It was late into September when the Dursleys household was interrupted from their four months of peaceful life – four whole months without a certain nephew’s freakishness lurking among the Dursley’s household.

Petunia had been worried that her freakish sister’s son’s unnaturalness would be caught on by her darling Dudders, so she locked that freak up for the most part of his childhood, yet giving him more than they should. After all, her Dudders was a growing boy, he needed his food and the freakish boy was taking up more space and food than he should. If Petunia had a choice in this, the boy would have been sent to an orphanage the moment he turned up at the Dursleys doorstep.

It was hence a relief to the Dursleys when they woke up one day to find the boy missing. It wasn’t their fault that he was making so much noise in the cupboard, screaming about seeing strange things the previous night. That episode had only further confirmed Petunia’s suspicions that the boy had inherited the same freakishness from his parents.

After all, Vernon had a point – the boy was bad news. It was like the girl in one of the horror movies Petunia watched on TV when Vernon and Dursley were both out, where the orphan was secretly homicidal and killed the foster family she had been placed with. Petunia shivered when her mind replayed scenes from the movie, the look on the girl’s face after she killed was the same look that the Potter boy wore on several occasions when Vernon screamed at him for things he had wrongfully done.

Boys like that him needs to be disciplined. Not many are like her Dudders, born with a good heart, a normal and healthy boy, unlike that of Potter. Who knows what he was plotting beneath those devilish green eyes, a ghostly reminder from her long dead sister. She was risking her family’s lives keeping such an unnatural boy under her roof. Petunia shuddered involuntarily. She should have sent the boy away earlier.

“MUM!” Dudley hollered from his armchair, chocolate dribbling down his fat chin, but he made no move to wipe it off. “SOMEONE’S AT THE DOOR!”

Petunia was cleaning the vases she was so fond of collecting upstairs in the master bedroom when her son shouted from downstairs. It was one chore that she had not let that Potter boy do. She didn’t want his dirty hands anywhere near her precious treasures. Setting down the ancient Ming vases that she bought from an antique shop in town carefully, Petunia brushed off the dust from her dress and went to get the door, planting a kiss on her darling boy’s hair as she passed him. His hair somehow had chocolate stains too, but Petunia hastily wiped it off with the back of her hand before opening the door.

Two strangers stood on her doorstep. They seemed to be a couple, but Petunia wasn’t sure. They were in some sort of conflict with each other just before Petunia opened the door, but she only had a quick glimpse and the two seemed to have made up pretty quickly. Their clothes, though, gave away who they were – those freaks from her sister and that boy’s world. The woman was wearing a charcoal grey velvet cloak with arm silts that allowed her to move unhindered by the cloth, while the man had on a high collared long sleeved black velvet robe. Petunia curled her lips in disdain.

“Who are you?” Petunia dropped her carefully placed smile reserved for her guests. With these people, though, she didn’t have to pretend.

The man on the left snorted, piercing Petunia with a familiar eerie look.

“Don’t you remember me, Tuney?” he asked, deliberately using that hated nickname she had not heard for more than a decade.

That same tone of voice, the same nasty look that this man was giving him, Petunia would not forget for the rest of her life.

Severus Snape – the very boy who had made her childhood hell.

___________________________________________________________________

Gwen Roslyn had apparated into Little Whinging just a minute or so after Severus did, her hair changing into a shade of deep red. After a year of knowing his son’s tutor, Severus learnt many things about the Ancient Runes assistant professor, one of them being her inherited part-metamorphmagus powers. Her grandmother had been a full metamorphmagus and her mother had inherited part of the power too, leaving her with a small proportion of it. The only thing she could change was the style and colour of her hair. Presently, red suited the fiery mood that she was keeping in control.

“I told you not to come, Gwen,” Severus hissed, striding down the lane of boring, similar houses towards No. 4 Privet Drive.

He wasn’t surprised that he had apparated at least two streets away from the Dursley’s residence. Every single house was of the same shape and form in the entire neighbourhood.

