Chapter Text
The cassette player blared music through Severus’ kitchen as he worked, though ‘kitchen’ had become more of a misnomer over the years; Severus couldn’t remember the last time he had used it for cooking.
Severus pointed his wand at the flame from the stove and willed it to grow hotter. He might not cook on it anymore, but the heat-resistant surface was the best spot in his house for brewing. It was far a more beneficial use for the appliance when everything he ate came from a can anyway.
In an apt demonstration, Severus ate chunks of Spam straight from the tin between steps in his recipe. The potion needed to steep for several minutes, so he perched on the rickety stool in the corner of the room to finish his meal. Severus scraped his spoon against the corners of the can as he listened to Dynasty by KISS. He tipped the tin up and leaned his head back to let the last few bits of meat stuck inside fall into his mouth while ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ played.
Severus tapped his heel against the stool’s rungs with the beat until the song ended, draining out the sound of the creaking pipes in the walls that never lined up with the rhythm of anything. His joints popped as he stood and went to check on the wolfsbane. He sneered at the potion, noting that it seemed impeccable so far. What a pity—it would have been nice to poison the wolf.
He shook off the thought with a wistful sigh. Albus would have his head if he didn’t brew the potion over the summer. Severus once again grumbled about how much of an imposition it was as he crushed several dried monkshood stems with the flat of his knife. He at least had the small consolation that after this step and one other, he could leave the potion overnight and nab a few hours of sleep.
Severus scraped the crushed stem from his cutting board and instantly started throwing in aconite petals freshly painted with moon dew in exact fifteen-second intervals. It was simultaneously the most delicate step in the process and the most liable to go wrong and level his house. Naturally, it was also the point where he heard the floo crackle in the sitting room and the unmistakable voice of Albus Dumbledore coming through.
Severus focused on painting the petals as best he could, but the Headmaster couldn’t leave well enough alone and comprehend that he was busy —with a task the man himself assigned, no less.
“Severus? Would you please be able to let me through the floo? It is urgent.”
While the headmaster sounded relatively distressed, Severus had far more important matters. Hogwarts was providing him the funding for the potion, but the idea of all the rare and expensive ingredients he had used so far ending in an explosion made Severus’ chest hurt. He continued working on the petals with fervor. Albus could wait another minute, Severus told himself.
The old man could not, in fact, wait a minute as he forced his way through Severus’ floo wards.
“Severus, there you are, my boy! I thought something had happened when you couldn't let me through your floo, but it appears all is well.”
His eye twitched.
Severus was like a feral dog as he snapped at him, "Albus, if you do not shut up and give me another forty-five seconds to finish this bloody volatile potion that you asked me to make, I will shove every stirring rod I can find so far up your arse–”
“Understood.”
The headmaster raised his hands in surrender and stepped back.
Severus had to move even faster on his current petal, as he’d lost a few valuable seconds of worktime to yell at the old man. He dropped the last one in and slumped his shoulders in relief as the color suddenly shifted into the perfect midnight blue. Severus set a magical timer for the next step and threw his dirty potion equipment into the sink to deal with later.
When he looked back at Albus, Severus could see that he had somehow managed to make tea and was running his fingers over the buttons of his tape player.
He noticed Severus was finally finished and commented with a genial smile, “I do not believe I will ever stop being enamored with muggle contraptions.”
Severus summoned the cassette player away from him and set it on the counter. He crossed his arms and sneered. He was not dealing with the headmaster’s bullshit tonight.
“What do you want, Albus?”
His smile moved away from the corners of his eyes.
“It appears that there is…a situation. One that I believe you may be the only person equipped for.”
Severus sat back on his stool, as far away from Albus as possible. How many times have I heard that line now?
“What is it?”
As many times as you have heard him out , his mind supplied.
The headmaster grimaced.
“It appears that Elizabeth Potter had a disagreement with her relatives and ran away. She is at the Leaky Cauldron currently, but she must leave for her protection. The girl must stay safe, especially now that Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. You of all people know what he is capable of.”
Severus immediately scowled.
