Yes, he's the consumate manipulator. After all, who would willingly send a child to a home to grow up knowing he was regarded as something akin to excrement, and thereby forge a tool he can use...later.JKR may have wanted the last laugh against a teacher she hated, but her treatment of Harry is remarkably similar to David/Severus' - eerily so.

Thank you so much! :)It will be important and it's been one of the hardest things to do - separate the personas and then deliberately weave them together. How I've actually tried to do it will be more clear once the first few chapters of the second part post. This could have been a prompt that sponsored a one-shot, but why do anything easily?

~dances with joy~ I do like it when readers get a strong emotional response from my chapters, because it's exactly what I was after! :)I've always hated Sirius with a passion because he is the typical bully, self assured and able to pick the outsider quickly and efficiently. That JKR used him as a window for Harry  as a close friend of his parents leaves a particularly sour taste.Dumbledore turns a blind eye to the bullying because it suits his purposes to do so. After all, who better to spy than the youth who is completely ostracised and almost invisible? Mind you, David will have the last laugh. ;)

I've always felt that Harry was much better friend material than his mother and I totally agree with you as to why she made the choice she did. It was a frightening time and she wasn't a social outcast like Sev, Hermione and to a lesser degree, Harry himself.

I also understand that Harry was in a position to take the risks because he had nothing to lose except his own life, which he didn't put a high value on due to his upbringing. Lily did what was easiest and most logical - what all of her peers were doing.

This is why I've always felt that Harry's group was stronger than that of the Marauders and that his generation could be the one to break the cycle of war and prejudice. Lily never would have reached out to Draco. Harry could and did.

The parallels between Harry and Sev's lives always manages to fascinate me. I tend to imagine James and Lily sitting there, forced to watch Harry live a version of Severus's and her childhood combined, seeing how he makes the difficult, but correct choices over and over again as a form of penance.

I've written a book here... going away now and looking forward to your next update. I wish you happy writing as always!

Thank you so much! :DIt took ages to write this chapter, just as one of the chapters in the second part is still giving me grief, but I'm so pleased it works. It really sets up the second part and gives the window to what Harry saw in the pensieve during his Occlumency lessons with Snape.Yep, I really wish he had too, but then I wouldn't have a story. ;)She could have and should have, but I tend to think Lily understood the dynamics of the world she'd been thrust into as an 11 year old. Realistically, would she have risked losing her status in Gryffindor for someone she knew had earned the ire of Sirius, James, and to a lesser extent, Remus and Pettigrew?Honestly, I don't think so, as wrong as that is. It's only when Lily snares James that her place is secure in the magical world, though for only a brief moment.She's painted as a heroine, when in reality she seems (to me from my judicious misuse of canon) far more fickle with her friendships.

Thank you, and things will get better for him. :)

Thank you, and things will get better for him. :)

Always! :) I'm a cruel author the way I torture the characters, no matte their guise. :p

Always! :) I'm a cruel author the way I torture the characters, no matte their guise. :p

Thank you, and you're right, Eileen has placed her trust in someone with an agenda. :)I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Thank you, and you're right, Eileen has placed her trust in someone with an agenda. :)I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Thank you! I was looking for a different slant to Severus' backstory, and the bunnies deliveredd. To deal with this at such a young age, when he's too young to understand just what his mother is asking, is pretty dark and dastedly, but I really do love the character of Peter Granger. he appeared almost fully formed. :)I think it Peter had a smidgeon of magical blood, David would have had a far more different childhood, but then I wouldn't have had a story. ;p

Thank you! I was looking for a different slant to Severus' backstory, and the bunnies delivered. To deal with this at such a young age, when he's too young to understand just what his mother is asking, is pretty dark and dastardly, but I really do love the character of Peter Granger. he appeared almost fully formed. :)I think it Peter had a smidgeon of magical blood, David would have had a far more different childhood, but then I wouldn't have had a story. ;p

Thank you! I was looking for a different slant to Severus' backstory, and the bunnies deliveredd. To deal with this at such a young age, when he's too young to understand just what his mother is asking, is pretty dark and dastedly, but I really do love the character of Peter Granger. he appeared almost fully formed. :)I think it Peter had a smidgeon of magical blood, David would have had a far more different childhood, but then I wouldn't have had a story. ;p

Thank you! I was looking for a different slant to Severus' backstory, and the bunnies delivered. To deal with this at such a young age, when he's too young to understand just what his mother is asking, is pretty dark and dastardly, but I really do love the character of Peter Granger. he appeared almost fully formed. :)I think it Peter had a smidgeon of magical blood, David would have had a far more different childhood, but then I wouldn't have had a story. ;p

Thank you, and I hope the story continues to intrigue you! :)

Thank you, and I hope the story continues to intrigue you! :)

I know, cruel of me isn't it? ;)I think your hunch may be quite accurate, but there is a silver lining in all of this. It just won't be apparent for a while. :)

I know, cruel of me isn't it? ;)I think your hunch may be quite accurate, but there is a silver lining in all of this. It just won't be apparent for a while. :)

Thank you! :) Music to my ears to hear I've hooked you from the prologue. May you continue to stay hooked.

