Disclaimer: I do not claim anything in the Harry Potter universe as mine. Everything belongs to the magnificent J.K. Rowling. I merely want to play a little in this wonderful playground she built.

Inspired by "The Others" by Anne Bishop and the HP fanfic "Little Seer" by HuskyWalker.

Title inspired by the song 'Written in Blood' by Beyond the Black.

Warnings: AU!, child abuse, violence and slash in the future. If this is not your cup of tea, there are thousands of other stories out there.

Summary: The first war was won by Lord Voldemort. Harry, mercilessly used for his abilities by the rebels as a child, lives unnoticed as an assumed squib at Hogwarts. When an attack of the rebels strikes too close to his sanctuary, his abilities are revealed, bringing him into the spotlight. With Dark Lords and Slytherins stalking him, and rebels trying to kidnap him, what should he do?

AN: So, another Plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone, therefore I simply had to start this story. My mind was too occupied to stay with "Letters to Everybody". The idea of what Harry is comes from "The Others", but I didn't copy it completely, merely took it and formed it into something fitting to what I want. I hope you like it and if not, I can't do anything, your loss.

I am grateful for questions, remarks, grammar and spelling correction messages, so review or PM me.

This is now beta'ed by the wonderful GeMerope, many thanks and hugs to her.

Flames will be used to heat the oven.

Let's start the story.

Prologue

Severus Snape, Potions Master and Professor at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, right hand of the Dark Lord, Marvolo Slytherin, walked through the ruined buildings of the rebel headquarters. Since Lord Slytherin, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Leader of Wizarding Great Britain, took over Hogwarts in 1982, Albus Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix were on the run, declared as rebels and enemies of the state.

Now, eight years later, Lord Slytherin's spy network had finally managed to locate the rebel base. He and his men wasted no time; they struck hard and fast. The battle had been short and bloody.

To his annoyance, Albus Dumbledore had proven himself to be slippery and had gotten away with most of his best fighters. Severus frowned, the old man had too much luck and was too secure in his own beliefs to see the good the reign of Lord Slytherin had brought to Wizarding Great Britain. He still recruited new people to undermine and fight the current government.

Severus stepped through a destroyed door, entering one of the bigger buildings. Something puzzled him. They knew that the rebels were not all adults. They knew Albus and his fighters trained children from their own families and every Muggle-born they could find. So why were there no children present?

So far, the buildings had been empty and they had not felt any apparition before Albus and Mad-Eye Moody had fled, as the last souls to abandon the base. Their spy had told them that this was not only the headquarters where most of the rebels lived, but also the school and training ground for the young ones.

Did Albus know they were coming? And if so, who told them? Everyone involved in this operation had been put under Veritaserum and Legilimency by the Dark Lord himself. There couldn't have been a leak.

Severus nodded to Lucius; his best friend, Minister of Magic and Lord Slytherin's left hand, who stepped into the building from another entrance at the other end of the hallway. They and the other most trusted followers of Lord Slytherin systematically searched through the base. Taking one of the stairs to the upper floor, Severus turned left and opened the doors at this floor one after another, only to discover empty rooms void of furniture, people, or any signs of life.

There was definitely something not right, and it irritated Severus.

At the end of the corridor, he found a door which had him stop in his tracks. It was locked and secured with heavy bolts. With a simple Alohomora the locks were opened, and he pushed at the door carefully, revealing the room behind it. He held his wand in front of him, ready to strike at whatever was in the room, then nearly dropped it at the view in front of him.

The room was bare except a small cot on which a child sat cross-legged. It was dreadfully thin, unhealthy pale skin making the many scars littering the stick like arms stand out even more. The boy was only clad in a too-large t-shirt and shorts. Severus nearly gagged at the intense smell of blood filling the room and the fresh pool of red liquid in front of the cot. Messy, unwashed hair surrounded a pale face with hollow cheeks.

But it was the eyes of the child, who had steadily gazed at him since he opened the door, and the expression in them, that made Severus nearly drop to his knees. The sharp gaze from the almond-shaped eyes that were too big in the emaciated face, the colour of emeralds, burned into his own onyx ones. He remembered eyes like that, beautiful and full of life and laughter, before he made one of the biggest mistakes in his life. The eyes he remembered however, had never looked at him like this; haunted, dead and empty.

Severus was sure, the expression in those eyes would haunt him forever in his nightmares. No child should have eyes like that.

A small smile grazed the lips as the child blinked once.

"Are you here to kill me?" A simple question, spoken without fear, in a raspy quiet voice, barely above a whisper. Something akin to hope shimmered through those green eyes, then they closed and the child passed out.

A few seconds passed before Severus found the ability to move again. Then, he hurried to the small crumbled form, sending an emergency call in form of a Patronus to Poppy to prepare the hospital wing, and started casting stabilizing charms to transport the child to Hogwarts. One thought was at the forefront of his mind the whole time: What had happened here?

AN: I know it is a small chapter but still thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

First published: 16th of April 2018

Last edited: 22nd of May 2019