A/N Another chapter. Yay. Not feelin' the love, much right now. Please review!

Disclaimer: Nope, Severus and Harry would have learned to get along if I owned HP.

Fear for the Better

Chapter 3

"Potter?" Severus asked. Shiny emerald eyes stared up at him.

"'s h-he gone?" the boy whispered.

Deciding it would be less confusing to explain about the Boggart why the boy was so distressed, Snape said, "Yes. He's gone."

Harry jerked away from him, pulling his legs to his chest, rocking slightly. "I was s-s-supposed to be saf-fe h-here. I-I-he w-wasn't s-s-supposed to be h-here."

"Who was he?" Snape asked, ignoring the shaking in his voice. Seeing Lily like that... And then the man that looked so much like his father... It was making his stomach churn. He wondered why the boy wasn't as effected by his mother very much...

"Unc'a Vern'n. He-I live with 'im."

Severus's brow furrowed in confusion and worry. Lily would be furious if someone DARED abuse her child. "Your Uncle wasn't really here. What you saw... it was an illusion, a Dark creature called a Boggart. They show your worst fear... Why is he your worst fear?"

The boy stiffened. "I don't know. He is rather large, I guess."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Obviously. But wrong answer. Try again."

Harry started. "He is hard-nosed?"

"A question, or a statement, Potter? Try again."

"He gets... loud sometimes..."

"Loudness? Come now."

Harry started getting angry. "Well, when he gets drunk he always shouts and his face turns purple, like he's gonna explode!"

Snape narrowed his eyes. Unintentionally, the first year had revealed much to him. The boy was afraid of how big his uncle was, so he was obviously afraid that his uncle would use his hulk to hurt him. Harry also stated that his uncle was hard-nosed, meaning the man was a fan of discipline. The loudness: Yelling equals verbal abuse at the very least. And the admittance to when his uncle gets drunk, that he ALWAYS does things. Always, meaning it was a regular occurrence.

"Does your uncle hit you?" Severus asked bluntly.

"As a punishment, not to like abuse me or anything," the boy stated. Severus frowned, noticing how Harry had so easily guessed the reasoning behind the man's questioning.

"As in Corporal Punishment? Spanking?" Snape pried.

Harry scrunched up his nose. "Uh, no. That's for kids. He uses his belt."

Severus stiffened, growling, "Where?"

Seeming increasingly uncomfortable, Potter said, "The usual places, sir."

Severus rubbed his hand over his face. "What of food? Do they feed you?"

"They don't starve me..."

"Stop talking like a Slytherin! Answer me!" Severus bellowed, his nerves finally pushed over the edge. But the boy just flinched sharply, standing up and backing towards the door. Taking a breath, the man said quietly, "If you refuse to talk any further on the subject than so be it. Dismissed." And with that, the boy ran out of his classroom.

A/N Oooh. What will happen?

Review please!