“Just trying to make sure you do not commit murder, Severus,” the haughty woman replied.

She knew that the Potions professor only used her first name when he was pissed off at her. However, she found out many things about the new Potions Master Severus Snape too. One of them being, he would not hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it despite his menacing look.

“The last thing Harry needs is his father in prison for something that doesn’t deserve the sacrifice,” Gwen continued.

“I don’t need you to lecture me on how to take care of Harry,” Severus sneered at the woman, his mind still reeling at what happened yesterday.

Putting a child’s hand on the stove! That was absolutely disgusting and inhumane of those filthy Muggles Albus Dumbledore calls relatives of Harry. Severus could barely let it go when he found out in the beginning that Lily’s son was mistreated, but violent physical abuse he could not stand for.

Initially, he thought it was just a few smacks to the backside and slaps occasionally, but even those he could not swallow the thirst for revenge every time Harry cowers in fear after a nightmare, about the Dursleys. Yesterday had been the last straw, when a slight probe into Harry’s mind revealed the most horrible ordeal of them all. Severus almost wished he hadn’t used Legilimency to find out about it. The image of a small boy trying to pull his hand away from the stove while his sick uncle pressed his hand on the burning flames was still stuck in his mind. Even his father had only been drunk and aggressive, not perverted.

“And you shall not try and stop me from seeking vengeance for my son, Miss Roslyn. Those Dursleys would deserve every inch of pain and suffering inflicted upon them. What they have done to Harry is sick, absolutely unpardonable and unforgivable…”

“…which is why I am here to enjoy a good show and perhaps contribute a couple of my fair share of revenge as well… Harry is my student too, you know. If Harry were in France, those Muggles would earn a sentence of life imprisonment, without trial. We have zero tolerance for abuse there, especially child abuse.

“So of course I won’t get in your way…I was surprised you didn't visit this bunch of Muggles earlier. I, for one, would have made a trip down here and give them a taste of their own nasty medicine.”

“Yes, your reckless Gryffindor bravery, while appreciated by many…one does not go defying Albus Dumbledore at every turn. I simply believed that he would live up to his word and deal with those Muggles like he said he would.”

“He’s Albus Dumbledore, as you said. He’s a busy man. That’s the excuse and apology he’ll give you, if you are thinking of confronting him after we return to Hogwarts. Giving those filthy people what they deserved is the last thing on his mind what with the uprising riots around Britain, suspicious Death Eater activity and the new Minister of Magic bugging him at every turn.”

Severus and Gwen had arrived on the doorstep of Number four just as Gwen finished her speech. Severus knocked on the door of the Dursleys, wincing as he heard Dudley Dursley screaming for his mother, with no manners or respect to his elders whatsoever.

“Thank you for your kind words, Miss Roslyn,” Severus said sarcastically, “but you could return if you wish to, you may not be aware of this, but the Headmaster has a rule against the mistreatment of Muggles.”

Gwen Roslyn snorted, sounding remarkably like the wizard next to her. “Then I think he’s a bloody hypocrite who should stick his wand up his…”

“Who are you?” Petunia Dursley’s suspicious face poked around the door and asked rudely. Gwen knew at once that she had no liking for this woman whatsoever.

___________________________________________________________________

“You!”

Petunia screeched, her voice high pitched and scared, betraying fright and contempt, a bony index finger pointed at Severus Snape’s nose.

“Me.”

Snape answered coolly, pushing Petunia’s hand aside and stepped into the house uninvited, Gwen closely following behind, watching the exchange with great interest. Dudley, oblivious to his mother’s displeasure, had his piggy eyes fixed onto the television and continued to stuff chocolate down his throat until Severus unplugged the wire from its socket using a tiny flick of his wand and the screen went black.

“Hey!” Dudley protested, spinning around to face the guests. “I was watching that!”

“And you were disgusting me,” Snape retorted.

