Chapter Text
Severus Snape knew something had gone wrong the moment Albus Dumbledore walked into the new academic year curriculum meeting without the infuriating little twinkle in his eyes that usually preceded bad news.
“We have a situation,” he said without preamble, voice uncharacteristically grim.
Severus tried his hardest not to roll his eyes at the Headmaster. They had never known a summer without incident ever since Harry Potter was enrolled at Hogwarts. He noticed the way Minerva’s shoulders tensed, probably already guessing that it was once again one of her lions who got into trouble.
“Last night, Mr Potter accidentally blew up his relative and ran away from his home.”
Severus’ eyes widened at the information, but Minerva beat him to the punch, “Merlin’s beard, Albus! Blew up as in exploded?”
The twinkle returned to the Headmaster’s eyes, and the old man chuckled bemusedly, “No, my dear, her aunt got inflated and spent the night floating around the neighbourhood.”
Filius couldn’t smother his laughter quickly enough not to be heard, whereas Minerva scoffed at the explanation and muttered loud enough for Severus to hear, “Serve them right, those lots.” Severus’s eyes narrowed at the comment, but he held his tongue from uttering any scathing comment about the boy’s act of insubordination. What Harry Potter did outside of the school grounds was not any of his responsibilities.
“Fortunately, it seems like the Ministry was aware of the accident and found the boy in Diagon Alley.” The Headmaster gave the room an unamused smile, which then dropped as he continued his statement, “Unfortunately, Cornelius deemed the Leaky Cauldron a safe place for Mr Potter to stay until school starts again in September.”
Severus could feel a migraine blooming at the back of his head. As idiotic as it sounded, Fudge’s decision seemed to be sound of mind and definitely beneficial for the Ministry. Having Potter in an easily accessible public area would make it much easier for the Ministry to keep track of the boy. However, it was also an open invitation for one loose murderer to come and stake his claim on his target. One easy catch for the Ministry to sweep their incompetence under the rug.
Bait. The realisation settled heavily, unpleasantly, in Severus’ gut. He caught the steely glint in the Headmaster’s eyes as their gaze met in a silent conversation, and got his hypothesis confirmed. After a few beats of raucous protest from the rest of the professors regarding Potter’s safety and lingering silence from Dumbledore, Severus finally raised his eyebrow in challenge at the Headmaster. He was not going to volunteer any opinions when he knew Dumbledore already had everything planned out. If the situation were truly dreadful, then he would have informed them right after the accident was reported to him.
“Albus, surely you won’t let the boy stay there unsupervised? There’s an actual murderer on the loose, actively looking for him!”
“Correct, Minerva, which is why I would like to welcome a discussion regarding Mr Potter’s temporary shelter for the rest of the summer holiday.”
Severus could no longer hold back his sneer at the Headmaster’s sentence. “Surely, this is just one of Mr Potter’s reckless decisions,” he drawled the name with obvious disapproval. “Headmaster, I do not see why we couldn’t send him back to his relatives’ house immediately.”
“Absolutely not!” Minerva’s stern tone, which had managed to make Severus slightly cower with fear in his school days, rang out through the room. Severus narrowed his eyes imperceptibly at the woman.
“And, pray tell, Minerva, why couldn’t Mr Potter get back to the safety and comfort of his relatives’ home that has been housing him perfectly well for the past 13 years?” The sarcasm didn’t fall on deaf ears as Minerva sent him a murderous glare, which sent Severus reeling. None of Minerva’s retorts qualified as an appropriate response to leaving a child with a target on his back unsupervised in a public setting, particularly when Severus was under the assumption that he possessed a safe and functional home. Unless… Severus put a hard stop to his train of thought before the idea could start properly forming.
“Because!” Minerva turned her glare to Dumbledore, “Because 13 years ago I informed you that they are not good people, and my thoughts have not changed in the slightest, Albus.” She said sternly.
Severus’s shoulder tensed at the implication. A bad household was not a rare occurrence in his House, but surely Harry James Potter—the Boy who lived, the saviour of the Wizarding World, the baby who defeated the Dark Lord—was raised comfortably. The Headmaster had personally reassured Severus that an extended family would take the boy, and he was to be raised by capable hands, lacking none whatsoever, as he stayed in the Muggle world until the time came to introduce him to the Wizarding World.
Severus put all of his mental capacity into fortifying his Occlumency shield, shelving his wandering thoughts and the sting of, yet again, one more lie from the person he looked up to behind the impenetrable wall. He coolly met the Headmaster’s gaze as the memory of Severus being reassured of Potter’s well-being was put at the front of his mental shield. Dumbledore’s involuntary flinch satisfied him immensely.
