Chapter 11 - Instinctive
Snape knocked on the door to the Dursley's home and could not help but think, for the hundredth or so time, how foolish he was being. He had already made it very clear to Potter's relatives what the consequences would be if he discovered that their treatment of the boy was anything less than stellar and he made sure that Harry would know what and how to get in touch with him if he was mistreated and yet here he was paying yet another visit to assure himself that all was well. Maybe he was ill. Promising to check in with Madam Pomfrey later this week, Snape steeled himself for the unpleasant task at hand as the door flung open.
"Mom!" Dudley spluttered as he fearfully backed away from the door. "It's that man!"
Snape did not attempt to hide his smirk as he made his way through the open door. A quick look around the room showed him that not much had changed since his last visit, though he was glad to see that the closet under the stairs remained unlocked.
"What are you doing back here?!" Petunia shrieked as she made her way in from the kitchen.
"I came to see how the boy was fairing in your care thus far," Snape sneered. "I trust he's been flourishing since his return."
"Why don't you ask him yourself! He's in the back doing his chores," she shrieked as she moved to stand in front of her son as if shielding him from the sight of the wizard.
Instead of going back out the front door and around to the back of the house, Petunia led him through the house, presumably to avoid him being seen by any nosy neighbors. As he walked through the house he was again taken by just how neat and orderly everything was and could not help but feel disgusted by the meticulous attention these people made to every aspect of their appearance to the world. It was almost amusing that they thought anyone actually cared that much.
Stepping into the Dursley's back yard, Snape nearly missed Harry's small hunched over form amongst the foliage he was tending. It seemed to him that the boy seemed even smaller than he had been two weeks ago.
"Professor Snape?" Harry asked in alarm as he turned and realized that he was being watched. "Is something wrong?"
"That is precisely what I would like to know," Snape replied curtly. "What are you doing?"
With a confused look on his face he said slowly, "Weeding the garden, Sir."
"Is this something you do often? Does your cousin ever help?"
"Oh no sir. But I don't mind it really," the boy said quickly. "Anything to get me out of that house is fine. It's quiet out here."
"Hmm," Snape mused as he studied the boy. There was something off about him that he just could not place his finger on. "Have you been eating?"
Harry stood and made a face. "I guess. Dudley's school says that he is overweight so Aunt Petunia put everyone on a diet over the summer, so he won't feel left out of anything. It's ok though, Ron & Hermione usually send me some treats to get me through the summer."
"Oh yes, cause a whole mess of junk food is just what you need," Snape said sarcastically. "Come on, get yourself cleaned up."
"Cleaned up, sir?" Harry asked hesitantly.
With a sigh Snape retorted, "Did I stutter? Get yourself inside and make yourself presentable. I will meet you out front in no less than 10 minutes."
Looking no less confused, Harry rushed past the professor and ran through the house as Snape took a moment to collect his thoughts. Certain that he was losing his mind he made his way back through the house to wait for Harry to return.
Snape did not try to hide his frustration when Harry rushed out the front door to meet him dressed in his usual oversized hand-me down clothes . "This is presentable?"
Harry stopped and took a quick look at himself as if unsure of what was wrong. "I changed and cleaned up, sir," he said quietly.
"Surely you have clothes that fit you better than these rags," he sneered. "You are swimming in these things."
Harry's face turned red as he mumbled, "No sir. These are the best I have. I only get the clothes that Dudley has outgrown."
Suddenly overwhelmed with a strange sensation of guilt, Snape heaved a sigh and said, "All right then. New plan. Come with me."
As they walked to the end of the street Snape found himself fighting the urge to turn around and give Petunia a piece of his mind. Sure they weren't mistreating the boy, but he was foolish to think that they would do anything above and beyond the minimum expected of them. He supposed he could have just let Albus know about the issue, but had a feeling that it wouldn't be something the headmaster would be overly concerned about. Which meant his only other option was to rectify the situation himself.
"Um…sir," Harry asked tentatively. "Where are we going?"
"I suppose the first stop would be to get you some proper clothing that you actually fit into," Snape barked. "Why in the world they would expect you to be able to wear those over-sized hand-me-downs in the first place?" Harry said nothing as they walked to the end of the street to the abandoned playground where he took the arm that was offered.
They made their way do the road to an abandoned park where Snape apparated the boy of them out of Privet Dr and into Diagon Alley. Grateful that he had come in muggle attire, Snape led Harry through the Leaky Cauldron and out onto the streets of London.