Albus continued, “I ask you not to be too hasty in your refusal to help, Severus. I have tried to reason with Elizabeth’s muggle relatives, but I believe they see me as too magical. You knew Lily’s sister when you were all young. Perhaps she would listen to you and take Miss Potter back into her home?”
His scowl became darker, and his sneer grew wider, like an animal baring its teeth and ready to bite. The joints in Severus’ fingers cracked as his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“Tuney was a vile, jealous little bint, and I can’t imagine her being a lick different after all these years. She despised me as much as I did her. There is no way in hell Petunia would listen to anything I had to say.”
Severus rolled his stiff neck and glanced at his steeping potion without thinking.
“Besides, I haven’t seen her for over a decade. How do you think Petunia ‘Everything Must Be Normal’ Evans would react to me showing up on her doorstep how I am now?”
Albus just smiled at him sadly.
“Things are never as dire as we make them out to be in our heads. Even if she does not understand, you are still a familiar face. Elizabeth’s life is more important than a few minutes of your discomfort, is it not?”
Severus ducked his head and stared at the grout in the floor cracks. His shoulders slumped as the menace and anger drained from his face. There was nothing he could say or do to fight against Dumbledore. He felt like a student again.
“I knew you would understand, son,” said Albus, taking Severus’ silence for compliance.
He stood with a gentle slowness, carrying himself like he had all the time in the world, and wasn’t in a hurry to get the Girl-Who-Lived home safe with a killer on the loose. The Headmaster patted Severus on the shoulder twice and handed him a scrap of parchment with some writing.
Albus left through the floo before Severus could get another word in.
Severus sighed as he ran his hands up his face and gripped his hair. A glance at his watch showed it was almost eleven in the evening.
Looking down, he saw a muggle street address written on the parchment.
Severus gave himself thirty seconds to keep sitting and prepare for what he had to do. He took in several deep breaths while questioning why he did this shit.
Severus let out one last sigh before he stood up and apparated to Surrey.
~~~
Any reasonable person would not be happy to have somebody hammering on their door in the middle of the night. Severus had been subjected to the experience several times and grumbled about being on the instigating end of things. Of course, Potter would be forcing him to bother her relatives so late to fix a problem she had caused.
Severus stalked through the rows of identical houses and squinted to see each street sign as he passed them. When he finally found Privet Drive, all Severus could think about was how the street name sounded exactly like a place Petunia would live: undeniably posh and the furthest thing possible from Cokeworth. Severus immediately detested it on principle.
He walked down the silent road, darting his eyes from one side to the other, looking for Number 4. Severus sneered when he saw it and dragged his feet to the front door. He raised his fist to knock.
His hand stayed in midair.
How easy would it be to tell Albus that Petunia refused and not have to see her again?
Severus stayed frozen, his hand still ready to knock as he mulled over the idea. Petunia had already said no to the headmaster; it wouldn’t be shocking that she refused Severus too. He wouldn’t have to mess with the ordeal of explaining himself to someone and the certain fallout that would result. It would be so easy.
The memory of the vow reared its head in Severus’ mind, and his stomach lurched. Potter was still alone, with Black on the loose. The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley were the largest wizarding hubs in all of the UK. Black could easily sneak through the crowds to kill the girl.
Besides, Albus would invariably somehow know if Severus skived off an assignment he’d set.
Severus sneered at the polished brass doorknocker. He wanted to avoid speaking with Petunia if he could help it. He had to talk to her to get Potter back within her house, though. The paradox had his mind in a twist.
Elizabeth Potter needed to be at Number 4 Privet Drive. Severus Snape did not.
As the inkling of a plan started to form in Severus’ head, he turned on his heel and apparated out of Surrey.
~~~
The Leaky Cauldron was a dreary place in the daytime, but in the evenings, low, warm candlelight filled every centimeter of the pub. It gave patrons the light feeling in their stomachs that they were somewhere special, as far as they could ever want to be from the darkness just outside. People talking with one another and shooting off harmless spells for the fun of it. Cheers of pints clinking together and laughter from all corners. The room swelled in a glow.
Severus found it quite jarring, coming from near total silence.
He craned his head at the bar with his eyes still partially screwed shut against the light of the pub. Severus thought he could see a man who might have been the owner of the inn behind the counter, but somebody accidentally slammed their entire drunk weight into him, and in the few moments it took to right himself, the man at the bar disappeared from sight.