“I am not in the delusion that Petunia Dursley is a perfect caregiver, but there’s an important reason why Mr Potter needs to stay in his relatives’ home during the summer holiday.”
Petunia Dursley.
Petunia.
Tuney?
Severus seethed in silence when the name clicked, bringing old memories of ugly, loud anger and undeserved name-calling he and Lily had endured as the three of them grew up closely together.
Freaks!
The word echoed unbidden, sharp and juvenile and cruel. Severus felt the tips of his fingers growing numb as he unconsciously clenched his fists too tightly under the table.
Severus took a deep breath, once again trying to clear his mind before silently analysing all the options that he had. He disliked Potter profoundly, but he had also given his word to protect Lily’s son. Severus Snape would not start to turn back on his words now. He could, of course, return the boy to his relatives. After all, he did not yet know the extent of what went on in that house. It might amount to nothing.
Or Potter could stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Severus could watch and intervene if required. Bringing the boy to his house was the most sensible and difficult option, but Potter would not come willingly, which narrowed his options considerably. Kidnapping, then. One could only hope the Daily Prophet would miss the Boy Who Lived being abducted by his own professor in broad daylight. He tuned back in to the discussion at hand when the other professors started debating again.
“We can bring him here? Albus, Filius, and I lived around the castle’s grounds, and we could keep an eye on him. There’s Hagrid as well, I heard he was close with Mr Potter.” Pomona finally chipped in her opinion on the matter.
Severus watched as the Headmaster’s eyes dimmed with disappointment and internally scoffed. What a showman.
“Unfortunately, Hogwarts will be off limits for Mr Potter. Not only is the ground too wide for us to keep an eye on him all the time, but also because of the new arrangements I’ve just made with the Ministry regarding Sirius Black’s escapade.”
“What in Salazar’s name does that mean?”
“The Ministry has forced my hands to bring Dementors to Hogwarts this year as a safeguard against Sirius—”
“Godric’s heart, Albus, this is a school! We housed children within these walls!” Minerva once again cut the Headmaster’s words with exasperated disappointment. Dumbledore only held his palm up, asking her to wait for his explanations.
“I’ve tried to negotiate with them, and they agreed that the Dementors will only surround the perimeter of Hogwarts’ wards. However, they will need to move them here a couple of weeks before the Welcoming Feast for them to… settle down.” Severus heard the slight disgust in the Headmaster’s tone at the last words.
“Well, then that definitely limits our options to Mr Potter’s friends’ house, Minerva’s, or Severus’s,” Filius said cheerily, there was a glint of amusement within his beady dark eyes. Severus wanted to glare at the professor, but instead, his eyes caught the regretful expression Minerva was currently wearing.
“The Weasleys are currently in Egypt, and the Grangers are in France. I don’t think Harry is as close with the other second-year Gryffindors for them to agree to house him for three weeks on very short notice. And I—”
For Salazar’s sake. Severus tuned out the rest of the conversation as he just remembered that Minerva’s house was filled with her nieces and nephews this summer. He had to make a conscious effort to close his eyes and regulate his breath to rein in the anger in his chest from snapping.
“Then there is no alternative. I will take the boy.” The strain of reluctance tinged his voice so strongly that he almost sounded like he was in pain.
“Severus—” Minerva started, but in the same fashion as the Headmaster, he put up his palm to stop her from showing any concerns, or heavens forbid, gratitude at his offer.
“I will not promise that he will have a blasting summer, but at least he will be safe from a crazed murderer.” Severus drawled his sentence in both warning and resignation.
One slip and he would be murdered at one of his Death Eaters clique’s wand points—well, it’s that or he and Potter would kill each other before the summer ended. Whichever came first, Severus had just branded himself a dead man. The smug twinkle in Dumbledore’s eyes lighted up again, and Severus held back the bile crawling up his throat at the sight.
All sorted as planned.
Severus took another deep cleansing breath before compartmentalising his thoughts behind his mental walls to be sorted out later. Dumbledore clapped once before finally moving on to the usual school necessities—the professors’ curriculum for the new academic year, dementors and their impact on school activities, and yet another defence professor who will be joining them for the year—before excusing all of them to go back to their homes.
Severus was the first one to get out of the suffocating room, black robes billowing behind him dramatically as he quickly walked across the castle’s corridor. Still, he wasn’t quick enough as Minerva managed to catch up with him. Not wanting to be rude, he let his ex-professor accompany his walk—at least until they had to separate ways as their living quarters were located at different ends of the castle.
