The One who Saved Harry

Chapter 4

Eleven-year-old Harry was bored. He had explored every inch of Hogwarts castle, sat in on every lesson, became family with every teacher except for Trelawany, who he had only seen twice, and even been grounded several times for being found by Hagrid wandering the Forbidden Forest.

Of course, he knew a simple explanation as to why he couldn't find anything to do.

There was nothing left in the castle to do. And that was a problem, because he was supposed to be getting his letter at dinner that night from Grandpa D, which meant he would spend the next seven years of his life, at least, in this castle. 

But maybe...

"Dad!" Harry shouted. 

"Yes Harry?" Severus asked. 

"Will you show me Spinner's End?"

"Why would you want to go there?" Severus inquired, brow furrowed.

"Because I want to see where you and Lily met and grew up." Harry explained. "And I'm ridiculously bored. Does anyone live in the house you grew up in?"

"No." Severus said. "It is technically still mine."

"Why don't we live there, then?" Harry asked. 

"It was a place of many terrible memories for me." Severus said. 

"Can we at least go inside?" Harry asked. 

"I haven't agreed to take you to Spinner's End yet." Severus pointed out.

"Please?" Harry begged. 

Severus sighed. "Fine. Bring a cloak, it will likely be cold." 

Harry grinned at him, then hurried down the hall to his room. The small model dragon, which Severus had returned to him on his eleventh birthday, stood up from it's small bed Harry had created on his nightstand.

"Dad?" Harry called. "Can we bring Hendrix?" 

"Do not let him escape." Severus warned. Harry put Hendrix in his cloak pocket, and hurried back into the kitchen. 

"I'm ready to go." Harry said. 

"Hold tight." Severus said, extending his arm.

Harry grabbed on, and felt Severus twist, before he found himself in terrible, uncomfortable, compressing darkness. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he couldn't do anything...

And then it was over, and he was standing in a dark street. The houses were all the same shade of boring, ugly gray. There were almost no plants, and everything was dirty.

"This is nice." Harry said in a flat voice.

"It was very much dark, bleak, and boring." Severus said. 

"Where did you meet Lily?" Harry asked. 

Severus began walking, and they came to a small playground in a much brighter, cleaner, and happier part of town. 

"She and Petunia were playing there," Severus pointed to the swings, "swinging, and I was over there," he pointed to a bush, "watching them. Lily jumped off the swings. She stayed in the air far too long, landed far too lightly, like a trapeze artist. The first display of accidental magic I saw. And then she picked one of those flowers up off the ground," he gestured to a bush covered in beautiful white flowers, "and made it's petals move. It scared Petunia, but also made her jealous. Then I came out and told her she was a witch. She thought I meant the Muggle kind of witch, evil, ugly, with the brooms and black cats. Then I called Petunia a Muggle, not in a very nice tone, I'm afraid, and she and Lily left." 

"But you became friends." Harry said. "She came to believe you about magic."

Severus walked into the woods, into a small area, with the ground clear but branches overhead, shielding them from the sky. 

"Lily and I spent a lot of time here," he said, "I told her all about magic. She asked about dementors, and thought that her accidental magic would get her sent to Azkaban. I told her all about Hogwarts, and magic. I told her it made no difference being Muggle-born, even though, sadly, it does. Petunia was spying on us from behind that tree," he pointed at the largest, "but slipped and revealed herself. She made fun of me, and I made a branch fall from the tree. It hit her on the shoulder, so she cried and ran away. Lily knew I did it, even though I told her I didn't, so she left again." 

"Where did she live?" Harry asked.

They walked a ways, almost twenty minutes, before they came to a cheerful, yellow little house. 

"She lived here." Severus said. "After her parents finally got to know me, and that I wasn't like my parents, I spent a lot of time here. We would play together, and talk. We found a letter from Hogwarts in Petunia's room. She'd written to Dumbledore and begged him to let her come to Hogwarts. He had to say no; Muggles can't enter Hogwarts. But he was very kind about it. When Petunia found out, that was when she started calling Lily a freak. She didn't speak to her again after that. It made Lily very sad."

"Can I see inside your house?" Harry asked.

"Must we?" Severus asked.

"Yes." Harry said.

Sighing, Severus led Harry back to Spinner's End and let them both back into the house.

"Where did you sleep?" Harry asked.

Severus led Harry up the stairs to a small bedroom. It was decorated with Slytherins colors and banners, with black walls, and a small bed. There was only one small window.

"It was not a happy childhood." Severus said, as Harry looked around. 

"With a little cleaning, and maybe enlarging the window, this would be a pretty nice room." Harry said. 

"Well, neither of those things happened often, if ever." Severus said. 

"Why don't you live here anymore?" Harry asked. "Why do you only live in Hogwarts?" 

"Because this place was not happy for me." Severus said. "I've never wanted to return to this source of unhappiness."

"We could make it a nice place," Harry said. "And spend some time here." 

"I would like that." Severus smiled slightly.

The pair spent the next two hours cleaning the house, enlarging windows, and making it a happier, brighter place to be in.

"This is much better." Harry said, looking around. 

"Yes, it is indeed." Severus said. "But now we must return to Hogwarts for dinner." 

"I get my letter tonight, correct?" Harry clarified. 

"Yes, you do." Severus said. 

"Do I have to call all you guys Professor, or Sir?" Harry asked.

"You certainly don't with me." Severus said. "Ask the others which they would prefer over dinner." 

"Okay." Harry said. 

"Hold on." Severus extended his arm again, and they were once more subjected to near-suffocation.

-------------------------

"Here's your letter, Harry." Dumbledore said, passing the letter down the table to him.

"So, I've been wondering," Harry said, "Do I have to call you guys "Professor" or "Sir" or "Ma'am" or whatever?" 

"That is up to you, Harry." Dumbledore said. "If any of the teachers wish you to call them Professor, then you must, but if they have no preference, then it is up to you." 

"Do any of you have a specific preference?" Harry asked, looking around at the teachers. 

"No." They all said in unison. 

"Then it will probably vary, depending on the present company." Harry said. 

Dumbledore chuckled lightly.