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Chapter 3. Gathering Information.
Two hours later Snape decided to approach the Evans house again, this time under a disillusioning charm. He didn't have to look far to find Potter, for he was in the garden watering the plants. After a while, Snape's instincts, sharpened by his years of experience as a teacher, warned him that he was up to no good. The boy looked around and after checking that no one was watching him drank water from the hose.
Snape expected far worse behavior than drinking a couple of gulps of water, and wondered why he hadn't gone into the house to drink a glass in the kitchen. He supposed it was a bad habit of the boy's and that his aunt didn't like him doing it.
Petunia peeked in the door and Harry was startled. She looked in and then turned back to Harry.
"Don't let your uncle see you." she said quietly. Harry nodded and Petunia asked in a normal tone. "Are you done with the plants yet?"
"I'm just missing that corner," Potter said directing the water towards the area he was referring to.
"Finish watering it and come to the kitchen. We're going to check the attic."
"Right away."
Potter finished watering, rolled the hose into its holder and walked into the house, this time followed by Snape, still under the disillusioning charm.
The woman, the boy, and the invisible wizard climbed the stairs to the upper floor. Petunia opened the door and they found themselves in an attic room that was almost empty. There were only a few boxes in one of the corners, and a trunk under one of the skylights. Snape recognized the trunk immediately, it was the one Lily had taken to Hogwarts. Behind it were several toys and other objects from Lily's childhood.
Heavy footsteps were heard on the staircase, and Vernon entered the room nudging Harry and confirming to Snape where his son had learned good manners.
"Have they left anything of value?"
"I don't think so." Petunia said. "We can go through those boxes, but there doesn't seem to be anything interesting."
Vernon walked over to two of the boxes and opened them. Inside were children's books and toys, which, though old, looked in good condition. Harry couldn't help but stare at them with wide eyes.
"Boy." said Vernon towards him. "Take these boxes out into the street and put them next to the garbage cans. I'll tip the garbage man to take them away." then he looked at the boy, his expression suspicious. "Don't even think about taking anything. I don't want you to embarrass us again like that time you accepted a book from the Bakers without asking. You're not a beggar. Your aunt and I support you, and if you don't have books it's because you're not going to learn anything useful in them. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon."
"Go put that box down." Petunia pointed out.
Before long Potter returned and Vernon pointed to a second box to bring down. As Petunia looked at a china set that was inside another. "The tea set is incomplete. I guess that's why they left it." she muttered.
Harry tried to lift the box and the weight made him wobble, for a moment it looked like he was going to fall over. He set it down again to try to catch it better and keep his balance as he stood up. Snape feared he would kill himself if he tried to go down the stairs like that, so he decided to cast a spell to lighten it. The boy made a strange expression as he tried a second time to lift the box and succeeded with much less effort, but made no comment.
On his way back up the stairs Harry passed his uncle, who was already on his way down, and stepped aside to let him pass.
While Petunia was still distracted with the crockery, Harry approached the trunk. Snape knew Petunia couldn't see him, because all trunks of that brand had a permanent Muggle repelling spell on them, but Harry didn't notice anything unusual about it.
"What are you doing there?" Petunia. Asked.
"I was looking at this."
"There's nothing there." she said. "Take this box down too, but leave it on the dining room table. Stay downstairs, there's nothing else left here to take advantage of."
"Yes, Aunt." he said knowing better than to take it up with her.
When they left, Snape walked over to the trunk and lifted the lid. He saw several books from Lily´s last year at Hogwarts, a uniform, and her graduation cap. At the bottom, wrapped in a cloth he found an envelope. He picked it up and inside were photos, with traces of paper on the back, as if they had been stuck in an album and had been torn out. All of them showed him, most of the time accompanied by Lily. The oldest were Muggle photos from his childhood, but there were also several moving pictures taken at school. He also found a Valentine's Day card, which in pointed handwriting read only "Always friends."
Snape set the envelope down carefully and closed the lid of the trunk. "Always," he muttered.