"Mr. Potter, would you elaborate on the statement 'dumping an infant with people who hate him'?" Severus asked suspiciously.
"Headmaster Dumbledore left with me with my own living relatives despite the last wishes of my parents. They simply have no love in their home for me," Harry explained.
"Who are the relatives you were left with?" Severus asked.
"My Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley, sir," Harry answered.
"Can you tell me what exactly you mean that they have no love in their home for you?" Severus inquired.
"I-I guess I'm not sure what you mean, sir," Harry mumbled.
Severus sighed before deciding a more direct approach was necessary. "How do you your aunt and uncle speak to you, Mr. Potter?"
"They try to avoid talking to me at all costs, but when they have to, they are mainly angry with me, sir," Harry answered.
"Hmm...would you care to elaborate? Possibly provide some examples?" Severus requested.
"I thought my name was freak until primary school," Harry started with a chuckle. Severus was concerned when he saw genuine mirth he saw in the boy's eyes. "There's a lot of yelling. Anything that wasn't yelled was typically a command, sir."
"Hmm...and how did they treat you physically, Mr. Potter?"
"I mean they liked me to do a lot of the chores, sir," Harry offered.
"What chores were you responsible for, Mr. Potter?"
"Cooking, cleaning dishes, scrubbing floors, dusting, gardening, mowing the lawn, washing the windows, clearing the gutters, trimming the trees, scrubbing sinks, showers, and toilets, washing the cars, washing the laundry, hanging the laundry on the line, and folding the laundry, making the beds, vacuuming the carpet, taking out the trash, that sort of thing," Harry answered honestly. "That's why I'm so good at cleaning during my detentions, sir," Harry joked with another sincere chuckle.
"At what age did these chores begin, Mr. Potter?"
"I mean, it's hard to remember exactly. I remember cooking breakfast for them on my fifth birthday, and I'd been doing it for at least a couple weeks prior. My aunt taught me how to use the washing machine and the vacuum on my third birthday and I was doing the simpler cleaning similar to that work ever sense. My uncle taught me how to use the lawn mower the summer before I went to kindergarten, so it was probably six years old that I started using equipment necessary for things like mowing the lawn, clearing the garden, and trimming the trees. I honestly don't recall ever starting gardening. Probably because I enjoyed it so much that I never really thought of it as a chore. It was more a relaxing hobby that just happened to also be a requirement," Harry answered with another chuckle.
"Interesting, you mentioned they were requirements, what would happen if you did not finish the chores assigned to you?"
"I would be punished, sir," Harry answered as if it were obvious.
"What would punishment include, Mr. Potter?"
"I don't know. Being sent to bed without dinner, being spanked, having extra chores the next day, not being allowed to go to bed until the chores were completed. That sort of thing," Harry answered shrugging his shoulders.
"And were you ever injured?"
Harry actually laughed before he answered, "Sure, you know me, sir. I'm super clumsy and you add the chores. I mean, look at the injuries I've managed to get at Hogwarts. There's no way I would get through eleven years without the occasional injury."
"What were the more common injuries you suffered, Mr. Potter?"
"I mean I got burned quite a few times trying to cook. I've sprained just about every single part of my body that can be sprained. I'm pretty sure I've had a couple concussions."
"Any injuries that were a direct result of punishment?"
"Sure, but nothing lasting," Harry answered.
"Humor me, what injuries resulted from the punishments?"
"Some bruising, some cuts, I won't lie there was the occasional accidental sprain or something. Nothing all that serious."
"Did you ever receive treatment for your injuries?"
"Nah, they didn't need to. Our neighbor worked as a nurse, so he'd take care of the more severe injuries, but nothing was typically that severe. Everything was pretty harmless."
"You mentioned punishment could be denying meals. You also mentioned cooking breakfast for 'them' can you walk me through what you eat while with your relatives?"
"Oh, I get any of the leftovers from breakfast and I usually make myself a sandwich or something for lunch."
"What about dinner or snacks, Mr. Potter?"
Harry actually had the nerve to let out a hearty laugh before he answered, "I never have time for snacks, sir. And you know me, sir, I screw up often enough to rarely be allowed dinner."
"Mr. Potter were you ever left unattended?"
"Yeah, of course, all the time. When they would leave on vacation or grounded me to the...bedroom, those were the best moments of my life," Harry answered with a smile.
"Mr. Potter, are you aware this constitutes, neglect as well as both emotional and physical abuse?"
Harry just laughed. "No it's not! Plenty of people were aware of it. If it was abuse something would've been done. I'm so sorry, sir, but there's no way it was abuse."