Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

I'm not a native speaker of English!

Thanks a lot to my beta-readers, Orodruin and AmyLouise, for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Dear readers,

Okay, I will try my luck with another genre. I know many people already wrote a 'Snape adopts Harry' fic but I couldn't resist. I'm not satisfied with this chapter because I just wanted to get over with the "killing Voldemort part" as fast as possible. I hope you like it let me know your opinion!

A few things you should know before you start reading:

This story is completely AU. Severus will have a wife and 4-year old twin boys. Alastor Moody will be married to Poppy as in almost all my stories. He and Remus are teaching Defense together. (More explanation in the story)

There will be at least 4 OC. Severus' wife and children and Healer James Smith.

So please try to be open and don't claw yourself on the plot of the original books. This is fanfiction.

You can find a complete list of all characters andsome discription to them on my lifejournal account. The link to the right journal you can find on my profile here. There you can also find a list of all the drawing that ave been made for this story!

Sunny

Harry leaned his head against the cool glass of the window beside him as the train jerked out of the station. His mouth was turned down in a frown and his eyelids were heavy and drooping.

For a second his eyes closed, and all he could see were the cold, red eyes of the monster Voldemort had become. Then the twisted cruel smirk as he raised his wand.

Harry's eyes snapped open again, his heart beating fast in his chest. Don't think about it, he told himself firmly. He'd been fighting off the memories of his second year with more or less success all summer.

That's one thing Uncle Vernon's good for, he thought bitterly. At least when I was beaten into unconsciousness, I didn't have any nightmares of the battle.

Involuntarily, his mind went back to the chaos that had raged inside the castle when the Dark Lord attacked. Merlin, we were only second-years!

A lump still caught in his throat when he remembered.

They had done everything they could. The Headmaster, and Professor Snape, had stepped in to his rescue, coming together to form one final, hopeless stand against Voldemort.

"So, you show your true colors at last, traitor!" He remembered the snake-like voice of Voldemort just before he cast a vicious Cruciatus Curse at the Potions master.

Harry shifted in his seat, rolling his forehead across the glass and staring out at the rolling hills in an attempt to tear his mind off the path it was taking. It was a futile effort. Now that the memories had started, they wouldn't stop flowing through his mind.

Snape had jerked under the curse on the ground. Harry had been shocked. Ron and Hermione had been at his side, also not able to move, when Harry caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Beside Hermione, Nagini, Voldemort's poisonous giant snake, had been hovering, ready to strike.

"Hermione!" he'd shouted and pushed her out of the way. He still wasn't sure what spell he'd used, but the snake had released an almost human shriek as it was blasted off Hermione, its body falling lifeless on the forest floor.

"Harry Potter, you damn boy." The voice, cold and cruel, had raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

Voldemort's red eyes had flickered between Harry and his snake and narrowed dangerously. "What have you done?" he'd hissed—as Harry's scar burned with the force of the wizard's anger.

Harry had moved in front of Hermione, who was still lying on the ground with Ron kneeling next to her. Merlin, please let them survive all of this. Don't let them die because of me.

"Take her, Ron, and run," he'd ordered his friend. His gaze still fixed on Voldemort, he could hear that Ron had done what he had told him. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen them hiding behind a tree.

"Avada Kedavra!" The dark wizard had shouted, taking advantage of Harry's diverted attention, a green light bursting from the tip of his wand.

Harry had lurched out of the way, rolling on the ground.

A second "Avada Kedavra!" echoed the first half a second later, and Harry's eyes had turned, wide with confusion and terror, to land on Professors Dumbledore and Snape, both with wands extended in Voldemort's direction.

A shriek had cut through the air, and Harry's head had twisted around, mouth gaping open, to see Voldemort collapsed on his knees. The wizard's angry red eye had fixed on him one last time as he fell forward...

For a long moment none of them had moved, disbelief heavy in the air. Could it really be over? Just like that?

"Is—is he dead?" Ron's voice had cracked with emotion as he asked the question; it seemed to break the spell that had rooted them in place.

Professor Snape had still looked very shaken from the Cruciatus Curse.

"Severus?" Professor Dumbledore had questioned.

Harry had glanced up as the dark-haired wizard pulled up his left sleeve, revealing an unmarked forearm.

"He's… really gone." Snape's voice had held a quiet sort of shock that made him seem more human than Harry had ever seen him before.

And then it had clicked. "Nagini."

The two wizards had looked at Harry.

"What was that?" Dumbledore had asked.

"The snake." Harry had pointed to the serpent's corpse. "It—it must have been the final Horcrux."

There had been a great party to celebrate the victory. Everyone had congratulated him. Professor Snape had even patted his shoulder and said he was proud of him. Snape had changed somewhat, as he didn't have to pretend any longer that he was one of Voldemort's henchmen. He still wasn't exactly kind and loving, but he tried to treat all of his students equally. His Slytherins needed him now more than ever. Those who hadn't helped the Dark Lord during the attack were scared that they would have to suffer for their peers who joined Voldemort, though the teachers did their best to prevent prejudices and ridicule towards the Slytherins. Many had lost their parents and needed emotional support. Snape had a lot to do, being the Head of Slytherin House. It was obvious that he really cared for their well-being even if he wouldn't openly admit it. He still was very strict and proud, but not unfair anymore.