Harry hurried along after his professor and did his best not to ask questions despite his intense curiosity. He wasn't sure what he had done, but Professor Snape seemed to be very upset with him and Harry did not want to do anything to further his anger. So he did his best to keep up as they weaved their way through the crowds of muggles. He knew from his few outings with his aunt and uncle that he was to keep a respectable distance away so that he would not need to show association with him if they were to come upon someone familiar to them. Unfortunately, the farther they walked in the busy city, the harder it became for Harry to keep up. The crowds grew and soon Harry had lost all sight of his professor.
Trying not to panic Harry simply continued walking in the direction he had last seen Snape heading. He tried to take note of the shops he was passing in the off chance he might stumble upon a store that might have been the aim of the outing. Unfortunately the further he walked down the busy street, the fewer shops he saw. As he crossed over several intersecting streets he became aware that he was entering into a residential neighborhood. He was certain that Professor Snape would not have come down this far and really began to worry.
After a brief internal battle with himself, he decided that he had better turn back around and head back towards the Leaky Cauldron. He tried to walk as slow as possible in hopes of determining where Snape might have gotten off to, but to no avail. When he had finally returned to the tavern he found himself a table and prepared to wait and hope that Snape would come back this way looking for him.
Nearly two hours had passed by the time Professor Snape came storming back through the front door of the Leaky Cauldron. He watched as Snape approached the bartender and spoke to him in hushed tones. It felt as though his stomach dropped to the floor as the man pointed to where Harry was sitting and Snape whipped his head around in surprise. For one insane moment Harry considering running away from the glowering man making his way to the table, but was too terrified to even think about moving at all.
Afraid to look up as Snape approached the table, Harry closed his eyes and waited for whatever was coming. He knew from experience that misbehaving on public outings earned him severe punishments. He tried not to think of the possible wizarding punishments that Snape could dream up. He could only expect them to be much worse than anything his aunt and uncle could do.
"Where have you been?" Snape hissed at him through clenched teeth.
"I got lost," Harry said in a small voice. "I tried to keep sight of you, but you disappeared in the crowd."
Snape exhaled like he had been holding his breath and said, "You can't expect me to believe that you could not keep up with me. I have seen the way you run through the halls at school and cannot tell me I was moving too fast."
"No sir. It was the crowds. I was trying not to get too close to you and fell too far back and lost you in all the people," Harry said miserably.
"Get too close to me?" Snape growled with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Is there a reason you did not wish to follow too close?
Harry glanced up at his professor in confusion. "So you wouldn't have to be seen with me in case we came upon someone you knew, of course."
Professor Snape stared at him for several long terrifying moments before he shook his head and sat down at the table across from him. As he rubbed his temples he said quietly, "Did I somehow give you the impression that I would take some offense at you being seen with me?'
"Um…I don't think so sir," Harry said hesitantly. "It's just what I've always done."
"I'm guessing this is something that your relatives have inflicted upon you?" Snape muttered without looking up.
"Well…It works out for me too, since it usually puts me out of reach of Dudley and his friends. I don't mind it at all," Harry said quickly. He had learned long ago not to discuss any aspects of his home life at the Dursley's. People usually didn't care anyway, but the few people who had tried to take an interest in the way that he was treated and tried to talk to his relatives about were told that Harry was just an overly imaginative and disturbed child who liked to make things up.
Professor Snape remained quiet for several long terrifying moments as he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say. Finally he heaved a sigh and said, "You must quit making excuses for those people. They don't deserve it." He stood up and motioned towards the door. "Shall we try this again? Only let's try to keep up with me this time. No need to attempt to conceal your acquaintance with me."
Hesitantly Harry rose to follow his professor as he tried to understand what had just happened. He hadn't been yelled at or punished AND they were going to resume the outing? None of it made sense to him. He shook his head and tried to pay careful attention to what was going on around him. He needed to be sure that he was on his best behavior for the rest of the day. He really didn't need to be pushing his luck. He wasn't so sure Snape would be very lenient if angered a second time.
Just a short way down the block they turned into a small tea shop, where they were both seated at a table near the back. At Harry's puzzled look Snape replied, "I figured we had better eat something before we continue the rest of the day."
Harry stared at him feeling somewhat shocked. He was never allowed to go out to eat in public with his relatives. He usually would either be left home or would wait outside until the Dursley's finished eating. If he were lucky Aunt Petunia would collect the leftovers and bring them out for Harry as they were leaving the restaurant.
Once they were seated at a small table by the window, Harry perused the menu and felt slightly overwhelmed. There were so many things to choose from. "What can I get, sir?" he said in a near whisper.
Snape looked up from his own menu in surprise. "Whatever you would like. Providing that it have some semblance of nutritional value, of course."
