Summary: Harry James Potter has always been anything but normal. Why should Hogwarts be any different? The Sorting Hat brings back an age-old tradition for the special little boy: Apprenticeship. AU Year One- mentor-father/son relationship

Warnings: All recognizable characters, objects, places, etc. belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I'm simply borrowing them for my own evil deeds and will return them later.

Rating: T/PG13- some content may not be suitable for younger kiddies.

Disclaimer: mentions of past verbal abuse and neglect, and mild use of corporal punishment

A/N: I'm really sorry about the long wait, guys. RL hit me pretty good- I got a job about a week ago at Caribou Coffee (!!!!!), and around the same time a classmate of mine passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly (the chapter is dedicated to him, and Severus' house-elf has been named for him). Needless to say, I stopped writing for a bit. This isn't super long, so I apologize, but I'm hoping to start churning out chapters a bit more quickly. Thanks, enjoy, and please review! ALSO: I've recently made a Twitter- please follow me: FallenSAngel.

Apprentice

Chapter 5: Assessment

Previously: Harry stayed quiet the rest of dinner, half-dreading the "magical assessment" with Snape. What if he wasn't good enough? Or Snape sent him back to the Dursley's? Shoving his thoughts away, Harry dropped his fork to his plate, standing abruptly. "I'm going to go wait for Professor Snape. Night, guys." Harry said, hurrying from the Hall, his thoughts in turmoil. Reaching the portrait sooner than he thought he would, Harry pressed on the harpsichord, nervously making his way into Snape's quarters. The sooner they got this assessment done the better.

~*~

Harry slouched against the wall in Snape's living room, eyes closed and hands shoved into his pockets. He could feel his heart thudding quickly against his ribcage, and he measured his breaths to try and calm himself. Drawing in a breath slowly through his nose, Harry mentally counted to three before gently exhaling through his mouth. Hearing the door open softly, Harry's eyes flew open as he stopped his breathing exercises, feeling his heartbeat pick up again.

"Good evening, Harry." Snape said quietly, nimble fingers flying down and unbuttoning his robes. Harry pushed himself off the wall, watching as Snape carefully shrugged out of his robe, hanging it carefully on the coat rack. Quickly rolling up his sleeves, Snape walked gently across the room to sit gently on an armchair, waving Harry over.

Obeying, Harry crossed the room, sinking into the leather couch. Relaxing, he sank back against the back of the warm leather as Snape twirled his wand, conjuring a tea set. Leaning forward, Harry leaned forward, gently taking a cup and saucer, carefully pouring tea into his cup. Sitting back, he blew gently across the surface of the liquid, eyeing his mentor. Snape had poured himself tea and was now relaxing into his armchair, ankles crossed.

Harry dropped his eyes, gazing into the clear brown liquid of his tea. He heard a soft, gentle clink as Snape placed his cup onto his saucer. "Now, once you are ready we will do our assessment, alright?" Snape said, Harry's eyes rising.

"Yes, sir. But what exactly do you do for an assessment?" Harry queried, sipping at his tea.

"I'll be casting a spell that measure the strength of your magical core. I can put that into a formula which gives an estimate of your magic strength once you reach your majority. Then you'll cast a few basic spells against training dummies to test your magic levels. I'll end it with a quick test of mind magics, and then elemental. Overall, that's all I can really do. Now, what exactly did Professor Lyerly say about Mages?" Snape replied, refilling both Harry's teacup as the child held it out.

"Just that they're extremely powerful and usually have control over wordless and wandless magic, and an Element. And then he said that neither the Headmaster nor You-Know-Who are Mages." Harry said, balancing his cup and saucer as he shifted on the couch, toeing off his shoes and bringing his legs up into a cross-legged position.

"He is incorrect on many levels, Harry. While a Mage is very powerful and have control over various other magics, including Elements, there are many Mages. There are different classes for each branch of magic, as well as power levels within that. The Dark Lord, is a Mage- he has control over Earth, a touch of Beast-Speak, and is very well-versed in Necromancy. The Headmaster has control over Wind, and is incredibly gifted with the Mind and Wordless Magics." Snape explained, shifting and crossing his legs.

Harry gazed into his teacup, tracing the rim with his finger. "What about you, sir? And me?" He asked softly, looking up to gaze at his mentor.

