Summary: Harry has spent his life moving through different foster homes. His godfather is an on and off part of his life. When things seem to hit rock bottom for Harry he is given one last chance to change. This means leaving everything he knows behind. While living at Hogwarts Boys Home, Harry meets Draco and Severus. For the first time Harry has people who care for him. Will that be enough to change of life of loneliness.
The breeze was cool and crisp, blowing leaves gently around swings and under the slides. It was a cool night in Surrey. A pale moon shown gentle down on a raven haired teenager. He was slowly rocking back and forth on a swing back and forth while staring out into the night sky. Distantly the sound of an occasional passing car could be heard.
The teen made sure to choose a swing that was furthest from the dull yellow street lamp. It really wouldn't do him any good to have security or some neighborhood watch catching him at the park after hours. Then again it was only a matter of time until he was found.
This was Harry Potters life.
At only a year old Harry's parents had died in a car accident. Every one who had seen the accident swore that it was a miracle that little Harry even survived. Harry didn't always agree. After the death of his parents, he was put into the custody of his mother's sister Petunia.
That had lasted barely two years. Petunia and her husband Vernon had a son named Dudley and unfortunately for Harry, that was all they needed. The little emerald eyed baby was living on borrowed time at Privet Drive. When Harry was barely three years old he was given to the next person in line.
Lilly and James, Harry's parents, had named their best friend Sirius Black Harry's godfather. The three had grown up together and had remained close even after school. It was Sirius that got custody of little Harry after his aunt gave him up. For the first year everything seemed to be going fairly well.
Harry smiled as he recalled the distant memories of trips to the zoo and parks similar to the one he found himself in at the moment. Sirius was every bit the loving parent Harry desperately craved after the Dursleys.
As much as Sirius loved Harry he could not deny that the death of his best friends had seriously affected him. Even when they were younger Sirius had been a trouble maker. Without his two comrades Sirius tended to get in with bad company.
His depression slowly worsened and with it came alcohol and eventually drugs. By the time Harry was seven the house he lived in with Sirius was nothing but a dump filled with drug paraphernalia and the like.
Despite his bad habits Sirius still loved Harry and to Harry, he was a hero, his one constant in a chaotic life. Unfortunately Child Welfare Services did not feel the same way. After to many absences at school a social worker arrived at Sirius' house and Harry was taken away.
The first foster home Harry was in only lasted two weeks before he ran away. He had only been trying to get home to Sirius.
The second didn't like the fact he had a nasty habit of hoarding things that belonged to others. After he stole his foster mothers diamond bracelet he was returned to Cherish Home. He spent his eighth birthday in the crowded group home listening to his two room mates arguing over a card game.
It was while he was at his third foster home that Sirius was granted permission by the courts to attain custody of Harry again. With a happy heart, Harry left the Shelton household ready to go home.
For the first couple months everything went smoothly. Sirius went to all of his rehab classes and even held a steady job while Harry finished his third year of school. This time disaster came by the name Alice. Sirius had met her at work and they had clicked. Alice really liked Sirius but Harry was excess baggage.
It wasn't long till Sirius was pulled back into the party scene. Harry found himself locked in his room on several occasions listening to the loud voices of Sirius' friends getting smashed out of their minds. No matter how often this happened though, Sirius always came to him when they all left.
He would hold Harry close, calming his fears and the two would fall asleep. One party got to rough and some one who wasn't Sirius got into little Harry's room and proceeded to beat him nearly to death. Sirius got Harry to the hospital but that didn't change the fact that he failed his drug test. Harry was once again removed. It took a long time for all his broken bones to heal.
That wasn't the last time Harry would be hit. In the years to come two of the foster homes he was placed in were rather violent. By the time Harry was fourteen he had lived in eighteen different foster homes and four group homes. Now when they placed him at a home they were lucky if he lasted two weeks before the home returned him or he ran away. It was to the point where group homes simply would no longer take him.
When people imagine fostering a child, they think of wonderful little children, with perfect little chubby faces living happily in their home. Harry smirked at the thought. The fact is most of the children had serious issues and could not just go about being all happy.
In Harry's case he had a nasty habit of stealing. In between bouncing from foster home to Sirius to foster home to group home Harry had also gained a few other habits that his counselor deemed 'destructive'. It kept him sane so he didn't really see the problem.
Now at sixteen years old Harry found himself swinging in a park in the middle of the night waiting to be found. Only an hour ago he had been trying to sneak back into to his latest foster home. Mr. Jenkins and his wife had adopted two other boys and Harry was their latest addition.
They had told Harry to stay in for the night but Harry had other plans. The party he went to was just the kind of relief he had been looking for. He had left early hoping to sneak in but luck as usual evaded him.
Mr. Jenkins had been sitting on Harry's bed when he crawled through the window. Harry could see anger and disappointment written clearly on his face. What followed was a nasty row and Harry jumping back out the window and into the night. He hadn't had time to grab any of his belongings which were few in number. It would have been nice to have a jacket. Instead all Harry had were some loose fitting jeans, rundown sneakers, and a black t-shirt. Definitely not the ideal outfit for late October.
The sound of tires on gravel alerted him to the fact that his hiding spot had been discovered. He heard a car door shut but didn't bother turning around. Slowly the steady beat of a person walking drew near.
"Kinda cold out here, don't you think?" It wasn't the voice of Mr. Jenkins but of Remus Lupin, his case worker. Gently Remus placed a coat over Harry's shoulders. Harry was grateful for the small relief but he still didn't speak.
"You can't keep running off like this."
"I just wanted to hang out with some friends."
"Harry, sixteen year old boys shouldn't be out at two in the morning and I doubt anything you did tonight was legal." Harry chose not to comment.
"Would it kill you to give some of these people a chance."
"They don't want me." He replied in a soft voice.
"They wanted to help you."
"I don't need help." This time it was Remus who didn't comment.
"I didn't mean to break the rules. I just wanted to see my friends." Harry looked up a Remus. The man had become his case worker when he was ten. Harry really liked the way he didn't judge him like most adults did. He was the only adult other than Sirius that Harry trusted.
"Are you going to take me back"
"I'm afraid you won't be returning to the Jenkins." Harry closed his eyes. Really he shouldn't be surprised.
"You can see Sirius tomorrow." At this Harry brightened.
"Thought you would like that." The two stood and made their way to Remus' gold Volvo. No more words were spoken that night. It was in a comfortable silence that the two drove back to Cherish Home. Tomorrow he would see Sirius, that was what mattered.