"I wonder what the Dursleys did to him," Minerva said angrily and transformed into a cat, quickly dashing out of the house before Mrs. Figg could even react. Minerva strode around the Dursley residence in her tabby cat form, noticing that the house seemed to be empty. She quickly let herself in through the slightly open kitchen window before she transformed back into her human form. Pulling out her wand she mumbled an incantation following the tip of her wand until she stopped in front of a cupboard door, secured by several locks. A quick 'Alohomora' spell made the cupboard door open, revealing a little boy, sitting in the dark with a book in his hands.
"Harry!" Minerva called the child, careful as not to frighten him.
Harry glanced up, seeing the nice lady at the door of his cupboard, and cast her a huge smile. 'I can't believe it. She came to rescue me because the Dursleys locked me in so that I couldn't get away,' he realised, a very warm and comfortable feeling spreading through his body. 'Someone cares about me!' He quickly scrambled to his feet and stepped out of the cupboard door, shyly holding out a hand to the nice lady.
Minerva noticed sadly that the child was once again clothed in rags. She carefully took the boy's hand and bent down until she was at eye level with Harry. "You couldn't come to Mrs. Figg's house because you were locked in, right?" she asked in a soft voice, and Harry nodded his head, wearing an apologizing expression. "All right, shall we go then?" Minerva suggested.
When Harry nodded with apparent enthusiasm, she told him that she would apparate them from where they were, and Harry gave his silent nod of agreement.
'She's so nice to me, I should really speak to her,' Harry thought, feeling very bad, but he couldn't help it at the moment. He noticed the slightly dizzy feeling again, but an instant later, they stood in front of a huge manor. 'Is that a castle too?' Harry wondered, throwing Minerva an enquiring look.
"That, Harry, is McGonagall Manor. This is my home," Minerva explained, giving the child a comforting look, before she led him to the large entrance doors. "Now, we have to adjust you to the wards so that the wards will recognize you and let you in at any time," she said and told Harry to put his hand against the door while she mumbled a long incantation which Harry could not properly understand.
Harry felt a tingle run his body up and down until it ceased and finally the door opened. 'Wow that felt funny,' he thought, smiling. They took a few steps forward only to find themselves in a huge entrance hall. Harry looked around in awe until he backed up, violently, trying to hide in Minerva's robes when two strange looking creatures appeared with a loud crack.
"Oh, Harry, you don't have to be afraid," Minerva assured him, a smile softening her strict feature. "These are my House elves, Cecilia and Malcolm. Hello Cecilia and Malcolm, this is Harry, and he's going to stay here with me on the weekends during the holidays," she turned to the two elves.
"Hello Master Harry," Cecilia greeted Harry friendly, and Malcolm added, "We is glad to have yous here, Master Harry."
'They look a bit strange but they seem nice,' Harry thought, giving the two elves a hesitant smile.
"Cecilia, Malcolm, could you please prepare the room adjacent to the Master's bedroom as a children's room for Harry? It will be his room from now on."
"Yes, of course, Mistress Minerva, we do it immediately," Cecilia promised, and the two elves disappeared with a double 'Pop'.
Harry glanced at the spot where they had been standing in awe. "They'e already quite old; they watched over me when I was a child," Minerva explained while she led Harry into a huge living room. "If you need something or have problems and I'm not nearby, you only have to say one of their names and they'll come and help you. On the other hand, if they ask you to do something, you'll obey to them, all right?"
Harry gave Minerva an anxious nod and obediently sat down on the sofa, looking in awe at the huge fireplace before he took in the large room that was held in the same colours as the teacher's living room in her quarters at Hogwarts. 'The only thing that's missing here are the large bookshelves,' Harry thought, feeling slightly disappointed. Large pictures, one of them of Hogwarts, decorated the walls here. 'This place is really nice. I just wish there were more books.'
"Are you wondering why there aren't any bookshelves?" Minerva asked in amusement, having followed the child's eyes examining the room.
Harry gave her an enquiring look, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'll show you to the library in a few minutes, Harry," Minerva explained.
'A whole library, this place is great. I can't wait to see it and find another book to read,' Harry thought excitedly, causing his eyes to twinkle in anticipation.
