It took all of Snape's restraint not to transfigure Arabella Fig into a dog and watch as she then chased all her cats around the house. The woman had a voice that grated on his eardrums like someone keying a car. Of course, he then had to listen to her for nearly half an hour as she wailed her apologizes and condolences to his newly acquired wards.

Dursley and Potter both seemed to shy away from her the more she tried to 'console' them. Then again for two boys that had in a number of hours gone from an abusive home with their parents/guardians to being orphaned and left in the care of a practical stranger they seemed to be coping rather well.

Perhaps to well.

Eventually, Snape and the boys made their way over to Number 4 Privet Drive where, with a wave of his wand, Snape opened the door and ushered the boys inside.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Snape asked impatiently as soon as the door closed behind them. "Go gather your things. Quickly!"

Dudley didn't need to be told twice making for the stairs as fast as he could. The way he pounded up the stairs and down the hall, Snape was sure the boy would fall through the floor.

Harry wasn't so eager.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?" asked Snape raising an eyebrow and folding his arms across his chest.

"My trunk is in the cupboard under the stairs, sir." Harry mumbled not meeting the professor's eyes.

"Then get it out."

"I can't." Harry whispered, his eyes focused on a small hole in his trainers, while wishing he were anywhere, but in the living room of the Dursley's.

Severus nearly growled at the boy, before walking past him to the cupboard. He was about to snap at the child to get over there and get his trunk, but stopped with his mouth open.

The cupboard was padlocked shut.

Snape sneered before turning to Harry, who had followed him without being asked. Pointing a long, almost skeletal, finger at the locked door he demanded quietly.

"Explain this, boy."

Harry was leaning his shoulder against the wall, watching the carpet as though it were a blockbuster movie. At Severus's demand he merely shrugged not wanting to explain anything to Snape.

"That was not a request, Mr. Potter."

Harry remained stubbornly silent, his eyes never leaving the floor.

Snape was directly in front of him in two strides. Towering over the little boy, his right hand shot out catching Harry's chin forcing the boy to look up at him before speaking.

He opened his mouth to scold the brat, but stopped as something clicked in his mind. The Dursley boy had called Harry a freak and said that freaky things belonged in the cupboard.

Releasing the boy's chin he went back to cupboard and unlocked it without his wand. Opening the door slowly Snape didn't know what to expect. At first glance there was nothing unusual about the cupboard, but once the boy's trunk was out of the way Snape noticed a few things. There was a picture messily tacked to one side and some crayon scribbles on the wall and an empty water bottle in the corner. It wasn't much, but it confirmed Severus's suspicions.

Straitening up Snape turned to see Potter with his trunk open searching through its meager contents. Rags that Snape assumed were supposed to pass for clothing, books, a photo album, Potter's wand, were shoved this way and that, but not a single toy. Snape's forehead creased in thought. Perhaps his toys were elsewhere.

"I expect, Mr. Potter, that in the future you will carry your wand with you at all times." Severus voice was firm and foreboding. "You should have learned at least that much over the past year."

Harry glared at the professor and answered tersely. "Uncle Vernon made me lock it away, sir."

"I see," replied Snape, not in the least bit happy with the boy's tone and sent him a glare to show his displeasure.

"Go get the rest of your things, boy."

Wand tucked away in his back pocket, Harry closed the lid of his trunk and stood up. "This is everything."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "We will not be coming back anytime soon. I suggest you pack a few toys or games to keep you entertained and bring something other then your grubbiest play clothes."

Harry ground his teeth. "I don't have any."

"None," Snape was not as shocked as he should have been under the circumstances. "Not even a bear or some other childhood stuffed thing."

The boy's eyes, the same color as his Lily's, bored holes through his own obsidian gaze. The boy was angrier then Snape had ever seen him.

"No, sir, the Dursley's never bought me any. Dudley has enough to fill your entire house though, not that he'd ever let me touch them."

"I see." Snape was unfazed by the prepubescent temper. "Wait in the living room while I see what's taking your cousin so long.

Harry seemed to deflate before Severus's eyes. He had clearly been expecting some cuddling or at least a bit of sympathy. He should have known better.

Severus Snape did not cuddle.

As Snape moved through the living room and up the stairs he couldn't help but notice the abundant pictures on the walls. It disturbed him not to see one of Lily or her parents. There wasn't even a single one with Harry. This fact coupled with the recent discovery that an eleven-year-old boy didn't possess a single toy finally made everything come together in Snape's mind.

Harry Potter had been abused for years.

The so call savoir of the wizarding world had been neglected, starved, and beaten since left on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle's home. Lily's child had been hurt. He'd failed his very best friend…again.

I swear Lily, for whatever my word is worth to you, I will not fail him again. No one will harm your child again as long as there is still life in me.

Taking a deep breath Severus pushed his thoughts away and continued on to Dudley's room. From the doorway he could see the boy throwing all manner of things into a suitcase, but no clothes.

"Dursley!" Snape shouted startling boy, causing him to jerk around from where he had been kneeling inside his closet.

"What are you doing, boy?"

"Packing." Dudley said with a tone that clearly 'duh.'

"You're supposed to be packing clothes and a few toys. Not toys and a few clothes." Snape gritted his teeth.

With a wave of his wand Dudley's suitcase unpacked itself. With another muttered spell all of Dudley's clothes (which Snape noted were much nicer then anything Potter had) filled the suitcase. Once the suitcase was zipped, Snape shrunk it before picking it up and putting it in his pocket.

Dudley stood petrified at the sight of Snape's wand, but as his things started to float around the room he seemed to relax. Severus's voice soon broke the child's train of thought.

"Your cousin doesn't have a single toy, Mr. Dursley. By all rights I shouldn't allow you any either." Snape's voice was surprisingly even. "However, I'm willing to allow you to bring five things." Severus held up a hand with all five fingers stretched out. "Only five, Dursley. And you had best be willing to share them with your cousin."

Snape turned and began to walk away before the child could actually start blubbering. He stopped after a couple of steps to add one last thing.

"They must also meet with my approval."

"That's not fair!" Dudley finally managed to shout, for the first time in his life he was doing his best not to cry.

Snape spun around so fast his cloak made an audible snap. His coal black eyes seemed to be set aflame.

"Nothing that has happened in this house has been fair, Dursley!" Snape practically scream at the child who took several steps back his eyes wide and scared. "You have never been told 'no' or made to follow a single rule, while your cousin has been neglected and deprived. What about that is fair, boy? If you want fair I'll burn all your nice clothes and take away your toys. Is that what you want?"

Dudley eyes grew wider at the threat, and he shook his head rapidly from side to side.

"For the last time: you have vocal cords, boy, use them!"

"No, sir!" Dudley replied immediately.

Severus nodded and left feeling just the smallest bit guilty for frightening the boy.