Note: takes place right after Harry sees darling Sevvie-kins memory in the Pensieve.
"You will not tell anyone what you saw!" Severus snarled, shaking Potter viciously, "Do you understand me?"
"Yes," Potter gasped, backing away, "Of course I w-"
"Then let us continue," spat Snape. He could see the dread in Potter's eyes – the boy knew he was about to be punished… "Legilimens!"
Severus was thrown into a raging broil of memories – the Brat-Who-Lived had no mind control. The memory at the forefront of Potter's mind solidified.
It was a clear spring day, and Potter was walking across a dusty school square, head down. It had rained recently – puddles littered the ground. A fantastically obese whale looked at him and grinned, and Severus was about to flick on to another memory when the whale spoke.
"All right, Potty?" he said loudly. Severus, suddenly struck by a strange feeling of déjà vu, remained transfixed. He could dimly feel Potter pushing on his mind, but paid him no heed.
Young Potter's fists clenched and he said quietly, "Leave me alone." A crowd of children were gathering around him in a circle, some sneering and nudging each other and others merely sniggering.
"Shut up, who told you to say anything?" a rattish boy in the crowd replied nastily, giving Potter a shove. The boy stumbled, and a bystander stuck out her foot. He tripped clumsily and landed in a puddle, but stood up again, face down and hands still clenched tight.
"Leave me alone," he said a little louder.
"Don't be like that, Potty," the whale sneered.
"How did the test go?" the rattish boy asked with false concern.
"He cheated," another boy replied viciously, "And I told the teacher."
Potter's fists clenched tighter and Severus was inwardly impressed at his self control.
"What's wrong?" the rattish boy crooned, "Oh, poor Potty, no mummy to come defend you? That's too bad. I heard they died in a car accident… because they were drunk…"
Potter threw himself at the boy, scratching, biting, and kicking for a few seconds before others dragged him off. The rat twisted his arms behind his back so hard it must have hurt, but Potter's face showed only anger and a bit of resignation.
"Your parents were drunk. Say it," the whale sneered.
"Your parents are the drunk ones!" Potter burst out. The whale punched him across the face as he stood helpless. At this signal, a few others also jumped in and began wacking him.
"Hey, Potty!" one cried, "Let's play Harry Hunting!"
The brat took off so fast that he almost seemed to disappear, and the boys chased him. Feeling ill, Severus pulled himself out of Potter's mind just as his memory-self was trapped behind a dumpster.
The older Potter was on the floor again, hair over his face.
"It is so nice for the rest of us to know that even the famous Boy-Who-Lived has bad memories," Severus sneered, but his voice lacked the usual nastiness. He was still reeling over the fact that James Potter's son had been beaten and bullied… "You are dismissed."
The boy looked up at him, shocked at the early release, but at Severus' glower he decided to say nothing. As the door swung shut Severus sagged into his chair, suddenly craving a cup of extremely hot black tea.
And the image in Severus' mind as he tried to fall asleep that night was of a bullied little boy who had no angel to rush up and defend him…