Snape met his gaze, unwavering. "I am also a Mage, Harry, although it is not well known. I have minor control over Fire. I'm within the highest percentile for Potions and Mind Magics, and surpass the Headmaster with Wordless and Wandless Magic. As for you, young Apprentice, I will have a better idea once I've tested you. But if you are Apprenticed to me, then I suspect you will be classified as a Mage within at least one of my classes, and I suspect you will have some Elemental talent." He said, leaning towards Harry during his speech.

Harry nodded, absorbing the information in. He swirled his tea, watching as a little bit of the tea sloshed over into the saucer. "Will the spells hurt, sir?" Harry asked softly, his eyes locked on the slowly dripping liquid.

"No, Harry. There will be no pain." Snape said gently, leaning forward.

Harry looked up, locking eyes with his mentor. Searching the obsidian depths, he saw the slight glimmer of truth in his mentor's eyes. Nodding, he set his tea down, uncrossing his legs. "I'm ready then." He said softly, looking at Snape with trusting eyes. Snape nodding, setting down his own tea and stretching out his legs. Harry made to stand with Snape, only to have the man hold a hand up to stop him.

"Lay down, Harry. It'll be easier if you do." Snape said, pulling a parchment scroll onto the coffee table, as well as a magiced, self-inking quill.

"Close your eyes and relax. I'm not going to hurt you." Snape said softly, kneeling beside Harry. Obeying, Harry closed his eyes, feeling Snape gently lift his glasses off his face. Forcing himself to relax, Harry counted his breaths again, feeling Snape gently set one hand on his forehead. Keeping his breaths even, Harry calmed himself as he heard Snape gently begin murmuring a spell.

~*~

Normal eleven-year-old wizards had magical levels between 80 and 100 (witches usually averaged twenty points higher, while Muggleborns with twenty points lower). Harry's were right where they were supposed to be, at a solid 94. Satisfied, Severus cancelled the scan, letting his wand hand fall.

"All right. We're done, you can sit up Harry. Well done." Severus said, still kneeling beside his Apprentice. Harry sat up, blinking against the light and trying to focus his eyes. Severus wordlessly handed Harry his glasses, watching as the emerald eyes slowly blinked into focus.

"How're my levels, sir?" Harry asked softly, locking eyes with Severus. Severus pushed himself up and back, perching on the coffee table.

"They're very much normal for your age, in the top ten percentile. Now, we just need to asses your levels." Severus said, standing up fully. With a quick flick of his wrist, Severus conjured up a practice dummy. Tall and white, it was just a tad shorter than Severus, with a bright bulls-eye on its chest.

"Now, this dummy will assess the power levels of your spells after you cast them. You'll aim for the target in the middle of its chest, and the strength of your spell will be shown above their heads. I need to adjust it for an eleven-year-old with your power levels so it'll adjust accordingly." Severus continued, pointing his wand at the dummy and murmuring a spell under his breath. The dummy glowed golden for a quick moment before the glow dissipated.

"Alright then, Apprentice. I realize you haven't learned any real spells yet, but I would like you to concentrate and attempt the spells I tell you. Now, the first spell I would like you to cast is a basic Levitation Charm- Wingardium Leviosa. Swish and flick with the wrist." Severus instructed, Harry coming over to stand in front of him and face the dummy.

The eleven-year-old raised his wand, green eyes focused. "Wingardium Leviosa!" He incanted, giving a swish and flick with the wrist. The dummy lifted lightly off the ground for a few seconds before dropping sharply to the ground with a thud. Harry flinched with the sound, turning to look at his mentor.

"It's alright, Harry. You cannot be expected to get it right on the first time. Here," Severus said, kneeling. He gestured Harry over, and pulled the boy against his chest. Taking up Harry's right arm, he guided his Apprentice through the appropriate movements, saying the incantation clearly- Wingardium Leviosa. Harry mouthed the incantation along with his mentor, letting Severus lead his arm. "Alright, try it again." Severus instructed, dropping his arm to Harry's shoulder. Beneath his hand, the sinewy muscles rippled as Harry raised his arm, incanting and gesturing as Severus had instructed.

The dummy lifted gracefully into the air, hovering around a foot off the ground. "Well done, Harry. Now try to control it and keep it steady." Severus continued, his eyes drifting from the floating dummy to his Apprentice.

Harry's eyes with hard with focus, his lower lip caught between his teeth. His hand was firm around the polished handle of his wand, and he looked every bit the determined little wizard. Severus glanced back up at the dummy, watching as Harry gently controlled it's flight, lowering it gently to the ground. "Excellent Harry." Severus said, squeezing Harry's shoulder. The eleven-year-old turned his head, eyes brimming with excitement.

