Harry couldn’t believe how different Severus’ house was from what he was used to. Here the dishes washed themselves, the food was different, and the pictures on the wall moved and some even talked. It nearly scared the life out of Harry when a painting in the hallway yelled at him to tuck in his shirt.
Severus and Harry were sitting in the living room. Severus was working on an essay and Harry was flipping through one of Severus’ textbooks. He was amazed by the potions books; Severus had bought extra books on that subject, outside the required list for first-year, and he said Harry could borrow them. Just now, Harry was in the middle of a chapter about poison neutralising ingredients when the fireplace roared alive with a green flame. He let out a loud cry and quickly backed behind a nearby couch when a bearded figure emerged from the fireplace.
Up until then, Harry had never seen someone walk out of a fireplace, and once the initial fear wore off and logic settled in, he felt quite stupid for his initial reaction.
“You must be Harry Potter,” the bearded figure said, his eye twinkling with amusement as he watched Harry carefully analyse him to figure out whether or not he was friendly. “I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. I’m sure you’ll be excited to be joining us in a few days. Severus, my boy! How are you doing? Still studying up on potions; I see a bright future for you.”
Harry made his way back to the couch and placed a bookmark in the book he was reading because he had a feeling this conversation was going to take a while. Severus went upstairs to get his mum while Harry watched Dumbledore tuck his long white beard into his belt. Harry still couldn’t believe that a beard could be that long; it was all he could do to keep himself from gaping.
“How are you settling in, Mr Potter? I have spoken to the department of accidental magic, and they are in the process of enrolling you into Hogwarts. I just need to work out a few things with Mrs Snape when she joins us.”
“You won’t be waiting much longer; I’m here,” Severus’ mum said as she and her son came back into the room. She had four cups of tea on a tray, with a small plate of cookies.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you at home, but a matter like this must be tended to immediately. You said that, if necessary, you would take young Harry Potter into your care, and I just wanted to make sure that offer still stands. He will be needing a magical and full-time guardian, and considering that his parents are now too young to do it…”
“Of course the offer still stands. I would love to have Harry in my care; I will treat him like my very own son. Severus told me he has reason to believe that Harry’s been mistreated in his former home, and I’m inclined to agree with him, considering how thin and frail the child looks for eleven. I will have it no other way.” Mrs. Snape sounded quite confident in her decision.
Harry felt tears well in his eyes. This was the first time he ever heard someone say they wanted him. It took all of his effort not to grin like an idiot, but it was so nice to be wanted for once in his life and not feel like a burden.
“Well, now that that is sorted, I’ve come to hand-deliver Harry’s Hogwarts letter. The school will supply you with the funding to pick up his supplies. Harry, do you at least have your wand with you?” Dumbledore asked, glancing over at Harry who was sipping his tea.
“Yes, it’s in my pocket; Hagrid told me it should never leave my person,” Harry said, bringing his wand out of his jeans pocket for the older man to see.
Dumbledore nodded and smiled widely, his eyes twinkling in a way that made Harry wonder what the man was scheming.
“We’ll have to teach you how to store your wand safely; it could snap inside your pocket if you’re not careful,” Dumbledore told him. “You’ll come to Hogwarts on September first with Severus; I’ve already taken care of the paperwork. All you have to do is show up and learn.”
“Thank you, sir,” Harry said, smiling. “Are you sure there is truly no way back to my time?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t. Travel to the future was strictly outlawed. Any attempts now could be far too dangerous, I’m truly sorry. But, Mr Potter, you must learn that things happen for a reason and sometimes you need to let them play out to truly understand those reasons. Perhaps it is your destiny to be here,” Dumbledore said, standing up and patting Harry on the head.
He turned and looked at Severus’ mother. “I’ll have the funds for Harry’s supplies applied to your account.” When Mrs. Snape started to protest, Dumbledore simply raised his hand and shook his head. “That is everything. Now I need to go back to the school; the first day is coming up and I have a lot to do.”
Dumbledore went back to the fireplace, and Harry watched with wide eyes as the man walked into the flames. When he dropped a handful of powder into the blaze and shouted something, it turned green and seemed to swallow him whole. Harry stood up and made his way over to the fireplace, trying to figure out where Dumbledore had gone.
“That’s floo powder; we can travel from fireplace to fireplace using it. He’s fine, don’t worry. It’s the easiest method of transportation next to apparition and portkey,” Severus explained, only receiving a blank look from Harry who had no idea what ‘apparition’ or ‘portkey’ even meant.
“What did your relatives tell you about magic? It will help us figure out what you know and what you don’t know,” Severus’ mother asked kindly.
“They always said, ‘magic doesn’t exist; now don’t ask questions,'” Harry said with a frown. The fact that the word alone had made them so angry should have told Harry that something was off. They must have known all along that magic existed.
Severus shared a sad glance with his mother, and said, “I know his aunt. She’s a real piece of work, and that sounds like something that would come out of her mouth.”
Harry spent the next hour telling the Snapes about the past ten years with the Dursleys. He left out the stuff about the beatings and being forced to sleep in a cupboard. He simply told them the cruel words they said and some of the chores he’d been expected to do. But Harry could tell by the way Severus looked at him that he suspected there was more.
Severus watched Harry, wondering how bad the truth really was. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now and we will never call you a freak here.”
“I’m going to put an owl order in for nutrient potions for you. We’ll need to bring up your vitamin levels and your weight. You might have to keep taking them once you get to Hogwarts,” Mrs. Snape said, writing something down on a bit of parchment. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed? You can borrow some clothes from Severus until we get you some of your own.”