Heir to the House of Grindelwald

The sound of rain covered the noise of cars outside. His body was wrapped in the blanket he stole from the old woman next door. Seraphina was curling around his neck and chest, fast asleep. He was lucky it was summer otherwise he might have frozen to death like he almost did last winter.

He knew he needed to eat. The dizziness was starting to hit again. He was lucky his powers allowed him to sneak in and out of the local supermarket without being seen, it did cause the alarm on the detector to go off, but those were always dodgy.

The spinning in his head and the heavy summer rain made him sleepy, enough not to notice the door to the house was opening.

Severus was in a bad mood. Dumbledore assigned him to visit Harry Potter. Albus thought that his previous relationship with Petunia would make it less likely that she would have a fit. As if.

Number 4 Privet Drive was disgustingly normal apart from the numerous owls surrounding the house. The strange behaviour of the owls was easy to see. They were jittery and confused, letters still in their beaks.

Severus knew something was off. He could hear the yelling of Petunia’s husband from outside. The owls wouldn’t leave nor would they deliver the letters into the house. He pulled his wand out from his holster.

Homo Revelio

Three muggles inside, no Harry. Severus tried the spell again but still no luck. The magical signature in the house was weak, Harry hadn’t been here in a long time. He put his arm up and a brown owl perched on it. He stroked its head then took the letter from its mouth.

“He’s not here, little one, but I’ll find him. You can all go home now.” The owl took flight along with others and Snape apparated away.

Severus followed the letter that was floating in front of him, charmed to locate its desired recipient. It led him to Ireland, to the town he grew up in. The letter took him down a familiar street before stopping in front of a house. The paper suddenly serged and fell, dropping into his hand. It was Lily’s old house. The windows had been boarded up, the garden overgrown, and the roof had started caving in, but Severus could still recognise it.

One magical child inside.

Severus climbed the staircase, carefully to avoid the steps with missing boards and holes in. The only closed door was the one to Lily’s room. The stickers had mostly fallen off and the wood was splintered. The door still creaked just as he remembered.

Inside the floor was old hardwood and surprisingly well-kept. Bottles of water were in the corner, all empty. A pile of clothes were neatly folded on the dressing table and two pairs of muddy old shoes were placed beside them. The fireplace was unlit and had burnt wood inside. The windows had been boarded up and sheet cello taped over them to stop the draft. Old photos of Lily surround a mattress on the floor. Curled up on it was a boy, wrapped in an old, poorly knitted blanket. He looks small, too small. His freckled skin was pale and stuck to his bones. Severus could warp his hand twice around the boy's wrist. His hair was long and white with black dye clogged up at the ends. Severus moved closer, the boy too deep in sleep to notice his presence. He pulled back the hair from his forehead and saw the scar.

This couldn’t be him, this couldn’t be Harry Potter.

A snake shot out from under the blanket, hissing and baring its fangs. Snape jumped back from the boy. It continued to stare at him, hissing. It slowly lowered itself back into Harry’s chest, watching him closely.

Snape pulled out his wand and ran it over Harry’s body. Broken bones that never healed properly, a chest infection, several bruises, dehydration, and (the most serious) he was slipping into a coma due to starvation. Shit.

Severus stuffed all of Harry’s items into his extendable pockets and slowly pulled the boy into his chest, warily watching the snake for any sign of attack before apparating out of that hell hole.

Harry was warm, warmer than he had felt in years, his mind was still foggy and his body was still weak. The sound of rustling caused a jot of fear in him. Nobody should be here. He waited until the sound got close to him before pouncing. They both crashed onto the floor with Harry hovering over the man, ready to kill.

Snape was shocked at the abrupt attack but froze when he saw the eyes above him, Lily’s eyes. Severus snapped out of his momentary daze and put up his hands.

“I’m not here to hurt you.”

Harry looked around the room and saw the bed he had been lying on looked like a hospital bed. Numerous glasses, vials and an ancient-looking chemistry set covered the giant table. Large jars of unknown plants and herbs sat on the shelves, meticulously labelled and categorised. A strange purple smoke rose from a bubbling cauldron with a spoon magically stirring it.

Where the fuck was he?

Seraphina hadn’t attacked the stranger and was instead watching the two men from the bed, meaning he hadn’t tried to hurt him and didn’t intend to.

