Severus left through the kitchen door and for a moment, he just stood on the porch and looked at his garden. He took some deep calming breaths. Why did the Potter brat always had to irritate him this much? He wasn’t even there for half an hour and Severus had already resorted to yelling at him.

He took another big gulp of fresh air contemplating his garden that was still in disarray from the storm ten days ago.

Severus thought back to arriving with Potter and his blood started to boil again. Honestly, what did the brat hope to gain by lingering on his doorstep? Severus certainly wouldn’t cater to this whim of his to carry his sorry excuse of a backpack inside. Although he had to give the bothersome boy some credit: at least he had had the decorum to remove his shoes.

And then when the boy had perched on the very edge of the sofa Severus almost got the feeling that he was afraid. Codswallop! A Potter afraid? Well, he should be afraid. Severus definitely wasn’t about to coddle him like his muggle relatives. And no, the tea wasn’t coddling. Severus just didn’t want the little snot to spew vomit all over his good rug as green as he was looking after apparating.

Maybe he had been a bit irrational with the teacup. A little bit. It absolutely wasn’t an overreaction due to the fact that it was the same mug Ben had used the last time he was here. The last time Severus had seen him. The same mug he had thrown at his fireplace and repaired a second later with a pang in his chest. No, it was an absolutely rational response to the Potter boy parading his pamperedness. Well, Severus wouldn’t put up with it!

Although he might have gotten a bit carried away with his following speech. At any rate, it had made an impression on Potter. That’s what counted.
Yet, Severus couldn’t get rid of the feeling that if Felix hadn’t interrupted he would still be there shouting at Potter. And what good would that do? Severus’ throat already felt a bit sore from trudging through the constant rain in his search for Potter. Stupid boy!

He cast a glance through one of the living room windows and sniffed. The blasted cat had already made itself at home in Potter’s lap. Traitor!

Severus wished Ben were here. The boy was such a Hufflepuff he would befriend even Potter immediately. Instantly Severus backtracked. He hadn’t really thought about his young neighbour since setting forth to find Potter. His feverish search for the right tracking charm and the subsequent chase across half of Britain hadn’t left room for something other than the constant stream of new insults his brain had come up with for the son of his old school rival. Never mind that it had been his mind’s steady provision of new derisions that had made Severus loose the track in the first place.
Well, whose fault was that? Potter’s of course!

Maybe Ben had come home long ago? Severus strode towards the wall separating their backyards and looked up to what he assumed was the window of Ben’s room before he remembered his last meeting with Mrs. Anderson.
What had happened to Ben? The neighbour woman, Iris as she insisted, said that they had “gotten rid” of Ben. That wasn’t just a slip of tongue. She had meant it.

Severus had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t paused to think about that alarming piece of conversation. At that moment, he maybe didn’t take it too seriously and assumed the situation would resolve itself on its one as it had always done before with Ben. In hindsight, it had been very stupid to presume that with a cup of tea and an episode of Star Trek the situation would just go away. With a wince, Severus reflected on all the missed opportunities to talk to Ben and really change something. He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now, was there? And there was a much more pressing problem currently sitting on his couch.

Severus fumbled for his wand that he had stowed away in the pocket of the neat muggle trousers he had put on to get Potter out of the juvenile shelter. It hadn’t really taken much of convincing. They seemed happy to see the bothersome boy go.

“Expecto Patronum,” he incanted under his breath and send his patronus to Dumbledore with the urgent message to collect Potter as soon as possible. After the doe had leapt away over his baneberry field, he nudged a fallen branch with his foot. He really ought to clear up his garden.
He didn’t have to wait long for the headmaster’s answer. Severus’ thoughts of harvesting ingredients were disrupted by the shimmering phoenix perching on the branch before him and starting to talk in Dumbledore’s voice.

“Severus, I’m really glad you found Harry as I said before. Thank you my friend.”
Thank you my ass! thought Severus. The best thank you would be if you’d remove Potter from my couch!
“Unfortunately, as I have also mentioned before, no one from the Order currently has the capacities to take Harry.”
The capacities?
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry?
“But I’m sure it wouldn’t inconvenience you terribly to house Harry for one or two days.”

“One or two days!” Severus called aloud. A few birds startled in the wiggentrees.
“Or a week-“
“A WEEK?” Severus couldn’t contain his shout. The birds flew away chirping in dismay.

“A week and a half maximum,” Dumbledore continued merrily and Severus could practically see him before his inner eye stroking his long white beard pleased with himself and his shenanigans.
Severus really didn’t know which one was the worst: Albus and his constant machinations or Potter and his annoying tendency to create trouble wherever he went.

Would it be too much to ask for a little bit of well-earned peace after putting up with the hordes of abominable students all year long? Would it be too much to ask for some alone time so that he could tend to his vegetable garden and maybe finally finish the first chapter of the Hitchhiker? Couldn’t some other Order member look after Potter?
No, he had to be the one to find Potter, he had to be the one getting dragged into the sneaky schemes of the headmaster and HE had to always fucking be the one to smooth things over.
Frustrated, Severus kicked the branch, which snapped with a loud crack. The silvery phoenix clapped its wings and with a last rebuking glare at the potions master, it disappeared into thin air.

Harry stroked the cat lying in his lap. It was somewhat comforting to know that he had someone here that didn’t hate him right away. Even if that someone was a cat that was probably Snape’s pet. Harry couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his evil potions master would care for a pet.

Felix purred quietly and stretched his legs. He began sharpening his claws on the new sweatpants Harry had gotten at the shelter but Harry let him. 

His thoughts were racing. He didn’t know what had happened in the last minutes never mind the last hour. How had Snape found him anyway? Harry had thought himself clever by not using magical means of traffic and keeping a low profile in the muggle world but apparently, that plan had failed. He could only be glad that it hadn’t been one of Voldemorts lackeys that tracked him down although he wasn’t sure if Snape was any better if it came down to it.

The man had never made his allegiances clear. Dumbledore could claim everything he wanted and even if Harry had to admit Snape had saved him a few times, that didn’t mean he had to like the sinister professor who had made it known from day one that he didn’t like Harry. X that. That he hated Harry.

Currently the potions master was prowling around the backyard. In Harry’s humble opinion, it made the garden look eerie no matter how fascinated he had been upon seeing it for the first time. Snape’s shadow fell upon the window and Harry quickly looked down when Snape’s glare landed on him.

Harry’s heart was hammering. He took a few breaths to calm down and continued petting Felix. With great effort he made himself relax somewhat only to startle fiercely when he heard Snape shout from outside.

“One or two days?”

Harry craned his neck to see whom Snape was so mad at. A familiar phoenix sat in front of Snape, his voice too soft for Harry to hear.

“A WEEK?” Snape yelled incredulously and Harry had to suppress a new shudder as to not startle Felix.

He heard a loud crash and anxiously knit his eyebrows together. Yes, Snape was definitely completely crazy, that was for sure.
A few minutes later, Harry heard a door open and close. He tensed up.

Severus made an effort to calm himself somewhat before going back inside. It wouldn’t do to just start screaming again even if it was the thing Severus would like to do the best right now.

In the silence left behind by Dumledore’s damn loyal bird, Severus had formulated a plan in his mind. He had discarded his first idea to just dump Potter right back on his relatives quickly after picturing himself chasing the brat across the country a second time. No, if Severus send the boy back now, he would only run again.

So, Severus had to make sure Potter knew what awaited him should he leave the safety of his loving relative’s home again. With a sardonic grin, Severus went inside.
At the end of the week, the little nuisance would beg Severus to bring him back to Privet Drive.