A Friend in Need

Yay!! Chapter two is up for you guys.

I’m sooooo glad you guys like this story and I hope to keep you all reading until the end!

I’m glad you all seem to think the relationship between Snape and Harry is well justified and believable and yes I know the pairing is rare.

My Beta Slytherdor and I where bouncing idea off when we got taking about this pairing and the only reason I decided to write one was because she wanted to read it and see one finished so….

*~* This Story Is Dedicated To My Beta Slytherdor!!!*~*


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Victor strode down the corridors of the castle. House elves and guests be damned he needed to speak with his father and now! He turned sharply into the parlour where he knew his mother and father were entertaining Lord Matthew's and his wife.

“Father, I need to speak with you!” He kept his voice as even as possible but he knew his father had picked up on the urgency of the request. He stood and bowed respectfully to his guest.

“If you will excuse me.” He then bowed to his wife and smiled reassuringly at her before following his son out of the entertaining room.

They did not speak until the where in his father’s study where there are silencing charms throughout the wood work. Build in so he could keep things private and work in peace. Victor threw down the letter on his fathers large ornately carved desk and began to pace.

“They’re killing him! When the summer began he told me about what his home life was like and when I proposed he come stay here he said that he couldn’t, that it was his only protection and the he believed if things got really bad that fool Dumbledore would help him! But no his letters kept getting less and less upbeat. As though he had begun to realise it WAS getting that bad and still no help had arrived. Then I get this letter telling me he wishes he was stronger and wanting to commit suicide. He tells me that he is final asking for help from me because he has no one else to turn to!” Victor roared as he became more enraged over the whole situation.

He walked over to the window and looked out at the gardens his mother had organised the house elves to plant. They always calmed him down by the shear beauty of the flowers and their arrangement.

“He has no one…Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world has no one and nothing but an empty room. Is there anything we can do, father? He mentions wards up on the house, Dumbledore himself put them up. He would be safe here, wouldn’t he?” He turned to his father who was studying the letter.

“Here he mentions writing one last letter to a Professor Snape. He says he asked for help, for the man to hear him. I think he is just hoping one of you will wish to answer and help him out of this mess. Severus Snape is a friend of the family. We will contact him now and see what he makes of all this. We will keep guarded in case he doesn’t wish to help Harry, that way they won’t know we went after him until it’s too late.” His father turned to the fireplace on the other side of the room and flicked his wand in its general direction, instantly lighting the fire to full healthy flames.

Demitri walked over to the fireplace and knelt on the specially designed stool for a comfortable position to make fire calls on. He called out Severus Snape, Private chambers, Hogwarts and waited for the man to allow him access for a connection.

“What do you want Demitri? I have a meeting with the head of houses in half an hour and I know how much you can talk.” The professor sounded a little snarky. Now that wouldn’t be abnormal behaviour if he was talking to a student, but he was talking to Demitri; his close friend.

“Now I will be straight with you Severus as I don’t know how much time I have. Did you receive a letter from a Mr Harry Potter yesterday?” One must take into consideration how long it would take Hedwig to travel to Scotland and then Bulgaria, even if she was magical.

“I may have. Why do you ask?” Severus had no idea why Demitri Krum would know of Harry. He can not be the other person Harry was talking about, they had never met.

“My son got an interesting letter from the boy and it states that you got one as well. My question is what do you intend to do about it?”

Severus had thought about it. He had been loathed to admit it but the boy sounded genuinely distressed. If Potter was sending him a letter of help and no mention of Dumbledore then the old wizard must have told him to stay put. Should he really go against the headmaster in this? Where would he put the boy? He certainly wouldn’t want him under his feet in his own chambers.

But if he had sent the Krum lad the letter he mentioned then he could get the boy away from his relatives and leave him with the Krum family. But how on earth did Victor know Harry?

He sighed and resigned his day to be at a loss and wondered briefly if Potter had planned this, making him feel out of sort with helping. Over the years he has always had to help him one way or another and it sent a chill down his spine to think that he was acting like a father to his tormentor’s son.

“Move aside Demitri, I’m coming through.” The elder Krum had just made it out of the way in time when Severus walked through the flames.

Victor took in that the man was wearing a black, long sleeved tunic with a pair of black fitted pant. Did this man ever wear any other colour?