“Severus…“ she started hesitantly, “I know babysitting a child is the last thing you would like to do during summer holiday, and you really didn’t have to, but you volunteered. Thank you.”
“Minerva,” he let out a long sigh, “there is no need to thank me. I have a promise to keep, that’s all this is.” The understanding he found in her gaze only grated his already ruffled feathers even further. However, the storm brewing inside him was no fault of hers, and it would be unfair to pin his anger on her.
“When do you plan to visit him?” She, fortunately, decided to change the course of their conversation.
“Tomorrow, I’ll deliver him the new year’s school supply list myself as… a kind gesture. Mr Potter, theoretically, should be able to survive another day of unsupervised holiday just fine.” Severus almost smirked in satisfaction when he imagined the horror in Potter’s face upon seeing his most hated professor’s face during the summer holiday.
Minerva stopped at the junction where they needed to part ways. “And today?” She asked after a short hesitation. Severus gave her a grim look as he responded.
“Unfortunately, I still have a few businesses to settle with the Headmaster.” He said without providing any further explanation. Minerva nodded in acceptance after two heartbeats of silence.
“The new defence professor?”
“No. It is simply what it is.” He said resignedly, resisting the urge to shout out in frustration at yet another reminder of his blasted childhood. The slight pain at the back of his eyes had now bloomed into a full-blown migraine. It was a blessing that Minerva seemed to understand the predicament that he was in. He watched amusedly as the matriarch pointed one finger at his face in faux seriousness.
“Do not murder my seeker. I need him to crush your snakes again next year.”
Severus let out a small, genuine smile at the only professor he had formed an amicable bond with in the past decade, “No promises.” The echoes of Minerva’s laughs bouncing across the stone walls slightly eased the tension in his chest as they finally parted ways to their living quarters. Severus could definitely do with a dose of headache reliever, a nap, and a battle plan before he went to confront Dumbledore.
“Afternoon, Severus.” The old man said jovially as Severus walked into his office. A few of the previous Headmaster’s gaze followed him with curiosity from their paintings as he took a seat in front of the Headmaster. “Lemon drop?”
“Why do you want me to take Potter?” Severus forwent all politeness and glowered at the old man. Yet, he couldn’t help but commend the audacity of the Headmaster when he acted all confused at Severus’s question.
“Whatever do you mean, my boy? If I recalled correctly, you volunteered—” Severus slammed his fist hard on the wooden table between them, drawing outrageous gasps from the paintings behind the Headmaster. He leaned forward with a menacing glare, but Dumbledore only watched him cautiously.
“Do not take me for a fool, Headmaster, I am not one of your mindless pawns.” He said seethingly—quiet and dangerous. After a short pause, Dumbledore took a deep breath before his expression turned sombre.
“Albus, Severus, how many years have we known each other?” The Headmaster once again reminded him for the hundredth time, and yet it would still fall on deaf ears. “And yes, forgive this old man, it seems like I’ve spent too much time playing the long game that I tend to forget friends from foes.”
Severus only stared at the man without saying a word. After years of studying and looking up to the Headmaster, even Severus could conclude that Dumbledore has no friend but the one currently rotting in Nurmengard.
“And concerning Mr Potter’s predicament… I believe that you are the only person who could protect him best during this time. Despite the damage he must have sustained from spending 12 years in Azkaban, Sirius Black was a good Auror and, unfortunately, also seemed to be a very skilled double-crosser. Both of which, you have the skill to counter.” Dumbledore continued his sentence as if the long pause didn’t bother him.
“Could you not just ask me in private? Must everything be a spectacle with you?” Severus couldn’t control the slight accusation bleeding through his tone. He slammed his occlumency shield in place before any of his current feelings could spill out.
Dumbledore lets out a regretful sigh, “I assume that you would not agree to help Mr Potter until it was the very last resort.”
Severus wanted to lash out, to tell the Headmaster that he had clawed his way free of one Dark Mark only to be stamped with another, forged by the same man who rescued him. Thirteen years of enforced alliance, of loyalty and servitude, and still the man he had once trusted as a mentor found it easier to decide how Severus would act rather than to face him and ask. The betrayal in his chest stung more sharply than he had expected, considering this was neither the first nor, he suspected, the last lie he would unearth from the old man.
“Why did you lie to me about Potter’s guardian?”
“I didn’t lie to you, Severus—”
“Lying by omission is still a lie.”
“You have to understand, they were well-off and had agreed to take care of Harry as best as they could. Being in Petunia’s presence every summer will strengthen the blood ward Lily had left when she sacrificed herself for Harry. He needs to be there every summer, Severus. It’s for his own safety.”
