“Ten points from Gryffindor for running in the hallways, Ms. Porritt.”

The third year did not even bother to argue, as she had nearly run into the professor, and merely lowered her pace to a more sedate walking as she continued towards the Entrance Hall where her friends were waiting for her.

Severus scowled to himself. How hard cold it be to follow the few rules the school had?

He continued on his way towards his quarters. It was Christmas Eve and nearly two days since he had met the strange boy in Cokeworth. Still he had not been able to push the boy out of his mind for more than a few hours at a time.

That boy could not have been Harry Potter, he told himself. Potter was the hero of the magical world and no doubt being spoiled rotten by his doting relatives. And even if it had indeed ben Potter that he had met there were no signs that anything were seriously wrong. So the boy had been worried that he would not get any presents for Christmas, but wasn’t that a punishment for having misbehaved? Discipline was not the same thing as abuse or mistreatment.

Even so those eyes, so hauntingly like Lily’s, followed him wherever he went, urging him to do something.

“Severus! Enjoying the holidays, I assume?”

Dumbledore had just left the Great Hall in time to see Severus before he continued down into the dungeons.

“Indeed, headmaster,” Severus replied, his voice devoid of any emotions.

“You should see the decorations Filius is setting up. He’s really outdone himself this year!”

“Like every year then.”

Nodding shortly towards each other they separated and headed in their separate directions, Severus towards the dungeons and Dumbledore towards the staircase. Severus halted just on top of the stairs, hesitating a moment before he turned around.

“Headmaster?” he called after the elder man.

“Yes, Severus? Is there anything I can do for you?”

He felt ridiculous. There was no way that Harry Potter was mistreated. After all, the boy was not only the hero of the magical world but also the son of two of Dumbledore’s favorite students. The old man would not allow anything to happen to the child.

“You … mentioned some time ago, that the child was well taken care of, did you not?” he asked slowly.

To say that it was “some time ago” was an understatement and it showed in how the headmaster did not immediately catch on.

“What child, Severus?”

“Her child.”

“Lily’s child? You mean Harry? Yes, he’s living with his aunt and uncle.”

“And he is … cared for, by his relatives?”

It wasn’t just that he felt ridiculous; he must be sounding ridiculous as well! Even so there was something within Severus that did not want to rest before he had assured himself that everything was fine with Lily’s child.

“I have a contact in the area who would have contacted me if there were any signs that something was not as it should.”

Which really should be more than enough to calm any worries he might have. Not that he was really worried, he hurried to remind himself.

“Is he … happy?” he asked.

The question was irrational and unnecessary. One did not need to be happy in order to be alive and well, Severus knew that. Even so he could not stop the question from escaping his lips, the memory of the boy from the park playing over and over in his mind.

“I don’t know, Severus,” Dumbledore replied, sounding serious. “He has lost his parents and most likely he has no memory of them. We can only hope that he can overcome his loss.”

“I understand, headmaster.”

“Is there any particular reason you asked, Severus?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? You have never shown any interest in the boy before?”

“I’m sure, headmaster.”

He turned around to leave and was already several steps down the staircase when he heard Dumbledore’s voice behind him again.

“If you want I could give you his address, and you could go check on him yourself, Severus.”

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Late on Christmas Eve Severus sat awake by the fire in his quarters. In his hands he held the note with the address to Lily’s child. He had not made up his mind yet, if he should go and see the child.

What if the boy was just like his father, spoiled and arrogant with a huge pile of gifts waiting for him in the morning? That would ruin any chance Severus had of ever seeing anything of Lily in him. It would mean that whatever hope he had nurtured that there were a small part of her alive would be forever lost.

Then again, what if the boy was more like his mother than his father? Would Severus be able to stand seeing the boy then, or would his likeness to his mother be a constant reminder of Severus’ own failures and shortcomings in life? Could he risk that?

In his mind the memory of the boy in the park kept repeating itself. Severus could not help but notice the boy’s worn clothes, the fact that he did not expect to receive any gifts at all or that he kept referring to himself as a bad boy. That boy was neither Lily nor James. He wasn’t even sure if it had really been Harry Potter. Most likely it had not, he told himself.

Even so, something about the boy had stuck with him and a part of him wanted to make sure that the boy was fine.