Severus sneered and moved over to the stairs, lest he be bombarded by other men with more alcohol in them than he would drink in a year.
He flicked his wand into his wrist and did a cursory wave over the steps as he kept half a glance at the pubgoers below. With a spell, the basic warding information entered Severus’ mind, and he paused. From all appearances, it looked like there was only a bare-bones privacy and noise ward keeping people at bay.
Severus once again thought about how little anyone had done for the Girl-Who-Lived’s physical safety as he easily pushed past the wards.
“Point Me: Elizabeth Potter.”
His wand jittered at first, like it wasn’t quite sure what Severus was asking. He pushed a bit more magic into it with a frown, and the wand straightened out, pointing just a few doors down.
Severus had no hesitation in knocking on Potter’s door.
He ensured he was loud enough to be noticed by the girl’s selective hearing, surely waking up the guests in the adjoining rooms in the process. More’s the pity. Severus only stopped knocking when he heard her muffled voice say, “ Okay , I’m coming, Tom!”
Potter was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes when she opened the door and didn’t see Severus immediately. She looked even more bedraggled than usual, which Severus didn’t know was possible up until that point.
“Is there something wrong, Tom? Have they–”
She finally stopped rubbing her eyes and looked up. Elizabeth’s face went pale.
Severus glared at her with his arms crossed, using the very few centimeters of height advantage he had to loom over her.
“I…” Potter started, but could not find any other words to finish whatever thought she had. Instead of saying anything, Elizabeth Potter tried to shut the door in Severus’ face.
Severus stuck his foot out to stop the door and wrenched it open.
“ Potter ,” he spat with as much bite as he could well up, “do you make it a habit to open the door when you don’t know who’s on the other end while there’s a crazed murderer escaped from prison?”
He fully shoved the door open and pushed his way into the room, with Potter’s cry of protest in the background. She already made herself at home in the small room, with books and paper strewn over the desk and pieces of clothing around the floor. Severus swept his wand in a wide arc and sent everything flying into her trunk.
Potter finally pushed past the shock of seeing him and yelled, “What the bloody hell are you doing here?! You can’t touch my stuff!”
Severus shoved the lid down with a thunk.
“It is my task to bring you back to your relatives, Potter. We must move quickly.”
Severus shrunk her trunk down and told Potter’s owl to fly off before shrinking her stand too.
When he looked back at the girl, her entire body had stiffened.
“No! Fudge said I could stay here the rest of the summer! I can’t go back!”
Severus stalked up to Elizabeth and handed her the shrunken items as he said, “Twelve-year-old children with a penchant for trouble should not be left to their own devices in Diagon Alley for a month—right now more than ever. I do not care what the minister says. You will come with me, Potter.”
Elizabeth seemed to search his face; for what, Severus had no clue.
“I’m thirteen. And! --And how do I know you’re not some sort of imposter trying to take me away and kill me?” she asked with her chin stuck out in the same way James Potter stuck his own chin out when he was feeling particularly self-righteous.
Severus took a deep breath in through flared nostrils.
“The first question I ever asked you was what you would get by adding powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood. Does that quash your doubt, Potter ?”
Her chin was still jutting out as she glared at him. After several moments of her just staring, Elizabeth lightly shook her head.
“Even if I believe it’s you, Professor, I still don’t want you taking me anywhere.”
Severus shrugged at her and grabbed her arm.
“Well, that’s too bad.”
Before she had a chance to protest more, Severus apparated them out of the room.
~~~
They landed in the street a few houses down from Number 4. Potter clutched her mouth and stomach as she tried to keep from falling. Severus looked down at her as she picked herself up bit by bit. When she was almost fully to rights, Severus started walking with his arms locked at his sides.
It was silent as he moved under the low light of the street lamps dotted every couple of houses. In the absence of any noise spare a cricket a mile away, Severus could only hear his own footsteps. He whipped his head back at the girl and saw her looking back at the road in the opposite direction he was going.
Severus stomped back over and grasped her arm without warning. Potter jumped back and started trying to pull herself away from him, screaming in protest.