"Harry, what happened to your nice clothes?" Minerva asked softly, sighing in despair when Harry anxiously averted his eyes to the floor.
'I can't tell the nice lady that Aunt Petunia burned everything I brought back with, except for the book I was able to save, can I?' Harry thought in desperation, tears welling in his eyes.
"What's wrong, child?" Minerva asked softly. "Did your relatives take your things from you?"
Harry gave her a frightened nod and pulled the book out of the large pocket of Dudley's much too large trousers. He had fought for the book and managed to hide it from his angry aunt and uncle. He placed the book in front of him of the table, and his hand hesitantly found its way back into the pocket. 'Shall I let the nice lady in on my secret?' he pondered for a moment before he pulled out something and with a smile on his face showed it to Minerva. It was part of a broken blue crayon.
"Oh, a crayon," Minerva acknowledged. "Would you like to draw something?"
On Harry's enthusiastic nod, Minerva conjured a parchment, putting it in front of Harry. Then she hesitantly conjured a few more crayons in different colours for the child to draw. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and looked in awe at the beautiful crayons. 'Are they really for me to draw? Or is it a trick like Uncle Vernon often does so that I'll be punished afterwards?' he thought, frightened.
Noticing Harry's hesitation, Minerva inwardly sighed and told the child, "Harry, they're for you, and you may keep them. When you go back to your relatives tomorrow, I'll give you a bag that's invisible for everyone except you, so that you can hide everything you bring with you from your relatives. Would that be all right with you?"
Harry listened intently but couldn't really understand what the nice lady said, 'I wonder what she means by invisible to everyone but me?', and so he gave her a questioning look. Minerva explained her suggestion once more, this time receiving an enthusiastic nod from the small boy. 'That's great. I'll be able to keep my book and crayons hidden from Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley,' Harry realised in excitement. He occupied himself painting a picture for the lady, trying to explain what had happened to his beloved dragon she had given to him. He drew a scary looking person, wrote 'Ant Tunia' under it, a fireplace like the one in front of him, and a small boy watching the scene, writing 'Hari' underneath the boy. Finally, he drew the dragon in the adult's hand before he looked closely at the picture causing the dragon to magically move from the hand down into the roaring fire.
"Oh, Harry, is that what happened to your dragon?" Minerva asked, utterly shocked. How could a person be so mean?
Harry nodded, 'I'm so happy that she was able to understand my picture,' he thought. 'She must be very smart.'
Minerva let out a long sigh, before she replied, "Harry, I'm very sorry, I didn't want that to happen. Now, I must tell you that you can draw very well, and you even used magic, and you used it very reasonably. I'm very proud of you. Well done, sweetheart." In fact, Minerva was shocked by the amount of magic Harry had shown and the excellence of the drawing for him to only be six years old. He did not do accidental magic but had managed to apply magic to the picture with purpose and intent to help tell his story. 'Absolutely amazing for a six-year-old,' she thought in admiration.
Harry cast the nice lady a confused glance, thinking, 'She seems to really be proud of me for my picture and story. I've never had someone tell me they were proud of me before. I'm a freak and that's why I could do those things.'
"Harry, may I once more transfigure your clothes into something nice that fits?" Minerva pulled him out of his thoughts, and he nodded happily in anticipation. "Do you want dragons or lions?" Minerva asked, and Harry quickly pointed to the green dragon on his picture.
"Very well," Minerva replied, chuckling, and transfigured his rags into a well-fitting jeans and a T-shirt with moving and roaring dragons on it.
'These have to be the coolest clothes ever!' Harry thought happily, not even trying to hide a giggle when a dragon on his chest spit fire right onto his hand.
"Oh Harry, that sounds so nice when you laugh," Minerva immediately commended the child, causing Harry to cast her an anxious glance. "Harry, have your relatives forbidden you to talk?" she asked flabbergasted, but Harry did not answer.
'No, they didn't forbid me, but Uncle Vernon beats me every time I make a sound,' Harry thought in desperation.
"Harry, you know that I'd love to hear you to talk, don't you?" Minerva asked softly, and Harry gave her an apologetic glance.
