Harry Silver

Snape nearly collapsed as he stumbled from his fireplace and into his office at Hogwarts. The sun had just set and the only light came from the soft glow of a fire under a potion he was brewing. Without so much as a thought he fell into his office chair and reached into the desk drawer. He pulled out a sealed bottle of firewhisky, originally only for emergencies but screw it, this was close enough. With a wave of his wand the bottle lid flew off and he poured the painful yet satisfying liquid down his throat, taking pleasure in the slight burning sensation it caused.

He had argued with Dumbledore for hours yesterday about it. He hadn’t been out to greet a muggleborn student in years, there hadn’t been a muggleborn in Slytherin for nearly a century so he didn’t see the point. But Minerva was already booked with one muggleborn and Flitwick and Sprout were otherwise occupied. And loath forbid Dumbledore himself have to do some legwork. Snape had only agreed once he learned the boy was an orphan, no parents or family members to deal with.

He’d assumed it would be a simple day then, give the boy a brief run down of the wizarding world, buy his school supplies and return him back home. What he hadn’t expected was to run into Harrison Bloody Potter.

He’d been prepared to finally face the brat, to make sure he understood that Snape was not one of the many thralls that would worship the ground he walked on. He’d expected the reincarnation of James Potter with double the arrogance and all the fame.

What he hadn’t expected was a timid boy who knew nothing of his own history or even the world he belonged to. It was clear the boy had been overwhelmed and of course the half-giant oaf had no clue how to deal with it correctly. To make matters worse it was clear the child's family, if they could be called that, treated him perhaps worse than one might treat an unwanted pet. 

Snape was not a fan of children, especially those from his world, most were either purebloods who felt themselves superior to others or muggleborns who thought themselves chosen by a higher power to leave their old world behind. Snape hated both equally, regardless of blood status. It pained him everyday that brats like that walked through the halls of Hogwarts.

A few years ago it had even gotten to the point Dumbledore had asked if he even wanted to remain a teacher. Yes it helped his position as a spy (though these days that was hardly required) but that didn’t mean he could work with Dumbledore as a simple potions master.

But Snape had stubbornly refused, yes, he hated teaching the majority of the brats here but that didn’t mean he hated every student. Magic had a solution for nearly every problem in their world and as a result many wizarding adults were rather ignorant to the problems of youth. They failed to see the frail builds, the timid fear and constant alertness of those students who had… less than stellar upbringings.

But Snape saw them, he knew them all too well and as much as he despised a majority of Hogwarts students he refused to abandon those who’s only escape was the magical school. He wouldn’t dare leave them to the mercy of the rest of the staff who failed to understand. He made a point of making sure those students never ended up like him, giving them all the support they needed to crawl out of the life they had grown up in.

He just never expected Harrison Potter to be one of those students.

As Snape took another swig from his drink there was a soft knock at his door, no points for guessing who it was.

“Enter.”

The door swung open to reveal the smiling Headmaster of Hogwarts though the smile turned to a frown as he walked into the space.

“It isn’t healthy to sit alone in the dark Severus,” Dumbledore said and with a flick of his want illuminated the torches in the room.

Snape merely grunted as Dumbledore took a seat on the other side of the desk, staring at the firewhisky with the slightest hint of disapprovment.

“A trying day I assume?”

“Don’t pretend like the oaf hasn’t already filled you in.”

“That oaf has a name Severus and as his colleague I encourage you to use it.”

Snape simply held Dumbledore's gaze until the man gave in with a sigh, the twinkle in his eyes dimming slightly.

“Very well. I suppose I must apologise, I had no idea Harrison’s relatives would withhold his family history from him. Let alone his true nature, it was mere luck that you ran into him when you did. I fear Hagrid was ill equipped for a muggleborn briefing.”

Perhaps it was the firewhisky but in a rare display of emotion Snape slammed the bottle down on his desk and glared at Dumbledore, “They didn’t just withhold information from him Albus! The boy looks borderline abused, he spoke of sleeping in cupboards and wore clothes that hung off a small frame even for a boy his age. By Merlin man I warned you about Petunia! But you said he would be safe! He does not look safe!”