There were still traces of chocolate stuck between Dudley’s teeth and some that missed his mouth staining the front of his shirt. No one had tried turning off his television while he was watching it, not even his parents dared for fear of a massive tantrum that would be sure to follow after that.

“Kindly gather your family in the living room, Tuney,” said Snape, pocketing his wand.

“Don’t call me that name! And why should I listen to you?” Petunia huffed. “You dare barge into my house without my permission, order me about in my own home and even bully my son! This is outrageous. I should have called the police the moment I saw you on my front steps. In fact, that’s what I am going to do right now!”

Snape whisked out his wand just as Petunia made a step towards them – the phone, unfortunately, was behind Severus – but Roslyn got there first.

“Now listen to me, Ma’am. You can either do it our way, or the hard way. Professor Snape here and I are investigating a case of child abuse. We have evidence to believe that Harry Potter did not receive proper treatment under your care. When the police arrives, we’ll see who they arrest after we show them physical proof of what we suspect happened under this roof,” Gwen threatened, pointing her wand in between Petunia’s eyebrow. “Now tell me, where is your husband?”

“He…he’s up-upstairs, a-s-sleep,” Petunia stuttered.

“You there!” Severus barked, motioning to a wide-eyed Dudley who seemed to have frozen where he was standing. He had no idea why the lady pulled out a drumstick, the kind that he saw rockers used during concerts, but said drumstick was currently letting sparks ignite at its end, as if trying to hold back something big that was going to be activated. “Go get your father down and make it quick.”

While Dudley scampered upstairs, Gwen fixed Petunia a deadly glare that rival that of Severus’ and continued pointing her wand at the loathing woman, who was going almost cross-eyed staring at the wand that ignited tiny sparks off its tip. The last time this happened when she was seventeen, when Lily had hexed her tongue such that it stuck to the roof of her mouth for the entire day, after Petunia insulted her sister being too unattractive for her best friend so he went off sleeping with other more beautiful girls and dumped her. Only, Petunia used a lot more profanities than that. Being at the end of a wand was not a good experience for her.

Satisfied that the woman he hated most during his childhood was subdued for the time being, Severus took the time to observe the house. He had seen the living room multiple times, sadly, through the eyes of a terrified young child being abused. That very fact made his skin crawl standing in this room. How dare these filthy creatures treat his son as such? Months of cumulative hatred boiled in the pits of the potions master’s stomach like a cauldron on the verge of explosion. His calm facade only added to the brewing storm that was about to whip these Muggles off their asses.

Severus spotted the cupboard under the stairs, full with locks and a small opening on the door for ventilation and screaming at the previous occupant beyond the door. Unlocking the door with a swish of his wand, Severus walked to the entrance of the cupboard, where he had to bend down a lot in order to look inside. Petunia let out a strangled gasp between a cry of horror and protest, but Gwen silenced her with another glare and prevented her from advancing.

Before Severus can register fully the deplorable conditions in the cupboard, Vernon Dursley and his son came walking – more like stomping – down the stairs, as pieces of paint and dust fell from the trembling ceiling onto Severus’ hair. The potions professor was livid when he reappeared from the cupboard, taking a couple of plastic toys and carefully folded a hand-drawn picture, which he had yet to see, stuck with bits of blue-tack on the wall of the cupboard and then pocketed it all three items in his robes.

Gwen took one look at Severus and opened her mouth to say something but decided to save it for later, then made a slight movement with her wand to clean off the dirt on Severus’ hair. The latter gave her an I-could-have-done-it-myself glare but the former just rolled her eyes dramatically. This was all very childish, really, the glaring at each other thing they adopted since the first day of Harry’s private classes with Roslyn.

“Hey!” Vernon Dursley shouted in indignation and strode forward towards Roslyn in a few steps, pulling Petunia away from the wand with one hand and made a move to push Gwen away from his wife. Dudley had said a bunch of incoherent string of words after shouting in his father’s ear in an attempt to wake him up, but Vernon had got the idea that there were some freaks in his house that he had to get rid of. “Put that thing away in my house.”