Before lunch was ready, Minerva conjured a new dragon for the child and showed him how to correctly write his name. Harry gave her a delighted smile and cuddled the dragon close, before he suddenly held it in front of his eyes and gave it a piercing look. An instant later, the dragon's eyes were twinkling exactly like his own. Happily, he showed the dragon to Minerva.
"Oh, Harry, you did that very well," Minerva commended the child in awe, stunned to see how powerful the boy obviously was.
During the afternoon, they spent some time outside in the huge park playing with a soft red ball, before they returned to the living room, where Minerva showed Harry a few books which she had bought for him in Hogsmeade during the week. On his delighted look, she started to read him a story about a boy called Harry and his dragon. Originally, the boy's name had been Benjamin but she had quickly changed the name to Harry before opening the book. Again and again, Harry motioned her to re-read the story to him until she finally closed the book and said, "Next time, you'll read it to me, all right, Harry?"
Harry gave her an anxious nod, thinking, 'Yes, Aunt Minerva, I know that I should do that. Maybe I will the next time, since I don't think she'll hurt me if I talk.'
Shortly before dinner, Poppy, Rolanda and Pomona arrived to join them for the rest of the evening. Knowing that they were all very nice, Harry gave them a shy smile. The women were shocked at the little amount Harry managed to eat for dinner, but when Minerva gave them a warning look, everyone refrained from commenting on the matter, and Poppy decided to give Harry a few phials of the nutrient potion to take with him for the next week.
'Yuck, I don't want to drink it, but she did say it will help me get bigger, so I guess it'll be all right,' Harry thought after she told him about the potion.
When Minerva insisted that Harry take a bath before going to bed, she was already prepared for trouble, but Harry merely cast a pointed look at Poppy, who laughed and enquired, "Do you want me to give you your bath, sweetie?"
Harry nodded eagerly, thinking, 'The bath the nice lady gave me last time felt so good, and she used such a soft towel drying me off with, and she put cream on all my hurting spots. Yes, I'd like her to give me a bath and make me feel all better again.'
An hour later, Harry was tucked in his bed in his new room, looking around in awe. The two house elves had outdone themselves preparing the room. 'This is the best room ever, even better than the other one,' he thought, happily. It was decorated in white and a very light blue with a huge four poster bed surrounded by a dark blue curtain with twinkling golden stars on it. The wardrobe on the opposite wall had the same design, and the huge window opposite the door led to a small balcony from where Harry could oversee the huge park and even the lake. While Rolanda sat next to Harry reading a few stories to him until his eyes drooped and his breathing evened, Poppy spoke with Minerva.
"Minerva, you have to keep an eye on him during the night. I put the healing cream on all his bruises, but one of the bruises on his legs is infected, and it might cause him pain and even a fever. I left you a pain relieving potion and a fever reducer on the shelf in the bathroom. Unfortunately, I don't have anything for the infection; I'll have to ask Severus to brew the salve tonight, and I'll bring it with me tomorrow morning." Seeing her friends worried face, she shook her head. "Don't worry Minerva, you'll both be fine. If you have problems, you can call me at anytime."
Minerva sighed, slightly consoled. "Thank you Poppy. Somehow I feel very unsure with such a small child, especially as he's not talking at all."
Poppy chuckled in apparent amusement before commenting, "You've been head of house for how many years now? And Harry is communicating a lot, even if he's not talking. Do you know how to put a spell on him that alerts you in case he is in distress during the night?"
Minerva shook her head, giving her friend a grateful look as she showed her the incantation. Minerva, Poppy and Rolanda had known each other since their own Sorting at Hogwarts. They had also started working at the school together after their graduation. Still feeling uncertain, Minerva followed Poppy up into Harry's room, where Rolanda and Pomona were talking quietly next to a sleeping Harry.
Fortunately, Harry did not have problems during the night, and in the morning, Poppy arrived before breakfast to apply the salve to Harry's leg. On Sunday, Minerva and Harry spent the morning playing in the park together with Poppy and Rolanda and the afternoon sitting in the living room, where Minerva tried to teach Harry easy Math and other useful things of which she thought that Harry needed to learn them as soon as possible.
Harry could not believe his luck. 'How can these nice ladies bother with me so much? Giving me clothes, such a nice and comfy bed, a bath, play with me, and now even teach me?' He could not remember having felt so well taken care of ever before.