There was a thick tension in the air as Dumbledore’s eyes lost any semblance of a twinkle and he physically sagged in his seat, suddenly looking very much his age.

“Are you sure?” Dumbledore asked quietly, “The blood wards-”

“Are a bullshit excuse Albus!” Snape bellowed and rose from his seat, towering over Dumbledore, “He would be just as protected under the fidelius charm or even here at Hogwarts!”

“I’m sorry Severus, I truly am but I can’t overestimate how important his safety-”

“Safe!?” Snape growled, years of built up anger at Hogwarts neglect of it’s abused students pouring out, “How safe would he be if his relatives starved him or beat him to death!?”

Dumbledore’s face paled considerably as his eyes widened, “It can’t be that bad surely?”

Snape collapsed back into his chair with a glare, “Albus it’s a miracle any abused children get picked up in their first year, Minerva, Flitwick and Sprout are only just starting to look for the signs. So trust me when I say I know what I’m looking for.”

Dumbledore looked down at the floor, ashamed and guilt ridden and when he spoke it was almost like a scolded child, “Then I shall go and retrieve him at once.”

“Don't.” Snape said with a sigh, “I doubt he’d come willingly, he has a clear mistrust of adults and we are strangers to him. I suspect his mindset would be one of ‘the devil you’ so to speak. He only has a few weeks left of the summer vacation and from the sounds of it his family are now terrified of him. I suggest we ease him into Hogwarts and approach him about staying on school grounds during the summer towards the end of the year.”

“Indeed,” Dumbledore said with a deep sigh, “It appears I have failed the child. Perhaps once at Hogwarts I may be able to rectify that. How was he apart from that?”

Snape wanted to rant about how terrible the Potter boy had been, how he would never succeed as a student at Hogwarts. But in truth he knew it was a lie.

“Overwhelmed. He’s essentially a muggleborn who also has to deal with being a celebrity. I imagine he’ll be soaking up the glory within hours of his arrival.”

Dumbledore looked at Snape over his half lidded spectacles. Snape hated that look, it screamed of judgement most people were usually too afraid to voice towards him.

“You would do well to remember he is as much Lily's son as he is James’s.”

Snape scowled, “I guess we shall see.”

“And what of your other student, Mr Silver?” Dumbledore asked, his mood brightening significantly as they moved on from his failure as a magical guardian.

Snape frowned at the thought, he’d only ever done a handful of muggleborn briefings but none of them had been as strange as Harry Silver. Even next to Harrison Potter he stood out among normal wizards.

“He was… odd.”

“Oh?”

“From what I recall nearly every muggleborn who first sees Diagon Alley is overcome with awe, certainly that’s what I saw from Potter, but Mr Silver seemed simply… impressed. Like he appreciated the whole thing but was not overcome with any sense of emotion.” Snape said as he recalled watching the Silver boy barely glance at what he considered to be some of the more impressive feats that could be seen during the day.

“Well he has just had a world altering day, perhaps he was simply in shock.”

“That wasn’t it. He seemed confident for a child in a completely unknown world. And he had this aura…”

Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle, “I never took you for such a superstitious man Severus.”

“Well you didn’t spend two hours waiting for this muggleborn to find a wand. Have you ever known a wand to have Thestral tail hair as a core?”

Snape had never seen Dumbledore more visibly shocked, his eyebrows rose up into his hairline, his glasses slid down his nose and the twinkle in his eyes flickered like a candle about to go out.

“I know it is theoretically possible though I only know of one such successful attempt and that wand was made in less than traditional methods. I wasn’t even aware Ollivander would stock such a wand.”

“Well he does and it’s now in the hands of Harry Silver, along with some superstition about death.”

“It sounds like you have quite the day then.”

Snape grunted and rolled his eyes, “The spawn of James Potter and the weirdest muggleborn I’ve ever met. Hooray for me.”

Dumbledore frowned, “I hope you don’t plan on singling them out when term starts Severus. Despite what others may say I know you’re a good teacher, don’t let the past interfere in the present.”

“I bought them both owls as birthday presents.”

