Severus observed Lily's birthday celebrations from the large window behind Lucius' desk. He'd never been all that comfortable with birthday celebrations. He himself only had a handful of them growing up and most were thanks to Lily. None were as extravagant as this one year old's birthday party.
"Are you still not speaking to Draco?" Severus asked.
"The boy is the one that refuses to talk to me most of the time. So now, I ignore him also."
"I'm sure this has nothing to do with you having to hand over the title as head of house to him." Severus countered. Lucius paused the notes he was writing to glare at him.
"No heir has ever been allowed to inherit the title without, at the very least, being engaged to be married by the end of the year. Draco is not only not engaged, but he refuses to acknowledge the problem."
"I don't see a problem."
"Of course you don't. You have no children." Lucius scoffed. Severus rolled his eyes at that and looked away from the window.
"One would think after seeing your son the way he was, you would be happy he was even alive." Severus said. He'd seen the horror in Lucius' expression at Draco's mangled, lifeless, body. They both had seen Potter's hand touch the blonde and somehow heal his wounds. Just like many of the dead in the Great Hall, they watched Draco breathe deeply and return to the realm of the living.
Seconds after that Severus watched Harry snap the wand in half, return to normal and collapse next to a confused Draco.
The ministry had swooped in and cornered every survivor, oaths of secrecy binding every person that witnessed Potter's odd magic. None of those who returned to life seemed to remember what happened, all they remember was waking up, assuming they had simply been knocked out. Potter couldn't remember anything himself. Severus wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
At least he could take comfort knowing that the boy would not be hounded by the press regarding his strange magic.
"I don't believe I will ever be able to repay that debt to Potter." Lucius mumbled.
Severus kept watching the celebrations outside and said nothing.
oOoOoOo
Harry hummed to himself as he tucked Lily into bed and picked up the book he'd started reading. A letter slipped from underneath where a pile of unread mail sat. He frowned as he noticed the seal for the ministry of magic and opened it up.
'Dear Mr. Potter,
With legal proceedings complete it is mandatory that you return to your family to allow for the repairs to Hogwarts to continue in preparation for the next school year.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy your summer holidays.
Sincerely,
From the office of Wizarding Child Welfare.'
Harry almost laughed at the name of the department. His heart raced with mild panic and stood up, going to write a letter in response. He would let them know he was going to the Weasleys.
The response he received in the morning was not what he was expecting.
'Dear Mr. Potter.
As a minor you are not allowed to choose residence until you turn seventeen. You will have to remain with your relatives until you reach majority. Moreover, failure to comply with this mandate would mark you as denying your daughter of a stable family setting and hence would entitle ministry officials to remove the infant from your custody.
I hope you agree that this not be necessary.'
Harry stopped reading and tossed the rest of the letter in the fire. How dare they? How dare they?
They were threatening to take his daughter away if he didn't return to the Dursleys? Accusing him of denying her a stable family environment? They couldn't do that!
Except, something in the back of Harry's mind told him that they could do exactly that and wouldn't hesitate. Now that Voldemort was dead, it meant the Ministry had to impose their sovereignty once more. Where better to start than by forcing Harry's head down.
Harry stood up slowly and went to look at Lily's sleeping form in her crib. If it had just been him he would have told the ministry to get stuffed and would have run away again. With Lily? He couldn't risk it. He would obey. He wasn't going to give them a single excuse to take his daughter away.
It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go beside the Weasleys and even then he didn't want to impose on them too much. Remus and Tonks had gotten married and were on their honeymoon.
That left little else for him. He gathered the will power he needed to start packing. He finished in the middle of the night. By then he was too tired to do anything else beside fall asleep.
oOoOoOo
Severus looked at the remaining stack of papers he had left to complete before finally he could return to Spinner's End and have some well-deserved time off before September came round.
He didn't expect a knock on his door. The only one left in the castle was Potter and with all the back and forth ministry hearings they'd barely spoken to one another since the war ended. To say he was fairly surprised to see him arrive with his suitcase and Lily in his arms would be an understatement.
It was second nature by now for Severus to look into other's eyes and read their thoughts and usually Harry was fairly open to him. Today, however, Potter was completely closed off. A mask of nothing on his face.
"Potter? Is everything alright?" He asked slowly.
"I'm ready to go back to Privet Drive, headmaster." He said.
"My understanding was that you were heading to the Weasleys as soon as the hearings ended." Had he and the Weasleys had a falling out?
"I am not allowed. The ministry says I'm a minor and cannot choose where to go. I'm ready to go as soon as possible."
"The ministry?"
"The office of Wizarding Child Welfare. They made it clear."