"I did it!" Harry whispered, turning fully to stand in front of Severus.

"Indeed you did, Harry. Let's see what your power levels are." Severus replied, turning Harry to face the dummy.

"An eight? Is that good?" Harry asked nervously, seeing the green glowing number above the dummy's head.

"Yes, Harry. Very good." Severus said, expecting the results. "Since this has been adjusted to your age and overall magical strength, the ideal score is a ten. An eight is very good indeed." He continued, patting Harry's shoulder before straightening up fully.

"Now, try a Stunning spell. The incantation is Stupefy." He instructed, walking Harry through the incantation and spell work again. Severus crossed his arms, standing back and watching as Harry cast the spell. The jet of red light shot out, hitting the dummy. The white body flew backwards, Severus casting a quick cushioning charm so the dummy wouldn't go through his wall. "Very impressive, child." He said drying, a glowing number eleven floating about the dummy's head.

"Eleven? I thought it was only ten?" Harry asked, turning and looking up at Severus.

"It is. Eleven means you've overpowered the spell. I'll teach you how to control it later. Now, try casting an Incendio." Severus explained, Harry turning and obeying.

"Incendio!" Harry incanted, the dummy bursting into flames. Severus jerked back at the strength of the flames, raising his wand to cancel the spell and put out the flames. With Augumenti on his lips, Severus started the spell, only to stop as Harry threw a hand at the fire. Water arced up from the floor, spinning around itself and dancing overt the fire. The fire was soon out, the dummy charred and dripping wet. Lowering his wand, Severus looked down at Harry. Sensing his mentors' gaze, Harry looked up, confusion written across his face.

"Professor? What did I just do?" He asked softly, lowering his hand.

Severus swallowed lightly, crossing his arms against his chest. "You not only cancelled your own spell, you also counteracted it. You are an Elemental, Harry, with control over water. You'll need to be careful, Harry." Severus warned, Harry nodding warily. "I think that's enough spell work for tonight. Now, I just want to test Mind Magic. The spell I'm going to use will enable me to see into your mind- see your thoughts, memories, and dreams. I want you to attempt to keep me out. I'm not going to tell you what to do, I want to see if you are a natural Occlumens. The spell that I will be casting is called Legilimens, it is the art of Occlumency. Come, we'll sit for this." He continued, sitting on the coffee table and gesturing for Harry to sit on the couch. "Alright, brace yourself. Legilimens!" Severus incanted, slipping into Harry's mind. Prodding gently, he saw simple memories- school, chores, playing, the sort of thing every child did. No hints of the treatment at his relatives hand's, and Severus knew, as a natural Occlumens himself, that Harry was talented with the same. Withdrawing gently, Severus pulled a headache potion from his pocket, passing it to Harry with a murmur of it's use. Harry downed the vial, grimacing lightly at it's taste. Severus vanished the vial, moving to sit beside his Apprentice.

"You've done very well, Harry. Very well indeed. I'm going to speak with the Headmaster tonight about obtaining a teaching assistant, and possibly a tutor for you. Go ahead and start on your homework. If you get hungry you can summon a house-elf. Simon is the house-elf assigned to me, so simply call his name and he can fetch you what you need- within reason. You can also send him to me if there is an emergency." Severus said, Harry following along and nodding.

"Yes, sir. May I do my homework on the table?" Harry asked, Severus giving a nod for an answer.

"I'll go speak with the Headmaster, you get started on your homework. If you need help with anything, let me know when I get back." Severus spoke as he stood, Harry scrambling to his feet. Pulling his robe back on, Severus left to speak with Albus, hearing Harry scramble to his room.

~*~

Harry set his books carefully on the table, dumping his knapsack next to them. Pulling out his planner, Harry snagged his Transfiguration book and began reading. Pulling a roll of parchment to him, Harry began jotting down the few questions he had in the reading. Finished, he carefully closed the book, starting a pile of finished books next to his elbow, and setting his parchment in front of him to dry. Grabbing his Defense book, Harry quickly finished that assigned reading, jotting a few notes in the margins. Adding that book to his pile, he started on his Charms homework, alternating between reading and writing the short essay. Blowing across the ink to let it dry, he set his book to the side. Pushing the books over more, Harry closed his Charms book and added it to the pile, checking off his finished homework in his planner. Sighing, Harry set back, shaking out his cramped hand. Hearing his stomach grumble, Harry frowned, deciding to call a house-elf. "Simon!" He called lightly, the house-elf appearing with a sharp crack.