Finally he made his decision and stood, getting his cloak and some floo powder from the pot on the mantle of his fireplace. In a matter of moments he had flooed to The Three Broomsticks. He did not stop to think things through, or he would have changed his mind and gone back to the castle. After all, he was a spy and had learned to trust his instincts. Too much thinking was just as bad as too little.

Briskly he stepped out of the inn and apparated away.

He appeared again in an alleyway a few quarters away from the address he was seeking. Having already memorized the address he confidently stepped out of the shadows and started following the signs leading him towards Privet Drive.

Within a few minutes he was there, searching each identical house for the number he was after. Number twelve had lights that kept blinking in red and green at him. Number eight seemed empty, the residents apparently spending the holidays elsewhere. Number six had a few discrete lanterns. Finally he reached the house he had been looking for.

Number four Privet Drive did in no way stand out from the surrounding houses. The decorations were not more lavish or expensive than those of any other house, the façade was neat and orderly and there were a car of similar model as the ones standing on the driveways of the neighbors’.

This was where Harry Potter lived. Vaguely he wondered how people would react if they knew their hero lived in such an ordinary setting.

A quick spell disarmed any alarms the family might have on the door and another one unlocked it, allowing Severus to enter without problems. The house smelled distinctly of cleaning detergent and cookies. Everything seemed very orderly, like someone spent a lot of time cleaning and making sure everything were where it should be.

On the walls there were photos of the happy family living there. Severus saw a woman with a horse-like face he recognized as Petunia, alongside a very large man and a rather large boy that resembled the large man greatly. There were no photos of any other child, making Severus wonder if Potter even lived here.

In the living room a large, plastic Christmas three stood in the corner. Underneath it, and strewn randomly around the room, lay what must be at least thirty Christmas presents of different size and color. Severus picked one up and read the tag; Merry Christmas To Duddykins from Mommy! A quick scan of the other presents revealed that all of them wore similar tags.

So Harry Potter really was not going to get any presents for Christmas. How ironic. Slightly worrisome too, if he was to be perfectly honest.

Well, merely a lack of presents for Christmas was no sign of serious mistreatment or abuse. He decided to take a closer look at the house and cast a quick Notice Me Not charm on himself, in case someone would wake up.

The kitchen smelled strongly of all kinds of festive foods that had been prepared but held no further clues to Harry Potter. Severus headed for the hallway again and up the stairs to the second floor.

He found three sleeping muggles, two adults and one child, three bedrooms, one sewing room and a bathroom. None of the rooms held any signs that there was another boy living in the house. By now a feeling that something was seriously wrong was starting to take hold of him. Where had Harry Potter gone? If he wasn’t living here, then where was he?

Exasperated he went down to the first floor again, wondering what he should do next. He should probably return to Hogwarts and tell Dumbledore that Potter had gone missing. There would be uproar in the magical world if the news of Potter’s disappearance got out but they could not risk him getting hurt or even killed.

A small sound caught his attention. Looking around he tried to determine where it came from. His eyes fell in the cupboard beneath the stairs. Were there rats at such a clean place at this? He found it hard to believe but what else could it have been?

Slowly he stepped closer to the door, noticing the lock as he did so. Why was there a lock on the cupboard? Was it some sort of method to childproof the house? The boy Severus had seen seemed too old to need such measurements to be taken, but then again, these were muggles he was dealing with.

From the living room the lights of the Christmas three provided just enough light for him to see what he was doing. He unlocked the lock and gently pulled the door open, trying to make as little sound as possible in case the muggles would wake up.

There, on a cot directly on the floor, lay the boy Severus remembered from the park. He had a blanket wrapped around himself and lay still, eyes closed in sleep. What was this boy doing in the cupboard? Was this some sort of game? Something within him clenched and he swallowed to bring some moisture to his suddenly dry throat.

“Are you going to eat me?”

Despite the low tone of the question Severus was startled. He stared at the child, which still lay perfectly still with his eyes closed.

“Will it hurt?” the boy asked after another moment, when Severus did not reply.

Eyes clenched tighter shut and the little body curled in on itself a little.

“No, I’m not going to eat you.”

A moment later the eyes flew open and Severus found himself the focus of those green eyes once again.

 “I recognize you! You’re the man from the park.”

