wasn't
that strong of a push, before you went into full panic flight mode. What I
would like to know, Har...Horatio, is why you didn't lash out at me magically.
I'm very much aware that you could have stopped me and everyone else around you
long enough to get away. So why didn't you?” he asked, keeping his voice soft
so as not to put Tio on the defensive.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and mumbled something under
his breath, before saying a little louder, “I wasn't exactly thinking clearly
at the time, Sir.”
“And you are now?”
“Yes, Sir, or at least clearer than before.”
“How do you know that you weren't thinking clearly before?”
Harry looked down briefly before meeting those dark eyes once again. “I would
never have left my Aunt and Uncle's house with a complete stranger via Portkey
if I had been thinking straight.”
“Cal could have convinced you to leave with him. He has a talent for doing
that.”
“Yes, Sir, he told me, and really it wouldn't have taken much to convince me,
considering how badly I wanted to leave. The sticking point would have been the
Portkey. I'm actually surprised that he got near me with one at all.”
Leaning forward and lacing his fingers together under his chin, Severus was the
picture of sharp intelligence. “Explain!”
Swallowing heavily, Harry leaned away from his professor slightly. “The
headmaster gave Remus a Portkey to take me to Surrey from the hospital wing,
but my magic destroyed it as well as the two after it that Professor Dumbledore
attempted to make. Madam Pomfrey had to give me a calming draught before they
could even get near me with one, let alone get me to take it.”
“Why don't you like Portkeys, Tio?”
Shuddering slightly, he tried to explain. “My first experience with one was
fine, but everything else after that...” Closing his eyes, Harry tried to calm
himself. "Portkeying away from the attack at the Quidditch world cup, being
taken to Riddle for his rebirth, bringing Cedric back afterwards, Nagini's
attack on Mr. Weasley, being Portkeyed back to Hogwarts after Sirius was killed
and...” Here he managed to cut himself off.
“And what, Harry?” Seeing the teen startle from the use of his true name, even
as he shook his head in the negative, Severus knew he had made the right choice
in using it this once. “I cannot help you if you don't tell me what it is you
need help from.”
“You'll have to ask the Headmaster,” Harry stated, his whole body shrinking
into itself in an attempt to protect whatever secret it now held.
Knowing he wouldn't get anymore information from Tio on this subject, Severus
changed it to something else, hoping to get back to the the reason behind
asking Tio to come talk to him once more. “You started to say something else
earlier, instead of the fact that you weren't thinking straight. What was it?”
Tio blinked in confusion for a second before blushing and looked away. “I knew
you wouldn't hurt me, Sir. Yell and try and force me to leave, yes, but you
wouldn't physically hurt me.”
Looking at the young man in stunned disbelief, Severus tried to wrap his mind
around that little nugget of information. “You would have been perfectly within
your rights to lash out at me, as a direct threat to your physical, mental and
emotional well being, but you didn't because you knew I wouldn't hurt you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Stunned disbelief turned calculating as Severus hoped to at least confirm
verbally by Harry the abuse he suffered. “What about your aunt and uncle? Did
you lash out at them magically?”
The colour drained from Tio's face, leaving his a pasty green, and he swallowed
heavily a few times with the hope of keeping his stomach firmly in place. He
could only shake his head in response.
Hoping that he wasn't pushing the issue too hard, Severus pointed out the flaw
in the teen's logic. “Why not? By your own reasoning, if you knew I was going
to 'hurt' you, you would have used magic against me, why wouldn't that hold
true for your aunt and uncle as well?”
Tio stood and moved jerkily around the room for a few moments before heading
towards the door. Looking over his shoulder just enough to see the man still
sitting in his chair, with a look of concern in his eyes, Tio whispered, barely
loud enough for Severus to hear, “Lashing out physically was bad enough when
they caught me again, I would have never survived if I had used magic,” and
slipped out the door.
“Well, damn,” Severus sighed softly, summoning the bottle of brandy and a
glass.