ハリーと頑固な校長先生
The next two weekends passed in a similar way. Minerva even took Harry to Diagon Alley as well as to Muggle London in order to buy him some clothes and a few children's books. Harry was delighted, especially when Minerva tried to teach him a little magic. Seeing that Harry could willingly do magic without a wand, Minerva taught him to open a door with 'Alohomora', hoping that he perhaps would be able to escape from his cupboard whenever he needed it.
'This is so great, having my own new clothes that've never been worn by Dudley, and now I can get out of my cupboard when they lock me in,' Harry thought in delight.
ハリーと頑固な校長先生
On a Friday in the middle of July, however, Minerva came down with the muggle flu. At first she tried to hide how awful she felt in order not to be kept at Hogwarts over the weekend, but Poppy quickly noticed what was wrong and dragged her to the hospital wing, where she put her into bed in a small teacher's room. "You're in no condition to apparate let alone take care of a child for the weekend. You have a very high fever, and you won't be going anywhere for a week, especially since you have a muggle illness, for which our potions won't help, so you'll just have to wait it out."
"But Harry…" Minerva protested weakly.
"I'll send someone else to take care of Harry this weekend," Poppy promised, calmingly, while she spelled a sleeping draught into her friend's system in order not to have to tell the woman that Rolanda and Pomona were both ill as well.
Sighing, she stepped through the fireplace into the Potions Master's quarters and informed Severus that he had to take care of the boy this weekend.
"Why would I do such a thing?" Severus sneered at the healer, who had in fact always been his best friend ever since the death of his childhood friend Lily Potter.
"Perhaps because you vowed to Lily to help keep Harry safe, and because Minerva, Pomona and Rolanda are all ill and can't do anything for him the next few days," Poppy replied in a voice that did not allow anything but a positive answer. "You can bring him to Hogwarts if you want, so that I can help you in case you have any problems. But you have to make sure that the headmaster doesn't see Harry."
"All right," Severus agreed, sighing.
ハリーと頑固な校長先生
On Saturday morning, he left the castle after having breakfast in the Great Hall in order to not be missed too soon by the headmaster. Then he travelled through the fireplace to Arabellla Figg's house to wait for the child.
At the same time, Harry woke up, feeling very excited. He still did not know the week days but he had counted that he had slept six times since Minerva had brought him back. Cuddling his stuffed dragon close, he pointed his right hand towards the cupboard's door, and feeling the tingling sensation running down his arm he thought the spell the nice lady had taught him. 'Alohomora.' As soon as the door opened, he quickly stepped out, silently closing the door behind him. He left the house and ran over to Mrs. Figg's house in anticipation of a happy weekend with his Aunt Minerva as he had been allowed to call the nice lady.
'I can't wait. We're going to go to the park and read more books. Cecilia and Malcolm make the best food!' Harry thought excitedly, as he waited for Mrs. Figg to let him in after he rang the doorbell. A happy smile played on his lips when he rushed into the living room until he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the menacing looking teacher sitting on the sofa. Harry turned round and gave Mrs. Figg a horrified look. 'Why is he here? Where is my Aunt Minerva?' was written in his shocked face.
"Harry, Minerva is ill and can't look after you this weekend. Therefore, Severus will take you to Hogwarts today," Mrs. Figg explained in a calming voice.
"Now, Potter, are you coming or would you prefer returning to your caring relatives?" the menacing professor sneered, and Harry gave him a frightened glance but nodded shyly, trying to keep the tears off his eyes.
'He seems evil but he can't be worse than Uncle Vernon and Aunt Tunia,' Harry thought, trying to calm himself.
The professor pulled him close, and before Harry could even flinch back, he felt the dizzying sensation of Apparition. Soon he found himself on the street that led from Hogsmeade up to Hogwarts. The professor waved his wand at the child, placing an Illusion Charm on him so that nobody would be able to see him. 'Maybe I can find Aunt Minerva or Aunt Poppy in the castle,' Harry thought hopefully, running after the professor as he could not keep up with his fast pace. When they finally arrived in the dungeons, Harry was knackered. Never in his life had he run over such a distance, and he did not feel very strong anyway, as the Dursleys had barely fed him since he had started to spend the weekends with Minerva. Harry entered Severus' quarters after the professor, still trying to catch his breath, blushing profoundly when he noticed that the professor quirked an eyebrow in silent question.
