The Impossible

Title: The Impossible
Rating: R
Warnings: Future slash (probably in sequel)


Chapter5: Puzzle Me New

Severus Snapt dot down in his warm dungeons working on the potion that would restore Harry to his appropriate age. The dungeons smiled of tangy spices that only seemed to add to the heat that hung in the air. For what was now the ninth day in a row the potions master was adding to and taking from the orange mixture in front of him.
The potion would take a month to finish and something needed to be done to it each and every day. Severus, despite what most would think, did not mind the time he spent down in the depths of the castle for it gave him time to think. Most of his thoughts were usually occupied by lesson plans and business in the order but as of late his mind seemed to dwell on something much more irksome.
This was of course none other than Harry Potter, son of James Potter who was the bane of his existence, and current golden child to the entire wizarding world. The fates were cruel, of that he was sure.
The conversatioth Gth Granger and Weasley had left him bemused to say the least. The two were always running around crying the wolf for every little incident that involved the third member of their little gang and yet they remained silent when it mattered the most. The idea that things may have been much worse than either had expected had left them quite visibly shaken.
They had been walking around the school with a proverbial thunder cloud over them. Neither were keen to look at the green-eyed boy he noticed. In fact it gave him an odd sort of pleasure at seeing their obvious guilt. He blamed it on the little death eater inside of him.
Harry was entirely unaffected by their lack of interest in him. All of his time was spent with either Draco or himself. He would sit calmly during the Potions lessons always staying away from the ingredients and never drawing the student's attention to him.
He would remain seated in the stadium while Draco participated in the quidditch practices and while he did not eat a lot he was no longer driving Draco mad with his lack of food consumption. In fact it seemed that the week had seemed to calm Draco.
While his godson was not eager to take care of Harry, he had accepted it and instead treated the boy in a detached fashion that seemed to work well for both of them. It surprised Severus just how easily Harry adapted to the new situation. He easily blended into the background, almost too easily in Severus's opinion.
He added the crushed salmon eyes and began to stir in a clockwise fashion while the smoke wafted from the mixture in a greenish purple hue. Potion making was truly an art of the wizarding world. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
The sudden entry without invitation made the potions master certain that it was his blond haired godson. He was surprised and mildly annoyed when he was that his presumptions were incorrect and instead at his door stood the Headmaster accompanied by another whom he could not rly rly see.
Upon the figure's entrance though Severus sent another curse to the fates as it was the best friend of the bane of his existence. It was also the man who had cost him an Order of Merlin, 1st class. It was a good thing he did not hold grudges.
"Good evening, Severus, I trust you are doing well tonight" Of course Dumbledore did not wait for the answer already noticing the remark would be saturated in sarcasm. Severus glared. "I was wondering if you would be able to join us up in my office for a few moments. I was hoping to fill Remus in on the current situation."
"In a moment Headmaster, I still need to add a few things," Severus smirked as if he had won some kind of battle of wits.
"That is fine, my boy, we will sit here with you and wait." So much for victory, Severus went back to his mixture.
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Draco was currently sitting at his desk trying to write his Charms paper. He looked over to where Harry was sitting. The kid was drawing on a scratch scroll at the moment and so Draco had nothing to snap at him about. He had not't really expected Harry to be doing anything other than what he told him.
It seemed that in this respect the older version of Potter was much different from the younger. He could not remember a single year when Potter had gone without breaking at least a hundred rules but here was his child-self minding everyone without a second thought.
He looked back at his scroll still nothing coming to mind. Closing and opening his eyes rapidly in succession, massaging his temples, and biting his lip did not't aid to his search for information on the Insidifus Charm. He turned his silver eyes on the window.
It was a fairly decent evening with the sun shining break and not a cloud in the sky. It was likely to be the last clear warm day of the year. He stood suddenly with a need for fresh air.
"Come on, Potter, we are going for a walk." The little boy nodded and hopped up ready to move around a bit. He grabbed his puppy and was by Draco's side ready to go fairly quickly.
The two walked through the halls, which were currently empty, their footsteps echoing off of the walls. The thought peeved Draco as he thought of his plans for Hogsmeade that he had been forced to cancel so that he could babysit the Golden child who was currently muttering to his toy.
The kid was definitely a little touched in the head, but of course he had always known that.