~~oOo~~
Watching from the shadows as Tio paced up and down the balcony outside his
room, Hissie perched on his shoulder, Tony couldn't help but notice by the way
the younger teen moved, that there was a whole lot of pain and anger wrapped in
that little package, and if he wasn't mistaken it was close to blowing. Making
a mental note to have Stephen talk to Tio later, he allowed his magic to reach
out to Tio and wrap around him in a warm hug, slowly, so as not to startle the
younger teen too much. “Tio?” he questioned softly.
Tio stiffened slightly when he felt magic not his own wrap around him, and
relaxed again when he 'tasted' it to be friendly. He started to turn towards
the source even before he heard his name being called, while scrubbing the
beginnings of tears out of his eyes. “Hey, Tony,” he whispered.
“Are you alright, Little One?”
“Yeah.”
“If you're sure?” Seeing Tio nod his head, Tony dropped the subject for the
moment. “Stephen is starting the bonfire if you want to join us. Be warned
though, if you decide not to join in, Yeo and Mikal are probably going to come
and hunt you down, to drag you to the pit.
Tio laughed softly and allowed some of his earlier tension to drain out of his
body. It seemed that Yeo and Mikal had decided that he was their little
brother, and had taken it upon themselves to make sure that he didn't miss out
on anything. They rather reminded him of the Weasley twins, which if he thought
about it could be a scary but wonderful thing.
“Should I be worried?” Tony asked with a smirk.
Blinking in confusion, Tio finally looked up at Tony fully. “I'm sorry?”
“You had this wicked little smile on your face, I was just wondering if I
should be worried,” Tony explained.
“Maybe. You see, I was just wondering what would happen if I introduced Yeo and
Mikal to two of my best friends. You may have heard of them? Fred and George
Weasley?”
Groaning in dismay, Tony sank to his knees. “Please don't, I beg of you. Those
four together would cause the end of the world!” he pleaded, hands folded just
under his chin.
Tio laughed softly, before turning back to watch the sun set with a smirk on
his face. “I'll think about it.”
Getting to his feet, Tony heaved a sigh. “We are so doomed.” Wrapping his arms
around Tio from behind, he felt Tio stiffen. “I'm not going to let go so you
might as well relax and enjoy the sunset,” he whispered in Tio's ear.
“Why?” Tio whispered, honestly confused.
“Two reasons. If I'm correct and I know I am, you haven't been touched in
anything but anger really for most of your life. You need to learn that not
everyone will hurt you. This is one of the ways that we will all help you.
Expect it. Accept it. Enjoy it.”
Tio thought about that for a while, as he watched the sun paint the sky in a
brilliant array of colours. Ever so slowly, he allowed himself to relax and
enjoy the warmth of the other body. As the last of the colour became muted in
preparation to fade, he tilted his head back to look up at Tony. “You said
there were two reasons.”
“I did, didn't I?” Smiling, Tony glanced down to meet the green gaze being sent
his way. “The second reason is really, really simple.” Dropping his voice to
the soft silky tones that all the men in the Prince Family seemed to have, he
watched, waiting for the blush he knew was coming and that he would just be
able to see to appear. “Holding you like this, just feels right.”
He was right. Tio's blush outdid Nature's display a million times to one.
As the last light of the sunset faded from the sky, their gaze was caught by a
column of flame shooting up to light up the dark. “Come on, Little One, before
the others eat up all the s'mores on us,” he exclaimedwith a smile, already
walking the younger man towards the pit.
Stepping out of Tony's arms, Tio let a smirk cross his face. “Oh no, we can't
have that,” he cried in mock horror, “whatever shall we do? Oh I know! Invite
the twins over for payback!” he finished with a laugh, the look of horror on
Tony's face all he needed before he took off running.
Tony allowed Tio a few seconds head start before starting off after him. “Get
back here, you little horror!”
Tio's laughter was all the answer he really needed.
~~oOo~~
Cal watched as the two teens raced each other to the bonfire. Tio's bright
laughter held just a hint of wickedness that made him wonder just what it was
that he found to tease Tony over. Especially when you considered the gentle
teasing/flirting that Tony had been using on Tio all day. With a slight shrug,
he turned away from the window. The rest of the household would figure it out
sooner or later.