While Vernon had, with a little success, managed to keep Gwen’s wand pointing away from Petunia, he found his throat pressed by the wand of a used-to-be mass murderer’s right hand man.

“Don’t. Touch. Her,” Severus hissed dangerously.

Gwen was more than ready to take on the Muggle, but she decided to let Severus vent some of that long buried hatred after seeing the murderous look on his face.

Petunia let out a short piercing scream as she clutched her husband’s arm in fright. Dudley had also joined his parents and wrapped his chubby arms around his mother’s waist, looking at the man threatening his father in terror. Severus only sneered.

“What do you want from me?” Petunia half-screamed and half-wept, “For years, we have reared that bastard Potter boy, fed him, gave him food, shelter…”

“Quiet, you scrofulous, opprobrious woman,” Severus cut her off. “Albus Dumbledore, appointed guardian of Harry Potter by the Ministry, has sent a generous sum of money each year for Harry’s welfare, with specific instructions that they are to be used for ensuring Harry grows up to be a healthy young child. By spending it all on THAT whale of a boy you call your son,” Severus turned his wand to Dudley before continuing, “you are thereby misusing the state’s funding, a punishable crime in the wizarding world.”

“We never wanted anything to do with your kind,” Vernon struggled to say, going red at the prospect of going to jail.

“You not only FAILED to provide an innocent, harmless baby with the necessary to survive, but also abused him physically and verbally for the most of his childhood. Never mind what the greatest wizard of the century would do to you lot after he hears about this. When I’m through with you, I swear to Merlin, you would wish you had never been born,” Severus threatened perilously.

“Now see here, Mr.…?”

“Snape,” Petunia whispered to her husband after Severus refused to answer and only glared at the elder Dursley in response.

Vernon cleared his throat and proceeded, “Now, Mr. and Mrs. Snape, you can’t go barging into other people’s homes…”

Gwen spluttered when the obtuse Dursley called her that and almost cast the first hex, but Severus beat her to it, having had enough the nonsensical excuses.

“FURNUNCULUS!”

_____________________________________________________________

An hour or so later, Severus and Gwen stalked out of the disturbing house, triumphant. Severus dealt with Vernon Dursley and his son, casting, among others, a bad luck charm that would cause Vernon to lose his job and Dudley to lose his friends and be the victim of bully by the previous gang of goons he once called his friends, a spell that would make the two have constant nightmares about being physically abused, while Gwen had her fair share of revenge on Petunia Dursley.

On top of the bad luck charms that would find her at the receiving of the neighbourhood gossip about her atrocious treatment of her own nephew and nightmares about running around the house doing household chores, getting burnt by the hot sun while mowing the lawn and having her husband or son screaming in her ear while doing such chores, Petunia Dursley would also be constantly haunted by what she called the ‘unnaturalness of the Potter boy’. Every corner she turned, Petunia would spot wizards conversing with one another, wearing those unusual robes and whispering spells, reminded of the fact that magic exists in this world and that she is related to them.

It was the least of what they deserved, but Severus was already anxious to get out of that house and back to Harry. House elves may accomplish any task given to them obediently, but Harry may need his father soon. While the father and son have fallen into a comfortable routine in the past month, with Severus just starting his position as Potions professor and Gwen acting as Harry’s private tutor for weekday afternoons when Severus had classes, young Harry still stuck close to his father every evening and weekends, still afraid of losing his father anytime.

“Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. How would this slight fiasco change anything for Harry?” Gwen commented after the two strolled away from the house, ignoring the neighbours peeking out of their windows and spying on the Dursleys household.

“It made me content, knowing that Tuney got what she deserved.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Gwen asked after a moment of contemplation.

“Tell him what?”