Severus gripped her wrist the slightest bit tighter and pulled out his wand to cast a silencing spell. Elizabeth’s yelling died suddenly as soon as the magic settled. It took only seconds for her to realize what had happened and start focusing all her energy on tugging her arm away from Severus.
He kept his hold firm as he leaned in closer to her.
“I could see you were already thinking about running away. Don’t . You have no idea what sorts of people might be after you out there.”
Elizabeth’s tugging had stopped. She instead glared at him with as much malice as Severus thought a thirteen-year-old could muster. It was a silent standoff as neither of them moved.
Until Potter suddenly kicked him between the legs.
She immediately started trying to run away, but Severus kept his grip strong. It didn’t feel great, but he had been in much worse pain at the hands of far more despicable people.
It certainly wasn’t the debilitating strike that Potter must have thought it would be. Severus saw her face start to morph as she realized her plan hadn’t worked. A second later, he saw the realization that he had given no outward reaction to her kick also dawn on her. A power move of sorts.
Severus almost wanted to laugh.
Instead, he glared. Severus held on tight to Potter’s wrist as he dragged her to the driveway of Number 4.
He still kept a grip as he leaned over her and spat, “You are going to go and knock on your relatives’ door and apologize as much as humanly possible for whatever it is you’ve done that made you think running away was in any way a smart choice. Then you are going to grovel and beg that they let your sorry arse back in the house. I will be disillusioned on the sidewalk behind you, so don’t even think about running away or saying anything other than what I’ve told you to. Am I understood?”
Her chin still stuck out at him, but eventually she slowly started to nod.
Severus did one last glance over to make sure Potter wasn’t priming herself to try to run the second he dropped her arm before letting her go and dropping the silencing spell.
Elizabeth rubbed her wrist as she dragged her feet up to the door. She shot one last glare back at him before knocking on the door.
Severus cast the disillusionment over himself and crossed his arms as he waited, boring a hole into the Potter girl’s back. Her knocks started off weak, and Severus berated her in his mind about her reticence to face the consequences of her own actions until she knocked harder.
Potter looked back in Severus’ general direction when a minute had passed and nobody answered the door. She shrugged with one shoulder and started to walk away until Severus shot a small stinging hex at her hand. It took two more for her to return to knocking on the door.
Severus even began to doubt that anyone was going to answer when another minute of rampant knocking went by. He was about to send a patronus to the headmaster when he noticed a light flicker on upstairs.
Elizabeth paused when the hall light illuminated a silhouette coming down the stairs. It stopped right in front of the door, and the clicking sound of several locks being undone could be heard. The door didn’t creak as it opened.
Petunia Evans looked like just as much of a stuck-up cunt as the last time Severus saw her.
“ You ,” her voice dripped with utter loathing in spades, “how dare you show your face here after what you did to Marge! Do you have any idea what they had to do to fix what you did? Vernon is still with her at the hospital! There were freaks all over my house! Dirtying up everything that I have worked so hard to keep clean and tidy and normal .”
“Aunt Petunia, I–”
She pointed a slightly pruney finger at the girl.
“That old man of yours already tried to force you back on us like he did twelve years ago, and I will not be having it! Leave !”
As Petunia momentarily stopped her tirade, Elizabeth also paused.
“Dumbledore talked to you?”
“Did you not hear my order? You are not welcome back here, girl ! Get!”
Elizabeth shook as she took in a deep breath. Her fists were still hanging by her sides in dangerously tight balls, but she spoke calmly, “I am very sorry for what happened to Aunt Marge. I was not in control of my magic and did not mean to do what I did. I would appreciate it if I could please come back home. You do not even have to see my face; I just need to come back here.”
It was a very lousy apology and request combo in Severus’ eyes. He was about to shoot another stinging hex at the girl to have her try again when Petunia started yelling again.
“You will not! Go! LEAVE!”
Her voice was becoming more and more strained. It had a slightly wet and squeaking quality to it; Severus could see tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Elizabeth hung her head and stared at the ground. Her body was shaking, making her voice also tremble as she spoke.