A shadow detaching itself from the gathering dark caught Cal's eye, and he
waited for Severus to draw up beside him. “How did your talk with him go?” he
asked softly.
“I found fewer answers than I wanted and a million more questions,” Severus
snorted in disgust. “Nothing is ever simple with that young man.”
“At least he's willing to talk to you,” Rosa pointed out as she joined them.
“He told me that you said his magic was returning faster than you expected,”
Severus directed to the Healer.
“Yes, but still not fast enough for Tio, I expect. He wants to fly now!” Rosa
said with a shake of her head.
Severus nodded his head, without mentioning the conversation he had had with
Tio on the subject. No need to break the young man's trust over such a minor
issue. “I have an Order meeting tonight, so you'll both have to watch over him.
You know how to summon me if you need my help,” he informed them both.
“Don't worry, Severus, I don't think they'll let anything happen to him
tonight. Especially with Hissie around,” Cal said softly. “And Severus, try not
to lose your temper to much with them tonight.”
“No promises, Cal, no promises at all.”
Cal and Rosa shared a look. It looked like it was going to be a really long
night for their Boss.
***** 8 *****
Hopes Refuge
Chapter Eight
 
Disclaimer - If wishes were horses, then beggers would ride....Or I least would
own Snape and Harry ~le sigh~ As always no money was made with the writing of
this story...
 
A/N Long time waiting, and no excuses, but here it is. Hopefully you all like
it. This is unbeta’d at the moment, and I am looking for another beta since I
haven’t heard from mine. If anyone is interested, please let me know. Thx.
 
Severus stormed into Grimmauld Place and cast a lethal glare at the portrait of
the screaming Lady Black potent enough to send her hiding behind her curtains
in order to get away from it, and nearly flew down the stairs to the kitchen,
where he could here Molly loudly proclaiming that the five youngest members in
the house needed to leave for the Order meeting, while they just as loudly
argued that they needed/wanted to know what was going on.
“Silence!” He hissed, for once not taking any pleasure in the instantaneous
quiet that enveloped the kitchen. “The five of you have information that I
need.” He started, only to be interrupted when Molly tried to deny this. Giving
her the same look that silenced the old biddy on the wall, he felt grim
satisfaction when it worked on her as well. Turning back to the teens, he
pointed at a set of chairs. “Sit, be silent, answer any question asked of you
fully, and don't say anything else without permission or you will be dealing
with me. Is that understood?” He was rewarded when all five children scrambled
for seats, without saying a word, and nodding frantically
The entire kitchen remained silent as Order members arrived and saw the glower
on the Potions Masters face, Tonks even managed to make it into the kitchen and
into a seat without stumbling, a feat which had never actually happened in any
ones memory before. No one wanted the spy’s attention to settle on them, as
they waited silently for what ever news he had brought them.
Dumbledore's arrival brought sighs of relief, until they realized that even he
had lost his usual twinkle. Molly not seeing this very rare sight turned on the
headmaster and demanded somewhat shrilly that he have the teens removed,
“they're just children, they have no say in an adults discussion.” She started,
only to be cut off.
“Those children have more experience with this war then you do.” Severus
started, “or have you failed to see and understand what exactly they have done
during their school careers so far? I have already stated that they all have
information that I need, and that everyone else needs to hear. They will be
staying.” He stated forcefully, glaring around the room, to see if anyone else
wanted to voice an opinion. Seeing the room settle down, to somewhat calmly
hear him out, he started one of the most important Order meetings of the war,
and to most peoples surprise it was with personally information.
“Many of you know that I have access to many of my own potions ingredients, and
many of them are rare and extremely expensive. I have heard many of you ask, at
what cost do I deliver these for the Order use. What only select people have
known is that many of them are grown on my Estate, in 'pockets' of their own
environments, managed by magic.
