Love Thy Neighbour by Alexannah
Past Featured StorySummary: The Dursley family move house, and Harry is horrified to find that they are now living opposite his most hated Potions Master. Between Snape and the Dursleys, will Harry make it to the Burrow in one piece?
Categories: Healer Snape, Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Fic Fests > #18 Summer 2015, Teacher Snape > Professor Snape, Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Dumbledore, Original Character, Petunia, Vernon
Snape Flavour: Snape is Kind, Snape is Mean, Snape is Secretive, Snape is Stern
Genres: Angst, Drama, Family, General
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, Snape-meets-Dursleys, Spying on Harry! Snape
Takes Place: 4th summer
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Physical Punishment Spanking, Neglect
Prompts: Neighbors, Grounded!
Challenges: Neighbors, Grounded!
Series: None
Chapters: 23 Completed: Yes Word count: 39258 Read: 273966 Published: 07 Aug 2015 Updated: 01 Sep 2015
Time to Let Loose by Alexannah

Severus couldn’t describe the strange feeling he had had upon seeing the spare room filled with Harry Potter’s things.

 

Anyone who didn’t know the situation, looking at that room, would have guessed that the boy was living there. Of course, Severus and Harry both knew that was silly, but that was what it looked like. He had honestly expected Harry to just leave all his things in a pile in one corner, except the posters which he had asked if he could put up—so, Severus assumed, they wouldn’t get crumpled—but instead Harry had arranged everything neatly as if the room was his own.

And all right, Severus had arranged for Harry to spend the night with him that night. He figured, since it was his birthday, it was only fair he got to escape his relatives for a bit longer. He hadn’t intended the boy to move in.

Perhaps he should have said something? Or would that have had an undesired effect?

Severus thought back to when he’d rebuked Harry about the cake. He hadn’t even been sharp with him, but Harry’s body language had reflected the way Harry had reacted at Hogwarts when he was scolded.

And his words … Severus was an idiot, he should have seen it coming. It made sense that Harry Potter, deprived for so many years of even basic necessities, wouldn’t be used to having luxuries piled on him. Of course, that was precisely why Severus had hinted to the guests that they might want to be overly generous, to make up for all Harry’s previous birthdays, but he had failed to think about how Harry might respond.

It was something else he would have to talk to the Weasleys about when the wards were finally done. Severus had quite a list, in fact. Harry’s mindset needed some gentle correcting in quite a few areas.

In the meantime …

Severus made a cup of tea for himself and sipped it whilst staring absently at the remaining evidence of the party. He wondered what on earth was taking Albus so long with the wards. Surely they could have been finished several times by now?

It wasn’t as if he was still desperate to kick Harry out. He’d grown fond of having him around—overly fond, in fact. That was what bothered him. He was honestly worried that the longer Harry stayed, the harder it would be when he moved away.

Severus had always preferred his solitude … it was easier to deal with than people. But that wasn’t to say he didn’t get lonely. And he feared that would increase a hundredfold once Harry was gone.

That was probably why he had reacted so oddly to seeing Harry’s things filling the spare room. For a moment, Severus could have convinced himself that Harry was staying for good.

-

“Ah, Potter. Feeling better this morning, I hope?”

“Yes, thanks, Professor,” Harry said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “Much.”

“Good. I—” He broke off as a furious hammering sounded on the front door. “What on earth …?”

“Let me in!” Petunia’s muffled yet livid voice sounded through the door. “NOW!”

“Potions lab,” Snape said. “Quickly!”

Harry darted into the room and closed the door—then opened it a fraction to see what was going on. Snape disappeared out of view, and Harry heard the front door open.

“Where is he?” Petunia snarled, storming into the house. “Where’s the boy?”

“Working,” Snape said calmly. “Can I help you, Mrs Dursley?”

“Yes you can! You and the boy are coming over, now! And he is going to put it right!”

“I beg your pardon?”

BOY!” Petunia yelled.

“One moment, one moment.” Snape’s footsteps approached, and Harry darted further into the room and tried to look as if he was working when the door opened.

“I suppose you heard all that.” Harry nodded. “Come on then, Potter.”

He followed Snape and a fuming Petunia mutely across the road. Once inside Number Nine, she gripped his arm tightly and dragged him upstairs.

“Look!” she shrieked, tugging him into Dudley’s bedroom.

Harry’s mouth dropped open. Dudley, with Vernon kneeling next to him, was spluttering on a long, slimy purple thing hanging from his mouth … his tongue. There was an empty sweet wrapper on his pillow.

“What in blazes …” Snape said, stopping dead.

In other circumstances, Harry might have found it funny, but he had a rather awful feeling about what was coming.