At this moment, had he been able to accomphis his friends on the outing, he would be enjoying a nice dinner at the Three Broom Sticks and after that one last stop at Zonko's before it closed. This made him quicken his pace to the door hoping the little boy would have to run to keep up with him. He was so entrapped by his thoughts that he completely missed the figure crossing his path and coincidently crashed into the person causing him to topple in the most undignified manner to the floor.
"Always the figure of grace, Draco," his godfathers smirking face was above his. The man's hand reached down to aid him in standing. Once the blond had righted himself, his eyes caught sight of his straggly looking Ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
The man's eyes were not on him however but on the emerald eyed boy who stood obediently by his side. Harry noticed the man's attention and looked down shifting about, his left hand twisting around his wrist in a nervous fashion Draco seemed to notice he did quite a bit.
No one seemed too sure how to break the silence so it remained until the werewolf lowered himself to his knees by the child. "Why I don't believe we've met before! What might your name be lad?"
Green eyes turned to meet him and a shy smile greeted him.
"My name is Harry." Remus smiled back at the boy warmly.
"Well Harry it is nice to meet you, and my name is Remus Lupin. You can call me Remus if you like." Harry nodded. "And who is this?" Lupin was now pointing to the little stuffed dog Harry held in his arms. The child immediately lit up.
"This is Padfoot! He's my puppy!" Remus's face saddened a bit but was still noticed by the boy.
"I'm sorry," uncertain green eyes went back to the floor.
"For what?"
"Making you sad," hazel eyes developed a look of understanding.
"Harry you did not't make me sad, don't worry about it kiddo." Harry smiled again. The man was nice and even more he did not't seem to want anything from him.
"I'll get those people to make you a puppy to that way we both can have a friend." Lupin smiled at the certainty that shown in those infamous green eyes. The boy looked a lot like Lilly at this age. He had her soft features, small nose, and his eyes seem bit bit larger than most. Just like a doll.
"I would like that very much Harry."
"Alas it is time we continue on with our meeting gentlemen, Draco, Harry, enjoy your evening. We will see each other at dinner I believe." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled from the interaction. It had been quite a while since he had seen Remus Lupin smile.
Dumbledore sobered at this thought. Once this discussion with Lupin was over, he feared that it would be a never long time before the werewolf smiled again. Harry was special to the man as the boy was his only link to his past. Through Harry, Lupin was given hope that all was not't lost and that good things could come out of sad circumstances. The truth about Harry's life would be a hard blow but the fear that they weren't't sure they knew everything made the situation worse.
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Harry and Draco continued out through the huge entry doors and were instantly bathed in warm sunlight. A light breeze caused a piece of Draco's slicked back hair to blow into his face. He glared at the offending strands. A giggrew rew his eyes away from the hair and to his rival behind him.
The wind was blowing the already wild hair into the boy's face covering his eyes and tickling his nose. Harry giggled at the sensation. Draco found the situation slightly amusing as well but not enough to crack his smooth Slytherin exterior.
As he began to look around the field, he noticed that his earlier assumptions of being the only student still at Hogwarts this evening were wrong. Walking toward him and his charge was two Ravenclaw seventh years and three Gryffindor's, none of which he knew the name of.
What he did know was that they too had spotted him and now a confrontation was inevitable. He could tell by the pompous looks on their faces and the more confident strides they were making toward him. Inwardly he cursed his Charm's Essay. If it weren't for it then he would not have gotten the idea to come out here. Stupid Flitwick. Harry seemed to sense the high tension between the boys and Draco and chose to shift behind the blond in hopes to remain unseen.
"Hey Malfoy, Out without your entourage?" It was one of the Ravenclaws.
"I see you are out without your brain, but what's new?" Draco congratulated himself, not the best comeback but it was sufficient.
"Watch it! Your master is not't here to save you, death eater!" It seemed the Gryffindor's wanted a piece of the action too.
"One would think that you could think of some other insults beside Death Eater. After the first couple years it got old." Harry peered around his legs to look at the five boys. One of the raven claws saw him and chose to switch the group's attention to the little boy instead.
"If it is not't Potter," the boy said. Draco unconsciously moved back toward Harry.
"If you don't mind, we are going to be leaving now. We'll let you get back to your mindless wanderings." That was when the fist came out of no where and smashed into his cheek. Draco turned to retaliate but was hit again to where he tumbled to the ground. He tried to blink the stars away. He felt little hands on his back tapping him, a small voice calling his name.