"What are you getting?" he asked curiously.
After closing his menu and setting it aside he said, "I will get my usual. The Shropshire pea soup."
Harry made a face and decided instead on the beef stew. When his food arrived he sniffed at it cautiously before taking a very large bite. Almost immediately he spit back out and began fanning his mouth with his hand.
"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" Snape spat.
Still trying to cool his mouth Harry replied, "It was hot. I burned my tongue."
"Of course it is hot, why wouldn't—" he stopped mid-sentence and took a deep breath before continuing. "Do we need to find you a healer?"
"No sir," Harry mumbled as he felt his face turn red. Carefully he picked up his spoon and began blowing on a small spoonful before taking another small bite. This time he was actually able to taste what he was eating and was amazed to find it much tastier than he had anticipated. He began shoveling heaping spoonfuls into his mouth and was disappointed when he reached the bottom of the bowl. He was so consumed in trying to scrape every last morsel out of the bowl that he failed to realize that his companion was staring at him in horror.
"Are you quite finished?" Snape hissed. "Surely the only thing left in that bowl is the paint."
Once again his face heated up in embarrassment. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I was hungry."
"I gather," his professor replied as he resumed his own meal. "I would recommend slowing down a bit next time. You will make yourself ill trying to consume so much on an empty stomach."
After finishing their meal, the rest of the afternoon passed quickly and continued to bring moments of surprise and disbelief for Harry. He was taken to several clothing shops and fitted for more outfits than he had ever owned in his life. There were shirts and trousers and even under garments, which Harry was more than mortified by when he had been asked about.
Before they left each shop, Snape presented the clerk with some muggle monies and asked to have the clothes delivered to his home when they were properly fitted and altered. Harry asked Snape if he could stop at Gringott's to withdraw monies for these clothes and was told not to bother.
"It is only because I refuse to be seen with you in public in those ill-fitting hand-me-down rags that you are forced to wear that we are even here. It is only fitting, therefore, that I am the one to purchase them," Snape said simply.
Harry stopped in his tracks and stared at his teacher. So many things ran through his head that he wanted to say. The one that managed to squeak out was, "We are going on another outing?"
Snape surprised himself by saying, "Well if you are not going to be given adequate meals fitting of a boy of your stature then we have no other choice. Unless you want to go back to drinking the nutrient potions once a week?"
Harry could scarcely believe what he was hearing? It sounded like Professor Snape was saying that he was planning on taking him out to eat again? Possibility multiple times? It was almost too much for him to comprehend.
"Why are you being so nice to me, sir?" Harry blurted out.
A look of shock crossed his professors face and for a moment Harry was worried that he had overstepped. When Snape finally answered Harry it was in an tone that made it obvious that he was working hard to choose his words carefully. "I don't know. I suppose the responsibility of your well-being should fall upon your head of house in light of your lack of reasonable guardianship, but for some reason has fallen into my lap," he said. It looked like he wanted to say more, but changed his mind.
Harry stared at the ground. "You don't have to worry about me, sir. I don't want to be a bother." He wasn't accustomed to having anyone looking out for him and wasn't quite sure how to react to the situation.
"Quit this pity party at once, Potter. If I thought you to be a bother I would let you know." Snape said sharply. "Now, you are a child. As a child, it is expected that you be afforded the right tools and care to enable you to progress to the adult stage of life with the least possible amounts of suffering and hardship endured along the way. Since your relatives refuse to do what is needed someone else needs to step in. Since discovering your treatment at their hands last year I cannot in good conscious allow your situation to continue as it has been. Since removing you from that home completely is not an option, we'll have to make do in other ways. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Why can't I just go live with Ron and his family, sir? They offered to let me stay there with them."
"Unfortunately I do not know the reasons behind Dumbledore's decision to not remove you from that place," Snape said cautiously. "He was quite emphatic, however, that it was for your own good and protection and for now I suppose we need to trust that he know what he is doing."
Harry wasn't sure that he understood, but knew better than to question him further about the situation. He definitely didn't see how he was safe was his cousin and his goons chasing after him all of the time, but he didn't see any reason for Professor Snape to lie to him about it all so he just shrugged his shoulders and continued walking.
Once they arrived back at Privet Drive Harry was able to pass on the meager dinner that the Dursleys' had eaten and retired straight to his room. He thought about sending an owl to his friends to share the details of his day, but was unsure how they would take the information about him hanging out with their least favorite teacher. Instead he put himself to bed, his stomach more full than it had ever been whilst not at Hogwarts, and quickly fell into a restful and dreamless sleep.