“Well do something!” Vernon barked at Harry. “Reverse it!”

Me?” Harry said. “I didn’t do this!” He thought he knew who had, though.

Snape drew his wand. “I can correct it, Mr Dursley. Please stand aside.”

Petunia looked like she couldn’t work out whether to be outraged or terrified. Snape ignored her and pointed his wand at the tongue, which began to shrink. Dudley choked as it withdrew into his mouth and turned back to pink, and then without saying thank you, he fled the room, clutching his bottom.

Snape raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“So,” Vernon said, eyeing Harry the way a shark might eye its prey. “I gave you one last warning, boy, do you remember? It’s the cane for you. You’re not going to be able to sit for a month.”

Harry gulped and backed into Snape, who gripped his shoulder.

“Could it possibly wait until I return him later?” Snape said in a casual tone. “I still have a lot of work for him to do today, and he won’t be much use to me if he can’t sit down.”

“Yes, go on then,” Vernon said gruffly. “I need time to find the thing anyway.” His eyes glinted. “Until later then, boy.”

“Then we’ll be going.” Snape steered Harry out of the room and down the stairs. “Don’t worry,” he whispered as they left the house. “They’ll have to get through me.”

Harry wasn’t entirely sure what he meant. Snape was planning on preventing them from using the cane full stop? How?

“Wait a moment, Snape!”

They stopped, and turned around. Petunia had followed them into the road, still apparently incensed. “Perhaps you could explain to me how the brat managed to hurt my Diddikins when you’re supposed to be keeping the little freak in line for us!”

“And I am—”

“Oh, really?” she shrieked. “Don’t lie to me! I know what’s going on! You’re just like all the others! Fawning over him like he’s some sort of—”

Harry could feel their argument attracting stares from the neighbours. He couldn’t bring himself to look around.

“I do not fawn over anyone,” Snape said coldly, “and I do not appreciate being spoken to in that tone.”

“Well what would you call it? All your lot, you think you’re so clever; well I’ve been watching you. You haven’t been controlling him at all. You’ve been taking him on little jaunts to the beach, and feeding him whatever the hell he wants, and yesterday you threw him a birthday party!”

“How on earth did you—” Snape said, sounding flummoxed.

Petunia brandished an empty cardboard box with the words Birthday Cake on it. “Not so clever, are you Snape?”

“You’re—you’re insane,” Snape said, staring in disbelief. “Have you been going through my bins?

“I saw you put your rubbish out this morning and it had a birthday banner in it. So I had a dig around. Quite the party, I see!”

“Ah,” Snape said, wincing. “Oops.”

Petunia waved a threatening finger at him. “I’ve had it with your people who think they’re better than us, that they can do what they like and we’ll kowtow, who just whisk him off when they feel like it and dump him back on us when they feel like it. And they expect us to fit in with their whims! We’re expected to be babysitters when it’s convenient for them! And as for you, you lying bastard, you think you can just manipulate us to your heart’s content!”

Snape snatched her finger and gripped it so hard she yelped. “This coming from the woman who duped a whole neighbourhood into believing your nephew was the rogue? And what disgusts me most, is that I helped you do it.” He tightened his grip and Petunia squeaked, trying to pull her finger out of his hand.

“HEY! Let go of my wife!” Vernon had appeared in the doorway, red as a beetroot. “What in thunder is going on?”

Snape let go of Petunia it seemed with the greatest reluctance. Vernon hurried up to them and put his arms around her.

“If you’ve hurt her, I—I—”

“I haven’t,” Snape said. “But if I had it would be no more than she deserved.”

“You can’t talk to us like that!”

“I can talk to you any bloody way I feel like it. You’d better pray Albus Dumbledore is in a forgiving mood when he comes to call. Try for some remorse. Or is that beyond you?”

“Remorse for what?” Vernon snapped. “We’ve done nothing wrong!”

“We did everything he asked!” Petunia added before Snape could answer. “We took care of the boy—”

“CARE?” Snape exploded. The Dursleys cowered. “Do you even know the meaning of that word, Petunia Dursley? I’ve been in your house, remember? I’ve seen your so-called care! I’ve wanted to say this for weeks. You are a vile, despicable woman, and your husband is a brute.” Vernon spluttered, but Snape ignored him. “If I hadn’t stepped in I don’t doubt Harry would have starved to death by now. You’ve treated him like dirt his entire life. I wouldn’t trust either of you to care for a plant, let alone a child.”

“Fine!” Vernon snapped. “You can keep him! Come on, dear.” He led Petunia into Number Nine and slammed the door shut behind them.

The End.


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