Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes longer before Mr. Snape turned back to Maera. "I was sent to answer any questions that you had, which I hope that I did, but I also am meant to take you supply shopping for the school year. Given that I found you around midday and that we have been talking for at least a good two hours, I would recommend that we do not pursue our shopping trip until tomorrow. How about I walk you back to your home and make sure that your family understands a version of what we have been discussing and what will happen tomorrow?" Mr. Snape asked.
As soon as the time was pointed out to her, Maera paled. She had forgotten all about her chores and she hadn't even finished the garden yet! She'd be in so much trouble when she went back home. Her aunt would likely tell Uncle Vernon that she had been disrespectful and had staved off her chores. What was she going to do! She couldn't let Mr. Snape talk to them, something she previously thought the man understood, but she also couldn't return without any explanation or she was sure her punishment would be far worse. Though, who knew which would be worse - explaining that she had abandoned her tasks to discuss magic with some strange man, or simply letting them believe that she had wandered off because she was a freak and irresponsible.
Looking back up at the man she had been speaking with she blinked before jumping off of the bench and running back to Number 4 Privet Drive. Fear was coursing through her veins. Maera was simply letting her fight or flight instinct take over and it seemed that flight was winning out over fight. Or, she assumed flight was winning, it wasn't like she would have tried to fight Mr. Snape given that he had been so kind to her. But, she'd left and now she didn't know what she was going to do.
The cookie-cutter houses flew by as she ran in her panic. The numbers one each house slowly changed until she ended up outside Number 4. It looked the same, as if nothing had changed in the amount of time that she had been with Mr. Snape - as if she hadn't learned about magic and her parents. Looking around carefully, she inched back towards the garden. Maera didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It didn't look like anyone had been outside since before she had gone to talk with Mr. Snape. Letting out a sigh of relief, she slumped forward letting her knees hit the soft ground. She bent forward to continue the weeding that she was meant to be doing when the sound of a door slamming echoed across the yard. Maera looked up towards the back door and was horrified to see the anger on her aunt's face. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen her aunt as mad as she was currently - though maybe she couldn't remember any of those times.
"Where do you think you have been, girl!" Aunt Petunia demanded, her shrill voice carrying across the yard and likely throughout the neighborhood.
Maera sat slightly on her heels unsure how to respond. Was there any answer that would make her aunt less angry? How would she get out of this current predicament?
"Well, girl? Are you just going to stare at me?" Her aunt came closer, a threat in her footsteps and tension hanging in the air. "If you're just going to sit there and continune to play stupid, then I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson." The sharp and manicured nails of her aunt's hands dug into Maera's sunburnt flesh - pain was all that the girl knew. Her body wouldn't cooperate with her mind, a desperate thought went through her mind. She needed to get away from the pain, but her body was stuck. It wouldn't move. A small whimper was torn out of her mouth as her aunt continued to drag her towards the back door. What was she supposed to do?
"Maybe a week in your cupboard without food or water will teach you to answer me the next time I ask a question, girl." Aunt Petunia said, her voice as cruel as her grip on Maera's arms. "Vernon will decide what the rest of your punishment will be for staving off your chores. How you ever thought you would get away with leaving the garden during the day, I'll never know, but you will be taught responsibility if I have any say!" The threat of punishment didn't fully register in Maera's mind. She was frozen in panic.
A large crack filled the air. Suddenly, a deep and imposing voice could be heard over the pounding of her own heart and the panic receded slightly. There was something about the voice that was familiar… comforting… it seemed safe? That was it, the voice was safe. Her aunt's grip loosened on her arms and Maera was able to wrench herself free. Sitting down on the ground she curled into a ball, hoping that it would keep her safe until the voice was available.
Snape's POV.
Just after Maera ran off…
Severus Snape sat dumbfounded. The small girl that he had been speaking with had just run from the park because he had… had done what exactly? He had mentioned speaking with her guardians to explain where she had been. He was thinking more along the lines of obliviating them so that they wouldn't think Maera had been doing anything she wasn't meant to, but that didn't seem likely any more. The girl had run off before he could say anything to ease her fears.