“Please, Aunt Petunia. I–I have to come back here. People are telling me I have to stay here. I don’t–”
Petunia suddenly shot her hands out and grasped Potter by the shoulders. Elizabeth flinched back with a whimpering gasp.
Large, beading teardrops started to roll down Petunia’s face. Her eyes were shot completely open, and strands of hair frazzled around her face.
She rattled Potter back and forth violently as she sobbed, “CAN’T YOU JUST LET ME HAVE ONE YEAR?! WHERE EVERYTHING CAN BE NORMAL?! WHERE YOU AREN’T THERE AS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF HER?!”
Petunia let Potter go with a small push and steadied herself against the doorframe.
Severus couldn’t move or think. He was frozen as he watched the scene play out.
Elizabeth looked back at him with something entirely unknowable on her face. Severus couldn’t tell if it was akin to desperation or resignation, but when he didn’t move to whatever it was, Potter turned back around.
She sounded weak as she begged, her voice constantly catching in her throat, “Please, Aunt Petunia. I don’t mean to do those things. I just need to–”
Severus was still frozen when Petunia slapped her.
“I told you to LEAVE !!”
Potter sputtered and tried to say, “I’m sorry, Aunt Petunia, but–”
She slapped her again, and Potter tried to reason with her once more.
The cycle of Petunia’s abuse and Potter’s attempts at pleading in between orders to leave became immediately clear to Severus.
He dropped the disillusionment and charged.
Severus checked Petunia with his shoulder as she tried to stomp on Elizabeth, who was currently curled up on the ground with her arms around her stomach. Petunia wheezed as the air knocked out of her, and she fell to the floor, doing quite a good imitation of her niece.
Severus crouched down to Elizabeth and grabbed her face by the chin, moving her face from side to side to examine where she was hit. There was only a small cut on one of her cheeks where Petunia’s wedding ring scraped her.
As Severus took out his wand to do a deeper medical scan of her entire body, Elizabeth seemed to finally comprehend what was going on and tried to wriggle away.
“Stay still !” Severus hissed.
She raised her leg to try to give him a swift kick in the pants again before remembering how well that went the last time and starting to aim at Severus’ face. He dipped his head out of the way as well as he could, but her shoe managed to collide with his nose with an awful crunch.
Severus couldn’t stop himself as he immediately moved his hand up to cradle his broken nose. Blood spilled into his palm and through the cracks between his fingers.
Potter took the opportunity and bolted.
Severus tried to raise his wand and aim at the figure he could only partially make out with his bleary vision. With his best guess at where Potter was, Severus shot a stunner into the street.
He heard the thud of a body hitting pavement.
Severus let out a shuddering breath as he stood, still clutching his nose. He wiped a bloody hand on the sleeve of his shirt. Severus shakily pointed his wand at his face and fixed his nose with a wince.
The street was silent again.
Severus backed up and leaned against the siding of the house. His breaths became more short and quick as he gazed between Petunia in the doorway and Potter in the street.
There was no way in hell this was what it looked like. Severus would have known . He always knows. Potter wasn’t like that–she couldn’t possibly be.
Severus heard a creak come from inside. He whipped his head around and saw a large boy looking at Petunia and Severus at the top of the steps. He looked terrified.
The boy stumbled back when Severus pointed his wand at him, but he didn’t have enough time to process what was happening as Severus confounded him. He returned to his room in a daze and forgot what he saw. It was better that way.
Petunia gulped in uneven breaths at his feet as she tried to stand. Severus looked back at Potter on the street. He could see something glistening on the pavement under the streetlights. The girl was bleeding from where she scraped the ground when she fell.
Severus closed his eyes to push back the urge to wince.
She was still lying there when he reopened them.
He staggered away from the house and walked into the street. Potter’s body slowly came into clearer view, and Severus could see all the scratches on her arms and face; he refused to think about how they were his fault as he crouched down.
None of this was happening–it simply couldn’t. Severus would drag Potter back to the porch, and she would explain that this was all a plot to let her stay in Diagon Alley all summer because there was no way the Girl-Who-Lived could have been–
Severus undid the stunning and grimaced as Potter let out a long groan of pain, grasping her left forearm. He realized with uncomfortable clarity that he likely did more damage to the girl than Petunia.
