Twelve year old Harry Potter was sleeping in his ‘room’ when Uncle Vernon came in. He hauled the boy into a sitting position. Harry didn’t understand what was happening, and before he knew it, his uncle was yelling at him.

“That owl of yours is creating a racket, boy. Do you want everyone to know about your…umm… you being an unnatural freak? I have had it, now you just see what I can do.” Vernon Dursley said, his face purple and a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Harry flinched, wondering if it was going to be more chores or gardening. He didn’t mind doing more chores; he was used to it as long as he got to eat something more than two slices of dry bread and one glass of milk a day. He knew his less than average height was because of his poor intake of food, or the lack of it. Both were one and the same things in his opinion. But, it seemed Uncle Vernon had other ideas.

Harry was beyond being surprised when the next day he saw someone outside his window, putting bars on it. ‘Oh, so this was what Uncle Vernon was talking about. Oh well.’ It wasn’t as if he was getting lots of mail from his friends. It almost seemed as if Ron and Hermione had forgotten their promise. It was then that he realized that they might have thought him unworthy of their friendship. ‘After all, he only seemed to bring about trouble. Just look at their first year! The troll incident, the quidditch match, the Forbidden Forest! Oh, and he almost forgot the Philosopher’s Stone! It alone took the award of the night. There were hundreds of students at Hogwarts, but who had noticed the mishaps? Him! Oh, why? Why had he dragged them along? But wait! He didn’t drag them, did he? They came of their own volition. But then why weren’t they writing to him as promised?’

Whilst Harry was wallowing in self-pity, at Hogwarts the Headmaster had recently received some strange? news. He was pondering what to do about it when someone knocked at the door. He looked up and smiled. ‘Good,’ Albus thought, ‘at least Severus would be impartial enough to decide what to do with the news.’ The Potions Master just nodded at the Headmaster.

“Severus, my dear boy! Are you not going to the Manor? Severus, you should go, if only to prove that you have risen above them.” Albus admonished his former student.

Severus Snape barely stopped himself from groaning out loud. ‘Why did Albus never stop? Honestly, Albus of all people should understand about him not wanting to go to Manor more than anyone.’ He just said, “Albus, I am going to pretend you never said that, and that I never heard it. That done, I came here to ask about Hagrid’s…dog. What are you going to do with it, Albus?”

The Headmaster just smiled and said, “Oh, don’t worry about Fluffy, Severus. Hagrid is going to take care of him. I have something to discuss with you which troubles, as well as confuses me.”

Severus shifted in his chair and said, “Well, I, for sure, would wish to know what troubles you. I will help in anyway possible; you know that, don’t you, Albus?”

“Well, I have letters from Miss Granger and Mrs. Weasley on behalf of Mr. Ronald Weasley questioning Mr. Potter’s well-being. Their letters to Mr. Potter were not answered and now I am worried about him. What do you think we should do, Severus?” The Headmaster asked, rubbing his forehead.

This time, the Potions Master did groan aloud and said, “Why do you think Mr. Potter wouldn’t respond to his fan-mail, Albus? Perhaps he doesn’t think his friends worthy enough to write to? Or perhaps he got bored with his current fan-club and wants new fans?”

“Severus, you should know better than that. Harry is not his father. Didn’t we have a somewhat similar conversation last year? It is time to leave the past alone and embrace the present.” Headmaster said sternly, the twinkle gone from his eyes.

“Headmaster, you know how I feel about this and I think that will never change. I’ll leave now, I have to do Poppy’s batch. Goodnight, Headmaster.” Snape said and left, his robes billowing behind him.

In the Headmaster’s office, Albus said softly, “Never say never, Severus.”

”What are you up to, Albus? Even after all these years I still wonder how you ever were sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.” The portrait of Phineas Nigullus said, eyeing the Headmaster suspiciously,

The portrait of Professor Dippet said, “You know, I wondered about that too.”

The present Headmaster laughed and went to his chambers thinking about a certain Mr. Potter.

In the dungeons, Severus Snape was brewing potions needed for the Medi-Witch. He knew why Albus had brought up Potter’s subject, not in front of Hagrid or Minerva, but in front of him. He thought about what Albus had said and tried to remember his expression. ‘His expression had been adequately serious,’ he thought. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to go and see. No one need know that I am going to check on Gryffindor’s Golden Boy.” Snape mused out loud.

He decided to check on the brat after his potions were brewed and labelled. ‘Why should I leave my potions for the brat? Humph.’ After four more hours of potion brewing, a temporary batch of potions was ready for the Medi-Witch’s storage. After ten minutes or so he reached the apparition point and he apparated to Privet Drive. ‘Now, which one was the brat’s house? Every house is so alike.’ Snape thought, as he walked down the street. After a mere moment or two, he noticed a very odd thing about one house. The sight was funny, even to the Potion Master. ‘Now, why would anyone put bars on only one window, a window upstairs, instead of on the ground floor?’ Snape mused. His morbid curiosity won over his sane mind, and he approached the house. It was dark, as it should be since it was the middle of the night. He cast a delusionment charm on himself and then went to the front door and whispered, “Alohomora.”

After the door opened, he murmured, “Lumos.” As the light came from his wand, Snape saw that there were many photographs of a thin, horse-faced woman, a baby whale and probably a daddy whale. ‘Well, suddenly I am very thankful that Crabbe and Goyle are in Slytherin. Otherwise, I would be gaping like a fish out of water. How disgusting! How anybody could get that…large is beyond me.’ Snape thought. Snape quickly brushed aside that fact and went inside to fulfil his curiosity. It was certainly an extremely well ordered and tidy house. The child in the photographs was clearly overfed as was his his father, but some how Snape had an inkling that the household chores were not done by the woman or either of the whales. It was only an intuition, but he thought it to be a most perceptive one. As he was exiting the house, a noise upstairs made him stop. He quickly and quietly went upstairs. He listened intently for the sound to reoccur, and it did. It was probably sound of a bird flapping its wing. He crept towards the direction of the sound and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a door with at least ten locks. Now Snape was not generally a man who was easily intrigued but caught his attention. He charmed the door open, his heart stopping for a moment or two as he said, “Lumos.”

In front of him, were many, many toys but it wasn’t the toys that bothered him. It was the bird: a snow colored bird. ‘Holy mother of Merlin! Potter’s owl. It…it was Potter’s bird and that...that was Potter, sleeping on the…makeshift bed.’ Snape thought dazedly.

‘What was going on? Why would someone lock up their own nephew with more ten locks? Was Potter that bad a boy? Agreed, he was James Potter’s son - but even he, Severus Snape, would not put locks on a child’s door.’ He thought angrily. As Severus crept inside the room, his eyes widened. This was the window, they…they put the bars on Potter’s window! It was more than Snape could take, he took a deep breath and whispered, albeit harshly, with shock and anger evident in his voice, “Potter! Potter, get up this instant!”