I employ many people, looking for a new start due to abusive relationships in
their past. My staff and myself do what we can to heal these individuals
physically and mentally the best we can, and then find a place where they can
continue to heal as well as to flourish and reach their full potential. One
wizard on my staff has a very rare and invaluable talent. He can sense the
abuse in children, and if it's severe enough in adults as well. Usually if
there was not immediate danger, he would do what he could to encourage the
victim to take the first step in leaving, but that is not always the case.”
Here Severus stopped for a few minutes, extremely uncomfortable with what he
was telling everyone on a personal level, but knowing that the information was
needed for people to understand what had happened. Taking a calming breath, he
continued.
“Earlier this summer, Cal had a extreme sense that something was desperately
wrong, and went to find the source. What he found, had him making immediate
plans to remove the child involved, despite knowing that it would cause a major
backlash in many ways. My medic has informed me, and Madam Pomfrey has backed
her up fully in this, that if the child had stayed where he was, he wouldn't
have lasted out the week.” Glancing around the room, he found shocked horror on
every adults face, even the ones that had been told earlier what had happened,
and started to mentally prepare himself to actually utter the words he knew
would bring most of them to their knees. Much to his surprise, he only found
looks of determination on the teens when he finally looked their way.
“He found Harry didn't he Professor?” Ron stated, not flinching when the Order
members loudly demanded that he take back that claim.
“How long have you known Mr. Weasley.” Severus stated, causing silence to fall
in the kitchen once more.
“Since his first year.” The twins answered, the other teens confirming this
with nods of agreement.
“AND YOU NEVER TOLD US” Molly screeched.
“WE DID!” The twins and Ron yelled back. “You just never listened to what we
had to say.” Ron continued, “after all we're just children, and have no
understanding of adult problems.” He added bitterly, mimicking his mother in
near perfect imitation of her earlier statement.
Before an argument could start, Hermione gave the Potions Master a sad look.
“What do you want to know Professor, we'll answer any question to the best of
our ability.”
This started a long session, where the adults in charge of looking after the
'children' realized exactly how badly they failed. Each new fact, shaming them
all even further.
....The cupboard under the stairs.
....Starvation
....Bars and looks on the windows and doors.
....The unexplained scars
....Poorly fitted clothes
Many more facts came to light that night, and Severus took it all in, his dark
eyes glittering with rage, as the rest of the adults hung their heads, and in
most cases let the tears run down their faces.
When the teens seemed to have finally talked themselves out, Severus bowed his
head in thanks, and dismissed them they could write and he would make sure that
Harry would get anything they wanted to send.
“Can we visit?” Hermione asked tentatively.
“Not at this time.” Severus replied, in what could only be said was a gentle
tone.
Nodding in understanding once again, the five of them left the room, none of
them stupid enough to argue their dismissal, clearly seeing the storm brewing
in their Professors very stance.
The last words they heard, before the silencing charms went up, had them all
snapping their heads back towards the door in surprise.
“What the fuck where you thinking old man!”
~~oOo~~
In the Black library, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins sat drained of energy
after being grilled about everything the knew about Harry's home life by the
Order, but most especially by Snape. Finally Ginny sighed, and voiced what they
where all thinking. “Finally someone decided to listen.”
“It's about time.” Ron murmured.
The twins nodded their heads in unison, “what do we do now.” George asked, for
once not using their twin speak.
“The same thing we've always done, let him know we're here for him, and
continue to act as a buffer between him and the other students.” Hermione said
softly. “We need to write him and let him know what just happened, because you
know he'll find out from somewhere, and it will hurt him even more if he
doesn't find out from us.
“He's not going...”
“....to like this.” the twins answered.
“He'll just have to deal with it won't he.” Ron told them sharply. “I wasn't
going to say no to Snape when he was in that kind of mood. We also need to tell
Neville, Seamus, and Dean that Harry's safe.”
“Luna as well.” Ginny added in.
Nodding their heads in agreement, the five of them got to work, informing
people who needed to know that Harry was in a safe place, and in the case of
Luna and Neville, exactly where he was and who he was staying with.
