Author's note: Welcome back to my new story. It is finished and will be posted twice weekly.
Little Whinging, June 1987
Severus Snape couldn't decide which was worse – shopping in Diagon Alley shortly before Hogwarts commenced or finding anything in a Muggle hardware department store. There was one store he had found after one of his stints of watching Privet Drive 4 when Harry Potter was but a baby which he found less confusing than others and therefore he was returning there when he finally had time to remodel the bathroom in Spinner's End.
Magical plumbing was all well and good, but one had to have some actual implements to install a new bathroom, otherwise a bath in a Transfigured tub could well end on one's arse in a puddle. A new toilet and shower shrunken in his pocket the young Potions master was about to look for a hidden alley to Disapparate when an unexpected smell assaulted his nostrils. A smell he hadn't smelled in years - Mrs Evan's Cinnamon Muffins.
He followed his nose until it led him to a primary school where a bake-fair was held. By now he had surmised that Petunia must have used her mother's recipe. While he was not fond of the woman he could not resist said muffins and this would be a good opportunity to check upon the Brat-who-lived.
The stall with the muffins seemed to be empty. Severus thought about leaving some money and helping himself to the muffins when a timid voice piped up, "Hello sir, the muffins are one pound each. The money goes to the school library. They're really good, they are."
A small boy, no more than five had been sitting behind the table. He was wearing an ill-fitting school uniform, too big spectacles and a shy smile. Snape's throat constricted upon seeing his eyes, those impossibly green eyes he knew so well. He noted that Harry Potter must be nearly seven, despite his size.
"Have you been eating them, then?"
The youngster's eyes widened in what seemed like fear and he looked over his shoulder before whispering, "No, no, they're not for me! But I helped making them and I licked the batter when Aunt P'tunia wasn't looking."
There was no question, this little urchin was Harry Potter, heir to the Potter fortune, who was living with his caring relatives according to Albus Dumbledore. Severus hadn't watched over Privet Drive for some years, as there were other Order members who would not have to spy whenever Voldemort returned. The Headmaster had always assured him that Lily's boy was well cared for. And he had been dumb enough to believe him! Severus' own childhood and his occupation as Head of House enabled him to notice neglect – and abuse – earlier than other teachers, as he knew the signs first-hand. The boy's clothes were cast-offs and his constant squinting pointed to his prescription being outdated. Whenever Severus and Lily had helped Mrs Evans baking she had called them into the house when the muffins were done. After ordering them to wash their hands she had served them a glass of milk and a muffin each, fresh from the oven. Petunia could not have forgotten these moments, even if they had not as much significance to the Evans girls as to the Snape boy from the wrong side of the tracks.
"All right. What would you say if I take three muffins and you help me to eat them?"
"No. I mean, yes, you can take three muffins, but I cannot eat one. She always knows when I have been taking food that's not for fr-, that's not for me."
Forcing down his anger, as not to frighten the boy unnecessarily, about the word he nearly had used, he quickly paid and took his farewell, because he saw a thin woman nearing the stall. On his way home he made a detour to Harry's home. A whale-like man was snoring on the back porch. His wand took Severus to a cupboard under the stairs, labelled on the inside `Harys room´. The Potions Master had to summon all his Occlumency skills lest his magic lash out in a mighty blast. Damn Petunia, damn Dumbledore and damn his own gullibility! He left the three muffins under a Stasis and Muggle repelling charm on the thin mattress and went home. The remodelling of the bathroom would have to wait, he had some serious planning to do.