It was a good job Snape hadn’t offered Dumbledore a drink otherwise the man would have probably just spewed it out all over his desk. As it was, the wizened wizard nearly fell back off his chair, his glasses tumbling off his nose completely as he stared at the man in shock. The only time he’d ever recalled Snape buying a child a gift was for Draco Malfoy and that was more out of social etiquette than anything else.

“Oh… well…” Dumbeldore said as he returned his glasses to his nose, “May I ask why?”

“Lily had an owl.”

Dumbledore gave Snape a knowing smile as he gazed at the man.

“Stop that,” Snape said with glare though Dumbledore made no move to do as he requested, “Enough, it was a moment of weakness!”

“Kindness is not weakness my friend,” Dumbledore reminded the man though Snape was in no mood for it.

“Yes yes and love will save us all. I won’t be making it a habit, should the pair turn out to be brats I’ll treat them as such.”

Dumbledore sighed but didn’t argue, instead rising from his seat, “Well I won’t keep you. I just wanted to thank you for your aid in getting Mr Potter prepared for the term.”

Snape simply grunted in response as Dumbledore turned to leave.

“Oh and Severus please do be careful if you plan on returning to Spinner's End tonight. You know floo travel and firewhisky are poor partners.”

Snape didn’t grace the headmaster with a response as his door swung shut and he was left with his own thoughts. Perhaps Dumbledore was right, as loath as he was to admit it Harrison Potter had reminded him far more of Lily than James. If anything it had been the Silver child who was the cocky one out of the two.

Harry Silver.

The strangest muggleborn, hell the strangest child, Severus had ever met. He didn’t act or talk like an 11 year old should and ever since Snape had walked into the boys bedroom he had felt a complete lack of control. Like he was being manipulated to do exactly what somebody else wanted.

Snape shook his head, Silver was a child, a muggleborn orphan, a rare upbringing in their world. It should have been expected that he wouldn’t act like most of the Hogwarts population. Besides, if Snape were lucky the kid would end up in another house and bother someone else.

But when had Snape ever gotten lucky?

Most people would probably hate to live in an orphanage that had no TV, no books or entertainment of any kind bar a few secondhand boardgames that nobody wanted to touch. The bedrooms were small and bare, the food was bland and cheap and the nuns were strict and old. Someone like Ron or Hermione would probably go insane within a week.

But for Harry it was paradise.

Compared to his time at Dursleys he was in heaven, his chores had halved and were actually appreciated when completed, he had the freedom to do whatever he felt like for most of the day and received decent meals. And this morning he'd even found a lost tennis ball outside and had been allowed to keep it!

Said ball was currently being tossed into the air over and over in Harry's left hand as his right scribbled away in his notebook.

“Maybe I let Harrison and Ron get to Hermione but I lead the troll somewhere else? Or could that change the way Harrison and Hermione become friends? He really does need her.”

Harry was starting to realise just how difficult it was going to be to navigate the future. Each little thing he did could have far reaching consequences. For instance if he stopped Quirrell early into the year (though how he did that he had no idea) would Dumbledore destroy the philosopher's stone like in the original timeline? Or would he return it to Flamel only for Voldemort to steal it at a later date?

Harry hadn’t even gotten round to thinking about second year and dealing with the basilisk. Then he really started to get to the big questions, did he let Pettigrew escape in third year? Try to stop Harrison competing in the Triwizard Tournament? Would that prevent Voldemorts return completely or delay it until a time that Harry couldn’t predict?

The tennis ball bounced down to the floor as Harry collapsed back on his bed with a sigh, his head was throbbing as plans spun out of control within it. Merlin, he’d never missed Hermione’s brain so much. 

“Harry?” A voice came from outside his door, “There’s someone down in the lobby for you.”

“I’ll be there in a second!”

Crouching down Harry lifted up the loose floorboard he’d discovered a few days into his time at the orphanage, it made a good spot to hide anything magical that he wanted to keep away from the nun. Plus explaining a wand or potions kit was one thing, explaining a notebook full of plans and predictions of the future was another.