"May I see the letter?" He asked.
"I burned it."
Silence stretched as Potter remained stoic and closed off. Lily fidgeted to get down but Potter held her firm, not paying attention to her at the moment. The boy was hurting. He was hurting badly.
"Do you really wish to go back to those muggles?" He finally asked.
"I have no choice. I'm nobody else's."
"You're not a thing, Potter. You are a minor, yes, but you don't belong to them." Severus said. Where the hell did the ministry come off to tell the boy he had to return to his relatives?
"Please sir, as soon as possible."
Severus frowned. "Potter…"
"Sir, please. I don't want to give the ministry any more reasons to give me more grief." He said softly.
Severus wanted to refuse and march up to the Ministry with Potter himself and demand an explanation and threaten who ever he had to threaten to leave the boy alone. But this wasn't the war. This was the law and he knew whatever he had to do couldn't be done by threats alone.
"Very well. Lets go."
oOoOoOo
Harry left Mrs. Figg's residence with a heavy step. Lily was screaming in his arms because he wouldn't put her down and was using her fists to hit him in an attempt to be let down.
"Lily! No. Don't do that." He said softly, holding her fist still for a few seconds. It didn't work because as soon as he let go she screamed and wailed and kicked and whined.
It seemed that ignoring her was the answer for now. He marched up to Privet Drive and knocked on the door. His aunt greeted him with a sour face, having heard Lily kicking and screaming on her driveway.
"Get in, you little freak." She hissed, looking around to ensure none of the neighbours saw the abhorrent display and Harry finally put Lily down and took a deep breath. "What? Your freaky little school didn't want you the full term?" She demanded, storming toward the kitchen.
"I'm only here until I turn seventeen." Harry said, putting his suitcase it was used to be his room growing up. He looked at the tiny cupboard he could barely fit in now. His stomach swirled unpleasantly wondering if they would have kept him in it had his Hogwarts letter never arrived.
"Well then you better make yourself useful. Go out to the grocery store and buy these items." Harry glared but snatched the list and turned to reach for Lily. "No! You're not taking that thing with you! The last thing I need is the neighbours realising what an absolute embarrassment you are!" His aunt exclaimed.
"And you're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving Lily with a vindictive and spiteful woman like you." Harry said, taking Lily in his arms as she started to crawl away. She whined and began to fidget once more.
"How dare you? Go back to your freaky people if that's your attitude! I allowed you to live in this house and have food from our table and this is how you repay me? With disrespect? You got exactly what you deserved for being a freak of a boy."
"No one deserves to be put in a cupboard and made to feel worthless!" Harry yelled back.
"You are worthless! Even your freaks know it. Why else are you back? Because they didn't want you any longer. Now get those things, and try not to keep me waiting." She hissed.
Harry gripped the list in such a tight fist that it tore slightly. Only six weeks left. Six weeks. He left the house with Lily and tried to clear his mind as he walked.
It was hard balancing a baby and the shopping items but the discomfort helped him occlude and hide the emotional turmoil from even himself. He just had to count down those weeks and then everything will be as he'd always wanted it. He will be free to live on his own with Lily and be with his friends.
By the time he got home, Vernon was unpleasantly early from work. He snatched the bags as if Harry touching them any longer would make the items inside rot.
"Why must we put up with your freaky presence sooner than usual?" He spat and Harry ignored him, bringing Lily over to the corner of the dinning room and put a small wooden stool in the corner. His chair for eleven years. Where he would watch everyone eat the food that on most of the later years he had been the one to prepare. He sat on the incredibly uncomfortable stool and held Lily close, trying to wrap his mind on how he was going to care for Lily while living here.
They talked amongst themselves as if Harry wasn't here.
"I don't know why he's here, Vernon. But he better put himself to good use while he's here." Petunia sneered.
"Listen here boy!" Harry looked up at his aunt and uncle standing in the kitchen. His uncle's face was red with anger and his aunt's face was twisted into disgust.
"Look…" Harry interrupted. "I don't want to be here either. I'll stay out of your way until I'm seventeen. On that very night I'll be out of this hellish house." Harry spat back.
He'd almost forgotten why he'd never spoken like that to his uncle. If Harry ever spoke back like that the man would storm toward him in an attempt to grab him. As a child he was smaller and faster than the giant man. He would usually run away and come back when the man had calmed down. With Lily in his arms all he could do was hold her against his chest to shield her from the angry man's red face. Vernon seemed as uncertain when he realised Harry couldn't slide away from him but a few seconds later a glimmer of satisfaction passed through his eyes. Painfully strong hands gripped his upper arms and gave him a firm shake, digging into his skin.