“You reassured me he was to be taken by capable hands. Nothing about Petunia Evans falls under that category.” Severus tried to mask the sting in his chest at the sound of Lily’s name by letting his anger fill him up.
“I must admit, I did not anticipate this degree of concern for Mr Potter, considering your history with him.” Dumbledore’s gaze lingered, probing, as if weighing Severus for motives rather than sincerity.
“What use is a blood ward if the threats come from the inside?” He hissed seethingly.
“My boy, is this not simply your prejudice against her? She is, after all, Lily’s sister. She is family. He has never shown up to school with concerning signs that things were bad at home during the holiday. I had never received any reports of misconduct from those I had stationed to monitor Harry. Surely, you see how this accusation seems absurd to me.”
A lethal curse hovered at the tip of his tongue, and his fingers twitched with the urge to draw his wand. Severus almost applauded himself over the sheer restraint he was showing in the Headmaster’s presence. He could have held Dumbledore at wandpoint, instead, he closed his eyes and drew a slow, deliberate breath—clearing his mind for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.
It seemed like even after half a century, Albus Dumbledore would continue to place his faith in the inherent goodness of family. Meanwhile, Severus and a dozen other children like him had ended up as a leftover victim of said naivete. He could taste the bile at the back of his throat. Even with reported signs and no blood ward to justify, Severus had been sent back every summer regardless.
Severus stood up abruptly from his chair, not wanting to be in the same room with the man in front of him any longer than necessary. He made sure to face the Headmaster with a neutral stance. “I will pick up the boy tomorrow at noon. I assumed he would be notified of the necessary change to his summer plan.” He moved towards the door, then, apparently deciding he had not quite finished, halted just short of the threshold and spoke in a cold drawl, “For the sake of the thirteen years we have been amicably acquainted, Albus, I would appreciate the courtesy of being asked privately next time.”
Severus walked out of the room before the Headmaster could utter a word back at him.
That evening, Severus flooed back to Spinner’s End carrying a weight of layered emotions he had not yet bothered to name. Settling into his customary armchair before the fireplace with a cup of lavender tea, he set about disentangling the knotted mass pressing against his chest. It was not anger that lingered in his mind, but resignation—and the quiet indignation of being reduced, once again, to a pawn in Dumbledore’s grand scheme. He sipped on his tea and let out a long, weary breath, resting his head against the back of the chair.
When the storm in his mind finally dulled to a manageable hum, Severus opened his eyes and surveyed the small living room. Despite years spent attempting to make the space tolerable—habitable, even—he could never quite banish the signs of Tobias’s existence that lingered in the cracks of the walls. And in light of his conversation with the Headmaster, the possibility of Lucius Malfoy appearing unannounced through his floo network over the summer, the simple fact that every living Death Eater knew precisely where he resided, and the mutual hatred between him and the boy, Severus concluded that Spinner’s End was not a safe place for the guest he would be hosting this summer.
With that in mind, he spent the night packing his belongings—books, potion ingredients, clothing, more books—into a charmed trunk, which he shrank and slipped neatly into his pocket. He wrote a brief letter to Lucius, informing the man that he would be unavailable for the remainder of the summer, neither for visits nor invitations—Dumbledore’s special side project—and sent it off with his owl. After one last, lingering glance to ensure nothing had been overlooked, Severus cast the Floo Powder into the fireplace and announced the only place he was certain ranked second in safety, surpassed only by a house protected by blood wards.
“Prince Manor.”
The moment Severus stepped out of the manor’s considerably larger fireplace, he brushed the residual soot from his robes. As always, Popsy greeted him with a small bow—a habit he had repeatedly instructed her to abandon.
“Master Severus has returned. This house is glad. Welcome back, Master Severus.”
“Enough with the bowing, Popsy. We will be receiving a guest tomorrow.” He failed to suppress a faint smirk at the way her eyes immediately lit up at the word guest. “Prepare the manor to accommodate a child for the remainder of the summer.”
Popsy nodded enthusiastically, already extending her hands expectantly. Severus sighed and dropped the miniature trunk and his other luggage into her palms. “Do not go overboard.”
“Popsy will try her very best,” she said earnestly, clutching the items to her chest, “but Popsy cannot promise.”
Severus sighed, attempting to quell the dread coiling in his guts at the thought of bringing Potter here tomorrow. “This has every potential to end badly.”
“Then Master Severus may rest easy,” Popsy replied brightly. “Prince Manor is fully fireproof.”