"Young Master called?" The tall house-elf asked, giving a slight bow as he appeared.

"Hi, Simon. Uhm, could I have a glass of milk and chocolate biscuts, please?" Harry asked, turning to look at the house-elf. Simon was taller than the house-elves Harry had seen, with a shock of curly hair between his two pointed ears. He was clad in a tea cozy stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and gazed up at Harry with wide, brown eyes. Simon nodded and snapped his fingers, a tray holding the cookies and milk appearing in front of Harry.

"Is that all, Young Master?" Simon asked, bouncing lightly on his feet.

"Yeah, thanks Simon." Harry said, Simon disappearing with a crack. Turning back to his homework, Harry happily munched on the biscuits as he slowly read through his Introduction to Magic book. Finished with that, Harry sighed happily as he realized all he had left to do was his Herbology reading and essay. Deciding to save his Herbology reading for his Potions study, Harry set into the essay, filling over a foot of parchment with all the plants and herbs he knew. Sitting back with a sigh, Harry glanced up at clock, surprised it had already been two hours. Rolling his shoulders back, Harry stood, cracking his back as he gathered his books and homework up, trudging back to his room.

Dumping everything on his desk, Harry yawned, running a hand through his hair. Deciding to take a shower, Harry gathering up pajamas and towels, he trudged to the bathroom, starting up the shower. Stripping, Harry tossed his clothes into the hamper, stepping under the hot spray. Used to cold, five minute showers at the Dursley's, Harry tilted his head back, letting the jet his face. Quickly washing himself, Harry shampooed his hair twice, letting the water run over his face. Shutting the water off, Harry stepped onto the navy rug on the floor, shaking his hair out. Grabbing his towels, he quickly toweled off, pulling on clean boxers and a soft cotton tee. Stepping into soft pajama bottoms, Harry towel-dried his hair, dumping them in the hamper as he left and padded back to his room. Exhausted, Harry threw himself on his bed, pulling a novel from his side table to read. Lying on his stomach across his bed, Harry began reading Lord of the Rings, propping his chin up on his hand. Feeling himself get sleepier as he got more and more into the story, Harry yawned, feeling his eyes starting to slide shut. Suddenly, Harry's fisted hand slipping from under his chin, his face smashing into the book. Grumbling under his breath, Harry yawned against the book as he felt himself succumb to sleep.

~*~

Severus stalked down the halls of Hogwarts, muttering under his breath. It should have taken an hour, tops, to discuss finding a teaching assistant and possible tutor for Harry. But no, Albus Dumbledore had dragged it into a three hour discussion, pulling out various files of potential witches and wizards for both positions. Finally, they had settled on Bill Weasley as a teaching assistant for the first through fourth years, leaving Severus to prepare the fifth years for the OWLs, and teach his NEWT level students. Albus had insisted, however, that with Bill teaching the majority of the classes that Severus would be the main tutor for Harry. Sighing, Severus entered his quarters, not surprised at the silence. Hanging his robe on the coat rack, Severus entered his bedroom, making quick work of the numerous buttons on his frock coat and button-down shirt. Tossing them into the hamper for the house-elves, Severus kicked his boots off and stepped out of his trousers, pulling on thin cotton pajama pants and a simple tee shirt. Peeling his socks off, Severus braided his hair back as he padded across the hall into his Apprentice's room, lips quirking up into a smile as he spotted the child.

Harry was sprawled across his bed, on top of the covers. His face was smashed into a book, his glasses shoved up on his forehead. Chuckling, Severus made his way fully into Harry's room, gently pulling the glasses off of Harry's head, and carefully extracting the book from Harry's face. Tucking a tissue into the book as a bookmark, Severus gently closed it and set it on the table, Harry's glasses on top of it. Turning back to his Apprentice, Severus sighed lightly, shaking his head in mirth as he gently gathered Harry into his arms. With a quick wave of his hand, Severus magically pulled the bedding down, setting Harry gently on his back on the bed. Pulling the blankets up gently, Severus tucked Harry in securely, looking for the enchanted orb. Spotting it, Severus gently picked it up, recasting the modified lumos on it, gently tucking it next to Harry. Casting the lights down with a wave of his hand, Severus headed for his own bed, exhausted.