Gwen rolled her eyes a little, deliberately irritating the Potions professor. “That you visited his only living relatives then hexed and cursed them into oblivion just to satisfy some of your thirst for revenge.”

Severus thought about the question for some time. What use is there telling Harry, really? Any recollection of the Dursleys is bound to upset him, he gets enough of that lot in his nightmares at night, there is no need to disturb him with those memories any further.

“Given you something to think about, eh?” Gwen said smugly.

Honestly, if young Harry wasn’t so taken in with her, Severus would have strangled her with his bare hands long ago. That cold outlook towards strangers was broken the moment that bloody witch witnessed him hugging Harry the day he departed to teach his first Potions class and she had just arrived for Harry’s first private tuition class. Ever since that day, Gwen had been pouring advice on how to raise his son down his throat, which usually led to the usual argument of Severus protesting that he was the parent of Harry and Gwen retorting about him not doing a good job of it.

Harry, though, found the entertainment highly amusing and always hid behind the door of his room, eavesdropping – the only reason both adults refrained from using profanities and rude insults to each other. Both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall had commented on how alike two old married couple they are, both at the receiving end of similar fiery killer glares afterwards.

Married couple?

Ha. Severus had an enmity with both words for the longest time, since Lily left his heart cold and empty. The only bride he had ever wanted to walk down the aisle with was dead, so he viciously extinguished any thoughts of matrimony from then onwards, ready to die a bachelor.

“How are your classes going, at any rate?” Gwen continued after a short while. “I do like to have a preview of my future students.”

Severus snorted. That woman never shuts her mouth up around him. How she gave everyone else the impression that she had a gentle demure, he could never understand. Her powers of deception must have far surpassed that of Severus’. Or maybe, she’s just more comfortable around you, Severus…she trusts you. Severus told the voice in his head to stuff it and replied Gwen’s question just for a bit of distraction.

“A bunch of disobedient, inattentive, unbearable, ill-disciplined, fidgety little devils who are unable to appreciate the wisdom and fine art behind the science of Potion making.”

Gwen started laughing even before the potions master finished his sentence. “Well, what did you expect, Severus – a class full of ingenious, mature young adults, aspiring to become future Potions Masters like yourself? They’re just kids… most of them reluctant to take Potions as a compulsory course for their year. The only reason they’re doing this subject is because they want to get through their OWLS and then never see, touch, hear about this for the rest of their lives if they could help it.”

Severus frowned, although he was thinking through Gwen’s comment.

“That’s no excuse for laziness or bad attitude.”

The soon-to-be Ancient Runes professor sighed and replied, “By all means, Professor Snape, punish them for all that’s worth. I’m not saying you should turn into a lenient, sparkling little fairy who hands out points like sweets every minute of the lesson…”

Severus glared at his companion.

“…but take into account the fact that not all of these children may become future experts in the field we are teaching, some may not even apply any of this knowledge once they’ve sat for their NEWTS. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to get them to learn the skills required so that someday, it may help them out of a difficult situation, sometimes even save their lives.”

“You seem to have given this quite a bit of thought,” the Potions professor said.

“I taught at Beauxbatons for quite some time after my mother…” Gwen stopped and collected herself before moving on. Severus gave her a questioning glance, but did not probe further. “…before coming to Hogwarts.”

“Indeed.”

Gwen shook herself out of her thoughts, which had drifted to the past for a moment. “Let’s just get back to Hogwarts. You have classes tomorrow and I have a project to deal with.”

Even as she said it, Severus could see that she had not left her initial train of thought. The used-to-be Death Eater had been down that road and he knew that the past was a place to visit but not a place to stay, but it was also difficult trying to pull one out of one’s own memory of ‘reminiscing’ the past. The longer one dwells over the subject, the more miserable one becomes, especially if said past was unpleasant.

Later, Severus decided that he must have been under an Imperius curse, because the next words coming out of his mouth were, “Perhaps you would like to join us for some afternoon tea?”