Snape followed the boy-who-lived and the fat muggle into the parking garage, being discreet enough to stay hidden. A fly on the wall wouldn’t be able to tell that he was stalking the two. As the two neared an extremely hideous looking car, he stealthily hid behind a support pillar, some fifteen feet away from the vehicle.

He was beginning to think he had overreacted, as the boy and his uncle were being annoyingly normal. Potter was putting his trunk into the car’s trunk, and failing miserably by the looks of it. He was honestly surprised it hadn’t fallen back on the small child and crushed his body. Alright, perhaps he was correct in his assumptions. The boy’s uncle was smirking while watching his nephew struggle with that damned trunk. Snape quickly put his wand away before the urge to use it became too much. He couldn’t risk being seen. Or using magic, there were still a few wandering people in the garage, trying to find their own vehicles. Wouldn’t they be surprised.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when Potter’s blasted owl started going crazy. He watched as the boy dragged the bird away from the car and it seemed to calm down. Severus could tell the man was talking heatedly to his nephew, but he wasn’t close enough to hear. He started walking quietly towards them, hoping he didn’t draw their attention. However, that all went out the window when that fat muggle threw Potter into the car, hard. Stealth be damned, he ran the rest of the way, and just in time to hear Dursley’s malicious words.

For reasons he couldn’t fathom, this seemed to really piss him off. To hear a relative talk to a child in such a way sent fire racing through him. And so, he reacted.

“That’s enough.” Snape watched, albeit slightly amused, as the boisterous man turned around, at a rather ungraceful gait.

“Who the hell are…?” Vernon couldn’t seem to find his voice anymore. He no longer had to ask the question, as the man’s attire told him precisely who he was. A wizard. A full blown, trained wizard. Thoughts of a painful death leaked into his suddenly terrified mind. But he wasn’t giving up without a fight. “Now you look here, this is my nephew, and I’ll deal with him in any manner I see fit.”

“Oh really.” snapped the Professor. “Then I think it’s time you developed a new outlet for your manners, for you will no longer be dishing them out to him.” he said, pointing directly at Harry. “Potter, we’re leaving.”

Without waiting for a reaction from the muggle, Snape had grabbed Harry by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled the boy behind him.

“Oh no you don’t!” yelled Vernon, making a grab for Harry as well. However, all he got was thin air. His nephew and the mysterious wizard had just vanished.

***********************

Harry had never disapparated before, and it was rather amazing. The feeling of weightlessness could only be rivaled by the feel of flying. He knew now that he definitely had to learn how to do that little trick, even if he was too young to do it yet.

But that thought would have to wait until later to be addressed. For now he was standing with his most despised teacher ever. Professor Snape. During the whole confrontation just minutes before, he had been wondering what the hell had possessed the Potions master. Perhaps he had discovered some type of new hallucinogenic drug, or potion, rather. Surely the professor had mistaken him for someone else, because he couldn’t figure out why on earth this man had helped him. Things were amiss.

“Um…professor, why did you do that?” he decided the direct approach would be best.

Snape looked at Harry like he was the world’s biggest moron. “Would you have preferred I left you with that muggle?” he ground out.

“Well, no. I was just curious.” he replied.

“I’m not a complete jackass, Potter. Not even I can condone that kind of behavior.” he said, walking away from Harry.

“Oh.” he said, still slightly shocked that any of this had happened at all.

“You’re intelligence staggers me, but if you don’t mind, I have someplace I have to be.” he spat, growing irritated that he had to drag this child around with him. He couldn’t wait to dump him with the headmaster and then get on with his summer task.

Harry had to run to keep up with Snape’s fast pace. “Where are we going, sir?” he asked, almost timidly. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the potions professor was in a very bad mood.

“To Hogwarts, you dote, where else?” he spat. Harry was taken aback by the professor’s mood swings. He didn’t know if he should be glad he had just saved him from his uncle, or fear him for it. If he thought the man had changed just because he had saved him, he apparently was wrong. He continued walking, very quickly, behind the older man. Not speaking another word was his goal.

They reached the front gates of Hogwarts in record time. Harry was actually quite glad for this. He couldn’t wait to get out of the uncomfortable presence of Severus Snape. As they were approaching the massive front doors, they were greeted with an unexpected surprise. Albus Dumbledore was swiftly walking out the front doors, with at least four impressively sized trunks floating behind him. Of course, the headmaster looked rather surprised, or more likely flabbergasted, at seeing Severus Snape and Harry Potter in the same company. His first thought was that something horrible had happened, a.k.a, Voldemort.

Severus, however, was beginning to have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Headmaster, surely you aren’t leaving.” he asked.

Dumbledore noticed there wasn’t an air of hysteria surrounding the boy, and therefore decided that an attack by Voldemort or his Death Eaters was out of the question. “Actually, I was, Severus. I haven’t seen my grandchildren in…” he seemed to pause a moment for calculations before continuing. “at least thirty years. I’m sure they’re wondering whether or not I’m still alive at this point. But that’s beside the point. Margery is getting married. And I’ve been asked to conduct the wedding, so as you can see, I most certainly am leaving. And before you ask, I do not foresee my return until at least two weeks before the new school term.”

Severus’s stomach was now definitely sinking. “Albus, you know I’ve got important…tasks to do this summer. Take the boy with you.” he demanded.

“Speaking of which, why exactly are you here, Mr. Potter.” asked Dumbledore.

Harry seemed to hesitate at this question. How precisely to answer this? Snape’s impatience answered for him.

“The boy’s uncle was belittling him, Albus.” he leaned closer to the headmaster’s ear. “It was verbal abuse, headmaster. He can’t return to them. I have reason to believe, if it hadn’t already, that it would have turned into violence.

So, as you can see, it would do him some good to spend some time with you, Albus.” he spoke loudly at this point, trying to get his point across. He refused to take the boy with him. He’d only get in the way. And he couldn’t afford to lose anymore time.

The headmaster seemed thoughtful at this point. “I am truly sorry, Severus, but this is a family matter. I must insist that you take the boy instead. I would, but I don’t think Harry would enjoy it very much with my boring old family. You’ll be doing much more exciting things, Severus, surely he’ll enjoy it more.” he replied jovially.

Snape’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe this. “Albus…”

“Severus,” the headmaster’s voice had grown stern. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t possibly bring him with me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.” And with that, he strode away from the two, both of which were standing stock still. One was furious, and one was fearful.

After two torturous minutes of absolutely no speaking whatsoever, Snape finally moved. “Come on, Potter.” he hissed, once again walking away from the boy. Once Dumbledore came back from his vacation he was half tempted to quit just to spite the man. “Bastard.” He mumbled.

After traversing what seemed like a maze, they finally reached Snape’s living quarters. “Wait here!” he yelled, startling Harry out of his haze.

“Yes, yes sir.” he muttered, standing out in the deserted hallway as Snape angrily flew through the portrait.

After ten minutes of waiting and still his professor hadn’t returned, his tired feet got the better of him, and he sank down to the floor. Ah, what bliss. His feet were killing him. He didn’t think he’d walked so much in his entire life. His thoughts suddenly took another turn. Where in the world were they going? He knew Snape had something he had to do this summer, and by the way he was acting, he figured it wasn’t something he’d be divulging any time soon. ‘I guess I’ll find out soon enough’

It wasn’t much longer until Snape came storming back through the portrait hole, robes billowing dramatically behind him.

“We’re leaving.” he hissed, and walked away, leaving Harry to trail behind him.

Severus didn’t realize it, but he was doing nothing to dispel the boy’s fears. He was only making them worse.