HARRY POTTER:Rainbow in the Dark

Severus took it and put it securely in his pocket and sealed his pocket shut with a spell. "I am taking Harry directly to Witch's Moon. We will spend the night there and then we will floo to Diagon Alley for his school supplies so do not expect us back until mid-day or later."

"Us?"

"I will not be returning Harry to the Dursley's so I will be bringing him here and he will be staying in my quarters until school starts and he is sorted."

Minerva smiled as she closed her door. She knew Harry would be in good hands with Severus and Severus would be in good hands with Harry.

He went back to the Dungeon and, after asking his personal elf, Blinky to request the castle furnish another bedroom in his quarters and to furnish and decorate it for an eleven year-old boy, he left by a door that led to a yard. Severus had a vegetable garden and a garden where he grew herbs and magical plants for his potions. He cast an Impervious spell over himself and then kicked off on his broom. There was thankfully no moon tonight so he didn't have to worry about being accidently seen by Muggles. The first half-hour of the trip went smoothly as he made his way down the coast towards Norwich. However once he hit Lincoln the weather got bad and he was nearly blown off course a couple of times by the wind. The cold rain lashed at him as the lightning flashed around him and the thunder boomed loudly. At last he spotted the wood house on the rock and landed his broom outside.

Harry remained awake long after his aunt, uncle and cousin had gone to sleep due to being cold, hungry, and the floor being too hard. He looked up at his cousin who was sleeping on the couch wrapped up in a warm blanket. He only had a thin blanket and it had holes in it. Cold air and rain leaked in through the cracks in the walls and through the windows. Dudley's arm that he wore his watch on hung off the couch and Harry watched the countdown to midnight. He had drawn a birthday cake with candles and 'Happy Birthday Harry' written on it in the dirt on the floor. Dudley's watch started beeping indicating it was midnight. "Happy birthday, Harry," he told himself softly. "Make a wish and blow out the candles." He thought for a moment. More than anything he wanted somebody to truly love and care for him. He blew out the make believe candles sadly knowing his wish would never come true.

Suddenly there was a sharp rap on the door, followed by another rap, louder this time, and a third rap even louder that the previous two. Dudley shot up from the couch, his blanket falling away from his overweight body. There were noises from upstairs and Uncle Vernon, carrying a rifle followed by Aunt Petunia came storming down the rickety wooden stairs. Uncle Vernon reached up and switched on the light that hung over the stairs, pointed his rifle at the door and demanded, "Who's there?"

"Open the door and find out," a sarcastic voice answered.

Harry took the opportunity to hide in a niche next to the fireplace just in case Uncle Vernon decided to try and shoot the intruder.

The door burst open and a tall man dressed all in black walked in. He pulled out what looked to Harry like a stick, muttered something in a strange language he didn't understand and pointed the stick at Uncle Vernon. The tip of the rifle he was holding somehow suddenly turned upwards. Shocked, Vernon accidently pulled the trigger and blew a sizable hole in the roof. Rain poured in getting both him and Aunt Petunia wet.

Severus looked around in distaste. "Really, Tuney did you think you could hide from the Hogwarts letters forever?" He asked dryly.

"You!" Petunia screeched.

"Lovely to see you again too," he sneered.

Harry almost started giggling and had to clamp both hands over his mouth to stop himself. He suddenly heard the man call, "You can come out now, Mr. Potter." Harry stepped out of the niche and looked up at the tall man. "How did you know I was there?" He asked curiously.

"I have my ways," Severus replied with a smile. He stooped down so he was eye to eye with Harry and said, "I am Professor Severus Snape. I am Potion Master and I teach Potions at Hogwarts. Your mum was also my best friend."

"Wrong side of the street," he heard Petunia mutter, but he ignored her and reached into his pocket, pulled out Harry's Hogwarts letter and gave it to him. "I believe this is yours. We've had some problems getting it to you so I volunteered to bring it."

Harry carefully broke the wax seal and pulled out two letters. The first one informed him that he's been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the second letter was a list of school supplies he would need. "Are you sure you have the right person, Mister?" Harry asked doubtfully. "I don't think this is for me; I don't have super powers or anything."

Before Severus could answer Uncle Vernon interrupted, declaring angrily, "He'll not be going! We swore when he was left on our doorstep that we'd put an end to this nonsense!"

"You knew!" Harry yelled. "You knew about this and you never told me!"

"Of course we knew; your mother and father being the freaks they were!" Aunt Petunia snarled. "We knew you grow up to be a freak just like them unless we put a stop to it right now!"

"As if you could stop it, Tuney," Severus sneered. He looked down at Harry. The child was small for his age and too thin. He recalled with a frown that Lily had been at least 5'5 and Potter had been at least 5'10 so he would have expected Harry to have been taller than he was. He shook his head. No doubt it was because Petunia and her oaf of a husband weren't feeding him regularly. The other child in the room was plainly overweight so obviously they had more than enough food in the house; they just weren't sharing it with Harry. "Are you ready to go, Mr. Potter?"