“So, I am to believe that you and Harry struck up a friendship without anyone knowing?” the potions professor asked Victor as soon as he was through the flame.

“Yes, we met in the mornings by the lake. I would complete my morning workout and he would finish off homework or just sit thinking. After awhile we began to talk and soon after that we became good friends.”

“Severus, we have read the papers, people can not honestly believe a fourteen year old boy would kill his friend or kill at all. It’s an outrage that the saviour of our world be treated like this. Now, I will be the first to admit I didn’t not believe that his actions caused to be call the wizarding worlds hero but that boy - that child, doesn’t not deserve to believe the only way out is to the other side of death.”

“Fine, if you’re planning on getting him out of there then I will help you. Now, I was one of the wizards there when the wards where set up. So I will be able to point out where it is best to strike and pick there weakest points. You must do this though so that I will not be questioned in the matter.”

“There is a warding class at Durmstrang that is mandatory for heir to families and other students can take the class as well if they wish to. I will bring my friends with me and we can work out the rest of the warding if you could just give us the basic outline of the net used. With the amount of Dark Magic we will use, Dumbledore and his team will think the worst and not question how it was opened. The dark lords power is supposed to be greater then any others after all.”

The two adults thought about the plan. It had its merits. After all it seemed like the young Krum has made his decision to be there and even if they were seen no one could place them; they were all from further east in Europe.

His father smiled at him and patted him on the back. Severus nodded his head, at least he would have to make up an excuse to the old coot about where he had been on the exact night Harry disappears.

“Great plan, Victor. You will see to it which friends you wish to take and I’ll will see to it that you all have rooms prepped here for a few days. Severus, it is the weekend tomorrow; no meetings right? Why don’t you stay here for now and make sure everything is successful?”

“I will be around Sunday and Monday to make sure Potter is alright health wise and to discuss what he wishes to do next. I can not be missing from my chambers tonight if that is when you wish to take Potter. But I do wish to speak to you and your friends before you go.”

“Yes sir, I will make the calls now and we will be ready before lunch. Perhaps we could discuss the matter over dinner?” He asked his father, knowing that his mother like light topics at the dinner table.

“Yes I will inform your mother of the urgency. Severus, do you wish to come back at lunch? Or stay and take advantage of the dark books we have in the library?”

He thought about it, he would like to stay and search the books for one he hadn’t already read from this place but he had a damned meeting. With a sigh he smiled crookedly at his friend.

“I will come by straight after my meeting. I’ll show myself to the library and when lunch is served, do call me.”

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It was dark outside which in summer meant it must be around ten o’clock. His ribs still ached from the beating he had gotten this morning, as did his jaw and eyes, he’d lost a tooth and now his gums were all tender and he didn’t really feel much like eating. Although his stomach seemed to disagree and wanted him to inhale it all so it would be full fast.

He wanted to hit himself! He was being so melodramatic but he couldn’t help it. He just felt so tired yet couldn’t sleep. He took out his box and checked the stuff inside; it was everything that he had owned as a kid. From stray figurines of Indians and army men to the wrapping paper of Dudley’s presents that he got to play with. There was even a cinema ticket that Vernon had dropped after they had come back from the pictures.

He hated the fact that this was all he had and he was happy for it. He wanted to say it’s not enough, but then they didn’t think he was enough so it didn’t matter, it was a moot point.

On hearing a cracking sound Harry looked outside his window. He could see nothing out of the ordinary…But then six men appeared. Two of them stood back as the other four got to work.

One of them began drawing a circle with a pattern of sorts inside right in front of his house. Another put of a pair of fingerless gloves and stood at the right end of the property, the third did the same at the left side. The fourth and the one who had drawn the circle both stood on opposite side of the drawing.

The shorter of the two who had watched all this stood forward into the circle and it began to glow with a purple light. Suddenly it looked like there was a glowing net over his entire house; it was glowing all different colours and moved as though alive and floating.

Then he heard a loud explosion and looked back to the people surrounding his house. They had started to burn away the netting it began to slowly glow red on the edges and disintegrate. He saw the netting start to move more, as thought it could feel and sense it was in danger.

“POTTER! What are you freak friends up to now? Damn it boy, you WILL learn your place!”