Thank you! :) Music to my ears to hear I've hooked you from the prologue. May you continue to stay hooked.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! :) I wanted to show Eileen as more complex than a battered wife. She's an individual who has her own journey, even though what she has done to D/S is questionable. No one, not even Severus is black and white.The next chapters are in the queue.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! :) I wanted to show Eileen as more complex than a battered wife. She's an individual who has her own journey, even though what she has done to D/S is questionable. No one, not even Severus is black and white.The next chapters are in the queue.

I know, a kindly old man with not a manipulative bone in his body. :pMaybe... :D

I know, a kindly old man with not a manipulative bone in his body. :pMaybe... :D

I think your sneaking suspicion might be right on the money. :)

I think your sneaking suspicion might be right on the money. :)

Thank you! :) I believe I can safely guarantee that this going to be something very different and I owe it all to Sunnythirty3's prompt. Without it, I would never have had the bunnies doing somersaults. ;)

Thank you! :) I believe I can safely guarantee that this going to be something very different and I owe it all to Sunnythirty3's prompt. Without it, I would never have had the bunnies doing somersaults. ;)

Hmm, yes, they'll be an 'item' but not quite in the way I think you're suspecting. The clues are all in the summary, and though it may not be regarded as SSHG in a romantic sense, it's location in Potions Under Duress is for a very good reason. :)/cryptic clues

Oh dear, I hope my suspicions are wrong . . .

Hmm, yes, they'll be an 'item' but not quite in the way I think you're suspecting. The clues are all in the summary, and though it may not be regarded as SSHG in a romantic sense, it's location in Potions Under Duress is for a very good reason. :)/cryptic clues

Oh dear, I hope my suspicions are wrong . . .

~hugs~I will never be able to thank you enough for the absolute gift of a prompt that fostered this story. I just hope that when I write 'The End,' you'll end up with a gift that no one in their right mind ~twitch~ would ever think of doing. :D

~hugs~I will never be able to thank you enough for the absolute gift of a prompt that fostered this story. I just hope that when I write 'The End,' you'll end up with a gift that no one in their right mind ~twitch~ would ever think of doing. :D

Umm, no, not really (sort of) but it's a good guess. :) The story is long, involved and should be clearer when the first chapter posts. I hope it entertains as I unravel canon bit by bit.

Now, you've really got me sitting here wanting more. 

Thank you for such a fabulous compliment! :) Once the story is fully finished, I believe I can safely say that I think it will be the best thing I've ever written.The whole story is plotted out, the first part and part of the second part complete...and now I just need to nail the bunnies to the desk and finish it off. :p

::pushes box of #3 nails along with my most comfortable hammer through the screen::

LOL - Hold that thought and I'm sure you'll enjoy the chapter in the second part which is making me laugh even louder. :D As for the bunnies, they appear to be co-operating currently.

Umm, no, not really (sort of) but it's a good guess. :) The story is long, involved and should be clearer when the first chapter posts. I hope it entertains as I unravel canon bit by bit.

Now, you've really got me sitting here wanting more. 

Thank you for such a fabulous compliment! :) Once the story is fully finished, I believe I can safely say that I think it will be the best thing I've ever written.The whole story is plotted out, the first part and part of the second part complete...and now I just need to nail the bunnies to the desk and finish it off. :p

::pushes box of #3 nails along with my most comfortable hammer through the screen::

LOL - Hold that thought and I'm sure you'll enjoy the chapter in the second part which is making me laugh even louder. :D As for the bunnies, they appear to be co-operating currently.

Thank you and though it will be slightly different to my usual stories, I hope people enjoy what the bunnies dropped off thanks to Sunnythirty3's delicious prompt. :)

Thank you and though it will be slightly different to my usual stories, I hope people enjoy what the bunnies dropped off thanks to Sunnythirty3's delicious prompt. :)

Thank you! :)Another chapter is in the queue and I'll add a further chapter to the queue this afternoon after I've had some sleep. I do nights, so it's off to the cot for me.

Thank you! :)Another chapter is in the queue and I'll add a further chapter to the queue this afternoon after I've had some sleep. I do nights, so it's off to the cot for me.

He is, and I wanted to show that no matter who he has to be a Hogwarts, his future is determined by that fiction. As for Dumbledore, I don't think he had a prior thought that he could 'use and abuse' David, but when the opportunity was presented to him, he grabbed it with both hands. I trust Dumbledore about as much as I trust Sirius - not that much. :)

He is, and I wanted to show that no matter who he has to be a Hogwarts, his future is determined by that fiction. As for Dumbledore, I don't think he had a prior thought that he could 'use and abuse' David, but when the opportunity was presented to him, he grabbed it with both hands. I trust Dumbledore about as much as I trust Sirius - not that much. :)