Once he had secured his magical items he quickly made his way down to the small lobby of the orphanage, his mind trying to decide who was here to see him. Part of him wondered if Dumbledore had figured out what he had done and was here to include him in his great master plan. 

Harry shook his head, Dumbledore was a great wizard but he wasn’t omnipotent. Instead Harry walked into the lobby to find a small boy sat kicking his feet on one of the benches.

“Harrison?”

“Harry!” Harrison cried with a wide smile as he jumped to his feet, “Ah um… Sorry I should have let you know I was visiting ahead of time.”

Harry just waved him off, “Relax, it’s summer vacation and I’ve done all my chores. I’m free for the rest of day.”

“Oh… Great!” Harrison said as both boys stood there, neither really sure what two 11 year old boys were supposed to do with a free afternoon.

“So um…” Harrison started, “What do you wanna do?”

Harry paused before an exciting idea popped into his head.

“Wanna go and throw a tennis ball around in the park?”

“I still kinda think it’s odd that every student has to get the train from London, I mean what if someone lives a few miles from Hogwarts? They have to travel all the way to London just to travel back again?”

“I think it’s about the experience, putting everyone on equal footing from the start you know?”

“But didn’t Professor Snape mention how you being a muggleborn is looked down on by some people?”

“Point.”

Harry and Harrison stood a few feet apart in the nearby park, a yellow blur zooming between their hands that only the eye of a seeker could detect as a tennis ball. It was a rather chilly day for the middle of summer and grey clouds above the pair meant the park was more or less abandoned so they had claimed a corner and started throwing the ball between them while discussing their future education.

“Did you read through the muggleborn welcome book?” Harrison asked as he threw a curveball which Harry caught with ease.

“Yeah,” And Harry had, which resulted in perhaps the one time he’d been genuinely angry at Hagrid, the book was a goldmine of useful intel he could've done with his first time around, “I’m glad Snape recommended it, there was a lot of useful info in there.”

Like how Harry should have acted as Heir Potter the first time around!

Harrison hummed and they got through another few throws in silence before he spoke, “Did you also read the book about The-Boy-Who-Lived?”

Harry cringed internally, “Ah yeah… I did…”

“They celebrate it you know,” Harrison said with a slight frown, “The day my parents died. The book mentioned Halloween is a big holiday in the wizarding world.”

Harry sighed and plucked the ball out of the air, Harrison giving him a confused look when he didn’t throw it back.

“Harrison I know it hurts but think about it from their perspective. They’d spent years in a civil war against an evil warlord, hundreds if not thousands had already died. Then on that night your parents sacrificed themselves and the war ended. I’m not saying it's a good thing but imagine it from their side. And if it helps… my parents died on the same day.”

Harrison sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I have to respect their side of it.”

Harry smiled, that train of thought had taken him near fourth year to wrap his head around, only after Sirius had pointed out what Harry had just said to him. But luckily Harrison seemed a little more mature than Harry had at that age. It was one of several slight differences between them. For instance Harrison’s favourite dessert was apple pie and not treacle tart (blasphemy in Harry’s opinion), he seemed more interested in reading and learning than Harry had though on the flip side seemed even more unsure of himself.

“I still can’t believe I’m famous, I just want a normal life…” Harrison mumbled and looked down at the ground.

“Oi!” Harry said and threw the ball at his face and Harrison only just caught it in time, “I know it’s rough but face it, you’re never gonna have a normal upbringing. Even without the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing you’re still a wizard. You think I feel any better about being a muggleborn orphan?”

“I guess I’m never quite going to be able to hide in the background.” Harrison said with a sigh to which Harry gave a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah well, I’m your friend and I don’t know anything about this stuff so to me you’re just plain old boring Harrison Potter.”

Harrison chuckled, “Thanks Harry. Hey, did you think about what house you might be in?”

“Eh, maybe Gryffindor,” Harry said wondering if he would get the same house twice, “What about you?”

“I’m not sure, they all seem ok although… Apparently loads of Dark Wizards have come from Slytherin, including Voldemort.”

“I wouldn’t read into it too much, Slytherin is the house of ambition and all Dark Wizards are probably ambitious by nature. Besides, didn't that book talk about Death Eaters from Gryffindor and people who fought against them from Slytherin?” Harry said as thoughts of Peter Pettigrew and Professor Slughorn came to mind.

