Severus Snape had done a lot of interesting jobs in his life but this was going to be the most interesting job he'd ever done. It seemed that one of next year's Hogwarts intakes had landed themselves in a bit of trouble and he was being sent to investigate. Severus was undercover as a muggle wearing black jeans, a dark grey buttoned shirt and black boots, he looked rather attractive, especially with his new trimmed locks which Albus had insusted upon.

Severus strode through the doors to St Brutus' Young Offenders Detention Centre in Surrey and was greeted by the man on the desk; his name tag read 'Bill Whitely.'

"Severus Snape, I'm here for my first day." Severus spoke clearly towards the man tapping his fingers on the computer keyboard in front of him.

"Hi Mr Snape, I was told you'd be here at nine, it's only eight you're a little early but that's fine. If you come with me we'll get you started on the G wing. It's where we keep most of the girls and vulnerable boys, figured it might be best for you to get started there whilst you find your feet." The man told him as he walked out of the office door and through the hallway to stand next to Severus.

"That's fine Mr Whitely, so what will I be doing here? The agency was vague and my job roles have differed from centre to centre." Severus lied easily using the cover story Dumbledore had created for him.

"Call me Bill. I must say Mr Snape that your papers are very impressive, you seem to have a good record. Here at St Brutus' we deal with young offenders from 7 to 16 although mainly the older age groups. We have a policy though where we use first names only so are you OK with Severus or have you another name the kids can call you?" Bill enquired.

"Severus will be fine" Snape said reluctantly.

"Ok Severus, so on this wing you will mainly just be supervising the offenders, making sure they don't get into any scraps and the like. We have a new kid coming in who needs some very careful supervision and handling, you'll mainly be working with him today, prepping his room, helping him settle in and learning about how this place works. Usually wake up is 7:30am, breakfast at 8am, classes start at 9am, lunch at 12, classes until 3pm, free time till 6pm, dinner at 6pm then evening activities till lights out time. You'll probably be on call during class times but usually its just a break in the day. If we turn left here." Bill was on a roll it seemed and had given this introduction to the centre enough times to be bored of it.

"So how old is this new kid?" Severus asked.

"Our youngest ever guest, it's his third stay, repeat offender, pretty sad case, he's a great kid. First came to us age 7, thought that had turned him around but he showed up again aged 9 and now he's 10 he's on his longest stint with us 6 months. So if all goes to plan he will be out two days before he turns 11. He'll be in the girl's wing. G wing usually only houses girls but our youngest guest is especially vulnerable even though when you meet him you'll never believe it. Parents were murdered when he was only a year old, they reckon it was a drugs gang, he was left with relatives but they didn't want him, he was neglected and abused till social services picked it up at 6 years old, poor kid had been locked in a cupboard, hadn't progressed since he had been placed with them. He could speak but his growth was stunted through malnutrition, wasn't toilet trained and wasn't socialised so was sent to live with foster carers. Best thing that ever happened to him in his life." Bill seemed to have slowed so Severus felt the need to ask a pressing question.

"If his foster parents are so great how has he ended up here so many times?" Severus asked confused.

Bill sighed. "Well he was placed with his foster carers for a year, they worked miracles, they really did, he progressed quickly with them but unfortunately the state determined that he should not be around younger children especially infants as he may cause them harm so when his foster mother got pregnant he got moved on to a string of other carers. None of them really understood him, like his first foster carers did and subsequently he turned aggressive and unruly." Bill unlocked an empty room and held open the door for Severus.

"This will be his room, housekeeping have been in but we'll need to check it, he should have all those things listed in his file, plastic sheets, extra bedding hidden in closet, reading books, disposable underwear, soft toy, radio and plenty of pens and paper in draws. Once all those things are checked and room is also safety checked we can go and greet him, he'll be here in an hour so if we meet with his keyworker she will fill you in with any extra details you'll need to know. The other girls on this wing are all, fighters, thieves and gang members; they shouldn't give you much trouble apart from the odd fight here and there." Bill dropped him off at an office with a cheery goodbye and went back to his desk duties.

The keyworker was a lovely lady, young, maybe in her mid 20's, her name was Andi and she had been the boys keyworker since he was 7 apparently. Her hair was shirt and spiked up with bright pink and blue highlights, she wore blue jeans and a grey hooded sweatshirt but still managed to look vebeautiful. She had many tales she would start but never finished, often digressing about another story or a joke. Severus sat patiently listening to the woman talk until a knock sounded at the door. Andi shouted a welcome and in walked Bill with a young boy who looked about 8 years old. He gave a wary look Severus' way but smiled when he saw Andi giving a wave and a smile her way.

"Come over at meet our new recruit" Andi waved him over to sit on the sofa next to her.

"Hello, my name is Severus, nice to meet you!" Severus introduced himself.

"'M Harry" the boy mumbled.