Severus saw red. He couldn’t believe that a couple of idiotic muggles tried to pull the wool over his eyes. He cast his angry glare over first the father, and then the mother and both of them cowered fearfully. Then, without another word of warning, he delved into the thin one’s mind.

A cage... A basement... A horrible growling sound…

Severus pulled out quickly, leaving the woman looking dazed and distraught. Making a noise low in his throat, Severus stalked to the basement door and yanked it open. The pit below was pitch black and smelled musty. Frowning, Severus cast a quick Lumos and began down the stairs.

And there was the cage, just as he’d seen it in Petunia’s mind’s eye. It was a square thing, four feet by four feet and perhaps five feet tall. And just as in Petunia’s memory, Severus could hear the savage, deep throated growl from within.

Severus moved cautiously towards the cage, until his wand tip was close enough to reveal the creature within. It was a boy, or had been at one point. From his small stature and clumsy movement, Severus would have guessed him to be three years old, four at most. Yet unless those wide green eyes and knobby knees were a lie, this was Harry Potter himself- a seven year old child.

He was covered head to toe in what appeared to be his own excretion, and the floor of his cage was covered in the same. His filthy black hair hung in strands down to his knees. His arms and legs were covered in scars and burns, new and old alike. His skin was pallid and seemed to cave in upon him, so he was more skeletal than alive. It was a far cry from the spoiled hellion Severus had envisioned.

“What have you done to him?”

The muggles had followed him down the stairs, and stumbled backward at his low, icy tones. Only the youngest one seemed unafraid of Severus, his expression open and innocent as he approached the cage, seeming entranced by his cousin. He stepped forward curiously, holding a hand out to the cage, only to snatch it back when Harry snarled at him.

Dudley Dursley turned those wide eyes now to Severus. “What’s wrong with him?”

Severus frowned, and before he could contemplate the impact his words might have on the boy, he snarled. “Your parents. He might have been just as healthy as you are now, but your parents turned him into this instead.”

Dudley cocked his head to the side. “Can you turn him back?”

“What?”

Dudley shrugged. “I bet if I was locked in a cage right now, I’d be like him one day. So I’ll bet if he’s taken out, he’ll be like me one day.”

Severus severely hoped that Potter never turned out like his cousin. Still, the boy had brought up a salient point. Was it impossible to heal six years of emotional scarring? “It won’t be easy,” Severus said to the boy, “but your cousin may, in the proper environment, have a chance at some recovery.”

***

“How many warnings were you given that things were not right, Albus?” Severus hissed, obsidian eyes flashing dangerously. “And you heeded none of them!”

The headmaster did not reply. His expression was impassive, clouded. His shoulders were rather hunched, it was true, but he gave no real outward sign that he even heard Severus. His sea blue orbs were fastened on the child lying upon the hospital bed in front of them.

Albus Dumbledore gave a mournful sigh. “I will send him to St. Mungo’s in the morning.”

“You will do no such thing!”

Dumbledore looked up, confusion etched across his weathered face.

“This isn’t something you can hide away and not think about, Albus!” Severus thundered, “This is a boy’s life you’re talking about, and I’ll be damned if I let you lock him up again. Not after what he’s been through.”

“And what would you suggest I do with him?” Dumbledore returned. “He needs constant supervision. At this point he’s no better than an animal- you had to sedate him to bring him here.”

“No better than an animal? No wonder you’re willing to lock him up again, if that’s the way you feel. You’d best not concern yourself with him any more, Albus. I’ll take care of him myself.”

“Severus, what about your job?”

“To hell with my job! It’s not as though I’m living in the slums of London. I have more than enough to get by.”

“Why?” Dumbledore asked. “Why trouble yourself for one child?”

“No child deserves to be locked away.”

Dumbledore turned away. “You’d best be packing if you’re heading back home.”

Severus nodded and left the room. It wasn’t until he was half way to the dungeons that he realized that this may have been what Dumbledore had planned all along, when he sent Severus out there that morning.