Severus’ hands shook as he reached out to her. Potter flinched back, and the light caught her eyes. The look reflected back at him made Severus’ chest ache . He took back his hands and reached into his pocket. It wasn’t the fully stocked potions store that he always kept in his school robes, but there had to be something to help in his jeans.
Severus pulled out a calming draught and a fever reducer before he found something for healing. It was far more powerful than what Potter needed, but it should work to clean up her scrapes and fix whatever might have been bruised internally.
He looked over at Potter to hand over the vial. Nothing about her seemed normal. Elizabeth Potter would have never been cowed like this, curling up on herself in the middle of the street. She tried to touch her arm again and bit back a cry.
Severus started trying to speak several times, but his throat was too dry and the words couldn’t form. What would he even say?
“I…”
He swallowed back an apology and pinched his eyes closed. Severus couldn’t–he just…He didn’t want to think about any of it.
“Here,” he thrust the vial out to the girl. “Don’t take a drink; just let a tiny bit coat your lips and ingest that. It should deal with…all this.”
Severus gestured vaguely at the scratches littering her body, barely visible under the blood smeared everywhere.
Despite whatever pain she must have been in, Potter still found it in herself to glare at Severus with contemptuous suspicion. On a different day, Severus would sarcastically tell the girl how he very well could have killed her ten times over by now without the use of poison, but all his gusto was gone.
“Just…take it, Potter,” he sighed, running a hand over his face and pushing the vial closer to the girl.
Elizabeth’s look didn’t fully disappear, but she took the potion from Severus and followed his instructions. He took the vial back when he saw the cut on her cheek starting to stitch itself back together. She tried to flex her arm, but still couldn’t quite make a fist. Severus fixed it with a spell, distantly recalling last year when Lockhart vanished her bones trying to do the same.
Severus pushed himself up but didn’t bother to put out a hand for Potter; he was neither inclined to do so nor thought she would take it.
Elizabeth took several moments to get back on her feet, stumbling slightly when she fully righted herself. Severus instinctively put out an arm to catch her, but she raised her hand to him.
When she no longer seemed inclined to keel over, Severus waved his hand to have her move as he started walking back to Petunia.
Potter’s voice was raspy as she spoke for the first time since pleading with her aunt. Anger poured out of every word she said.
“So that’s just it? You’re just–Gonna force me to go back there?”
Severus looked back at Elizabeth. Her chin was stuck out, but it jittered as the rest of her body shook. Beneath all the bravado and fury, there was only unadulterated fear.
As he saw more and more, Severus had already become less inclined to think this was a plot or a prank. Potter’s expression was the final strike.
The truth was a boulder in Severus’ stomach.
He pushed back his hair as he finally said, “No. You’re not–I’m just going to talk with your aunt. That’s all. I’m not–I am not forcing you back there, Potter.”
The girl wrapped her arms around herself.
“She–I can’t go back, Professor. You don’t know–They–”
Potter’s breathing became short and labored as she devolved more and more into babbling.
Severus grimaced at the scene and glanced away at the house. Petunia had stood up, and her willowy form silhouetted against the light from the hall. He assumed she was looking at them.
Potter couldn’t stay in the Leaky Cauldron forever.
“Just…” Severus pinched the edge of Elizabeth’s shirt and dragged her to the spot where he had been disillusioned before. “Stand here.”
Potter’s breathing had calmed down a small amount, but she was staring wide-eyed at Petunia, who stared right back. Severus ran his eyes over Potter’s face one last time, still not knowing what exactly to think about anything.
He turned around and crossed his arms. Severus stalked up to Petunia with slow steps, as if they would do anything to delay whatever was to come. Neither of them was inclined to speak first when they finally came face-to-face.
Severus wasn’t willing to give her the satisfaction of caving.
“So,” Petunia started with a haughty purse to her lips, “You’re one of her kind, then? Come to beg me to take the brat back? Because it’s not happening, I tell you. Do you know how much trouble that girl is?”
Her words came out in a hiss as they were spat out from behind clenched teeth.
Severus noticed that she didn’t seem to recognize him.
He sneered as he said, “I believe I know better than anyone else how much trouble she is, Evans. In any case, the girl cannot be left alone in a pub for a month.”
