Severus Snape was a proud man, and yet right now he was being led around by a bird to the door of his most despised student during the holidays, because his owl was having a psycho. What was he doing? he asked himself, and not even he was sure. Their was something in the white owls large eyes that had made him come and now it was a faint gut feeling that made him walk up to the door. It was a trimmed and neat house, nothing marring the perfect lawn aside from a perfect cement path up to the front door. And something else caught his eye. A bundle of parchment lay ruffled on the ground, which he realized to be letters as he drew closer. Wizard letters at that he noted as he picked up the parchments from the grass. Two were letters he would recognize anywhere, letters from Dumbledore's inbox, and the other two were written in Potter's own untidy scrawl, and were addressed to the werewolf.

Muttering a few spells to disable the weak protective charms on the seal, he opened the paper.

Dear Professor Lupin

I don't want to worry you but I was reading a book on wizarding development, and I came across an article on 'the changing'. I've never heard of it before, but as I read it the symptoms of this condition seemed to be very familiar. To put it bluntly I believe it is happening to me. Since I have returned to the Dursley's I started to lose my appetite, and I haven't been sleeping much at all. And my concentration is increasing. I've been trying to study potions to re-sit an entrance exam for Snape so I can be an Auror, and I managed to devour an entire textbook in one night. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Sorry to bother you, I know you are busy on… certain business. I just thought someone should know just in case.

Harry

Professor Snape laughed at the letter. Not only did he truly believe he had a chance of making his class but… the changing? That didn't happen till a lot later in life.

It appeared that Potter realized that too, as that was the content of his second letter. Snape wondered why Potter would talk to Lupin on such a personal topic; usually kept between parents and hospital staff… oh yes he didn't have any parents. Snape grimaced in confused memories of James's taunting and Lily's helpfulness.

Too bad neither Lupin or Dumbledore were currently available, due to a little deatheater outbreak in Russia that they were both still trying to contain.

But still a queasy feeling flitted inside his usually calm stomach, as though warning him, and he was compelled to go forward. Snape resealed the letters and concealed them in his robes before knocking on the peach coloured front door. For several minutes there was no answer and Snape was just about to Alohamora the door, when a thump and a curse from upstairs caught his attention. The sound of someone falling out of bed.

Bed? At midnight? Snape wondered. But then he always had been a late sleeper, and often forgot that other people enjoyed sleeping before some ungodly hour of the morning.

A few seconds later and he heard a stomping gait of a heavy man walking down the stairs, accompanied with a significant deal of more swearing. Then the locks rattled, the door opened an inch and one small piggy eye stared up at him.

'What the hell do you think you are doing waking me up at this time of the night? This had better have a damn good reason, life and death I tell you, or I'm calling the police. Who the hell are you?'

Snape saw the short fat man's face grow brighter with rage and felt slightly amused at his attempt at intimidation. He could throw the wool over the Dark Lords eyes, withstand multiple cruciatus, and fight a dozen deatheater single handedly if need be, and this man thought he held some sort of power over him. Perhaps this trip would be slightly fun after all. Snape played along, giving the man a half-arsed attempt at a scared face.

'I…I'm terribly sorry to bother you this late at night. My name is Professor err…Snape, I'm from Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. I'm just here to inqui..'

Snape's pathetic performance was cut off as Vernon exploded with no regard to the amount of noise he was making.

'NEVER MENTION THAT FREAK PLACE IN MY PRESCENCE AGAIN! I will not have you…you people violating my property. It's bad enough I have to put up with that abomination in my house, but to have these evil freaks calling at ungodly hours, not doubt off to perform satanic rituals. YOU WILL REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THIS HOUSE AND…"

This time it was Vernon's turn to be interrupted as a very startled Snape cast a Silencing spell, binding spell and levitation spell in one fast flick of the wrists. Vernon's body lifted in the air and backed out of the doorway as Snape followed him in. Snape's thoughts were racing. Where was the doting, beautiful sister of Lily and her adoring family? Where was Potters upper class wealthy house, with a dog and three goldfish?

Surely this wasn't where Potter lived. Syd must have led him somewhere else.

But his theories were dashed when a skinnier, uglier version of Lily Evans walked down the stairs.

"Vernon what's all this shout…" she stopped when she saw Vernon's unmoving body floating in mid air. She would have screamed if it weren't for the quick spell Snape shot at her wide opened mouth.

'Now you will listen to me and listen carefully. I will ask the questions and when I lift the spells you will answer them. If you cooperate then I will lift other spells, and let you free. If you do not cooperate then I will be forced to take drastic measures' he left that statement up to their imaginations, and could tell by their terrified looks on their faces that they would comply. The towering professor dressed from head to foot in black billowing robes was an impressive figure, not to mention the large hooked nose and vicious features that emanated power. Two helpless muggles had no chance.

'Good now please sit' he said lifting the bindings and motioning towards the sitting room chairs before placing his broom, which was receiving horrible stares from Vernon, propped up next to the coat rack.

Vernon and Petunia clung to each other and sat quickly.

'Names now.' Snape said flicking a finite incantatum at them.

'Petunia'

'V..Vernon Dursley'

'Petunia Evans was it?' She nodded ' then you must be the legal guardians of the Potter child'

Another nod from both.

'Tell me how has Potter been acting since school?'

Vernon answered. 'I don't know. Haven't seen him all holidays'

Snape raised an eyebrow surprised.

'He's not here?'

' He's here all right. He holes himself up in his room all day and all night only comes out once a day, before we get up in the morning. We only know because we've gotten reports from all the neighbours who see him every morning going out and coming back sweating and shirtless, sometimes staggering. We think he might be doing drugs but neither me nor Petunia want to deal with him. We were going to just wait and leave it up to the school to deal with.'

Vernon was talking calmly and truthfully, not so surprising as Snape was shooting him a subtle tongue-loosening spell that only usually worked on muggles and weak-minded wizards. That and the fact that Vernon had probably picked up on the way Snape spat the word Potter and sensed he had an ally, if not against magic then against Harry at least.

'So you haven't seen him in a week?'

'Yes, except we saw him on the first day, and this morning my little Dudders saw him coming out of the bathroom.'

Well at least that confirms that he is alive, or was in the last day. Not that he had even contemplated the possibility that he was dead. Or had he?

'Has he been eating regularly? Or sleeping?' Snape asked. This time Petunia answered.

'We refused to serve him at the dinner table so we assumed he was coming out at night time after we were sleeping to eat. I never noticed anything missing though. As for sleeping I have no idea. We can hear him playing around with his god-forsaken books when we go to bed and he wakes before we do. I don't actually know if he goes to sleep or not.'

Snape felt the queasy feeling in his stomach grow. If Potter were a couple of years older her would totally believe that he was going through the changing. Could it be possible that Potter was right? In which case he would be a couple of days off the stage two, and would have to be taken to St Mungo's immediately. As much as he hated the boy, it would not be in his best wishes or the magical communities best wishes to let the brat die. After all the prophecy did include him defeating the dark lord, from what he'd heard off Dumbledore.

After thinking for a few minutes, Snape suddenly stood up an shot the petrificus totalus spell at them, and upon seeing their bodies stiffen, turned and glided up the stairs. Time to talk to Potter.