Hermione got the hard job. She had to write to her best friend.
And hope for the best.
~~oOo~
Severus barely lifted his head a cup of tea was placed in front of him. It had
taken a couple of hours, but he no longer deemed it worth his time to kill the
Dursleys. Torture maybe, but not kill. He also knew that going after those
pieces of scum, would hurt the teen in his care, more then anyone would like to
admit. Conditioning on both their part and the part of the Headmaster.
Glancing up into the eyes of Lupin, he had to suppress a shiver, when he saw
yellow glinting in the usually brown eyes, and did a mental calculation on how
close the full moon was and cringed slightly in his seat.
“Don't worry Severus. I took a double dose of extra strength calming potion
before coming to this meeting.” Remus told him with a sharper then normal
smile. “How is Harry doing?” he asked softly, once the spy had a chance to
relax slightly.
“Better then I expected Wolf, but he's more then likely hiding he's true
emotions. I think the others on the estate will get him to reveal them sooner
or later.” Thinking back on the laughter he heard just before leaving to come
to the meeting, Severus decided to throw the Wolf a bone. “He was laughing and
teasing my nephew when I left, racing him to where the others had started a
bonfire.”
“So he's happy?” Remus asked hopefully.
“Content, would most likely be closer to the truth. I don't think he actually
knows how to be happy, unless he's flying, and Rosa has banned him from doing
that until his magic levels are back to normal.”
“Either way, I'm happy to hear that.” Remus said with a smile. Pulling a letter
out of his pocket, Remus sat in on the table in front of the Potions Master.
“Could you please give that to him? I don't want him to start thinking I've
abandoned him.” Again, he added mentally, and could tell Severus had had the
same thought.
“I'll make sure he gets it in the morning.” Pausing slightly, Severus looked up
at the Wolf. “Have you seen his owl lately?”
“No I haven't, but if I know Hedwig, she'll turn up exactly when needed the
most.” Remus reassured him, with a gentle smile, before leaving Severus to his
thoughts.
'I sure hope so.' Severus thought to himself. 'I don't want to see what losing
her will do to Harry at the moment.'
~~oOo~~
 
Tio sat silently staring at the hypnotic effect off the dying bonfire, having
waved off the others half an hour earlier, and allowed the dying embers to lull
him into a calming daze. Even after being on the Estate for a just over a week,
he was still having troubles believing that he was never going back to the
Dursleys, and kept expecting to wake up from this dream.
Thinking back over the conversation with Snape earlier that day, and all of his
interactions with the man since coming here, he was couldn't believe the
changes from when they where at school. Considering it for a few minutes
longer, he figured he would just go with the flow, and think of 'Uncle Sev' and
'Professor Snape' as two different people. After all it made since in an odd
way that Snape would be different at home then he would be at school.
Getting up from his sprawled position against a cushioned log, he stopped for a
moment to consider the almost dead fire, before waving his hand slightly over
top of it and extinguished the last of the embers before heading off to bed,
figuring if no one saw him, no one would tell Rosa that he had used wandless
magic.
Feeling something rub up against his ankle, Tio scooped up Hissie and made his
way up to the house, pausing only a moment, to gaze at where he knew Tony
stayed, before catching himself, and slipping through the door of the Manor,
and on silent feet to his room. Once there he barely had enough time to change,
before Hissie purr did it's job, and eased him into a deep sleep.
 
~~oOo~~
 
Stephen from the shadowed porch of his villa kept watch over their newest
member, and had to stop himself from coming to his feet in surprise when he saw
the act of wandless magic. Seeing the light in the teens room flicker out, he
made his way to his own bed, and contemplated this little puzzle. It seemed
their was a whole lot to Harry Potter that no one actually knew, and if he was
correct, most never would.
Starting his meditation, Stephen made a mental note to teach Tio a few of the
basics, and allowed himself to drift of to sleep, part of his mind analyzing
the facts, the rest of his mind more then ready to shut down. With a final
sigh, he gave in to sleep. He had all the time in the world to figure this one
out.
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