Severus could feel Potter stiffen behind him. It was against his better judgment, but he risked a glance back at her. Elizabeth’s face had fallen, and her breathing picked up again. Her arms wrapped even tighter around herself as she stared down.
He forced himself to look away.
Severus was only met with the view of Petunia. She took a step closer to him and pointed at his chest.
“I don’t know if you heard through your unnatural ways, but I told her to leave . I’m saying the same to you. I don’t want any more freaks at my house! I will not have it!!”
He closed his eyes and started to count to ten. Severus had to do this. It was for the safety of Lily’s child.
He tried to repeat those words like a mantra in his head. If he thought them enough times, it would be enough to do what he had to.
Severus was about to open his eyes again and deal with Petunia when he heard Potter behind him. Sniffles and hiccups filled his ears, even though they were almost entirely silent. It was the first time he had heard Potter cry, but it was nothing close to the wailing crocodile tears used to get what she wanted he had imagined. All Severus heard was the way a child had to be silent when they cried to survive.
The mantra became harder to repeat as a small voice in Severus asked, ‘ Why?’
He opened his eyes again and met Petunia’s harsh stare. Severus recalled the moment of doubt he’d had earlier in front of her door when he thought for a fleeting moment about simply blowing off Albus’ orders.
The Headmaster said Potter needed to be safe, somewhere that wasn’t in the center of all of magical Britain. Who’s to say she had to be with Petunia?
He sized up the vile woman and simply said, “Okay.”
Severus could feel Elizabeth look up from the ground behind him as her sniffling and hiccuping stopped.
“The girl will not stay here then, Evans. She will leave.”
Petunia looked at him down her nose with her head held high, but there was still a sense of confusion in the set of her eyes. She blinked at him several times.
“You…called me Evans. Nobody has called me that name in over a decade. I thought you looked so familiar…” She looked over Severus for several seconds, and when her eyes went wide, he knew he was made. “ Snape ? What the hell have you done to yourself?”
Severus didn’t dignify her with an answer.
“We are leaving, Evans.”
He turned and swiftly moved off Petunia’s porch.
The girl followed him, surprisingly. Severus supposed there was no better option.
They were almost to the street when Petunia shouted, “No! Lily told me what you did. She said you joined a cult! You were part of those nutters who got her killed! I won’t let you do the same to the girl that you did to her!”
Severus sneered at her.
“Where the bloody hell was this care about Potter’s well-being when you were hitting her? I thought you didn’t care where she goes so long as she isn’t here.”
Petunia walked onto her driveway in her bathrobe and slippers.
“I won’t have her going with you . I don’t even know what you are now. All I remember is that you were always such a nasty girl. I can’t imagine you’ve changed even if,” she waved her hand vaguely at his body, “you’ve done whatever this is. I remember , Snape!”
Severus steeled his face and firmly kept his gaze away from Potter. It was the triple threat of reveals: that he knew Lily, he was a death eater, and he was transsexual. He couldn’t bear to see what Potter thought.
He tried to keep his voice even as he said, “I cannot find it within myself to care one bit about what you think after seeing what you did to your niece. I am leaving with her, end of story.”
Petunia sputtered as Severus moved further into the street, with Potter close behind.
“...Sir?”
Severus stopped the girl before she could ask any questions.
“Later, Potter. Now, grab my arm, and we can go.”
She tentatively reached out for his wrist.
Severus could still see Petunia from where they stood.
“I’ll tell Dumbledore about what you’re doing, you know,” she threatened.
Severus looked down on her from the street. Petunia still had that clawing desperation in her eyes that plunged into malice. He aimed between them with his wand.
“Goodbye, Tuney.”
Right before they apparated away, Severus sent out a spell. It was not entirely legal, but the situation was dire. Elizabeth was no longer a part of their conversation; Severus had simply gone to Petunia’s home, and she had refused to house Potter.
Severus confounded her, and she went back inside, mumbling to herself about why she was even at the front door.
He lowered his wand and stared at where Petunia had just been. Elizabeth turned to him in the silence, and when Severus thought she was about to ask him a question, he apparated them away.