It was only when the cries became more desperate that he opened his eyes despite the throbbing. One of the Gryffindors was pulling Harry away from him.
"What the hell are you doing!?!"
"He does not belong with you Malfoy. You'll probably take him to the dark lord or something." Two of the Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw were heading back toward the castle dragging a frantic Harry along behind them. The other two had their wands drawn and pointed at Draco.
The red blaze of a stunning spell was the last thing he saw before he hit the ground, unconscious.
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"It would seem that after the discussion with Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger that the abuse has been going on for sometime now, though I doubt the extent to which it was happening they did not know." Albus had just explained the situation to Lupin. Already the man looked exhausted and pale.
"Why didn't they say anything. They just let him keep going back home every summer knowing what would happen to him?!?" Remus was past bewildered.
"Trust between friends should not be taken lightly, you should know that, Remus," absently the werewolf nodded thinking back to his own secrets.
"How has he been behaving, Severus?" Snape paused for a moment to think out his words.
"Withdrawn mostly, but he makes the oddest comments and he is strangely affectionate, which makes little sense for an abused child," at this he looked to Dumbledore, his confusion clouding his black eyes. Remus was becoming increasingly agitated, shifting in his seat every few seconds.
"All of this matters little, right now the question is what will we do?" Dumbledore looked imploringly at his to friends. Remus was first to answer.
"We'll press charges and get him out of that house, what more could we do?!?"
"I fear that it will not be that easy Remus. You see Harry is of age in the wizarding world and thus if he won't speak up for himself we can't do anything." Lupin looked at the man in shock.
"Surely we must be able to do something!"
"Only if the abuse is threatening to his very life. If it is merely random beatings, we cannot do a thing without his consent." Severus had been through this situation a few times with other members of his house over the year. He knew the laws regarding the abuse of children well. With every one of his students he had developed a trust and through that trust they had told him the truth and he had acted upon it.
That was where they lost Harry Potter. It seemed the boy trusted no one and getting him to admit secrets he had taken obvious pains to hide would be nearly impossible. Maybe if Black was here, but he was not't and that was that.
"But Albus he is not't going to even tell us about the abuse! He won't press charges!" Remus slammed his fist down on the table. The full moon was only nights away and already his emotions seemed to be heightened and uncontrollable.
"I know, Remus, I know. How is the antidote coming along Severus?"
"It has been progressing well over the week. I expect…" He was interrupted by a knock at the door. In walked a Gryffindor 7th year by the name of Jonathon Maisman.
"Headmaster, sorry to interrupt but we found Harry Potter! He was with Draco Malfoy, but don't worry, we got him away. He is in the Ravenclaw commons right now." The voice of Severus Snape broke the silence brought on by the boy's comment.
"Why on earth did you do that!?!"
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Tyler Watkins was seriously regretting apprehending the young Gryffindor from Malfoy. So far Harry had yet to stop whimpering any time a member of the group would come near him. His two Ravenclaw friends did not't seem to be fairing any better than he. In fact they were doing much worse. He could tell the boys cries were driving them a bit batty.
Currently he was shaking the hopeless boy begging for him to be quiet. Harry just sat there trembling, looking around wildly for a familiar face. He could not stop the nagging fear that they were going to take him back to his uncle.
He had already been gone so long his Uncle was surely angry. Harry found himself quite upset at himself for daring to hope he3 was free. Without even realizing it, he began to cry softly. One of the boys who had taken him was shaking him by the arms rather roughly telling him to calm down.
He tried to stop crying but he just could not. was only seven years old and would not't be able to get away from his family for a very long time. The thought made him cry harder. He liked it here and did not't want to leave now that he knew not everyone hit him. Sev had not't and Draco had never actually hit him, just locked him in a closet, but he had already forgiven the blonde for that.
He did not't want to leave ever.
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Dumbledore, Snape, and Lupin were currently on their way to the Ravenclaw Tower. As Snape was exiting the large entrance to the headmaster's office, he felt someone collide into him. Looking down he realized it was his Godson, again.
This seems to be a growing coincidence, Draco, and after all those etiquette classes!" Snape smirked at the blond who was blushing hotly.