Remembering that Poppy had instructed him to be nice to the boy, Severus bit back the evil comment that had been on his lips and just enquired dryly what the boy intended to do until lunch. Not knowing what was expected from him, Harry shrugged unsurely, cuddling his stuffed dragon before he took his crayons out of his invisible backpack, giving the teacher an enquiring glance. Severus motioned the child to sit down and placed a few pieces of parchment in front of him, so that the boy could occupy himself for a few hours while he sat down on the opposite side of the table and starting grading the papers that he had been neglecting.
Harry had just finished painting the last parchment when Severus ordered him to get ready for lunch. Unsure about what he was expected to do, Harry stood up and hovered next to the chair waiting for instructions. 'Do I have to cook lunch?' he thought frantically, trying to hide his shaking hands in the pockets of his jeans. 'But I can't see a kitchen here. What am I supposed to do? And where's Aunt Minerva?' He slowly went into panic mode, gradually feeling his stomach churn.
"Potter, go and wash your hands," Severus growled, impatiently, pointing at the bathroom door. When Harry came back, he carefully inspected the child's hands before instructing him to sit down and eat.
Harry noticed in surprise that lunch had popped up at the table. He looked under the table wondering if it might have come from there. 'Wow, where did it come from?' he thought, as he obediently sat down and ate a few bites, trying to calm his upset stomach.
"Do you think that food is not good enough for you?" the professor suddenly shouted, and Harry couldn't help feeling himself getting sick with fear. He quickly turned away from the intimidating black eyes only to feel his stomach churn before he got sick all over himself.
'Oh no, what have I done now? Is he going to hit me now?' Harry thought panicking, feeling his whole body beginning to shake in fright.
The teacher quickly waved his wand over the boy, cleaning the mess up in a blink of the eye, before he took in the boy's panicked expression. He summoned a calming draught and, deciding to spare himself the stress of forcing Harry to drink it, spelled it right into the child's stomach.
With the help of the potion, Harry slowly calmed down. When the teacher urged him to eat a little more, Harry only shook his head. He quietly waited until the house elves cleared the table, before he went back to drawing. The afternoon passed relatively quietly, as both wizards tried to ignore each other as much as possible.
The whole time Harry was thinking, 'I wish Aunt Minerva was here.'
At dinner, Harry managed to eat a few more bites than at lunch, and Severus, who obviously did not want a repetition of the earlier scene, bit back any menacing comment he had on the tip of his tongue. However, as soon as the teacher insisted that Harry should take a bath and led the boy into the bathroom, Harry felt himself shake all over again.
"What's wrong?" the teacher asked impatiently. "I'm not going to drown you, so get a grip on yourself, boy."
'He's so like Uncle Vernon,' Harry thought flabbergasted but due to the absence of a choice succumbed to his fate and hesitantly entered the bathtub, amazed to notice that the water was a comfortable temperature. Not daring to ask the teacher for something to play with, Harry just sat there trying not to fall asleep in the tub.
Finally, Severus lifted the boy out of the tub and tossed him a bath towel. "Now dry yourself and get into bed," he ordered the child, his voice void of any emotion. He showed the child to the sofa in the living room that he had transfigured into a bed while Harry had taken the bath.
Harry obediently lay down, waiting to be tucked in or be read a story, but the teacher merely said 'Good night' and retreated to his lab in order to brew some potions Poppy had asked for.
'This is still better than at the Dursleys, but I like Aunt Minerva or Aunt Poppy more,' Harry thought, while silent tears began to run down his cheeks. He had been looking forward to showing Aunt Minerva how much he had practised writing during the week, hoping that she would be pleased with his efforts. Shivering in the cold, he tucked himself in under the covers, and with one hand busily cuddling his dragon, the thumb of his other hand safely tucked into his mouth, the small boy tried to fall asleep in the unfamiliar surroundings.
Severus just finished a potion which he had started the night before and reduced the flame to let the potion simmer until morning, when an alarm told him that the wards to his quarters had been magically breeched. He quickly returned to his living room, noticing to his horror that the boy was gone.