If Severus hadn't thought that the girl was being abused before from her appearance and the fear she had when speaking of her guardians, then this reaction would likely have changed his mind. It was not normal for a child to be so scared of their guardian's reaction to them not doing their chores. Though, Severus quietly reflected to himself, he wouldn't put it past Petunia to be even more horrible now than she was when they were children. From Severus Snape's experience, hatred often grew with time.
Getting up from the park bench, Severus thought over his options. He could run after the girl, or he could apparate. Sometimes, being a wizard truly was the easier option, he thought, noticing that from where he stood he couldn't even see the girl any more. Apparating would hopefully get him to Maera's house in time to speak with Maera before Petunia came looking for the girl. Visualizing the area that he had stood earlier near the garden, but outside of the wards that Minerva had mentioned surrounded the house, Snape swiftly turned on his foot and with a crack he was no longer at the bench.
Once again, a crack could be heard as Snape appeared in the exact area that he had imagined. Taking a second to check that he had each and every limb, he looked up and saw Maera being manhandled towards the back of the house by an adult Petunia Evans.
"What do you think you are doing, Petunia Evans!" He stated, his voice causing the woman to look up at him in shock. She paled looking as if she had seen a ghost and he could see her grip loosen on Maera. As soon as that happened, the poor girl ripped herself free from her aunt's clutches and fell to the floor.
Severus stalked forward not unlike a predator in search of its prey as Petunia cowered where she stood. "How dare you threaten Lily's daughter." He said, his words hissed in a deadly voice. The anger that he currently felt was not one that he had felt in years, but the small girl was under his protection and he had been failing her for years it would seem.
Petunia shook her head back and forth, though she remained rooted to the spot as he came closer and closer. Lifting his arm he realised that his wand was out, when had he reached for it? He pointed the weapon at her, noting that her eyes widened in horror, before whispering "Obliviate". Her eyes clouded over as the fear and memories left. Before she could gain enough awareness that a second memory charm might be necessary, Severus whispered a sleeping charm. Petunia fell to the ground out cold, now what was he supposed to do though. Levitating her inside quickly he placed her on the couch, making sure that it was the most uncomfortable position possible. He returned outside and knelt near Maera, placing a hand on her shoulder to provide what little comfort he could.
The tight ball that the girl had been eased and slowly those viridian eyes looked at him, wide and frightened. "It's okay." He said, hoping that it might soothe her in some way. He was not expecting her to rush towards him, however, and bury her face into his neck, shaking like a leaf. Patting her back gently, he thought about his next step. He didn't want to leave Maera here, it wasn't safe. But how would he help her without Dumbledore noticing. He wasn't sure that if Petunia noticed Maera's absence then she would contact the headmaster, but he couldn't risk Maera's safety on the off chance that Petunia cared that little for the girl. Maybe he could place false memories in Petunia's mind that could explain the girl's absence for the present moment. He could make her think that she had simply sent the girl to a summer camp, maybe one about learning to be a more sophisticated and posh girl or whatever it was that Lily would complain to him about, for the remainder of the month. That would buy him some time, at least, so that he could figure out where she could remain after the school year. Nodding to himself, he lifted the slight girl up as he stood and walked back into the house. He walked up to Petunia's slumped over form and took his wand out once more. Creating these memories would require skill, something that he had. However, it would also take time and Severus could only hope that he would have enough time to make them believable.
In the end, he had more than enough time to create the memories and he made sure that he left no trace of himself within that house. He wasn't sure where Maera stayed, but he wasn't going to bother her to find out since she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Looking at the house one last time, he walked back out the back door and made sure that he was back in the same area that he had apparated to earlier before thinking of his small home. Securing his hold on the girl in his arms, he turned abruptly on his foot and a crack sounded throughout the neighborhood.
It was rather lucky that the day that Severus Snape chose to visit one Miss Maera Potter was also the day that Arabella Figg was away at the vet for one of her many precious cats.