Potter tilted his head a little as he looked at Severus, obviously confused.

“I thought Father Christmas was supposed to be fat, and have white hair and a red coat and a large sack to carry all the presents in. Are you Father Christmas?”

“No, I am not Father Christmas!”

“Then what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

What should he do now? The plan had been to never be discovered. He would go in and out without anyone ever noticing him being there.

“I could ask you the same. Why aren’t you in bed?”

He thought of the third bedroom, which he had thought was a guestroom. It must be Potter’s room after all.

“I am in my bed,” the boy told him.

“This isn’t a bed. It’s a cupboard under the stairs.”

“It’s where I sleep.”

 “Why would you sleep here and not in one of the bedrooms?”

Chewing his lip a little the boy hesitated before he answered again, then in a low voice, almost as if he didn’t want Severus to hear him, he said:

“Aunt and Uncle say that only good boys get a bedroom.”

“Only …”

Severus could not even bring himself to repeat what the boy had just told him. He’d had a bad feeling about how the boy always spoke of himself as a bad boy but this really took the price! For a moment he did not know what to say or how to react.

“You don’t have a bedroom?” he repeated, just to make sure he had understood the situation correctly.

“No. Though Aunt and Uncle say Dudley might get a second one to have all his toys in.”

“And you will not get any presents for Christmas?”

“Not even any of Dudley’s hand me downs.”

Rubbing his temples Severus swore silently. He really had hoped that things would be well and fine. As it was it meant that he had to find out exactly how bad the situation was and, depending on how bad it was, act on it. It did not look like he would get back to Hogwarts anytime soon.

“Come out of there,” he told the child. “We need to talk.”

Potter scrambled out of his blanket and followed Severus into the living room where they both took a seat, Severus in the armchair and Potter at the edge of the sofa.

“I need to know how your family is treating you,” Severus told the child.

“Why is that?”

“Because I need to. Now, are they giving you enough food to eat?”

“Yes sir.”

“Three meals a day?”

“Yes sir. Unless I’m bad, because if I am Uncle Vernon makes me go to bed without dinner.”

“Do they beat you?”

“Only if I’m bad or if I’m in the way or something.”

As he asked the questions Severus looked the boy in the eyes and silently dove into his mind. It was only a very light legilimency. Severus was only just scratching on the surface. The boy was naturally very open and so it took little prompt from Severus’ side to see the boy’s memories flash by. There were memories of going to bed without dinner for days on end, of being carelessly pushed aside for being in the way or slapped over the head, just because he happened to be standing close by and be a suitable target for frustration.

Potter squirmed a little in his seat, looking curiously at Severus.

“Who are you?” the boy asked. “I mean, you said you weren’t Father Christmas …”

The question broke Severus’ concentration and he let the boy’s mind go.

“My name is Severus Snape,” he replied. “I … I was a friend of your mother’s.”

“You knew my mom?”

“Indeed. We were friends as children. In fact we met not far from where I met you.”

“Really? My mom used to live there?”

“Didn’t your aunt tell you that much?”

Frowning a little the boy looked down at the rug, looking unhappy.

“Aunt doesn’t like to talk about mom. Says she was a shame to the family anyway.”

“Who was a shame to the family?”

Had Severus been in his classroom his students would have recognized the dangerous tone in his voice. Young Harry though seemed entirely oblivious.

“My mom. And dad too, by the way.”

“Lily was the finest person I knew! She is by no means a shame to anyone, least of all her family!”

“I think that what really bothers Aunt is the part about the drugs and alcohol and that …”

“Drugs? Alcohol?”

Puzzled Severus looked at the boy in front of him. Potter met his eyes quickly and then looked away, as if embarrassed to even talk about these things.

“Yeah, drugs. Uncle says mom and dad were on drugs already before they left school, and that that is why I’m the way I am.”

For one, breathtaking moment Severus thought he would lose control over his magic. He felt it flare up from the ever present glow within him to a furious inferno ready to explode and take the whole house, and it inhabitants, with it in the explosion. These muggles had told the boy that Lily had been nothing but a drug addict.

Then he managed to regain control over his magic and reign it in somewhat, though he was well aware that the furniture had rattled against the floor a moment ago.

“You, boy, are coming with me. Gather whatever belongings you wish to bring. You are not coming back.”