He shivered as he heard Vernon waddle to his room as fast as he could. Harry had no escape and no time to hide his box so he curled into a protective ball with the box in the centre of him. He tensed completely when he heard the door being unlocked.

Before Vernon could touch the boy though, the front door blasted open. Petunia screamed from the stop of the stairs as she saw four of the men from outside come barging through her home. One of the men grabbed Petunia and forced her into Dudley’s room and put a locking charm on the door; it would unlock when they leave the house.

“What have you done now, boy! Look what they’ve done to my wife!! You’re going to pay for this you little shit!!” Vernon smacked Harry across the head hard and continued to get punches and kicks in where ever he could. Harry just kept trying to breathe slowly and stop the tears from falling. It he was to die from the pain that burst out of his ribs, back and head then he didn’t want to die crying.

“What are you do?” There was a loud thud and Harry could feel through the floorboards the Vernon had hit the wall and fallen to the floor. He tried not to be afraid of who had come for him. He didn’t know if they were death eaters or ministry officials taking him to Azkaban. He just clung to his box, wished Hedwig to stay safe and kept in himself curled up. Even as someone strong picked him up and was carrying him he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want to see the world anymore.

He heard people talking but couldn’t understand them, he relaxed slightly when the person carrying him call him Little Light; he began to remember all the letters of encouragement and honest concern he had gotten from the Bulgarian, he remembered the talks they had of nothing important by the lake and the feeling of always being safe round the one that called him Little Light. With those thoughts he drifted of into an unconscious sleep.

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Harry awoke to the sound of a light tapping of metal. Maybe Hedwig and gotten a reply and was trying to get his attention without being to loud. He shifted slightly and immediately felt the difference from his old mattress on the floor to the one he was on now. He opened his eyes and light bombarded his eyes. He squinted slightly and sat up slowly; already feeling the strain on his body the movement was. He looked around the room trying to find something that would tell him to where he was.

The room was amazing; the walls had thick strips of navy blue with smaller ones in gold and white making a nice pattern across the walls. The furniture was all must be wood but it was all painted pure white and all decorated with either cherubs or flowers and some of the detain was down in gold, than padding on things such as the chair and loveseat opposite the bed had a plain navy blue fabric covering it. There were two nightstands by the bed and each had a lamp on. But the one on his side of the bed had a rolled up parchment with a piece of leather tied around it.

He looked to the large arched double windows to see if Hedwig was there but didn’t see her. When he took a closer look, by the window in the corner was an ornate stand the held a large piece of wood and standing on it sleeping was his beautiful white owl.

“The parchment is meant for you to be reading sir. Bikit was asked to tell you that. I was also told to tell you that Master Victor will be waiting for you in the family dining room and I is to be taking you there, once you are cleaned and dressed.”

Harry blinked a few times at the elf he hadn’t even noticed. The thing didn’t look at all like Dobby or Kreacher. This one had a light purple colour to it and didn’t seem as thin as Dobby was. And the dishcloth it wore was a royal blue colour that had a crest on the front. What Harry found slightly amusing was that she didn’t seem afraid of him and just sat on a small pillow on the floor, knitting.

He shook his head and reached for the parchment on the table. Carefully, he took off the leather tie and unrolled the parchment. As he read a smile appeared on his face and he shook his head in understanding;

Dear…Potter

I received you letter and thought it a bit melodramatic. Honestly, you really are a teenage with that kind of attitude. I suggest you take the blue vial I have left by this note; it will ease the pain you may feel as a result of your brutish Uncle. Victor has promised to keep an eye on you until I can see to you this afternoon. Then you are going to tell me everything starting with how you know Victor Krum and do not stutter or stumble your way through my visit I have important work to do.

S.Snape

Harry sighed and left the letter on the side as the house elf began to explain where the bathroom, towels and his clothes were. He took the prescribed blue vial and after a pause to work out if the after taste was any good, he went for a long shower, thoughts of what he could possible say to Victor after…last nights?...events.

He shook of the feeling of humiliation and started to think about what he would tell Snape when the man arrived this afternoon. The potions professor seemed just as reluctant to be helping as he thought he might be. But that was ok because it should how big the man is, if he can still help him even when he doesn’t want to.

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Ok that’s it until another chapter! Please Review and tell me what you think I LOVE to hear from you all and Thank you those of you who have review so far, it was a pleasure reading what you thought!