"Don't interrupt me you little freak! You will not hide away in your room. Oh no, you will cook our meals and clean our house and be grateful we don't throw you out in the street. Then, and only then, if you find it in your freaky body to behave, will I let you feed that brat." He reached for the wand in the holster Harry kept it in and tossed it to the corner of the room.
Harry's eyes widened as he saw into his uncle's unshielded mind, able to clearly see that he intended to do just that. In fact, he saw his uncle faintly consider throwing Lily into the cupboard too and Harry wasn't sure he could stop himself from killing the man if he ever dared.
"You can do with me what you want. But you won't touch my daughter. I'll feed her when I see fit. If you so much as touch a hair on her head. I'll kill you." Harry said ever so calmly, ever so coldly, that Vernon's face went from red to pale and all the way back to red. He dug his fingers in deeper into his arms and Harry clenched his jaw to stop himself showing how much it hurt.
Lily whined, struggling in Harry's hold, not liking the sound of his uncle yelling.
Vernon moved one hand to Harry's hair and gripped him hard enough to hurt. Harry whimpered ever so softly and almost stumbled as his uncle dragged him to the cupboard, yanked his suitcase out and forced him inside. Somehow Harry managed to land on the dusty, decades old cot mattress without hurting Lily. He turned to face the door to see it slam shut. The ventilation flap opened up.
"Perhaps I'll let you out, when you can learn some respect." He spat out. "This is where you always belonged, boy. A freaky little pest like you always belonged in a hole in the wall." The flap slammed shut and Harry knelt there in shock, not quite able to believe that he was once more where he started.
As he tried to get comfortable in the tiny cupboard, his heart began to speed up as he looked at the tiny walls he'd grown up in. An old picture from his primary school was still there. Discarded and collecting dust. Unwanted. Harry placed Lily more comfortably on his lap as she looked around confused and upset. Harry stared at the picture. Lily reached for it then and did what every baby did with a piece of paper. She tore it and laughed.
Harry's heart broke hearing his little girl finding joy in such a cramped little place. He wondered how long he had been able to smile like that before he'd realised there was nothing to be happy about.
"Daddy. Cuwle." She reached up and snuggled up against Harry's chest. Harry wrapped his arms around her and gave her all the cuddles she wanted. He would not cry. He would not cry. They wouldn't leave him here long. They wouldn't dare.
Harry rubbed Lily's back gently, taking the comfort she was offering. He waited to be let out. He heard his uncle watching TV, heard his aunt prepare lunch. His stomach rumbled as they didn't let him out.
A couple of more hours passed and Lily began to fuss even more. "Daddy, baba."
"Soon Lily…" He said and shook his head. This was ridiculous. "Aunt Petunia… let me out." He called. Neither of them came to open.
"Baba!" Lily cried and began to shriek. Harry closed his eyes, his heart squeezing painfully and pushed at the door, trying to force it open.
"Uncle Vernon! Enough! Let me out!" Harry yelled. Lily kept screaming and Harry banged harder on the door.
"Shut up you freak!"
"I have to feed her! Let me the hell out!" Harry yelled. He heard the door to the living room shut and Harry almost saw red. He began kicking the door as best he could which scared Lily further.
"Waaa!"
The door to the living room slammed open once more and Harry stopped kicking as the cupboard door was yanked open. Once more his scalp suffered as he was dragged out.
"Let me go! Stop it! Not in front of Lily! Please!" Harry begged and everything stopped. He looked up to see his uncle considering his options and Harry swallowed his pride. What good did it do him after all? "I'm sorry uncle Vernon. I won't disrespect you again." The words tasted like bile in his tongue.
"You'll do bloody well to remember that. Get cleaned up and get dinner started you little freak." He hissed and stormed back into the living room.
Harry took a few minutes to calm down.
"Baba!" Lily shrieked and Harry jumped to his feet. He rushed to make her a bottle. Once she had drank it all he cleaned the dust off both of them and put her down in the dinning room floor where he could keep an eye on her as he cooked.
He tried to control the shaking of his hands as he chopped some vegetables on a chopping board and took a deep breath. Six weeks. That's all. Despite everything he'd been through, he'd never felt so small and weak. He felt ten years old again.
oOoOoOo
Severus followed Arthur and Molly Weasley into Shacklebot's office. The minister of magic had made room in his busy schedule to grant them a meeting. Severus was not leaving until he got an explanation and solution to Potter's situation.
Something was telling him he needed to move quickly. Something felt very wrong and he didn't know what it was. However, when it came to Potter, he wasn't taking any chances.