"Not now, Sev someone took…"
"Harry, we know. We are on our way to retrieve him right now" At the headmaster's words Draco calmed and his expression became lofty once more. The look was damaged though by him messy hair and bruising jaw. Irritable at their looks Draco decided to end the staring contest everyone had seemed to wage on him.
"Shall we get going then?" The trip was rather quick as Draco was busy coming up with plans of revenge for those who had attacked him. He did not't even notice they had reached the tower and were now entering until he heard the soft cries. His silver eyes snapped up to see his charge in a plush chair cowering away from his kidnappers. Without even realizing, Draco pushed to the front of the group.
"Harry" Emerald eyes which were brimming with tears met his.
"Draco," and the little boy ran to him clutching his legs sobbing the whole time. "I'm sorry don't send me back. I don't wanna go back." Despite the boys age, Draco lifted him into his arms and cradled him gently. Harry's tears fell against Draco's collar. He seemed oblivious to the tension in the room.
"Gentlemen I believe I will meet you in my office after breakfast in the morning." The five boys stood in shock, quite unable to grasp the events that had just taken place. "Severus, I believe you have something to heal Mr. Malfoy's face." Snape nodded. "Then Mr. Malfoy, I believe Harry could use a nice dinner and sleep. Remus, shall we return to my office?"
Remus took one look at the boy who looked so much like both of his parents. He was nothing like them, though, they were so very different. He turned to follow the headmaster out of the Ravenclaw tower.
"I will have the salve delivered with your meal Draco," with that Snape left toward his office. Soon the headmaster had also left saying ‘good evening' and leaving Draco alone with Harry. The boy was sniffling and muttering pleads to Draco.
Deciding it would be best to just get Harry somewhere private he went through the commons drawing most of the occupant's attention. It seemed everyone was back from Hogsmeade. He saw Blaise and Pansy heading toward him. He nodded to them mouthing ‘later' and the two stopped. He gave the password to his room and in just a moment he was inside.
He set Harry gently on his bed and turned to see what the house elves had left for dinner. It seemed like tonight would be soups, rolls, and juice. He brought the food to the stand by his bed.
"Harry?" The little boy would not look back at him. He touched the boy's shoulders only to have them flinch under his hand. "Hey, come on, look at me." Scared green eyes met his.
"Are you going to send me back?"
"Where?"
"To my Uncle's house" Draco saw the desperation in the boy's eyes and took it as a plea to return home. It angered him in a way. He was trying to get along with the kid.
"Do you really want to go home?" Harry remained still for a moment
"Please don't send me back…I … I don't want to leave here." Draco was taken aback by the fear in the boy's voice.
"Why don't you want to go home?"
"Because I don't want them to love me any more" this was said quietly.
"Why would it hurt to be loved? You're only seven, it's not like you've had time to suffer from a broken heart or anything." Harry just looked down. Draco began to get the bowl of soup when his eyes caught sight of himself in the mirror. He was quite a sight with his ragged hair and then his face.
"Damn look at my face!" The bruise stood out in amazing contrast to his pale skin.
"It does not look so bad," Harry said trying to comfort the boy who had just he had done for him. I pushed the sleeve covering his shoulder off to show Draco the bruises on his shoulders. Maybe he would not feel so bad if he saw that Harry had them too. "I've had loads of bruises before and you look way better than me and they are always saying I'm perfect" Harry rambled on for a moment until he noticed Draco staring at him strangely.
"Where do you get the bruises from?" Harry shifted away, he had only been trying to help. "These are really bad!" Draco stared at the purple splotches on the boy's shoulder.
"No they are fine. They don't hurt much either."
"Did those guys give you these?!?"
"No"
"Then where did you get these?" Draco would never forget the look Harry gave to him that evening. It was a blank look that seemed to ask him why he asked such stupid questions. Then as if answering a question about the weather, Harry uttered one word that would change the rest of his life.
"My Uncle"


A.N.: Thank you every one that has been so supportive. My computer was in storage for some time cause we just moved but I am in my new house and able to write again. I expect the story to be finished in about 5 more chapters. There will be a sequel. I already have this story pretty much finished. Expect updates every Saturday.


Hope this is up to everyone's expectations. Also my dear beta if you are out there I need your email address as my yahoo account went wacco and I have nothing. Lots of love...bye