Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter… you know the drill.

Authors Notes: This is an AU story set after forth year, I will probably be including parts of future books depending on how they work with the original plot. Yes this is a Severitus Fic. Happy Reading!

Chapter One

All was silent and still on Privet Drive. The little Drive in Surrey was almost completely dark except for the dim light given off by the streetlights that ran down the street. Though not everyone was asleep; one fourteen-year-old boy remained awake, even though it was past midnight.

Harry sat in his bare room, staring out into the cool summer night. He was well aware that it was late, but being unable to sleep kept him from moving from his current spot by the window. He looked at the night sky expecting to see something but nothing moved. Hedwig was currently out hunting and Harry was left alone to his thoughts.

What kept him from sleeping was a thing that had plagued him ever since arriving back from his school. He could not take from his mind, the merciless, bitter memories from the shadows of the Third Task. These memories would bring an unforgiving dream, which was forever filled with the same evil-filled memories reminding him of everything he wished he could forget. These dreams would wake him in the middle of the night, and he struggled to keep silent, as not to wake his relatives, who were people he did not even want to live with.

Sighing in frustration he went back over to his bed and lied down. His eyes blinked rapidly. He wished for one night without dreams so he could actually get some sleep for once. This particular time the night was kind to him, for he slipped off into a deep slumber, far from any dreams or visions. The only reason he probably slept was from pure exhaustion.

Harry woke to the reverberation of his cousin Dudley, who was roughly the size of a baby killer whale, thumping slowly down the stairs. Dudley was still on his diet after more than a year, and hadn’t lost much weight. He had lost five pounds one week, but then gained seven after a ‘small’ celebration snack. When he waddled around, it sounded like a baby elephant, so it was no surprise that Harry was waken by him.

Harry got dressed silently; rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After dressing, and stopping in the bathroom where he noticed had large dark bags under them, which were caused by his lack of sleep the past weeks, he made his way down to the kitchen. The Dursleys were already sitting in their chairs around the table, and Harry sat down in the one empty chair. Harry looked down, as a plate was set down in front of him. There was a sole grapefruit slice, and then next to his plate was a glass of water that was only half filled. This was what he ate every morning, since it followed Dudley’s diet. But the only two at the table who needed this amount were Dudley and his Uncle Vernon.

Harry started to silently eat his piece of grapefruit, as Dudley gobbled his down, and his uncle started to read the paper. He jumped slightly as the doorbell rang.

"Go answer the door, boy!" his uncle squawked at him, not even looking up from his paper.

Harry did as he was told. He could put up with the Dursleys as long as he was neutral. Ever since he had gotten back they had been perfectly content just to ignore him which suited Harry perfectly. He, for his part, tried to stay out of their sight as much as possible. Most of the time he stayed in his room or sometimes he would hide in the backyard. Either way he wouldn’t get into arguments with his relatives if he never saw or talked to him.

Harry finished his grapefruit slice as he stood up, and made his way through the hallway that led to the entranceway. He slowly opened the door and looked up at the absolute last person he expected it to be. Standing on the front porch in front of the door, was the sinister-looking potion master, Professor Snape…