“Fair point,” Harrison admitted with a gloomy shrug, “Honestly I half expect them to all say it was a mistake when I get there.”

“Oh no!” Harry snapped, throwing the ball with enough umph to make Harrison wince slightly and as he caught it, “We’ll have none of that round here. You’re going to be a great wizard Potter, so stop thinking they’ll send you back. And if they do, I'll just go right with you.”

Harrison actually let out a loud laugh, “I’m not sure that would stop them.”

“Then we’d be left with no choice but to start a rebellion!”

“Ah yes, Potter and Silver, the two orphans who have no clue what they’re doing. We’d be the most powerful duo seen for a whole 5 minutes.”

The ball fell to the floor as both boys laughed at their antics. It felt good to have someone who was seemingly on the same wavelength. As they both calmed down Harrison looked up to the darkening sky and his face fell.

“It’s getting late, I was only allowed out because Aunt Petunia had a guest over for lunch.”

Harry swiped the tennis ball off the ground and smiled at him, “Don’t feel so down, it’s not long until term starts.”

“That’s if my family bothers to get me to the platform on time.”

“You said you live nearby right? If you like I’m sure the nuns would give you a lift with me.”

“Really?” Harrison asked as his face brightened, “That would be great!”

“No problem, I’ll see you later then?”

“Absolutely!” Harrison said as he started to walk away, “Bye Harry!”

“Bye Harrison!”

Harry continued to wave until Harrison turned a corner and disappeared out of the park. His hand dropped as he rolled the tennis ball between his fingers. Harry quite liked Harrison, he was a good friend to have around. 

Did that make him a narcissist?

As Harry contemplated the philosophical implications of being best friends with yourself a voice rang out behind him.

“Man Dudley, did you see the look on that dorks face!”

“Yeah, he was terrified of you!”

Harry’s eyes widened and he swivelled on his feet to find a pig-like child flanked on both sides by kids with sneers on their faces. Dudley Dursley let out a laugh as he waddled into the park, his pudgy face looking everywhere for his gang's next victim. Unfortunately said eyes landed on Harry.

“Oi! You!” Dudley bellowed as he and his gang made their way towards him.

“Me?” Harry asked a little dumbly as he tried his best to keep a neutral expression.

“Yeah you, you seen a little scrawny kid round here?”

“I have,” Harry confirmed with a nod and Dudley’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Where?”

“Right here, I’m a scrawny kid.”

“Wha…?” Dudley said, confusion all over his face, though that wasn’t unusual, “No not you, my cousin!”

“I’m your cousin?”

“No! My cousin's name is Harrison!”

“So is mine.”

Dudley’s brain finally seemed to give out, unable to keep up with the confusing conversation presented to it. In the end Dudley resorted to his base instinct and cracked his knuckles.

“You think you’re funny?”

Harry finally allowed a smirk to shine on his face, oh how he’d missed winding his cousin up, “I thought you were there funny one considering you look like a clown?”

Dudley growled and charged forward, which wasn’t very threatening considering his size and stature meant it was more of an aggravated stumble. However he was still big and heavy and Harry immediately moved to run. How he wished he could fight back in these moments but anything he did would only come back to haunt when he got home to-

Wait a minute!

Harry wasn’t living with the Dursleys anymore!

As Dudley charged forward Harry found his arm moved on its own. He swung the tennis ball through the air with precision and speed and itt zoomed forward and slammed directly into Dudley’s nose. There was an audible crack in the air as blood spurted all over his face and the ball bounced back to Harry who plucked it out the air.

Dudley’s charge was immediately thwarted as he fell back into the grass and let out a squeal that did nothing to counteract the pig image.

“Owwww! Get him! Get him!” Dudley cried as he flailed on the ground.

Realising he was outnumbered Harry turned and sprinted down the street. Luckily he was still much faster than Dudley’s gang. All the while he had a huge smile on his face.

Throwing a tennis ball around with a friend and breaking Dudley’s nose?

This was the best day he’d ever had!