“Who are you and what the fuck do you want?”

“I’m merely trying to help, you were going to die if I had left you there.” Snape made sure to keep his voice slow and calm, he had plenty of experience dealing with abused kids as head of Slytherin.

Harry had sensed no lie in his words and slowly got off him, taking Seraphina into his arms for comfort, letting her slither around him. Snape slowly got up too, making sure not to scare the boy.

“Who are you?”

Harry wearily eyed the man, stroking his snake's head in the hope of calming the anxiety that churned in his stomach.

“I’m Severus Snape, I’m a professor at Hogwarts. We've been trying to get in touch with you but you weren't at your aunt’s house and nobody knew where you were.”

Harry was still suspicious of the strange man that kidnapped him. His hair was long and black, stopping at his waist in pin-straight strands. He wore odd dark clothes with what appeared to be a cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He has a long, hooked nose and grey eyes. He couldn’t have been any taller than 5’7. He reminded Harry of those heavy metal singers from the magazines. The aura around him was a grey colour. It felt old and calm, like smoke wafting over him. It wasn’t extremely powerful but was precise and deadly. A lot of the power that surrounded the man came from the ring that was on his left hand.

The man is not dangerous, hatchling. He gave you medicine that made you better. He seemed worried about you. At Seraphina’s reassuring words, Harry started to relax a little.

“What do you want with me?”

Severus was having a mental breakdown. All his perception of Harry Potter had been thrown out the window and tossed off a cliff. The boy, who he had always assumed was living in luxury, revelling in the fact he was the saviour of the wizarding world and a carbon copy of his father, was not in front of him. Instead, it was an anaemic runt of a boy, who had numerous injuries resulting from abuse, stood at about 4 '6 and was skinnier than a rake. He had used half the potions he made for the hospital wing just to make the boy stable enough to mend his bones. What didn’t help him was the fact that Harry looked nothing like his father. His eyes, facial features and freckles were exactly like his mother but his long white hair, body structure and pale skin were a complete mystery to him. James Potter had always been tall with the perfect chaser’s build and was of Indian heritage. Harry Potter was none of those things. The height and build could be due to malnutrition but everything else was unexplainable.

Severus forced himself to remember what his mission was instead of spiralling out of control. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter.

“Here”

Harry reached forward and read the green writing on the front of the letter. He looked back at Snape confused. “Potter? Who’s that?” Now it was Severus’s turn to be confused.

“What do you mean?”

Harry turned the letter to face the older man.

“Who’s Potter? That’s my name and my Aunt’s address but why does it have the last name Potter?”

What? Surely Petunia wouldn’t have stopped that low in her hatred to not even tell her nephew his father’s name.

“That’s your name, Harry Potter. Potter is your father’s last name. James Potter.”

Harry looked at him for a moment, then opened the seal and pulled out the letter inside.

“Hmm, I always thought my last name was Evans like my mum but Potter has a nice ring to it.”

Severus may have hated James Potter with a burning passion but even he wouldn’t have foregone telling his son his own father's name. Merlin, he always knew Petunia was a vapid bitch but this was taking it a step too far.

“What does it mean by witchcraft and wizardry? Is that what I am, a wizard?”

“Yes.”

This was good for Harry. He finally knew what he was, a wizard. Not a freak or bitten by a radioactive snake, a wizard. By the looks of things, this Snape guy was a wizard too and he was guessing that the aura he saw around certain people was a sign that they were ‘magical’.

“What about this school, Hogwarts? What is it?”

Severus recited the general speech he often said to all muggleborns he gave letters to. He explained the magical system, the wizard governments, and general information about Hogwarts. He talked Harry through the first-year supply list and other essentials he may need.

“We will go to Diagon Alley in the morning to retrieve your school supplies. For now, it’s best if you rest.”

He guided Harry back to the bed and walked over to his workstation to grab a vial of dreamless sleep. He gestured for Harry to drink from the bottle but he only got a suspicious look in return. Of course, a homeless, abused child, who had been living on the streets for years wouldn’t drink a strange liquid offered to him by an unknown man. Severus pulled open the cork and took a sip of the potion himself before giving it to Harry. The boy slowly drank the potion, eyeing him warily. Severus left Harry in his workshop for the night before heading upstairs, in desperate need of a drink.