The teachers had worked hard to find people that would adopt those who had lost their parents and relatives in the attack or because they were sent to Azkaban.

Bitterly, Harry thought, Yeah, they worked so hard to make them happy and find them new families, but what about me? I had to go back to the damn Dursleys. I couldn't even leave for a few weeks to the Burrow because the Weasleys were visiting Charlie in Romania. He'd had to spend the whole holiday at the Dursleys, and it had been much worse than the last time. Uncle Vernon had beaten him whenever he found a little reason for it, and when he hadn't found one, he just made one up. I'm positive he enjoys beating me immensely, the sadistic bastard. The worst were the days when he had beaten him with his belt, and that had happened several times this summer. Just thinking of it made his back hurt. He still had wounds from the beatings there; some were still very fresh. His ribs hurt because of the kicks Uncle Vernon had given him. They had hardly fed him; his face was pale and sunken. Large bags had formed under his eyes. But he had worked hard to learn Glamour Charms and could now use them very effectively.

The only drawbacks of Glamour Charms were that they took a lot of energy and holding them up all the time was very tiring. He hoped that after a few days of proper food and sleep he wouldn't have to wear them any longer. At least the holidays are over now and I can go back to school, Harry thought, relieved.

"Everything okay, Harry?" Ron interrupted his thoughts.
"Yeah, sure!" Harry answered. Ron and Hermione eyed him in concern.

"Was your summer that bad, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"No, no, just the usual," he lied and tried to smile at them. Come on, compose yourself. The summer is over and it's almost a year until I have to go back, he thought. I don't want to speak about the Dursleys and what happened this summer. What would it help?

"Look, Harry, that's me with one of the baby dragons from Charlie's work. Isn't that cool?" Ron handed him a photograph. Happy about the distraction, he took it and had a closer look.

"Wicked," Harry said, admiring.

Out of his the corner of his eye he could see Hermione still eying him closely in concern. But it seemed she would let the topic rest. For now at least.

The train ride went smoothly without any disturbances or problems.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade, Harry looked for Hagrid. The giant was easy to spot and was already on his way over to Harry.

"Harry! Good ter see yeh." When Hagrid embraced him in a bear hug, Harry winced in pain as he felt some of the welts on his back break open again. But as anyone would wince when Hagrid hugged him, nobody found it unusual.

Harry bit on his lower lip to stop himself from crying out and pressed his face into Hagrid's coat so that nobody could see his face pulled in pain. Harry couldn't speak from the pain in his torso and back. But Hagrid was so excited that he didn't notice Harry's lack of response.

"Harry, I'm glad yer back. My little hero, eh?" He released Harry and ruffled his hair affectionately. "I have lotsa new things I want ter show yeh. Yeh have ter come down ter my hut some time soon ter see. Promise?"

"Sure, Hagrid." Harry nodded and was glad that he found his voice again.

"Hagrid you must call for the first years. They are already running around confused." Hermione warned Hagrid.

"Bugger, I totally forgot! See yeh all later!" With that, he moved away from them and shouted, "First years, over 'ere!"

The trio made their way to the carriages. There they met Neville. Everyone was greeting each other happily because they were so glad to be together again. When Harry looked around, he could see Ginny with Lee Jordan at another carriage. They were waving in Harry's direction and he waved back. The Weasley twins were nowhere to be seen. He was disappointed that they didn't come to meet him on the train. Over the summer they had written to him even more than Ron and Hermione. After Voldemort's defeat they had found out about the Room of Requirement. Harry had joined them with their experiments for their jokes and fireworks. He had been glad to be away from all the celebrating and cheerful people; he hadn't liked the attention. He didn't like it when people saw him as a hero.

I only killed a damn snake, he thought, annoyed. The twins never treated him differently. That was something he was really glad about. With them he could just be Harry. While working together with them, he found out that he really liked brewing potions. Without the fear of Snape breathing down his neck, he enjoyed it. And when Snape didn't act any longer as if he hated him, he became even better in Potions.

Over the summer Harry exchanged letters with the twins about new ideas for new jokes and fireworks or about how to improve their already invented ones. He was looking forward to realizing his ideas in the Room of Requirement. Reading the letters and researching for improvements were the only good parts of his holiday. That was what he had been looking forward to each day. Now seeing that they didn't come to greet him was really disappointing.

"She is together with him, can you believe that? He is three years older than her!" Ron said angrily.

"Oh come on, Ron. Ginny can decide for herself with whom she falls in love," Hermione scolded him.

"In love? She saw him only once at the start of the holiday and then they were writing to each other almost every day. Errol was almost dying from flying from Romania to Lee so often. How can she be in love with him when she only saw him once?"

"They know each other from the last school year, Ron. God, don't be such a jerk." Hermione rolled her eyes.

It was good to have his two friends back. He enjoyed their little battles.

"Stop smirking, mate." Ron pushed Harry's shoulder mockingly.

"I just realized how much I missed you two," Harry said, still grinning.

"We missed you, too," Hermione said, smiling.

"Yeah, mate!" Ron responded friendlily.

When the castle came into sight, Harry was overwhelmed by the feeling of returning home. Glad to have his friends around and not having to fear a beating by his uncle, he was looking forward to the new school year.